//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Grand Hoof: The Legend Begins // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// It was a stormy night in a small town located in a wooded area between Galloping Gorge and Neighagra Falls. The rain poured over the town, drenching anything that walked out into it in seconds. The streetlamps illuminated sections of the darkness, though it was not enough as a fully hidden figure galloped through the night. They wore a rainproof coat, now trotting through the place with ease. That is, till they stopped at a large building with a sign over to top. Careheart Orphanage The cloaked pony stepped into the light of the building's porch-light, their hoof slowly removing something from beneath their cloak. A bundle of brown blankets, tightly wrapped around a small earth pony baby with gray fur and a tuft of black mane. The foal was fast asleep, shielded from the rain by the cloak. The pony placed the foal down before pulling a letter out of the cloak, placing it down atop the little one as it slept. "I'm sorry," they said before rapidly knocking on the door. The sound caused the foal to awaken, the little one beginning to cry at the top of its voice. As this happened, the older pony stepped back and took one last look at the child, turning away to run into the rain filled darkness of the night. But as they disappeared, the baby started fussing and rocked back and forth, the envelope on top of him slipping off and falling down the porch, sliding out of the protection of the porch. And as the rain began to soak up the paper, the door opened and a middle-aged unicorn walked out and saw the foal. The pink mare gasped as she grabbed the foal in her magic along with the letter, then stared at the darkness. Sighing at the night, she glanced down at the foal, which pulled itself free of the bundle and began yanking her yellow mane. "Ow! Please don't do that." She then turned to the envelope and opened it up, pulling out the letter, now seeing it was smudged beyond recognition. The baby's name was one of those things, the first part slightly smudged, but its last name was gone. "Grand..." she whispered after squinting. Grumbling at the sight, she glanced down at the foal, "Well little one, until we learn the rest of your name, you'll have to use Equestria's stand-in name." She held the foal up as it began to laugh at her. "Welcome, Grand Hoof." Six years later... It was a lively day at the Careheart Orphanage, the many colts and fillies that lived there playing out in the garden. The place was like a park, with a swing-set, jungle gym, slide and more that the young ones could enjoy to their heart's content. And atop the jungle gym, Grand Hoof stood supreme. "Hahaa!" He cheered, standing atop as the other kids stood around, "Hail before your mighty leader! All who appose me will perish!" "We wanna play!" the filly replied. "Let us up!" a colt added. "You can come up," he laughed, "As long as you pledge undying loyalty to me." Some of the kids agreed to climb up, but others refused despite trying to climb up anyway. "I don't think so." He went over and pushed a colt down, the unicorn crying out as he hit the ground. "I'm the one in charge here, and I decide who gets to use it!" "You bully!" a pegasus filly barked back. "I'm not a bully," Grand replied before patting his chest, "I'm just trying to make sure there's order here. If anypony could do whatever they wanted, it would be ana...ana...that word I can't say." "So you're trying to keep the peace?" A colt that swore loyalty to him asked, getting a nod from Grand. "So you're like a Royal Guard?" "Exactly," Grand nodded. "Maybe that's what I'll be when I'm older." "Maybe you'll even be a Royal Knight," a filly earth pony added. "A what?" "Royal Knight. They're like...super Royal Guards. I heard that only the best of the best guards are made into knights. And only the princess can tell them what to do. They're basically in charge of all of Equestria." "Really? Awesome! Then that's that!" He looked up to the sky, "Behold Equestria! I am Grand Hoof, future Royal Knight! Nothing will stop me from achieving-" "Children!" "WHOA!" Grand yelped as his hoof slipped, having been standing on the top of the slide, and tripped down the ride, "GYAH!" He hit the bottom and kept rolling, letting out a moan as he ate dirt before opening his eyes and seeing himself staring at a pair of dark blue hooves. He looked up and saw a dark blue pegasus colt who was about his age, with a spiky mane and tail that was a mixture of light blue and purple. He stared at Grand, a smirk on his lips. "What are you looking at?" He asked, picking himself up as he saw Ms. Careheart standing beside the colt. "Grand, don't be rude." She gestured to the pony as the other children walked up. "Everypony, we have a new member of the family here today. This is Doom Chaser. He'll be staying here for the foreseeable future, so I want you all to do you best to make him feel welcome." She then turned to the colt, "I'll be in the office if you need me. Take some time to get to know everypony, and then we'll start setting up your room." "Okay," Doom nodded as Ms. Careheart headed back inside. He glanced back at the others, all staring at him as he replied, "Huh...hi." "What kind of name is Doom?" Grand instantly asked, the others nodding as the colt frowned. "It's my name," he responded, "And I like it, so don't think you can make fun of it." "Whatever," Grand rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm Grand Hoof." He rubbed his nose, "I'm kinda the one in charge around here." "I thought Ms. Careheart was in charge?" "Maybe, but I'm the one whose in charge when she's not around." He looked Doom in the eye, shining a big grin, "The name's Grand Hoof, future Royal Knight of Equestria. So you better start showing me some respect!" "Yeah, sure, whatever," Doom replied, moving past him before glancing at the jungle gym, "Cool play-set." He ran up to it, Grand going wide-eyed before running past him. "Hold it," he held up a hoof. "I'm the one that decides who gets to play on this, and I don't think you've earned it." "Earned it?" Doom asked with a raised eyebrow, "What gives you the right to decide who can and can't play on it?" "I told you, I'm the one in charge around here. And anypony that wants to play on this better start showing some respect!" "My parents always said respect should be earned," Doom replied, waving his hoof. Grand glared at him at this, the rest of the kids going wide as they heard the word 'parents'. That is, till Doom added, "And I don't think you've earned it." With that, Doom spread his wings and began to flap them, flying just barely up to the jungle gym. "HEY!" Grand yelled before leaping after him, tackling the pegasi. Both hit the dirt, wrestling as they rolled across the ground. The rest just watched them tussle...only to see both barely move, both stuck in a tight brace. And after several minutes, the pair fell over, exhaustion already taking over as they tried to get up. "Wow...somepony pushed Grand to a draw," a filly gasped. "Nopony's done that before," a colt continued. "Come on," another colt began to climb the jungle gym. "Let's go play!" "Hey!" Grand yelled, trying to get up. "I'm the king of that castle! Don't!" But as he tried to get up, only to hear Doom laugh, "Hey, don't laugh at me!" "Happily!" Doom chuckled, the two still tired as Doom added, "Or...maybe later." And as they laid there, all they could do was listen as the others played, completely undisturbed by the two. It was good fifteen minutes before they could move, Grand ready to reclaim his territory, only for Ms. Careheart to appear and tell the children it was time for dinner. They all ran inside and began to set the table, Grand and Doom soon ending up sitting opposite one another. They glared one another down as Careheart brought the food in, the colts and fillies quickly digging into their food while Grand and Doom continued to eye one another down. After dinner, Grand had to help wash up while Doom was shown his room and started unpacking. Once he was done, Grand and a few other orphans decided to play some games. They played for an hour, and in that time, Grand had won almost every single game. "Yes!" He cheered as the others just glared at him, "Champion! Nopony can stand up to me!" "Wanna bet?" Grand spun around to see Doom, walking up and staring at the game they were playing, "You're actually bragging about winning that game? I could win with one hoof tied behind my back." Grand glared at him, "Take a seat." Doom did so, both setting up the board. It wasn't long till they got serious, the others watching as Doom stood up to Grand. The game lasted a full hour, only for Doom to win. That is, till Grand hissed, "Rematch." "You're on," Doom laughed before they reset the game. They played for another hour, Grand winning this time, making Doom hum, "Huh. Guess its one all now." "This will end it," Grand told him before they reset the game again. At this point, the ponies watching were all on the edge of their seats, this one lasting an hour and a half. "I've got you now." Grand growled as he made his next move. "Are you sure?" Doom asked, "Maybe you're right...or maybe I'm ready and you can't see it." Grand stared at the colt, then glancing down at the board. But as he did this, another voice spoke up. "Children," Careheart walked into the room, "It's bed time." "Awwww..." they all moaned. "Five more minutes," Grand added. "No, you all have school tomorrow. Put the game away and head to bed." The kids wanted to complain some more, but Ms. Careheart glared back at them, making them nod and shoo away. As they did this, Grand and Doom stared at one another, the other kids asking Doom if he did have a counter, but Doom refused to say anything. Grand did the same when they asked him about his move, both leaving the room in silence. And when they went to bed, the other children knew this was just the beginning with those two. Four years later... The bell rang at the schoolhouse situated in the center of the town, the young ponies of the place now running for it. "Out of the way!" Others heard as they turned to see a ten year old Grand Hoof dashing through the streets, most jumping out of the way while Doom Chaser flew above him. The two young ponies shot a glare at one another, both picking up speed as they passed by the local carpenter. "HEY!" The unicorn running it yelped as he lifted a barrel he just made, "Will you kids watch where you're going?!" The colts didn't respond as the schoolhouse came into view. Anypony that saw them leapt away, knowing what this meant as they got a clear shot of the school. And as they got close, Grand charged ahead as Doom zipped down, both closing the gap as they entered the building. "I WIN!" They yelled at the same time, then glared at one another. "YOU WIN?! I WON!" They slammed their foreheads into each other, growling as they kept yelling at each other. "Do you two have to be so loud?" The two turned to another voice, now seeing a yellow unicorn colt with a neatly combed red mane and tail and wearing large round glasses along with a cutie mark that was a bunch of math symbols. "Some of us are trying to read here." "Whatever Cruncher," Grand pulled away from Doom and headed for the desk next to the unicorn. "But do you ever do anything but read? If you spend all your time reading, you'll never do anything cool with your life." "Don't listen to him Numb," Doom added as he walked up to a desk on the unicorn's other side. "He's just jealous cuz he can only read about five words...and two of them make up his name." This got Grand to glare at Doom, "Come over here and say that!" "Make me, muscle-head." "ENOUGH!" The unicorn between then yelled, "Doom, stop egging Grand on. Grand, I'll do what I like with my free time. If that involved doing equations, then so be it." He glared back down at his book. "Besides, who would wanna go outside with that monster on the loose." This caused the other two's ears to prick up as other ponies entered the school. "What monster?" "Where is it?" Grand added. "It's a manticore. My dad said it's marked out a territory in the woods and that nopony's allowed to go there." This statement made everypony glance at each other, only for the teacher to arrive. "Morning everypony," he announced, "Now, before we get started, I have an announcement. Until further notice, the woods around town are out of bounds." This made everypony go wide-eyed before turning to Numb as the teacher continued, "A creature has been discovered in the woods, a manticore. The grownups are going to try and figure out how to deal with it, so absolutely nopony is allowed into the woods. Understood?" The ponies all nodded back, some now knowing they would miss playing in the woods while others wondered how long the manticore would be there. But as the class started, Doom turned to Grand, thinking about what kind of idiot would go and try and find the monster. And when that thought entered his head, he saw a smirk appear on Grand's lips, making him sigh. "Oh no..." A little later... It was now recess, Grand gathering many of the ponies in the school. "Don't you see?" he told them. "This is our chance. We can go into those woods and chase that manticore away." The ponies all went wide-eyed at this, "Aw, come on! If we don't do it, the adults are gonna do it and take all the glory!" "Are you nuts?!" Grand turned to see Doom and Numb, "The adults told us to stay out of the woods, and there's a reason for that. If we go in there, we'll be killed!" "Oh please," Grand waved his hoof and rolled his eyes, "We're talking about an overgrown pussy cat. How dangerous can it be? I bet I could deal with it myself, but I'm happy to let others help out and get a cut of the glory." "You're an idiot," Cruncher replied while shaking his head. "Manticores are four times bigger than the biggest pony. They could probably fit a fully grown one in their closed mouth. You really wanna try and fight against that thing?" "Of course," Grand nodded. "Because I'm Grand Hoof, future Royal Knight of Equestria. It's my destiny to fight against monsters that threaten the kingdom." "The manticore isn't threatening anypony," Doom responded, "As long as we stay away from it, it'll stay away from us." "He's right," Cruncher pushed his glasses up. "They're very solitary creatures." "Until they get hungry!" Grand barked back, "Then it'll come here in the dead of night and gobble us up in our sleep." The kids all began to shiver at this, only to see Grand raise a hoof, "Not unless we take it out and drive it off! Who's with me?" Fear and thirst for adventure drove the ponies around him to agree, almost everypony from the orphanage and a few that lived with parents agreeing to join him. It was that moment that the bell rang, ending recess as the ponies went back to the building. But before Grand could get there, Doom stepped in front of him. "I'm not gonna let you do this." Grand glared back at him, "Hey, just because you're scared of something doesn't mean the rest of us have to be." "It's not a matter of me being scared," Doom replied, "It's a matter of common sense. How do you even intend to drive this manticore off? You don't even know the first thing about it." "I'll find a way." Grand pointed to himself, "After all, I'm a future Royal Knight." "You're the furthest thing from a Royal Knight," Doom instantly responded, "Royal Knights are supposed to selflessly face danger so nopony else has too. Not lead an army of gullible kids into a monster. All you want is bragging rights. That's all you care about. Being a knight so ponies have to do as they're told. Well, it's not gonna happen." He pointed at Grand's empty flank. "If you were meant to be a Royal Knight, you would have gotten a cutie mark the moment you decided to become one." Grand huffed, glaring at his blank flank before hissing, "My cutie mark's just waiting for the right moment to appear. When I defeat the manticore, it'll show up. I bet it'll show me standing on the manticore's body after I slay it. Now move!" He pushed Doom away and headed for the schoolhouse, Doom then saying, "I won't let you. If you try to do this, I'll tell Careheart." Grand growled at this, only for a bulb to go off in his head. "Okay Doom...I'll just figure something else out to show you what a great knight I am." That night... Doom watched his fellow orphans around the dinner table, none talking about the woods after recess, making the colt hope that he had gotten through to Grand. He didn't want to tell Ms. Careheart unless he was absolutely sure they were planning something. But as the evening went on, it was just the usual before bed, playing board games and toys or reading books. "Alright kids," Ms. Careheart said, "Time for bed." They all moaned like normal, but did as they were told and headed upstairs. They did their usual bed routine, brushing their teeth and washing their faces. And as Doom watched this, he slowly did his routine and went to his room. He leaned up to his door, still closed as he kept an ear out for noise. And two hours after lights out, as Doom was beginning to drift off, he was suddenly awakened by the sound a creaking open door. Sighing at this, he slowly opened his door and was greeted with the image of Grand, dressed with a bandanna and sash with a sling slot that had several different types of ammo in it. "I had hoped you'd seen sense," Doom growled, Grand just smirking before walking away, Doom then leapt over him, flapping his wings as he added, "I told you, I won't let you do this." "You can't stop me," Grand told him. "I can. I'll tell Careheart, and she'll ground you now to eternity!" "I don't think so." Grand replied, seeing Doom take a deep breath. "NOW!" Before Doom could yell, something suddenly wrapped around his snout. His eyes went wide as he looked down to see duct-tape clamping his jaw shut while keeping his nose clear. He turned to see all the other orphans on the stairs behind him, the unicorns using their magic to hold up rope and a role of duct-tape. Before Doom could do anything, he was quickly tussled up and unable to move anything other then his head. He tried to let out a cry, but couldn't as he as the rest of the young ponies picked him up and returned him to his room, throwing him in his closet. "Sorry Doom," Grand chuckled, "We'll let you go in the morning...after the adults finish praising us." With that, he slammed the door shut and put a chair under the handle to keep it shut. He then turned to the others and nodded, the group following his lead as they headed out the door and carefully down the stairs to not wake Ms. Careheart. Once they were out of the orphanage, they started making their way to the houses that had the colts and fillies that agreed to go too. But alas, they had either fallen asleep, couldn't get out of the house without their parents seeing, or had changed their minds about going into the forest at night. "Aw to heck with them," Grand grumbled before turning to the others. "We're more then enough. Come on." They ran through the darkness of the night, passing the house that Number Cruncher lived in. As it happened, the young colt had been up late studying when he noticed movement outside his window. He glanced out into the street and spotted the young ponies creeping through the darkness. And as they walked through the light of a street lamp, he saw Grand leading almost all the orphanage ponies toward the forest. The only one he didn't see was Doom, making him raise an eyebrow. It wasn't long till the ponies arrived at the forest, now making their way inside. They had been in these woods many a time, but this was their first night time excursion. Many were shivering at the sight, the darkness creeping on them so much that even a hoot from an owl made them jump. "Oh grow up," Grand told them. "There's nothing different about this place then when we've been in her before." "Aside from-" "Aside from the manticore," Grand interrupted. "But other than that, it's the exact same forest we've been in a hundred times." "Except this time we can't see where we're going," a filly added. "Just stay calm and follow my lead. When have I ever steered you wrong?" He replied as they kept trotting into the darkness. The group had a barrage of makeshift weapons, water balloons, bars of soap and socks filled with rocks and anything else hard and heavy they could find. They knew they were ready. Back at the orphanage, Doom Chaser continued to squirm against the bindings, but no matter how hard he pulled, the ropes and tape refused to give way. He had never been claustrophobic before, but his current situation was making him begin to suffer from a mild attack. That coupled with knowing what could happen made it worse. He gave the ropes another good pull, accidently rolling against the door and making it bang against the chair, but they still remained strong. But as they happened, he heard some hoofsteps, turning to the door as it opened. "What the-" He heard, making him look up and see Number Cruncher staring down at him. "How did you-" He stopped as Doom mumbled through the tape, Cruncher grabbing it and ripping it off his mouth. "AUGH!" He cried as he felt some of his fur yank off with the tape, Cruncher then undoing the ropes with his magic. Once he was freed, he leapt at his friend. "Go wake up Ms. Careheart! Tell her that Grand and the others have gone into the wood. Wake up anypony you can and tell them!" Before Number could say anything else, Doom leapt toward the nearest window and threw it open. "Wait! Where are you going?!" "To try and stop them before it's too late!" And with that, he flew out of the place, zipping into the night, "Please don't let me be too late..." Grand and his team had been wandering through the woods for over an hour now, not finding a thing. "Maybe it's not here anymore," a colt chimed in, "Maybe it decided it didn't like these woods anymore and left." The others nodded, but Grand shook his head, "It's here," he glanced back at them. "We just have to keep looking for it." "But I don't even know where we are anymore," a filly added, "Its too dark. We should go home." "Just relax," Grand responded, "I have a perfect sense of direction. I could walk through these woods with my eyes closed." But as he turned back, he suddenly found himself almost trotting into a large boulder in the middle of the forest. "Whoa!" He staggered back, "Where'd that come from?" The others laughed at this. "Perfect sense of direction, huh?" A pegasus colt asked, Grand glaring at them. The colt glanced back at the boulder, only to blink at he noticed something. The rock...was staring back at him. And then it began to grow, expanding for a few seconds before shrinking back down. When it did these motions again, Grand gasped, "The manticore..." The others all stared at the sleeping beast, now seeing just how massive it was compared to them. Fear gripped them all as their brains told them to run, but their bodies refused to listen. That is, till Grand walked back and got in line with the others, taking out his slingshot and loading it with a bar of soap. "Everypony, get ready!" he yelled, the manticore's ear twitching as the other ponies prepared their weapons. "Spread out!" They quickly circled the beast as the sounds of snapping twigs filled its ears. They watched as the manticore began to unfurl its body, slowly getting onto its paws while sniffing the air before opening its eyes and shining a pair of green lights into the darkness. The lights scanned the forest floor, now seeing the young ponies gather around. It let out a growl while Grand pulled the slingshot back and aimed it at its face. "Manticore!" He roared, "I'm Grand Hoof, future Royal Knight. You have two options. Leave this forest and never return, or face our wrath!" The lion bat scorpion hybrid raised an eyebrow at this, only to growl as it let out a mighty roar that shook many of the trees' leaves loose. "Fine!" With that, he unleashed his soap projectile, hitting it in the left eye. It roared again as the soap stung, forcing it close the eye while the rest fired their projectiles. The beast kept crying out as the attacks bounced off it's fur, Grand preparing to fire another bar of soap at its other eye. But before he could, the manticore turned and glared through its white and now red eye. "RAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" It roared again before swinging its tail around, deflecting the projectiles before swiping at the kids. They all cried out as they either leapt or were knocked back, Grand ducking down under the tail as it flew over him. "Raaaaah!" He yelled, ready to grab onto the beast's mane and...not having an idea of what to do after that. But it didn't matter, for the manticore heard him and swung around to bash him with the back of its paw. "AUGH!" He cried as he was shot flying over the others, slamming into a tree, screaming in pain before falling over. The other young ponies gasped at the sight of their leader, now slumped out on the ground before turning to the angry eyes of the beast. Only now did they see how foolish they were...but it was too late. The manticore roared before bouncing at the nearest pony, who was completely frozen in fear as the giant claw came for the colt. All he could do was scream, only to be silenced instantly. As this happened, Grand groaned as he felt himself come around, his entire body hurting as he tried to move. His eyes were closed, but his ears were working...and all he could hear was the sounds of screams and cries. Then when he finally opened his eyes, he was met with a sight no young pony should ever been shown. Blood was splattered on the grass and trees, the now still forms of his friends all scattered around the clearing. He noticed a body drop down in front of him, its face turning to stare up at him. It was the face of one colt he had known almost his entire life...and now he just laid there, his eyes open and lifeless. "No..." he whispered before feeling something dampen his hoof. He glanced down and saw blood soaking his hoof and lower leg, which was pouring out of the wound in the colt's stomach. "No!" He screamed before jumping back, trying to wash the blood from his hoof, only to soak the other one. He then looked around at the rest of the clearing, now seeing all the ponies he had led into this massacre. His eyes grew wider, his brain shutting down at the sight. He now was Doom was right. He was no hero...just a colt that doomed a group of children. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, catching the attention of a still very angry manticore. The colt was completely frozen, shock having caused his body to shut down. All he could do was sit there as the manticore slowly walked up to him and raised it tail stinger. He felt his heartbeat double with every step he took, the light of the moon now blocked out by the beast's shadow. And as the manticore thrust its tail, he closed his eyes. But as he did this, something else collided with Grand, pushing him out of the way. He hit the ground with a groan, opening his eyes to see the manticore with its tail stuck in the trunk of the tree he had been in front of. He then turned to see what had tackled him. "Doom?" He barely said, the pegasus glaring at him before turning to stare at the clearing, now gasping at the sight of the remains of his friends. He then turned to Grand, snarling as the earth pony colt just stare at the colt. "MOVE!" He screamed, Grand suddenly bolting up at this before turning and running away. As this happened, the manticore began to pull its tail free, Doom now following Grand. The pair made their way through the darkness, not daring to slow down as the Manticore freed itself. A loud roar rang out, the pair picking up the pace. But the pair just couldn't keep up the distance, the manticore flying after them and able to pass three times the distance they could in a single wing-beat. The manticore soon got close enough to swipe at them, managing to take a few hairs off their tails with its claws. And sa the manticore could take another swing, something slamming into it and pushed it back. The pair gasped as they saw it was a broken barrel, then turning to see it had come from the local carpenter with many other townsponies. They were all carrying much better weapons then the kids had been wielding, pitchforks, sledgehammers and even kitchen knives. "STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" The carpenter yelled as the colts ran up to them, the adults moving aside to allow them to pass by and run for the town. The manticore roared and charged, but the ponies fought back, the beast now having a harder time as the weapons began to stab into the monster. And as this happened, Grand and Doom leaped out of the trees to see Ms. Careheart, Number Cruncher and many others waiting for them. They ran up before collapsing, the group gathering around them. "Are you okay?" Careheart asked, seeing Grand's injuries and gasping before staring at the trees. When no other colt or filly came out, she turned back to them. "Where are the others?" Doom said nothing and turned to glare at Grand, who simply curled up and started crying. "No..." she whispered, "That's...no. Don't tell me." She turned back to the forest and watched, waiting for the rest of her charges to return....only they didn't. The adults soon returned, stating they had driven the manticore away, but also said there was no sign of the others foals. They all wondered what happened until Doom closed his eyes before sighing. The adults saw his reaction, the colt sitting down and beginning to explain what had happened. And as shock, horror and anger begin to fill their expressions, they turned to Grand Hoof...only to see he was just laying there, frozen and crying. He lay motionless, unmoving as the moon shined over the area. They wanted to get angry, tell Grand off and punish him for what he had done, but they knew it was pointless. The colt's punishment had already started. One Month Later... The town had changed since then, the tragedy leaving the town's residence depleted, its joy that it once held all but gone. The ponies outside simply did their work, now saying a thing outside of the basics. Even the school was surprisingly empty, many of its students now lost. Doom, Cruncher and two others were the only students left, along with one that refused to come. "Still locked up in his room?" Cruncher asked Doom, the cold nodding back. Since the incident, Grand Hoof refused to do anything except stay in his room. The only time he came out aside from using the bathroom was for the funerals, and then that had been an effort. "He refuses to come out and barely eats anything," Doom replied, "All he does is lay on his bed all day." "I guess you can't blame him," Cruncher sighed. "After what happened, anypony would be traumatized. It doesn't help that he thinks it's all his fault." "It is all his fault," Doom grumbled, "And he knows it. But this isn't gonna make up for what happened." As he said that, the teacher walked into the room, a long frown on his face as he tried to teach what little students he had. The school day came and went with nothing special happening, Doom heading back to the orphanage with Cruncher, who split off once they got close to his house. And as he arrived at the building he called home, he found it empty and quiet, only Ms. Careheart and Grand inside there now. He walked in, heading upstairs and finding Ms. Careheart's door open. Glancing inside, he saw the mare sitting at her desk, working like a zombie with the paperwork. Much like everypony else, she had lost a lot of the spark that made her who she was, her eyes heavy from many sleepless nights, and her mane and tail were a mess. She simply signed a paper and went to the next one, not even noticing Doom. The colt walked away, now going up to Grand's room. He stared at the door, sighing as he sat down and knocked on it, "Grand." There was no response, making him knock again. "Come on. I know you're in there, and I know you can hear me!" Again, no response. "Fine." He went into his bag and took out a pair of pins, slowly jimmying the lock. After a few minutes, he pushed the door open...only to find nothing but darkness. He glanced around before noticing movement from the bed in the corner, now seeing Grand staring at a wall with his blanket over him. Doom rolled his eyes before flying over to the window and throwing the curtains open as he yelled, "TIME TO GET UP!" "Go away," Grand grumbled as he shoved his head into the pillow. "No way." Doom flew over and yanked the blankets off in one pull, making Grand yelp. "You've been in here long enough! You need to go outside some time." "Leave me alone!" Grand cried before curling up into the pillow. "No!" Doom grabbed him by the tail and pulled him, Grand now gripping onto the bed. But as Doom yanked him, Grand tried to kick him away as he added, "You're getting out of this room if I have to drag you out." "NO!" Grand kicked again, hitting Doom in the face. Flinching at this, Doom let go of Grand's tail and then tackled Grand, wrapping his legs around Grand's neck and stomach. Grand cried out as Doom managed to roll the two off his bed, both crashing into the floor. This made Grand start to get serious, spinning and throwing Doom off him and rolling onto his back. "RRRAAAHHH!" He heard the pegasus cry before tackling him again, knocking Grand over, "I'm sick and tired of you feeling sorry for yourself! Stop acting like you're the one that got hurt that day!" "SHUT UP!" Grand pushed Doom off him and pinned him down, "I'M NOT FEELING SORRY FOR MYSELF!" "THEN WHY ARE YOU CONSTANTLY UP HERE WALLOWING AWAY?!" Before Grand could say anything, Ms. Careheart appeared at the door. "BOYS!" She yelled before grabbing them in her magic, pulling them apart, "What is going on in here?!" "IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!" Grand screamed before she or Doom could say anything, the pair staring at him as poured down his face, "It's all my fault." He closed his eyes, "Its not fair...its not fair." Careheart placed them both down and watched as Grand curled himself up. "It should have been me...it should have been me." "Grand..." she whispered. "I don't deserve to be here," Grand continued to cry. "I was the one that lead them into the forest. I was the one that convinced them to go after the manticore. I was the one that threw the first rock. So why am I the only one still alive?" Careheart covered her mouth as Doom just glared at him, watching him continue to cry into his legs. "Why won't somepony punish me?! I don't deserve to be here. I should be thrown in prison. I don't deserve to have any kind of life." "Oh Grand..." Careheart started crying as well, placing her hoof on him. But Grand just pulled away, trying to go back to his bed, "Just...just leave me alone. Let me rot in peace." Careheart opened her mouth, but no words came out. She just stared at Grand as he got into his bed, about to grab the blankets again. That is, till Doom walked up and hopped onto the bed. He pulled a hoof back and threw it right into Grand's face, "DOOM!" Careheart gasped as she saw Grand get knocked off the bed, catching him in her magic. She turned him over at this, now seeing he had a black eye. "YOU IDIOT!" Doom yelled, making both turn to him, "You think torturing yourself will make up for what you did? It's the furthest thing from it!" "Doom-" Careheart tried to say, only for the colt to fly up and yank Grand out of her magic. He slammed him into the floor as he continued, "You're right Grand, you don't deserve to be here. And if I could trade your life for any of the lives you cost, I would have." "Doom!" Careheart screeched with wide eyes, "What are you-" "But I can't, so we have to live with things as they are. And that means you're not gonna just waste away in here!" "Then what do I do?" Grand barked back. "ANYTHING!" Doom screamed, "You're alive, and that means you need to keep living!" Grand looked away, but Doom grabbed his shoulders and yanked his head, making him stare at each other in the eyes, "You're gonna leave this room and go to the graveyard, and you're gonna count every single grave you filled. Each of those graves is a sin, and you're gonna spend every day making up for what you did. If you wanna punish yourself, then do it by doing something good! Become somepony that can stop what happened from happening again!" Careheart just blinked at the colt, surprised at the words he was saying. She couldn't believe how grown up it sounded, only to stare at Grand as he just sat there. Doom let out a sigh at this, glaring at Grand before walking away, Careheart opening her mouth...only for nothing to come out again. She glanced back at Grand, seeing him just stare at Doom as the colt left. Her mind told her that no word would reach him right now, making her walk away. And as the room became empty for the colt, Grand pulled himself back into his bed. He laid there, staring at the ceiling as Doom's words repeated in his head. 'I always thought I deserved to be a knight, but I'm the last pony that should ever become that...' he thought, only to sigh, 'So...what do I do? What...can I become that's like that?' Hours soon passed, the sun setting as he just stared at the ceiling. Despite the time still going, he remained wide awake, only to suddenly get up. He got out of the bed, tiphoofing through the house as he made sure Doom and Careheart were asleep before heading for the doorway. The next morning... Doom didn't have a great night's sleep, his anger from the last day causing him to have trouble drifting off. But his troubled sleep was then shattered by the sound of Careheart's screams, "GRAND!" His eyes shot open and he leapt out of bed, soon racing through the building. However, as he got to Grand's building, he saw it was empty aside from a screaming Careheart pointing at an open window. The mare was screeching about Grand going to find the manticore again, Doom then leaping out the window at this. He flew through the air, zooming across the town...but not to the forest. Instead, he went to the town's graveyard, now spotting a single pony standing there. He glided down and landed behind Grand, the pony staring at the headstones in silence. "I hope this means you decided to follow my advice," Doom said as he walked up to Grand's side. "Yeah," Grand nodded. "I...I wanted to count them. Each of the graves I filled." He stared down at the ground, "There's so many..." "Too many," Doom sighed. "And I'll remember each of them," Grand instantly replied, "And for each one, I'm gonna save a hundred lives to make up for them." "And how are you gonna do that?" Doom asked, "Become a Royal Knight?" Grand shook his head, "No...I don't deserve that." "No arguments from me," Doom replied while sitting down, "Then what are you gonna do?" "I'll become a Royal Guard," Grand responded, "I'll work my flank off. I'll follow every order I'm given and do whatever it takes to protect the kingdom." "Really?" Doom raised an eyebrow at this, only to see Grand slowly nod. "And you're serious about this." "Yeah...I am." "Hmph." Doom huffed, "So just a guard...no becoming or captain or anything?" Grand shook his head again, "No. I don't deserve that. I don't deserve any kind of special rank. I'm no leader. I realize that now." Doom raised both eyebrows at this, leaning down to see a low, calm stare in Grand's eyes, "You're actually serious..." He leaned back, "You saying you're gonna stay as a bog standard guard for the rest of your life?" "You said yourself that I can't just waste my life," Grand replied. "But that doesn't mean I also deserve any special treatment. So I'll live my life protecting ponies and doing nothing but that, with no reward or chance of improving my state of life. That's what I've decided." Doom opened his mouth at this, about to reply...but no words came out. His mind was split, half still stemming in anger while the other felt nothing but sympathy. But as his brain juggled the options, a light filled the graveyard, making them turn to see Celestia's sun rise above the horizon. As it flew upward, Grand took a deep breath before taking one final look at all the names. He now knew what he would have to do. He would spend the rest of his life making up for the mistake he made. He had counted up his sins, and now,his quest to make up for them began. He would protect as many ponies as he could, no matter what it cost him. As that thought entered his head, a flash of light caught the two's attention, making him look back at his flank. And as the light faded, it revealed the image of a black shield with a smaller white shield inside of it. "My cutie mark," he whispered. "I guess that proves you're meant to be a guard," Doom added, Grand nodding before staring back up at the sky. He got up at this, both walking away as they went back to the orphanage, ready to start the next chapter of their lives. Eight years later... The sun floated high above the capital city of Canterlot, the noble ponies walking around the place with their heads held high. Inside the city's castle, Celestia was hard at work, solely running a kingdom as she was signing a ton of paperwork. But in front of the castle's entrance, a young county pony was now staring up at the building, sighing at the massive sight before him. Grand Hoof, with everything he owned in the saddlebags on his back, stared at the place with sweat pouring down his face. This was what he had spent so many years training for, dawn from dusk spent preparing for this moment. And now, he was frozen in place. "Ready?" He turned to see Doom Chaser, who now sported a cutie mark that showed an arrow flying through a cloud. "Kinda intimidating, ain't it?" "Yeah," Grand looked back at the castle, "Real intimidating." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes before saying, "But I can't let that stop me from what I have to do." Doom nodded and both marched inside, the pair passing through the gates and into a life of guard service. This was only the first chapter in a great tale, one that would go over the life and legacy of one of Equestria's greatest heroes. Only time would tell how that tale would end.