Monday November 3rd, 1975. 12 years before the main storyline.
"Tia, I don't feel comfortable with getting engaged. I mean shouldn't I get to know my fiance first?" Said a young Princess Luna.
"And why do you think you're getting engaged now? You can spend the next five years getting to know whoever your fiance, whoever he may be, so stop worrying about it." Princess Celestia said reassuringly.
"I am not so sure, sister."
"Everything will be fine Lulu. You are thirteen years old now, and there is no better time for you to get engaged." Princess Celestia said as she approached a balcony overlooking a sea of her subjects, waiting for the highly anticipated announcement.
"B-but what if my fiance does not love me?" Luna muttered uncomfortably.
"Like I said, you will spend the next five years together and in those five years he will fall for you, I'm sure of it." Celestia said with a grin on her face. She then turned and walk out onto the balcony to address her subjects.
"Loyal subjects, today we gather here for a very important moment. I, Princess Celestia, here by offer you, my subjects, a wager. Beginning tonight my younger sister, Princess Luna, will spend each night from sunset to sunrise in a small cabin out in the forest that borders our great city of Canterlot." Princess Celestia stopped her speech to hear the uproar of the crowd below, cheering and whistling. "The first man to find the cabin within this time frame will be declared the victor and will be granted the greatest honor any man would dream of, my sister's hand in the sacred ritual of matrimony. The wedding will be set a month after Princess Luna's eighteenth birthday." The crowds' cheers doubled. "Thank you for your time and I wish all of you the best of luck." Celestia soon returned inside.
"W-wait Tia you can't be serious? Why must I stay in the forest alone? Why can't I stay in the city?" Luna questioned.
"Don't fret little sister, you only have to stay in the forest until someone finds you and seeing the hundreds of men outside, I'm sure someone will find the cabin in no time." Celestia said trying to be as reassuring as possible.
"But Tia..."
"No buts Lulu, the challenge has been set and there is no way to undo it. I'm sorry Luna but you must go through with this, so please don't make this harder than it has to be. Now if you'll excuse me there is some royal business I must attend to." Celestia soon exited the room and left Luna alone.
"But I don't want to be someone's prize." Luna said as she lowered her head.
After a few minutes of sitting in silence, there was a knock at the door. "Princess Luna, your sister has left yet you are still here. Is there something the matter?" A guard asked as he opened the door. The guard was Lieutenant Augustus Spencer, Luna's personal guard.
"Please Spencer, just leave me be." Luna pleaded as the guard walked into the room.
"I'm sorry Princess, but your sister ordered I stay near you at all times." he said sitting next to Luna. "Come on, I got a surprise for you."
"I'm not in the mood Spenser. Just escort me to my room, and leave me alone."
"But Princess I think..."
"You, Lieutenant, are a guard and nothing more! You are here to protect me from any harm, not to give me advice on what I should do. Now I gave you an order and I expect you will follow it! Am I understood?" Luna screamed at Spencer in her Royal Canterlot voice.
"*sigh* As you wish, your highness."
October 31st, 1987 Present day
"Quitting time!" yelled the Construction Foreman to his crew as a loud whistle began to blow.
"Man, I thought he'd keep us here for the rest of the night." groaned a tall blonde man as he removed his hardhat and sat on the dirt floor.
"James you're just lazy, man, and you know that." retorted a similarly tall man with dark brown hair.
"McCartney, Spenser both of you over here now!" yelled the Foreman.
"On our way boss." James said as he got back to his feet. The two men walked over to the Foreman and then into his office. It was a small bungalow, mostly populated by filling cabinets and a large desk in the far corner with a couple of chairs siting in front of the desk and a refrigerator a few feet from the desk.
"Take a seat." the Foreman said as he walked over to a small fridge near his desk. He pulled out three beers and handed one to each of his employees.
"Thanks Jack." James gestured.
"So Jack what did you want to tells us?" the brown hair man wondered.
"Well if you must ask Logan, I just wanted to tell my best workers and friends that Mary is pregnant."
"That's awesome Jack. Congratulations." Logan said, downing his beer.
Jack began to stiffened up a bit as he prepared to speak. "So Mary and I have been thinking about it for a while and well... We were wondering if you two would be our child's godparents?"
"Jack, pal look as close as me and Logan are we don't roll that arrg." James exclaimed as Logan smack his friend upside the head.
"We'd be honored to be your kid's godfathers, right James?" Logan said as he glared at James.
"Right, it'd be an honor Jack. Man, Logan can't you take a joke?"
"That's great news!" Jack chuckled. "Well I shouldn't be holding you guys so long so I'll just tell you that Mary would love if you two could come to dinner tomorrow night?"
"Of course. I'll tell you this right now Jack, your wife's cooking is the best." Logan said appreciatively.
"Perfect! I'll let her know that you two will be coming. Well I guess we should all be leaving." Jack said as he grabbed his coat and briefcase.
"Yeah, well I guess we'll see you at dinner Jack." James said as he and Logan walked out the building.
The two men walked off towards the edge of town, chatting about the usual fare. Eventually they made it to James' apartment. "So I guess you'll be heading home now Logan?"
"No actually I'm gonna go for a walk through the forest. It's a beautiful night."
"Logan, what's with you man?"
"What?"
"Every night it's the same thing with you. You go out for a walk in the woods, and then get home some time pass midnight."
"Well I just love nature, I guess."
"Well as much as you love nature, its scheduled to rain so you better make that stroll a short one if you don't want to catch a cold."
"You don't have to worry about me." Logan said as he walked down the steps. "I'll catch you later James."
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."
October 31st, 1987
After leaving the city limits, Logan soon found himself on his usual dirt path that he takes through the forest. As he entered the forest, the sky had darken do to the excessive amount of tree branches above his head. Logan had always loved walking through the forest at night, something that developed during his childhood. Many of his friends have repeatedly pestered Logan with the same questions such as, 'Aren't you scared of being alone in the woods at night?' or 'Isn't it dangerous out there?'. Actually Logan was more afraid of going into the forest during the day, because he knew that was when most of the dangerous animals were awake. After walking a while under the trees, Logan soon found out that it began to rain but didn't notice because there were too many leaves and branches for Logan to actually get wet. But nothing good stays that way forever. While humming one of his favorite tunes, a loud crack of thunder spooked Logan while a bolt of lightning struck a near by tree, causing it to start to fall towards Logan. Logan, moving quickly, ran from under the trees and into a nearby clearing.
"Damn that was close." Logan thought to himself. "Great, just great. Thanks to the lightning now I'm lost." Logan looked up to the sky and very calmly yelled. "Damn you Nature! What the hell is your problem, nearly killing people like that!" As he looked back down, Logan started surveying the clearing to find anything that remotely looked familiar to his usual trail. Instead, Logan saw a cabin sitting at the far end of the clearing and for a brief moment, he could've sworn he saw someone staring at him through the window. "Why is there a cabin out here?" he mumbled. Having no other luck, Logan decided to approach the cabin.
A young woman stared out the window, watching as a strange man yelled things to the sky. "What is he doing out here, and why was he screaming at the sky?" the woman thought to herself. She had spent many years living alone in the cabin, waiting for someone to find her but no one had ever come into the clearing since she first moved in. And now the first person to walk in the clearing was having an argument with the sky for no apparent reason.
After sometime, the woman took a look out the window and found that the man was walking up the steps of the front porch. Fearing he was an escaped mental patient, she quickly ran to the kitchen and grabbed the nearest kitchen knife.
As Logan made it up the steps, he heard someone running inside the cabin. "So somebody does live here." he thought to himself. He walked up to the door and gently knocked. "Hello? I know someone is in there. Look I know we've probably never met before but it's pouring out here and I was wondering if I could come inside until the rain stops. Hello?"
The cabin's only resident heard his pleads but was too terrified to respond. She then began to reason with herself internally. "But still he needs help and it is raining pretty hard out there. Plus he is the first person to find me out here in who knows how long."
"Hello? Please just let me in. Look I'm willing to pay you if you want. I'll pay you a good sum of money if you let me in." no response. "Dammit why won't they answer the damn door? I wonder is the door even looked?" he thought and then went to open the door which, to his luck, was unlocked. Logan stepped through the door and into the living room. "Hello is anybody her... Holy shit!"
September 23rd, 1975
"Lieutenant, what is the meaning of this?" Capt. Johnson asked as he walked into the Lieutenant's office to find Augustus sitting with his son, Logan.
"Meaning of what sir?"
"Why is this child in the proximity? You are well aware we do not allow civilians in this part of the castle."
"I do sir, but this is my son."
"And why the hell is your son here?"
"Well sir his mother was the one who would watch over him..."
"Then why the hell isn't she doing that!?" Capt. Johnson shouted.
"Because she's dead you asshole!" Logan screamed in response. He then threw a stack of papers towards the Captain and took off running.
"Sergeant, catch that child!" Johnson yelled at one of the closest guards.
"Yes Sir!"
"Hello is anybody her... Holy shit!" Logan yelled as a woman madly charged at him with a knife in her hand. Logan luckily grabbed her hand before the knife could touch him. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Logan yelled as he took the blade from the woman. Yet as lucky as Logan had been through everything that happened in the past few minutes, even luck has its time off and Logan's chose to go for a break at this moment. That ended up having the woman to kick him in the groin. Logan, in turn, fell to the ground, yelling in pure agony. The woman, even more frighten than before, ran to the nearby room and locked herself in.
"H-how did he grab my hand so quickly? I-it doesn't matter he could've killed me." The woman thought to herself. "But then again, if he wanted to he would've done so instead of screaming at me." she then sat there listening to his cries. "Could he really just be lost? And if he is then I kicked him 'there'. How could I do such a thing to someone who was only asking for help?" she then heard Logan groan as he got off the ground. "Oh no, he must be really mad at me now. H-he's going to hurt me now after what I did to him?" She sat there, fearing that the stranger's footsteps would get louder as he came for his revenge. Yet instead of the footsteps getting louder, they got quieter, as if he was leaving. Wondering why he wasn't going after he, the young woman unlocked her door and returned to the living room to find the man she attacked limping towards the door.
"Wait!" She yelled. "Look I don't know who you are or why you're here but I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to overreact. I-its just..."
"Just what? That you attack everyone who comes asking for help!" Logan barked in response, still facing the door.
"N-no t-that's not what I was trying to say." the woman said nervously.
"Then what!?" Logan yelled. He stood there waiting for an answer but instead heard the woman who attacked him, crying? Logan paid no heed to them and was about to leave when something inside him wouldn't let him leave.
'Now you can't just enter someone's home, scare them, and then make them cry and leave. You were raised better.'
Even though the voice in his head was annoying, it was also correct. Logan turned around and walked towards the woman who's home he invaded. As he got a better look, he saw the woman had hair in two shades of midnight blue and her clothing matched her hair. Something about that combination was vaguely familiar to Logan but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before. He leaned over and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Um, miss? Miss I'm sorry I acted like I did but I really don't mean any harm." she didn't respond. "Um, miss did you hear me?" Still nothing. Logan was getting irritated and decided that he had apologized, so he was going get up to leave but was unable to because the woman grabbed his arm.
"P-please don't go." she whispered. Logan looked down and saw the woman's face. He remembered where he saw that pattern. It was a pattern he could never forget.
"Lulu?" he mumbled.
"L-Logan?"
September 25th, 1975
"Get back here you brat!" yelled the sergeant chasing Logan.
Logan had ran through the guards quarters, and was now in the main part of the castle. As crafty and athletic as he was, Logan needed to find somewhere to hide. He ran to the first door he could see and luckily it was unlocked. Logan shut the door, locked it and turned around to be face to face to a girl around his age.
"AHHH!" they yelled in unison as the girl ran to one side of the room while Logan to the other.
"W-who are you?" the girl asked.
"Logan, Logan Spencer. Who are you?"
"P-princess Luna. How do you do?"
"Open the door you brat or I'll break it down!" the sergeant screamed as he banged on the door. "I'll give you to three. One! Two! Three!" and with that the door came falling down. The sergeant then grabbed Logan's shirt and started dragging him out of the room and into the hallway.
"Let him go!" Princess Luna commanded the sergeant.
"No way kid. I serve your sister not a small brat like you."
"Let him go!" Augustus yelled, pointing his sidearm at the sergeant.
"What the hell is your problem, Lieutenant?" the sergeant said in an angry tone.
"You treating my boy that way, that's what the hell my problem is. Now let him go."
"Or what?"
*BOOM*
The bullet from Augustus' sidearm miss the sergeant's head by a centimeter. "Or I'll shot you." the sergeant complied and Logan ran to his father's side.
"Lieutenant, put that sidearm away!" yelled the Captain.
"I'll put my sidearm after you leave my boy alone."
"That 'boy' of yours is to be arrested for trespassing and you are to be arrested for treason!" Capt. Johnson screamed.
"Captain, what is the problem here?" Everyone in the hall turned to find Princess Celestia alongside Princess Luna.
"Princess, this fool has brought his son into the castle and let him run free reeking havoc." replied the Captain.
"No he hasn't. He has been running from your stupid subordinate. The same subordinate that refused to follow my order and who broke my door down." Luna said in an angry tone.
"Is this true young one?" Princess Celestia asked Logan.
"Yes, your highness." Logan said respectfully.
"Captain, sergeant, both of you are to return to your duties, I will handle this problem personally."
"But..."
"That's an order, Captain." Celestia said with a hit of annoyance.
"Yes, your highness." Capt. Johnson and the sergeant returned to the guard's quarters and left Logan, Augustus, and the Princesses alone.
"Come, follow me." They all followed Princess Celestia to the throne room. "Now tell me, who are you?"
"I'm Lieutenant Augustus Spenser, and this is my son Logan." Augustus said respectfully.
"Okay then Lieutenant, can you explain to me why you brought your son to my castle even though you swore to never bring a civilian into the castle?"
"The simple answer is to tell the truth I guess. Last month my wife was hit by a drunk driver protecting my son. We made it to the ER but they said she wasn't going to make it, minutes later she had passed. Since then I've used all my time off to care for my son since I'm the only family he's got left. I couldn't just leave him at home and I had to come to work, so the only option I could find was to bring him with me, and I'll be honest, I don't care if you discharge me for what I did but I needed to be with my son in his time of need."
"I see. Luna what do you think?" Celestia asked as she turned to her sister.
"I respect his loyalty and dedication to his family. He's a good man and a great father." Luna responded.
"I agree. Augustus Spencer on the charges of treason for bringing your son into restricted grounds, your punishment is a special kind of guard duty. You will be my sister's personal guard until further notice." Celestia then got closer to the Lieutenant and whispered something Luna couldn't hear. "On a personal note, I think you should bring Logan everyday so he can spend time with my sister. She needs more friends than just me and the stars."
"Yes Princess Celestia, and thank you very much."