Gods and Kingsby Ninjaman3250ChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Prologue Chapter 1Three Months Earlier * * * Blade Sharp woke up with much excitement this morning, for today was his birthday. Not only was it his birthday, but also the day when he turned eighteen and, like most other young stallions, the day he is recruiting for the Equestrian Royal Guards. The young Pegasus grabbed his sheath, tied it around his waist, and put his sword inside it. Blade's whole family was waiting down stairs and yelled "Happy Birthday!" as he descended down the steps. He was greeted with boxes of presents and cake as he made it to the final step of the stairs. He was also greeted by Pinkie Pie who, usually, hosted all the parties in Ponyville. "Wow! Your finally an adult! I remember when I turned eighteen, there was cake , presents, streamers, and confetti it was- Oh! I forgot the confetti, I'll be right back!" Pinkie Pie said with much excitement. "Well that was a mouthful," Blade said with an excited look on his face. "Does anypony want to watch me blow out the candles on my cake? * * * Two hours went by and the party was over. As Blade said his goodbyes, he was then greeted by everypony in Ponyville as he walked out the door. They all shared their goodbyes and good lucks for they weren't going to hear from him for a long time. As Blade walked out of Ponyville he felt as though a new chapter in his life had begun. He then unfolded his wings and flew for the gates of Canterlot. * * * Blade landed at the main entrance gate to Canterlot to be greeted by two royal guards. "State your business," questioned the first one. " Recruitment for the Equestrian Royal Guards," Blade said with confidence. "Oh, a newbie, eh?" asked the second guard. "Well just keep your head down and your nose clean, and you'll be okay. Blade just gave a simple nod. The guards then opened the gates to Canterlot. When Blade walked through the entrance he was astonished. Unlike his small hometown of Ponyville, Canterlot was huge with large buildings and a store on every street corner. Everypony was dressed fancy and had a blase' look on their faces. Blade started to walk down the street. He noticed that there were also ponies in red robes and blue hoods. One approached him. "Where are you going young stallion?" asked the strange hooded pony. "To the Equestrian Royal Guard recruitment office," replied Blade. The hooded pony scoffed in disgust. "Do you even know what they represent? What they believe in? "Yes, justice, liberty, and freedom," replied Blade in an assertive tone. "You are ignorant," said the hooded pony. "You fail to see the evil in your government. But I'm guessing you're too stubborn to acknowledge their wrong doings, so go join their regime, but try to look for things that are hidden, you might find that your government isn't as perfect as it seems." The hooded pony walked away, leaving Blade with many questions. Like, what does he or she mean by the government is evil, and that it's a regime? Blade tried to keep these thoughts out of his mind as he walked up to the recruitment office. When he walked inside the recruitment office he saw a portrait of princess Celestia and a Equestrian flag. he looked to his left and saw the recruiter behind a counter, he walked over to talk. "Hello, welcome to the Equestrian Royal Military recruitment office, how may I help you?" asked the recruiter. "Hello, my name is Blade Sharp and I would like to join the Equestrian Royal Guards." "Well okay then, sign right here," the recruiter said as he pulled out a document. Blade signed the document. The recruiter then pulled back the document and put it into a filing cabinet. "Welcome to the Equestrian Royal Military." Blade then shook hooves with the recruiter. "Training starts tomorrow, you'll be sleeping tonight in the recruit's bed chambers behind the Canterlot castle south tower with all the other recruits," said the recruiter. Blade gave the recruiter a salute, left the office, then proceeded to go to the south tower. * * * When Blade reached the back of the south tower, he was greeted by recruits and drill sergeants. The officers gave them standard Equestrian Royal Guard armor and swords. Blade asked to keep his sword and the officers allowed this. The drill sergeant, sergeant Jerome, then gave a speech, "Now, the reason you colts wanted to join the Royal Guards is because you wanted to protect Celestia and her subjects. Well, you are one of her subjects, so you have to protect yourselves too. Over the next four weeks you will go through one of the most vigorous training programs the Equestrian Military has to offer. you will learn to fight, defend yourself, heal yourself and others, and to enforce laws on citizens." Blade was ecstatic. He had waited for this ever since he was a foal, he could barely stay still. "Now," said the sergeant, "get a good night's sleep, you're gonna need it for tomorrow." Before Blade when to sleep he talked to some of the other recruits. Then he met a dark blue earth pony named Buckler, they talked for a while. * * * "Hey Blade, you're pretty cool," said Buckler, " I can tell we're going to be good friends. "Yea, I think the same," replied Blade. "Well, anyways, good night." "Yea, good night," said Buckler. Blade fell asleep that night feeling confident about how his new life was going to unfold. Chapter 2The next four weeks for Blade were a living hell, but with the friendship of private Buckler, he managed to keep sane. Each day, he woke up at five o'clock in the mourning, galloped fifteen miles, trained in sword battling, galloped fifteen more miles, and went to sleep to start the whole process over again. There was the occasional screw up which led to the whole squad having to do push ups in the sand. This day was different though, because today was the last day of boot camp. Blade's red mane and tail stood out today, not only because of his white coat, but because the sun was very bright today. It gave him reassuring feeling, it made him feel like he could do almost anything. "Alright colts!" said sergeant Jerome. "Today's exercise is fencing." Everypony let out a sigh of relief. "Against us!" Jerome added. Blade stiffened. He was an excellent sword fighter, he had the cutie mark of a sword on his flank to prove it, but could he possibly beat one of Equestria's? "Who wants to go first?" Jerome asked. "How about you private Buckler?" The earth pony kept a blank look on his face as he walked up to the stage, but everypony knew he was scared. But why wouldn't he be? Buckler didn't even stand a chance. In the first round, Buckler tried wiping the epee across Jerome's chest, but Jerome just hit the epee out of Buckler's hoof and tapped the epee to his chest. "Point!," the referee exclaimed. The same happened in the next two rounds. Private Buckler walked off the stage with his head hanging in defeat. "What are you, a foal," questioned the sergeant. "Is anypony up to the challenge?" Blade wasn't just going to stand there and let one of his squad mates, let alone his friend, get ridiculed. Blade was going to try to reclaim his friend's honor. "I'll fence you!," Blade said with much excitement. "I respect your enthusiasm, come up here and try," replied Jerome. Blade walked up to the stage with a grim look on his face. He thought back to all the training he has had here. He knew what to do. Blade drew his epee and raised it. "I hope all that training did you some good private Sharp," said Jerome. "Engarde," announced the referee. Blade made a move to the left, only to be blocked by Jerome. Blade twisted his epee, flipped the sergeant's epee, and poked Jerome in the chest. "Point!," exclaimed the referee. "Well, don't you feel special, but don't get too cocky," said Jerome. The ponies got back to normal stance. Blade raised his epee, Jerome did the same. "Engarde," announced the referee. Jerome was the first to make a move, he made a dart for the right, but Blade countered with a block and twist. Jerome then broke the defense with counter clockwise turn, upthrust, and a final tap on Blade's neck. "Point!," exclaimed the referee. "You're starting to trip up private Sharp," Jerome said. "You know what? Let's make this short, whoever wins this point is victorious." Blade gave a nod of approval and the two colts raised their epees. "Engarde," said the referee. The two kept going back and forth. First, Blade went left, then Jerome took his epee, countered the attack, and twisted it counter clockwise. Blade quickly caught on to what the sergeant was trying to do and pushed his epee as hard as he could upward and forced the epee above Jerome's head, but Jerome quickly came down on Blade's epee, knocked it out of his hooves, and tapped Blade on the chest. "Point," said the referee. "Damn," Blade said in defeat. "Well, you put up a helluva fight for a private son," said Jerome. "Keep doing what you do, and maybe you'll be as good as me one day." "Thank you sergeant," Blade said. "Okay, who's next?" said the sergeant, "How about you private Gomez?" Blade wasn't paying attention anymore. Though he didn't beat Jerome, he had earned his respect, which, according to some of the graduates, was a herculean task. Blade had just accomplished an amazing feat. * * * The graduation ceremony wasn't very long. Everypony got their degree and their first assignment. Blade was assigned with guarding princess Cadence in the Royal wedding that was taking place tomorrow. Blade was a bit irritated. He thought he would be protecting princess Celestia, or even Luna. Not a crazy bride hoping to have a perfect wedding. Blade then became optimistic when he learned his friend Buckler was guarding Cadence too. "Well maybe it won't be all bad," he thought to himself, " at least Buckler's going to be there. And who knows, maybe some action will go down." Chapter 3When Blade woke up this morning he had an uneasiness in his stomach. Today was the day of the royal wedding of princess Cadence and Shining Armor. He knew Shining Armor from heroic stories of him in the Equestrian Royal Military. Shining Armor was the pony who protected Canterlot from chaos in the second Discord incident. Even now he had a protection spell surrounding Canterlot. Blade almost idolized him. The armor Blade was wearing now was different from the armor he wore in boot camp. It had a red crest on top of his helmet to show that he was a swordspony. His armor was golden with blue streaks painted across the side of it. Also, he wore a red cape over his armor with the Equestrian flag stitched on it. He thought the cape was a bit much, but this was a royal wedding, after all. Blade then tied his sheath around his waist, put is sword inside, and made way for the wedding chapel. * * * Blade made it to the wedding a bit early, so he decided to talk to one of his squad mates who was assigned to guard Shining Armor at the wedding, his friend, private Buckler. "So Buckler, what do you think of all this?" asked Blade "What, the wedding, or the god awful breakfast they served at the military cafeteria this mourning?" asked Buckler. "The wedding," replied Blade. "Well, I heard from some of Cadence's family and friends that she has been acting out," said Buckler. "I think it's just wedding jitters, you know how mares can get on their "special day"," said Blade. "OH, I didn't know it was the princess' time of the month," Buckler joked. The two colts laughed. "You were always the joker weren't you Buckler?" Blade said. * * * The two friends talked back and forth until the family, friends, bride maids, the groom, princess Celestia, and then, finally, princess Cadence arrived. "Mares and gentlecolts," Celestia said, "we are gathered here today to witness the unity of princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor. Shining Armor, do you take Cadence to be you lawfully wedded mare?" "Yes, I do," replied Shining Armor. "And do you, princess Mi Amore Cadenza, take Shining Armor to be your lawfully married stallion?" asked Celestia. "Yes, I do," said Cadence. "Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, it its my great honor to pronounce you-" "Stop!" princess Celestia was interrupted by a purple mare named Twilight Sparkle. Everypony was looking with disappointment on their faces. This struck Blade as odd. "Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?" Cadence said with an annoyed tone. Cadence quickly caught herself and said with a sod tone, "Why does she have to ruin my special day?" Now Blade defiantly knew something was up. He put his senses on high alert. Blade then heard a voice that surprised him. "Because it's not your special day, it's mine," said Cadence. Now Blade was confused. Two princess Cadences? Obviously one was an imposter. "What? But how did you escape my brides maids?" obviously this was the imposter. "They're brides maids, I just threw some flowers wrapped in paper to the other side of the cave and they all just fought for it," said the real Cadence. "Hmm, clever," said the imposter, "but you're still too late." "But I don't understand," inquired a orange mare name Applejack. "How can there be two of them?" "She's a changeling," said Cadence. "She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power feeding off your love for them." The imposter's eyes and horn started to glow an emerald green. Blade tore off his cape and unsheathed his sword. To Blade's astonishment, a green fire circle formed around the changeling and the green fire shot up and formed a cylinder around her. Once the fire went down the changeling took its true form. Its coat was black as night with holes through her legs and horn. Its wings look as large as an alicorn's, but it looked like a fly's wings with holes through it. Her mane and and tail were of a dark cyan color with a hint of green. Blade thought as if he were looking at the face of evil itself. "Right you are princess," the changeling spoke, "but as queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects. Equestria has more love than any place I have encountered. My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it, that we will gain more power than we ever dreamed of!" "They'll never get the chance!" Cadence exclaimed. "Shining Armor's protection spell will keep them from ever reaching us." "Hm hm hm hm, oh I doubt that," said the queen. "Isn't that right dear?" Uh huh," Shining Armor groaned while shaking his head up and down. Cadence made a dash for the queen, but she quickly stopped. Uh hah, don't want to go back to the caves now do you?" the queen asked. "Ever since I took your place, I've been feeding off Shining Armor's love for you. Every moment he grows weaker, and so does his protection spell. Even now my minions are chipping away at it." Everypony in the room looked up to see a changeling army bashing into the sphere that surrounds Canterlot. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha?" the queen snickered. "He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control now. And I'm sorry to say, unable to perform his duties as captain of the royal guards!" "Not my Shining Armor!" Cadence pleaded. "Soon," the queen continued, "my changeling army will break through. First we take Canterlot, then all of Equestria!" "No, you won't," said princess Celestia. "You may of made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self..." Celestia then butted horns with the queen of the changelings. "I can protect my subjects, from you!" Princess Celestia then rose into the air, her horn glowing as bright as the sun. She shot a yellow beam towards the queen, but the queen countered with a green beam. The two beams collided and pushed each other as if two foals put their hooves at each other to prove who was stronger. At first, it looked as if Celestia would win, but the score quickly turned when the green beam grew bigger and stronger, eventually making it to Celestia's horn and knocking Celestia down to the floor on her side. Blade was paralyzed. He couldn't believe what just happened, but when he put all the evidence in his mind together, one thing became certain. Princess Celestia lost. Chapter 4Blade was still in shock when he looked at the body of his befallen leader. He thought she would never fail to protect her people. Blade had lost hope, but then princess Celestia's chest began rising and falling. She was breathing, which meant the princess was still alive, and there was still hope for Equestria. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. Twilight and her friends rushed towards the fallen princess. "Ha, Shining Armor's love for you is even stringer than I thought" the queen said to Cadence. "Consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia!" "The Elements of Harmony" whispered the princess in pain to Twilight and her friends, "you must get to them. Use their power to defeat the queen." The six friends nodded in agreement, tore off their dresses, and left the building. Though just as the six mares left the wedding chapel, the spell that surrounded Canterlot was broken and the changeling army drove in for an assault. Then five changelings broke in through the windows of the wedding chapel. "Defend the princess!" Blade yelled at Buckler. The two colts made a dash for the princess. As they did, a changeling swooped down at the princess. Before it could reach the princess though, Blade tackled the changeling to the ground, and slit its throat. Now, as the four changelings came to take revenge on their fallen comrade, Buckler and Blade were standing back to back. "You ready?" Buckler asked. "Yea," replied Blade. "For Equestria!" the two colts roared in unison. Buckler was the first to strike, cutting vertically across a changeling's chest as it dove for him. Blade finished the changeling off by stabbing it in the head as it tried to hit Buckler from behind. Then, a changeling tackled Blade to the ground. The changeling tried to bite into the white colt's neck, but he punched the changeling in the nose with his right fore-hoof. The changeling backed off of Blade, his nose bleeding. Before the changeling could strike again though, Buckler slit its throat from behind, getting blood on his armor in the process. When Blade arose he noticed four dead changelings on the floor, the earth pony must of killed another while he was in that brawl. "Looks like you've been busy," said Blade. Well, between saving your ass and my own, I was pretty bored," joked Buckler. "Smart ass," Blade said with a jovial tone. "Wait, there are four dead bodies, where's the fifth?" "Right here," the changeling said with a hiss as it darted for Buckler. Blade, by instinct, tackled the changeling to the ground and stabbed it in the chest. "Guess we're even now," said Buckler with a shocked look on his face. "Yep," Blade replied. "Let's check on the princess." The tow colts raced towards their princess. She was seriously injured and needed medical attention. "Princess Celestia, you need a doctor, let me-" "No, you need to protect princess Luna" groaned princess Celestia. "Go to the royal bed chambers, they're in the north tower, and wake her up, tell her everything that has happened and protect her with your lives. That is a direct order." The two colts nodded in agreement and raced towards the bed chambers. * * * When the colts arrived at the bed chambers, they were greeted by two changelings at the door to princess Luna's room. They also saw bodies of some of Luna's dead guards. Blade felt his blood boil in anger for his fallen comrades. "You take the one on the left, I got the other" commanded Blade. "Got it," replied Buckler. Blade went to cut down the chest of a changeling, but missed when the changeling darted to the left.. The changeling, then ran behind Blade faster than he could track and bit into the pegasus' left hind leg. Blood poured onto the floor as the white pony cried in pain. Blade then took his sword and stabbed it through the biting changeling's head. Blood painted the floor. Blood looked up to see the dead body of the other changeling. "Shit, is your hoof alright?" asked Buckler with worry. "It'll be okay," replied Blade. "I'll open the door." The white pegasus opened the door to see the princess of the night still asleep in bed. Blade walked to her bed and tapped her gently on the head until she woke up. "Arrrgh," groaned Luna. "Why has thou awoken me from slumber?" "The city my princess, it i under attack by a changeling army, said Blade. "Princess Celestia is injured and we need to find a safe place for you to hold out until we can clear out all the changelings from the city." "Where is Twilight Sparkle and her friends?" questioned Luna. "They're off getting the Elements of Harmony," replied Buckler. "Good," said Luna. "Now, where can I fortify?" "I would say the armory," said Buckler, "that would be the first place I would go during any disaster." "Agreed" added Luna. "Then it's settled," said Blade, "to the armory." ` * * * The Canterlot armory is west of the north tower, making the trip that of a short one for the three ponies. "Finally," said Blade. "Buckler open the door." Buckler opened the door to be surprised by a group of changelings. "Ambush!" screamed Buckler. "Unsheathe your sword," said Blade. "Princess Luna, stay back!" Blade ran in and cut the throat of one of the changeling's by the door. Buckler followed and cut off the head of another changeling. Two the colts were now back to back, defending each other off. A changeling dove down and made a move for Blade, but Buckler tackled it out of the air and slit its throat, killing the last changeling in the room. "Hurry, to the bunkers," commanded Blade. Blade, Luna, and Buckler hurried to the door of the bunker room, stepping over bodies of dead changelings. Princess Luna gauged at the site. Blade had never killed before this day, he didn't like killing, but if his country's leader was at stake, he'd do anything. The three made it to the door to the bunker room. "Open the door" said Blade. Buckler opened the door. Then, a changeling jumped out of the dark room, and tackled Buckler to the ground. The changeling bit into the earth ponies neck, gushing blood onto the floor. Blade didn't hesitate. He pushed the changeling off of Buckler's body and stabbed it in the head with his sword, splattering brain matter onto the floor. Blade then rushed over to the earth pony, and put the brown pony's head on his lap. "Medic!" screamed Blade. "Buckler, we're going to get you help, don't die on me damn it." "No, I have short time in this life," Buckler said in a low voice. "Please my friend, don't be sad about my death. A few weeks is okay, but not forever. I have lived a happy life, full of adventure and friends, including you. You were my comrade, squad mate. My best friend. You defended my honor at the boot camp. You even saved my life a couple of times. Though you couldn't save my life this time, don't blame yourself, because today you showed me what being a true friend really is. Defending till the very end. Not giving up. And for that, I thank you. Defend Equestria and her people for me, as my dieing wish. I'll be watching you in heaven. Good bye my comrade. My.... best.... friend." Buckler became cold. Blade checked his pulse, he was dead. "God damn it, no!" said Blade with tears rolling down his cheeks. "No, we were suppose to both make it out of this alive. Please Luna! Is there anything you can do?" "No my subject, I cannot bring him back, his spirit is already gone from this world. I am truly sorry..." "We were best friends...," Blade cried. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared from the wedding chapel and changeling stared flying from the city. Blade looked out the window from where he was sitting and he saw no changelings in the streets. Blade then looked down at his friend. "Well Buckler, we did it. We defended princess Luna till the end." Prologue Prologue The air felt chilly this night. Stormcloud liked it when it was a bit cold outside, but tonight, she wasn't paying any attention to the weather. For tonight, they were infiltrating the castle of Canterlot. The pegasus' black coat and dark blue mane made her look like a silhouette tonight. Stormcloud tied her sheath around her waist and put her sword inside. "Alright team," announced Stormcloud, "all pegasi in alpha, fly to the north tower and infiltrate through there. The pegasi in beta, fly to the south tower and force your way through there. All unicorns and earth ponies, take the back entrance, if I'm right, then the guards will be changing shifts in five minutes, giving you all time to break in and take them by surprise. I'll be flying through the main entrance. Is everypony ready?" All the ponies said, "Yea!" in unison. "Remember, don't kill civilians, Luna, or Celestia," announced Stormcloud. "We need Celestia and Luna alive. Now, lets show these Solar Empire bastards who the real rulers of Equestria should be. For the Creator!" "For the Creator!" everypony said in unison. Stormcloud then rose into the air and flew to the main entrance. She unsheathed her sword and opened the door. Inside there were five guards. Good odds for any member of the rebellion. One of the guards ran to her. When he got close enough, she kicked the guard to the ground and stabbed the guard in the head with her sword, painting the floor with blood. This time she wasn't going to wait for the guards. She ran at them, cutting one of the guards in half as she ran by it. Then, a guard came from behind and cut her side. It felt like a bag of burning coals had been placed on her. She quickly turned around and took revenge for the cut by cutting the head off of the guard. "Three down, two to go," Stormcloud said in her head. Suddenly, three unicorns from her team came in and slit the guards throats while they were focused on her. "Well, you have a way of making an entrance," said Stormcloud. "Shooting Star, did you clear out all the guards from the back entrance?" "Yes Stormcloud," said the yellow unicorn," but the pegasi from beta team are still trying to push through the south tower." "Well, I have confidence in beta team, they have one of the rebellion's greatest sword fighters as their squad leader," said Stormcloud. A pegasi from alpha team flew in through the window and announced, "Stormcloud, the leader from beta team has been captured, we need your help!" "Shit!" said Stormcloud. "Do you know where he is?" "Yes!" answered the pegasus, "he's in Celestia's chambers." "Alright, tell everypony in alpha squad to push through to Celestia's chambers," said Stormcloud. "Yes ma'am," replied the pegasus. The pegasus then flew out the window he came in through. "Alright team, new plan," said Stormcloud. "We're going to push to Celestia's chambers and save the leader of beta team. Is everypony clear on that?" "Yes ma'am," the three unicorns said in unison. "Alright then, lets get moving," said Stormcloud. * * * Stormcloud and her small team kept galloping until they made it to the entrance of Celestia's chambers. In front of the door were six guards. "Get them!" said one of the guards. The six guards charged at the rebels. One of the unicorns from Stormcloud's team levitated a sword and threw it at one of the guards, cutting threw its neck and splattering blood on the walls. Stormcloud waited for one of the guards to come to her, and was then engaged in a sword fight. She knocked the sword out of the guards hooves and stabbed the guard in the stomach, the guard then fell to the ground. Another guard tried running strait at her, but Stormcloud cut its head off when it ran by. When Stormcloud looked to her left, she saw the rest of the guards, dead on the floor. "Good to see you've been busy," said Stormcloud. "Let's open the door." Stormcloud opened the door to see Celestia levitating a sword over the beta team's squad leader. "Blade, no!"
Chapter 1Three Months Earlier * * * Blade Sharp woke up with much excitement this morning, for today was his birthday. Not only was it his birthday, but also the day when he turned eighteen and, like most other young stallions, the day he is recruiting for the Equestrian Royal Guards. The young Pegasus grabbed his sheath, tied it around his waist, and put his sword inside it. Blade's whole family was waiting down stairs and yelled "Happy Birthday!" as he descended down the steps. He was greeted with boxes of presents and cake as he made it to the final step of the stairs. He was also greeted by Pinkie Pie who, usually, hosted all the parties in Ponyville. "Wow! Your finally an adult! I remember when I turned eighteen, there was cake , presents, streamers, and confetti it was- Oh! I forgot the confetti, I'll be right back!" Pinkie Pie said with much excitement. "Well that was a mouthful," Blade said with an excited look on his face. "Does anypony want to watch me blow out the candles on my cake? * * * Two hours went by and the party was over. As Blade said his goodbyes, he was then greeted by everypony in Ponyville as he walked out the door. They all shared their goodbyes and good lucks for they weren't going to hear from him for a long time. As Blade walked out of Ponyville he felt as though a new chapter in his life had begun. He then unfolded his wings and flew for the gates of Canterlot. * * * Blade landed at the main entrance gate to Canterlot to be greeted by two royal guards. "State your business," questioned the first one. " Recruitment for the Equestrian Royal Guards," Blade said with confidence. "Oh, a newbie, eh?" asked the second guard. "Well just keep your head down and your nose clean, and you'll be okay. Blade just gave a simple nod. The guards then opened the gates to Canterlot. When Blade walked through the entrance he was astonished. Unlike his small hometown of Ponyville, Canterlot was huge with large buildings and a store on every street corner. Everypony was dressed fancy and had a blase' look on their faces. Blade started to walk down the street. He noticed that there were also ponies in red robes and blue hoods. One approached him. "Where are you going young stallion?" asked the strange hooded pony. "To the Equestrian Royal Guard recruitment office," replied Blade. The hooded pony scoffed in disgust. "Do you even know what they represent? What they believe in? "Yes, justice, liberty, and freedom," replied Blade in an assertive tone. "You are ignorant," said the hooded pony. "You fail to see the evil in your government. But I'm guessing you're too stubborn to acknowledge their wrong doings, so go join their regime, but try to look for things that are hidden, you might find that your government isn't as perfect as it seems." The hooded pony walked away, leaving Blade with many questions. Like, what does he or she mean by the government is evil, and that it's a regime? Blade tried to keep these thoughts out of his mind as he walked up to the recruitment office. When he walked inside the recruitment office he saw a portrait of princess Celestia and a Equestrian flag. he looked to his left and saw the recruiter behind a counter, he walked over to talk. "Hello, welcome to the Equestrian Royal Military recruitment office, how may I help you?" asked the recruiter. "Hello, my name is Blade Sharp and I would like to join the Equestrian Royal Guards." "Well okay then, sign right here," the recruiter said as he pulled out a document. Blade signed the document. The recruiter then pulled back the document and put it into a filing cabinet. "Welcome to the Equestrian Royal Military." Blade then shook hooves with the recruiter. "Training starts tomorrow, you'll be sleeping tonight in the recruit's bed chambers behind the Canterlot castle south tower with all the other recruits," said the recruiter. Blade gave the recruiter a salute, left the office, then proceeded to go to the south tower. * * * When Blade reached the back of the south tower, he was greeted by recruits and drill sergeants. The officers gave them standard Equestrian Royal Guard armor and swords. Blade asked to keep his sword and the officers allowed this. The drill sergeant, sergeant Jerome, then gave a speech, "Now, the reason you colts wanted to join the Royal Guards is because you wanted to protect Celestia and her subjects. Well, you are one of her subjects, so you have to protect yourselves too. Over the next four weeks you will go through one of the most vigorous training programs the Equestrian Military has to offer. you will learn to fight, defend yourself, heal yourself and others, and to enforce laws on citizens." Blade was ecstatic. He had waited for this ever since he was a foal, he could barely stay still. "Now," said the sergeant, "get a good night's sleep, you're gonna need it for tomorrow." Before Blade when to sleep he talked to some of the other recruits. Then he met a dark blue earth pony named Buckler, they talked for a while. * * * "Hey Blade, you're pretty cool," said Buckler, " I can tell we're going to be good friends. "Yea, I think the same," replied Blade. "Well, anyways, good night." "Yea, good night," said Buckler. Blade fell asleep that night feeling confident about how his new life was going to unfold.
Chapter 2The next four weeks for Blade were a living hell, but with the friendship of private Buckler, he managed to keep sane. Each day, he woke up at five o'clock in the mourning, galloped fifteen miles, trained in sword battling, galloped fifteen more miles, and went to sleep to start the whole process over again. There was the occasional screw up which led to the whole squad having to do push ups in the sand. This day was different though, because today was the last day of boot camp. Blade's red mane and tail stood out today, not only because of his white coat, but because the sun was very bright today. It gave him reassuring feeling, it made him feel like he could do almost anything. "Alright colts!" said sergeant Jerome. "Today's exercise is fencing." Everypony let out a sigh of relief. "Against us!" Jerome added. Blade stiffened. He was an excellent sword fighter, he had the cutie mark of a sword on his flank to prove it, but could he possibly beat one of Equestria's? "Who wants to go first?" Jerome asked. "How about you private Buckler?" The earth pony kept a blank look on his face as he walked up to the stage, but everypony knew he was scared. But why wouldn't he be? Buckler didn't even stand a chance. In the first round, Buckler tried wiping the epee across Jerome's chest, but Jerome just hit the epee out of Buckler's hoof and tapped the epee to his chest. "Point!," the referee exclaimed. The same happened in the next two rounds. Private Buckler walked off the stage with his head hanging in defeat. "What are you, a foal," questioned the sergeant. "Is anypony up to the challenge?" Blade wasn't just going to stand there and let one of his squad mates, let alone his friend, get ridiculed. Blade was going to try to reclaim his friend's honor. "I'll fence you!," Blade said with much excitement. "I respect your enthusiasm, come up here and try," replied Jerome. Blade walked up to the stage with a grim look on his face. He thought back to all the training he has had here. He knew what to do. Blade drew his epee and raised it. "I hope all that training did you some good private Sharp," said Jerome. "Engarde," announced the referee. Blade made a move to the left, only to be blocked by Jerome. Blade twisted his epee, flipped the sergeant's epee, and poked Jerome in the chest. "Point!," exclaimed the referee. "Well, don't you feel special, but don't get too cocky," said Jerome. The ponies got back to normal stance. Blade raised his epee, Jerome did the same. "Engarde," announced the referee. Jerome was the first to make a move, he made a dart for the right, but Blade countered with a block and twist. Jerome then broke the defense with counter clockwise turn, upthrust, and a final tap on Blade's neck. "Point!," exclaimed the referee. "You're starting to trip up private Sharp," Jerome said. "You know what? Let's make this short, whoever wins this point is victorious." Blade gave a nod of approval and the two colts raised their epees. "Engarde," said the referee. The two kept going back and forth. First, Blade went left, then Jerome took his epee, countered the attack, and twisted it counter clockwise. Blade quickly caught on to what the sergeant was trying to do and pushed his epee as hard as he could upward and forced the epee above Jerome's head, but Jerome quickly came down on Blade's epee, knocked it out of his hooves, and tapped Blade on the chest. "Point," said the referee. "Damn," Blade said in defeat. "Well, you put up a helluva fight for a private son," said Jerome. "Keep doing what you do, and maybe you'll be as good as me one day." "Thank you sergeant," Blade said. "Okay, who's next?" said the sergeant, "How about you private Gomez?" Blade wasn't paying attention anymore. Though he didn't beat Jerome, he had earned his respect, which, according to some of the graduates, was a herculean task. Blade had just accomplished an amazing feat. * * * The graduation ceremony wasn't very long. Everypony got their degree and their first assignment. Blade was assigned with guarding princess Cadence in the Royal wedding that was taking place tomorrow. Blade was a bit irritated. He thought he would be protecting princess Celestia, or even Luna. Not a crazy bride hoping to have a perfect wedding. Blade then became optimistic when he learned his friend Buckler was guarding Cadence too. "Well maybe it won't be all bad," he thought to himself, " at least Buckler's going to be there. And who knows, maybe some action will go down."
Chapter 3When Blade woke up this morning he had an uneasiness in his stomach. Today was the day of the royal wedding of princess Cadence and Shining Armor. He knew Shining Armor from heroic stories of him in the Equestrian Royal Military. Shining Armor was the pony who protected Canterlot from chaos in the second Discord incident. Even now he had a protection spell surrounding Canterlot. Blade almost idolized him. The armor Blade was wearing now was different from the armor he wore in boot camp. It had a red crest on top of his helmet to show that he was a swordspony. His armor was golden with blue streaks painted across the side of it. Also, he wore a red cape over his armor with the Equestrian flag stitched on it. He thought the cape was a bit much, but this was a royal wedding, after all. Blade then tied his sheath around his waist, put is sword inside, and made way for the wedding chapel. * * * Blade made it to the wedding a bit early, so he decided to talk to one of his squad mates who was assigned to guard Shining Armor at the wedding, his friend, private Buckler. "So Buckler, what do you think of all this?" asked Blade "What, the wedding, or the god awful breakfast they served at the military cafeteria this mourning?" asked Buckler. "The wedding," replied Blade. "Well, I heard from some of Cadence's family and friends that she has been acting out," said Buckler. "I think it's just wedding jitters, you know how mares can get on their "special day"," said Blade. "OH, I didn't know it was the princess' time of the month," Buckler joked. The two colts laughed. "You were always the joker weren't you Buckler?" Blade said. * * * The two friends talked back and forth until the family, friends, bride maids, the groom, princess Celestia, and then, finally, princess Cadence arrived. "Mares and gentlecolts," Celestia said, "we are gathered here today to witness the unity of princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor. Shining Armor, do you take Cadence to be you lawfully wedded mare?" "Yes, I do," replied Shining Armor. "And do you, princess Mi Amore Cadenza, take Shining Armor to be your lawfully married stallion?" asked Celestia. "Yes, I do," said Cadence. "Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, it its my great honor to pronounce you-" "Stop!" princess Celestia was interrupted by a purple mare named Twilight Sparkle. Everypony was looking with disappointment on their faces. This struck Blade as odd. "Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?" Cadence said with an annoyed tone. Cadence quickly caught herself and said with a sod tone, "Why does she have to ruin my special day?" Now Blade defiantly knew something was up. He put his senses on high alert. Blade then heard a voice that surprised him. "Because it's not your special day, it's mine," said Cadence. Now Blade was confused. Two princess Cadences? Obviously one was an imposter. "What? But how did you escape my brides maids?" obviously this was the imposter. "They're brides maids, I just threw some flowers wrapped in paper to the other side of the cave and they all just fought for it," said the real Cadence. "Hmm, clever," said the imposter, "but you're still too late." "But I don't understand," inquired a orange mare name Applejack. "How can there be two of them?" "She's a changeling," said Cadence. "She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power feeding off your love for them." The imposter's eyes and horn started to glow an emerald green. Blade tore off his cape and unsheathed his sword. To Blade's astonishment, a green fire circle formed around the changeling and the green fire shot up and formed a cylinder around her. Once the fire went down the changeling took its true form. Its coat was black as night with holes through her legs and horn. Its wings look as large as an alicorn's, but it looked like a fly's wings with holes through it. Her mane and and tail were of a dark cyan color with a hint of green. Blade thought as if he were looking at the face of evil itself. "Right you are princess," the changeling spoke, "but as queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects. Equestria has more love than any place I have encountered. My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it, that we will gain more power than we ever dreamed of!" "They'll never get the chance!" Cadence exclaimed. "Shining Armor's protection spell will keep them from ever reaching us." "Hm hm hm hm, oh I doubt that," said the queen. "Isn't that right dear?" Uh huh," Shining Armor groaned while shaking his head up and down. Cadence made a dash for the queen, but she quickly stopped. Uh hah, don't want to go back to the caves now do you?" the queen asked. "Ever since I took your place, I've been feeding off Shining Armor's love for you. Every moment he grows weaker, and so does his protection spell. Even now my minions are chipping away at it." Everypony in the room looked up to see a changeling army bashing into the sphere that surrounds Canterlot. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha?" the queen snickered. "He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control now. And I'm sorry to say, unable to perform his duties as captain of the royal guards!" "Not my Shining Armor!" Cadence pleaded. "Soon," the queen continued, "my changeling army will break through. First we take Canterlot, then all of Equestria!" "No, you won't," said princess Celestia. "You may of made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self..." Celestia then butted horns with the queen of the changelings. "I can protect my subjects, from you!" Princess Celestia then rose into the air, her horn glowing as bright as the sun. She shot a yellow beam towards the queen, but the queen countered with a green beam. The two beams collided and pushed each other as if two foals put their hooves at each other to prove who was stronger. At first, it looked as if Celestia would win, but the score quickly turned when the green beam grew bigger and stronger, eventually making it to Celestia's horn and knocking Celestia down to the floor on her side. Blade was paralyzed. He couldn't believe what just happened, but when he put all the evidence in his mind together, one thing became certain. Princess Celestia lost.
Chapter 4Blade was still in shock when he looked at the body of his befallen leader. He thought she would never fail to protect her people. Blade had lost hope, but then princess Celestia's chest began rising and falling. She was breathing, which meant the princess was still alive, and there was still hope for Equestria. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. Twilight and her friends rushed towards the fallen princess. "Ha, Shining Armor's love for you is even stringer than I thought" the queen said to Cadence. "Consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia!" "The Elements of Harmony" whispered the princess in pain to Twilight and her friends, "you must get to them. Use their power to defeat the queen." The six friends nodded in agreement, tore off their dresses, and left the building. Though just as the six mares left the wedding chapel, the spell that surrounded Canterlot was broken and the changeling army drove in for an assault. Then five changelings broke in through the windows of the wedding chapel. "Defend the princess!" Blade yelled at Buckler. The two colts made a dash for the princess. As they did, a changeling swooped down at the princess. Before it could reach the princess though, Blade tackled the changeling to the ground, and slit its throat. Now, as the four changelings came to take revenge on their fallen comrade, Buckler and Blade were standing back to back. "You ready?" Buckler asked. "Yea," replied Blade. "For Equestria!" the two colts roared in unison. Buckler was the first to strike, cutting vertically across a changeling's chest as it dove for him. Blade finished the changeling off by stabbing it in the head as it tried to hit Buckler from behind. Then, a changeling tackled Blade to the ground. The changeling tried to bite into the white colt's neck, but he punched the changeling in the nose with his right fore-hoof. The changeling backed off of Blade, his nose bleeding. Before the changeling could strike again though, Buckler slit its throat from behind, getting blood on his armor in the process. When Blade arose he noticed four dead changelings on the floor, the earth pony must of killed another while he was in that brawl. "Looks like you've been busy," said Blade. Well, between saving your ass and my own, I was pretty bored," joked Buckler. "Smart ass," Blade said with a jovial tone. "Wait, there are four dead bodies, where's the fifth?" "Right here," the changeling said with a hiss as it darted for Buckler. Blade, by instinct, tackled the changeling to the ground and stabbed it in the chest. "Guess we're even now," said Buckler with a shocked look on his face. "Yep," Blade replied. "Let's check on the princess." The tow colts raced towards their princess. She was seriously injured and needed medical attention. "Princess Celestia, you need a doctor, let me-" "No, you need to protect princess Luna" groaned princess Celestia. "Go to the royal bed chambers, they're in the north tower, and wake her up, tell her everything that has happened and protect her with your lives. That is a direct order." The two colts nodded in agreement and raced towards the bed chambers. * * * When the colts arrived at the bed chambers, they were greeted by two changelings at the door to princess Luna's room. They also saw bodies of some of Luna's dead guards. Blade felt his blood boil in anger for his fallen comrades. "You take the one on the left, I got the other" commanded Blade. "Got it," replied Buckler. Blade went to cut down the chest of a changeling, but missed when the changeling darted to the left.. The changeling, then ran behind Blade faster than he could track and bit into the pegasus' left hind leg. Blood poured onto the floor as the white pony cried in pain. Blade then took his sword and stabbed it through the biting changeling's head. Blood painted the floor. Blood looked up to see the dead body of the other changeling. "Shit, is your hoof alright?" asked Buckler with worry. "It'll be okay," replied Blade. "I'll open the door." The white pegasus opened the door to see the princess of the night still asleep in bed. Blade walked to her bed and tapped her gently on the head until she woke up. "Arrrgh," groaned Luna. "Why has thou awoken me from slumber?" "The city my princess, it i under attack by a changeling army, said Blade. "Princess Celestia is injured and we need to find a safe place for you to hold out until we can clear out all the changelings from the city." "Where is Twilight Sparkle and her friends?" questioned Luna. "They're off getting the Elements of Harmony," replied Buckler. "Good," said Luna. "Now, where can I fortify?" "I would say the armory," said Buckler, "that would be the first place I would go during any disaster." "Agreed" added Luna. "Then it's settled," said Blade, "to the armory." ` * * * The Canterlot armory is west of the north tower, making the trip that of a short one for the three ponies. "Finally," said Blade. "Buckler open the door." Buckler opened the door to be surprised by a group of changelings. "Ambush!" screamed Buckler. "Unsheathe your sword," said Blade. "Princess Luna, stay back!" Blade ran in and cut the throat of one of the changeling's by the door. Buckler followed and cut off the head of another changeling. Two the colts were now back to back, defending each other off. A changeling dove down and made a move for Blade, but Buckler tackled it out of the air and slit its throat, killing the last changeling in the room. "Hurry, to the bunkers," commanded Blade. Blade, Luna, and Buckler hurried to the door of the bunker room, stepping over bodies of dead changelings. Princess Luna gauged at the site. Blade had never killed before this day, he didn't like killing, but if his country's leader was at stake, he'd do anything. The three made it to the door to the bunker room. "Open the door" said Blade. Buckler opened the door. Then, a changeling jumped out of the dark room, and tackled Buckler to the ground. The changeling bit into the earth ponies neck, gushing blood onto the floor. Blade didn't hesitate. He pushed the changeling off of Buckler's body and stabbed it in the head with his sword, splattering brain matter onto the floor. Blade then rushed over to the earth pony, and put the brown pony's head on his lap. "Medic!" screamed Blade. "Buckler, we're going to get you help, don't die on me damn it." "No, I have short time in this life," Buckler said in a low voice. "Please my friend, don't be sad about my death. A few weeks is okay, but not forever. I have lived a happy life, full of adventure and friends, including you. You were my comrade, squad mate. My best friend. You defended my honor at the boot camp. You even saved my life a couple of times. Though you couldn't save my life this time, don't blame yourself, because today you showed me what being a true friend really is. Defending till the very end. Not giving up. And for that, I thank you. Defend Equestria and her people for me, as my dieing wish. I'll be watching you in heaven. Good bye my comrade. My.... best.... friend." Buckler became cold. Blade checked his pulse, he was dead. "God damn it, no!" said Blade with tears rolling down his cheeks. "No, we were suppose to both make it out of this alive. Please Luna! Is there anything you can do?" "No my subject, I cannot bring him back, his spirit is already gone from this world. I am truly sorry..." "We were best friends...," Blade cried. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared from the wedding chapel and changeling stared flying from the city. Blade looked out the window from where he was sitting and he saw no changelings in the streets. Blade then looked down at his friend. "Well Buckler, we did it. We defended princess Luna till the end."
Prologue Prologue The air felt chilly this night. Stormcloud liked it when it was a bit cold outside, but tonight, she wasn't paying any attention to the weather. For tonight, they were infiltrating the castle of Canterlot. The pegasus' black coat and dark blue mane made her look like a silhouette tonight. Stormcloud tied her sheath around her waist and put her sword inside. "Alright team," announced Stormcloud, "all pegasi in alpha, fly to the north tower and infiltrate through there. The pegasi in beta, fly to the south tower and force your way through there. All unicorns and earth ponies, take the back entrance, if I'm right, then the guards will be changing shifts in five minutes, giving you all time to break in and take them by surprise. I'll be flying through the main entrance. Is everypony ready?" All the ponies said, "Yea!" in unison. "Remember, don't kill civilians, Luna, or Celestia," announced Stormcloud. "We need Celestia and Luna alive. Now, lets show these Solar Empire bastards who the real rulers of Equestria should be. For the Creator!" "For the Creator!" everypony said in unison. Stormcloud then rose into the air and flew to the main entrance. She unsheathed her sword and opened the door. Inside there were five guards. Good odds for any member of the rebellion. One of the guards ran to her. When he got close enough, she kicked the guard to the ground and stabbed the guard in the head with her sword, painting the floor with blood. This time she wasn't going to wait for the guards. She ran at them, cutting one of the guards in half as she ran by it. Then, a guard came from behind and cut her side. It felt like a bag of burning coals had been placed on her. She quickly turned around and took revenge for the cut by cutting the head off of the guard. "Three down, two to go," Stormcloud said in her head. Suddenly, three unicorns from her team came in and slit the guards throats while they were focused on her. "Well, you have a way of making an entrance," said Stormcloud. "Shooting Star, did you clear out all the guards from the back entrance?" "Yes Stormcloud," said the yellow unicorn," but the pegasi from beta team are still trying to push through the south tower." "Well, I have confidence in beta team, they have one of the rebellion's greatest sword fighters as their squad leader," said Stormcloud. A pegasi from alpha team flew in through the window and announced, "Stormcloud, the leader from beta team has been captured, we need your help!" "Shit!" said Stormcloud. "Do you know where he is?" "Yes!" answered the pegasus, "he's in Celestia's chambers." "Alright, tell everypony in alpha squad to push through to Celestia's chambers," said Stormcloud. "Yes ma'am," replied the pegasus. The pegasus then flew out the window he came in through. "Alright team, new plan," said Stormcloud. "We're going to push to Celestia's chambers and save the leader of beta team. Is everypony clear on that?" "Yes ma'am," the three unicorns said in unison. "Alright then, lets get moving," said Stormcloud. * * * Stormcloud and her small team kept galloping until they made it to the entrance of Celestia's chambers. In front of the door were six guards. "Get them!" said one of the guards. The six guards charged at the rebels. One of the unicorns from Stormcloud's team levitated a sword and threw it at one of the guards, cutting threw its neck and splattering blood on the walls. Stormcloud waited for one of the guards to come to her, and was then engaged in a sword fight. She knocked the sword out of the guards hooves and stabbed the guard in the stomach, the guard then fell to the ground. Another guard tried running strait at her, but Stormcloud cut its head off when it ran by. When Stormcloud looked to her left, she saw the rest of the guards, dead on the floor. "Good to see you've been busy," said Stormcloud. "Let's open the door." Stormcloud opened the door to see Celestia levitating a sword over the beta team's squad leader. "Blade, no!"
