Nay for valor,
or thirst for blood,
we serve the crown,
a crushing flood,
every's duty,
to protect each other,
less we fail,
and lose one another...
The creed of the Royal Guard sang through his head as if the entire legion of Equestria's finest stood before him to remind him.
To remind him of his oath.
To remind him of his commitment.
To remind him of his failure.
He had failed.
He had failed miserably to protect those he cared for, the one friend he had every truly known, and his heart and mind were taking their tolls on his defeated spirit.
He sat in the darkness of the night with his back resting against stone as he remembered everything that had happened over the past few days.
He cursed the darkness as he sat there.
Princess Luna had attacked her sister and started a civil war as she threatened to bathe Equestria in eternal night.
Battles had been fierce and many as Celestia's forces clashed with Luna's, or Nightmare Moon as she had taken to calling herself.
It was during one of these battles that he had served.
It was the final battle fought for the war, for Celestia, for the sun, and for every living thing that required the sun to live.
Could Princess Luna not see what she was doing to those she cared about and swore to protect?
He tried to fight back the memory, but to no avail as his mind pressed on until he was too tired from crying to fight it any longer....
They trusted each other enough to obey each others orders and follow each others suggestions rather than their own commanding officer's; but occurrences such as those were far and in between.
They had been the closest of friends since even before joining the Royal Guard, and their bond only became stronger as they fought forward through years of punishment and duty brought on by the training academy.
And the bond grew with each battlefield the pair traversed in the name of the crown, of Celestia, of the sun.
Side by side, they could always be found together whether they were resting, eating, talking, or doing battle.
The pair were like brothers, albeit a different type.
They shared no blood, but their duty to the crown.
They knew every last detail about each other, and their bond rivaled even that of Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's before the war.
They were willing to die for each other.
"I got your back." he promised as the battle raged on ahead.
"You promise?" his friend teased as they shared a smile.
"Promise."
And so that was it.
The pair rushed off into battle without the slightest concern for their own well being in the name of the crown and their fathers before them.
They cared not for themselves, but for each other.
It was this way that they had survived where their brothers and sisters of the guard did not, regrettably.
"Lunar Stallions, flanking us!" his friend called.
He remembered that voice so clearly.
He could never forget it.
He would never allow himself to forget it.
And so he turned to fight off the invaders with his friend.
"Let us know about the weather in Tartarus, you traitorous swine!" he had screamed as he plunged his blade into the Lunar Stallion's neck, ending its life quickly and rather painlessly.
He served the crown and detested Nightmare Moon's motives, but he held no ill will towards any pony.
"For the crown, for Celestia, for the sun!"
Hundreds of battle cries had written themselves during the battle, but the Lunar Stallions only fought with hooves and blade; morale was never an issue for them.
And so the Royal Guard slowly managed to push its way across the battlefield and into the Castle of the Moon with Celestia at their front.
With their leader proudly braving the harshness of war, each stallion and mare behind her felt the need to prove themselves.
"Storm the castle!" came cries.
"Storm the castle in the name of the Princess!
"In the name of Celestia!"
"In the name of the sun!"
And so they stormed.
They stormed the castle.
He remembered every detail of that beautiful castle, such beauty and craftsmareship, as their Princess galloped ahead of them.
They fought their way to the very room where Nightmare Moon lay waiting for her sister so that they may do personal battle.
And her guards secured the area.
"We did it! We've won!"
"Not yet," he replied. "Not until Princess Celestia trots out of that room herself."
"Touché...Over there! Lunar Stallions!"
And so they braved into battle again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
It was their duty, and they completed their tasks.
But the body is such a frail thing; so susceptible wear and exhaustion.
Soon, however, the last of the opposing forces had been stopped and the battle for the throne still raged on beyond locked doors.
"We held them off...We did it, buddy." his friend said, and the two shared a grin.
But his grin quickly fell and his eyes widened in horror as his friend collapsed to the ground with a sword jutting from his side.
The Lunar Stallion was brought down with such rage and blood lust that he feared he would loose himself to the very darkness that had taken one of the princesses; but he snapped free of himself and rushed over to his friend.
But it was too late.
The body was there, but the soul had moved on; unable to stay in the world any longer.
The night had worsened, he realized, as he awoke from his memories.
Storm clouds hovered above and threatened to drown him as the rain began slowly falling down, clinking against his armor.
Rain poured down his face.
And as he slipped into another crying fit, he rested his head against the back of the stone that marked the resting place of his friend.
And he whispered as a tear, a genuine tear in contrast to the cold rain, rolled down his cheek...
And he whispered...
"I got your back..."