Life in the Royal Guard is all about long stretches of boredom intermixed with a few brief moments of absolute terror. Unfortunately, it looked like we were about to be experiencing the latter for the foreseeable future. I did not know what exactly was going on, beyond the fact that we were dealing with a Code Gold situation. That’s the standard Royal Guard designation for something only a princess could deal with. Usually, it meant some kind of ancient evil had broken free. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis. This time, it was something called Tirek.
Well, I did know a couple other things. The Wonderbolts had led a team against Tirek, and lost. Same for everypony else who’d gone up against him. And now Twilight had been called to Canterlot for a top-secret meeting. That was of some concern to me.
I am Captain Storm Kicker of the Clan Kicker, and I am Princess Twilight Sparkle’s bodyguard. The leader of her bodyguard unit, actually. For what that title is worth.
In hindsight, it should have been obvious from the day I took the job that something like this would happen. Princess Twilight seemed to have had a habit of getting involved in Code Gold situations even before she ascended. Still, at the time I was assigned to my post I had not really given that matter much thought. Ever since I had started as Twilight’s guardian, I had been a bit too busy concerning myself with every other aspect of being her bodyguard. It had taken a while for the two of us to even start getting along at all; Twilight needed time to adjust to having one personal bodyguard, let alone a whole unit of them. Thankfully, I knew some ponies from my Long Patrol days who had a talent for hanging back and remaining unseen, letting us do our duty without causing too much disruption to Twilight’s daily routine.
Of course, this was the first time we would really be put to the test. Aside from the golem incident back when I first started working with the princess, things had been relatively peaceful. The biggest crisis we had faced thus far was a fashionista going on a dark-magic-fueled beautifying campaign. Now we were facing a Code Gold. It was a bit of a step up from my previous experience as a royal protector.
The worst part was, we were all stuck waiting in Ponyville.
While I understood why Twilight needed to go to Canterlot and meet with the other princesses without anypony else, it still felt like my place was at Twilight’s side. Especially when we were in the middle of a crisis. It just seemed wrong that the one time I was not there for the princess was when she might be in danger. Those were my orders from Princess Twilight, though.
So instead of being out there, by her side, I was pacing around the library and worrying. No, not worrying. Calculating possible scenarios. An officer and a gentlemare does not have the luxury of worrying herself into a frenzy just because the pony she swore to protect might be in danger. I had to keep focused. Twilight might not need me right now, but that meant I needed to be certain I and the rest of her guards were ready to move out at a moment’s notice.
I was halfway through quadruple-checking my equipment when Rainbow Dash found me. As was her way, Rainbow just flew in through an open window instead of bothering to knock at the front door. To be fair, nopony seemed to mind, myself included. Rainbow quick-trotted over to me and sat down. “Hey, Storm, got a sec? Got some stuff I wanted to talk to you about.”
For a moment I considered making an excuse about how I was busy. To be honest, though, I was mostly just brooding and worrying. Having somepony to talk to might help with that. Mom always said communication was important. “Sure. What is it, Rainbow?”
Rainbow paused, took a deep breath, and then the words spilled out. “I’m kinda worried—well, not worried, more like concerned. Anyway, I’m concerned about Cloud Kicker. You know how your cousin can get; she’s all stupid and impulsive and stuff. So I just, y’know, was thinking it’d be good if you could make sure she doesn’t do anything dumb, like try and grab Shadow’s Armor again.”
Much as I respected Rainbow, I couldn’t help but think she was the last pony who should be giving out lectures about not doing something stupid and impulsive. Still, she had a point. During the Changeling attack on Canterlot, Cloud had tried to get Shadow’s Armor, an ancient and powerful relic forged by Celestia herself for one of our ancestors. According family legends, it had allowed Shadow to fight the Avatar of Nightmare Moon on an even basis, and could strengthen and protect everypony else near it. Considering the fact that Cloud attempted to obtain it before, it was reasonable to worry that she might do so again. “I’ll keep an eye out. You didn’t need to ask. She’s family.”
“Thanks.” Rainbow offered me a quick relieved smile. “I’m just a bit worried about Cloud, is all. Y’know, ‘cause she’s been getting a little fat lately.”
“She has?” It had been a couple weeks since the last time I had spent some quality time with my cousin, but I did not recall her having put on any weight since the last time I had seen her.
“Yeah. She’s getting ... y’know ... fat.” Rainbow waved a hoof over her own stomach in a vaguely circular motion. “I dunno, maybe it’s nothing. I’m just saying, if she is getting fat, then she needs to be careful and not do anything stupid, y’know?”
Huh. If Rainbow was implying what it sounded like she was implying... I made a mental note to check Cloud for any signs of ‘fatness’ next time I saw her. Assuming we had enough time for that to be a worry. Crisis threatening the very existence of Equestria and all that. I needed to focus right now. “Don’t worry, Rainbow. I will make sure Cloud does not do anything too crazy. Especially if she’s getting fat. Twilight too, of course.”
“Nah, Twi’ll be fine.” Rainbow clapped me on the shoulder. “She can survive anything. Dragons, ancient spirits of evil, random falling objects, Pinkie Pie.”
“Yeah.” I took a deep breath and tried to inject some reassured confidence into my voice. “The princess knows how to take care of herself. She'll be fine.” Even I could tell I did not sound terribly convinced by my own words.
“Hey.” Rainbow stepped up and put a wing over my back. “Relax, okay Storm? Between her and the other princesses, I'd say we've got everything covered. Besides, I’m here too. If that Tirek guy shows his ugly mug around here, we’ll kick his weird ass so hard he’ll think it’s his face.”
That got a weak snort out of me. Rainbow’s always had a knack for knowing exactly what to say to cheer me up. It’s been that way ever since I was that awkward, tall, leggy teenage filly, and Rainbow was my cool older cousin’s even cooler friend. It was strange, considering how different our personalities and tastes were, but I had always rather looked up to Rainbow Dash. Especially once some of Cloud’s bigger mistakes made her an unsuitable role model. I took a deep breath, and this time when I tried to smile for Rainbow it felt a bit more genuine.“Yeah, I guess they do have it handled. I mean, they arethe princesses.”
“Exactly.” Rainbow smiled and nodded. “S'like I was saying: we just have to keep Cloud from going off and doing anything stupid while they take care of Tirek.”
I hesitantly put a wing over Rainbow’s back, leaning against her. Part of what made Rainbow worth looking up to was that she would come by just to check on me and worry about my cousin. Cloud always said that underneath her tough exterior, Rainbow was a softie. “Rainbow? Could you let me know when Her Highness gets back from Canterlot, if I don't see her first?”
“Right, will do.” Rainbow paused, shooting a slight worried frown my way. “You doing alright? You seem a little ... I dunno. Off.”
“Just worried about Twilight,” I confessed. “And Cloud. And everypony else. Myself too, as long as I’m being honest.”
“Hey, relax.” Rainbow reached up and gently ruffled my mane, the way she used to do back when I was still a teenager. “Twilight’ll keep you safe.”
Yeah, she would. But it was supposed to be my job to protect her.
Rainbow came looking for me an hour later, and now she was in a mood, grumbling under her breath. “Lucky breeze my flank. Nopony can go that fast on their own. I can’t go that fast. What’s the deal with her lying and shutting me out?” She trailed off, and her grouchiness diminished slightly when she spotted me. “Hey, Stormy. If you’re still looking for Twi, she just got back. Then she went off into the woods to go check out the old castle again. Alone. Even though we wanted to come with her.”
Though my first instinct was to stick around and give Rainbow somepony to talk to, especially since she obviously needed to vent right now, Twilight needed her guardian more than Rainbow needed a sympathetic ear. “Thanks, Rainbow. I’ll catch up with her.” I made a mental note to do something nice for Dash later to make up for it. Maybe set up a trip to the opera; Rainbow normally wasn’t a fan, but she had enjoyed The Pirates of Ponzance when we had gone along with Princess Twilight and the rest of her friends.
I headed off for the Everfree at full speed, and managed to catch up to the princess halfway through the Everfree Forest. “Twilight!”
Twilight froze, then looked up at me. “Storm? What are you doing here?”
I came in for a landing right next to her. I was a little surprised by her question, given how obvious the answer was. “You are my princess, Twilight, and we are in the middle of a crisis. I'm here to help.”
Twilight hesitated, biting her lower lip. “Storm ... I'm sorry, but I can't have you around right now.”
I suppose I should not have been surprised, since Rainbow Dash told me Twilight had rejected her friends’ company. It still stung. “But it is my job to protect you.” I frowned, and shook my head. “No, more than that, I want to help you. Not just because you are my princess and I am your bodyguard, but also because I’m your friend.”
“I know, I know!” Twilight let out a frustrated sigh. “I know, but it's just ... this is something I have to do on my own.” She put a hoof up to forestall any objections. “Yes, I know how stupid that sounds, and I hate it when somepony uses that excuse in a book, but it’s true this time. I had some business at the palace, and I can't talk about it. It's too important.” She frowned, and her ears wilted. “I can't even tell my friends about it.”
“Need-to-know basis, I get that.” Part of being the Guard, and especially being a princess’ bodyguard, was accepting that you would not always be privy to all the facts. “So, how can I help without finding out anything I should not know?”
Twilight suddenly teleported halfway across the clearing. “Can you watch over Ponyville and my friends?” She teleported again, and wound up halfway up a tree. “Um. At least until I get back?” She closed her eyes then teleported back to where I was. “That would make me feel better, at least. And you could help Rainbow and the others warn everypony about what to do if Tirek shows up.”
I was more than a little curious about the random teleporting, but Twilight did tend to teleport a lot when she was stressed. And there were other things that were more important. I could not entirely hide the disapproval in my voice as I asked, “Is there something I can do besides busywork that is simply intended to let me feel better about not being able to do anything that would really help?”
Twilight frowned thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. “Umm ... maybe do research on how Celestia and Luna dealt with him last time? No, wait—they dealt with him by stopping him before he got as powerful as he is now, that’s no good. Maybe...” She trailed off, struggling to find an answer.
My ears wilted as her silence stretched on. “So that's a ‘no.’ I can't help you.” I let out a bitter little snort at the news. “Some bodyguard I am. The first time since I was assigned to you that you really need a bodyguard, and I can’t do anything.”
Twilight’s ears drooped in sympathy with mine. “I'm sorry, but it's getting really bad out there. I'd like to have a bit more help against the evil magic-sucking monster, but thus far he's stomped all over everything thrown at him. I can't in good conscience just throw you and the rest of my guards at him. You would all get hurt, or maybe even worse. I don’t even know if I could fight him on my own, and I definitely can’t do it if I have to protect you too.”
“Twilight, it is our job to protect you, not the other way around.” I met her eyes, letting her see the conviction in mine. “I know I could get hurt, or even die. I accepted that risk when I became your bodyguard. I swore on oath to serve and protect you, and I cannot simply toss that aside because fulfilling that oath is dangerous. I know the risks, and I am prepared to face, and even to give my life for you, if need be.”
“No!” Twilight all but shouted the word at me. “You don’t have to do that, Storm! I don’t want you or anypony else dying because of me! You think just because I’m a princess, I deserve that? Why? I’m the princess of a library! You don’t...” Twilight fell silent, closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths. “Captain Storm Kicker, as your princess and your superior, I command you to return to Ponyville and stay safe. Under no circumstances are you to follow me, attempt to protect me, or do anything else that could get you hurt or killed. Am I understood?”
Twilight had never used her royal authority to bludgeon me into doing what she wanted before, but she had that right. I could not argue with her, so I did the only thing I could: I reluctantly saluted. “As you command, Princess. I return to Ponyville, and help the civilians.”
Twilight flinched, and gave my shoulder a squeeze that likely was a bit tighter than she intended, given that it was comparable to a Pinkie Pie hug. “I'm sorry, Storm. I don't want it to feel like I'm blowing you off, it’s just—” She frowned as her horn shot off a few random sparks. “It’s just that I'm doing something really important for Equestria right now. Don’t take this the wrong way, but protecting all of Equestria is more important than our personal feelings.”
It was not like I could argue the point. I had my orders. “I understand, Your Highness.”
Twilight’s shoulders slumped, especially when she heard an honorific instead of her name, but a second later she took deep breath, then continued further into the forest.
I sighed, and stared after Princess Twilight as she walked away. The worst part was, I knew she was right. What was I even thinking, talking about trying to help her deal with an alicorns-only problem? It was time to face facts: all I would do is get in Her Highness’s way and distract her by giving her another pony she needed to protect.
It was not right. I just wanted to help her. To do my duty. No, not just that. This was not about duty. Twilight was more than just a pony I was obligated to protect, she was my friend. I wanted to help her, but there was nothing I could do. It was not like there was any way I could—
“Make sure she doesn’t do anything dumb,” Rainbow asked. “Like try and grab Shadow’s Armor again.”
It was probably a bad sign that my plan was derived from something that Rainbow Dash thought was stupid and impulsive. It was the best idea I could come up with, though. There was still the matter of her very explicit orders. However thinking about Shadow’s Armor produced the solution quickly enough.
Lyequinegus’ Fourth Axiom. It was one of the oldest military rules in existence, and something Shadow had cited several times while she was alive. There was even a slightly modified version of it in the Royal Guard Field Manual. ‘A soldier in the field is not required to follow the orders of absent leaders, if said soldier has good reason to believe that circumstances have changed to the point that continuing to follow those orders would be detrimental to the safety and security of Equestria.’ Admittedly, extending that to saying that Twilight had not thought of having me use Shadow’s Armor was a stretch, but it was enough to justify what I needed to do.
If I failed to set a new flight speed record on the way to Canterlot, it was not for lack of trying. Twilight needed my help.
The Compound was buzzing with activity, though I couldn’t make out much of what anypony was talking about. I was far too focused on my goal to stop and listen to all the idle gossip. What little I heard was enough: Tirek had just hit Canterlot, and gone after the princesses. Apparently, he had gotten past the point where he was just consuming everypony he came across—now he was specifically hunting the alicorns.
On the one hoof, I was a bit relieved that he had not come to the compound and attacked the clan. My family was safe, especially since from what little I did overhear they were planning some kind of counter attack on Tirek. But now Tirek would be after Twilight, and as a part of me wanted to stick with my clan, she needed my help now more than ever. And that meant I needed Shadow’s Armor. If there was anything that would give me a chance of actually helping Twilight, it was a suit of armor forged by Celestia herself to help one of my ancestors protect the realm.
I had been down the vault plenty of times before, every time we changed the combinations. There was a big difference between that and coming down here for real, though. I had never come down to the vaults to actually put the armor on before. In the last century, only Cloud and Star had tried, during the changeling attack on Canterlot. The Armor had rejected both of them. I had a feeling—call it instinct if you want—that I would have better luck. Or maybe it was destiny. Personally, I never liked the idea of destiny; I like to believe ponies can make their own paths. If nothing else, I was pretty sure I was going to be hitting the test of worth from a different direction.
I opened the final set of locks, and walked into the vault. Shadow’s Armor was sitting there on the stand, waiting for me. Full plate in the classic High Pegasopolan style, sized for a pony who was as tall as I am, but with a lot more muscle. Most accounts said Shadow was a giant of a mare, though I suspect some of that was just wishful thinking. Obviously she was not a twenty foot tall super-pony who went around killing dragons with a single punch. Granted, none of the clan’s stories about her were really that bad. At least, none of the stories Dad told me were that over-the-top.
I reached out and hesitantly picked up the helmet. According to Cloud and Storm, touching the armor had put them on some sort of mystical vision quest, evaluating whether or not they were worthy of wearing Shadow’s Armor. I was ready to face that, but when I touched the armor nothing happened. Well, I could feel the armor itself, loaded up with enough magic that it was practically humming through my hoof the instant I touched it. But aside from that, nothing.
“Huh.” I let my hoof linger on the armor for a second longer. “After what Cloud and Star said...” There was no vision quest, no friends or family members showing up to interrogate me about why I wanted the armor, and point out all my flaws. There was just a suit of armor.
Then I looked up from the armor itself, and saw Honored Shadow herself standing in front of me. I would like to say I reacted with the calm dignity expected of an officer and a gentlemare. “GYAH! Where the hay did you come from!?”
Shadow regarded me levelly. “Descendent.” One thing I will say for the old family legends, they were right about Shadow’s size—as tall as me, but with a lot more bulk than my long and leggy build. Her dark grey coat was presumably the source of her name, and she had a blonde mane in a warrior’s braid. Her cold blue eyes regarded me critically. “Why dost thou seek my armor?”
“Princess Twilight Sparkle is in trouble, and she needs my help,” I answered instantly.
Honored Shadow raised a single skeptical eyebrow. “Does she?”
It took me a second to realize what she was driving at. “No, she does not need my help,” I confessed. “Maybe she can handle this situation on her own. And even if she needs help, it does not need to be me who helps her. She has many friends, and most of them are better ponies than I am. But she is still my friend, and I still want to do whatever I can to help her.”
“Art thou certain ‘tis not merely that thou wouldst prove her wrong?” Shadow frowned at me. “Her words to thee, and thine own fears, are plain enough. That thou art an unneeded ornament, a purely ceremonial guardian to be cast aside in the face of true danger. Thou wouldst have my armor to prove her wrong. To satisfy thine own pride. That is not a fitting goal. Only the pure of heart may have the use of mine armor. I am unconvinced that thy heart is pure.”
I had to fight to keep the smile off my face as I played my trick. “My apologies, Honored Shadow, but there seems to have been a misunderstanding. I do not seek your armor for myself; I intended to convey it to Princess Twilight for her own use.”
Shadow blinked several times before responding, and I had a feeling I might have caught her off guard “That is a lie. I have seen thy heart, and I know that thou dost desire to wear the Armor thyself.”
“Of course I do.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I’ve dreamed of wearing your armor since I was a filly. I’m pretty sure every single Kicker has. Only the best of us get to actually wear it, and anypony who does end up with it is a legend in the clan. Hay, I was fantasizing about beating up monsters while wearing your armor before I was old enough to have my first sparring session with Mom.” I dropped my eyes. “But the thing is, I swore an oath that I would give my life for Twilight Sparkle, if that was what she needed. Compared to that, what’s a little pride?”
Shadow continued staring at me for several seconds longer, then offered a slight nod. “That is a very intriguing answer, descendent. So be it then, convey my armor to thy princess.” A hint of a mischievous smile crossed her lips. “‘Twould be difficult to carry it, so I will grant thee the right to wear it, and enjoy its full protection and power whilst ‘tis ‘pon thee. And if thou shouldst happen upon the beast that threatens thy princess ere thou canst convey the armor to her, then I shall offer thee its full strength for the battle that follows.”
I blinked in surprise at that. “Did I just succeed in getting your armor on a technicality?”
“Of course not,” Shadow answered easily. “The enchantments placed ‘pon the armor are very exacting. Only one whose heart is wholly pure may have it. Thou dost not have the full use of the Armor, thou art merely a courier, who I will allow to use the Armor to ensure ‘tis not taken by another.” That hint of a smile on her face widened. “I have found purity of heart to be a preciously rare virtue, and those few who are pure of heart are rarely warriors. Thankfully, when Commander Celestia crafted the spells that prevent this armor from falling into wicked hooves, she did not think to set such an impossibly high standard for a mere courier. I have slightly more latitude, in that regard.”
I think my jaw dropped at that. “You’re abusing a loophole in the protection spells?”
Shadow took nearly half a minute to answer me. “I, too, once had a princess whom I was prepared to give my all in the service of.” Having gotten the last word in, she promptly vanished.
Once I was done wrapping my head around the idea that my supposedly honorable-to-a-fault ancestor had just pulled a fast one on Celestia I got to work on putting the armor on. At first the armor felt really loose, but the more of it I put on, the better it fit. No surprise it adjusted itself to fit the wearer; plenty of armor that hadn’t been forged by Princess Celestia herself had that enchantment. A suit of magical armor is only useful if ponies can wear it properly, after all. If family history was anything to judge by, at least one of the Kickers who had used the Armor had been a unicorn. Compared to that, having the armor tweak itself so it would fit on me was small potatoes.
Despite the magical energy thrumming within the armor, nothing crazy happened once I had the suit on. I didn’t transform into some sort of super-pony or anything. I was just myself, wearing a suit of armor. I felt faster and stronger, but I was still the same old me. Shadow’s voice whispered from inside my helmet, “Shall we begin, descendent?”
“Yes, Honored Shadow.” I felt a tight smile spreading across my lips. “I believe we shall.”
I rushed back to Ponyville; now that I knew Tirek was after Twilight specifically, I could afford delay even less. Thankfully, the armor let me move faster than I’d ever gone before. I think if I had really pushed myself to my limits, I might have managed to get close to pulling off a Sonic Stormboom. Rainbow Dash would probably hate that. She had been annoyed enough when Twilight flew by faster than Dash herself could manage.
When I got back to Ponyville, I found Rainbow and her friends trapped in a cage. What was worse, they all looked drained, half-dead on their hooves. And their cutie marks were gone. “Rainbow! What happened?”
“Tirek.” The word came out in a flat near-monotone, as if all the fire and energy I was used to seeing from Rainbow had just been drained out of her. “Discord was working with him too, but Tirek backstabbed him. Now he’s after Twilight.”
I hesitated. On the one hoof, it was obviously my duty to get to Twilight as fast as possible. On the other, leaving Rainbow and Twilight’s other friends behind just felt wrong. Hay, one of the Long Patrol’s mottos was that we left nopony behind. But I was not in the Long Patrol anymore. I was Twilight Sparkle’s bodyguard, and her safety had to be my priority. I could not afford to let anything else get in the way of that, not even helping other ponies.
Besides, if Tirek’s rampage continued, Rainbow and the others would not be any safer outside of the cage than in it. Who knows what kind of problems having everypony’s magic stolen would cause? Without weather control or the earth ponies’ farming abilities everypony would probably starve, and even if they did not, how would we survive in a world where the sun and moon were out of control? Not to mention losing the magic of love and friendship. Even if ponies managed to survive, we certainly wouldn’t be able to live.
“I’ll be back for you as soon as I can,” I promised. “But right now, Twilight needs me more. Hay, Equestria needs me more.”
“What are you talking about?” Rainbow demanded, scowling at me. “Help Twilight? Don’t take this the wrong way, but...” Rainbow trailed off, staring at me. Or more specifically, my armor. It was not the sort of thing a civilian was likely to notice right away, but traditional High Pegasopolan armor had a number of design differences compared to modern Guard Standard Pattern (Pegasus). A sharper slant to the peytral, a heavier crinet, little things like that. Enough that a pony who was paying attention would realize that there was something off about it. Considering our earlier conversation, it did not take Rainbow long to connect the dots. “Storm, you idiot! What the hay are you doing?!”
“Helping Princess Twilight,” I answered simply. “And this is the only way I can.”
I flew for the forest, ignoring Rainbow’s continued shouting. Most of her statements could be roughly summarized as variations on how she would kick my plot if we all made it out of this alive. Rainbow can be a bit stupidly protective at times.
It was not hard to find Tirek. I just had to follow the trail of destruction and drained ponies. It also helped that he was about twenty feet tall. Even in the Everfree Forest, that made him stand out. It did not appear that he had found Princess Twilight yet, so at least I was in time. Now I just needed to find a way of fighting a huge super-powerful entity that even alicorns were afraid of.
This had been an excellent plan.
I flew in front of his face to get his attention. “Halt, in the name of Princess Twilight Sparkle and Equestria!”
Tirek let out a short bark of laughter. “Out of my way, worm. Your magic is so pathetic it wouldn’t even be worth my time to eat.”
Oh, that was it. Time to get his attention. Thankfully, the echo of Shadow’s personality that was contained within the armor had given me a full briefing on how it worked. All it took was a moment of concentration for the wing-blades to turn red-hot. Since he had already walked past me on the assumption that I was not a threat, I had a clear strike at his back. The attack did not do much damage, but it definitely made him notice me.
“Argh!” The giant monster whirled to face me, his eyes narrowed in fury. “Very well then, little pony. Since you insist on embracing your own destruction...” His maw gaped open, and I felt something pulling at me, as if it was trying to rip away the very essence of who and what I was. Thankfully, I had come prepared to deal with that.
Shadow’s Armor glowed, and whatever it was Tirek was trying to do fizzled. He tried again, and had similar results. His eyes narrowed in fury. “I can taste your magic. But how...” He figured it out quickly enough, and his eyes narrowed in fury. “That armor. Celestia’s work. And an impressive magic nullifier. Shall we put it to the test?”
A giant ball of red and black energy gathered in one of Tirek’s hands before he hurled it at me. I tried to dodge, but the blast came way too fast. One moment I was instinctually attempting to scramble away, and the next thing I knew his magic was slamming into me. It felt like I was being burned and electrocuted at the same time, and I could feel my body flying through the air. The closest parallel I could think of was being caught in the middle of a volcano erupting—blindingly bright light washed over me as my coat stood on end, and the spell left a dull roar echoing in my ears.
There was more than that to it. Tirek’s magic felt unique. Like some tiny portion of his own essence had been infused into all the power he had stolen from others. I could feel his greed, his unchecked ambition, his burning desire to consume every last scrap of magic he could find. He might be after Princess Twilight right now, but he wouldn’t stop with her. He would never stop, unless somepony made him stop.
As terrible as the attack was, when it was done I was still in one piece, and Shadow’s Armor was glowing again. From what the Shadow-echo had told me, dealing with hostile magic was the most important function of the armor. That was why Celestia had forged it: so that an ordinary pony could go up against a magical powerhouse like Tirek, Discord, or Nightmare Moon. I was still woefully out of my league, but at least now I had a chance. A small chance, but better than none at all.
I concentrated again, and threw Tirek’s magic right back at him. At the time it seemed like a wonderfully ironic way to land a blow on him, but I had overlooked a rather important fact. Tirek took one look at the attack I had boomeranged back at him, then opened his mouth and swallowed it.
Right, magic eater. Oops.
Tirek let out a chuckle that sounded more like a rockslide. “Is that all you can manage, little pony? You are nothing. The only reason you’re even worth my time is because you’re wearing something made by far better ponies than you. You think I need my magic to destroy you?” He brought up a fist that was about as big as I was. “I think I will peel that armor off of you like tinfoil, then consume your magic.”
I grinned back at him, trying to seem as confident as Rainbow would be in this situation. A sane pony would be terrified right now, so a little bit of insane bravado seemed like exactly what I needed. One thing I learned in the Long Patrol, predators can smell fear. Well, not literally, but they can recognize the signs that somepony is scared and vulnerable. If I started looking weak, Tirek wouldn’t hesitate to crush me. “You know what I was thinking? I know a great taxidermist, and your head would just look amazing mounted over my fireplace.”
Tirek snarled and swung a single massive fist at me. Thankfully, his hands were a lot slower than his magic, so I managed to dodge the strike. As his arm passed by, I threw a couple hoof strikes at it. Considering our relative sizes, I didn’t expect it to have much more impact than a gnat attacking a pony. To my surprise, however, tiny bursts of energy accompanied each of my hits, and Tirek actually flinched.
Tirek’s roar explained things quickly enough. “YOU DARE STEAL MY MAGIC!” I was tempted to point out the inherent hypocrisy of him complaining about anypony stealing ‘his’ magic, considering how he had obtained it. I suppose it made sense that Shadow’s Armor could knock loose little bits of his stolen power. It was designed to nullify and absorb dark magic.
Maybe I could win this after all.
He tried to crush me again, but now that he was angry he had gotten sloppy. I managed to dodge him without too much trouble, and landed a couple more hoof strikes. So the battle went for a while, with me desperately dodging attacks that would probably crush me like a bug if they actually hit, and trying to slowly whittle Tirek down.
After ten solid minutes of fighting, I’d managed to knock away enough of his stolen magic to make him a foot shorter. I was also gasping for breath, and my muscles felt like they were on fire. I was in good shape, but the equine body can only manage so much, even when flooded with adrenaline. It was taking everything I had just to stay up, and keep slowly wearing him down. I might be making an impression, but I didn’t like my odds of finishing this fight before my body gave out. All Tirek needed was for me to make one slip, and he would crush me.
Tirek charged in and kicked at me, forcing me up to dodge the attack. A moment too late, I realized it was a feint, and one of his massive hands closed around me. Sparks of magic immediately burst from his flesh wherever it met Shadow’s Armor, but he would crush me long before that drained enough of his strength to make a difference. I tried to bring my wing-blades to bear, but his fist was pinning them against my sides, so I was not able to manage anything more than the equivalent of giving him a papercut. I doubt Tirek even noticed.
Tirek hauled me up in front of his massive face, grinning maliciously. “So, I’ll leave it up to you. Should I go to the trouble of peeling you out of that armor so I can eat your magic, or would you prefer that I save time and just crush you like a grape?”
I tried to come up some kind of defiant, witty retort, but about all my brain could really manage at the moment was a long list of how much everything hurt, and how I really didn’t want to die. I tried to say something, but it came out as a feeble, pained wheeze.
Thankfully, Tirek was the type who liked to play with his food before he ate it. He brought me as close to his face as he could, “Speak up, little pony. I couldn’t hear you over the sound of your ribs crushing your lungs.”
I saw an opportunity. My entire body might be enclosed in his big meaty fist, but my head and neck were still loose. And Tirek was too busy gloating to realize that he’d brought me just a bit too close to his face. My head snapped forward, and I slammed Shadow’s Helmet right into his eyeball. Well, more like I scratched the surface of his eyeball using the helmet’s decorative crest; that was all I had the range for. I take back everything I ever said about how crests on helmets were a useless embellishment.
Tirek shouted and brought his free hand up to his wounded eye, while the other slackened its grip enough for me to slip out. I quickly scrambled to freedom and got some distance from the monster. Grabbing onto me and having sustained contact with Shadow’s Armor had hurt him. He’d lost another foot of height from that. Granted, getting squeezed by his huge fist had left me sore all over, but at least I’d managed to wear him down some more. Maybe there was still a chance I could win this. Or at the very least, soften him up enough that Twilight would have an easier time dealing with him.
I rushed in and landed a few more hits while Tirek was still distracted by his wounded eye. He recovered before too much longer, but my headbutt had worked out better than I could have possibly hoped. His right eye was red and swollen now, and every time I attacked from that side, he was significantly slower to react. I was still hurting and tired, but maybe, just maybe, my chance of victory had gone from zero to a longshot.
I flew in once more, aiming for his right again. Unfortunately, I had made two critical mistakes. First, while Tirek’s injured eye had given him a weakness, it was a very obvious weakness. He knew better than I did just how hard it was to see out of his injured eye. Anypony with half a brain could figure out that I would attack him from his blind side. Granted, just because he knew I would attack him from that side was not enough to offset the fact that he could barely see out of that eye, but it did make my attack pattern a bit too predictable.
The second mistake I made was forgetting about his magic. Shadow’s Armor seemed capable of at least holding off his magic thus far, so I had proceeded along the assumption that physical attacks were the primary threat I needed to worry about. That’s not to say I had completely dismissed his magical capabilities, but for the moment I was paying a lot more attention to those big meaty fists he was trying to crush me with.
Considering those two factors, I think it is rather understandable that Tirek caught me flat-hooved when he used him magic to pick up a small forest’s worth of trees, and throw them all in my general direction. He might not be able to see exactly where I was, but he had a good idea of my general location, and with how much he was throwing my way that was good enough.
I managed to dodge the first set of trees by going up, and the second by dropping low, but the third group was spread out enough that the only direction I could have gone to avoid them completely would be to the left, and that would put me right in front of his good eye, which was probably exactly what he had in mind. So instead I tried to find a gap, and fly through it.
If not for that one rogue branch, I would have made it. While a branch to the face did not cause enough damage on its own to knock me out of the fight, it did knock me out of the air and leave me stunned for the next several seconds. That was more than enough time for Tirek to bring the battle to its conclusion.
First he dropped another tree on me. Not hard enough to crush me, but I was completely pinned underneath it. Then he took one of the smaller branches, and used it to knock Shadow’s Helmet off of my head. That did not weaken the Armor all that much in the grand scheme of things, but Tirek was strong enough that even Princess Celestia could not match him in battle. Shadow’s Armor, like any suit of armor, only works at full effectiveness if you are wearing the full suit.
Tirek’s mouth opened again, and this time despite the Armor’s efforts to stop him I could feel something ripping out of me. It is rather hard to describe the feeling, especially since it is not an experience I enjoy recalling. That feeling ... like he was ripping away the very essence of who I was. A lot of non-ponies never quite understood what it meant to a pony to lose your magic. They think of magic as just a couple neat tricks ponies can do. It’s more than that, it’s the very basis of what we are. A pony without any magic is barely even a pony any more. Ponies who lose their magic even lose their cutie marks.
As Tirek consumed my magic, I saw the cut in his eye starting heal. Still, at least he didn’t seem to be getting back the height I had taken from him. Maybe he could get that back by consuming Shadow’s Armor, but I do not know if that was a viable option or not. I have a feeling that consuming an artifact that messed with magic that way might have backfired on him.
Once he was done draining me, he glared down. I guess he had noticed he had not gotten back everything too. “You,” he growled, “are a very annoying pony.”
The last thing I saw was a single massive red finger heading towards my head at a distinctly unhealthy velocity. Right before it hit, I recalled another old legend about Shadow’s Armor: that everypony who had worn it in battle, other than Shadow herself, wound up dying in it.
I woke up in an unfamiliar bed, and my entire body felt like one massive bruise.
Before I had managed to get my bearings or figure out anything about where I was beyond the fact that the walls were made of blue crystals, Twilight teleported in. “Hey, you awake?” A second later she let out a slightly sheepish chuckle. “Well, I already knew that you were awake, since I had a spell to let me know when you woke up, but it's still good to be polite.”
“Princess.” I instinctively tried to rise from bed respectfully, but the instant I started moving, my body told me that was a bad idea. Given the circumstances, I doubt Twilight would have stood on formality anyway. For that matter, Twilight never stood on formality even when I was not bedridden by battle wounds. “Are you alright, Princess?”
Twilight let out a quiet little snort at that. “You’re the one who’s so hurt she can’t even get out of bed, and the first thing you ask is if I’m alright.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “But to answer your question, yes. I’m fine. Great, actually. And according to the doctors and my own spells, you are in remarkably good condition for a pony who tried to fight Tirek. How do you feel?”
“So far, my mind has not yet gotten much beyond a repeating loop of ‘ow.’” I gave myself a quick scan, and confirmed that other than being veritably covered in bandages, I was alright.
Twilight used her magic to grab a potion and levitated it in front of me. “Here’s something for the pain, it sounds like you need it.”
Even though Twilight had already done ninety percent of the work getting the potion to me, it took a lot of groaning and forcing sore muscles to move before I managed to bring the bottle to my lips and down the potion. It started helping immediately. “Is everypony else okay?”
Twilight took care of the empty bottle for me. “Everything’s fine. My friends and I managed to defeat Tirek. He's back in Tartarus, and everypony has their magic back. It’s a miracle nopony died, though I suppose Tirek wanted to keep us alive so he could keep eating our magic.”
I let out a relieved breath at the news. “Good. Glad he’s back where he belongs.”
Twilight looked around the room, and gave a tired sigh. “As you might have noticed from the new scenery, there have been a few other changes around here. I can give you all the details if you're feeling up to it.” She gave a worn, weak smile. “It was quite the day, let me tell you.”
I glanced over at a nearby window, and realized we were still in Ponyville. I did not recall there being any large blue crystalline structures in Ponyville before. I guess that must be one of the changes she had mentioned. “I'd appreciate that, but maybe later. I’m not sure I would remember all of it right now.”
“I thought you might want a bit of time to recover first.” She took a deep breath, sighed, and turned a disapproving frown on me. “Now that that’s settled, there’s one thing we do need to talk about now.” She crossed her forelegs over her chest. “Do you think you could explain just what in the hoof you were thinking? Did you honestly think it was a good idea to go up against Tirek by yourself? Especially after I ordered you not to! Don’t tell me you did this as some sort of stupid pride thing!”
“It wasn’t about pride, Twilight,” I answered calmly. “It was about helping you.”
For a second Twilight’s expression softened, but then she shook her head and went back to glaring at me. “You almost got yourself killed,” Twilight snapped, one of her ears flicking in irritation. “Dash and Cloud were worried sick about you. You know that?” Her anger briefly slipped away as she admitted, “I was too.”
That got a guilty flinch out of me. I had a feeling I was not going to enjoy my next conversations with either of them. For that matter, the rest of the discussion with Twilight was probably going to be pretty rough. “I am very sorry about that, I did not want anypony to worrying over me. However, I had to do my duty.”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “This isn't just about you, Storm. Though while we’re on that subject, let’s talk what happened to you.” She waved a hoof over the mass of bandages that constituted most of my body. “Cloud told me she had to dig you out from underneath half a dozen trees. I had to help Celestia repair Shadow’s Armor, and it’s a lot tougher than you are. I don’t even want to imagine what you looked like before the doctors fixed you up. I have half a mind to ask for a new captain for my personal guard after this crazy stunt!”
That last shot about replacing me hurt enough that I almost snapped back at her, but thankfully I remembered just who I was talking to. I knew that she was probably just venting and did not actually mean it. “Twilight,” I began patiently. “With all due respect, getting wounded, or maybe even killed, and protecting other ponies is part of my job. I knew that the day I joined the Guard.”
Twilight’s ears went flat at that, and a bit of the anger left her voice. “I never asked you to do that, Storm. I would never ask anypony to get hurt just to protect me. I felt guilty about ordering you stay safe—do you really think I could ever order you to get hurt or killed just for my sake?”
“You don’t have to order me to do that, Twilight.” I met her eyes. “It’s something I chose to do.”
Twilight shuffled on her hooves, studying the floor. “Just because it's part of your job to get hurt protecting me doesn't mean it should happen. I'm a lot happier with you being safe and healthy, not seeing you throwing yourself into fights you can't win.” She sighed and her voice turned soft and sympathetic. “Storm, why did you really decide to attack Tirek? Was it because I told you I didn't need you?”
Guilt hit me like one of Tirek’s fists. It had been a lot easier to defend my actions when she was mad at me instead of just quietly worried. “I just wanted to help. Equestria was in danger. My princess, my friend, was in danger, and I couldn’t do anything.”
Twilight blinked at that, and then her shoulders slowly slumped. “Storm, I understand how you feel right now. There’s nothing worse than feeling like nopony really needs you. Especially when they mean so much to you, and you would do anything to help them if they asked.” She reached over and gently patted one of my hooves. “For a while after I became a princess, I wasn't exactly feeling like I was contributing. Not until Tirek finally caught up with me and I had to fight him.”
I suppose I should not be surprised Twilight understood. She was the youngest princess, and during my time protecting her it was hard not to notice the distinct lack of a royal palace, royal events, and all the other things a princess normally has. Maybe I was not the only pony who felt a bit insecure about her role. “Twilight, you are an outstanding princess.”
“Thank you.” Twilight offered me a quick, grateful smile. “You’ve been a great bodyguard, too. You don’t need to get yourself half-killed picking a hopeless battle with a threat way out of your league just to prove yourself.”
“It wasn’t about that.” I thought back to my own effort at retrieving the armor, and amended my statement. “It wasn’t just about that. There was a part of me that cared about proving myself, yeah. But I think I cared more about helping you than I did about that. Shadow wouldn’t have helped me if it was all about my own pride.”
Twilight rubbed a hoof over her face. “Speaking of which, Celestia was a bit miffed about that.” She leaned in, and whispered. “Just between you and me, I think she was a bit offended that somepony found a way to sneak past the security spells she put on Shadow’s Armor. Although really, ‘pure of heart’ is such an arbitrary and unclear requirement that she ought to revise it anyway. For all I know Tirek might have been able to use that armor because his heart is pure—pure evil.” Twilight thoughtfully tapped a hoof on her chin. “Maybe I could write up a checklist for her, and then we could post it in front of the vault so everypony would know exactly what they needed to qualify for Shadow’s Armor. It’s hardly a fair test when the requirements are so unclear that nopony can tell if they meet them or not.”
“That sounds very efficient,” I agreed, “but I think Princess Celestia prefers a slightly more mystical touch when it comes to her magical artifacts.”
Twilight nodded, and there was a brief awkward silence between us. The requirements for Shadow’s Armor were just a distraction from what we really needed to talk about. Eventually, I broke the silence. “For what it’s worth, I think I understand how you felt about me going up against Tirek. When I went after Tirek, I didn’t even think about finding the rest of your guards, because Shadow only had the one suit of armor. Bringing them with me would have just given Tirek more to eat.”
“Storm...” Twilight met my eyes, the worry clear in hers. “No more crazy suicide missions, okay? You can consider that a new royal edict.”
“It wasn't a suicide mission,” I offered in my own defense. “I had a million-to-one chance to surviving and winning. And I did manage to wear him down a bit. He did drain me, but I am only one mare. I am fairly confident I took more than one pony’s worth of power out of him in the course of the battle. It might not have been much compared to everything he stole, but every little bit counts, right?”
“Yeah, it does.” For a moment Twilight smiled at me, then she shook her head and her smile transformed into a frown that was equal parts amused and exasperated. “Urgh! So maybe you did help a little, but that’s the not the point. No nearly suicidal missions either. In fact, no dangerous missions, period. I don’t want you getting hurt, let alone killed, just because you think it’s your duty to sacrifice yourself for me, or because you feel like you have to prove something.”
“Twilight, getting hurt to help you is part of my duty.” Twilight had her mouth open, but I continued before she could speak. “Not just my duty as a soldier or a bodyguard. My duty as your friend.” I offered her a quick smile. “That’s what friendship is all about, isn’t it? Making sacrifices for the sake of other ponies.” I glanced down at my battered body. “Granted, usually not something this big, but it’s not like the little stuff doesn’t count too.”
Twilight stared at me for several long seconds, then gave a single nod. “I think you’ve got a point about that. I had to make a huge sacrifice for my friends in order to beat Tirek.” That got my attention, and Twilight offered me a quick smile. “Don’t worry, I’m fine now. Better than fine, really. I’ll tell you the whole story later. For now, you need to rest. Is there anything else you need before I get out of your mane?” Her smile turned slightly teasing. “I am your friend after all, so the least I can do is help you out a little. That’s the kind sacrifice I’m willing to have in our friendship.”
A particularly sneaky question sprang to mind. “Twilight? What would you have done, if the situation was reversed? If I was the one who needed help?”
Twilight didn’t even need a moment to think it over. She just let out a faintly annoyed sigh. “Fine, fine, I probably would’ve done the exact same thing you just did.”
I let out chuckle, despite my ribs’ protest. “You would get yourself pounded to bits trying to protect your bodyguard, even when she was perfectly fine on her own? I’m pretty sure that’s not how the princess-protector relationship is supposed to work.”
Twilight facehoofed, but she was giggling around her hoof. “You know, even though I’m finally comfortable with being a princess, I think I’m going to need a bit longer to figure out how to be a princess who has to deal with bodyguards.” She shot me a teasing smirk. “Not that you make it especially easy. Anyway, do you need a glass of water? Or maybe I could make you a sandwich?”
I was fairly certain having a princess offer to wait on a bodyguard broke a dozen rules of protocol, but Twilight had never cared about that. So instead I just smiled at her. “There is one thing.” I cleared my throat, and adopted my most formal tone. “I humbly request permission to hug Your Highness.”
Twilight met my smile with an even bigger one. “Permission granted, Captain.” Her hug reminded me that alicorns have earth pony strength, and my body was still covered in cuts and bruises. Despite that, I held on for as long as I could.
Author's Note
Massive props to my pre-readers for helping me polish this. The rough draft was written up within less than 24 hours of the finale airing, and it looked about as polished as one would expect from a for a 10k word fic written in that time frame. Just be glad you're not reading the rough draft this time. So huge thanks to Comma-Kazie, Ponibius, Jake The Ginger, Luminary, Infinion, Swiftest Shadow, Rodinga, Web of Hope, and Incidental Pegasus No. 5. Couldn't have done it without you guys.
Also, due thanks to Comma-Kazie and Lisa M. for the cover art.
