Lovers of the Night: The Emozian

        A few hours had passed. It was morning. no one had slept. There were no sign of any Changelings. They thought they had brought Sparking to safety. But that idea soon subsided as soon as the doctor stepped out into the hallway. His face showed no emotion. Everypony was u sure if there was good or bad news. That was when the doctor spoke. "We did what we could to Lance. He is fine now, but that stab wound did major damage to his stomach. He won't be able to eat some foods for a few months. But, his recovery should be at least two weeks, or if he's lucky, one." Luna was relieved. So were the others. "Lance is currently sleeping, but if you want to come in, go ahead. Im just going to need to make a few more observations then ill be on my way." The ponies nodded. The doctor then went back into the room. "I must tend to Canterlot and find a way to put up another barrier," said Princess Celestia. "For now, I will take my leave." The other ponies followed. All but Luna who went inside.

        She opened the double doors to Lance's room. He was laying in bed, sleeping. The doctor was still making his last examinations. He made his final note and turned around. "Princess," he said before leaving the room. Luna walked over to Lance. She sat next to him. He had bandages and tubes of all kind on him. "Lance," she said. "I am unsure of thou can hear me, but... It's over. Everything is over. The Changelings have fled, and now, all we need to do is fix Canterlot. Thy must rest until thou is ready. I must also rest to get my energy." Luna put her head down on Lance's bed and slowly went to sleep.

        Her dreams were about Canterlot. She imagined how bad the damages were. She had also just remembered Cadence. How would she react when she hears her husband died? There were many thoughts floating through her dream. She twitched and nudged. She then woke up. Lance looked sound asleep. She looked out the window to see the sun was setting. She turned to leave. "Leaving so soon?" asked Lance. She turned around to see Lance stretching. "Your awake?" she responded.

"Course I am. That wound may have kept me in bed, but that doesn't mean it'll keep me away from my girlfriend."

Luna blushed. "It's is good to see thou is fine."

"Well, if you forget about my injuries at the castle, I'm fine. Where are the Changelings?"

"They flew off. After I fatally wounded Sparking Blade."

"And Chrysalis?"

"There was no sight of her at all. She must have been away."

"Hopefully Canterlot can recover... This was worse than the marriage."

"That reminds me, how are we to tell Princess Cadence about Shining? We mustn't hide it from her."

"Yes... I guess I will have to tell her."

"We shall think about this. For now, rest."

Luna walked out of the room. Lance laid back and stared at the ceiling. He began to think of various things. He knew it wasn't over. Sparking Blade was still out there somewhere.

A week had passed. Twilight and her friends had traveled to the Crystal Empire to tell Cadence of what had happened. She mourned for him, but knew his death was not in vain. Lance had recovered enough to move out of the hospital and begin helping Canterlot fix buildings and tend to its streets. He helped put up walls and fix street posts. He also helped clean up the trash left from the Changelings. But, most of the things had already been done before Lance had left the hospital. He went back to the castle. He kept thinking, it wasn't safe without that barrier. He went to talk to the Princesses. "Princesses," he said and bowed. "Hello, Captain," said Princess Celestia. "What do you need?"

"I have to ask, what about the barrier protecting the Canterlot? With it down, we lose the upper hand."

"Non-sense. But, we will soon get it up. We just need the right pony who has the strength and endurance to cast this spell."

"I am willing to take the responsibility. I will hold the barrier for Canterlot and protect it."

"Do you believe you have the strength to hold it?"

"Yes ma'am. Yes I do."

"So be it. This spell you shall learn requires focus. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Close your eyes. Now imagine a large shield. You hold it strong and firm. Now, use this image as a large barrier."

Lance closed his eyes and his horn glowed. There was suddenly a barrier surrounding Canterlot. It was activated again. The Canterlot ponies cheered and yelled. There was a rejoice. Lance opened his eyes and exhaled. "Not as tough as I'd expected it to be." He turned and headed to his room. He sat in his bed. He thought to himself that it had been quite some time since he had sat on this bed. He laid down and stared at the ceiling. Next thing he knew, he passed out. He hadn't realized that he had exhausted himself from working and forming the barrier.

He woke up the next morning to see that Canterlot had been mostly rebuilt. He saw only a few torn-opened buildings. He got up, got into his armor, and walked out. He ventured through the halls. He then saw Twilight and her friends walking down the hall and waved at them. They waved back. He continued down the hall to see guards saluting as he passed. Lance still wasn't used to this.

He reached the training room to see more recruits. Though he couldn't run around for a few more days, he still could train. Though he saw trainers, he still joined in. He taught them several different moves. Parrying, blocking and more. The recruits at times weren't successful, but they got through the training. Eventually, Lance had successfully taught them great moves. Now they could actually fight. They were ready to defend in case. "Use these moves to defend Canterlot. Use them well recruits," said Lance.