Reliquiae: After Earth

by Kalushar

Chapter 7: Bronze Shield

Chapter 7: Bronze Shield

Baltimare, some years ago…

“Now son surely you can think about this,” Iron Tack said insistently.
Bronze Shield sighed, “dad I don’t want to do metallurgy. I want to go to Canterlot and serve the princesses.”

“Son, please. Even your cutie mark says that you could do this. You’re my only son, my only child. You’re all I have left.”

“Dad, I can’t. My cutie mark also says I could be a guard. I love you and you’re welcome to come and visit anytime, but I’ve already made up my mind.”

“You… you’re so headstrong. Just like your mother. I love you son, and if this is what you want. Well then…”

Iron Tack trotted over to a rack in his shop and pulled down a silver scabbard. “You go with my blessing son.”

“Dad, I can’t take that it’s—”

“Shh, it is my gift to you.”

Bronze watched his father draw the blade, a beautiful blade of bronze and iron. It had been tradition for as long as anyone in his family remembered that a father and son would craft a blade together out of their namesake, no matter the material. He remembered stories from his grandfather, Quill Scrawl, about having to make an iron sword with an attached quill. The blade now hung on the wall in his father’s bedroom. The only piece he hung in their home.

Bronze bit his lip as a tear rolled down his face, “I love you dad, but… I-I have to—”

His dad embraced him, “it’s alright Bronze. It’s ok. I understand.”

He had left Baltimare three weeks later to start his training. Under Captain Lost Gold he trained in Celestia’s day guard as a castle guard. The food was bad, the bed’s itchy, and the ponies were brutal. Bronze loved every second of it. He was first assigned to the central Canterlot patrol but was later reassigned to a special guard overseeing the royal wedding between Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor. Bronze passionately believed that this was his duty, to guard royalty. Though, he had to admit to himself he wasn’t so keen on Shining Armor. The unicorn was mostly well respected, but Bronze understood enough about him and his sister to know he couldn’t have made captain of the royal guard so young without a few connections.

But regardless it was not his job to question these things. His job was tested however when the queen of the changelings revealed herself at the wedding, though he wasn’t in the room when it happened, he’d heard enough stories later to know it must have been terrifying. He had fought in the castle and in the streets until the Elements of Harmony had saved the capital. He had a mild dislike for the Elements, it was foolish to give such power to untrained ponies, but again it was not his job to question things.

He was assigned to a special convoy in the north to the Crystal Empire to escort the Elements there and eventually he was one of the few trying to save as many as possible when the shield fell and Sombra returned to his ancient city. He was recognized and promoted, then sent back to Canterlot at which point he was assigned only to the castle. He fought against Tirek when the time came and watched many ponies die around him, it was at the end of the battle when he met Quick Fletcher, a comical stallion who reminded him of a cousin from Baltimare.

For a few years now he had guarded Princess Twilight Sparkle and it had been peaceful, until the whole “other world” nonsense. At first it hadn’t honestly seemed like that big of a deal, Tartarus was much like another world, but it was an empty fiery place. It was possible this other world would be just as desolate or dangerous, but upon learning of its potential use he had tried to suppress the spread of information, it was why he was sprinting towards the throne room, he had to tell the princess that somepony knew. No, not somepony, a griffin of all things. A dragon might even have been better, they were more… predictable than griffins.

“Your highness,” he called out loudly as he shoved open the doors to the throne room, startling the guards around him. “We have a situation.”

Twilight taken aback regained her composure before inquiring, “sir…”

“Bronze Shield.”

“Yes, Right. Sir Shield what is the problem?”

“Well, it pertains to your recent escapade with… Discord.”

* * *

“Your sure that this information is correct? We can’t have a repeat of Stalliongrad.”

“It’s legitimate. A guardsman himself attempted to actively suppress the information, and a reasonably high ranking one at that.”

“And who do you think would be interested in this information? The king?”

“Him, among others. Think bigger. Dragons, diamond dogs, I bet even the hippogriffs would be interested in this. A whole new world with no ponies around? No enemies. They would rule a huge empire.”

“And who else knows about this? Cedric?”

“No, nobody not even…”

“What?”

The informant stepped backwards slowly, “…Cedric. He has been dead for two weeks now.”

The griffin who had been supposed to be an information broker shifted in place, “well, can’t get it perfect every time.”

As the informant went to take off he was blasted in the face with a lethal spray of green magic from multiple places in the dark alley. The smell of burnt feathers and flesh filled the air. The broker turned away from the corpse and spoke to the unseen others in the alley, “inform the new queen of what we have learned here. Fly separate. Go!”

The buzzing of wings resounded in the alley, before quickly fading. The hive would live, even if Equestria fell. A whole world? All it would take is a few ponies to bring with them and they’d be fed for generations by their generations. The griffin smiled internally before being engulfed in green flames and disappearing along with the charred corpse. Even the smell disappeared into the wind.

Comments

[Mix-up]

Hum, from the sound of it Bronze has resentment of Shining Armor and the Elements because they got the praises for events for what he sees he should also had for doing the same thing, or rather passed over and colors his opinion of them and repressed those sentiments deep down under his 'duty' bur secretly wishes do be praised for his 'duty' and is now using it as an excuse to get some recognition of for himself for once, by manufacturing a potential crisis and maybe get some glory form himself for if he gets some commands of some sort in the colonization expedition and have the chance to boss others around for a change. I could get that earth pony farmers, with no land of their own would certainly be interested in going there and will probably make the bolt of the colonization, but what about the pegasus and the unicorn would would interest them in large numbers? Sure I could guess that there are settlers among them but what will there collective skillsets would contribute to the effort and how does their respective magic work in this wold, like controlling the weather, have the chance to name places after themselves or plunder the natural resources for themselves?

Nice to see you around again.

As for the Remaining Chrysalis loyalists, couldn't be anything thing else if she is in stone now and the rest of the reform changelings don't have to worry about feeding on other sapient beings just to survive, unless some of the reform changelings have different plans that doesn't involve Thorax in it, not sure why they would even need ponies at that point at least.

Also how would the other cases can reach that world as far as we know only Discord can reach it at the moment?

[Turquoise pony]

I'm curious. Are you using a "Childhood's End" (Arthur C Clarke's book) reasoning?
That for many generations humans have been getting premonitions of a great rapture causing Humanity to disappear on Earth, but really it's just magical transformation, and time dilation into future reincarnation as magical Equestrians when the inevitable magical saturation from the Milky Way's Black Hole transitioning into a new stage of maturity?

[HB_DS2013]

This feels a lot like the Europeans kicking the Native Americans out of their land. Well, humans have always been on the more chaotic side.

[Kalushar]

10438849
Ha, great to hear from you again. You did a pretty good break down of Bronze Shield's character. As for the changelings well.... ill tell you this much. Thorax isnt involved.

[Viper Pit]

Unless bronze Sheild is gonna be a bigger part I don't see why he was introduced

[Bronycommander]

Not bad, I enjoy it, though the start was a bit confusing at first

[Kalushar]

10502135
thanks for the read! The beginning is a bit confusing, i agree

[Bronycommander]

10502174
Still, eager to see where this goes