Honour Bound

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Corporal Honour Bound could not believe the scene of destruction before her. The sofa had been flipped over backwards, its cushions strewn about the edges of the room after having been used as projectiles. Both club chairs had been toppled, one of them winding up wedged halfway inside the bathroom. A decorative metal buckler on the wall had been knocked off its nail by the force of an errant pillow. The room's copper water-jug and set of cups on the side-table were spilled all over the floor in a wet puddle, knocked down by the buckler as it fell.

And standing on their hind legs amidst this carnage, panting heavily, were Honour’s two Specialists, one of them with wings flared and the other with a glowing horn.

When the fight broke out, it was all she could do to shield Anonymous' book before things started flying. Now that both mares were catching their breath, it was time to put her hoof down.

"Specialist Sparkshower! Specialist Glamerspear! That's enough!"

As if suddenly aware of the mess they’d made, both of them glanced around the room, then turned to face the corporal. Staring sternly, she held their gazes just long enough for their angry expressions to turn sheepish. Then she shook her head, staring at them in turn.

"... Sparkshower, look at the mess you've caused!"

Instantly, the cream-colored pegasus got off her hind hooves and dropped down to sit on the ground, meekly lowering her head and flattening her ears. As bad as her contribution was, though, Honour knew who really instigated this. She gave Glamerspear a firm point with her right forehoof.

"... And Glamerspear, I can't believe you'd try to cheat a comrade and a friend!"

Instead of sitting down, her unicorn squaddie brought her hooves up to her face, her lip quivering.

‘Oh, don't you go and--’

"BAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHH!!!..."

Before she could even finish her thought, Glamerspear began bawling her eyes out.

With red eyes and a face like she'd just been forced to eat a whole bucket of rotten lemons, Specialist Glamerspear held her hooves out to Specialist Sparkshower in supplication.

"... I AM SO SORRY, SPARKSHOWER!!! I don't know what came over me! I can't believe I did that to you! Buhuhuhuhhuuhwwwuuunnn..."

Her convulsive blubbering seemed to be infectious, because Honour could see Sparkshower's lower lip start to shudder as well.

"... Ca-ca-ca-ca-can you forgive me, Sparks? Please, I'm so sorry, boohoohuhhuhuhahwaaaaaaa..."

Just when it appeared that the unicorn was about to fall forward onto all four hooves, her aggrieved squad-mate rushed forward to prop her up.

And now they were sobbing loudly in each others' hooves.

"buhuhuhuhahuhh-I FORGIVE YOU, LILY!-buuuhuhohuuu"

"huhuhuhuhaaaaa-THANKS, ARTEMIS, I DON'T DESERVE YOU!-bahuhuhuhhhhhnnn"

‘Celestia on a stick, these two!’

At least they'd stopped fighting, though. Honour could spare them a few minutes to get it all out of their system before she made them clean up the results of their mayhem. For now, she could just shake her head at the unbelievable antics of those two tenderhooves.

When the tears finally dried up and they were done sniveling, they backed off from their mutual lamentatious clinch.

That's when the door to their quarters swung open.

All three of them turned to look. It was Sergeant Ebonshield, her nose turned up and a look of displeasure on her face.

"You have interrupted the meditations of the Great Lord..."

She made her declaration slowly, her eyes jumping between each of them.

Before Honour could reply, she stepped up in front of her, getting her snout right up in the earth pony’s face.

"... Caporal, I will have an explanation for this disturbance."

Though she was surprised by the Sergeant’s slip to her native tongue, and even though she could feel the bat pony’s fur against her nose, Honour didn’t budge an inch. While she was still in charge of the quaternion, disciplining the juniors was her responsibility, not Ebonshield’s. Her place was downstairs with the Royal Engineer, even if the noise had upset him. And, frankly, it hadn't been that long or that loud, so she doubted it had.

But she was still a Sergeant, and Honour was just a Corporal.

Even if it was a made-up rank, said to match whatever her real title was in the Night Guard, it still meant she owed her an answer. Without backing up one bit, she replied calmly, but firmly. "Sergeant, Specialists Glamerspear and Sparkshower had a disagreement just now. It's over, and they are reconciled."

The batpony's eyes narrowed, her slit pupils expanding horizontally to compensate as she squinted vertically with her eyelids.

"A disagreement? A disagreement about what, exactly?"

Honour pondered how much to tell her. She didn’t need to know anything, and she didn’t doubt that Lieutenant Violetta would back her up if there was any question about who was in charge of the quaternion. But as much as Honour disliked what she represented, she had to admit that she didn’t have that much to dislike about her personally.

Until then, she hadn't even said three words to her since she was first introduced.

But Sparkshower, admittedly the happy-go-lucky optimist of the squad, claimed to have made fast friends with her. And burying her nose in Anonymous' book had been Honour’s way of avoiding having to interact with her.

So maybe stonewalling her would just be setting their working relationship up for failure. That wouldn't be fair to her, and although not much in the Royal Guard or life in general was fair, Honour certainly didn't want to have a hoof in screwing over somepony, especially if she’d only just met them.

"Specialist Glamerspear tried to trade shifts with Specialist Sparkshower under a false pretext, in order to ensure she would be accompanying Anonymous on the evening of the Grand Galloping Gala. Since I have the morning duty shift that day, I pointed out the significance of the date, and when Specialist Sparkshower confronted Specialist Glamerspear with this fact, the latter suggested that Sparkshower trade shifts with me, which I refused. An argument erupted, which quickly boiled over into the hurling of both insults and furniture..."

She shot a telling glance over at the two wet-cheeked Specialists.

"... both of which the Specialists now sincerely regret, don't they?"

As Sergeant Ebonshield turned her gaze away from Honour and over towards the others, they both rapidly went to parade rest.

"Yes, Sergeant!"
"Yes, Sergeant!"

The purple batpony inhaled sharply. "I see..." Stepping away from the corporal, she approached the argumentative pair. "... I am very disappointed. I was told that to enter the VIP Service was a great honor, and a great privilege, and that many guardsponies are turned away because they do not meet the high expectations for a personal bodyguard..."

Turning her head left and right to survey the room, she made a final pronouncement.

"... You are not meeting my expectations."

There was a glum sniffle from Sparkshower, and Honour was worried the waterworks were going to start again.

Ebonshield wasn’t done with them, though, and she started to circle the unicorn. "... Specialist Glamerspear, do you think that you are entitled to be in the presence of the Great Lord at the events of your choosing?"

Her reply came immediately.

"No, Sergeant!"

"Do you think that assisting the Great Lord in the selection of his outfit for the Grand Galloping Gala merits you a place at his side?"

"No, Sergeant!"

Again, there was no hesitation in her response, but Honour could see the gears that thought about saying 'yes' turn haltingly in her head.

"Then perhaps you think that you will be better able than the Specialist Sparkshower to assist the Great Lord at such a social event?"

The gears started spinning freely, and she didn’t answer, instead glancing over at Sparkshower.

Sergeant Ebonshield stopped in front of the unicorn, nose held high.

"... Well?"

Glamerspear locked her gaze forward once again. "Er... Maybe?"

The moment a coherent word came out of Glamerspear's mouth, the Sergeant shoved her face forward, right up against the unicorn's snout.

"You are not empowered to make that decision, Specialist Glamerspear! The privilege of deciding which guard is the best suited for what task lies with the soldier in charge of your unit, the Caporal Bound; the Majordomo in command of the mission, the Lieutenant Violetta; and, if need be, the Great Lord Anonymous himself!"

Maintaining her uncomfortably close posture for several seconds as if to emphasize the point, Sergeant Ebonshield eventually drew back.

"... What was the reason for which you tried to usurp the authority of the Caporal Bound?"

She turned her head slightly, looking in Honour’s direction as if to acknowledge her.

"... I am asking this question on the behalf of the Caporal -- the Corporal -- because, as she is a veteran warrior, I do not doubt that in this moment her fury burns brighter than all the stars in the sky, and such a fire would consume any lesser creature who happened to be found in her presence. A lesser creature such as you, Specialist!"

Glamerspear was clearly caught off-guard by the strange poetic metaphor, and Honour had to admit that even she was feeling a bit confused. Was that a backhanded insult for the fact that she didn't leap into intense questioning of the two guardsponies? Or was she, in her alien ways, genuinely paying her a compliment and trying to serve as her second?

Either way, it merited some closer attention.

Specialist Glamerspear cleared her throat.

"Sergeant, I, uh..."

"Yes, Specialist?"

Having attracted the Sergeant's attention once more, and no doubt feeling like she was back in horseshoe camp, Glamerspear shifted back into 'Yes, drill sergeant!' mode.

"Sergeant, this guardspony did greedily see an opportunity of a lifetime to attend the most important social event in Canterlot, and proceeded to villainously try and cheat her way into it at the expense of her comrades."

That earned her a sniff and a raised eyebrow from the Sergeant.

"'Opportunity of a lifetime,' Specialist? Yes, indeed, if you keep behaving like this! I have no patience for dishonorable guardsponies, and neither does the VIP Service nor, indeed, the Royal Guard!"

She leaned in close again, almost touching snouts.

"... And am I also to understand that you find some fault in your comrade for being overly welcoming to the Great Lord's newest servant?"

Glamerspear gulped.

"Sergeant, this guardspony did, in the course of the disagreement, say and do a number of things which she now thoroughly regrets and did not, in good conscience, intend."

Again there was the pause for effect from the Sergeant. Even though she was doing what should have been Honour’s job, and at the expense of her assigned posting downstairs, the earth pony had to admit that Ebonshield was doing a decent job of it. And she must have asked Anonymous to excuse her for a few minutes before leaving him alone.

"I see, Specialist. Very well..."

Apparently finished with her dressing-down of Glamerspear, Ebonshield turned her attention to Sparkshower.

"... And what have you got to say for yourself, Specialist Sparkshower? This elegantly-furnished room, so generously provided for your use by the custodians of the palace royal, even though a guardspony is satisfied with a bedroll in a dungeon oubliette -- why is he in this state so miserable?"

She seemed to slip into her native alien grammar during her tirade, with a strange word order, and referring to the room as a 'he.'

But it had the intended effect on Specialist Sparkshower.

"Sergeant! This guardspony did, during the course of the disagreement with Specialist Glamerspear, carelessly abuse the generously-provided furnishings in her fury!"

Once more, the nose-shove. Not even the drill sergeants at 'shoe camp could get right up in your snout like that. It took some real skill to get in so close, so consistently, without winding up in an accidental boop.

Which would just ruin the whole intimidation effect, to be honest.

Ebonshield must have had some serious practice with this. Maybe she'd been a drill instructor in the Night Guard?

"Yes, very careless indeed, Specialist Sparkshower! I hope for your sake that nothing has been damaged permanently!" She paused for emphasis, narrowing her eyes. "... And I am given to understand that you believe Specialist Glamerspear is not sufficiently invested in the subject of this operation?"

Referring to that earlier comment about Glamerspear not liking Anonymous, no doubt. Well, if those were the only two lines that they'd heard downstairs, that wasn't too bad, Honour supposed. Those were the most biting accusations, sure, but at least they didn't hear all the profanity. Honour had suspected Glamerspear of knowing some foul language, but Sparkshower had really surprised her. Country ponies had a strange ability to string otherwise-incoherent insults together into something really nasty, and despite her usual cheery demeanor, apparently she was no exception.

"Sergeant! This guardspony did make such a baseless accusation during the disagreement in an attempt to discredit her fellow guardspony, Specialist Glamerspear."

That would probably be the end of this little inquest of hers. She'd covered everything, and the two former belligerents were now both thoroughly chastised.

After another few seconds' pause, Honour was proven right, as Sergeant Ebonshield stepped back from the Specialists, turned around to face her, and bowed.

"Corporal, is there anything else I may address for you at this time?

"No, Sergeant."

After she answered, Ebonshield raised her head again. "I shall therefore return to my post. But if I may make one last statement in parting?"

Honour nodded, and Ebonshield addressed herself to the junior soldiers.

"... Gentlemares, you seem to be laboring under the assumption that you are in control of your own destinies while on duty. I assure you that this is not the case. While you are on duty, there is only one who controls the question of your fate..."

She lifted a hoof for emphasis.

"... That one is the Great Lord Anonymous, Royal Engineer of Equestria, and this question, only he can decide!"

The door to their quarters was still wide open, but somepony knocked at it anyways.

"Only I can decide what?"

Four sets of eyes went wide.

The Royal Engineer stood in the doorway, in his trousers and shirt but without his jacket, his hands hanging at his sides.

"Great Lord!"

Ebonshield bowed, but Honour was fixated on her charge and patron. He had an expression unlike any she’d seen him wear before.

It almost looked like he was... hesitant?

"I'm sorry for intruding in your quarters, but I heard my name mentioned..."

Sparkshower went pale, and Glamerspear was on the verge of hyperventilating.

Sergeant Ebonshield spoke up first. "Great Lord, I apologize for the disturbance. Corporal Bound has already seen to its end. Please, allow me to escort you back downstairs, that you may continue your work."

The Royal Engineer of Equestria fidgeted with his hands.

"Oh... All right, I suppose. I just wondered if, er, if I could be of any help here. That's all."

‘What's gotten into him?’

This was not the confident VIP Honour knew. Did Sparkshower's accusation unbalance him that much? Or did Ebonshield say something to discomfit him earlier in her shift? Either way, seeing him like that was a bit of a shock to her.

Ebonshield continued. "No help is required here, Great Lord. I apologize for the state in which you find these chambers. There was a disagreement, but it has been resolved."

"Um, what was the disagreement about?"

Although she'd been speaking to the Royal Engineer on her own, as if she was in charge here, Ebonshield glanced over at the corporal, obviously asking her permission to continue.

Well, to be fair, she's the pony on duty right now. It only makes sense for her to be addressing herself to Anonymous under the circumstances.

Honour shrugged her eyebrows at Ebonshield. Might as well tell him the truth if he wants to hear it. She appeared to understand the corporal’s gesture, bowing her head to the Royal Engineer slightly before she spoke.

"Great Lord, the disagreement between Specialist Glamerspear and Specialist Sparkshower was over the question of which of your retinue would have the privilege of escorting you to the Grand Galloping Gala next month."

Bizarrely, there was some red in his cheeks all of a sudden. He looked tellingly over at Sparkshower and Glamerspear, who both seemed ready to die of embarrassment.

Which would damn well serve them right.

"Oh... If that's the problem... Am I only allowed to bring one guard to the Gala?"

'Now that's an interesting question.'

Honour didn't know enough about the guard’s rules for attendance at the Gala proper, having never given the main portion of the event any serious thought. This was exactly the kind of situation where a socialite Royal Guardspony from a minor noble house would have been of great benefit to have as the fourth member of the quaternion, instead of an alien batpony.

But in this particular case, Glamerspear, having taken initiative with her scam attempt, probably knew all the details. Honour glanced in her direction, lifted an eyebrow and gave her a nod.

The unicorn cleared her throat before speaking, getting a stern glare from Sergeant Ebonshield. "Uh, strictly speaking, guests aren't allowed to bring any guards into the Gala proper..."

With everyone's attention on her, she picked up a bit. "... It's considered that all guests are under the protection of Their Majesties, so any escorts are left at the door and sent to their own little 'party room.'"

Glamerspear dipped her head meekly. "... But since you're bound to be issued two tickets, I figured you'd probably just take whoever happened to be on duty in as a guest rather than a guard."

The Royal Engineer licked his lips. "And you both wanted that?"

They nodded, and Sparkshower piped up. "Even Corporal Bound was interested!"

Honour could have hoof-slapped her forehead right about then.

'Way to go, Sparkshower.'

'Make a mess on the floor, and then show it proudly to the VIP.'

The room was silent as the Royal Engineer looked down at her, and around at everypony else.

Then he just shrugged. "Well, er, is there any reason I wouldn't be able to get my hands on two extra tickets?"

Glamerspear's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped like she'd just been told she won the Equestrian State Lottery.

"Uh... Sure... If you asked for a couple more, I don't think anypony would say 'no.' I just... never considered that you'd do such a thing."

Anonymous slipped his hands into his pockets. "I mean, if it means that much to the three of you, I don't see why not. You too, Sergeant, if you're interested."

Rather than bowing, Ebonshield just smiled and nodded her head, blinking slowly. "I would consider this a privilege and an honor, Great Lord."

That seemed to cheer him up a bit, as Honour saw the smile creep back onto his face and the confidence come back into his voice. "So it's settled, then. I'll ask for five tickets in total."

"Uh..." Piping up, Sparkshower awkwardly scratched one foreleg with the other.

"... Could you make it six, sir?"

She smiled, blushing so heavily she couldn’t even bring herself to look the Royal Engineer in the eyes.

"... I'd... I'd really like to be able to invite my coltfriend to come."

Lifting an eyebrow, Anonymous grinned and gave a friendly laugh.

‘Now he's back in proper form.’

"Hah, all right, six tickets it is..."

He jerked his head towards the staircase at the end of the hall.

"... Now, I've intruded up here on the servants' floor enough for one day. Let's head back downstairs, Sergeant, so the clean-up operation can begin."

Stepping out of the doorway, he departed, and Ebonshield followed after him, shutting the door behind her.

Honour Bound turned to the two idiot specialists in her charge.

If Equestria could be powered by smiles, Sparkshower's would fuel the nation for a hundred years. "Wow! Did you hear that, Lily? We ALL get to go! Huckleberry too! Ooh, I can't wait to write to him tonight!"

Glamerspear tried to smile, but she just looked tired. "Yeah. Hey, Sparks, can you do me a favor?"

That set Sparkshower on guard again a little bit, given the current context.

“Um, maybe?"

'Well, at least she's learning.'

Glamerspear chuckled weakly, then stepped over to the coffee table to grab her medicine pouch.

Honour furrowed her brow. "Didn't you just take one of those before the fight?"

Before she’d even finished, Glamerspear popped another one of the mana suppressants.

"Yeah, I did, Corporal. And I was still using my horn during the fight..." She looked over at Sparkshower, putting a hoof up to her horn and groaning in pain. "... Can you do your jerk-ass friend a favor and help me drag my sorry butt to medical, Sparks?"

Glamerspear looked down at the empty vial.

"... I've been taking double doses of this stuff since last night, and I still feel awful."

The pegasus pony approached with a regretful smile on her face. "Of course I'll help you there, Lily."

As they made for the door, Honour cleared her throat. The two 'shoes stopped to look at her, and she nodded at the awful mess they were leaving behind. There was a gulp and a groan.

‘Ugh.’

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, she pointed at the door. "Get out of here, and don't forget that you both owe me for this."

"Thanks, Corporal."

"Thanks, Corporal."

As they left, Honour started to put the room back in order.

In every squad, there was always one troublemaker.

Lucky her; she had two.

Next Chapter: Chapter 32 Estimated time remaining: 32 Hours, 17 Minutes