When you step forth and swear in oath to protect your country with your life, you therefore put down your very existence to serve. No secrets of your ultimate duty are kept from you. No questions revolve around what you must do when faced with a threat to you, your people, or your country. You are given a mission, and you must execute for the preservation of your own life, and the lives of those you swore to protect.

But forget not what you gave up when you raised your hoof into the air and swore allegiance. Forget not that, even though you are captain of the royal guard, you still fall under the oath, and are forever bound to it. Should your life ever come to an end in defense of the country, let it be known that it was in the line of duty you fell.

But even that doesn't make it any easier when you do fall, and you do not get back up.

“Captain Shining Armor, sir!” a guard called out as he burst into the mess hall where Shining Armor sat, along with a plethora of other guards. Shining could hear how frantic the guard was just by those four words, and how fast they came out. Immediately his ears were perked up, and the magic levitating a spoonful of soup froze. He was going to turn his head to look at him, but the guard continued before he could. “Her majesties are in grave peril, there's an intruder in the castle bent on taking their lives!”

The reaction was instant. Not just by Shining Armor, but by every other guard in the mess hall as well. Some helmets were off, but immediately put back into place while some trays were pushed off of the tables and left to clatter onto the floor with food still on them from the guard spurring into action. Shining Armor himself had just his helmet to put on, and after doing so he immediately jumped onto the table, ignoring the fact that a hoof was in the very soup he was just eating from.

“Everypony move to your emergency response posts! Arm yourselves with spears and crossbows from the armory! You four,” he pointed a hoof at one of the guards sitting at the table with him, all snapped to attention for his commands, and waved his hoof over each one as he continued. “Go to the barracks and get out anypony that isn't currently on duty back on, double time!”

When Shining looked up almost every guard was already out of the mess hall, and those still in took only a couple more seconds to clear out. The situation was urgent, he knew that, but even then allowed himself a split second to let his pride swell at seeing all of the guards – all of his guards – moving with such speed and motivation. It warmed his heart, and he knew that with a force like his, the princesses would undoubtedly be kept safe.

He jumped off of the table and dashed out the main doors, heading straight across a short walkway lit by the sun still high in the sky and into the main castle. He had one goal at that point; protecting the princesses from harm. It was his duty, what he swore an oath to do from the very start of his career. And being captain, he held responsible for the actions and well-being of all the guards, but more importantly, the safety of royalty. That was his most important directive.

Because of that, he made a beeline for the throne room. With his powerful hooves taking him as fast as they could, he reached the room in little more than a minute. He was glad to see multiple guards patrolling around the halls with their spears or crossbows with them, but he knew that some threats to the throne were not intimidated by such weapons – the changelings encountered only weeks prior being a perfect example of this. Still, he knew he had to do what he could, and as he entered the throne room he saw that it was lacking any royalty within, yet about twenty guards were already inside inspecting every corner of the room.

One of the guards turned to look at him, saluting as he did. Shining was about to ask for the princess' whereabouts, but he already anticipated the question. “Sir, both princesses have been moved up to Princess Celestia's room for their own safety, you should make your way there, sir.”

“Thank you, carry on,” Shining replied as he returned the salute and then raced back out the throne room and turning towards the passage to the royal bedrooms. On his way there two other unicorn guards began trailing behind him, their expressions letting him know that they had the same intent as he.

When they reached the main throne room Shining Armor noticed that the two guards usually posted there were not present, save for one rather skinny earth pony guard who was frantically yanking at one of the door handles of the double doors to get it open.

“Sir, the door won't open, it's locked from the inside!” the earth pony guard cried out as he looked at the captain, still yanking at the door handle.

“Stand aside soldier!” Shining ordered as his horn flared with magic. He felt his way around the magically enchanted lock, noticing it was under the effects of a very strong seal. Somepony intentionally put that on their, and it was a two way seal, meaning nothing pass through from the inside or outside of whatever was being sealed. Namely, the door to Celestia's bedroom.

Shining Armor desperately worked on it, moving his magic to undo the many laces that were worked into the spell. Fortunately, he was very skilled in both shielding and sealing spells, so it fell to him within moments. But when he tried opening the door, he noticed another force keeping it shut – the darn thing was locked! He attempted to use his magic again to undo the lock, but before he could a voice yelled out from down the hall behind him.

“INCOMING!” A unicorn guard yelled as he formed a force-field directly in front of his face. Shining immediately recognized him as probably the biggest guard they had in their ranks, unicorn or otherwise. He was incredibly large, just under the size of Princess Luna, while his coat bulged from the muscle underneath his skin.

As he charged for the door, it became apparent what the small force-field in front of him was for. Such close proximity to his horn meant the shield could be kept very strong, even under intense stress. And the fact that it was only in front of his face and not over any other part of his body meant only one thing.

“He's ramming it, move!” No sooner did Shining finish his sentence did the guards move aside, and only another second after that did the burly guard ram his shield into the connection portion of the double doors.

And just like that, the doors burst open with a loud crack from the locks with the burly guard yelling with a yell he would use charging into battle. He immediately came to a halt and looked around, noticing the multiple spears pointed directly at him and sitting in front of his face. He was at first surprised, and even angry at being held at spear-point, but then he found himself relieved as he noticed other royal guards were holding them.

“Captain Shining Armor!” Princess Celestia called out with a breath of relief. “I'm relieved to see you have arrived, it only the situation wasn't so dire, and so dreadful...”

Her words were followed by the four guards already in the room retracting their spears and returning them to their sides. Shining Armor stepped in beside the burly guard, along with the two that followed him and the earth guard that was originally at the door. He bowed his head respectively, along with the other guards before he spoke.

“Your majesties,” he began, taking note of Princess Luna and Princess Cadence also inside the room. “I am relieved to see you all safe from harm.”

“We are not quite at such a level, fair captain,” Luna replied meekly as she turned to look at the Princess's bed. From where he stood Shining Armor could see two guards with their helmets and body plating removed laying on top of the bed. But as he took a few steps closer he saw that their eyes were shut, their removed armor set beside them, and blood stained bandages around their waists.

“W-what happened here!?” Shining asked, horrified at the sight of his men injured.

“They were protecting us – protecting me,” Cadence spoke up from her spot beside the bed, looking down sadly at the guards who laid there. “Somepony caught us off guard, and they gave themselves up to keep me safe.” Shining Armor approached his wife, too overwhelmed with the knowledge that she was safe to hear the dread in her voice. As he came up to her he wrapped his front hooves around her in a tight hug, pushing his muzzle up to hers.

“Don't worry, these men are strong, I know they will pull through,” He whispered to her as he caressed the mane of his wife. He could hear her whimpering softly, and felt a tear roll onto his cheek. At first he thought it to be her fear playing on her emotions, but that was not the case.

“Shining,” she whispered back, pulling her head back to look into her eyes. It was at that moment Shining Armor realized her eyes did not convey the fear for her own safety, but instead were sorrowful, as if she was mourning something else. “They won't. They won't pull through this...” She paused, closing her eyes and lowering her head a little with another whimper before she spoke again.

Any hope or knowledge that Shining had for the fortitude of his two guards on the bed vanished that instant. He blinked only once, his pupils dilating as he stared at his wife. He looked to his side, taking a closer look at the guards on the bed. The blood on the bandages were centered on their backs, and the pieces of armor set to their sides had a thin, clean hole near the top center. He knew those guards too, he knew them on a personal level as he did with most everypony in the service. He made it his duty to familiarize himself with all those under him, knowing that such connections would only improve the quality of teamwork and overall strengthen the guard force. And it was with those connections that he felt an even heavier pain in his heart.

They both had families, kids even, all without fathers now. He could see the pained looks on their faces, locked into place from what he could only assume was their struggle to stay alive. But what confused him was the lack of any other sort of exterior damage, no bruises, no scrapes, nothing on their bodies showing any sort of conflict at all other than the fatal wounds to their backs.

“Who did this?” he asked just above a whisper, yet with the venomous tinge of fury apparent in his voice. “Who murdered these ponies!?”

“There was only one,” a guard spoke up, one of the original four in the room that were holding spears. All of the newly arrived guards including Shining Armor turned to look at him as he continued. “Princess Cadence was on her way here with the two guards you see on the bed as escorts. When we found her, she was running away from one single unicorn, who upon seeing us fled from the scene.”

“We were making our way down the hall,” Cadence spoke up, gaining the attention of the guards again, “heading straight for this bedroom. Out of nowhere I heard what sounded like a rush of wind, like a heavy breeze flow through the halls yet felt nothing on my coat. Before I could think about what it was one of these two cried out in pain,” she turned to the guard closest to her on the bed, tears rolling down her face. “I turned around to see what had happened, and then I saw him drop to the ground as the second guard also cry out,” she looked at the other guard at this as her voice became strained by the open sobs fighting for control.

“I, I saw the one who did it, it was just one pony, one stallion. As the second guard fell I could see him standing behind them, a bloody knife held in one of his hooves.” She took a few seconds to shiver at the memory, more sobs coming up as her husband placed a hoof on her shoulder. After composing herself, she continued, “He was wearing a mask or something, it hid his face, his mane, his coat, everything except for his eyes and his mouth. And he wore a suit and tie, it and the mask a gray color.” She paused again, gulping loudly as she sat back on her hooves with her husband still embracing her while staring at the guards on the bed.

“He smiled at me. It... it wasn't a happy smile, it was mischievous, devilish, like he knew what he was doing, he knew it was wrong, but... liked it. And I was, I was too scared... just too afraid to do anything to save them...” at this Cadence broke down, bringing her hooves to her face as she let her tears fall freely, crying her heart out. Two guards, ponies with families and friends, took a fatal knife for her, and she didn't do anything to help them. “So I, I r-ran, I ran as fast as I could, l-like some scared filly crying for her mother...”

“That's when we found her,” the same guard of the original four spoke up. “She ran into the four of us guards escorting both princesses to this room at an intersection in the hallways. When we saw her the masked pony wasn't far behind, and when he saw us, he ran away.”

“But 'twas not so simple as a mere gallop,” Luna spoke up. “The vile offender turned invisible somehow, so simply and swiftly that we were unable to effectively pursue. When me and two of the guards tried to chase, we didn't find him, but instead the two guards you now see on the bed lying in the middle of the hallway in pools of their own blood.” Luna closed her eyes and looked down, and though at first she appeared to be mourning, Shining Armor could see her teeth clenched as her lips opened up slightly, knowing the princess was seething with rage.

“They were taken into this room with us,” Celestia began calmly, taking off from where her sister left off. “My sister quickly brought them inside herself while I sealed the room off with my magic, and with the locks on the door itself. With whoever that pony was being able to turn invisible, I did not want to take any chances in him getting in the room with us.”

“We tried to save them,” Luna interrupted, her voice low, almost growling as she looked at the guards on the bed. “But they were already gone. I tried to mend their wounds, to clean up the blood that stained their coats and bandage them up, but it was all meaningless. Their souls had already departed their bodies.”

“Da, that would explain much then,” a voice spoke up, catching the others off guard. They all turned to look at the burly guard from before staring off into space in the direction of the bed, as if deep in thought.

“What do you mean?” Shining Armor asked as the burly pony began to approach the bed, with all the other guards and the princesses finding interest in his words as well.

“They are not the only victims to this madpony,” he explained in a voice that would lead most to assume he grew up in Stalliongrad. “While moving to my post I came across four others, they were paired up to watch each others' blind spots, but not even that could save them from being stabbed in the back, it seems.” He moved onto the bed, carefully placing the edge of one of his hooves against the center part of the blood stained bandages. “I took good look at bodies, and they all got stuck in the back. The knife was precise, slicing just against the ribcage, effectively cutting the nerves that led to some vital organs while also piercing the heart and lung.” As he explained this, he moved his hooves slowly over the bodies, careful not to touch them but to aid in conveying his message. His tone turned dark as he finished off his last few words. “Death was almost instant.”

“He knows what he's doing, then,” Celestia offered as she brought a hoof to her chin. “That complicates things. I'm almost certain now that this pony has been plotting this insurgence, it's the only way to explain how he could strike with such accuracy.”

“And he must have had practice too,” the burly guard said. “Perhaps he was trained, maybe even one of us at one time.”

Several of the ponies in the room gasped, Cadence included, who stared in disbelief at what the large guard had just said. She looked at everyone in the room, some returning their own looks, all of which said the same thing.

“Are you suggesting,” she managed to choke out, taking a few more seconds to continue. “...A spy?”

“That is very troubling...” Celestia said softly as she began to pace back and forth. “It's hard for me to believe that one of my very own subject would go to such a length as taking another pony's life... but this?” She looked up, waving a hoof around with the center of its arc aimed at the bed. “What would drive a pony to commit such a crime as this, one who was perhaps one of my very own guards?”

“Your Majesty,” Shining spoke up, still holding his wife in his hooves. “I do not know who would do such a thing, or why, but I assure you that we will put a stop to this as fast as possible, and at all costs.” The look of determination on his face sparked a rise in the courage of everypony around him, even Cadence had stopped crying and looked up to him with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“I never thought of the possibility of another guard doing this,” one of the guards in the room said as he looked over the bed again.

“Hmph, wouldn't surprise me if it was a lunar guard that did it,” one of the guards mumbled to the other beside him. His intent was not to be heard by the others, but one pony in particular heard his words all too clearly.

A hoof stomped loudly on the marble floor, cracking it as everypony's attention was suddenly turned to Princess Luna. Her head was still lowered, but her mane was covering her eyes and a shadow took over half her face. Her breaths could be heard, seething through clenched teeth that were openly displayed from her open lips. She growled, lowly at first, but quickly becoming louder to the point where anypony lesser than a guard would have released the contents of their bladder upon hearing such a noise.

“How DARE thee...” her voice started low, thick with anger before she spoke again seconds later, turning her head up to look at the guard while holding the same emotions clear in her face, but with her words now booming with the intensity of her royal voice. “HOW DARE THEE ACCUSE OUR GUARD OF HARBORING A MURDERER, ONE WHO STALKS THESE VERY HALLS WITH THE INTENT OF DOING HARM!”

“Luna!” Celestia attempted to call her sister to her senses, but her attempts were ignored as the goddess of the night grabbed onto the guard with her magic and pulled him up to her face, his eyes open wide and his iris' large with fear.

“KNOW THIS, FEEBLE PONY, IF 'TWAS A THOUSAND YEARS PRIOR TO THIS DATE, SUCH AN INSULT WOULD BE MET WITH A RETORT MOST UNSAVORY TO ONE'S HEALTH! SO I WARN THEE, MAKE SUCH AN INSULT AGAIN, AND YOUR PRINCESS WILL BE MORE THAN GLAD TO SHOW THEE JUST HOW DARK THE NIGHT CAN GET!”

The silence that followed was so thick, so intoxicating, as if even a simple breath could make the fabric of reality around them collapse. Everypony in the room held their breaths, even Celestia, feeling fear not just for the guard who was the center of attention of the night goddess's scolding, but also in fear of her as well.

Celestia was the first to release her breath, slowly, cautiously letting it out. It had been so long since she had last seen her sister truly pissed at somepony, and she sighed inwardly at having to see her do it again.

“Luna,” Celestia spoke softly, her voice allowing the others in the room to breath again as well. “Please... put him down. I assure you such a negative comment will not happen again, please.”

Luna's eyes pried away from the perpetrator's to look at her sister for just a moment before returning. She continued to stare a deathly glare at him for a few more seconds before slowly lowering him to his hooves, the magic from her horn fading away as her hold released. The guard, once on the ground, cautiously retreated back to where he was standing earlier, cowering with his tail behind his legs like a frightened pooch.

The burly pony leaned his head over to the guard who was trying to recover from seeing his life pass before his eyes, whispering to him in a gravely voice. “You in big trouble now...”

“Y-your majesties,” Shining offer spoke up cautiously, looking between the sun and moon princesses while keeping his wife in his hooves. “If I may suggest, perhaps we should move to the safe room of the castle deep in the basement. I'll gather a platoon of guards to hold down the inside, with another platoon to keep watch on the outside. Everypony else will be searching the halls nonstop, with no less than four per group.”

“Doth thou haveth enough troops to execute such a move?” Luna asked, her voice back to normal as she raised an eyebrow at the captain.

“Yes, I already made sure that every guard in the barracks were pulled back into duty for this,” he replied, his voice confident. “I assure you we will be, if we are not already up to full strength.”

“Then we shall head to the safe room now,” Celestia said in a firm voice as she looked around the room. “Luna and Cadence, I wish for you two to accompany me and six other guards to the safe room in the basement. Shining Armor,” she turned to him as he returned the look with his stance showing his body ready to move. “You and one other guard go and organize the rest, make sure everypony knows of the plan, and get the castle staff and other royalty to safety as fast as possible.”

“I got your back, sir,” the skinnier guard who was trying to pry open the door earlier spoke up, taking position at his side.

“Thank you,” Shining armor said to him as he let go of his wife, turning to look at her straight in the eyes while moving his hooves to her shoulders. “My love, you must go with the princesses, I need to keep you safe.”

“I don't want to go without you,” Cadence whimpered, fresh tears threatening to stain her cheeks.

“Don't worry about me, I'll be fine,” he smiled at her comfortingly, taking her in another embrace before speaking softly into her ear. “I love you, Mi Amore Cadenza, and I promise I'll come back to you safe and sound.” At that he leaned his head back before pushing it forward again, locking their lips together in a deep kiss. A kiss so sincere, so pure, it was only rivaled by the one they had on the day of their wedding.

It broke slowly after what seemed to be like an hour, yet to them it passed all too quickly. Cadence didn't want to let him go. She knew his duty, she knew that he vowed to protect her and the other princesses with his life, yet she never dreamed a time would come when he might be risking it in such a way as this.

“Just come back to me,” she said before her voice dropped to a whisper. “Please...”

“I will, I promise.” They hugged one more time, quicker, before they eventually let go and Cadence walked slowly over besides the other princesses.

“Don't worry, Cadence,” Celestia said as she nuzzled the younger princess comfortingly. “He'll be fine, he's our best guard.”

“We must depart now,” Princess Luna spoke up, not wanting to break the moment yet knowing it to be necessary. “Every moment we stay here risks the villain proceeding further with his ploy. Let us move now to better the safety of ourselves and all others in and around the castle.”

“Yes, let's go now,” Celestia agreed. Six of the eight guards present in the room, the burly pony included, left alongside the princesses and began to quickly make their way to the basement area. Shining Armor looked back at the bed with the slain guards still on it, wishing the best for their families when they receive the news.

Him and the last guard walked out of the bedroom, closing the doors behind them. It was at that moment Shining Armor took pause, thinking quickly for the best way to execute his plan.

Further down the hall, the burly pony from before stopped suddenly, his eyes opening in surprise as he stared off into space. The others stopped quickly, turning to him with confusion on their faces.

“What's wrong?” Celestia asked worriedly, seeing the haunted expression on the rough guard's face.

“Other guard...” he breathed, as if he was having trouble processing the truth he just realized. “The one with captain, he....” He looked back behind him, and for one of the few times in his life, felt deathly afraid.

“What is the matter?” Luna prodded, approaching the troubled guard. “What troubles thine thoughts?”

“I saw him earlier, he was one four that I saw dead. Lightweight... that was his name, he was killed by makes pony. But if he was there...” the others quickly began getting the same idea that he was dreading was reality. The hairs on the backs of their necks and above their spines raised up to attention as he said the following words. “What if spy pony can not just go invisible, but also take the identity of another?”

Stunned were all the ponies in the group, even the guards, at the sudden revelation. But, overcome with the fear of her husband's mortality becoming a factory, Princess Cadence was the first to act.

“SHINING ARMOR!” She cried out at the top of her lungs as she spread open her wings, speeding back down the hall as fast as her wings could take her.

“Alright, I got it,” Shining said as he raised his head up from being deep in thought. “We'll head this way, to the throne room where I saw a large gathering of other guards,” the guard who was standing beside, and also a bit behind Shining Armor had his ears perk up at this. He was looking down the hall the princesses and other guards just went down, and realized that this was going to be the only time that they would be most vulnerable to the villain pony.

“So we're going to go there and recruit their aid in spreading the word, sir?” the skinnier guard asked, taking a few quiet steps backwards.

“Yes, I think that to be the best course of action,” his voice turned low as he spoke his next words. “We've got to find this spy, wherever he is...”

It was at that moment that, to his surprise, he saw Princess Cadence appear around a corner further down the hall. She was still a distance away from them, but she was moving very fast, possibly faster than he had ever seen her move. He was about to speak up when he stopped, seeing her freeze in place and stare with a horrified look at him, or perhaps, what was directly behind him. It was at that moment that he could hear what sounded like a gust of wind, just as was described by his wife earlier, only he didn't feel anything against his coat.

The guard behind him was no longer there, replaced by a masked pony wearing a neat gray suit and tie rearing up on its back legs behind him, a knife held in one of its hooves pointed directly to his back. As if mockingly, he decided to finish the sentence that Shining Armor had thought did not need continuing.

There was no time to react. No time to move, to look behind and prepare himself. There was hardly any time for his brain to receive the words before he felt pressure on the back plate of his armor, followed almost instantly by an indescribably sharp pain puncturing into his body. His eyes widened as he let out a gasp, all the muscles in his body stiffening as something sharp plunged into his vital organs.

“NO!” Cadence screamed, her body betraying her mind's orders to move forward, to save her husband from a horrible fate. But she couldn't move, her body ceased to function for several grueling seconds. She stopped breathing all the while, her lungs knotted up from her last word, unable to expand again from her body seizing up in fear. She just watched this scene play out to two other guards, but now she saw it again, only this time to her husband.

“Sweet dreams, Captain Shining Armor,” the makes pony whispered before pulling the knife out of his target's body, letting him collapse and fall to his side onto the marble floor. He chuckled darkly as he began stepping backwards, another sound similar to a rush of air being heard as he faded away into his veil of invisibility.

It was at that moment that Cadence's body finally received the message, and she raced to her husband, hoping in her mind that he was okay but knowing in her heart that it was not. She came down to him from the front, sitting down and leaning forward with her back hooves as her front ones took Shining Armor's face in them. His eyes were closed tight, his face distorted from pain as he struggled to breath. Blood was already leaking from underneath his armor, beginning to pool on the floor as his legs twitched and his muscles spasmed from the pain coursing through him.

“Shining, Shining Armor, speak to me, please!” Cadence pleaded, tears breaking from her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. “Please, my love, speak to me!”

The two other princesses and the guards accompanying them just then rounded the corner, only making it halfway to the scene before they too stopped with a gasp, realizing what was going on. Celestia quickly recovered from the shock, as did the burly guard, driven by the knowledge that he had the chance to prevent this from happening again, and ultimately knowing that he failed.

Celestia skid to a halt on one side of the captain as the burly guard came up to his other side, frantically removing the armor from his main body. All the while Cadence was crying her eyes out, cradling her husband's head in her hooves. She could still feel him breathing, she knew there was a chance, she knew he could make it.

Luna came up to her just then, wrapping her hooves around her and whispering in her ear. “Mi Amore Cadenza, please, let them treat Shining Armor,” she was able to slowly take Cadence's hooves off of her husband's face while she continued to cry her eyes out, muttering pleas for her husband to live.

“Chyort, he is cut deep,” the burly pony cursed as he inspected the clean cut in the captain's back. “We need insides mended before hole can be closed, nerves seem damaged, lungs... pierced, deep by looks of it, perhaps all the way to heart.”

“I can do both,” Celestia responded as her horn flared with magic, working to seal the wound to avoid more blood from escaping as she simultaneously began sewing back together what had been cut inside the guard captain's body. The exterior hole was easy, but the internal systems were so much more difficult to repair. The nerves all had to be reconnected with pinpoint precision as the lung had to be put back together just right, all in a very short span of time. The nerves were tedious, you could not put one back into place without another being in its own position while multiple more had to be sewn up at the same time to allow proper connections to be rebuilt. The lung is made like a sponge, and as such the thousands microscopic pouches and capillaries had to be put back into their proper place before the whole lung itself collapsed and ultimately failed. Celestia quickly realized that the heart was damaged as well, the strong muscle was torn open on one side and possibly all the way to the other wall of the pumping chamber.

“Here, raise his legs up,” Celestia said as her magic grabbed hold of Shining Armor's legs and raised them into the air to allow more blood to flow to his vital organs.

“Njet, must not do that,” the burly pony responded quickly as he pushed the hooves back to the floor. “He not lose too much blood, and if insides are as badly damaged as I think then this will only make internal bleeding faster.”

“Are you a medic, my subject?” The Princess asked as her eyes shifted over to him.

“Da, of course. How do you think I was able to explain how cuts were made earlier on other guard ponies?” Celestia was honestly surprised that such a muscular guard was actually a medic, but at the same time thankful that he was, since he would be of such help at the time. “Tell me, is heart punctured?”

“Then raising legs would kill him by flooding his body in less than a minute,” he finished as he began looking over Shining Armor's face to see any signs of how he was holding up. Celestia was relieved to have the burly pony there, her basic knowledge of medical care made her believe she needed to raise his legs in order to aid shock. But with the medic's more advanced medical training, she knew such an action may have expedited his demise.

“Captain, Captain Shining Armor!” the burly pony said to him as he held the captain's face in his hooves. “Listen to me, open eyes!” Shining Armor slowly complied, prying his eyelids open to reveal his eyes, allowing them all to catch just a glimpse of the pain he was in. “Stay awake, focus comrade, focus! Do not let yourself go, fight hard! Stay alive, do you understand!?”

Shining Armor nodded weakly, gasping for breath as he tried to keep his eyes from staying shut with every blink he made. “I... I'm t-trying...”

“Think! Think of all you have for you! Loving wife, caring family, many, many friends! Do not let yourself forget your duty to your country!”

That was it. His duty. In a flash all the memories of his life passed before his eyes, but the main focus was on the day he swore in oath to protect the Kingdom of Equestria, even if it meant giving up his own life. His life, that which hung by a thread while bearing the excruciating pain of his wound.

He couldn't deny it anymore. He couldn't fight what he knew as coming to him. If anything, he did his best to make something of an excuse to himself, saying that he was still doing his duty by giving his life to Equestria. He defended it, he gave all he had to keep it from harm his entire career. All he lived for was his country, and his wife. Unfortunately, that day, he had two oaths to fulfill. One to guard to country with his life, and other.... till death do they part.

He looked up at his wife, one more, long look, as pained smile slowly formed on his face. He could feel Celestia trying to save him, he knew about his subordinate's attempts to keep him fighting, but it wouldn't help him anymore. He was too damaged, unable to be saved now as he only wished to keep his sight and mind on the most important pony in his life. He may not have ever gotten to see his friends before this, his parents, or even his LSBFF, but at least he got to see her. Her, his wife, his love, and the last thing he saw in his life.

Slowly his eyelids dropped, the twinkle in his eyes fading away just before they were closed off. One last, slow breath, and all the muscles in his body loosened up. His body slumped, his breathing stopped, and his head rested against the hooves of the burly pony.

Celestia stopped what she was doing, her magic sensing the pause in Shining Armor's heart. “No...” she whispered to herself, her magic all focusing on his heart to try and get it pumping again. “No, please no...”

“S-shining...?” Cadence asked weakly, staring at the face that just moments before was looking back at hers. “Shining Armor, please... please answer me.” She did not sob just yet, she did not openly weep, but tears fell from her eyes more than they ever had in her life just then. She pulled away from Princess Luna, pushing the burly guard away to cradle her husband in her own hooves.

“It cannot be...” Luna whispered as she watched beside the other guards, all of which were staring slack-jawed at the scene before them. They never expected to see Shining Armor, the most prime example of an Equestrian Royal Guard, and the beloved husband of a princess, come to an end in such a way.

“N-no, please, Shining Armor, please...” Cadence clenched her eyes shut, burying her face into her husband's mane. “Please, honey, I love you, don't leave me like this...”

Nothing stopped her now. She sat there, cradling the head of his deceased husband while crying her eyes out. Five of the six other guards took up watch around the perimeter of the scene, making sure the murderer pony did not try to come again at such a vulnerable time. The only guard that did not take up a position was the burly pony, who simply watched sadly at the scene before him. It was one thing to know that a pony's family was going to get the news that their dad or husband would not come back to them, but it was another to see said family be there and watch it with their own eyes.

“Slavoga...” he whispered as he turned away, taking up his own position among the guards forming the perimeter.

“This punch is really good Pinkie Pie!” Twilight Sparkle said to her friend after taking a sip. “What did you put in it this time?”

“Ooh, I tried a special recipe this time, a mixture of apple juice, pineapple juice, and even cumquats! Oh, and about three bags of sugar of course.” Pinkie beamed at her friend for a few moments before turning around and hopping to the table with a lot of pastries.

Twilight turned around herself, watching her four other friends and Spike enjoying themselves in their small party in Sugarcube Corner. It was Pinkie Pie's off day, so she decided to celebrate with a little get together. Why not? After all, it was Pinkie Pie.

It was just then that Spike stopped his conversation with Rarity to grab a hold of his stomach, his cheeks bulging out before releasing a burst of green flame. The fire dissipated quickly, releasing a scroll that fell onto the floor with a royal seal on it.

“Hey, Twilight!” Spike called out as he grabbed the scroll and brought it up to her. “A letter from the princess!” His words caught the attention of everypony else as well, all of whom turned to look to see what the princess had to say.

“Thanks, Spike!” she replied cheerfully before taking the scroll with her magic. She levitated up to her face as her magic pulled off the seal, unraveling it before her. “I wonder what the princess wants.”

Twilight Sparkle was still levitating the glass of punch next to her as she began to read the scroll, a light, cheerful smile on her face. But seconds after she started scanning the words her smile fell, turning into a concerned frown. And then it fell further, her mouth opening slightly as her eyes widened. And finally, her jaw fell limp as tears began to roll down her cheeks, the glass of punch in her control falling and breaking on the floor with its contents splashing out carelessly.

“Uh, Twilight? Are you okay?” Spike asked as he watched with deep concern as more tears rolled down her face.

The scroll was finally let go from her magic, her eyes unmoving as she stared into space. Her body shivered lightly, as if a chilly wind blew against her body. She did not breath, she did not blink, she couldn't even think rationally for a time as her mind attempted to find a way to cope with what she just read. She appeared as a zombie to her friends, a zombie with eyes that gave way to first a stream, and then a powerful river.

Twilight didn't know what to say, nor how to say it. Any words that tried to come out of her throat were stopped, choked up by some invisible force gripping her neck. She couldn't speak, she didn't want to, for doing so would only confirm that time was still progressing forward, and with what she just learned, she wished it would actually go in reverse.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy whispered as she came up beside her friend, putting a hoof around her side. “What's wrong?”

There was nothing else she could do. Twilight was at a loss for words, her mind constantly playing back, rejecting, and then playing again the same two word that popped into her mind over and over in a rush of uncontrollable emotion that somehow stayed secluded to her mind. And when she finally did find the ability to speak, when the choking of her throat let up to allow something to come out, only those two repeated words made themselves to the surface.

_________________________________________________________________________

In tribute to this author's brother, who was injured in combat Afghanistan. This author is relieved to say that his brother will make a full recovery, but was beyond scared of losing his brother when he first got word of his injury.

Let no one forget the dangers our men in uniform, and this author who is also a soldier, face every day on, and off the battlefield.

Danger Line

by StreakTheFox

Danger Line