The Elements of Honor

by Flanagan


Chapter 22: Change of Stations

Greatsword followed the Princess like she asked, leading him to the briefing room. Commander Garrison and the remaining members of the 1025th were present as well, awaiting his arrival. “What is this about?” Greatsword asked.
“Greatsword,” Commander Garrison said with a heavy tone, “Record Keeper is dead…”
“I know…” Greatsword said, to the shock of all the ponies.
“We found out ten minutes ago,” Lug Nut said focusing his gaze on Greatsword, “how do you already know?”
“I was there…” Greatsword responded, much to the surprise of his comrades, “I watched her die.”
“And you didn’t stop her?!” Battleaxe yelled at Greatsword. “She JUMPED off the top of her apartment building!”
“I tried…” Greatsword said tearing up, “but the shadow had me in his magic’s hold.”
“He’s an evil pony,” Battleaxe said with his tone growing somber. “Five years ago he attacked Princess Luna, almost killed her, but the three of us arrived just in time to save her.” Warhammer ran out the briefing room, his destination was obvious to everypony in the room.
“This time he attacked Record Keeper…” Greatsword said. “But I was too late.” Greatsword clinched his jaw “he was… he was, forcing himself on her, I attacked him as I had before. Record Keeper in her pain must have seen no other way out…” he wiped a stray tear away from his eye.
“How did you get out alive?” Battleaxe said looking to his brother, “Last time I had to shoot him with one of my spells; and that only distracted him.”
“I don’t know, but something inside me came out,” Greatsword said looking to his hooves. “Something that allowed me to break free from his grasp, I don’t know what it was, but it allowed me to nearly kill him.”
“NEARLY kill him?” Battleaxe yelled in disbelief. “How did you nearly kill him?!”
“He had me pinned in his magical grasp and when he said that everypony I love will die because of me…” Greatsword clinched his teeth “then, when I went to strike him my hoof was free, it was glowing a royal blue color when my hoof hit his face.”
“I have never heard of such an ability in all my life…” Princess Celestia said, “Greatsword, whatever you did was the doing of magic far before my time.”
“That doesn’t matter right now,” Greatsword said turning to the Princess, “what matters is that another pony I cared about is gone,” he looked to the floor, “this place holds too many memories… too much pain.”
“That was the other thing we were going to talk about.” Commander Garrison said. “The Princess believes that the 1025th has served Equestria well, but it needs to be disbanded.”
“WHAT?!” Battleaxe yelled, “you’re breaking us up?!”
“No,” Princess Celestia said, casting her gaze to Battleaxe. “Commander Garrison will no longer have a personal unit, the six of you will be charged with a different mission.”
“And what mission would that be, Princess?” Lug Nut asked the Princess.
“The six of you will be tasked with setting up a small defense force in one of the small towns on the Everfree boarder,” Princess Celestia responded, “you will all be going to Ponyville.”
“Huh, I got family in Ponyville,” Long Shot said responding to this information, “it’s been nearly nine years since I’ve seen them, I guess that’ll be nice.”
“We shall prepare for departure as fast as we can, my lady,” Greatsword said turning to the exit. “The sooner the better…”
“Don’t forget to tell Warhammer, Greatsword,” Commander Garrison said while Greatsword walked out with the rest of the ponies, “he ran out once you mentioned the shadow, I can safely assume that he is in Princess Luna’s room.”
He nodded as he closed the door behind him, leaving the Commander and Princess Celestia alone in the room. “Are you sure about this Commander?” Princess Celestia said she turning to him, “Do you truly think that this is a good way to help them cope?”
“I had no other choice, my lady,” Commander Garrison said hanging his head low. “They can’t just be expected to endure such a loss, and with Record Keeper gone now as well, I fear Greatsword might do something to get himself killed in the field.”
“I fear that too,” the Princess said looking to the door, “among all of them, Greatsword needs peace the most.”
“I fear that no war might kill him just as quickly, my lady,” Commander Garrison said walking to stand next to the Princess. “He has no other reason to live than war.”
“Then we can only hope that Ponyville shall give him a new reason to live.” Princess Celestia said while she and Commander Garrison walked out of the room.
Warhammer stood at the front of Princess Luna’s door as his brothers explained to him the plan. He nodded to them as he closed the door behind them and walked back to the terrified Princess. Gently nudging her shoulder she finally calmed down enough to talk
“W-what was that about?” she asked him, Warhammer stood over her like a true guardian.
“The 1025th has been disbanded…” Warhammer said looking down to her.
“You are no longer in the military?” Princess Luna said hopping up with a smile. “Now you can just stay with me and never leave!” She wrapped her hooves around Warhammer’s neck. “The love will be doubled!”
“I wish it were that simple, Luna…” Warhammer said pushing the Princess away from him, his hooves still on her shoulders. “But it never is.”
“What’s wrong?” Princess Luna asked, the look on her face changed from elation to concern.
“The remainder of my old unit will be assembled into a new unit that will be stationed in Ponyville.” Warhammer paused looking into her eyes, “I will no longer be in Canterlot.”
Princess Luna had a look of disbelief as she processed what Warhammer had said. “But… but what about us?” she asked him, “wha-what about me?” Princess Luna’s entire body began to tremble with fear.
“You said that The Shadow had returned and killed Record Keeper… what if you leave and he knows you’re gone? W-what if he comes for me next?” she began to cry into Warhammer’s chest, “I don’t want to die! Not after I finally found somepony to love the way I love you!”
For the first time in his life Warhammer didn’t know what to say, he stood there as his love continued to cry into his chest. Princess Luna was right, after he left the shadow might return to finish the job he started over fifteen hundred years ago. Warhammer’s eyes grew misty as he returned the Princess’s embrace, even though he didn’t want to go for the same reasons Luna didn’t want him to leave for, he still had an obligation to the whole of Equestria.
“My place is with you Luna,” Warhammer began, “but to protect you I must leave… even if I do not want to…”
“T-that doesn’t make any sense…” Princess Luna said looking up to Warhammer, tears still running down her face, “To protect what you love, why would you leave it?”
“I must do all I can to insure your safety, Luna,” Warhammer said stroking her mane, “and to do that I need to find more ponies who will fight against the shadow and stand with my brothers and I. The Lunar Guard will keep you safe for now, after all I trained your two personal guards.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better about you leaving, Warhammer,” Princess Luna said, placing her head back on his chest, “I just want you to stay…” the Princess closed her eyes, her tears continued to fall, “I could use a Commander for my guards,” she said looking up to him, “I won’t ask you to do it because I know you’ll say yes, but I do want you to know that the option is there…”
The two sat there in each other’s embrace, until Battleaxe barged into the room. “You got to get packed up, little bro!” he shouted in a rushed tone, “We’ll be heading out in a few days!” Battleaxe slammed the door as he left to pack his own personal items.
“I better get packing then…” Warhammer said rising from the floor.
“Yes,” Princess Luna responded softly, “yes you should…” When Warhammer started to leave Princess Luna stopped him with her hoof, “Warhammer,” she began, “I love you…”
Warhammer turned to Princess Luna again smiling, “I love you too.” he said while a tear formed in his eye. He gave her a small kiss and with that he began to make his way back to his quarters.
Battleaxe entered their quarters first and to his surprise he was the only one in there. He could understand Warhammer not being there yet, but Greatsword not being there was strange to him.
“Must be talking to Commander Garrison about our new living quarters I guess…” he said to himself trotting over to his bed and began to pack.
“Or maybe he has forgotten you…” a voice said from behind Battleaxe.
“The hell was that?” Battleaxe said swiftly turning to face the direction of the voice.
“You’re SO much like your brother,” the shadow said stepping into the light, “You know who said it, and yet you still ask who said it anyway.”
“Why the HELL are YOU here?” Battleaxe said taking a defensive stance.
“No need to be like that Battleaxe, can’t I just be here to talk?” the shadow responded limping towards Battleaxe.
“Talk isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when somepony mentions you,” Battleaxe said still observing his unwanted guest. “Now I’ll ask one more time, why the hell are you here?”
“Well, after what your brother did to me a few hours ago,” the shadow said pointing to his impaled chest, “you can bet I’m not going to be doing what I really want to do.”
“And that would be?” Battleaxe immediately regretted asking that question.
“Damn, you’re an idiot…” the shadow said chuckling a little, “you know I was just going to stop by have lunch, a few drinks, a few laughs…” the shadow looked around the room, “oh, and kill you, but that’s not the point now.”
“Then what is?” Battleaxe asked ready to attack. “After big bro almost killed you, why would you come to me?”
“Almost?!” the shadow laughed, “You can’t kill what is already dead, Battleaxe.” the shadow said stopping only feet away from Battleaxe. “Anyway, I’m just here to remind you that you’re not going to be in Canterlot anymore.”
“Your point?” Battleaxe said still ready to attack.
“Well I’m just saying that since you won’t be here anymore,” the shadow said pretending to be concerned, “nopony will know who you are once you get to your new station, it will almost be like you getting forgotten again.”
“My brothers, friends and I have been awarded something that nopony has been awarded in nearly one thousand years,” Battleaxe retorted, “my face is on the cover of nearly every major tabloid and respected newspaper, I think they’ll know who I am.”
“Do you think those ponies care about awards, let alone read the paper?” the shadow said, “the most I read the paper for is for the funnies, Battleaxe, and once one of the ponies that actually matters to the press kills themselves, gets a divorce, or runs for public office, your story will be dropped like if you gave me a newborn foal.”
“Ponies care about those who fight for their freedom.” Battleaxe said gritting his teeth, “they see us as heroes.”
“No they don’t,” the shadow laughed. “They care about rich and famous ponies, not mud-brained grunts! Nopony wants to live like a soldier. They want to live in excess, not live in the lack of it.”
“You’re wrong…” Battleaxe said growing ever angrier, “they will remember.”
“Face it, Battleaxe,” The Shadow said turning to return to the darkness, “ponies these days are too busy enjoying their freedom and trying to get rich, famous and popular rather than trying to protect that freedom and hold the ones who actually keep it safe in high regard. Even you are more concerned with notoriety than for your fellow soldiers.”
“LIAR!” Battleaxe roared to the shadow, his eyes watered at the shadow’s cold words.
“The only lie being told is the one you’re telling yourself,” The Shadow said laughing, still limping to the dark. “You never cared about the 1025th, you only wanted the fame, and now you have it…” the shadow disappeared into the blackness, “but your fifteen minutes are almost up, Battleaxe, and soon you will be forgotten all over again.” his last words echoed into Battleaxe’s head as he stood there, a tear or two coming down his cheek.
“They WILL remember…” Battleaxe said to himself as he stormed back to his bed, “they have to, after all I did…” he paused and took a deep breath, “After what WE did.” he wiped the tears from his eyes. “What the hell have I become?” he asked himself. “Did I really get that caught up in my only fear that I forgot what mattered most?” he sat on his bed, his head in his hooves.
Greatsword entered the room only minutes after the shadow had left Battleaxe to his thoughts. “Are you ok, Battleaxe?” he asked very concerned for the now quiet Battleaxe, “Is there something wrong?”
“No.” Battleaxe said getting off his bed and began packing again. “I could never be better. This town is getting old anyway. I could stand to meet a few new mares.”
“Always thinking with the other head it seems…” Greatsword said trying to lighten the mood. It was odd to him that the tables were turned for this conversation. Battleaxe and Greatsword began to pack their things and were nearly finished when Warhammer finally arrived to do the same. After a few exhausting hours their task was complete in a few days they were to head to a new place, a new start for them all.
The six ponies stood at the train station three days later, all ready to leave, except one. As they waited two ponies they didn’t expect came to see them off. “You all ready to leave this place?” Shining Armor said to all the ponies waiting for the train to arrive.
“We are, Shining Armor,” Greatsword said walking to him. “The ride will be the worst part, five days with several stops in all.”
“I sent a letter to my little sister in Ponyville telling her all of you were coming,” Shining Armor said smiling at Greatsword, “I’m sure she’d love to give all of you the grand tour.”
“You’re too kind, Shiny.” Greatsword said back.
“It’s the least we could do for you,” Princess Cadence said, placing her hoof on Greatsword’s shoulder, “after you saved my husband.”
“Just doing my job, Cadie,” Greatsword said. “I’m sure he’d do the same for me.”
“That’s wishful thinking,” Princess Cadence giggled, “I must be off now, I wish you luck.”
“Thank you, my lady.” Greatsword said bowing to her while she walked away.
“I’m sorry about Record Keeper,” Shining Armor said while Greatsword rose, “I know you two were good friends…”
“Yeah…” Greatsword said looking away, “friends…”
Shining Armor then extended his hoof to Greatsword, “Good Luck out there.” he said with a smile.
Greatsword accepted the gesture and shook his hoof and nodded. A few minutes later the train finally arrived and after an emotional goodbye between Warhammer and Princess Luna. The ponies boarded the train, waving to the ones, and the life, they would leave behind.