A Penny for your thought

by Damaged

38 - Guarding

"I hate waiting." Stick didn't sound too impressed with all this. I had shared my thoughts on things with her. She had been a little tense ever since.

"I am going to go get some breakfast, want me to grab you anything?" I got my legs under me. Stick had promised she wouldn't leave here, but that didn't mean I couldn't go get us something to help keep the time from crawling.

She tilted her head up, watching me rise. A happy little shudder ran up my spine at how possessive she looked. "Can you find Cadance, see if she can find me a book with… with fighting spells." The look on Stick's face spoke volumes. "And something heavy for you to eat." I nodded to this and made for the door. The two big ponies there looked like they wanted to ask something too.

"Food?" I guessed at their motives and both seemed to relax a fraction, nodding. "Got it and, oh." I looked back to Stick and focused my magic. The changeling's eyes widened and her tongue snaked out licking her lips. She drank. I closed my eyes and let myself relax, working the magic and making sure my marefriend had all she could take of me.

"Enough, Penny. Go." Her words made me open my eyes and close down my magic. I felt a little wobbly on my hooves but otherwise I was fine. I opened the door to find two more guards outside now as well, and trotting past them headed first to find Cadance.

Court was now in session and as I neared I saw Silver leaving, talking closely with Night. Much as I wanted to talk with them, I was on a mission. I ducked into the court and arranged to be announced.

"Announcing Penny Farthing." I blinked, having just found my seat. I got back up and trotted quickly to the front of the room, facing Cadance.

"Welcome to my court again Penny, how are you and what do you bring before us today?" Her eyes had a different question in them.

"Everyone is fine." I spoke the words looking directly into her eyes. I could see some tension fade at the careful statement. "But Stick, my dear acquaintance, would like access to the royal library, she had some spell research she wished to do. I was wondering if I may be able to fetch a few things for her study?"

"Shared knowledge is always a good thing." Cadance nodded but I wondered if she realized what we were really asking for. "What could it be she is looking for? I may be able to assist her by directing you to particular volumes."

Damn it, Stick was better at this wordplay than I was. "She, uh, she wants spells to help keep precious things safe from damage and harm."

Cadance frowned a touch, she knew what I was asking for sure enough. "Very well, I am positive I know what you require and I know there are scant few volumes that will have that topic. You may borrow what you find, but please be careful to bring them back." A slip of paper and a quill floated up in her magic, scratches on the paper drying quickly, she folded it and floated it over to me. I didn't look at it, I surely didn't want anypony else here to see what it said.

"Of course, the greatest care will be taken and I am sure this will benefit all." I tucked the paper away and bowed to her. I wished I could give her another hug, I think we both needed one. But it wasn't done in court. Damn formalities.

"If that is all, I wish you the best of luck, Penny."

"And I you, Princess Cadance, and your Empire."

Excused, I trotted from the court, hearing the next pony being called up. "Penny." It was Sharp, the guard. "Need a hoof with anything?"

"I need to visit the royal library, I have a note and need to find some books there. Then I need to get some breakfast for Stick and myself." I thought I was missing something and it came back to me. "And two guards who are…"

"Guarding somepony important. Very well." He led the way. It was a fair few twisting halls before we found the nondescript doors of the special library and when Sharp opened them there was an old-looking unicorn inside. The mare not only wore her age well but her eyes were sharp and narrowing at our arrival. "This is Penny Farthing, Princess Cadance has vouched for her to your care, she has a letter."

I nodded and lifted the note free, sending it over to the unicorn who caught it and read the missive. "Very well, I would not normally let anypony have access to these volumes, let alone release them. Guard, you are to keep these books in your sight at all times." Sharp straightened, apparently he was going to be coming with us back to Shining's room.

Behind the desk, on a shelf that looked quite innocuous, two tomes floated up and over to us. The first was 'Less Civilized Spells for Unharmonious Times'. There was not a spot of dust on them, but it was obvious they were not oft opened. The second, when the mare shifted the first to the side, was simply titled, 'Spells for War'. Both had locked covers.

"These are the keys for them, and these are the dummy keys." The librarian held out two sets of keys. "If anypony steals these books, make sure they are locked. If they demand keys, give them the dummy ones." The level of restriction on these books seemed astounding. I nodded to her, tucking the proper keys in my right-side bag, the wrong ones in my left. She hefted the volumes over to me one at a time and I ensured they were packed safely before I gave a sigh.

"I really wish I never had a need to ask for these, I promise you that we would not ask for them for trivial ends."

The librarian scoffed. "The Princess would not release them unless she had good reason. Go, but bring them back when you are done."

"Of course." We took our leave then, Sharp looking a lot more alert now. "On duty now, I take it?"

He nodded. "There is a difference between escorting a friend around the castle and being ordered to escort a pony carrying… those books."

"Then let's run the rest of my errands quickly and return."

It was always an easy task, to find your way to the kitchen part of the castle. It seemed to be more central than any official rooms that guests would see. Four meals were packed, carefully. They had neat little wooden boxes that stacked. At my surprise at the neatness of it Sharp explained. "Sometimes a pony is out on the parapets, or on the other side of the city. Meals need to be able to travel."

With the four stacked, I pulled a cloth up around them and struggled with my magic to lift the lot.

"Allow me." Sharp grasped the knot on the end of the cloth in his mouth and hefted them up.

"Alright, lets head up."

Sharp led the way, it wasn't far to the royal apartments. The guards at the door saluted Sharp and allowed us inside, the two guards inside scrutinized me and looked to Stick, getting a nod from her.

Breakfast was served to them, to their delight and I settled down beside Stick at the center of the big room in which Shining was abed. "Cadance is letting you borrow two books. Stick, be careful with them. Sharp must stay with them at all times."

Stick looked to the guard and nodded gravely, but I could almost feel her desire to read and study these tomes. "Of course I will be careful, the whole point of this is I don't want to see anypony get hurt, not my marefriend, not princes or princesses. Leave them aside for now, though, it is past time you had breakfast, I hope you brought extra."

She inspected the boxes and lifted out the first plate, stacked with leftover mash from the previous night's meal and some oat-cakes. One of the cakes lifted up in green magic and floated toward my mouth. I obediently took the cake and bit off some to chew on.

The door opened and one of the doctors came in. I recognized their cutie mark and coat from earlier and was focused instead on eating the next bite of breakfast.

It never came. "Hold." One of the guards had stepped in front of the doctor.

Stick stood up, looking confused as they approached. "I can't feel any love in you. The other doctors all had things they loved, even you did earlier."

Her words made the guards tense up further and there was suddenly a very business-looking pike aimed directly at the doctor. "What… what do you mean? I came to check on the patient…"

"It isn't him, the doctor earlier felt kinship and love for Shining, he has none."

The moment she said it a wave of darkness seemed to flow around the figure and it tried to rush into the room, toward the recovering prince.

Both guard thrust with their weapons a moment late as the smoke-wrapped form evaded them and raced for the bed. They saw Stick as a small pony in the way, but as green flame wrapped my friend she became anything but a small pony. Spikes and teeth were the most prominent addition, Stick putting herself between the shadow and Shining.

The assassin quickly realized that Stick was a real problem and made to pounce on her. A dagger seemed to coalesce from the shadows as she and my marefriend met. It was a nasty fight. Claws were bared on both fronts but every time that knife flashed I saw it batter uselessly on Stick's chitinous shell.

The changeling's own attacks seemed to catch smokey darkness most of the time, but it was a loud chitter from Stick that accompanied her first solid hit as her hoof-claws grabbed something solid and she shifted her weight to lean in on the shadow-creature.

At almost the same moment two things happened. The dagger swung up in a clawed fist, coming right for Stick's face, but moments before it did a pike came down, just beside where Stick had hold of the form within the smoke.

It screamed and thrashed, losing its weapon and writhing around the spear-like tip. Stick drew back, kicking the knife to the side as she seemed to breathe deeply, puffing. I abandoned breakfast, time catching up with me as I moved to her side and a little behind but not, as I would normally do, right against her. I channeled, feeding Stick even as I felt the little bit of the meal I had eaten seem to fade from inside me.

The guards both were alert, one keeping his weapon planted in the shadow creature while the other had moved to block the door completely. Sharp had moved to the door too, his own weapon at the ready now.

Nopony spoke, not a word, until the thing stopped writhing. "I see now why the Princess sent you."

The words from the guard seemed to make Stick puff up a little more. I was the first to reply. "She didn't send us, we came here so she wouldn't have to worry. Damn it all now you are going to have to report this and she will."

The rough word startled all present and Stick gave me a dirty look. "You are right, but let it be one of the outer guard to tell her. I don't want to be here without backup, in case more come."

This got a nod from the guard who pulled his weapon free of the creature. Stick, however, didn't lose her form yet. If it wasn't for being almost completely drained I wouldn't have been able to go back to my food. Stick stood in the middle of the room and I could sense her touch within me. I realized then what she had done. "You tasted him, didn't you?"

She nodded. "Princess Cadance told me I was never to do so to a pony without their permission, unless the fate of the Empire depended on it. It does."

I hated that she would have to use something so special as a weapon, but she was right.

My belly grumbling pulled me back to the present and I couldn't stop from piling in on the carb-rich breakfast. I didn't taste a bit of it, though I was sure it would be delicious.

Author's Note:

Wow, these shadows seem persistent.

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Comments

[Daremo]

more guard outside - more guards outside

a cloth was pulled up around the - passive voice here

shifted weight - shifted her weight

Princess Cadance told me I was never to do so to a pony without their permission, unless the fate of the Empire depended on it. It does.

That was also not a pony. So no harm no foul.

*****

Stick is best guard ever!

[Gargon94]

Wow, those shadow creatures are everywhere. They are like my changeling hive members in their shadow froms for traveling unseen from shadow to shadow.

[No one is home]

Stick kicking ass and taking names . I was gonna poke for spoilers, but with Stick on guard, I think I'd better not risk it.

[Dravkwn]

I'm so glad Penny has a Big Stick to smack down the enemies with.

[Damaged]

6907304 Well, to be fair, she is having the slightest taste of anypony entering the room.

And yes, it seems that there are more than a few uninvited diplomats in the castle.

[harts fire]

ok that just happened.
good job Stick and everypony involved.

[Damaged]

6907904 It's almost like there is a species gifted in subterfuge and deceit poised to attack, or some such

[tsaukpaetra]

Haha, can't fool a changeling! It seems the shadows remain blissfully unaware they exist, which could be very useful indeed.
Now more than ever Penny and Silver need to sync up, they could communicate and hopefully gain the assistance of our favorite shape-shifters to turn this silent war around...
Keep going! ;)

[harts fire]

6908107 I am finding this story intriguing I like the mystery going on in the back ground and the fact that you and DS are working bout story's to gather is amassing and vary well don.

[Boulder]

6908107 I believe they're called lawyers.

[Vutava]

"I hate waiting." Stick didn't sound too impressed with all this.

You, me, and Inigo Montoya.

It screamed and thrashed, losing it's weapon and writhing around the spear-like tip.

its

[Cursed Quill]

'Less civilized spells for unharmonious times'

Less Civilized Spells for Unharmonious Times

'spells for war'

Spells for War

lest she had good reason.

unless she had

Then lets run the rest

let's

[Guner]

Wow, these shadows seem persistent.

s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/43/ae/be/43aebeab92bb75b2c2b2cde527d800c9.gif
HAHAhaha