The Knights Trinity

Chapter Fifteen: Preparation

Queen Chrysalis sat in her throne and glared out at a small group of her minions.

“You foals I ordered you to kill these humans, how hard of a task can that be?”

“My Queen even you were defeated by those creatures how can you expect us lowly servants to accomplish such a task?”

A green bolt of magic hit the cowering changeling and slammed him against the wall.

“How dare you claim I was defeated. I was forced to withdraw due to your ineptitude. Had you all followed my plan to the letter the outcome would have been much more favorable.”

“I apologize my Queen.” gasped the changeling as he stood.

Another changeling flew into the chamber breathing heavily.

“Ah Terimus my spy, what news do you bring from Canterlot. It had better be something useful.”

Terimus bowed deeply.

“Yes my Queen, I believe we have an ally to conquer all of Equestria.”

“Go on.”

Terimus informed Queen Chrysalis of Kerrib Thunderfist and his fortress prison in the Crystal Mountains.

“What use is an imprisoned ally. If what you say is true I would have to steal all the love in Equestria to break that spell and free him.”

“No my Queen after several thousand years the magical field has weakened. With your great power the spell could be easily shattered.”

“Then we must find this fortress immediately.” said the Queen rising from her throne.

“By freeing this Keerib he shall owe me a debt. I will convince him our goals are the same and with our forces combined nothing shall stand in our way. Take the swarm and head to the crystal mountains at once. Send word when you have found Kerrib so I may come and free him. But, know this Terimus, if this information proves to be false, you shall pay dearly for wasting my time.

Terimus bowed and left as quickly as he came. Soon the air was filled with the sound of hundreds of buzzing wings. Chrysalis watched as the swarm of changelings rose and headed off towards the mountains.

“Finally Celestia, I will have my revenge.”

..............

The next morning Rainbow Dash walked with everypony to the train station and they shared their goodbye’s. She waved at them all as she watched the train disappear and headed back to the castle with a sigh.

“So are they gone now?” asked Dustin quietly as she slipped back into the room.

“Yeah, they all asked me to tell you goodbye and they would see you soon.”

“We really do have some great friends don’t we Skittles.”

She climbed back into bed and snuggled up against him. Dustin carefully pulled his arm from under Luna’s neck and rolled on to his side. He wrapped his arms around the rainbow maned pegasus and pulled her tight against his chest. She looked up at him with a smile as he leaned in and kissed her. She returned the kiss as she put her back leg over his

“I love you Rainbow Dash.”

“I love you too. Just don’t expect me to be sappy and stuff all the time. I got my reputation still.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. That fiery attitude is one of the things I love the most about you.”

“So have you thought about what your going to do once your leader of the pegasi?”

“We’ll have to start recruiting. We need to find instructors, a training area, and figure out what kind of weapons will be best suited for aerial combat with ponies.”

“What’s with all this “WE” stuff? Last I checked you were the knight not me.”

“Who could be better for second in command then the greatest flier in all of Equestria?”

“Soarin, Fleetfoot, or Spitfire. They are the big three in the Wondercolts.”

“They sound like they’d make some fine instructors. But, I want you at my side Rainbow Dash, I know I can trust you.”

“The Wonderbolt’s have their own training academy we could use, if Princes Celestia ordered it. Cloudsdale has the pegasus flight school too. It’s for teaching fillies how to fly though. I don’t think it would work to well for what your talking about.”

“See you already covered two of the four things I listed. Obviously your a natural at this.” he said with a chuckle.

“Fine, just don’t go expecting me to save your flank again. You already owe me one remember.”

“How could I forget? I’m sure your gonna keep reminding me.”

Nurse Redheart knocked softly on the door as she pushed it open.

“Good morning Dustin, Rainbow Dash. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“Its alright, whats going on?”

“The doctor asked me to see about getting you into the wheelchair. He wants you to grab some breakfast and start your physical therapy this morning.”

Dustin looked over to the chair by the wall.

“Bring it over here and I’ll see what I can do.”

Rainbow Dash flew over and pushed the chair to the side of the bed. Dustin leaned over and engaged the wheel locks and started trying to raise himself up off the bed. His teeth clenched and his eyes narrowed as pain crossed through his chest. Despite the pain he continued pushing himself forward. Rainbow Dash flew in behind him and grabbed hold of his arms.

“I’m not gonna help unless you want me to. But, I’m not going to sit here and let you fall either.”

“Thanks Skittles.”

Dustin carefully lowered himself into the chair and Nurse Redheart wheeled him towards the door.

“We’ll be back in an hour or so Ms. Dash.”

“I’ll be waiting.” she whispered as they left.

Rainbow Dash crawled back onto the bed and under the blankets next to Luna. Before long she too drifted back to sleep.

After a quick breakfast, nurse Redheart pushed Dustin into a smaller room with what appeared to be exercise equipment inside.

“Wow, the castle has a rehab facility, I’m impressed.”

“Actually Princess Luna asked the doctor for a list of what you would need to recover properly. She then paid to have this room set up to meet your needs. She must really care about you, I’ve never seen her act this way towards anypony else.

She helped Dustin out of the chair and they started to work towards his full recovery.

.................................

The train pulled into the Ponyville station and everypony started to disembark.

“I’m afraid I simply must hurry and finish Dustin’s outfit. By the way Anthony, Adrian some of the clothes you asked for are ready. Swing by and pick them up whenever your ready.”
“Alright Rarity, I can stop by tomorrow if that will work.” said Anthony.

“Of coarse darling, I look forward to seeing you. You both can try on your outfit for the ceremony as well. I’d like to see them on you so I can make any needed adjustments.”

With that Rarity turned, tossing her mane as she walked away.

“I s’pose we should be gettin back to the orchard. We’re gonna need plenty of apples ta make treats for the ceremony.” said Applejack adjusting her hat.

‘I better go talk to Mr and Mrs Cake. We’ll be ready to start baking as soon as you get them to us.” yelled Pinkie as she bounced off towards Sugarcube Corner.

“Um Anthony.” came the quite voice of Fluttershy. “It sounds like your awfully busy, but the animals are waiting for you to come by as well. If you still want to that is.”

“Of course I do Fluttershy. I’ll even bring Adrian along, we’ll make sure you know in advance so they can all be at their finest.”

Fluttershy perked up at the though of finding at least two of her animals a new home.

“That would be wonderful, I can’t wait.”

“We’ll see you in a few days.” said Anthony with a wave.

He and Twilight started off towards the castle together.

“Anypony else.” remarked Anthony with a laugh as they walked.

“Oh Twilight.” came the voice of Lyra from behind them.

Anthony gave himself a facepalm, cursing for not keeping his mouth shut.

“Hi Lyra, what can I do for you.” asked Twilight with a forced smile.

“Means being you’ve been hogging Anthony all to yourself this last week, I was hoping I’d get a chance to talk with him.”

“I haven’t been hogging him!” exclaimed Twilight a hint of redness in her cheeks.

“If you’d like Lyra, you can come with us to the castle and we can talk for a little while.” said Anthony as he started walking again.

“Are you sure it’s not a bother.”

“Nope, but I want to get their before anybody else decides to stop us.”
The trio made their way to the castle and Anthony dropped his stuff off in his room. He headed back downstairs to join Lyra and Twilight in the library. Lyra spent the next few hours bombarding Anthony with questions about humans and earth. He answered the best he could without having to explain things in to much detail. Twilight stood about halfway through the Q&A session and offered to make them all something to eat.

........................

Adrian and Applejack walked casually down the road talking about what princess Luna and Celestia had said.

“So whatca think about leadin the earth ponies sugarcube?”

“I don’t know AJ. I don’t like being in charge, I prefer to be out there gettin the job done.”

“Then lead from the front.” replied Applejack.

“Do ya think they’ll follow me, this is going to be a war not a parade.”

“I know I’d follow ya sugercube. It’d give me a chance ta check out that flank ah yours.” she said smacking Adrian on the butt.

Adrian laughed as he shook his butt around in front of her.

“Seriously though Adrian. You show em the same hard work and determination you have helpin me buck apples and they’ll follow ya.”

“Thanks AJ.”

About halfway between Sweet Apple Acres and Ponyville they stopped and looked at a fairly big construction site. Work ponies were busy moving materials and equipment around. They watched as what looked like a loader leveled the ground.

“What in the hay are they buildin out here?” asked Applejack.

“Who knows, makes me wonder on how things are going at our new place?”

“Our place.” said Applejack with a jerk.

“Yep, I figured since its so close to the orchard maybe you’d wanna live there with me.”

“I-I dunno Adrian. I hadn’t really thought about it. ”

“You have some time before its done. It was just something I wanted to offer.”

Adrian put his hand on Applejack’s back and they started off down the road again. As they walked through the gate Applebloom ran out to meet them.

“Did Scootaloo come back too?” she asked.

“I’m afraid not, she and Rainbow Dash are gonna stay with Dustin another day or two.” replied Adrian.

“I s’pose me and Sweetiebell c’n wait a couple more days ta do some crusading.”

“Cheer up Applebloom. Now that Dustin’s awake he’ll be back here in no time. Once he gets here I can talk to him about joining the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

“That’s right. I need ta find Sweetiebell, we ain’t never had a grownup help out before. We need ta go over the paperwork.”

Applebloom gave her sister a hug and ran off towards town.

“Do you think its to hot to start buckin apples?” asked Adrian

“If’n we get started right now, we could probably get a few bushels down.”

“Then lets get goin.” he stated heading to the barn.

He hooked the wagon hitch around his waist as Applejack loaded the barrels.

“So where are we headed today?”

“We’ll hit the north orchard it’s the closest.”

After a little bit of walking Adrian started picking up the pace to a steady jog.

“I want to be able to get this speed with a loaded wagon.” he said to Applejack as they arrived.

He unhooked the wagon and helped her put out the barrels. Applejack gave a hard buck and watched as they filled with apples. They loaded the wagon and moved on to the next tree. On about the eighth tree Adrian dropped down to his knees. He kicked out his feet and about half the apples fell. He kicked again watching all but one apple fall. Jumping up he grabbed the apple and pulled it down. He took a large bite and offered it to Applejack.

“Ya know AJ I’ve been thinking. What if we came here and this oracle was wrong about the war and nothing happens. Or what am I going to do when its all over.”

“I s’pose you’d wanna try in find a way back ta earth.” she replied looking over his face, hoping she was wrong..

“At first that’s exactly what I thought. Then I started to really think about what I left behind. I think I’d miss Equestia even more then earth. I know how mad I was when Celestia told us we could never go home. If I hadn’t been brought here I’d be dead and I’d have never met you. A future without you is something I wouldn’t want at all. Applejack walked over and pulled him down to the ground giving him a kiss.

“I love you sugarcube. Just promise me that if’n this war does happen ya ain’t gonna do somethin stupid and get yerself killed. I don know what I’d do if anything happened to ya.”

“I promise not to do anything stupid, but I can’t promise nothing will happen to me AJ. You saw what happened during my last night on earth. Sometimes things go wrong, but I’m damn sure not going to let anything happen to you or your family.”

“I-I just never felt this way bout nopony before Adrian. Part a me wants ta ask you not ta get involved at all. That would be mighty selfish of me though. I know this is why you were brought here, but the whole idea is kinda scary.”

“Don’t worry AJ, once its all said and done I’ll be back here buckin apples and making cider.”

Adrian stood up and started loading the barrels and they headed to the next tree. After a few more Adrian hooked up the wagon and started to jog back towards the barn. He didn’t make it very far before slowing down to an easy walk.

“Not today.” he said with a pant.

He and Applejack walked back the rest of the way side by side.

.........................

“Good Afternoon Aura!” shouted Shining Armor banging his horseshoe on the bars of the cell door.

“Don’t patronize me Capta, oh forgive me, “PRINCE” Shining Armor.” said the unicorn sarcastically as he stood. “So what have I done that was so terrible I deserve a visit from the royal family?”

“Nothing in particular this time, I just wanted to talk with you.”

“Oh Boy, should I feel honored or humbled?”

“You know Aura if you could keep that attitude and temper of yours in check I’d have no problem making you Captain of the Crystal Guard. Getting in fights over silly things should be below a pony in a position of authority.”

“The problem is that I don’t find them silly Sir. So why don’t you stop with the bullshit and tell me what ya want, or let me out. You know if it wasn’t for your damn shield spell on this cell I’d have walked outta here myself days ago.”

“That’s exactly why it’s there. Now straight to business as usual I see. We have a... situation, and I feel your the best choice to take care of it.”

“Two questions, what situation and why me?”

“There is a fortress encased in magical barrier on a peak in the crystal mountains. I want you to find it, assess its condition, and report anything suspicious to me. As to why you, I’ve know you for a long time Aura. Despite all the trouble you’ve gotten into I know I can trust you. You’ve never let me down before and I doubt you would now.”

“Whats in it for me if I do this?”

“If our theory is correct, which I hope its not, you’d get your change at some real combat.”

“Seriously? What’s so important about some old fortress?”

“It’s the fortress of a minotaur Warlord. He and what was left of his army are imprisoned inside. I want you to find it and make sure they stay that way. Simple as that.”

“Something tells me it ain’t that simple. Who’s the warlord and where exactly is this fortress?”

“Kerrib Thunderfist was his name and he was here on a mission to eliminate all ponies who refused to serve him. All we know regarding the whereabouts of the fortress is that its now the peak on one of the mountains.”

“Simple huh, do you know how many peaks there are in the Crystal Mountains? It could take me months just to find it. Send the Crystal Guard.”

“Can’t do that, I need this handled quietly and we can’t risk being the cause for Kerrib’s release. Please Aura, do this favor for me, if not as a comrade, do it as a friend.”

“This must be pretty serious for you to pull out the friend card on me.”

“It is Aura. That’s why I want you to do it.”

“Alrighty then, get me outta here. I have some prepping to do, looks like I might be gone for awhile.”

Shining Armor’s horn glowed and the cell door swung open.

“We’ll get you whatever you need.”

Once Aura’s saddlebags were full of all the supplies he would need he gave Shining Armor a salute.

“Wish me luck.” was all he said as he set out towards the mountains.

....................

Nurse Redheart wheeled Dustin back to his room and he pushed the door open. A smile crossed his face as he saw Rainbow Dash and Luna playing a card game with Scootaloo on the bed.

“Dustin’s back!” shouted Scootaloo when she noticed him in the doorway.

‘Yes I am. What are you three doin?”

“Rainbow Dash is teaching me how to play poker.”

Dustin looked at Rainbow Dash waiting to hear the story of how this came about.

“What?” asked Rainbow Dash looking almost offended. “It was Luna, she said she saw it in one of your memories and asked if I knew how to play.”

Luna’s horn started to glow as she lifted Dustin back onto the bed.

“I’m sure after your physical activity you wouldn’t mind a helping hoof to get back into bed.”

“Not at all Luna. I will say that the more I move around the less intense the pain seems to be. I guess that means I’m working in the right direction.”

“I certainly hope so.” replied Luna as she gave Dustin a kiss.

“Hey what about me.” said Rainbow Dash walking over to his other side.

Dustin gave her a kiss and smiled.

“Between you and Luna I’m in real trouble. I could get lost in both your eyes forever.”

“Gross! Can you knock it off with the mushy stuff already?”
They laughed at the filly’s outburst as Rainbow Dash started dealing out the cards.

.....................

The next day Adrian, Anthony, Applejack, and Twilight made their way to Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Okay everypony, line up and put your best hoof forward for our guests. An assorted group of animals lined up behind the cottage.

“Do you know what kind of pet you want?”

Anthony walked up and down the line looking them over.”

He stopped to look over at cat, but a pair of ferrets ran up his leg playfully.

“I think they like you.” said Fluttershy with a giggle.

“What do you think Twilight?” asked Anthony setting the ferrets back on the ground.

“Their so cute.” she said kneeling down to look at them.

“I take it you approve. Do you think having them around the castle would be a problem?”

“Not at all. Spike shouldn’t freak out like he did when Owlowiscious showed up. These two would be your pets after all.”

“So you two wanna go home with me today?”

The ferrets ran around his legs jumping and dooking. Anthony unzipped his backpack and sat it down. They hopped in and made themselves comfortable.

“This is so wonderful Anthony. It would have been so hard for those two not to find a new home together. What are you going to name them?”

Anthony picked up the backpack and laughed as the ferrets heads bounced off of each other.

“I think I’ll call you Ping and Pong.”

Fluttershy smiled at the names.

“I think that’s very fitting for those two. What about you Adrian?”

Go ahead sugarcube. We won’t have an issue with another critter around the farm ta help out.”

Adrian looked over the animals.

“Do you have a dog Fluttershy, I’ve always wanted one. Plus I think it would be good to give Winona a friend too.”

Fluttershy whistled softly, and a bark came from inside the cottage. A black lab ran out and tackled Fluttershy in a flurry of puppy kisses making her giggled happily.

“Calm down boy, I want you to meet my friend Adrian.”

The puppy sat and looked over the strangers, his tail wagging furiously.

“I didn’t bring him out because he’s still a little young for a new home. Do you like him.”

“He’s great Fluttershy.” replied Adrian as he leaned down scratching the pups belly. “How much longer before I could take him home?”

“It’ll be a few more weeks but I’m sure he would absolutely love it at the orchard.”

“Okay, just let me know when I can get him.”

“I will, thank you both so much. If your not to busy you could join me for some tea.”

They walked into the cottage and sat around the table. Fluttershy served everypony tea and offered a small plate of sandwiches.

“Hello Fluttershy, having tea without me?”

Adrian dropped his cup after seeing a pair of yellow and red eyes staring back at him.

The liquid oozed across the table growing in size. The tea splashed to the floor leaving behind a peculiar creature in its place.

“Hello my human friends allow me to introduce myself. My name is.”

“Discord” said Anthony with a smirk.”

“Could it be that my amazing visage is known even throughout the realm of earth?”

“You wish, I read about you in a book Twilight gave me.”

“Oh phooey. You just had to spoil my dreams.”
“What do ya want Discord?” asked Applejack.

“I just wanted to meet the three or should I say two new celebrities in Ponyville. Where is your other friend, did he get his flank kicked by dear Chrysalis?”

“Now listen here you no good...”

“Applejack!!! That’s no way to treat Discord, he was simply asking a question.”

“That weren’t no question. He’s pushin buttons tryin ta start a fight.”

“MMmmmeeeeee? Applejack I’m wounded, whatever would make you think that?”

“It’s alright AJ, he’s gonna have to try a lot harder to get a rise out of us.” said Adrian.

“Well your no fun.” replied Discord sticking out his tongue.

He leaned backwards in mid air and snapped his fingers. The tea pot and a tea cup grew legs and ran across the table to him.

“Honey anyone?” he asked turning into a giant bee with a flash.

“Discord that’s enough.” said Fluttershy firmly.

“Sorry Fluttershy I was just having a bit of fun.” Discord smiled wickedly at the two humans in the room. “You know, next time your site seeing in Canterlot you simply must visit the the caves under the Castle. You might find something most....intriguing.”

“And just what would that be?” asked Anthony.

“Oh I couldn’t say with any certainty, I just know that the King liked to visit there from time to time. Of course that was before I took over Equestria and turned it into my own little playground.” he replied as a swing appeared under him and he started rocking back and forth.

“Why not just tell us what we’re suppose to be looking for?” asked Twilight.

“Come now my dear Twilight, how would you have opened your little treasure box without a nudge in the right direction? Your not going to ruin all my fun. You really should learn to trust somepony else once and a while. Now I must say it was a pleasure to meet you both. Perhaps next time I can meet your other companion. So I bid you all farewell.” With a snap he disappeared as quickly as he had arrived.

“Is he really gone?” asked Anthony.

“That’s the problem with Discord, you never really can tell.” replied Twilight.
“Are there really caves under the castle?”

“Yes, Chrysalis tried to trap Cadence and I in them before the wedding.”

“So there is a way in?”

“There is but Celestia had a large gate built that is always under guard. Are you seriously thinking about going down there Anthony?”

“I don’t know, from what I’ve read Discord isn’t one to be trusted. He could just be luring us down there to get us out of the way.”

“Not Discord, after the whole Terik incident I think he’s as trustworthy as anypony else.” said Fluttershy calmly.

“Once everypony is together we can talk about it. Who knows, maybe Celestia will find something in the journal.” added Twilight.

After chatting for awhile they said their goodbyes and headed back to town.

“I suppose we should stop in and see Rarity while were here.” said Anthony.

A familiar bell rang out as they entered the boutique.

“Welcome, please come in and have a seat.” chimed Rarity as she headed into the backroom.

Anthony took his backpack off and sat it on the floor without thinking. Ping and Pong poked there heads out and scurried off unnoticed.

Rarity re-emerged pushing two wheeled clothes racks in with her magic.

“Any particular reason those are covered?” asked Adrian.

“Patience darling, patience.” she replied smiling coyly.

She pushed the racks into place in front of them.

“Ta Da.” she exclaimed pulling the covers off.

Anthony’s attention was immediately brought to a dark blue looking uniform on the end of the rack.

He stood up and walked over pulling it off.

“Rarity this is amazing!”

“I know, I think I even impressed myself with those.”

The jacket was edged in gold embroidery, there was an oval cut emerald on each side of the chest. A large shield with cross swords adorn the back with the symbol from the Canterlot Banner embroidered inside. The seams down the outside of the pant legs and sleeves were also covered in golden thread. Anthony carried the uniform into the back. Soon he walked back out bending his arms testing the flexibility of his new dress uniform.

“I can’t believe it. I couldn’t get an outfit that fit this good back on earth.”

Adrian held up his new outfit and looked it over. His bore the same design and embroidery as Anthony’s only his was a dark green and had two ruby’s attached to the chest. He quickly walked in to the back and changed. The custom tailored outfit fit snugly but still gave him freedom of movement.

“Damn Anthony you weren’t joking. Rarity can this be altered if need be in the future.”

“Of coarse darling, by then I may just find myself inspired to create you something new though. As to your other clothes Adrian they are made from a fabric of my design. It’s very durable but easy to clean. They should last quite some time even with the work your doing in the orchard. Anthony yours are comfortable but still quite stylish. I hope you both like them.”

“Their outstanding.” said Adrian as he thumbed through the rest of the clothes.

“Excellent, I’ll get them boxed up and delivered first thing tomorrow.”

Rarity picked the covers up off the floor and let out a blood curdling scream.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” asked Anthony and Adrian almost in unison.

“There are RATS in my shop. Get them out, get them out, get them OUT!!!” she screamed.

Twilight picked up the two ferrets with her magic.

“These aren’t rats Rarity, their ferrets. This is Ping and this is Pong, Anthony’s new pets.” she said holding them up for Rarity to see.

The white mare cringed as the rodents floated closer to her.

“N-nice to meet you.”

Anthony grabbed the duo from Twilight and put them back into his bag.
“So can we see Dustin’s dress clothes?” asked Anthony diverting Rarity’s attention.

“I don’t know, I still have more work to do on it.”

“Come on.”

“I suppose just a peak.” she replied pulling a mannequin in from the back. “As you can see I made Dustin’s in red, accented with two dark blue diamonds. The crest on the back is a perfect match to your own. Do you think he will approve?”

“Without a doubt.” remarked Anthony with a nod.

They changed back into their uniforms and thanked Rarity as they left.

Applejack and Adrian wandered off towards the orchard as Anthony and Twilight made their way to the castle.

“Twilight, do you have any books pertaining to the practical application of magic. Maybe a beginners guide of sorts.”

“That’s a silly question. Of coarse I do, why?”

If I’m going to help train and lead the unicorns I should at least have a general knowledge of how magic works and what it’s limitations are. I need to know defensive and offensive spells, strengths, weaknesses, the works.”

“If you’d like Anthony I’d be more then happy to teach you.”

“Are you sure you have the time?”

“You can read the books and I can show you magic in use. I can also answer any questions you may have regarding what you read. I have read almost every book in the library anyway.”

They got to the castle and went straight to the library. Twilight grabbed a quill and paper and started writing. Before long she called for Spike. The purple dragon came running into the room.

“What can I do for you Twilight?”

She handed him the paper and smiled.

“Please assemble all of these books together for Anthony.”

“All of them?” he asked, his eyes going wide as he read the list.

“Yes all of them, Anthony has a little bit of reading to do.”

She gave him a wink as she trotted out of the room.

“Ah man, I was suppose to go help Pinkie Pie tonight I guess it will have to wait til tomorrow.”

Anthony looked over to the down trodden dragon.

“Hey Spike just get the first five on the list for now. I’ll mark them off as I read them and you can get me the next five later. This way you can still do what you have planned okay.”

“Really? Thanks Anthony.”

“No Problem.”

Spike started gathering the books as Anthony sat down at the desk preparing for a cram session. He laid his bag on the desk top and let his new companions out.

“Welcome to your new home.” he said scratching their heads.

..................

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo returned the next day and told everypony how Dustin was doing with his recovery. He was able to stand on his own but could only walk short distances with assistance. The next few day passed quickly with everypony preparing for the Knighting Ceremony. Adrian and Applejack supplied Sugar Cube Corner with a steady stream of apples. Pinkie Pie and the Cakes started shipping goodies to the Castle by train. Rarity worked endlessly to finish Dustin’s outfit and new dresses for everypony else.

................

Dustin stood in front of the mirror looking at himself. He ran his hand over the beard he had grown over the past few weeks.

“How are you feeling?” asked Luna as she walked in.

“Wishing I had a razor. Do you think you could send a letter to Anthony to bring my hygiene kit in the morning?”

“I will see to it personally. Are you wanting to make yourself look more dashing for the ceremony?”

“I do need to look my best for the two most beautiful mares I know.” he replied with a smile.

He walked over and turned on the water in the bathtub adjusting it to a comfortable temperature.

“We’ve got at least an hour before you have to raise the moon. Care to join me?” he said with a sly grin on his face.

Luna took off her royal attire and stepped into the tub enjoying the feeling of the warm water against her hooves. The water made her fur glisten as she sat and stretched herself out.

“I believe a relaxing bath would be a delightful way to start the evening. And tonight I will be sure that you and your friends rest well for the ceremony tomorrow.”

Dustin sat down and put his arm around her neck. She raised her head and their lips met. The tension and stress seemed to flow out of Luna as her muscles started to relax.

“I did not realize just how pleasurable a simple kiss from ones coltfriend could be. I now understand why I see so many of my subjects engaging in this manner.”

Dustin picked up the sponge and soap and started to wash her back.

“You did it for me, I thought I’d return the favor.” he said with a smile.

Luna laid in the water taking in the personal attention, her eyes half closed and she smiled.

“Do you really think this Kerrib would want to seek revenge after being frozen in a mountain after all these years? I mean after all that time couldn’t he just be content with being free.”

“Not likely. I understand being locked away for a great time. Those feelings of anger and hatred only build and fester. If he is freed his rage shall be doubled, I hate to think of the horrors he will enact against the ponies.”

“How do you know what its like being locked away?”

Luna cringed, immediately regretting what she had said. Dustin lifted her chin and kissed her softly.

“It’s okay Luna you can talk to me.”

Luna sat silent for a while before deciding to tell Dustin of her past.

“I have done great evil in my life, horrible things that I regret. To this day I am still trying to repay the citizens for the pain and suffering I caused in my youth. I was Nightmare Moon.”

“Nightmare Moon?”

“Yes an evil creature, I grew angry and bitter towards my sister and everypony. She was worshiped for the warmth and sunlight she brought each day. However, I was shunned and ignored despite the effort I put into creating beautiful nights. Jealousy dug at my very soul until those emotions consumed me, bringing forth Nightmare Moon. I refused to lower the moon using it to eclipse the sun casting the land into darkness.

Luna started to cry as she pushed her head against Dustin’s chest.

“Please, don’t think less of me. I went on a rampage hurting thousands of ponies until my sister rose up against me. During our battle she was forced to use the Elements of Harmony to defeat me. In so doing I was banished to the moon for one thousand years. When I returned I imprisoned my sister and vowed my revenge. Thankfully, Twilight and her friends defeated Nightmare Moon freeing me from her grasp.”

“Think less of you? How could I? I see a strong beautiful mare. You may have made some mistakes in your life, but you have learned from them and earned your redemption. Celestia and the others don’t appear to see you differently because of your past. We see and love the mare you are now. Plus, your talking to a guy who earned his pay through causing death and destruction. I understand more than you realize just how it feels. If Kerrib is freed and war breaks out a lot of ponies are going to know these things as well.”

Luna raised her head and looked into Dustin’s eyes. She could see the sincerity of his words. She threw her hooves around his neck holding him tightly as she wept. Dustin put his arms around her in return, pulling her further into him.

“Thank you, for not judging me. I love you and I feared that if you knew the truth, you would be unable or unwilling to give your love to me. For the first time I have found somepony that sees me for who I am and treats me like everypony else. That means so much to me and I never want to lose you.”

“Luna I do love you, even after what you told me the way I feel and see you haven’t changed. I’m the youngest of three brothers. I know what its like being compared to a sibling. Hearing how much better or successful they are then you. The jealousy and anger is hard to deal with when your younger.”

“You didn’t try to kill your brothers or hurts thousands because of your anger.”

“No, but I wasn’t a ruler or responsible for controlling the raise and fall of the moon. I’m not saying that is a good reason for why things happened the way they did. I just want you to know I understand.”

They sat looking into each others eyes, both thinking about what the other said. Dustin couldn’t find anymore words to reassure her. So he kissed her letting his passion and love take a physical form. Luna smiled broadly as she opened her eyes.

“I love you too Dustin.”