The Monster and the Crystal Prince

by Revenant Wings

Chapter II - Transfer

Douglas kept getting pelted with insults for a long time.

When the semester came to a close, Princess Celestia decided she’d had enough. She let the grades come in – this time a 4.00 GPA despite his difficulties – and discussed things with Princess Luna and sent off letters abroad. After a week of correspondence, she had made up her mind.

One day while sitting at home, Douglas was surprised to receive an invitation by Guard escort to the castle to meet with Princess Celestia and Luna. Douglas, wondering what was the matter, dressed himself in decent clothing and followed the Guard into Canterlot Castle and into the throne room where Celestia and Luna held court.

Douglas approached the throne and kneeled down before the Princesses. ‘Princess Celestia and Luna’, he said. ‘Honor and justice to the Sun and Moon that guide and protect Equestria.’

Princess Celestia merely smiled; it was the formal salute from a Royal Guard but Douglas said it rather prettily. Princess Luna bowed her head in return and smiled in thanks. ‘Stand up, Douglas,’ she said. ‘You are welcome in our court.’

Douglas stood up and faced the princesses. ‘Why have you called me in here?’ Douglas asked. ‘Have I done anything wrong?’

‘Not at all,’ Princess Celestia said. ‘Rather the contrary. Princess Luna tells me you’ve been excelling in your studies.’

‘As a matter of fact,’ Princess Luna added, ‘your grades are giving our University high acclaim and your work in the guard is admirable.’

‘But we have heard of your problems with the general populace, of them calling you names and defining you as a “monster” from legend,’ Princess Celestia continued. ‘Firstly, we would like to apologize for such and wish we ought to have stepped in sooner. But we would also like to present to you an opportunity, one that we think might serve you well.’

‘What is it, your highnesses?’ Douglas asked.

‘There is a place up north called the Crystal Empire,’ Princess Celestia replied. ‘It is run by a Prince D’Amore Temporus, who also manages their own branch of our University.’

‘Prince D’Amore Temporus? Now that’s a mouthful and much more elaborate than most of your names tend to be. But for what reasons have you to send me up there?’

‘There are more specialties available at the Crystal Empire branch,’ Princess Luna replied. ‘It is an old school with knowledgeable professors, and we wish to have someone up there who can help restore its credit.’

‘It’s failing?’

Princess Luna shook her head. ‘No. But your continued studies and high grades would allow an extra boost of our funding for it.’

‘I should also like to add in the mirror is being taken there,’ Princess Celestia spoke up. ‘If you so desire, you will be taken up there along with it. Your grades would be transferred, as would your position in the guard and place in the barracks. You would lose nothing.’

Douglas rubbed his chin in thought. ‘While I have no interest in the mirror, perhaps a place that does not call me names would serve as a good change of pace. Very well. So long as I am able to continue my work and studies up there, I would be willing to move to this Crystal Empire.’

Princess Celestia nodded. ‘I shall begin making the arrangements. You shall move in a month. A few boxes will be sent around for you to pack up your things and a copy of your transcripts shall be sent to the Crystal Empire’s University.’

And so the arrangements were made. Douglas said goodbye to his companions in the guard and, when the month was over, was put on a train and sent north to the Crystal Empire and towards his new life.

---

Douglas thought the Crystal Empire was among the most beautiful things he had ever seen.

He initially thought it drab and uninviting as the train went through snowfields. The journey went slow as the train had to constantly back up and charge into large drifts seemingly every few feet, and workers had to get out and dig out the train and plow before it could start again.

But soon the snowstorms subsided and turned into simple fields of white. Then the snow fields suddenly began to fade from white to a bright green and it seemed to Douglas that even the grass and the foliage was made from shimmering crystal. Everything seemed to glow and shine from the sun reflecting off it, from the houses to the giant, dark-blue crystal tower that loomed in the distance.

As they approached the town, the train slowed down. The houses were made of multi-colored stone that still shone though the effect was muted compared to the surrounding fields. The pavement was a deep purple-grey, and it seemed all roads led to the massive central tower with four thick, circular legs that extended into towering spires with crystal minarets, all shining a brilliant blue that nearly melded with the sky. Not far away was a large crystalline dome surrounded with flags and bearing the images of a sun, a moon, and a large heart made of crystal.

Even the ponies seemed to be made of crystal. Those who were particularly happy appeared to be cut as though from multi-colored rock though they flowed as flesh and bone. Others didn’t have the cut rock look, but were still brightly colored and occasionally sparkled in direct sunlight; Douglas was blinded looking at a particularly bright gold pony with an ice-blue mane that shone so brilliantly it dazzled him.

Eventually, the train came to a complete stop; they were on one edge of the giant dome that Douglas had seen as they came through the city. Douglas came out with his bronze armor and filtered into the streets with the other two guards. A porter came along and brought his bags over from the baggage car and a note from Princess Celestia.

Another guard approached. This one appeared to be of the same muted purple as the pavement, and was decorated in a suit of armor made from a fine blue metal. ‘Douglas,’ he said as the human approached. ‘You have been expected. Prince D’Amore Temporus wishes to meet with you in the crystal palace. Follow me.’

Douglas nodded and took his bags from the porter, along with the other two guards. He followed the guard to the base of one of the large legs at the bottom of the tower, seeing the ponies waving to him as he passed. They weren’t as afraid of him as the ponies in Canterlot were, perhaps having never heard the stories that came from their brethren down south.

Douglas entered the leg with the guard and onto a platform. The guard tapped a button and soon Douglas felt the entire floor begin to rise, nearly catching him off balance. The lift rose a good twenty feet before a set of doors appeared in front of them and opened, retreating into the walls. Douglas and the other guards followed the crystal guard out of the lift and into a large hall that appeared to be the first thing not made of crystal that Douglas had seen since entering.

The crystal guard turned to the other two royal guard. ‘You may return. Tell Princess Celestia that Douglas has arrived safely.’

The two white guards in bronze armor nodded and returned back into the lift. The doors closed and Douglas was left alone with the guard. The guard motioned for Douglas to continue following and he did, footsteps echoing in the grand hall in which he entered. A purple flag with a snowflake design surrounded in swirling patterns of ice blue hung over an archway that led into a large circular hall. The guard led Douglas up a staircase that ascended on either side of the room to a small balcony to a door made of wood; it seemed so plain compared to the rest of the place.

‘Prince D’Amore’s seat is through here,’ the guard said. ‘Be on your best behavior at all times. Address him as ‘Your Majesty’, listen carefully to whatever he says, and respond when appropriate.’

The guard knocked three times. He waited for a second as though listening for a response, but none came. Even so, the guard opened the door and motioned for Douglas to enter. Douglas shifted the position of his bags and walked into the room.

The throne room was much smaller than the one in Canterlot Castle; perhaps a mere thirty feet separated Douglas from the back end of the room where two chairs sat, both a brilliant blue crystal and covered with red cushions. Two doors stood, one on either side of the room that created a T-shape with the hall that Douglas had entered in. Both were closed.

‘Set your things down on the table by the door,’ came a light, refined male voice from one of the doors. ‘I shall be out shortly. And take off your armor.’

Douglas was startled, yet did as the voice asked. He placed his three bags that he carried with him on the stone table and unbuckled his chest plate, as well as his arm and leg guards, removed his boots and helmet, and arranged them neatly on the table next to his things, leaving him in a blue shirt with buttons and a collar and a pair of black pants. He pulled a pair of black boots out of his bags and put them on to replace the boots he had taken off before standing a few feet away from the chairs.

A few moments later, one of the doors opened. From the door came a rather bright pink male alicorn. His mane was in shades of purple, pink, and orange, while his wings ended in purple tips. A small orange goatee and something of a moustache accented his face, while his flank had a cutie mark of a crystal heart supported by an ornate gold design.

Douglas was dumbfounded. ‘…are you Prince D’Amore Temporus?’ he asked.

‘I am,’ the alicorn replied simply.

Douglas immediately regained himself and knelt down in front of the alicorn. ‘Your Majesty,’ he said, bowing his head.

Prince D’Amore Temporus nodded as he approached Douglas in the middle of the room. ‘Get up,’ he ordered, and the human did as he asked. ‘So you are Douglas, the transfer from Canterlot. Tell me, why did you accept the offer to come here?’

Douglas rose back to both feet. This alicorn was slightly taller than Princess Celestia was, likely by virtue of being a male rather than a female. ‘Your Majesty, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna asked me. I agreed and left because I was teased back in Canterlot and wished for a change of pace, in addition to lend my talents and mind to your service and to the betterment of the University up here.’

The alicorn nodded again and smiled gently. ‘You do not need to call me “Your Majesty” or use such elaborate language here,’ he said gently and in something of a melodic tone. ‘I wish to be on the same level as my subjects and not just seen as their ruler.’

Douglas nodded. ‘How do you wish for me to address you, then?’ he asked. ‘If you’ll pardon me, “Prince D’Amore Temporus” is quite a mouthful.’

‘I am perfectly fine with calling me “Tempo” or “Prince Tempo”,’ the alicorn responded. ‘Easier for you to say, while making things relatively informal for me, don’t you agree?’

Douglas nodded again.

‘You should note that your time up here will be quite different from your previous position down below’, Prince Tempo said. ‘The Crystal Empire has been hidden by magic for a thousand years, and as such few of whatever legends you’ve heard below have come here. We have our own set, our own history, and you will learn those in time at the University. Perhaps your time up here shall be more to your liking. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, Prince Tempo,’ Douglas said.

‘The Crystal Empire runs off of love. Therefore, it is in our benefit to make sure that we not only display that love to those who are among our closest companions, but to those who are outsiders among us. You will find that love can do strange, yet powerful things here and can be a driving force behind many of our actions. It is my hope that you will experience those same forces and work well in conjunction with our own Guard.’

‘Of course, Prince Tempo,’ Douglas said. But something about love doing “strange, yet powerful things” that somewhat unnerved him. It seemed like the Crystal Empire might almost run on a completely different set of rules from main Equestria. But he decided to go along with it and hope it wasn’t too different.

Prince Tempo sat down on one of the thrones. ‘I suppose I should give you a little information then, eh? As before, you shall have your guard duties in the day and have the evening for classes. Unlike back in Canterlot, the barracks are among the ponies and not here within the castle. The university is merely a block away from the barracks, within easy walking distance. Class selection for the next semester will take place in two months. So long as you maintain your status in the guard and your grades in school, your university days shall be paid for.’

Douglas bowed again. ‘Thank you very much, Prince Tempo. I promise you I shall keep my status and my grades high.’

‘I expect nothing less,’ Prince Tempo said. ‘For now, you are excused. Please wait in the hall for a guard to take you to the barracks. Take your bags, but leave the armor; a new one shall be created for you from their measurements.’

Douglas bowed a third time and quietly left the throne room and went onto the balcony. He descended the staircase and went back to the hall from whence he entered, sitting on a bench he saw as he waited for the guard to arrive.

He was not kept waiting long. A white unicorn mare with an electric blue mane and a shield with star for a cutie mark entered the great hall from the lift. Douglas rose from the bench and saluted her.

‘You are the guard?’ he asked.

‘Captain of the Guard, to be specific,’ the unicorn corrected him. ‘The name’s Gleaming Shield, and I’ve been assigned by Princess Celestia as the head of the guard up here. You’re Douglas?’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

‘Come on, then. We’ll be heading off to the barracks.’

They entered the lift and Gleaming Shield pressed a button to go down. It wasn’t long before the two were out in the streets again and walking down one of six large streets that cross the main city.

‘It should be warned that the Crystal Empire is not as much known for crime as it is for creatures prowling in from the snow,’ Gleaming Shield said. ‘Wolves are a primary issue for us as they like to come in and hide in alleys. Of course, protecting the prince is a priority, as well.’

‘Where have I been assigned?’

‘That’s up to Prince Tempo. He’ll be sending the order down likely by tonight, along with a set of armor for you. We’ll give you a day to settle in and meet with some of the other members of the barracks, but after that you’re on our schedule.’

‘Yes, ma’am. I am ready and able to serve.’

‘Good show. You seem the type to follow orders well. It’ll be nice having another guard up here.’

Douglas and Gleaming Shield soon arrived at the barracks, a series of rectangular grey buildings with a light blue tinge arranged in a U-shape. The main building at the back was four stories high, while the other two were half that height. Gleaming Shield led Douglas into the main building and pulled a piece of paper out from a small tray on the wall just inside the main glass doors. She examined the paper for a minute before setting it back and continuing onwards.

Douglas was led to the second floor and towards a small room. It had a single bed in a metal frame and a plain wooden writing desk with oil lamp. A small bookshelf stood off to the side of the desk, and a dresser stood at the far edge under a window that looked out over the Crystal Empire.

‘This is your room,’ Gleaming Shield said. ‘A schedule of important times is listed on the wall. Dinner will be served in an hour. Is there anything else you need?’

‘Where are the showers? It’s been a long trip.’

Gleaming Shield nodded. ‘End of the hall on either side. Soap and towels are provided.’

‘Thank you.’

‘It’s a little late for you to go to the cafeteria tonight, but a plate of food shall be brought up from the kitchens for dinner. You’ll join the others for breakfast in the morning. For now, you can do whatever you’d like tonight.’

‘Thank you, Captain. I will not let you down.’

‘That’s the spirit,’ Gleaming Shield said proudly. ‘Good night, Lieutenant.’ And she left him alone to unpack his things.

---

In the morning, Douglas got up and went early to the showers. He took a far stall and cleaned himself off with a rough soap and cleansed himself with a smoother one before dressing and heading down to the main cafeteria for breakfast.

Despite the early hour, the cafeteria on the main floor was already heavily populated with a line of ponies gathering breakfast. The hall was abuzz with laughter and excitement, forming into little groups around the tables and talking amongst themselves while they ate and drank. The whole atmosphere seemed to be one of socialization and relaxation, enjoying a few more moments at ease before they set off for work.

Douglas went and got himself a full plate of eggs, toast, fresh fruit, milk, and orange juice before going and finding a spot at a table in a corner, hiding himself and waiting to see what happened when the other ponies started to notice him. He thought it better that they make the first move, especially since he looked different, and wanted to make sure they knew he wasn’t a threat to them.

But mere seconds after Douglas sat down, the feeling dissipated. One had caught sight of him and went silent, and soon the entire room was looking at Douglas and not one of them was speaking anymore. For a long while the only sound that came was the clink of Douglas’ fork on the plate, and soon the other Guard began to murmur amongst themselves as Douglas ate.

‘What is this monster that walks on two legs?’ said a pale blue earth pony with hard blue eyes.

‘He looks like a minotaur,’ said one of his companions. ‘But he’s only got hair on his head and he hasn’t got any horns.’

‘I hear it’s called a “human”,’ said a third. ‘Princess Celestia’s apparently been searching for them using the mirror that was brought here.’

‘Cor! He looks ugly, doesn’t he?’ said the first. ‘Rather pale and skinny and hardly any meat on his bones, not to mention his paws look a bit weak.’

‘Let’s see how he does against a pack of timber wolves,’ said the third. ‘They’ll tear him to shreds.’

‘Or what about a snow golem like what entered last week?’ piped up a fourth. ‘Took three of us to subdue him; let’s see if he can do better.’

‘He actually looks like he belongs in a zoo,’ said the second. ‘Maybe that’s why they brought him here: put him on display in the botanical gardens.’

‘Ah, what does it matter anyway? Let’s just have the citizens deal with him. They’ll cause more pain than anything if he gets a taste of their hooves.’

‘I heard he came from down south. What made him come up here?’

‘Perhaps Celestia and Luna got tired of him prowling around and didn’t feel safe,’ the first one said.

‘Oh, sure. That’s why he was in the guard. To keep an eye on him.’

‘How long has it been since humans were last here? Hundreds of years or something?’

‘Yeah. Last one tried to bite the Princess. I heard his teeth were all pointy like that of a shark.’

‘Perhaps it’s best we leave him to the wolves,’ said the first. ‘Seems the best for all of us.’

Douglas, now finished eating, threw away his trash and put away his plates and utensils, and left the cafeteria before any more could be said, though he thought he heard them laughing as he left.

Douglas’ schedule the first week until Prince Tempo decided his position was not much. He spent a few hours under an older captain learning about laws and history that were different in the Crystal Empire before lunch, then headed to a unit led by Gleaming Shield for drills. He practiced with various weapons until dinner, did an hour of training, and was free to do whatever he wanted for the rest of the evening.

For the first day, he managed to find a few guards who weren’t scared of him, and though he wouldn’t say he made any friends, he at least got a few to understand who he was and that he was not a threat. He also stayed away from the earth pony and his companions who had teased him and felt much better that not all of them thought him strange or a monster.

According to Gleaming Shield, when asked, the pale blue earth pony was named Storm Shield. He’d been with the Guard for a few years and had been on patrol the whole time. He had generally good conduct and was in-line for a promotion.

‘Based on your conduct and record down in Canterlot,’ Gleaming Shield added, ‘you’re due for one sometime soon, too.’

Douglas felt better and thanked Gleaming Shield for her time.

But his hopes were dashed the next day. At lunch, Storm Shield came up to him and asked him where he came from.

‘I transferred here from Canterlot Castle,’ Douglas said. ‘I’ve been a member of the guard for about six months now.’

‘Six months?’ Storm Shield replied. ‘So you are a green. You know what they make greens do?’

Douglas had a feeling he knew where it was going and found himself quickly irritated by the pony. ‘Well, I’d been placed on regular duty patrolling the castle the whole time,’ he said.

‘First off, you have to treat us older guards with respect,’ Storm Shield said condescendingly. ‘Secondly, we get to decide what you do. It’s called “hazing”.’

‘I’m aware of what that is,’ Douglas said sarcastically.

‘Hey!’ Storm Shield barked. ‘Remember what I said about respect? You have to answer me with “yes, sir”.’

‘Um... no, I don’t,’ Douglas said. ‘I’m assigned to Gleaming Shield’s squadron right now, so as yet you’re not my commander.’

‘It ain’t about who’s commander or not. You’re new here. So, I expect to see my armor polished by the time I’m done with dinner, alright?’

Douglas tried to ignore him.

But when dinner rolled around, Douglas barely sat down when Storm Shield came back over.

‘Hey, green!’ he said. ‘You got my armor cleaned?’

‘I think you’re wearing it,’ Douglas said. Which was true; Storm Shield had on a faded purple set of armor. ‘So unless you’d like me to dunk your whole body into the armor polisher, I don’t think there’s much I can do.’

‘Well, then, why don’t you get the armor polisher and a rag and clean it off while I’m eating?’

‘Because I am eating before I do my mandatory training.’

Storm Shield bashed a hoof on the table so hard that the whole thing shook and some of Douglas’ meal fell over the sides of the plate onto the table. Douglas also noticed his iced tea and water he’d gotten for a drink were also all over Storm Shield’s armor. Unfortunately for him, Storm Shield noticed this, too.

‘Would you look at that?’ he grinned. ‘It appears that your drink has spilled on my armor. So, green why don’t you go and get the rag and clean it off?’

Douglas was in no mood and tried to ignore him, but that didn’t work. Storm Shield “tapped” Douglas, but the tap was as hard as a buck and he suddenly spit water and food everywhere. He was forced to get up to get a paper towel and clean himself off anyways. He sulked off, grumbling at Storm Shield and his companions laughing at him.

But as he was sulking off he ran into a pink wall and fell backwards, causing the laughter to continue for a while longer only to end in a dead stop. Douglas looked up and saw that Prince Tempo was standing in front of the napkins.

‘Looking for one of these?’ he asked. He held out a rag to Douglas in his light-blue magic.

At first, Douglas didn’t care if it was the prince. He just wanted to shout and rage and cry all at once. But before he could do any of those things, Prince Tempo had walked past him.

‘Let me take care of that,’ he said.

Douglas stood himself up and immediately started spitting out a whole range of ‘Oh, you don’t have to do it I could have just picked up a few towels and cleaned it myself please really it’s not a huge problem...’ But by the time he’d broken his astonishment and gotten back to the table the prince had already cleaned up the table.

Storm Shield watched quietly as Prince Tempo looked at the rag in his magic. He inspected it for a while, turning it around and examining the contents of the rag, before twisting it up like he was going to wring it out.

The towel launched out with a snap. Storm Shield wasn’t even hit, but the mess suddenly was all over him and he was drenched in gravy, iced tea, and water.

‘I advise you not to do that again,’ Prince Tempo said firmly. And before Storm Shield could offer a response, he walked out of the cafeteria.

Storm Shield could do nothing but growl at Douglas and leave him alone.

For a long while, Storm Shield didn’t do anything else. But as the week went on, Douglas noticed that more and more of the other ponies started to avoid him. Storm Shield must have had a lot of influence among the guard because every time another pony tried to talk to Douglas he’d glare at them and they wouldn’t even try. The only time he was able to talk with others at all was during the drills or studying in class.

But once they were sure that Douglas was alone, they approached him again. He found himself in a training center, and immediately found a guard – a smooth purple armament with a slip normally for a hoof as protection on the ground and armor, but easily adapted to his hand much like a shield – and began working on a punching and kicking a sandbag suspended from the ceiling. It wasn’t long before the group of stallions that had been jeering at him had entered the training center themselves, headed by Storm Shield. They found Douglas still working on the bag, causing it to barely move.

‘Oh, look. It’s the two-legged monster,’ cried Storm Shield. ‘Hey, what are you doing? Go back to the Everfree!’ His companions laughed at the remark.

Douglas tried to ignore him, but couldn’t when one of them nudged him with a hoof and caused him to stumble, causing the others to laugh again.

‘What do you want?’ Douglas asked.

‘Ah, it speaks Equish!’ Storm Shield remarked. He went up to Douglas. ‘What say me and you have a little sparring match? First to pin their opponent on the mat for five seconds without successfully fighting back wins.’

Douglas was slowly becoming infuriated and felt his pride was at stake. ‘Alright. Me and you.’

Douglas took off his shirt and the crystal stallion put on a set of hoofguards for himself. The two went onto a rectangular mat with a circle in the middle and stood across from each other on the outside of the circle. Douglas put his fists up and prepared himself.

‘Three… two… one… go!’

Douglas barely had time to respond. Storm Shield quickly hit his shoulder and knocked him over. The others groaned and laughed at Douglas, but he pulled himself back up. It wasn’t long before the stallion lashed out again and put a hoof on Douglas, who in his rage feebly smacked at the stallion’s hoof while trying to regain his breath.

Five seconds passed like one.

‘Alright, I’ll go easy on you,’ the stallion said. ‘How about best two out of three. Give you another chance, right?’

Douglas nodded and got himself back up. The two retook their positions.

‘Three… two… one… go!’

Once again, the stallion lashed out and hit Douglas in the shoulder. Douglas was rocked backwards with a feeling of pain and didn’t even get up. The stallion came over to him and put his hoof on Douglas’ chest and pushed down.

‘I knew you were weak, but I didn’t know it was that bad!’

That did it. Douglas was now red with rage. He grabbed onto the stallion’s hoof in a death grip so that when the stallion realized what was happening he couldn’t pull it away. Twisting as hard and as fast as he could, Douglas pulled the hoof out from under the guard. The stallion flipped over and landed on his side, the wind knocked out of him. His companions gasped as Douglas stood upright.

‘You think I’m weak?’ Douglas said darkly as the stallion started to pull himself to his feet. ‘Well, have you ever taken a piece of metal to the shoulder at three hundred meters per second? How about five of those? And how about taking them after receiving second-degree burns? When you’ve survived that, tell me that I’m weak.’

Douglas lashed out with his foot and slammed it against the side of the crystal stallion. The force sent the pony flying backwards and made him roll off the mat. His companions had to help him up, and he was looking almost with terror at Douglas, the smug smile gone from his face.

‘The stories weren’t kidding,’ Storm Shield said. ‘You are a monster. You aren’t normal if your scrawny little figure was able to hit that hard.’

‘I’d rather be a monster than one of you,’ Douglas said. ‘I’d like to know I’m not normal instead of appearing so.’

The stallion tried to launch himself at Douglas with a roar, but his companions held him back. Douglas put up his fists and prepared himself for an attack.

‘Stop it!’ came a booming voice. ‘All of you!’

The stallion stopped squirming and Douglas put his fists down. All of them whirled in the direction of the training center entrance and looked over at the source of the voice. Almost immediately all of them bowed down.

‘Prince Tempo!’

Prince D’Amore Temporus walked up to the group. He examined each of the stallions followed by Douglas with careful scrutiny for a few moments before speaking.

‘Storm Shield,’ Tempo called out.

‘…your majesty?’ he said meekly.

‘I don’t think the guard has trained you to fight with your fellow guard.’ Tempo’s voice was stern and reproachful. ‘I don’t care what he looks like; Douglas is your compatriot and you would do well to work with him.’

‘Yes, your majesty.’ Storm Shield lowered his head in shame.

Tempo then turned to Douglas. ‘Douglas,’ he called out.

‘…your majesty.’ Douglas remained with his head lowered.

‘Your skill in combat is excellent, but put that fighting to the field and not to your fellow guard members.’ Tempo’s voice was still reproachful but no so harsh as it was to Storm Shield. ‘And if you are having problems, consult one of the superiors about their behavior instead of dealing revenge yourself.’

‘Yes, your majesty.’

Prince Tempo sighed. ‘I was going to give you your assignment sheet today, Douglas, but it shall have to wait until tomorrow morning while I make some adjustments.’

Douglas nodded, refusing to lift his head.

‘Now, head back to the main building and go to your rooms. If this happens again, Storm Shield, I will make that a mark on your record.’

‘Yes, Prince Tempo,’ the stallions and Douglas said, then returned to the main hall.

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