You often come back to that place where you buried the other man. The uncomfortable mound of earth sullies that beautiful clearing, but it also reminds you of something important. This is where you came to this world, this is where your new purpose began.

You died there. And you were born there.

No other humans have shown up yet, but each day you patrol the woods in search of any newcomers. You start at that clearing each time, then rove through the places you’ve been before, looking for signs of humanity. You occasionally even pass that great mountain of rock where you and Twilight consummated your love. You touch the rock there and know it saw the start of a relationship that has never since faltered in its affection, trust, and strength. You pass the clearing where she nursed you back to health, swathed in leaves. You even pass the cave, now inhabited by several of Fluttershy’s animal friends.

Every night when you come home from your patrol, Twilight greets you with a kiss. And you wouldn’t have it any other way. She calls you her soldier. And you’re ok with that too.

Twilight has made a holster for the crowbar, and you carry it with you everywhere now as an insurance weapon. It was a strange thing at first, a little creepy even, knowing that it killed your friend and nearly killed you. And that it was your accomplice in murder. But it is also the only weapon that was used to kill in this world, and you want to keep this place as clean as you can. Should you need to kill again, the crowbar has known blood before and won’t exactly be corrupted by more. The less you can sully with human blood, the better this world will be.

But you hope that won’t happen.

You hope that when they come, they’ll love this place and the ponies in it. You hope they’ll open their eyes onto a beautiful new heaven that is everything they’ve wished for. You hope that you won’t have to fight off the evils of a world you left behind. But if you have to, you will. Come what may, you are prepared to defend your home, your love, your heaven.

No matter who they are, when they come, you’ll be ready.

-The End-

Author's Note

And that's the story.

I learned a lot in writing this. I'd never posted chapters bit by bit before, only posing full stories that I'd already completed. It taught me how easy it is to write yourself into a corner, and I like to think I won't make that same mistake again.
It taught me how hard it is to write violence in ponies without it being straight up comedy.
It taught me how surprisingly picky pony readers are, though that's not a bad thing.
And most of all, it taught me that even writing serious things can be fun.

So...I hope you enjoyed this. I will be posting the alternate ending, so if you want something a little different, you'll get it there. But I sincerely hope you enjoyed taking this little literary journey, and that you find yourself smiling rather than groaning by the end.
Above all, thank you. I wrote this for my own enjoyment mostly, but you reading it is kinda awesome. And I'm glad you did. So once more, thank you, and I'll see you in some other much less serious story.
And feel free to pull up a drink with me some time. I bet you're a bretty cool dude.

-Pencil