Night fell as Celestia lowered the sun allowing Luna to raise her moon. The moon was partly covered by a few clouds that had been brought in by a weather team that Cloudsdale had sent in to help maintain the weather in the Crystal Empire. The moon emitted very little light, making this night darker than usual.
Time crawled slowly by as the moon rose higher up into the sky. When the moon was at its peak, the guards that had been standing out at their guard posts protecting the Empire were sent back to their cots to allow themselves to get some rest while the night shift took over.
Lieutenant Strong was awakened at this time in his cot by Sergeant Sharp, as Sharp was instructed. Strong thanked the Sergeant for performing the last of his duties and dismissed him to his own cot to get some well-deserved rest. The Sergeant obliged and thankfully left.
Lieutenant Strong put on his armor and put his sword in its sheath, and then he walked out to his assigned guard post. He hoped he would never have to use his sword, but he needed to be prepared in case he did.
When he got to the guard post, he dismissed the two guards that were there back to get some shuteye. Pouring himself some coffee that had been sitting there prepared on a small table set up at the post, he sat down and looked out and watched the open field to the southeast of the Crystal Empire. It was beautiful, even at night, and there weren’t any signs of any changelings.
Of course not, Strong thought to himself. There hadn’t been any sightings for about a month now and every night since then his shift had been dull and boring. But he never fell asleep while he was on his shift. No, his job was way too important for that to happen. Also, there was plenty of evidence to show that he wasn’t just going out there every night for nothing.
It had all started five months ago, back when the changelings attacked Canterlot at the royal wedding of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, the captain of the royal guard.
The changelings were driven away, but not until the newlyweds combined their strength to create a magical barrier. But before they were able to do this, the changelings had deceived the royal guards by sending in their queen to replace the princess. By chance, the real princess was found and was able to save Canterlot. That made everypony realize just how dangerous the changelings were. The changelings weren’t seen or heard from for a while after their defeat.
Stand Strong had been off duty after receiving the title of Lieutenant for his services to Princess Celestia when the princesses got a warning telling them about a threat to Canterlot (which in hindsight ended up being the changelings). As a result, he was called back on duty to protect the kingdom.
Only weeks after the Canterlot incident, the Crystal Empire popped into existence from nowhere. Prince Shining Armor and his wife, Princess Cadence, had gone to protect the Empire from the threat that came with it, King Sombra.
The king was defeated after the bearers of the Elements of Harmony were sent by the princesses to help defend the Empire and found and restored the Crystal Heart to its proper place.
At this time, everything had been brought back to order. Princess Cadence--who ended up being the true ruler of the Crystal Empire--remembered the threat posed by the changelings at her wedding in Canterlot. Recognizing the fact that the changelings fed off of love to survive, and knowing that the very centerpiece of the Empire, the Crystal Heart, was powered by the crystal ponies’ love and unity for one another, she saw that the Empire was in immediate danger.
The first offer for protection by the princesses at Canterlot was declined, Princess Cadence insisting that the shield spell used before at the wedding would be enough to stop them. Using a spell now known to be useful, the prince and princess checked the entire Empire to ensure that nopony was replaced by a changeling. However, it seemed as though the changelings had the idea to simply wait them out, not appearing until after Prince Shining Armor’s spell gave out due to his strain. Through sheer luck, the Empire was able to fend off the changelings, driving them back into hiding. This time, Cadence did not decline help from the princesses at Canterlot.
And that was how Lieutenant Strong found himself being sent along with a battalion of royal guards to protect the Crystal Empire. That was four months ago.
Now he found himself standing guard while the Empire slept, watching for a threat that had all but disappeared a month ago. There had been some comings and goings of changelings spotted in the distance, but they had altogether stopped a month ago.
Lieutenant Strong looked back when he heard the clopping of hoofsteps coming towards him. It was Private Shield--a member of the Lunar Guard that was assigned to guard the night with Lieutenant Strong at their guard post. The private had a jet black coat that matched Strong’s mane, a white mane that was hidden by the helmet he wore, and grey eyes the same color as Strong’s coat. Private Shield’s cutie mark was, of all things, a shield. Lieutenant Strong’s flank bore a cutie mark resembling a wall of tan sandbags. Both were hidden by the armor they wore.
Taking some coffee for himself after receiving a grunt of acknowledgement from Lieutenant Strong, Private Shield sat down where he could watch the southwestern portion of the land where Strong wasn’t watching. It was a unanimous decision made to ensure that more ground could be watched over, requiring less of the guards to be at their posts at one time.
The Lunar Guard and the Celestial Guard sat, barely taking notice of each other, watching over a horizon that may or may not house enemies that they were barely prepared to take on. The hours passed slowly as the moon got closer and closer to the western horizon. They waited.
* * *
Back in Ponyville, just before the sun had been put to rest on this same night that Private Shield and Lieutenant Strong were keeping vigil over the southern land of the Crystal Empire, Song was in her house, watching the sun as it started to go down.
Song was a writer who lived in Ponyville after having moved there from Trottingham. She was wonderful at writing and telling stories. But she hadn’t been writing. Her good friend, Stand Strong, was far away right now, defending the Crystal Empire under the orders of Princess Celestia herself. Though he wanted to never have to harm another being after his many years of service in the royal guard, Strong’s loyalty to Celestia was unwavering and he would have gladly gone to Tartarus at her orders.
Song knew her friend well enough to understand the conflict in his heart between his loyalty and the violence his loyalty had led him to witness. He had received many scars in battle when he was sent off to protect the kingdom at every order the Princess gave.
Song and Stand Strong had been good friends ever since they were fillies. Though some of their mutual friends would have said they should have been “more than friends” by now, they both denied it. Neither of them needed anything more than a close friend they could rely on in all their time of knowing each other.
They had met in school when they were fillies. They met because Strong had been sitting next to her in class every day. Song was the quiet type of filly, so they never really spoke. But one day, when they were being let outside for recess, Song stayed behind. Strong thought this to be odd, so he stayed behind and asked her why she wasn’t going outside with the others as she usually would.
She answered by showing him the journal she had been writing in and saying that she was planning on going outside, but she wanted to put a few finishing touches on her story first before she closed it for the day.
Strong gave her a smile and said he would wait with her while she finished. She smiled back while she put a few more words into a sentence to finish the paragraph she was working on.
When Song put her journal away, Strong walked with her out to the playground and asked her what she was writing. She said she was writing a story that had come to her, and she wanted to get it written down before forgetting what the story was.
Strong told her that he could help her remember what was left of the story so that she wouldn’t forget when she wasn’t writing. There was one condition: she had to tell him her story. For, he had said, how could he remember a story he never heard?
Song grinned at this and said she would gladly tell him her story so that she wouldn’t forget. Only she had a condition of her own: Strong would have to tell her his name. He did so, and she told him hers. They then found a shady spot beneath a tree and Song started telling Strong her story.
When some time had passed, the fillies and colts were called back inside because recess had ended. Song looked at Strong with a disappointed look in her eyes as she wasn’t finished with her story yet. Strong comforted her and told her she could tell the rest of it after school. Song then smiled and gave him a hug, telling him she would. They walked back inside together.
Neither of them really had any friends before then, and they both could tell. One without a friend can recognize another. And so they had a silent agreement from that day forth that they would be friends.
Song sighed at these memories and she pleaded to the first star of the evening sky that her friend would come home safely.
* * *
Lieutenant Strong sat watching the land as the hours passed. He was thinking back on the times he had spent with his friend Song years ago to pass the time.
He remembered back to the days when Song and he were just becoming good friends. He remembered that first day when they had met and Song had been telling him the story she had come up with. He loved that story and enjoyed every bit she had told him.
On that first day, when Song finished telling him her story after school had ended, Strong remembered noticing that she had gained her cutie mark.
When he pointed this out to her, she seemed very joyous and gave him a huge hug which he initially blushed at, but he then returned. The cutie mark resembled a blank piece of parchment with a quill hovering over it.
Lieutenant Strong also remembered back to the day when he first earned his cutie mark. It was about a week after Song had gotten her cutie mark. They were in the playground for recess again, but this time the circumstances were coming from a different perspective.
Strong had just come out to the playground after Song had gone out moments before, only to find her in tears. When looking to see what was the matter, Strong saw that there were three older ponies standing over her, one of them holding her journal in his hooves, threatening to rip it in half. Strong couldn’t stand seeing his friend so helpless, so he approached them cautiously, but with a fire burning in his heart.
“P-Please give me my journal back,” Song whimpered through her sobs.
Strong was becoming angry, but he kept his cool as he repeated what she said, but with more strength behind his words to show the bullies that he was on her side.
The one who held the journal--who was obviously the head of their group--laughed and said that he didn’t see why he should. Now very furious, Strong fumed from his ears. How dare they? They were picking on the nicest pony Strong had ever met, and they had no reason to do so. What was worse was that they had hurt her, and he wasn’t about to forgive them for it.
Strong turned around and bucked the journal out of the head bully’s grasp, grabbing it in his mouth before it touched the ground. He turned around and handed the journal back to Song, who gratefully took it.
After the bullies stopped looking dumbfounded, the head one seemed to recover first and said to Strong, “hey, what do you think you’re doing? Stay out of our business!”
“If you’re picking on my friend it is my business. Now leave her alone!” retorted Strong.
The head bully now looked as furious as Strong felt. “Get him!” the head shouted at his followers.
Looking scared, Song grabbed up her journal and ran back towards the school to do the sensible thing, which was to inform their teacher about the fight in the schoolyard.
One of the two other bullies started running towards Song to try and stop her from getting them into trouble, but Strong pounced on him and got him on the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs.
The other one charged at Strong head on, but Strong shoved him aside with one hoof. Strong then got up off of the first one he pounced on and stood between the bullies and the school and took a stand to make an intimidating impression.
It partially worked. When the two bullies had recovered, all three of them looked uncertain. Strong stood there with no intention of moving out of the way. Finally catching their breaths, the three bullies charged at him all at once. Strong knew he was in for it, but he also knew that if he held his ground, the teacher would be out shortly to deal with the bullies.
The head hit Strong hard in the side, but he stood his ground and knocked him away with his hind leg. The other two both charged at him and knocked the air out of his lungs as they pounded his stomach. Strong was starting to hurt, but he knew that if he could last just a little longer, they would be put to justice.
While he was regaining his breath, the three bullies started kicking him before he could get up. Frustrated, he lashed out his hind legs and kicked one of them off of him, making room for him to stand back up and strike out at the other two. With one strong swipe of his forehoof, the other two bullies were pushed back. Strong stood where he was, not having moved an inch since he took his stand. He lowered his head and snorted out of his nostrils, glaring at his attackers. Blood was roaring in his ears as he prepared himself for them to come and attack him again. He couldn’t let them get through him.
Seeing that this colt was a bigger and stronger target than they had intended to pick on, the three bullies backed off.
Finally, Song returned from the school with the teacher following right behind her. The three bullies were brought to justice for their actions and were led off to where their teacher would come up with a suitable punishment for their behavior.
Song trotted up to Strong and asked if he was hurt. He responded, saying that it wasn’t anything he couldn’t live with and was much easier for him to deal with than seeing her hurt. She thanked him for standing up for her and helping him get her journal back.
Then Song noticed something that hadn’t been noticed by Strong while he was fighting. Strong had gotten his cutie mark! She hugged him and congratulated him for this and he smiled, returning the hug.
Lieutenant Strong smiled at these memories.
* * *
As Song lay in her bed that night, she let the promises they gave each other when they last saw each other run through her head like they did every night since they were given.
Strong had gone to be a member of the royal guard, and Song was supportive of this decision. This was years after they finished school, and they remained close friends. When Strong received a notice that Canterlot was looking for strong, able-bodied stallions to join the royal guard under Princess Celestia, he couldn’t resist signing up. He had always been loyal to the Princess, and he couldn’t decline this chance to prove it to her. Song told him that she would always go to meet him when he was off duty, but he told her he would come and see her in Ponyville instead.
After his first months in service, he started a regular thing of coming to see Song every few months whenever he got off duty. She was always glad to see him whenever he returned from his time as a royal guard. They would go out to one of the cafes in town and would catch up on what was going on in their lives.
Song would tell Strong her latest stories, while Strong listened to her speaking with her sweet voice as she told him amazing tales of the adventures her characters had together.
One year ago, before this time when Song was laying in her bed recalling the promises made, Song met Strong at the train station as she always did when he was coming back to visit her, but this time he wanted to say something before she got to telling him of her latest stories.
He told her that he had just gotten back from a battle he had been sent off to by the Princess. He had gone to the lands at the border between Equestria and the Griffin Kingdom to defend the border from the griffin uprising. He told her that he had been forced to kill countless griffins and ponies alike, there having been a rebellious group of ponies deciding to help the griffins invade.
He explained that he didn’t want to be a part of the guard if he had to do any more killing. He said that he would come back after his next month on duty to take a long vacation so that he could stay there with her in Ponyville. This time, she was the listener. And she was just as good at listening as she was at telling stories.
He thanked her for being his friend he could come to and talk to, and she gave him another one of the hugs that Strong had gotten used to over the years, while Song told him that she would always welcome him home whenever he chose to take a leave of absence from the guard.
Then, when he was brought back from his time with Song in Ponyville to protect Canterlot from a threat, he willingly went away to stand guard and protect the princesses. He wasn’t going to allow anything harm the princesses if he had anything to say about it.
He then returned after defending the castle from the invading changelings and told Song that he wouldn’t be able to see her for a while, as he would have to stay and protect the castle in case the changelings returned. She seemed disappointed by this news, but she accepted it and told him that she would happily wait for him whenever he got a chance to visit.
Two days before being sent by the princesses to protect the Crystal Empire from the impending changeling threat, Strong visited Song one last time to let her know that he would be away for a long time. This time, he would send her a letter while he was away to keep her updated and let her know he was okay. Song said she would write back and respond to every letter she got so he would know she got them.
The next day at the train station, just before Strong boarded the train for the Crystal Empire, he felt he needed to tell her one last thing before he left. He promised that no matter what happened while he was away, he would come back and stay with her when he was finished, this time for good.
Song gave him a promise in return, telling him that she wouldn’t finish any more of her stories until he got back so that she could finish them with him there while she wrote. Giving him one last hug before he left, Song felt a tear roll down her cheek. She would miss him while he was away and hoped he would have a safe return to Ponyville.
Now, months later lying in her bed, Song felt a tear roll down her cheek once more as she pleaded, not for the first time that night, that he would return safely.
* * *
Back in the Crystal Empire, Lieutenant Strong and Private Shield had been waiting, sitting vigil, for four hours by this time. There was no sign of any changeling attack that night. Lieutenant Strong had been looking through the half-light of the moon at a picture he had tucked away in his chestplate of Song, admiring the teal eyes that looked so much like his, the beautiful, flowing red mane of hers and her off-white coat. She had a huge smile on her face and she was holding a present she had gotten for her birthday from Strong.
Lieutenant Strong smiled, longing to see that wonderful mare again soon. But something happened that made his ears perk up as he tucked away the picture back into its place under his chestplate.
It was the sound of metal against metal. It was the sound that Lieutenant Strong had heard before and never wanted to hear again: it was the sound of sword fighting.
Why hadn’t the alarm been sounded? he wondered. But there was no time for him to worry about this problem. He instructed Private Shield to go and see if he can sound the alarm while Lieutenant Strong went to wake up the other guards.
Private Shield nodded in acknowledgement and left in the direction of the alarm that was in place nearest to them.
After seeing him off, Lieutenant Strong left for the tents that housed the sleeping guards. When he got there, he poked his head inside each tent in quick succession, each time shouting at them to “get up! We’re being attacked! Wake up!”
After making sure that every guard was now awake and suited up, he quickly instructed each of them to follow. When he was finished giving the orders, he left to go and see why the alarm still wasn’t sounding.
He left at a quick gallop, and when he got there, he saw that the bell that had been placed there to be rung if any attackers came by was missing, and all around the tower there were changelings standing guard, stopping any of the other guards from approaching. Some of them were wielding swords of their own, even. Strong looked around for the private he had sent to sound the alarm, but he was nowhere to be found. Strong wondered why none of the changelings had assumed a different form than their own, but he didn’t have time to continue wondering as four of the changelings that were wielding swords charged at him.
Strong barely had enough time to pull out his sword and deflect the first swing that was going for his head. The second swing he was unable to deflect, but it glanced off of his armor. He then swung his sword in a huge arc to force the changelings to back away.
From behind him, Lieutenant Strong heard approaching hoofsteps as some of the guards came closer, drawing their swords as they approached, and took their places standing next to Strong. This fight was now evenly matched, but none of the guards knew how the battle was going anywhere else around the guard posts.
Both sides charged at each other at once, Lieutenant Strong deciding to take on the changeling right in front of him. Swing up. Clang! Swing left. Dodge. Block. Jump back and swing upwards at the opening. The changeling matched his every block and swing, showing him that he wasn’t getting anywhere. Lieutenant Strong then sidestepped the changeling’s downward swing at him and he then faked a side swing, carrying the momentum through with an upward thrust which broke the changeling’s defense and broke through the changeling’s shell-like body.
As the changeling fell, another one approached him. This time, the changeling was quickly cut down by one of the guards, giving Strong a chance to run through the barrier of changeling guards and run up into the bell tower.
Inside, Strong saw that the bell had been taken down and stuffed with cloth. There was still no sign of Private Shield.
Seeing that there was no time for him to try putting the bell back up for use, Strong looked through everything else in the bell tower to see if he could find a makeshift alarm. After some searching, he did end up finding a cone-shaped funnel and a metal plate.
Climbing the stairs up to the top of the bell tower, Strong set up the cone so that it pointed towards the Crystal Palace and bashed the metal plate with the hilt of his sword as hard as he could for a whole minute until the metal plate was so badly dented that it wouldn’t function as an alarm anymore.
He hoped that would suffice. Galloping back down out of the tower, Strong saw that two of the guards had been killed, but the changelings standing guard had either been killed or had ran away.
The two remaining guards Lieutenant Strong ordered to follow him. He led them to the other guard posts to round up what guards he could to hold a perimeter around the Crystal Empire.
Chancing a glance at the horizon, Strong saw the outline of a wall of changelings, black against the dark blue sky. Now seeing that they were hopelessly outnumbered, Strong felt a new rush of adrenaline as he charged around the perimeter, checking each guard post in turn. There was no way they would be able to fight all of those changelings at once, so they only had a severely limited time to build a perimeter while somepony was sent to warn Shining Armor and Princess Cadence that they would have to use a warding spell to stop the changelings from reaching the Crystal Heart.
Lieutenant Strong and the two guards cantered around, looking to round up each of the nine remaining guard posts to form a perimeter.
Two of the guard posts had been demolished, guards lying dead at their hooves when they arrived. There was no hope of giving the dead guards proper amends while they were on a time stretch, so Lieutenant Strong was forced to keep searching.
At the other seven guard posts, they had more luck, finding three of them intact, two of them only bearing a few dead guards while those that remained gladly went with them. The remaining two guard posts were still in combat, but with their building forces, the guards were able to easily kill or drive off the remaining changelings in the area.
By this time, Lieutenant Strong could hear the distant sound of hooves and buzzing wings as the changelings approached. Seeing how little time they had left, Lieutenant Strong organized the guards into a tight perimeter around the Crystal Empire. He then instructed one of the faster pegasus guards to deliver word to the prince and princess and return immediately after. The pegasus nodded and immediately sped off. By now, the air was filled with the buzzing of wings and the clopping of hooves. Seconds later, the changelings reached the perimeter set up by the guards. It was obvious to Lieutenant Strong that they wouldn’t be able to fight all of these changelings and would have to rely on the pegasus to get to the prince and princess in time.
The sounds instantly transitioned from buzzing and clopping to the clashing of metal-on-metal one more time as the wall of changelings reached the perimeter of guards. Lieutenant Strong had his sword ready and he instantly cut down the first two changelings that reached him.
The third changeling that reached him wasn’t as careless as the first two and swung its sword immediately as it reached him. Strong blocked it, shoving the blade away with so much force that the blade flew from its grasp. He didn’t waste a moment, instantly using that time to thrust his sword into the changeling’s chest.
The changelings just kept coming, showing no end to their forces.
Lieutenant Strong continued to cut down his enemies for what felt like hours, but in reality only ten minutes had passed.
By this time, the guards, including Strong, were starting to tire. The next changeling that approached Strong was able to break his defense and scratch through his chestplate, slightly cutting through his chest underneath and Strong felt a stinging pain where it had scratched him.
But this didn’t distract him. Strong thrust his sword so that the changeling backed away to avoid being impaled. The changeling then swung around its sword in a fluid motion and cut Strong’s left foreleg. This drew some blood, but this let Strong get a good jab to kill the changeling.
The sun was now rising above the horizon, turning the sky pink. As if this were a signal, some beams of light that were obviously spells shot from the palace, hitting each changeling in turn and, if hitting the changeling directly, disintegrated it. It the spell glanced off the changeling’s body, the changeling gave a look of horror and buzzed away.
This was helping, but it didn’t stop all of the changelings. The few closest to our line didn’t get shot at, possibly for fear of a spell hitting one of the guards.
The next changeling to attack Lieutenant Strong charged up and thrust its sword at him. He sidestepped it, but it cut through his armor and gave him a deep cut along his side. His side on fire with pain, the changeling swung again, this time knocking the back of his armor. This wasn’t enough to cut through the armor, but it certainly did make his legs buckle and made him drop his sword as he fell to the ground.
The changeling raised its sword to deliver a killing blow to Lieutenant Strong. In the short instant he had left, Strong looked out at his fallen comrades and the ones that still remained, fighting to protect what was worth protecting.
Just then, the picture of Song fell out of Strong’s chestplate and into his view. Taking one last look at the photograph, Lieutenant Strong drew back his hind legs and put all of his strength into one kick towards the changeling.
* * *
Song was waiting at the station. The letters she had been receiving from Strong had ceased, which got her worried, but she had received a letter from the guard postal service saying that they would be coming home soon. Song didn’t want to find out if Strong didn’t make it home, but she left for the station just in case.
When the train arrived in the station, Song’s heart leapt. She couldn’t stand the anticipation. She needed to know if Strong was going to be there.
When the doors opened and the few guards that lived in Ponyville stepped out onto the platform along with the other residents that had arrived back from Canterlot and business ponies coming to Ponyville, Song watched all the train cars to see if her friend was there. Seconds passed. Then minutes. Still no sign of Strong.
Song couldn’t bear it. If her friend didn’t return from the Crystal Empire, how could she live with herself? He was the one pony that brought joy to her life and gave her a purpose to keep writing stories. What could she do if he didn’t come back from his duties with the royal guard?
Not able to bear it any longer, Song turned around and started to cry. Her friend wasn’t coming back.
When she was making to leave, however, she was suddenly whirled around and pulled into a tight embrace. “Don’t worry. I came back, just like I promised,” whispered Strong into her ear.
Her heart fluttering with joy, Song gave a small laugh and said, “you did. And I have kept mine.”
They walked together off the platform, their hearts beating in sync with each other. Their promises had been kept, and they would be able to happily stay together in Ponyville, now with no wars, no battles, and no duties to keep them apart. Song could now continue her life as a storyteller and Strong would be able to happily take his place as her listener once more and for the days to follow.
