The royal guard just wasn’t the same anymore.

For Turquoise Edge, her job had always been her pride and joy. Ever since her cadet days, she had been proud to be a soldier, never hesitating to do her very best. She’d worked her flanks off climbing the ranks, and now, she should’ve been honored to be able to train cadets herself. But today, she felt no honor.

In fact, Turquoise felt the opposite of honored. She was at rock bottom, depressed from the loneliness that plagued her, and still numb from crying her heart out just days before. Not to mention exhausted from barely sleeping for days on end. She barely had enough strength to stay awake.

But Turquoise was a soldier, and soldiers were meant to stand tall, not wimp like pansies. Not only that, but she had to set an example for the cadets. So, with all the energy she could muster up, she sucked in her misery and began giving orders.

“Listen up, maggots. You’ve got a long road ahead of you if you want to get even close to Private status. So we start now. Drop and give me 50.”

With that, the cadets immediately dropped down and began doing push-ups as vigorously as if she’d screamed the orders at the top of her lungs. Except for one, who was doing his push-ups so lackluster that it was almost pitiful.

”Hey! You!”

The cadet stood up and gave a halfhearted salute. “Yeah ma’am, whatcha want?”

Under normal circumstances, Turquoise would take this as the ultimate sign of disrespect. No soldier—not even a cadet, in their right mind—would be so casual with their superiors. Normally, she would scream in his face and demand that he do 100 push-ups. But not today. Instead, she simply groaned and scowled as she prepared to reprimand him.

”First of all, it’s Lieutenant Edge, kid. Second of all, you call that a push-up? Come on. You can do better. You ever heard of keeping your back straight and shoulders squared like the rest of the cadets?”

Again, he nodded carelessly and got back down on the ground lazily. “Sure, I’ll try my best, ma’am.”

“TALK TO A LIEUTENANT LIKE THAT AND YOU’LL BE DOING 100!”

Turquoise whipped around to find her superior, Commander Tempest Shadow, marching straight towards them. Her face wore a glare as piercing as a dagger, aimed straight at the lazy young stallion she was screaming at.

”YOU WILL TREAT YOUR SUPERIORS WITH RESPECT OR YOU WON’T BE HERE AT ALL! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”

”Y-yes, ma’am, Commander!” The stallion immediately stood up alert. “You make yourself clear!”

”Now buck up, drop down, and GIVE ME 100!”

The stallion let out a poorly-suppressed squeak and began doing his push-ups with new vigor. Meanwhile, as Tempest began marching off, she turned towards Turquoise.

”Come with me. We need to talk.”

Following her superior’s orders, Turquoise marched right behind her, but not with as much force.

Tempest stopped in her tracks and turned around once they were away from the cadets. “Are you feeling alright, Lieutenant Edge?”

Turquoise hesitated for a moment. No, she wasn’t feeling alright at all. She hadn’t been alright in a long time. But had she really made it that obvious, especially in front of Commander Tempest? She stood herself up taller in an effort to look more alert.

“Yes, Commander, I’m fine.”

Tempest cocked an eyebrow, not seeming to believe her for even a second. “It’s written all over your face Lieutenant, you have bags under your eyes and are struggling to stand up straight. If you need to take a leave for awhile, that would be fine. Are you positive you’re fit to be working today?”

Was she fit to be working? Turquoise didn’t know. What kind of soldier was she if she couldn’t even stand up straight, let alone train cadets? A failure, that’s what. Just like she had failed at bringing her family back together, failed at getting through to those she once cared about…hell, failed at not causing damage in the first place. And deep down, all the guard was now was just a harsh reminder of all that had happened. It wasn’t worth it anymore…she wasn’t worth it anymore. So she decided to do the one thing she felt she had to do.

“No, Commander. I quit.”

Tempest looked at Turquoise with an unusual look of surprise. “Are you sure, Lieutenant? You’re one of the best soldiers we have. It will be difficult for us all to continue without you, especially the rookies.”

Turquoise let a strand of loose hair fall into her face, not bothering to tidy herself as she looked up at Tempest and tried to keep her voice from shaking.

“I-I said I quit, ma’am. I’m no longer fit for the job, as you’ve seen today. The cadets would be better off with…someone else.”

She took a hard gulp and quickly slipped off her uniform, laying it at Tempest’s hooves. Something inside of her was screaming for her to stop, to think about what she was doing and turn back, but she was too tired and depressed to listen to it. It no longer mattered anyway.

“I turn in my uniform, my badges,” she pulled out her once-trusty spear and placed it in Tempest’s hooves, “and my weapons. Give them to somepony…more worthy. Goodbye.”

“Lieutenant, are you sure you’ve thought-“

But before Tempest could finish, Turquoise turned on her hooves and slowly walked off the training grounds, head bowed in exhaustion and disgrace. While once she would never have dreamed of quitting, today the decision came easily to her. She had nothing to stand for now. Turquoise Edge had given up.