The "Season 11" Project! -- Camp Harmony! (And What Is Patriotism?)

by starponys87

#4 - A Royal Guard Problem

Author's Note:

As always, I am happy to receive input from collaborators. I don't want this to be just my project. I want it to be yours, too!

Section #1:

Back at Canterlot Castle, Twilight's family was having a reunion. In a fancy dining room, everyone was there: Shining Armor, Cadance, Flurry Heart, and Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle ... and don't forget Spike! They were all eating spaghetti with hay sauce. (For the moment, Twilight was absent.)

Other guests included Flash Magnus, Rockhoof, and six Royal Guards (five stallions and one mare). For the moment, Twilight was not at the scene.

Outside, it was now dark, the moon shining high in the sky.

"So, Shining Armor," asked Mr. Sparkle with a smile, "how did it feel having to fight the Knights of Terror?"

Mr. Sparkle took another bite of his spaghetti with hay sauce.

"Oh!" said Shining Armor. "The first time was terrible. Half my Guard fell victim to Danu's earthquakes. And those Knights stole my magic before I could really use it. Deep inside, I was a scared little boy. Thank goodness all my guards survived!"

Starting with a smile, he started hanging his head with sadness.

Then he smiled again. "But the second time, it was completely different! My Guard actually felt useful for a change! We got our revenge. We beat their flanks!"

Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle clapped their hooves, along with Flurry Heart.

"I was feeling on top of the world!" continued Shining Armor. "But then ..."

He hung his head again, starting to sniffle. "... The alicorns and I used our powers to blast the six monsters one last time."

Armor's eyes started to get wet. "But when we did ... we accidentally blasted my Guard, too!"

Armor started to cry. "This is absurd! Our Guard is supposed to protect our Princesses. Instead, the Princesses are always protecting them ... and me!"

He started to cry his eyes out. "Where have I gone wrong!" he wailed.

Section #2:

Just then, Twilight teleported back to her seat at the table.

Twilight heard the sound of crying. She turned and looked at her big brother.

Twilight gasped. "My big brother! What's wrong?!"

"I'm no big brother!" cried Shining Armor. "My little sister is so powerful! But I'm so helpless!"

Twilight flew to her brother's side. She started to hug him.

"That's not true," Twilight tried to assure him. "You and Cadance drove off the changelings, with the power of your love! And you two helped save the Crystal Empire!"

"But Chrysalis brainwashed me. And almost turned me against you. My shielding powers were no match against that!"

In his angry sadness, Shining Armor threw down his glass. "And King Sombra disabled my magic early on! It was up to you and Cadance ..."

"And me!" called Spike, his arms crossed in frustration.

"... to rescue the Crystal Heart. But then one day, Sombra returned. And we were not ready for it! It took you and your girlfriends to rescue me and my family!"

Getting sadder and angrier, Armor threw down his plate. Remnants of spaghetti and hay sauce splattered onto the floor.

"As Sombra squeezed the Crystal Heart ... ," continued Armor, "I saw it starting to break ... along with my own heart!"

"Dear Armor," said Cadance, trying to soothe him, "I've been kind of unlucky, too, in the fight against evil. It's not just you."

"But it's like I'm the born loser!" As Armor raised his voice, he stood up.

He yanked the tablecloth ... causing everyone's dinner to fall onto the floor. "You've had your victories. But I never get to save the day for myself!"

Shining Armor took a couple deep breaths. "Why can't I be an alicorn? Is it even possible? Or is it something only girls get to do?"

Twilight's eyes started to water up. So did Cadance's. Flurry Heart started to cry.

Spike turned toward Shining Armor, looking him in the eye. Spike hung his head and sighed. "I must admit ... big brother ... life has been nicer to me than to you. As far as saving the day is concerned."

Armor sat back down. Resting his head on the table, he silently wept.

Section #3:

Just then, Shining Armor's cutie mark started to glow. It was pulsating.

"Shining Armor!" said Twilight. "Your cutie mark!"

Armor gasped, jerking his head back up. "Did it disappear!"

Twilight chuckled. "No, Shiny. It's glowing!"

Armor looked back at his cutie mark. He laughed with relief. "I suppose it is!"

"And you know what that means ... ?" asked Twilight.

"What?"

"The Cutie Map is calling you!"

"But why?"

"It must be a friendship problem!"

Shining Armor got back up. "But where does the map want me to go?"

"Spike!" called Twilight. With her horn, she started writing a note on a scroll. "Send this letter to Lyra and Bon Bon!"

With her horn, Twilight sealed the scroll and threw it toward her little dragon. Spike blew his magic fire breath, burning up the letter.

Section #4:

In the Castle of Friendship, Lyra and Bon Bon were sitting around the Cutie Map. Both were wearing their sunglasses and spy suits. Each had a black suitcase, leaning against her chair. They sat on opposite sides.

"Incoming!" called Lyra.

Lyra's horn flashed. Twilight's scroll popped out of Lyra's horn.

Bon Bon leapt on top of the table, sliding to Lyra's spot. She snatched the letter and pulled it open.

"It's from the Princess!" said Bon Bon. "Shining Armor's cutie mark is glowing."

"We already knew that, you know?" replied Lyra. "His mark is floating right over Canterlot Castle."

"But he doesn't know," said Bon Bon. Quickly, she pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote a letter. "We must tell him immediately!"

Sealing the letter in an envelope, Bon Bon threw it over Lyra's horn. Lyra zapped the letter, and it disappeared.

* * *

Back in Canterlot Castle, everyone was eating dinner as normal again. The table was back to normal, and the floor was clean.

Suddenly, Spike belched out a jet of fire. Bon Bon's letter landed in front of Twilight ... falling onto her spaghetti and hay sauce!

With her horn, Twilight opened the letter. "Shining Armor, your cutie mark is hovering above Canterlot Castle!"

"You mean my friendship problem is right here?"

"Apparently so."

Shining Armor got back up. "But where? Where in the castle?"

Just then, Sunburst teleported into the scene. "Twilight! Shining Armor! Come to the throne room -- immediately!"

Section #5:

Shining Armor, Twilight, and Sunburst teleported into the throne room.

"What's the problem, Sunburst?" asked Twilight.

"It's pretty loud in here," remarked Armor. ... "It sounds like ponies ... fighting ... ?"

"That's exactly what it is!" exclaimed Sunburst. "The Royal Guard is fighting -- among themselves! Look!"

In the throne room, the Royal Guards would usually be standing in neat lines, guarding the paths to the throne. They would barely move or make a sound. But now it was chaos.

Different sets of guards were fighting one another, hoof to hoof. One female guard and one male guard were fighting with their spears!

Shining Armor and Twilight both gasped with horror.

Shining Armor shone his horn over the fighting Guards. Pulling the guards apart from one another, he immediately ended the fights.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" he exclaimed.

The guards stood silent. Turning toward Shining Armor, their eyes were wide with fear.

Armor started to sniffle again. "This isn't what you're supposed to be about. You comrades are supposed to love one another -- be there for one another. You know ... like my sister and me! And my wife and me!"

He hugged his sister. Cadance teleported into the scene and hugged him.

With his horn, Armor disarmed the two guards who were fighting with spears. He started to cry again.

"I think I finally know what's wrong," said Armor ... "My Royal Guard doesn't understand the magic of friendship."

Comments

[starponys87]

11044768
I will keep your words in mind. Still, I need to make this clear:

Twilight and her friends can't possibly trust the Knights' intentions. What if the Knights had returned only because they thought the coast was clear? They would not be above pulling a fast one, if they thought they could. The idea is to beat down the Knights as much as possible -- before the Knights can throw a single punch.

Moreover, Twilight and friends almost losing their own Elements -- and everything they love -- has left a deep scar on them. Not to mention -- to be building this world of friendship, and now it's like the gods trying to strike them down for making things too good ... . Twilight and Cadance are capable of being fierce; this much, we do know. Yes, what they do in that scene is uncharacteristically brutal. Their fear and anger is legitimate, but the heat of battle also releases a darker side to them.

(I myself ask, how far is too far?)

When I really think about it, it's not too hard to imagine ... if the Mane 6 and the Knights of Order had had their situations switched, one might have easily turned out like the other. This is a theme Twilight comes face to face with, in her own attempts to reform them in Tartarus. In fact, she starts having nightmares about alternate histories -- one where it was impossible to reform Discord, one where it was impossible to avoid war with the yaks, and one where the disappearance of the Student 6 led to a massive world war.

Twilight didn't think much about the Knights' twisted advice at first. But now it's sinking in ... what could have happened? Did she really spread her friendship too thin? Had she really taken one chance too many?

Twilight also starts to have questions about the way Tartarus is managed in the first place. Note: In my work, Cerberus has a companion named Cerbera. Cerbera is the friendlier one, but just as ferocious when it's necessary. Cerbera is the one who feeds the prisoners and gives them water. Still, the sensory deprivation starts to drive Twilight mad -- especially when she gets locked in by mistake!

Thankfully, she has Spike to help comfort her -- even proving himself capable of entering creatures' dreams now that he seems to have unlocked his own Element.

[The Great Derpsby]

11045586
I saw your edits, and I think they show a different impression than I first got. Which is good, by the way. Makes it much more clear how the ponies going on as they did, guns blazing, ignoring how the Knights announced they were coming to negotiate wasn't a good approach. Because the logic of "you can't trust them" applies to every single villain out there—that's Starswirl's "once a villain, always a villain" idea. There's no real difference between the Knights and, say, Starlight Glimmer, or Discord, or Sunset Shimmer, or Trixie, at least in that regard. Heck, Discord was a bigger threat by himself and actually betrayed them once, but they still forgave him.

Quick tip, I hadn't gotten any notification that you'd posted a reply. That happens when you don't put it in the same chapter as the post you're responding to, the other person never finds out unless they come back to look!

[starponys87]

11047884
I feel much better now that I did the rewrite. One of the key themes is that Shining Armor must learn from the girls and the children -- if he is to properly learn the magic of friendship. Keeping Twilight and Cadance (mostly) free of excessive violence prevents this from being a broken Aesop.

On their end, Twilight and Cadance still must battle their own fears and insecurities. However, the main challenge is being thrown into situations where they have to make hard decisions they've never had to make before. The main challenge is not any desire for revenge. Rather, it's how much they can realistically rely on gentleness and friendship. They work out most of this struggle through their dreams, along with counseling by their new friends.

Shining Armor, on the other hand, has more serious anger problems -- more serious feelings of insecurity and inadequacy, with hints of toxic masculinity. The Royal Guard has been mostly an all-boys' club, and most female members have the same machismo. The Guard needs to think less with their weapons -- and more with their hearts. Balancing the sexes is not just a matter of quotas -- but rather changing the culture. The Guard must become much more welcoming to boys and girls who are more like Fluttershy or Thorax.

With help from their friends (including Spike, the Student 6, and the "Younger 6"), Twilight and Cadance manage to remind themselves -- their crowns mean nothing without their friends to back them up. The goodwill of their subjects is their lifeblood. They must remind themselves, it is just as dangerous to be too cynical as it is to be too trusting. Fear leads to hate, and then hate gains a life of its own. And that's when people really do surround themselves with bad company. That's when people start making enemies where they had none before ... as the Knights of Order did.

[PhoenixFlambe]

Sounds a bit like Shining is becoming the next Sunny, in an alternate universe.

[starponys87]

Never really thought about that. Except in this case, it’s not necessarily interracial conflict — but rather a general failure to love their neighbors as themselves.

[PhoenixFlambe]

11137934
I kinda meant this