//------------------------------// // Another Royal Procession // Story: Paragon Force // by WildFire15 //------------------------------// One Month Later – Canterlot Shining Armour wasn’t a fan of ceremony. He was a soldier, he liked things to be simple and it seemed merely visiting his little sister was far more complicated than it should be. As Prince of the Crystal Empire, it seemed he couldn’t go anywhere without pomp and ceremony and a lot of ponies willing to line the streets to see him either walk or get driven past them. It was fine at first, he could understand the idea when he married Princess Cadance, but he was starting to tire of it after enduring this sort of thing so many times over the years. With his commitment to ensuring the Crystal Empire’s security as well as promote it however possible, he rarely got any time to spend with his little sister, the now Princess Twilight Sparkle after Princess Celestia crowned her once she ascended to become an Alicorn but it seemed most of his visits comprised mostly of waving and smiling at crowds. The career soldier within the strong white unicorn, with ocean blue mane and tail, rebelled as well, wanting rid of the crisp red uniform he wore and to get away from the precession so he could get on with what he was here for. As well as visiting his sister, he was also here to meet Princess Celestia’s recently appointed military advisor Emissary, who was also effectively taking over Shining’s former role as Captain of the Guard. Celestia had been aiming to improve the Canterlot Guard and the Equestrian Army since the Changeling attack so they didn’t need to entirely rely on the Griffins as they presently did. The Griffin Stewards had been insulted by the idea of not being good enough at first, but both they and Equestria still enjoyed good relations, even if the various Griffin bandit groups continued to cause problems for both countries. Shining was awoken from the trance he had fallen into while waving for the crowd by the trumpets playing to signal his arrival at the palace. A Guard of Honour stood to attention either side of the long red carpet that led up to the Palace where the regal Princess Celestia was stood, flanked by Princess Twilight Sparkle, a purple Alicorn with dark purple mane and tail with a lighter streak running through both and his ever adorkable little sister on her right and a pony he didn’t recognise on her left. He presumed this Earth pony was Emissary. He was slightly bigger then Twilight with a brown body and a jet black, slicked back mane. He wore an almost gleaming pearl white suit and trousers with gold details and buttons. His expression was slightly stern and difficult to read. Shining exited the carriage as the door was held open for him. He knew the soldier who opened the door, but his smile to his former comrade wasn’t returned. Shining knew the soldier was sticking to his duty so put it out of his mind. He was slightly disheartened he couldn’t enjoy time in the mess with his comrades anymore, especially after his satisfyingly messy unofficial stag party. He observed the soldiers as he walked up the carpet. He was proud of them, their efficiently and pride never in question but he knew their prowess wasn’t exactly perfect. With Equestria rarely engaging in outright war, they’d never really had chance to find out if their tactics and training was good enough. He had to admit, Emissary didn’t look like somepony who had been through a battle as he was absolutely pristine, but that could just mean he was very, very good. “Welcome back, Prince Shining Armour.” Celestia greeted, bowing slightly to him. “Thank you for having me, Princess Celestia.” Shining bowed in response before Twilight decided she couldn’t be bothered with ceremony and tackle hugged her brother. She very nearly knocked him off his hooves before he could return her affection, all the while Emissary watched with the same expression. Twilight let go of him after a moment, remembering herself. “Sorry.” She giggled before adding. “This is Emissary, by the way.” “A pleasure, your highness.” He replied, putting a hoof over his chest and bowing. “Nice to meet you.” Shining smiled before the four of them entered the palace. “How are you finding Canterlot? You’ve not been here long, right?” “Three weeks. It’s very-” Emissary started, pausing for a moment to find the right words. “different to what I’m familiar with, your highness.” “Oh yeah? What are you used to.” “I think the past is irrelevant, majesty. I’m more interested in the future and I believe the soldiers you trained will be more then capable of improving.” Shining wasn’t entirely sure how to take that remark, but he assumed it wasn’t meant entirely negatively. The four of them entered the palace, walking up the red carpet towards the stairs that was flanked by more soldiers stood to attention. “I have already outlined a training schedule” Emissary continued. “for a dedicated air force as well as more wide spread us of projectile weapons such as Crossbows and Ballistas. Your defensive training using spears and shields is effective, but you haven’t trained them to truly engage.” “We’re here to protect Equestria, not conquer anyone.” Shining felt like adding, seeing where Emissary was aiming with his own ‘improvements’. “I understand that entirely. I don’t register to the school of ‘a good defence is a good offense’, but understanding an attack makes it easier to repel one. I’ve also been reviewing your choice of lieutenants, with a view to possibly-” “No.” Shining cut Emissary off, which actually caught him slightly off guard. “If I may, highness, your appointed lieutenants are immature and don’t take their duties seriously.” “They’re the most dependable and loyal soldiers I’ve ever fought besides and with on a couple occasions and trust me, they take their duties seriously even if they don’t act it.” Almost as if on cue, Shining saw the very lieutenants they were talking about, stood perfectly still in ridiculous poses at the end of a line of soldiers. Kittyhawk, Epona VI and Aurora Gaze headed the Pegasus, Earth Pony and Unicorn corps respectively and Shining had known them for his entire military career. Kittyhawk had been one of his instructors, a gruff old mare with a dusty brown mane and dark green body, she’d long since lost one of her wings in action and was seemingly pretending to be a boat, lying on her belly with her legs stretched out and arced up slightly, her remaining wing upward like a sail. Epona was the latest in a long family line of top class soldiers and was physically unbeatable; he had a brown body and a pure white mane and tail. Shining had seen him knock down huge wooden doors as if they were nothing more than once, but right now he seemed to be impersonating Discord’s former statue form of a flamboyant singer. Finally was Aurora Gaze, an exceptionally powerful unicorn Shining had trained and worked with throughout his military career. She had a unique body colour that appeared to change colour from emerald green to purple depending on the light and the angle someone looked at her from, the same effect playing on her mane and tail but in reverse. She seemed to be pretending to be a dog, frozen while scratching her ear with her hind hoof. These three had been entirely responsible for Shining’s messy, unofficial stag party. He really wished he could remember more of it, though he suspected he’d find out more by simply walking into one of Canterlot’s bars, pubs or clubs and judging the looks he received. He glanced at Emissary, who didn’t look amused. “I’ll take your word for it for now, majesty.” Emissary commented dryly. As Shining looked back, he realised they’d quickly stood back to attention, their wide open eyes following him around as he stepped in front of him. “You guys couldn’t surprise me if you tried.” He smiled. “Now that’s a challenge.” Aurora remarked, before pouncing forwards and giving Shining a hug. “Welcome back, Plinth.” Epona smiled after Aurora let him go, offering a hoof bump. Shining bumped him, feeling like he was bumping a brick wall as he sighed at being called Plinth. One of Epona’s top soldiers had a serious lisp and when Shining had announced his proposal and someone pointed out he’d be a prince, the idea had echoed around the room until it got to this particular soldier and the name had stuck. “Missed me, did you?” “Of course.” Kittyhawk smiled, revealing a few missing teeth. “Stand up straight, lackey, there’s a Prince here.” Kit added to the guard next to her. He was a young Pegasus, about Twilight’s age, with a chestnut body and deep blue mane and tail. “So this is your poor, unfortunate assistant?” “He’s working for me, he’s the most fortunate thing there is.” Kit grinned evilly, glancing over at him. Flash opted to mirror the rest of his comrades and remain stood to attention. “Lackey?” Kit promoted. “Yes ma’am, I am the most fortunate thing Equestria has ever seen.” He replied after a moment with as little emotion as possible, but Shining could tell he was sighing internally. “He’s so precious.” She smiled, giving Flash a nudge while the other lieutenants chuckled. “Speaking of which, didn’t you say you had a student now, Twily?” He decided to ask his sister. “Sorry I’m late, sorry I’m late!” Came a sudden, panicked cry as another pony rushed over. The red carpet slipped as she ran onto it, causing her to trip and land face first at Shining’s hooves. Twilight, Shining and the lieutenants laughed as the light blue unicorn with icy blue mane and tail scrambled to her hooves and straightened her starry purple dress with a wide collar. He knew she was called Trixie Lulamoon and she’d once tried to kick Twilight out of and take over Ponyville while under the influence of an item called the Alicorn Amulet. Since Twilight’s ascension to becoming a Princess, she had started looking for potential students and for some reason, Trixie was her first. “I think that counts as the greatest entrance ever.” Aurora chuckled, Trixie opting to ignore her. “It’s defiantly up there with Flash Sentry here when he was pushed out of the door straight into Princess Twilight.” Epona added, Flash remaining unmoved but Shining could still tell he was embarrased. “Prince Shining Armour, it’s nice to meet you.” Trixie said after clearing her throat, acting as if nothing had happened. “Likewise.” He smiled in response. “How are you finding Twilight as a teacher?” Trixie glanced over at Twilight for a moment, likely weighing up her response. “She’s very good.” She offered, grinning awkwardly. “Acceptable.” Kittyhawk added. “Passable.” Epona followed. “Tolerable.” Aurora also added. “We’re going through all the ‘ables’ now?” Shining grinned. “It’s conceivable.” “Well, you can tell me all about it at the feast.” He smiled to Trixie. While the parade drove him mad, the idea of a massive feast for his arrival still appealed.