Sun and Shield

“I did my best, hope it’s good enough for now.” One of the castle doctors said with a grunt as he finished bandaging up Rose’s mangled ear. The cleaning of it and stitching had been the worst of it, but he had also made some kind of splint to keep her ear upright and stable. It also meant that it couldn’t swivel at the moment and severely limited her ability to locate noises on her right side.

“It’ll have to be.” Rose sighed and looked down at her chest, where a patch of fur was now gone and some kind of patch with ointment on the inside was affixed. The burn from superheated armor pressing against her body. “Sorry…” she caught her ungratefulness and shook her head. “Thank you, I mean it.” She offered the best smile she could, which was returned by the doctor. He gave a nod then trotted off to go help others that needed it more than her.

On the way to the medical wing of the castle there had been ponies with all kinds of injuries, almost all of them a lot worse than what Rose had suffered. There had been limbs loose in their sockets, wings torn from bodies, and cuts so deep muscle was visible from a good distance away. Being able to walk, being able to fly, and being able to operate without severe impediment was a blessing.

“Even at night, the sun’s light blesses and protects.” Rose muttered her father’s old words and gave a quick look up towards the ceiling. It had certainly felt like the divine had intervened on her behalf more than once in the last couple of days. There would be no complaints, not from her at least.

The next order of business was to figure out if Lieutenant Golden Star was still around and figure out what needed to be done. The guard may be depleted, but it was still their job to help no matter their condition. Until she couldn’t walk anymore, until she was in the ground, Rose wouldn’t stop doing her duty for the crown.

The walk down the overcrowded hallway with ponies strewn about with varying injuries was a morbid one. The sight of weeping stallions and mares, of foals crying for their parents and ponies gripping where limbs had once been would stick with anypony that saw it. The deep shame of knowing the Royal Guard had been powerless to help most of them was heavy and weighed down on the heart of Rose as she sulked through the halls.

The obvious place to gather was the courtyard outside of the Royal Guard barracks. After all, she didn’t have a set of armor anymore. A new set would have to be issued and she would have to get back into uniform, that was if the enchantments on any of them still worked. If they didn’t, at least she would have armor again. She felt distinctly naked without it inside of the castle.

The strangest thing about the events of today was seeing ponies in guard armor around the castle without their signature uniform colors. A pony in armor holding a spear, wearing armor, who also happened to be bubblegum pink with a cherry mane was a very surreal sight. Any color except white or gray was an odd sight to see under the armor, but it was the current reality. It was something she could adjust to for a little while.

“Lemme go!” Two guards, one of them a golden brown pegasus and the other a violet earth pony, dragged a thrashing stallion down the hallway past Rose. “You tyrants! Lemme go! I haven’t done anything!” At first it appeared to be an earth pony, but as he tried to break free from the grip of the guards she saw the remnants of a horn poke through his mane. It was broken off about halfway up the appendage.

“You heard the orders.” The violet guard barked at the stallion. “All unicorns are to be isolated.”

“Featherbrains!” The captive stallion spat back. “I ain’t gonna turn into one! I ain’t! Just watch! Throw me in a cell and wait!” The two guards looked at each other, smirked and nodded. Then they marched off down the hall, probably looking to fulfill the stallion’s request. A guard was always a little too happy to throw a pony in a cell and wait.

Rose made her way through the castle at a nice clip. She was eager to get back into the swing of things and figure out how she could help. She was stopped a few times by guards she knew who were set up at checkpoints throughout, but they let her pass when she properly identified herself. Eventually she found herself in the courtyard that belonged to the Royal Guard.

The Royal Guard usually had a force of about two-hundred to three-hundred ponies available at any given time. Usually there were one-hundred on duty, one-hundred off, and then the reserves that could be called in for special occasions. The Night Guard, newly reconstituted after Princess Luna’s return, had a head count of one-hundred and fifty the last time Rose heard with a similar split of fifty on, fifty off and fifty in reserve. Gathered in the courtyard, a fighting force that altogether was supposed to equal close to five-hundred ponies on the best possible day, were less than a hundred ponies. Of course, there were still some left in the halls of the medical wing of the castle still receiving treatment for their wounds, but how many of them were still able to serve? Then there were those already at their posts throughout the castle. In her best possible mental estimates there had to be maybe one-hundred and fifty left.

“Corporal Rose?” A solid stallion with a daisy yellow coat and light blue mane approached her. It took her a moment, but the stern look and furrowed brow made her recognize him.

“Lieutenant Golden Star!” She immediately snapped to attention. The wounds that peppered her body made her regret the sudden motion, but she ignored them. “I got back here as soon as possible, sir.”

“At ease. It’s good to see you Rose.” The Lieutenant nodded. The wounded pegasus did relax, but only a little. “What happened out there? Did you make it to the Canterlot Carousel?”

“We did, sir.” Rose closed her eyes and took a deep breath. These were already memories she didn’t wish to relive, but he had asked. “Private Picket and I were asked to clear the building where we ran into…one of those things. It was dealt with.” There was no use going into detail. Not with what came next. “Picket…was unresponsive. I tried to help him. But…” The words caught in her throat and she had to take a deep breath to collect herself. “...I saw him turn into one of those things, sir. He did it right in front of my eyes.” Her jaw clenched and her chest tightened. “Picket…he did this to me.” Her head moved to point out her ear and she tapped the bandage on her chest. “I got away and came back here.”

“Picket…” Golden shook his head and sighed. “I’m sorry. I know he was your friend.” This was more emotion than the usually stoic stallion had shown in Rose’s entire career, even more than what he had shown yesterday after their first encounter with one of the monsters by the gate. Now he looked genuinely sorrowful. “I’m glad you're alive, Corporal.”

“Thank you, sir.” There was a moment of silence between them before Rose spoke again. “If I may, what happened to you? The last I saw you were fighting one of those things on the way to the Carousel.” Golden didn’t even look injured, not really. There were little scrapes and a little cut below his right eye, but he wasn’t mangled or hampered in any visible way.

“It got Brass Tacks.” The blunt statement was enough to turn Rose’s stomach. It was an awful way for somepony to describe your demise. “We got it back, though. I…don’t want to get into it. I’m sure you understand.” Only a nod was needed in response to that. “We were going to rejoin the main force when…the unicorns with me turned. It was Parade and I alone against five of those things. We thought we were done for, but then Princess Luna appeared and just…dealt with them.” Pain and shame twisted his mostly featureless face for a moment, thoughts of the comrades lost to the swift action of one of those they were supposed to protect.

“Why just the unicorns?” The question had been bugging her since she noticed it, really since she had seen Princess Luna notice it just inside of the castle walls. “Every single one of those monsters I’ve seen has been a unicorn.” A cursory look around the courtyard and the remaining guards would only further validate that line of thought. They were the only pony race native to Equestria that wasn’t present now. “Is it targeting them?”

“I couldn’t tell you, Corporal.” Lieutenant Golden straightened and his voice hardened once again. “I don’t get paid to think about that. The best we can do is let the Princesses worry about that and just protect them while they try to figure it out.”

“Right. Sorry, sir.” Rose nodded and shifted on her hooves a bit. “Is there spare armor? Mine was ruined in the fighting.”

“There’s more than enough in the armory.” Golden tilted his head towards the building that was against the outer wall of the palace. “Get yourself some and a spear. Afterwards go find Princess Luna in the throne room, she’s coordinating the guard effort inside of the castle.”

The question of ‘what about Captain Galea’ died on Rose’s tongue as quickly as it appeared. The Captain was a unicorn. Of course she now couldn’t be in charge, she was probably one of those things.

Rose did as she was told and visited the armory. The old quartermaster, an ancient earth pony stallion by the name of Lock, looked her over and nodded before retreating into the building to get what she needed. He came back with a suit of armor and a spear which he pushed across his little table with a solemn nod.

Rose, along with a bevy of other guards, got their new kit and put it on. This wasn’t her armor and it sure felt like that. Her previous set of armor had been with her for years. Extreme care had been taken to keep it in tip top condition. Beyond that, she had gotten used to all of the places where it was tight and where it had some give. Now it seemed like this new set pinched in all of the opposite places and gave where it didn’t need to. It felt wrong.

Not that there was any time to try to adjust or fiddle with the fit. As soon as it was on Rose and a bevy of others, including Lieutenant Golden, were all headed off towards the throne room. The group stayed silent on their march through the halls, not out of fear of reprisal most of them just looked lost in thought.

Rose was busy thinking about what she had seen. The ponies who had run from Ponyville the other day were all earth ponies, but they had never said anything about-no, one of them had said something about it. One of the mares had been adamant about not having a unicorn near her, so much so that she wouldn’t let a unicorn medic even tend to her wounds. That still didn’t answer the question of rather it was airborne or not. Nopony in Canterlot had turned until after the first monster showed up, so it had to be, right? The guards had gang tackled it and then went off.

“Did I spread it…?” She whispered to herself.

After all, Picket hadn’t turned until after they had met up. She washed off her neck to get the blood off before she passed out last night, but that wasn’t exactly a decontamination. The blood coursing through her veins turned to ice as the thought that she had been responsible for her friend becoming one of those things solidified in her mind. That familiar lead ball of fear and panic sat in her gut and threatened to slow her down.

“Perfect, more guards.” Princess Luna’s voice broke through Rose’s thoughts. She hadn’t even noticed they were in the throne room, probably because Princess Celestia’s radiant warmth hadn’t alerted her to their arrival. Also the light of the moon didn’t make the stained glass windows light up quite like the sun.

“Lieutenant Golden Star reporting, Your Majesty!” The commanding officer belted out and saluted. He received a nod from the sole alicorn in the room. “I have brought more of our recovered ponies for you to assign posts.”

“We see that, thank you.” Princess Luna stood up from her throne and put a stack of papers she had been leafing through in her seat. “The goal is no longer to secure the city.” The Princess of the night strode down the ramp from the raised dais of the dual thrones and looked over the assembled guards. “That has been deemed impossible. Now the only goal is to maintain the security of the castle until assistance can arrive. We could leave right now, but that is not who We are. To leave the ponies who have served us so well behind to the beasts beyond the walls would be unconscionable. So instead my sister and I will stay here, with you, until we can ensure that every single last pony can make it out alive.” Luna, despite being smaller than her older sister in almost every metric, was more imposing. The cold aura of confidence and determination that she gave off was enough to bring forth a wellspring of courage from even the most fearful pony in the room. “Lieutenant, please select three of your most trusted guards and have them meet with Our sister near her quarters. She has a special assignment. The rest of you will take up posts around the wall. We do not want any of those things getting through.”

“Rose, Bulwark, Parade!” Golden called out after he was sure Princess Luna was done speaking. The three ponies emerged from the crowd and approached the commanding officer. One of them was an earth pony stallion who looked like he was about to burst out of his ill-fitting armor, his brown coat was covered in scratches and bite marks while the black mane that poked through his helmet. The other was a pale yellow pegasus mare with a red and yellow striped mane, almost the inverse of Rose’s own. “You three, go to Celestia’s quarters. I know you can handle yourselves around these things so you’re to do what she asks and keep her safe at any cost, am I clear?”

“Yes sir!” They all three chanted in unison.

“Dismissed.” Lieutenant Golden said with a nod then trotted off to follow the rest of the departing ponies.

The trio of armored ponies marched in silence through the halls, only motioning every once in a while to indicate where they were going. Everypony knew where the quarters of the princesses were, at least generally. One of the first things you learned on palace patrol was to steer clear unless you were specifically assigned to it. If you happened to stumble into that hall without express permission you were liable to get severely reprimanded or just fired if you were a repeat offender. If you entered with a weapon they might toss you in the dungeon for a little while. Luckily they had orders and were let down the hall even with their weapons.

“The Lieutenant said you and him were saved by Princess Luna.” Rose addressed Parade as they stood outside Princess Celestia’s quarters. “How’d…uh…that go?” Sweet Celestia she was bad at small talk.

“Not great.” Parade said with a deep sigh. “The ponies I’ve spent the last decade with every day were ready to kill me. There wasn’t any hesitation after they changed, it was like there was nothing left but hate inside.” Both Bulwark and Rose looked away, awash in their own similar experiences. “I didn’t think I’d feel anything when Princess Luna…dispatched them. I did though. I will be eternally grateful that she saved my life…but those were still ponies and she still did that…they had families.”

“If it’s any consolation, their families are either dead or turned too.” Bulwark grunted.

“It’s not.” Parade retorted.

“When Picket turned I froze.” Rose mumbled as the memory kept playing back in her head. “I made a move for a weapon but…I don’t know if I could’ve done it.” The feral howl and his jaws around her head replayed again and again. She could still feel the pressure in her skull as he threatened to pop her head like a grape. “The ponies I didn’t know…I mean, yeah. It’s a fight for survival and I don’t know you, but when it’s somepony you know like that, a friend…” Parade’s hoof rested on her side. “We’re here though, right? We made it and now it’s our job to keep everypony safe.”

“Right.” The other two ponies answered in unison.

“Oh hello my little ponies.” Princess Celestia’s melodic voice shattered the melancholic mood that had overcome the hallway. Rose’s own sadness melted away in the presence of her radiant warmth and she couldn’t help but to smile as she looked up at her princess. “I’m going to assume my sister sent you for my little assignment?” She received nods from the three guards. “Wonderful! Please, walk with me.”

The guards, of course, complied with that request. Princess Celestia led them away from the royal quarters. It was a quiet walk as nopony dared question what this assignment was, they all knew that Celestia would tell them when they needed to know. Eventually they came to a halt in front of a door that was covered in a shimmering veil of golden light.

“Very well, here we are.” Celestia turned to face them and her smile dropped. For the first time, Rose actually looked past the aura that the alicorn gave off and focused on what she saw. Princess Celestia looked tired. Her posture wasn’t as rigid as usual and the light of her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. Then there was the slight wince of pain as the golden light disappeared from the door. “When the bells rang I ordered an evacuation of most of the castle’s staff and residents to the east wing. When it was confirmed what was happening I had the unicorns separated from everypony else…there are a few stragglers that evaded the dragnet in the chaos.”

“What happened to the unicorns that were ‘separated’?” Bulwark threw up the first question.

“They were placed below the castle in the old crystal caverns.” Princess Celestia answered solemnly. “Once this is all over we will retrieve them, but we couldn’t risk them being in the dungeons and so close to everypony else in case they got out.”

“How many stragglers?” Parade asked next.

“Two, we think.” That answer inspired very little confidence. One of these things was enough to deal with, two would be overwhelming and any more would be cataclysmic. “My nephew, Prince Blueblood, is one of them. He refused to leave his room, even after I ordered him too. The other unicorn, we’re not sure who it is. All I can tell you is that they are definitely still in there.”

“We’ll get it done, Princess.” Bulwark nodded and turned towards the door. “You can count on us.”

“I know I can.” Princess Celestia stepped forward and pulled Bulwark into a small hug. “I want you all to be as careful as possible. These creatures are still ponies, but they aren’t themselves.” She let go of the stallion and did the same with Parade, who had a stunned look on her face. “I care for all of my ponies, but this must be done for the safety of those in the castle. I wouldn’t ask you to put your own lives in danger if it wasn’t for the greater good.”

Then Rose was pulled into a hug. Her face was pressed against the alicorn’s chest and it sent a shiver down the pegasus’ entire body. An incredible warmth filled her entire being and it was like she was enveloped in a wonderful memory of a lazy summer afternoon. There was a split second of hesitation from the pegasus, but it vanished and she pressed her face against Celestia’s fur in response.

“Good luck, my little ponies.” With that, Celestia pulled away and frigid reality crept back in. “I will remain here just in case.”

Rose bit back the disappointment that was rising in her throat and swallowed a heavy sigh. Princess Celestia was now counting on her, and she had received something that even her father couldn’t imagine in his most fervent ramblings. There was a job to do, and now she was certain it would get done. The spear at her side found itself in the grasp of her wing as she looked to her comrades.

They nodded.

Bulwark, who was a sergeant according to the amethyst moon on his chest, took the lead. One of his shoulders pushed the door open while Parade and Rose were stationed on either side of him with the tips of their spears poking in front of him to provide some cover in case of attack. As the door opened further, the two mares moved in slowly and took up residence on either side of the hall with their spears pointed inward to form a point.

An ideal formation would be two more ponies on either side with their spears also converging in the middle. It would allow the two outer ponies to properly check corners or flip around to cover the rear. Instead they had this, and at the center was Bulwark with a sword in his mouth. It was an odd choice as a sword was usually the weapon of choice for unicorns who could use such a thing at a distance. If that was what he felt comfortable with, who was anypony else to argue?

There was no noise in the seemingly abandoned wing. The sound of their breath and the beating of their hearts rising into their ears were the only noises. From all available experience, those things liked to make a lot of racket. That made Rose’s heart pound a little faster and made her eyes dart around.

“Maybe he’s still in his room?” Parade whispered. “It should be two halls down on the right.” Both of the other ponies gave Parade a quizzical look. “What? My first detail was his personal guard. You don’t forget where he lives so you can avoid it after.”

“Okay yeah, but what about the other one?” Rose wasn’t keen on focusing too hard on one target and forgetting about the other. “If he’s in his room, fine, but we still have to worry about the other one getting the drop on us.”

“Let’s focus on the one lead we have.” Bulwark growled out past his sword. “We got to Blueblood’s room first and deal with him quickly. Noise will draw the other one out.” It was a solid plan, and seeing as how the stallion was the ranking guard amongst them, they would go with his plan.

The trio crept quietly down through the halls, their hooves clinking against the marble floor the only sound in the entire place. Every time they came to a door that was even slightly ajar, they had to clear it. So they would do what they had done to enter this wing of the castle: the ponies with spears on either side of the door, then Bulwark would open the door and Parade and Rose would sweep in with Bulwark on their heels.

They encountered nearly a dozen open doors, most of them containing nothing but lavish quarters meant for palace residents like Prince Blueblood or functionaries that helped keep the place running. There was one, however, that held something unique.

When Rose and Parade had first entered, they had frozen and pointed their spears directly at it. From the outline, it was a unicorn. It was one of those things, the gangly limbs and mouth full of sharpened enamel confirmed that. It wasn’t moving though, and it seemed to be encased in some sort of black crystal. Its eyes were fixed on the door and its mouth was opened in a silenced howl. The light of the room reflected off of the sleek surface that seemed to cover its entire body.

“What in the world…” Parade murmured as she approached the monster and tapped it with the tip of her spear. It produced a small ‘tink’ like a spoon against a teacup. “...is it dead?” The three ponies surrounded the thing and all took turns tapping it to gauge what the answer to that question should be.

‘I don’t know.’ Seemed to be the consensus based on available evidence.

“Maybe they just do this.” Bulwark offered with a shrug. “Maybe come morning they’ll all be stone and we can just shatter them.” To that end, the big burly earth pony tipped the creature over. It landed on the carpeted floor of the suite with a solid ‘thunk’.

“Or maybe they’re like butterflies.” Parade was the next to throw out an idea. “Like this is a cocoon and they’re turning into something a lot bigger.” That sent a shiver up all of their spines. These things were already twice their height, they didn’t need to get any larger. “Either way, I say we should definitely smash it.”

“Maybe after we deal with Blueblood?” Rose hissed out. “If we smash this thing it’ll draw him and anything else to us. I’d rather we take him by surprise than the other way around.” All three of them looked at each other in a silent duel, eventually the other two relented and nodded at her. “Okay let’s try to get this over with. If we’re lucky, this was the other unicorn Princess Celestia mentioned.”

They went back to their slow sweep of the hall until they came to the intersection that Parade had mentioned. The group swung down the right hallway and their eyes immediately landed on the set of double doors that were now blown off of their hinges. The slumped body of one of the monsters, a white stallion with a long shaggy blond mane, was halfway in and halfway out of the doorway. Its neck was bent at an unnatural angle and its cold blue eyes stared off into a nonexistent distance.

“Is that…Blueblood?” Rose wasn’t sure who said it, she was too focused on the already dead body of their target. They approached it slowly, weapons drawn and ready in case this was some sort of lure to get them to get close. It wasn’t until they were right next to it that they could see the individual vertebrae in the Prince’s neck pressed against the side of his neck that they were absolutely certain he was dead.

Parade’s face twisted from a grimace into a scowl as she brought her spear up and drove it straight into Blueblood’s chest, right where his heart should’ve been. The way she was grinding the tip into his chest cavity Rose could only guess that she was trying to ascertain that he even had one to begin with. The red and yellow mare gave the corpse a kick with a grunt.

“You done?” Bulwark looked at Parade expectantly. “Anything else you want to get out of your system?”

“No.” Parade responded with a grunt as she pulled her spear from Blueblood’s body. Rose wanted to ask what that was about, but she figured that wasn’t an answer she was ready for. Nor was it one she wanted. Blueblood’s…exploits with female members of the guard were widely known. Vague rumors swirled around and if truth was truly stranger than fiction then Rose was fine with letting the truth wither along with his desiccated corpse.

“What killed him?” Bulwark went back to ignoring Parade’s outburst and kneeled down next to the body.

“Maybe her?” Rose offered, pointing into the room.

Against the far wall of the room was a pony slumped against the wall. It was a mare, tall and skinny, with a dark fuschia coat and a dark pink mohawk running from between her ears down her neck. There were three things that stood out about this particular pony; one such thing was the broken horn that sprouted from her forehead, another was the scar that went vertically across her right eye, and the final thing was the outfit she wore. It looked to be a black bodysuit that cut off at the very top of her legs. Similarly colored plates of armor ran down her back, along her haunches and she had armored horseshoes on each hoof.

“Do you guys recognize her?” Bulwark asked. “I don’t think she’s a guard.”

“I’ve never seen armor like that before.” Parade stepped forward to get a better look. “Maybe some kind of special forces? Maybe not with the broken horn…I don’t think Princess Celestia would allow somepony like that in.” The mare flipped her spear around in her grip and poked the passed out pony with the blunt end.

The mystery mare’s eyes shot open. They lit up with electric blue lightning as her hooves snatched the spear, spun it around and whacked Parade across the face with the shaft in one fluid and blazing fast movement. That sent the guardsmare stumbling right into Bulwark, who tripped over one of Blueblood’s legs and tumbled to the ground.

Before anypony had a chance to respond, the mare was on her hooves and sprinting past the trio of guards. Rose dropped her spear, turned on a dime and launched herself off of her hooves and after the interloper. The hallway was more than wide enough to accommodate a pegasus in flight, it would just be tight corners.

The unicorn wasn’t very far off, and the limp she was running with allowed Rose to close the gap quickly. They were maybe halfway to the intersection when they collided, the guard’s hooves wrapping around the slim torso of the unicorn and pushing her to the ground. The two tumbled in a conjoined ball down the hall, their armor making sure to raise a ruckus against the stone floor as they went.

As they skidded to a halt, a knee found its way to Rose’s lower stomach and the wind was knocked from her lungs forcefully. Then an armored hoof connected with her helmet and sent her vision swimming. The mare beneath packed a mean wallop and there was no way the mare above could survive an onslaught after the day she had.

Rose’s wings beat furiously as she lifted them both into the air again until the tips of her feathers kissed the high ceiling of the hall. Then with all of the force she could muster, she pushed right back down. The unicorn she had in her grip slammed into the stone floor hard enough to knock the wind out and stun her for a moment.

“Y-youre under arrest…” Rose panted and tried to catch her breath in the brief moment she could. “You-” Before she could get another word out the unicorn kicked her right in the stomach again, except this time instead of going for sheer sudden impact, she followed through. It was enough to loosen Rose’s grip and send her into the air.

The unicorn was like a dancer with how she moved, so fluid and graceful that she could be mistaken for a performer at the Canterlot Ballet. She rolled backwards from her position on her back and found herself on her hooves, and somehow carried all of that motion into a spin that ended with a kick straight into Rose’s breastplate that sent the pegasus clattering down the hall and away from her.

Rose’s head bounced against the ground more than a few times as she tumbled flank over teakettle down the hall until she came to rest on her side. Darkness encroached on the edges of her vision and her thoughts were moving like molasses across her mind as she tried to will her hooves to comply with the orders she was giving.

The unicorn got to her hooves and started to run again, but something was chasing her. A long thin object flew through the air, Rose wasn’t sure what it was. There was a distant cry of pain and the sound of a pony falling to the ground and uttering every swear word they could think of. That was the last thing Rose heard as she passed out on the cold floor.