The Royal Guardian

by nxtl68

A trip through the snow

Chapter 3: A trip through the snow

Outpost 17
Stalliongrad Mountains

In its heyday, the large one story building known as Equestrian defense post 17 housed 50 soldiers with orders to keep watch for any movements by changeling forces in the aftermath of their repeated incursions. Today, the structure’s walls were riddled with impact wounds from changeling artillery. The inside was a mess of rubble and twisted metal from beds and equipment. In the central bunk room, where Paladin was assisting Ruby and Emerald with their search for the map, personnel effects were strewn about the floor. Bunks that were close to the wall where either broken in half or tossed about the room from the force of the explosions or thrown towards the room interior. The roof was riddled with holes, allowing snow to fall into the room as the three dug through the piles of clothes, papers, and snow.

“So, how long have you two been out here?” Paladin asked as he sifted through a pile of what turned out to be nothing but letters and pictures.

“I’ve been up here for about a year, but Ruby had just transferred in from duty in the Everfree forest last week.” Emerald said as she was digging through a trunk.

“Go to the mountains I said, it’d be a do-nothing assignment I said…I’d get to drink hot cocoa with Emerald I said.” Ruby muttered to herself as she searched under what was left of her bunk.

Paladin chuckled as he moved over to the back wall when he stepped on a piece of parchment. He reached down and unfolded it, finding a map of the patrol route, with a red circle around a rock formation half way up what appeared on the map to be a steep cliff. He folded the map and held it up. “Found it.”

Emerald and Ruby sighed in relief as Paladin put it in his jacket pocket. He looked out of one of the holes left in the wall as the wind began to howl. “Oh great, the storm’s getting worst.” He picked up a scarf from the floor, horizontally stripped blue and white to signify night and day, and wrapped it around his neck, the two ends draped behind his back. “Do you guys have a radio up here? We need to have some way to contact the airship when it comes in.”

“Airship?” Ruby’s eyes lit up as she stood. “Help’s coming?”

“Yeah, the wielders of the Elements of Harmony are on their way to assist us.” Paladin moved away from the hole and walked back to the center of the room. “Now, about that radio?”

“It’s in the observatory, but…” Ruby started in a quiet voice…

“It shorted out two days ago, and we haven’t been able to get it working again.”

Paladin let out a long sigh and cursed. “How the hell did that happen?” Emerald and Ruby looked at each other then looked away. Paladin put his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes. “Well? Out with it.”

Emerald sighed and looked up at the Guardian. “Ruby and I were on watch. I was trying to get up and get my drink from ontop of the radio and…accidentally…spilled it all over the back …”

Paladin shook his head and slapped his hand against his forehead. “Brilliant… well, let’s go get it fixed.”

Exiting the central bunk room, Emerald and Ruby lead the Royal Guardian down the hall and to the right, entering a spacious room. Maps of the Stalliongrad mountain range and Equestria were on the walls on the left hand side from the entrance. In front of them was a large rectangular cut out that could be used for visual inspection of the area. In front of the cut out where a series of tables, with notepads and binoculars set up for soldiers to record what they saw. On the right hand wall, directly in front of them was a large square box. In front of it was a small metallic device, with a large square block on top of it. Paladin walked over to the tables in front of the observation window and picked up a pair of binoculars, while Ruby and Emerald set themselves upon the task of taking the radio apart to inspect it for any damage.

“Oh thank Celestia, It’s only a burned out magic core. Ruby can you get one from the supply closet?”

“Yes Emy.” Ruby jumped up and quickly crossed the hallway into the supply closet as Paladin chuckled.

“You two are surely an item.” He quipped. Emerald blushed but continued to inspect the radio for anymore damage as Paladin spied a lone changeling skulking through the woods. He saw his dead comrades and stopped cold, turned on his heel, and got into a full sprint back into the forest.

“Shit…Emerald…we have a problem.” Paladin put the binoculars down and reached into his coat and pulled out his mask.

“Tell me about it, the transistors got soaked as well, this relay coil has to come out too.” Emerald turned her head towards the hallway and yelled “Ruby, bring the spare radio parts box from the top shelf, I’m gonna need everything in there!”
Paladin leaned down and whispered into Emerald’s ear. “One of the stragglers found his dead comrades and bolted for it. We have to get after him before he comes back with friends.”
Emerald turned white as a sheet. The thought of another changeling attack after what she had just gone through frightened the young soldier.

“N-no no way, there’s no way me and Ruby can go back out there again!” She yelled as Paladin grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away from the door. He put his finger to his lips in a gesture to keep her voice low.

“Ruby can stay behind and fix the radio…” before Paladin could finish Emerald pushed him away, fear overtaking her face.

“Are you crazy?! She’s already scared out her mind as it is there’s no way we can-“

“Will you keep your voice down?!” Paladin implored of her in a quiet yet authoritative tone. “The airship should be here within an hour or two, I promise nothing will happen to your girlfriend."

The slight blush on Emerald’s face was now as red as an apple. “I h-have no idea what you’re talking about!”
Paladin stared at her with the universal look for “Oh please”, before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo. The image was of the two girls, Ruby in an emerald green dress, and Emerald in a ruby red dress. They were embracing each other as they looked into the camera, warm smiles on their lips. Ruby’s head rested against her partner’s chest as Emerald leaned hers down so that her cheek rested on the top of Ruby’s head.

“So this picture from the Gala means absolutely nothing, huh.” Paladin scoffed

“Th…there’s a reasonable explanation for that.”

“Emerald, there’s nothing wrong with loving another woman. I’ve been around the block more than once.” Paladin placed a hand on her shoulder “I promise, on my life, that no harm will come to your partner. But here’s where we stand: This storm’s kicking up something fierce. Even with a map, I don’t have the knowledge of the terrain that you have, especially in these conditions. You’re the only one that can lead me to that cave.” Emerald looked down then nodded slowly. She moved away from Paladin. “I need to go talk to Ruby.” She stepped out of the room and crossed the hall. After a heated discussion, Emerald came back with a pair of goggles on her head. In her hands was a wooden cross bow, with a quiver of bolts on her back as Ruby followed her with the box of radio parts, a sorrowful look in her eyes.

“We’ll be back in a few hours Ruby, I promise.” –Emerald slung her cross bow over her shoulder and held the girl in her arms. “We’ll stop them before they even reach the outpost.” Ruby silently nodded, looking up her lover’s shimmering eyes.

“Promise me you’ll come back soon.” Ruby asked in a soft voice. Emerald nodded and placed a soft kiss on Ruby’s lips.

“We’ll be back before you know it.” Before departing on their journey, Paladin drew his revolver and placed it on the table.

“It works just like a crossbow, point and shoot. It has six shots in it, but with magic it’ll recharge after a five second delay.”
Ruby nodded and placed the box she was carrying on the table next to the gun. “Please Hurry.”

“I’ll be back in a flash.” Emerald blew her lover a kiss before she was teleported with Paladin into the forest. Paladin slipped his mask on top of his head and pulled the scarf up over his mouth for extra warmth.

“We’ll find the lone straggler, then head out for the cave, understand?” Paladin pulled the mask down over his face as he summoned a vision spell to see clear as day through the swirling snow.

“Yes, Royal Guardian.” Emerald replied as she pulled her goggles down over her eyes and yanked the hood of her jacket over head.

“A simple yes will do, you don’t need to be that formal out here.” Paladin chuckled as he buttoned the top two buttons of his coat. “Now, let’s get to work.”

“I’ll lead.” Emerald loaded five bolts into her crossbow and started off, the Guardian following behind.
The winter storm was beginning to pick up with intensity. The swirling winds whipped at their garments, making Emerald shiver despite the thick garments she wore. The thick flakes of snow that fell from the sky cluttered their vision before they were wiped away by a glove-covered hand. Emerald had her head on a swivel as she led the way, scanning the tree line for any sudden movement. Paladin stood behind her with his right hand in his coat, clutching the handle of his blade. His left hand swung free as the soft crunch of boot on snow was the only sound the two warriors made. In fact the only words Emerald spoke during the first half hour of their journey was to inform Paladin that was she was turning right to follow a set of boot tracks not yet covered by the falling snow.

“So…where do you hail from Emerald?” Paladin asked to break the silence.

“Phillyinnapolis.” The girl replied.

“Ah, big race town up there, isn’t it?”

“I guess.” Emerald quipped.

“Ah…” Paladin could practically feel the restlessness from Emerald’s quick, cold responses.

“Ruby’s probably got the radio fixed by now, from the papers I saw she’s a master engineer.” Paladin patted her shoulder. “Following in her darling’s footsteps I presume.”

Emerald stopped, turned around and shoved Paladin with her right hand, knocking him to the ground.

“Will you just shut up?!” She screamed. My best friend from the academy got her damn head chopped off right in front of me. I almost watched my girlfriend get raped, and here you are dragging me out here while poor Ruby’s defenseless trying to make small talk and find some damn cave!” Tears began to well in Emerald’s goggles and fall down her cheeks in a trickle. She removed them and the tears streamed down as she dropped to her knees and sobbed. Paladin scrambled to his feet and removed his mask. “Look, I’m sorry war sucks, but I hope you didn’t join the military for the benefits!” He shot back.
“I joined to help people!” She jumped up, tossing her crossbow to the ground. “I joined the military to be a difference maker, not be cannon fodder against the damn changeling army! And I sure as hell didn’t agree to share my life story in exchange for you saving my life!” Emerald shoved Paladin again then balled her left fist, throwing a punch that was stopped by the palm of his hand. He squeezed her fist, making Emerald wince in pain then shrieked as she threw another punch that was caught by his hand.

“Listen to me, child.” Paladin spoke softly. “I know you’re trying to put on a tough front, but now is not the time to vent all your frustrations! We are on mission to kill the remaining Changeling elements and find whatever is in the cave you marked! Now unless you want to return to your precious Ruby in a damn pine box, I suggest you screw your head back on soldier!” Paladin shoved her away and turned away from her, dusting the snow from his coat. He sighed and pulled his mask back over his face “I know how it feels to watch people die. I know how it feels to leave a love one’s side to go fight. It sucks. You worry about them all the time; you pray they’re going to be alright. But you cannot lose your head when-

“Get down!” Paladin was shoved to the ground as a green bolt of energy streaked past his head and landed in the snow. Emerald grabbed her cross bow and kneeled down in front of him, quickly scanning the area. She spotted a glint of an iron barrel as a changeling soldier ducked down behind a boulder on the small hill to their right. Emerald closed her left eye and took aim at a small crevice where the soldier’s back could be seen. She pulled the trigger and the bolt whistled out as it streaked towards its target. A few seconds later, a half human, half insect scream was heard as they watched the soldier jump up, clutching the bolt in their back. Emerald smirked and fired a second bolt which struck the target in the side, making it fall to the ground.

Paladin jumped up, brushing snow of his body as he turned around as the girl stood, smiling as she held the cross bow over her shoulder triumphantly.

“Consider ourselves, even.” She cracked a smile for the first time in a long, long time.
Paladin chuckled. “Good hunting, now let’s see what your kill was worth.”

Meanwhile…

Ruby was hard at work, changing out the waterlogged, or rather Cocoa logged, pieces of equipment with fresh parts from the box to her left. The wool gloves she was wearing could easily damage the parts, further complicating matters. But Ruby had the advantage of being a unicorn, and by using her magic, she was assembling the radio without even having to touch the parts. With the installation of the new magic core, the radio hummed to life to Ruby’s cheers. She sealed up the back when the soft thud of boots on snow made the young woman bolt upright. She could hear her own heartbeat as the footsteps became louder. Her body quaked as the thought of the changelings finding her by herself in the outpost. She grabbed the gun and ran back into the supply closet, shutting and locking the door behind her. She braced herself against the back shelves, clutching the pistol in her left hand as she heard voices.

“You’d think the Equestrian Army would have better cleanliness standards than this.” A Canterlot accent echoed through the halls.

“I’m sorry they couldn’t take the time to tidy up to your standards, Rarity. They were too busy being blown up!” A tomboyish voice replied to the first.

“I hope nothing too bad happened to them…I mean, they could have made it to safety, r-right Rainbow Dash?” A soft whisper followed the first two.

“Take a look around Fluttershy, does it look like they made it to safety?!” The one called Rainbow Dash answered, making the soft voice whimper, finishing with a quiet “meep”.

“Rainbow!” A calm female voice reprimanded the tomboyish one.

“What?! Look around Twilight. The entire place is bombed out; if anyone was in here they’re probably dead.” The one called Rainbow dash said.

“But this place looks deserted…Where are the bodies? Shining Armor said the Royal Guardian was supposed to be here.” Twilight wondered as a country accent joined the chorus of voices.

“Maybe he took the survivors back ta town already. Maybe he’s already gawn.” The voice said.

“Speaking of gone, where’s Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Dash questioned.

“She’s probably off exploring, again.” Rarity’s voiced hinted of annoyance the echo of footsteps became louder.

“Hey, someone’s been here, see? Someone was workin an ta radio before we got here!” The country voice exclaimed. Ruby gulped and inched back further, causing a stack of pans to clatter down on top of her. The voices outside stopped as they heard the commotion. One of them began to jiggle the handle on the door.

“Wh-what the hay?! Why’s the door locked?!” Rainbow Dash pulled hard on the door then banged her fist against it. “Open up in there!” Ruby scrambled to her feet, and wrapped both hands around the gun. She held it tight and pointed it towards the door as the handle was engulfed with the purple wisps of magical energy. After a few seconds delay, the lock clicked, and the door slowly opened. When the door swung open half way, six bolts of magical energy whizzed by Rainbow Dash’s arm, head, and body, making her jump back as the other women ducked. Enraged, Rainbow dash propelled herself forward with her wings and grabbed Ruby, slamming her back against the back shelf. The force of the impact knocked the shelves off their supports to the floor as Ruby cried out in pain.

“Please don’t hurt me! I’ll tell you anything you want, I swear!” Ruby pleaded. Rainbow either didn’t hear her or didn’t care, and balled up her right hand into a fist and pulled her arm back. Ruby yelped and closed her eyes, turning her head to the side in preparation for the incoming blow. Before Rainbow Dash could strike, a purple energy field wrapped around her arm and forced it to be still.

“Rainbow Dash, stop!” Twilight yelled and pulled the girl away as Ruby slumped to the floor.

“What?! She shot at me!” Rainbow Dash whined.

“She probably thought we was one of them changelings, poor thing” Applejack brushed past her seething friend and kneeled down next Ruby. “We’re sorry about that sugarcube, Rainbow Dash can be a mite rash sometimes, but she’s a good friend. Now how about ya tell us yur name?”

“R…Ruby….” She whispered.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that…”

“She said her name was Ruby.” Fluttershy said.

“Fluttershy, Darling…how did you hear her?” Rarity was dumbfounded. The girl’s voice was barely higher than the howling wind outside, yet Fluttershy had heard her clear as day.

“Oh..well, uhh… dealing with the animals for so long, my ears kind of got tuned to picking up lower sounds I guess.” Fluttershy explained as Applejack was helping Ruby to her feat.

“I…I’m sorry for shooting at you Rainbow Dash…I…I thought you guys were changelings.” Ruby kept her eyes low as she spoke. Rainbow Dash huffed and then unclenched her fists.

“Yeah, and I’m sorry for Almost decking you one… Just make sure you look before you shoot next time.”
Twilight rolled her eyes at Rainbow’s half apology. It would have to do for now.

“Come on Rainbow, let’s go stand guard. No sense standing in here yapping when changelings could pop up any second.”

Applejack had an ulterior motive for pulling Rainbow Dash back outside. The girl was in still steaming after her near death experience. She hoped getting some air outside would clear the girl’s mind. Rainbow Dash grumbled, but followed Applejack back towards the entrance. The three remaining Elemental users followed ruby into the observatory. From there, Ruby expected to see the large iron hull of the Equestrian’s new airships, the symbol of the rapid technological growth experienced over the last few years. Instead, the clearing was empty. The snow was beginning to fall harder, and the wind was making the trees wave back and forth as the storm intensified once more.

“H…how did you all get up here? And aren’t there supposed to be six of you?” Ruby asked, turning to face the group.
Twilight, who was seated in a chair directly in front of her, spoke first. “We had to teleport…and then climb our way here. The storm was too bad for us to fly.

Rarity, who was sitting in the chair next to her, had one leg crossed over the other, and her hand sitting in her lap, would speak next. “There are six of us dear…Pinkie Pie…urm…wandered off once we got to the top of the ridge… She said she was going to find a bathroom, and never came back.”
Ruby was dumbfounded.” B…bathroom???”

“We told her to go on the ship, but she said she could hold it.” Fluttershy added.

Twilight brought this part of the conversation to a close. “Pinkie is…odd, but she’s resourceful. I’m sure she’ll find us in due time. I know you’ve had a rough time of it all…but do you think You can tell me what happened here?”
Ruby cringed, and then let out a sigh. “We were out patrolling in the forests. It was Me, Emerald, Commander Blaze, Wind surfer, and Moondancer. We were scouting out the eastern overlook when We came up to a small rock formation. The commander always thought it didn’t look natural.”

“What made it seem out of the ordinary?” Twilight asked.

“Well rocks weren't weathered at all. They looked smooth, and they were warm to the touch.”

“Ruby, why didn’t any of you tell the expedition team about the site?”

Ruby looked off to the side, shame washing over her face. “The Commander thought it was a changeling trap… we would have destroyed it, b-but then…”

“Then what, darling?” Rarity spoke. Ruby’s body was beginning to visibly shake as she continued her story.

“M-m-moondancer…he tripped and fell on something. He was always doing that. We had a laugh. But when he got up, we saw the gold piece..”

Twilight reached into her coat pocket as Ruby spoke, and pulled out a similar looking gold piece. It was a curved piece of gold, with a orange jewel embedded in the center of it. “Ruby, did the piece look something like this?

“Yes! Like that…except this piece had a blue gem embedded in it. A-after we found it all of a sudden we heard a series of loud booms. We looked up, saw the streaks of artillery heading towards the outpost. The Commander ordered E-emerald and I to h-head back and help the others, while they went to silence the guns.”

“What happened next?”

Ruby began to rock back and forth in her chair. The fresh memories of the battle came flooding back to her mind. A tear ran down her cheek as she quietly spoke “We started running back… The explosions were getting louder and louder the closer we got…t…then….” Ruby broke down into sobs. “We got captured b-b-by the changelings. They kept asking us about the Queen. Emerald kept telling them we didn’t know…then they marched the commander out in front of us…they asked us again…then…then…”Ruby broke down into tears. She buried her face into her hands as she wept. Fluttershy, who was still standing in the door way crossed the room and hugged the girl tight as she began to cry. Twilight gripped the gold piece in her hand. Her body burned with Anger at the mere thought of the horrors this girl was forced to witness.

“We’ll make them pay Ruby, I promise.” She growled. Rarity nodded in agreement. Her hands clenched together in her lap. Fluttershy released the girl, but kept her hand on her shoulder to sooth her as she slowly calmed herself. She wiped her eyes clean as she sniffled.

“If it hadn’t been for Paladin, we would have been dead or worse.” She sighed.

“Where is he now, Ruby?”

Ruby stood and walked over to the map of the area. Her eyes glossed over it quickly before finding the overlook at the very edge of Equestrian territory. She picked up a marker pen and circled the overlook “Paladin took Emerald with him to the overlook. He seemed pretty excited about it...”

While Ruby was retelling the events of the day, Emerald and Paladin were on the move once more. Emerald had her crossbow slung over her right shoulder as she took the dead soldier’s weapon for her own.. The weapon’s stock was about three inches long, narrowing as it melded into main body of the rifle. The iron barrel was secured at the one third, half, and three quarter mark of its thirty seven inch length. She slipped her finger against the trigger guard as she examined the sights. The weapon’s magic core was exposed; the lyrium crystal suspended in a glass enclosure was faintly glowing.”

“For a bunch of insects, their weapons are pretty advanced. They’re almost on par with ours.” Emerald remarked. She funneled magical energy through her hands into the gun to charge the magic core. Paladin nodded as he was examining their map. He noticed that the tracks where following the exact path leading to the rock formation on the northern overlook. The overlook just happened to rest directly on the border with changeling territory. In the pit of his stomach, Paladin had a bad feeling about this. It didn’t make sense that a piece of Queen Faust’s crown would be found so close to hostile lands. If the site they were going to was the final resting place of the long dead queen, how did she end up here? The original route of the expedition into the Crystal Empire wasn’t supposed to lead them anywhere close to where the second crown piece was found. What were they doing out there?

“They’re changelings they probably copied our technology using spies.” He said quietly.

“Now you’re the one being emotionless.” Emerald chuckled she stopped at the foot of the approach to the over look and stared up at the large formation ontop of it. The large rocks were arranged in a dome, with a single entrance blocked by a large build up of snow blocking the only entrance. The structure radiated with a faint spiral of energy orbiting clockwise around it.

“ That…wasn’t happening when we were here earlier…” Emerald’s eyes were large as saucers as she observed it.

“It’s reacting to my presence.” Paladin said in passing as he began the hike to the top.

“And how do you know that?!”

“Call it…a hunch.”

End Chapter

Comments

[naginata]

again a few grammatical error but im more hooked than i was 30 min ago....lets go part 4