The armour hung heavy on him as he surveyed the city of Canterlot. Heavier, though, was his mood.
“We have not committed yet, my lord,” said his adjutant, Captain Thunder Bolt. He was a Pegasus and served with distinction in the Royal Guard for ten years. For all that, Shining Armour knew he was ready for this. The reassuring familiarity of their relationship was the only thing that kept him firm on this path.
“You know that’s not true.” Shining Armour gestured to the ranks of the soldiers arrayed around him. “We have come this far, and none doubt our goals. If we turn back, there would be nothing for us but death. And they would be right to do so.” Shining took a deep breath. “I am ready. Call the stallions to attention. I will address them before the battle.”
The Pegasus nodded and turned to the serried ranks. “You! Eyes front, guardsponies! Heed the word of our commander! He has led us true, so listen to his commands now!”
A hush fell over the army. It was uncomfortable. He breathed in, tasting the fresh air. Across the wind he heard barked orders from within the capital, and he recognised the voice calling them. His son would do him proud.
“Stallions. Guardsponies. Brothers.” Shining Armour let his gaze roam around the ponies before him. Although he did not know all of them, he made every attempt to do so. He knew their mood. It was his very own. Anticipation. Fear. Uncertainty. Trust. “We are here for the one reason we have always served. Loyalty. Honour. These words mean something to us, something that nopony outside the Guard ever understand. We are family—a family that understands each other. And what we understand is that loyalty, the loyalty we have sworn, goes both ways. To follow an order, to serve anypony, that order and that pony must be worth serving.”
There were prepared words. None of them matched his feelings. “Our nation held our loyalty for that reason. They were worthy of serving, of protecting. Our families were safe, and comfortable, and flourishing.” He kept looking, nodding at a few who he knew had families.
“Yet… that changed, did it not?” His voice almost cracked. “You have seen what they did to your families before, and how they treated us. When the griffons came, what did they do? They threw us at them without care. Is there a one among you who has not lost a brother? And for what? They bought them off. We were a tool to discard when they saw fit. We did not want to see it.”
He shook his head, as the memories of his visit to Canterlot came back to him. “Many of you were there when they feted us. You have seen this city. If you all knew what we saw in this place, there would be no more stomach to fight today. None could stomach it. They have corrupted the city, and all who live there.
“So today, we make a stand. Our queen,” he spat after speaking the word, “has permitted this to go on. And why? What purpose could she have? You know her! Awe-inspiring! Wise! Encouraging! Good! What we all wanted to be.” There was a rumble of assent. “Of all ponies, who might have seen this happening and prevented it if not her? So then… she must have desired it.”
He turned down, his face downcast. “I even went to her. Perhaps, I said to myself, she was unaware. Maybe this would wake her to it. But it did not. It was her plan. Her goal was to distract us. The situation was even worse than we knew when we were on the border. There was crisis upon crisis piling up. And so… rather than face these crises and resolving them… she vacillated.”
“That is why we are here today.” His voice hardened. “Celestia! She has corroded this gleaming crown of the nation of Equestria. And now there is no remedy but the flame.
“This city is under the ban. All of you, listen! Nopony, nothing within those walls survives. We must destroy it. Tear. It. Down. I know many of you have family within. I have my wife and child.” His eyes swept them. “They are no family to me anymore. You are my family! This is not my city or nation. You are my nation. My city. We each have only each other. Nopony has a hold on you anymore.”
There was a susurrus among the soldiers. Shining Armour looked around them. For every pony that looked uncertain, there were two who nodded in a grim acceptance. He knew that when the time came, they would carry out his orders.
“Every pony, draw your weapon. We go to this place to purify it. In its flames, we shall be reborn.” Turning back to the city, to his son, ordering the defenders across the walls. His son would make him proud. “Loose!” From the catapults and other machines of war behind him, balls of fiery debris flung through the air into the walls and the city, sending a cloud of dust and soot up into the air, coloured purple as parts of debris flickered onto the shields.
Comet looked from the watchtower on the northern wall towards the regiment of the Royal Guard with more than mild curiosity. He knew the banners, despite the apparent disfiguring. That was his father’s unit. He longed to see him, to share what he had done in the weeks since his father had led the force out to defeat another griffon raiding force.
His mother… Well, she would never have understood anyway. But Cadence had changed, since father had left. Her eyes looked glassy, almost. Not totally, of course, but she never seemed happy. If he did not go to her, she would stay up in her room doing nothing. Father at least seemed to feel things.
Naturally, therefore, the Guard had his attention. They were arrayed in preparation for battle. He turned to the other Royal Guard watching. It was a sad but virtually undisputed fact amongst the Guard that the ponies assigned to Canterlot were mostly obedient and impressive looking dullards. These two certainly met the bill: Thunderhoof was an Earth Pony and thought very little except about where his next meal was coming from, or whether he could beat up another pony; and Onyx was a Unicorn with barely enough magic to light up his horn. Still, maybe they would have recalled any strange orders.
“You two know what’s happening?” Even as Comet asked, his brain told him something was severely off. Whatever it was, he could not put his hoof on it, and so filed it away for later.
“Nope,” was Thunderhoof’s reply. “Some parade thing, I guess.”
Onyx was no better. “Definitely a parade. Armour’s not comfortable enough to wear off-duty or marching. Or those other things.”
Any other day, Comet would have let the Unicorn’s reply pass unmarked. But there was nothing else to do. Canterlot had never had any problems that the Royal Guard were there to solve. If something was happening, then that would take his mind off the next hour of looking out into the fields. “What other things are you talking about?”
He pointed. “Look at those thingies. Dogs? Whatever. Those things they have.” Comet followed his pointing hoof, and his mind’s warning made more sense.
“Catapults? What in Equestria’s name is that about…” His voice died. They were being loaded. A quick spell focused his vision, and his blood went cold. “That’s no parade. Sound the horns, now.”
The two turned to him like he was a fool. “What, and get field rations for a week?” said Thunderhoof. “You do it, if you’re so keen.” Onyx nodded.
“I told you that’s no parade. They’re loading those things to fire. If you don’t sound the horns, we’re all dead.”
It was Onyx’s turn. “No Royal Guard would attack Canterlot. Besides, you’re his son, aren’t you? He’d not take the chance in hurting you.”
“Alright, I’ll take responsibility for the order. But we need to sound the horns now.”
Reluctantly, the other two rose to their feet, and waddled over to the horn. It was an older thing. Nopony could remember it ever being sounded in anger, and some officer had liked the idea of keeping the ancient thing as a ‘relic of history’. It took two ponies to ‘wind’ it up, and then the third to sound the thing. Two ponies could do it in a pinch, but then it was barely audible.
The sole benefit to it was that the mechanical parts worked very quickly. It did not take even a minute before the haunting sound was wafting its way through the city. As they let it end, Comet saw the ponies begin filing up the wall, spears and swords held in something resembling readiness.
A crack sounded. Turning around, Comet saw a scroll bearing the Royal Seal appear in the middle of the three. Turning to look at the others, he shrugged and opened it.
Correct.
You bear authority by my hoof, Prince Comet.
Hold the city for five days, and you shall be rewarded.
Fail, and I will not have to punish you.
C
He looked up from the scroll to the others. “She… must be watching us,” he said eventually.
“What do we do now? Sir?” said Onyx.
Comet bit his lip, looked down at the scroll, and back up again. “We fight. Go. Get ready.”