The Crusaders

by GJT_Productions

Bathroom Duty

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I'M THE MOST EXPERIENCED OFFICER YOU HAVE ON THE MORNING SHIFT! WHO ELSE IS GOING TO TRAIN ALL THE GREENHORNS YOU PUT...!"

"Can it, Troilus! Or it will be a court-martial for you!"

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Thus spoke a peeved Captain of the Guard Gibraltar as he, assisted by Lieutenant Captains Stratocumulus and Fidelitas, heaved Lieutenant Troilus - stripped of armor and wearing only a work apron and a magic-suppressing horn ring - into one of the castle's many bathrooms. Quickly the bad-behaving Lieutenant was joined by his partner in crime Guard Upper Class Lyacon, also only attired in work apron and horn ring, in this dreaded high-tier punishment usually referred to as "bathroom duty".

The "bathroom duty" or "bathroom detail", as it was referred to in omnious tones amongst the ranks of the Canterlot Royal Guard, was a tedious drudge that numbed the mind far more than even the usual Royal Guard duties. It went far beyond scrubbing toilets or spit-shining and waxing floors with a hoof-held brush, although both of those were certainly part of the terror surrounding the assignment. Another part was that any pony that visited a bathroom being worked on was allowed to make as much of a mess as they wanted to, short of directly "dumping" or "leaking" onto the floor, and directly mock or abuse the workers without fear of reprecussions.

The biggest terror of the assignment, though, was that the length a pony was stuck in it was entirely at the discretion of the Captain of the Guard - the only ways out was either to resign your commission or wait for another pony to receive the assignment, which would "push out" the current assignees. Troilus and Lyacon being punished with bathroom duty subsequently meant the release of its previous assignment holders - both of which were pegasi and would inflame the racial hatred further - back to regular duties.

Troilus and Lyacon glare back at the superior officers as the two pegasi released from the most unwelcome duty were warmly greeted and welcomed back into regular service, presumably back to their previous morning shift work. The two unicorns was not alone in thinking they should've been drummed out of the service or simply had their heads removed instead of placed in this professional purgatory they would have a chance to escape from, mostly due to guilt by association of serving under the now-disgraced Aten. This provided the renegades with a slim, but ultimately unfulfilled, hope that they would get some sympathy for their plight by some of their morning-shift comrades.

"I suppose the only good thing about this is that we have plenty of time to plan things out between ourselves." Troilus sighs out as he begins scrubbing away at the floor with his hoof-pushed brush.

"Do you think Prince Blueblood is going to provide us some protection?" Lyacon hopefully asks as he begins scrubbing alongside his senior comrade.

"I wouldn't count on it..." Troilus replies cynically, silence afterward falling in the bathroom...

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LATER THAT NIGHT, IN THE GUARD OFFICES...

"I must say, Your Highness, it's quite unusual to see an owl sleeping at night." Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor comments, sharing a chuckle with Princess Luna as her pet owl sleeps on its perch after his very long and tiring day helping thwart the threat to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"'Tis true, but he certainly deserves the rest." Luna replies, looking over with beaming pride at what her pet had helped to accomplish.

"Your Highness, you mentioned that you hadn't decided on a name for him yet. Did you decide on one for him yet, before you send him to help my sister in Ponyville?" Shining Armor asks next.

"Yes indeed Lieutenant Captain, it has been decided to name him 'Owlowiscious'." Luna answers with a beaming smile.

"Owl-what-sious?" Shining Armor asks with a confused look, wondering how even somepony as smart as his sister could consistently remember - never mind properly write down or speak - a mouthful of a name like that.

"'Tis a name from the old times. And we will remember to send Twilight Sparkle a letter of explanation in advance." Luna explains, beaming smile still on her face.

"Sure, right..." Shining Armor replies nervously, looking away as a dreadfully grim mental image forms in his head featuring Spike trying to defend his "#1 Assistant" position with tooth, claw and fire breath - thankfully a vision that was mostly avoided.

"Sister was concerned about the judgment of putting Troilus and his junior comrade into bathroom duty when she gave me her briefing of what happened. Do you think the Captain made the right call?" Luna asks again, changing the subject and breaking the mental state Shining had briefly been caught in.

"I do not think anything the Captain could've done would've been 'the right call', Your Highness, to be perfectly honest. I think that Lieutenant Troilus is going to try to get revenge no matter what the Captain does." Shining Armor answers.

"Revenge? Could you elaborate, Lieutenant Captain?" Luna asks again, cocking her head in curiousity.

"Remember I told you about the two unicorns that ended up court-martialed because Aten accused them of deliberate discrimination? Troilus was friends with both of them, going all the way back to Academy. And that's not all." Shining Armor answers, a grave expression on his face.

"Oh? There's more to the story?" Luna asks once more, head still cocked as she speaks.

"Yes, and this is something that's only emerged after the Agents of Chaos were defeated and their records recovered from their lair inside the Canterlot mountain. All the pegasi that testified against those two unicorns were lying under oath. Every single one of them. And the paperwork was being forged by Lieutenant Quill in secret to cover up the lies. Those two unicorns never stood a chance because so many others were lying to get rid of them. If Troilus did not know that before, then he sure knows that now." Shining Armor explains, a shock spreading across Luna's face as he does so.

"Well, what is going to happen to those that lied all those years ago in support of the traitor?" Luna asks yet again, feeling indignation rising inside her as she speaks her fourth question in a row.

"Most of those that testified became Aten's 'lackeys', and have already been punished appropriately. But it won't matter to Troilus and those who think as he does. And that's what's most scary of all." Shining Armor answers dryly, the worry returning to his expression.

"A cycle of vengeance that could be very easily set up..." Luna comments, the worry spreading to her expression.

"Or even without that, all this hatred weakens us from within. An enemy from without could very easily exploit it for their own ends..." Shining Armor adds, not aware at the time that there was an "enemy without" that was seeking exactly this, and how deeply he would become involved in that effort...