I open my eyes to sunlight. Wait a second, sunlight! That probably wasn't very good, but I ignored the fact and looked around, instantly recognizing my old room. The light that had awoken me was currently streaming in from the open window that adorned the west wall of my room. The window offered a great view of the lush gardens below, and the statues that were contained within it. I sighed and blew away a piece of my mane that had fallen in front of my face, slightly annoyed that I was here instead of in Ponyville. I had so much to do there after I arrived back at the small town.
I was distracted from my thoughts by a small knock at the door. I sighed again and turned, slowly making my way towards the decorative entrance. The door was adorned with enough gold and silver to make a rich pony faint. I cared not for this however; the only thing that was on my mind right now was getting back to Ponyville and apologizing to Fluttershy. As I approached the door I heard some hushed voices from behind them. I decided that if the ponies outside were talking about me behind my back, they had the right to do that today.
I threw the doors open and was met with the sight of two ornately dressed stallions. They had on suits fitted with gold embroidery and hats that could have blinded somepony if they looked at them in direct sunlight. I pulled on the best neutral face I could and faced them, starring them down in a way that would have made fillies run in terror and new guards shake in their horseshoes. Both of which were things that I had accomplished before, not to my complete satisfaction.
“What do you want?” I asked the stallions, the annoyed tone obvious in my voice. As I expected the stallions were scared at first. Then one of them worked up the courage to talk to me, and to my surprise his voice kept a solid tone while he spoke.
“We just wanted to ask you if you knew our sister.” I gave him a skeptical look and raised an eyebrow. I had caught the past tense he used and decided that she probably died or was gone and these stallions were going to ask me for something.
“Well who exactly was you sister? I know a lot of mares.” As I spoke my voice became less and less annoyed, and more and more curious. I truly wanted to know who these ponies were related to and why I would know their sister. One of the ponies looked at the ground while the one that had spoken earlier spoke again, his voice cracking a little this time.
“Her name was Emerald Light; she served in the Solar Guard and was killed in the attack recently.” A tear rolled down his cheek and I for the first time in a while felt true sympathy for somepony other than myself. I had not only known Emerald Light, but been a good friend of hers. I assigned her to inside castle guard because she didn’t actually want to be in the guard.
When she had come to the guard it was because she was drafted. We were short on guards after the invasion and she was one of the many ponies that had been drafted to the guard. When she started training though, she had tried while others around her had just sat there and complained about how stupid it was to get drafted. She quickly rose in the ranks of her fellow guard trainees and I took her under my wing, planning to recruit her to Celestia’s personal guards. She had a good heart and enough strength and skill to back it up. One day I offered her my position in Celestia’s personal guards.
When she had declined my offer I accepted the fact and pulled some strings to get her on inner castle guard. Not only did this mean she would earn more bits, but the inner castle guards almost never saw action. I never expected that somepony would get into the center of the castle. A realization hit me and I shed a tear of my own, earning a curious look from the stallion, but I ignored him. I had only one thought going through my mind, and that was the fact that I had been responsible for the death of Emerald Light. Add another friend to the list of them that I accidentally killed. I shook my head and brought myself back into focus. I looked back to the stallions in front of me with a renewed sorrow.
“Yeah, I knew Emerald. In fact I personally trained her. Good soldier, even if she didn’t want to be in the guard. You should be proud; your sister was a pony worth meeting and getting to know. She had a spirit of which I have never seen matched. She was a good friend too...” I trailed off remorsefully. Thinking of Emerald Light darkened the beginning of my day. The stallion in front of me nodded and turned to go. The other one, though, did not.
I looked at him and for the first time realized how young he was. His brown coat was messy andhis red mane was cut short. He looked up at me with ocean blue eyes, eyes I instantly recognized as Emerald’s. His face with streaked with tears and he had dark circles under his bloodshot eyes.
“She left a note for you.” He said as he offered me a small slip of paper. My eyes widened in surprise, and I quickly took the note from him with my magic. The older stallion looked in bewilderment at the note, obviously not aware of its existence. The younger stallion nodded and left, walking to his elder brother. The older stallion gave me and the note one more look before turning and trotting out the door with his brother.
I turned and shut the door, walking slowly to my bed. I lay down on the bed, its silky softness helping to calm my nerves. When I worked up enough courage I looked at the note that had been presented to me. Its corners were bent and the hoofwriting was a little messy. The message however was the thing that captured my attention. I took a deep breath and began to read.
Dear Commander,
If you are reading this I have either fallen in battle, or have chosen to leave the guard. I truly cannot thank you enough for your training and support, and ask that you will not mourn over or feel guilty for my loss. I know how you were when Rally died, but you can’t go back to the hollow shell you were for weeks after her death. You have to live like a normal pony when somepony dies. If you can’t then you know as well as I that you shouldn’t be in the commanding position that you currently are. Also if you have this letter I have but one request. Give all of the bits that I earned in the guard to my two brothers.
Thanks,
Emerald Light
I gently set the note on the stand next to my bed, careful not to get any of my tears on it. That letter wasn’t fake, that I was sure of. Emerald had always acted in an extremely formal manner when she said something to me, even when I told her not to. She was right though, however much something hurt I always had to stay strong, and that was my job. I thought this over for a while.
Servants came in and out of my room, silently delivering food and drink. I ate them carelessly, perfectly ok with fasting for a while. Eventually I simply lay down and looked out the window. The sun caressed the mountains, setting slowly. It cast a beautiful light out from around it, bands of red and orange ringing the sky. I closed my eyes and laid my head down on my silky pillow. As I fell into the bliss of sleep I thought of nothing, clearing my conscious completely.