Hearts and Ashes

by brony114

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Main 6, Romance, Princess Luna, Drama, Original Character, Spike, Random, Adventure, Princess Celestia
Length: 9708

Twilight, now a princess, recrutes a new captian to form a new friendship guard to protect her and her friends. But her new captian comes with his own past. Can she help him overcome his memories?

Ash, a former lieutenant in the EUP's old Expeditionary Army, is recruited by Twilight Sparkle to be the captain of her own friendship guard battalion. As a seasoned veteran he is very experienced but he does have his bitter past to deal with. With the magic of friendship He'll have to overcome his baggage of loss and grief if he is to be an effective leader.

Published 2016-07-07 01:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-07-14 07:42:49 UTC

Chapter 1: Recrutment.

Author's Note

This a rehash of an old Story I did a while back. I wan't happy with it so i never published it on here. I hope you all will enjoy it.

Chapter 1: Recrutment.

In the city of Canterlot, Hearts and Hooves day was in full swing. All around Equestria, ponies were spending time with their loved ones and Canterlot was no exception. Even the palace was decorated with the colors of love.

Twilight Sparkle, now a princess, was sitting next to Princess Celestia in her audience chamber as they waited expectantly for a certain stallion whom they had summoned to arrive. Twilight was a little nervous and it showed. Her eyes were fixed on the doors that were the entrance to the room and her hooves jostled around to find an ever elusive comfortable position. Princess Celestia eventually leaned over to ask,

" Is something the matter dear princess?" Princess Celestia's emotions were the very opposite of Twilight's. Her mood was bright and playful while her posture was tall, confident and majestic. Twilight snapped out of her worry driven trance to look at Celestia.

" Oh no Princess, I'm just... a little nervous to meet him." Twilight replied with a polite smile. Celestia's mouth turned into a grin. she had always admired Twilight’s determination in completing any task. Her attention to detail and order was exemplary. However, that type of perfectionist driven work ethic was infact double edged as it left no room for error. This particular meeting was the culmination of weeks of preparation and it showed on Twilight's face. Celestia only wanted to calm Twilight down, so she asked,

" Why would you be nervous to meet him? It's not like you to be shy. You did your research so be confident in your decision; it was a wise one." Twilight met Celestia's gaze.

" I know, But what if I didn't make the right decision? I can't help but worry if he is really the right pick. I'm even worried if we will get along." Twilight looked down at the floor as her worries manifested in her eyes even more so. Celestia let out a small giggle to which Twilight looked up at her in slight shock. Celestia put a hoof up to her muzzle and spoke in a near wisper,

" Oh Twilight, you need not worry about that. He comes highly recommended and I know you will get along with him easily. I have confidence in your ability to make connections. Besides, he won't be able to resist your charm." Celestia said and winked teasingly at Twilight. Twilight blushed and looked down again.

" Princess! You make it sound like I'm picking out a boyfriend!" Twilight’s gaze was still fixed to the floor. This comment made Celestia giggle even more.

" Well how do you think your brother and princess Cadence met?" Celestia said.

" Princess!" Twilight’s usual violet face was now crimson. Celestia almost outright laughed. Celestia was debating whether or not she was just having fun now at Twilight’s expense. Then she had to stifle her giggles as the doors to the audience room creaked open. A white pegasus guard trotted in and saluted. He said to the Princesses,

" Your Majesties, The Lieutenant has just arrived as summoned and is waiting to be presented." Celestia was now looking up at the guard and with a smile she said,

" Good! Bring him in!" Twilight was now staring at the open doors. Her hooves had instantly gotten sweatier and her fidgeting increased. The white pegasus moved to the side and he brought his right front hoof up to his right eyebrow in a salute. A small time passed as the sound of hoof steps could be heard just outside the entrance. Then an armored figure of a dark grey unicorn stallion with gold eyes and mane trotted into the the room. He was young and fit. His military uniform was not the ornately styled gold armor of the Royal solar Guard, but rather, it was the black and steel armor of the Equestrian expeditionary Army, A branch of the EUP that has slowly grown more obsolete in recent years. His armor was polished and clean, but it bared many deep gouges and scratches. The helmet was also ordinary for it didn't have the blue plume on top but instead the helmet had a ridged spine that ran from the hole for the horn, to the back of the helmet. The young officer also bared a couple of scars; one prominent scar was on his right cheek.

He trotted past the the guard who let him in and he continued to trot up to the princesses stopping short of them by five meters. He took his helmet off with his hooves and held on to it under his right foreleg, he bowed to the Princesses and said in a clear, young, confident voice,

"Your majesty's, Lieutenant Ash, reporting as summoned." his voice echoed in the hall. His assertive demeanor began to put Twilight off, as she was hoping for somepony more friendly. From his Records, L.T. Ash of the 125th Army battalion was a well seasoned vet with deployments all around Equestria, including Southern Equestria. What made him stand out above the rest of the candidate pool was his level of magic ability and several commendations as well as several recommendations; one from Celestia herself. Still Twilight was worried.

" Welcome Lieutenant, it is good to see you here." Celestia welcomed the young lieutenant. Twilight was looking everywhere but at Ash. She didn't want him to notice her nervousness. The young LT. got up and turned around to face the first guard as he saluted back to him. Only then did the pegasus bring his hoof down and then he marched out of the room. Ash turned to face the two princesses again.

" Do you know why you are here, lieutenant?" Celestia asked.

" Your highness, I believe I'm here for a new assignment." Ash answered as he looked over at Twilight who seemed to be very aloof.

" Yep that's her, and like before, she doesn't seem to notice me." Ash thought to himself.

(11 years ago)
Ash, a young unicorn colt who lived in Canterlot, was getting his school bag ready to go to magic grade school. It was hearts and hooves day and all the city was in its decor of love.

Ash also had a special card for a special somepony. He never talked to her, mostly because she had her head stuck in a book all the time, but he was definitely interested in the young filly because he thought she was the cutest filly he had ever seen. She was a purple unicorn with pink and violet stripes in her mane. She still lacked her cutie mark as did he and she was always reading a book, usually a new one every day.

It was rare, but Ash would work up enough courage to go talk to her. Unfortunately she usually didn't notice him and would continue trotting on past him. Not that it would deter him from further attempts, but this hurt him. He felt insignificant and useless. However today was going to be different. He was going to stand in her way until she acknowledged him and took his card. It was an all or nothing plan. For better or for worse, she was going to notice him.

Usually he would cross paths with her on the way to school at the corner of a doughnut shop. The corner was close to the Royal Guard academy as well and many cadets attending could be seen around it.

Ash set up his ambush site around the corner of the doughnut shop. He sat there with the card in his saddlebag and sure enough he could see the cute young filly trotting along with a book in her ethereal hold as he peeked around the corner. Oh but he was extremely nervous and he had to continuously fight the urge to take off and not talk to her.

The young filly was about 30 meters down the street when Ash heard another filly crying,

“ Hey stop it! Give that back!”

" What the hey?" Ash thought to himself. Out of curiosity, he looked for the source of the crying. Then he heard an older colt's voice.
" What's the matter, you're gonna cry like a little baby? WAAA! Ha ha ha!" The voice said.

This made Ash drop what he was doing and trot over to the alley next to him, where he heard the colt's voice.

" Hey give it back, That's mine!" The filly screamed. Ash rounded the corner of the entrance into the alley. He saw a white pegasus filly with sky blue eyes and light blue mane. She was hopping up as high as she could, just shy of reaching a doll being dangled by an older brown pegasus colt who was hovering over the filly.

" Well then why don't you get it from me? What's the matter, can't fly? Ha ha ha!" He laughed at her as she tried to grab the doll. Tears had been streaming down her cheeks for a while now and her efforts became increasingly more desperate.

" Come on now you can do it. ha ha ha..." His cackle was aggravating and just as he was laughing, a stone hit his hoof, making the doll land on the ground. Angerly, the Colt trurned to look for the source of the attack.

" Hey! Who did that!?" he shouted, making his wrath known.

Ash was levitating another stone as he stared down the older and much bigger pegasus colt. Ash was seething with anger. He always hated it when older ponies would bully him or his friends. Normally, Ash wasn't too keen on picking fights with bigger ponies, but this one was a huge jerk and Ash wasn't about to just trot away.

" Do you have death wish or something?" the colt asked Ash.

" What's the matter, can't pick on anypony your age? I bet you’re too weak to pick on the bigger Colts, aren't you?. " Ash just couldn't keep his mouth shut. He knew taunting the jerk would make him mad.

" Say that to my face." The colt said staring down the young agressor.

" Why don't you come down here so I can?" Ash gritted his teeth. The colt hoovered for a moment with a look of deep thought on his face. Then a smile showed.

" OK." he said calmly. Then , like a flash of lightning, the pegasus shot down at Ash and knocked him into the building behind him. The stone went skipping across the street and Ash laid on the ground in a daze. He didn't expect him to be so fast. The pegasus landed next to Ash and he was laughing.

" What's the matter, Don't you have something to say to me? Pft! You weren't even a challenge!" The Colt scoffed at him. Ash shook his head to clear his senses, then he tried to get up, he was slow.

" Looks like you were all talk little foal!" Ash thrust a hoof up that would have made contact with the pegasus's face, but he moved to the left and Ash went stumbling down past him.

"Leave him alone, you're going to hurt him!" The filly demanded.

" Shut up squirt! He asked for it when he showed up! Now he's gonna get it!" The colt looked down at Ash, who was trying to get back up again. The colt let him as he laughed at him. The filly wanted to help but she didn't want to get hurt either.

Just then another colt trotted up to the alleyway and shouted to the older colt,
" Hey Blitz, come on already! Were going to be late for roll call!" Blitz turned to answer back,
" Yeah, Just give me a sec!" Ash was up and still in a daze from the impact he had been in.
the colt looked at Ash and with his left hoof, he punched Ash in the right eye, hitting him to the ground.

" I hope you learned your lesson blank flank!" Then he flew off towards the Academy.
Ash didn't get up for a while because his face was in too much pain. His eye swelled up so he couldn't see out of it, his lip bled and his head pounded with pain. The filly pegasus trotted over to Ash leaving her precious doll behind on the ground.

" Are you ok? Oh this is all my fault! I so sorry! please get up!" she said as she was sobbing. Her voice was high pitched but easy on the ears. Ash started getting up slowly and then he was on all hooves. He looked around through his open eye and surveyed the alley for the colt. He was slightly disoriented and wasn't sure what happened exactly. Then he looked at the filly, she was crying still and was looking him in the eyes.

" uhh,... are you ok?" Ash asked wearly

" Yes... are you?" She relied.

" sort of... you should do a better job of standing up for your self." He said while looking at her with his good eye.

" I know, if only I could fly..." She said. Ash got annoyed.

" No! Flying had nothing to do with it, it was because you were playing his game!" This warranted a look of confusion for the filly.

“Don’t give him what he wants, do anything to make it not fun for him to tease you. If you do that and stand up for your self, He’ll stop bothering you.” Ash spoke as if reciting from a book.

"Really?" The filly asked.

" That's what my dad always tells me, 'never give in to a bully.'" Ash said and finished with a groan as he put a hoof to his eye to rub it. The filly stood there silent, staring at her new friend with a look of confusion. Her Hero was not the biggest colt, his demeanor was brutish and his actions were reckless. Still he was her hero and definitely now her friend.

" What's your name? I'm Blue Ember!" Her voice sounded perkier.

" I'm Ash?" He said and then winced as he continued to rub his eye.

" What were you doing here Ash?" Ash looked up and his open eye was wider.
"Oh no!" he thought to himself. Ash stumbled out of the alley way and towards the corner. He looked around in a desperate manner. Ember Followed right behind him. She had a look of concern and confusion as she stared at him.

" What's wrong Ash?" She asked cautiously.
" ( grrr) She gone." he growled. His eye kept scanning the the street.

" Who's gone?" She asked.

" The filly I was going to give this to!" Ash levitated his card out of his saddle bag, which had been crumpled in the scuffle. Ember recognized it as a hearts and hooves day card. Suddenly she was sad again.

" Who is she?"She asked, saddened. Ash then gave up as he knew the filly had been long gone.

"( Sigh) A purple unicorn who trots this way every morning. I think we go to the same school but I don't even know her name." Ember looked down in dejection.

" Twilight." she muttered.

" huh?" he said with confusion.

" Twilight sparkle. Her brother is an upper class pony at the royal guard academy." She said a little louder. Finally, Ash had a name to go with the filly.

" ...Thank you!" he said with a smile. Ember didn’t reipricate the smile. After a moment of silence that struck them, Ash said,

" Well I need to go to school." Ember was still looking dejected. Ash looked in the doughnut Shop's window reflection taking notice of how messed up he looked. He looked pretty bad.

" My parents are going to kill me!" He said. Ember looked up at him with a worried look. Ash looked at her with his good eye, gave a half smile and said,

" It’s ok, I’ll be fine. Take care, it was kind of nice meeting you Ember!" He turned and started to limp off. To him, finding out Twilight's name made this whole mess worth it. Ember shot him a look of surprise. he said it was kind of nice to meet her. Another smile made its way on her face.

" Do... do you trot this way every morning too?" She asked timidly.

" Yes." he said looking back and then continuing to trot his way to school. Ember wanted to help him but she felt he wouldn't take her help and she was kind of shy.

" OK! See you around!" she called out to him. " See you around." she said softly to herself, as she blushed.

Chapter 2: Confessions

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3: Past Hopes

(present day Canterlot.)

Celestia reclined a little in her throne as Twilight took control of the conversation. Ash politely answered the many questions Twilight had to ask and many of her questions pertained to his personal life such as how he had received his cutie mark. Ash was glad that he managed to avoid talk of his foal hood crush among other topics ant that she wasn't too interested in his past deployments. Twilight felt the meeting was going swimmingly ant that any doubts she had at first were dashed away as getting to know him better had proven to show him in a better light. He, dispite his appearance, was polite, light hearted and had a sense of humor.

Celestia was very pleased with how the meeting was going as she knew it would go well. Twilight seemed to be more and more comfortable with Ash and he seemed to be more trusting of her. It was pretty much settled, any doubts anypony had of this arrangement were now gone. Celestia also thought is was nice to see Ash again. He was a promising leader and Celestia had for a time followed his career. However, he seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth and out of relevance after certain events. This was something she needed to address. Celestia sat up and spoke,

" So Ash, what plans do you have for hearts and hooves day?" Her voice was as cheerful as it had been the whole meeting, but there was a certain importance to the question that both Twilight and Ash had picked up on. Thinking upon the question, Ash’s smile seemed to lose it’s luster.

" Well, I have to meet up with somepony." Ash's demeanor changed to a more solemn one. His answer made Twilight look at him with confusion. Noticing her change, Ash added with a more chipper tone,

" ...You know, to let them know I'll be leaving soon!"
Celestia and Twilight smiled at him. Celestia seemed to be relived.

“ Maybe things are different now.” she thought to herself.

" Oh I see..." Twilight said, but trailed off. She only realised now that she was taking Ash and moving him to ponyville without taking into consideration any of his current friendships. Before she could ask him about this Celestia spoke up,

" Well now, it was nice getting to talk with you Captain and we’ll be talking again soon. As for now both I and Twilight have Royal duties to attend to. Make sure to stop by the Armory to be fitted for your new armor." Twilight half raised her hoof as to say something but then she lowered it. She was mulling over whether or not to ask Ash if this arrangement was going to uproot his friendships. She then decided to wait.

" Yes Your Highness and thank you Princess for this opportunity, I will not let you down!" Ash flashed Twilight a very convincing smile. For her, it kind of answered her question already.

" You're welcome and Thank you as well!" Twilight smiled back. Outside in the courtyard, Rainbow dash continued to hover at the window. The whole meeting was incredibly boring for her and she slowly lost interest more and more as it dragged on, but her ears perked when Ash said he was going to meet up with somepony else.

" Who is this pony he has to meet I wonder?" she thought to herself.
Rainbow dash flew to the ground and landed next to Rarity and Pinkie pie.
Pinkie was still in her perpetual state of bounciness while Rarity was staring at Rainbow for any news on the meeting. Rainbow didn’t waste anytime in divulging that info.

" Ok so the meeting’s over, Twilight seemed pretty happy, but the 'Captain' is on his way to meet 'somepony'." Rainbow said wiggling her fore hooves to mimic quotation marks.

" He's on his way to meet somepony? Today? Oohh this is exciting! That’s too bad though, i was hoping to get to know him a little better myself." Rarity chimed. Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

" Yeah...right...So here's the plan, I sent Spike to steal El Capitano's house key and we’re going to go see what his house looks like. If anything reflects a ponies character, it's his house!" Rainbow said with excitement for her plan. Rarity shot a surprised look at Rainbow.

" Rainbow Dash, How could you consider doing something so socially degenerate! You're a Wonderbolt now, you ought to be more ladylike!" Rarity exclaimed. Rainbow then scoffed,

" Rarity, for starters, Wonderbolts are not Lady or gentle colt like, they are awesome like! Secondly, We are here to protect Twilight from recruiting a less than perfect guard to protect her. I'm only going to allow the very best and I'm not sold on this guy!" Rainbow thrusted her hoof in the direction of the audience hall.

" Well Duh! We haven't even thrown a welcome party for him yet...no wait is it a congratulation part...or no no no no no, maybe a happy promotion day party!" Pinkie enthusiastically petitioned. Rainbow raised her eyebrow, she then asked,

" Pinkie, how is a party going to help me see if he's worthy?"

" Because that's where you get to know him silly!" Pinkie said as a matter of fact. Rainbow scrunched her nose in thought and then replied,

" OK, fine pinkie you can throw a...whatever party for him, but only after we find out more about him." Rainbow conceded. Pinkie hopped in jubilation.

" Whoo hoo!"

" Ugh... fine if you insist on breaking and entering, I suppose I could go along as a look out, just to make sure you don’t get in trouble." Rarity said with little enthusiasm. Deep down, Rarity wanted to sneak in to Ash's house very much so. Curiosity was one of her weaknesses. Spike's feet pit patted through the courtyard as he ran to meet the girls.

" Rainbow! I have it!" he said triumphantly holding up a brass key.

" Ah, nice work Spike! What took you so long?" Rainbow asked. Spike was pretty dirty with soil smudged on his face. He replied,

" Well he hides his spare key under a boulder and it's bigger than me!" Not focusing on his answer too much Rainbow moved on,

" Ok well then we should get going! Pinkie I want you to go follow Captain Ash to where ever he is going. I want to know what he is up to and who he is meeting!" Pinkie held her hoof up in a salute.

" You can count on me!" she replied and then she changed into spy gear. Rarity and Rainbow Dash set off to Ash's house with spike riding on Rarities back.

(4:00 am Southern Equestria, Bridle Town,three year before Twilight's coronation)

Lieutenant Ash and his RAC squad were racing through the streets of Bridletowne. Intelligence they had come across the day befor indicated a rebel leader named Indigo Runner, was located in the town hall with members of his command. Their source was an informant who said that Indigo was after something of immense power.

A rebellion movement started in the mining towns of southern equestria, their animosity stemmed from a financial crisis affecting the towns. The rebel leaders say the corruption and mismanagement of Canterlot was to blame. Their propaganda created a hatred for Canterlot and its high society.

According to their informant, Bridle Town was rumored to be built over an old vault and the town hall hid the entrance. Ash's informant was cooperating in exchange for his freedom and said Indigo was planning something horrific.

A Pegasus in black and steel armor flew down from the sky and matched Ash's speed. The pegasus was blue and had a dark brown mane and tale. All around Ash, his squad galloped or flew.

" Boss, the town’s clear but it looks like somepony’s in the belfry of the town hall!" Said the corporal Blue Star. Ash made a quick glance at him but continued to gallop forward.

" Blue star, you and Star Tail engage those in the belfry! Sage Dust and Palomino, take the back entrance. The rest of you follow me!" With those orders the three groups split and each one went to their respective entrance to the town hall.
The two pegasi engaged the belfry with arrows from afar as they circled around, Sage Dust ( a green and blue unicorn ) and Palomino (a brown and white earth pony) circled around the back and broke down the door as Ash took the rest of his team through the front.
With the exception of those who were in the belfry, there was no one else to fight. The teams cleared the building and made their way into the basement to find a hole dug through the base boards.

Ash and his team followed the hole down deep into the earth where they came across a large door that was partially open. Ash took point, making his way through the door first with his horn glowing. When the squad pushed the door open, dust blew all around the them as they rushed into the vault.

The Vault was dark, dusty, and large. The squads voices echoed throughout the large subterranean room allowing them to get a feel for how much bigger the room was beyond their field of vision. After shining their lanterns and horns everywhere, they discovered that the vault was not just a room but a complete library. The precious treasures that were held in it were shelves and shelves of books that appeared to be Ancient. Sage was the first to speak,

" This... This place is huge! Who would hide a library so extensive?" Sage said in his Canterlot accent as he shined his horn , casting light all around the room.

" How far does this thing go?" Palomino said with a draw. Ash turned to his squad and said to them,

" Focus guys, we still have a job to do and a vault to clear! Sage, you, Blue Star and Star Tail should clear out the vault. Palomino,stay with me and look through these books! We need to find out what Indigo was looking for! The rest of you, guard the entrance, we don't need any surprises!" As Ash gave them their orders, each team saluted Ash and went to do their respective jobs. The other ponies, regular army ponies who were conscripted for this mission, headed up to the surface to provide security.

As the squad went about completing their orders, Ash started looking through books that had been brought to a large wooden table in the middle of the room. Palomino found an old metal bound book that had dark designs on it. Sage finished clearing out the vault with his team and made his way back to Ash. As the did this they lit candles all around the library.

“The vault’s clear. Doesn’t look like much was moved around.” Sage reported to Ash who was meticulously reading through each tomb.

" Hey Boss, check this book out, I think I've found something!" Palomino exclaimed with excitement. Ash trotted over to Palomino to see the book, but instead he stopped in his tracks. He noticed that it was left on the ground in the center of the room; neatly. The title of the book read " Pandora."

" Have you touched this yet?” Ash asked Palomino.

“ Not yet.” Palomino replied as he went to scoop up the tomb in his mouth. Ash put a hoof in front of Palomino to stop him.

“ We need to be careful.” Ash ordered. Palomino looked at him confused.

“ Why, is it a trap?” he asked. Just then there was a clatter of hooves coming down the hole. Ponies were shouting and one was definitely screaming in pain.

“ Whats going on? REPORT!” Ash shouted. Two pegasi pushed into the room dragging a unicorn who had an arrow sticking out of his right flank. With each tug, he screamed in pain.
“ L.T. , We’re under attack! There’s too many of them up there!” one of the pegasi shouted. Ash started galloping towards them and shouted,

“ Close that door and barricade it!” his horn was glowing as he was levitating a book shelf to help keep it shut. The other ponies moved in to close the door and Ash jammed the book shelf against the doors hard. Suddenly they could hear other ponies on the other side of the door and they started banging on its wooden exterior. Ash pushed with his magic hard to keep them out. Suddenly an incoming shot of magic burst through the door leaving a softball size hole through it. The shot went just past Ash’s head so he retaliated with a shot from his own horn. It seemed to hit somepony on the other side as a shriek of pain was made audible. Then the ponies on the other side backed off from the door, dragging their own casualty away.

“ Is everypony ok?” Ash asked as he looked around at his squad who were mostly huddling close to the doors. One at a time every pony started replying by saying

“ I’m good.”

The shot that almost hit Ash went past him and nearly hit Palomino who hopped back to evade its trajectory. Palomino was in the middle of counting his blessings when he said,

“ I’m good.” Unfortunately, when he took a step forward, his right hind hoof kicked something hard. Then there was a loud pop and a hiss. Everypony looked in his direction to see that he kicked the old tomb over, setting off a fuse for an explosive device. Thinking quickly, Sage took the device in his magic hold and cast a spell on it. He Slowed down time for the bomb, making time go by at four times the amount. Ash let out a sigh of relief as he was expecting the thing to go off and kill Palomino.

“That was close, but it won't stay that way for long!” Sage said to everyone.

“ Boss We’re trapped here and this is the only way out!” one of the regulars said. He was holding his friends hoof who was still moaning in great pain. His flank was drenched in blood.

“ We can’t stay here with that thing either.” Sage reminded him. Palomino was backing off from the device which was floating in a field of magic aura. Ash looked at the bomb, and then the doors. He then thought quietly for a moment. It wasn’t his first time dealing with the stresses of combat since he had arrived in Southern Equestria. No pony expected things to be as bad as they were, but the rebels had raised an army and were now well equipped. The second RAC squad had recently lost their squad leader to their first engagement with the rebels. Ash was forced to take over and had to learn everything on the job. It was a shaky start but those who were under his command learned to trust him. His determination to care for his squad carried them through the 7 months that they operated.

“ Boss, maybe we can push up out of the hole as a team.” Sage petitioned. Ash looked at him and said,

“ No, That's too risky, we don't know how many are up there.” Ash calmly replied.

“ What do we do?” Asked another regular. Ash looked at Sage and then said,

“ I have an idea, maybe I can try teleporting the bomb out into the hole. You know give it back to them?” Ash was dead serious about his plan.

“ You… learned how to teleport objects by themselves?” Sage asked confused.

“ No, i can still only teleport myself and and a couple of objects.” Ash’s ears splayed and he gave Sage a nervous look.

“ No… you can barely teleport yourself and that with a lot of concentration! Once you pull that device out of the magic field, you’ll have only a couple seconds at best before it goes off!” Sage protested.

“ You’re point being?” Ash asked.

“ Can you really pull off a chain Teleportation spell for the first time in less than two seconds?” Sage asked rhetorically.

“ Maybe… besides, if I screw up, it’s just me at stake.” Ash replied somberly. Then he look Sage in his eyes, “ I’m going for it!” he said with determination.

“ Boss….” Sage replied.

The Rebels were now carrying out another assault on the door, pounding it harder with a combined effort. Sage used his magic to pile another shelf up against the doors. Palomino looked at Ash.

“ Boss, I'm sorry!” Pal said. Ash didn’t reply, instead he concentrated on mustering up as much courage as he could. Teleportation was one of those things that separated a normal unicorn from the magically gifted. Very few ponies, even in Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns, could cast that spell even once in their lives. Ash had been working on casting the spell when he started training for the RAC Squads. Only after he had become the squad leader or the the 125th’s 2nd RAC squad did he achieve just a single teleportation. He was nervous to say the least.

“ Ok, here I go!” Ash said. He trotted over to the bomb and began concentrating on building up his magic in his horn as he needed a lot of it.

“ Remember to build up enough for the return trip!” Sage added. All Ash could do was nod as he was building up his energy for an attempt at two teleportations. The Doors kept banging rhythmically with the squad pushing up against the shelves. Ash could barely hold the magic under control in his horn when he started concentrating on visualising the hold outside the door. Suddenly the ball of energy that encapsulated Ash’s horn burst and Ash disappeared with the bomb.

Twelve ponies in crude armor were working on busting down the large wooden vault doors with a tree fashioned into a battering ram. Most of them were earth ponies but a couple were pegasi and once was a unicorn. The unicorn was pushing the ram from behind with his magic as the rest were physically holding on to it. Suddenly there was a bright light that shined next to them. One earth pony got pushed back as a figure materialised in his spot. Ash fumbled the bomb which bounced off one ponies helmet and landed on the other side of the battering ram. Losing focus, Ash lost his remaining magic. The rebels were now stepping over each other trying to get away from the hissing device, unfortunately for them it only had 3 seconds of fuse left. Ash could only hide behind the battering ram for protection when it went off.

The squad had watched Ash disappear in a flash of light and a moment later they could hear a large muffled boom on the other side of the door. Unfortunately Ash didn’t appear on their side before the explosion happened. It took a while for the rumbling outside to stop. It was clear that the tunnel collapsed just outside.

“ Boss!” Palomino screamed as he went for the door; bucking the shelves away. Sage grabbed him in with his magic and stopped him from pulling the doors open.

“ Pal! Don’t, the dirt might push in here if we open that door!” Sage tried to reason with him.

“ But what about Ash!” Palomino protested. Then there was a knocking at the door. A rhythmic hoof nock that begged for the occupants to open it. A Muffled voice from outside said,

“ I screwed up!” Which was followed by several coughs.

After a while of opening the door slowly and pulling Ash out of the dirt, the squad resumed their mission.

“ Here it is boss.” Palomino said after scooping the old metalic book up with his hooves.

“ Here let me see it.” Sage said as he pulled the book from Palomino’s grim with his magic.

“ Can you translate it?” Ash asked Sage.

" I'll take a look boss!" Sage said with determination. The book was written in latin, wich was a dead language to Equestria. However, Sage Dust was able to use a spell that instantly translated any written language into a language that he could read. It was an ability he developed during his studies in Canterlot. His horn glowed and soon the text rearranged itself into Equestrian. Sage read to himself. After reading a few pages his eyes widened.

" Dear Celestia, This...This is …..a Catalog of the contents of Pandora's box!" Sage, shakely exclaimed.

" What would Indigo want with this?" Ash asked. His dirt covered face was in a scowl. Sage replied,
" I don't know, but this has a detailed account of a disaster where the box had been opened four millennia ago. It has several references to a ….thing called the dark wrath!" Palomino was looking at the back of the book when he noticed it was thicker than the cover. He then said,

" Hey turn to the back! I think I see something!" Ash levitated the book and opened it to the back. There was another broken lock and a chamber for a key. it was missing.

" Hey... there's supposed to be a key their right? Where's the key, where the Hay it that key?" Palomino asked with rising tones of fear.

" I don't know Pal... We need to search the vault! Look for it!" Ash ordered his squad.Every pony searched the volt to its entire volume. The Key was gone.

Soon after Ash and his squad searched the Vault, the 125th battalion was there going through its contents. The attackers who were left had vanished into the surrounding woods. It was unlikely they’d press another attack. Ash had taken the time to go through a few books. He found several of them to be of use and one in particular had information on how to perform more advanced spells. He ended up taking it along with the old metal bound book.

After getting back to camp, his team was getting their rest and cleaning up after their 56 hour mission. Ash was completing a report on the missing key when a pegasus trotted over to him.

Captain Pale Moon was a pegasus who had a tall stature. His commision started seven years ago. He took command of the 125 battalions RAC unit that consists of three squads of five to eight ponies. His coat was a light grey, his mane and tail were short and white and his eyes were a silver. The Captain was known for being charismatic and generally cared for the wellbeing of his subordinates as much as the well being of a mission.

" Lieutenant." Pale moon called to Ash.

" Sir!" Ash stood up from the rock he was sitting on, stood at attention and saluted.

"At ease Lieutenant, how goes the search? I heard you stumbled on something scary." The Captain looked very calm but Ash looked serious as he spoke.

" Well I believe the rebels have a key to Pandora's box and intend to open it.” Ash said in a hushed voice. Pale moon hummed as he contemplated on what Ash was implying.

" I can only imagine what they would want to do that. Try to have that report in ASAP. General Glory is still tooting his horn about calling marshal law on this whole region."

" I'm almost done sir, I'll have it in by 0700." Ash assured.

" Outstanding! Oh and how are your folks back home?" Pale Moon made it his business to know about every pony's home life. With the conflict escalating, home was a concept that was becoming more abstract for the ponies of the 125th. Reminding them that there is a world outside of their situation was an invaluable tool for keeping their morale up. Although it was just as much a tool or good as it was a stumbling block that fostered homesickness. Only reminding them of the importance of their work managed a delicate balance.

" Good sir, They're on vacation in Manehattan!" Ash said happily.

" That's good!" Replied with a smile. " Good job today, we still have a lot of work to do though!" Pale Moon reminded Ash.

" Yes sir!" Ash replied with a somber tone. The two ponies saluted and the Captain was on his way to the Command Post. Ash finished his report and made his way to the command post where the General was going to hold a staff meeting.
Ash was saluted by two pegasi posted outside the tent that was the command center. Ash saluted back and trotted past them into the tent. The tent was bustling with action, Many different ponies were in and out of the tent. There also were many desks with ponies typing away on typewriters relaying messages. Ash was barely inside when he trotted into somepony.
" Hey watch it Army Mule!...Oh Well if it isn't Lieutenant Freak!" said an awfully familiar voice. Ash blinked his weary eyes and focused on the royal guard who was in his way.

" Nice to see you too Blitz!" Ash said sarcastically as he was dusting himself off.

" That's Captain Blitz to you! maybe you ought to show me some respect!" Blitz hissed.

" Yes Sir Captain!" Ash said as he saluted in a haphazardly way. Blitz felt the need to squash Ash into the ground, but he knew better than to stop Ash from seeing the general. Despite his hatred for Ash, Blitz knew that he was important.

" Good,now get out of my way!" Blitz pushed past Ash and went out of the tent. Ash was pretty irritated but he figured he had better, more important things to do. He also wondered why There were "Royal Pains" at the camp. Ash made his way to the center of the large overly sized tent when his name was called by a booming and almost cheerful Voice.

Ah there you are Lieutenant! Do you have my report?" General Glory was an old War pony who had been serving in the Army for many decades. His Coat was a light brown and his Main, tail and eyes were black.

" Yes General, Sorry if I'm late!" Ash was saluting and so the General saluted back.

" Oh Nonsense son, you're right on time! Now how would you feel about attending the meeting? Princess Celestia and the Captain of the Royal Guard will be there."

" I would be honored sir, But if you don't mind me asking sir, why do you want me to be there?" Glory smirked and trotted up to Ash, putting his left fore hoof around his shoulders.

" Ash my boy, it was your team that stumbled upon that book and discovered the Rebels horrible plans. Our Graceful Princess, in all her wisdom wishes for me to 'not be too hasty with enacting martial law upon the region' and I would agree with her if it weren't for the imminent threat posed by the rebels and that key. I need you to testify so that we can take the proper precautions! Do you Agree?" Glory asked expectantly.

" Sir its not my place to question you, so I'll hold my tongue either way." Ash replied wearily. He understood that sometimes there were politics involved at the higher echelons of the military. He also understood that he needed to stay away from it as much as possible; especially now during the this conflict. The General scowled with a look of disappointment.

" Well, at any rate, here we go! Just tell the truth as you know it!" Glory said with a push. Ash felt himself being thrusted into the tent.

" Yes General!" Ash replied.

The General lead Ash to the meeting area Where many of the General's officers were already seated. Many Royal guards ponies were seated around and some were posted outside the tent. They all waited for the Princess herself. It wasn't long before she made her appearance. One guard pony bellowed out her arrival,

" Ladies and Gentlecolts of the Equestrian Army and Royal canterlot Guard, I present to you her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia!" At that moment Princess Celestia garbed in royal armor was escorted into the tent by several of her personal guard and Captain Shining Armor. He led her to the Seating area of honor and waited for her to sit down. Everypony was standing at attention or bowing their heads. Then the meeting was started. General Glory bowed and welcomed the Princess to his base camp and begun to conduct the meeting. Several topics were discussed before the General was on the topic of the rebels.

" Your highness I would like to bring forth one of my subordinates to testify to you what he witnessed today this morning at 03:00." Glory said with a grand gentlecolt like tone.
Princess celestia, who hadn’t smiled the entire meeting, nodded her head and said,

" You may proceed General!" Celestia maintained her calm demeanor throughout the meeting.

Glory looked at Ash and nodded his head. Ash stood up and walked to the center of the meeting. Ash was being started at by everypony, he hadn't had a chance to clean up or rest so he was disheveled.

" Your highness, I present to you our hero of the day, Lieutenant Ash of the 125th battalion second RAC squad! His team was the first to act upon intelligence leading his team to this town. Here, he discovered the rebels devious plan to steal the key to Pandora's box.” Glory paused. Ash trotted up to the center and bowed his head. he could feel the tension in the tent as everypony was quiet. Then he addressed her highness,

" Your highness, it's an honor to address you, may I proceed with my testimony?”

" You may Lieutenant and the pleasure is all mine." Celestia’s stone fae seemed to waiver for just a moment.

" Thank you Princess." Ash said with a bow. After a moment of silence where he colected his thoughts, he spoke,

" Yesterday My team and I came across a rebel who informed us about the whereabouts of the rebel leader Indigo Runner, a Miner From Goldhoof. He claimed that Indigo was in Bridletowne searching for something of great power. We acted on this intel and made our way to Bridle town at 03:00, The informant also stated that Indigo discovered a vault rumored to be hidden under the town hall. We were met with little resistance resistance at first and Indigo was nowhere to be found. What we did find was a hole in the basement of the town hall that lead to a vault door. Inside the vault was an ancient library. One of my subordinates found this book..." Ash levitated his report and the metal bound book his team discovered in the vault to the Princess. Shining armor took it in his ethereal hold and inspected it and gave it to the Princess. "...and in the back of the book it contains an empty chamber where a key should have been. The book is written in latin and my immediate subordinate translated the books meanings!" Ash paused to give the book to Celestia. Shining Armor took the book out of Ashes magic and inspected the book himself, before handing it over to Celestia.

Celestia looked over the contents of the book, reading it to herself as she knew how to read latin. She then closed the book and looked over the report. She did not looked very happy,

" This is most troubling, The last time Pandora's box was opened happened before I was even born, but the tails I've heard were horrifying, and this Reference to " The Dark Wrath" is most terrible. If this book really did contained the key to Pandora's box, and the rebels have it in their possession, then we must act. General." Celestia’s turned to General Glory.

" Yes your majesty!" The General replied.

" What requests do you have? What can I do to assist you in dealing with this problem?" She asked.

" Your highness, I have two requests. One; I need to contain the rebels as much as possible to stop them from moving freely throughout the region so therefore I am requesting your blessings in enacting Marshal Law. Second; I need the help of the your Royal Guards to relive my troops from their security duties so that I may have a sufficient number of troops to go after Indigo Runner and his organization!" Many of the Ponies began chattering amongst themselves, discussing what they thought of the situation.

Captain Shining Armor looked at Celestia with concern. If the princess allowed use of the Royal Guard, many of his own guards ponies would be stationed in southern Equestria. Celestia spoke with Shinning armor in whispers and they both came to an agreement. Celestia turned to face The general and spoke to him.

" General Glory, It is with caution and reluctance that I permit you both the use of royal guards and the enactment of Martial Law on the Province of Southern Equestria." Gasps and cheers sounded throughout the tent. Ash was still in the center of the tent. He maintained his composure but he felt his heart sink. It was as if his testimony moved or even forced the Princess into making a decision. The implications of further escalating the conflict didn’t make him feel good either.

" Thank you your highness!" he bowed his head and Ash caught a glance of the general smiling. The commotion in the meeting refused to die down.

" Lieutenant Ash!" Celestia shouted over the other ponies. Ash snapped out of his thoughts and sounded off.

" Yes Your Highness!" Ash’s eyes fixed With Celestia’s and the room went quiet.

" May I speak with you in private shortly?" She asked.

" Of course your Highness!" He replied with a bow.

After the meeting Ash made his way to the Royal Tent that was guarded by dozens of Royal Guards. He was then led inside by Shining Armor. Shining Armor left the tent and Ash was alone with the Princess who was laying on her bed where she was studying a tomb.

" Lieutenant Ash reporting as summoned your Highness!" Ash reported as he stood at attention at her bedside.

" At ease Lieutenant, I want this meeting to be Casual." She spoke wearily. Her calm and collected demeanor in the meeting was nothing more than an act which masked her fatigue from lack of sleep.

" Uhm.. yes Princess, of course!" Ash replied after easing up and relaxing his muscles. Celestia continued to read over the book before she set it down on her bed.

" I need your opinion Ash, I've had my reservations about taking more action in this region, but today my hoofs have been forced. It seems like No matter what I try I'm unable to understand or reason with my people here in this part of my kingdom."
Celestia stretched her wings and stood up.

" I've read about your work, and I'm rather impressed with how you conduct yourself. Tell me Lieutenant, What is your opinion of the rebels and their agenda?" Celestia towered over Ash. Ash craned his head up to meet her gaze.

" Your Highness, I've been serving under General Glory for one year now, In all the missions I've completed with my team, I've seen poverty, hunger, disease, violence and cruelty. These ponies have something to gripe about and they need our help."

" Indeed Lieutenant." Celestia noded.

" ...but with lunatics like Indigo going around spreading propaganda and decent, We can't help those in need and now that Indigo has a key to Pandora's box, we don't have a choice but to put an end to him!" Ash stopped to compose himself as he was starting to become emotional. Seven months of fighting and not sleeping were getting to him.
" What would you propose lieutenant?" Celestia posed to him.

" Our number one priority in that regard, is to find Pandora's box and secure it before Indigo does. We can't let him have the chance to use it for anything!" Ash replied. Celestia smiled at Ash's Remark. She was afraid the conflict was beginning to change her little ponies from the peaceful subjects they were to something more aggressive. If Ash’s answer was to go after Indigo more aggressively, she would have know that things were bad. However, his answer to go after the box instead, was giving her hope.

" Very good Lieutenant, then I must ask you, to use whatever means necessary to find it's location and stop Indigo." Celestia calmly demanded.

" I will your highness!" Ash said with determination. After smiling at him, she added,

" Very well Lieutenant, That is all. " Celestia began to lower herself down on her bed. Her wings fluttered a bit. Ash stayed silent for a bit to contemplate how he was going to say what he wanted to say. This was the first time he had actually talked to her in person. After a while, he spoke,

" Your highness, I just wanted to thank you..."

"For what Lieutenant?" She asked lifting her head to meet his at eye level.

" Your letter, your letter of approval allowing me into the RAC squads." Ash replied hesitantly. Celestia smiled again and replied,

" I'm glad I wrote it, you have filled the role very well. You are Welcome."

" Have a good morning Your highness!" Ash bowed his head, performed an about face and left the tent. Celestia watched him leave the tent, eyeing him like a proud parent. Many ponies throughout the years have garnered her attention and have gone on to do great things for the kingdom. Many have stood in the face of adversity and held steadfast in its wake. Ash was somepony just like that. He had no idea what would come his way, but he always seemed to do right by every pony. His destiny was something that Celestia thought would be interesting. It was too bad that she felt something ominous about him and his role to play in the current state of affairs in Southern Equestria.

Ash made it back to his side of the camp and wearily entered his tent. All of his Squad was asleep in their own tents so Ash was free to just walk into his without being bothered.
He lifted the flap and trotted in. He levitated his helmet off his head and let it drop on the ground. He's weary body wanted to collapse on the spot. He hadn’t felt this fatigued since the graduation test for the army academy. He wondered if he could have been better prepared.

Then, in the corner of his eye, he noticed somepony had entered his tent behind him. Ash turned around and with great surprise he saw the silhouette of a Royal guard. Ash was about to say something until the Guard rushed him and her lips met his. Ash fell on his back and the mare fell on top of him. Ash was very much confused by what was happening. The mare’s helmet slipped down and covered her face. Ash levitated the helmet off her and his eyes met her’s. She was Blue Ember.

" Em? What are you doing here?" he whispered, half happy to see her, and half worried she was there at all.

" I missed you." She whispered back. Then she nuzzled him.

" I missed you too beautiful!" he said as he nuzzled her back. Ember was lost in Ash's embrace and cuddled him tightly. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“ How are you here?” He asked.

“ When I heard the Princess was making a visit, I Volunteered to go, I just had to see you!” She said on the verge of sobbing.

" How are Things back at home?" Ash asked wiping a tear from her face.

" Wonderful, Dad was talking about renting the Canterlot gardens!" Ember said excitedly.

" for what?"Ash asked confused.

" For our reception stupid!" She began to giggle. She then lifted the blue diamond necklace Ash gave her the day he proposed. "remember you asked me a certain question?" She swung the necklace back and forth like a hypnotist's pendulum. Ash wearily smiled back at her and replied,

" Of course."

Blue Ember and Ash cuddled together, reassuring their love and reinforcing their bond until Ash fell asleep. Neither of them made it to his cot.