One week later...
Celestia's sun shined brightly in the sky as pony stallions pulling a golden wagon arrived through the gates of Canterlot. After a week of peace and relaxation, the happily married couple, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, were returning from their Honeymoon.
“Sure is nice to be back in Canterlot again.” said Cadance as she gazed out to towards the beautiful city. It was hard to believe that nearly a week ago, it all probably would've been gone had she and her new prince not stopped the Changelings and their vile Queen. She rested her head gently on Shining's shoulder while still looking out. “But I will always cherish the memories of our Honeymoon.”
“Me too.” Shining Armor smiled. “It was a very joyful and memorable experience. Especially after that whole Changeling incident.”
“No way! I was just thinking that too.” Cadance laughed. She snuggled against Shining's mane. “We truly needed a time away together. Are you sure you can't wait until we get to the castle? I heard Twilight will be there to meet us.”
“I wish I could, but this really needs to be taken care of. It's... rather personal.”
Cadance didn't say anything, but nodded.
It didn't take long before they arrived at the Canterlot Royal Academy. This was the home and learning facility for the Royal Guards of Canterlot and their new applicants. Already it showed sign of activity as trainees busily marched up and down the square under the directions of their drill instructors.
As Shining looked out, he couldn't help but remember back when he first arrived at the Academy. To join the guard had been his life long dream and he really enjoyed his time there as a trainee. Sure it was hard, but he never gave up and ranked far beyond everypony else in terms of marks and achievements.
It was these accomplishments that led him to becoming a respected Captain of the Guard.
“I won't be long, honey. You and Twilight have fun.”
Cadance blew him kisses just as the doors closed and the wagon sped off. “We'll be waiting!”
Once the wagon had left, Shining turned around to face the Academy. He took a deep breath and exhailed calmly. He was going to enjoy this.
*****
Forefront arrived outside the Academy, just as Shining Armor stepped inside the building leading to his office. He sighed heavily as he knew he had to do this. It was for the best. For him. The Guard. For Lily. And Cutie...
*****
Shining Armor opened the door to his office and stepped inside. Everything was exactly how he left it. “I sure am going to miss this place...” He sighed as he closed the door.
While he was still technically a Captain of the Guard, he wasn't going to be for much longer. Now that he was married to royalty, his position had been somewhat elevated. Now it was time to... 'clean office' as it were.
Shining trotted over to his desk and reached for an old photo of himself as a young recruit. He gazed upon his younger self and couldn't fathom it had been that long. It seemed like only yesterday when he got yelled at by his drill instructor.
To think that he would go so far and wed a princess. That was something he never really expected.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Shining snapped out of his private thoughts as he heard the sound of knocking on his door.
“Yes? Who is it?”
“Sir? It's Forefront. I...”
“Forefront!” Shining Armor delightfully exclaimed. He quickly got off his chair and pranced over to open the door.
“I'm sorry to bother you Sir, but-” He didn't get to finish as the door to Shining Armor's flew open.
“Just the stallion I wanted to see!” Shining grinned.
“Sir?”
“Please! Come in and be at ease.”
Forefront did as Armor asked. He was expected? He couldn't help feeling nervous about Armor's rather cheerful behavior. Perhaps he had a really good Honeymoon? In some cases, it usually meant that somepony was in trouble and the officer was being 'nice' to soften the blow.
“Sir? May I ask what this is about?”
“I've been hearing things about you, Forefront. Many interesting things.” Forefront gulped. “And so there's is something I've been wanting to give you since I came back.”
Shining had probably heard of his attitude towards the Guard in the tavern that night during the wedding. Or maybe he was finally fed up with the disappointment of the Guard and needed somepony to blame. Whatever the reason was, nopony would act this nice without having some kind of punishment hiding behind their backs.
“Wha- What is that Sir?”
“This!” He got off his chair and stomped slowly towards him, grinning slyly with suppressed excitement. “Lieutenant Forefront! You...”
Forefront brazed himself.
“...have been PROMOTED!”
“What?”
“You've been promoted! To Captain!” Shining laughed heartily while slapping him comradely on the back. “Isn't that great?”
“I...”
“Here! This is for you.” Shining handed him a small black box. He opened it and Forefront was rendered completely baffled.
It was a medal. But not just any medal. It was a star-shaped lavender emerald, decorated with in gold lining attached to light blue moiré that was embroided with the seal of Celestia.
“Sir..? This is...”
“The Purple Star! The highest and most decorated honor anypony can receive. And you have earned it.”
“I have?”
“I've talked with many of your fellow guards and they all tell of how you handled the Changeling incident. It is only fitting that a stallion of your caliber should receive such a decorative position. You've earned it.”
“Earned it? I don't...”
“For your actions in the line of duty. I heard you performed gallantly in the defense of Canterlot against the Changelings. You put yourself on the line for the safety and well-being of Canterlot and it's citizens. I'm proud of you Front. You are a hero!”
Forefront gazed upon his medal. “I... I don't know what to say Sir...”
“I knew you would like it.”
“I wasn't aware that the Royal Guard had a history of rewarding failure.”
Shining blinked. “Say what?”
Forefront suddenly closed the box with the medal still inside and handed it back to Armor. “I'm sorry Sir, but I can't accept this. I can't.”
“What?” Shining was rendered nearly speechless as Forefront placed the box in his hoof. “Front... I don't understand-”
“You see Captain... The reason I came here was so I could give you this.” He handed Armor the letter. Armor levitated it in front of him and opened it. He studied it carefully and then froze.
“Front... This... This is a-”
“Letter of Resignation. I'm leaving the Guard. For good.”
“You're QUITTING!??” Armor exclaimed. “But why??”
“I can't do this anymore. I don't want to become another embarrassment to a garrison that already has such a long history of failure to its name.”
“Embarrassment?? Failure??!?” Armor was completely taken aback by that. “Explain yourself Front! I don't understand! This doesn't make any sense. Why in the name of all Equestria are you calling yourself an embarrassment? And how can you call Celestia's Royal Guard, which both you and I serve with such loyalty and dedication, a failure?”
Forefront took a deep breath and sighed. “Because Captain... We ARE a failure. We failed the Princess. We failed Canterlot. We failed Equestria! The wedding is proof of that.”
Shining tilted his head, more confused than ever. “And what exactly did the wedding prove if I may ask?”
“That we can't defend ourselves! That we can be easily taken without so much as a fight!”
“What?!!” Shining dropped the letter in shock.
“We knew about the threat! We knew Canterlot was in danger! We knew and yet-”
“Front... What happened at the wedding... It wasn't anypony's fault. We were all taken by surprise!”
“But we were supposed to be prepared! We knew about the threat and yet they still got to both you and Princess Cadance! We were supposed to keep you safe!”
“Front! Nopony saw that coming. I never saw that coming. The responsibility is all on me! I should've seen it before it was too late.” Forefront closed his eyes and looked away.
“Front...?” Shining calmly approached him. “What is this really about?”
“Captain...” Forefront sighed. “The only reason why Equestria has remained safe for so long has not been because of us!” He tried to hold back the tears.
“Whenever a monster or a foreign power threatened us, our Princess was the one who faced it!”
Shining Armor said nothing. It was true that Princess Celestia protected her subject on more than one occasion. It was her duty as ruler of Equestria.
“All the Royal Guard has ever done, was stand around and look pretty...”
“Front!”
“It's true captain! All we do... is nothing! We stand around and pretend to be soldiers! We might as well be overgrown foals with wooden swords!”
“Front... You can't be-”
“We're not guards, Sir! We're a JOKE!”
“FRONT!” Armor angrily raised his voice. “That's enough! How dare you? In all my years as Captain of the Guard, I have never heard anything like this before! I can't believe you are actually standing here and telling me, to my very own face, that the Royal Guard... is a JOKE?!”
“Because we are!”
Armor went utterly quiet at that response. He was now seething with rage. How could he say this to a superior officer?
“If I get dishonorably discharged for it, then I welcome it. Because it's the truth...”
“Front...” Armor's voice now trembling with suppressed anger. “You don't mean that! This is Celestia's Royal Guard you're mocking! Your very own comrades! These guards and their predecessors have served and protected Canterlot ever since its founding! It has a long and proud history of faithful dedication and service to her Majesty, the very Princess responsible for the Royal Guards' creation! How DARE YOU accuse it of being a joke?”
“Because...” Forefront trembled. “...When we allow ourselves to saved by the ponies and the Princess we're supposed to protect, we might as well be a joke...”
Shining Armor suddenly said nothing. He somehow couldn't respond to that.
“Answer me this Sir; how many successful combat missions have we actually had?”
“We... I...” As he thought about it, he realized the Royal Guard hardly saw any action at all. In fact, most of that was handled primarily by Celestia herself.
“Exactly Sir. We're trained to protect the Princess and the kingdom against any threat. Instead, we leave it in the hooves of our fair Princess and some inexperienced CIVILIANS!”
“You best watch your tongue, Front!” Shining glared at him. “One of those civilians happens to be my sister!”
“Sir, I... I mean no offense.” Forefront paused a moment before continuing. “But that is not the worst part of it...”
“There's more?”
*****
One week earlier. the wedding day...
Forefront and group were huddled in a corner as Changelings continued to rain from the sky. They had done their best to clear a lot of the party guests and civilians from the streets, but many were still helplessly being pursued and cornered by the enemy.
Forefront knew they had been completely caught off guard and silently cursed himself for having let his guard down that early.
“What shall we do?” ask one panicked guard. “They're everywhere!”
“Be brave soldier!” said Forefront. “Canterlot is counting on us! This is the kind of thing we've trained for!”
“But Forefront... Most of us aren't even present and we're too scattered around the city. And without Captain Armor how can we-”
“Courage soldier!” yelled Forefront. He then sighed. “You're right though... I admit that our only hope now lies with Princess Celestia and the Elements-”
“Forefront!” Two more guards came galloping towards them. “Bad news! We've just learned that the Princess has been neutralized!”
“What?!? You better not be pulling my leg!”
“It's true! She's imprisoned in the wedding hall!”
“The Princess..?” one trembling guard uttered.
Forefront sighed. “Then our last hope lies with the Elements...”
“More bad news!” more guards arrived. “Captain Armor's sister, Twilight Sparkle, has been captured along with her friends while trying to reach the Vault! The Elements have been taken!”
Everypony was silent. They could not believe what they had just heard. Even Forefront was unable to understand it. “Even the Elements are captured..?”
“They were our last hope...” a pegasus guard said, falling down on his haunches with his hooves wrapped around his helmet in utter despair.
“That's it! It's over!” A unicorn guard suddenly lamented. “Game over man! Game over! It's everypony for themselves man!” He was about to make a run for it until Forefront intercepted him.
“Pull yourself together!” Forefront slapped him. “So what we don't have the Elements?! You're a Royal Guard of Canterlot for crying out loud! We are Equestria's finest! Have you forgotten that? We swore an oath to protect Canterlot, its citizens and the Princess! It's our DUTY to fight back!”
“But... But I never thought I would do any 'actual' fighting!”
Forefront blinked. “What?!??”
“I only joined the Guard because it sounded like a really sweet deal!”
“Me too!”
“And me...”
Forefront couldn't believe his own ears. And these ponies actually had the guts to call themselves guards? He looked out across the infested streets of Canterlot and the destruction. This was a lost cause.
He then thought about his family.
About Lily.
About Cutie.
“When I became a guard, I promised on my honor and my family that I would defend them and this city!” Forefront suddenly stepped forward and drew his sword. “If I must do it alone, then so be it. If anypony here has the heart and courage to fight with me, then come. Or you can just hide here like the cowards you are.” He glared at them.
“Do you really want to bring shame to that uniform? That uniform is Canterlot! It is Equestria! Do you really want to disgrace it? Because I will not! Not again! Not this time!”
While it wasn't his longest speech, it was enough to fuel many of his troops with the smallest ounce of courage they would need. They mustered their courage and drew their swords. Then, with roar, charged forward towards the approaching Changelings.
“FOR CANTERLOT! FOR EQUESTRIA!”
*****
“We lasted less than five minutes... We didn't even stand a chance...”
A shocked Shining Armor said nothing.
“And when I thought our last hour had come, you and Cadance saved the day. We were happy. I SHOULD'VE been happy. But instead I knew. In my heart I knew we had failed. We failed and only dumb fortune had saved us. Sir..? How can you look at me and call me a hero after that?”
Shining, still at a loss of words, now turned his sights down to the floor. He didn't know what to say.
“So..? My resignation?”
Shining glanced at the open letter still on the floor. “I... I need time to consider it. I need to think before I can give it my hoofstamp of approval. You may have my permission to take a leave of absence... You can wait a few more days, right? ”
Forefront sighed, but nodded. “Yes Sir. Thank you Sir...” Forefront then took off his helmet and solemnly placed it on the desk. “Here... I won't be needing this anymore.” He then saluted Shining and left his office. “It's... been an honor Sir...”
As he was just halfway down the hallway, Shining Armor suddenly rushed after him. “Wait! Front! Where are you going?”
“Home... To be with my family. If I can't protect them as a guard, then maybe I can protect them as a husband and a father.” He then stopped and sighed heavily.
“I'm sorry about this Captain. But when Equestria was in its darkest hour, WE were its ONLY hope...” He turned his head towards Shining. A tear ran down his cheek. “If Equestria can't count on us to save it without the Princess and the Elements, then who can it count on..?”
Shining Armor stood by the doorway and watched as Forefront trotted slowly down the hallway. He then glanced back at the empty helmet and the black box on the table.
He trotted over and now just found himself silently staring at them.
'Yes Front... Who CAN we count on..?'