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// Soul Crushing Orders 
// Story: The Guard And His Sword 
// by Himntor 
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Falling. Couldn’t see. Pitch black all around me. My sword directly above me, pointed at my throat. Magic didn’t work. Couldn’t yell for help. Had to stop falling, had to find somewhere to land. Only the abyss below.
Help! I cried in my thoughts. Heeeeeeeeeeeelp!
My sword inched closer, its tip beginning to press against my coat. I couldn’t raise my hoof to move it as it began piercing my neck. Then it vanished and I stopped falling. I felt something turning me back onto my hooves and the abyss surrounding me disappeared as a glimmer of blue and white light took place. It was as if I were floating in space.
“What’s happening?” I asked, finally able to speak.
“Fear not, Swordulan,” a voice said. A silhouette appeared before me and approached, revealing itself to be Princess Luna.
I took a cautious step back. “Princess Luna? What’s going on?”
Princess Luna smiled. “You are dreaming, Lieutenant, and dreams are my domain. Tonight, yours called out for my help, and it truly seems like you needed it. For a dream so frightening there must be something weighing heavy on your mind.”
I rubbed my neck, expecting to find blood on my hoof, but there was none. I breathed a sigh of relief. “A dream… thank goodness. Princess Luna, I feel like I’m losing my mind. My cutie mark is disappearing, and I don’t know what to do.”
“I have heard. Perhaps I can be of some help. How many friends do you have, Swordulan?”
I blinked. “Friends? I don’t know, two or three. What do friends have to do with my cutie mark?”
Princess Luna looked at me solemnly. “I have seen many ponies go through the loss of their cutie mark, but most of them were able to regain them through their friendships. Were it not for a certain group of friends, I would have remained as Nightmare Moon. There is a power in friendship that can solve almost anything, even a disappearing cutie mark. Think of your own friendships, and why you have them.”
I grimaced. “I don’t know. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor have been the only ponies I think I could call friends, but they’re busy off ruling an Empire. They happened by circumstance, mostly. Shining Armor was my Captain, and I spent a lot of time guarding Cadance’s chambers. We worked together a lot.”
“Is there nopony else you have to call friend?”
I shrugged. “I guess not.”
“What about your family?”
I scoffed. “Family? Well, one cousin disappeared, another cousin is the bane of my existence, I hardly ever see my aunt or uncle, my dad can’t stand to look at me, my mom… is really the only pony who’s ever seemed to care about me.”
Luna gave me an almost motherly look. “Oh Swordulan, I think it’s time you stepped out of your comfort zone and made some friends, and go see your family. Even if you only see your mother, it may help you more than you think. When you wake up, you will tell Captain Morningstar that I have ordered you to take a break to make some friends.”
I gaped at her. “What? No, I can’t take a break, the Royal Guard needs me!”
Luna smiled. “Yes, but not as much as you think, Lieutenant.”
“But I have obligations, I can’t just call it quits for a while to make some friends. I have a job to be loyal to.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Surely your career does not outweigh your own needs. Your job is to listen and obey, and as your Princess I command you to speak with the Captain and take some time off! Go now, Swordulan Thunder Shield.” She flew off, and in a flash, was gone.

I awoke with a jolt. It was early Friday morning, and… I had to talk to the Captain. Ponyfeathers, things couldn’t get much worse, could they? Take a break… make friends… ugh. I didn’t need more friends. I doubted my cutie mark would come back the moment I made a friend. Maybe I should just call in sick.
No, I can’t fake that. Besides, Princess Luna probably already told Justice. Bah.
I reluctantly strapped on my armor and grabbed my sword. After a quick breakfast of carrots and pineapple juice I went outside and transformed my sword to fly. It didn’t seem to be acting up at all, so I figured it was safe. I hopped on, cast a bind spell to keep me from falling, and flew off towards Canterlot.
I looked back at Ponyville with a sigh. Who would I go to for help in making friends? Pinkie Pie, maybe. But then again, she’d probably just throw a party for me, or tell me a way to make friends I just couldn’t do. Maybe I’d start with visiting my mom. I don’t know.
Canterlot and the Royal Barracks soon came into view. Justice was nowhere to be seen outside, so I landed and walked into the barracks. I found him in his quarters struggling with a quill over some paperwork. He looked up as I entered, and I saluted.
He put the quill down and saluted back. “Good morning, Lieutenant. You’re looking unusually troubled. Out with it, then.”
I blinked. Was it that obvious? “Uh… I was commanded by Princess Luna to ask for time off during the weekend.”
Justice raised an eyebrow. “Really now? Well you don’t seem very enthusiastic about that.”
“No, Sir. I don’t see any point and would rather work.”
“Was there a point to the Princess’s command?”
I pursed my lips and reluctantly said, “To make some friends.”
“Ah, I see. Is that what you intend to do?”
I remained silent. What was I supposed to say? I had no idea.
Justice nodded. “Alright then, I suppose I have no choice. Lieutenant Shield, you are hereby relieved of duty for the weekend, under the order to socialize with at least three individuals during this time.”
“What?” I blurted in surprise. “No, you can’t do that to me! What about the wall command?”
Justice clasped his hooves. “The Officers can handle it. And yes, I can do that. If it is the Princess’s best interest for you, then it is mine too. You’re dismissed, Lieutenant.” He smiled. “Have a nice weekend.”
I groaned. “Yes, Sir.”
With a flash, I teleported myself outside. What else was I going to say? I knew better than to try to argue with orders, especially if they were from Princess Luna, but what was I supposed to do now? Three whole days of no work, though I suppose trying to find three ponies to socialize with would be work. Not that I wanted to do it. What was the point?
I was about to take out my sword to fly home when Lieutenant Arrow came walking up to me with a concerned look.
“You alright, Swordulan?” he asked.
“I’m fine, Arden,” I said bluntly. “Just going on a break for the weekend.”
“Ah, that explains it. What are you gonna do?”
I sighed. “I have no idea, but I have to socialize with at least three other ponies or something like that.”
Arden nodded. “Well, good luck with that. I gotta get myself to the commercial district, but you hang in there. Remember, your fellow Lieutenants are always here for you.”
“Thanks.” I gave a salute. “See you Monday.”
Arden saluted. “Until then, Lieutenant.”
He flew off in one direction while I got on my sword and began flying back to Ponyville.
What in Equestria was I going to do?! I hated being on break, it made my life feel meaningless. I didn’t want to socialize, there was no schedule to keep to, and I had no hobbies. Well, I guess studying and practicing magic was a hobby. I could do that, more magic practice on my sword and testing its limits. Yeah, why not? I needed to experiment with it more.
With that in mind, I shaped my sword around me into its raindrop shape and cast a sight spell on it. I cast anti-inertia and low-gravity spells on myself to remove the impact of acceleration and cut my levitation magic, letting myself freefall for a moment, and before hitting the ground I poured as much magic into my sword as I could, shooting straight upward. Almost immediately I was higher than Foal Mountain, and my ears plugged up from the air pressure change. I had no idea how fast I was going, and I was quickly disoriented even with the anti-inertia and low-gravity spells. I had to cut all my magic and let myself fall again. It did not help my disorientation, so I closed my eyes and tried to focus my mind on my home in Ponyville. I pictured it clearly, and I began to channel my magic through the sword to its location. With a flash, I and the sword teleported. When I shaped it back to normal, I was in front of my house.
I staggered and fell on my hind legs, still dizzy. “Well, that’s the last time I do that.”
“Do what?” a voice asked.
I looked behind me and blinked. “Katana? What are you doing here?”
Katana raised an eyebrow. “What am I doing at your house in Ponyville? Oh, I don’t know. Certainly not looking for you, because I never come here for that. No, I just wanted to enjoy the architecture of the simple little houses around here.”
I shook my head and got back on my hooves. “Let me guess, the baby dragon came after you and won’t leave you alone.”
Katana scoffed. “Yeah right. Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Did Stonehenge say anything to you before he disappeared?”
I looked at her curiously. “Stonehenge? Nothing right before he disappeared as far as I can remember. I believe the last thing he said to me was, ‘You’ll fit in just fine as a Royal Guard.’ Why do you ask?”
Katana shrugged. “I guess I just hoped there might be something that would tell me where he is. Lately I just can’t stop thinking about him, you know? I’m worried something bad has happened to him.”
“He knows how to take care of himself, I’m sure he’s okay.”
“Yeah. I keep telling myself that too, but it’s just… yeah. Anyway, what are you up to today?”
“Following orders.”
“Why are you home, then?”
I rolled my eyes. “Because I’ve been ordered to take the weekend off.”
Katana stared blankly at me for a moment then burst out laughing. “You were ordered to take the weekend off? Sweet Celestia, Swordy, how do you even manage that? Wow! That’s got to be just soul crushing.”
I pursed my lips. “I’m supposed to socialize with at least three others during the break, or ‘make some friends’ for the sake of my mental state or something like that.”
“Make some friends!?” Katana laughed so hard she fell over. “Stop, that’s too much. Next you’ll tell me you need to have a special somepony by the end of the month.”
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I was thinking of asking you how you made friends, but I think you’ve had about as much luck with that as me.”
“Pfft, I’ve made plenty of friends.” Katana stood back up and dusted herself off. “I have friends all over Equestria. Making friends isn’t magic science either, it’s just spending time with somepony and talking about stuff.”
“What stuff?”
Katana snorted. “Any stuff, whatever you want to talk about or whatever comes to mind. You really don’t get out enough. How about we take a walk around town? I bet I can help you make some friends.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why do you suddenly want to help?”
“Because,” Katana laughed, “it’s both depressing and hilarious how badly you need it. Come on.”
I sighed. “Fine.”
We turned to go into town, but stopped short to stare at the sky. There were clouds organizing into a grid formation, and they were all either raining, snowing, or throwing lightning bolts.
“What the hay?” Katana said.
I shook my head. “Something’s definitely not right.”
There were ponies angrily gathering around a bridge where all the clouds seemed to be gathering over, and I motioned Katana to follow me. We got close enough for me to see that the crowd was gathered around Rarity, who… wait, was that Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark? What in Equestria…
“Is that unicorn controlling the clouds?” Katana asked.
“I… think so,” I said, too confused to say anything else.
“Ponyville sure is a strange place.”
I spotted Twilight talking to Rarity, and a few moments later she and Spike walked off. I noticed Twilight’s cutie mark hadn’t changed and was inclined to follow and ask her if she knew anything, but I thought better of it. There could only be one with the power to be causing this sort of cutie mark switching. Discord.
“I have to go,” I said, taking my sword and transforming it into its raindrop form again. “I think I know what’s going on. Friend searching can wait. Not sure what you want to do, Kat.”
Katana nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’ll just head back to Manehattan where things make sense, thanks. Have fun.”
She flew off towards the train station while I got inside my sword and burst off towards Canterlot to find Discord. He had to be behind this. Who besides him benefitted from messing with the cutie marks of the wielders of the Elements of Harmony?