Author's Note

Alright so here is the first chapter where things start picking up a bit and the introduction of several new characters that finally make their new appearance. If you can guess what song that the opening quote is from then I might anticipate you having listened to this band and see how it might connect to this chapter. One thing I will be doing for each of my chapters of this story is use either music lyrics or poetry that fit with what'll happen in it. Btw, I wanted to post this exactly on the third year that I've been a member of this site but I thought that this day would do good.

Awakening

Take hold of my hand, for you are no longer alone. Walk with me in hell

ϾϾϾ

“Nightfire… why did you leave us?” Celestia and Luna ask softly, their eyes red and puffy as if they had been crying for a long time. “Why did you leave us when we needed you? Why didn’t you keep your promise?”

“Tia… Lulu… I-I tried but yo-you both ha-have to for-forgive me...” Nightfire says to them as tears start flowing from his own eyes seeing his sisters in front of him. “Please… I lost you both once, do-don’t make me lo-lose you again,” Nightfire says and reaches a hoof to them only for his hoof to drop like a lead weight back to the black and empty ground.

“I to-told you he wou-wouldn’t be there for us,” Celestia says and then looks away from their brother and slowly gets up from her seat on the ground and then starts to walk away, slowly fading into the darkness, leaving Luna and Nightfire alone in the darkness. Luna looks to the direction that Celestia had gone and then turns her head around to look at her eldest brother again.

“You didn’t keep your promise to us… so why should we keep ours to you?” Luna asks and then wipes her eyes with her foreleg and then slowly stands up giving Nightfire a sorrowful expression before turning away and then slowly starts walking into the endless darkness around them and slowly vanishes into it, leaving him all alone; tears flowing down his cheeks like small rivers.

“Luna! Tia! Please forgive me!” Nightfire cries out loudly and tries to run after his sisters only for a tendril of darkness to wrap around his left rear foreleg making him gasp and try to use his magic only for nothing to happen except for the tendril to start swallowing his body leaving him incapable of fighting any longer but suddenly a bright light flooded his vision and the darkness to quickly fade and a voice fill the air.

“Your Highness… it’s time for you to wake up. You’ve been asleep for long enough,” The voice that was obviously from that of a mare sounded much like that of his mother.

“Who are you?” Nightfire asks keeping his eyes closed before slowly feeling a cool breeze on his mane. “What do you want from me?”

“For you to wake up. It’s been 200 years since you’ve seen the world.”

“Before I go… please tell me who you are!” Nightfire exclaims spreading his wings wide and then suddenly the entire dream falls away and a few more words are spoken by the voice.

“I’m just a friend.”

ϾϾϾ

“Your Highness!” Two ponies say while holding him down… looks of concern plastered on their faces.

“Wh-Who are you two?” Nightfire asks, swatting away their hooves, tearing the oxygen mask off of his face and quickly rolls to his belly to get to his hooves, looking at the two ponies dressed in black armor with black helmets that both had a single hole for their horns.

“Forgive us Your Highness. But the Stable is awake with the news that you were to awaken today. Captain Warlord requested that we be the first to meet you,” The guard on the left says bowing deeply to Nightfire and immediately the second pony followed suit.

“Tell me…” Nightfire begins looking at the two guards cautiously. “Why wouldn’t the Captain want to be the first to talk with me?”

“He’s currently taking care of disciplinary actions with another of your guard Sir,” The guard on the left says with a frown.

“Disciplinary actions? What happened?” Nightfire asks softly and slowly spreads his large wings wide finally being able to stretch them after two centuries of sleep.

“It was just a simple misunderstanding… nothing more Sir. But we are instructed to bring you to his room so that you may talk with him in private,” The Guard on the right says still keeping his head bowed respectfully to him.

“Of course… but two things. First, what are you names, and who are your parents? Secondly, before I go and talk with the Captain could I get a bite to eat?” Nightfire asks slowly relaxing his body.

“Firstly, my name is Silver Gleam,” The first Unicorn says with a smile, her voice identifying her as a mare.

“And I’m her twin brother, Iron Sun,” The male Unicorn says with an equally large grin on his face, their coats nearly pure white from how silver their coats are, making the black armor stand out like a drop of blood on white. But their manes were the complete opposite from each other’s; Silver Gleam’s being almost a light purple while her brother’s was a mint green.

“Silver Gleam and Iron Sun? I assume you know my name don’t you?” Nightfire asks finally letting his guard down.

“Yes we do Your Highness, and it’s a real honor to be the first ponies to see you awake,” Silver Gleam says lifting herself up from the bow.

“Now, answer the other part of that question you two,” Nightfire says giving a small wave of his hoof and shakes his mane to get a large strand of it from out of his face and behind his ear.

“Our father was a great friend of our current Captain’s father. He died about a year ago now. His name was Broken Star, and our mother is named Hidden Star.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your father, I would’ve loved to meet him. While we walk to get some food, mind if you tell me about yourselves?” Nightfire asks and looks around the room to find it as clean as the day that he entered it.

“Well, I’m the eldest twin,” Silver Gleam says with a smile and then looks over at her brother. “From what we understand, we seem to be able to think of something and the other can pick up on it, like telepathy. We’ve had this skill since we were little, and it’s really bugged the others that are near our age since they can never tell what both of us are thinking. Our parents were both specialists in machine guns and very great trackers though I think personally their skill as trackers was better than their knowledge with guns.”

“Is that so? Interesting. Well I shouldn’t keep the Captain waiting should I? Afterwards, I could meet with the others, learn about who I’m working with and see how quickly we all sync,” Nightfire says and takes a step forward and another pony enters the room and bows deeply.

“Your Highness, Captain Warlord is waiting to speak with you and don’t worry about food. He anticipated that you’d be starving,” The new guard says, his black mane falling over his eyes despite the helmet he was wearing and the armor he was wearing over his back did nothing to hide his light brown coat.

“Thank you… can I get your name?” Nightfire asks stepping between Silver Gleam and Broken Star and looks down at the other guard.

“My name is Bright Light. But for now I must wait to tell you of my past; the Captain is waiting for you.”

“Of course, besides if the guards from the past have been following the orders that were given to them when I was still awake, then I’ll have all of the info I’ll need of your ancestors. Especially the Captain of my Guard two centuries ago, who I’m very curious as to what a child so far down his family tree must be like,” Nightfire says and then steps up to the Guard who was still bowed before him. “You may rise, if I remember right his room should be… right to the left of mine correct?”

“Actually Sir… his room is at the end of the hallway where the rest of us have been living,” Bright Light says as he slowly rises to his hooves. “May I lead you to his room? It’d be an honor.”

“Of course, lead the way, and by the way; since we’ll be traveling together for a long time, I need you to remember your training,”

Nightfire says with a smile as he waits at the door for Bright Light to start leading the way.

“Yes Your Highness, of course,” He replies and starts leading the way with a serious look on his face with Nightfire shortly behind him. “What was it like in that stasis pod Your Highness?”

“Well… it’s a lot like a night of drinking without the drinking. I don’t remember much of what happened while I was asleep but I do remember one thing clearly; a voice, so calming, so gentle that I was lulled out of sleep and into the waking world once again,” Nightfire says and then flaps his wings slowly to stretch the muscles that had been long inactive.

“A voice sir?”

“I can’t place it. It sounded so familiar but at the same time I don’t know whose it is. A maddening factor. Though I guess I’ll find out who it is one day,” He says sticking close to Bright Light who hadn’t drifted from his path.

“I guess maybe Captain Warlord could help you with that. I mean he knows everything that goes on in this Stable without us having to tell him about it. I must say it’s fairly freaky.”

“About that, it’s a spell that was cast upon the armor he wears as a Captain of the Blackfire Guard. However I didn’t anticipate that it’s hold after all of these years.”

“That’s a spell of yours, Sir? I thought that even enchanted items lose the magic that is infused into them after a set amount of time,” He says after stepping past the hallway that would lead to the Stable door and the Mess Hall.

“I guess that it had more power to it than I originally thought. Though I have to admit that Luna was the best spellcaster between the three of us,” Nightfire says then looks down at his hooves as they continue on their path.

“I’m sorry that you were separated from your family, Sir. We all know the pain of loss and separation, and it isn’t easy to deal with.”

“It isn’t, and I’ve lived for thousands of years. You know, it’s ironic that I was the one hidden away when I was the one who made the promise not to let anything happen to them,” He says with a frown and then rolls his eyes slowly.

“That is pretty ironic, but I guess that things work out in some strange ways,” Bright Light says and then stops in front of a large metal door. “The Captain is waiting inside Your Highness.”

“Thank you, now continue with your other duties,” Nightfire says and then gives him a gentle nod and turns to face the door.

“Of course Your Highness,” He replies and bows back and then walks off down the hallway to his room.

“Well… it’s time to meet the Captain. I just hope he’s a lot like High Velocity,” Nightfire says then takes a step closer and the door opens revealing the Captain’s chambers. Slowly as he steps inside he sees a pony dressed in the finest of the armor that his guards wore while on duty. The helmet resting on the table beside the terminal was covered with silver filigree that he hadn’t noticed on the helmet before and the armor had the exact same silver filigree along the edges of the strong metal plates. “So you must be the Captain,” Nightfire says gently and slowly the Captain turns around and then quickly salutes him.

“Your Highness. I’ve done as you’ve commanded. The orders you gave my great, great grandfather have been followed to a ‘T’ and my name is-“ The Captain starts before feeling Nightfire place a hoof on his shoulder.

“Warlord, I know who you are now thanks to Silver Gleam and her brother. But what they didn’t tell me was how closely you followed the orders that I gave Captain High Velocity,” Nightfire says looking into Warlord’s dark green eyes.

“Forgive me Your Highness, but my father told me that serving on your Guard would be a challenge and that it was very formal.”

“Don’t worry about that Warlord, when it’s just you and I you may call me by my name, or whatever will be easier for you,” Nightfire says with a smile then notices Warlord’s olive green wings folded at his sides. “So you’re a Pegasus, just like the youngest Captain. May I ask your age?”

“I’m twenty two sir and will be twenty three in a few more months.”

“You’re just at High Velocity’s age when I last saw him. What do you know about him Warlord?” Nightfire asks with a smile wanting to see if he had done his homework about the past.

“Captain High Velocity was accepted into the Blackfire Guard at the age of eighteen and then became Captain after less than a year of serving and showing impeccable courage and knowledge both in and out of battle. He held the record for being the youngest Captain of any of the four types of Guard being only nineteen when he was picked by the previous Captain,” Warlord says reciting his knowledge of the previous Captain like it was from a book.

“I’m impressed,” Nightfire says with a smile and then looks at his terminal. “Do you mind if I take a look? I know you remember your orders and I’d like to get an early start with your notes, the notes your father and the other Captain’s made and then of course the other orders I gave?” Nightfire asks as he picks up the end of the cable attached to the terminal and attach it to his PipBuck and starts to download all of the files that aren’t labeled as personal. “I see that there are many personal files on here, do you mind if I see them?”

Warlord blushes a little and then shuffles his wings nervously. “Um… I’d rather you wouldn’t. Those files are incr-incredibly personal,” He says and then looks over at the couple trays that had some food on them. “Would you… like some food, sir?”

“I’d like some, thank you Captain,” Nightfire says and then starts to sit down on the cold ground but is stopped by Warlord.

“Sir please use my chair, I have a feeling that we’ll be here awhile anyhow,” He says as he quickly rolls the chair over and offers it to the Alicorn.

“Thank you Warlord, and from the look of things; it’ll be nearly an hour before the files are done transferring over. As I eat, care to tell me a little about your past?” Nightfire asks the Pegasus with an open question; free to answer t however he wanted, as he lifts an apple from one of the trays and takes a large bite out of it and moans softly. After a couple of times chewing on the fruit he swallows and then licks his lips. “That was the best apple I’ve had in my whole life!”

“I can imagine Sir. I don’t think any other pony in Equestria could survive in one of those things for as long as you did,” He says and lies on his bed. “Now should I continue my normal routine or should I just stay here and keep you company?”

“Do as you like captain, the only time I truly asked my guard to follow their training is when it really matters; like protecting me or otherwise when I give you an order.”

“I’ll stay then Sir. Besides, I’d like to hear about what Equestria was like back before the war. Besides, my father was also curious about it as well as my little sister.”

“You have a sister Warlord?” Nightfire asks looking over at the Captain of his Guard and then smiles.

“Yes Sir. My sister was born a year after me so she is next in line to be Captain of the Guard if I step down or am somehow killed in action.”

“What is she like Warlord?” Nightfire asks as he looks at the screen of his PipBuck seeing that there was still about roughly fifty-five minutes before the files would be transferred.

“She’s a wonderful mare. She’s not much of a fighter, but if she’s given no other choice then she’ll put up one hell of a fight. She’s more tech savvy than battle ready but she evens me out. I honestly can say that our mother raised us both very well.”

“Is your mother still in the Stable Warlord? I’d love to meet her,” Nightfire says now starting to wonder about Warlord’s family.

“Do you want me to call her in?” Warlord asks as he quickly stands up from his bed ready to go and find her.

“If it isn’t too much of a bother would you bring your sister with you as well? I’d be honored to meet her as well,” Nightfire says with a smile as he starts munching down on the apples and drinking down the soda that was brought for him. Shortly the door to Warlord’s room opens and two mares, one about Warlord’s age and the other about twenty years older than he was, the two mares bow respectfully to Nightfire who nods his head back in respect.

“Your Highness… it’s an honor to meet you,” They both reply and then step into Warlord’s room and stand before him as close to casual as they could.

“It’s a true honor to meet Warlord’s family. You must be their mother, am I right?”

“Yes I am Sir, my name is Peaceful Heart and it’s a real honor to finally meet you,” She replies and bows deeply to him.

“Please the honor is mine, if it wasn’t for you Warlord and Little Love wouldn’t be around. But I must assume that your daughter was named by you correct?” Nightfire asks with a smile.

“Yes she was, and I guess… because of me and my husband,” She replies and looks down at her hooves as tears dance in her eyes.

Nightfire stands up from the chair he had been sitting in and looks on at her before using his magic to lift her chin so he could look into her eyes. “He wouldn’t want you looking to the past, but to the future. You have your children, and they’ll always be there to help you through the hardest of times,” He says giving her a sympathetic smile. “I lost many friends because of the war and I know they wouldn’t want me to look back, but to the brighter future.”

She smiles and then wipes her tears with her right hoof and then nods her head slowly. “Thank you for those words Your Highness.”

“You’re welcome. Now while I’m waiting for the rest of these files to transfer over, shall we discuss what our plans are now that I’m finally awake?”

“Of course,” Little Love says stepping forward with a determined smile on her face. “As you most likely know, my brother has been keeping track of every bit of activity that’s happened in the Stable since our father died,” She begins, but takes a slow breath into her lungs to keep her nerves calm. “But we’ve also been keeping the best possible records of the broadcasts that we’ve managed to intercept. Many from a place called Tenpony Tower, and a few from Fillydelphia but those ones are nearly all static. However the best technician we have managed to clear them up and… I think you should hear this one,” She says and lifts her left leg and starts playing the recorded broadcast.
As Nightfire listens to the broadcast, Nightfire begins feeling his anger grow as the pony who was speaking; a pony by the name of Red Eye who sounded as if he was trying to manipulate them through the broadcast.

“Turn it off,” Nightfire says gritting his teeth in anger.

“Y-Yes Sir…” Little Love says and quickly turns off the broadcast.

Nightfire looks down at his PipBuck and then immediately flips to the broadcasting feature of his PipBuck and starts sending out a signal wherever he could. “The leader of Fillydelphia! I know what you’re doing out there and you better hope that we don’t meet. Otherwise I promise you that you’ll be regretting every action that you’ve made in your life. Release those under your control and live out your life in peace, or face that wrath of a free pony. The choice is yours,” Nightfire says and then cancels the broadcast with a sigh of anger.

“Do you think that this was a good idea Sir? I mean we don’t know how many are under his control or how much sway he has over what's outside the Stable,” Peaceful Heart replies gently.

“To be honest, I don’t know, but I’d rather he knows that there is somepony out here who will be opposing his campaign. I’d rather it be me that is the face of that opposition than another who probably couldn’t stand up to him. Besides, he’ll only be able to hear my voice… he has no idea what I look like or that I’m an Alicorn.”

“Well I guess that makes sense. But I don’t like making an enemy this early into the game,” She replies and looks at her children.

“I understand that as their mother you want to protect them, however as one who has never taken a life I’ll protect them as best as I can,” Nightfire says and looks down at his PipBuck and sees that the data transfer was complete. “Now that this is taken care of, I’d like to talk with all of the members of the Guard. But first, do you all remember your oath?”

“Of course Your Highness, we live our lives by that oath,” Warlord says with a nod. “I remember our dad saying it to himself all the time, reassuring himself that the oath he took was the best way to live. I remember that clearly.”

Nightfire looks at his Captain and smiles. “Recite it for me.”

Warlord looks at his mother and sister with a smile and nods to them. “Together. ‘We live our lives to protect and serve Prince Nightfire and the order that Equestria was founded by. Taking this oath onto ourselves we realize that we represent the principals that Equestria was founded by. Upon our very souls we take this oath until the day we die and even in the Eternal Heard.’”

“Good. Remember your oath and it’ll help lead your path through your life,” Nightfire says with a smile. “Little Love, I want you to go and gather the rest of the Guard, I want to speak with them all before we start our journey into what Equestria is.”

“Yes Sir. Where shall I have them all meet us?”

“Have them meet us in the Mess Hall. That’s where it’ll be easier to speak to them all at once.”

“Sir!” She says while saluting Nightfire then turns and walks out of the door after it opens for her.

“I can’t believe that we are the generations that are here for the day you return to us,”

“You’re welcome now please tell me… what your father was like.”

“He was the best father I knew of. He raised my sister and I perfectly alongside our mother. But he died a few years back.”

“I’m so sorry…” Nightfire says looking down at his hooves. “So when he died, you took his mantle as Captain?”

“Yes Sir,” Warlord says with a nod of his head.

“I’m sorry for your loss Warlord. He would’ve been proud of you on a day like this. Now let’s go and meet the rest of the guard,” Nightfire says and stands before the Captain and drapes a wing over his back to comfort him.

“Y-Yes Sir… and thank you.”

“You’re welcome Warlord,” Nightfire says as he slowly starts to the door with his Captain just behind him.

“This way Your Highness… I know it’s been a long time since you’ve walked these halls,” Warlord says as doors along the hall begin to open and then Little Love walks out of the last door of the hallway and nods her head toward her another and Nightfire as they walk toward her. “How is it going Commander?”

“Going well Captain, just spoke with the last member of the guard and she’ll meet us there.”

“That’s fantastic. Now where did our mother go?”

“Where do you think, brother? At that door again.”

“Really? I know it’s been a few years but…” Warlord says then shakes his head slowly. “If you’ll follow my sister my Prince, I’ll go and retrieve my mother.”

“No Warlord. I want to see her,” Nightfire says as he looks at his Captain.

“Yes Sir,” Warlord says and bows to him and starts leading him down the hallways of their Stable to where his mother would be.

“So how long has it been since your mother and the both of you lost him?” Nightfire asks as he follows the two siblings.

“It’s been four or so years? A few long years since we last saw our father alive, and five years since he made me Captain in his stead. I was eighteen when I took over for my father.”

Nightfire looks at the two before him and then at the PipBuck on his left foreleg. ‘Tia, Luna… I won’t make them bear the loss of losing their family anymore.’

“Are you ok Prince Nightfire?” Warlord asks looking back over his shoulder.

“Y-Yeah… just remembered something,” Nightfire says, shaking off the fact. "So ever since your father was… you know? Your mother comes down here all the time?” Nightfire asks as he feels the cool air from the water pipes and then gentle drops of the water flowing through the pipes.

“Every day since he died and sometimes even four times a day. Seems like she’ll only leave to eat, sleep, or do her duties,” Little Love says softly. “She’ll be just around the corner.”

“Of course,” Nightfire says then slowly walks past the siblings and around the corner to see Little Love sitting in front of a still functioning door. “Peaceful Heart? May I sit here?” Nightfire asks as he walks beside her.

“Y-Yes Sir… of course,” She says, wiping her eyes of fresh tears. “I’m s-sorry you’re se-seeing me like this,” She says and turns away and sobs gently.

“It’s alright Peaceful Heart,” Nightfire says and drapes a wing over her back. “I understand that you miss him and I know he’d miss you too.”

“Th-Thank you Your Highness,” She says with a smile and nuzzles into his warm fur and sighs happily as he hugs her close with a foreleg.
“Before we do go Sir,” Warlord begins and steps up to his side. “Would you like to hear about him?”

Nightfire looks at him, his sister and mother and nods. “I would. The father of my Captain must’ve been somepony interesting.”

“Mother, would you like to tell him?” Little Love says softly she walks up beside her brother.

“I… I would,” She says with a small smile as she clears her throat.

“Can you begin when you first started dating him?” Nightfire asks as she looks into her eyes.

“Of course Your Highness,” Peaceful Heart says and closes her eyes. “He and I first started talking while he was being trained by his father. During his training he asked me to spare with me as part of his training. During the sparring match, he quickly pinned me since I’m not a fighter,” She says with a blush on her face.

“So I take it that you’re one to resolve things peacefully instead of fighting?” Nightfire asks with a smile.

“Yes. Anyway, he kept leading me through forms of hoof to hoof combat and sometime during that time; his training and teaching me, I started falling for him. A few weeks later he asked me for dinner in his room and I quickly said yes. That night I was so nervous that I was sure I’d made a fool of myself but after our dinner, he said that he would love to do it again.”

“So I take it that things went perfectly?” Nightfire asks with a smile while shuffling his wings.

“Yeah. Now over the course of our dating, he finally asked me to marry him, he had already become the Captain of the Guard and a short year later, Warlord was born,” She says as Warlord looks away, his face flustered.

“From what I understand, I was a fussy foal growing up, but when I was two I was told I was going to be an older brother,” Warlord says managing to face the others with a calm face.

“Well things went well as they grew up, life in the Stable was normal, but while training with Silver Gleam’s father, his wing was broken and it never healed properly; despite all of our medical know-how,” Peaceful Heart says sadly. “He never took it well and insisted on training Warlord and Little Love as best as he could.”

“Unfortunately, while he was looking into some technical malfunction down in the reactor level, the door closed with more force than normal, ne-nearly…” Little Love says then holds a hoof to her muzzle, having to stop otherwise she’d vomit and then cry about the loss of their father.

“I’m so sorry. I… didn’t know that he died in a horrible way,” Nightfire says and pulls them all close with his magic and hugs them as they sob into his chest. “Everything’s alright. I promise.”

“Th-Thank you… Your Highness,” Little Love and Peaceful Heart say as they wipe their eyes.

“You’re welcome, now let’s go. I do need to talk with the rest of the guard,” He says and smiles down at her. “You ready?”

“Yes Sir. Let’s go,” She says as she looks back at the door as they turn and walk back to where Warlord and his sister were. “Come on you two, let’s not keep them all waiting.”

“Yes mom, are you feeling better?” Her daughter asks as she looks into her eyes.

“I’m feeling loads better. It seems our Prince has a way with words,” She says and gives him a wink that he returns with a smile.

“Well… if you’ll follow me Your Highness, we can talk with the others.”

“Before I do, let me actually put on my armored barding and my weapons,” Nightfire says and looks at his naked body, his blue fur seeming to almost blend into the dull gray of the Stable’s walls. “Please excuse my being a little unprepared,” He says as they walk back to his room, were the stasis pod was. “You know, after being stuck inside that thing for over two hundred years, you’d think I’d never want to go anywhere near it,” Nightfire jokes as the door to his room slides open and he steps inside while his horn glows brightly and a drawer opened and a folded set of armored Stable barding and as he unfolds it and starts sliding it on, he realizes that there was two things there that he hadn’t seen there before. “What are these?”

“That’s… a picture of you and your sisters?” Little Love, says while looking down at the picture and sees what Celestia and Luna looked like about midway through the war.

“I remember that day; it was a few years after the attempt at Celestia’s life,” Nightfire says, remembering how that had affected her over the years.

“I remember reading about that. Big Macintosh, the hero of Shattered Hoof Ridge. He jumped in front of a bullet that was meant to kill Princess Celestia and the bullet ended up piercing his own heart. With his death, the war effort in Equestria skyrocketed.”

“It was his death that set off a chain of actions: Celestia stepping down and letting our sister Luna sit in the throne, the Zebra’s believing that we were under Nightmare Moon’s control, and that caused them to resort to using Megaspells, and our retaliation with our own. Unfortunately, they targeted the Pegasus city Cloudsdale and that forced the Pegasi to abandon us and they then sealed the sky with a constant cloud cover,” Nightfire says and then sighs and slips the picture out of the frame, folds it up and slips it into his saddlebags.

“Sir? What are these?” Warlord asks as he pulls out two statuettes, one looking like Luna, the other like Celestia. “They look like your sisters.”

“Yeah they do. I wonder who made them,” Nightfire asks as he lifts the statues and looks at them closely. “Looks just like them, every detail is flawless,” Nightfire says as he turns the statues around and looks into the eyes of them. “Even their eyes have the same shine.”

“Strange, wonder who could’ve made them for you,” Warlord’s sister says as she looks at them from the side. “What’s written there on the base?” She asks as she looks where some words where just under their front hooves.

“Looks like they say ‘Understand the Night’ and 'Appreciate the Day’,” Little Love says as she looks closely at them.

“It is but I’m sure I’ll figure out who made them one day,” Nightfire says and slides the statues into his saddlebags, one of the left and one on the right and suddenly he felt some of his old spell flow back into his mind, making him feel even more energized than before. “Whatever was done to them, I feel… stronger than ever.”

“That is wired,” Warlord says as he sits in the chair that was connected to the desk in his room. “Should you check the terminal here for anything?”

“Maybe I should, considering I haven’t checked it already,” Nightfire says as he walks over to the desk as Warlord steps aside so his charge could take the seat and access his own terminal. As Nightfire starts typing with ease, magic already being easier than using his hooves, he finds a few old notes, ones that dated before the war, and even one that he didn’t recognize. Nightfire quickly pulled out the access tool from his desk and plugged his PipBuck into the terminal and downloaded the files from it and starts playing the mysterious audio file labeled ‘Prince Nightfire’s eyes only.’

Prince Nightfire,
We must apologize, we had never intended for you or your family to be separated. Everything that happened could’ve been avoided if your sister’s had let you intervene during the war. Perhaps… just perhaps that’s just wishful thinking, but we’d wish that we had more chances to talk. We understand that you might not remember us but we will treasure all the time that we had spent together, despite how little it was in the long haul.

Good luck in what kind of world you awaken to and may the sun and moon guide you safely.

Sincerely,

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle and Rarity of the Ministries of Wartime Tech, Morale, Awesome, Peace, Arcane Science, and Image.

Nightfire sits in silence for a moment, the voices seeming to be from each of them, however when the audio file was created was a mystery.

“Those… were the voices of the Ministry Mares, right?” Warlord asks looking at Nightfire’s custom built PipBuck.

“Yes… and I… I admit that I had only barely overseen their projects, however Twilight Sparkle and I did but heads because of one of her projects,” Nightfire replies and smiles as he replays the file.

“Well… it really does seem that each of them looked at you highly. Do you think that they’d still think the same if they were alive today?” Little Love says and wipes her eye of a stray tear.

“I think so, I do remember talking with Rainbow Dash a few hours before I was first taken to this Stable,” Nightfire says with a small grin and looks back at the three standing behind him. “She may have been a stubborn mare, but she was indeed loyal to her friends.”

“Like how Captain High Velocity was to you right?” Warlord asks with a smile.

“Yes. But I would even go as far to say that she was even more loyal than him. After all she did bear the Element of Loyalty,” Nightfire says as he gets onto his hooves and flaps his wings gently. “Now let’s go and get my weapons then meet with the guard then we are starting our journey.”

The three ponies standing before him snap into a solid stance and then salute him. “Yes Sir!”

***Moments Later, Inside the mess hall***

“Everypony!” Nightfire says as he enters the room, Captain Warlord on his left with his sister and their mother to his right. The second his voice was heard, the just over two dozen guards turned and quickly snapped into attention.

Nightfire smiles and looks over all of the ponies standing before him, all dressed in armored stable barding and a set of the armor that Nightfire remembered the Guard he had seen over 200 years ago wearing causing a smile to creep onto his lips. “Now I do know you all have at least guarded the door to my room at least once, so you all know who I am. I am Prince Nightfire of Equestria. You all stand before me because your ancestors served in the Blackfire Guard when we were locked in this Stable. I understand that you’ve known this place to be your home all your lives, you’ve lived, you’ve trained, you’ve probably loved, and some have given all they are inside this very place. Now I know that this is asking a lot out of you, but I ask you to follow me as we see what this unknown world has to offer us.”

Many of the guard remained stoned faced, except for two mares near the back of the group. “But Your Highness, shouldn’t we remain in the Stable for a few more days?”

“Why is that?” Nightfire asks as he looks at a pony near the middle of the group.

“I think that since you’ve only just gotten out of that stasis pod, we should give you some time to recover and strengthen your body and magic.”

“I agree with her completely,” Warlord says looking up to Nightfire.

“I agree with you as well Warlord,” Nightfire says as he smiles.

“I have one question Your Highness, though probably will make more sense later on,” A stallion near the front says, a heavy rocket launcher strapped across his back, his light brown mane just barely covering his dark brown eyes. “What should happen to us should we die protecting you or our own lives or the life of a friend?”

“Should that come to pass, I will engrave your Cutie Mark into the handle of each of my guns,” Nightfire says lifting his .44 revolver with scope, .357 revolver and his own sniper rifle. “And when Equestria is once again the beautiful nation I knew it was, I shall erect a memorial for you and all of the family of yours that served to keep us all safe.”

“I understand.”

“Any other questions for now?” Little Love asks while looking over the ponies before them.

After a couple moments of silence Nightfire nods and turns back to the door of the mess hall. “Then let us be off. In three days it’s time that we learn of what the world has become. Gather what of your personal affects you and whatever should prove useful to us and meet Captain Warlord, Lieutenant Little Love and Commander Peaceful Heart by the Stable door in three days.”

“Sir, Yes Sir!” The current members of the Blackfire Guard say as they salute him and march out of the room to gather items that they’d want from their room, or from what room they’d come across.

“Do you three have everything you need?” Nightfire asks as he looks up at the sign that would lead him to the Stable door.

“Yes Sir,” Warlord and his sister says and their mother shakes her head slowly.

“Not entirely Your Highness. I need to get one thing that their father gave me when we became the married couple we were,” She says as she shuffles her wings gently.

“Alright, but I must ask you to not waste time and gather what you will need out there,” Nightfire says as he starts to walks toward the entrance of the Stable, Warlord and his sister in tow.

“Yes Your Highness,” She says with a quick bow and turns to rush to her room.

Once Nightfire, Warlord and his sister reach the massive door that separated them all from what awaited for them just on the other side. As Nightfire looks at the door, he notices something that he hadn’t before, a symbol, one that was in a book that he had read a long time ago, Celestia raising the sun with the sun just overhead and Luna below her and the moon just over her head. “Was that symbol always there?”

“No it wasn’t, I believe that my grandmother drew it while she was young,” Warlord says with a smile, remembering when he was only a foal as she drew it.

“Really?”

“Yeah, she spent hours on it a day until it was finally done,” Little Love says with a smile.

“She made it look like the image from the Elements of Harmony Reference Guide,” Nightfire says remembering the book that Twilight had read to find out about the legendary artifacts.

“Yes, that’s a book that we have in the library, along with a few books about everything we’d ever need,” Little Love says as she looks at her brother as Nightfire steps down the stairs and approaches the door and reaches out and slides a hoof against the cool steel door. As Nightfire looks at the door, Warlord, Little Love and Peaceful Heart look up at the symbol with him.

“Your Highness… let’s get you back to your room, I’m sure you have to be somewhat exhausted,” Warlord says looking at Nightfire.

“Of course Warlord, now I do hope that I won’t have to stay in the same room that I’d been in before,” Nightfire says as he turns away from the Stable door. “Please lead the way.”

“Follow me Your Highness,” Peaceful Heart says with a smile as she takes the lead, walking back into the hallways of the Stable with Warlord and Little Love walking beside him. Their mother stops before a door and then the door slowly opens revealing a still simple room with a large bed that had deep blue sheets. “This will be your room so you can rest,” She says as she steps inside and to the side so he can enter.

“This room is nice. Better than that room that I stayed in for the last 200 years,” Nightfire says with a smile. “I’m going to lie down, but I would like one of you three to stay here as make sure I don’t push myself. I still need to practice magic.”

“I’ll stay with you Your Highness,” Little Love says, her horn sparking a little with eagerness.

“A little eager, sis?” Warlord asks with a chuckle.

“What? I am eager to learn from our Prince,” She says gently.

“Well don’t push him too far and be careful ok?” Peaceful Heart asks her daughter.

“I won’t mom,” She says and turns back to Nightfire as he climbs into the bed and lies on his stomach.

“Alright well Warlord and I are going to pack some of our things before we leave.”

“See you tomorrow Your Highness,” Warlord says with a smile as they turn and walk out of the room as the door closes behind them.

“So Little Love… would you like to learn some magic from me?” Nightfire asks as his horn glows and pulls the blankets over his back.

“Yes I would Sir,” She says with a smile. “So what will I be learning first?”

Nightfire smiles and shuffles his wings under the sheets. “First I want to see how much magic ability you have.”

***Three days later***

Nightfire and the members of his guard look up at the door of the Stable that had kept them safe from the unknown world as Warlord walks up to Nightfire’s side; the Alicorn Prince having gained most of his magical strength back and his physical abilities. “Your Highness, it’s time.” The members of the guard behind them shuffling on their hooves, all of the supplies that they’d need. Many of them nervous about leaving the Stable that they’d called home for their lives.

“It’s time,” Nightfire says and walks back to the control panel and looks at the screen of the terminal. After pressing a few keys the terminal asks for the password to open the Stable door and without hesitation Nightfire enters the word ‘Harmony,’ and pulls the lever on the control panel.

Suddenly yellow lights beside the massive steel door begin flashing as a small alarm sounds, and a large iron arm slides into place and pulls the door free of its seal. The door then slowly is rolled to the side revealing the inside of the cave, exposing them all to air that they hadn’t touched in their lives yet. Nightfire takes a deep breath and starts walking back down the stair to the open door and then looks back inside, at his guard and the home that they had all known their whole lives. “Let’s go,” Nightfire says as he starts walking out of the Stable, with the members of his guard flowing behind him.

Once they approached the end of the cave, they are greeted with the dull glare of the sun behind thick layers of clouds. “Anypony a Pegasus?” Nightfire asks jokingly as he looks back and smiles.

Several ponies lift a hoof high enough to be seen and give a small grin of their own. “Why do you ask Your Highness?” A pony with a couple rifles dangling from her side asks.

“Just making sure how many were Pegasi. I have a feeling I may need to make a move against the Pegasi who are keeping the sun to themselves.”

Several of the ponies look up at the cloud filled sky and nod. “We’ll follow you till the end.”

“Thank you, now let us keep going, Canterlot is a long way away from where we are now,” Nightfire says with a grin and looks over the horizon looking to were his old home was.

“Sir, Yes Sir!” They all salute him and start walking with him leading the group down the mountain. About halfway down the curvy mountain trail, several dots appear on their E.F.S. and they all start looking around before Nightfire looks up and discreetly drew his .44 and keeps it hidden under his wing.

“Everypony be ready, but don’t make it look obvious,” Nightfire says quickly and turns back to face the Pegasi that were flying down from a small break in the clouds, armed with some nasty looking power armor, energy weapons strapped to their sides by some form of saddle like device.

The Pegasi make their way toward Nightfire and his guard and land a couple yards away downhill from them, already a tactical mistake. One Pegasus steps forward, small details on the armor indicating that he was highly decorated unlike the others who wore basic armor. “Who are you all and where have you all been hiding?”

Nightfire looks back at his guard and then steps forward, keeping his voice collected and even. “Does it matter where we have been? But if you’re looking for an honest answer we came from a Stable up near the top of the mountain.”

“A Stable? Up there? Ridicules!” He says and laughs, causing the others behind him to start as well.

“Enough!” Warlord says as he walks up beside Nightfire. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had built that Stable to keep their older brother safe, and I will not tolerate you mocking his family,” Warlord says then Nightfire lays a hoof on Warlord’s shoulder.

“Peace my Captain,” Nightfire says and looks back at the guard and leans closer and whispers into his ear. “I want you to target their wings and weapons, if we can knock them out then we won’t face too much opposition should things not go as I plan.”

“Yes Sir,” Warlord says and turns around and walks back to the others and starts whispering to the others.

“Forgive my Captain, he’s lived by my guard’s code his whole life,” Nightfire says with a smile as he addresses the ponies standing before him.

“Of course,” He says and shuffles his wings. “Now to business, I’m with the Enclave and we were sent when we got confirmation that massive surge of electricity and pinpointed it to this mountain, and they sent us to investigate the cause.”

“So… what you’re telling me is that the Enclave sent you to look into that Stable?” Nightfire asks, his voice still cool.

“You know, I had a feeling that there was at the very most a hundred ponies in there but I was sorely mistaken,” He says while pulling out a holotape and tosses it to Nightfire, keeping his surprise at seeing an Alicorn to a minimal.

“What is this?” Nightfire asks as he looks over the item in his magic aura.

“It’s a holotape, connect it to your PipBuck and you can hear the message my superiors want to deliver.”

Nightfire pulls out a wire and connects the holotape to his PipBuck and starts downloading the file from the case. “Before I play it, I want you to know, I won’t give up that Stable to anypony. I’ve lived in it for over 200 years and my sister’s made it specifically to keep me safe for Equestria’s future.”

“I understand,” He says and turns back and starts a conversation with the others who are traveling with him.

Nightfire looks at his PipBuck and then presses a button and starts the audio message. “Greetings those who have peeked our curiosity. We understand that you might be hesitant to give up such a viable place to us but let me assure that we of the Enclave will make it entirely worth your while. If you’re willing to give up such a viable place for the Enclave to expand our operations we’ll continue to feed you any form of information to you and whoever should be with you. Please consider your option carefully, since this is a once in a lifetime offer."

“You expect me to give up that last thing my sister’s gave me just so you can desecrate it? I’m sorry but my family means more to me than anything, and you cannot have this Stable,” Nightfire says, his ears standing straight up as he stomps a hoof as he looks at the Enclave solders before him. “Try and take it from me and I won’t hesitate to defend it.”

The Enclave Captain shakes his head with a sigh. “So unfortunate. And here we are thinking that’d you give it up so willingly. Too bad.”
Nightfire quickly sees the dots showing the soldiers turn red, and then throws up his best magical shield, his horn glowing brightly and pulls out his .44 magnum and enters S.A.T’s and targets the Captain’s wings, not wishing to go for a killing shot and activates the spell, the five shots he’d set fire off like a Megaspell going off in his ear, the bullets tearing into the wings as the Guard behind Nightfire open fire at the Enclave, their bullets taking chunks out of their armor, and exposed flesh. After a brief firefight the bullets from the Enclave’s own machine guns bouncing off Nightfire’s shield, some managing to shoot past it and into the group of Blackfire Guards. Nightfire lowers his shield, feeling that the fight was done only to feel a stray bullet tear into his right shoulder causing him to drop onto his left knee.

“Prince Nightfire’s hit!” The medic of the Blackfire Guard calls out and rushes forward already with healing supplies in his magic aura. “Are you alright your Highness?” He asks as he examines the wound and sees the exit wound, not much bigger than a bit of pre-war money as he pulls the cork of healing potion and lifts it to Nightfire’s lips.

The dark blue Alicorn tilts his head back and gulps down the potion and after swallowing the whole bottle he shakes his head at the horrible aftertaste. “Ta-Tastes horrible. Is everypony alright?”

“One down, but… it’s a fatal shot,” Warlord says as he looks toward Nightfire and their medic.

“Let me see him,” Nightfire says, his breath shaky, not only from the initial pain of the gunshot but now from the pain of losing one of his own guard so early into their journey. As Nightfire is lead over by the medic, Nightfire sees one of their comrades, lying in a growing pool of blood, a deep groove from where the bullet had torn through his neck. “No… not now,” Nightfire says and pulls out a roll of healing bandages in hopes of saving him. As Nightfire begins to tear it, the guard coughs and holds a weak hoof against Nightfire’s hoof.

“D-Don’t…” He says weakly, blood dripping from his muzzle. “I kn-know you wan-want to sa-save me but…” He stops and coughs again, blood shooting from his muzzle like a fine mist. “I di-did what I ne-needed,” He says with a weak smile as another holds him close, her tears sliding down her cheeks. “I kn-know I pro-promised to ke-keep you safe… but I can’t do it anymore. Keep Nightfire safe… he is, and always has been what I dreamed of pro-protecting," He says looking into the mare's eyes sadly then turns back to meet Nightfire's eyes. "Y-Your Highness… you can-can’t save everypony, please understa-understand that…” He says and weakly uses his magic to take out his pistol. “Please… give me this… I wa-want to die at your hoof.”

Nightfire looks down at him shocked and takes a deep breath to try and steady his magic and takes hold of the pistol and holds it under his head. “T-Tell me your name…” Nightfire says as his magic starts to pull back on the trigger.

“My na-name is… Gallant Brawl,” He says and locks eyes with Nightfire and nods then closes his eyes as the sound of another gunshot fills the air for a moment then all is still. Nightfire backs away, dropping the gun and what he had in his magic as he looks down at the pony he had to put down.

“I wa-want him to be gi-given the Royal Guards burial; burn his body,” Nightfire says and then looks over at the one member of the Enclave, the Captain who was looking at his wings in despair. “I’ll be back,” Nightfire says and walks over to the Captain and picks him up with magic and vanishes in a flash of light.

***Inside the Stable entrance***

Nightfire slams the Captain of the Enclave against the steel wall angrily with his magic and then slams a hoof down on his injured wing making him scream out. “You! Damn! Foal!” Nightfire says as he kicks the Captain in the stomach, knocking the breath from his lungs and then pulls out his .44 revolver and aims it at the Pegasus before his, a bleeding and broken mess. “I never took a life without reason and I never in my whole life taken the life of one who I called friend!”

The Pegasus chuckles weakly and looks up into Nightfire’s eyes. “Y-You don’t get it… the Wasteland destroys everything inside it,” He says, struggling to breathe and stares down the barrel of the revolver without fear.

Nightfire closes his eyes and lowers his revolver before the glow around his horn intensifies and then shapes around the Enclave ponies front leg and applies pressure. “Shut up!”

“Wh-Why? Bec-Because you know it t-to be true?” The Enclave Pegasus says with a wince of pain then cries out as Nightfire applies more than enough pressure to break his legs.

“I’ve heard enough! Either you tell me what the Enclave want this Stable for or I’ll tear that armor off and then you’ll feel the true wrath of an Alicorn,” Nightfire says spreading his wings widely and stares down at the Pegasus who was holding his broken leg with his free one.

“Wh-Why should I?”

“Because if you do I’ll let you live, if not then I’ll have to take another life,” Nightfire says and holsters his weapon and then folds his wings.

“Do wh-what you have to and be d-done with it,” He says and lies his head on the ground and holds up the foreleg with a PipBuck on it. “It hol-holds all of the da-data that the Enclave has given me.”

“Gladly,” Nightfire says as he takes out the same tool he’d used so many times before already and starts copying the files from the other PipBuck. “Five minutes, perfect,” Nightfire says and rolls his eyes. “Tell me, who is the pony in charge of your unit?”

“His name is… Com-Commander Solar Flare.”

“Solar Flare? You tell him that if he has the guts, he’ll come and find me himself,” Nightfire says then looks at his PipBuck and sees that there is only a minute left before the data was copied. “And also, if you need to contact your superiors, your PipBuck should have a transmitter built into it, connect to the Stable and then send them a message to come and get you.”

“Wh-Why should I? Th-They’ll be here to get me soon…” He says and grins before Nightfire moves the Enclave pony’s broken hoof around and watches as he cries out in pain.

“Think what you will about me, but I don’t like killing unless there is real reason behind it,” Nightfire says and then slowly pulls the plug from the other PipBuck and puts the tool back into his saddlebags. “Now I’m going to drag you out and you’re never going to try and enter this Stable or I’ll personally send you to Tartarus,” Nightfire says as he picks the Pegasi up with his magic and then starts walking out of the Stable and then as they exit the main door Nightfire flips the switch and watches as the door closes with a loud scrap of steel against steel. Nightfire then throws the Pegasi against the wall and turns back to the switch and starts recoding the Stable door. “You’ll never get inside without the password and it’s something that you’ll never think of.”

“We-We’ll crack it even-eventually,” The Pegasus says and cradles his broken foreleg to his body.

“I don’t think you will, now pray that we never meet again,” Nightfire says and turns and walks away from the pony and then teleports back to the members of his guard, who were sitting around the pyre that they’d made for their fallen brother in arms. “I never thought I’d go to another funeral,” Nightfire says softly as he sheds a tear in sorrow.

After a few moments of watching the burning pyre, Nightfire approaches the head of the group and bows his head to the burning pyre. “So what are we going to do now Sir?” Warlord asks with a concerned look.

“We’re still going to Canterlot, but we’re going to have to be extra careful. I will not lose another one of you.”

Warlord looks at the pyre and remembers what Gallant Brawl had said. “Remember Sir, you can’t keep us all alive.”

“I know, now let’s go,” He says and turns away from the pyre and looks out toward Canterlot. “I’m coming home my sisters. I’m coming home.”

Footnote; Level up!
New perk added: “Duty. Honor. Royalty” For each member of your guard that passes away, or any defender of the crown, their names are etched into your gun, making it and your magic spells slightly more powerful.