The Last Guardian

by Acclamations

Prologue 2.0

The Last Guardian

Snow fell from the grey sky as a lone pony sat on a bench in the empty Canterlot park. His white coat was matted, and his orange mane covered with little specks of the white fluff. He sat, idle, his hooves lay tired on his sides. A black streak X’ed out his cutie mark, a orange orb with a pair of wings adorned on the side. The pony’s red cape and gold encrusted overalls lost their color, a bit of rips here and there. And the blood, covering his weapons. And the snow. And the other ponies, foreign and ally alike. All were stained with the red liquid, oozing into the snow, turning it into a sickly color. Only the circle around his bench was white, the snow had stopped snowing. The pony didn’t move, but remained looking at the snow, his eyes lost of emotion.
No more... The pony thought. His brain stumbled over the blood, especially on his hooves. No more blood... no...

The pony weakly lifted his forelegs up, and propped them on his lap. It shook as the blood ran down to his lap, staining his coat. Another pony joined him, coming from seemingly up high. He didn’t move.

“Dewford... I’m so sorry...” The pony sighed, her mane free of the white snow. She looked down at Dewford, blood now running down his legs and onto the once pure area of snow.

“Celestia...?” Dewford looked up. His green eyes... lost of their original vibrant color after the battle. Now, just empty shells.

“Yes, Dewford. The battle is over. We won.” Celestia said, quietly. She knew the horror of what had happened in the battlefield.

“...What am I fighting for?” Dewford asked, dropping his hooves. The blood continued to trickle. Celestia was slightly taken aback, taking a moment to think of an answer.

“For the betterment of Equestria, Dewford.” She tried to smile, but Dewford’s sorrowful eyes prevented that. A sense of guilt washed over her body as she continued to look down at the broken soldier.

“Is that really it, Princess? For a better Equestria?” Dewford’s voice had a small hint of anger, but it went unnoticed.

“Yes. Think of all the ponies that would be safe from the war against the Talots.” Dewford could only bite his lower lip, unsure as to what to say.

“My friends, my allies...” Dewford slumped again, his neck hurting. He took a deep breath before looking back at Celestia. He stood up and put his hoof over his chest, gripping tightly onto a medal.

“Princess Celestia. I, Dewford Dawn, resign as the Guardian of Light.”

It had been 20 long years since the Last Guardian had disappeared from the official files in Equestria. The textbooks in the Canterlot library held no records or disclosed any information regarding the Elemental Knighthood Program, the EKP. Only officials that have already died and the two Princesses know of its existence...

The day want joyfully for Applejack, the young orange farm pony. Humble and hardworking, she finished her daily round of chores for the early morning. Big Mac and Applebloom were getting up while Granny Smith remained in bed.

“Time ta’ get down ta’ work!” Fashioning her iconic stetson onto her head and a small band around her hair, she went to work out on the field.

“Another beautiful day, Ah must say so mah self.” The farm pony said proudly, taking in a deep breath of the morning dew.

The same type of deal for rest of the elements in Ponyville, save for Rainbow Dash, who slept like a log. The girls prepped their days for the upcoming work they needed to do for that day. Twilight needed to categorize books, Pinkie Pie baked cake like no tomorrow, Fluttershy took care of her animals, Rarity needed to make new dresses for a High School prom and Rainbow Dash... needed to do what she did best. Flying. The day went by swimmingly, and was pretty lax, until Applejack noticed something in the distance.

“What in tha’ hay is that...” She squinted her eyes from under an apple tree. A small ball of orange and yellow was coming from the sky. Her eyes widened, realizing what it was.

“Ah space rock! Ah needa get Twilight, she’ll know what ta’ do.” And so, Applejack ran off towards the library, and fetched the purple unicorn.

“Hi Applejack!” Twilight said, donning a set of glasses. “What brings you by to- Woah!” Applejack grabbed her hoof and plopped her on her back, already slamming the door and running back to the farm.

“What’s going on!” Twilight said, adjusting herself on Applejack’s back.

“There’s this orange space rock comin’ to mah farm and ah need ya ta protect it! Can’t have th’ farm damaged before the Zap Apples!” Applejack continued to power through the run until they reached the spot Applejack was before. The meteor was getting closer and closer, as Applejack nudged Twilight.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do.” She crouched into a stance and her horn started to glow. A giant purple dome covered the farm as the meteor got close enough to the sphere before breaking apart into chunks of debris. Space rock got sucked into the dome, which landed gracefully on the fertile soil of the farm. All was well until a small figure fell, a large crack coming from near the barn. Catching Twilight and Applejack’s eye, they raced off to where the figure landed.

“Ah think ah saw the thing land near here, Twi’” Applejack said. They searched around the barn before opening the double doors. A beam of light came from a broken ceiling as it shone down on the figure before them. A pony laid unconscious in a bale of hay, the light illuminating his orange mane and white coat, which seemed to glow with the same intensity as the sun. It was hot, dangerous, but at the same time warm and calm. The girls approached slowly to the pony.

“A colt? What’s he doing here?” Twilight asked. She looked at Applejack, who propped her stetson in place.

“This is mah first time seeing this colt here too, Twi. Don’t get no funny ideas, ya’ hear.” She deadpanned. Twilight chuckled, nervously before looking back at the stallion. His mane swayed with the gentle breeze, his sleeping face making Twilight and Applejack blush.

“A handsome thing o’ work, ain’t it Twi?” Twilight jumped out of surprise, hearing the mare’s voice. She had been too concentrated on the young colt.

“W-What are you talking about, Applejack? I wasn’t staring at him.” Twilight said hastily. Applejack chuckled, shaking her head. She walked over to the colt and motioned Twilight to follow.

“We needa’ get him outta here b’fore Big Mac gets any funny ideas.” Applejack made a face, imagining the reaction from her older brother. Twilight nodded and surrounded the pony in her purple aura. Walking out of the barn, the farm pony waved to the departing bookworm. After the purple tail of hers disappeared from the corner, she sighed.

“Ah gotta fix the darn roof now...”

The door to the library opened as Twilight eased her way into the Library, setting down the stallion onto the couch. Clanking were heard from the kitchen and Spike emerged, carrying a plate of pancakes.

“Hey Twilight. I saw you weren’t here in the morning so I made a plate for you.” Spike looked around and saw Twilight putting the colt on the sofa. Easily intrigued, Spike raised an eyebrow.

“Who’s that.” Spike set the plate down before taking a good look at the colt.

“He’s a mystery pony Spike.” Twilight said nonchalant. She went over to her desk and rummaged about before pulling out a clipboard and some paper.

“Orange mane, white coat, average pony height...” Twilight continued to list out the miniscule details of the pony. Spike left to enjoy his pancakes in the kitchen table, leaving Twilight alone. After she finished, she set the clipboard down and sighed. She stared at the handsome colt, who slept wistfully on her couch. She blushed a bit, the warmth rushing to her face.

Suddenly, the colt started to move. Squirm, mostly. Twilight yelped and she fell backwards, but quickly regained her balance. The colt squeezed his eyes and started to pant. He started to gasp for air, sending Twilight into a panic. Without thinking, she bolted out the door and ran to Fluttershy’s cottage.

Twilight returned with the butter mare wearing a nurse hat with a big red cross and a First Aid Kit. Having running a long distance, Twilight was pretty tuckered out. Fluttershy flew into the room with the colt and quickly got to work. Twilight waited outside. Her mind exhausted, she slumped onto the couch, her eyes slowly closing.

Author's Note:

Since I decided to reboot this piece, which prologue do you think is better?

I'll check back in an hour for responses. Cheers!