//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: The Guard that Knows 
// Story: Tales from the Second Age of Magic 
// by VeganSpyro97 
//------------------------------//

True Shot was a Unicorn guard in the Equestrian Solar Guard, with a red coat and greying mane, having a little recognition as a distinguished soldier, involved in several of Equestria’s most recent altercations with megalomaniac villains and invading forces. Thanks to ponies like True Shot, the Guard had lasted at least five minutes before falling apart against the often superior foes they faced. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been in Canterlot during the royal wedding….or the mad Queen’s attempted invasion of another world. The guard had floundered during those engagements. Truthfully, they had fared better on Earth than they had previously, but they had still only barely held the line against the hordes of Changelings...
True Shot didn’t like that. 
Like many of those of similar mind, he believed that Equestria’s armies were in desperate need of an overhaul, or at the very least, actual combat experience… Well, he had believed it. 
The attempted conquest of an alien world by the mad Queen Chrysalis had provided the Equestrian military the kick up the rear it had so desperately needed. Not in lifetimes had an enemy posed such a threat to the world that an actual army had been raised to combat it. But all that had changed, and things were not going back to the way they had been before.
In the aftermath of the battle of Vancouver, the Equestrian Guard was presented a problem. They had seen battle now. They knew they had been inadequate for so long. Now came the opportunity to rectify the problem. The entire army was being forced to undergo evaluations, retraining and an increase in weapons training. Thankfully, after the battle of Vancouver, there was little complaint. 
Perhaps the most surprising thing was the announcement that Princess Twilight would be forming her own personal guard. 
The bookish and intelligent Princess had never before expressed interest in such a thing, but now she was convinced it was a good idea. That she had called for volunteers was not a surprise. She only ever sought out the willing to assist her in any endeavour, never exercising her right to command, only ever asking politely. She was not that kind of a leader.
So that was why True Shot had sent his application. He happened to like Princess Sparkle. That she had saved Equestria, on her own and with her friends, was only a small part of that decision. That he wanted a posting with more excitement was the majority of it. 
After months of long expeditions as a guard for archaeologists in the southern regions, sitting on his hooves in Canterlot until the next maniac turned up was not his idea of a fulfilling job. Taking up a post in Ponyville ought to remedy that, given the huge number of incidents that occurred every other week. 
When he received the response, he had beamed at the contents, and immediately told his fiancée, Aurora, the good news. 
He was ever so glad that she wanted a change of pace too.


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Tests. That was what had awaited the volunteers. Tests to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the guards, their open-mindedness, combat skill, even opinions on political and racial matters, problem solving, teamwork, and far more besides. They had been both extensive, and exhaustive. 
All of it to determine who was the best suited to the job.
While Princess Twilight had not yet picked a Captain, she did pick the Captain’s second in command, who would be temporary commander until such a time as a captain was chosen came. True Shot gaped at the mare when she told him she’d selected him for the job. 
“Me, your highness?”
“Yes, True Shot.” The Princess giggled. “I’ve chosen you for Second in Command, and also as temporary Captain, until such a time as I can find a suitable Captain. Who knows, maybe you’ll do so well as temporary Captain that I’ll give you an immediate promotion!”
True Shot stared at her like she’d started growing tentacles from every inch of her body, like some eldritch horror from the darkest corners of creation. “You want me to command these ponies you have selected?”
“Until such a time as I can appoint a Captain of the guard, yes.” The Princess repeated. “I have the time and resources to build whatever facilities this garrison would need, assuming my castle hasn’t already gone and added in another wing for you already.”
True Shot resisted the temptation to rub the side of his head in confusion at that statement, and instead, managed to regain his composure. “Thank you, your highness. Who exactly will I be commanding?”
“I’ve selected the group I believe will work best together. I take it you would like to meet them?” The Princess’s eyes lingered on his face, as the Guards-pony nodded in response. “Right this way, then, True Shot. We’ve got to cover a lot of the responsibilities you’ll have in this position, so we’ll start right after you’ve met the other guards and taken a brief tour of the castle to familiarize yourself with its layout.”
The two ponies began that long, long journey to the end of Twilight’s list….and to the inevitable exhaustion that awaited True Shot for indulging her list-making habits. It took them nearly two days to go over everything, at which point, True’s brain was aching. 


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Three days after his appointment, True was finally starting to get down into the nitty-gritty details of being the commander of a guard force- no matter how temporary the position might be. He was inundated with forms, invoices, permissions, all kinds of legal framework that he had to set up regarding the practices, upkeep, and goals of the “Friendship Guard”. 
Perhaps the most difficult thing was how to locate a suitable trainer for the new guard ponies. There were not very many weapon specialists in Equestria, and even fewer who had the necessary experience for the post. It was made even more difficult when there was only one pony in all of Ponyville who was skilled enough and licensed to train them- who was already employed at the reformed agency, codename of S.M.I.L.E. . Agent Sweetie Drop’s record indicated she would otherwise be the perfect candidate for the job, but her work in S.M.I.L.E. was also far too important to trust less experienced agents with. 
So it was a no for miss Drops.
The closest second was Static Thunder, Knight of Luna and friend of the Elements of Harmony. She would have also been the perfect candidate...if she were older, and more than 
While the old saying that: “sometimes the best way to learn, is to teach.” was valid and true, the mare was just too much of a greenhorn- and she didn’t even have a horn.
His own current guards, while among the best of the numerous volunteers they had received, where by in large, young, and inexperienced. 
So, he’d have to get someone from out of town. That was going to be hard. Convincing anyone to move to Ponyville- home of the highest number of extreme and odd occurances outside of Discord’s own little sub-dimension, would be a challenge on it’s own. To have them take up the responsibility of training the guard? That just made it worse. 
He would have to call in a lot of favours for this.
Deciding to leave his paperwork at one side for the moment, True trotted out of his new office and out of the newly built barracks that had been tacked onto the Princess’s castle, behind the main building. He needed some air. 
Trotting around the castle a bit should help. He needed to take a look at the positioning of the guards was working anyway. 
He was just going past the entrance to the castle foyer when he heard a voice, one that he had, in all truth, never expected to hear again. “It can’t be…” He murmured, turning to stare at the doors, slightly ajar, with two guards standing there, stock still, as they had been taught in the Academy. They only greeted him as he passed between them, saluting him with their hooves as he walked inside. 
The source of the voice he was so surprised appeared from a doorway, chatting amicably with none other than Princess Twilight herself, a short laugh sounding between them as he described something to her. 
“So, then, she tried to go even faster down the ramp by having Big Mac push her as hard as he could. Only problem was that the aim was off. Instead of landing on the crash mat, Scootaloo ended up in a bramble patch! Poor thing was still picking out thorns by the time it was dinner!” Said the bipedal figure the voice belonged to. 
“Well, hopefully she’ll realize that some things should be done with a little more care.” Princess Twilight answered with a laugh. “Those three are far too reckless as it is!”
“Don’t I know it?” He returned. “I can still feel that bruise they gave me when they were trying to help that one kid figure out his pogo-stick mark.”
True Shot couldn’t keep his mouth shut anymore. “Crimson?!”
Crimson looked up, surprised and shocked.
“Captain? What’s wrong?” The Princess asked, looking between her guest and her acting Captain. “Do you two….know each other?”
Crimson nodded, stupefied. “Yeah, yeah we know each other.”


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Twelve years previously:

The encampment was small, nestled in a shade-silled oasis on the edge of the vast, southern deserts beneath Equestria. As Private True Shot stood there, amid the swirling sands and whistling wind, he was surprised to hear a cry for help. 
Cries for help were never a good thing, especially not out in the desert. 
His armour rattling and shining in the late evening sun, True Shot galloped out onto the sands, following the voice echoing across the sands from the direction of the dig site. His eyes swept back and forth as quickly as he could make them go without fear of overlooking something, his neck cramping up under the repeated strain of twisting his neck so far and so often. 
The ponies he was guarding were Archaeologists, and they were so invested in this venture that the Lieutenant in command of the Guards had given express orders that they were to be under constant supervision, since they were often so oblivious to the outside world that one of them had once tripped over a rock because they were so busy studying an artifact as they walked. 
About halfway to the dig site, he found the source of the cries, and breathed a sigh of relief, since neither Chief Archeologist Aurora, or her daughter, Misty Dawn, were hurt. However, they were struggling to carry something between them, something large, and bleeding badly. 
Acting on instinct, True Shot moved to intercept them, taking up the burden by himself and moving swiftly to back to the tents, his hooves kicking up sand at a rapid pace as the unburdened mares rushed ahead.
The commotion they caused roused every last pony in the encampment, leading to a great many heads being forced out of tent flaps, like turtles emerging from their shells. Mutterings started immediately afterward, all focused on the creature. True ignored them, heading straight to the medical tent, following the mares closely. 
They burst inside and quickly set up a small, makeshift operating theater, and got to work. 
“The straps! Cut the straps! Get that armour off of it! I can’t see how bad the damage is underneath!” Aurora nearly shrieked. She happened to be a half decent medic, having switched her education’s direction part way through school, from medicine to history, and had made sure to retain as much of her previous schooling as possible, just in case. 
Misty cut the straps with a scalpel, using her magic to frantically saw through the leather straps and free the creature within. 
As the armour came away, there was an awful stench of blood, sweat and the lingering trace of something even fouler than both, that wafted up, causing the ponies to gag and heave violently, already sick to their stomachs at the mere stench. Aurora quickly managed to find a mask to protect herself, while True Shot located one for himself and Misty. 
Aurora worked quickly, cleaning the wounds as best she could, so that she might examine them more clearly, though it was a fight all the way, fresh blood ruining her cleaning attempts multiple times before the actual medic arrived and pitched into the efforts to save the strange creature. 
That done, both she and the doctor began to address the actual injuries, a number of slash wounds on its legs, and most worryingly, several puncture wounds on its abdomen, in a nearly uniform line.
They toiled for hours to save its life, until they finally got the creature stable.


***********************************


“We don’t know what it is! You should have left it to die!” One of the Archaeologists, a stallion called, quite morbidly, Grave Digger yelled, while True just stood there. It had been nearly three days, and everything was very tense, all number of ponies expressing an unreasonable amount of fear for something that should have been so simple. 
It seemed as though the entire camp had parked themselves outside of the medical tent, yelling and screaming at True Shot and his fellow guards-ponies at how they shouldn’t have done this, or shouldn’t have done that….in fact, True was fairly sure half of them were just using it as an excuse to complain at their protectors without fear of response. 
“PRIVATE TRUE SHOT!!” The Lieutenant's barking orders shook the tent and quieted the thirty or so ponies camped out in front of it. “GET IN HERE, NOW!!”
Head lowered and biting his lip, True turned away from the small crowd and headed inside, where the doctor and Aurora worked tirelessly to keep the creature alive. It seemed in better shape than when they had first brought it in, but that wasn’t saying much considering how badly it had been torn up under that armour. 
Lieutenant Storm Gale, a mare with one of the most redundant names True had ever had the honor and misfortune of serving under, stood off to the side, her face scrunched up in barely contained irritation. 
“Private.” The Lieutenant growled. “Explain why you let a potentially hostile creature into our encampment.” 
True Shot blinked. He hadn’t actually considered that. “I, uh….I was only considering the status of the creature. It needed help, and we could give it.”
The Lieutenant slapped her face with a wing. “This isn’t central Equestria, Private! Just south of here is uncharted territory! You bringing this creature into the camp could bring all kinds of destruction down on our heads! What if others of its kind come for it? You think we could stop them? You think we could protect all of these ponies?”
True frowned, but shook his head. “I only did what I thought was right.”
“Then perhaps you should spend more time thinking on whether or not you were right, Private. You are to stay in here and keep an eye on this thing.” 
“But, ma’am-?!” 
“THAT’S AND ORDER, PRIVATE!” Storm thundered, before stalking outside. 
As True stood there, he glumly looked to the other ponies in the room for support. Aurora offered him a wan smile as she worked, while Doctor Deep Thought just kept his nose down. 
Sighing, True pulled up a chair to sit in, and started his vigil. 


**************************************


Six days passed with the creature doing no more than stirring. It was weak, barely capable of groaning, but it clung to life with a determination that True had not seen before. 
Still, he was certain it would not survive, which was why didn’t see any point to the makeshift cell they constructed for it. 
So it was with great surprise that he found out that it woke up that evening.
It did not speak, simply stayed at the back of it’s cell, not touching any offerings of food, and eyed them fearfully from its position in the far corner of the cage. 
“It's not said anything?” True asked, again, for the thirteenth time. 
“No, Private.” Aurora called back over her shoulder. She was busy studying the creature’s armour, her face currently home to a set of ridiculous looking glasses that were enchanted to magnify her vision to intense levels, so she could see near microscopic levels of detail. “Not a word, and, to be honest, I don’t think it even understands Ponish.”
“Are you sure? It could be listening to our conversations, learning about us so it can report back to its-”
“True Shot!” Aurora whirled about to face the soldier in a display of often unseen engagement. Her horn flickered, the piece of armour in her telekinetic grip waggling in his face. “I don’t care how much the Lieutenant is riding you for this, but you can’t let her fears cloud your judgement! You made a good call. It’s our responsibility to help others. Regardless of the danger that may be involved. We should always be willing to take that chance. Don’t forget it.” 


*******************************************


“H-hello?”
The entire tent fell silent. 
“Hello.”
Aurora and True Shot turned around, from where they had been examining the creature’s breastplate together, and saw the creature, and, sat beside the cage, Misty Dawn, with a book balanced on her hooves, its pages facing out, towards the creature. 
“Yeah, that’s right!” Misty chirped, before she pointed at another word on the page, and sounded it out for the creature. “G-o-o-d-b-y-e, that’s goodbye. See?” She had scrawled images of ponies waving to each other in greeting and farewell on the floor, to display context and meaning. The one that was greeting had ponies heading towards each other, whilst the one that was a goodbye had them walking away from each other. “You can also say ‘bye’, or ‘farewell’, or even ‘see you later’.”
“Misty! What are you doing?” Aurora whispered, trying not to disrupt the impromptu lesson. 
“I’m teaching him! I heard what you said about him not understanding Ponish, so I thought that I could teach him how to talk, so that way, there wouldn’t be a problem anymore.” Misty responded happily, while the creature did his best to imitate the words she had linked with the images. 
Aurora’s face lit up with pride, a great smile gently creasing her features. “That’s wonderful honey. Would it be okay if I helped sometimes?”
“Of course! Just, be careful, he’s still shy!”
After that, the creature began to open up, with Aurora and Misty slowly imparting their knowledge of the Ponish language to him, with True Shot watching over them, and reporting back their progress to Lieutenant Storm. 
Weeks passed by, and the creature eventually was able to hold fragmented conversations, often requesting a drink or something to eat, when he needed it. 
Almost a month later, and the camp was discussing, once again, what to do with him. 
They eventually reached a startling consensus. To let him go. 
Despite his freedom, the creature came back many times, fascinated with the ponies and their tales of the world outside the desert, learning more and more about their way of life, their culture, and of course, their language, as the years went by. He even managed to do something they had thought impossible. 
He managed to learn magic. He managed to move things with telekinesis, though it was weak and he frequently dropped things.
He told them about his home, hidden, off to the west, and his family. He told them of his quest to kill a great beast that had killed his father, when he was young. He told them about the history of the Architects, their fear of Ponykind, and his name. 
“Rubrum Pura’Cordis.” Misty had said, when she first heard it. Nearly two years had passed by then, and the two had grown almost like siblings, trusting in each other, learning, growing and playing together. True Shot watched over them, as he had been ordered, all those years ago, and Aurora mothered the surrogate son she had helped to heal and raise. “It’s a bit of a mouthful, if you ask me.”
“I know. It’s different from Pony names.” Rubrum replied. “I like your names better. Less….difficult. Simpler.”
“Well, what’s it translate to?” Misty asked, looking over the Archan alphabet Rubrum had made for her. “Red…..Pure…..Heart. Huh. Well, Pureheart’s a good name……... Red could be better though.”
“What about Crimson?” Aurora suggested, looking up from the artifact she was studying. “It’s a good synonym.”
“Synanam?” Rubrum asked, not quite getting the word right.
“Synonym dear. It means, ‘similar meaning’.”
“Oh.” Rubrum looked at the word as Misty wrote it down for him. “Odd word. I like it, though. Crimson. Crimson’s a good name.”
“Well, you have an Equestrian name now, Crimson Pureheart, but surely you should be going home soon. Your people will start to worry.”
“Yeah! I better go! Bye everypony! I’ll be back as soon as I can!”

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“Can we see it? Can we see Homestead?”
Aurora’s question shocked Crimson when he arrived. It had been nearly eleven years since he had first been brought into the Archaeologists first camp, and he had grown from a scrawny, brown haired boy to a muscular, white haired, young man, and he had watched as the ponies and Architects in his life had grown too. 
“See Homestead?”
“Yes! We’ve been studying all the things you bring us, but it would be something else entirely to actually go there! We could show your people that they don’t have to be afraid of us!”
Crimson frowned. He had often wished it. That the two halves of his life could meet, and that he would no longer have to hide the truth of his adventures beyond the sanctuary of homestead. 
But he knew it was a fool's hope. 
“Please Crimson! You don’t know how much this would mean!”
“I’m sorry...I can’t do that.” 
“.....Crimson….the dig site is empty, and there are no more sites to excavate in the region.” Aurora blurted out, hoping that he would understand what she meant. 
“You’re leaving.” He stated, lamely. 
“Yes. We’re going home. This...this is our last few days. Can you….can you just show it to us? Just once. One last adventure?”
Crimson was not facing them when he spoke, so they could not see the worry and doubt on his face. 
“I’ll do it. I’ll take you to homestead.”


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Present Day:

“Is she alright?”
“She’s….she goes back and forth, honestly.”
“And Misty?”
“Crimson, I don’t think you want to-”
“I need to know.”
“She...she despises you. The last time I tried to talk to her about you, she almost cut me in half with a spell-blast.”
“Oh….”
True Shot stared at the Architect, sitting in the throne opposite to him. They were alone, as they had requested. “Will you ever tell them what happened?”
“I don’t know.” Crimson sighed. “I just…. I don’t know.”


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