We walked down the eastern tunnel, complete silence throughout the enormous cavern. Reku'un walked at the back, his armor equipped to his body as he watched our rear. Me and the girls occasionally glanced his way, eyeing him with curiosity as he spoke with Celestia and Luna. Luna seemed more eccentric to talk with him, but that wasn't to say Celestia wasn't happy to speak with him.

"So, Celestia and Luna do have parents," Rainbow said, earning sarcastic looks of surprise from us. "Hey, there are idiots that say Celestia made Luna."

I sighed with a shake of my head. "He said something about being the next ruler of his kind," I said. "Would that make him a prince?"

"He doesn't act like one," Rarity pointed out, respectfully. "You'd think being the ruler of an entire species would tune his behavior."

"Well, it could have been worse," Fluttershy shrugged. "He just acts a bit… too quickly?"

"Like Rainbow?" Pinkie chuckled, just as the rainbow mare gave her a playful shove.

"I could be way worse, y'know," she laughed, scratching her mane. Her smile faded as she entered her thoughts, which was made obvious as she started to slow down a bit and keep her gaze to the ground.

"Somethin' bothering you, Dash?" Applejack questioned, snapping out of her thoughts and trotting to catch up.

"Do… do you guys remember what he did… after he killed that thing?" She asked. "Flutters, was he—"

"Crying?" I rose a brow as Fluttershy nodded softly, the scenes of the battle raging before returning to my mind. "Yes… a lot, actually."

We glanced back at him, watching him listen closely to Celestia and Luna's words. "Why, though?" Rainbow asked quietly.

The necklace passed through my thoughts. "Maybe… maybe the necklace had something to do with it," I said softly, thinking what it could mean. "A mother… a sister… a marefriend…"

"A daughter." I glanced to Fluttershy, who kept her eyes to the floor as we kept walking. "So… he knows how we all feel."

"Well how couldn't he?" Applejack said. "He's been fighting longer than us. Ah don't think he hasn't lost somepony."

I glanced back at him as the girls debated who he could have lost, sighing as I noticed him behind the princesses, holding the necklace up to his face.

I guess he's one of us now.

My gaze lingered on the beautiful gem until he close his hand over it and looked away, accidentally meeting my eyes. I have to say, his eyes were very… interesting. Ponies usually have the colored iris and the pupil, as all of us do. His were sort of the same, except they were hazel, which was very rare for us, and they looked like a star formation. The pupil was regular, but his irises looked as though I was staring straight into the cosmos. Only after I realized his armor had started whirring behind him, which snapped me out of my trance and caused realization to set in, did I turn back around, awkwardly, I might add.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked, nudging my shoulder.

I forced my voice past the lump in my throat. "N-Nothing," I said, my voice cracking slightly. "Just… just thinking how close that all was."

He didn't believe that, as much as he tried acting as though he did, but he only shrugged and looked ahead. I could see his own panic and awkward look as he continuously glanced between the ground ahead of him and Rarity. After looking myself, I noticed Rarity had actually adjusted her gaze towards the girls. I'm no idiot, and I think I've seen enough looks from Orion to know that they were trying to catch a glimpse of each other.

"Oh…" I chuckled weakly. "You, uh… admitted it?"

He showed me a hopeless frown, then sighed as he lowered his head. "I thought… this would be the last time I'd ever be alive to see her so… y'know…" The blush on his cheeks was adorable; it reminded me of the assistant that used to be only shoulder high to me.

"Relax," I chuckled, putting a hoof on his shoulder. "Maybe she won't remember."

It seemed to have the exact opposite effect of what I was going for. "Yeah… maybe," he sighed.

I forced him to look at me, giving him a stern gaze. "Spike, you're not the same dragon you were ten years ago," I told him. "If Rarity doesn't like you, even a little bit, she's crazy. And even if she doesn't, there are lots of mares for you. They can be just as good as Rarity. Maybe even better. But don't doubt yourself, okay?"

He sighed softly, but I grinned as a smirk worked its way across his snout. "I never said I was giving up on mares, Twi," he laughed. "But thanks… it means a lot to me."

I nuzzled him softly, then gasped as I saw torches up ahead. "There's the settlement," Celestia said, turning to Reku'un. "Now… I need you to understand that the ponies… won't be as comfortable as we are. Not after what we've seen."

He nodded softly, whistling to his armor. "Nalo, ercef ut buvuglo. Neel urt anek jakotet jro fel, grak orshot ot ut zukan (Nalo, secure the perimeter. Wipe out any packs you see, and dispose of the bodies)" He ordered in a grim tone, his machine clicking before morphing into a ball and rolling back the way we came.

"Where's it going?" Rainbow asked.

"Just to clear the area," he replied, gesturing towards the camp. "We should keep moving."

The princesses nodded, then walked ahead as we approached the enormous stone wall. Their magics flickered, but magic depletion was still a problem for them. Reku'un passed between me and Fluttershy as he walked up to the doors. The stone was at least thirty to fourty meters tall, easy, and had to weigh at least a couple hundred pounds. But, with a quiet grunt and a quick shove of his arms, the doors flew open, revealing the larger, and very crowded settlement ahead of us. We kept still for a minute as he stood there, looking over the camp before turning back to us. A sly, and sort of arrogant, grin appeared briefly, and he gestured for us to go first.

Celestia and Luna walked into the camp with Reku'un behind him, and me, the girls, Mac and Spike walked in after. The raucous from the cave-city reached us as we walked down the stone path, the voices of many ponies calling out for each other and the sobs of others reaching us. Everypony made it out… except for our platoon at the western end. Mothers, fathers, and family of the Solar Guards that were lost. I noticed many of the ponies quiet down as the princesses got closer, but their relieved and worried expressions changed to fear as they saw Reku'un walk up with them. A regime of Solars that had survived, Bravo I presume, marched out from the crowd and surrounded us, aiming their spears with mixed emotions of fear, anger, and bravado as they edged closer.

"Lay your weapons down!" Luna shouted, glaring at the lead Captain. "Now!"

"What is that thing?!" A mare shrieked.

"It looks like those monsters! Just without fur!" Yelled a gruff stallion. "You've brought them here!"

"Kill it before it can call the rest of them!" Another mare shouted. Shouts and yells of agreement echoed throughout the crowd as they slowly gave into their fear.

"He is not one of those things!" Celestia shouted, her voice booming louder than any of them. "He protected us from them! He is the reason they didn't make it here! The reason we survived!"

"And what about the others?!" An elder mare screamed, her eyes reddened from excessive weeping. "How come they weren't saved as well?!"

The princesses held their tongues, but I looked down to Reku'uns clenched fist. That remark had hurt him more than it did the princesses, but the more he heard, the harder his fist clenched, the knuckles quickly turning white as a stallion screamed that they had let them die so the princesses could escape.

"We all fought our hardest!" Rainbow yelled, stomping in front of the princesses. "They did too, but we couldn't protect them!"

"Because you were at the back with those princesses, just because you six are the ‘Elements of Harmony’!" A young mare sneered. "That's why you made it and they didn't! Not my brother, or my father!"

I heard the ground beneath Reku'un crack softly, and the thin black cloth over his body, which he had kept from the armor, began to part in several places. Mana poured into the air at an alarming rate, and the princesses and many other unicorns in the crowd noticed.

"Why would you protect one of our enemies?!" Another pony screamed.

"We're suffering enough! Don't keep any to wipe us out in our sleep!" Somepony else cried.

The more and more ponies that yelled, the more and more cracks began spreading and growing out from underneath him. One split beneath Pinkie's hoof, prompting her to glance back. The girls looked as well, including Spike, and we realized it was Reku'un's own magic essence doing this. The fact that it wasn't focused like before shocked me, but my shock worsened when the openings in the cloth showed us his skin splitting apart in several places, the silver secretion from before gradually crawling out. He fought it down quickly, forcing the gashes shut as his fists unclenched.

"Are we going to let them—!"

"I WASN'T STRONG ENOUGH!" He roared, much more loud than anypony currently screaming. The guards rose their spears again, their false courage and anger wholly replaced with terror. "IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR?! FINE! I COULDN'T PROTECT YOUR SONS, YOUR HUSBANDS, YOUR FAMILY FROM THESE MUTTS! I TRIED, MINIRA KNOWS I TRIED! BUT I WAS WEAK! I AM WEAK! BUT DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE ME TO THEM!"

He rose his arm, and a few moments later, the body of the deformed soldier flew in, just as he grabbed it by the back of the neck and showed it to the crowd. They gasped in horror, some vomiting at the sight of the split head still bleeding black.

"THIS IS WHAT MY KIND FACE EVERY SINGLE MOMENT!" He yelled, stepping closer to the guards. "MY FAMILY HAS FOUGHT THEM FOR MILLENIA, MY PEOPLE SACRIFICING OURSELVES AT THIS VERY MOMENT! YET YOU, CREATURES WHO HAVE ENDURED A SECOND OF WHAT THE UNIVERSE HAS FACED FOR GENERATIONS! AND WORSE, YOU BLAME YOUR GODDESSES?! DO YOU REALLY THINK THEY'D SEND THOUSANDS IN THEIR WAY TO PROTECT THEMSELVES?! THOSE ANIMALS SHOULD HAVE UNITED YOU ALL, BUT INSTEAD, YOU FIGHT AMONGST EACH OTHER AS IF YOU'RE ENEMIES! THE ENEMY IS HERE!" He yelled, shaking the dead body. "THIS IS THE ONLY ENEMY. THIS IS THE CAUSE OF ALL YOUR SORROW AND GRIEF. DO NOT TURN ON THOSE WHO PROTECT, BUT FOLLOW THEM! FOR IF YOU WISH TO MAKE THEIR DEATHS MEANINGFUL, YOU'LL HONOR THEM BY KEEPING THOSE AROUND YOU ALIVE! CAN YOU DO THAT?! CAN YOU FIGHT FOR ONE ANOTHER, AND NOT FOR YOUR OWN PURPOSES?!"

The guards had lowered their spears, and many of the ponies looked on with surprised curiosity… but also looks of shame and regret. I noticed something glimmer as it fell to the floor, and a spot near Reku'un looked… moist.

"Can you do what my brothers have sworn to? What I swore when I saw an entire army of my people die in my name?" Reku'un said, a more gentle and pleading voice. "I know nothing of your old lives… but I know how sudden and violently they were taken from each of you. But that doesn't matter anymore. If your enemy needn't tear you apart, then you've already lost."

General Stomper stepped forward, removing his helmet and revealing the scar across his left eye. "Son… we've lost long ago," he sighed, glancing to the ponies around. "We just need to survive. For as long as we can."

Reku'un stepped forward, grabbing General Stomper's head, just as Celestia and Luna rose a hoof for the guards to ease up. Stomper looked defiantly at Reku'un, but the man had a much softer expression as his hand began glowing. Just like before, when he pulled the hand away, the scar that left him blinded was gone, and his eye was no longer a hazy grey. The ponies were shocked, intrigued, and relieved all at once.

"My people have fought for every type of being there is, but now, I declare another planet as an ally," Reku'un announced. "As Doshu'um, heir to my father's throne, and future ruler of my people, I declare that we will stop at nothing to wipe out the horde and give you back the homes you once had. I promise you all, that we will help rebuild, we will help your crops to regrow, and we will make sure that every death you have suffered will not have been for naught. You can be sure that they will pay for everything they have done, but you must band together, not only with me, but with every other species on this planet. Cast aside your differences, and you can truly be a threat to these monstrosities."

Celestia stepped forward, joined by her sister as they eased General Stomper back. "Our mother had told their kind to us as foals. They are guardians of all things living and non; vanguards against any evil that is too strong for any one culture. And now, they wish to help us by giving us an army and powerful fighters. But we cannot rely on them." Luna cleared her throat softly.

"We must gather the griffons. Call to the dragons. The minotaurs. The Empire. And the Diamond Dogs as well," she said, her voice booming throughout the cavern. "We must take our home ourselves, even if we are being assisted. We must be there when our flags are raised, when we retake our cities and cast them off to the stars. But only if you are willing to risk such a thing. It will be long… harsh… and many of us won't live to see the fruits of our labor. And yet, your foals will. Your grandfoals will, and all generations after."

"So I ask you, my little ponies: Will you trust our decision one last time?" Celestia asked.

The silence lingering could be pierced by just about anything, even another gust of wind. I waited for something, anything at this point, to happen. Jeers: not so much. Them turning away, or even telling us how hopeless that was: sort of. Stomping: very much.

And yet, no pony made a move. No sound. No other expression.

Until Rainbow stepped forward.

"I'm tired of running and hiding," she shouted, standing next to Reku'un. "So… I'm with him."

Applejack trotted up next. "If ya'll ever wanna get back home, Ah think ya might wanna stick with the big fella," she laughed. "Pretty darn strong, let me tell ya."

Mac joined his little sister, followed by Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity. Spike and I were the last ones to join him, and Celestia and Luna moved to us as well.

Soon… the guards mounted their spears on their backs, signaling we had their support. Separate groups began stomping their hooves, until more and more came around to the idea. Many actually left… but knowing we still had a good number of ponies, nearly all of them from Ponyville, behind us, we could at least inspire hope. We were looking for a glimmer… but we found a ray.

General Stomper tossed aside the eye patch he usually wore and stuck his hoof out to Reku'un. "As long as you keep your end, I'll keep these boys in check," he chuckled, raising a brow as Reku'un placed a hand on his left shoulder instead.

"This is how my people greet leaders of war," he explained chuckling softly. He moved to Celestia, then placed his hand on her right shoulder. "And this is how we greet close friends and family. I thank you, daughters of Minira, for believing in me. And to all of you as well."

Rainbow laughed awkwardly and scratched her head. "Yeah, but if this doesn't work, we're all gonna look like idiots, huh?" She questioned playfully.

I laughed softly…

…

…

I laughed.

…

I laughed.

…

And so did they. Even Reku'un.

No matter how brief it was, they all still laughed. "Twilight."

I snapped my attention to my former teacher, who gestured to Reku'un. "I'll need you and General Stomper working with Reku'un to develop strategies with any information he can provide," Celestia told me. "And I'm also very curious as to what my mother actually made of them and their culture. I apologize, Reku'un, but the new settlers will be homeless and starving unless we arrange living areas for them and some in our other camps."

He bowed respectfully. "I understand," he nodded. He then glanced to me, and again I swore I saw something close to sadness in his eyes. "It will be an honor to work with both of you, especially your student."

Spike nudged my shoulder, snapping me out of my inquisitive stare as I realized Reku'un was kneeling in front of us. Even at half his height he was still bigger than me. But he was still waiting with a hand outstretched, waiting for me to take it. I slowly placed my hoof in his hand, shifting as I felt his fingers wrap around it gently. It felt… different, but not uncomfortable or unpleasant in any way. After a soft shake, he stood up, and turned to Celestia and Luna.

"Where shall I rest?"

Author's Note

Yeah, I said no romance, but I never said anything about sequel romance. Anyway, hope you're all enjoying it so far. I hope to make it long enough, but not to an extent. So, as always, like, fav, comment, and have an awesome day or night. Peaces.