A Pony Displaced: Homeward

by NoLongerSober

Chapter 16 - Payments and Protégés (Part 2)

As Magic Barrier trotted down the vast and opulent halls of Canterlot Castle towards the throne room, he could pick up the faint voices of his former cadets chatting amongst themselves.

“Anypony want to guess what I intend to get with my back pay?” the distinctly Gallopfreyan accented voice of Iron Forge echoed throughout the hall.

“Let me guess. Smithing tools and Kre-O sets?” Verdant retorted. After a brief pause, Forge responded.

“How did you know?” The question seemed to draw a brief chuckle from the green stallion.

“Because I’m your friend, Forge. You think I wouldn’t notice that every time we head out to the mall, your eyes always seem to drift towards those toy bricks?” Verdant answered wryly as Barrier turned a corner in the hall, seeing that his cohorts were all sitting on a pair bench before two day guards. Verdant then smirked at Forge from across the hall, “Well, except for when they’re glued to Snow Sweeper.”

“I-umm…” Forge stammered, trying his hardest not to blush. “I… I don’t know what you mean, Verdant,” he said while trying to keep a stiff upper lip and failing.

Hat Trick, who was sitting beside Forge, gave him a gentle pat on the back. “C’mon, Forge. It’s pretty clear that you like him a lot more than a friend you like to play hockey with.”

“I believe that perhaps you should attempt to court him, Forge,” Swift called from the opposite bench. “Some romance in your life might do you some good.”

“I don’t know…” Forge looked down towards the floor. “I’m not certain if he’s interested in stallions.”

“Well, I wish you the best of luck with him, Forge,” Verdant spoke up, drawing Forge’s eyes away from the floor tiles.

“And seeing the two of you in those sort of situations would be more fun for me than just watching you two muscular and sweaty stallions constantly slamming into each other during your games,” Winter said with a chuckle.

“You pervert.” Hat Trick looked at his fiance flatly from the other side of Iron Forge.

“Like you’re one to talk, Hat Trick,” Barrier called out, drawing the eyes of the gathered group. “Remember when you and Gem pushed all the other cadets in their cots out of the barracks so the two of you could have—” he stopped talking as he noticed that the young Wind Whistler was looking at him. “... Adult fun.”

The small filly gave Barrier a flat look. “Uncle, I had five siblings and you haven’t been using sound shields with the professor. What makes you think I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

Her question drew chuckle from all the former cadets, save for Swiftsword, and Fleetfeather, who had slapped a hoof against her own forehead.

Before Barrier could try and retort to what she had said, the throne room doors started to open. From the gap, a bespectacled, light gray mare holding a clipboard stepped out and glanced at the gathered ponies.

“Mrs. Fleetfeather, Mr. Hat Trick, Mr. Iron Forge, Mr. Magic Barrier, Viscountess Swiftsword, Mr. Verdant Range and Ms. Winter Gem?”

“Present,” the gathered ponies said in near unison as they rose from their benches to stand beside Barrier.

With a quick nod, the unicorn checked something on her clipboard. “Excellent. Princess Celestia will see you all now.” She then turned back towards the door and with a quick glow of a pale pink light, the doors to the throne room opened up to them.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Barrier nodded towards her before looking at the rest of his group. “Alright, you all know what to do here.” All of them, even Wind Whistler, nodded in response. “Good. Now let’s move out, ponies.”

Marching forward, the band entered the grand throne room. The princess rose from her dais at the sight of the approaching eight. Her tall figure drew an audible gulp from young Wind Whistler as the large and elegant being started to come down the steps towards them. Fleetfeather stretched out her wing and gave her child a gentle and calming pat on the back before folding it back to her side. The group then descended into a unified bow as the princess came to a stop before them.

“Welcome, my little ponies.” Celestia’s warm smile and cheerful voice helped to put them at ease. “I thank you all for coming here today.”

“We have sworn to serve and are at thy beck and call, princess!” Fleetfeather and the younger ponies quickly responded, reminding Barrier that despite the progress they had made with the acclimation to modern times, they still had a fair ways to go.

“I thank you. Now, I don’t want to keep you any longer than necessary, so let us begin.” Princess Celestia then took a brief step back and cleared her throat before speaking again.

“The seven of you brave guards all fought long and hard for not only Equestria, but also the Crystal Empire. The bravery of you, those soldiers who are still recovering, Captain Shining Armor, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and those soldiers who valiantly gave their lives for the empire all played an instrumental part in protecting the citizens of our two nations. Rest assured, all of those responsible will be rewarded for their efforts. Today, you will all receive what is owed to you.”

Her horn glowed in a golden radiance as she levitated an ornate box over towards her. Opening the box, she revealed seven silver and gold medals that showed the Equestrian coat of arms, along with three violet medals that were shaped like hearts. “As I call your names, you may step forward and receive the medals you have rightfully earned. Magic Barrier of the Sparkle family.”

Barrier gave a quick nod before he stepped forward. “Nice to hear that your throat’s doing a lot better than the last time I saw you,” he whispered.

“And your horn is looking a lot better than before.” She leaned her neck down and whispered back before she rose back up and spoke aloud again. “For your service in defense of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, I present you with the Equestrian Medal of Valor.” One of the medals was lifted from the box in the golden glow of her magic and was placed around Barrier’s neck. “And for the injuries sustained during your brave service, I present you the Lavender Heart medal.” She then placed the second medal around Barrier’s neck. “And lastly, for your service, I give you my personal thanks.”

Barrier raised his right foreleg in salute. “Thank you, Your Highness. It was an honor serving you. If I hadn’t gone back there—” He glanced back toward where his cohorts stood stoically. “I never would have found those I deeply care about again.” He then lowered his foreleg before taking a step back.

With a brief nod, Celestia then moved on to the next pony. “Fleetfeather of the Flash family…”

The blue and pink pegasus moved before the princess.

“For your service in the defense of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, I present you with the Equestrian Medal of Valor.” Celestia brought the first medal forward and placed it around the one-eyed mare’s neck. “And for the injuries sustained during your brave service, I present you the Lavender Heart medal.” The second followed suit as she placed the second medal around Fleet’s neck. “And lastly, for your service, I give you my personal thanks.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia. It was an honor to serve.” Fleetfeather threw out a quick salute before stepping back.

The remaining medals were passed out in much the same way, with the only differences being the names called out. She called out for Hat Trick of the Cards family, Iron Forge of the Fires family, Swiftsword of the Falchion family, Verdant Range of the Greens family and Winter Gem of the Apple family.

“Now,” the princess called out once more, “with the issue of the medals taken care of, there remains the issue of your long owed wages. Privates.” Her eyes drifted to the young five ponies.

“For your service at the rank you were given, each of you shall receive a cheque for six million, nine-hundred three thousand and forty-two bits.” Celestia’s assistant came up to each of the young ponies before she started levitating over to each of them a slip of paper.

“As for you, Sergeant Fleetfeather.” The alabaster mare’s gaze moved to the one-eyed mare. “For your services, you will receive a check for eleven-million, four-hundred fifty-eight thousand, seven-hundred thirty-five bits.” The assistant brought up one final slip of paper, which Fleetfeather quickly stowed in her saddlebags.

“Thank you, Princess Celestia.” Fleetfeather and the privates saluted.

“No, thank you for your efforts. I believe this takes care of what business we had today. Now...” Celestia turned back and ascended the steps to her dais, “I wish you all a very nice day. Farewell, and I hope to see you all have a good time at this year’s gala.”

One by one each cadet began to turn and leave the hall as the princess seated herself upon her throne. On his way out, Barrier turned his head to glance at the princess briefly for only a moment to be met with her smile, his attention held until Wind Whistler’s words broke the silence.

“I can’t believe we all have so much money now! We’ve never had so much before!” she exclaimed excitedly.

“True,” Barrier said “But don’t forget that this isn’t nearly as much as it was in our era.”

“Even so, I can’t wait to start using this.” Hat Trick’s eyes were practically gleaming as he held up his check in his wing.

“Don’t forget that you’ll have to open up bank accounts after we get back to Vanhoover.” Barrier reminded them.

“Indeed,” Swiftsword said as she pulled ahead. “I believe each of us should try to aid with the bills by paying for room and board, now that we have funds of our own.”

“You can if you want.” Barrier glanced at each of the cadets as his horn started to glow, “But I don’t see it really being an issue. Like I said before, we all have more bits than what we could likely spend in a frugal lifetime.” He then pulled a bit bag out of his saddlebags and tossed it towards Swiftsword who caught it with minimal effort. “Since our train’s gonna be a while, how about you kids go and find us a nice place to eat.” His focus then shifted towards the pegasus mare of the group. “There’s just something I’d like to run by Fleetfeather before we try to catch up.”

“Aye, sir.” Swiftsword quickly saluted as Wind Whistler hopped off her mother’s back and onto the unicorn mare’s. “We likely won’t be too long.” The youngsters pulled forward as Barrier and Fleetfeather came to a halt.

“What is it you wished to talk to me about, Barrier?” Fleetfeather asked as she looked into his eyes. Barrier waited until he was certain that the privates and Wind Whistler were out of earshot before answering.

“I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the gate, Fleet.” Barrier drew closer to her. “About when you… nuzzled me.” As he brought it up, he noticed a hint of pink spread across Fleet’s face and her eye widen.

“I… I’m sorry, Barrier,” she stuttered. “It… it was not something I had truly meant to do. It’s that…” She let out a sigh. “I used to do that with Flash when we needed to separate.” Fleetfeather looked down towards the floor, but soon found Barrier had drawn closer and placed a foreleg on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Fleet. I get it,” he said and gently patted her shoulder.

“I miss him, Barrier. Even after I learned of what he had done…” She whispered, her eye low the floor, even as it started to water.

“Of course you do. He was your husband and father of your children.” Barrier removed the foreleg from her shoulder and placed it under her chin. “I still miss them, and everypony else from our time.”

“Aye,” Fleet said as she turned her head, staring out the window. “There’s only a few ponies I miss more… Tornado...Dawn…” she choked up a bit as she recited the names. “Skydancer... Thunderbolt… Sea Breeze…” Tears fell from her eye and onto Barrier’s foreleg as he pulled her into a hug.

“I know I could never understand how you feel right now, Fleet, but I’m here for you. I care about you.” He started to give the crying mare a nuzzle. “The kids, they all care about you. Daring cares about you, and I know for damn sure Wind Whistler care about you. We’re all here for you, no matter what happens. You’re like family to me.”

Fleetfeather gave a short sniffle before she returned the hug. “Thank you, Barrier.” She then leaned in a gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “I… I really appreciate all your efforts.”

She slowly pulled away from him before wiping her face free of tears with a foreleg. “Well, let us be off.” she started walking down the hall. “No doubt the young ones are starting to get impatient as they wait for us.” She looked over her shoulder as she walked, stopping only at the notice of Barrier’s stillness. “Are you coming, Barrier?”

“Hm..? Right!” Barrier started a light trot toward Fleet. “If I remember this city as well as I think I do, I’m willing to bet they’ll all be waiting for us at Donut Joe’s or the Phoenix Fire.”

Fleetfeather gave a quick and light chuckle, “There are many a thing I still do not understand about this new world, and why those things are called dough nuts when so very little of them actually have nuts within is one of them.”

As they walked down the hall, Fleetfeather started to lean onto Barrier’s side. The charcoal unicorn was surprised at her actions, but made no effort to move away from her.

***

After having their fill of donuts and a long train ride which did not go without Barrier ‘stressing out’ as Daring might put it, the band returned to their home to find a tired Daring Do sitting in a living room chair, reading a book while occasionally eating a hoofful of chips.

“Hey Daring,” Barrier said and approached her side before he gave her a quick nuzzle and kiss on the lips, getting a strong taste of salt. “How’d that book search go?” His question brought a frown to the mare’s face.

“It was a total bust...” She closed the book she was reading and slid out of her chair. “Instead of finding a powerful demonic book that could raise the dead, this old guy found a book of cute cats chewing on stuff called the Neko-Nommer-Con.” She then let out a sigh as she stretched out her legs and wings. “But other than that, I’ve been doing pretty good. How’ve you been?”

“Pretty good, Daring.” He nuzzled her once more as Fleetfeather approached.

“We had quite the time in Canterlot, taking in the sights and having donuts while we waited for our train.” She let out a small chuckle as she looked towards Barrier. “I honestly don’t understand why you consider the city an eyesore, Barrier.”

“Well you know the old saying, Fleet.” He raised a foreleg towards his face and smirked, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

Fleetfeather chuckled before she gave Barrier a light jab in his barrel. “That was awful, Barrier.” She said as she tried to hold back her laughter. “At any rate, I should probably read Wind Whistler a story before I put her to bed.” She drew closer to the charcoal stallion, giving him a nuzzle before she pulled back and made for the stairs, drawing a raised eyebrow from the yellow pegasus. “Goodnight, you two.”

“G’night, Fleet,” Daring yawned. “I think I’ll be heading to bed soon.”

“Me too, I just have to take care of some business then I’ll be right there,” Barrier said as Daring went for bedroom and he headed for one of the bathrooms.

“‘Kay. See yah in a…” She yawned once more. “Bit.” Her eyes narrowed and soon she started to ponder.

Author's Note:

Alticron: Hey folks. Hope you had a good time reading this. This week's picture features none other than one of all of Fleet's children, in order from oldest to youngest. I really wish Tornado turned out better.

Next time, we'll be having a Forge focused chapter. See you then!

Comments

[HolyCross9]

Great chapter it was. I especially liked how Barrier and his companions all got their medals and financial rewards from Princess Celestia for their military services.

[MLP_RedRum]

“Instead of finding a powerful demonic book that could raise the dead, this old guy found a book of cute cats chewing on stuff called the Neko-Nommer-Con.”

[Alticron]

8983573
I thrive on bad puns. You've yet to see the fun extent of my terrible pun powers. Bwahahahahaha!

[mustangdrew4]

Nice chapter. I wonder what Daring thinks of recent developments? Could be pretty neat to read where that road will go. I'll be waiting excitedly for Forge's chapter. I'm curious if he'll manage to find a great forge smith to apprentice under.

[goranxii]

Always good to find a fellow Pratchett fan.