And Family Means Everything
You Have Left Behind Family
By King_Again
Arctic Armor worked for the guards for as long as he could remember. His father was the one to allow him to follow in his hoof steps and become a guard. More so to follow the family tradition than to protected the two princesses. He was not good at it.
He’d trip, crash plates, and even bump into walls when one should not. He stuttered when the two princesses came around, asking him if he had seen the other. For that, he was made fun of during the weekly breaks. Arctic hated his job at being a guard, but he did not mind it.
This was making his father, mother, and little brother happy. His family was his everything, like it should be. His brother admired him, and wanted to be like him, minus the fails. Arctic was more than happy to allow Glaze to admire him fore he knew, his brother was his everything.
He was Glaze’s everything, and Arctic loved the thought of it, and did whatever it took to make him happy.
Yet, lately, he could hear the two princesses fighting. He could hear one yelling at the other about the night not being able to stay, and the other countering with how she gave up two extra hours for the day. Arctic found it unfair that the night couldn’t have two extra hours.
Surely it should be the same, yeah?
So, why in the name of their mother, was the oldest not allowing the night to start two extra hours earlier? Did she not learn of sharing? Certainly the youngest did because he knew she looked up to her big sister, much like how Glaze looked up to him. Maybe this was a one time thing?
Yeah, it had to be.
Expect; it wasn’t.
Whenever he worked in the throne room, he stayed an extra hour because the guard who was needing to replace him was always late, and he forgave him because that was what friendship held. Forgiveness. He always saw Princess Celestia, the all mighty Sun Goddess, fighting with Princess Luna, the all mighty Moon Goddess.
Arctic nearly felt his heart crash into pieces. Was Princess Celestia trying so hard to ruin a perfectly good bond between sisters because of a simple request?
“Princess,” Arctic spoke up, despite knowing how he should not be doing so. “She gave up two hours for your day to go on, it would be fair to allow the night to start two extra hours before hoof.”
“It would throw our subjects off.” Princess Celestia argued. “It shall not happen.”
He narrowed his blazing ice blue eyes. “Have you not learned to share? It certainly seems like you do not care for your sister, like one should.”
“Do not try and tell me what is right, Arctic Armor. You are on thin ice already from your misfortunes. Do not pull the last straw.” The Sun Goddess threatened before turning back to her sister. “This chat is over, sister. Do not come crying back to me, asking to allow the night to being earlier.”
Princess Luna ran out without a word, but Arctic knew he would get a thank you from her soon. He did stick up for her after all.
He went on doing this many over times when he was in the room they were fighting for, and soon, Arctic was made to be around Celestia only. He could not see Luna anymore and stick up for her, but that did not stop him from seeing her off of his shift. They had became good friends since the day he had first stuck up for her.
All the other guards did not get how he could be around her without needing to feel warmth. But all Arctic felt was the warmth of the Moon coming off of her, rather than the Sun. He had to say, he preferred the Moon much over than the Sun could ever give off.
His father did not get this, and his(shockingly) betrothed did not either. Both were fond of Celestia more than Luna, but Arctic did not care.
“How? How can you be around her for so long without needing to see her highness, Princess Celestia?” His father questioned one night during dinner, Arctic was looking out the window. “It is not right.”
“Then, we have different thoughts on what is and what is not.” Arctic decided. “I like the night and moon much better, father. You have no say in that.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I have fun when I am around here, and I am not taking our friendship for granted. It is like family.”
“How so?” His betrothed asked, her eyes narrowing, and her eyebrows forming together. It was almost like she was mad at him for saying he was friends with Princess Luna.
Arctic smiled warmly at the thought. “Family is not always blood. It is the ponies in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would anything to see you smile and who love you, no matter what you decide in life.” He paused for a moment. “That is what my friendship with Princess Luna is like. I intend to keep it that way.”
They did not question him.
It’s not until Arctic is around Princess Celestia and her friend, Sunshine Hearts, that he overhears Sunshine speak rudely about Princess Luna. Princess Celestia actually believes every word Sunshine says, and he feels his blood boil. He remembers his words over dinner, and closes his eyes.
He just needs to know his friendship with Luna is all he needs to be happy, and everything will be okay. But he cannot help but want to slap Sunshine for saying those things and decides; Sunshine is not family to him. She does not matter to him, and never will.
He watches Celestia throw away family in his eyes, and closed his mouth until Sunshine leaves, and he takes a step forward, he knows her highness probably thinks it is to guide her back to her room. However, he stays when she goes in and orders him to leave.
She just blinks and demands to know why he hasn’t left.
The answer is simple; “You threw away family.” He takes his leave without stopping when she calls out his name. He does not need to know anything about her confusion.
Sunshine comes back when he’s with Princess Luna, speaking about her night and how lovely it is. He takes out a flower from the flower shop, and bows with it in his mouth. Sunshine watches as the youngest princess gives a small gasp before smiling and accepting it.
She feels like Arctic betrayed her best friend, his golden ruler, their everything. The sun is there everything, the night is not. How could anypony wish to... to... to follow the night when the day is much more enjoyable? She wants to have a word with him until he speaks again.
His words are almost wise enough to be placed in a book.
“They do not know what they are missing,” Arctic says, his darken colt moves in the wind. “The day may be more enjoyable, but you are by far the most promising pony I have met. Do you know I have always wished to be living in the dark? I am not a morning pony, I hate the sun in the morning. I yearn for the dark, for the night, but I do know if I want, I can see the most promising scene. They may love the sun--your sister--” He nuzzled her when her head dropped. “--but I know, everypony, loves you the same. You are their family, because it is not always of blood. It is who they allow in, allow into their lives, who can accept them, for them. Not a mask. You do that the best, you are everything. Your sister, is too blind to see she is throwing something great away. For fame. For something that does not remotely matter as much as family does, and if she takes the chance to see you are hurting, then maybe, just maybe, everything will be righted that has been wronged.”
Princess Luna does not respond for a moment, instead she closes her eyes before reopening them. Their stained with tears, Arctic wipes them away with his hoof.
“Thou have a good heart,” Princess Luna says, looking away before moving away, and Sunshine swears Arctic dropped his shoulders a little. “Yet, that does not change for what they have done.”
“Yes, they do not pay much attention to something beautiful, but I do.” He steps forward, bowing. “You are my family. I am allowing you in, Princess. You accept me for who I am. No mask needed, and I am doing the same. If it means being with you forever, I will always accept you.” He moves to nuzzle her. “I... I love thou, Princess Luna.”
She tensed before relaxing and moving to nuzzle him back, and Sunshine feels her heart warming a little before shaking her head. This is somepony who can threaten her best friend! Not somepony who she should be feeling happy for, and happiness is saved for Princess Celestia only.
“I love thou too.”
Sunshine leaves.
It’s been who knows how long, and Arctic cannot find Luna. He took her out for three dates, and his mother loves her when he took her to meet his parents. Glaze loves her, always calling her big sister. It’s his father and betrothed that hate her. Arctic, as much as he knows family is important, tells them if they cannot accept her, then they are no longer family. He once considered his betrothed family, but not any more.
He considers asking Sunshine but deciding against that, even not asking the other guards is what he doesn’t do. He’s worried for her--because he wishes to take her out and take a big jump. It hasn’t been long, but he wants to be with her for as long as he may live.
Arctic cannot find her, and the others mock him.
They say they have told him so, that she would leave him, that she would not take the risk of being with a no pony whose living as a guard. Who’s not a noble. Who’s just a knight. Just a guard, and Arctic feels his heart breaking until he hears somepony crying.
He finds Princess Celestia, and trots up to her, a few fellow--correction most--guards with him. He bends down and asks what has happened, all he finds is her crying away.
A guard notes of shattered-like shapes.
“What are these?” The guard asks, pointing with his hoof. “Your majesty, should we be worried? Are we under an attack?”
“No, not any more.” Arctic really feels his heart crashing. “It is all over, the monster is gone.”
Arctic feels like there is much more than she is leading onto, and it all clicks. Those fights about the night and day, the comments about Princess Luna from Sunshine. His father and ex-betrothed saying they did not like her, and the guards saying she would leave him one day. It all suddenly clicks.
“What did you do?” His voice is above whisper, but loud enough for her to hear his anger. “What did you do to her? Celestia damn it, tell me!”
The guards gasp, but her highness did not.
“She...she turned. I had no choice,” Is all Celestia can say. “You need to understand, she was a threat to my rule, and Equesteria. That threat is no more.” Coldness is all he hears. “We are--” Arctic cuts her off.
“You threw away family.” He repeats, and Celestia blinks. She has heard that line before, and this time, actually gets to question Arctic about what he means. “Is family not supposed to be of supporting each other? Being there when one is sad? Making sure no pony is left behind? From what I have seen, my dear friend, you have left behind family.”
“She... she was a threat.” Another guard adds quietly, sticking up for his princess.
Arctic allows his tears to run. “No, she was misunderstood, and you--” He thrust his hoof towards Celestia at this point in his rant. “--abandoned her when she needed you the most. All those fights broke away your bond with her, all those choices to not allow anything in the night to happen was all your fault. She did nothing to you, and you left her alone. You left your family. You cannot go back, change what has happened. If you were a better sister, princess, anything, you would understand!”
“You dare speak to her like that?” The third guard questions, moving to threaten Arctic Armor, but the other guard holds his ground and almost growls.
“She was my everything,” He adds. “More than she, Princess Celestia, could ever be. I stood by Princess Luna, wanting to help her get through this, and you all cast her away. Much like the subjects. Tell me, what allows the earth to rest up? The night, the moon, the stars. Everything Luna brought. You were all blind.” He wipes his eyes. “You all left behind family. You left behind somepony who could make the world so much better.”
Celestia cannot say anything as he turns to her, and frowns.
“I quit.” Arctic mumbled. “I was on thin ice, yeah? The ice broke. I am done. I am no longer protecting you, you shall not have my word and loyalty for what you have done to me, and my heart. You took away the one pony who I loved the most, who I wanted to be with. You have taken away everything that means to me. But most importantly, you have taken away... somepony who loved you... for you. Not the mask you wore to make sure you stayed in control. The real you.”
Arctic takes one last look at his friends(doubtfully still his friends), and his old boss/princess. No, there is no reason to be staying around here anymore, wanting to feel bad for her. It’s too much for his heart, and everypony knows this. So, he leaves.
And doesn’t come back.
It’s a thousand years later, and Luna still feels like this isn’t going to be great. She knows everypony she knew back then is gone. She knows how life goes, and she always knew this day would come. As soon as she asked what happened to the stallion who stole her heart, her own crashed into millions.
At least they were kind enough to show her where the stallion was buried. Celestia had explained as soon as she was banished, he had quit his job. Because of her banishment. Even then, Luna questioned if he had done so out of pure anger, or just because he didn’t wish to serve any longer.
He had talked about quitting while they were dating anyways.
Never stopped talking about it during their first and last date. But she didn’t mind because it would mean more time for them to be together instead of waiting for him to get off, or waiting for a day off.
“Is... is this the right place?” Luna asked.
“Yes,” Celestia nodded, trying to avoid anything that might spark tears. “I had made sure he gotten a good spot too. He was a good guard.”
Luna chuckled. “I recall many misfortunes form him, as you placed it. All those broken plates, trips, and bumps into the wall. Let us not forget the stutters.” She stopped, remembering those times.
“Do.. Do you wish for me to come with you?”
“No, We... We can do this alone.” Luna said before trotting into the graveyard, her eyes trying to find the one name she always knew would spike up her heart. She had heard he was buried somewhere between Sir Brave Knight and Sir Bright Light. The twin guards. “Ah! There!” Her wings opened a little as she dashed towards it.
Her hoof landed on the plate for a moment, his cutie mark engraved on it for dear life. A very cold looking shield, with frost twirling around it. Almost like a very cold place.
“Arctic Armor,” Luna whispered, looking over the pale, light, gray.
Arctic Armor
-
Son of Hard Sword and Warmth Light,
Brother to Glaze Flame,
Brave, wise, knight for Equestria to remember. Loving son, brother, and lover. Could be argued as the pony who knew how important family is, and what it means. Will always be remembered within our hearts, souls, and minds. Rest in peace.
Luna bite her lip as she read it before smiling a little, sitting down and allowing her tail to cover her hoofs. Her mane flowed in the wind, and she sighed heavily. “I miss you.” She said. “I love you, Arctic Armor.” She felt almost awkward speaking with a grave. “We have been told everything you have done when we were banished. How you quit, spoke in rage against our sister. Everything that came after.”
Maybe she should just leave now. Nothing was to be said. She had said everything on her mind within an hour, how she wished none of that could have happened, and maybe they would have been married and had foals together. She shook her head.
He was her everything, and she was his everything. They were each other’s everything, and that was thrown away because of her stupid choice to act out of rage.
How stupid was she?
“Hey, uh, s-sorry for interrupting,” A voice behind her spoke out with a stutter, and Luna wiped her head around to meet with the eyes of ice blue. “I just, uh, need some directions. Trying to find this one grave, and kinda... got lost.”
“We... of course,” Luna smiled. “Which grave do you require?”
“The grave of Maple Leaf,” The stallion mumbled, flowers floating in his magic. Much like how Arctic would float flowers over to her with his magic. “She was my... uh... great-something grandmother. It’s... kinda of family tradition, that we do this... She was alive over a thousand years ago, and... ya know.”
“That way, we passed her trying to find this grave.” Luna pointed out, and the stallion bowed his head.
“Thank you, Princess.”
Luna shifted a little. “Wait, what is thy name?” It was only fair she knew his if he knew her to be the princess, and he was her subject after all. Would not hurt to get to know a subject or two, yeah?
“Oh,” The stallion felt embarrassed a little. “My name is Arctic Wing.”
...He looked everything like Arctic Armor.
Luna felt her heart beat like it had a thousand years ago.
