//------------------------------// // Bonus Chapter: A true Royal Guard // Story: Last Rites // by Humanarian //------------------------------// It was a special day. Major Rainbow Dash was in the training room, but instead of a large group of newbies, only four other ponies was there with her. Those four ponies were no newbies. Neither have they come there to excercise or practice that day. The Major had turned to look them over once more. One of the ponies was a unicorn mare. She wore the light, but an enchanted armor. Her combat skills were all about utilising her magic to benefit her team and disable her enemies. Her role was a support. Her name was Magic Trick. Standing right next to her was a muscular and heavily-armored earth pony stallion. In addition to his armor, he had a large enchanted shield on his back. His combat skill was a greatly developed durability, allowing him to be a living shield for his allies. His role was a guardian. His name was Bastion. Next to him was a couple of siblings - a stallion and a mare, both pegasi. Covered in the light armor, those two possessed the skills of moving fast enough to earn a respect even from Rainbow Dash. On their forehooves, they wore the sharp metal hoof gloves, allowing their strikes to break through almost any armor and having a great chance of being fatal for their enemies. Their role was a piercer. Their names were Sharp Wing and Steel Wing. All of those ponies shared the rank of a Sergeant. "Are you prepared?" the words of the rainbow-maned pegasus have finally broken the pregnant silence dominating the training room. "Mam! Yes, mam!" all of them had replied in unison. "Good," the Major had nodded her head in approval, continuing with her speech, "Your examiner will arrive any minute now. Remember to stand at attention, his rank is superior... even to mine." The last part had caused those four ponies to exchange the uneasy glances, but no other part of their bodies had moved. And yet, it was rather obvious that the thought of meeting a pony of a rank higher than even a Major had quickly become dominant in their minds. After all, Major Rainbow Dash was the pony of the highest rank they had ever seen. And the only other Major they happened to meet during their training was Rainbow's friend - Major Spitfire. So, they couldn't help but wonder who their examiner really was... It was at that moment that the door to the training room had openned. The grim figure of a tall and thin stallion had entered. He was wearing the light and probably enchanted armor. On the closer look, that armor was a piece of art: the visual style was in a perfect harmony with it's defensive function, the metal plates - with the pieces of pitch-black clothes, almost making it look more like a mantle than the actual armor. It also had a hood, which was covering the bigger part of the stallion's head and hiding his face in the shadows. On his back, there was a pair of the dark sickles. His wings were sticking out of his armor, indicating that he was a pegasus. The fur of the stallion was pitch black, his mane was hidden underneath the hood, but the tip of his tail was open for the ponies to see, and it was white. Not the bright kind of white, but more of a... gray kind of white. And yet, the most stunning detail about him was a huge star engraved on the very shoulder-straps of his armor, indicating his rank of a Royal Guard General. It took those four ponies everything they had to keep their jaws from falling straight off. Major Rainbow Dash, however, didn't quail for even a moment. She stepped forth and saluted to her superior, reporting in. "General Grim Reaper! The squad of four challengers is ready for the exam and awaiting your command, sir! Reporting in, Major Rainbow Dash!" The dark stallion saluted back, waiting for the cyan mare to finish her report and then took a moment to look those four ponies over. "At ease," he had finally said. His voice, deep and threatening, had left an echo in the training room and sent a shiver down the spines of the challangers, certainly not making them feel at ease in the slightest, "Major Rainbow Dash..." he turned to the mare, causing her to stand at attention at being addressed by her superior, "Go to the observation room and get the timer ready," his command was short, yet held all the information needed for it's fulfillment. "Sir! Yes, sir!" she replied, immediately dashing off from the training room. The observation room was located a floor above, and the view on the entire training room could open from there. Rainbow Dash was already aware of her role in that exam: she was responsible for the timer and the announcements. "Now..." the dark stallion had switched his attention back to the challengers, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Grim Reaper, General of the Royal Guard, and today - your examiner. I shall now explain the rules of the exam." The ponies he was addressing to couldn't help but gulp at his voice, his look and the mere thrill of being in the presence of a General for the first time in their lives. "Rule number one," Grim had continued with his explanation, "During the exam, the challangers are allowed to use any method or tactics they wish. Rule number two: if your helmet or the armor on your chest breaks, you are considered "eliminated" and must quietly wait for the rest of the exam, remaining in place," the further he went with his explanation, the less those ponies understood where he was going with it, but they were taking his every word in regardless, hoping that everything would become clear in the end, "Rule number three: leaving the training room is not allowed until the end of the exam. Doing so will immediately result in a failure," after making a pause to let the information sink in, he asked, "That concludes the exam rules. Are there any questions?" "Sir! No, sir!" the challengers replied in unison as the rules themselves were clear, indeed. They wondered about the goal of the exam though... "Good. I shall now explain your task during this exam," it felt like the dark stallion had read their thoughts, "When the exam begins, I shall openly attack you. Your goal is to survive for one minute. I remind you that you're only limited by the rules. Those who pass the exam shall be promoted to the officer rank of Lieutenant and become a true member of the Royal Guard," he had finished his explanation, and taken a few moments to allow it to sink in before asking, "Are there any questions?" "Sir! No, sir!" once again, the challengers replied in unison to their superior, the whole picture of the upcoming exam had finally become clear to them. And yet... they were about to face the General himself. It was a well-known fact that the rank of the Royal Guards indicated their power, skill and... danger. And since that was a pony of a General rank, he was supposed to be... extremely dangerous. That thought have caused the ponies to gulp again, but Grim Reaper paid it no mind. "Good," the dark stallion said, turning to look in the direction of the observation room, "Major Rainbow Dash..." he called out. "Aye, sir!" the voice of the mare in question replied from a speakers in the training room. "Is everything ready on your side?" "Sir! Yes, sir! Awaiting your command, sir!" After looking the challengers over for one last time, General Grim Reaper had slowly raised to his hind legs, confusing those four ponies. His forehooves had slowly reach behind his back. "Are you ready?" he asked, reamining still while waiting for the answer. "Sir! Yes, sir!" once again, the four replied as one. After hearing that, the dark stallion had gripped his grimly designed sickles and separated them from whatever force had been neatly holding them on his back. "Major Rainbow Dash, begin the exam," he called out. "Yes, sir!" the cyan mare's voice replied from the speakers, "The exam begins in 3..." As she had started the countdown, the tension in the room was visibly rising. The four challengers had focused on their examiner, preparing themselves for what is to come. "2..." The battle hadn't begun yet, but it was already getting intense. Each of those four ponies was quickly trying to come up with a plan. "1..." Bastion's face hardenned. Magic had started to focus the energy on her horn. Sharp and Steel had exchanged the glances. Grim Reaper had remained completely still, standing on his hind legs. The minor part of his face that was visible from underneath his hood was showing no emotions. "BEGIN!" All of sudden, the two pegasi had charged in, closing the distance between them and the General and whirling around him for about two seconds, trying to confuse the dark stallion before finally pouncing at him, openly attacking their superior. The sound of clashing metal could be heard, and yet, Grim Reaper remained entirely still. If he had moved at all, it must had been too fast for the naked eye to notice. Sharp and Steel turned their heads to see if their attack was successful. It was at that moment that their chest armor had broken into pieces and fallen down to the floor with the loud crashing sound. Their jaws had metaphorically followed the suit. "Sharp and Steel Wing are eliminated," the voice of Rainbow Dash had announced. Remaining on his hind legs, the General of the Royal Guard had begun walking to the remaining two challengers, slowly and gracefully, like something dark, something... inevitable. Magic Trick felt her legs beginning to shake. What exactly was she facing? It had been merely five seconds, and two of her teammates had already been taken down. When it was just a few steps between her and the approaching dark figure, the latter leaped forth, instantly closing the distance and landing his strike... which had been blocked by the large shield. Bastion was quick to react, playing his part and protecting his teammate. He shouted something to her, but her own heart was pounding too loudly in her ears for her to make out the words. Grim Reaper had started to attack the bulky stallion from different sides, as if testing his reaction and guard. But the guardian was blocking off the attacks flawlessly, never losing his focus even for the mere moments. The unicorn mare still couldn't find the strength to engage into the battle. She knew she had to do something, to aid somehow. But the fear had taken hold of her mind, she couldn't form even the simpliest of spells. She was afraid that by doing so she would draw the attention of the dark and deadly pegasus. And yet... it happened on it's own. The dark figure had somehow appeared behind her, already swinging the sickles. Her only reaction was a meek squeal, but the incoming attack once again had been blocked by Bastion, who was there in time. "Thirty seconds remaining," the voice of the Major had announced through the speakers. At that moment, the General had changed his tactics. Instead of testing Bastion's reaction by attacking him from different sides, he had begun what could only be described as an onslaught. His attacked had suddenly become much heavier, but also much more frequent. The bulky stallion had nearly been forced back by the sheer impact of those attacks, but he held his ground, even though the small pieces of his shield had started to fly off. "Fifteen seconds remaining," another announcement had rung in the ears of Magic Trick. The mare was still overtaken by the sheer terror induced by the opponent her team was facing. She hadn't even noticed how she backed away from two fighting stallions. Speaking of which, their fight had been getting more and more intense with every passing second, and it looked like Bastion's shield was about to break at any moment, yet the muscular guardian didn't have any intention to take a single step back, bravely facing the grim onslaught. "The exam ends in 5 seconds," the final count down had begun, "4..." Grim Reaper had combined his strategies, keeping the weight and speed of his attacks while also starting to move around the earth pony, attacking from different sides. Surprisingly, Bastion was always able to react in time, moving his heavy and half-broken shield in the way of the incoming strikes. "3..." It was getting truly intense, and yet the brave guardian was not quivering. "2..." Suddenly, with an especially hard blow the dark stallion had broken the shield into pieces and immediately prepared for the finishing attack. "1..." "Ahhhh!" the scream of the unicorn mare had echoed through the training room. Instead of finishing off the stallion, the General had instantly closed the distance between him and the other challenger, already swinging his sickles. Too paralysed by the shock and sheer terror, she couldn't even teleport away. The sickles had connected with the chest armor... The chest armor of Bastion the guardian, who had managed to push his teammate out of the way at the very last moment, taking the hit for her. With a loud crashing sound his chest armor had been broken into pieces. The signal had rung through the training room. The announcement had followed shortly after. "The exam is over! Bastion has been eliminated." Major Rainbow Dash had returned to the training room, and the challengers had been commanded to form a line, facing the General and awaiting the announcement of the obvious: the results of the exam. Magic Trick, the only pony who had managed to survive until the end of the exam, had been experiencing a rather fierce inner conflict: she was delighted to have passed the exam, yet, at the same time, she knew it was a pure luck. She didn't deserve to pass, she did nothing during the entire exam. The guilt was clashing with joy inside her. "I shall now announce the results of the exam," the deep voice of the dark stallion had echoed through the room, shaking everypony out of their thoughts, "Today, only one of you has passed the exam." Anticipating what was about to be said, Sharp and Steel looked down sadly. Bastion glanced the unicorn's way and managed a small reassuring smile. Magic's guilt was starting to overcome her, she could barely hold a tear back. "I commend you on successfully passing my exam... Sergeant Bastion," the announcement had been a surprise to all of the challengers, and, most of all, Bastion himself. But it couldn't even begin to compare with what had followed shortly after that, "Starting tomorrow, you shall be promoted to the rank of Captain via my personal orders." Once again, those four ponies had to give it their best not to let their jaws fall off. Bastion's facial expression had changed for the first time that day. His eyes had gone wide and he stared at the General blankly, as if hypnotized, as if his mind had gone into a reboot. "You don't have to ask," the voice of the dark stallion had managed to shake him and the other challangers from their thoughts, "I know you have questions. I shall now explain." That announcement had successfully caught attention of everypony. They were nearly dying to hear that explanation. "First of all, I said that surviving for one minute was your goal... I have never said it guaranteed passing the exam," his words had almost earned a loud "Ooooh!" from the challengers, but those four ponies remembered to remain silent in the presence of their superior, who had continued with his explanation, "Imagine the fact of successfully passing the exam as a lock. To open it you need two keys. The first key is Mastery. Show me the sheer skill in fulfilling your role. The second key is Teamwork. Show me how you can cooperate with your allies, what synergies you can pull off. But that is rather unfair... is it not?" Grim had let his question hang in the air for a while, letting the other ponies think about what he meant before proceeding with the further explanation. "If you have a misfortune of being grouped with the incompetent teammates, how can you possibly obtain the second key?" his words had made the eyes of those four ponies widen a little at the realisation, "Teamwork is a two-way ticket. It's impossible to reach on your own. And in that case... The challenger can use a secret key for the second keyhole. The key which can replace the Teamwork one when there is no team. And that key is... Overcoming. If the challenger pushes their capabilities to their limits, if they manage to pull off training and progressing on the battlefield, during the very exam, they shall obtain that special key... and be promoted to the rank of Captain instead of Lieutenant. Sergeant Bastion..." The sudden fact of the General addressing him caused the bulky stallion to shiver. He had been standing at attention that whole time, since there's been no "at ease" command yet. "Intrigued by your reaction and dedication to protect your ally, I had decided to put your skills to a real test. First your reaction... and then your strength and durability. I was impressed, but that still wasn't enough. And so, after breaking your shield at the very last second, I had put you to the final test: attacked your ally. You could have taken that chance and done nothing, not only surviving for the said minute, but also having a revenge on your ally who did nothing to help you. And yet... doing so would result in failing the exam. Your dedication to the role of guardian you have taken had forced you to act, and you were fast enough to react and take a hit for your teammate... and to pass my exam. There is no more doubt - you are a true Royal Guard to your very core." No words could possibly describe how honoured and appreciated Bastion felt at hearing that. The General of the Royal Guard himself was commending him, a mere Sergeant, on his skills and decisions on the battlefield! After reading all he wanted to know on the guardian's face, the dark stallion nodded approvingly before addressing the other ponies, who happened to been the pegasi siblings. "As for you... It is important for every soldier to have a confidence in themselves. And yet... there's no enemy as dangerous as your own overconfidence. You didn't know what I am capable of, but you have bluntly attacked me regardless. Your failure is the result of that," the words of the General was not rubbing their failure in their faces. Far from it. Instead, they were pointing at where exactly they've made a mistake, coldly and accurately. He had then turned his had to the last of four challengers. "And you... have done nothing. Overtaken by shock, you have given in to your own terror, letting it paralyze you and lowering your efficency down to zero. If you want to progress, I suggest you train more. And yet I feel compelled to point out that serving in the Royal Guard is not for everypony. If you wish to continue, I suggest you remember the reason why you have joined in the first place," his words have made the poor mare to look down on the floor sadly, but she knew she deserved no mercy after being that useless when her team needed her. After finishing his explanation, General Grim Reaper had addressed all of the challengers at once, "Are there any questions?" "Sir! No, sir!" as their military instincts kicked in, all four of them had replied in unison despite being lost in the thoughts induced by the General moments ago. The dark stallion had turned to the rainbow-maned pegasus. "Major Rainbow Dash, I'm leaving those four at your command," he said. "Sir! Yes, sir!" Rainbow had replied, saluting to her superior. Grim Reaper then nodded and slowly walked away, phasing thought the door of the training room and making the pair of the siblings realise why their attack didn't even leave a scratch on him. The Royal Canterlot Park was as beautiful as ever that evening. The birds were singing, the nature was in bloom. And the air was fresh and calm, not a mere sign of wind. In the center area of the park, a General of the Royal Guard was resting on the bench. The tall and thin pegasus stallion wearing a grimly-designed armor. It was hard to tell exactly for how long he had been sitting there, entirely motionless, until another pegasus had landed near him. "Same time, same place, ain't it?" she said casually, catching his attention. "Yes," his reply was short and simple. He had done his fair share of talking that day. The rainbow-maned pegasus mare had taken a place next to him on the bench. For a few minutes they had been sitting quietly, simply enjoying the peace surrounding them. "You know, you were really awesome today," Rainbow Dash had finally broken the silence. General Grim Reaper had cocked his head to the side slightly at her words, "I knew you were great in battle, but I've never known you were so good with words. Maybe that's 'cause you never talk much?" she said, nudging her superior in the flank playfully. "I prefer action," his answer was simple, and yet contained everything needed to answer the question. After a few moments of silence, the pegasus mare looked away. "Do... do you think I have that special key?" she said with the hint of sadness in her voice. "Yes," the reply was instant, said moments before she had even finished her question, "You're wearing it on your left side." Confused, Rainbow had looked to her left side. Her eyes had widenned at the realisation. "M...my wing," as her confidence had returned to her, she smirked and said, "Wow, you always know just what to say to this mare." Her eyes had gone wide once more as her mind had caught up with what she had just said. A blush was quick to appear on the tough Major's face, for the first time for quite a long while. Grim, however, had said nothing. He was simply sitting there, enjoying the moments of peace. After all... who knew how long they were destined to last? After what seemed like an eternity, the pegasus mare had leaned her head on the General's shoulder and closed her eyes. Truth be told, no matter how ironic that was, she had never felt so calm, so safe, never allowed herself to let her guard down anywhere else as much as she did while being around that stallion. And she had to admit... it felt nice.