//------------------------------// // 6. For Canterlot! - Part 2 // Story: Secrets of a Royal Guard // by Anzel //------------------------------// Canterlot was in chaos as the attack from the giant cockatrices raged on. Where we were, however, an eerie quiet surrounded us. It was unsettling. The princess and I looked up and down the street together. On the horizon, the sun was starting to set, and it would soon be the princess’s time to raise the moon. She looked down at me, her horn glowing a soft blue. “I can sense more of the magical creatures about. We have done well, but there is much to do.” Radiant Orchid trotted over to me. “What is the plan, sir?” Azurite had left with more of my guards, and we had sent the injured back as well. Resources were tight. “We’re getting light on ponies. We should probably look for another unit we can hook up with, otherwise we’ll need to retire the field.” Orchid nodded. “That seems sound. Lighting and Tumble, get back up there and give us some eyes.” “Yes ma’am!” Tumble replied before he and his partner leapt into the sky. Princess Luna shifted in agitation. It was plain for anypony to see that she didn’t want to wait or move slowly. There wasn’t long to wait, however, as the sound of clambering hooves on cobblestone caught our attention. Somepony was coming our way and extremely fast. The sound of armored hooves rattled off the buildings and echoed. Lighting Flash swooped down and said, “We’ve got company coming.” “Another unit?” I asked. “No, sir, one pony,” he replied, pointing past me. Orchid and I turned our gazes to follow the path of his hoof. Coming down the street, all alone, and at a full gallop was a single brown stallion in Princess Luna’s colors. It shouldn’t have surprised me that he’d be out looking for us. When Russet Rook reached us, he looked a bit hot under the collar. “Lieutenant, what in Celestia’s name are you doing out here?” he practically shouted. “Defending the city, sir,” I replied calmly. “You’re supposed to be defending the princess!” He had lowered his tone to keep his voice low but the emphasis was there. After I glanced over at Princess Luna, I turned back to him. “If you tell her to go back inside she’s going to say she won’t until Princess Celestia does.” The stallion groaned. “You’re a better princess wrangler than Sunny. We can’t have them both out here! So wrangle her!” “Why don’t we just ask Princess Celestia to retire from the field, then?” Orchid put in. Lieutenant Rook snorted. “The moment the city fell under attack, she flew off. The last time she was seen, she was laying down a world of hurt with a little dragon riding on her back. As much as it pains me to say this, I have no idea where she is.” That was no surprise. Princess Celestia could be very hooves-on when she wanted to be. I tilted my head to the side. “Maybe Sunny could talk her down?” “As I said, you’re a better wrangler than Sunny.” He then sighed and groaned. “I also have no idea where Sunny is, either. When I find one or the other, I’ll ask them to tone it down.” My brow arched at that. “What do you mean you don’t know where they are?” Rook motioned towards the heart of Canterlot. “Her princess flew off into the city, so Sunny and her whole House Guard went after her. They were out here before you. Probably because they rushed out like some sort of wild street gang. There was no order to it. Just wild, angry house guards.” It took a lot of self-control not to grin. Sunny Day was not afraid of anything and, as good as my guards were, hers were all veterans with years of experience. We’d marched out in proper order. They’d burst out like an exploding fireworks display. Russet Rook didn’t seem to take it too well as I patted him on the shoulder. “Well, sir, unfortunately you can’t order me away from my princess in the heat of battle, and she isn’t going home. That just means you’ll have to stick it out with us and make sure she is safe. If you like, I’ll even let you take your old section out for a spin.” The stallion pushed my hoof off his shoulder and glared at me. It wasn’t a real glare. Just one to keep up appearances. “Gee, thanks.” He turned from me and addressed the group, “Alright, everypony, listen up. We’re going to work our way back towards the palace and clear the streets between here and there. I had to dodge at least four of the cockatrices to find you, so I’m sure there will be plenty of work to do.” Far above, the last rays of sunlight gave way to a dark, star-speckled sky. Princess Luna exclaimed, “Behold! The celestial body draws near. Be wary, Lieutenant Rook; the power of the creatures will be at its zenith.” “They weren’t powerful enough before?” he asked. “They will be more so now,” Princess Luna replied. I shifted and said, “You’ve all heard the princess. We need to be extra careful. Keep one eye on your sergeant and the other on your surroundings." Lieutenant Rook nodded and motioned down the street. “Let’s move out. We’ll head down this avenue and catch the cross street towards the palace.” We shifted into position and started to march in the direction he’d indicated. We weren’t halfway to the intersection when Thunder Tumble whistled sharply from above. He pointed the direction opposite the palace. “We’ve got guards pinned in, sir!” “Go get a look, Silent Knight,” Rook ordered. I joined Thunder Tumble in the sky and he motioned to what he was seeing. Sure enough, there was a whole group of guards bottled up in a market square with five cockatrices pinning them in. Lances of magical energy kept erupting from the guards, holding the beasts off, but five was too much for most units and unicorns eventually get worn out from using magic. “Good eye,” I told him before swooping down and landing beside Russet. “Bad news, sir. Five angry birds are closing in on a section of guards. It looks like they have some powerful unicorns but I can’t imagine they’ll hold forever.” Russet looked at the princess and then up the street. He shook his head, let out a groan, and commanded, “Quick march, we’ve got ponies to rescue! Sergeant Iridescence, keep your squad close to the princess.” “Yes, sir!” Iridescence responded as we picked up the pace. My section headed down the avenue and turned away from the palace. Out ahead of us we could see the backside of at least one cockatrice. There was also the occasional flash of unicorn magic and the sounds of crossbows firing. “Skirmish formation! Spread out and advance,” Lieutenant Rook ordered, and my ponies obeyed. We closed the rest of the ground between us and the cockatrice. “Halt! Fire at will!” Once again, we made use of our crossbows and sent numerous bolts into the backside of the nearest beast. It squawked in surprise and wheeled around to face us. When it did that, it caught a golden bolt of magical energy from behind that set its tail feathers on fire. That really got it moving! It charged right at us only to be knocked out cold by one of Princess Luna’s magical blasts. From the plaza beyond, there was a hearty cheer. Lieutenant Rook motioned. “Advance into the plaza and secure a retreat route!” I trotted out ahead of the section. “Mountain Stone, cover the left. Miley Hooves, cover the right. Iridescence, keep the princess in the middle.” “Aye, sir!” came the reply before everypony surged forwards. We broke into the plaza and split up to cover the southern half of the square that surrounded it. I hurried into the green space where the ponies were pinned down. “Well, hello there, Silent Knight!” Sunny Day called before another golden blast of magic launched from her horn. “Welcome to the party!” I tried not to smile. One of us had to be the professional. “Ready to get out of here?” The unicorn mare nodded. “Yes, but I’ve got wounded. Some bad.” A quick glance around confirmed not only that, but also that Sunny was leading a makeshift unit. There were many from her section, but I also saw palace and city guards mixed in. I nodded. “No problem, hold them here a moment more.” “Make it quick,” she grunted before firing off another beam. From over my shoulder, another blast of Princess Luna’s energy sent a cockatrice sprawling. It tumbled against a building before slumping down. I turned and flew out of the central area to where my ponies were. They had surrounded a third cockatrice and were keeping it at bay with continuous crossbow fire and bucks to the feet. “We’ve got multiple wounded that can’t walk,” I called down to Russet Rook. He nodded and looked over at Miley Hooves. “Sergeant, get your ponies in there and start hauling the wounded out. We’re not going to be able to stay here much longer. It is time to retire the field.” Princess Luna’s ears twitched and she advanced into the market square. Radiant Orchid, Iridescence, and her ponies trotted alongside her while I flew overhead. There was another flash of alicorn magic and we were suddenly down to one cockatrice in our immediate vicinity. Miley Hooves and her squad gathered the wounded and started moving them out of the center area and towards the way we’d come. In the opposite direction, I caught sight of movement and my heart sank. The cockatrices had either called for reinforcements or we’d made enough noise to draw their attention. A whole flock of them were running our way, wings flapping in agitation. One particularly mean-looking one was leading the rest. “Sunny, it’s time to go!” I called from above. “There are eight more heading this way.” “Cover the wounded and fall back!” Sunny shouted. The mishmash of royal guards left the square just as Princess Luna zapped the last remaining cockatrice of the original group. I dove towards her and yelled, “Princess, you need to fall back, too!” She flashed a disgruntled look up at me but replied, “Very well!” Thankfully, she kept to our agreement and moved after the rest of the guards. Russet Rook ordered firmly, “Everypony, fall back in an orderly fashion. We are returning to the palace to tend the wounded and regroup.” Both sections formed up and started to hurry down the street. My wings flapped as I held myself aloft and kept an eye on the approaching cockatrices. They were covering more ground than we were. Carrying wounded was simply slowing us down too much. I looked at the retreating unified House Guard and then back at the magic-fueled beasts. A diligent flyer could distract them and lead them away. Perhaps buy enough time before going down. Just as I made the decision to be that distraction, a streak of white caught my attention. Princess Celestia flew by in all of her radiant glory. A young dragon was perched precariously on her back and carrying a golden trident. The pair dove towards the eight cockatrices and, a moment later, a whole contingent of pegasi followed behind. The group was an irregular unit, but that made sense. There weren’t a lot of all-pegasus units outside of our own cities. Putting together an ad hoc team to chase after the princess was a good plan. Wonderbolts, city guards, and palace guards alike followed in the wake of the alicorn and joined the battle against the giant birds. Another white blur zoomed past before looping around and coming back my way. Even under the armor, I recognized her as Winterspear right away. “Silent Knight, thank goodness you’re okay!” “I can handle myself in a fight,” I replied, but in truth I was relieved to see her, too. She reached a hoof out to me and I took it. “You sure can. I’ve got to catch up with the others, but be careful, alright?” “You’ve got it. Iridescence is fine, too. Be careful, okay? These things are seriously dangerous. I have wounded.” She nodded and, for the briefest of moments, we shared a look. Then went our separate ways, Winterspear after Princess Celestia and me after Princess Luna. We were a family of guards who understood duty always came first. Most ponies would have an issue with that, but it was who we were. I dove down and landed at the head of our column. “We’ve got cover now. March, double time.” All of the ponies, including the ones carrying the wounded, gave it all they could to speed up. Sunny Day trotted up to my side and fell in step with me. Russet Rook took the lead. Behind us, I could hear the disjointed sounds of hoofsteps shift into ordered, measured, simultaneous marching. Show a little confidence and your guards will follow suit. I whispered to Sunny, “Azurite was out here. She said she couldn’t live with herself hiding in the office. She managed to save several foals. I sent her with some guards back to the palace.” “Thank you, that takes a load off my mind. I’m sure Soarin is somewhere up there doing his part, too,” Sunny whispered, her tone even and her eyes forwards. I could sense the tension draining from her. It must have been tough being out in the city doing your duty while knowing that somewhere out here you had a loved one who could be in danger. Winterspear was safe and that thankfully meant everypony close to me was safe. My thoughts swirled… and I realized how wrong I was. No… not everypony was safe. There were others, there was— “Crystal!” I gasped. Sunny saw my distress and bumped me with her shoulder. I quickly fell back into step. My heart started racing. In the heat of the moment, I hadn’t thought about her or Runic or any of the others. There was a city to save and a princess to protect, but Crystal needed to be protected, too. “She’ll be okay,” Sunny whispered. “Keep it together.” I set my jaw and just nodded. My eyes flicked towards the castle as we rapidly approached it. From where we were, it looked in far less disarray and, to my relief, there was a large column of royal guards marching our way, at least two or three companies in all. “Halt and make way!” Russet Rook called and we obeyed, shifting to the side of the street. At the head of the column was a black-coated unicorn stallion that I didn’t recognize. He trotted out ahead of his demi-battalion to approach us. He bowed to the princess and then said, “It looks like you’ve all seen a lot of action today.” “Yes, sir, we’ve done our part,” Rook replied. One glance at the stallion’s heavy, near full-plate armor was all it took for me to put the pieces together. These weren’t royal guards. This was the Equestrian Army. They had a small base close to Canterlot, and probably every mare and stallion from it was standing before us. “I can see that,” the unicorn replied. “Excellent work. I consider it a privilege to have been in the presence of the princess and her House Guard. If you’ll excuse me, though, we have to clean up the last of the cockatrices. Our scouts say it looks like the vast majority of them are down.” Princess Luna nodded “Thank you for making the trip up. Your ponies will ease the burden greatly. I wish you the best of luck.” “And good hunting,” Russet Rook put in. The unicorn bowed before hurrying back to the head of his column. We all stood off to the side and watched them go by. Everypony wore the same heavy armor and carried unconcealed weapons: swords, heavy crossbows, and lances. We were mostly knocking the beasts unconscious until the magic of the comet wore off. I doubted any that ran into these ponies would survive the encounter. Soldiers aren’t trained to subdue. Rook looked back at us and motioned forwards. “We need to get these wounded looked at. Move out.” ☾ The battle of Canterlot drew to a close just before dawn. The comet had left the immediate vicinity and its magic dissipated shortly thereafter. When it did, the cockatrices shrunk down to their normal sizes and became a lot less aggressive. We’d spent the rest of the night in the street outside of the castle gate keeping it clear so that wounded could be brought in and civilians could find shelter. The Royal Guard had responded appropriately and, for as large and dangerous as the birds were, there were not a lot of serious injuries. Bones were broken, pride was wounded, but, in general, things turned out alright. I stood on the empty street silently hoping that Crystal Wishes was not one of the few that had actually been badly hurt. The all clear had just been sounded and the City Guard was out trying to make certain that everypony was cared for. Princess Luna sat quietly on one of the benches, looking out into the night. Most of my guards were in a similar state, lying near her in exhaustion. It was time to turn that around, even if I wasn’t feeling confident. I trotted over and hopped up beside the princess. Instead of sitting, I stood tall and cleared my throat. “In the coming days, we’re going to hear about this battle. The good, the bad, and possibly the tragic. What you all need to remember is that when there was nothing but chaos, you rose to the occasion and did your duty.” All eyes shifted to me. That had gotten their attention and many of my ponies stood up. “Today, you protected your princess and this city. You risked everything once again for your fellow ponies and were found to be more than a match for our enemy. We were tested in the fire of combat, and here we still stand!” The members of my section started stomping their hooves. “I am proud of you, one and all. The day is won, our banner flies high, and we know only victory. Drink it in, enjoy it, but remember that all wins are fleeting. We march on to the next challenge.” Princess Luna stood up beside me. “Well said, Silent Knight. Thank you all for going above and beyond what was called for. I realize chasing me out into the field is unnatural, but you handled it well. Now, we should rest. As your leader has said, there will be more challenges tomorrow.” It was time to get back to our usual rotation and protection detail. My mind was a bit muddled with the mixed feelings of victory and worry. There was a roster I needed to recall, but several ponies were now injured. Others had families that needed to be checked on. We’d have to wing it for a few days. “Sergeant Hooves, you’ll be watch lead for the first shift today. Sergeant Iridescence, you’ll take second. Minimal watch to begin with.” I then motioned them over to add more privately, “Send the ponies with families home first. We’ll put the single ones on watch.” “Yes, sir,” they responded softly. Miley picked out four guards and they all moved to the princess’s side. “I want the rest of you to go home and tend to what needs tending to. Keep me in the loop if there is something that may require you to miss time. Otherwise, starting tomorrow, we go back to business as usual. Dismissed.” The section broke up and started heading in several different directions. I remained where I was, looking vigilant and cool. On the inside, I was nervous. There were ponies I cared for out in the city. My cousin Runic, my friend Velvet, my sister Winterspear, and the mare I cared about most, Crystal Wishes. “Princess, I think it is time you headed back inside,” I said, looking up at her. “There isn’t anything else you can do here.” She nodded with only a little reluctance. “I think you’re right, Silent Knight. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I waited until she and her escort were in the palace before I took to the sky. Every fiber of my being urged me to race as fast as possible, but a Royal Guard officer doing so might cause panic. After orienting myself in the direction of Crystal’s building, I flew at a brisk pace. My stomach sank when I arrived. The front of the building had been smashed; one of the cockatrices had clearly fallen against it. There was broken glass everywhere and all of the windows were dark. Crystal’s unit was on the opposite side and had likely been spared the damage, but the building looked rough. I hurried through the remains of the front entry and up the stairs to her floor. When I got to her door, I knocked three times. There was no answer. “Crystal? Velvet?” I called before knocking again. Still no answer. “Crystal!” I shouted. Nothing. Without another moment’s hesitation, I pivoted on my forelegs and bucked the door right at the handle. It gave way and exploded inside. I hurried in after it, looking around. The condo was in pretty good shape structurally, but almost everything that had been on a shelf had fallen over, probably when the beast had hit the building. Frantically, I searched every inch of the dwelling. They weren’t there. Crystal and Velvet hadn’t been home when the attack started, or they’d left. My heart raced as I stood in the dark, disheveled room alone. That meant they were somewhere out in Canterlot. They had been in danger, and I hadn’t been there to protect them.