Two unicorn guards stood at the entrance of Canterlot castle, their unwavering gaze staring towards the horizon with the pose and discipline that only years of harsh training could teach. For then the red sun in the sky meant nothing, for their duty was to guard the entrance and nothing more.
So to them the sheer amount of ponies walking in and out was nothing, they simply stood there, discreetly eyeing the flood of visitors looking for anything suspicious. They walked through the castle gates silently, not even sparing a glance at them and minding their own business. That until they heard a voice calling for them.
“I could use some help here!“
As one guard moved his head toward the source of the voice, the other kept eyeing the visitors, in case they this was a distraction. Spotting the caller was rather easy, thanks to the ponies giving way to the blue mare that was walking towards him. The first thing that the guard noticed is the pony walking alongside her.
It was a fellow guard, Pegasus to be exact, and he was badly injured, from where he could see several parts of his armor were dented, especially the chest area, his hoof shoes were missing too, and his face was a mess. It was barely recognizable due to the bumps in his eyes and due to the way his muzzle was broken and bent in an unnatural way. And to top it off, his normally pristine coat was covered both in blood and dirt.
He was barely able to stand on his own, often needing to lean on the mare to prevent falling. The guard briefly wondered what could have hurt him that much. But instead he turned his head towards his partner, giving him a questioning gaze, he, in turn casted a spell before nodding towards him, he then began to rush toward his injured comrade.
As soon as he got in from of them the injured he asked worriedly.
“What happened?“
He tried to say something but was unable to do so.
The uninjured guard was about to speak but he was interrupted by a pair of ponies with red cross caps pushing a stretcher towards them. When they were next to them they lowered the stretcher and gently pulled the injured guard away from the mare and set him on the stretcher.
“Don't worry, we got you.“
That's the last thing he heard before the paramedics took him away.
“Is he going to be alright?“
The guard looked toward the mare and he could clearly see the look of worry on her face. From that he could conclude that she was not there during the fight, but rather found him afterwards. Otherwise she would have a shocked look.
“He will, ma'am,“ he flashed her a genuine smile, “thanks to your efforts.“
The mare blushed at the comment, “Oh, it was nothing, I just found him during my morning walk.“
The guard returned to his stoic behavior, “Where, exactly?“
“Well, I usually walk around the outer forest,“ the mare put a hoof under her chin, “mmmmhhh, he was in the southern lookout, I believe.“
“Ma'am, do you mind filling a report detailing what you saw?“
The mare made a serious face, “Not at all, I'd like to have the brute that did this to that poor guard behind bars as soon as possible.“
“Glad to hear that, ma'am, follow me then.“
“Oh, stop calling me ma'am, you make me feel old, call me Bouquet.“
“Understood, Miss Bouquet“ The guard said as they walked towards the castle.
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The first thing that Swift Sword saw when she woke up was a white ceiling, where white lamps lighted the room, flickering from time to time.
He looked around the room to get used to his surroundings. The room was adorned with nothing but a bed stand with an empty vase and the bed he was on.
He tried to leave his bed but his injuries made themselves known, making him hiss in pain. His attempt did not go unnoticed, for he heard hoof steps outside his room. Shortly after another guard, this time an earth pony walked in, and by looking at the markings on her armor, Swift Sword found that she was one of the Lieutenants of Shining Armor's personal unit. She took a long look at him, as if to make sure she had his attention before she spoke.
“Good morning, Sergeant Sword, I am sorry for bothering you while you are injured, but as you know we are in high alert due to the sun and moon changing color, and this attack on your being is the only thing that has happened thus far, so I hope you understand that we want your report as soon as possible, do you understand.“
Sword nodded.
“Good. So. What happened?“
Sword closed his eyes, “I... I am sorry miss...“
“Call me Goldenrod.“
“Yes.. I am sorry Miss Goldenrod but I just woke up, and my mind is a bit cloudy so I may forget a detail or two.“
“It's alright Sergeant Sword. Can I just call you Sword? I don't like formalities. I have what you need here,“ She pulled a small bottle out of her mane and opened it, she offered the contents to Sword, “Have a sip, it's a memory potion, it will help you remember.“
Suddenly remembered how thirsty he was Sword took the bottle and gulped it down. Memories of what happened came back to him almost immediately, overwhelming him.
“I remember.“ He said in mild shock.
“Good, tell me.“
“It was around 2 am, I was patrolling the southern lookout when I saw a dark brown unicorn, he was looking at the moon, and I was directly behind him. Ponies tend to do that you know? But they didn't because of the red moon so I walked up to him and before I could say anything he talked to me.“
“What did he say?“
“''Finally, a challenger approaches.'' He didn’t even turned his head to see me.“
“Did he say anything else?“
“Yes, he turned around and said: ''You who are trained to kill, face me!''“
Goldenrod's face tightened, “Just like that?“
“Yes... then I saw his eyes.“
“What's wrong with his eyes?“
“They were black, and his pupils, they were a red ring, then black again then a red dot. Those were not pony eyes.“
“Did you fight him?“
“No. I was too distracted by his eyes, and before I knew it, he stamped his hoof in my chest.“
“Well, that explains some injuries.“
“After that... he just beat me up.“
“Beat you up“ Goldenrod questioned.
“I wish I could explained any other way but, he just destroyed me.“
“Didn't you have your spear? Why didn't you fight back?“
“I tried! I swear!“ he shouted, “But he was too fast! I couldn't even lay a hit on him!“
“Relax Sword, I am not here to question your skills, I am just trying to get the picture.“
Sword sighed, “Sorry.“
“No problem. Did you try to fly away?“
“Yes, but he did a really big jump and then slammed me to the ground with a hit of his hoof.“ his ears lowered in defeat, “It was so fast...“
“We will get him Sword.“
He managed to give a small smile.
“I know we will.“
After a short silence Goldenrod continued.
“Anything else.“
“He just continued to beat me until I couldn't move. After I could only hear him mocking me.“
Goldenrod stopped him.
“Wait, he is an unicorn right?“ Sword nodded, “You haven't mentioned anything about him using magic.“
“Because he didn't. From the looks of things he didn't need to.“
“I don't like this.“ Goldenrod muttered to herself, “Well, what did he say?“
“You are weak and pathetic, worthless in a fight to the death.“
“Anything else?“
“Oh, yes, now that I think about it he kept muttering these words to himself while we fought.“
“Which words?“
“He kept saying ''Messatsu'' and ''Shoshi'' or ''Shoushi'' I'm nor sure. That's all I think. I'm sorry.“
“Don't be.“ Goldenrod put a hoof on the bed Sword was laying on, “Rest for now soldier, I will report this to the Captain and to Princess Celestia on your behalf.“
“To the Princess?“ If he wasn't before Sword was now aware of the importance they put on his encounter.
“Yes, she was very interested in this... incident. Anyways, I'll keep you informed Swift Sword, see you.“
With that she left the room. Goldenrod went immediately to the throne room to report her findings to Princess Celestia.