The soft drone of weapons being sharpened and soldiers giving themselves harsh talks of encouragement was a noticeable difference from the normal sounds of the once great, majestic Canterlot castle. Most guards, adorned with heavy metal plates across their chest and sleek helmets atop their heads, were used to the shrill cries of horn against armor and hisses of shock from those attacked.
Today was different, as all the brave soldiers and humble guards were training for battle instead of fighting in one. Today, no armor of the opposing side glinted in the mesmerizing sunlight or shone like a lone firefly in the night.
These ponies were thankful for this day of rest and revitalization. One less day of seeing the wrinkly, tough skin of a changeling and watching as they transformed swiftly into your general or loved one. The elder soldiers appreciated this more than the younger recruits, but some of the rookies hungered for bloodlust and waited impatiently for the war cry that was signaled before every battle. These rookies included a young unicorn that was frittering beside her older sister in their shared suite in this immaculate castle.
Although there were no battles to be fought today, she still encouraged her older sister to put on her new armor, never worn before, as she had just been accepted into the Royal Canterlot Resistance.
A light blue aura surrounded the first piece of gold-plated armor and it lifted out of the silk-lined box with ease. It did tight flips and twirls through the calm air, the gold catching the light and casting a yellow hue on her white fur. “A breastplate,” she said softly. After finding the silky chain that attached the armor to the body, she began to put it on her younger kin.
She adjusted it so that the large metal plate covered her sister’s chest. “Perfect,” she murmured with the slightest tint of pleasure.
The filly, only eight years old, shivered as the cold breastplate touched her skin. “It’s heavy,” she snorted.
“No matter,” another aurora appeared in the silky depths, “we can tighten the straps once the rest of the armor is on.”
“But Rarity, why do they make it so darn heavy? I can’t even move my neck with this hunk of metal on me!” Her voice was high-pitched and a stark contrast to the stoic armor on herself.
“They make it that way for a reason, Sweetie.” Rarity eyed the next odd object carefully that came out of the package. “It’s for battle purposes.”
“Ah. The flank cover.” The regal unicorn passed the cover over her nose and breathed in the damp scent that came from it. Fresh, new armor, straight from the Royal Blacksmith, was something to treasure.
“But why?” Sweetie flinched as her sister moved to cover her blank flank with the gilded metal. “Why can’t the pony who makes this stuff make it lighter?”
“It’s called a blacksmith, Sweetie.” Rarity winced as she covered Sweetie Belle’s flank. What if this is the last time I see that little flank?
She brushed the thought away as soon as it arrived. There are no battles planned for today, Rarity. Not even Celestia herself could take her away from me.
Once her white fur was covered, Rarity rummaged in the package and found four small hoofboots. She made Sweetie hold out each soft hoof for her to place the intricate boot upon, and as she did so her deep aqua eyes met her sister’s shallow green ones. She expected so see fear in the filly’s irises, fear of the blood she would soon see and the dangers she would face, but instead there was the childish excitement that every foal had at that age. She almost felt sorry.
The unicorn was a soldier herself, since the dawn of the war. She had thought of her friends to have more a craving for battle than her, but that seemed just the opposite as they only served part-time in the Resistance and helped in other ways than war. She still saw them, and once in a while had picnics in the Royal Garden together as a group, but those were few and far between as the battles became more frequent and the general required her assistance. Rarity often thought of the fur of her friends brushing up against her heavy-clad armor, helping her as she fought in heated battles with her trusty blade and sharpened horn.
She was brought back to the present by the familiar click as the boot fastened onto Sweetie Belle’s final hoof. The filly shook it around a little, then giggled as the metal bumped against her fur and eventually fell off. Rarity put it back on, taking great care to fasten the thin silk strand at the back to her white hoof and pull slightly. When she shook it again, the hoofboot stayed in place and Rarity gave a sniff of satisfaction.
She fumbled around for another object and came up with a sleek helmet that sparkled in the sunlight that came from the oval window by their position. An assortment of fine purple feathers sprang from the top and a few stray ones tumbled from their spot. Rarity felt one of them with her careful magic before putting it on her sister.
They had a difficult time getting the helmet on her head, as the hole that her horn went through was too small and the long bands of metal on the sides gripped the skin and didn’t let go.
“Stop it, Rarity!” Sweetie Belle cried as some of her stubborn mane got stuck in the tight compartment inside the helmet.
Her sister squeaked. “I’m trying as hard as possible, Sweetie!” She protested lightly.
After much hardships Sweetie Belle got the helmet on her head and fit her horn through the narrow hole. Rarity looked at her handiwork and sighed at the result. “I’ll have to ask the blacksmith to resize that hole.” She murmured, fastening the rest of the items in the package onto her sister with relative ease.
Once everything was fastened securely, Rarity stifled a salty tear. She saw not the filly she had raised for the past eight years, the one who laughed every morning at her misfortunes making breakfast and had misadventures with her friends sometimes for days on end, but a young mare with a blank expression that could easily turn into one that was cruel and covered with scarlet blood. The way she held her shoulders, squared against the world. The armor was heavy, she knew that from experience, but Sweetie Belle made it look like it was made out of clouds. Her eyes were narrowed but expressionless, and her mouth was a straight line below her stubby nose.
What happened to the filly that I cared for?
The once-proud soldier let that tear fall out of her eye and make its way down her cheek. “What happened?” She said aloud.
Emotion returned to Sweetie’s face. “Whatcha talking about, Rarity?”
Rarity didn’t answer directly at first. Another tear streamlined down her face. Then another. “What happened to that filly that couldn’t get onto the chair in the kitchen without me helping her? What happened to the filly that used to cry during a thunderstorm? What happened to her?”
Sweetie Belle frowned. She was silent as she patted Rarity on the back, her hard metal hitting the skin with a dull clang each time. She waited patiently for her sister to regain her composure, which she did, slowly but surely.
Rarity got to the point where she could look the younger filly in the eye without collapsing in a fit of tears, and when she did she was greeted by not a happy-go-lucky foal but a mature mare. Sweetie held Rarity’s chin high and didn’t let it go until she spoke to her weeping sister.
“That doesn’t look like a war face.” She smiled.
Rarity, once she got accepted into the Resistance a few years ago, used to joke about war faces with Sweetie Belle to which both of them ended up rolling around laughing by the end. She remembered one time when the unicorn filly lost the opal gem Rarity gave to her as a present for her recent birthday, and when she arrived back from training she was sobbing on the floor.
“I… I lost the gem!” Sweetie Belle shrieked.
Rarity ran to her and calmed her gently, cooing softly until the tears began to flow less often and the red tint disappeared from under her eyes. When she did stop, the unicorn lifted up her chin to look her in the eye.
“That doesn’t look like a war face, Sweetie,” Rarity said.
If only I could have those days back.
Rarity smiled back at her sister and was about to get back on her hooves when she noticed a slight problem with Sweetie Belle’s golden armor; a thin, pink strand of hair came out of the tip and bounced whenever she moved.
Let me fix that, dear.” Rarity pulled gently on the helmet, taking great care not to rip it off, and with her hoof pushed the hair within. It dropped with a loud clank on her skull, but no stray hairs came back out.
“Rarity?” Sweetie asked as her sister worked.
“Yes?”
“Why do we have war? Why can’t everypony just get along?” Her eyes twinkled with confusion.
“I honestly don’t know, Sweetie Belle. There’s a reason for this battle, but I-“
Rarity stopped short as the still air was split by a dull roar- no, not a roar but a cry.
The war cry.
She hurried to the window, leaving Sweetie Belle to wobble towards her with the heavy armor hanging on her shoulders. Her suite had a clear view of the rolling plains most battles in her homeland were fought upon, and today it was supposed to be empty. But heading from the North was an army of changelings, their own armor shining black in the bright sunlight and their wings merely a blur as they sped past every blade of grass. In the lead was not their general, a thin but tall changeling with purple eyes and armor made up of the finest amethyst, but something much worse- the queen.
She strode up, flanked by two of her closest soldiers, decked out in jet-black armor that blended in with her own skin. Long boots, the tips filed heavily, adorned her hooves and long strips of leather covered her knees. A flank cover concealed everything but her tail, which was glossy and thick as a whip. Her ghastly horn protruded through her heavyset helmet, and teal feathers, their points as sharp as a unicorn horn, sprouted like plants from the top. Her fangs stared back at the castle with a sly sneer and the aura of battle surrounded her being.
Instantly the Intercom in the suite beeped twice before the general’s voice came through. “Attention: Any warriors in armor report to their designated decks and prepare for battle.”
Rarity gasped. She wasn’t wearing her armor, but Sweetie was.
“We’ve got to get you out of here.” She said sternly, heading towards the door and headbutting it out of the way. Sweetie Belle followed close behind.
“Why?”
“They check the suites to see if there are any soldiers slacking off.”
“I’m only eight! And I’m not a soldier! At least, not until I get through the training…”
“They don’t care a single bit about your age or rank, Sweetie. They just want you out there.”
Her eyes widened in genuine fear. “But you’ll stop them, right?”
“I can’t do anything if I’m not in my own armor; we’ve got to make sure the patrols don’t see you.”
They emerged from their own suite into a lavish hallway that was milling about with frantic soldiers, an unlucky few in their armor. As they headed towards the companion stairs that would lead them to Deck A Rarity spotted a pegasus couple crying by the entrance to their suite. At first she couldn’t tell why- then she saw the male had armor on but the female did
not.
“I’ll not let you go out there!” The female’s brash voice cut through her partner’s cries.
“Celestia’ll have to drag me away herself!” He responded.
Suddenly from the crowd came two pure white guards, their wings splayed and eyes cold. They grabbed hold of his back, and without even glancing at his partner lifted him away to the door marked Deck D.
“No!” The female pegasus screamed as the ever-moving crowd quickly covered her view of him. Rarity heard her wails as she leaped up the staircase and jumped onto the linoleum floor of Deck A.
The castle was divided into a total of five decks, each one accompanied by a different entrance to the battlefield. Deck A was mainly for Earth ponies, who’s entrance was below the ground, B was on ground level, C for unicorns to jump down from, D which was high above ground level, and finally E on the tip of the castle for steep dives. Every deck had a strong metal door that opened when everypony was present and released those within into the bloodbath, along with a black-and-white picture depicting the current situation.
As they shrank into the bustling ponies, a gray pegasus took flight and barked orders to those below. “Attention!” His voice was like a steel knife cutting through others’. “I need a dozen Earth pony soldiers and unicorns on Deck D immediately!”
Nopony moved, so caught up in their own surprise of a sudden battle they were.
“Immediately!” the pegasus shrilled. When he saw a small group forming by the edge of the entrance to the deck, he pointed them towards the companion staircase.
“We’ve got to move, Sweetie.” Rarity’s voice was hushed but stern.
They trudged on through the many ponies, all decked out in their armor, Rarity hiding her kin in case the pegasus found he needed another unicorn.
Suddenly the crowd thinned and the amount of room between each pony became larger. They were almost at the metal door that would soon be opening to release the soldiers into battle.
Rarity sidestepped a dagger that an unlucky warrior had dropped and sped towards the wall at high speed. She could easily see the supplies closet, where most of the weapons were kept, that could hide a unicorn filly with no trouble at all. The gilded doorknob rose to meet her.
She was about to open it and throw Sweetie inside when the circling pegasus swept in their direction and spotted both of them. “You!” He swooped down and landed on soft hooves on the linoleum. “I need one more unicorn!” The guard moved to take Sweetie towards the group, which was slowly heading up the staircase towards Deck D.
“No!” Sweetie Belle lashed out and kicked the guard in the chest with a hard hoofboot.
Although he wore a breastplate like herself, the blow sent him back slightly and his grip on her loosened. Rarity covered her sister with her body and squared her shoulders against the pegasus foe. She didn’t have her armor on, but she still had the skills of a true warrior and the stamina of one as well. “You’ll not touch one hair on her tail, you brute!” she snarled.
The pegasus was unfazed. “Her armor is on for a reason, miss.” With that he grabbed Sweetie Belle and lifted off again, into the cool air.
“Get back here!” Rarity leaped over passing ponies, tears streaming from her eyes. “She’s just a filly!”
“I don’t have a single bone in my body that cares, miss.” The guard approached the stairwell swiftly and deposited Sweetie Belle on the first stair next to a frightened yellow Earth pony. Their armor melted into one as the pegasus guard hustled them upwards.
“She doesn’t deserve this!”
The unicorn was about to make it to the stairwell when a cream-colored mare reared up from below and toppled both of them over and onto the hard linoleum with a dull crash. “Outta my way, unicorn!” she snapped.
Rarity found her footing again, but Sweetie Belle had already disappeared up the stairs.
I’m not going to let her go that easily.
Off she bounded, two stairs with each jump. Her salty tears wet the metal stairs and she almost slipped twice upon them. She passed an illuminated sign that read Deck B in only a few jumps.
The scarlet sign of Deck C passed her moist eyes in a flash, leaving red blurs at the ends of her vision. Only a few steps later, she set her hoof on the entrance of Deck D.
She ran inside, but just as she did so the Intercom blasted to life and uttered a dull beep, followed by somepony counting down from five. She knew this procedure well- once the pony hit one, the doors would open and everypony would be sent into the fray.
Four.
Rarity spotted Sweetie’s armor next to the yellow filly on the companion stairs and sped towards her.
Three.
She ran into an angry pegasus, who gave her a strict warning and a slap with her wing. Rarity recoiled and resisted the
urge to retaliate.
Two.
She took a single step in Sweetie’s direction as the filly’s shoulders shivered beneath the cold metal harness.
One.
There was a loud clang as the huge door flipped open, sudden light blinding the room. Once it cleared Rarity saw thunderclouds moving in from the West and far off the blinding flash of lightning accompanied by the roar of thunder.
No.
A silent signal went off among the ponies and they poured onto the battlefield with their weapons in tow. Unicorns held their prestigious horns high as they leaped from Deck D, and with a proud cry the Earth ponies and pegasi either dived or flew into the incoming swarm of changelings in a blur of gold.
Her eyes widened as the filly next to Sweetie gave a valiant wail and hopped off the edge of the deck, a tiny scimitar of polished metal in her jaws. “For Equestria!” she yelled as she went over.
Sweetie Belle tried to get out of the throng, but they moved so quickly she stood no chance. The last Rarity saw of her was the distinct white coat being swallowed up in a wave of gold, and her huge emerald eyes, pupils dilated, staring back at her in horror.
“Rarity!” Her sorrowful cry was muted by the loud clopping of hoofboots on linoleum.
It only took a few short minutes for the entire deck to clear out, and when it did Rarity couldn’t bring herself to look over the side. She couldn’t forgive herself if she saw her precious filly in a heated battle against a changeling. Especially if she saw who would be winning.
She hung her head down, but just as she did there was another crackle of lightning and caw of thunder. It sounds quite a bit closer now, she thought.
There was the soft sound of hooves on the floor once more, and a hoofboot rested itself on her shoulder. She looked up, tears falling freely for the third time that day; it was a unicorn guard, fur a pure white and eyes a soft lavender, with a jet-black tail as thick as a whip. There was a kind smile on his face, but that didn’t mean anything to Rarity.
“I’m sorry, miss,” his voice was calm and soothing, like a rushing river, “but the general would like to see you.”
He helped her to her hooves and steadied her towards the companion staircase. His shoulder was steady and inviting as they walked together.
But before they took a single step, Rarity stopped short of the metal plate and took one last look at the gaping hole on the deck. Even from here she could hear the clanging of metal and the shrieks of ponies and changelings being attacked from left and right. The sounds used to give her strength as she blasted through enemy after enemy, feeling adrenaline wash over her…
Now they made her cry and gave her thoughts of doubt and horror.
“I’m so sorry, Sweetie…” Her words echoed through the long, winding corridor as both unicorns headed downwards, into the heart of Canterlot’s most regal castle.