The Joys of Companionship: Twin Souls Reunited

by DuNamarAurboda

Rating: mature
Tags: Romance
Length: 17465

In a time of war, a mare and her loving, faithful stallion just want to have some alone time to themselves. And after months of being apart due to the stallion's promotion to Captain, they take their love up a notch for the first time in months.

WARNING: This is my very first one-shot and clopfic. I don't know how it will turn out is your eyes, so commenting on how I did is of PARAMOUNT importance here. For those underage or who wish not to read about sexual encounters (the Sex tag should have been warning enough), leave NOW. If you still wish to read my stories, go to my FanFiction profile. All my stories are rated Mature because of graphic depictions of violence (and now sexual encounters.

Continue onward if you wish to read this story.

Bit Maker is just a stallion trying to get by. Despite his recent promotion to Captain of the Royal Guard, troubled times lie ahead as the world is devastated by global war, and only he can combat it. But surely somepony must realize that even the Captain of the Royal Guard still has to go home to somepony, right?

Rose Heart is a housemare waiting for her stallion to get back from whatever job it is the Princesses have sent him on this time. What she doesn't realize is he is more important than ever. And she just wants her stallion to be home so she can love him.

And when the two finally unite for the first time in many months, you can bet the sparks are going to fly.

A clopfic made for bronypony880.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-12-03 21:00:01 UTC

The Joys of Companionship: Twin Souls Melded (Chapter 1?)

The Joys of Companionship: Twin Souls Melded

In the cold, unforgiving winter climate of northern Manehattan, a young mare sat next to a fireplace that was nearly burnt out, holding a blue blanket with flower motifs close to her chest. The weather was worse this time of year by principle, but it was at an unprecedented level. The mare just hoped her coltfriend could bring her home a thicker blanket. He had always managed to provide for her due to his military stipend as a part of his Royal Guard job, but he was being held out of work due to the current economy.

Ever since the events brought about by the crowning of Twilight Sparkle as the Princess of Friendship seven years’ prior, the entire country had been thrown into chaos. Chrysalis had attempted to stage another invasion, but was stopped and her hive killed by Minotaur mercenaries hailing from the north Canadian country of Minos.

After Chrysalis’ forever-thwarted second plot at invasion, Discord had been released, then betrayed the Elements of Harmony, the same mares who let him free of his stone prison, to join forces with a mysterious Pony-Minotaur cross named Tirek, who then proceeded to betray him, causing a circular loop that forced Discord to choose the Elements of Harmony in the end, but not without heavy penalties. In the process, Tirek had managed to take all the magic from half the ponies in Canterlot, then use his newly stolen power to severely cripple the two Diarchs, forcing the Elements of Harmony to step in, using the Keys of Life on the Tree of Harmony to unlock the secret chest and gain unparalleled power for a brief moment, power enough to allow Twilight to defeat Tirek and banishing him back to Tartarus.

After just these two events, the economy began threatening to collapse as sentient races around the world began to distrust Equestria and its Diarchs for their speculated inability to do anything to stop these events from occurring, and funds from many countries to Equestria were cut left and right as other countries began to form alliances with themselves and against Equestria.

Around this time, another pony with control in mind, one rather insane mare by the name of Starlight Glimmer, started using an artifact called the Equalizer of Rightful Power (more commonly known among the populace as the Staff of Sameness) to remove other ponies’ cutie marks, stripping them of their innate talents and leaving them helpless and weak.

Once again, Twilight and the Elements stepped in, but before they could peacefully resolve the situation, Starlight stole their marks, removing their personalities, their marks, and by extension, their ability to access the Elements’ power, as the stripping had left them incompatible. Twilight managed to use one of her friends as bait to lure Starlight out and recover their Elements and cutie marks, also restoring those of the other people of the populace, but in the process, Starlight escaped, which caused seeds of distrust to be sown for the Elements themselves.

This latest incident had led to the country’s current situation. Four years ago, after the events of Starlight Glimmer’s escape, the dragon-ruled Old World country of India declared war on Equestria, causing other countries to follow suit, declaring war of either Equestria or other countries, the entire planet seeing the declaration as a chance to take back what had long since been lost, plunging the entire planet into a dark age unrivalled since the eradication of the first and most revered sapient race, the humans, over forty thousand years ago, coinciding with the first reported accounts of Discord.

What of the Elements? If Twilight had not ascended to alicornhood, this might not have happened at all.

The mare, whose name was Rose Heart, sat in front of the fire, gazing longingly into the wildly dancing flames. She was a beautiful mare even by pony standards, with a beautiful blue, white and red mane and tail arranged in horizontal stripes along the fur, and a pearly white coat the likes of which would make Rarity blush with envy. Her cutie mark was that of a blood red heart with a rose laying on top of it, and this represented her love for all life and her desire to be shown the same affection that she had given for most of her life. The rose was ordained with sharp thorns, which represented a dark and tragi past she had left behind to pursue her future.

She was just waiting for her coltfriend to return home. Bit Maker was having a hard time with what few jobs he was given in the Guard due to the collapsing economy and the planetary chaos, and with mutually assured destruction being discussed among the war councils, she just wanted him home so she could be with him in the last dying moments of the planet.

She still fondly remembered the day the two of them met.

Nine Years Earlier, June 23, Summer Sun Celebration, Vanhoover Island

A young pegasus filly was walking between the stands with barely restrained excitement as she counted the bits her parents gave her. It was the evening of the Summer Sun Celebration, in this year’s venue, Vanhoover. She had asked her parents to take her to it, as none of them had ever been in one. The last Celebration that had been hosted in Manehattan was over forty years ago, her parents had told her, when they were still just young infants.

Rose ran around, taking in the sights and smells, hoping to remember this as one of her best memories for the rest of her life. What no one knew was that was not what she would be remembering this night.

The three walked to their hotel in the center of the city, near the town hall, heading up to their rooms and setting an alarm for four-thirty AM so they could be up to watch the coveted Celebration sunrise.

The three pegasi went to bed after performing their evening rituals, waiting to be woken up by the familiar alarm.

All too soon, the alarm sounded its horrible alternating screech, signaling the beginning of the morning for the family, who rather reluctantly dragged themselves out of bed and got themselves ready for the morning.

Meanwhile, Northern Vanhoover

Bit Maker was hammering out on an anvil, his arms stinging with each strike and creating a thin sheen of sweat that pooled at his hooves. The young colt was completing his apprenticeship for smithing this morning, and he would be doing it just in time to watch the famed Summer Sun raise itself over the slowly brightening horizon, something he had never seen before but had hoped to see his whole life.

He was rather young, with a short mane and tail colored like fire and a deep amethyst blue coat that shined with the sweat slowly collecting on the floor beneath him.

Satisfied with the simple sword that lay in front of him, he set the hammer down upon the anvil and waited.

Soon enough, the blacksmith, a pony with a black mane and tail with white streaks and a blood red coat walked through the door into the smithy. He noticed the rather clean condition of the area. Tools were properly stored, newly created weapons and armor for the Guard lay on their respective cloths, ready to be shipped to the Barracks HQ in Canterlot, and proper tools were being stored for later use or repair, as he had taught his young apprentice. His cutie mark was of a white sickle and a black hammer crossed, with a glowing blue and yellow sword bisecting the two. His name was Split Ingot.

Split Ingot trotted up to Bit Maker slowly and gave him a reassuring pat on the back. “You did good, son. Your apprenticeship is complete now, so why don’t you go out and have some fun for a change? Celestia knows being cooped up in here all day and night didn’t help your social skills.” He finished with a chuckle.

Bit Maker looked at him with a grateful smile, and moved to stand up. “Thank you, Mr. Ingot. I had fun working under you.” He nodded to Ingot once more before turning around and exiting out the side door.

Before he could leave, however, Ingot stopped him by setting a hoof on his shoulder lightly. Bit turned around and looked at him quizzically. “Come back at the end of the day. I want to give you something then. It’s something I do for all my apprentices when the time comes for them to leave.”’

“OK, Mr. Ingot. I’ll see you then. Bye.” Bit turned around and left through the side door, taking in the air slowly, as if for the first time. It had truly been a very long time since he had been able to breathe anything other than the stuffy fumes of the forge and hear anything other than the pulsing of the bellows as they pushed air into the forge or the hissing of the water as heat-treated bases for weapons and armor were put in to cool. It was rather refreshing.

He looked around cautiously to figure out what he was going to do first. It was still about four-forty-five in the morning, and the sun wasn’t due to rise until six-twenty, which basically meant he had the next hour and a half to himself.

He started trotting in a random direction, deciding to just enjoy the sights and sounds before he had to head to the town hall for the ceremony. He checked his satchel attached to his back. Fifty bits, saved up from the last week and a half of work. Should do some good today.

He moved forward into the slowly waking streets, walking with a newfound sense of purpose, hoping to

spend the bits on a good hoof ring to show off his metalworking skills, or at least some candy to enjoy on the way to the town hall.

As he walked through the early morning streets, he noticed many things that were not what they had been when he arrived in this quaint little town. First, there were new paint color on many of the buildings he usually passed on his way to the store when he had to pick up metal. Another thing was the fresh rocks on the ground. The flagstones that had marked the ground when he first arrived had become worn enough to warrant the road being repaved, lest they pose a danger to ponies going about their daily business.

“Fresh apples here!” “We’ve got new produce from the Griffin Colonies here, ready to eat!” “All the toys your little ones could ever want, all right here!” As he began to walk through the market area of town, ponies going about their business, the market stalls opened up and the various vendors started their daily ritual of shouting out their inventory in the hope that other ponies would buy from their stock. If he were any other colt, he would have broken into a dead sprint for that last stall vendor, but four long years of metalworking and smithing had turned him away from the things other colts and fillies his age appreciated.

He may only have been eight years old, but it should not be said he was not at least somewhat mature. The forge and anvil had taught him precision and skill with his hooves to prevent injury, either to himself or others, and had taught him care on the job. If it was not done right, it could break the item or cause defects that would cause a drop in sales or various negative emotions due to an inability to provide for quality as opposed to quantity. The constant work had taught him patience and given his body stamina and the ability to endure through work to push on, as these qualities went hoof-in-hoof in making a stallion out of a colt. And last but not least, the shopping runs had taught him time and money management, essential financial skills necessary for survival in the real-world. Basically, this apprenticeship had turned this simple colt into a hard-made stallion at an early age.

In short, he wasn’t really interested in much of what the market stalls had to offer, but his stomach growled in barely restrained protest to the last two hours of work. Bit just chuckled and headed over to the stall that sold the local fruit.

When he walked up, the mare tending the stall looked at him and gave him a dazzling smile. “Hello there, Mr. Maker. What can I get you today?”

“I’ll just take a banana, a watermelon, and a loaf of bread. How much will that be?”

The mare ducked under the counter to grab the aforementioned items, then came back up half a minute later with a small slip of paper which she was writing on. “Hmm… that’ll be four bits.” Bit took the golden coins out of his satchel pocket and gingerly set them on the counter, then went about collecting the items he had bought and setting them inside his main saddlebag. “You have a good day now!” The mare called after him. He waved a nonchalant hoof back in response before turning to the town hall.

Bit decided it was no use wandering around, and went over to the town hall and took a seat on the sloped steps, taking out his banana and peeling it to eat. As he went to take a bite, he noticed a small black chunk, which he removed before continuing.

The final fifteen minutes passed by as he ate his breakfast and waited for the doors of the town hall to open. He turned around upon hearing the familiar creaking of hinges sliding into place and rotating, watching the massive ornate doors open into the inside of the hall. He picked up the remainder of his loaf of bread and placed it back into his saddlebag, the banana and watermelon having already been eaten, before approaching the hall.

Just as he was making his way inside, he noticed many beautiful decorations made from fabrics and metals woven together using unicorn magic and impeccable seamstress work. All in all, it was very impressive.

The pillars had various decorations of their own, and hanging off the sides attached to small metal flag holders were long tapestries depicting the ancient form of Celestia, the Ruler of the Sun. On a high pedestal twenty feet above the stage hung a large white curtain that cordoned off a section of the upper balcony.

Bit turned back as more and more ponies filed in. He looked down at the small ornate watch he had forged for himself a year ago. Six-forty-three. Only two minutes until the ceremony began.

As ponies continued to file into the hall, pegasi began to file out of a side entrance in the hall, carrying small wooden benches for the others to sit on. Bit got up from his spot on the floor, and went to take one of the proffered seats.

The remaining minute and a half passed quickly as ponies filed into the proffered seats and waited patiently for the mayor of Vanhoover to approach.

A minute later, the mayor entered the hall from the back entrance. He moved to stand on the newly set up podium, and cleared his throat before giving his speech.

“Everypony knows the story of the Sun. It was birthed in fire, cloaked in shadow, and set upon the plane of stars we know and love. One day, a special filly was born who had the innate power to control the Sun. This filly’s name was Celestia.

“Celestia and her sister Luna were born into a world of chaos, thanks to none other than Discord, the embodiment of Chaos itself. Over the next three hundred years, as they grew in age and experience, they created the manifestations of the Elements of Harmony, an essential set of personality traits that define who we are to this day.

“Celestia and Luna sealed Discord in stone and helped bring Equestria back from the period of darkness it was suffering. And thus, they began the cycle of raising the sun and moon that has been maintained to this day.

“One day, though, Luna became resentful of her sister, because the ponies played and worked in the day of her sister, but slept through and shunned her beautiful night. Over time, this darkness in Luna’s heart grew worse, until eventually, nine hundred ninety-eight years ago, Celestia was forced to banish her sister, who had taken the form of the evil specter Nightmare Moon, to the moon using the Elements of Harmony. And though Luna is no longer with us, Celestia still remains, making the world a better place for us.

“Welcome to the nine hundred ninety-eighth Summer Sun Celebration! And now, we will open the curtain to make way for the Princess herself as she raises the sun today, on the longest day of the year!” Upon the conclusion of the Mayor’s speech, the ponies started clapping or stomping their hooves against the benches and ground in uproaring applause, all loving the speech, just as a pegasus pulled the thick black rope next to the stage down, revealing Princess Celestia in all her eternal glory, wings fully spread to her sides as she activated her horn to raise the sun.

The sun came up a scant few seconds later, in its full blazing glory. The ponies stomped their hooves on the stone floor even louder in response, getting a small smile of gratitude to form on the Princess’s face. She then did a slight bow, before turning about on her hooves and walking out the stage entrance in the back.

Slowly, the ponies began to file out, many wishing to enjoy the festivities, others most likely wanting to retire to their quarters.

Twelve Hours Later

Bit walked slowly toward the smithy, his stomach aching from the insane amount of sweets he had eaten in the several hours following the sunrise. Now the sun was setting on the quaint little town of Vanhoover as he approached the smithy he had spent the last four years of his life in for the final time.

He honestly couldn’t wait to see what Mr. Ingot had gotten for him. Anticipation filled his every step as he strode slowly, but surely over to the smithy to receive his parting gift from Mr. Ingot.

He slowly opened the door, and was blasted with a wave of heat as the scents and smells of the fumes of steam and the odor that came with the tempering of metal assailed him.

He took in an appreciative breath, then walked inside, shutting the door behind him as the sun lowered past the horizon, signaling the end of the longest day of the year and heralding the return of the moon once more.

He moved to sit by the old wooden bench that lined the outer wall along the desk that housed the various paper orders that came in on a weekly basis.

He stood up slowly as Split Ingot walked toward him from the slowly cooling forge, a mysterious bundle of cloth in the general shape of a blade balanced on his back.

“Ah, my apprentice. Come forward, and let me bestow upon you my final gift. I wish you well in your travels.” The old blacksmith turned to his side so that Bit could take the bundle.

Bit did so, and began to unwrap it, but when he got a glimpse of what was inside, he nearly dropped the cloth. He managed to regain his composure before fully unwrapping it, revealing a beautiful sword encased in an ornately designed sheath.

The sheath was a beautiful dark blue with fiery motifs and inscriptions running down the side of the sheath, ending in a light blue tip. The cross-guard of the blade was made from ornate steel shaped in the design of twin dragons circling the blade, wings spread wide to protect the base of the blade from suffering damage. The hilt was wrapped with a vibrant red composite fabric that made it very easy to wield and allowed for a more comfortable grip than the metal alone, and inside the hilt was embedded a beautiful ruby, pulsing with a small amount of stored magic and gripped and held into place at the pommel by a dragon claw, the bottom of the gem resting against the talons.

Bit took the rest of the sheathed sword out of the cloth, then went to unsheathe the blade. It was made of a vibrant steel tempered and forged to look like twin dragons racing down the blade. An inscription down the middle read, “Dragonscale Splitter.”

Bit had a tear in his eye by the time he was done examining the blade, and went in to grip Mr. Ingot in a hug. “Thank you so much! I’ll treasure this for the rest of my life.”

“I don’t need you to treasure it. Use that blade to protect others the way I defended you these past years, and then all debts will be paid. Just remember, with great power comes great responsibility. I wish you luck and fortune on all the journeys life may send you on.”

Mr. Ingot gave Bit one last hug before letting him go. Bit turned and began to walk out, but stopped and turned around, wanting to remember what the smithy looked like so that one day, he might come back. He took in the sights and scents before heaving a heavy sigh and turning, finally walkout of the door.

The sun having been set and the moon risen, it was now rather dark outside. Today was really a good day, Bit decided. He needed his sleep, though, so he turned down Mane Street and headed toward his hotel.

While walking, he heard a young filly scream. He ran toward the sound and tried to follow the sounds of sobbing, but he couldn’t get a pin on it.

He suddenly heard the filly scream again, and that gave him the exact place he needed to go. Funny, this was easy. An alleyway right next to the hotel he was staying in.

He approached the alleyway. He saw something fly past, and his reflexes kicked in, sending him to the wall almost subconsciously. He peeked around the corner, and what he saw would give him the shivers for the rest of his life.

Two adult stallions, one unicorn and one earth pony, were hassling a young filly. That wasn’t what he would remember, though. He saw their… stuff hanging out on full display for the world to see. That’s when he realized what was happening. They were going to force the filly to… to…

Not if he could help it. He pulled out the blade from the new saddlebag on his back and slowly advanced into the alley.

The filly saw him and her eyes widened, tears forming. He pulled the blade out of its sheath quickly, intending to scare the two away. “Hey motherbuckers! You stay away from the filly!”

The two turned around, and that’s when Bit knew any chance of a peaceful resolution went out the window. Both were carrying primitive switchblades that they clicked out. “Little colt, I’d suggest you get lost if you know what’s good for you,” the unicorn told Bit in a brusque voice mostly devoid of life, before stepping toward him.

Bit used his wings to get into the air, then hovered there and moved his blade into an offensive stance taught to him by a Royal Guard after he had saved the life of the Dodge Junction town mayor. “No can do. You’d better scram, because you don’t want this to get ugly.”

“Alright then. Let’s get him!” The earth pony suddenly shouted out before lunging forward at Bit, who immediately moved to block the strike. He pushed the blade off his own before using his hind legs to kick the pony in the head, causing him to hit the wall rather harshly and stunning him temporarily. The other lunged at him, but he blocked the strike just like he had the first.

He pushed the unicorn off the same, then swung his blade at the earth pony just as he recovered and moved to strike him, catching the stallion on his cheek and causing him to stagger back, holding a hoof to his cheek “You’ll pay for that, you brat!”

Before he could get a word in edgewise, Bit flew up, avoiding the unicorn’s switchblade barely, then tucked his wings in and dropped onto the unicorn, plunging his bade into his body such that it entered above the small of his back and exited under his stomach. A straight body shot like that was bound to kill

He pulled out the blade and turned to the now terrified earth pony, the bloodied blade ready to kill another. “Leave. Now.” The earth pony took that as his cue to get the fuck out of dodge, stumbling out of the alleyway, dropping the knife and looking back before sprinting off.

Bit turned to the frightened filly, who looked to be about his own age. He offered a hoof to her, which she took a few seconds to take. He slowly helped her back to her hooves. She looked at him uncertainly, as if scared that he would be the same – which he didn’t blame her for; she was about to be… ugh… - then rushed into his hooves, tears bursting forth as she cried.

He patiently waited, trying to comfort her with basic things he had been taught as a younger filly. After a few minutes, it appeared to have worked, because she gradually stopped crying and let go of him. “Thank you,” she said in a weak, hoarse voice due to the screaming.

“It was no trouble. Come now, where are your parents?” At that, she dug her head back into his coat, sobbing again. Oh shit. That can’t be good.

He was really worried. Had they been kidnapped? Killed? Had this filly been an orphan all her life?

“They’re… they’re… dead!” She sobbed harder. Damn, what was it with him and getting into bad topics with other ponies? All he wanted to do was help. And help he would, so he sat and waited for her to stop crying.

When she eventually stopped crying, she looked up at him, obviously wanting something. And he had a feeling what he was about to do would follow him for the rest of his life. “Come on, I have a room in the hotel upstairs that you can sleep in for the night.” He slowly led her out of the alley once he was sure that shock wouldn’t stop her from walking.

From there, he took her into the hotel and up the stairs to his room on the third floor. From there, he made sure the filly got into the bed and fell asleep, which went by pretty quickly, considering she had emotionally been through a lot.

He exited the room and flew down the pegasus shaft to the main lobby, turned and walked to the front desk. “Evening.”

“Good evening, Mr. Maker. What is it you need?”

“I’m just here to tell you that I’ll be turning in my key tomorrow morning. I have to leave for Canterlot on business.”

“May I ask what it is you’ll be doing in the capital?”

“No need. I’m actually heading up there to get some formal training on how to use a blade. Unfortunately, I think that means joining the Royal Guard. If anything, it’ll be a real pain in the flank, but I have to if I want to use the blade Split just set me up with.”

“Ah, the blacksmith. I hope your apprenticeship went well?”

“Yeah, best and hardest four years of my life, but it was worth it. Buck, they’ll probably keep me once I’m there just to forge weapons and armor for them. Well, I have to turn in, so I’ll see you in the morning.”

“May your travels reward you handsomely, Mr. Maker.”

“Thank you.” Bit then turned and flew back up the pegasus shaft to the third floor, and entering his room quietly. The filly was fast asleep, her head nuzzled in between two pillows, and her entire body was stretched across the mattress.

He moved to make a bed on the couch, and promptly passed out. He had had a long day, after all.

Present Time – Canterlot

Bit stood in his Royal Knight armor before a set of recommended ponies and other races that had stood out in exercises and leadership skills, as well as field experience, in the past few months, all suggested to him by his top officers.

He cleared his throat and began his speech. “Alright, face forward and listen! I am Royal Knight Bit Maker, and for this trial, I will be your CO. In case any of you forgot, that’s Commanding Officer! For this trial, you will call me Sir! Any deviation from this title, and I will make you repeat the exercise where the misdeed is committed. Am I understood?”

“Sir, yes, sir!” The ponies in front of him sounded out. Bit quickly decided there wasn’t enough enthusiasm among the beings.

“What was that? Let me hear it again, LOUDER THIS TIME!”

“SIR, YES, SIR!” The ponies in front of him belted out even louder.

“That’s better. Let’s begin. Seeing as how Royal Guard Captain Shining Armor has been made a Prince alongside his wife, Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire, he can no longer always watch over the Royal Guard as a whole. Captain Armor has rescinded his position and promoted me. Therefore, I am now Captain of the Royal Guard, and when not being addressed as Sir, I will be addressed as such. DEMONSTRATION!”

“YES, CAPTAIN!” The ponies sounded out, just as loud as the last time. That would make this easier.

“Alright, at ease, soldiers. Seeing as how I am now Captain, the hierarchy has changed, and I must find one amongst you Knights who has the honor, integrity, skill, courage, determination and experience that will give you the honor of being called a Royal Knight. Let me remind you, in the Royal Guard hierarchy, only one person outranks the Royal Knight, and that is the Captain himself. That means whoever here becomes the Royal Knight will take his or her orders directly from me, is that understood?”

“YES, CAPTAIN!” The ponies sounded out once again.

“AT ATTENTION!” All but one of the ponies instantly went to proper position, except a white mare with a blue mane and tail. “You, leave. NOW.” The mare turned and left, cursing her own clumsiness.

Bit could not afford to allow anyone with the wrong ideals or strength to take the position that was formerly his. There was an infinitesimally small margin for error here.

“Alright, first, you’ll be doing the exercise drill! Memory recall, NOW! Raise your hoof if you have the exercise routine memorized by heart!” Sixty-five ponies instantly snapped their hooves into the air, but ten did not. “Everyone who does not have this exercise memorized, leave. NOW.” They all left, cursing Bit. “Let me explain for those that do not understand. To be a Royal Knight, one must have excellent qualities in all areas that have been trained in your time as Royal Guards, or, in your case, Knights. Excellent memory recall is only the least of these abilities. If you can’t remember a simple thing such as the exercise routine you’ve been enforcing for the last six months, how can I expect you to recall details about enemy troop movements in the event of a war?”

The ponies all nodded in tune. Bit moved to push-up position. “Alright, everyone, exercises NOW!” The ponies instantly dropped to the ground as they began their exercises. Bit got up and started monitoring the other ponies, making sure that everyone was completing the exercises properly. A gentle nudge for some ponies to correct their positions, others needed him to demonstrate. By the time he was finished, everyone had completed the exercise properly.

“Alright, listen up, Knights. That wasn’t the only thing. You have new exercises as part of your Royal Knight eligibility. Your first new exercise is to run from here, out of the barracks, and all the way to the Canterlot main entrance and back. You have thirty minutes. BEGIN!” The ponies immediately took off toward the barracks entrance. Bit took out a handheld timer on his person and set it to thirty minutes and hit start. The next elimination was now set up.

Bit moved to sit against a wall, shuffling around in his armor a bit before taking a nap.

Thirty Minutes Later

Bit got up as the timer’s alarm went off and began to count the ponies standing inside the barracks courtyard. Thirty-eight ponies stood before him, most catching their breath. “Welcome back. Congratulations, everyone currently present moves on to the next stage of the examination.” The ponies before him gave a slight nod, all understanding they had moved on. “You have break until I’m done informing the others of their failure. But I don’t want any excuses when I get back. We will go immediately back into the initiation. Am I understood?”

“YES, CAPTAIN!” The ponies quickly sounded off. Bit grinned before turning around and promptly flying to the entrance of the barracks.

As he landed, he noticed a guard approaching the door at a restrained gallop. “Fail.” The pony looked up to him. “You didn’t make it in time. No one who didn’t will pass. Another key responsibility is punctuality. You have to know when to meet deadlines, or else I, as well as the other officers, suffer. That cannot happen. The military needs to be held to its highest standards. Inform the others of their failure and have them return to their posts. Also, shut that door. The populace need not know what goes on in the military.”

Bit turned about and flew back to his post, landing with a sharp thud on the ground. “Everyone up, NOW. We’re moving on to the next exercise. I need two volunteers to obtain paper bags, enough to accommodate everyone here, large enough to cover your heads, and thick enough to hinder or outright disable sight outside of the bag. You have fifteen minutes.” Two pegasi in the Knight armor from the back of the line promptly took off and headed for the city to get the supplies needed.

They returned five minutes later with forty bags, one for everyone, plus two extra. ‘Good work. AT ATTENTION, form up!” The ponies promptly moved around until the line was formed, each pony making sure to triple check themselves for errors.

Bit took his time to place the bags on the ponies’ heads, then moved to stand in front of them. “Listen up. This is a perception test. The goal of this challenge is to provide a timely answer without faltering or showing weakness. Successful completion will result in moving on; however, if you fail, you are immediately dismissed from the program and will be expected to return to your previous post. I will tell each pony to ‘go,’ at which point you pull the bag off your head and respond to the situation with the correct response. You have three seconds to answer in a dignified and controlled manner.”

Bit walked forward, stepping up to the first pony. “Go.” The pony pulled the bag off his head. “What is your name?”

“…Reverent Legion.”

“And what is your wife’s name?”

“Falling Star.”

“Pass.” The pony moved to the side as Bit advanced to the next pony. “Go.” The pony pulled the bag off their head. “How do you properly treat a laceration wound?”

“Umm…”

“FAIL!” The pony left quickly as Bit moved on to the next pony. “Go.” Another bag. “How do you get to Manehattan from here?”

“Referring to Canterlot, you have to take the southbound train down the mountain to Ponyville, at which point you have one of two options: take the eastbound train to Manehattan directly, or, upon preference, hire a carriage and escort for a more scenic route.”

“Pass.” The pony fell out of formation, heading toward the archers’ field.

Bit continued on in this manner until he ran down the last pony. A total of eighteen ponies passed. The other twenty failed, and had already left the courtyard. He had learned a good bit of info about some of them. The one in the middle was Silent Lance, a unicorn corporal in the Guard who had ascended to the rank of Knight after saving the lives of a wandering group of ponies from parasprites who had inhabited the area. The one at the far end was Lifting Veil, a pegasus mare who had worked her way to Knight rank by doing over a thousand hours of community service, from cleaning the dumpsters to supervising the colts and fillies at day care. On the far left was the first he had passed, Reverent Legion, a unicorn who had apparently helped to prevent Ponyville from falling into chaos during the events of Nightmare Moon’s escape.

“Congratulations for getting this far. Your next challenge is a sparring match. First will be a one-on-one. Those who pass the one-one one will participate in a three-person free-for-all match. At the end of this task, only three of you will remain. During this task, I will be examining several factors of the fight. First and foremost is strategy. Knowing when to block as opposed to strike or evade can mean the difference between life and death, and knowing when to perform a feint as opposed to directly attacking can give you the advantage in a fight. Next, I will be examining performance. Stamina, endurance, and dexterity are important for any aspiring leader if he or she wishes to join their soldiers on the battlefield. Last, but not least, I will be examining overall recall. You will be expected to use your training in this fight. Do not rely entirely on it, though. This is a flexibility exercise, which means that you should employ the methods you need to win the fight. In actual battles to the death, there is no fair fight, because someone is always on the losing side. This exercise will teach you how not to be on that side.”

Bit started grouping the ponies in pairs of two, then stood at the head of the groups. “Alright, the fight for any one of you will end if a mortal wound is struck or if three non-mortal wounds are struck. There will be no quitting. A mortal wound is classified as anything that hits the chest, neck or head area. For the stomach, only two hits are required. On my mark, one group at a time will spar while I examine them.”

Bit walked over to the far left, where Reverent and one other pony stood, waiting for his order. “Well, what are you waiting for? BEGIN!”

The pony started with a jab that Reverent easily sidestepped. Bit was then sorely disappointed as Reverent quickly ended the spar by hitting the scruff of the other pony’s neck, signaling a mortal blow. “Good job. Stand over by the side.” The other pony left as Reverent moved to stand by the barracks entrance wall.

Bit ran through the rest of the spars for the one-on-one round, and nine ponies remained. Of them, all three of the ponies from before remained. Reverent Legion would be in the first free-for-all match, Silent Lance in the second and Lifting Veil in the last.

“Alright, this round is a three-pony free-for-all match. As you’ve noticed, you have already been grouped according to what fight you won. The winners of fights one to three in the first match, four to six in the second and so on. Now your task is to perform in the free-for-all match. There are no additional regulations, so this is going to be simple. Here’s how it goes: the last pony standing at the end of each fight goes on to the final challenge. Simple as that. There is one restriction, though. You will have to do battle inside a pre-specified area with a maximum radius of five feet. These circles have already been set up based on the outcomes of the fights that brought you nine here, combined with my assessment of your abilities. Group one, follow me to the circle.”

The first group turned and followed Bit to the circle, which was simply the archers’ field equipment arranged in the likeness of a circle. “This is your battleground. I’ve set this up so that you can use the environment against your enemies, and I fully expect you to do so. The fight will last until one remains. Environmental damage is as follows: blunt objects have to be used four times to cause elimination, weapon replicas three, and sharp object replicas two. As per the last round’s rules, other than with the environment, a mortal wound immediately eliminates the pony inflicted. BEGIN!”

Within a minute, the third pony in the group was knocked out by being surprised with a glass shard replica hitting his eye, simulating permanent damage. Reverent and the other pony stood in a face-off before the other pony charged forward, raising his blunted sword to strike. The pony then surprised both Reverent and Bit by suddenly using his magic to release the sword, then in a fit of genius, kick the blade such that Reverent barely had time to jump over the rapidly approaching blade. Unfortunately, this meant the other pony’s end as Reverent placed the blade to the pony’s neck. The pony stalked off, probably disappointed at his loss. “Congratulations. You’re one of the final three candidates. Let’s find out who else made the cut.”

Reverent and Bit moved back to the other area, where only two ponies from the program remained: Silent Lance and Lifting Veil.

“AT ATTENTION!” The ponies quickly moved into formation in front of Bit. “You have all done excellently. Your mastery of the concepts that have been hammered into your head since the day you joined the Royal Guard brings honor and pride upon your divisions and upon the entirely of the Royal Guard. But you are not yet done. As you three well know, there can only be one Royal Knight. Be at the Canterlot train station by ten AM tomorrow. That is where we will advance to your final challenge. If you are late, you will automatically be disqualified. Dismissed.” Bit then headed into the barracks, slowly taking off his armor and placing it neatly on his rack before collapsing into the bed and quickly falling asleep.

Canterlot Train Station, 9:45 AM The Next Morning

Bit approached the train station, his armor fully equipped and his satchel tied to his waist as he waited for the three finalists to appear. He was not let down, as the three approached from the main street of Canterlot. Upon meeting with them, he made a silent gesture to follow, and the four walked to the ticket booth, where Bit used part of his weekly stipend to purchase tickets for the train, destination Ponyville.

The four then moved around the train for their own purposes.

About an hour later, Bit called the three other ponies into the train compartment where he resided. The three ponies now stood before him. “Alright, I’m going to give you a brief explanation of what you’re doing in your last test. This will be a survival test. I and the Elements of Harmony will be escorting you, blinded, to an undisclosed location at dusk tonight. From there, you will have until dawn to make it out alive. Those dead or unable to make it out by dawn forfeit the title of Royal Knight. Remember, only one can become the Royal Knight. That is all.” At that, the ponies returned to the compartments they left to return to their own devices.

Ponyville Train Station, 2:30 PM

Bit and the three candidates stepped off the train and onto the platform. Bit began to look around until he caught the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle, waving to him. He motioned for the three ponies to follow him as he walked over to Twilight and caught sight of the other Elements approaching them as well.

Twilight promptly introduced herself to the others with great enthusiasm. Once finished, she turned to Bit. “Hello. My name is- “

“Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic and Princess of Friendship. No worries; you have no need to introduce yourself to me. I must introduce myself to you, though, to display the urgency of the matter. I am the new Captain of the Royal Guard, Bit Maker, at your service.”

Twilight at least had the decency to look shocked, before she flew into a flurry of questions. “Really? What’s it like, being the new Captain? How did you get the position? What do the other Princesses have you do?”

Bit quickly put an end to the questions. “Whoa, Miss Sparkle. Too much, too fast. One at a time. Well, first, it’s been hard work. The stress threatens to overwhelm you at times, at others, it flows off of you like water. As for how I got it, well, everybody knows how Shining Armor’s marriage to Princess Cadance made him a Prince. Well, because he is now based out of the Crystal Empire, he can’t manage the Royal Guard and his own military force at the same time, so circumstance forced him to abdicate the position to me, his Royal Knight. And the Princesses do not have me perform many duties, aside from training the soldiers and making sure they are battle ready. The last time I had something major on my hooves was about three weeks ago. I’m sure the Princesses informed you of the declaration of war. Let us move toward your residence. It is not yet time to perform the actions I came here for.” Bit then moved forward, prompting Twilight to move onward, her friends and the candidates following step.

5:00 PM, Golden Oaks Library

Bit and the Elements, followed by the three blinded Royal Knight candidates, trotted out of the library with a sense of determination. The destination: the castle at Old Canterlot, right smack in the middle of the Everfree Forest. This was where Bit explained to the Elements the final trial would begin.

Bit, Pinkie and Applejack picked up Reverent Legion to carry him over, Rarity and Twilight levitated Silent Lance into the air, and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash lifted Lifting Vale to carry her. Bit had explained beforehoof why this needed to be done: the Royal Guard, especially the ones of higher rank, like the three Knights, had developed muscle memory skills the likes of which most others did not have. Even with their sight impeded, they could find their way out of the forest in one try if they had been on the ground until they reached their destination. Carrying them in the air was a necessity.

One Hour Later, Dusk, Old Canterlot Castle

The ponies arrived inside the throne room as Bit took Twilight aside. “You said there was an old dungeon here?”

“According to the rumors of Old Canterlot, there was. We just have to look for it.”

“No time. I told them the trial would begin at dusk, which means you guys need to leave. Don’t worry about me, I know the way back.” Twilight nodded and left the castle, taking her friends with her, leaving Bit and the three Royal Knight candidates. He snatched their blindfolds off, allowing them to see for the first time since they arrived in Ponyville.

“Alright, your last trial begins now. This is a survival skills test, which means you will have to escape the trial area by dawn. Each of you has been provided a small food pack, but you will be expected to find your own ways of making it edible. You only have enough food for two small meals, so you need to make it last. Dawn is twelve hours from now at precisely six AM. You have until then to escape the forest.”

“Captain, what forest?”

“You’re in the heart of the Everfree Forest. Remember, survival test. Unicorns, no teleportation. Pegasi, no flying above the canopy of the forest. I want to see how well you do when forced into a situation where survival is your only choice. I will have contingents of Royal Guards and your fellow Knights watching the forest, and I will be notified if one of you makes it out or if someone is disqualified. At dawn, if all of you have not made it out, I will send a small squad to find you. You may now begin.” Bit then turned on his hind hooves and flew into the air, leaving the forest for the safety of civilization.

Upon reaching the edge of the forest, he landed in the middle of a small crowd of Royal Guards. “Alright, soldiers, here are your orders. The Royal Knight candidates are undergoing their final test. I have laid down the rules. They have until dawn to find a way out of the forest. Only manual labor is allowed. If you see a pegasus fly above the canopy or feel the displacement of magic of a unicorn’s teleportation, they are to immediately be found and restrained. Am I understood?”

“YES, CAPTAIN!” The ponies belted out their responses as if possessed. Bit turned and moved into the tent he had set up beforehoof, taking off his armor and setting it next to the cot before collapsing into it and quickly falling asleep.

The Next Morning, 5:00 AM

Bit slowly got out of the cot, sleep having eluded him after a huge ruckus had woken him up last night. He moved to the armor he had set down and slowly putting it back on for the day, followed by strapping the sword his blacksmith teacher had given him all those years ago.

He walked out of the tent, yawning and silently cursing the early hour. He had to get up, though. He still had to make sure the candidates had made it out of the forest alive.

One of the Knights who had failed the test greeted him. “Captain, all three passed the survival trial.”

“Good. Who made it out first?”

“According to what the Guards told me, Silent Lance exited the north branch of the forest at about three thirty AM. Fifteen minutes later, Reverent Legion exited the forest via the path to the residence of Zecora the zebra. Lifting Veil only made it out fifteen minutes ago.”

“Excellent. Call Lance and tell him to pack his belongings. We’re going to the Crystal Empire.”

“Sir?”

“It has always been tradition that for a Knight to become Royal, he must have the blessing of both the currently presiding Captain and the former. That means we need to pay a visit to Princess Cadance and Shining Armor to get his blessing. Thank you for informing me of their success. You’re dismissed.”

The Knight left quickly as Bit grabbed his bit bag and satchel, strapping them together before equipping the satchel on his back. As he trotted towards the edge of the camp and toward Ponyville, Silent Lance joined him in his trot. “You called for me, Captain?”

“Do you have everything you need for a trip?”

“Of course, Captain. Are we scheduled to go somewhere?”

“In order to inaugurate you as the next Royal Knight, we must travel to the Crystal Empire and arrange for a final evaluation with the former Captain, Shining Armor, so that he can determine whether you are worthy of the Blessing. As you know, the Knights are always kept informed of the fighting ability of the current and former Captain of the Royal Guard. Rest assured, there is a method to our madness. This is because the final evaluation after the candidate had been determined is to engage in battle with both Captains.”

“Sir?”

“The reason this is saved for last is because the Royal Knight is also entrusted with the safekeeping of the Royal Guard. He must take note of and analyze the current and former Captain’s fighting ability, so that he or she might be able to defeat them if they are compromised or turned against Equestria. We implemented this final evaluation for Royal Knights three hundred years ago, after the former Captain of the Royal Guard, a  pegasus stallion by the name of Light Beacon, was compromised by what was assumed to be Discord. It took half the Royal Guard and Princess Celestia herself to rid the stallion of the corruption that had befallen him. Therefore, your final test is to beat the both of us in open combat. If you can do that, you will have our Blessings and you will be inaugurated as a Royal Knight upon our return to Canterlot.”

Silent Lance went… well, silent… as he comprehended this. Bit knew that Lance had the advantage over him due to the fact that he was a unicorn, and could do some things he couldn’t, but he would have a hard time with Former Captain Armor. The unicorn was extremely powerful, and even in his newfound position, still kept his magical mastery at an unprecedented level, such that he was nicknamed Captain Blades because of how many spectral blades he could use in a battle at one time. Needless to say, Lance had his work cut out for him.

As the two approached Ponyville Train Station, Bit pulled out his bag and counted out the number of bits for two tickets. As he trotted toward the counter, the ticket mare appeared. “Hello, Mr…”

“Bit Maker. I’m the new Captain of the Royal Guard.”

“Of course, sir. What would like to get today?”

“Two tickets for the train bound for the Crystal Empire, please.”

“Of course. That’ll be twenty bits.” Bit pulled the currency out of his bag and hoofed it to the mare, who produced two tickets surrounded in crystal. “Enjoy your ride.”

“That I will. Lance, follow.” The train pulled into the station ten minutes later, and the two boarded wordlessly.

Nineteen Hours Later, Crystal Empire, 1:00 AM

Bit and Lance stepped off the train and onto the crystal streets of the Empire, both looking around. They quickly found who they were looking for when Prince Shining Armor strode forward with an air of authority.

Bit moved to a salute, as did Lance. “Sir.”

“There is no need. You are now the Captain, after all. Buck, after the fiasco with Sombra and Chrysalis, Tirek and Discord, I’m content to sit here and help ponies with their daily lives for the rest of mine. But I know what you are here for, Bit. Follow me to the castle.”

Shining turned on his hind hooves and walked down the street, prompting Bit and Lance to follow. The two walked in relative peace, the few crystal ponies outside giving them a wide berth to pass.

Ten minutes later, the three finally arrived at the massive crystal tower that was Shining and Cadance’s home. The three were let in by the Crystal Soldiers attending the door upon verification of their identities.

As they walked toward the throne, Shining turned and sat in it, letting a sigh of exhaustion escape his parted lips. “Bit, please begin. I know why you’re here.”

“Of course, Captain. I am in need of a new Royal Knight; to that extent, I started the trials that associate becoming a Royal Knight. Of the over two hundred Knights that were sent to take the trial, Silent Lance was the only one who passed all the trials and showed all the qualities of a Royal Knight. To that end, it is time for the final evaluation.”

“The Captains’ Combat Test. I know.” Shining turned to Lance. “I assume your commanding officer, Bit here, has already informed you of the purpose of this test?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then you should also know that this specific test is of even greater paramount importance than the ones before. The main reason is because I myself was compromised by Chrysalis during the failed changeling invasion. I hadn’t even realized what happened until Celestia told me after the others managed to thwart them. Because of this, you are under even more stress to analyze my styles and combat techniques, that you may be available to defeat me if I am ever again compromised.”

Shining lifted himself off the throne and began walking to a side door. “Bit, you are dismissed. Get some sleep. The trial begins at noon tomorrow. Lance, I expect you to be at your best. In order to defeat me, you’re going to need it.” He finally went through the door as two Crystal Soldiers took the two to their rooms for the night.

The Next Day, 12:00 PM, Crystal Courtyard

Lance stood at attention as Royal Guard contingents and Crystal Soldiers alike stood around the edge of the courtyard. Shining Armor exited the castle from the back entrance in full battle armor, evidence of a cornicure on his horn to help him channel his magic more easily. After him flew out Bit Maker, fully dressed in his new Captain’s armor, his sword unsheathed and at his side.

Shining and Bit moved to stand in the center of the growing circle of Crystal Soldiers and Royal Guards. Bit began. “Everyone, listen up! Shining and I have summoned you here today to bear witness to the final trial of ranking for Knight Silent Lance. If he passes this trial, he will become my Royal Knight upon his return to Canterlot. I will now pass the role to Prince Armor to explain the purpose of this test.”

Shining cleared his throat. “Thank you, Captain Bit Maker. As he stated previously, this test is to determine whether or not Knight Silent Lance is eligible to become Equestria’s next Royal Knight. I also have an announcement. Seeing as how this time, the former Captain of the trial is now in charge of another diplomatic global presence, assuming Mr. Lance passes this trial, he will also become the Crystal Empire’s first Gem Defender! This title involves answering distress calls to the Crystal Empire when called upon, as well as attending war councils for both countries for the foreseeable future, and brokering future diplomatic agreements with Equestria. I will now pass the role of speech back to Royal Guard Captain Bit Maker to explain the rules and requirements of the test.”

“Thank you, Prince Armor. This trial is known as the Captains’ Combat Test. Knight Silent Lance is to engage us here today, in open combat, for the purpose of analyzing our fighting styles. The reason for this final mandatory test is because of a major event that occurred three hundred years ago. The former Royal Guard Captain at the time, a pegasus stallion by the name of Light Beacon, was brainwashed by whom we still  believe to this day to be Discord himself and turned against Equestria. His power was such that it took half the Royal Guard and Princess Celestia herself to stop him and rid him of the corruption that had befallen him.

“At the conclusion of that day, the Royal Guard and the Princesses swore an eternal oath to never allow such an event to occur again. Thus, the first Royal Knight was trained and inaugurated to protect the Royal Guard from outside threat, from the lies and secrets that have befallen the rest of the world, but most of all, to protect it from itself. That is what brings me here today.

“I will now explain the rules of the trial. Silent Lance, I will be your first opponent. For both battles, the boundaries are the limits that the gathered ponies have set by their presence. If at any point during the battle, any part of you or your weapon touches any of these ponies, you are immediately disqualified and sent back to the Barracks in Canterlot.

“My armor, as well as that of the Prince, has been enchanted to inflict phantom damage on ourselves whenever you land a successful hit. You win each battle if you manage to get a kill shot in or you inflict enough damage to force us to concede defeat. Your armor also has the same enchantments, so you lose by the same criteria. Any magic from the Star Swirl the Bearded Wing of the Canterlot Archives is expressly forbidden for the duration of this trial, as they may have unintended consequences. No magic considered to be of any Dark Art or necromancy is allowed, either.

“If magic from the Star Swirl the Bearded wing is used, it will result in failure of the trial and demotion to Corporal status in the Royal Guard. If dark magic is used, it will result in immediate failure, dishonorable discharge from the Royal Guard and, pending the severity of the magic and the decision between I and the Prince, any amount of time in the Canterlot dungeon or summary execution. Have you memorized and understood these rules, Knight Silent Lance?”

Lance snapped to attention. “SIR, YES, SIR!”

Shining fell back into the circle of ponies as Bit moved to the other side of the circle. “Then let us begin.” Bit moved into an offensive stance as Lance charged forward, taking out his spear and thrusting it at Bit, who tucked his legs and rolled forward and under the unicorn’s guard.

Lance jumped up and blocked using a magic shield hastily conjured to protect him as Bit swung his sword at him, using his momentum against him.

Lance landed on the ground, but was forced into a roll by Bit’s sword flying right where his head once was. He could feel part of his mane cut off.

Lance turned around, but was punched in the face, and barely had the time to block Bit’s forward sword slash with his spear. While holding him off, Lance created two spectral blades and sent them both at Bit, who, unsurprisingly, let off his sword stance… then proceeded to hit the blades so hard, they shattered, causing a net loss in Lance’s magic pool.

Lance rolled forward and managed to strike Bit on the leg, causing Bit to stagger slightly, before quickly resetting his stance and sending another thrust, which Lance barely had the time to block.

For the next minute, this exchange of blows continued, with Bit nimbly evading the slashes and kicks, followed by Lance blocking and parrying Bit’s attempts to get a strike in.

Bit saw his opening when Lance stumbled on a piece of crystal sticking out of the ground, losing his footing for a split second. He used that short moment to strike, landing a strike on Lance’s back leg. It was only a flesh wound, but at least he had hit. Now the two were even.

Lance suddenly jumped up and moved magic into his hooves, and when he landed, he hit the ground on his hooves as hard as he could, causing a shockwave to erupt, sending crystals flying toward Bit, who manages to swiftly evade or block all the shards. At this point, the ponies in the circle began stomping their hooves against the crystal, cheering for one side or the other.

Lance saw his chance as Bit was quickly recovering from the crystal assault, and launched forward with his spear, using his magic to fortify his legs and push off the ground with more momentum. Bit was slightly surprised as Lance appeared in his guard almost faster than he could see, struck a debilitating blow to his front right leg, then dashed out just as fast.

Lance realized just what he had done when Bit recovered just as fast, propelling himself into the air with his wings, the leg that had been struck hanging limp. That didn’t matter, though. Bit now had the advantage of

air combat, which meant it would now be a lot harder to hit him.

Bit zoomed forward and start pelting Lance with a flurry of strikes. Blow after blow, Lance managed to block them, until Bit got in a rather painful strike that hit his stomach. He was forced to roll out of the way, no longer able to effectively hold his spear. He planted it in the ground and resolved to finish this fight with just his bare hooves.

Lance was still nimble enough to evade all of Bit’s next attempts to hit him; in fact, he was even faster without the added weight of his spear, and flowed through the attacks as if he was made of water.

Bit was suddenly forced to drop his sword as the other front leg was struck rather hard, the magic simulating a broken joint. Bit went in to tackle Lance, but was yet again surprised at how fast Lance could react. This time, without the use of either of his front hooves, Bit was swiftly brought back to ground when Lance struck both his wings, breaking them in one hit.

Lance staggered over to his spear, pulled it out of the ground, and finished the fight by delivering a killing blow to the back of Bit’s head, knocking him unconscious. The ponies started cheering and yelling out Lance’s name as he limped over to Shining Armor.

Bit stood up about a minute later, stretching his limbs and flexing his wings, as Lance also noticed his pain was gone, his wounds healed. Bit walked over to Lance. “You did it. Excellent job. I hereby bestow my Blessing upon Silent Lance, that he may lead an excellent force of Harbingers to peace and a brighter future. Go forth now, and begin your final trial: defeating the previous Captain. And be sure to take this fight seriously, for he is a very powerful stallion, and will strain you. He will push you to your absolute limit and put your skills to the test.”

Lance looked over to Bit and nodded slowly before readying his spear and forming a stance to fight Shining with. Shining also prepared himself, recasting the enchantment on their armor.

“Let us begin. May the best warrior win.” Shining stated briskly, before forming seven purple magical sword apparitions next to him and charging forward, intent on shattering Lance’s stance.

Lance suffered three glancing wounds and a minor injury before he regained his composure and began to swiftly dodge, block and parry his attacks.

Lance managed to get lucky and parried a blow back at Shining, shattering the purple sword and cutting Shining’s chest up pretty good. Shining quickly recovered before moving into a defensive stance and slowly backing up.

Lance took the bait almost without hesitation, making Bit frown in disapproval, but realized his mistake. Lance had heard of Shining’s battle prowess, and everypony knew a cornered animal was at its most dangerous level. He would have been summarily whipped had he actually gone in to push the offensive front.

Lance backed away slowly, and the two began to circle each other, both on edge and ready for an attack. Suddenly, Shining dashed forward, intending to break through Lance’s guard. Lance dodged the attempt by rolling under Shining, proceeding to kick Shining into the air from under him, but not without suffering a few glancing blows to his upper body.

Lance jumped back, wincing from the stinging cuts as he prepared to begin the battle of what basically amounted to attrition anew. Shining moved forward, performing a feint with one of the swords that Lance saw right through. He dodged by rolling under again, but Shining was prepared this time, and two blades nearly stabbed Lance in the chest as he suddenly rolled out of the dodge, barely evading the strike.

He got up, but was immediately put on the defensive as Shining pressed his advantage, barely managing to block the incoming strikes. Both stallions were open, and both noticed this. Coincidentally, they both went in for the same strike, and both winced in pain as each other’s hooves struck them in the face soundly, creating bruises from the impact.

The two stallions backed away and slowly started to circle each other, both showing a degree of physical exhaustion. The two suddenly went after each other, Lance tucking his hind legs for a slide while Shining dropped his magic entirely.

The two rammed their heads into each other as they began to hoof grapple, both trying and failing to show their physical superiority. Lance ducked under a punch and grabbed the proffered hoof, picking Shining up and slamming him on the ground.

Lance was quick to press his advantage, rolling on top of Shining and starting to punch wherever his hooves could make contact with anything other than Shining’s forehooves.

Shining managed to muster the strength required to roll over and put Lance under him, such that Lance became disoriented for a brief moment, a moment that allowed Shining to brutally let into him, slamming his hooves onto the top of his skull and nearly putting him unconscious.

Lance laid on the ground in a daze, really wanting to just sleep for a minute… wait, wasn’t there something he was doing? Yes, he was fighting somepony… he couldn’t remember who though. He knew they were still on top of him, though, and he couldn’t die, not now.

Flashes of memories with Lance’s wife and teenage son flashed through his mind like a hurricane. He needed to get back. For them. He had taken an oath; he wasn’t going to let it be broken by a simple fight.

Just as Shining turned to address Bit and the Guard, Lance struggled to his hooves, a determined look on his face. “I’m not done… not by a long shot!”

Shining turned around to find Lance standing proud with a confident smirk on his face, and decided he needed to put him down for good. This stallion didn’t seem like a strong enough pony to uphold the honor of the coveted Royal Knight position.

He stepped forward and summoned his spectral blades anew, a sign that Lance took to mean attack. The two charged at each other, but right at the last second, just as Shining was about to bring his blades down, Lance unfurled his wings and used them to do a sudden redirect, dashing to the left and forward and using his blade to cut a very debilitating wound in Shining’s side.

Shining growled in pain, turning to Lance’s new position… only to find nothing. He looked up just as Lance landed right on top of him, collapsing both of the ponies. Before he could make a retaliatory strike, though, Lance jumped off and moved to hover in the air just as fast, making sure to keep just out of his reach.

Shining decided to end this then and there. He thrusted one of his blades forward, and was rewarded with the slicing sound of flesh being cut open as Lance was caught unawares and the sword embedded itself into him right next to his chest.

With a primal roar, Lance tore out the magical blade and broke it apart violently and quickly enough that Shining’s concentration on the rest of his magic faltered. Even in his weakened state, Lance went in to finish the battle, simulated blood pouring from the wound near his heart.

Before Shining had more than two seconds to react, Lance hit him in the face hard, sending him reeling back, a nasty bruise forming on his face. Lance pressed what little ground he could take, using his wings to propel himself forward and barreling into Shining with all his remaining strength, sending them both tumbling into the ground. Shining managed to recover, but not quickly enough to find the flat of Lance’s blade smacking hard into his face and severely disorienting him.

Lance took the chance and moved to pin Shining down. Shining began to struggle to escape Lance’s chokehold as Lance fought with what little strength he had to put Shining out and win, both aiming to end the fight once and for all.

Lance managed to pick up his sword just as Shining escaped and summoned one dagger with what concentration he could muster, struggling to regain control of his lungs. Both lunged forward with one last battle cry… then dropped to the ground and looked at the blades protruding from their chests before falling to the side and impacting the ground, simulating death as they fell unconscious.

All in all, the battle had lasted over twenty minutes, and had been one of the best one-on-one fights the Royal Guard had ever seen. They quickly started stomping their hooves against the ground, and the Crystal Soldiers followed in short order, all roaring out their approval as the two stallions slowly came to, the enchantments on the armor deactivating and causing the simulated wounds to vanish.

The two stallions grinned and responded kindly to the roaring applause, before Shining held up his hoof to silence the group. He turned to Lance, motioning for him to step forward, which Lance did, albeit rather reluctantly.

“Guards of the Royal Guard, Soldiers of the Crystal Empire, I present to you your new Royal Knight and Gem Defender, Silent Lance!” He grabbed and raised said stallion’s hoof, at which point the applause that followed utterly dwarfed that of earlier.

Once the soldiers calmed down, Shining continued once more. “I hereby bestow my Blessing upon Silent Lance, that he may lead an excellent force of Harbingers to peace and a brighter future!” He turned to Lance, a content smile on his face. “Silent Lance, your coronation will be held in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters in Canterlot two days from now. Excellent job. You earned your new rank. Bit, you and your Royal Knight are dismissed. Let us depart for our quarters. We leave for Ponyville in two hours.” Shining and Bit then dismissed the soldiers and went inside, followed by a winded Lance, all ready for the day to be over.

Two Days Later, Canterlot Castle Front Courtyard, 11:55 AM

Bit walked forward, clad in his newly commissioned Captain’s Armor, his sword strapped to the right side and Lance following behind him at the same pace, his own specially commissioned Royal Knight armor equipped and his spear at his side. Shining walked ahead of them, arriving in the courtyard early.

The three of them looked up to the sky, and cursed themselves silently upon realizing they only had five minutes. They rushed through the front doors of the castle and turned down many backdoors and old back exits until they came to the back entrance to the Royal Palace head-chambers, all preparing themselves for the events to follow.

They walked in, seeing Princess Celestia on the balcony, giving a speech to the ponies below. Princess Luna stood next to her, and both wore their respective crowns, due to the fact that this was a special occasion… somewhat.

“…and now, I introduce to you Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire!” Shining smiled at Bit and Lance before walking out to the balcony and tersely thanking Celestia before moving right into his speech.

“Good afternoon, everypony. As our esteemed Princess has already explained to you, today is a very special day, for leadership of the Royal Guard had once again been decided upon.” Oh, no one bothered to mention until yesterday that this was also Bit’s official ceremony for his coronation as Captain. “As you all know, until my joint rule of the Crystal Empire with my wife, Princess Cadance, who, unfortunately, could not make it today, began, I was your Captain. The day now passes that I must give that title to another, that I may watch over my faithful Crystal Ponies and tend to the needs of my country and allow the next generation to take over. So without further ado, I present to you your new Royal Guard Captain, Bit Maker!”

Bit turned to Lance and gave him a terse nod before walking out to the balcony and approaching the rail. He cleared his throat before beginning. “Thank you, Prince Shining Armor. I would be honored to accept the position of Captain of the Royal Guard.”

“Excellent. As you well know, Bit Maker, before ascending to the position of Captain, you must recite the same oaths you took upon your ascension to the rank of Royal Knight, bearing this crowd as witnesses, as it was three years ago. Let us begin. Do you vow to protect Equestria and its interests as a whole from all enemies, without and within, to protect its ideals and create a better, brighter future for the individuals in this room?”

“I vow to protect Equestria and its interests as a whole from all enemies, without and within, to protect its ideals and create a better, brighter future for all the individuals in this room.”

“Do you swear never to betray your position for another or for profit, that you may keep the ideals of honor and integrity among the force of the Royal Guard and the Princesses?”

“I swear never to betray my position for another or for profit, that I may keep the ideals of honor and integrity among the force of the Royal Guard and the Princesses.”

“Finally, do you swear that you will train a better, stronger force of Royal Guards to combat the problems, both within and without, that plague Equestria, and to trot alongside the Royal Guard into battle should war ever break out, that with your sacrifice, Equestria may yet survive?”

“I swear that I will train a better, stronger force of Royal Guards to combat the problems, both within and without, that plague Equestria, and to trot alongside the Royal Guard into battle should war ever break out, that with my sacrifice, Equestria may yet survive.”

“Then with the blessings of the Princesses of Equestria and that of the rulers of the Crystal Empire, I present to you the Captain’s Locket, a universal symbol of your new status, that those who are not present in this room today recognize and acknowledge your new title. May you lead the Royal Guard to usher in a new era of peace for all the ponies of Equestria.” Shining turned to the front of the balcony. “I will now allow Captain Bit Maker to inaugurate his pick for Royal Knight. Bit Maker, if you would?”

“Very well. Thank you, Prince.” Bit turned to the crowd below him and cleared his throat once more. “As Captain of the Royal Guard, I nominate Knight of the Royal Pegasus Corps, Battalion Commander of the First Regiment Silent Lance to be the Royal Guard’s new Royal Knight. Prince and former Captain Shining Armor, is this in agreement?”

“It is.”

“Knight Silent Lance, would you please step forward?” Lance stepped out into the light and the edge of the balcony. “Having passed your trials, as the Captain of the Royal Guard, will you accept my blessing, that you may lead an excellent force of Harbingers for peace and a brighter future?”

“I accept your blessing.” Bit turned the speech over to Shining, who proceeded with his portion of the speech.

“Having passed your trials, as the former Captain of the Royal Guard, will you accept my blessing, that you may lead an excellent force of Harbingers for peace and a brighter future?”

“I accept your blessing.”

Bit stepped forward, gesturing Lance to stand before him. “Our blessings having been accepted; it is now time to begin the Three Oaths of Leadership. Do you vow to protect Equestria and its interests as a whole from all enemies, without and within, to protect its ideals and create a better, brighter future for the individuals in this room?”

“I vow to protect Equestria and its interests as a whole from all enemies, without and within, to protect its ideals and create a better, brighter future for the individuals in this room.”

“Do you swear never to betray your position for another or for profit, that you may keep the ideals of honor and integrity among the force of the Royal Guard and the Princesses?”

“I swear never to betray my position for another or for profit, that I may keep the ideals of honor and integrity among the force of the Royal Guard and the Princesses.”

“Finally, do you swear that you will train a better, stronger force of Royal Guards to combat the problems, both within and without, that plague Equestria, and to trot alongside the Royal Guard into battle should war ever break out, that with your sacrifice, Equestria may yet survive?”

“I swear that I will train a better, stronger force of Royal Guards to combat the problems, both within and without, that plague Equestria, and to trot alongside the Royal Guard into battle should war ever break out, that with my sacrifice, Equestria may yet survive.”

“Then with the Blessings of I, Bit Maker, presiding Captain of the Royal Guard, and Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, former Captain of the Royal Guard, I hereby declare you Equestria’s next Royal Knight, and bestow this Royal Blade upon you. May it never leave your side, and may it carry you through your battles, that you may live and lead another day. Go forth now, my Royal Knight, and, with my support, help lead the Royal Guard to a better future.”

Lance took up the sword, strapping it to the left side of his armor, before stepping to the edge of the balcony, holding himself high as the ponies stomped their hooves in applause. When the applause ended, Princess Celestia stepped forward once more. “Thank you for attending this important event today, my faithful ponies. Many of you have duties to attend to, so you are now dismissed.” The ponies began to file out in short order as the Princesses, Prince, and new leadership of the Guard walked out of the back entrance, once more ready to resume their daily lives.

Twelve Days Later, Northern Manehattan Train Station, 7:55 PM

Bit walked out of the train compartment nimbly, stretching his limbs. A full week of ceremonial proceedings had preoccupied him, but he was finally able to finish his business and depart for home. Unfortunately, he only got the night off. His official duties as Captain of the Royal Guard began the very next morning, so he had to make the most of it.

He let out a yawn, ready to get home and cuddle next to Rose for a while. He was more than ready to just pass out, as he had had not a long day or week, but a long month. First, the papers for a new country being recognized in Europy, then a Guard member had betrayed and had to be killed to prevent a leakage of information to the Goblin Colony in the north, then the trials, and his coronation… he was too tired to do much more than think or walk. Not even taking periodic naps on the train helped his exhaustion.

He walked down Manehattan Avenue and toward his one-story house he had bought shortly before the world descended into war. It had been tiring to deal with the bureaucrat motherbuckers, and he just wanted to collapse, as he did now. He at least had to see Rose, though.

He found the key to his house on his belt and pulled it out as he walked up to his door, unlocking the deadbolt and stepping inside. It was a quaint abode, with the walls painted a soft mint color. Various furnishings, such a couch next to a mantle on the right side of the living room, were scattered about the house.

He slowly and stealthily snuck to the other side of the house and opened the door to his bedroom. What he saw made his heart nearly jump out of his chest. Rose was sprawled across the bed, her mane and parts of her coat a mess from the classic case of bedhead.

He moved to the bed and slowly got into it, kissing her muzzle, causing her to shift around in uncertainty, still mostly asleep. He went a step further and moved next to her ear and whispered her name, causing her to bolt up and jump out of the bed in surprise. “Bit!? Where are you?”

He chuckled silently, amused at the fact she couldn’t see him right below her. “Down here, sweetie.” She looked down at Bit before cracking a smile and bending down to kiss him passionately, a kiss which the stallion returned eagerly.

After a scant few seconds, they opened their mouths and started a tongue wrestling match for superiority, neither one giving in, their tongues twirling and dancing around each other.

After a few minutes, both pulled away with sultry smirks on their faces, panting for breath. They were more than ready. Bit glanced over to Rose’s sexy flank and smirked when he saw her tight pussy was dripping in anticipation. He decided to mess with her a little.

Rose gasped out in surprise when a hoof ran over her delicate snatch. She stole a scandalized look to Bit before a lewd smirk appeared on her face, and Bit was surprised when she latched onto his member in the same manner he had touched her. Oh, so she thought two could play at this game, eh? He would show her.

Rose stopped tugging at Bit’s big cock when she felt a tongue run over her snatch, and she shuddered in ecstasy. She then put her mouth on the top of Bit’s throbbing member, causing him to give out a groan of approval before he dove in for his first meal.

Rose started by twirling her tongue around Bit’s member, tasting him once again. Hmm, same salty taste as before, not that she minded any. She started sucking on the tip as Bit used his tongue to please her in the most primal way possible.

The two continued at this for several minutes, before Bit got Rose to stop in her tracks when he pressed against her clit, causing her to nearly scream out in pleasure. She retaliated by fondling his balls, causing his to freeze. The two exchanged pleasurable sensations in this manner for the next five minutes, both getting more aroused by the second.

Rose took her mouth off of Bit’s member and looked at it, in its full glory. Fifteen inches of pure bliss that she was about to have inside her, pumping away at her very core until she screamed out in pure ecstasy. She couldn’t wait.

Bit took his mouth of her snatch and looked at its glistening form, causing his member to twitch in anticipation. The tightest pussy he’d ever had the pleasure of fucking, and he couldn’t wait to stick it in.

Rose moved to sit on top of Bit as she slowly slid towards his erect member, pressing down on it and getting him to groan in pleasure. She slowly slid in, allowing her tight snatch to get used to the feeling of having him inside her again.

After a second, she began to slowly pull forward, bringing the cock out until it was barely inside anymore, then pushed back in at the same pace, a pleasurable sigh escaping her lips. She kept at this pace for a minute before Bit surprised her by thrusting hard into her, burying himself all the way inside and causing her to moan in pleasure.

He began to thrust faster than her pace, causing her to moan. “Oh Celestia, yes. Keep going!” He smirked before continuing drilling into her, keeping a faster pace than what she had employed.

Bit kept going at this pace for a few minutes, enjoying the way her tight pussy clamped down on his member every time he pulled some of it out, and savoring the tightness, which made all the work worth the effort.

The two continued their rhythm, moving in tandem with each other’s movements, both panting and moaning.

Rose, panting, looked at Bit and kissed him. “Faster, babe. Please.”

Bit complied, immediately moving to go faster, his member going in and out at the speed of a blast of magic. Rose was so overwhelmed with pleasure, she couldn’t hold herself up, and collapsed into Bit’s waiting hooves as he began to thrust even faster, using his newfound leverage as support. Rose moaned loudly and tried to move her body to the thrusts, but couldn’t even move due to the sheer pleasure.

Less than a minute, she screamed out her release as she hit one of the biggest climaxes of her life. Bit slowed down and stopped, smirking, before pulling out, picking Rose up and carrying her to the shower, burying himself back inside her and holding her up as he turned on the hot water and locked the door behind him.

He stepped into the heating water and rinsed the semen off, but stopped when Rose whimpered weakly next to him. “Hmm? What’s that, babe?”

“…please, keep going. Inside.” Bit smiled softly before slowly pushing in and pulling out again, getting her to let out a moan into his coat.

He could tell she was truly ready for more when she began to match the speed of his thrusts with movements of her own as she held onto him. The two continued this, Rose letting out soft moans as they continued their pace.

“…faster, Bit.” He complied, moving faster, but not nearly as fast as before. He didn’t have as much leverage when carrying her like he was. Either way, she began moaning in pleasure anew.

The two kept at a slow pace before Bit stepped out of the shower. He stopped momentarily to dry his wings off, causing Rose to whimper. Nonetheless, she was surprised when he suddenly lifted the two of them into the air and started drilling into her, causing an aroused scream to tear from her lips.

Bit kept up in this fashion while slowly making their way to the bed, while Rose screamed out in pleasure once every two seconds. As Bit continued to barrel into her, he snapped his wings closed, causing them to roughly drop onto the bad and forcing Bit to go even deeper in, feeling himself tear something inside her.

She screamed out in a mix of pleasure and pain, Bit having gone so far in, he broke through her cervix, a very rare occurrence. Recognizing this, Bit stopped moving and waited for Rose’s body to catch up. She lay there, breathing heavily for a few minutes before nodding to Bit to keep going.

And when he did… she felt it even more than before. The slightest touch would have her moaning in pleasure; now, she was in pure ecstasy. She couldn’t even form a coherent thought; it died away as soon as Bit pulled out or pushed in.

Bit could tell Rose was really feeling it now, so he started going even faster than before, his being on top of her as his main leverage. At that point, Rose’s tongue just hung limply from the side of her mouth. Her almost constant screaming had made her voice hoarse.

A few minutes of quick thrusting later, Bit was nearly ready to blow his load. If Rose’s body language- the way she was tensed up, her hooves grabbing the sheets for dear life -were any indication, she was about to blow too. And it was going to be big.

“AHHHHHHHH!” Both ponies screamed in unison as they released, Bit still thrusting inside her, though at a more sedate pace than before, before he stopped and collapsed into the bed next to her, his shrinking tool coming out of Rose’s abused snatch with a loud pop.

Bit could barely form a thought, and he was out like a light less than a minute later.

The Next Morning, 8:15 AM

Bit groggily woke up, stifling a groan to prevent him from waking Rose up. He got out of the bed slowly, deliberately giving his body a chance to catch up to his mind. As he walked over to the mirror and looked at his frazzled mane in the mirror, he gave a light-hearted chuckle. He looked like total shit.

He moved over to the clock and noticed it read eight twenty. OK, he ran through in his head, I’ve got until eleven before I have to board the train to Canterlot, at which point they’re taking me to Vanhoover to investigate the magic anomaly that sprouted there about three weeks ago. Bit sighed heavily, really not wanting to leave again so soon. It didn’t matter, though; he was the Captain now, and since the various grounded cities of Equestria didn’t have their own police force like Cloudsdale or Las Pegasus had, it was left to the Royal Guard’s Investigative Division to handle domestic matters on the ground.

He turned back to his bed and noticed Rose still sleeping silently. His instincts took over and he rushed over to her, though, when he noticed her chest wasn’t rising or falling… at all. He started shaking her violently, screaming out to try to get her to wake up. He almost lost himself to his grief before he realized something and an idea popped up in his head. I… think I heard somewhere about how if you get a mare drunk on her own ecstasy long enough, their bodies completely shut down. What was it…? OH! It was called being ‘sexed.’

That thought in his mind, a channel of lines down his eyes and muzzle due to his crying slowly drying up, he went to touch her pussy, which, he noticed, still had their juices dripping down it.

“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Rose shot up out of bed, her eyes widening to dish plates as she let out a primal scream, before collapsing into the bed in exhaustion, immediately falling asleep. He chuckled at this, then turned to head to the bathroom.

8:48 AM

Bit walked out of the restroom, having performed all of his morning rituals, the shaving being the most annoying and longest part. At least he was relatively clean. He had neglected to take a shower on purpose, saving that for plans later.

He moved to the kitchen to have some breakfast, pulling out of the uppermost cupboard a small wooden bowl and a small spoon, before going to the pantry and pulling out a bag of magically preserved cold cereal, a banana, and some strawberries. He then walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out some milk. He loved this milk especially because it was made without anything that would taint the taste.

As he got his breakfast ready and ate, he watched as Rose came out of the doorway to their bedroom, her mane just as frazzled as his and her tongue lolling almost limply out of her mouth as she moved to the fridge to grab a healthy Caesar salad.

As the two ate breakfast, Rose’s mind finally caught up to her body, and the made pleasant conversation as they finished and began to wash the dishes.

When the two finished, Rose asked a question that Bit was dreading, one he really wished he couldn’t decisively answer. “So when’s the next time you have to leave?” He could even hear the fear and sadness cracking her voice.

Bit sighed deeply, really not liking that particular question right about now. “I have to leave before noon. Something came up in Vanhoover earlier this morning, and it put it high enough on the scale of magical threats that I and Shining have to go investigate it ourselves. Had it not happened, I was promised a two-week leave for my promotion, but that’s been put on hold.”

Rose hung her head a little, but Bit would have none of it, a mischievous idea forming in his head. He turned to her. “Hey, Rose?”

“…yes, Bit?”

“How’s about we go take a shower together? Spend what little time we have to ourselves with each other?”

Rose nodded silently, then her face contorted in thought and she spoke up quickly. “But you can’t drill me like you did last night. Mmm… I think it’s sore from the punishment you gave it.”

“Oh no, you’re mistaken.” Rose looked at him quizzically. Bit smirked confidently. “Other one.” He could practically see the gears turning in Rose’s head before she realized what he was implying, her entire face going red as a tomato.

“You don’t mean…?” Bit nodded his head. “But… if… you…” She sighed in resignation, knowing she probably wouldn’t have won that argument either way. She had been holding out on him for the past three years there, but he was going to get it eventually, his persistence made sure of that, so why not now? “Fine. But please be gentle. No one’s ever gone there.”

Bit nodded in acceptance. “Of course. I wouldn’t want to hurt my beautiful marefriend, now would I?”

The two went to the shower together. As Bit got the water ready, Rose went through the drawers of the sink counter and found what she was looking for: a bottle of unused lubricant expertly disguises to look like a bottle of bathroom cleaner. While Bit was finishing preparing the water, Rose applied a small amount of the creamy substance to her butthole, hoping that it would help, if only a little.

The two stepped into the shower, at which point Rose decided she wanted the initiative, seeing as how Bit had completely dominated her last night.

The two landed on the marble floor of the wide, multi-fauceted shower as Rose forcefully kissed Bit, a sentiment which he returned with gusto. The two kept kissing for another few minutes, their hooves flying around, meeting each other’s bodies head on as the two tried to find a way for the other to break the kiss; Bit eventually won out when he found a rather ticklish spot near Rose’s cutie mark, causing her to break the kiss and start laughing as she tried to escape him, the water running down their fur the whole time.

The two began to kiss again in earnest once Rose had managed to escape Bit’s hooves, Bit willing to let himself be on the bottom this time. For some reason, though, Bit didn’t feel like using foreplay. He took his growing cock and smacked it against Rose’s stomach, getting her to look at him in confusion before she realized what he wanted, letting out a sigh of resignation.

She slowly lowered herself until her anus was touching the tip of Bit’s throbbing member. Bit then grabbed her flanks and slowly pushed himself in until Rose tapped on him to get him to stop. Even though he had less than an inch in, he knew how long this was going to take, the butt being much tighter than the pussy. He then pulled what little was buried out until only the very end of his dick wasn’t visible, then pushed back in, it going a little bit further in. Since this was her first time getting bucked in the backdoor, it was more pain than pleasure, and would be until he was able to bury himself fully in, which might take a while.

The two continued this process, taking more than ten minutes to do so, a little more going in each time the process was repeated, until he was fully buried inside her. He sat back and the water run over his stomach as he waited for Rose to get comfortable.

After a few minutes, Rose touched Bit’s stomach, bringing his attention back to her as he slowly pulled out. He groaned at the tightness of her little anus as he pushed his way back inside her, hearing her let out a light gasp in unspoken agreement.

Bit slowly set a pace, thrusting and pulling out at a sedate pace as the two groaned and moaned in enjoyment. He moved to give Rose a passionate kiss, but she held a hoof to his muzzle and thrusted her hoof forward, pulling it back. Bit looked perplexed for a second, but realized what she wanted, and began to thrust faster and harder into her, causing her to moan out as the two began kissing, their tongues weaving around each other in an elaborate dance as they put all their passion into their lovemaking.

“…oh… that’s the spot…” Rose started really getting herself into it when Bit reached behind them and started rubbing her clit, causing her to try to buck into his hoof, getting a grin from him as he continued his ministrations.

The hole being so tight, the two both began to buck faster and harder as they felt their respective climaxes approach, moaning and grunting hotly in an attempt to speed up the process, though, to them, it might as well have extended the torture.

Rose screamed her release, coating Bit’s throbbing member in her warm seed as he slammed all the way into her, releasing with a loud groan as the rose dropped on top of him and the two felt exhaustion catch up to them. At that point, they were content to just let the water wash them on its own. Bit looked down to find Rose had passed out in his hooves.

10:25 AM

Bit grabbed his saddlebags and brought them into his room, slowly taking everything out of his drawers and packing it up. The last time, he hadn’t expected to be gone an entire month, and as such, he was caught unawares by the sudden call. He had barely time to pack last time around, but he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.

As his two suitcases zipped closed, he moved into the kitchen, grabbing a pre-made lunch inside a stereotypically colored brown plastic sack. He moved to the front door and set his items next to the door, then walked back into his room.

He moved to give Rose a kiss on the cheek, causing her to smile and cling to the blankets and sheets in her sleep, before moving to her ear. “I love you, and I promise I’ll be back just as soon as I can.” He could feel her shift, the smile disappearing for a moment as her sleeping mind registered what he had said, before the smile reappeared and a small tear escaped her closed eyes.

He smiled warmly at the sight before moving under the bed and taking his armor out of its storage space, quickly equipping it. He then moved into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror, taking a small comb and running it through his mane to straighten it out before putting the comb back.

He moved back to the kitchen and took out a parchment and quill and wrote Rose a note explaining his leaving, leaving it tucked into the refrigerator handle, before taking one last look at his home. “I’ll be back. I don’t know when, though… Well, no sense in just standing around like a foal; I have a train to board, after all…”

Bit moved to the front door and picked his saddlebags off the ground, strapping them to his back before grabbing his suitcases, lunch included, and pulled them carefully out of the door, making sure not to hit the metal frame on the way out. He let go of them and turned around, closing the door behind him and locking it, before once more picking his things up, heading for the train station.

10:42 AM

Bit arrived at the train station as the train pulled up to the platform. “All aboard for Canterlot!” He walked into the front train compartment, giving his ticket to the guard, who saluted to him before stamping the ticket and giving him the customers’ receipt. As the train began to roar its exit from the platform, Bit looked forlornly out the window, sleep threatening to overtake him. As he succumbed to his base urges, one final thought ran through his head. Stay safe, my love…