//------------------------------// // 2. Protect The Flank // Story: Trials of a Royal Guard // by Anzel //------------------------------// Margull was beginning to look more like a military base with each passing day. The seaside capital's port was filled with ships bringing supplies, materials, and royal guards. There were also gryphon soldiers pouring in to be processed before heading south. Tents went on forever outside of the walls, as every available berth inside was already claimed. That is where rank had its privilege. As a member of the general’s staff, I had my own room in the same building as him. It was small, but it was mine. The peace and quiet was helpful to my profession, too. I’d been studying every topographic map possible and passing insights on to my gryphon counterpart. There was a knock at my door before it popped open and Colonel Hammer poked his head in. “Silent Knight.” “Yes, sir?” I resisted the instinct to stand up. Hammer had repeatedly instructed me not to bother. “Commander Tsunami has left Margull to tour some of the cities he’ll be responsible for. He’s taken most of his staff with him, too. Ironhoof wants somepony to go down to the receiving center and just verify things are progressing smoothly in the commander’s absence. You know the Guard better than anypony else on this staff, so get to it.” I set my maps down and stood. “Yes, sir. Snooping without bothering the guard leadership. I’m on it.” He chuckled. “We’re just validating that our flanks are protected. Trust but verify, Captain. Don’t linger, though. I expect you in my staff meeting this afternoon.” “Understood. I’ll be there.” He nodded and left. I grabbed my helmet and headed out. Our quarters were close to the palace and, given all the commotion in the streets, it would have been quite the hike to the port. Thankfully, I had wings. From above, the city was total chaos. Every street was packed to capacity. There were wagons everywhere moving materials and I’d never seen so many armed soldiers in one place, either. How a civilian could go about their business I’d never know. They seemed to be tolerating it well enough, however, given the circumstances. In fact, there was wide public support to march south. Yellow banners were affixed to the doors of private homes and the Nordanver standard was plastered everywhere. Evidently, the rivalries between the gryphon kingdoms ran deep. Even with all of the hustle and bustle, spotting the receiving center was easy. It was a series of large tents that seemed to be stitched together and stretched on forever. The canopy itself was white and every support pole flew both the Nordanver and Equestrian flags. Theirs over ours, of course. The other way around would have suggested something sinister. Everything seemed to be going fairly smoothly from above. Royal guards disembarked from their ships, got in line, and entered the tent on the south side. Processing was obviously occurring inside, and I assumed things were going smoothly because ponies were leaving out the north end fairly consistently. From there, they met up with others likely going to the same destination as themselves and then headed off in groups. At least, that was my guess how it was done and how I’d have run the process. I dove down and came to a landing near the start of the process. As I did so, every guard around me stood to attention, which was expected since I was an officer. There was more to it than the standard level of respect, though. They were all looking at me like I was some sort of curiosity. I guess Princess Luna’s House Guards are still fairly obvious. After all, my armor didn’t match theirs at all. No, they all knew who I was. “At ease,” I said casually before walking into the tent. “Guards from the west follow the blue line! East, you’re on the navy line! Central is the teal line! Crystal is the sapphire line! Everypony else, take the indigo! Why is this so hard to understand?” The voice was coming from a tiny blue unicorn mare. She was standing on a box and that still barely put her taller than me. At least it looked like she’d finally found a suit of armor that was sized for her. It was silver, bore the symbol of the palace, and had a senior warrant officer pin on it. What was interesting was that the traditional star heraldry had been replaced with a pink heart. That wasn’t regulation. At least it hadn’t been when I was there, but then again, very few things about this particular pony were normal. “Perhaps you should distinguish your lines better, Warrant Officer? They’re all blue to me,” I said with a smile. Azurite’s eyes narrowed as she turned to find the source of the voice. Then she smiled brightly and hopped down. “Silent Knight!” She trotted over and then looked around at all of the guards. “I mean, Captain Silent Knight! Hi! Sir.” “Hello Azurite. I’ll be honest, I’m surprised to see you here.” She set a hoof on her chest. “I’m hurt, sir! Everypony has to do her part. I volunteered to help run the receiving center. After all, I’m a paperwork guru! Bringing tens of thousands of guards to another kingdom, building units, and assigning them to cities needs my kind of skills.” That actually made a ton of sense. This was a huge effort and Azurite was, unquestionably, the best suited pony to do this much paperwork. I patted her on the shoulder. “You’re absolutely right. You’re the best at this. Forgive me. Now, who’s in charge?” “You are forgiven… this time! Lieutenant Brook is, sir.” “Oh yeah? A regular reunion in here, then,” I replied. Azurite grinned. “You have no idea! Just follow the blue line.” “Which blue line? They’re all blue.” The tiny mare squealed and shoved a hoof to the third line from the right. “That is clearly blue! Follow that one, sir.” “Yes, ma’am!” I replied before doing so. Following a line was a good way to get a feel for how things were going. Of course, knowing that Azurite and Brook were on this made me feel very confident it was being done correctly. As I wandered away, I heard Azurite shout behind me, “Guards from the west follow the blue line! East, you’re on the navy line! Central is the teal line! Crystal is the sapphire line! Everypony else take the indigo!” I also happened to catch sight of a familiar face standing guard at the arch between the first bay and the next. A sky blue earth pony wearing Princess Luna’s House Guard armor was hard to miss. When I approached him, I nodded. “Hey, Div.” He stiffened to attention and nodded in return. “Sir. Good to see you.” “At ease. You as well. I honestly didn’t expect anypony to volunteer. I was hoping you’d all stay and look after Princess Luna.” “Yes, sir, and I will. This is a temporary assignment. Security detail for Senior Warrant Azurite.” My ear twitched. “Pardon?” Div grinned. “Command considers her a very valuable and easily misplaced asset, so she has a security detail. Three ponies, actually. Clear Skies, Night Frost, and myself.” I tried to hide a smile and leaned in close. “Are they afraid she’s going to wander off and get lost?” Div held up a hoof and whispered, “Just a little bit. Plus, she gets so much done they want her back in one piece. So while she is here, we’re staying to protect her… and wrangle her as necessary. Captain Day made it clear to Clear Skies that if we lost Azurite, we’d better not come home.” “Good… truly and you better listen to Sunny. She probably means it. Well, unfortunately, I’m on a mission here but it was great to see you, Div. Tell Night Frost I said hi. Perhaps we can all meet up at some point.” “Yes, sir. Will do!” This was probably going to be a small war in the sense of knowing ponies. I patted Div on the helmet and moved on. The next bay was just as orderly. Guards stood on the blue line, waiting for their turn to see one of the ponies behind the makeshift desk that ran the length of this section of tent. Lieutenant Brook stood behind the ponies completing the paperwork, keeping an eye on everything. When he spotted me, he smiled and came around. “Well, hello, Silent Knight, it is good to see you,” he said, offering a hoof. I took it and we shook. “You, too, Stony. How are things going?” “Incredibly smoothly given what we’re trying to do. Of course, I also have an elite staff. You’ve seen my carnival barker, I presume?” I nodded. “Yes, who let her pick all blue lines?” Brook’s cheeks flushed red and he said sheepishly, “I didn’t think that one through and she was really happy about it. After that bay, things go smoother. She spends a little time yelling and then she goes back to processing paperwork. It’s kind of like her break.” “And the heart?” The red intensified. “That… That is a whole other story. We don’t have that kind of time today.” “Works for me,” I said with a chuckle. He shrugged and then added, “So, you’re not here for processing, obviously…” I shook my head. “No. To be frank, I’m spying on your operation for the EAC.” “I figured as much. How do we stack up, captain?” “Quality operation being ran by a solid officer and an incredibly competent if not slightly eccentric senior warrant officer. Nothing I’ve seen gives me anything other than confidence. Anything going wrong you need us to help smooth out?” “That is appreciated. Actually no, for the most part things have been going smoothly. We get them in, validate they’ve checked in, issue them region-specific gear, assign them to a unit, and give them their orders. From what I understand, they’re making it to their next station without any trouble.” “Great to hear. It is good to know our flanks are secured by unquestionably friendly troops. I guess you’ll be heading back when all of the paperwork is done?” Brook shook his head. “No, I’m an S class pony. Once this assignment is done I’m transferring to the Army.” My jaw went a bit slack. “Pardon?” The stallion snorted. “Come on, Silent Knight, just because I’ve been riding a desk a while doesn’t mean I forgot how to be a soldier. I’m sure my services will be of use and I can’t sit back at home comfortably knowing that this is going on. Surely you of all ponies understands that.” “No, I just… I’m a little surprised. No offense intended. I completely understand. Perhaps we’ll get to work together again.” He laughed. “Yeah… no.” He tapped the badge on my armor. “Ironhoof’s headquarters company? I’m most likely on my way to supply. Now, go ahead and continue spying. I need to get back to processing ponies.” He lightly nudged me and smiled, “But truly it is good to see you in your element.” My element? A war? I kept my expression light and nodded. “Will do. Thanks, Brook. See you around.” “You’ve got it, Silent Knight.” I went through the bay onto the next one, keeping my eye on everything that was happening. That needed to be my focus for now. Not that I should have been surprised that when ponies looked at me, they saw a warrior. That is all I’d ever been before. Those thoughts could wait, though. I had a job to do. The next bay was running smoothly, too. Before I could cross it completely, a hoof found my tail and tugged it. “Silent Knight? Oops, I mean, sir!” It was a familiar voice. I turned to face the guard that would dare pull a captain’s tail. She was an earth pony with a pink coat. Her mane and tail were two tones of violet and she wore the golden armor of a city guard. There was no city badge, though. Just a sergeant’s pin. I stared her down, not sure who she was. Who was this pony that knew me? Then it hit me. “Ruby?” She grinned. “Yes, sir. Sorry about the tail. I’m still getting back into the swing of things.” “Ruby Moon…” I suppressed a smile. “Out of retirement just for this, huh?” “Couldn’t sit at home and not do my part. Obviously, you couldn’t either. Plus, with you here, who knows how business would go.” “Fair enough. Well… mind the tail pulling. Welcome to Nordanver.” “Yes, sir!” she replied. I shook my head and moved on to the next bay, tucking my tail in a little closer. How about that? The mare that ran my favorite game shop had picked her sword back up. This wasn’t going to be like my father’s war. The crowns had seen to that. We’d have friends at our backs with only the enemy in front of us. Thank the alicorns for that. ☾ General Ironhoof had chosen the TMS Honor as his flagship despite her age. She was one of the few airships that Equestria had built specifically for the purpose of war. In her prime, she’d been fast, armored, and armed with numerous bolt throwers on the main and secondary decks. She also had a lot of meeting space to serve the general’s needs. When we weren’t in our headquarters in Margull, we were on the Honor. Today was one of those days. We were going to take a quick fly by the front lines so that Ironhoof could get a feel for it himself. It was a bit risky, but the serious fighting hadn’t started yet. The gryphon forces had been skirmishing with each other. It was all about feeling out your opponent and forecasting how things might go. It also put us on a timetable. I stood alone by one of the bolt throwers, admiring it. A single pony could operate it but two could do so exponentially faster. It produced far more thrust than any crossbow could. This was the sort of weapon that armor would stand almost no chance against. “Be sure you stay on this side of that thing.” The voice was rough and gravelly. All too familiar. “You better believe that is my goal, Chief. Do the gryphons have these?” “They do. Those and worse. How’re you doing, sir?” I turned to face Steel Wings. He looked like his usual surly self and I wasn’t exactly thrilled to speak to him. He had been a major motivator in my decision to push forwards with the plan to hunt down and remove Alastair as a threat. That isn’t to say I wouldn’t have done it on my own, but Steel had been a source of constant encouragement. That was in the past, though. I’d just have to work with the old stallion. Another gray old stallion from a war long past. I shrugged. “I’m doing as well as can be expected for our situation. I’m here to get the job done.” “Yes, sir. I wouldn’t doubt that. I just mean…” He looked around a bit and lowered his voice. “Morale wise. I imagine this isn’t the outcome you imagined. Perhaps you’d be a bit angry with me and the situation.” “It would have happened regardless. We just made it easier,” I said as plainly as I could but I’m certain he’d notice the twitch of irritation on my face. Steel Wings nodded. “I see. Well, listen. If you want to take a swing at me at some point, I’m fine with that. You’ve earned it. Otherwise, I’m with you. I just want to get through this and be done with it. The real, right way this time.” The right way? The last time he’d talked about doing something the right way he meant cutting throats. “Yeah?” “Yes, sir.” “What changed?” “Nothing, really. I’m getting old. Priorities change and being back here is giving me a bad feeling. Plus, I’ve been spending time with the general and he has a different outlook than the last commander I served with. Him and your grandfather. And, to be honest, I’ve got another nephew here and I don’t want him to be at risk because of my stupidity.” I blinked in surprise. “Risky had a sibling?” I’d never heard that. “Nah, a cousin. An older one actually that, despite knowing better, my sister actually named after me. Can you believe that? Naming a colt for me. I’m not that kind of pony.” I shrugged. I didn’t know what to say to that. “Where’s he at?” “Royal Guard, thankfully. I pulled strings and got him assigned to Margull. I figure if anything goes wrong, that will be the last place to fall and he can get out in time. Not that he would. Strong Wing is just too stubborn when it comes to his duty. Just like me… heh, maybe she named him right after all.” “Maybe so. Don’t worry about me, Chief. I’m not going to tell you I like you, but it won’t do either of us any good to hate you. Let’s just pretend like we’ve never met like we planned.” “Yes, sir. I can do that. Now, can I ask you a favor?” My ears shot up and I peered at him. “You need a favor?” “Yes, sir. There are a couple of civilian ponies down in the engine room tinkering around. I don’t know how to deal with civilian ponies. You can’t just tell them to do things. See if you can get them to get this thing in better shape faster. Let’s face it, you and I both know the Honor has been sitting on the shelf for far too long. This lady was barely brand new during the last war.” He had a point on that. The Honor looked great. It was a symbol of the Army’s power, so the exterior had been kept pristine, but she was a little rough on the inside. She should have been faster, more efficient, and sturdy. Jet Ventures had provided mechanics for the whole fleet at no expense but they did things differently than the Army. “Sure, Chief. I’ll go see what I can do. Why me, though?” “I know you’re good with ponies. Hammer doesn’t have the touch you do and I’m not ready to bring him down on them yet. What is it they say? You catch more ponies with sugarcubes than nets.” “What? Chief, nopony says that! Who said that?” He shrugged. “I don’t know. You know what I mean, though.” “I do but I’m slightly frightened now. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go dispense sugarcubes.” It was odd. Ponies that knew me well saw me as this big, frightening warrior. That was their image of me. On the other side of things, ponies that were more on the warrior side themselves saw me as somepony that could deal with others. It was strange. Not that I wholly minded. It just seemed like I was trying to straddle the line a bit and play both sides, assuming you even had to choose a side. My life had swayed far too much into the realm of the Royal Guard. Almost as much as it had for my father and his father. I didn’t want that. That made it all the more important for me to be the pony that went down and got the civilians into gear. I was certain I could motivate them without throwing around the rank and such. I’d just need to figure out how once I met them.