Author's Note

Announcement: I will be putting this story on hiatus until the finish of Life, Death and Rebirth this is to let me focus better then switching between the two and another TBA story that is in beta development. But I will edit the chapters to better show that ponies are indeed Anthro something I feel that I am doing poorly.

If anyone sees errors, or has an Idea that they believe would fit please post it in the comments and I will note it or fix it if it is a error.

Chapter 4: The Second Day

Chapter 4: The Second Day

The light of dawn shown through a lone stained glass window showing a elegant image of Princess Luna raising the moon. With my helmet off, the light invaded my eyes, and with a yawn I opened my eyes, the last bit of drowsiness quickly leaving me.

I felt refreshed for the first time in over fifteen hundred years, not having to worry about who may try to kill me in my sleep, the soldiers that I was going to lead into battle the next day, or talking to Discord about war strategy.

Wanting to take advantage of my current state of relaxation I decided to further explore the area around the Castle seeing that much of the area had changed over the centuries and it seemed that a town was nearby, if the apple orchard on the forest’s edge was any indication. With that information, I made a quick decision to scout the town figuring that it would be good to know the place in the event I had to navigate the town quickly or identify abnormalities like number of guard patrols or guards suddenly increasing.

My objective in mind, I went to the ravine to eat some of the berries, and drink some water, put my helmet on and jogged to the edge of the forest, the jog took an hour but fortunately for me the moon was still in the sky hovering over the horizon indicating it was about six AM. Now on the forest edge I looked out, a quarter mile away was a small cottage with animals gathered around it. I decided to skirt around that incase someone lived there.

I advanced further away from the treeline to get a look at the town, fortunately I was not spotted but I kept a careful eye on my surroundings and motion tracker. Now having a clear view on the town, I layed down on my stomach and enhanced the vision on my visor to act as a pair of binoculars.

Looking at the town I saw a bridge crossing a small stream leading into what I presumed was the town square with some various straw roofed homes behind it, but to my surprise no guards walking around, the bridge did not even have a building of any type that would indicate a guard post. I walked to my right to continue my recon.
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Two hours passed and I circled the entire town that i found was named ‘Ponyville’ not spotting even a guards barracks or ‘Police Station’ much less any guards. This baffled me I expected the town to at least have signs of a militia, but it was completely unprotected.

At that time, if it weren't for the small fact that I did not kill anything that did not pose a clear threat to myself or any allies. I could have killed every citizen in the town and until word spread to Canterlot and the Equestrian Army arrived I would have faced little to no opposition.

Now of course with the Elements there and the ponies aware of the Changelings the town had a heavy guard presence. But that is for another time.

Anyways to say I was surprised was an understatement, the idea that Equestria had not kept a security force in a place as close to the capital as Ponyville said that either Celestia was growing soft, or there were not enough volunteers to support a active guard in the town.

I did not pay attention to my surroundings during my musings and only when I glanced at my motion tracker did I notice someone was approaching behind me. I pulled out my Magnum, got up,and pointed it at the presumed threat all in the span of a few seconds.

The pony in question jumped back and burst in sickly green flames. Before me was a bug like creature, with solid blue eyes, insect like wings with thick black chitin that was jagged on the body and littered with holes on the arms and legs, most impressive was the spiked horn on its head and the claw like ends of its fingers that looked like they could pierce flesh quite easily.

While the creature was still stunned I kept my weapon level with its face and said, “What the hell are you and why are you here? Move and I’ll kill you.”

The creature before me stood still, emotionless and otherwise unresponsive to my threat as it gave its response, “I am from a race called Changelings, and our Queen heard about your escape and disappearance into the Everfree Forest from the scouts placed in Canterlot and Ponyville. I was sent to give you a message from our Queen. I assume you would like to hear it?”

“You would be correct Changeling.” I replied, skeptical about why this ‘Queen’ would want to give me a message and the way the person in front of me was talking more like an electronic voice then a actual sapient being.

“The Queen wants to meet you face to face to give you a proposition that she believes could benefit both parties...” The Changeling droned on

“Okay, tell your Queen to meet me at the Greyfort Castle ruins in the Sacred Woods at noon tomorrow, any perceived hostilities towards me will be met with force.” I interupted with a evident edge to my voice. Without waiting for a reply I left, headed back to the castle ruins I dweled in.

Celestia’s Diaries

One day after The Demon’s escape

985 years after Nightmare Moon and my Sisters banishment

I write this now to organize the events that happened thus far and clear my head for my royal duties. Anyways I’ll begin, to say I’m angry that my guards could not find the Demon was an understatement, the captain of the royal guard could only tell me that the Demon went into the Everfree forest, I wanted to chew that stallions hear off and then backhand him for his incompetence!! But in this day and age I fear that ponies have become soft and it would just break the perfect facade I have with the citizens of Equestria.

There have been no more than a thousand new recruits brought into the Equestrian Guard for the last five hundred years, the peace has been too long lasting not counting the occasional riot by some of the lower class or a handful of crimes each year. I fear what will happen if I’m wrong about Twilight’s destiny and Nightmare Moon is not defeated or the Demon returns allied with one of our enemies. If those come to pass I don’t think the country and its military is ready.

Speaking of the Demon, I remember after his and Discord’s imprisonment how shook up Luna was, clutching her injured shoulder and crying as blood caked her armor and mixed with her tears. She just looked so defeated despite the victory, when she saw me leaning over her she hugged me and cried into my armored shoulder. I patted her back and said, “It’s over dear sister, it’s finally over.” I even shed tears of my own but as I later found out, we cried for different reasons.
Luna had always been the more sympathetic one of the two of us being more in tune with others and how they felt then I was. When she told me that she was not shook up just because of almost facing death by the Demon’s hand but because of what he said before he struck. The words Luna swore he said, have stuck with me even now, “If it means anything I gain no pleasure from killing you nor anyone else, but I made my choice, I want to go back home and it made us enemies, I’m sorry.” At the time I could not believe her. That a being that I had come to know and hate as my enemy could have said those words. When she swore on our parents graves I still had a hard time believing her and even when she showed her memories from that time, I just believed they were by the demon made up to make Luna feel sorry for him.

Now that I have thought on the Demon’s Ultimatum with a clear head and what he did and could have done. I am starting to think that my sister could have been right and the Demon could have actually meant those words. But it still changed nothing, he still tried to kill my sister and left her with a scar that despite an alicorn’s healing factor it did not go away, he fought and killed many of our soldiers in the Chaos war, he still killed a guard of mine and interrogated another threatening him with death if it was not answered.

Luna it is times like this I miss you, times like this that I regret just paying attention to ruling and pulling Equestria back together after the war with Discord and the Demon, instead of you. Regrets aside, I hope that I’m right about my new students destiny because if I am, I will get to see my sister again and possibly make up for my mistakes.