Night of Solace

The Severius Empire grew in strength to the north, the people rallying after word of the events at Chandleridge reached their roads.  Thousands more volunteered into the army, creating a massive reserve for the Empire’s use.  The emperor ordered an entire legion to march to Chandleridge, which will now act as the new staging area for the remainder of the conflict.

The Severians then expand their borders, establishing small settlements along a new road leading to Chandleridge, connecting the frontier to the capital of Severnium.

Gregorios and his century waited for further orders, as he began to manage the city for a short time, creating new reforms and modernizing the ponies to properly fold into the Empire.

He was also attempting to find a home for Slate, proving difficult due to the standardized poverty of the population.  No Unicorn or Pegasus wanted her and the Earth ponies couldn’t afford another mouth to feed.  Gregorios has now taken it upon himself to find her a new home, or if he had to… adopt her.

He felt it was his fault for the loss of her parents, but there were no standardized rules for adopting one of a different species.  Until told otherwise, he would raise her as his own… or at least that’s what he had planned.

Gregorios stayed inside of his tent, rather than the city.  He enjoyed the peace for him to keep himself sharp in intellect during his free time.

Inside his pitch white tent a rather simple design was laid out.  A table, two chairs, on it many different plans and books, holders for his armor and equipment and a small bed, all of this sat inside of tent.  All of the items were easy to pack and move if the time came.

He sat in his chair next to the table, wearing a red tunic while reading a book from a different land, the title ‘The Art of War’ translated from Latin.  He received the book as a souvenir some years ago at the port in Severnium; he was told it was from across the seas, which he didn’t take seriously.  No one has been able to get there and come back, but apparently that old merchant did.

The old merchant told of a land where they spoke a complex language that put Latin to shame, but the biggest difference was over there, horses were large and not quite intelligent.  They don’t speak either, which intrigued Gregorios.  The humans apparently rode upon them to travel great distances, and formed great bonds between rider and steed.

It was also said that the land went on farther, but the old man could not make the journey due to the dangers ahead.

The book told of tactics in warfare, ones that seemed rather strange to Gregorios, but from a grand look, they made sense.

Slate sat across the table from him, playing about with two legionnaire figurines on the battle map.  She pushed them back in forth as if they fought each other through… ramming.

Gregorios looked up from his book to see Slate giggling about with the figures.  It put a smile on his face to see her at least entertained rather than glum and saddened.

“Are you having fun?”  He asked in a playful tone.

Slate almost knocked over the figures from being startled at his voice.  She immediately straightened out and placed the figures back on the map.

“No--I wasn’t doing anything!”  She abruptly stated, in almost a scared tone.

He set his book down and gave her a concerned look.  “Slate, are you okay?”

Slate let out a breath before returning to her normal positioning.  “Yes, I’m just--used to…”  Her voice trailed off.

Gregorios wanted to learn more, but it seemed that may not be healthy for her, instead he just nodded to her and smiled.  “It is fine.”  He quickly returned, getting a small smile from her in return.

The sound of the tent’s flap flipping open brought the centurion’s attention back forward, showing a legionnaire entering the tent.

The centurion and the troop exchanged a few words and the trooper was back out, followed by a horn call ringing out inside the camp.

“It is time to rest, Slate.”  He then stood up from his chair.

Slate then got off the large human-sized chair and got back onto her hooves.  “Where can I sleep?”  She asked him.

“Hmm, give me a moment.”  He walked over to his bed and was about to give her a pelt blanket to use, but remembered that the ponies don’t hunt.  It would probably be quite awkward and strange for her and might even scare her.  Instead he sighed and returned back to her.  The only other blankets he had, were the ones that made his small makeshift bed.  “I regretfully, don’t have a blanket for you.”

“Oh, that’s okay; I’m used to sleeping on the floor.”  She returned a smile to him.

He gave her a strange look, wondering just how poor her family was to not even have a bed for their only child.

“If you say so.”  He stated walking over to the table and extinguishing the candle, darkening the room.  He then carefully stepped over to his bed and placed himself underneath the blankets.

He looked over across the tent to find Slate lying on the ground, attempting to get comfortable, and shivering all the while due to the heat of the candle being extinguished.  He knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep properly, but he already asked and she refused… didn’t he?  He felt as if he should say something, but instead he just drifted off to sleep.

Slate continued to stay awake, trying her hardest to fall asleep, but she wasn’t able get comfortable on the floor, nor could she get warm with the night’s cool air drifting through the tent’s outer layers.  She didn’t wish to inconvenience the centurion, but she needed some help to sleep.  He told her he didn’t have any blankets though, so she couldn’t do that… she instead gulped nervously before approaching him in his makeshift bed.

She placed her hoof on his shoulder, carefully shaking him awake as he grumbled about before opening his eyes.

“Slate?  Why aren’t you asleep?”  He groggily asked, while wiping away at his eyes.

“I… can’t.”  She conceded.  “I can’t get comfortable.”

“Hmm, are you cold?”  He asked next.

“Yes…”  She shivered slightly at the mention of the word.

The two of them looked at each other for a moment before he conceded to her and moved over in his bed, creating a space for her.

“Come along, you should be comfortable here.”  He sighed out lifting the covers for her.

Slate quietly gasped, she only wanted to light a candle for warmth and security from the dark, but she accepted the offer.  Quickly and quietly climbed into the bed next to him, as he remained on his back, lying down, and she quickly became warm from the covers and his own radiating heat in the bed.

“Thank you.”  She replied, feeling better already.

“It is nothing, now please, get some rest.”  He then rested his head back onto his pillow to try and fall back asleep.

Later on a sudden swoop of wind pushed against the tent, shaking it slightly and sending the flaps about with the wind, bringing in another cold breeze.

Slate was startled by the wind and instinctively clung onto the human next to her, wrapping herself around his arm in an attempt to be protected from the wind.

Gregorios looked over to find her clinging on and released a sigh.  He wrapped her up with his arm, bringing her close to his body, sharing his temperature with her.  She felt quite cold, even with his tunic and her coat.

Slate snuggled in and remained asleep, as the centurion instead shook his head before returning to sleep himself.

It would be a long time for Ponies and Humans to truly understand each other, but it seems that this duo have began to pioneer a historical companionship.