//------------------------------// // (9) The Head of Guards // Story: Mob of The Dead: Aftermath // by Juggernaut //------------------------------// Weasel followed Celestia. They had reached the bottom of the stairs. "So, are there any other ponies around?" Weasel asked, looking around the large marble hall that connected to Luna's chamber's stairs. "The head of guard will be here very soon, and to answer you Weasel, there are no guards in this part of the castle as of right now, I had called them all to the eastern part of the castle, they won't be back until later today." Celestia answered, smiling. Orion came down from the steps, sprinting. "I'm here!" Orion announced, panting. He whipped the sweat off of his forehead. Weasel turned around to him. "Hey Al, I'mma stay see how badly the head of guards pisses himself." He laughed to himself. "Settle down, I don't want to have to act like an annoyed parent." Celestia said, staring down at the two. "I'm sorry princess." Orion mumbled, looking down at the floor in shame. Weasel didn't apologize though, he just looked back to her, grinning. He, and she both knew that Weasel was not a citizen of Equestria, and therefor could not be ordered around by the princesses. Which didn't anger Celestia, it gave them an excuse to not just be Princess and civilian. They could be friends. They could be equal. "It's fine Orion, you don't need to be so formal. You're my sisters personal guard, we need to get on a somewhat friend basis." Celestia said, smiling down to Orion. Orion smiled back to her. "Thank you princess." He said. The three sat in the marble palace looking room for about another minute before Orion spoke up. "So are you SURE that you don't have any prison tats?" He asked, disappointed. "I am absolutely sure." Weasel stated, staring at Orion. Orion had a disappointed look on his face. He, for some reason, really wanted Weasel to have some 'sick prison tats' (as Orion put it.) There was a distant patter on the marble floor. The head of guards was approaching. It slowly got louder and louder. It kept growing until a large white pony in golden armor turned the corner. "Hello Princess Celestia, why did you want me to see you here?" He asked, not noticing Weasel standing about a few feet away from her. "Him," Was all Celestia said, lifting a hoof and pointing to Weasel. Al could see the guards eyes trail from Celestia slowly to Weasel. The guard stopped moving forward, he was only about six feet in front of Albert. Orion sat beside Weasel, wanting to see the world's toughest looking pony freak out. The guard backed up a step or two. "Princess, what... what is that?" The guard asked, pointing at Weasel. "This is Albert Arlington." Celestia stated. "A human." "You've gotta be kidding me, a human? Seriously? Like the ones that are in all of the foal stories?" The guard said, not scared, not horrified, but shocked. Each question that the guard asked, Celestia simply nodded. The guard slowly made his way to Weasel, and gave him a big poke in the stomach. Harder than Weasel would've liked, too. "Ow... That hurt," Weasel whined sarcastically. "Holy Discord, it can talk!" The guard announced, surprised. "HE! I'm a he, not an it." Weasel stated. The guard nodded. "So how did it- er... he get here?" The guard corrected himself. Weasel was about to tell him, but Celestia butt in. "Luna messed up a teleportation spell and brought him here from his own planet." Celestia said, looking to the guard, and back to Weasel rapidly. "Is he going to be staying for long?" The guard asked, obviously still shocked at the sudden sight of what they perceived as an alien. "The spell was a... one way trip." Celestia explained. "He'll be here for a long... Long time." "So why'd I have to see him?" The guard asked. Looking at Weasel, and putting emphasis on 'him'. "To test your reaction." Celestia answered. Orion was still sitting next to Weasel. Weasel looked at Orion, Orion was a black pony with bat wings. His eyes were a silvery grey, and his hair was also black. His tail was also... you guessed it: black. Weasel looked back at the guard. So far no one has reacted to him badly. Orion was just confused and curious, and the head of guards was in shock, and doubting everything he's ever known. "Sorry to ask, Princess, but why?" The head of guards asked, looking at Weasel, then back to her. Albert could feel the tension in the air. "We're going to reveal him to the public eventually. We can't just keep him a secret for the rest of his life." Celestia explained. "So you... you were testing to see how ponies will react to him?" The guard asked. Weasel had just noticed that they had never spoken of his name. "Yes, since you didn't react that badly, he'll probably become public in the next few days or so." Celestia answered. "Just keep this a secret until then, yes?" "Yes, Princess Celestia." He said, bowing. Weasel had never seen anything like it, total monarchy. Like... Like a fairy tale. After a few more minutes of awkward babbling, the guard left, had to go back to his office so his men didn't goof off. He was very polite about it too, said "Sorry Princess Celestia." about seven times when he said he had to go. She understood, she seems like a nice enough leader. "Well that was pretty disappointing." Orion said, looking up at Weasel. "What? Why?" Weasel asked, looking back at Orion. "Well FIRST you don't have any sick prison tats, and then the head of guards DIDN'T piss himself at the sight of you!" He exclaimed, with a sad look on his face. "You're pretty stuck on the 'sick prison tats' thing aren't ya'?" Weasel asked. "Also how are YOU Luna's chamber's guard? You have the mindset of an eight year old." Orion looked up at him. "I know you are but what am I?" He said in a mocking tone. "Really?" Weasel asked, dryly. Looking down at Orion with a face of utter judgement. "Yes." Orion said simply, and then noticed the Princess staring at the two smiling. "Oh! Um, sorry Princess." Orion said, with his head hung. Weasel could barely manage to not smirk. "So, Celestia, No one has reacted quite badly to me, yet." Weasel stated, with a sense of accomplishment. "Well, the two ponies, besides my sister and I, that have seen you are class A guards that are trained not to be afraid." Celestia said. "We still don't know what the public will act like." "Wait, wait... Orion is a class A guard?" Weasel asked, surprised. Orion looked at him, and stuck his tongue out. Celestia didn't see it though. "Yes, he is, actually one of Luna's best guards." Celestia said, unknowing of the childish Pony sitting beside her. "Woah, that's surprising... to say the least." Weasel said, staring at Orion, who still had his tongue out in a childish, mocking manner. "You said something about how the public will react differently than the guards?" Weasel asked, looking up to Celestia. "Yes, we do have a group of ponies who are more... untrained to fear." Celestia mentioned. "If THEY react in a good way, THEN we can show you off to the public." "I'm guessing they're coming right now?" Weasel guessed. "No, we're going to them." Celestia corrected. "Get ready to leave in about 20 minutes or so. We're gonna go to Ponyville." Celestia turned around and started for the door. "Wait! Where am I to stay for the next 20 minutes?" Weasel asked/yelled. "Go back to Princess Luna's chamber. I'll come for you!" Celestia only had to raise her voice a bit. Then, she left. Weasel sighed, more waiting around. He hated waiting. He turned around and headed to the steps. Orion followed him up the stairs. "Don't you have any guard duties?" Weasel asked Orion, turning his head. "Nope, I'm Princess Luna's Chamber Guard. I only have to guard her when she's sleeping. She won't be back for another few days or so, so I got a lot of free time." Orion said, smiling. It was like a vacation to him. "Do you know how tiring it is to stand in the same spot for EIGHT HOURS?" Orion asked. "Orion," Weasel said. "I sat in a prison cell for months, only to get attacked by the undead when I finally get out." "Oh, yeah, forgot about that." Orion trailed off at the end.He seemed to pity Weasel, sympathize him. "Welp, now I'm here, In my world's equivalent to a paradise." Weasel smiled, laughed a bit. "And I've spent most of my time so far, waiting for stuff to happen." "That DOES suck." Orion nodded. They were at the top of the stairs, Weasel opened the door quietly, and Orion and him slipped in. They were alone in the large room. "So..." Orion said, looking around. "What do we do now?"