Of Failure And Regret
Nay for valor,
or thirst for blood,
we serve the crown,
a crushing flood,
every's duty,
to protect each other,
less we fail,
and lose one another...
The creed of the Royal Guard sang through his head as if the entire legion of Equestria's finest stood before him to remind him.
To remind him of his oath.
To remind him of his commitment.
To remind him of his failure.
He had failed.
He had failed miserably to protect those he cared for, the one friend he had every truly known, and his heart and mind were taking their tolls on his defeated spirit.
He sat in the darkness of the night with his back resting against stone as he remembered everything that had happened over the past few days.
He cursed the darkness as he sat there.
Princess Luna had attacked her sister and started a civil war as she threatened to bathe Equestria in eternal night.
Battles had been fierce and many as Celestia's forces clashed with Luna's, or Nightmare Moon as she had taken to calling herself.
It was during one of these battles that he had served.
It was the final battle fought for the war, for Celestia, for the sun, and for every living thing that required the sun to live.
Could Princess Luna not see what she was doing to those she cared about and swore to protect?
He tried to fight back the memory, but to no avail as his mind pressed on until he was too tired from crying to fight it any longer....
They trusted each other enough to obey each others orders and follow each others suggestions rather than their own commanding officer's; but occurrences such as those were far and in between.
They had been the closest of friends since even before joining the Royal Guard, and their bond only became stronger as they fought forward through years of punishment and duty brought on by the training academy.
And the bond grew with each battlefield the pair traversed in the name of the crown, of Celestia, of the sun.
Side by side, they could always be found together whether they were resting, eating, talking, or doing battle.
The pair were like brothers, albeit a different type.
They shared no blood, but their duty to the crown.
They knew every last detail about each other, and their bond rivaled even that of Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's before the war.
They were willing to die for each other.
"I got your back." he promised as the battle raged on ahead.
"You promise?" his friend teased as they shared a smile.
"Promise."
And so that was it.
The pair rushed off into battle without the slightest concern for their own well being in the name of the crown and their fathers before them.
They cared not for themselves, but for each other.
It was this way that they had survived where their brothers and sisters of the guard did not, regrettably.
"Lunar Stallions, flanking us!" his friend called.
He remembered that voice so clearly.
He could never forget it.
He would never allow himself to forget it.
And so he turned to fight off the invaders with his friend.
"Let us know about the weather in Tartarus, you traitorous swine!" he had screamed as he plunged his blade into the Lunar Stallion's neck, ending its life quickly and rather painlessly.
He served the crown and detested Nightmare Moon's motives, but he held no ill will towards any pony.
"For the crown, for Celestia, for the sun!"
Hundreds of battle cries had written themselves during the battle, but the Lunar Stallions only fought with hooves and blade; morale was never an issue for them.
And so the Royal Guard slowly managed to push its way across the battlefield and into the Castle of the Moon with Celestia at their front.
With their leader proudly braving the harshness of war, each stallion and mare behind her felt the need to prove themselves.
"Storm the castle!" came cries.
"Storm the castle in the name of the Princess!
"In the name of Celestia!"
"In the name of the sun!"
And so they stormed.
They stormed the castle.
He remembered every detail of that beautiful castle, such beauty and craftsmareship, as their Princess galloped ahead of them.
They fought their way to the very room where Nightmare Moon lay waiting for her sister so that they may do personal battle.
And her guards secured the area.
"We did it! We've won!"
"Not yet," he replied. "Not until Princess Celestia trots out of that room herself."
"Touché...Over there! Lunar Stallions!"
And so they braved into battle again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
It was their duty, and they completed their tasks.
But the body is such a frail thing; so susceptible wear and exhaustion.
Soon, however, the last of the opposing forces had been stopped and the battle for the throne still raged on beyond locked doors.
"We held them off...We did it, buddy." his friend said, and the two shared a grin.
But his grin quickly fell and his eyes widened in horror as his friend collapsed to the ground with a sword jutting from his side.
The Lunar Stallion was brought down with such rage and blood lust that he feared he would loose himself to the very darkness that had taken one of the princesses; but he snapped free of himself and rushed over to his friend.
But it was too late.
The body was there, but the soul had moved on; unable to stay in the world any longer.
The night had worsened, he realized, as he awoke from his memories.
Storm clouds hovered above and threatened to drown him as the rain began slowly falling down, clinking against his armor.
Rain poured down his face.
And as he slipped into another crying fit, he rested his head against the back of the stone that marked the resting place of his friend.
And he whispered as a tear, a genuine tear in contrast to the cold rain, rolled down his cheek...
And he whispered...
"I got your back..."
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- Darkswirl · 11k words · 34 22 · 894 views
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Dang...
That was beautiful...
Rome...?
...Think Aerial, think of something nice to say to the good author...
Um...good story...
...
1398020 I take it you didn't like the story?
1398031 Story's fine, its just that I'm not in the greatest mood as of now (my brain sort of blocked and I can't think of anything to say).
awesome story I'd watch you but the butten does not appear to be workng
1398057 I see.
1398059 You just gotta push it harder
1398134
And with that, the mid-aged stallion fell into a deep depression that filled his soul with nothing but regret, suffer and hate. He laid down his weapons by his own voice, because the failure of saving the butt of his friend in the fires of battle was unbearable for him. So he did what many posttraumatized soldiers do when they leave the army; he went out to the wide lands of Equestria. He left his life physically behind, survived by doing daily works for local stores and farmers, but never was able to let it go mentally.
At least not until he reached a farm called 'Sweet Apple Acres' which laid not far away from the little town 'Ponyville'. There he found work in a harvest season, since the farm had plenty of apple trees which had to be bucked. But as he did closer talks to the oldest mare Applejack, he made aquaintance with her enomous level of honesty and her kindness.
And as he was working with her, he began to learn about the value of ponies and the worth of his life again. Sooo mainstream
Meh, seriously, I don't have an idea why you wrote this, but.. why? I know that you are keeping your stories rather short, but this was really really short, given to the fact that it's a one-shot!
Not that it was bad.. The grammar is stable and there is something like a golden thread. Still.. dafuq did I just read?
Alas, this guy needs a bottle of rum!
E: Wait a minute..this is playing thousand years before AJ's birth, isn't it? Pah! Soldiers are getting pretty old, if they don't die by a sword.
Saw this picture a while on Deviantart. Great use of it. Emotional.
Silver out!
1398151 I may write short, but it's powerful, no?
Honestly I like feeling sad sometimes.
Apparently I write best that way, and I tend to write sad fics more.
Regardless, I've been juggling this picture around for a while and ended up just spilling my heart with it.
1398157 See you later, Shel. Don't fall off the sidewalk!
Saw the pic not too long ago and was hoping for story to go with it. And you have delivered, wish it was longer but still a great story.
1398205 The character map is fun, isn't it?
1398174
Very well, then. Have this like.
The big problem of those short stories (literally...) is, that they surely can hit the emotions like a drug, but somehow they will stop to satisfy the soul one day. They can hit you like a nuke, but at some point, escapism is needed to reach the truth deeps of sadness -- also as an writer.
And escapism needs complex character-building, what needs time. I'm not saying that short one-shorts are bad, it's just that a web of actions, a storyverse or such a thing, can be much more powerful as time is passing.
In other news: Are you working on something bigger or just writing down in emotional bursts? Y'know, I'm nearly as interested in the writers as in their stories.
1398263 Wellllll.....I guess I could share a secret with you...BUT JUST YOU.
As long as you pinkie promise never to tell another living soul or have another living soul hear about what you're about to see.
Pinkie Promise?
1398281
Eww.. cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye (but not the fiction!).
1398181
Actually, I named myself after the band...which named itself after Shel Silverstein!
Silver out!
1398323 At least you got the reference! xD
1398341
I'm reading one of your sadfics right now...well re-reading it. Apparently, I read it a long time ago and never liked it or faved it. I'll fix that.
Oh! And Silverstein is a good band! Have a listen:
They write mainly break-up songs. They are basically an upgraded version of Hawthorne Heights, if you know who they are.
My avatar is their first album cover!
Silver out!
I wouldn't trust a poet if they spelled the word "lose" incorrectly.
Just Saiyan.
Powerfully emotional!
This is pretty awesome, and more heart-tugging than my own stuff (and most stories on this site)
I shall give you a like, fave, watch, and three spikes!
I look forward to your future works!
1398059
Try using another browser. Google Chrome works nicely for me!
1398438 Fixed.
Really good. Watch, and a fav from me.
Angel's Calling - Sabaton
Wow, this is surprisingly good, no offence but the fact the word count barely passes the required amount might put some people off however an amazing story and hope to see more from you in the future.
This is now on my must read list.
The picture, title and description fits so well whit the tags.
The only test left is the chapter itself.
Not bad, not bad at all.
Wow.. I didn't know you could get emotional over a story like this
... Congrats to you, Very well written story!
Man, this touches me. My family has always done at least a little military service. I'm planning on enlisting with a couple of friends myself. This story has given me an odd mix of new nightmare fuel, and some bravery for enlisting. Keep up the good work bro.
Such is the bond between foxhole buddies.
this could be much more greater but hell it was beautiful man you really have a gift of toying with emotions XD
good vibes man
Eh, it was alright. Honestly, it was too short and lacked the necessary reader-involvement to really get me to feel for his loss. What you have is solid and a very good premise, but there is such a lack of detail that it is just difficult to get invested into the tragedy. That right there, is the reason why this story is not earning an up-vote from me. I am a sucker for a good tragedy and this falls just short...
Fuck. My eyes.