Ponies at Arms

by GearheartHound

Part Three

In every universe there are dark days, days when you struggle to find the bright side of anything. Even in the magical land of Equestria where citizens love, laugh and play even on the bleakest days of the calendar. Today was just such a day. It was raining for the second day in a row and the air was growing colder. A single unicorn stallion looked out the window of his accommodations at the droplets of water sliding down the other side of the glass. He cradled his coffee cup tenderly in his telekinetic grasp and sipped it without much enthusiasm. Across the small table from where he sat was an empty place and a full cup of coffee going untouched, he had poured it for his marefriend as he always did, but this morning she wouldn't be joining him... he chocked up a little at the thought.
It's not your fault Trusty. You did what you had to do. It could have been a lot worse if you weren't there. All the words of the doctors and the nurses, of Shooting Star and Twilight Sparkle. Of all the ponies who had escaped yesterday with only bruised feelings. But deep down Trusty knew that he had failed. He hadn't caught her when she fell.
He drained his cup and closed his eyes, just taking in the sound of the rainfall and trying to smother his thoughts before they rose up and dragged him down any further. He could just feel the edges of his consciousness being tugged softly by sleep when there came a knock at the door. With a sigh he rose to answer.
Standing in the hallway of the small Canterlot hotel in which he had been granted a room for his much needed rest, Fluttershy stood sheepishly with a singleCanterlot Guard Constable who looked as implacable as always. Fluttershy looked like she had been crying on and off and she clearly wasn't getting the sleep she deserved. “Ummm... Sergeant Trusty... they sent me to get you... ummm that is... if you want to.” She looked down and scuffed a hoof softly on the floor. He could see the guard trying to hold back the desire to give her a hug and tell her that everything would be alright.
“I’m not much use sitting here, Fluttershy...” Trusty smiled and left the room, closing and locking the door behind him. “Lead the way!” He managed a cheerful smile, knowing full well which way he should go. The long path to the hospital was burned into his memory from the long walk he had taken away from the most occupied ward the night before.
Nopony spoke as the trio walked down the empty streets, moving from one awning to another to avoid the worst of the rain. Finally they reached the large white building. Almost out-of-place in the beautiful architecture of Canterlot. A large cube made out of white stone, efficient and clean were the feelings it conveyed, as well as the nagging feeling of unfriendliness.
“I’ll leave you to it then if that's alright Sergeant?” The Canterlot Guard gave a little bow and Trusty nodded to him. “A pleasure to meet you Miss Fluttershy.” He bowed a little too deep, hiding his reddening cheeks before the pegasus left at speed. Fluttershy watched him go and smiled.
“He seemed... nice.” She smiled gently and Trusty could only chuckle before finishing their little journey to the ward which had been commandeered by the Trottingham Guard.
Trusty was never a fan of doctors or of hospitals. He even avoided Dr Greenfield's little two room clinic in Trottingham if he could help it. He closed his eyes and steeled himself as best he could before he pushed the door open and took a good, long look around the room. The girls from Ponyville were spread around the room, some looking after little tasks or trying to kill time. Shooting Star was in the process of retelling her aerial battle with the gryphon to an eager Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Twilight was reading, as he expected, and the white unicorn Rarity was sitting at the bedside of AJ who looked half awake with all her bandages on and some rather nice painkillers no doubt running through her.
Trusty felt the breath catch in his throat as he looked over to Constable Boulder who was separated from the others by a white curtain. A mask on his face supplied him with air. Each corner of his hospital bed supported a host of bright helium balloons in every colour, shape and size one could buy. It brought a little smile to his lips but then Trusty remembered what the nurse had said. Severe trauma to his face with many small fractures. It's a miracle he didn't die instantly. Trusty let his eyes close while his hooves carried him forward, when he reopened them he was standing beside the last bed in the room, he dared not look.
“She'll be alright, lad...” Came the deep voice behind him as Lord Captain Drussard limped slowly to Trusty's side. “Lost a lot of blood and took a blow to the head but she'll live. That doctor pony said she'd be up by day's end and fighting fit in no time.”
Trusty let his eyes open and looked down at Shrike. She looked peaceful. Were it not for her chest rising and falling slowly he would have sworn the mare was dead and gone. “I won't be, Sir...” The green unicorn managed in a hoarse whisper. “I failed her... I should have been faster... should have done something...”
“We all have our regrets... some far more than others, but we can't let them consume us. And to be honest... it was too fast to block... far too fast. I fell for the same trick myself the last time Fiona was free,” Drussard limped closer. “This time, though, she was well rested and ready to tear ponies up to get what she wanted but far out of practice. When I met her before, she was fighting fit and a lot younger, it took the lives of five officers and the efforts of dozens more before she was captured. Had to nearly kill her to do it, in retrospect perhaps we should have.”
Trusty sighed and knelt down, reaching a hoof out to take Shrike's gently. “Have you ever loved somepony? Watched out for her for years... then all of a sudden you nearly lose her twice... watch her life dwindle away.”
“As a mater of fact yes...” Drussard sighed and patted Trusty on the shoulder.
“What did you do?” Trusty looked up in surprise at the much older stallion who only chuckled.
“What do you think I did, Lad? I married the filly. Keep calm and soldier on, as my old sergeant used to say. You can't have anything without both the good and bad.” Drussard straightened up and looked towards the door for a moment. “That being said... I have been granted some leave to rest and recuperate and I intend to take it at home. I have a little some of the aforementioned 'good' to enjoy.” Both Captain and Sergeant bowed their heads and the older stallion left. Trusty turned his eyes back to Shrike who was beginning to stir.
“Horseapples...” She groaned and let her eyes flutter open. “Second time this happens and I still wake up to your face... must be something wrong with me.” She managed a little smile and Trusty leaned close to press his lips to hers in a much wanted kiss. It took a gasp and the noise of shuffling hooves to draw their attention away from the embrace.
Princess Luna walked slowly into the ward, looking at the guards and the assembled Elements of Harmony. Twilight was on her hooves in an instant and standing beside the indigo alicorn. “Princess Luna! We weren't expecting you.” Carefully Trusty helped Shrike back on her hooves, she was a little shaky standing but very insistent that she not be laying down in the presence of royalty. She, nonetheless, leaned heavily on the green unicorn which he wasn't minding in the slightest.
The Princess smiled at Twilight before leaning away and letting loose a truly impressive yawn which she completed with a shake of her head. “Oh, my apologies... we have... I mean, I’ve just not been getting much sleep. I have come to speak to all of you.” Her eyes surveyed the room as anypony who could walk clustered before the Princess. Her eyes stopped, however at the bed surrounded in a shroud. “Oh no...” She whispered, true heartache creeping into her words as she pushed past the other ponies and stood at the bedside of the recumbent Constable Boulder.
She snatched up the medical board hanging from the end of the bed and bit her lip as she read it over. The guards and Elements of Harmony crowded closer around Princess Luna as she set the board back in its place. “The damage is too delicate for healing magic...” She whispered and closed her eyes tightly. “This is horrid... this is monstrous... had I known I would not have-” She stopped herself and turned back towards the waiting ponies with a look of desperation on her face.
“These are dark days and even darker times which have fallen on Equestria, monsters have been roused and set to work on their dark tasks and ponies suffer for it. This will not stand.” She stomped a hoof on the marble for emphasis, “Captain Shrike, I have a new mandate for your stalwart troops.” Luna turned her burning emerald gaze onto the grey pegasus and Shrike did her best to stand at attention.
“I am placing you personally in charge of the investigation into these terrible events,” Luna continued, her wings unfurling as her anger and frustration began to mount. “Use any resources you see fit, all of the Royal Guard are at your disposal for the task. This is a royal mandate, this is my word and my oath as Princess of Equestria. Justice will be done and these terrible events will come to a rapid close. For the duration of Captain Drussard's respite I am granting you his rights and privileges.”
Every pair of eyes turned to Shrike who looked like she was trying desperately not to faint. “You can count on me, Princess...” She managed with a grin.
Trusty looked at her and tried his best to whisper “Are you sure Sugarlump? You were basically in the reaper's hooves not twelve hours ago”
Shrike in reply a little louder than was necessary and staring the Princess in the eyes “I said you can count on me”. Luna nodded softly in approval.
“Good. Now, I have come with information about the mastermind behind this that we have gathered from that wretched gryphon.” The Moon Princess waved her horn and drew a nearby table closer to lay out what she knew.

Captain Shrike sat still at the desk in her room, looking down at her new badge laid upon it. She half expected it to sink through the desk under the weight of all the responsibility it held. It was an ancient design incorporating both the sun and the moon, Luna had personally found it in the archives for her. Since she wasn't a Lord, or even a Lady for that matter, she couldn't take up Drussard's title so one had been resurrected for her. The inscription read, Knight Paladin.
In a few short months she had gone from a Sergeant, never dreaming she would ever be promoted, to the mare who outranked all of the guards of Equestria save for Celestia's right hoof pony, Captain Drussard. Despite the almost routine savage beatings, she was waiting patiently for the other hoof to drop. There was no way she could be this lucky. There was no way the world could heap this much good onto her and not present a bill. Shrike sat trembling with her eyes glued to the ancient silver shield. Her mind was a whirl of chaos, How in Celestia's name am I going to manage all this. I can barely keep three ponies in line much less... she looked over briefly at the latest status report from Captain Tempest of the Canterlot Guard Hall. Four hundred and fifty-six...
“It'll be alright, Sweetheart... you'll see.” She felt the soft nuzzle against her neck and instantly the worry slipped away under the relentless warmth of the breath against her coat and the gentle affection of the stallion behind her.
“I should have dug my hooves into you years ago. Shouldn't I have, Trusty?” She whispered which was met with a chuckle.
“Oh I’m nowhere near good enough for a mare of your impressive station, M'lady.” He breathed in her ear and earned himself a swift hoof to the shoulder.
“Stop calling me that.” She chuckled playfully and slowly stood, giving her wings a stretch. “Ooooh... I’m never going to get over being this sore. Why am I the constant target of kicks and claws and everything else that's been landing on me lately...” Shrike turned to look at the green unicorn who's eyes were looking downward, his usual grin was absent from his lips. “T-Trusty? What's the matter?”
“I’m not good enough, Shrike... I’m just not.” He began with a sigh, scuffing his hoof against the floorboards as he let his mane fall over his eyes, hiding them from the concerned mare. “I should have been there to catch you, more than once. If I could have yanked you back then you wouldn't have those scars on your neck or ended up half dead for a day.”
Shrike stepped close as she could and rested her lips softly on his forehead just below the horn. “You're plenty good enough.” She turned his head up gently to regard her. He saw the anxiety in her eyes, he could tell this wasn't what she wanted to her, he managed his usual grin albeit for just a moment.
“If you say so, Boss... who am I to argue?” He chuckled softly until Shrike cuffed him sharply on the shoulder.
“Quit it! You've been gloomy ever since we got back from the ward. What I would like right now is to pretend that I’m not a guard for just a bit. For one morning I just want to be Shrike waking up next to her Sweetheart Trusty... think you can manage that?” The pair sat in silence, looking into one another's eyes. There was so much that Trusty wanted to answer with, so much that he had to tell her about what was eating him up inside, but he bit his tongue, he knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear, at least not at this moment.
“I think... I need a coffee...” He finally muttered and rose to his hooves, shuffling to the door of the Canterlot hotel room and leaving without a further word.

Knight Paladin Shrike was not a happy mare and it showed. Her wings stood up from her back and trembled as she walked down the ranks of the assembled guards. Her voice boomed off the rafters of the Guard Hall thanks to some magical help from Twilight Sparkle.
“My rank stands as Knight Paladin, which puts me one step below the Lord Captain in the chain of command. I will personally be heading up the investigation into the anti-monarchy group responsible for two failed assassination attempts and numerous other offences.” She eyed the pegasai and unicorns which formed the core of the royal guards. Each and every one stood at attention though she could see the beginnings of nervousness.
Shrike wasn't the biggest mare out there and it was clear that most of these big lads had trouble with the fact that she was the one in charge. “I know I’m not what you expect, but I will be referred to as Captain. Not Miss... or Ma'am... or, Celestia help you, M'lady...” She earned a few stifled chuckles from the ranks and her eyes drifted to her own guards as well as the assembled Elements of Harmony, they each looked so full of pride. Applejack, well on the road to being her old self once more, and Rainbow Dash standing in full armour with their badges proudly displayed. Pinkie Pie, in keeping with her usual lack of interest in procedure, was wearing her badge as a clip in her unruly mane.
“The Dark Lady , as she likes to call herself, is smart and well funded. She could be hiding anywhere and nopony we have yet captured has seen her face. She was quite capable of arranging for a dangerous criminal to be released from prison as well as funding experiments that turned ponies into living weapons.” Shrike began to walk up and down the ranks of armoured ponies, looking each in the eye as she passed.
“Her supporters are initiated into her inner circle by murdering an innocent captive pony. Her trusted agents are trained killers who are fond of hidden armour, brass horseshoes, and easily concealed hoof blades.” There was a chorus of muttered comments and shock in the ranks. “I have lost one guard to this Dark Lady's plans and we have one of our finest lying in a hospital ward in a sleep the doctors tell me he is unlikely to wake from. I will not loose another life to this bloody unicorn!” Shrike slammed her hoof into the marble floor. The amplification spell turned it into a thunderclap which startled Shrike for just a moment before she continued on.
“All guards are to travel in pairs or in threes if at all possible, anything suspicious is to be dealt with instantly. Arrest first, apologize later. We cannot afford to let one of her agents walk the streets. Any questions?”
There was a hoof raised in the front row and Shrike noted the badge of a Captain. She nodded to the pegasus who cleared his throat. “Captain, what are this Dark Lady's targets?”
Shrike took a breath and looked to the marble floor for guidance, it wasn't forthcoming. She closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. “Us. Her targets are my fellow Trottingham Gguards and myself, the friends and families of the Elements of Harmony and the Princesses indirectly. She can't make Celestia bleed so she is attacking what she cherishes.” Shrike turned back to eye the other Captain who's face betrayed a moment of concern. “We begin immediately. Kick over rocks, stick your noses where they don't belong, make them have to fight for every ounce of secrecy they think they have. They have attacked us and we've defended ourselves so far but I’m sick and tired of getting my flank trampled into the dirt. Starting right now we take the fight to them. Guards dismissed!”
With a thunder of hooves the halls emptied save for the ponies at her back. Shrike felt the tingle of magic leaving her throat as her voice returned to a normal volume. She wouldn't dare tell her guards or her friends but speaking in front of a crowd always made her legs feel weak. “Well there... I got them moving. Sending hundreds into the jaws of death...”
“Oh I wouldn't say death, danger perhaps, but not death.” A voice filled the chamber behind Shrike and she paled, slowly turning to behold the Solar Princess standing beside Shrike's friends who all did a very good job of not bursting out laughing.
“H-how long...?” Shrike managed, her eyes wide.
“Oh, just before Captain Tempest asked his question.” The Princess supplied and her friends finally gave up trying not to laugh, nearly rolling on the floor with mirth at Shrike's discomfort.
“It was quite a rousing speech.” She turned to the laughing ponies and smiled a motherly kind of smile which drew the attention of everypony. “Now, my little ponies, I must have a word with your Knight Paladin in private. I'm certain you have plenty to organize.”
Shrike tried to contain her blush as Celestia walked slowly towards her and motioned for her to follow. They left the room with the laughing ponies behind as they began to walk through some of the many halls of the castle. The grey pegasus watched the Princess out of the corner of her eye. She had of course met the Princess before but they had spoken for but a minute at most.
“That really was an impressive speech.” Celestia spoke and Shrike coughed softly, blushing once more.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” She muttered stiffly and the Princess laughed.
“You have earned a few rights and privileges for your work, Knight Paladin. One of which is the privilege of ease in my presence. So with that in mind, be at ease.” Celestia turned her head toward Shrike and smiled gently. The grey pegasus felt her spirits lifted in an instant thanks to Celestia's magic. Being in her presence now was like being wrapped up in the warmest fluffiest blanket sitting cozy by the fireside.
“Thank you, Princess.” She smiled in return and Celestia began her slow walk again.
“Do you know much about genealogy, Shrike?” The Solar Princess continued the stroll through the castle halls.
“Not so much, It's sort of a hobby of the wealthy, isn't it?Proving their lineage and that kind of thing?” Shrike looked up at the paintings lining the walls of this hallway, she had noticed them lining many hallways but had paid them little attention. Ponies from long ago looking back at her from their ornate frames. Her eyes lingered on the face of a unicorn who looked like the quintessential wizard right down to the flowing white beard, except his cloak and hat were studded with bells for some reason.
“It's a hobby of the wealthy because it's a hobby of mine. I have been alive for a long time, my little pony and I have seen the rise and fall of many families of ponies over the long years. I keep watch over the lines of commoners and nobles. Of villains and heroes and occasionally I find history repeating itself.” The Princess stopped and pointed with a delicate hoof towards a stone bust which sat in a small alcove along the wall. “What do you see, Shrike?”
Shrike looked carefully at the stone and blinked. It was like looking at a sculpture of herself. The sour expression on her face, the short mane, and the way her jaw was set in determination. She could imagine standing before a sculptor and muttering for him to hurry up because she had anywhere else to be. “W-who is this?” She breathed softly.
“Wind Hawk, she was a guard like yourself, back in the years before stallions got it in their heads that we mares couldn't manage for ourselves.” Celestia chuckled, “A pity her statue can't be in colour, she had the loveliest eyes.”
“You've met her?” Shrike blurted out before she could stop herself. Of course the Princess had, she was well over a thousand years old. She had probably met Wind Hawk's grandmother.
Celestia just nodded and smiled warmly. “Wind Hawk was my Captain for many years before she retired. She still insisted on the title 'Lord Captain' despite her gender. She said that Lady made her sound like a... oh how did she put it? Ah, 'A stuck up noble with their face so far up their own flank they would need a map to find their way out'...” If Shrike was drinking, she would have spit her beverage all over the floor. In all her life she never expected to hear words like that coming from the Princess. “Hawk was tenacious, blunt, and loyal to Equestria above all else.”
“You said she retired?” Shrike looked back at the statue. The face there didn't seem to be a face that would deal with retirement well.
“She retired young, her forty-third birthday. At the time she was four month's pregnant and decided that she couldn't wear the armour anymore and her husband refused to let her fight unarmoured.” Celestia looked off into space, the mists of memory making her smile. “She retired to have a family-life. She was your distant ancestor... those of your line have been guards or protectors for a long time until Equestria fell into its current state of peace.”
Shrike looked back to Celestia then the statue again. “Why tell me this, Princess?”
“Because, Shrike,” The Princess began, laying a hoof on the shoulder of the grey pegasus. “You have within you the power to be just as great as Wind Hawk, you demonstrated that today and in the past. You have the instincts of a true leader and your ponies will follow you to whatever end. So lead by example, stand at the forefront and you will never fight alone.”
A grin began to spread over Shrike's lips, looking at the stone face of the past then to the Princess who smiled. She was about to speak up when the Princess cleared her throat. “Just remember, my noble Knight, that Hawk knew when to hang up her helmet and settle down. I've seen the job consume so many before. Even my old friend Drussard is childless.”
“S-so what should I do, Princess?” A trickle of her fear was coming back, her nervousness and apprehension about the future. Her thoughts drifted to her Trusty stallion and for a moment she wondered if her ancestor had fallen in love with her second in command as well.
“Be a guard, hold the law before you like a shield, let justice be the lamplight that dispels the dark. Just don't forget that beneath the armour, you are a pony and all I want from my little ponies, in the end, is to see them happy.” The Princess looked back the way they had come and smiled. “Come, lets get you back to your guards. I believe you have some work to do.”

The days fell away and slowly the cells below the palace filled with those who had forsaken the rule of the Princesses and embraced the calling of the Dark Lady. Day after day Shrike and her guards would rout the evil from the dark places and drag them into the light of day. But still, deep below the damp, city streets, in the blackness of the under-crofts, a figure seethed.
“T-t-the fourth cell has been taken into custody, Mistress... t-t-there were no escapes. Our numbers dwindle by the day.” A clerk pushed his glasses up his snout carefully and tried to hide his abject fear with a nervous cough.
“Do you think me blind? Or deaf? I have eyes and ears in every corner of this wretched country.” Her voice cut through the dark like fine silk wrapped around steel. “Have you prepared what I asked for?”
The clerk gulped and nodded, “The colt has been taken... we are holding him at a secret location, the note has been left where it should be easy for the father to find.”
“Excellent... ensure the foal is not harmed... excessively. In addition, you will pay a visit to Willow Hall and rouse the head of the household there. He is one of my assassins and he will eliminate one, perhaps two of the Elements or the Trottingham Guards, whoever seems weakest or least protected. It should provide ample distraction while we prepare the weapon. Speaking of which...” The voice took on an almost gleeful tone that made the clerk want to be sick. “Has our alchemist finished her little task?”
“Y-yes mistress... it is prepared to your liking and... and ready...” The clerk thought back to the test he had witnessed. The sight of anything red still made him tremble.
“You are dismissed... be gone with you.” The voice commanded and the clerk scampered for the stairs, tripping over his own hooves. As his hooffalls trailed away, the Dark Lady turned her eyes to the mirror which stood proudly against the wall shrouded in shadows. “Soon... soon it will all be complete... just some loose ends to tie up and I will be free to walk in the daylight once more.” She began to laugh, not a laugh full of mirth or joy. It was the sound of near madness and imposable cruelty.

Pinkie Pie couldn't remember a time she had felt happier. Her kitchen was buzzing with activity, mixers were mixing and ovens were baking and everything was going smoothly. There wasn't a thing out-of-place or running low. She had everything she could ever need in her little kitchen and today she had a piece of the puzzle that had been missing.
“Ha! Got it done and not one fire. How's that for cooking, Miss Pie?” The warm voice of her newest friend reached her ears and she felt her cheeks turn red as the purple unicorn stallion floated a cookie, fresh from the cooling rack and still warm, to her lips so she could take her customary 'All-at-once' bite.
The flavour was perfect but unplaceable, she knew it was special because he made it. She savoured each and every chew before swallowing and grinning wide. “We make an awesome team, Jammy! There's nothing we can't cook.” Her energy returned full force and she danced around the kitchen, followed close by the stallion who laughed. She would run a little further away and he would chase to catch up, little by little getting closer until Pinkie stopped and he caught her in a hug. Pinkie could feel her heart soar and her cheeks flush. She knew full well what the feeling meant and the thought made her giddy with nervousness. She shouldn't be flirting with stallions this much or, more appropriately, at all.
She wiggled away so he could give chase once again which he did with a grin. Pinkie turned to get his attention and tripped, with a crash she upended a bowl of whipped cream which sailed through the air and splattered against his chest. Both ponies laughed at the mess and at each other before his hoof scooped up a glob of cream and he threw it with skill at Pinkie Pie.
As soon as it splattered her cheek, everything changed. It was dark and this wasn't her kitchen anymore and furthermore it didn't feel at all like whipped cream. It smelled coppery and ran hot down her cheek. With a shaking hoof she reached up and gathered a bit of the offending substance. The harsh red of blood contrasted sharply with her pink hoof.
Pinkie gasped and looked up quickly. Standing before her was her friend. His body looked so very pale with his eyes looking out into space, the deep gash in his armour still drooling blood slowly as he wavered in place. “J-jammy.... no... no... you were fine... you were OK and now you're not?”
“Just that quick...” His lips opened and he spoke. “Sorry we didn't get a chance to bake Miss Pie... would have loved that.” Slowly his eyes focused and he looked down at the pink pony who struggled to stand.
“But you never get hurt... you always make it out alive.” Pinkie stuttered as the stallion reached down and helped her to her hooves.
“Guess my luck finally ran dry.” He smiled a little and Pinkie began to cry.
“Why did you have to die? Why did my little Pinkie world have to get broken like that?” She grabbed his shoulders and tried to shake him but he was as immovable as a rock. Her tears coming unashamedly now as his hoof rested on her back. “We never... got the chance... it's... it's not fair...”
He lifted her chin gently and looked into her eyes, the smile still on his lips before he leaned close and gave her the lightest, gentlest kiss on the cheek. In a rush it was over and Pinkie Pie was awake in the bedroom of the hotel suite they had been put in, looking at the far wall and shaking. Her mane and tail were straight as could be. She reached up and felt her cheek, it was cold with tears but soon her eyes overflowed once more and the pink pony wailed.
Pinkie buried her face in her hooves and shook with sobs, not noticing the door open or the figure walk in. Shrike stepped to the bedside and laid a hoof softly on Pinkie's side. The pink pony jumped a little but calmed when she saw it wasn't some strange pony. “Are you alright, Pinkie?” Shrike whispered and took a seat beside the bed as Pinkie shook her head, her straight mane swaying slowly.
“N-no... no I’m not... I keep dreaming about... about Jammy and it hurts so much.” Pinkie rubbed her chest and sniffled, her shoulders shaking as she fought to control her tears. “I haven't seen a pony die before...”
“Neither have I, until recently,” Shrike sighed and reached over to turn the bedside lamp on, dispelling the darkness around the room. “Jammy was a good friend and a good stallion... he died in the line of duty.” Shrike took a breath and smiled just a little. “There are only a few ponies in modern times that have died in the line of duty, their armour is on display here at the palace.”
Pinkie's tears slowed to sniffles as she listened, Shrike gently held her hoof. “He died to save you, and all of us. Without him I doubt we'd be here right now. He stopped Trottingham and even Canterlot from being destroyed and because of his actions he's... well he's a hero. And there are going to be fillies and colts for hundreds of years who grow up hearing stories about him.”
Pinkie finally smiled, just a little smile, but it was still a smile. Shrike patted her foreleg gently and stood. “That's the ultimate responsibility of our badges, Pinkie Pie. We're on that line between defending the values of our homeland and being prepared to sacrifice everything for them.”
“Would you? Sacrifice yourself I mean...” Pinkie asked softly, looking at her Special Constable badge on the nightstand.
“Yes I would... so would Trusty and Star... Rainbow and Applejack... even Boulder would. We're guards... even your friends are taking the responsibility to heart. But I promise I’m going to make sure that it never comes to that again... are you going to be OK?” She asked, looking back towards the hotel room door.
Pinkie nodded and smiled with a blush. “Sorry for making a big Pinkie mess of myself...”
“Don't worry about it, Pinkie Pie... anything for a friend, right?” Shrike smiled and Pinkie snuggled back into her bed, turning the bedside light off. Once the sound of hooves had died away in the hall she reached out and picked up the badge from where it was resting. She cradled it in her hooves and looked at the shiny brass. She ran the tip of her hoof over the words 'Special Constable' and the alicorn etched into the badge centre. “I suppose being remembered forever is good but what about my other friends... what can I do to help them?”
“Don't worry Pinkie Pie, you can be a hero too... you can save the lives of all your friends... I know you can.” For just a moment it looked as if the badge answered the pink pony before she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning was cold but the sun was still shining happily down on Canterlot. Pinkie Pie was hopping down the street in a very specific direction. She shouldn't have slipped out alone but she wanted to surprise her friends with some donuts from Pony Joe's. She drooled a little thinking about biting into a fresh eclair or maybe a jelly donut... ooh ooh maybe one with sprinkles. She giggled to herself as she pushed the door open with her nose and bounced in.
“Pinkie Pie, my new best customer.” The unicorn behind the counter exclaimed with a smile as he waved his horn and tied up another fresh box for the customer at the counter. “Come for a couple more boxes for our ponies in uniform?” He chuckled. “Words been getting out about my place thanks to your friends.”
Pinkie laughed and bounced up to the display case, looking at the selection of fresh donuts of every description. “Hehe yeah, who knew guards loved donuts so much!?!” She beamed before she pressed her nose to the case. She watched with a patient eye as the very best were selected and boxed up in an assortment she had tailored to fit the likes of all the ponies she was spending so much time with.
Once she had her prize she counted out the bits on the counter and thanked the beige unicorn with a kiss on the cheek before bouncing away back the way she came. The weight of the pastries in their boxes sat comfortable perched on her back and she thought back to the various selections.
Rainbow Dash was always more of a muffin mare, she liked her carbs but when pressed she always picked the chocolate glazed. Applejack went for the apple fritter, obviously. Twilight Sparkle generally picked a nice sour cream glazed. Rarity and Fluttershy preferred a cruller. Sergeant Trusty preferred dark chocolate, mocha if Joe was doing them that day. Shooting Star was a fan of lemon cream filled anything. Shrike liked hers plain dunked in coffee. Which left the donut which sat alone at the end of the morning. Though not technically a donut, the cinnamon roll was Boulder's favourite. Without meaning to she then thought about the donut that was no longer purchased, the one that would have been sugar-dusted and jam-filled. It was as if she had shoved a pin into the balloon that was her heart.
Pinkie stopped and looked down at her hooves, sniffling gently. “It's not fair...” She was beginning to lament her woes when she paused, her left hindleg was wobbling while her right foreleg began to pinch along all her joints. She cocked her head to the side and blinked. “Somepony's gonna try and hug me? Where did that come from?” no sooner did the words leave her lips than strong forehooves grabbed her shoulders and yanked her hard down the nearest alleyway, the box of donuts cast aside in the commotion. In the shadows, away from prying eyes, she found her back pressed to a wall and a foreleg against her neck.
“Don't scream,” A gruff voice spoke from behind a cloth tied to hide his face. “It'll all be over soon.” Pinkie's eyes went wide and she began to tremble before a noise filled the narrow space between her and the masked criminal. A mechanical click followed by the sound of metal sliding against metal. Once heard and never forgotten, the unmistakable sound of a hoof blade sliding into place.
Something snapped and a grin spread over Pinkie's lips, her coat seemed to darken ever so slightly. The stallion paused as he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He turned his head fast and blinked as he stared into the blue eyes of the pony he was holding to the wall, suddenly standing behind him. “Hi!” she beamed before winding back and delivering a punishing hoof to his cheek which sent him staggering.
The assassin looked back at the wall and to the bag of flour which was resting on the ground where the pink pony had been. Something was very wrong here. The assassin looked back to the alleyway and the pink pony standing on her hindlegs a short distance away. “You know what I love? Parties!” she took a step towards the stallion who was making sure his hoof blade was locked in place. “You know what I love about parties? The dancing! I'm a really good dancer.” The assassin looked down at his weapon and then back to the alley. The pink pony was gone. His heart beat harder in his ears and he gulped.
Pinkie stood beside the stallion and swung her hips against his, and just like at Gummy's party the other pony went flying, though this time she was actually trying to cause harm and the masked pony struck the wall so hard it knocked bricks loose.
He struggled to his hooves and took up a fighting stance, blade at the ready as the pink pony advanced slow. “Wow, you must be wearing that hidden armour my friends were talking about. That's no fun.” She pouted cutely before twitching, her eyes looking more furious than they had been in a long, long time. “How am I supposed to hurt you when you have armour on?”
He jabbed his bladed hoof forward quick as she got into range and she dodged like he wasn't even trying. She grasped his foreleg and pulled with a strength that nearly made him wet himself like a little colt. She swung him like a baseball bat and his steel shod hooves kicked up sparks upon the wall as he tried to slow his momentum before his body impacted a stack of old crates. She still had hold of his foreleg however and refused to let go until she heard a sickening crack.
The assassin cried when she finally let him go. He hadn't cried in years but today his eyes overflowed, he looked at his limp foreleg and reached up to tug his mask down. “W-what are you?”
The pink pony pulled herself up to her full height, her mane had lost most of its curl and hung over her shoulders “ I am Pinkamena Dianne Pie, my childhood was spent lifting boulders. I don't like being Pinkamena, I prefer being Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie is nice and happy, Pinkamena wants to break your other legs too. You should have thought twice before messing with my friends! Because now I gotta go and beat the sprinkles out of your friends! But first...” Pinkamena trailed off and leaned down, her eyes murderous before all at once she twitched and a smile appeared on her lips, her coat was several shades lighter and her mane had more curl.
“Ooh I gotta get my donuts,” The stallion blinked, it was like two different ponies sharing the same space. He watched her bounce away and retrieve the boxes which was against the wall of the nearest building miraculously undamaged. When she slipped back close she was still smiling.
He tried to back away but her voice changed again. “Oh no... you're not going to run. Dead or alive, you're coming with me.” The stallion whimpered and the pink pony giggled happily before grabbing his cloak collar in her teeth and dragging him along, limping on this three good hooves, like he weighed nothing at all.

Shrike blinked and looked at the pony who was trying to stay as far away from Pinkie Pie as possible. “How did his leg break that badly?” She asked flatly and the pink pony beside her shrugged with a giggle.
“I dunno...” She smiled and bounced on her hooves a little. Shrike looked at the pink pony and raised an eyebrow. The assassin, who happened to be a minor noble and fencing champion, had been dragged in, quite literally, babbling about somepony named Pinkamena who was going to kill him. Pinkie Pie had just giggled and said he was silly.
Shrike nodded to the Sergeant who was hitched to the white carriage with its barred windows. His companion gave a flick of magic and the doors bolted closed to take the criminal away. Shrike turned again to Pinkie and smiled, reaching up to pat her on the shoulder. “Well done, Constable.”
Pinkie stood at attention and snapped off a salute before descending into giggles again and bouncing off to find her friends. Shrike just shook her head slowly and turned to Trusty who had been woken up by the early morning commotion as well.
“Marvellous isn't it? Assassins now... what's next, poison?” She sighed and the green stallion took a step closer and laid his head against her cheek.
“Shrike... this is getting out of hoof... really out of hoof. I bet that assassin was sent out to kill one of the Elements, one of the weaker ones. What if there's another coming for Rarity or Fluttershy... Neither of those ponies can fight worth a darn... How long is it going to be until one comes for us. We got lucky this time because, for whatever reason, that pink pony is harder than a coffin nail and can fight like a bloody soldier.” Trusty sighed and Shrike pulled back, raising an eyebrow.
“You think Pinkie Pie beat him senseless?” Shrike chuckled a little but Trusty sighed.
“You saw it as well as I did, Sweetheart,” He looked back in the direction the carriage had left in. “He was terrified of her and the leg wasn't just broken... he had armour and braces on and the straps were snapped before his leg went. Now that scares me... don't get me wrong. I love all the girls like sisters but I won't be getting on Pinkie's bad side anytime soon.”
Shrike rubbed her eyes and flopped back onto her haunches. “Bloody hell... well there goes my sanity for the morning.” She looked up at the green stallion and pouted. He coughed and looked away.
“Sorry Love... guess we don't get to sleep in after all.” He took a careful seat beside her and leaned against her a little. “How about we pick up and go to the ward, I bet that's where Pinkie's gonna have breakfast set up.”
“I suppose...” Shrike took a moment and looked up at the cloudless blue sky. It reminder her of the skies at home and for a moment she thought she could see a dusty orange pegasus with a little grey filly trying to keep up. Shrike put the thoughts of her mother on hold and cleared her throat. “Trusty... I need to ask you something.”
“Whatcha need, Captain?” he asked and Shrike chuckled.
“No... not Captain right now, I’m off duty... I just,” she thought of every way she could broach the subject. Hey Trusty, wanna have a few foals while the plumbing still works? Or how about, Hey Trusty, want me to give up on the job that's been my destiny since time in memorium so we can both get flank deep in diapers? She sighed and shook her head slowly. “No... it's nothing. Nevermind.”
“Hey...” He turned her face to his and looked into her eyes with concern. “What's eating you? It's gotta be something or you wouldn't have brought it up.” Carfeully he ran his hoof through her mane and Shrike let out a soft sigh, leaning into the attention. “You can tell me... can't be worse than some of the things that have been running through my head this morning.” He chuckled and Shrike rolled her eyes.
“Trusty... you're so very good at ruining moods.” She grumped before the stallion pulled her closer and planted a kiss against her ear, whispering gently.
“Tell me...” Shrike shivered softly and blushed despite herself, she was sure that her wings were popped up fully by now.
“Have you ever thought about... starting a family?” She asked tentatively and the green stallion paused his attention before laughing.
“Ha, it sounded for a second there like you said you wanted to start a family.” He chuckled nervously and Shrike cuffed him in the shoulder again.
“I’m serious! I just... maybe we should while we still have time...” She offered gently and her stallion stopped dead, blinking a little and staring at Shrike. “T-Trusty?” He didn't answer, only blinked. She could feel the sting of tears creeping into her eyes. “Trusty!” The green unicorn kept still and Shrike felt her anger mounting. “Oh fine! Fine... buck this and buck you!” She struggled to her hooves and walked away, flicking her tail to snap it neatly on Trusty's nose. “I’m going to work. Talk to me when you're in uniform, Sergeant!”
The flick did a good job of getting his attention and he scrambled to his hooves, stuttering and blushing bright red. “Shrike! Shrike wait!” She walked faster, ignoring him, “Shrike! Yes! Yes I do want to!” He yelled at the top of his lungs and the pegasus stopped dead in the street, not turning around.
Trusty caught up and stepped around to face her, her eyes were downcast and she wasn't moving a muscle. “Shrike... of course I want to, it just caught me by surprise. It's honestly the last thing I expected to hear from you.” He managed a chuckle and Shrike looked away, blushing.
“I’m still a mare behind the badge, moron...” She sighed and scuffed a hoof on the path in front of her. “I’ve just been thinking about something the Princess told me. That I should be a guard but not forget that I’m still a pony underneath... and most mares my age have a foal or two and a husband or hell... even a wife these days. I just have the job and you...”
“I’m not good enough?” Trusty asked with a smile and Shrike hit his shoulder again.
“That's not what I mean and you know it. I don't want the job to eat me alive...” Slowly she felt the tug of magic and blushed as Trusty held her close as he could, pressing his lips tight to hers heedless of who could be watching. When he slowly separated, he was wearing his usual lopsided grin.
“You've got me, I’ll make sure nothing bad happens... and when this is all over we're going to buy a nice house back home and we'll work on all the other things. One step at a time” He laughed and Shrike did the same. Suddenly the future didn't seem all that bleak to her anymore.

Shrike coughed and tried to shake the stars out of her eyes, the mare on the floor beside her was rolling back onto her hooves. Shrike was growing less and less happy and getting a pair of hooves in her stomach wasn't improving her mood any, as if the chase through the winding towers after the royal blue pegasus wasn't enough. A scowl took the grey mare's lips and she lashed out with a forehoof. The blow struck just where she wanted, immediately below the other mare's left wing. The nerve bundle there made the royal blue pegasus' whole back spasm and she crumpled to the floor in tears.
“I know... I know...” Shrike stepped closer to the criminal and yanked her forelegs together to fasten the iron manacles. “The wings are always a cheap shot but you gotta admit... you double kicked me in the gut, now we're even.” The grey pegasus took a length of cord from her saddlebag and wound it around the base of both the other flier's wings, tying them together.
“You won't win... you can't win.” The royal blue mare spoke through clenched teeth and Shrike rolled her eyes.
“I’ve heard that a hundred times this week.” Shrike deadpanned and trotted to the window of the old, abandoned tower, scanning the skies and grinning. “looks like my help's here, wonder what kept them.”
“I’m not scared of you or your guards, you can imprison a hundred of us but you will never find the Dark Lady.” The pegasus shouted her frustration but kept in her place on the floor as Shrike took a step back from the window and a pair of armoured guards landed. Shooting Star hobbled a little and Shrike sighed.
“You went after your shoe didn't you, Star?” Shrike grinned and her younger Constable blushed, looking away.
“I like my shoes... she wrenched it loose and it fell into a waterfall.” Star coughed and took a few steps closer.
“Regardless, lets get little Miss-” Shrike was cut off as Rainbow Dash gasped and pulled her helmet off quickly.
“Cloudchaser?” She exclaimed and the eyes of the prone pegasus went wide. She scrambled back from the Rainbow maned pegasus like she was the most fearsome creature in the world. “Cloudchaser, what the hay is going on?!” Dash's anger was rising faster than her wings. The anger and indignation in her voice making the other guards shy back slightly.
“A friend of yours?” Star took a step closer to the cowering Cloudchaser
“She was... once I suppose.” Rainbow Dash scowled and kept her eyes glued to the fearful pegasus. “She used to live in Ponyville, worked on the weather team with me. I was the one who sent a recommendation to Canterlot so she could get her job.”
“Rainbow Dash! You don't understand. When the Lady talks about the future it's so bright, so wonderful-” Cloudchaser was beginning to cry before Dash cut her off sharply with a stomp of her armoured forehoof.
“I don't want to hear it! You know who I am? I'm Rainbow Dash, Best Young Flier in Equestria, Weather Controller for Ponyville, Special Constable by the orders of the Princess and an Element of bucking Harmony. You know what Element I am?” The rage of the sky blue pegasus was growing by the moment. “The Element of bucking Loyalty, that's what. You're a traitor and probably a murderer... you're less than garbage... you're less than manure as far as I’m concerned, Cloud. I'll make sure your sister knows just what you've been up to...”
Shooting Star reached her bare hoof out and touched Dash on the side, the sky blue mare twitched and blushed, looking away as Star spoke soft. “That's enough, Dash...”
Cloudchaser was crying in silence, staring with wide eyed at the middle distance, her whole body trembling. Mercifully the door to the tower room crumbled under the blow from Applejack's hooves and she stepped into the dusty space followed by Trusty. The restrained blue mare cried more under the disapproving eyes of the honest farmpony while she was hefted onto her back and taken from the tower. Dash looked out the window for a moment, listening while Star spoke in a hushed voice. All at once Dash was a rainbow streak vanishing into the distance followed close by Shooting Star.
Shrike blushed a little and smirked, shaking her head while Trusty stepped close. “Had my suspicions about our little Star.” Trusty chuckled.
“Seem to recall Dash saying she already had a mare to herself. Don't suppose you know who that might be?” The green stallion smirked and Shrike shook her head with a grin.
“You know how bad I am at guessing games like that. So how did the roundup... go...” She trailed off as her green stallion pushed her over onto her back and his face hovered above her stomach. “Trusty! Time and place!” She squeaked and tried to wiggle away before stopping when the green stallion pressed a hoof against her stomach and she tensed, drawing a breath sharply through clenched teeth.
“Holy Celestia this is gonna be a bad bruise... what the hay did she do to you?” Trusty stroked her stomach slow and Shrike continued to blush, being in a compromising position wasn't high on her list of wants and desires at the moment.
“Two hooves to the gut when I thought I had her pinned.” Shrike mumbled as her blush spread, beginning to enjoy the gentle petting as Trusty frowned.
“I can't say I’m happy that you're running after mares a decade younger than you.” He whispered softly and Shrike sighed.
“Trusty... it's part of the job... we've talked about this before. We don't lead safe lives. I'm going to get hurt on the job, so are you.” She met his eyes and the green unicorn looked like he was trying to stop a flow of tears. “Now stop petting my stomach and let me up so I can get checked out and get back to work.”
Trusty managed a grin, “What's the alternative?”
Shrike reached up and pulled him into a kiss softly before releasing him. “There's no alternative while I’m on the clock, you awful thing.” She cuffed his shoulder gently and rolled to her hooves. As her armour settled she winced and stumbled into Trusty. “Ooooh... that wasn't nice.”
“That settles it... I’m walking you right to the hospital.” His magic spread over her and she felt herself being pulled slowly as Trusty walked to the stairs and started his descent.
“I outrank you, Sergeant. I outrank your superiors... why are you suddenly a nursemaid, watching over me like a hawk?” Shrike followed with stumbling steps.
“Somepony has to, you don't do it yourself and I’m tired of seeing you in pain. And I don't give a damn about rank at this point... you and I are alone and unless you use the phrase 'I’m giving you an order' I will keep acting like a pony who loves you.” There was a hint of steeled resolve in the usually laid back unicorn's voice which was making Shrike smile a little.
“Sergeant, I’m ordering you to continue to be sweet when we have a moment alone.” Trusty stopped and shook his head with a sigh, smiling his lopsided smile and continuing on his way. He had no idea how he was going to tell her that the past week had been the hardest in living memory. That whenever she took a hit in a fight, he felt that pain in his heart. All he could do was put his cheerful smile back on and hope that Shrike would see what she was doing to him. While there was still time.

A pair of guards stood like a matched set of white statues, flanking the doorway to the medical wing which had become the reluctant home of the Trottingham Guards when they weren't flank deep in criminals, battling for their lives.
“How's your boy doing anyways, Storm?” The guard on the left piped up and his companion started a little.
“O-oh... he's fine... you know how foals are.” Storm began to sweat, smiling nervously as the sound of rolling wheels began to echo down the hallway.
“Nope, wouldn't know a thing about that.” The other pegasus snorted with a chuckle. They kept their eyes carefully forward as the sound of a cart came closer and closer. “They aren't expecting a delivery are they, it's just the big guy in there and he's not exactly in a position to sign for anything.” The slightly taller pegasus turned and took a few steps away from his post to look down the long hall.
Slowly a pony approached, an older dull blue mare with a greying mane and a woeful expression on her lips. Behind was a two wheeled wagon, the kind a pony would use to carry goods to market. The wagon was wrapped tightly by an oilcloth cover and her hooves bore no steel shoes. Her eyes met those of the taller guard and then looked past him to his companion, Storm.
The nervous father gulped and nodded as his fellow guard began to speak. “What business do you have here today, Ma'am?” The old mare looked down and sighed, giving a final defeated nod before the heavy hooves of a Royal Guardpony struck the side of the tall Pegasus' helmet and he crumpled to the marble in a daze.
“I’m sorry... I’m so sorry, mate... she has my foal... my little boy... I don't have a choice.” Storm tore his helmet off and the natural tones of his golden mane and eyes returned.
“W-why...” The other guard rasped, his eyes having trouble focusing on anything for long as the blue mare knelt beside him and jabbed a heavy looking syringe into his neck.
“What are you doing? We're just supposed to knock him out!” The guard, turned accomplice to murder raised his hooves to push the old mare away but the look in her eyes silenced him.
“Ve all have our orders, stallion. Zis iz mine.” She pushed the plunger on the syringe and the other guard gave a shuddering moan before he slipped out of the world of the living.
“Holy buck!” The accomplice stallion threw his hooves over his mouth and were it not for the ward changing his coat colour he would have gone a deathly pale.
“Help me get him into ze cart.” The old mare stood tugged the cover from her cart as the silently panicking stallion obeyed. With a thump the dead pony was heaved into the cart nearly upsetting a large barrel which had been the sole occupant of the card for the journey so far. “Careful! Be careful you, thick-skulled simpleton!” The old mare rushed over and steadied the barrel with a sigh.
“What is that? It looks like an apple barrel.” The other guard, his nervousness leaving him in near shock managed to whisper as the old mare hefted the barrel carefully.
“Zis iz a taste of ze future.” The old mare chuckled, a hint of madness creeping into her rosy eyes, and carried the barrel into the room.

A trio of guards walked through the cool marble halls of Canterlot hospital, metal shoes falling on the marble in an even pace save for one. Shooting Star was blushing under the glances of her Captain and Sergeant. “So... still haven't found that shoe?” Trusty was doing a good job of hiding his smirk and Star seethed.
“No... it fell over a waterfall. I have the armourers trying to build me one the same as the other.” Star spoke in a total deadpan voice and both her superiors snorted in amusement.
“How about Dash? Is she doing alright?” Shrike prodded the subject delicately and Star blushed slightly more.
“She's fine... angry but fine. She hates the idea of anypony she knows being disloyal. I guess Cloudchaser was a pony she saw a lot of potential in.” Star looked down at her hooves as she walked.
“And how about you and Dash?” Trusty spoke soft on the other side of her and the sandy pegasus stopped dead, looking up at the grinning faces of both her superiors.
“I... there's... there's nothing going on.” The older guards continued to grin and finally Star sighed. “She's cute but taken... besides I kind of have my eye on somepony at home.”
Shrike chuckled and patted Star on the shoulder. “Fine by me, Constable. Just don't wait as long as Trusty and I did.”
“They grow up so fast don't they, Captain?” Trusty chuckled and avoided a swat from the younger pegasus as she went on ahead. The sound of trotting hooves came around the corner followed by a white coated nurse pony.
“Captain Shrike, just the mare I was looking for. Princess Celestia has requested that your Constable be moved to a more secure location, the girls have accompanied him but I believe there are some possessions in the room that might need to be picked up.” The nurse smiled happily and Shrike gave a nod, the three guards walking past her and into the hospital room.
Trusty stopped by the door and began collecting a box with a few of his usual tin coffee mugs. “Seems a little odd to me, getting Boulder moved all of a sudden.”
“She mentioned it to me by a letter not too long ago actually, it's taken a little for the room to be set up. It's at the palace proper though.” Shrike stood and surveyed the room with a smile as Shooting Star approached the centre table and the large wooden barrel on it.
“AJ didn't leave some apples here did she? You don't mind if I have something while I’m on the clock do you, Captain?” Shooting Star looked back at Shrike who smiled and shook her head.
Star reached out with her unarmoured hoof and tipped the top of the barrel open. The wooden lid clattered to the table and a thin curl of smoke began to drift its way to the ceiling. “Oh this can't be good...” Star spoke gently and the other two guards turned their eyes to her.
All at once the world was full of light and noise, fire and pain. Shrike could feel the crunch of her armour striking the wall and all sound drained away. The all consuming ringing filling the ears of the grey pegasus as she tried in vain to struggle onto her hooves. After several wobbling attempts she gave up and flopped belly down on the floor. Everything seemed distant, faint and detached. She watched a few drips fall onto a smouldering scrap of paper before she realized that it was her own blood. She drew a shaking hoof over her muzzle and quickly looked up at the once clean hospital ward. The room was full of smoke and little fires crackled and spit happily, fueled by the splinters which the contents of the room had been reduced to. She swayed as somepony shook her shoulders and turned her over.
It was her Trusty, and for a moment she smiled before she realized his lips were moving. He was trying to talk but it sounded like his head was at the bottom of a well. He shook her hard again and the world came rushing back with sickening, cold reality. “Where's Star?!” Trusty tried to overcome the momentary deafness with sheer volume. “Shrike, I can't find Star! She was closest to the damn thing.”
Shrike rolled and struggled until she was standing, everything hurt at once. Her whole world was alive with pain. She grit her teeth and took a few steps towards the centre of the room. “Star!” her attempt at a yell ended in a coughing fit.
“What the buck was that?” Trusty wrenched his helmet off and sent it clattering to the floor, his right eye was beginning to swell closed with the flow of blood running slowly over it.
“Stinks like fireworks...” Shrike rubbed her throat for a moment and stumbled past the stunned unicorn.
“Thank Celestia the girls weren't in here... or Boulder. Where the bloody hell is Star?” Trusty shook his head to clear some of the stars before his horn lit up and began sifting through the broken pieces of beds and various other furniture. Shrike cast her eyes around the room and took in the utter devastation. The furniture was destroyed, part of one wall was beginning to cave in and the wall with the window had given up the fight to remain structurally sound and was simply a void out into the gardens below.
“Small miracles...” Shrike gave a groan and stepped close to the gaping void where the wall with the window was minutes ago. She pulled her helmet free and let it drop, looking down at the courtyard below the hospital window. “Trusty!” Her voice returned in full and she made a stumbling hop from the ledge, gliding down on her bruised and singed wings before tumbling to a painful stop on the grass. She struggled onto her hooves and limped to the side of a pony who lay in the grass and rubble, smoking from everywhere and shaking uncontrollably.
“Star...” Shrike reached out carefully and pulled the younger pegasus' helmet off slow as she could. Star looked up at her with eyes that could only be described as haunting. Tears soaked her blackened cheeks and blood pooled on her coat where pieces of table and barrel had impaled themselves in her skin. Shrike tried hard not to look at the marred limb which had been missing its shoe as she choked gently and brushed Shooting Star's cheeks slow and careful. Never before had she seen so terrible an injury and instantly it brought vivid images of the coal miners who walked on three hooves and a peg, victims of cave ins or pockets of explosive gas. “Oh Celestia, Star...”
Shooting Star began to cry in earnest, the momentary shock beginning to drain away. It tore deep at Shrike's heart to see her brave friend sobbing for her mother. The grey pegasus pulled Star's forehead against her neck gently as she could. “I want my momma.” Star managed before her whole body tensed. She let out a scream as a breeze barely caressed what body wasn't covered in warped or blackened armour
“Stay with us, Star...” Shrike shut her eyes tight and threw back her head, summoning up every ounce of authority she could muster in her voice. “Healer! We need a healer here NOW!” She could hear the hooves approaching at speed, the clatter of armour as more guards landed to render aid. She kept her eyes closed and spread her wings wide, sheltering her Constable as best she could while she whispered breathlessly in her ear. “Just hang on, filly... be brave... please.”
Shrike was glad her eyes were closed, she didn't want the other guards to see her cry.

Celestia wiped her eyes again and turned away from the pair of hospital beds. The comatose stallion who clung to life and the young pegasus who would lose a forehoof before the day was out, her brave ponies who would suffer by the will of the mysterious 'Dark Lady'.
“S-sulphur, charcoal and saltpetre...” Twilight Sparkle spoke soft and subdued, “A huge and dangerous amount of firework powder with a spell trigger to set it off. Oh Princess... is she,” Twilight gulped, “D-dying?”
“No... no, Twilight. She will live though I think her days of being a guard are over. She may even fly again... one day...” Celestia stepped past Twilight and into the hallway outside her chambers. Her own bedroom converted to a ward to house the targeted ponies.
“Princess, what should we do now? It seems the closer we get the worse this unicorn tries to hurt us.” Twilight had to trot briskly to keep up with Celestia's strides, the Princess trembling slightly.
“There is nothing we can do...” The Solar Princess walked faster and Twilight broke into a canter. “Too many have suffered at the hooves of this unicorn and I will have no more.”
“You... can't be giving up.” Twilight tried to step in front of the Princess and Celestia snapped her head down to stare at her student. The purple unicorn froze instantly at the anger welling up in the eyes of her mentor.
“Twilight Sparkle! I am a danger to the lives of my subjects!” Celestia was trembling, the fury in her eyes being tempered with true fear. “I can do nothing to stop these attacks, they can slip past my finest guards and find new ways of causing suffering and death. I feel the lives of each of my precious ponies and when one candle is snuffed out before its time, I bleed within. I will abdicate my throne if it means preserving the lives of you and the rest of my subjects.”
“No...” Twilight whispered gently, standing as firm as she was able. “Nopony will stand for that.” Celestia's eyes narrowed and Twilight summoned up every ounce of her courage. She desperately wished her knees didn't feel so weak.
“You dare stand against me?!” the Princess' voice raised further still. Paintings rattled against the walls and the hanging flowers began to wilt as the waves of heat rolled relentlessly from Celestia's shoulders. The might of the sun focused down on the purple unicorn who felt so very small.
Twilight began to shake, tears rolling over her cheeks as her mind whirled through everything that could happen at this point. From banishment to her mentor simply waving her horn and reducing her to ash. She felt the weight of the brass badge which hung from her neck and more importantly, the weight of the duty which hung in her heart. “Yes... I will stop you from making a mistake even if it means I never see my friends again or even see another sunrise. Equestria wouldn't be Equestria without its Princesses. I have faith in you... and in my friends.”
Celestia's eyes softened and she scooped Twilight up in a hug, trembling as she whispered in the purple unicorn's ear. “Where did you learn such courage? You have surpassed all my expectations for you, Twilight. You've grown into a potent spellcaster and a truly courageous knight. I wish I could summon up your ancestors and let them see the heights their line would reach.”
Twilight did her best to contain her blush, which wasn't very well contained at all, she trembled softly just as her teacher did. It took a gentle cough to draw their attentions to the alicorn who stood with a slight smirk on her lips. “I do hope I am not interrupting you two. But I believe I have found something that should interest you both.” Celestia coughed nervously and released her student who was sheepishly trying to look anywhere so long as it avoided the gaze of both princesses. Luna's smirk faded and she turned, beckoning the other mares to follow her. “We have located our mysterious alchemist... and you are not going to like this.”

Twilight stood patiently in the hallway outside the chambers of a pony she had known well. The old mare from a little village on the other side of the Canterlot mountains had been the most memorable of her many teachers at Canterlot University. She remembered her voice and that distinctive accent well as she fretted over a potion which wasn't coming along right or occasionally muttering foul language under her breath when Twilight ended up with her mane singed. What she remembered most about the blue earth pony mare was the look in her rose coloured eyes when Twilight passed her alchemy exam at the very top of her class.
The purple unicorn looked up briefly from her in-depth study of the lines in the marble floor as the white stretcher was wheeled out with the unmoving shape beneath it. Miss Briar Wormwood, respected teacher and learned researcher. Of all the ponies Twilight knew, she thought she was the least likely to be anypart of these dark times.
“First rule of assassination... kill the assassins.” The soft voice of Princess Luna spoke to Twilight's right. “Stabbed twice in the back at her desk. No apparent witnesses either though she kept a very thorough, and thankfully well-hidden, diary. In which she has confessed to several crimes committed at the order of our mysterious foe... all to ensure her family would stay housed and fed. She also had the good grace to proclaim the innocence of Constable Storm, who turned himself in earlier today.”
“It could be anypony couldn't it, Princess?” Twilight's voice betrayed the heartache which had been mounting ever since the ordeal began. “This dark pony finds a weakness and uses it to force you to betray your friends, your family, your country... anypony could be working for her.”
“We can't begin to jump at shadows, Twilight. I still have faith in our stalwart guards and your steadfast friends. They will win the day.” The night Princess looked over her shoulder at her sister who stepped from the old alchemist's rooms with her head held low. The darkest days of Equestria were growing closer and Luna hoped that Celestia had the strength to persevere herself, not to mention her dwindling champions.

The Elements of Harmony, minus the Element of Magic, sat still around the small table in Princess Celestia's sitting room. The cups of tea they had been provided had long since gone cold and the plate of donuts sat with only one missing. Pinkie Pie stared down at that missing donut which sat lonely on her napkin with barely a nibble taken.
“H-has anypony heard anything about Star?” The soft voice of Fluttershy barely broke the silence and was followed by a stamp of the hoof from Rainbow Dash which nearly upset her cup of tea. Fluttershy retreated behind her mane and let out a squeak which was verging on a sob.
“S-sorry...”The rainbow-maned pegasus slumped back more and returned her eyes to the wood grain in the tabletop. “S-Star... won't be flying anymore... she,” Rainbow shook softly and dug her hooves into her eyes in an effort to force the tears to stop. “I can't... I can't talk about this anymore, guys.”
“I’m sick and tired a seein' ponies I like gettin' dropped flank first inta tha grave.” Applejack tipped her hat slowly off her head and looked upon the badge which she had clipped to the hatband of her faithful cowpony headgear.
“We truly never belonged in this mess from the very start.” Rarity dabbed her eyes with a delicate napkin and looked forlornly at her friends. Rarity's words were met with soft nods of resignation. The Element of Laughter was still and silent, she didn't much feel like laughing anymore.
“I'm going home....” The pink pony slowly rose, her usually puffy mane now deflated somewhat, and turned her eyes to meet the gazes of her remaining friends, they hadn't heard her speak for nearly an hour and waited with bated breath as she un-clipped her badge and placed it with care beside the donut. “This isn't an adventure anymore... this isn't fun or happy. I can't protect ponies from these kinda bad things. They turned fireworks into a thing to hurt ponies. Fireworks! What's next? Cake? Candy? Balloons?”
“Pinkie dear, I know you're upset but we can't just leave.” Rarity stood slowly as well but paled when Pinkie rounded on her and jabbed an accusing hoof in her direction.
“You said yourself that we don't belong here! You can't fight! Fluttershy won't fight! And everypony else is getting hurt or killed!” Pinkie's eyes betrayed a well of emotions Rarity turned her gaze to the floor.
Applejack was next to rise and her badge was next to be left on the tabletop. “Pinkie's right y’all. Ah'm a farmer through and through. My pappy and his pappy before him all the way back. I ain't a guardpony. It was fun fer a bit. Chasin' after bad ponies and fightin' fer law and order in Equestria but I got apples ta buck...” Without a further word, she shuffled towards the door and left the room, head hung low.
With the greatest care, Rarity followed, she never raised her eyes from the floor or made an effort to say her farewells. Fluttershy softly mumbled an apology and too left the room, her gentle sobs reaching the remaining two ponies. “So... just me then...” Rainbow Dash smirked a mirthless kind of smirk and turned her rose eyes up to meet the gaze of the pink pony.
Pinkie's eyes softened and she trembled slightly. “Dashie... please come with me. This is really too dangerous.” Rainbow snorted dismissively and leaned back to gaze up at the painted ceiling of the Princess' sitting room. Pictures from long ago gazed back at her, flights of pegasai locked in duels with the gryphons. The first of the weather workers summoning up storms to drive the dark and evil in the world back from where it came from. Her rose eyes lingered on the expertly painted portrait of Commander Hurricane and Rainbow's heart caught in her throat.
“I made a promise. No, more than that. I gave my word that I would fight to protect Equestria and I don't back down from that kinda thing, Pinks. I'm a pegasus, descendant of the first defenders of Equestria... I don't run.” Dash closed her eyes and sighed softly before she felt the gentlest of pressure resting on her lips. A contact she returned with care before the kiss was broken and the soft voice of the pink pony whispered in her ear.
“I need you to protect me...” Pinkie stifled a sniffle and sunk down, resting her head on Dash's shoulder where she could receive a gentle petting through her mane. Rainbow always told those who asked that she had a pony in her life already and only her closest friends knew who what pony was. Rainbow Dash bit her lip for just a moment before she hooked the badge off its chain around her neck and gazed at the polished brass.
The moment she had been given the shiny little shield seemed so very long ago but it had changed something. The Wonderbolts had always been her dream, from the very moment she was old enough to fly, but being given the badge and the weight of responsibility it held was something new, something bigger. She saw Shooting Star and Captain Shrike and realized that she could do that. The flight school drop-out could become a hero, could save ponies and punish those who stepped outside the law. She hadn't thought about the Wonderbolts in weeks.
“Dashie please.” Pinkie pleaded and shook Dash gently from her introspection. “Dashie you promised you would take care of me. I need you, Rainbow.” Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and trembled as she was torn between one kind of loyalty and another. Between her feelings for the pink mare and the weight of heroism and loyalty to the crown.
“Dashie...” Pinkie whispered and tried to dry her tears on Rainbow's shoulder to no avail. “I don't want you to die. I love you...”
The room fell into silence for a long moment before the calm was broken by the sound of the last Special Constable badge clattering onto the tabletop.