Differences and Departure
"...during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?"
The Lord replied,
"The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you."
-Footprints In The Sand
The normally peaceful setting of Canterlot's castle was off today. At least, thats what it felt like to the staff who were employed there. Indeed, those who worked as maids, guards, chefs or any other occupations the castle required had a bond to the castle itself that was deeper, but much more subtle than common day magic.
Oh, I'm sure any denizen in Canterlot, including the odd tourist, would look to Canterlot's crown jewel as a symbol of peace and security. The truth though was that everypony in the castle felt anxious, on edge even.
This had not been the first time either. And it seemed like it usually happened as a mirror result of the Princess' anxiety and worry. It was fear during Discord's return, and apprehension during the incident following the return of the Crystal Empire; perhaps if more had shared Princess Sparkle's (though she did not carry that title at the time) worry during the Royal Wedding, fate would have been different, but...
Despite everypony's mood, a particular pony named Strong Arm couldn't help but allow himself a small smile. You see, this pony (a pegasus, to be exact) had recently been promoted. Shortly after Princess Sparkle's coronation, an entirely new staff of guards, handpicked by Captain Armor himself, had been assigned to be the Princess' personal protectors. These guards were made up of hardened ponies who had years of combat experience, as well as the best and brightest of those who had freshly graduated from the Academy. Strong Arm was the latter.
The young guard pony had good cause to be pleased. It had been a mere three weeks since his arrival at canterlot, as well as an additional two months since his graduation, and he had already been promoted...twice! From grounds sentry to the esteemed Air Patrol Pegasai, an elite group who were responsible for keeping the skies of Equestria clear of danger and foe alike, and now to the personal guard to Princess Twilight herself!
Strong Arm assumed it was probably due to completing the grueling physical exam ahead of his peers with record performance that warranted such a rapid climb in rank. But, Strong Arm couldn't complain; except for the ridiculous purple armor he had been given for his new position.
Oh, and the fact that everyone in the castle was in a somber mood.
Following the directions that his new orders had given him, Strong Arm walked down the vast hallways that led to where his new post would be. The day's last rays of sunlight still clung to noon, so the candles held in sconces along the wall had not yet been lit. Strong Arm assumed that some of the other staff would attend to that mundane task.
As he walked along, a pony in similar armor to his own emerged from an adjoining hallway. His grey mane and coat, of what could be seen, was cut short in a manner that matched his professional, no-nonsense expression. He fell into step beside Strong Arm, but kept silent all the while.
"So," thought Strong Arm,"I guess I'll be making the introductions here."
He turned to the new comer. "So, you must be...?"
"Braveheart," the pony replied. "I'm assigned to Princess Twilight's personal retinue."
"What a coincidence!" exclaimed Strong Arm. "So am I! Does this mean we're partners or something? I haven't heard anything about our commanding officer, so I assume-"
"You assume wrong Strong Arm." The pony glanced over Strong Arm's way. "I am the commanding officer of Princess Sparkle's guard, so you had better straighten your act before I demote you and send you to do garden work in the royal maze for a full month!"
Strong Arm, now quivering before an earth pony only two thirds his size, replied meekly,"You'd do that?...Sir?"
"Oh, I'll do much worse than that if you test me."
And before you could say "Alicorn", Strong Arm, properly chastised, proceeded to "straighten his act", adopting a posture and pace to match that of the newly discovered officer beside him.
The pony named Braveheart allowed himself a small smile. He had forgotten how much fun it was to break in a new recruit. Despite Strong Arm's impressive size, the brief exchange between the two had quickly taught his place in the chain of command faster than even Braveheart would have anticipated.
The rest of their journey throughout the castle was spent in silence. Celestia's sun shrank to a red orb in the sky, which began to descend to the earth and out of view.
They eventually arrived at a pair of large wooden doors, which Strong Arm guessed was the entrance to the Princess' new quarters. Braveheart motioned Strong Arm to wait a distance away from the entrance. He then knocked on the huge doors, but was met with no reply.
But what Braveheart did hear was the sound of voices inside, two distinct voices that were in the middle of a heated argument. Unfortunately, the doors were too thick for Braveheart to make out anything specific.
Strong Arm, noticing his commanding officer's behavior, decided to venture a question. "Sir, is there a problem sir?"
"It sounds like quite the commotion in there," replied Braveheart. "Since only the Princesses and their guards have direct access to these quarters for the time being, I'm guessing its two or more of the Princesses themselves going at each other in there; guards here would never argue in any of the royal living areas. Although, I haven't seen much evidence from any of the new guard ponies to support that claim..."
Strong Arm decided to ignore that. But, he could understand where Braveheart was coming from. Word around the castle (though he hadn't been there long enough to confirm it) was that since the coronation, Twilight Sparkle's attempt to aid the current rulers in their, well, ruling had been only harmful at best. In fact, Princess Luna had already confronted her before about an incident with some gryphons who had been taken in for stealing livestock from a neighboring farm. Nasty creatures.
"Should we go inside sir?"
Braveheart shook his head. "Best not to get involved. Things can get pretty nasty when there's a royalty sized dispute. Dangerous even."
It was at that moment that things got very dangerous.
The double doors, hit by a powerful blast of magical strength, were blown quite literally off their hinges and across the hallway, Braveheart with them.
Several smaller blasts followed, forcing Strong Arm to take cover. He had no faith that the new armor he had been issued stood any chance of protecting him from such a vicious barrage.
Moments later, a voice of cosmic proportions burst from the room, one just as strong as the magic that had preceded it.
"TWILIGHT SPARKLE," it bellowed,"YOU WILL STOP THIS INSOLENCE!"
Strong Arm had heard of the unnatural strength of the Royal Canterlot Voice before, but the sheer potency of it caused his ears to ring with such severity they threatened to bleed. In an effort to stop the pain, he clamped his fore hooves over the sides of his head.
This proved to be an unwise decision, as a magical projectile (probably aimed at whoever was doing the shouting) caused debris to fly straight into his eyes.
"IF YOU STOP NOW, CELESTIA WILL NOT-PUT THAT TABLE DOWN IMMEDIATELY!"
A massive oak table, which probably had costed several thousand bits, was thrown through the wall right above Strong Arm. Many other items, including books, chairs, and a vase of presumably priceless value joined the hail of inanimate objects. Strong Arm had to move fast in order to keep from being hit.
Braveheart, who until now had been quite dazed by the blow he had been dealt, rose weakly from the remains of what had once been the doors. Taking care to avoid the flying missiles, he was able to see into the room; or, what was left of it.
The spacious living quarters that had been furnished for the new princess had been torn apart as if a dragon, manticore, and a tank had decided to have a spontaneous free-for-all. Craters created by magical blasts dotted the room, blackened from burns that still smoked. Bookshelves and pieces of furniture had been thrown about like so many toys, and even a few dresses were added to the mix.
Braveheart recognized Princess Luna, who appeared to be the target of the onslaught that resulted in this mess. The constant attacks aimed at her forced her to teleport at a rapid speed, with such precision that only an alicorn could've managed.
In the middle of the room stood a single unicorn...no, an alicorn. Her wings weren't developed by alicorn standards, but Braveheart recognized them along with her horn. The assailant's lavender coat was covered in dust, as was the tiara that was knocked askew on her head. Her eyes were fixed in a heart-wrenching mix of despair and rage, but even as she threw object after object, she did nothing to stop the flow of tears that ran down her cheeks. Braveheart could only assume that this was Princess Sparkle herself; he hadn't been present at her ceremony, so he had no idea of what his new charge would look like. However, this turn of events was not what he had been expecting at all.
"She's certainly powerful enough to be a princess. That hit I took was proof enough for me. But why would Celestia choose this mare to rule over Equestria? She's looks much too young to be a princess. She's certainly not acting like it; no, more like a filly throwing a tantrum!"
Finally, Princess Sparkle reached the limit to her magic and ceased her attacks. The tip of her horn glowed white-hot, and even smoked from so much use. Princess Luna, gaining a respite from the previously non-stop assault, transported herself to the doorway, facing Twilight and obscuring Braveheart's vision.
She then continued her verbal outrage. "THIS IS NOT BEHAVIOR BEFITTING THAT OF CELESTIA'S FAVORITE PUPIL, MUCH LESS THAT OF A PRINCESS TO-BE!"
"Am I not a princess?" Twilight's first verbal response to Luna was shaky, and barely heard over the ringing of Braveheart's ears. "I've gotten my wings, said the vows, I've heard they're even making a statue in my honor in the courtyard! Look at this!" She pointed to the crown on her head. "What else do I need?!"
"A CROWN DOES NOT MAKE A KING, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!"
"Then what does? Tell me! TELL ME!"
Twilight's yell, though not loud enough to match Luna's sheer power, was filled with such broken emotion that Braveheart could not help but feel a tug at his heartstrings.
Luna shook her head. "IT IS OBVIOUS THAT YOUR TRAINING IN PONYVILLE WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO ADEQUATELY PREPARE YOU FOR THIS."
She then looked Twilight into her tear-filled eyes.
"You are not worthy to wear that crown, Twilight. You never have. And you never will."
To this, Twilight had no response. It seemed as if Luna's foregoing the Royal Canterlot Voice made her accusation all the more sincere. Twilight's knees began to shake. Her eyes began to lose her remnants of rage, and instead fell completely to despair.
But what she did next not even Princess Luna could have anticipated.
Braveheart could only watch as Twilight bolted from the room. But instead of running past the wreckage she'd created, she turned and ran towards the open windows, which led to a balcony facing the setting sun. The window's, he assumed, must've been beaten open during the...difference of royal opinions. But that seemed trivial to what he realized was happening.
Luna realized it as well. "Wait, Twilight Sparkle! Come back! STOP!"
But Luna's appeal could not slow down Twilight, who leapt off the balcony and took flight. The powerful wings on her back beat frantically in her attempt to flee the scene. As Princess Luna ran to the edge of the balcony, Twilight Sparkle's flight carried her beyond the reach of Luna's magic. Now only a pinprick in the distance, not even the Wonderbolt's could have hoped to catch the runaway princess.
Luna contemplated running after Twilight herself. But even if she did, what then? Restrain her with magic? Soothe her with calming words?...Definitely not that one. No, it just wasn't possible.
"THAT FOOL! WHAT DOES SHE HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH BY RUNNING?"
She stalked angrily back towards the entrance, her hooves making sharp noises against the floor. In her frustration, she failed to see Braveheart, who had come back to attention quite seamlessly.
In Braveheart's many years of service, he was one of a lucky few who had witnessed the true emotions of his charges. Even the Royal Guard, who were always nearby the Princesses and could claim to be the closest, seldom saw them break their visage of calm and collected control.
But once in awhile, due to one event or another, one could see the true expressions that were hidden under the mask of royalty that the Princesses wore out of necessity. Braveheart could only watch as he witnessed the conflicting emotions in Luna's mind twist that very mask, even as she attempted to salvage any composure she had left to muster.
"I cannot understand her! Does she not know the consequences of what she has wrought? What has she done?!"
She suddenly stopped. The complete wreckage outside of the room littered the hallway of the castle. Furniture, books,
even the remains of a tapestry were scattered like leaves in a storm. They had been thrown in Twilight's anger, aimed at the object of her distress.
But Luna realized that the blame could not be placed on one pony.
"What have I done?"
A quiet cough alerted her that she was not alone. A quick turn around confirmed Braveheart's presence, who had relaxed his poise (somewhat) and approached Luna's side. His face betrayed no emotion, but his eyes held a spark of sympathy.
"Commander Braveheart! I did not notice you there." Luna was visibly shocked at the presence of one of the most competent guards the castle's staff had to offer. The sisters knew him well, Celestia from the time of his birth many years ago. He was one of the closest ponies to the Princesses, apart from Shining Armor and a few of their advisors. His numerable years of service had led him to adopt an almost fatherly sense of protectiveness for them, though he would never admit it to anypony. And to the Celestia and Luna, he had become a pony of responsibility who was held in high esteem and honor. They would often confide in his advice...and had spent more than one night giggling like fillies about how handsome he was.
Braveheart responded to his princess. "Apologies Princess. I had orders to report to Miss...er, Princess Twilight's chambers with one of the new recruits. I had no intention of overhearing your argument, or being caught up in it for that matter."
"Oh!...How long did you hear our, well, argument?" Luna's surprise had quickly turned to embarrassment, and Braveheart's features in kind visibly softened.
"Long enough Princess. Long enough."
