//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Why We Are Useless // Story: To Guard is to Protect // by TJHoofer //------------------------------// “Looks like this is the place...” Twilight double-checked the address to confirm that she had indeed arrived at the right location. She was only a few steps away from knocking on the door to Forefront's house. But now she had just been standing there in deep thought. Recalling the events that lead her to this place, Twilight took a deep breath. “Okay Twilight... Just relax. Just go in there and see if you can talk some sense into him. Don't say or do anything rash...” With that, she raised her hoof and gently knocked on the door. ***** Inside, Lily Pond was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. Although “busy” was more of an understatement. Normally she found cooking to be the most joyful part of her day. However today it wasn't. She silently stood by the kitchen counter and weakly sliced a carrot. She had just recently heard the news about the resignation from her husband and she hadn't taken it well. As much as she loved him, the thought of Front throwing away his life and career was difficult to bear. She remembered back when the Royal Guard was his dream. His burning passion. And now, that fire wasn't there anymore. He had lost faith in the Guard and the faith in himself... KNOCK KNOCK! Lily was pulled out her depression as she heard a knock on the door. She set aside her appliances and trotted out of the kitchen. She was surprised to see the familiar lavender unicorn standing before her when she carefully opened it. “Hi! You're Lily Pond, right? This the residence of Lieutenant Forefront?” “Yes, it is...” Lily answered while feeling a bit nervous. “Um... Aren't you Twilight Sparkle? The sister of Captain Shining Armor?” Everything seemed to go quiet as Twilight sensed an uneasy presence in the air. She took another deep breath and put on the best smile she could. “Yup. That's me...” she grinned while at the same time nervously rubbing her foreleg, followed by a brief moment of more silence and more awkward smiles. “Um... How are things?” Lily quickly realizing that this probably wasn't social visit. “Fine. Just fine. Just not...” she sighed. “...good. If you don't mind me asking, what brings you here?” Twilight's smile then faded. “I think you know what...” Lily's ears dropped but politely stepped aside and opened the door all the way up. “Please, do come in.” Twilight gave her a polite nod as Lily invited her in. “I take it you're here about my husband?” “Yes. I know it's sudden, but Princess Cadance insisted I come here.” Lily suddenly looked awfully concerned. “A- Are you here to tell him that Captain Armor has accepted his resignation?” “No. He hasn't decided yet.” Twilight assured her. “I'm just here to talk to him and see if I can change his mind. And perhaps figure out why he's doing this.” “Really? Thank you!” Lily was now suddenly overcome with joy and hugged her. “I don't know what to do, Twilight! My husband has all but simply lost his faith in the Royal Guard! He thinks he's useless! That everypony in the Guard is a joke! He truly believes the Royal Guard doesn't have the strength to defend us anymore!” “That's utter nonsense!” “That's what I keep telling him!” Lily cried as she released her. “But he won't listen! He really thinks he's better off being here protecting us as a husband and father! He doesn't want our daughter to grow up knowing her favorite soldier failed us!” Her lips were trembling and tears began running down her cheeks. “*Sniff!* That he, a proud Lieutenant of the Royal Guard, failed us all in our darkest hour...” “Lily Pond...” “I'm sorry... *Sniff!*” Lily wiped the tears from her eyes. “It's just so hard to see him like this. He's hurting so much and he doesn't realize he's making a mistake.” “Lily, I'll try and talk to him. Where is he?” “He's picking up our daughter from school. I believe they'll be home any minute...” ***** Meanwhile outside... “Race you to the door, Cutie!” “Weee!” Both father and filly, returning home from school, galloped as hard as they could towards the front door. It looked pretty even about halfway, but then Front started to pant and slow down, allowing his daughter to pass him and reach home first. “Yay! I won!” “Wow! You've gotten a lot faster.” Front panted, obviously pretending to be tired. “Phew! You must be the fastest filly in all of Canterlot!” Upon hearing that, Cutie just giggled. “No I'm not! Silly daddy!” “Oh yes you are. In fact...” Front pulled her close and playfully rubbed her mane with his hoof. “I believe my little Cutie is the fastest filly in the world.” “Really?” Cutie beamed while straightening her mane back. Front smiled. “I'm sure of it. I'll bet you'll grow up to be a great racer one day.” “Na ah!” Cutie shook her head. “When I grow up, I'm going to join the Royal Guard and become a soldier, just like you daddy.” Front froze upon hearing Cutie say that. “What's wrong daddy?” “Cutie...” Front sighed. “The Guard... It's not really that exciting...” Cutie just looked at him confused. “I mean... You're still young. And you don't need to follow in my hoofsteps.” “I don't?” “No Cutie.” Front mustered a smile. “Believe me. Being a Royal Guard is really not that glamorous. Too many responsibilities and not much fun.” “But I would get to do a lot of good, right?” “Well...” Front didn't know what to say. As much as the Royal Guard had failed him, he hated crushing her dreams. On any given day, he would've been overly proud of her decision. But now after the wedding? He didn't have the heart to tell Cutie the truth. Seeing that look in her eyes, he knew she still saw him as a hero. He couldn't bear the thought of seeing her disappointed. Instead, he decided to change the subject. “Tell you what, Cutie? How about we get inside and meet mommy. She's probably made dinner and it's getting cold the longer we stand here.” “Oh no!” Cutie yelled. “Quick daddy! Let's hurry inside!” Front couldn't help but smile and breath a quiet sigh of relief. He knew it would take a while, but hopefully with enough time and patience, his little princess would eventually forget the Royal Guard and find her true calling. To become somepony who wouldn't be let down by the one thing she loved... “Hi mommy!” Cutie called out as she and Front entered inside. “Cutie? Front! Honey, you're home!” “Sorry if we're late. I-” Front's smile faded as he spotted the familiar lavender unicorn beside Lily. “...I see you have company.” Twilight put on her smile and approached them. “Greeting Forefront. And you must be Cutie. My name is-” “Twilight Sparkle. Yes, I know you from the wedding. And... those other events...” “Twilight Sparkle..?” Cutie blinked confused at first before quickly realizing who she was. “Wait! I've heard of you! You're Twilight Sparkle! The hero of Equestria!” “Hero?” Twilight started to blush. “Me? Really?” “Yeah! You defeated Nightmare Moon. Took down Discord. And helped my dad get rid of all those mean bug ponies from Canterlot.” “Bug ponies..? Oh! You mean the Changelings. Yes, that's right.” she blushed even more now. “Well... To be honest, my brother and Cadance helped a bit too.” “You're my hero! Just like my dad. He's my hero too. Right daddy?” Front didn't respond. “Daddy?” “Honey?” “Lily? Would you and Cutie start dinner without me?” Front locked eyes with Twilight, who now didn't blush anymore as things started to take a serious turn. “I believe Twilight needs to have a talk with me...” Lily nodded. “Come Lily. You heard your daddy.” She gestured Cutie to follow her into the dining room. They both passed Twilight, with Lily giving her a pleading and hopeful look. 'Good luck...' Once they were alone, Twilight decided to get to the point. “Front? I-” “Please... Not here.” Front interrupted and opened the front door, gesturing Twilight to follow him. Once they both were outside, Front closed the door and made sure they both were far enough away that Cutie and Lily wouldn't hear them. “Front... I've spoken with my brother. I-” “I know why you're here, Twilight Sparkle. And you can save it. I've made my choice.” “At least take a moment and explain to me why. You owe my brother that much.” “I've already told him my reasons for quitting. I don't see the need to explain myself any further than that.” “That the Royal Guard is useless? That it's a JOKE?” Twilight could barely hold back the anger that was slowly building up inside her. “You should've seen how he looked when he got home. How could you say those awful things to him?” “It's the truth...” Twilight now got even more angry. “THE TRUTH?! HOW DARE YOU!?!” she fumed. “The Royal Guard was my brother's dream! Ever since I was little, he always talked about joining them and how they represented everything that made Equestria great!” She pressed her snout angrily against his. “HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO HIS FACE?!!” Front looked away but stood his ground. “Of all ponies, I figured you'd probably understand...” “WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?” Twilight was literally seething with fury, causing Front to recoil slightly. Realizing she was letting her anger get the better of her, Twilight eventually calmed down and backed away. “Sorry about that...” Front regained his posture, but still didn't look at her. “Please Front. Look at me. Tell me why. Why do you believe the Royal Guard is useless?!” Front sighed and finally looked at her. “You know why just as much as I do. You saw it yourself.” “Saw what? I don't understand. What are you talking about?” “You obviously don't remember me, but I've met you before. I was there in Ponyville that night. That night when Princess Luna returned. Except she wasn't Princess Luna, she was-” “Nightmare Moon...” Twilight gasped. “The Summer Sun Celebration! You?” “Yes. I was one of the guards assigned to oversee the ceremony. Our job was simple; just stand there, look confident and wait for Princess Celestia's arrival. Sounded simple enough. Instead, Nightmare Moon showed up and threatened to cast the entire land in eternal night.” He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as he remembered. “I... We tried to stop her. But...” He remembered when he and his fellow guards attempted to seize her, only to be forced back as they got hit by a barrage of lightning she magically summoned. All three were knocked away, lost altitude and fell to the floor. He remembered lying there, shaken and confused as he watched Nightmare Moon fly out of town hall in a puff of smoke, laughing at them as she did. “...She tossed us away like we were nothing... Our princess was gone and we failed to apprehend the one responsible.” “Front...” Twilight placed a hoof on his shoulder. “That wasn't your fault. She's an alicorn. Her powers were way beyond yours.” “That's no excuse!” Front shouted. “The kingdom was in peril! We were the only hope left!” He then paused and calmly breathed as more memories surfaced. “Shortly after we fully recovered, I saw the look on everyponies faces. Even though they never said it, we could clearly see what they were thinking. We failed them. After being berated by the mayor for our incompetence, we hurried back to Canterlot to warn Captain Armor about the situation and rally as many we could to confront Nightmare Moon. To take her down and force her to reveal where Princess Celestia was. But then... Just as we were about to head out...” He paused. Twilight quickly realized what he was referring to. “The sun rose...” “Yes...” Front lowered his head. “First there was a blinding flash of light in the direction of the Everfree Forest, followed closely by the rising sun. Seeing the sun rise after such a dark and terrifying moment in our lives was a miracle. I was relieved. When we all learned how Nightmare Moon was defeated, I was both impressed and happy. But at the same time...” He raised his head back up, but now his eyes were watering up. “...I was ashamed.” “Ashamed?” “We didn't save Equestria. Equestria was saved by the very ponies we had sworn to protect. Do you have any idea how that feels?” Twilight was quiet for a moment and then her ears dropped. “I... I had no idea. I'm sorry.” “Don't!” Front yelled. “Don't say you're sorry! You did nothing wrong! You saved us! You did what you had to do. I can't hold that against you or your friends. It's just... The way we were defeated... It showed everypony how weak we are. That without the princess, we're nothing...” “Front!” Now it was Twilight's turn to yell. “That's not true! Princess Celestia trusts you all to protect Equestria!” “Then she's a FOOL!!” Twilight fell back on her haunches in shock. “Lieutenant Front!??” “I... I...” Front's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he had just said. “I'm sorry... I just...” There was a moment of silence. Front then shook his head and looked away. “You know... Nightmare Moon wasn't the only threat we failed to stop.” Twilight, having gotten over her shock, listened to what he said and quickly deduced who he was referring to. “Discord..?” “Yes... The spirit of Chaos himself...” Front narrowed his eyes and then closed them while gritting his teeth. “The day that monster broke free, we were assigned to evacuate as many ponies we could to get them away from the chaos that was spreading out from Ponyville. I was part of a group tasked to guard a small herd of Ponyvillians. Stallions. Mares. Foals... Then suddenly that Discord showed up and used his magic to torment every one of them. We tried to stop him, but his chaos magic affected everything around us and used it against us. We couldn't do anything. We were forced to watch as he mocked us while harassing the innocent. I never felt so helpless in my life...” “No ordinary pony can truly stand up to him.” said Twilight. “Except you...” “HEY!” Twilight took offense to that. “Don't say it as if me and my friends had it easy! We nearly failed all of Equestria!” “But in the end, you didn't.” Twilight was now more confused than angry. “Do you wish we failed?” “No!” Front replied. “Of course not! My point is that even when you ultimately succeeded, even when Princesses were still with us, we failed. The Royal Guard failed. It doesn't matter if the foe was stronger than us or that we were completely out of our league. It's how EASY we were taken down.” Twilight said nothing. “If a band of Diamond Dogs suddenly decided to attack us now, they wouldn't find taking Canterlot difficult because we wouldn't give them a challenge! They would just push us aside!” He turned around and faced her, approaching her as he kept talking. “The only real challenge around here is Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance...” He stopped only a few inches from her face and narrowed his eyes. “And you...” Twilight gulped. “You six have managed to do what we couldn't!” Tears started to build up in his eyes. “And because of that, the Royal Guard has officially become the joke of Equestria. You might as well just take our jobs and spare us the humiliation of being saved by six inexperienced little ponies, who spend more time reading books, tending farms, caring for animals or throwing parties. WHO IN THE HAY NEEDS US?!” Twilight looked into those angry eyes of his. “We need you...” she whimpered. Front sighed. “If you believe that, then Equestria is truly doomed...” Twilight's ears dropped. Such sadness and hurt feelings. This was a soldier who had been severely wounded. Not wounded in battle, but in spirit. His pride and confidence had been severely injured and she had inadvertently been the cause of it. “Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going in to have dinner with my family.” Front turned around to venture inside. “Please tell Captain Armor I'm sorry about turning down the promotion and that I'll be waiting for my resignation to be approved.” Twilight watched as Front walked away. She had to try and convince him to stay. There had to something that could change his mind. Just then, she remembered the promotion. “Front! WAIT!” Twilight's yell caused Front to freeze just as he was inches away from the door. “Front... Don't you see? If you stay and accept your promotion, you'll become a Captain.” “So?” “You can reform the Royal Guard. Make it better. The way you want it to be. This is a golden opportunity for you, Front. You can't turn away from that.” Front thought about it for a moment and sighed. “It's not that simple Twilight...” “What do you mean? It's perfectly simple!” “No it's not. It's a matter of PRINCIPLE and HONOR!” He turned around to face her. “Even if I accept the promotion, it'll be for all the wrong reasons. As a soldier, it has to be earned. And I don't feel I've proven myself enough, or earned the respect of our ponies to even wear the title of Captain.” “But...” “My mind is made up.” Front opened the door and ventured inside. “If the Royal Guard needs a new Captain that much, then they'll just have to settle with somepony else. Because I will not be there when the new threat to Equestria arrives. No. I'll spend that time I have with my family and know that I at least didn't fail them in the end.” With that, Front closed the door, leaving Twilight sitting there on her haunches, trying to figure out what went wrong. ***** “Front!” Lily happily exclaimed as Front entered the dining room. “Dinner is getting cold daddy.” said Cutie. “Where's Twilight?” “How did it go? What did she say? Did she-” Lily's smile faded as Front's expression was not a cheerful one. “A-Are you going back?” Front shook his head. “No. I'm sorry Lily. I can't do it.” “Oh Front...” Lily's heart sank upon hearing that and tried not to cry as they ate. “Mommy?” Cutie saw the sadness in her mother's eyes and was confused. “Is something wrong, daddy? Where's Twilight?” Front smiled at Cutie. “No honey... Nothing's wrong. Twilight just needed to talk to daddy. That's all...”