Guarded Emotions: Old Ties

by Alabenson

Oncoming Confrontation

“So, to summarize, Lucerne Hammer has gathered together a gang of washouts and disgraced former guardsponies and has been using them to practically enslave the ponies of this village. They work the mines, Lucerne and his gang sell the ore off to Klugetown, and if anypony tries to stand up to them…” Moonwhisper let out a snort of disgust. “I find it truly remarkable I’m able to feel disappointment in somepony I thought so little to begin with.”

“Well, on the plus side at least I’m pretty sure we’ve figured out why the map sent us here,” Shining Armor suggested.

“Hopefully, but I’m not entirely convinced that’s the case. To be honest, this doesn’t really feel like a friendship problem.” Moonwhisper tapped his forehoof thoughtfully. “Regardless, however, even if it isn’t a friendship problem it is certainly a guard problem. As such, this isn’t an issue that we can afford to ignore. First things first, however, what do you suggest we do with this trash?” Moonwhisper asked as he pointed a hoof at Shell Shock. The unfortunate unicorn was shaking in terror as he tried to make himself as small as possible. “On the one hoof I’d rather not let him go scurrying back to Lucerne Hammer and alert him to our presence. On the other hoof, I imagine Lucerne will start to get suspicious if these two don’t return eventually.

“Yer right, if the boss’ second-in-command, Freezin’ Rain, so much as smells somethin’ off she’ll fly right off and report it,” Shell Shock volunteered. “She’s supposed to keep an eye on the town and report everythin’ she sees.”

“And what are the odds that this Freezing Rain has already seen us?” Shining Armor asked pointedly.

“Assuming she’s at least halfway competent at the task (which frankly I’d say is far from a guarantee), then I’d say that it’s a near certainty. We weren’t making any effort to conceal our approach on our way here, after all. Moreover, even if we haven’t been spotted yet then it’s likely only a matter of time before we are. Frankly, I’d say the best course of action would be to assume Lucerne Hammer will be aware of our presence going forward and to plan accordingly,” Moonwhisper said.

“On the plus side, that does make deciding what to do with these two easier,” Shining Armor snorted before turning to Rock Salt, who had simply watched and remained silent during the interrogation. “I don’t suppose there’s someplace in town that we could hold these two? Maybe a basement or an empty shed?”

“Ah…Ah…Ah really’d rather not get involved in all this,” Rock Salt stammered. “The two of y’all…y’all’ve seen those burnt houses out there. That’s just the start of what happens when Lucene Hammer and his gang get riled up. Ah appreciate that y’all mean to help us, but y’all are just two ponies.”

Shining Armor started to reply, only for Moonwhisper to cut him off. “While I can understand that you’re afraid to get involved with this situation I have neither the time nor the patience to argue with you on this point. I will, however, assure you of two points. First of all it is entirely likely that Lucerne Hammer will consider you to be ‘involved’ in this situation regardless of your actual actions from here on out. Secondly, and more importantly, Shining Armor and I will resolve this issue. Thoroughly and conclusively.” Moonwhisper added this last assurance with a terrible note of finality.

“Yer best bet would be one of the unused branches up in the mine,” Rock Salt finally replied after a moment’s hesitation. “We’d always meant to use ‘em for storage or some such, but we never really had the chance to put anythin’ in ‘em.”

“That should suffice as long as they’re secure,” Moonwhisper replied. “In any event I sincerely doubt Mister Shell Shock will be foolish enough to attempt to escape. Right?” Shell Shock barely managed a whimper of terror as Moonwhisper glared at him. “I’m glad we have an understanding on that issue. Now, we’re going to follow Ms. Rock Salt to your new accommodations, so pick up that trash and fall in.” Moonwhisper gestured a hoof at the unconscious form of Iron Shield as he practically spat the word trash.

As Rock Salt took the lead out the saloon door, Shining Armor pulled Moonwhisper to one side. “Look, I get that you want to get this over with as soon as possible. Believe me, I’m with you on that. But could you at least try and be a little, I don’t know, nicer to the civilians? If nothing else we’re going to need their help if we want to get a handle on this Lucerne Hammer issue, not to mention our friendship mission.”

Moonwhisper thought for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. “You’re right. I would probably be best if you took the lead in dealing with the townsponies from this point forward. If nothing else, dealing with civilians has always been your specialty anyway.”

“Fair enough,” Shining Armor said before turning to Rock Salt. “Pardon me, Rock Salt, is there any chance you could gather up the townsponies once we have these two locked up? Moonwhisper and I are going to want to talk with everypony about what we’re going to do to handle Lucerne Hammer.”

“Ah can see what Ah can do,” Rock Salt replied uneasily. “Ah just hope that the two of y’all really know what yer doin’.”

*********

“What the hay is goin’ on? Dang it, Rock Salt, this had better be important!”

“Yeah, who knows what Lucerne Hammer will do if he finds out we’ve been slackin’ off on our work?”

“Desert Rose says she saw you leadin’ a couple members of Lucerne’s gang into the mines along with some strangers. Tell me y’ didn’t do somethin’ that were all gonna regret!” The townsponies, who had all been assembled in front of Rock Salt’s saloon, continued to yell out questions for several minutes until Rock Salt was able to get them to settle down.

“Now everypony just settle down. Ah understand y’all have a load of questions, but these two stallions here are the ones y’all need to talk to.”

“Listen up! My name is Captain Shining Armor and this is Captain Moonwhisper. We’re officers of the Royal Guard and we’re here to put an end to Lucerne Hammer’s crimes against your town.” Shining Armor’s declaration was initially met with stunned silence from the assembled ponies, followed by worried muttering. “I kinda thought they’d be a little more excited,” Shining Armor whispered to Moonwhisper. “Or at least be happy that we’re here.”

“Pardon me,” one of the assembled townsponies said as they stepped forward. “We don’t mean to be unappreciative, but what exactly do the two of you think you can do? Lucerne Hammer has over a dozen ponies in his gang and you’re just two ponies.”

“First of all, we’re not just any two ponies,” Shining Armor countered as he started to move into the crowd. “Captain Moonwhisper and I are two of the strongest unicorns in the entire Royal Guard. More importantly, though, I see a lot more than just a dozen or so ponies here. Are you all really so scared of Lucerne Hammer that you’re willing to let him keep controlling you forever? Or are you ready to stand up and say that you’re not going to take it anymore?” Murmurs of agreement began to ripple through the crowd as Shining Armor’s words struck home. “Look, I understand that you’re scared, buts that’s just what Lucerne Hammer wants. He needs you to be too scared of him to stand up for yourselves. And do you know why he needs that? Because Lucerne Hammer knows that that’s the only way he’ll be able to keep you under his control! So now’s your chance to ask yourselves are you going to just lie down and let Lucerne Hammer use you, or are you ready to stand up and let him know that he can’t push you around anymore!” It was as if Shining Armor’s words had been a spark tossed into a pile of dry kindling. The angry murmurs of the crowd swiftly increased in volume until most of the assembled ponies were shouting at the top of their lungs as they gave voice to their pent-up rage and frustration.

Moonwhisper, however, was one of the few ponies who managed to avoid getting swept up in the furor. In fact, Moonwhisper was scarcely paying attention to Shining Armor’s speech at all. Instead, Moonwhisper’s attention was focused on a dark blue speck flitting about amongst the clouds. “Well, I suppose that’s about what we expected. By the end of the day Lucerne Hammer should be fully aware that his hold on this town is in serious jeopardy. And, if my recollection of him is accurate, Lucerne Hammer’s most likely reaction will be to lash out with a show of force to reassert his control.” Moonwhisper paused his ruminations to look over to Shining Armor, who was unveiling his proposal as to how to protect the town to the townsponies. Once Shining Armor had finished relaying his plan, he trotted back over to Moonwhisper with a sizable grin on his face.

“I don’t mean to brag, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got this mission just about wrapped up,” Shining Armor boasted happily as the townsponies behind him rushed off in different directions.

“As much as I’d like to believe that I have to admit a certain level of skepticism,” Moonwhisper replied calmly. “Tell me, how exactly do you figure that you’ve ‘solved’ our designated problem?”

“Easy, it all came to me when you were browbeating Rock Salt into helping us lock up Lucerne Hammer’s two lackeys.”

Moonwhisper wrinkled his nose “Browbeating is…actually I have to admit browbeating might be the appropriate term. Proceed.”

“Uh huh. Anyway, that’s when I realized what the problem we’re here to solve is. These townsponies are so beaten down they’ve completely forgotten how to stand up for themselves. So, what we need to do is teach them how to stand on their own four hooves while getting rid of Lucerne Hammer.”

“Is that so? Perhaps we should have brought five or so additional mercenaries with us to assist,” Moonwhisper replied sarcastically.

“Hah! So you read those pulp westerns too!”

“I’m familiar with some of the classics,” Moonwhisper snorted. “That, however, is a conversation for another day. At the moment what’s important is making sure your self-confidence festival doesn’t backfire. I’m fairly certain I say a pegasus observing the town before flying off, and assuming that was the Freezing Rain we’ve heard about then we can assume Lucerne Hammer to respond soon.”

“That just means we should be able to wrap this up that much quicker. So, out of curiosity about how high would you say this pegasus was flying?” Shining Armor asked.

“I’d say about cloud-level,” Moonwhisper said. “Why do you ask?”

“I’m just trying to figure the odds that Lucerne Hammer is going to know that were here specifically. If that really was his spy watching us from that high up then I’m willing to bet she wouldn’t have been able to pick us out from the crowd.”

“Perhaps,” Moonwhisper said after a moment’s pause. “On the other hoof, I’ve known pegasi with rather incredible distance vision. It’s entirely possible that Lucerne Hammer is already aware we’re here.”

*********

“Of rutting course, we would get a couple of wannabe heroes in town the day those idiots Iron Shield and Shell Shock go in to check on things,” Freezing Rain seethed as she flew through the air back to the gang’s headquarters. “I’ll bet that moron Iron Shield decided to throw his weight around and that’s what clued our ‘guests’ in that something was up. Speaking of whom, I wonder wo the hay those two were. They sure as hay didn’t look like the usual vagrants we get around here, and I swear the dark one was watching me.” Freezing Rain shook her head. “Get it together filly, it was just your imagination. Just focus on reporting the situation to the boss and let him deal with it.”

Freezing Rain continued to mutter to herself all the way back to the abandoned ranch that Lucerne Hammer had appropriated as his gang’s hideout. Once she was satisfied that she was near enough to the main farmhouse Freezing Rain plummeted to the ground with an earthshaking thud before trotting straight into the house. The three stallions that had been lounging about on the home’s porch immediately leapt out of the way as Freezing Rain strode past, knowing from painful experience that the mare wasn’t to be bothered when delivering news. It didn’t take Freezing Rain long to locate Lucerne Hammer, who had furnished himself a makeshift meeting room in the home’s former dining room.

“-but we can talk to the mole about that once the mine’s been completely played out. No point in gutting the golden goose until it’s laid its last egg,” Lucerne Hammer let out an ugly laugh that was nervously echoed by the sycophants surrounding him. “In the meantime, we need a better place to stash our profits. Snow Blind, I’m gonna want you to head out to Las Pegasus and talk to a couple guys I know about making an investment.”

“Ahem,” Freezing Rain cleared her throat as she stood in the doorway, causing most of the ponies within to fall silent. “I’m sorry to interrupt your business planning, but we have a situation in town that needs to be dealt with.”

Lucerne Hammer let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. “Lemme guess, Iron Shield couldn’t keep his hooves to himself and now the townsponies are re-growing their spines. You don’t need to bother me with this horseapples, just grab five or six guys and remind the stupid yokels who owns them.” Lucerne Hammer paused for a moment before continuing. “And when you’re done with that, I want you to beat the hay out of Iron Shield for me. If he wants to pull this wannabe stud business than he can do it on his own time. We lose too much productivity everything we have to beat the town back down after he finds some new way of ticking them off. And where the hay is Shell Shock? I thought the little weasel was tagging along so Iron Shield wouldn’t try pulling this again.”

“Shell Shock has been locked up in the mines along with Iron Shield,” Freezing Rain replied coldly. “They were put there by a pair of unicorn stallions who arrived in town today. Said unicorns are currently rallying the town to defend themselves against us, and more impressively the town actually appears to be listening to them.”

“So we’re dealing with a couple of outsiders then,” Lucerne Hammer sighed before an evil grin spread across his features. “Rut me, I might have something to sell to the mole sooner than I thought. Alright, so what do these party crashers look like? Are we dealing with a couple of vagrants who want to play hero, some wandering settlers or…?”

“There weren’t in uniform, but given their physical builds and the fact that they both had shield Cutie Marks so I wouldn’t rule out their being part of the guard. Neither had the usual coat and mane colors, though. One had a while coat with a blue mane while the other had a black coat with a white mane. I was too far away to get any more details than that, and I didn’t want to try getting any closer since I’m pretty sure the black-coated one had spotted me. So, how do you want to handle – boss, are you alright?” Freezing Rain asked, suddenly concerned.

Lucerne Hammer, however, didn’t appear to be paying attention. “There’s no way, it can’t possibly be those two. Why the hay would they even be here? It doesn’t make any sense. On the other hoof it’s too much of a coincidence for it not to be them, which means it might be them, it probably is them, it is them, he’s here…RUT!” Lucerne Hammer roared in frustrated rage as he slammed his hooves into the table, breaking it in two. “Just when we’ve got everything running smoothly that prissy bastard and his pet freak of nature show up!”

Most of the other ponies present recoiled back in fear, Lucerne Hammer’s volatile temper being a well-known hazard. The one exception was Freezing Rain herself, who remained right where she stood with a bored expression on her face until Lucerne Hammer’s rage appeared to have run its course. “I take it you recognize the descriptions then?”

“Shining Armor and Moonwhisper,” Lucerne Hammer growled through tightly clenched teeth. A ripple of rear seemed to pass through the room as Lucerne Hammer uttered the names of two of the most well-known unicorns in the Equestrian Guard.

“Wait, did he say Shining Armor? As in Prince Shining Armor, Princess Cadance’s husband? I heard that guy’s powerful enough to bubble an entire city by himself!”

“Rut Shining Armor, did you hear who’s with him? The freaking Warhorse of the Apocalypse! If even half of the stuff I’ve heard about that guy is true…”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Lucerne Hammer yelled, silencing his panicking underlings. “First of all, Shining Armor isn’t the problem. In case any of you half-wits have forgotten, the only thing that pampered little rich colt has done since making captain is get his hindquarters handed to him. If it comes down to it, I can grind the little pansy’s face into the dirt myself.” Murmurs of relief began circulating throughout the room as Lucerne Hammer’s self-aggrandizement had its desired effect. “The real problem we have is that freak of nature the prince brought with him. That one we need to be very careful with.”

“So what the hay are you suggesting?” Freezing Rain asked. It was extremely rare for Lucerne Hammer to show anything remotely resembling caution even in the face of obvious danger. Normally it would have been up to Freezing Rain herself to act a s the voice of reason whenever Lucerne Hammer’s temper or ego got the best of him.

“I’m ‘suggesting’ we’re going to need to figure out a way to get rid of those two without actually fighting them head on. As much as I’d enjoy rearranging that prissy wuss Shining Armor’s face it wouldn’t be worth risking tangling with his pet psycho. Luckily, I already have a plan to do just that. See, if we make it look like we’re cutting our losses, then our pair of visitors should pat themselves on the backs and go away. After all, bleeding this town might be a pretty good racket, but it wouldn’t last forever even if nopony had started poking around.” Lucerne Hammer rose from his chair and pointed a hoof at one of his assembled lackeys. “You, Thunderhead, tell everypony to grab their stuff and get ready to move out.”

“So, that’s it then?” Freezing Rain asked coldly as Thunderhead rushed past her out the door. “Funny I never took you for the type to just run away at the first sign of trouble.’

“Who said anything about just running away?” Lucerne Hammer replied with an evil grin. “We’re gonna clear out of here, sure, but before we go we’re gonna teach that stupid little cesspool of a village why they should’ve kept their mouths shut. Tonight, you and the rest of our pegasi are gonna fly out over the village and drop firebombs on it until the whole place is toast.”

“You want us to what?” Freezing Rain asked, unable to hide the shock in her voice.

“Burn the place to the ground. Shining and the freak will be too busy fighting fires to even think about chasing after us. By the time those two would even be able to think about chasing us down we’d all be long gone. Then, once they’ve gone back to wherever the rut they come from we roll right back in and go back to running things.” Lucerne Hammer burst out laughing at his own cleverness. “If I know those mudhoof hicks they’ll go right back to rebuilding the place as soon as they get the chance.”

Freezing Rain considered Lucerne Hammer’s plan. It certainly could work, particularly since settler ponies were infamously stubborn about remaining on the land they’ve settled. On the other hoof, roughing up the occasional troublemaker or wrecking their homes was a far cry from burning down an entire town. Freezing Rain wasn’t particularly overburdened by morals, but even she would have trouble sleeping at night after such an act. “If you expect me to go along with this then you’re going to need to pay me triple what I’m getting already.”

“Done,” Lucerne Hammer replied without a moment’s hesitation.

“Alright then, we’ll fly out a couple hours after midnight. I’ll tell the colts to pull together every incendiary device we have.” With that, Freezing Rain turned and marched off to locate her subordinates and prepare them for the night’s raid, smiling faintly to herself all the while. After all, in Freezing Rain’s experience bits made for an excellent sleep aid.

*********

“Now, once we have the barricades fully set up I’m going to want everypony together in the center of town so we can go over what to do if Lucerne Hammer comes,” Shining Armor called out. The change that had overtaken the townsponies over the course of the past several hours was nothing short of incredible as far as Shining Armor concerned. As badly as Lucerne Hammer had beaten the townsponies down, all it had taken was a few words of encouragement to revive their spirits. “Now, if I could just get Moonwhisper to help out with this then we’d really be all net,” Shining Armor muttered to himself. “It’s one thing if he doesn’t want to be social, but he’d be a lot more help if he was doing something other than skulking around the edge of the village.” Letting out a sigh of exasperation, Shining Armor left the villagers to their preparations and trotted off to find Moonwhisper. “It’s a good thing Moonwhisper always wears that beret with his insignia pin on it. Now if I can just remember have that tracking spell goes…” Shining Armor closed his eyes to concentrate as he cast a spell to locate the insignia of any nearby guard officers. After a moment a magenta glow began to emanate form the tip of his horn, pulling him towards the edge of the village.

Shining Armor soon found Moonwhisper, apparently hiding in the underbrush near one of the abandoned homes at the edge of town. Grinning mischievously to himself, Shining Armor dropped low to the ground and stealthily crept towards Moonwhisper. Once Shining Armor judged himself to be close enough, he shot up like a coiled spring. Shining Armor’s sneak attack fell apart somewhat, however, as he found himself suspended mid-leap in a dark blue field of magic. “After tow years in the academy together you’d think you’d realize the futility of trying to sneak up on me,” Moonwhisper said in harsh whisper as he lowered Shining Armor back to the ground. “Now, try and keep quiet, I’m trying to follow a potential…let’s call it a complication.” Sensing Shining Armor’s confused expression Moonwhisper gestured towards another abandoned home nearby.

“What the hay are you – hold on, I think I just saw something move in the bushes over there,” Shining Armor said as his eyes honed in on a few shaking leaves.

“Adolescent earth pony male, he’s been slowly making his way out of town for the last half-hour or so,” Moonwhisper replied softly. “And, given his efforts to remain unseen and the lack of other known possibilities in the general area, in all likelihood his intended destination is -“

“You think he’s planning on running off to warn Lucerne Hammer about us?” Shining Armor asked incredulously. “Why the hay haven’t you stopped him yet?”

“Two reasons. One, I didn’t want to confront a civilian youth with accusations like that until I was absolutely certain of what he was doing. Two, I’m not the only one who’s been following the subject.” As Moonwhisper spoke, a yellow-orange blur launched itself out of the shadows nearby and crashed into the colt Moonwhisper had been following. The colt and his assailant tumbled into the street where they managed to separate after a brief scuffle.

“Dang it, Clay Pit! Just where the hay do y’ think yer goin’ sneakin’ off like that?” The interloper, a yellow-orange coated colt about the same age as the first demanded.

“Stay out of this, Sandstone,” Clay Pit growled. “I don’t have time to deal with you right now.”

“The hay y’ don’t! Yer plannin’ on runnin’ off to Lucerne Hammer’s gang to warn them about what’s goin’ on, aren’t y’?” Sandstone accused angrily. “What in Equestria are y’ thinkin’? Our village finally has a chance to climb out from under Lucerne Hammer’s hoof and yer just gonna toss it away. Ah’d’ve thought y’ of all ponies would want that, ‘specially after what happened to –“

“YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!” Clay Pit yelled. “I’m doing what’s best for the village, even if the rest of you are too stupid to see that. Do you honestly think two random unicorns that just showed up out of nowhere are really going to be able to make any difference against Lucerne Hammer and his goons?”

“Actually, I’d say our odds of being able to resolve the issue are exceedingly favorable.” Clay Pit found himself lifted into the air by a dark blue aura as Moonwhisper trotted into view. “Captain Shining Armor, I’d like to have a word with this colt in private. Would you mind taking Mister Sandstone back to the village?”

Shining Armor looked from Moonwhisper to Clay Pit and back to Moonwhisper again with a concerned expression on his face. “Are you sure you should…I mean, he’s just a…” Shining Armor let out a deep sigh. “Alright, I’ll see you back at the village. Come on, kid, let’s leave Moonwhisper to it.” Before Sandstone could utter a word of protest Shining Armor pulled him away and started trotting back towards the village.

The pair walked in silence for a minute or so before Sandstone finally mustered the courage to speak up. “Excuse me, Mister Shining Armor, sir? What’s goin’ to happen to mah friend Clay Pit? He ain’t a bad pony, not really, he’s just had a hard time of things since Lucerne Hammer’s gang came ‘round.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much. I know Moonwhisper can come off as, well, a nasty grump sometimes, but there really is a good pony deep down underneath all that. And, believe it or not, Moonwhisper actually is kinda of a softy when it comes to foals, so he’ll probably just give your friend a chewing out and leave it at that,” Shining Armor said. A few moments of awkward silence passed before Shining Armor spoke up again. “So, that Clay Pit’s a friend of yours? You two didn’t really seem all that friendly to me.”

“We used to be friends, anyway, but Clay Pit just ain’t been the same ever since Lucerne Hammer came ‘round here,” Sandstone replied sadly.

“Yeah, you mentioned he’s been having a hard time because of that. What happened, exactly?” Shining Armor asked.

“Well, Clay Pit’s pa was the town sheriff back before the gang took over, or at least he was the closest thing we had to one. Things were pretty peaceful back then so he didn’t have to do all that much, just settlin’ the occasional argument mostly. That…changed when Lucerne Hammer arrived. When Clay Pit’s pa tried standin’ up to Lucerne’s gang they made the whole village watch while Lucerne Hammer beat him so bad he couldn’t even walk fer days. Then, they pulled his whole family out into the street before burning their home down.” Sandstone clenched his teeth as he recalled the event. “Ever since then Clay Pit’s been mean as a rattler, ‘specially anytime somepony brings up actually fightin’ back, but Ah never though he’d actually do somethin’ like tryin’ to rat us all out. Ah just wish Ah could figure out why he’s lettin’ himself get all twisted up inside like that.”

“Everypony tends to deal with stuff like that a bit different, and some ponies just don’t know how to handle it well,” Shining Armor replied thoughtfully. “I know Twilight would say that friendship is always worth fighting for no matter what, but I’m not sure how much that’ll help in your case.”

“It ain’t decidin’ whether to fight that’s the issue so much as wishin’ Ah knew whether there was somethin’ to fight fer at all,” Sandstone replied. “Sometimes with the way Clay Pit carries on Ah wonder if we were ever really friends to start with.”

Shining Armor let out a sad sigh. “I wish there was something I could tell you that would make it all make sense, but I honestly haven’t figured that sort of thing out myself. I can tell you this, though. If Clay Pit really is your friend then the best thing you can do for him is to stick by him until he manages to work through whatever’s gotten to him.”

“Y’really think so?” Sandstone asked hopefully.

“Well, it worked out pretty well in my case,” Shining Armor replied. “For the most part, anyway.”

*********

“This should do adequately,” Moonwhisper said as he shoved his way through the broken remnants of the front door of one of the abandoned homes and trotted inside. Floating directly behind Moonwhisper was Clay Pit, encased in Moonwhisper’s dark blue magical aura. The adolescent colt was doing his best to maintain a façade of brave defiance, but the look in his eyes betrayed his mounting terror. “Alright then,” Moonwhisper said as he casually tossed Clay Pit to the floor. “Explain yourself.”

“I…I was just doing what I had to. For the village.” Clay Pit said as he struggled to keep the fear out of his voice. “I thought that if Lucerne Hammer knew that you two tricked everypony into trying to go against him –“

“Tricked you? Shining Armor couldn’t trick his infant daughter into a bathtub,” Moonwhisper snorted, slightly bemused. “The village plans on standing up to Lucerne Hammer because they want to.”

“No! They’re doing it because you’ve tricked them into thinking they have a chance!” Clay Pit yelled back. “You don’t know what they’re like, what his gang can to ponies…”

“On the contrary, I know exactly what they’re capable of, both in terms of combat capabilities and nonexistent morals. The intelligence provided by Shell Shock was quite thorough in that regard. I assure you, Captain Shining Armor and I are more than capable of dismantling Lucerne Hammer’s little syndicate.”

“Then why haven’t you done it already? You’re royal guards, aren’t you? Isn’t it your job to protect us? So where were you when they…” A ragged sob tore its way out of Clay Pit’s throat as tears streamed unbidden down his face. “Why didn’t you protect us?”

Nearly a full minute passed as Moonwhisper looked down at the sobbing colt in stone-faced silence. “On that point, you’re absolutely correct,” Moonwhisper finally replied softly. “The guard has failed your village on countless levels, and for that I have no excuses. All I can offer is a promise that we will put an end to what Lucerne Hammer is doing.”

“Feh, now you’re starting to sound like that half-wit Sandstone,” Clay Pit grumbled as he looked away. “Always going on about how he’s going to fight back and free the village. That stupid idiot doesn’t have a clue about what Lucerne Hammer does to ponies who try and fight back.”

“Odd, Shell Shock had led me to believe that Lucerne Hammer’s retaliatory beatings and property destruction were always witnessed by the entire town to maximize their deterrence value,” Moonwhisper said.

“It’s one thing to watch when somepony else’s home gets destroyed and another when it’s happening to you,” Clay Pit retorted bitterly. “Sandstone’s dad was smart and didn’t try and fight back when Lucerne Hammer took over. The gang even let him keep running the general store as long as he keeps his head down and does what he’s told.”

“So you resent Sandstone for pursuing an overly idealistic path without having any personal understanding of what the cost of that idealism can be,” Moonwhisper said.

“I…guess,” Clay Pit replied. “Its just, if Sandstone keeps on pushing things, he’s going to provoke Lucerne Hammer into coming down on himself and maybe even the rest of town as well.”

“Why not let him?” Moonwhisper asked pointedly. “If your primary complaint towards Sandstone is that he hasn’t personally experienced the consequences of opposing Lucerne Hammer then why not simply stand aside? There is something to the belief that the best way to teach a foal to avoid a hot stove is to let them burn their hoof, after all.”

“What? No!” Clay Pit cried out in horror. “Sandstone’s my friend, I don’t want him to have to go through that, I just want him to understand…”

“You want him to comprehend the fact that there could be consequences for his actions, consequences that you’re all too familiar with,” Moonwhisper stated, to which Clay Pit could only nod. “Furthermore, it would appear that your frustration with your friend’s inability to appreciate what you perceive as his own good fortune is leading you to lash out at him rather than actually talk to him about what’s truly bothering you.”

“I…it’s just…I think I need to talk to my friend,” Clay Pit said quietly as he stared down at the floor.

“That would probably be the best course of action,” Moonwhisper replied firmly. “Now, given that you failed to actually accomplish anything…untoward, I’m willing to overlook your abortive attempt to warn Lucerne Hammer about the presence of Captain Shining Armor and myself. Going forward, however, I would strongly advise you to leave things to us. You’re dismissed.” A visibly relieved Clay Pit promptly scurried out of the house, leaving Moonwhisper muttering quietly to himself. “Leave things to us…just leave everything to us…” Moonwhisper let out a deep sigh. “I need to talk to Shining Armor.” Moonwhisper turned to leave, when suddenly he paused as a thought struck him. Craning his neck over his withers, Moonwhisper glanced back at his flank, only to turn back with a snort of disappointment. “Of course it wouldn’t have been that simple.”

*********

Moonwhisper found Shining Armor walking several of the villagers through some basic drills, with various bits of mining and farming equipment having been drafted into service as armaments. “Ok troops, that’s a…good effort. Remember to keep a firm grip on your weapons, and could somepony give Mr. Quarry a hoof?” Shining Armor shook his head as he watched a pair of ponies extract a third form the wreckage of a rain barrel. “Well, I guess it could be worse.”

“Shining Armor, may I have a word with you?” Moonwhisper asked as he approached his fellow captain.

“Of course,” Shining Armor snorted to himself. “I mean, of course you can, sure! What did you want to talk about?”

Moonwhisper was silent for a moment as he looked out over the villagers and their attempts at training. “Shining Armor, what are we doing her exactly?”

“What do you mean? We’re trying to solve the problem Twily’s map sent us here to deal with,” Shining Armor replied.

“By turning this village into an armed camp? By teaching a collection of peaceful civilians how to flail about ineffectually with makeshift weapons?” Moonwhisper asked accusingly.

“Well how do you think we should help them, then?” Shining Armor shot back. “You’re not seriously suggesting we just leave things the way they are right now?”

“No, I’m suggesting we stop making asses of ourselves and do our jobs! We’re members of the Royal Guard for Celestia’s sake! Our responsibility is to deal with threats like Lucerne Hammer so they don’t have to!” Breathing heavily, Moonwhisper took a moment to calm himself before continuing. “What I mean is that we should deal with the issue ourselves. There’s neither a need nor any real benefit to having the villagers attempt to mount an actual defense.”

“Are you sure we’re not supposed to teach them to fight for –“ Shining Armor’s question was interrupted by the sound of one of his more over-eager pupils smashing the side of a nearby house with a pick. “Ok, yeah, these ponies should leave fighting to professionals. So, what’s the plan?”

“Simple, tonight the two of us are going to pay Lucerne Hammer’s hideout a visit. At which point we shall break every bone in that miserable cretin’s body,” Moonwhisper added harshly.

“Not that beating the tar out of that jerk doesn’t sound like a blast, but are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, according to Shell Shock Lucerne has a pretty decent-sized gang,” Shining Armor cautioned.

“The two of us against Lucerne Hammer and a dozen or so of his flunkies…those are rather unfortunate odds, aren’t they?” Moonwhisper said before an evil grin spread across his face. “It’s a pity, if Lucerne had managed to gather another twenty or so than this might have approached an even fight.”

Comments

[Dxinsider]

YOU ARE ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IM SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[zimmerwald1915]

Ah, there's the friendship problem.

Really enjoying the roasting that Poncey Armor is getting. Deserves every bit of it, too, the useless lump.

[Onyx Quill]

I... Would NOT want to be Lucerne Hammer when all is said and done.