Just as a note from the author- the dislike-like ratio is quite disturbing for me. As the author, I really couldn't place a hoof on what I'm doing wrong- or what expectations I'm failing. Please leave a comment and tell me! The ratio right now is killing me... But anyway. Here's chapter 2.
"Uh-oh." was all Blaze said.
"You... What?" Halcyon exclaimed.
"I... Am a royal bodyguard. My previous work had to be kept secret... So I couldn't tell you the truth... I'm sorry, Halcyon... Will you...?"
"It's hard not to when I pulled the same lie on you." Halcyon sighed, pulling out the summons letter.
Blaze stared at it. "What are the odds." he shook his head slowly.
"Like, thirty in a few million?" Halcyon said. All they knew was that there were thirty other Secret Service agents. Possibly more, but they weren't given more info on that.
Blaze sat down, his armor clunking. "Well that was interesting."
Now that her mind already caught up to the fact that her date was also going to be her partner, she analyzed the armor Blaze was wearing.
All the gold was tinted orange, giving a direct reference to fire in the light. Flame patterns were carved into the plates, otherwise it was just silver chain mail. The helmet had a visor that could be flipped down in combat, meaning that they removed the stupid looking mohawk the other guards had on their helmets. There were holes carved out to allow the ears out, and from what she could see there must be cushions inside so the edge doesn't cut into one's skin. The armor seemed to be made of titanium with a bit of gold for the color, and she could see a spell shimmering around it- probably to decrease the weight. The plates stopped at the joints, converting into chain mail. Seemed like one could easily move around in it- this may be a fashion shop, but what Rarity made here was completely combat ready.
"The armor certainly suits your name. And that's a nice cutie mark." Halcyon said, gesturing at the single flame tattooed across his flank.
"Eh... Yeah." Blaze said a little awkwardly.
Before Halcyon could say another word, Rarity dragged her behind a set of blinds and all Blaze could hear were the complaints and clunks as Rarity forced Halcyon to put on the armor. Dragging away the blinds, Blaze was impressed with the result.
Like his armor, it was made of titanium, except hers had silver touches and was tinted light blue.
Halcyon wriggled an arm around- it was quite light and comfortable. There were wave patterns carved into the plates, and her own cutie mark was printed on one of the rear plates- a blue crystal-like piece of ice. The sides were lined with canisters full of water- her superior must've revealed what combat style she used too.
"You look... Battle ready and stunning." Blaze said.
"Well of course she does." Rarity said proudly, pulling out a large mirror and placing it in front of Halcyon. "What do you think?"
Halcyon gaped at her reflection. Being a royal bodyguard was going to be hard work- but there are bonuses.
"Love it." she said simply, grinning.
"You two will make the best royal bodyguards so far!" Rarity declared excitedly. "I'm certain the princess will be pleased."
"Me too." Halcyon and Blaze said in unison.
"Alright then. I'm glad I can move on to the next project-" Rarity said. "Darlings, visit often. The Princess will be waiting in Canterlot~" she said in a sing-song voice.
Taking the train back was the last thing Halcyon was looking forward to. She was slightly annoyed that she didn't get a chance to wonder around Ponyville- ah well.
At least Blaze was with her. They sat opposite each other, rather awkwardly after their extremely unexpected encounter.
"So... Uh.... What else about you is...?" Halcyon began.
"Oh, nothing else, I can assure you that." Blaze said hurriedly, and they both plummeted back into silence, listening to the clunking of the train on rails.
Halcyon pulled out the frame toys she made earlier, still in a drawer where she hid them last time. Blaze's attention was attracted instantly as he pushed the mini bicycle around on the table.
Suddenly the bicycle fell over as they hit a bump. This was one heck of a bump though- it made both Blaze and Halcyon fall over and also knocked down the table and chairs.
"What the..." Halcyon rubbed her head, getting up. Then there was another bump, and she stumbled against the cupboard. Something's not right.
Blaze ran to the window, shoved it open, and poked his head out. He caught a glimpse of a dark shape moving away from the side and onto the roof, before Halcyon violently tugged him back in. There was a loud whoosh as they were thrown into darkness- they had entered a tunnel.
"You could have decapitated yourself." Halcyon said.
"Yeah... Thanks." Blaze rubbed his neck, glad it was still there. "I think I saw something move onto the roof."
Suddenly there was a loud crash, and the roof above them caved in, but didn't give way.
"Ya think?" Halcyon's horn glowed, and her armor popped out of its case and closed around her body. She nodded, the visor falling down and masking her face. With a bright flash, a white bow appeared in her hooves, along with a quiver full of arrows. They seemed to have a spell on them, and glinted in the dark.
Day light poured in as they exited the tunnel, and Blaze got into his own armor. His horn glowed, and he summoned his sword- a long metal blade that glowed orange with heat.
"Interesting weapon choice." Halcyon nodded.
"You too." Blaze said.
Whatever was on the roof pounded the metal again, denting it even further.
Blaze stabbed his sword into the roof and carved out a hole, but before he could finish the entire roof collapsed, a monster tumbling into the cabin, rocking the train.
The monster had some sort of armor on it, heavy naturally grown plates covering its body. Its front claws were huge, clearly used for digging. This thing looked like something that lived underground... Not on the surface.
Before Halcyon could do anything, the monster swiped a claw around at her. It was blunt, more like a hammer. She was hit full in the chest, and was sent flying back. She hit the far wall, then crashed through, tumbling onto the floor, surprised passengers yelping and scrambling out of the way. She got up, a little dizzy. There wasn't any real damage- thanks to her magical armor.
More debris flew as the monster clawed its way out of the first class cabin, roaring.
"Lead it to the roof! Get it away from the civilians!" Blaze yelled.
Halcyon flicked a canister out from its slot, the water spilling out into the air. Her horn glowed, and the water was instantly multiplied. Now there was at least a tub of water hovering before her in a huge ball.
It unfurled into a huge stream of high powered water, hitting the monster full in the chest. It went sprawling back into the first class cabin.
"No need." Halcyon said, the stream of water dividing in two, the first speeding into the first class cabin while the other turned into solid ice and began cutting through the metal connecting the two carriages.
Blaze gurgled as he was surrounded by water then dragged into the carriage Halcyon was in. The water disappeared into a thin stream, and refilled the canister, which retook its place on Halcyon's side. Blaze fell onto the floor, spluttering and coughing up water.
"What... Was that for?" he asked from the ground, totally soaked- although his armor still had its shine.
"I saved you." Halcyon said as there was a loud crack, and the first class carriage broke away from the back, the monster inside roaring its fury.
"I could've made that perfectly on my own." Blaze shivered, his horn glowing as a small flame appeared near him to warm him up and dry off the water.
Something crashed through a window, looked around, then snarled at them.
A diamond dog.
It charged at them, claws that could rip through solid rock ready to strike. Blaze moved in front of Halcyon, his sword already in his hooves.
The dog's claws clashed with the broader side of the sword, sparks flying. The momentum forced Blaze back, but Halcyon was already there.
She grabbed the dog's wrist, twisting it and thumping the dog to the ground and forcing it into an armlock.
More diamond dogs jumped through the windows, presumably after digging through the ground. Snarling and sharpening their claws, they charged.
"Lethal force is not authorized... Yet." Halcyon reminded Blaze.
"Copy." Blaze said, and jumped over the first dog. Rolling over his back, he landed behind it.
Blaze slammed his blade down, and it wove its way between the diamond dog and its jacket. The sword was stuck in the ground, and the diamond dog was effectively nailed there, yelping at the hot blade against its back.
Blaze ripped the leg off a nearby table, then stabbed it forward at the next dog's ankle. He tripped, falling face-first in front of Blaze, who kicked him across the floor.
By now Halcyon had already taken care of the first one, knocking him out with a strike to the back of the head. She quickly got up to assist Blaze.
"Anchor yourself mate." she said, flicking up a canister.
Blaze quickly ran back to where he nailed the first diamond dog, pulling the sword out from the ground and throwing the freed dog across the carriage. He stabbed the sword back into the ground again, tightening his hold on the handle.
Halcyon unleashed a tidal wave of water that washed all the diamond dogs out and into the other carriage. The passenger ponies were soaked and angry in their seats.
"Phew." Blaze released the hold of his sword.
"We better get off this train. It seems the dogs are after us." Halcyon noted.
Blaze looked at her. "Driver's compartment?"
Halcyon nodded. "We're not just going to jump off."
Right now it was like the date never happened. Right now, they were two elite royal guards. Buck them diamond dogs.
"Looks like we'll be fighting our way through." Blaze noted as his trained ear picked up the shattering of windows in other carriages. Located at the back, they'll have to go through the entire length of the train.
"Beat you to the end." Halcyon grinned.
"Bring it on." Blaze took up a starting position, his sword glowing behind him.
"Three..." Halcyon's grin grew even wider than before as she used magic to create a circle of water around her. "Two... One... GO!"
The two unicorns took off, leaving a trail of dust clouds behind them.
Blaze got to the door first, and kicked it open. As expected, there were diamond dogs right behind it. The one that was too close got hit full in the face by the door, and was knocked into a lamp, crushing the bulb.
The next received a hoof in the stomach, and Blaze swung the blade around. The blunt side clipped the dog on the temple, and he sprawled across the floor.
The other three diamond dogs leaped back, making some space between them and their opponent.
Blaze threw the sword at a small spot between the dogs. The sword flew straight past all of them, acting as a distraction. Shoving a pony off her chair, he ripped the seat away from the floor as he darted forward. He smashed the chair against the side of the first diamond dog's head, sending it flying into another. He then threw the chair at the remaining dogs.
One managed to leap over it, and bared its razor sharp teeth at Blaze, sharpening its claws.
Blaze stepped to the side, grabbed the dog's outstretched arm then directed his claw into the ground. It became stuck, and Blaze freed the dog by kicking him in the stomach. The dog went flying into a wall.
Blaze looked around. Where the buck is Halcyon? Then he heard the thumping on the roof.
"Clever bastard." he grinned, looking up. He yanked his sword out from the door, opening it at the same time. He was immediately tackled, and sent back into the earlier carriage.
He quickly got to his hooves, spotting the diamond dog not too far away. It lunged at him, teeth bared.
Blaze's horn glowed, and a huge fire appeared in front of him, but disappeared as soon as it was there. The flash flame caused air to be sucked towards it, enough to throw the dog off balance. Blaze caught the diamond dog by the shoulder, then swung him down and cracked his spine against his knee.
Halcyon leaped over the gap between the second and third-to-last carriage. There was another tunnel up ahead- she'll have to get back inside.
She grabbed hold of the edge of the roof, then swung down and crashed through a window. She slammed into a diamond dog as she entered, sending it out the other side.
"Oops." she said as the others snarled and surrounded her.
She tilted her head, a claw whizzing by her ear. She grabbed the arm, yanked it forward so the diamond dog got closer, then launched a kick into his knee. He yelled, but Halcyon didn't let go- yet. She swung him around into another, knocking them both down. This time she let go.
The circle of water that spun around her exploded outwards and took the remaining dogs off their feet. The blast traveled over the heads of startled and scared passengers.
Usually Halcyon would've had less fun fighting these bastards, but right now- they had no escape. Their best advantage of digging couldn't be used on a moving vehicle.
And then it occurred to her.
"Oh shuck-" she used her water and cut a clean path between her and the next carriage. "Blaze!" she yelled.
"Aha! Caught up." a diamond dog crashed through the door behind her, and Blaze walked in.
"That's the least of our worries. Diamond dogs don't exactly have an advantage on a vehicle- so..." Halcyon tried to explain her thoughts.
"They might try to stop the train?" Blaze raised an eyebrow.
Halcyon nodded. "We should probably go to the roof, and get ready to bail out if we need to."
The diamond dogs around them began scrambling to their feet, their claws raised in surrender.
"Get out." Blaze ordered, and they all jumped out.
"That was... A little too odd."
"I noticed."
There was a tap on the window, and both unicorns turned their heads. A diamond dog was outside, his right claw digging deep into the side of the train. He waved a remote detonator at them, grinning.
"Shu-" Blaze grabbed Halcyon's shoulder, and pulled her towards the opposite window. The diamond dog let go, and disappeared from view.
The entire right side of the train exploded, erupting into a gigantic fireball. Blaze leaped out of the left window, dragging Halcyon with him. He managed to use magic to decrease the size of the explosion- but the train was already derailing and tipping to one side.
The shockwave followed the heat, and blasted both Blaze and Halcyon on the back.
Blaze watched the ground slowly approach underneath them, at least five meters away. They were tumbling through the air, the world a slow blur of motion. He watched the ground get closer and closer every time he spun around to it, and eventually-
His back cracked against the hard soil, and he continued tumbling down the hill. There were noises- a lot of noises. Metal groaning, loud explosions, the ruffling of grass as he rolled down the hill- it made his head hurt.
He finally stopped, his back hitting a rock. The air left his lungs, and he stayed there, unable to make a sound.
The train had completely derailed, but still had its momentum. Blaze watched as the front of it hit the side of a tunnel entrance, crumbling in and compressing. Then it exploded too, blowing away the carriages behind it. One carriage was launched into the air after a lever-like effect, and flew spinning high over Blaze's head. It landed twenty meters behind him, exploding into a fireball.
Blaze gasped, air suddenly filling his lungs. His ears rung, and his vision was slightly blurry. He watched a large dark shape approach, his mind unclear and confused. His vision suddenly sharpened, and his instincts that were hammered into him during training kicked in.
He found some reserve power in his muscles, and with one sudden burst of energy he leaped to the side and out of the way.
The carriage that was rolling down the hill clipped the boulder he was leaning against only seconds before, and flew up into the air. It slammed back down with a deafening crash, and continued tumbling down the hill.
Blaze was breathing hard, glad he wasn't crushed. But that relief immediately faded as he took a look around him.
Bits of train carriages were everywhere, scattered about. There were whole carriages still burning, large chunks missing. Hell, the entire world seemed to be burning.
Blaze scrambled to his feet. A sinking feeling filled his heart as he found no sign of the white unicorn.
"Halcyon!" he called desperately, spinning about and looking around him, searching for the one date he actually liked, and hoped to spend more time with. "HALCYON!"
He suddenly stopped, the world seemingly going silent around him. Halcyon was lying in the grass, propped up against the side of a tipped carriage. Blood poured down her left side from where a long peice of metal support railing impaled her shoulder to the carriage. Her chest heaved with every strained breath, and blood trickled down her face from a wound on her forehead. Her eyes were half open, determined but weak.
"Halcyon!" Blaze rushed to her side.