So... a pony wearing some sort of armor is grinning at the camera, while standing over a prone Twilight Sparkle. They both have what might be blood on them, and there's some sort of object hovering nearby.

Three things confuse me here.

What's that thing on top of the armored pony's head, behind his horn? It's black and lumpy.

Is that floating thing a weapon? It looks like it's about halfway between an axe and a cleaver, or, if the perspective is really screwy, possibly some sort of spear? But the proportions don't seem right for any one, it's all one color, and it doesn't have any blood on it.

There seems to be a ghost-outline around the armored pony. Is that supposed to be important somehow, or is it just a leftover from drawing? I can't tell.

Other than that, I'm generally having trouble making out what's going on here. I see the ponies, and I assume they're intended to be fighting (or have fought) from the title, but that's about all I can get. Maybe I'm missing something important in those confusing things, but I feel like your intent isn't really getting across to me.

>>Not_A_Hat
That's a royal guard uniform. The odd thing is, I expect, the helmet. At first I thought the weapon was a cleaver and dude is straight up murdering Twilight, but looking more closely it's in fact a spear - and it's pointed out at the camera. Thus, I would suggest Twilight here has been attacked in some fashion (Given the guard's injury, and how Twilight looks more burned than bloody, I am suspecting a bomb went off), and the guard despite being bruised and bloodied is standing defiant against whatever force is coming for Twilight.

Or, he's straight up murdering her and telling the viewer to back the fuck off so he can go back to his shanking. One of the two!

Oooo a threatening crazed guard! Did he turn manic in his duty to standby and watch as every pony but himself receive the gift of Friendship? Was he all alone with no one to talk to or hold when he realized that he grown hateful of the things around him? Love the angle of the spear and the expression of the guard.

Pretty simple and effective. The outline makes it look like one of my action scene comic books that stopped half way through with it's design in them. You could've hid the sketch layer while you're at it, but maybe it adds to something that I don't know about.

Overall a piece that's pretty straight forward in intention for the writers. Not much inspiration besides what's given, but it can do.

>>Morning Sun Huh, I guess it is royal guard armor. And the thing on top is the helmet plume? Yeah, that makes sense. I think a bit of color, maybe matching it to the star on the breastplate, would make that a lot clearer.

The title and caption really make me think that the guard here is supposed to be some sort of alternate Twilight or the personification of some part of her personality or something like that, but I'm not seeing any actual sign of that in the picture.

Also, that is a lot of blood on the guard's eye, I'm not sure what's going on with his mouth, and I think it would be better without the sketch lines.

On the plus side, I can see this inspiring some stories, and the art seems mostly good, just perhaps needing some more time.

I largely agree with >>The_Letter_J

It is unclear whether the guard is guarding that Twilight, or if he has attacked her. His expression could be manic or driven. Did identify the weapon as a spear immediately (foreshortening!), even if the side/top is inexplicably wedge-shaped.

I like the perspective of the spear. I think the guard is protecting her and the struggle is internal; he wants to run but he's doing his duty, even though he's injured and has no chance against whatever took down Twilight. The only place I think the sketchy style works against the piece is on the guard's muzzle, which leaves his facial expression too ambiguous for my tastes.

>>Morning Sun
I like that interpretation—the first one, I mean—but I find myself thrown off by the guard's expression. He definitely looks like he's grinning to me.

So since I'm sick of looking at my own fic entry (always a good sign), I thought I'd try and give my thoughts on some of the art. While I trust myself to be able to pinpoint some issues in writing and try to give objective and detailed feedback, when it comes to art, my abilities to give feedback come down to "like" or "did not like", so don't expect too much.

This here looks like someone having a good grasp on perspective and proportions, but I'm not really sold on the style. While I could appreciate the thick, uncouth lines in a more abstract picture, the motive really doesn't fit the style in this one IMO. The absence of a background doesn't really help, either.

@caption_rates
This caption takes no guff. It takes no prisoners. It takes no time to read. I haven't seen such little taking since the Element of Generosity. 11/10

>>Not_A_Hat
>>Morning Sun
>>The_Letter_J
>>CoffeeMinion
>>KwirkyJ
>>Dubs_Rewatcher
It's supposed to be two different faces that when mirrored give off different expressions. But I guess I wasn't fully quite capable of showing that off despite even having viewers showing their uncomfortableness with the given expression. One of them is conflicted with the side that wants to protect Twilight, while the other is doing whatever you want it to be doing, given that there's not much to go off of (legs, half a face, armor, etc.)

But hey, it's just a piece of art.

And thanks to the rest for also helping.