Rules for Bodyguards

by ShiningBeacon

Chapter 8 - If you want to come out again, don’t go in blind

It was darker outside than Shining had been expecting. When he’d left his room the sun was still bright, if less harsh as it shone through his small window, but now the sky was overcast, and the wind tugged at the tips of his ears with an unexpected nippiness given how close to the equator Roam was.

His eyes drifted to the rocky cliffs that formed the seaside edge of the cove that Roam had been built around, and had steadily grown larger over the course of the day. From his vantage point on the forecastle, he could see the neck of the gap that formed the channel between the ocean and the largest natural harbor in the known world. It was a feature that had made the city the largest shipping and trade hub in this hemisphere. Indeed, they had passed over a dozen fishing boats since first laying eyes on the cliffs, all of them heading out towards deeper waters.

Lucky we left Seaddle when we did. A few days later and we’d be battling the weather as well as assassins.

He glanced up at the dark clouds overhead and grimaced. There were no weather control teams here in Zebrica, or at least nothing like they had back home. A single ray of sunshine pierced through a gap in the clouds overhead, causing his vision to go spotty for a few seconds. After a week, the soft lighting used in his cabin made even a brief exposure of unfiltered sunlight eye-wateringly bright. He wiped the tears away and turned his attention back to the sea.

To port and aft, where once had been open ocean, now a dozen or so smaller trawlers, tugboats, and fishing vessels cut through the waves, on their way out to more open water and away from the cliffs ahead. He'd asked the captain of the Ambassador why they would leave the safety of the harbor at all, given the weather. The captain had just given him a grim smile.

“Bein’ a fisher ain’t like havin’ a city job, boy. When the fish are in the water, so’re you. You have’t try’en get the biggest haul you can, ‘fore the fish move t’ warmer waters. Those mares’ll fish till the waves are breaking over the keel to feed them families this winter.”

That had given Shining food for thought. He’d known, thanks to his lessons from Cadance, that fish was a much bigger part of the Roaman diet than back in Equestria. There, most seafood was only harvested for export or, more rarely for consumption in some villages with earth pony heritage. Not exactly something I'm looking forward to myself. I practically lived on grass in bootcamp, I could do it again if I had to, I suppose. His stomach twisted at the thought, though whether from the idea of eating grass or fish, he couldn’t tell.

He shook his head to clear his mind, trying to think of something else. He switched to the task of guarding the Ambassador, and just how it could be accomplished with their relatively limited ponypower. In the end, it all hinged on just how secure the docks themselves would be, and how much the Roamans would be willing to chip in to assist. It was inconceivable that Equestria would ever leave foreign dignitaries to fend for themselves, but he had no real conceptualization of how the Roamans viewed such things. Being a more martial culture, would they send a strong guard to protect the Ambassador from bad actors, or would they consider that an insult, a silent implication that the Equestrians were helpless to protect themselves? Perhaps they would view it both ways? Without any certainty, he had to act as if there would be no protection given by the Roaman government, even if he thought it unlikely.

His walk came to a pause as he nearly bumped into a herd of soldiers and sailors that were pressed against the edge of the ship, trying to catch a glimpse of the strange creatures that made up the crews of the boats they had passed. His eyes fell on a particularly familiar cluster of ponies in the center of the herd.

“Heading my way, sailor?”

Shining looked up and saw Barrel Roll hovering a few paces above him, forelegs crossed and a grin plastered on his muzzle.

“There you are,” Shining said, “I was wondering where you had darted off to.”

Barrel tucked his wings and dropped suddenly. Despite his speed, his landing was incredibly graceful. “Sorry about that. Had to deal with a personal issue between some of my ponies that was brought to my attention before we landed.”

Shining Armor nodded. Personal issues was a common euphemism for the improper relationships, or, more commonly, the fallout of those relationships ending, that commonly cropped up between members of the Guard.

He remembered that he was once again on duty and gave Barrel a quick salute. Even if Barrel Roll had never once commented on it, it was important to be an example of good order for the rest of the guard. After Barrel returned it, he let his hoof drop. “Nothing too serious, I hope.”

“Nothing a little rearrangement of personnel couldn’t fix.”

“Good.” he glanced at the mass of ponies crowded at the guardrail. “We need to discuss security for the Ambassador.”

“About that. I’ve been thinking about the ponypower we need, and there’s something else we haven’t considered.”

Shining cocked his head. “What's that?”

“Well, the fact that we’re seeing the Embassy for the first time when we actually arrive. A building with Roaman architecture, built by Romans, with a lot of forewarning that we’re on the way.”

The pieces began to fall into place for Shining. “You’re talking about secret entrances?”

“Secret entrances, passageways, there could be anything hidden away in there, and how would we even know?”

Damn. I hadn’t even considered that. “So another security problem for us to handle. Great.” He glanced at Roll out of the corner of his eye. “I don’t suppose you have any architects in your staff, do you?”

“You know, when I was personally picking them out, I completely forgot to look for one with a floorplan cutie mark.” Barrel Roll said sarcastically. “How silly of me.”

“One of the Bodyguards has some trapping experience. Maybe we can tap him to lead the search?”

Barrel Roll shrugged. “Beats anyone I've got.” He looked around for a few seconds, then waved to a green unicorn mare bearing a lieutenant's insignia. She trotted over at a brisk pace, then came to attention before them. “Lieutenant Armor, meet my second, Lieutenant Rose.”

Shining sized up the mare. Her cutie mark, a rose bud with its stem forming a circle around it, thorns bristling outwards. It wasn’t the most encouraging mark he’d ever seen, but then again, his mother had always taught him to never judge a mare by her mark.

He nodded towards her. “Nice to put a face to the name.” He’d seen her around, of course, and Barrel Roll had mentioned her name in passing, but there was enough independence between their separate branches that he’d never met her properly before now.

He could see her going through the same process, sizing him up, comparing what she knew with what she was seeing now. “Lieutenant Armor. I’d heard you were still on bed rest. How’s the shoulder?”

“I’ve had worse.” That belied the fact that it was quite sore still, even if the skin had fully healed over and the muscle was knitted. Still, it was the truth. “I take it she’s going too?”

Rose glanced at Barrel Roll. “Going, Sir?”

“We need to scout the embassy. I want you to command our guardsmares while Shining’s ponies take point searching the place. You’ll be providing security and support for them, whatever they need. Can you do that?”

She looked between the two of them. “You want me and not Lieutenant Armor to go?”

Her confusion was understandable. While technically she and Shining held the same rank, Shining was her senior officer by virtue of his position as Bodyguard. Indeed, strictly speaking, he had authority over anypony of the same or lesser rank, minus Celestia’s own personal guard. That combined with the fact that most of the bodyguard was going, made the choice a bit odd, but then, Cadance had asked them what they had preferred. She must be stressing over our arrival.

Shining shrugged. “Orders from the princess herself. I’ll remain here to secure the ship and join you later.”

Rose nodded. “Very well, if those are orders.”

“They are,” Barrel Roll said. “How many squads should we send? There’s not a lot of extra hooves to go around right now.”

“I was thinking one squad each for Trip and Trick,” Shining said, “and another two squads for back up. That should be enough to secure the building.”

“We could take Second Platoon,” Rose offered. “We’re mostly unicorns, with a squad of Pegasi for aerial support. That would probably be enough pony power to get it done safe and quick.”

Barrel Roll mulled over this. “Seems reasonable to me. What do you think, Shining?”

Shining looked at Rose, a smirk tugging at the edge of his lips. “I take it the ‘Second’ in Second Platoon isn’t short for second best?”

Rose’s ears flicked in annoyance. “No, sir! We’re the best damn mage company on this sorry ship.”

“Good. We need the best to make sure there won’t be any unpleasant surprises waiting for us there.” He looked at Barrel Roll. “What about the Ambassador? Would one platoon be enough?”

“We’ll leave two platoons here for now. We can always shift ponies once we’re settled.”

“Will that leave enough for the escort?”

Barrel Roll shrugged. “I’ll take most of the Pegasi and the rest of the unicorns with me. That should be enough to make anyone reconsider their life’s choices. Worse comes to worst, we fly back to the ship.”

Shining nodded. “We’ll need some royal chariots to move the scout force. How many did we bring?”

“Enough.” Barrel said. He turned to Rose. “Head down to the hold and requisition what you need. I want you in the air in less than an hour. You’ll also need to speak with someone and let them know who you are and what your mission is. If they give you trouble, just wait for us to arrive and we’ll sort it out.”

“Yes sir!” She gave him a salute and trotted off.

Shining watched her leave. “She seems capable. You’re sure she won’t try and buck Trip?”

Barrel Roll shook his head. “Rose is a professional. She’s been doing this longer than you or I have. She’ll follow the chain of command.”

“I’ll have to tell my ponies.”

“Well don’t wait too long. They need to leave in a hour too.”

“One more minute, then I’ll inform them.”

The two stood next to each other, sharing a moment of silence as they watched the cliffs creep closer. They were considerably larger than they had been when Shining had left the hold of the ship.

“Hard to believe we actually made it,” Shining muttered. “It all felt so… distant, even just yesterday. Almost like it was a dream, you know? Being the first Equestrians to really see Roam in generations. It’s kinda crazy.”

Barrel Roll gave Shining a wink and a grin. “I’m looking forward to being the first ones to return from Roam, if you know what I mean.”

Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “Because that’s what’s important here. Not the historic moment, not the history books that our foals will be reading for centuries to come. No, what matters is getting laid for our troubles.”

“Precisely!” Barrel Roll said. “You put too much stock in history, Shiny. No one’s going to remember that anybody but a princess was ever here. In fact, I bet one day they’ll say that Cadance did the whole thing by herself.”

Shining Armor shook his head, but didn’t suppress his chuckle. “So, as long as we’ve got mares, who needs a legacy, right?”

“Now you get it.”

“Sure, bud.”

Barrel Roll bumped Shining playfully. “Get to it. Lieutenant. My second will find you when we’re ready to move.”

“On it.”

Barrel Roll leapt into the air and flew back towards the rear of the ship. Shining turned back towards the herd of sailors and soldiers gathering together at the front of the ship. He saw the bodyguard still, in the center of the herd, surrounded by others and almost impossible to reach.

His eye fell on another familiar pony closer to the back of the herd. Private Port Key, you’ll do. Port Key was the youngest and greenest member of the Bodyguard, having been put on an accelerated training program in the basic military academy due to his rare talent in translocation and teleportation spells. Indeed, considering the requirements to be eligible for a position in the bodyguard, they were fortunate to have him. They were less fortunate in that he knew that too, and was prone to taking every opportunity to show off his prowess to the rest of them. He took particular delight in materializing next to ponies without warning, regardless of the effect it had on his peers' blood pressure.

Well, turnabout was fair play.

Shining smiled to himself as he walked up behind the newest recruit, then cleared his throat. “Private Key!” he said in his best ‘pissed officer’ tone.

Private Port Key spun on a dime, his hoof already up in a salute as he turned. “Present, Sir…” he looked at Shining, and his eyes widened. “Lieutenant Armor?”

“In the flesh.” He noticed Keys' ears twitching frantically and suppressed a smile. “Something wrong, Private Key?”

Port Key took a deep breath. “No sir. I thought you were… no, sir.”

Interesting. He made a mental note to check up on Key’s activities at a later date. “Good. I want you to gather everyone not guarding the Princess and have them up here for a meeting” he nodded towards the group of ponies. “I’ll collect those four. Be back here in five minutes.”

He shouldered his way through the crowd to stand directly behind Trip Wire, Flint Lock, Shot Put, and Storm Front. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Flint Lock flared her wings. “Oh, look!” she exclaimed, “We’re passing another ship!” She pointed over the rail down towards a small fishing trawler that was sailing in the opposite direction.

The four pressed together, taking in the strange creatures that made up the crews of the ships they had passed. He peered over the edge and saw another trawler passing by the Ambassador, the four zebra and one minotaur on board staring back up at them in awe.

The two parties locked eyes, neither breaking contact as they slid past each other. After a few seconds, Flint Lock hopped into the air, hovering slightly above the others, where she waved excitedly to the other ship.

What she was expecting to happen, Shining would never know, but considering the sudden shouting that broke out aboard the vessel, he doubted very much she’d gotten the reaction she’d expected.

The corporal landed lightly on her hind legs. “They seem nice. A little excitable perhaps.”

Shot Put shrugged. “Better shouting at themselves then us, I guess.”

“Welp, that’s pretty typical if you’d ever met anybody who’d likes fishin’. Tend to get worked up over bites like they were still a colt, they do.”

“I think we're more exciting then fish, Trip.” Storm Front said, sounding slightly annoyed.

“Well, now that’s really a matter’o taste, ain’t it?”

“Heh, if they look like those studs, I’d be happy to let them have a nibble.” Flint muttered.

Shining cocked an eyebrow. He hadn't pegged Flint as a raunchy mare, but then again, she was the only member of the bodyguard with a foal. He cleared his throat, and Flint turned and looked at him, her cheeks going red as she realized she had said that aloud within earshot of her superior.

“Oh! Hello, Lieutenant. I, uh, did not see you there.”

The rest of the bodyguards turned and looked at him in surprise.

“LT!” Trip Wire said cheerily with a quick salute. “Howdy! You seen all the zeebs yet?”

“They’re ‘zebras’, corporal, and yes, I’ve seen a few of them.” He stepped up to the edge of the rail and looked out over the side. Several ships were plainly visible now,with only a few of them equipped with sails, the rest probably calling Roam home. “It’s not just zebras who live in Roam, you know. We’re likely to see all manner of creatures there.”

“I heard Roam used to be a minotaur city.” Shot Put added. “They even have a whole section that’s built special for bipeds.”

“There’s a couple of resident bipeds in Roam,” Shining corrected. “Minotaur, Parakeet. Plenty of Satyr live in Roam these days, even if they are technically independent”

“We gonna negotiate with them too?”

Shining shrugged. “That's for the princess to decide.”

Flint Lock perked up slightly. “We should at least be having relations with them right?” Her blush deepened as she realized her exact words. “I mean, figuratively speaking. And we should be promoting good relations, right? Well, I mean not really ‘relations’, more like-“

Trip Wire cleared his throat. “Hey, Flint?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up.”

“Of course, I… *ehm*. Right.”

There was a long pause as the awkwardness of the conversation blew away in the ocean breeze, then Shining smirked and shook his head slightly. “We’re mustering on the aft castle in five. I expect you all there ready for new orders. Understood?”

All four ponies answered in the affirmative.

“Then I’ll see you there. Dismissed,”

The four ponies saluted him, then walked past him headed for aft.. “And Flint?” She stopped and looked back at him. “Try not to establish any ‘good relations’ until we’re settled.”

Flint Lock blushed, turned back around and walked just a little quicker to catch up with the rest of her fellows. Shining chuckled softly to himself. Flint Lock had been the most high energy of the bodyguard thus far, and while he appreciated her eagerness, he didn’t want her distracted from the mission.

It should have been her in charge of the Pegasi squad, not Storm. At least then I wouldn't have to worry about what was being said behind my back. He walked along the side rail towards the front of the ship, taking in the sight and smell of the sea as he went. Soon enough he’d be back on dry land, and while he missed it, the sea journey hadn’t been as terrible as he’d feared. Minus the assassination attempts, of course.

When he arrived he was pleased to see almost everyone there, with the exception of Shot Put, Trick Shot, and Port Key. The bodyguard was lined up by section and with a sharp order from Stonewall, came to attention. There was an explosion of teal light to his right, causing Shining’s heart to jump into his throat. Beside him a gold unicorn with a teal boot for a cutie mark had materialized out of thin air.

A very smug Port Key saluted him. “All ponies accounted for, sir!”

Shining Armor nodded, trying not to show the pounding in his chest. “Thank you, private.” He waited for Port Key to join the rest of the bodyguard, then walked up and turned to face them.

“Alright gentlemares, playtime is over! I know you all are ecstatic to see me again, but we’re on a tight schedule. First, let me thank you for covering for me while I was recovering. I spoke with the princess earlier, and she seems to be quite safe for the moment. Unfortunately, we’re hours away from being unwelcome guests in unfriendly territory. I know you’re the best Royal Guards on this ship, but our potential enemies don’t know that yet, and there’s a lot more of them. Because of this, I’m increasing our rotation from two guards with the Princess at all times to three once we reach land.”

There was a subtle shift in attitude as they took this in. Currently the schedule called for six hour shifts, with plenty of down-time in between. This change would mean more work with less time off for everyone, with the obvious exception of Shining himself. At least, it would have if he had left it there. “I’ll be replacing one of you on your shifts each day, so that you have the opportunity to get a little R&R and shuffle our routines a little bit.” The tension eased slightly, and more than one pair of shoulders relaxed just a little. “Now, before we pull into the port, we have another task demanded of us.”

He pointed in the direction of the cliffs. “There's an embassy building in Roam waiting for us. Unfortunately, we have very little information about it, other than that it's around a fifteen minute walk from the Imperial Palace. Before we move the princess into it, we need to make sure it’s secure, which means we need to check for traps, glyphs, secret passages, anything that could compromise the security of the building. In light of this, I’m sending most of you there ahead of us before we arrive to sweep the embassy so we can move the princess as soon as possible.”

That caught them by surprise. “Us, Sir?” Stone Walled asked hesitantly.

“Yes. The Princess has assigned me to secure the Ambassador once we arrive. She’ll have the full weight of the garrison between her and any threats between here and the embassy. As such, I want you on scene to coordinate the search team.” Shining nodded towards Trip and Port. “Especially our spellcasters. I’m guessing there will be a lot of rune magic used in the construction. We need to make sure nothing harmful is hidden amongst them.”

Port shifted his weight from side to side nervously. “Begging your pardon, sir, but runes are a little outside of my area of expertise.”

“You’ll just be there for the initial sweep, Key. Once that’s done, you’ll rejoin the Ambassador.”

Flint Lock raised a wing. “What about us? I can check every inch of the building, but I don’t know the first thing about magic.”

“You, Trick, and Storm will be responsible for tracking which areas have been searched and delivering messages between everyone, and us, if necessary. You’ll also be the ones hauling everyone up there. We brought a couple of Royal Chariots with us. Lieutenant Rose is requisitioning them now, I want you to head down and assist her in getting them ready. You leave as soon as they’re cleared for flight.”

Flint raised an eyebrow. “How many ponies are we talking, sir?”

“Colonel Roll is sending his Second platoon to assist us, including Lieutenant Rose. Trip, you’ll be in command of the sweep teams, not her, so don’t let her pressure you into moving any faster or slower then you need to make sure it’s done right.”

“Yessir!”

He looked to his earth pony sergeant. “Unfortunately, you, Sling, and Shot will be on guard duty until the princess is safe inside the embassy. That may take a while.”

“Understood, sir.”

Shining nodded. “Then get to it. ”

The squad saluted and split into their assigned groups, moving with purpose for the first time in over a week. Shining watched them go with pride. As ad-hoc as his unit had been, there wasn't a shred of doubt in him that they were more than capable of the task at hoof.

With luck, we’ll be sleeping easy on dry land tonight.

Author's Note:

So, a week behind my predicted schedule apologies for the delay. I’ll post a blog with an update later today. Feedback is appreciated!

Comments

[I like burguers]

“Colonel Roll is sending his Second platoon to assist us, including Lieutenant Rose. Trip, you’ll be in command of the sweep teams, not her, so don’t let her pressure you into moving any faster or slower then you need to make sure it’s done right.”

Isn't it Liternaut Roll? He and Shinning were the same rank.

[ShiningBeacon]

11302784

It’s a slight retcon I forgot to mention or fix in post. I’ll take care of it soon.