//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: Resolution // Story: The Changing of the Guard // by Shadow_Wolf //------------------------------// "A Changing of the Guard" Chapter 4: Resolution And I won't look back I can go the distance And I'll stay on track No I won't accept defeat Organization was a strange and -- in some ways -- unnatural thing, especially were ponies were concerned and for what it was, it had very little sense in and of itself. As Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor could organize his troops, plan demonstrations and tactics and balance his budget and supplies with efficiency that rivaled the most innovative of machines; trying to keep his home and worse, his office, however, had always been beyond him. Thus it was almost unnerving to see the office nearly spotless as it was packed away. Cadence had been helpful to begin with and had made the early part of the unpleasant deed pass quickly, but even her skills paled in comparison to those of his sister. With her help, the siblings had the entirety of his remaining possessions wrapped, packed and sealed with over two hours to spare. Shining Armor would have liked nothing better at that moment than to send his sister away with the crates and spend the last two hours of his time as Captain somewhere else; maybe getting in some last minute drills or simply wandering the halls of the Keep once more before his successor arrived. He had even suggested such a thing to Twilight -- even offered up a Pinkie Pie Promise to not get depressed again -- but she would have nothing of it. As such, he had been forced to spend most of the last hour and a half standing at attention in front of a magically conjured mirror as twilight fumed, fused and otherwise hovered over him like a mother hen. "It's missing something," she said absentmindedly, "And I still say it looks tight around the middle." "And I'm telling you that it's fine, Twily! I haven't put on that much weight in my old age!" He countered. "No but it just... it doesn't look right, something's missing." "Twily," he began, trying again to diffuse the situation. "I look fine... I'm passing on my title, not getting married again." of course, he realized too late that he had said exactly the wrong thing and received a death-glare from Twilight that caused him to back up slightly. "Don't you dare talk to me about 'again,' mister! I've salvaged not one, but nineteen ceremonies now, not the least of which being on account of changeling invasions, cold hooves on the part of two brides and three grooms, helped organize a crystal fair that hadn't been performed in a thousand years, managed to ..." He cut her off with his hoof against her lips. "I get it, sorry." He gave her a reassuring smile and she folded slightly, smiling back to him but still shook her head. "It's just... I want you to look your best, BBBFF, and just something about this doesn't look right, it's missing something." He regarded himself in the reflective magic silently, taking in his image and he felt his ears twitch as a frown began to tug at the corners of his mouth. It was true that he hadn't used the old red dress uniform much in recent years, but what he had said to Twilight earlier was true; he always felt he looked his best when he was in uniform and the deep crimson of his dress-shirt stood out magnificently against his white fur and blue mane. But, he had to concede that Twilight was right and that something did in fact seem to be missing. "Maybe I should put on Grandpa's valor ribbon... like I did at the wedding?" He asked at length and he saw his sister's eyes light up. "That's it! You're medals!" she exclaimed before turning back to crates and pulling open the top one with her magic, multiple objects raising out simultaneously before finding the one she wanted. Opening it, she revealed three medallions of pristine gold, platinum and silver attached to richly embroidered silk ribbons and carved with the symbol of one of the founding tribes of Equestria; his Founders Medals. "Twily, you sure that these are... appropriate?" he asked, swallowing hard. Her answer was to nod to him and pin the three awards to his uniform in the order he had received them with the Order of the Platinum Mantle being the last to be pinned on. Despite himself, as he looked at the medals gleaming on his chest, he felt a tear work its way to the corner of his eye as he remembered the circumstances leading up to each of them; none of which had been happy despite the honor he was awarded. Founder's Medals were exceedingly rare and being awarded one of them was considered the highest honor a guard could ever achieve. The fact that he had been awarded all three spoke more loudly of his accomplishments than a dozen biographies. But still, the uniform looked incomplete and he cast his eyes to one of the earlier crates. "Shining Armor?" He didn't answer her, and instead opened the crate to withdraw the picture of him and his former Captain that he had been looking at earlier, the old style service ribbon seeming to stare at him strangely as he removed it from the frame with his cerulean magic and fitted it just above the founders medals. Re-wrapping the picture, he let it rest inside the crate once more before sealing the box shut. "There... that's perfect." He said. Twilight regarded him for a long moment, the conflict on her face evident. The historian and scholar that was his little sister knew without a doubt that by placing the old award above the Founders Medals he was risking a benign, but intentional, insult to the lofty status of the citations, but by the same bit, she knew that the old good luck charm meant more to him than any award he had ever received. The look on her face told him that she understood this and despite her misgivings would accept it as the flaw that made the masterpiece of his uniform. Finally, after a long pause, she stepped forward amidst the soft ringing of bells from her robe and hugged him gently with her foreleg. "You're right, Shiny... the uniform really does make you look your best." He smiled and hooked his own foreleg around her shoulders, taking comfort in her friendship and love before the sound of a hoof striking the door broke the moment of reverie once more. Through the thick wood, a feminine voice called out, "Captain Armor, Sir! Lieutenant Ocean Mist requesting permission to enter, Sir!" He smiled and shook his head slightly, nodding to Twilight who stepped to the side and opened the door with her magic as he moved to stand in front of it. "Permission granted!" he called. On queue, a pegasus mare stepped through the opening to stop just a few paces ahead of her captain and salute smartly, wings flaring before snapping to her sides. The mare was sea foam green with a two-tone mane of platinum and gold and a cutie mark of the full moon partially hidden by a cloud of mist. She wasn't wearing her golden armor, but the demeanor and bearing of a life-time royal guard was undeniable. Shining Armor returned the salute before nodding. "At ease, Lieutenant," he said. "No need to be so stiff, I won't be your captain for much longer." "With respect, sir," she said quietly. "You are still my captain until ceremony dictates otherwise and it is improper for a subordinate to act overly familiar at this time, sir!" The words were spoken with military perfection and Shining Armor could not help but smile. Ocean Mist had been a guard for nearly twenty five years and was considered one of the most by the book ponies every to enlist; at least in public. In private, she was very laid back, easy to approach and had a very keen insight into the emotions and attitudes of others; her tactical prowess was nothing to sneeze at either. These added up to the reasons why he had chosen her over the other possible candidates to replace him. Shining was about to speak when a small giggle sounded on one side and both ponies jumped. "A-Ar-Archmage Sparkle! I'm sorry, ma'am! I didn't see you there, ma'am!" Ocean Mist responded, snapping off a second salute that Twilight nodded to. "I'll leave you two to guard business, I'll see you later, Shining Armor," she said, starting to trot away, but Shining Armor did not miss the look of... something... that passed between his sister and the Captain-to-be. Before he could comment on it though, Twilight stumbled amidst a muffled mmph and a surprised squee mixing together as she stepped back to reveal a small pegasus filly with a magenta coat and dusk grey mane. He narrowed his eyes slightly as Twilight apologized to the filly before excusing herself. He was about to ask who the filly was but was interrupted by her slightly squeaky voice. "M-M-Miss Mist? Can I come in yet or do I still need to wait in the hall?" The mare facehooved and groaned at the same time, looking up at Shining Armor apologetically before motioning the filly forward and nodding for her to close the door, which she did with some difficulty. "And who might you be?" he asked. The filly trembled slightly and trotted forward, giving a clumsy but passable salute to him before speaking. "C-C-C-cadet H-hopeful Dawn S-Scout, C-Captain Armor, Sir!" "At ease, soldier," he said, lightly chuckling as the filly exhaled heavily. Cadet Hopefuls were fillies and colts who joined what amounted to a combination of a day camp and woodspony club in hopes of preparing them for the oft-times brutal entrance exams necessary to join the royal guard, usually not long after they received their cutie marks. As Scout didn't have her cutie mark yet, he would guess her to be probably around seven or eight and just having entered the group. He smiled to her reassuringly before they both turned to look at a slightly red-faced Ocean Mist. "Um... this is my friend's kid, Captain. You probably don't know her but you know her father, Cold Steel?" He smiled and looked back down at the filly, noting the familiar steel grey eyes that looked up to him now that he took a closer look and nodded. "I see the resemblance now... you've got your grandfather's eyes. What can I do for you, Cadet Hopeful?" "Y-you really know my, daddy, sir?" He nodded. "Your grandfather and I were in the same class together at the Academy, I've known your dad since he was a colt. Best weapon smith we ever had and still is. You thinking of following in his hoofsteps?" She nodded vigorously and bounced a little as she did so. "Y-yes sir I am, Imma apply as soon as I get my cutie mark! Daddy said you were really nice and really good to everypony no matter there breed and I wanted to meet you and maybe see if I could help today in the ceremony." He raised his eye to that and looked to Mist who chuckled lightly. "I um... I may have let slip when I was over at there place the other night that you didn't have a helmet barer for the day selected yet and thought... maybe..." she shrugged a little and Shining Armor chuckled, shaking his head. Of course he had forgotten one detail in the midst of everything. "I'll consider it... but for the moment, I need to talk to Lieutenant Mist alone, sweetie... can you wait outside?" The filly bit her lip slightly and swallowed nervously, but Ocean Mist's nod prompted her to canter out of the room quickly, Shining Armor opening the door with his magic before she barreled into it and closed it behind her before turning all his attention to the pegasus before him. It was still a good forty minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to take place and his blue eyes bore into her teal ones for a long moment as he fancied he could see her starting to sweat, the mare swallowing hard as her feathers ruffled slightly, discipline starting to crack under her Captain's stern gaze. "C-Captain..." she began, ears pinning back and eyes looking away as if embarrassed. "Captain... Sir... I mean um... S-shining Armor, Sir... I mean..." "Spit it out, Mist," he said. "It's okay to be a little nervous but don't lose it before you've even got it." She took a deep breath, ostensibly to calm herself, her chest puffing up slightly before, with a heavy exhale, she practically screamed, "Captain Armor I'm so so so sooooo sorry sir I never wanted this to happen to you yes I wanted to be a captain and hoped to achieve this rank some day but not at your expense sir this is wrong and you know its wrong and I'm not going to take the captaincy from you like this I can't do it sir I'm sorry but I just can't I'm not ready for this and I can't ever be the captain you are so please captain for the love of Celestia on high don't make me take your rank from you today I don't want it I really don't not like this let me march out there with you and tell the princesses that you're still the captain and that you're going to be till you say otherwise oh please Shining Armor stay on please you know this is wrong you're a great commanding officer and this is just wrong of you to be shuffled aside like this!" He blinked as every trace of discipline vanished from the mare's persona, her eyes going wide and wings snapping open as she quickly covered her mouth with her hooves, her body trembling in near panic. He wondered briefly how many times she had practiced that speech at normal speed to say it so quickly without stumbling over any of the words despite the speed in which they were presented. With a light chuckle, he looked her squarely in the eye and said, "Once more with punctuation and grammar, Lieutenant... a breath or two between sentences probably wouldn't hurt either." Looking thoroughly embarrassed, Mist moved her hoof away from her muzzle and lightly scratched the back of her head, mussing her mane in the process and causing her to shake it out quickly. "Captain... s-sorry, sir..." she began. "But... okay I won't go into rant mode again. But we both know this is wrong, sir, you're being shuffled aside and I can't be a replacement for you... you're too good of a commander for me to just... just step up like this. I don't think I can do it sir, I don't think I can march out onto that parade ground today and do this." "Stop right there, Mist," he said quietly. "You're nervous, I get that and I knew it from the look in your eyes before you ever started talking. I felt the same way when I took over for Dust Storm. What you're about to go through is a scary prospect. Going from a scale to a lance or even to a company is scary enough, being put in charge of several thousand ponies is almost mind boggling. But I wouldn't have chosen you for this if I didn't think you deserved it. If anything, you shouldn't be apologizing to me for what the council did, I should be apologizing to you for what I haven't done." The look of confusion on her face would have been hilarious if the situation had been more lighthearted. "A-apologize to me, sir? For what?" "When I was told that my resignation was necessary, it was like the world dropped out from under my hooves... I like to think I took it like a stallion but the truth is, I folded up like a house of cards. I questioned everything, was angry at everything and I took it out on the ponies that least needed or deserved my anger. My wife and my sister... and believe it or not you and Scout out there really and finally made me realize that today. I've been so wrapped up in my own misery and dejection that I've done you a disservice I can never take back, even though I'd give almost anything to take it back, but I can't change time. I should have been here for you these last few weeks to help you ease into the position you're taking. I should have helped you prepare for it and answered your questions so you're not as nervous as you are now; that's what a captain is supposed to do, he's supposed to be there for his troops when they need him. I haven't done that and I can't express how ashamed I am because of it." he turned to her and searched her eyes momentarily before continuing. "What I am saying, Ocean Mist, is that I'm sorry." He sighed softly and motioned her towards the window, the mare turning with him and stumbling slightly at the sight of the captains armor waiting on its stand, but Shining Armor did not take her to it, not yet, and instead trotted over to the window to look out over the practice field once more. It was empty now and he sighed softly. "Sir..." "Shining Armor." She cleared her throat. "Shining Armor, I don't think an apology is necessary, but I'll accept it on one condition." "Name it," he said. "Tell me why you picked me, sir. I mean seriously, there are more experienced guards than myself." "That's not an easy question to answer... but I think I can say it like this." He looked back to her and then back to the field before speaking once more. "Experience counts for a lot, yes, but there is also something else that means more. I've known you since you were just a filly... not much older than your little friend outside... and I've watched you work your way through the ranks honestly and faithfully. You've never asked for special treatment and you've never wanted it. You're a shrewd commander, a talented fighter and an all around good pony. To fall back on a House Sparkle trade secret and add a little mysticism into the mix... you've just got that spark that makes me think you're going to be an excellent Captain." She turned away from him to look out over the lengthening shadows outside, she let out a rich, almost musical laugh. Despite everything, he laughed as well and looked out over the practice field as she fell silent beside him, the two of them taking in the golden hues of afternoon that painted the flagstones and marble walls. A companionable silence between them seeming to stretch on into eternity. Finally though, she nodded to him. "I can appreciate that answer, Capt... er... Shining Armor, I really can and I thank you for your words. I'm going to match your expectation and then I'm going to try and exceed them, I just hope I can measure up; and I'm saying that honestly, not out of some kind of false humility, because I happen to think I'm a damned good soldier." She smiled to him sadly. "But I want to go on record as saying that what has been done to you isn't right. You are the best of us and you inspire the rest of us to be the best we can be. It has been more than an honor, it's been a privilege to serve with you and fight beside you these last twenty years. You don't deserve to be replaced just because you're getting old, the council should have realized that and let you do this on your own time." He smiled softly, his eyes tearing slightly from the heartfelt words she spoke. "Mist... I appreciate the sentiment, but I've come to realize something today... you're not replacing me." "I'm not?" "No... you're succeeding me and taking over where I'm leaving off. I've had a lot of time to think and I've realized some things today that I didn't before. My duty isn't really over... maybe my duty to Equestria will end when I walk out of this building today, but I still have duties, still have a purpose to my wife and my family. I"ll find my way again, because when it boils down to it, I'll always be a guard pony and a guard pony's duty never really ends because even in death, our spirit strengthens the others." "You mean...?" "Yes, Lieutenant, I don't care of Discord himself tries to beat me down, I'm going to walk out of here today with my head held high." He took a deep breath and added "Whether I agree with their decision or not, I have done the best I can in this position and no guard can ever do more than that." She smiled to him in return and stepped back, the fading sunlight turning her fur a brilliant sheen as she saluted him smartly once more. "It will be my honor, to stand with you one last time, Captain shining Armor, Sir." she said. "And it will be my honor to stand with you as well, Captain Elect Ocean Mist. But for the moment, call your little friend back in here." She nodded and trotted over to the door, Shining's eyes sweeping across the office one last time before resting on his captains armor, the ancient artifact almost as old as the guard itself. The canter of small hooves though brought him back to reality as he turned to face the two of them and knelt down on one foreleg so that he could more closely look into Scout's eyes. "You wish to be my helmet bearer today, Cadet Hopeful Dawn Scout?" He asked. The filly saluted once more. "Yes C-Captain, I'd like that very much, sir." He nodded. "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that." Ocean Mist's eyes went wide as she inhaled sharply, the little filly's body going rigid as her tiny wings flared, a half sob, half pleading whine escaping her throat as she tried to form a coherent argument before Shining Armor rested a soothing hoof on her main. Reaching out with his magic, he took hold of a small square of white cloth from his breast pocket and levitated it forward, wrapping it around the filly's neck and shoulders as if it were a tiny cloak before taking hold of the service ribbon and pinning it to the wrapping. "Dawn Scout, this ribbon is very special to me, it was giving to me by my Captain and to him by his own. It is not an official tradition within us and this service ribbon hasn't been awarded in some four hundred years, so it's not an official citation any longer. But, looking at you right now, something tells me you are destined for great things in the future, so i am giving this to you first as a good luck charm for your chosen path, and second because it will signify and make real what I am about to say to you." He paused to pull up this full height while the filly craned her neck to look at the ribbon. "I cannot presently allow you to do as you request, Cadet Hopeful, because by tradition, only full fledged cadets, active and reserve guards may participate in Royal Guard ceremonies and presentations. That being said, as one of my last official duties as Captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard, I grant to you, Dawn Scout, the temporary rank of Cadet from now until sunset for the sole purpose of fulfilling the duty you have requested of me this day." The filly's eyes were wide as dinner plates, small droplets of tears collecting beneath them as she let out a small hiccup and looked down at the ribbon that had been pinned to her once more before looking back to him, her ears twitching wildly. "Cadet Dawn Scout, I would be honored, if you would serve Captain Elect Ocean Mist and myself, as helmet bearer in the Changing of the Guard. Do you accept this honor, Cadet?" The filly stared between the two older ponies, back to the service ribbon and back to Shining Armor before pulling herself into an awkward, but crisp attention and saluted him proudly. "This Cadet accepts this honor, Captain Shining Armor, Sir!" It's an uphill slope But I won't lose hope Till I go the distance And my journey is complete