The old world

Chapters

Dark Memories and a Bright Future
A Purpose in Life
A New Foe
A Devil and A Saint
An Eventful Night
Making Amends
An Ambush And A Home
All Is Not As It Seems
Why We Kill
Departure
NEWS!

Dark Memories and a Bright Future

This is just a pilot chapter and is my first attempt at writting. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Please tell me what sort of tags I should include if they aren’t there.

The first rays of Celestia’s sunlight filtered through the door way. Shining stepped out from the barracks. The cool air swept through the training fields, as he started his usual morning trot. Despite the satisfaction of being captain of the royal guard, he had realised that it wasn’t something he could deal with forever. The screams of ponies. The screeching of metal against metal. Blood raining from wounded Pegasi. The Great War had been costly for everyone involved. The griffons had fared no better than the ponies they fought against. Their once mighty empire was now nothing more than a small city state.

Shining struggled to force the memories out of his mind, without success. Cadence had been a huge help to him, but he knew that their relationship had been strained since the first incident. It all started when he had his first nightmare after returning home of fighting desperately for his life. The griffon he had been choking screamed in that high pitched tone, a tone which became more familiar until the griffon started shouting.

“Please…. stop, it’s… me. Please Shining, its me.”

The griffon had suddenly disappeared, only to be replaced by Cadence crying. He had lifted his hooves off her neck, backed away slowly and then ran out of the room, now crying, and hid himself in the bathroom. Turning on the tap, Shining sat on the floor sobbing, hoping that the sound of the tap could hide his sorrow.

Cadence slowly turned the handle and stepped inside. Shining looked up at her and backed away, glancing down at his hooves and then back to his wife.

“I’m sorry….. I… just…” His voice was unusually high and he couldn’t speak through the choked sobs.

“Shhhhh, it’s ok, you just had a bad dream. I’m here. You don’t need to worry anymore. I’m here.” Her soft voice was like a harp playing and it caused Shining to relax.

Even though he had almost killed her, she trusted him, and forgave him for what he had done. It was a realisation that allowed him to finally talk.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked, his voice not much louder than a whisper, “I was just, I’m sorry” As he came to terms with what he had done he started crying again uncontrollably. He was acting like a foal, how could he have just sat there and sobbed, he should have been comforting his wife, not the other way around.

“It’s ok baby… it’s ok.” Cadence was hugging him tightly, her right wing draped across Shining’s back as they sat on the ceramic floor.

As he came back to his senses from remembering the nightmare, Shining realised that he had been galloping and had almost reached the edge of the city. All he could think about were those last words as he fell unconscious on the grass from the physical exertion.

“It’s ok… it’s ok.”

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"Good morning Captain" Cadence said with a wink as Shining Stepped inside their house. He had only been gone for a couple of days but it felt like an eternity.

"Cadence, It's good to be home." There was nothing necessary to say as they embraced. Although they had been together for almost 20 years now, She appeared just as beautiful to him now as she did when they first met.

They walked in silence to the lounge, both leaning against each other as they walked. Once they sat down Shining told her the news she knew was coming but dreaded to hear.

"I've been re-assigned... It is an expeditionary voyage to the old world." Shining's face became downcast. "It will last for 3 years"

Cadence let out a small gasp at the thought of such a separation. Tears began to well up and she asked herself what she would do. Suddenly Shining started to smile.

"But on the upside, Princess Luna realised how hard this would be and offered you the place of foreign ambassador." All of Cadence's fears melted away at that. Sure it would be dangerous, but it would mean that they were together, and that was all that mattered.

"Twilight is coming as well. She will be there to learn about her new assignment on other animals and plants" Shining was starting to ramble. "And she will be able to keep you company on the trip and we can explore all the new places. Did I mention that she is bringing her daughter? But anyway she wi..."

"What!" Cadence was astonished. "She can't bring Sparkling, she is just a filly!" She had good reason to worry, Sparkling Seas had been the closest thing to a daughter that the pair could ever have, since Cadence had been unable to have foals of her own. The idea that she was coming on such a dangerous trip was unthinkable.

"Don't worry, we will have at least a battalion coming with us. She will be fine." Shining tried to reassure her, but she still had her doubts. Still, there was no other solution, since she was a single parent and Twilight would never deliberately endanger her child.

Pushing her thoughts aside she looked up at her husband. "So when do we leave?"

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The huge ship that stood before them was bristling with sails, and scores of ponies worked at loading all the necessary cargo and supplies. This vessel "The Chalice of Hope" was just one of five ships, which were being prepared along the Manehatten docks for the expedition. There were only a sixty four cannons on the ship, as they were not expected to meet any serious opposition, this was after all a peaceful voyage of discovery. The wooden planks creaked loudly as more supplies were loaded. Glad to see that everything was in order, Shining turned around just in time to see Sparkling sneaking up behind him.

"How many times i gotta tell you kiddo, you can't catch me" Shining teased the little filly who sat and gave an annoyed huff.

"Hi BBBFF!" Twilight walked slowly up to her brothers side. "I just know that this trip will be amazing, there is so much to learn about where ponies first came from"

"I thought you'd have a book all about it". Shining joked, but it only seemed to make the studious mare more talkative about the subject.

"Actually, little is known about our origins, only a few fragmentary fossils can be found in the southern most tips of Equestria, and they only date back abut 30 000 years" Twilight stopped herself when she saw Cadence talking with Luna.

"Hello Cadence, how have you been, Sparkling has been awake all night, she has been so excited to see you again."

Shining rolled his eyes after his attempt to reply to Twilight was cut short. After having been friends with Pinkie for so long, Twilight had become more impulsive.

"Auntie Cadence!!!" Suddernly a ball of aqua fur and feathers with a bright, white mane tackled into the princess. They both fell off the deck and into the water. Shining, Luna and Twilight raced to the side of the jetty to find the pair splashing each other and laughing.

"Honestly Twilight, you have the most adorable filly in the world" Cadence said between giggles.

"She gets it from Pinkie Pie" Twilight replied, trying to suppress her own laughter.

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After the pair were dried off, the final preperations were made and Luna bade them fairwell as she boarded one of the other ships "The Explorer" .

Shining turned towards his wife. "Lets make history".

A Purpose in Life

Chapter 2:

“So, that means only three ships are fit for combat?” The state of the fleet was somewhat underwhelming in Shining Armour’s opinion.

“Yes, Captain. If you have any other concerns, I suggest you take it up with Princess Luna” Admiral John Whitehooves was starting to become annoyed with all of the Captains concerns. His brown and cream mane whipped about in the wind, matching the bristling of his identically coloured blotched coat. They were already ones that he was well aware of, however it was made clear to him that the Equestrian government could not finance an armada. He knew that Shining was more experienced than he was, hell, Whitehooves was an entire decade younger, but the chain of command had to be maintained. Even if that meant being firm with his friend once in a while.

“Yes Admiral” Shining retreated below deck and made his way to the sleeping quarters which had been offered to Twilight and Sparkling. The dark hallway seemed to bend and stretch before his very eyes as the vessel rocked in the choppy waters of the Hippocampian Sea. They had only been sailing for a few days but already the southernmost port in Equestria was long behind them, as were the gentle waters that surrounded its shores. Shining was about to knock on his sister’s door when it swung open and a dark brown earth pony with a bright red, swept back mane walked out. He curtly nodded to Shining as he walked past, a heavy pack full of books and glass instruments on his back.

“Oh, hi Shining. Did you meet Cavalier Darwin? He is going to be helping me with documenting all of the new species we find and also help with any excavations. We were just talking about some of the new species of whales we saw yesterday.” Twilight somehow managed to say all this in one breath, barely containing her excitement.

“Was that all you were doing in there… I see Sparkling isn’t in here.” Shining teased with a wink. He had talked him several times before but Twilight seemed oblivious.

Blushing she stammered her excuses. “P-please, we are just colleagues.” She quickly tried to change the subject. “What did the Admiral say about the lack of defensive equipment?”

“Well, to be honest, I think he is of my opinion, but there is not much he can do. The parliament can't excuse that sort of expenditure after the Great War.” At the mere mention of the event, Shining’s face became downcast. He had still been having nightmares ever since that first night. They were starting to go away, but it seemed the less frequent they became, the more troubling they were to his wellbeing.

“Are…you still having nightmares?” His sister’s concerned eyes and gentle smile was all it took for him to break from his stupor.

“Yes, but they are few and far between, I just need the company of friends and family” He tried to put on a brave face, but he knew Twilight could see right through it.

“Come on Shining, let’s get some fresh air.” Shining nuzzled his sister, again thankful to have such a supportive sister.

Once on the top deck, Shining Armour found Cadence playing with Sparkling in the afternoon breeze. The two were running amongst the ropes and boats which were used for landing and sending messages to the other ships. It looked as though they were pretending to be sword fighting with sticks. Sparkling was wearing a fake crown.

“You won’t get away from me, thief, for I am Luna, leader of Celestia’s armies!” The filly tried to put on the Coyal Canterlot voice, but it still came out in her characteristically high pitched foal voice.

“She loves her as if she were her own, you know, Twili. Ever since she found out that we couldn’t…” Shining let out a sigh. “I know you were a little worried about bringing her with us, but Cadence wouldn’t have been able to come if she couldn’t have kept an eye on her. To know Sparkling would be safe.”

“I know, I just hope Sparkling doesn’t think of herself as invincible.” Twilight walked up to where the Princess and her daughter were playing. The pair had stopped fighting for now and were lying on the deck, pointing at the clouds.

“Come on little filly, it’s time for you to get back to your studies, just because there is no school on the ship doesn’t mean you get out of work.” It pained twilight to have to force her daughter to study when she was having so much fun. Cadence and Sparkling pulled themselves up off the deck. As they did so, Sparkling stopped and squinted at the horizon.

“Mummy, I see a ship, it’s really small, but I see it.” She continued to cry out to her mother, but Twilight was busy discussing the situation with Cadence and Shining Armour. They were whispering at first, but then Shining told one of the sailors to get the Admiral. Finally Twilight knelt down to face her daughter.

“Sweetie, I have to go now and talk to Princess Luna about what you saw. That was very well spotted, I’m very proud of you.” Twilight made sure to appear calm for her daughter. “I want you to stay with Cadence, she is going to stay with you in our room for a while and make sure you do your homework.”

“Ohh kaayyyy.” With that Cadence and Sparkling walked over to the staircase.

“Thank you princess.” That was all Twilight said before she teleported to “The Explorer”.

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As the ship started to come closer, it became clear that it was not a military vessel, merely a merchant ship. It had just one large triangular sail which stretched all the way from the bow to the stern and had a blue flag with four red emblems in each quadrant.

“It can’t be a Griffon ship can it?” Twilight was confused, as not only were the griffon nation landlocked; they were now too weak economically to have any navy at all.

“Even as you say Twilight Sparkle. It is a Coalition ship; I don’t know what they are doing this far south however, it is quite unlike them to be expanding so rapidly.” Luna was perplexed but did not appear overly concerned.

“I’ve never heard much about the Coalition; there are no books about them in the Royal Canterlot Archives. What species are they?” Twilight was somewhat embarrassed that she had been so oblivious to foreign affairs.

“It seems your education is far from complete Miss Sparkle. No matter, they are another nation of ponies which have form…”

“WHAT! But I thought Equestria was the only pony nation.” Twilight glanced down at the jet black floor of Luna’s cabin as she realised her outburst had interrupted the princess.

“As I was saying, they have formed a minor republic from the four city states in which they originated, as can be indicated by their flag.” Luna then gave permission for twilight to ask as she levitated a map which lay in her desk drawer.

“So they don’t have a government like ours?”

“Yes, although both our nations are democratic, ours is based on a Constitutional Monarchy. My sister and I do not have absolute power over the state, although we still hold the most influence.” As Luna rolled up the map that she had been studying she got her quill and wrote a letter, clearly addressed to whoever was in command to the other ship.

“Although our intentions are peaceful, I am going to send an envoy to their ship to ask for information as to their presence and to offer the trading of goods. Give this letter to Cadence and tell her to assemble two of our best Pegasi guards. Her orders are to deliver this letter and then report back to me.” Luna then took her leave and retreated back into her sleeping quarters.

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As the trio skimmed across the rich blue waters, they could hear the sound of bells and shouts coming from the other ship. This was to be Cadence’s first action as ambassador and she was determined not to mess things up. As the ship came clearly into view, they saw several ponies armed with muskets and pikes assemble on the side of the ship.

“M'lady, they are about to open fire, we must take evasive action!” The Pegasi were worried for their safety, but she was not about to ignite another war. She thought quickly and decided to project her message across the water.

“Citizens of the Coalition, we mean no harm, please allow us to land on your vessel so that we may bring tidings from Equestria.” It was not the first time Cadence had used the royal canterlot voice, but it still sent shivers down her spine whenever she did. Upon hearing the message, the muskets were visibly lowered; however the pikemen formed a ring around an obvious landing zone.

As the envoy landed onto the surface of the boat, the pikemen raised their weapons out of harm’s way.

“I’m terribly sorry, but I’m afraid we’ve ‘ad a bit o’ trouble with pirates of late.” A large burly earth pony in a dark brown waistcoat with a black mane and white fur stepped forward. “I’m captain Sledgehammer and this is my crew, now what can I do for you miss…”

“Princess Cadence, ambassador for the nation of Equestria. I am here with a message from our leaders”. Cadence levitated the scroll from her saddle bags and into the hoof of the captain.

After a quick glance he rolled it up and returned it to the princess. “We’re glad that you’re not looking to pick a fight. As for what we are doing here, the coalition set up a colony on the island of Marilus about six months ago, we were delivering building supplies.” On hearing this Cadence made sure to report it back to Luna.

“And our offer for trade, what say you?” Although she knew she was safe, Cadence did not wish to stay on the foreign ship any longer than necessary.

“We got caught in a storm a couple nights back, lost most of our medical supplies. In return we can give you ten weeks of food for a crew of our size. Based on the look of your fleet though, that will probably only be about two weeks worth.”

“Deal, we will return with your supplies in exactly three hours, agreed?”

“Right you are, Princess.”

After the trading exchange was complete, Shining lead the small flotilla of rowing boats back the “Chalice of Hope”. The three meter long boats were only just able to carry the weight of food, and Shining was doing all he could to lighten the load with his magic. Once back on board the vessel, he embraced his friends and family as they waved farewell to their seafaring counterparts. It was a bittersweet parting however, as the clouds of the storm they had been told about were gathering on the horizon. The night ahead seemed like it would be a long and treacherous one indeed.

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As the fleet continued on its course through the storm, Twilight became increasingly uneasy about not possessing the necessary skills to help the crew to safety. She slowly pulled back the covers of her bed, and slid as quietly as possible out of the room so as not to wake Sparkling. However the moment that she closed the door, her daughter’s eyes snapped open and she silently followed Twilight down the hallway, giving no more indication of her presence than a shadow in the darkness of Luna’s night.

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“What’s the situation Captain?” Admiral Whitehooves had practically jumped out of bed when he heard the crash.

“I’m not sure sir; I’m on my way now.” The captain nodded to his superior and galloped onto the top deck.

When he got there he found most of the ponies on the side of the ship, trying to throw ropes to the sailors who had fallen overboard. Twilight was desperately trying to hold one of the larger sail beams in place with her magic, the ropes to which had broken. All the while the rain was pounding everyone exposed.

“Twili! Hang on, I’m coming to help!” He rushed to her side where she added his own strength to hers.

“Where is Cadence?!”

“She’s helping the ponies stuck in the water. Do you think you can get up there while I hold the beam in place and tie the ropes off?” Shining hated the thought of sending his sister into such a dangerous situation, but there was little choice. Twilight wasn’t strong enough to support the beam by herself any longer and they both knew it.

Suddenly a small squeaking voice cried out. “I can do it, Mamma!”

Twilight screamed in horror. “Sparkling, no!!! Get back here it’s too dangerous, go back to our room now!”

Before she could say anything else, the blue filly scrambled up the rope ladder on the side of the ship, proceeded to effortlessly walk along the floating beam with a sturdy rope in her mouth, tie up the sail beam, and slide down another rope, right down in front of her mother’s feet.

“I did it! I did it!” Suddenly there was a bright flash and an image of an anchor and compass appeared on her flank.

Despite Sparkling’s achievement, Twilight could not be more upset by the whole ordeal. “Sparkling Seas, I am so disappointed in you right now, can’t you see you could have been killed! Go back to the cabin NOW!!!” Twilight continued to scream as her daughter ran down the stairs, tears streaming down her face.

“Twilight, she was only trying to help” Shining tried to comfort her.

“Don’t tell me how to raise my daughter!” Twilight snapped at her brother.

With that she went to the back of the ship and curled up amongst some hay and barrels where she silently cried herself to sleep.

As all of this happened, the remaining sailors were pulled back on board and the fleet proceeded out of the worst of the storm, the Island of Marilus just visible over the horizon.

A New Foe

Authors' Note: Please leave constructive critisism if you dislike the story. For anyone who likes it please leave comments below as to your reason(s).

As the sun started to rise on the now calm waters of the sea, Cadence knocked on Twilight’s room to find nothing but the sound of soft crying. It was that of a filly.

“Sparkling, are you in there?” She already knew the answer but did not want to upset the filly by breaching her privacy.

“Go away, no-one needs me!” It was the response the princess expected so she just sat by the door and talked softly.

“Shining Armour told me about what you did.” Cadence also knew what Twilight had said, but deliberately omitted that information. “It was very brave of you; you saved a great number of ponies last night.” It was all true, but she hoped that it would have an impact on the filly. There was just silence…“I also heard you got your cutie mark.” Cadence tactfully opened the door at that moment. “May I see it?”

“Yes…It, It’s a sailing cutie mark, I just know it is.” The filly’s obvious excitement elicited a smile on the princess as she remembered finally getting her own cutie mark.

“Right you are Sparkling. It’s a very good talent to have, your mother must be very proud.”

“No, mum hates me…why does she hate me?” Cadence hoped up onto the bed which Sparkling was sitting on, from the red in her eyes it was obvious that she had been quite frightened and upset by the ordeal. She draped one of her wings over the shoulders of her niece trying her best to comfort her.

“She doesn’t hate you little one, she was scared for you. She thought you would get hurt.” Cadence remembered the first time she had made her parents angry, it was one of the most frightening moments of her life.

“But I didn’t get hurt, I didn’t. I didn’t want to upset anypony, I just wanted to help.” She started to cry into Cadence’s feathers.

“I know, just remember that Mummy loves you, Shining loves you … and I love you.” Cadence meant every word of it. “You are so loved little one…I am going to find your mother so you can tell her all about your special talent.”

“Ok…ok” Sparkling sniffled and hung her head down in thought.

Cadence stepped of the bed, hooves hitting the deck with a resounding thud. She slowly walked out of the room, giving Sparkling a smile before she left.

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Twilight kept dreaming of the same moment again and again. She was trying her best to hold up the sail whilst everyone was drowning in the water.

“I can do it mamma!” The thing she treasured most in life, her baby was climbing on the roaps, then she slipped, she was falling.

“No! Sparkling, hang on; I’m coming to get you!” But Twilight couldn’t reach, she ran to the side of the ship, only to see her child disappear into the deep. And she saw it again and again like a series of horrible memories, each seeming worse than the next.

Her eyes slowly started to open, the first thing she felt was a pounding in her head where she had struggled to hold the beam up the last night.

“Miss Sparkle can you hear me…Are you ok?” As Twilights vision slowly came into focus she saw the brown pony Cavalier leaning close to her, calling her name. “Twilight, do you need any help?”

“Hmm, no thank you I’m fine.” Twilight mumbled her response a bit embarrassed to have slept the whole night in a pile of ropes. She struggled to stand up but fell back onto the deck.

“It doesn’t look like it to me” Twilight blushed as she felt her colleague’s red mane under her neck, the larger earth pony helping her to her feet.

“You could have caught hypothermia being out here all, night, what were you thinking?” The barrage of questions did nothing better to help her already foul mood.

“Well, I didn’t did I. And anyway, Cav, shouldn’t you have work to do?” It was a stupid comeback and Twilight knew it, but she hated the idea of being outsmarted by somepony else.

“Not at the moment no, look…I know it’s none of my business, but, where is Sparkling, I saw what happened and….well, you were pretty rough on her about the cutie mark thing.”

“Yes I was a bit surprised by that too!” Cadence walked up the steps onto the stern deck. “That filly risked her life to save the ship and got her cutie mark and all you could do was shout at her? What would you have thought if your parents had gotten angry at you after you found your special talent?”

The words hit Twilight like a pile of bricks. She knew it was true, she had acted horribly as a parent, but she was scared, she hadn’t known what to do. “Ok, I’ll go talk to her…” She walked down deck, her head hanging low.

“Twilight wait” Cavalier held a hoof out to call for her but it was too late.

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“Sparkling, sweetie, are you in there?” Twilight gently pushed open the door with one leg.

“Yes mummy, I’m here, I’m sorry for making you scared mummy, I was only trying to help everypony.” Her daughter trotted straight to Twilight and nuzzled her neck. “Do you still love me?”

The question came as a surprise to Twilight; she hadn’t thought that Sparkling had been so shaken by her outburst. Immediately regretting what she had done to the confused filly, she pulled her into a tight hug. Sparkling just sat, and hugged in return, finally realising the truth, that her mother had been just as frightened as she was.

“Of course I love you silly filly. You are the most important pony in the whole world to me, never forget it. I will always love you.” She instantly felt her daughters heartbeat against her chest as they sat there, embracing, the filly obviously overjoyed that she had her mother back. Breaking the contact Twilight inquired about the new cutie mark. “So what’s my little babies special talent then, huh?”

“It’s a sailor’s cutie mark. I’m gonna become captain of a ship one day and I will work with the princess.” Sparkling kept spinning around in circles trying to get a better look. Chuckling silently to herself, Twilight pulled a mirror from the wall of the cabin and let her daughter look deep into her reflection. “I know what the anchor is, but what’s the round thing on top of it?”

“That’s a compass sweetie”

“A what?” As she asked, an idea formed in Twilights mind.

“It helps you find places” She then knelt down and looked into her eyes. “It means that if you’re ever lost and you have given up hope, it will help you find your way home.”

“Really! That’s awesome, can I go show Uncle Shining, pleasepleaseplease pleeaasse!”

“Of course you can, I love yo…” Before Twilight could finish her sentence Sparkling had disappeared, the sound of her hoof steps waking many of the other officers, much to Twilights amusement.

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“Very well Admiral, I will grant your request to ask for repairs on the damaged ships from the ponies of Marilus, you cannot spend over 12000 bits though is that clear?” Luna’s stoically serious tone was not something that one ever got used to, but Shining knew that she was only maintaining an air of suitable authority. “Oh and Captain Armour, Cadence told me about your niece earning her cutie mark.”

“Yes your highness, that is correct, we are all very proud of her.” Shining hoped that she wouldn’t bring up Twilights actions after the event.

“It seems congratulations are in order, please send Miss Sparkle and Miss Seas my regards” The ancient alicorn gave a smile and then looked down, a look of joyful remembrance followed by a deep scowl. “You are both relieved”

“Thank you princess” The captain and admiral took their leave immediately. Once outside both ponies headed to the small boat they rowed in on. The admiral started to blush slightly which surprised Shining somewhat. “Luna sure is something huh Shining?"

“Excuse me” Shining thought he knew where this was heading but he avoided looking directly at the admiral. Instead he looked directly ahead towards the island on the horizon.

“Luna, she is so majestic, and humble, having to live in the shadow of another. She is quite literally the most amazing mare I have ever met.” Whitehooves eyes were glassed over and, not concentrating where he was going, tripped on an ore carelessly discarded, falling flat on his chin. Shining just rolled his eyes and helped his superior off the deck.

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That afternoon as Celestia’s sun started on its downward path to the horizon, plans were made to scout the small port which boarded the sea.

“I’m sorry to send you away from your husband again, but I need you to deliver a message to the colony on Marilus. Take Sorrin and Swift with you, they are our fastest fliers. The sooner you return the better.” As the admiral finished delivering his orders, Cadence nodded and gave her leave, she wanted to talk to Twilight before she left. The climb down to Twilight’s cabin was treacherous as many ponies were scampering about this way and that, preparing the landing team for tomorrow. Cadence gave a soft knock on the door when she reached her destination.

“Come in.”

Opening the door with her magic, Cadence quickly walked in and sat on one of the chairs in the cabin. Twilight was just opening a tined can of peaches which she poured into a small wooden bowl. She continued to watch as her sister in law gave it to her daughter who smiled at Cadence before she started eating.

“Could you step outside please, I would like to have a quick word.” Cadence said quietly, so as to avoid attention being taken by the filly eating her food.

“Certainly…Sparkling, could you stay here for a moment? Mummy has to talk to Auntie Cadence” Twilight asked.

“Sure thing mum.” Sparkling then proceeded to consume her food.

Stepping outside the room Cadence gave Twilight an apologetic look before asking, “How did things go this morning, is she alright?”

“Yes, she is very proud to have gained her cutie mark.” Twilight then became more serious. “I also worked out that you came in and talked to her without my knowledge.”

“I was only tryi…” Before she could finish Twilight drew her into a hug.

“And I am glad you did” Twilight let go and smiled, “You would have made a great mother.”

Cadence could not fathom how to express how grateful she was that Twilight bore her no ill will. Instead she just said thanks and headed above deck.

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“You will be carful won’t you honey? I don’t know what I would do without you.” Nuzzling his wife Shining made sure to say goodbye before Cadence’s potentially dangerous outing.

“I’ll be fine, I can look after myself.” She gave him a quick kiss before stepping back to put on her saddle bags.

“I know, I love you, be safe.” The princess and two guards walked to the edge of the ship before Cadence replied “I love you too.”

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The sun was beginning to set and Cadence made every effort to make it to the town before sundown. She could see several figures running away from the shore, which confused Cadence as she did not think her envoy looked at all imposing. When they landed, everypony was gone. The mysterious creatures had not entered any of the buildings; they simply disappeared into the shadows.

“Something is not right, why is there no-pony out here.” Sorrin a white Pegasus with dark brown mane looked about himself worriedly while Swift who was blue with a grey mane kept his back to Cadence guarding her left flank. The trio passed under a bridge, when suddenly from the corner of her eye, Cadence spotted a flash of blue feathers and a red muzzle unlike any she had seen before. She turned to face the beast as it crawled out from the underside of the bridge and stalked into the sunlight. It was at least twice as long as a pony, half of which was taken up by its tail, but was only half the height. The top half of its tail and body was covered in differing shades of blue and it angular reptilian head was covered in purple feathers with a bright red snout. It lunged forward, claws outstretched, letting out a fearsome screech like that of a vulture. Just before it reached her, Cadence shot a beam of magic at the creature, sending it flying into a nearby wall. It gave a hideous shudder and then remained still. Another of the creatures attacked Sorrin on his flank causing deep wounds. With a grunt he bucked it off his side and then kicked it into an alley way.

“Swift, get him into the house with the green door, I’ll hold them off!” Cadence shouted as another creature appeared from the gloom, this one held a sword in one of its three clawed hands. She shot it with magic as well but it got back up advancing towards her as more of its kind crawled out from the shadows.

“Yes my lady, come on Sorrin, we’ve got to get you outta here!” Swift helped the pony onto his feet and kicked open the door to the house, shoving his companion inside. “My lady, the door is open, we have to leave.”

Cadence nodded and sent a shock wave out against the two dozen creatures which were now trying to tare and bite at her from all sides. She raced quickly inside and shut the door, moving a large book case in the way.

“Ok, that should hold them for a little while at least.” As she turned around she noticed that Swift had cleared a space on a kitchen table and was treating Sorrin’s wounds. He had a nasty gash on his left flank which went from his tail down to where his leg joined his stomach. It was not fatal but his left cutie mark would be irreparably damaged. The next thing she saw was a family of ponies huddled into a corner. She approached the four of them but stopped abruptly as they flinched at her advance, pushing themselves away.

“It’s ok I won’t hurt you, I’m here to help, are you alone here?” Cadence did her best to sound kind and approachable. It worked.

The youngest member of the family, a small Pegasi colt, ran up to her and nodded vigorously. “Yes, please help us, the monsters are everywhere!” The young pony started to sob into the Princesses mane. She lifted him up gently and returned him to his family. As she placed him down she noticed flecks of blood on his orange coat but disguised against his blood red mane. When she looked at his ‘parents’, she realised they were not related. Sorrin’s wound had been properly bandaged by then and he was getting up off the table. Swift was in the corner of the house, opening a window on the other side of the house.

“We have to get these poniesof here my lady.” Sorrin trotted up to the family and started directing them to the window. Swift jumped out first followed by the rest of the family. The young orphaned colt looked back at Cadence with a worried look on his face. Smiling warmly Cadence encouraged him to make the leap. Finally Cadence climbed out following Sorrin. Once outside they made their way towards the street.

“If we can get right down to the beach I can teleport the family back to the fleet, but we will have to fly back ourselves.” The guards nodded in understanding. “Alright then, ponies, when you start galloping don’t stop; don’t look back, just gallop to the beach. Let’s move.” Cadence sprang from her hiding place and sent a continuous beam of magic against the group of creatures on the street. She proceeded to strafe left and right until the other ponies had a large head start. Turning around she made an effort to catch up.

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The flashes were visible from the fleet where the last shades of sunlight passed below the horizon. Just as Luna began to raise the moon, a group of earth ponies appeared on the deck in front of where Whitehooves and Shining were standing.

“What…what happened, where are we?” The female earth pony looked around the deck and then back up to the unicorn and large earth pony standing before them.

“Where is Cadence?” Shining feared the worst but was not willing to give out hope. He knew that she was strong and highly capable of looking after herself and those under her command. None of the ponies on the deck replied, instead they pointed out towards the dock. Looking out to the shore, he saw Cadence with Sorrin and Swift take off, flying desperately towards the fleet.

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Every muscle in her body was strained, wing flaps pushing the air behind her. Cadence’s breathing came in ragged gasps until, finally she crashed onto the deck and darkness enveloped her.

When she came to, Cadence found herself back in her cabin, Shining was asleep on a chair beside her. Not wishing to disturb her husband, she left the room as quietly as possible, deliberately leaving the door as it was. When Cadence reached the top deck she found the Admiral looking out at Marilus thoughtfully.

“Admiral.”

“My lady, your awake…Shining never left your side you know, he had watch duty tonight but I let it slide.” Whitehooves then went on to elaborate about the expedition. “The four civilians you brought back are highly traumatised, but their descriptions of the…um, creatures were consistent. Can you add any other details?”

“Well, they had weapons.” Cadence knew that they must have been a sentient species, evidenced by their understanding of tactics and tools.

“Really? Swift and Sorrin did not mention that. What kind?” Whitehooves face turned downcast at the prospect of fighting an intelligent enemy.

“Don’t blame them, I ordered the pair out of the fray after Sorrin was wounded. A few of the larger ones had swords and small shields. One of them had a pistol, their leader by the looks of it.”

“And what of their numbers?”

“At least sixty, but I estimate the enemy to number closer to a hundred. Admiral, there are probably many civilians still alive on the island.” Cadence remembered the family she had saved, and most of all, the young colt who had been orphaned. She resolved to talk to him later.

“I am aware of that my lady, go get some sleep; we will send a few companies to land on the beach tomorrow morning.” Admiral Whitehooves was just as worried about the innocents as her, Cadence could tell by the look of determination in his eyes.

“Thank you Admiral.”

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As Sorrin stared up at Luna’s stars he heard familiar hoof steps behind him. His comrade and long-time friend nuzzled against his neck and asked softly. “How is your flank?”

A smile crept upon Sorrin’s face as he nuzzled Swift back. He quickly inspected his damaged spear and shield cutie mark and then Swifts pair of crossed swords. “It’s fine, thanks to you” he replied softly.

Swift smiled sheepishly and blushed. “It was nothing really.”

“You saved my life, if it weren’t for you I would still be out on that street, probably in several pieces” Sorrin moved closer to the other stallion. He stopped though when he saw Swift’s expression.

“Sorrin….would you have done the same for me?” Swift looked down at the ground in slight worry, but it faded instantly at the reply.

“Of course I would.”

For Sorrin, time seemed to stand still as Swift lent forward and their lips met. The kiss seemed to both go on forever and end too quickly for him. As they parted they both sat on the deck, content in each other’s company.

“I love you so much Swift, I would do anything to protect you.”

Sorrin smiled as the two stallions drifted off to sleep under the beauty of the night. “I love you too.”

A Devil and A Saint

“What’s your name?” Cadence had only known the young colt for a few hours but already she felt an odd sense of attachment to the foal.

“Clear Sky” The foal hung his head as he said it.

“That’s a nice name. And what does your cutie mark mean?” Cadence had every intention to bring this emotionally destroyed foal back to life.

“It’s a weather cutie mark; the sun means that all the clouds are gone.” The young colt’s eyes sparkled as he looked up at Cadence, his orange wings giving a small flutter. She smiled and awkwardly ruffled his mane.

“You know, that is very similar to the cutie mark my auntie has. Her name is Princess Celestia” Sky’s ears perked up as she continued to speak. “Her duty to my country Equestria is to look after her ponies and raise the sun each morning.”

“Your auntie is a princess, that’s so awesome!” The foal was becoming excited, despite the recent circumstances. “I wish one of my relatives was that cool.” At that statement, Cadence realised what her odd feelings had been indicative of. It was finally the moment of truth, she knew the answer but she had to ask, if not for her sake than simply to help the foal to come to terms with their fate.

“Where are your parents?” She asked with no more of a whisper.

The youmg colt said nothing for a few minutes, until. “Their dead, daddy is dead, mummy is dead. It’s just me now.” Clear Sky’s admitted to his family’s fate with such a flat tone, it almost tore Cadence’s heart out. The response was indicative that it wasn’t the flesh being torn that made war so terrible. It was having ones spark of life extinguished like a candle which ran out of wax. It was, Cadence believed, the same hollow tone which she heard when Shining came back from the Great War. What came next therefore caught the princess by surprise.

“Can you be my mummy?”

She looked down to see the foal nuzzling against her chest. She brought her neck down and rested her head gently on the foal’s shoulders.

“I don’t know sweetheart, I don’t know.”

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“Your concerns are duly noted captain, but I do not take kindly to attacks on my family. I will lead the expeditionary force. You need to stay here and tend to my niece.” Luna’s words, cool and calm, were enough to quell any other fears Shining may have had.

“Very well then, to the affairs of logistics, your highness.” Shining Armour conceded.

“Thank you. Now, our scouts have reported that the creatures are camped on a beach around the headland to the west from which they conduct their raids. Based on descriptions, given by Cadence and her guards, the creatures are experts at concealing themselves in the shadows which is why we will attack at dawn. I will take three separate companies, that’s just over three hundred and fifty ponies. I want to have at least two platoons from each company armed with spears and heavy shields. I am sure that you know the effectiveness of the phalanx.” It was an ancient tactic, but remained useful against disorganised troops. “I want the remainder split into two units, one armed with Muskets to form a skirmish line and the rest with light armour and swords to cover our flanks.”

“What of our special forces, your highness?” Although Whitehooves was an earth pony, he could still appreciate the skills of the other races in combat.

“Yes. I do not want to risk losing any unicorns in battle on this occasion, due to their lack in numbers, especially so early in our expedition. They will not take part. I do not favour the lives of unicorns over others, I am simply being careful. If we are lucky, the enemy may surrender and we will sustain no casualties at all, but this is unlikely, so I am taking every precaution to avoid unnecessary losses.” Luna whished for surrender more than anything, but she doubted that it would be so easy. “The pegasi on the other hand will flank the enemy on both sides of the beach and hit them from behind. Any questions?”

“Yes your highness, what if they take refuge in the farmlands and buildings further inland?” Shining knew from experience that a cornered enemy was all the more dangerous.

“That’s where I come in. I will form a temporary force field around the enemy camp long enough to prevent a retreat.” The other officers looked at the alicorn in confusion. “I understand that it does not seem a very powerful spell but there is a reason for this. The further away I am from Equestria and my sister, the weaker my powers become. I will not be made into an invalid and I can still raise the moon, but I do not possess much more strength then, say, Miss Sparkle.”

“Understood your highness” Shining lowered his head in acceptance. He wondered in fear whether the same had happened to Cadence.

“Now, all of you return to your ships. We hit the beaches in exactly two hours.”

Shining, Whitehooves and the dozen or so other officers turned and left the room, leaving Luna alone to don her armour with the help of her maids. It was deep blue plate armour similar in design to those of the Ancient Roamans, but made with reinforced steal. On her sides she had two elongated plates attached to a third plate on her back so they hung down over her flanks. The two side plates were then fastened with straps going across her stomach. With gold lacing on the on the sides of her breast plate and the Equestrian Coat of Arms on the front, she was a sight to behold. She seemed both regal and fierce at the same time. Satisfied, she went to the top deck of her ship to issue further orders.

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As soon as the bell was sounded, the boats were launched from the sides of the ships, all packed with ponies of every race, colour and gender. A few quietly said prayers to their ancestors. Shining found their mutterings pointless but said nothing to his troops. He knew from experience that there was no-one looking down on these ponies. He had chosen not to wear heavy armour as he would need to move up the beach quickly to command the musketeers. Instead he wore his bright red commander’s uniform with his cutie mark emblem on his chest so his troops would recognise him in battle. He carried his shortened and battle ready rapier, a symbol of an officer. As the boats continued to glide across the water, Admiral Whitehooves shouted out to Luna.

“Your majesty, good luck.” It was a simple gesture and its intention was lost upon Shining until he saw Luna smile and mouth her reply. Shining looked around to find that none of the other ponies had noticed their interaction. He was certain he had seen wrong, but it was hard to mistake an “I love you”.

When the flotilla reached the edge of the head land, the pegasi on board, which numbered just under a hundred, took off. Half skimmed along the water to the west and the remainder hid in the brushes around the ridge next to the beach, observing the enemy below. Once in sight of the enemy, Luna produced her force field, trapping them on the beach and protecting the landing zone. The rowers increased in speed and it was only another fifteen minutes before the first line of ponies, led by Shining, hit the beach.

They raced up the sand and formed a skirmish line about seventy meters away from the enemy, armed with muskets, just as planned by Luna. The double line looked almost as fearsome as the creatures who, beyond previous estimates, numbered closer to two hundred. The ponies wore bright red coats with black stitching and tall Cylindrical black helmets, bearing the golden insignia of their unit. The creatures had organised themselves by now and were screeching in frustration at being trapped, unable to attack. More ponies continued to land on the beach, forming the bulk of the landing party. They formed up into a phalanx creating a wall of spears and armour with enough gaps for the musketeers to retreat in an orderly fashion. The lighter armed troops had also begun to assemble on the flanks, stretching out beyond the length of the opposing force. Once approximately half the ponies were on the beach, Luna let go of her force field and Shining gave the orders for the first skirmish rank to open fire. As the flashes of the barrels lit up the early morning, about a score of the creatures crumpled to the ground, motionless. Another dozen or so fell screaming. By then the enemy began to charge towards the ponies. It was quickly halted however as the second line of ponies opened fire, cutting through the enemies ranks. After the second volley Shining ordered the full retreat of his troops. As they disappeared inside the phalanx the heavily armed creatures resumed their charge down the beach screeching war cries. As the two main bodies of the opposing armies met there was a deafening crash and the screams of ponies were added to the sound of battle. Several of the creatures had managed to push aside the spears and had begun to cut down ponies who were to slow to draw their side arms. But still the line held as reinforcements continued to land. On the whole, Luna’s plan was working; the creatures were slowly pushed up the beach, leaving behind many of their fallen comrades.

Shining ran up to princess Luna, who was shouting orders this way and that, blood from an arrow wound in her shoulder seeping into her armour. “Your majesty! What are our new orders?”

“Move onto the western flank, our swordsponies there are taking heavy casualties, fix bayonets and give them a hoof. Nopony is to open fire, lest they cause friendly casualties.” Luna was about to continue commanding her troops when Shining stopped her.

“Your majesty, you need to have that injury tended to.” Shining got what he expected.

“Follow your orders Captain.” Her steely gaze was enough. Shining nodded and began to rally his troops. In quadruple file they trotted swiftly down the beach behind the rear line of spear ponies. When he got to his destination, he saw that the swordsponies were in a dire situation. The creatures had paced the majority of their archers onto this area of the battlefield. Their lack of heavy armour meant that the swords ponies were easy pickings and at least a third of their unit had sustained casualties. Shining ordered his ponies into triple ranks whilst unsheathing his rapier. Once his ponies were in order he led a swift charge into the enemies flank, cutting down three of the fearsome beasts before they had time to react. After only another ten minutes of close quarters combat the enemy routed on the ponies flanks. A few minutes later the rest made a run for the hills where they could hide amongst the fertile farmland. Luna quickly ordered Shining to reform the skirmish line and open fire on the fifty or so creatures remaining. After four volleys of consecutive fire the remaining Pegasi killed the rest of the stragglers.

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“Captain Longfeathers, make sure that any wounded are treated immediately.” We can worry about the civilian population later.” Luna then gave out and involuntary gasp as the needle Cadence wielded was threaded through the shaved patch of skin on her right shoulder. “That includes any of the creatures.”

“But your majesty, surely you not going to let those murders live.” The Captain was shocked, especially after hearing tales from the four ponies rescued by the Princess Cadence.

“So you would have us devolve to their morality? Get out of my sight and follow your orders.” The young pegasi quickly scampered out of the tent into the evening light, past a bewildered Admiral Whitehooves.

“Your majesty, what was that all about?” Whitehooves stepped into the temporary command tent set up on the beach.

“A foal of a Captain straight out of the officer academy run by Prince Blueblood thought it would be fair to execute all the prisoners without trial. Cadence, please return to the fleet, I would like to talk to Admiral Whitehooves in private.” The minor Princess, who had finished sowing up Luna’s wound, exited promptly. Once she was gone Luna performed a silence spell to guard against eaves droppers and continued to speak. “Stuck up bucking little idiot, he has been trying to demote me ever since the bill of species rights was passed through the parliament. Although, I’m not the only one Blueblood has been difficult with it seems. I have heard that he also gives you a hard time.”

“Yes your majesty, he seems to have difficulty accepting a 'mere' earth pony, as the Admiral of the Navy.” Whitehooves rolled his eyes in disgust.

“Please John; you can be confident of our privacy.” She gave him a soft smile, but hesitated. John Whitehooves represented something she had feared for over twenty years; love and the chance to have a family. Princess Celestia disapproved greatly, but Luna knew her older sister had ‘given in’ so to speak, on several occasions.

The Admiral walked over to a desk and poured the pair a greatly deserved drink. “Luna, I have been spending more time with Shining.” He let out a sigh and continued, giving one of the drinks to Luna, who accepted it, holding the glass steady with her magic. “He handled himself well today, but you know better than I do how he is really doing. Do you think he is truly fit to command troops on the field?” John trusted Shining with his life, but he knew that the memories of The Great War were eating away at him.

“It is a question meant either for him or Cadence. But I will say this; I think that his mind will never fall into the howling dark so long as he is with my niece. Their love for each other is one of the finest examples of the word.” Luna took a sip of her drink which tingled the back of her throat.

“And what of ours, Luna?” John lowered his head an inch. “What is to become of us?”

It was a question Luna had wrestled with ever since she realised she had feelings for the courageous stallion. But she was immortal, and she had no idea how she was going to live through seeing her lover wither and die, whilst time left her untouched. As she continued to drink, she decided to let herself go.

“Whatever we decide to make of it”. She leant forward and kissed John softly on the lips. “We still a couple of hours before I have to raise the moon.” Luna then guided the blushing stallion to the bedding area of the tent.

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As Shining picked his way through the bodies on the blood stained beach; searching for wounded ponies and ‘Shadows’, as they had been named, he found a small bag which was still on the back of the young creature who wore it. Inside he found mostly food and other basic necessities. Then he found a small book, with a strange symbol on the front. Inside was a picture, appearing to have been drawn by a foal. It was of a small creature and what Shining assumed was the youngster’s mother or father. It had flecks of blood on it, but Shining could still make out the small figure handing the larger one a gift. Shining neatly folded the picture and placed it in his left breast pocket. Continuing to search through the bag, he came across a small doll of one of the creatures. This one wore a crown and had a line of purple spikes on its back. Shining looked at the doll as he thought about what sort of hopes this creature had, its dreams, aspirations and most importantly; who it may have loved. Disgusted with himself, he shoved the doll back into the bag and promptly returned to the shore line where he helped load the wounded onto boats bound for the “Chalice of Hope”. Once finished, he pushed the boat off the shore and jumped in just before it was out of reach.

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“Cadence? Are you in there?” Shining asked as he opened the door to his Cabin the night after the battle.

“Yes, I’m just getting out of my armour.” Even though she had only acted as a military doctor in the conflict, it had still been necessary that she protect herself in case of a stray arrow or if the enemy had broken through the line.

“Would you like a hoof?” Shining asked, closing the door behind him.

“Yes please, I can’t reach my back plates.” It was true, but the way she said it sounded sightly suggestive to Shining.

Entering the small change room, he kissed Cadence on the cheek and proceeded to unbuckle the straps around her flank and stomach. “Taking your time back there big boy.”Shining blushed and finished taking off the armour, setting it down on the floor. He then took of his red coat jacket, placing it on a chest. Moving up besides Cadence he nuzzled under her neck. Cadence draped a wing over her husband and nuzzled back. Their lips met and they enjoyed each other’s company, locked in a long embrace. Cadence finally broke the contact. “Honey, there has been something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

Shining and Cadence walked back towards the living quarters of their cabin. “What was it that you have been worried about? If it’s the nightmares, I have been fine since we left Equestria.” Cadence smiled softly. She knew it wasn’t true, but appreciated that her husband didn’t want her to worry.

“No, it’s not that. You know the orphaned colt, Clear Sky?” She had been spending as much time with him as possible since the rescue.

“Yes, poor little guy, he seems really shaken.” It was easy to see the trauma he had gone through.

“He reminds me a lot of you.” This caught Shining by surprise.

“He does?”

“Yes, he is so full of life and really funny when he wants to be.” Cadence took a deep breath and looked deep into Shining’s eyes. “I wanted to know if you would like to adopt him with me.”

“What? B-but he is from the Coalition, what would they think of it.” Shining wasn’t sure about bringing up a foal. He had done his best in the past to watch out for Twilight but he wasn’t sure if he was dad material.

“I have already cleared it with the town mare. Surprisingly few ponies were killed during the Shadow’s raids.” Cadence placed a hoof around Shining’s neck. “You did a great thing helping to free the town. Everyone there is really grateful for what you have done.”

“No, all I did was kill, I’m not a hero.” Shining got up, pulled the blood stained picture out of his coat pocket and gave it to Cadence. “I took away peoples families today. I killed their brothers, sisters, husbands and wives. I’m a monster.”

Cadence placed down the picture and wrapped her husband in a tight hug, tears welling in the stallion’s eyes.

“You’re not a murderer, you are a good pony. It is never good to fight, but when you do, it’s because you have to, not because you want to. Certainly, the creatures were justified in wanting to take care of their families, but they can’t do so at the cost of taking innocent lives.” Cadence paused and let out a long sigh. “Oh Shining, I love you no matter what.” They kissed again, neither wanting to break the contact.

Eventually Shining moved back and looked at his wife smile at him. He realised that with a mother like Cadence, nothing could go wrong. “Alright, let’s do it. Let’s have a son.”

An Eventful Night

“As Mayor of the Coalition colony on Marilus, I am honoured to present the Republic Medallion, the highest achievement in our government, to Princess Luna on this most glorious of nights” Everypony clopped their hooves against the pavement in the town square accordingly. As the princess of the night walked up to the stage, she bowed low to the unicorn. The smaller pony levitated the ribbon out of the silk lined case, placing the medallion around Luna’s neck. She then stood up to face the crowd. Summoning her powers, she cast a spell which absorbed all light reflected off the moon’s surface. The sight revealed left everypony in absolute awe and silence. A million points of light started to appear. There were bright yellows, pure whites and deep reds. Several seemed to sparkle with the colour blue. What completed the breathtaking view was the slow revealing of a long cloud, stretching across the sky, glowing several colours like that of an opal. Slowly, Luna let go of her spell and the number of stars visible returned to normal as the absorption of the sun’s rays ceased. Once the spectacle was over, the crowd erupted in cheers and clopping of hooves. Suddenly, the Princess slumped over the edge of the stage. Admiral Whitehooves rushed to catch her on his back before she hit the ground. Luna slowly lifted her head, smelling the sea salt in the Admirals mane.

“John… what, what happened.” She started to get up, but then, another wave of exhaustion hitting her, laid down on Johns back.

“Shhhhh, its ok Lulu, just sleep.” The Admiral was truly shocked that his mate had fainted. It filled him with fear, to think that she might become too weak to function as a healthy pony should. He pushed these thoughts out of his mind however, as he approached the Mayor. “Please, do you have an Inn the Princess could stay in overnight?”

“Yes, um, the town hall has a second story for guests and visiting government officials. You may use it, free of charge.” The Mayor smiled at him awkwardly due to the sound of the large alicorn, who was mumbling some very un-princess like comments in her unconscious state. Admiral Whitehooves blushed, as he realised she was talking about him and trotted quickly to his allotted room. Once inside, he gently laid Luna down on the bed and dragged a chair from the wall to the bedside table. Sitting down quietly, he maintained vidual while the Princess slept and recovered.

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Twilight continued to pace back and forth on the street as ponies walked by the town hall, enjoying their Saturday night out on the town. The street lamps were brightly lit, allowing the festivities to continue long into the night. It was an ironic twist of events; everypony was sitting down at the basic restaurants or dancing to the music being played in the town square. All the while, Luna was unconscious and Twilight waited impatiently for her to wake up so she could ask about her condition.

“Hey Twili’, from the looks of it, Luna will be asleep for the rest of the night.” Shining approached with Cadence. “We were going to go out to the square for a dance. Would you like to join us?” Shining gave his wife a sly smile. “Cavalier hasn’t got a partner you know.” This caused Twilight to blush heavily, her purple coat turning a bright shade of red around her cheeks. She nodded slightly and thought to herself as she joined the two, walking slowly by her brother’s side.

She had feelings for the young earth pony, that was certain, but she did not quite feel it was something she was comfortable with. She was especially worried about how Sparkling would view the situation. She had never known her father. “And for a good reason.” Twilight mumbled to herself. She wondered if he had thought of her the same way. There was that time she had caught him staring at her flank, when he thought she wasn’t noticing. “Gee, you sure know how to pick ‘em, don’t you Twilight?” She continued to mumble to herself until she reached the brown earth pony. He turned around and flashed twilight a grin before greeting the trio.

“Hi Twilight.” He then turned to the couple. “And seriously, can I even talk to you two without saluting? The famous heroes of Marilus, I think you two will be on the front page of every newspaper in the Coalition.”

Cadence blushed and Shining gave him a friendly budge on the shoulder. “I wouldn’t be able to do any of it, if I didn’t have somepony like Cadence to come home to.” As he said it, Shining gave Cadence a quick peck on the cheek before the two gave their leave and started dancing in the moon light.

Cavalier glanced awkwardly at the pavement, not sure of how to initiate the conversation. He wore a cream waistcoat and dark blue coat which extended over his flank. Under the waistcoat he wore a high collared white shirt with a white cravat. He seemed ridiculously old fashioned, like somepony from a Jane Trotsten romance. Twilight nervously decided to take the initiative. “So, umm, would you like to dance… you know, with me?”

Cavalier looked up in surprise. “Yes, um, yes of course.” Up until that point, the relationship between the two had been rather awkward, since the incident when twilight caught him staring. But now, things started to go more smoothly and Twilight began to grow in confidence. The young stallion led her towards the centre of the square, where the music was loudest. From there the two held hooves and started to move their bodies, locked in an act of mimicking the beat of the music. When the first song finished, it was replaced by a slow classical piece. The pair awkwardly wrapped their legs around each other’s shoulders. They slowly began to dance, ignoring the looks of humour from Shining and Cadence, who were far more proficient in the art. Twilight looked deep into Cavaliers brown eyes, trying to work out what he was thinking. As the song ended, Cavalier led Twilight to a makeshift bar.

“I’ll have two vodkas, two bourbons, and two apple ciders.” The bar tender winked knowingly and poured all three drinks into a pair of mugs.

“That will be twelve bits please.” Cavalier reached into his coat pocket and produced the amount required. He then handed one of the drinks to Twilight, who picked it up with her magic.

“Are you sure we should be having so much alcohol?” Twilight had never been drunk before, being socially inept as she was, and the prospect of becoming intoxicated worried her.

“Trust me twilight, this is the best drink in Equestria, my own invention. I like to call it the Cavalier three.” Strangely encouraged, Twilight proceeded to down half the mug in a single sitting. When she coughed, Cavalier gave her a small laugh and flashed his awkward grin. “Slow down there Hun, no need to lose it in the firsts five minutes.”

“Oops sorry, it’s really good though. I don’t mean a little good, I mean really, really good.” She hiccupped and then covered her mouth with one hoof, apologising for the second time. Once they had finished their drinks, they continued to chat, steadily consuming more and more alcohol. After another half hour, they had another round before heading back towards the town square to dance further into the night. Twilight was quickly losing her grip on reality.

Neither were very good at dancing but it wasn’t necessary, as both were simply enjoying the ecstasy of the music, moon light and apple cider, which continued to be served. The night grew longer and the line of cider barrels grew shorter. To Twilight, everything seemed to be moving slower and Cavalier was gradually becoming more and more attractive. After the final dance finished, Twilight pulled Cavalier into a kiss, which at first shocked her. She didn’t realise she could be so impulsive. The two then ambled along to the local Inn. They somehow managed to ask for a room and received a key from a rather amused looking unicorn. After attempting for about five minutes to unlock the door with her hoof, Twilight noticed Cavalier extending a hoof with the keys. Once inside, they locked together and sunk onto the bed.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

As Luna started to come to, she woke to a massive throbbing in her head, juxtaposed by the pleasant feeling of having her decorative armour and shoes off. The princess could not think straight, at first speculating that she had been attacked. Her vision slowly came into focus, revealing a timber ceiling with complicated carvings. On the wall was a painting of ponies fighting the creatures they had encountered; only this depicted a large field with thousands of small figures. Tilting her head, Luna found Admiral Whitehooves Sitting on a chair, reading a book. “John, what happened…? I feel like I have been struck in the head.” She whispered just loud enough for the stallion to hear.

“Lulu, you’re awake, good… good. Um, this may come as a shock, but, you fainted last night, on account of that spell you did to hide the moon.” Whitehooves visibly flinched when Luna started to laugh. How could she have been laughing? Especially after what had happened.

“Well, I would have been very surprised if I hadn’t fainted. The control I have over the moon pertains purely to its movement. The light which the moon reflects comes from my sister. To block the light requires skills which I possess, but do not have absolute control over.” She held up a hoof as Whitehooves began to sputter. The stallion was confused as to why she would go to so much trouble. “Think of it as my gift to the ponies of Marilus.” The two sat in silence for a few minutes, John moved from the chair into the bed and Luna cast a wing over him. “John, I’m sorry for scaring you like that, I just knew that nopony there truly understood my night’s beauty, everyone except you that is, thus I decided to show it to them.”

“It’s ok, although I must say Lulu, you’re rather heavy.” He glanced at her with a smirk, but it was quickly replaced with a yelp as Luna swatted him with a hoof. “Seriously, you better watch that back hoof, you could hurt somepony.”

“Well, you deserved it!” Luna then proceeded to try and tickle John who laughed and fought back in earnest. Eventually the competition subsided and the two ponies giggled hysterically. The two drew in close and were about to kiss when the door suddenly swung open to reveal Shining Armour and Princess Cadence.

“Bucking Celestia!” The Admiral practically fell out of bed and Luna jumped up, trying her best to gain a sense of composure. “Umm, I mean, yes u-uh thank you, for your time, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, yes of course, you are relieved, Admiral.” As the pair continued to fake parting formalities, Cadence and Shining simply stood in the doorway, mouths agape.

“My Lady, Captain.” Admiral Whitehooves quickly trotted down the stairs to the town hall below. When he was gone, Shining and Cadence dropped to the floor, rolling around, laughing their heads off. When they got up the pair quickly stopped, as they saw a scowling Princess Luna.

“Your Majesty, we, uh, wanted to see how you were recovering and estimate a date for our departure.” Shining then exchanged a glance with his wife, who, he could see, was desperately trying to resist asking the question that was on both their minds.

“We will leave the day after tomorrow; I wish to further discuss improving relations between Equestria and the Coalition. The possibility of future trade might even be up for discussion.”

“Yes Your Majesty, and are you sure you are alright? That was quite a fall you took there.” Cadence took over from her husband, worried for her aunt’s health.

“I’m fine. Shining could I please talk to Cadence in private?” Luna made sure he understood it was not a request.

“Of course. I’ll go look after Clear Sky” He pecked Cadence on the cheek and then walked out, closing the door behind him. Once Luna was sure that he was out of ear shot, she sat down on her bed and sighed. She still felt reasonably weak from her spell and did not really enjoy being confronted by Cadence, especially in such, embarrassing circumstances.

“How much of that did you see?” Luna quickly regretted the question the moment she heard the answer.

“When you two were, shall we say, quite close.” Cadence giggled slightly, but caught herself and became more serious. “Does Tia know?” Luna blew some hair out of her eyes.

“Of course she knows. She doesn’t approve though.” Luna’s resentment at her sister’s hypocrisy was starting to show in her voice. “It’s like she expects me to be an emotionless statue. She has ‘fallen’, as she puts it, many times.” Cadence winced at the awkward direction the conversation was going.

“Do we have to talk about Celestia like that? She is my Aunt.” It was a valid point, but Luna was having none of it.

“Why not? She is my sister. She can simply go visit the ‘special service’ clubs, but I am not allowed to be with the pony I love. She has told me before that it’s all about ‘reputation’, which is why she goes magically disguised as a regular pony.” Cadence was shocked to find out that this had been going on, no less than with Princess Celestia. At that stage, Luna was starting to break down into tears. Cadence, not wanting her aunt to feel alone, sat next to her and drew her into a hug “What should I do Cadence? I love John so much, if I lose him, then, I might… Nightmare…”

“No, never say that. That’s not who you are. And take it from me, if you love him, nopony, not even Celestia can take him away from you.” Cadence felt the tears flow freely down her back as Luna wept. Once she finished, she gave Luna one quick hug before taking her leave, so that the princess of the night could get ready for the day.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Twilight awoke later that night, she was a bit surprised by what she saw. At that same moment Cavalier was also waking up. The two slowly turned their heads towards each other. Twilights eyes widened in horror and Cavaliers mouth hung open in shock. Both ponies screamed, at the top of their lungs until Twilight kicked Cavalier in the face, pushing him off the bed. Twilight jumped up backing away. “Cav, did we… um did we, you know?”

Cavalier slowly nodded his head slowly. “I think we did.” Twilight looked down at the ground, up at the ceiling, out the window, anywhere but at the earth pony standing, still as a statue, on the other side of the bed. Not knowing what to do, she did what she had done as a child whenever she had been bullied. She galloped to find Shining Armour.

For the receptionist who was still on duty that morning, her coffee break was rudely interrupted by a purple unicorn, galloping as fast as she could out the front doors. About ten seconds behind her was a dark brown earth pony, putting on his blue coat as he too, trotted out yelling; “Twilight, wait, I’m sorry. I never meant for this to happen!” After he left the reception pony sighed to herself. She would definitely be washing the bed sheets today.

“Twilight, wait please” Cavalier was becoming desperate.

“Just leave me alone Cav.” She ran faster, trying to shake her pursuer. Eventually she gave up and turned to face the stallion, exhausted and tired of running. “How could you do this? I trusted you; I thought that we could be friends, more than friends. But no, you just saw me as some lonely mare who you could take advantage of!”

“Hey I never took advantage of you. I was drunk and I had no idea what was going on.” Trying to make excuses for himself was never going to work, but, Cav had to try and make Twilight aware that his actions were not meant to hurt anypony, least of all her.

“Really? So, you’re not just going to act like it never happened?” Twilight became suspicious, but part of her wanted to believe that Cavalier was of noble intentions.

“Yes of course, I would never take advantage of you. Please pardon my forward behaviour, but, has somepony taken advantage of you before? Is that the reason for your troubles?” Cavalier took a step closer to the purple unicorn.

“I-I’ll tell you another time. I have only ever told it to a few ponies. Please, can you leave me in peace?” Her pleading eyes were all too much for Cavalier, causing him to go weak in his legs. He looked awkwardly at the ground as he mumbled his answer.

“Of course Twilight, I guess I’ll see you later?” He looked up to see his dream mare gone. He let out a deep sigh. “I love you.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the darkness, one of the creatures started to stir. The Praetorian slowly shook his head. What was his name? He couldn’t remember, all he could think about was the pain in his leg. He tried to take a step forward, only to fall onto the wooden floor, agony lancing up his left leg. He then looked down to see a large white bandage, covering his calf, partially obscuring his bright feathers. The Praetorian struggled desperately on the ground, his claws scratching uselessly on the ground at a strange angle. A single scream of frustration signalled his loss of hope, letting his lower jaw hit the ground with a thud. Marcus… that was his name, wasn’t it? Another name popped into his head, Andromeda… who was it? Sister, sister… it was his sister! How could he have forgotten his sister? What had happened, there was the battle, he and the other civilians had gathered on the opposite side of the force field. He was running, his sister on his back, sand and blood were the only materials Marcus was aware of. The sound of muskets, his brethren screaming in agony as they attempted to defend their families and above it all, the terrible scream of his sister. The scream of his sister as Marcus dropped her on the ground. His own cries of anguish, as he felt something, something burning hot, rip into his leg. Marcus picked her back up trying desperately to help her up the beach. Then the terrible pegasi were diving down, killing many of his friends, vicious snarls on their faces. He saw his parent's fall, his father dropped from a musket shot, his mother’s skull caved in from a ponies hoof. A pair of the equines dropped down behind him and everything went black, the last thing he saw was his sister being held down, and a bag being shoved over her head.

It was at this point that Marcus realised where he was. It was a ship, and he must have been in the brig. He bitterly tried to forget his parent’s deaths. All that mattered to him now was his sister. For hours, he pounded on the bars screaming for his sister. Over and over again he called out, but no one came. Eventually, he crawled back to his hay filled corner. There he found his bags, thrown into a heap. Once he saw them, he ripped one open and retrieved the poem his little sister had written for him. Eyes scanned the words, Marcus’ heart in his mouth as he read the last few words. “My world is you.” Crawling up into a ball, there was nothing he could do now but cry. He wept for his dead family, his destroyed home and most importantly, his missing sister.

Making Amends

“What was it that you wanted to ask me, Your Majesty?” Whitehooves addressed Luna formally, due to the presence of her famous “Night Guard” and Shining Armour. The Town hall had been changed into a temporary command post during their stay on Marilus, and thus, it had been outfitted with a large desk, from which Luna attended to logistical affairs. If she wanted to seek Audience with the mayor, she had to go to the Council Chambers on the other side of town.

“I would like for the two of you to accompany me to the brig of “The Explorer” this afternoon. This is where the only two survivors of the battle of Marilus, are being kept. It seems that Captain Longfeathers ‘failed’ to follow orders, given that the initial number of survivors was estimated to be at least twenty.

“What shall be done?” Shining knew that the soldiers had disliked the idea of helping any of the creatures, but to disobey a direct order from the Princess no less. That was too much.

“He will be stripped of his rank and dishonourably discharged from the REN. Any further questions?” With the silence that ensured, Luna got up from her seat and marched down to the wharf with her guards, Shining and Whitehooves. The massive ships had scaffolding around their hulls and sails, allowing for easier access by repair crews. The trio boarded the ship via the main ramp and headed immediately below deck, leaving her guards stationed on the wharf. They found a dark hallway, which was the main section of the brig. Behind each door was a room. Each room consisted of a small pile of hay and bucket in one half of the cell, separated from the other half by a set of steel bars. The one at the very end contained prisoner 1. Retrieving a key from the wall, Luna slowly opened the door. Once inside, Shining created an artificial light using his horn and then rapped the bars noisily.

As the creatures eyes started to open from its slumber, Luna addressed it directly. “Wake up, creature of the dark, so that we may talk about your fate.” The creature stirred, letting out a coo, like that of pidgeon. However, once it was aware of its surroundings, its muzzle turned a bright red and the blue feathers on its back flared upwards. It screeched and threw itself against the bars. The first thought that went through the ponies’ minds, was that this creature must have been nothing more than an uncaring beast, incapable of love. Luna’s horn flashed and the terrible squawking was replaced by intelligible screams.

“WHERE IS MY SISTER YOU MONSTERS? What have you done with her? You took everything from me! My home, my family, damn well everything!” This response from the now clearly male creature was, especially for Shining Armour, unexpected. He silently cursed himself for being so foolish. Of course they had feelings, how could they not. Even as the creature screamed, he pulled out the doll and picture he found on the dead creature, out of his saddle bags. At the sight of the items, silence befell the room, the creature silently staring at the items. Shining pushed them under the bars. The creature grabbed the picture first and then the doll, grasping them in his claws, tears now streaming silently down his face. “Why are you giving me this, have you no respect? You raid my parent’s corpses and then taunt me with their belongings. You ponies truly are evil.”

“I suggest that you don’t judge us so quickly, foul…” Before the Admiral could say anything more, Shining held up a hoof to his mouth, stopping him from talking.

“I brought these to you in an attempt to show you that I care.” The creature looked at the ponies quizzically, Then finally sat and sighed.

“What are you?” Luna asked. It was not exactly a great question but she was determined to address the creature in a formal fashion.

“I am a Praetorian. My name is Marcus and my sister is Andromeda, whom I know is a captive of yours, if you have anything else to say, it will be ignored until I know she is safe.” Shining could see that, beyond any doubt, the Praetorian's eyes filled with only one emotion; love. It was the same sort of love Shining had felt when he banished Chrysalis, freeing his wife and his home from their coup. He also felt the determination that Marcus displayed in his body language. He would never give up until his sister was safe.

“Your majesty, I think it would be wise to allow his wish.” Shining could not help but relate to the Praetorian. After a short discussion, the three ponies left the room, leaving Marcus alone with his thoughts.

After the door closed, Marcus took the picture and doll and placed them in his bags. At the bottom of his bag, he found a few strips of dried meat. He decided to save them for later. He knew that ponies were herbivores, but he was not sure if they would provide for a carnivorous prisoner. Just as he was about to re-read his sisters poem, the door re-opened. The white pony with the blue mane trotted in. Of the three, He was the one Marcus trusted the most. He wasn’t sure why. If it was the hint of kindness in his eyes, the way he talked, or just Marcus’ natural instinct, he couldn’t tell. All of these questions disappeared, as he saw what walked in behind him.

“Andromeda! You’re ok! Thank you mister, she is all I have left, as I am for her. I love her too much to live without her.” Marcus was still angry at anything equine, on account of his parent’s death, but the sight of his sister allowed him to let go of his hate. “Tell me, why is it that you were so ready to allow me to see my sister?” He embraced his sister, tightly as he could through the bars, but so as not to hurt her.

“Let’s just say, I have my own fair share of loved ones.” Shining then lent over and spoke more softly. “Most of my kind thinks you are nothing but monsters. I, on the other hand, can tell that we are not so different.” He sighed heavily before continuing. “Please believe me when I say, that I am truly sorry for your parent’s deaths. They obviously loved you very much.”

“As you do for your sister.” Marcus smiled as he saw the surprise on the pony’s face. “It was not difficult to figure out, pony. It was clear by the look on your face and the way you took sympathy on my sister”. He then grew more sombre. “Thank you stranger.”

Shining smiled at the moment of affection that the two Praetorians shared. He opened the bars to let Andromeda into the cell. “You’re welcome, my name is Shining Armour. I shall give you some privacy.”

Once he left the room, Andromeda asked Marcus the question he feared the most. “Where is Mummy and Daddy?” Her eyes were watering and her muzzle had faded into a dull pink.

“They’re gone sweetie, I’m so sorry, they’re gone.” He could barely believe his own words as they both started to cry. They curled up in the corner, slowly drifting into sleep, sobbing the whole time.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Shining walked back out onto the deck slowly, thoughts racing through his mind. What if he had killed civilians? How were they to know that the ponies on Marilus were not somehow responsible for the attack? He needed answers and resolved to confront the Mayor later. In the meantime he wanted to give the young Praetorians a more comfortable place to sleep and eat. They were very young after all, and he doubted that they physically capable let alone willing, to have fought during the battle of Marilus. These were innocents, and it made him feel all the more guilty for the fate of their parents. As he stepped down onto the deck, Shining noticed the Princess talking to Admiral Whitehooves. As he approached they immediately stopped talking, Luna blushing slightly. Shining rolled his eyes; he knew they were talking about this morning’s ‘discovery’.

“Your majesty, may I have a word?” Shining made sure to keep his mouth straight, not wishing to reveal that he knew what the couple’s conversation had pertained to.

“Of course, follow me to the command centre, Captain. Admiral, please relieve Captain Longfeathers, he will continue to serve as my personal assistant.” A slight smile tugged at Luna’s lips, this would ensure he did not disobey orders again.

“By your leave, your majesty.” Admiral Whitehooves left to find the Pony in order, whilst Shining and Luna made their way to the town hall. Once inside, Luna had drinks brought to the pair, before being seated. Once comfortable, Luna nodded to Shining.

“What seems to be on your mind, Captain?”

“Well, the two Praetorians, Marcus and Andromeda…” Luna quickly interrupted him.

“Names; evidence of sentience. Did you know that the majority of the ponies I have spoken with believe they can’t even think?” Shining shook his head, waiting respectfully for her to finish, despite having been interrupted. “I’m sorry Captain, please continue.”

“Yes, they are indeed siblings, their parents killed during the battle of Marilus. I would like to ask your permission to allow them the freedom to stay in my quarters. They are, from what I have been able to discern, very young. If compared to ponies; Andromeda, the younger sister would be younger than, say, Sparkling Sea and Marcus, only a couple of years older.” The more Shining thought about it, the more he was certain it was the right thing to do. Luna sighed heavily, a hint of regret showing on her face. It was quickly hidden as she made her decision.

“Very well, I warn you however, Cadence may not be so agreeable. If she consents, you may allow them to stay in your quarters, however if they wish to go outside, I will be forced to assign two guards to accompany you.” Luna smiled, realising that Shining was beyond doubt the best pony for the job.

“Thank you Your Majesty. I must also inquire as to rations for the two, they are carnivores after all.” It was a touchy subject which nopony really felt comfortable around predators of any sort.

“Yes well… There is a spell I can use to fix that. Did Marcus have any meat in his bag?” Shining squinted slightly, his curiosity growing.

“Yes”

“I can cause the cells within the meat to replicate, forming an identical copy of the food. No suffering will be involved and the two Praetorians will not die of starvation.” Luna laughed at the gobsmacked pony in front of her. Shining had no idea that was possible.

“Uh-thank y-you your majesty, for your time” Shining shook his head, breaking his stupor.

“You are relieved, Captain.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Mummy!” Sparkling crash tackled her mother to the ground, stunning Twilight as she hit the deck of the Ship.

“Hey kiddo, you have fun with Clear Sky?” Twilight got up off the deck and ruffled her daughter’s mane.

“Yeah! It was awesome, Auntie Cadence was really nice. She showed us how to play chess.” Twilight laughed out loud, enjoying the knowledge that her foal was happy.

“Hi Twilight, how was your night with Cavalier?” The Princess gave a wink, causing Twilight to roll her eyes.

“I’ll tell you later, I have to go talk to him first, about some, issues.” Twilights face suddenly lost colour and she felt weak in the legs.

“You’re not going to tell him about, uhh, him are you?” Cadence was extremely worried that revealing her story to Cavalier was the worst thing to do. But then again, she had to be honest.

“Yes, I am, and it’s why I need your help. Can you get a couple of ponies to sit for Sparkling? I believe that Shining wants to discuss something important with you.” Twilight regained her composure, steadying herself on the railing with a hoof.

“Sure thing Twilight, what was it that Shining wanted to talk about?”

“He didn’t give much away, only that it would need to be in private.” Twilight gave Sparkling a hug and told her daughter to go down to the cabin until Cadence came and got her. “Have you got anypony in mind?”

“Yes, I think Swift and Sorrin will be perfect for the job.”

“Good, I had best be going then, bye” Before Cadence could respond, Twilight teleported herself out of sight.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sparkling waited patiently on a chair in her cabin, silently flicking through past events in her mind. Her cutie mark spectacle. The time when Auntie Cadence got attacked. Meeting Clear Sky. They had become fast friends, despite having very different personalities. While Sparkling was brash and outgoing, Clear was shy and didn’t talk a lot. A knock resounded on the door.

“Sparkling? Are you in there?” It was Auntie Cadence. Sparkling jumped off the chair and ran to the door, opening it with her hooves.

“Hi Auntie Cadence.” Sparkling gasped in delight. “HI CLEAR!”

“Hello Sparkling, Shining and I must spend some time alone together, and your mother is on important business. So I brought, Clear Sky along for you to play with for a few hours, Is that ok?” Cadence knew she would say yes, but she liked giving the filly a sense of authority every now and then.

“Yeah, It’s gonna be fun. Mummy brought us a chess board from town.”

“And I brought over cards, to play games with.” Clear joined in.

“Excellent, now, Sorrin and Swift will look after you while I’m gone, I don’t want either of you misbehaving while they are here. Is that understood?” Cadence gave the pair a stern look.

“Yes Auntie Cadence” Sparkling, always the bolder one answered first.

“Yes Mummy” Cadence flinched at the use of the title. She had still been unable to get used to the concept. She then turned to address the two pegasi.

“Thanks for doing this, Are you sure you know what you’re in for?” Cadence had plenty of experience with the challenges which came with foal sitting, thanks to her adventures with Twilight.

“After what happened on Marilus? It would be an honour, I think I speak for both of us when I say; we are in your debt.” Sorrin smiled before both pegasi bowed low to Cadence.

“Your kindness is payment enough, oh and please, no colt-cuddling in front of the foals, they are still quite young.” Cadence gave the pair a wink to show that she meant no harm by the statement. The pair both laughed freely.

“Good day to you, Your Majesty.” Both stallions bade Cadence farewell in unison, demonstrating the strength of their bond.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight slowly approached the café. The location of which, she had agreed to meet Cavalier. The earth pony was dressed in casual clothing, a waistcoat and bowtie. He was drinking a cup of tea, looking around nervously. Every now and then he would check his pocket watch. Twilight was curious as to why the stallion chose to almost always wear clothes. She guessed it was because he had been born into a family of the nobility. Still, Cavalier was not one of them. He was independent, was willing to go against conventional wisdom and most importantly, never let pressure from others dictate his decisions. That was part of the reason Twilight was so fond of Cav, he was an individual. The more she thought about him, the more Twilight was certain she wanted to be with this pony, but it would mean reliving her worst nightmares. He had to know.

“Hi Cav.” Breaking out in a warm smile, Twilight trotted up to the pony, who quickly got up and paid his bill.

“Twilight, how are you?” Cavalier straightened his bow tie before awkwardly grinning towards the purple unicorn.

“I’m fine, thank you; you look kind of tired, are you ok?” Twilight suddenly panicked, she had heard about a new disease which caused chills and sweats. It would also make you really tired. Cavalier saw the look of worry and chuckled to himself.

“Don’t worry Twilight, I haven’t got malaria, I just spent too much on drinks last night.” This put Twilight somewhat at ease, although she flinched at the mention of the previous night. “Listen, you don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to.” Cavalier looked directly at Twilight, concern etched in his face.

“No, I really like you Cav, and, if we are going to be together, you need to know the truth.” Twilight grimaced slightly, before taking one of his hooves on hers. “It is something would like to talk about in private though. Do you have someplace in mind?”

“Yes, I’m staying in one of the rooms at the town hall. I need a few nights rest on dry land. It will just be us two.” With that, Twilight pulled the red maned pony along to the town square. Once they reached the town hall, they quickly bowed to Luna before trotting up the stairs to Cavaliers room. Walking slowly inside, Cavalier offered his guest a seat on the bed, before sitting next to her. Before he could ask any questions, Twilight launched straight into her story.

“It was six years ago. I had gone to Manehatten for the week around the start of winter, with all of my friends. One night, we all went out to a local bar and my friends, understandably got quite drunk. I did not have any as I didn’t wish to say or do anything… that I would have regretted. I left early, around eleven. Unfortunately I had little sense of direction. I remember walking down an alley way. Once about half way, I heard hoof steps behind me. There was a brief moment of pain, and then darkness.” Twilight was simply staring into space, not moving, not flinching. All that changed was the tears that rolled down her expressionless face. The sight of this, the sight of the pony he loved, in such trauma, broke Cavaliers heart. Still she continued to tell her story. “When I woke up, there was an orange unicorn sitting, this hideous smile on his face. He laughed before saying something about ‘having fun’, and then, he raped me. He had drugged me so I couldn’t fight back.” She was now starting to sob, and much to Cavalier’s surprise, was nuzzling up against him. He had assumed Twilight would want a good deal of personal space. Holding her close he did her best to comfort the distraught mare.

“Shhhhh, It’s all in the past now.” He could not fathom the contempt he now felt for the pony responsible.

“I… I didn’t k-know what to do, or, or how long I was there for. It wasn’t until the effects of the drug wore off that I could escape.” She started to regain composure, if only slightly. Twilights eyes were extremely puffy and red. “A few weeks later, I found out I was pregnant with Sparkling.”

“I swear, if I ever find the pony that did that to you, not even Celestia will be able to stop me.” Cavalier was terrible at any form of combat, but he was so angry, that he doubted it would have mattered.

“No, please… I love you, the non-violent you.” Twilight turned Cavalier’s head to face hers. “I just want you to stay true to yourself. You don’t have to prove anything to me.”

“I’m sorry. I beseech thee to understand that it would have all been for you. I just want you to be happy.” Twilight finally smiled, despite the horror of her experiences.

“I’m happy with you.” She then laid her head on his shoulder. Cavalier sighed, taking in the lavender scent of Twilights mane.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The pair met on the wharf, embraced and then walked back up the ramp of the ship. The sun was just about to reach the horizon; gulls could be heard fishing in the evening light. Cadence could tell that Shining was nervous, but what could it have possibly been about? She was certain that everything was fine. Once inside their cabin, they both sat down on the chairs surrounding the solitary, round, wooden table.

“What’s wrong? You haven’t looked this worried since the day you asked me to marry you.” Cadence took one of his hooves and held it across the table. Her comment elicited a laugh from Shining.

“I was so nervous… I must have looked pretty ridiculous, hands shaking, breaking out in a cold sweat.” Shining chuckled quietly before becoming more serious. “I wanted to talk to you about the fate of the two captured Praetorians.” Cadence nodded slowly, as anger started to swell inside her at the thought of the vile beasts. “Their names are Marcus and Andromeda, brother and sister, their parents were killed on the beaches. The picture and doll that I found belonged to the younger of the two, the sister.” Despite the touching words, Cadence could still not fathom these creatures harbouring any emotions other than anger and hate. Possibly fear. “Cadence, with your permission, I would like to allow them to stay in our cabin.”

“WHAT! Is there something wrong with you!? They are MONSTERS!” Cadence was absolutely stunned by the suggestion. Her anger was frightening, but she felt it was justified. “Think of Clear Sky, his entire family was killed by those, those things! They barely deserve life, much less freedom.”

“And their family was killed by ponies! You would cast their entire species into the void? Commit genocide?” It was Shining’s turn to get angry this time. He had never known his wife to look down with scorn on other species, not even the Changelings. Her outburst had frightened Shining, more than any monster or creature of the dark ever could. “They are orphans, just like Clear. They did not ask for violence, nor did they participate in any. They are no older than foals and in no way deserve to live in a dungeon. If you captured a pony colt and his little sister, innocents of a war, would you throw them in the brig, never to see daylight again?”

“I-I… I don’t know.” Cadence could do nothing but stare at the table, the gravity of his argument dawning on her. “I just don’t want anypony under my care to get hurt.”

“Then go and talk to them, get to know the pair. Beneath the skin, our species are not so different. While I was talking to Marcus, he told me about how much he cared for his sister. These creatures feel, Cadence; they feel fear, happiness, depression… love.” He trailed on the last word before adding, “Believe me when I say, it’s as real as my love for you.”

Despite now starting to become ridden with guilt, Cadence still refused to look at her husband, simply whispering. “Alright, I will meet with them.”

An Ambush And A Home

As the first fingers of sunlight began to wash away the shadows, Cavaliers eyes began to flutter softly. They then scrunched up tightly. His head felt like it had been filled with molten lead, and then smashed against a cliff. The glint of the empty scotch bottle brought back a flood of memories, but it was soon overtaken by the beating drums within his skull. A quick shower helped slightly, but he was far from functional. After drying his fur, Cavalier pulled on a pink collared shirt, before tiptoeing his way downstairs. Luna had yet to attend the day’s meeting with the coalition senators and Cav quickly gave Luna a greeting before exiting. Making his way down the empty street he finally reached his destination, the town’s only café. The bell on the door rang, piecing his mind like a sword through flesh. Shaking his head, Cavalier noticed a young, green stallion; a unicorn with a white mane. His flank bore a number of coffee beans surrounding a small cake. It surprised Cav that an individual of the magical ponies would have found his talent in cooking, but then again, who was he to judge. He was an earth pony who was fond of science. In fact, he was the first non-unicorn to ever become a professor at the Canterlot Royal University. Damn, nobleponies and their ridiculous stereotypes.

“Good morning Sir, how can I help you?” The young pony had a smooth, low voice.

“Yeah… uhh, I had a long night, if you get what I mean.” Cavalier smiled weakly, hoping the stallion would understand. Much to his relief, the unicorn simply winked knowingly.

“I got just the thing.”

About fifteen minutes later, Cav walked out of the café, now able to function somewhat properly. Deciding to make something of his last day, he decided to pay Twilight a visit. He had hoped to explore the uninhabited area of the island, making a start on his documentation on foreign wildlife. Approaching the docks, he noticed that there were a number of ponies guarding the ‘Chalice of Hope’. This surprised Cavalier to a certain degree, but he figured there was probably a good reason. Climbing up the ramp, he then made his way to Twilight’s cabin. A soft knock on the door and it was enveloped in a purple aura, before opening quietly. Twilight greeted Cav with a smile, ushering him inside.

“Sparkling is still asleep. Apparently she had a bit of a late night.” She giggled softly to herself. Sparkling was much more energetic than Twilight, but what goes up, must come down.

“Ahh, I see. It’s good to see you Twilight” Cavalier flashed his awkward grin. Twilight pulled him into a gentle hug, before giving Cav a quick kiss.

“You too.” At first suddenly bewildered, Cavalier soon started to relax, eyes slowly closing, enjoying the moment, until Twilight broke away. To reasons beyond her knowledge, Twilight’s confidence left her. She backed off before smiling nervously. “Umm, would you like to sit down?” Cavalier simply nodded and took his place at the lone table. Once seated, Twilight pulled a chair over, with magic, next to Cav. “So, anyway, um, any reason for your visit?” Cavalier straightened his shirt before answering, slightly confused by the unicorns change in attitude.

“Well, I was thinking, assuming we leave tomorrow, it will be at least another week before we are able to conduct any field research.” Despite her assigned duty, Twilight had completely forgotten about their research, what with the events of the last few days.

“Yes, I suppose that is a long time. What are you getting at?” Twilight was curious to say the least. It showed in her posture, her ears pointed forward and she leaned over the table, raising an eyebrow slightly.

“You may not know this, but I found out, from a couple of the villagers, that most of the island is uninhabited.” This surprised Twilight, as the whole island seemed like it would be perfect for farming.

“What, why? They could be producing so much more food.” Cavalier expected such a response and was quick to explain.

“Well, the Coalition does not have a significant population of Unicorns or Pegasii. In fact, ninety five precent of their nation is made up of Earth Ponies. As such, unlike in Equestria, they are unable to create an artificial storm or, failing that, use magic to return nitrates and phosphates when they are used up by plants.” Although Cavalier had chosen the life of academia, he still had an excellent working knowledge in biology, and as an extension of his field, agriculture. “To maintain fertile soil, it’s important that most of their territory is natural. You know, like a proper ecosystem.” Twilight had suspected that the Coalition was not as diverse as Equestria. Even so, her time meeting all the new ponies had been a huge culture shock.

“Ah, you mean like the Everfree forest.” Twilight was pleased to see she had guessed correctly.

“Yes, but, being an island, Marilus shouldn’t have many large predators, if any. The habitat just can’t support that sort of ecological niche.” The mention of Everfree could put even the bravest of ponies in fear, and Cav was eager to dispel any worries that Twilight may have had. “So, I wanted to ask if you; would like to accompany me on a research expedition?” Twilight at first felt opposed to the suggestion, as she did not wish to leave Sparkling in the custody of others. She had not spent much time with her daughter, and Twilight owed Sparkling a bit of attention. But she quickly thought of a compromise.

“Well, would it be alright if Sparkling came along?” Cavalier slowly nodded his head, mulling the thought over in his head.

“I suppose so, since it shouldn’t be too dangerous. I suppose we will have to obtain permission from Princess Luna.” Twilight nodded her head vigorously, now becoming excited about the prospect of field research. It never ceased to amaze the studious unicorn, how much there was to learn in the world. Every time a question was answered, it seemed ten new ones replaced the original. She also noted that Cavalier was becoming restless. “Oh my gosh, Twilight, do you know what this means? We will be the first ponies in Equestria to document a foreign ecosystem. Not only will we be able to learn about all the new animals and plants, we could publish our findings into the Royal Canterlot Archives. We could even excavate some foss…” He was stopped by a hoof covering his mouth, ending his tirade. He blushed slightly as Twilight took her hoof away, herself giggling at the sight of a full grown stallion, becoming more excited than a filly before their birthday party.

“You go collect all your equipment; I’ll wake Sparkling up and get the Princess’ permission.” Cavalier smiled sheepishly, before glancing down at the table, his face slowly returning to its natural brown hue.

“Ok, I guess I’ll get going then.” Twilight nodded and smiled, giving Cavalier a quick peck on the cheek, before getting up. The pair embraced for a moment before both going their separate ways.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Shining woke that morning to the sight of his wife, still sleeping soundly. He was sweating profusely, body shaking from his most recent nightmare. He looked down at his hooves, expecting to see them covered in blood, but there was nothing. Shining sighed heavily, the bed beneath him was comfortable, beckoning him to go back to sleep. Cadence stirred slightly, eyes fluttering open.

“Shining?” Cadence whispered gently. She was now fully awake.

“Yes?”

“I think we should check on Clear Sky.” Shining nodded, pushing the covers off his torso and legs. Sliding to his side of the bed, he rubbed his eyes, his vision still blurry. It took a while before he felt awake enough to walk over to the small bed Clear used. He had been hiding under the covers. When Shining lent forward to listen, he heard the colt crying. Magically lifting the covers off the small pony, Clear looked up towards the large unicorn, attempting to hide the tear stained photos of his family.

“Hey kiddo, want to tell me what’s wrong?” Shining knew exactly what the problem was, but felt it would be necessary for the colt to express his feelings.

“I had a nightmare. I-I was hiding in a cupboard, and… and my Mummy was screaming. Daddy was shouting too. And then I heard a noise, like tearing paper and suddenly, daddy stoped shouting. Mummy… Mummy screamed louder.” Clear was, by now, not the only one crying. Shining could hide the tears no longer, but tried to remain strong, strong for the colt now in his hooves. “Then I heard the sound again, just before Mummy stopped screaming.”

“Clear, you don’t have to prove anything to anypony. It’s good to sometimes, let others see how we feel. It is perfectly fine to cry every now and then.” Shining was repeating one of the same speeches which Cadence had given to him. It had been after one particularly traumatic night when he had tried to end… No! he thought to himself, ‘I can’t think about that, not now’.

“Why are they gone?” The question left Shining Dumbstruck. He floundered for words. Once, he had believed that everything was for a purpose, that Celestia and the other rulers from the past, were looking down on pony kind, helping to shape their lives in meaningful ways. Now, Shining knew, there was nopony looking down on them. Everypony he had lost in battle, the relatives he saw die before his eyes, surrounded in white hospital sheets. They had all passed into the void alone. At first he had struggled to come to terms with this realisation. What was the point in living? Similar questions had plagued him many times during the war against the Griffons. His soul, at the time, seemed to match the battle field; barren, solemn, dark and pockmarked with craters. But when he finally returned home, reunited with the love of his life, he realised the answer. We live, so that we might love those we care about, and seek joy and happiness for the sake of ourselves and for others’‘. This still did not alleviate his current predicament, and Shining was still at a loss.

“They are gone because they loved you.” Cadence walked over, hooves hardly making a sound against the wooden deck. “They knew you were special, that you were worth fighting for. Your Mother and Father… went away, because they knew, deep down, you would always remember them, even if they aren’t here.” The colt began to stand up, shakily at first. He looked up at the two older ponies, both with caring expressions on their faces. Clear nuzzled between the two. Yet another wave of sadness washing over him, Shining wrapped his hooves around the colt, whilst Cadence draped her wings around both of them, warming the trio, in the cold cabin.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Banners hung from the walls where the different senators and officials of the Coalition sat. The government building which housed the law courts, the Mayors offices and the taxation department had only been a short walk from the town hall. Lavishly decorated, the almost royal looking structure seemed quite out of place amongst the smaller buildings, a benefit it seemed of being a pony with status. Luna knew that, despite the debt that the Coalition ponies owed to the Equestrian’s, the following proceedings had best be taken with care. On order for the morning’s discussion, would be a talk on trade and the possibility of using Marilus as a re-supply station, for ships headed back to Equestria from The Old World. In the afternoon, the senate and Luna would reconvene for an appeal for an alliance between the two nations. Although Luna was hesitant to become too entwined in their politics, it would also be a bad idea to offend them by rejecting an offer of cooperation. As the day steadily wore on, the ponies continued to discuss the nature of the goods they would trade. Being virtually uninhabited, The Old Wold would likely possess a large number of natural resources including food, wood and metal ores. In return for these raw materials, The Coalition would supply manufactured goods and, if necessary, military hardware. Although the Coalition had a significantly damaged economy, due to their war with the Praetorians, they knew that the long term financial benefits of trade would pay off. It was eventually decided that a recess should be taken, in order for everypony to have lunch, clear their heads and then continue with their laborious, yet necessary task. Just before they stood to leave, Luna felt it desirable to make one last fact, one which had been bothering her for a while now, perfectly clear.

“Senators, Mayor, before we exit this session, I think it would be best to explain our situation on the Coalition/Praetorian war. We have only just recovered from the Great War with the Griffon Empire. As such, we will be unable to provide any further military aid in your struggle, unless your enemies attack Equestria directly.” Luna could see a few of the senators eyes darken. However, the majority seemed to be understanding of her plight.

“Your nation has done more than enough in saving the families present on this island, perhaps, one day we may repay the debt, but alas, we cannot. For now, let us rest our minds. I declare this meeting adjourned.” The Mayor struck the anvil on her desk with a small hammer, before all the ponies present stood and made their way to the exit. Having patiently waited for the other’s Luna and her guard were last to leave the government building. The late morning sun felt warm upon Luna’s fur, an odd but pleasant feeling, especially after having been cooped up inside the senate room for, what seemed to her, like days.

‘Cheers Tia’ Luna mused to herself, making sure never to take her sister for granted again. Looking to her famous night guards, with batlike wings and slitted pupils, she made her way back towards the Town Hall for some lunch. Underneath the magical disguise, they were just regular ponies; however, Luna liked the look. It gave them a fierce reputation, added to by the many tales of heroics by their unit during the Great War. Just before she got inside she heard the call of her name in the distance. Tuning to face its source, she spotted the lavender Unicorn, racing up the street from the docks.

“Princess Luna, Your Majesty… I… wanted to ask you a favour.” Out of breath, Twilight gave a small bow before awaiting Luna to respond.

“Continue Miss Sparkle.” Although the princess loved the mare as she did all her subjects, Luna wanted some time to herself, and with Whitehooves.

“Well, Cavalier and I wanted to lead an exploratory mission into the centre of the island. To document any of the native species would help to keep us occupied on the rest of our voyage.” Looking away, mostly out of fear in case her offer was declined, Twilight almost didn’t see Luna nod before placing a hoof on the unicorns shoulder.

“As long as you are willing to allow a number of my night guards to accompany you, I have no problem with your proposal.” Luna whispered quietly now, “I know there is little to harm you out there, but I do not want to lose you. Although Celestia has prepared for the eventual death of all her subjects, I fear that yours would break her heart, especially if it were unnecessary.” The alicorn raised her head away from Twilight’s ear before smiling. “I think that two shifts of my personal guard will be enough. Don’t you agree boys?” Any other pony would have at least frowned at the prospect of taking longer shifts. Luna’s protectors remained stoic as ever.

“Yes, Your Majesty” The pair replied in unison. Luna smirked. It was always fun to ask the guards questions, trying desperately to get some sort of response now and then.

“If you will now excuse me, Miss Sparkle, I would like to spend some time alone. Your escort will be waiting for you on the main road near the government house.”

“Of course, thank you.” With that Twilight headed back down to the docks, leaving Luna to organise the guard, set her alarm for an hour and then relax in peace.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Now, remember dear, The Praetorians in here are very young. They will not have any idea that they have done anything wrong. In their eyes, the ‘attack’ was nothing more than putting food on the table.” Shining Armour walked slowly, keeping a steady pace next to Cadence. “Also, they will be very scared of you at first, so they might not talk straight away.”

“Ok, I guess ponies are as frightening to their kind, as they are to us.” Cadence stopped at the far end of the hallway, waiting for Shining to find the right key. The door slowly opened, revealing the dimly lit room, Marcus and Andromeda huddled up in the back left corner, a make shift bed of straw was the only amenity in the cell, other than a pair of buckets, one for water and the other for waste.

“I’ll wait outside.” Shining looked apprehensive at leaving Cadence alone in the cell, but she had requested a private discussion with the prisoners. The door clicked shut behind the alicorn, who lit the room with the light of her horn. Unsure of what to say, she simply coughed awkwardly to get their attention. The moment that the older Praetorian saw her, he grabbed his sister and pushed her behind him. All that could now be heard in the room was the sound of pleading.

“Please don’t kill Andromeda, please… I beg of you, I am all she has left. I’m sorry for whatever I did, please don’t kill me.” Marcus soon began to cry, incoherently babbling. Cadence simply stood in shock. She was certain that Shining had not received such a reaction. The feathers on the creature’s flanks were completely flattened against his body and his muzzle’s colouration had faded significantly.

“I am not here to hurt either of you, I simply wish to talk.” Cadence smiled weakly, still disconcerted with the strange structure of these creatures. Their serrated teeth unnerved her somewhat. “May I ask why you thought I was going to kill you?” It took at least another minute before the Praetorian was able to reply.

“You are the monster my parents spoke of. They said you killed a hundred Praetorians… all on your own.” This caused Cadence to flinch visibly. She had no knowledge that her spells would have killed the creatures which ambushed her. She had only meant to knock them out.

“K-k-killed?” The Princess had never killed anything in her life, even when the Changelings had attacked Canterlot; the spell she used to banish them did only that, not kill. For once in her life, she had absolutely no idea what to think. How should she feel? How did she feel about herself, sad, proud… angry even?

“Aye, you killed some of my best friends that day. My mother and father were part of the lucky ones.” Marcus eventually stood up, glancing at his sister, before approaching the bars in the centre of the room. “Where is the nice pony?”

“I’m sorry?” Cadence didn’t think she would think of anypony as ‘nice’, if she was in Marcus’ position.

“The one called Shining.” The alicorn gave out a slight gasp. “He was kind; he offered us a clean place to sleep.” The younger Praetorian got up and nuzzled against her brothers forearm. “And he helped reunite the two of us.” When he had finished, Cadence regained her composure.

“Well, you see, umm, my name is Princess Cadence. Shining Armour is my husband.” Cadence stated awkwardly, almost feeling ashamed of herself, especially having learnt what she had done. “So, how old are you two?”

“We do not know how old we are in years, but I suppose I would still be a young adolescent, if I was one of your kind. Andromeda is about half my age, she still hasn’t been taught to read or write.” Attempting to make a good impression on the pony that stood before him, Marcus retrieved the small drawing his sister had made. “She loves art though. This was drawn for our father a few days ago. The day before…” he was about to say ‘the day before they were murdered’, but thought better of it, “the battle.”

“I’m sorry for your loss. Can you tell me about your parents?” For the next half hour, Cadence patiently sat through the story of Praetorian culture. Marcus spoke of when his teeth first started growing, the sweet songs that his mother sung to him when he was hurt. His father often took him to their private observatory, and, on occasion, to the national observatory. Both he and Andromeda had been fascinated with astronomy, being more knowledgeable about the universe and its workings than even the most educated ponies. Cadence wished to find out whether Praetorian science was similar to in Equestria, but did not pursue the matter. Learning to hunt for the first time had been one of Marcus’ greatest achievements, as it was for all Praetorians. The school he attended, the many friends he had made, being taught the arts of stealth, working with others to bring down prey many times their size. This was a huge challenge for Cadence to accept. ‘Was it possible for predator and prey to co-exist?’ she pondered. Her apprehension must have shown.

“I know you must think the Praetorians are monsters. But tell me, if one day you found out that plants could talk, could feel, fear and hope. If they could do everything you do. What would you be able to change? Would you be willing for all of pony kind to perish because of who you are?” Cadence had never asked such a question to herself.

“I… don’t know.” This brought a soft snort from Marcus.

“No, you wouldn’t. I cannot change the way I am, nor did I choose to be born as a carnivorous individual.” The truth of what the elder brother spoke started to sink in. It seemed to Cadence that it would take a while for her to get used to the young creatures, however, she was confident they could reconcile their differences. For a while the two remained silent, neither sure of what to say next. Andromeda simply looked up, wide eyed, at the towering pony before them. Marcus looked down at her before nuzzling her neck softly, making small chirping noises. It was then, that Cadence felt something she had only ever experienced with ponies. She felt the love between the two radiating from each other. Having studied her special talent, the Princess knew that she could detect love from other species, but never to the same extent as between ponies. This, on the other hand, was one of the strongest bonds between two individuals, she had ever felt. Almost as though he could read her mind, Marcus turned to face Cadence once more. “When I saw Mother and Father killed, I had thought ponies to be nothing but monsters, incapable of love, in any form. Shining taught me that was not true, and I can now finally accept, that… you only did what you thought was right.” He paused to breathe in deeply before continuing. “I can also see, that you thought the same of us. If that is what you still think, I can’t be sure, but in either case that doesn’t matter. If you are not willing to accept my offer of peace, can you, at the very least, help Andromeda? Her happiness is all that matters to me now, and, as you can see, these are hardly the conditions for a child of any race.”

“Listen, you are right that I originally thought of your species as evil. But, I am certain now that just isn’t true. You may stay with Shining, our adopted son, Clear Sky and I. Be warned however, that Clear’s parents were killed by Praetorians and he will likely not trust you.” Cadence then knelt closer. “I can see plainly the undeniable love you share with your sister. If you could try to extend that towards Clear Sky, he may be willing to become friends, after a time.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much.” Marcus beamed radiantly, his muzzle almost iridescent red. “You have no idea what this means. Andromeda, did you hear? We get to stay with the kind pony.”

“The big white one? The one who smiled at my drawing, is it?” Cadence was still surprised at the obvious impression Shining had left on the two.

“Yes Andromeda, yes it is.” Leaving the two alone, Cadence exited the small room to find Shining waiting expectantly.

“They can stay.” That was all she had to say to elicit an enormous smile from Shining. “I just hope you have thought about Clear, he has been through a lot."

“I know, maybe you should talk to him before I introduce them, or possibly even get somepony to sit for him, while we get the Praetorians settled in.” Cadence thought for bit, looking up at the celling, before making her decision.

“I think the latter would be more suitable.” Shining nodded, opening the cell door again, to finally release the innocents held as prisoners.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

By midday, Twilight and Cavalier had met up with the four night guards assigned to them. All were still in the specialised Luna uniforms. Even their magical appearances remained unaltered. They wore only light armour, but were heavily armed. Not only did all of them carry battle modified rapiers, they also had holsters for a most peculiar weapon. It was twice the length of an officer’s pistol, and had a pair of barrels, one on top of the other. On a small belt next to the fierce looking pistols were a series of small, cylindrical structures. Upon inquiry, Twilight learnt they were cartridges, each containing many small pieces of metal round shot. When fired they were devastating at close range but less affective at medium to long range.

“Well, I just hope you don’t have to use them.” Twilight was, although a realist, not fond of thinking about ponies killing others, even in defence.

“As do we, Miss Sparkle” The leader of the group replied. He was the only distinguishable pony out of the four, thanks to the crest on his helmet bearing the insignia of a Gunnery Sergeant. The other three were all Corporals. Despite their fierce appearance, Twilight could see, quite clearly in their eyes, the care they had for each other as friends.

“Don’t worry, there shouldn’t be anything to use them on. As far as I can tell, the ecosystem would be unable to support anything above ten kilograms.” Up until that point, Cavalier had remained silent, carefully checking the recorded list of species already identified, thanks to the Coalition.

“Well, I guess we are about to find out.” Twilight pointed a hoof towards the large palisade wall, looming in front of the ponies, as if a warning to stay within its boundaries. “This is the last checkpoint, and then it is just forest.” Nodding his approval, the lone guardpony opened the gate, allowing the six ponies along with Sparkling, who was sleeping on Twilights back, through to the wilderness beyond. It was not until after the expedition was well into the forest, that a pony dressed in a full body black camouflage, dropped from a tree behind the lone guard. Using magic, the assailant levitated a curved knife and shoved it in the base of the pony’s skull, killing him instantly. He then ran off, in silent pursuit of the Equestrians.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“So, this is where you will be staying, for a while.” Shining opened the door of the cabin, revealing the dimly lit room. “You and your sister will have to sleep on the lounge I’m afraid, it is the only spare spot other than the floor.” Cadence had taken Clear Sky into town for lunch, giving Shining the opportunity to get Marcus and Andromeda settled in.

“This is more than enough. After spending two nights in a cell, an actual cabin is like staying at the Royal Palace at Jupitus.” The look of inquiry was enough to warrant an explanation. “That is the Capital of the Praetorian Nation.”

“Ahh, I see. Now, you won’t be forced to stay in here, but if you wish to go above deck, two guards must accompany us. Also, you will have to stay in here, until I notify my superiors of your new accommodation.” After inspecting the quarters, Marcus turned to Shining, his expression full of hope.

“Thank you, Shining, if there is anything you need, just ask.” Chuckling softly, Shining shook his head, informing the Praetorian that such an offer was unnecessary, although he appreciated the thought. A squeal of excitement quickly distracted the pair from conversation, both looking at the source.

“Look Marcus, I found pencils, and there is paper. Can I draw mister, can I please?” Almost scratching Shining in the process, Andromeda jumped up to hug the large stallion when he gave approval. Before he knew quite what was happening, the young Praetorian rushed back to the small table, picking up a blue pencil with her mouth.

“Wow, she is really quick.” Shining glanced to Marcus, before returning his gaze to Andromeda.

“Yeah, Praetorians are quite fast. In fact, I think we are the fastest of all the civilized species.” To prove his point, Marcus waited for the stallion to blink before sprinting to the back of the cabin. He turned around and smirked. To Shining, it was as if the Praetorian had teleported himself across the room.

“Ok, that was officially amazing.” A question soon occurred to Shining. “Do any of your species have the ability to fly?” Taking a seat at the table next to Andromeda, Marcus sighed heavily before answering.

“Yes, there are a few of my kind who possess wings, but most of them were killed in a surprise attack by the Coalition. This about two hundred years ago, at least that’s what the history books say. They are called the ‘Aquila Guard’. After the attack, a little under a hundred survived. Their numbers have risen since then to over a thousand, but they are still an extremely small minority.” After finishing his explanation, an uncomfortable silence crept over the group. It seemed to last for an eternity, the only noise produced was from Andromeda drawing; until, there was a soft knock on the door.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

As the Twilight sat in the clearing, drawing sketches of the many birds she saw, Cavalier entertained Sparkling, showing her the many maps and charts which they used to navigate the island. The guards had set up a perimeter about ten metres away from the civilian ponies. They had spent about the last five hours documenting all of the flora and fauna. Surprisingly to Twilight, there were quite literally no mammals on the island except for rats. All other large fauna ecological niche’s had been filled primarily with birds. There were many varieties, some of which were completely new to Equestrian science. One species, which appeared to be a member of the parrot family, was about fifteen kilograms in weight, had a complete inability to fly and made its nest on the ground. It had a green coat and a thick beak, which Twilight hypothesised, was used for cracking’s seeds and nuts. They had also spotted a large herbivorous bird, which was at least two metres tall. It had a silky brown coating of feathers and long yellow legs. Using a thin, elongated beak, the bird stripped ferns of their leaves. The size of the creature had surprised Cavalier, as he did not think such a creature could survive on the limited resources Marilus had to offer. There were also many poisonous and spined plants, having evolved to defend themselves from the feeding birds that inhabited the island. What truly astounded the scientists however, was the huge, mindboggling variety of invertebrates. So many, that they were almost completely out of paper to document them. Just as Twilight placed the last scroll in her a saddle bag, there was a rustling in the bushes behind her. One of the guards went to investigate, illuminating the darkness to reveal a crouching lion, eyes an odd red. Leaping forward, claws out, it tackled the earth pony guard, just after he drew his pistol. There was a flash of light, along with a boom which hurt Twilights eardrums. The lion slumped to the ground, the red in its eyes faded, revealing the creatures natural brown coloured irises. Just as the Earth Pony got up, another of the large predators grabbed him from behind, pulling the terrified stallion who was screaming into the undergrowth. After a few moments the terrible cries for help stopped. Sparkling began to cry, Twilight drawing her into a worried hug.

“Close in” The Sergeant barked. The two remaining corporals bunched together to form a small triangle around Cavalier and Twilight, weapons drawn.

“I’m sorry I got you into this Gunnery Sergeant, I had no reason to expect that this would happen.” Cavalier had his own personal battle hardened rapier drawn. He had received little training with the sword however, as it was simply a customary accessory for noble stallions. The Sergeant only gave Cavalier a quick glance.

“I’ll keep that in mind… when I explain it to his family.” With that the group steadily started shuffling back towards the centre of the clearing, waiting for more of the creatures to attack. “Twilight, can you teleport us back to the colony?” Twilight shook her head.

“I’m only strong enough to send something small, like…” Twilight’s eyes widened as she looked down at her daughter.

“Twilight, we need to inform the Princess as soon as possible.” The Sergeant wrote a quick letter before pushing it into Sparkling’s trembling hooves. She looked at the note, tears streaking down her cheeks.

“Sparkling… Mummy needs you to take this to the Princess.” She looked deep into her daughter’s eyes. “Remember that no matter what happens, Mummy loves you very much, but I need you to do this.” Sparkling’s expression slowly turned from fear to determination. The sound of the guard’s weapons firing rang out again and again, the ponies attempting to keep the lions at bay.

“Yes Mama, I can do it.” Twilight’s horn glowed for a moment, before there was a blinding flash of light, revealing the empty space where Sparkling once sat. Around them, several lions were now circling, just out of range of the guard’s pistols. Whenever one of them tried to charge forward, they dropped like stones, riddled with metal shot. Cavalier moved up beside Twilight.

“Do you think she will make it?” Cav asked, slightly apprehensive at leaving the filly alone to send the message to Luna. Twilight’s horn charged up with energy, preparing for an attack spell.

“Let’s just try and survive this battle, shall we?”

All Is Not As It Seems

Up until that point, Luna and John had been enjoying some time alone in the outskirts of town, before it would be necessary to raise the moon. The Princess of the Night had spent the entire morning and early afternoon running affairs of state, giving her a small amount of peace, with which to spend with her mate. Just as the town clock struck four, the pair returned to the town hall. Luna ordered the guards to remain outside, unless there was an emergency. Luna cast a muting spell, giving the pair an added layer of privacy. As Whitehooves fumbled with his shirt, Luna took the liberty of undoing his buttons with magic, causing him to blush slightly, quickly replaced by a wry smile. Before the Admiral could take the situation further, there was a harsh nock on the door.

“What is it, Private?” Luna said, rather in annoyance.

“Your Majesty, the daughter of Miss Sparkle was teleported on the road moments ago. She claims to have an urgent message concerning her mother’s expedition.” After glancing to her mate with worry, the Princess ordered the guards, along with Sparkling, inside. The filly came bursting inside, hoofing a scroll to the alicorn, who unravelled it immediately. The note read:

We are in a clearing, eight kilometres east of the last outpost. Have been ambushed by a large number of predators, sustained one fatal casualty, civilians Darwin and Sparkle in mortal danger. Reinforcements and extraction needed ASAP.

Gunnery Sergeant Hooves.

The moment she finished reading the note, it was discarded. “Admiral Whitehooves, guards, listen well. Assemble six teams of Pegasii drawn armoured pony carriers, twenty musket ponies in each. I shall draw a seventh carrier with my night guard, serving as the first wave of responders. You are to lead the first assault and extract Twilight, Cavalier and the guards back to the carrier. Once this is accomplished, my guards will fly you, Admiral, back here. During this time, I will remain on the ground with the others, and sweep the area in search of clues as to why this happened. Understood?”

“Yes, your Majesty” The three replied in unison.

Once the night guard left to follow her orders, Luna gave Whitehooves a quick kiss. “Be careful John, remember that I love you.” She cast aside her royal regalia in preparation for donning her armour. “And one other thing, make sure that Shining remains ignorant of the situation… for now. I fear that he may act brashly, given his relation to Twilight.”

“I love you too, Lulu. Whatever happens, don’t hold yourself responsible.” Not wanting to waste any more time, John rushed out to ready the large pony carriers, which had to be unloaded from the ships. It was over a kilometre to the docks, but Whitehooves covered the distance in just a few minutes. With some relief, the Admiral noticed that the two guards had already begun assembling the troops and carriers. A group of seventy Pegasii were fitting harnesses for the mission at hand, while the sailors lowered the armoured carriers down to the docks. They had originally sat in the centre of “The Explorer”, requiring a fair amount of muscle to attach the large vehicles to cranes, overhanging the sides of the vessel. Only a few of the musket ponies had assembled, giving Whitehooves time to rush to his cabin on “The Chalice of Hope” and don his red commander’s coat. John clipped his belt around his midsection, which carried both his rapier and pistol. By the time he returned to the docks, the rest of the force had assembled, awaiting orders. The musket ponies wore their own bright red coats, distinguishing them from the various other troop types. On their sides, they wore a leather holster, containing their muskets, removable bayonets and a shoulder high stake, with a fork at one end. This could be placed into the ground, allowing the ponies to rest the barrels of their muskets in the fork, whilst firing single hoofed. On their right shoulder’s, a small pad, strapped around behind their front legs, created a site to reinforce their muskets when aiming down the sights. Once the carriers were on the docks the Pegasii donned their harnesses, in preparation for the flight. Only the strongest would be able to carry the huge weight, meaning that training for such a position was, in the utmost degree, extremely selective. Once the ramp on the back of the carriers had been lowered, Whitehooves gave the order for the musket ponies to board the carriers, which they did so in haste. Luna marched up to her carriage, greeting her guards with a nod before slipping on her own harness.

“Your Majesty, all troops are accounted for and we shall lift off in approximately ninety seconds.” John donned his black cylindrical helmet, which, unlike those worn by the other ponies, held his Admiral insignia, an obvious symbol of rank.

“Excellent work, get aboard, and we shall make all haste.” Obeying the Princess without question, John joined his comrades, made up of Luna’s guard, unlike the musket ponies in the other carriers, counting down silently in his head.

“Sixty seconds… thirty seconds, mares and gentlecolts.” John’s countdown continued, ignoring the whispered prayers to Celestia. “Six, five, four, three, two, one, brace!” the entire floor seemed to wobble as the carriers rose steadily upwards. “ETA of landing; twenty minutes, draw swords in ten.” The force of twenty night guards was split into two units; one, led by Whitehooves, which would secure the civilians, and the other, led by one Captain Ditzy Hooves, which would secure a perimeter. Ditzy was an odd character. Without the magical change in appearance, she was a grey Pegasus, with a gold mane, tail and eyes that pointed in opposite directions. This gave her difficulty in the skill depth perception; however, she had quickly proven that she could overcome her disability. After her daughter, Dinky grew up, Ditzy decided to quit her job as mail mare. Dinky had gotten her cutie mark in combat magic, joining Celestia’s Special Forces the same day she became an adult pony. Wanting to be close to her daughter, Ditzy enlisted for training in the Equestrian Army. The war with the Griffons had already started by then, so the enlistment ponies placed her in a special training program, despite her disability, as they needed the numbers. With the addition of an eye patch, and the correct guidance, she quickly became one Equestrias best soldiers. Rising through the ranks, she eventually became a prime candidate for Luna’s night guard, where she met and fell in love with her current husband, Gunnery Sergeant Tod Hooves. John could see the look of worry in the mare’s eyes, instinctively knowing that her mate was in danger. He walked over and tried to comfort his comrade, who responded by simply double checking her armour and weapons. With nothing left to do but wait, Whitehooves steeled himself for the mission ahead, the carriage rocking from side to side, due to air currents.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Down to three shells, Gunny.”

“Only one left here, Gunnery Sergeant.” The commander of the group had long since drawn his sword, preparing for the moment when his comrades ran out of ammunition.

“Right then, Twilight, save what energy you have for now. I want you to use whatever you can to destroy these beasts, only after we have fallen. Is that clear?” Gunnery Sergeant Hooves glanced back at the purple unicorn, who was almost at the end of her strength.

“You mean… do you mean after...” Twilight had never faced such a threat before, aside from the Changelings. Even then she had, like Cadence, refused to kill any of the parasites. A new type of scar was busy imprinting itself on Twilight’s soul.

“Yes, you wait until the rest of my guard and myself, have fallen. We are expendable, you are not.” He then turned to face the lions, which were only just realising that they could approach unharmed. One of the beasts made a leap at the Sergeant, who deftly side stepped, plunging his blade into the lion’s spine. Death was instant and unforgiving. Cavalier sided up to the guard.

“What do I do?” He asked quickly. The scientists question was met with a snort.

“Fight for your life… and that of your friend.” It did little to calm Cav’s nerves, indeed; it only made him more worried.

“I am not a soldier...” Before he could finish his sentence, the Earth pony was rushed by another lion. He held his sword up defensively, only just managing to thrust it under the creature’s lower jaw, into the skull. The fresh corps slid off the rapier silently. Cavalier could do nothing but stand in shock, before realising he had a job to do. Sergeant Hooves turned to face another assailant, almost whispering.

“Then now, is your chance to become one.” As more lions approached, the red glow in their eyes became intensified, as if some exterior force was providing them with greater strength and speed. After ten straight minuets of fighting, the situation was becoming critical. One of the lions leapt over Cavalier, attacking the younger guards from behind. They were fast enough to face and eliminate this threat, but upon dispatching the creature, the smaller of the two was pulled backwards. She screamed terribly, as the lion slashed the tendons on her back legs. The other guard rushed to her side, slaying the lion with an angry snarl, before dragging her wounded comrade into the centre of the circle. Just as all seemed lost, above the trees, the survivors heard the sound of wing beats, echoing through the forest.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Thirty seconds till we hit the ground, everypony at the ready.” John was forced to shout, on account of the wind howling as they were carried above the canopy. “Five seconds, brace for impact.” The huge vehicle came to a shuddering halt. Were it not for the railings on the side of the troop compartment, everypony would have been thrown off balance. The giant ramp swung down, revealing the now fading light. Rushing out of the vehicle, the night guards immediately split off into their two respective units. The subsequent battle was ferocious. Captain Ditzy Hooves and her squad cut a path through the lions, slow to face the new threat. Whitehooves picked his way towards the centre of the clearing, where four of the five survivors were crowded around a single guard. The downed mare was bleeding profusely, her back legs severely torn. Her left leg had several deep puncture wounds, while her right was almost completely severed, the bones around her ankle in several splinted pieces. Only a few centimetres of muscle, skin and fat held the limb together. The other, uninjured mare had by now cast aside her helmet, tears streaking down her face. Through the sobs, she tried to encourage her comrade. Much to John’s surprise, neither possessed cutie marks.

“Hang in there Vitanni, you’ll be fine… I promise… you’ll be ok.” The blood pooling on the ground started to flow slower, Twilight had just enough strength left to heal the smaller wounds before collapsing. The other mare started breathing more rapidly, whispering to the weeping guard.

“It’s ok, Gloria. Just go, my path ends here.” The light slowly started to fade from her eyes, the mare’s brain becoming starved of oxygen.

“No, we can make it out of here, we can still be together.” Gloria brushed the mare’s magically dyed purple hair back, revealing the slitted pupils and gold irises. She only vaguely heard Cavalier say that amputation would be necessary. The Gunnery Sergeant put a hoof on the scientists shoulder and simply shook his head.

“It’s ok… live a good life… I’m… not going to last… we both…” She started to cough. Breathing for Vitanni was now becoming more of a struggle.

“Shhh, I’m with you… I love you.” With one last kiss, her breathing stopped. Gloria held her comrade tightly, the warmth flowing out of her body.

…

Then, something completely unexpected, started to occur. The heartbeat of Vitanni restarted. Her body became hot, as did that of Gloria. The two opened their eyes, to reveal a bright light, shining where their eyes would have been. Their armour shot off, magical appearances were discarded, revealing two Unicorn mares, one a dark purple with a red mane, the other, had, curiously, the same colouration, but in reverse. Their injuries were healed and they slowly sunk back down, into the soft matted grass below.

Upon witnessing such powerful magic, a faint glow in the undergrowth, which all present failed to notice, died away. As it did, the lions simply disappeared. Not just the survivors, but the three dozen corpses as well. As more carriers began descending, unloading the musketponies, a single pair of blood red eyes closed. The owner of those eyes retreated back into the forest, where nopony could find them.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Luna witnessed the spectacle in silent awe. It simply went to show how love could be such a powerful force. When she looked closer, the princess was surprised to see that they each had a cutie mark depicting… each other? That can’t be right. And yet, as she examined closely, the mare named Vitanni had a distinct image of Gloria on her flank, while Gloria’s mark depicted Vitanni. She wanted to talk to the pair, but Luna had to get the mission underway. She commanded first that a makeshift outpost be built along the perimeter of the clearing. Several dozen shovels were passed around the musketponies, who busied themselves, digging trenches and small fortifications. Luna’s temporary command tent was erected, along with a small first aid station. Ditzy Hooves approached with her husband, Tod.

“You did a very good job today, Gunnery Sergeant. I will spare you the burden of explaining why this occurred, as I can see you are just as baffled as I am.” Tod looked to his wife before looking to the ground.

“They got Rolling Thunder… I will have to get started on the letters once we get back.” With a stoic expression, Tod walked off with his wife, moving Twilights limp, unconscious form onto one of the carriers. As the Princess watched them walk off, her thoughts drifted to John, who was busy commanding his ponies. As bottom of the sun touched the horizon, a slight magical disturbance was detected by the alicorn, followed by the lion corpses vanishing into thin air.

Looking around with confusion, Luna immediately called for her the highest ranking unicorn present.

“Autumn Dawn, what was that?” The slightly aged stallion walked up to Luna. He was the only civilian on the expedition. His purpose was to aid in the investigation of the surrounding forest. He was the second most powerful magician in Equestria after Twilight Sparkle. Whilst sweeping his silver mane back and checking for dirt on his black fur, he sided up to the Princess.

“I haven’t a clue, Your Majesty.” Although it was likely the truth, Luna was still annoyed he couldn’t shed, at the very least, a shard of light on the situation. Before she could dismiss him, Cavalier approached, sheathing his rapier; now clean of blood, thanks to the magical disappearance.

“I believe I could offer an explanation.” Luna nodded her approval. “I may not be a soldier, but I do know an ambush when I see one. Ha, I dare say I would, I was in the middle of one! Anyway, Twilight and I documented this entire area; there are no mammalian mega-fauna on this island, hell, the only mammals on this island are ponies, bats and rats. My best guess is that something… or somepony, created them with some sort of magic.” Luna pondered the situation for a few seconds before agreeing that it was the only scenario which made sense, especially given the number of assailants. Lion prides where known to become quite large, twenty individuals was about the most that could live together without threat of starvation. From the report however, I appeared there may have been over fifty, until they disappeared. Luna prepared to raise the moon, as the sun would soon be gone, thus she kept her answer brief.

“Very good, I will consider your hypothesis during my investigation of the surrounding area, Mr Darwin. I want you to board my carrier and return to the colony. You will be in charge of looking after Twilight while she recovers. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Bowing low to his superior, Cavalier trotted off towards the carrier, where Twilight was sleeping peacefully. He lowered his bulk to the ground, resting his neck gently over hers.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Marcus looked at the door with curiosity. It soon clicked in the Praetorians mind who it must be.

“Marcus, That will be my wife… and our adopted son, Clear Sky. He will most likely be scared of you at first, so I think it would be best if we take introductions slowly.” It was indeed a very delicate situation, prompting Marcus to agree. The small room was dimly lit, which Marcus liked, but knew from stories, that darkness frightened young ponies.

“Maybe you should light a few more lamps first.” The Unicorn nodded and lit the room to a more satisfactory standard, revealing the family photos which lined the cabin walls. Most of them depicted Twilight, Cadence, and Shining’s parents. Marcus knew none of them and to him, it was slightly unnerving. Even so, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

“I will go out and make sure everything is ready… you just… keep your sister company.” With a look of apprehension, Shining opened the door just enough for him to slip through. “Hi love, hi Clear, did you talk about out two guests.” Clear just sat still, not saying much. Meanwhile, Cadence gave her husband a cold look.

“He was frightened at first, but… after I told him they were orphans, he agreed.” Shining sighed, glancing towards Clear and then back to Cadence apologetically.

“They both deserve a chance.” Shining sighed again, bending down to look Clear Sky in the eyes. “Listen, I know this must be really hard, but… I think you will find, you might share some common interests.” Clear seemed to lighten up a bit, but still held an air of fear mixed with anger. Gulping, Shining did his best to supress his fears, opening the door to reveal the two Praetorians… lying on their backs? Apparently Clear was just as confused as the married couple.

“Umm… Are they dead?” Clear walked up slowly, and then jumped, when the smaller of the two raised its head, smiling at him curiously. It giggled before speaking.

“We are not dead silly; we are showing you that we want to be nice.” This took all three ponies by surprise. “Don’t ponies lie down to be friends?” The innocence of the young Praetorian was not enough to hide the unintentional innuendo, its meaning fortunately lost, by all but Shining and Cadence. Before Shining could ask them to stand up, Clear took the initiative.

“Umm, ponies play games with friends.” It was a statement, but voiced like a question. Even so, that was all it took for Andromeda to become a flurry of excitement.

“Ohh, I like games, wanna play fights?” Shining face-hoofed a little too hard, mentally cursing himself for not thinking about the culture difference. It was time he took control.

“I don’t think, Clear likes fights, how about you both try drawing?” Much to his relief, Andromeda ran over to the table, grabbing a few sheets of paper in her jaws. Clear looked up at Shining, the young colt was still worried, but at least he was smiling now.

“Go on, I think she likes you.” With an approving smile from Cadence, Clear found the courage to walk over and start drawing, talking softly about the different drawings Andromeda presented. Marcus rolled over onto his belly before standing up. Tip-toeing his way to Shining, head held low.

“It was Andromeda’s idea. In Praetoria, It is tradition, when making a gesture of absolute peace, to roll on our backs, exposing our stomach. It is only symbolic now days, but it is still widely used.” Cadence reached forward slightly, rubbing the small Praetorians back with a light touch of her hoof, causing his muzzle to darken slightly.

“Your sister is very clever.” Marcus was about to mumble an embarassed thanks, when a knock was heard against the door. Shining was the first to respond.

“Who is it?” Attempting to hide his frustrations of being interrupted, he walked over to the door, listening through. He refrained from opening it, so as not to reveal the Praetorians presence.

“The Night Guard, Princess Luna has requested that you meet her at the town hall in twenty minutes.”

Why We Kill

“How could you not tell me about this? She is my sister, for bucks sake!” Shining was at first shocked, then fearful, and finally angry. His ignorance could have cost his sister’s life. And now Luna was telling him to relax?

“Please calm yourself Captain.” This only enraged the unicorn further, who continued to pace around Luna’s command cabin aboard “The Explorer”. The equipment from the town hall had all been packed back onto the ships, in preparation for their departure the next morning. Cadence had finished all the paperwork pertaining to Clear’s adoption, leaving no other reason to stay on the Island further. The possibility of an assassin had made their embarkation all the more urgent.

“Don’t tell me to be calm, you lying bi…”

“DO YOU DARE INSULT US!” The royal canterlot voice rang out, barely stopped by the spell which kept their meeting confidential. “NEED I REMIND YOU OF YOUR STATION, CAPTAIN!!!?” In Shining’s mind, the princess seemed to grow at least twice her size, eyes pure white. He tried to apologise, but only a squeak was produced. The princess relaxed, returning to her natural form.

“Is everything alright, your Majesty? I thought I heard something.” One of the night guards poked her head through the door, only to be quickly removed by the princess’s assurance. Eventually, after a few long moments, Shining found his voice.

“Please excuse my outburst your highness… It was not my place to judge your decision.” Luna’s face softened slightly. She completely understood why Shining had acted as he did, but she had to command the respect of her subjects. She levitated a cup of tea, sipping gently before placing it down upon her desk.

“It is quite all right, you would not be fit for Captaincy if you did not. Now; please allow me to put your fears to rest, although the nature of the attack may present new ones.” The Captain regained his composure and then raised and eye brow.

“New fears, your Majesty?” Luna sighed, rubbing one of her temples with her hoof.

“Indeed, it seems the recent events were no accident. Some dark form of magic was used to create the physical form of lions, which then attacked your sister. When the assassin realised that the battle was lost, they must have released the spell, and hence the lion’s forms disappeared.” Shining pawed the floor boards, still trying to make sense of the situation.

“Do you think the magic user was a citizen of the Coalition… or a member of our own forces?” From the grimace that the princess bore, it was clear that she had spent quite a long time wondering about that herself.

“I am not certain, Shining, but I must be certain that the crew does not jump to any conclusions. The time for accusations is not yet upon us.” Shining nodded; he knew how fear could steal a pony’s rationality, leaving nothing but suspicion and hate. Luna finished her tea, bags beginning to form under her eyes. “It’s late, you are excused of duty for the time being, Captain. No doubt you would like to see your sister?”

“Yes, by your leave, your Majesty.” Shining turned to leave, the fear of his sibling dampened, but not entirely dissipated.

“Oh, one more thing, how are the young Praetorians settling in? I was hoping to have a word with the elder male tomorrow.” Shining turned, having forgotten for a moment that he was in fact housing prisoners.

“They are quite something, Princess; you would be surprised how similar our species are. We both cherish family and friendship. In fact, I sometimes wonder if we are the ones who should be learning from them.” Shining again began to leave, before adding. “His name is Marcus, elder brother of Andromeda. Goodnight, your Majesty.” The door shut behind him, allowing him to return to the “Chalice of Hope”. Making his way down the corridor, he saluted briefly to Whitehooves, as the Admiral made his way to the royal cabin. Stepping above deck, Shining sucked in the cool night air, the moon close to reaching its apex. The walk down the docks towards his own ship was short, but it gave him some time to think. If Luna wanted to meet with Marcus, they would have to travel via row boat, as they would be far out to sea by the next afternoon. It would also have to wait until they dropped anchor for the evening. What worried the stallion most however, was the prospect that Luna wished to forge Marcus into a political weapon. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he proceeded to march up the ramp of the “Chalice of Hope”. Most ponies were asleep, with only a few guards marching back and forth along the length of the ship. All saluted as Shining walked past, who returned the gesture. Twilight’s cabin was only a short walk away, on the first sublevel of the ship, allowing the mare to easily move her astronomical equipment from her room to the deck and visa-versa. It was only another few seconds until the unicorn reached his sisters cabin. He knocked slowly on the door and waited patiently for it to open.

“Goodnight, Mr Armour, I assume you’re here to see Twilight.” Cavalier stood in the doorway, blood staining his fur where three long wound’s stretched from above his right eye, down his cheek and then across his mouth. In addition, he had a nasty gash down his left shoulder, causing him to keep weight off that hoof. Shining frowned at the sight, the fighting had evidently been fierce, but from the earth pony’s appearance, it had truly been a desperate struggle.

“Have you been checked at the aid station?” Cavalier shook his head.

“Not as of yet, Twilight only woke a few minutes ago. Now that you’re here, can you watch over her until I get back?” Shining smiled, nodding his affirmation.

“You clearly love her very much. I’m glad she found somepony like you.” Cavalier chuckled slightly, amused by the compliment. He was never one to be egotistic, and it humoured the stallion when others gave him praise.

“You might be right, Mr Armour. I should warn you, Twilight isn’t… the pony she used to be. Neither am I to be honest.” Shining only just realised that the stallion had been crying, as would anypony who faced death and taken life. He at once felt an odd kinship with the scientist, one which he could not fully understand. Before he could say anything further, the earth pony left, leaving the Captain to check on his sister.

“Twilight, are you alright?” There was an uncomfortable silence from the mare, one which lasted several minutes.

“Yes.” She stared blankly into space, not really concentrating on anything in particular. “Is this how you first felt when you took a life, brother?” Her cold exterior was to be expected, but if there was one thing he knew from personal experience, it was that a comforting companion was what she needed most. He got down to lay beside his younger sister, putting a hoof around her, just like when she was a filly and had come home from a day of bullies at magic kindergarten. Twilight was acting just like a pony should, under the circumstances. If she had been any less traumatised, Shining would be worried.

“When we kill, Twilight, we kill a part of ourselves, but, when we think about the reasons we kill, we realise, that we are in fact, sacrificing a part of ourselves… for the sake of others.” Shining was never good at motivational speeches, but having listened to the stories of both Clear Sky and Marcus, he was becoming more adept. “Think of Cavalier and Sparkling Sea. You fought for them, as they did for you. Draw strength from your friends and your motives.” Shining sighed, giving Twilight’s mane a rub with his hoof. “To answer your question, yes, and, don’t tell anypony, especially Cadence, but I wet my uniform.” This elicited a small smile from the mare, which was the one thing Shining wished for the most at that moment.

“Seriously?” Shining laughed and nodded his head.

“Yep, I didn’t hear the end of it for quite a while though. Lucky that nopony in the REN knows about it.” Shining got up and fetched some water for his sister. He suddenly realised that the Cabin seemed rather empty.

“Where is Sparkling?” Twilight bolted upright before relaxing, remembering what Cavalier had told her.

“She is under the care of Sorrin and Swift.” Twilight folded her hooves. “They have developed quite a reputation those two. It’s not often a pair of colt cuddler’s become members of the Royal Guard. If anything, after their heroics on Marilus, they have become quite venerated by the other soldiers.” Shining relaxed, he knew that they were good stallions, perfect for foal-sitting Twilight’s daughter. The older stallion continued to spend the night taking to his sister. When Cavalier finally returned, he bade them all goodnight. It was only a short trot back to his cabin, which he entered gratefully. Cadence was already asleep, along with Clear and the two Praetorians. Shining fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow next to his wife, but he was awoken by a sharp thud, like steal on wood. Just as he got up to lock the door, he saw it was open, revealing the dark passageway. Something didn’t feel right, so he cast detection spell, which revealed… nothing. He approached the doorway slowly, reaching a hoof back to draw his personal dagger, one of his few permanent accessories, or at least one he always kept near. As his hoof locked into the rounded piece which allowed him to wield the weapon, similar in shape to his rapier, a dark figure leapt out of the shadows, also reaching for its own dagger. Both Captain and Assassin pulled out their weapons at the same moment and collided.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sorry for how short the chapter is.

Departure

“Ahhh!” Shining rose from his sleep, panting heavily. Looking to his left, the stallion sighed in relief, Cadence still fitfully asleep. For some reason though, he could still feel an odd stabbing pain in his gut. After quickly glancing down, Shining couldn’t help but smile. Andromeda was, like all the others, sleeping soundly, her claws digging slightly into the pony’s skin. It wasn’t too painful, and he did not wish to wake the youngling, so the unicorn slowly laid back down, returning again to his slumber.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Luna awoke from slumber, groggy to say the least. The rising and falling chest of Whitehooves brought back a flood of memories, causing a smile to creep over Luna’s face. She quickly wondered if she had gotten enough sleep, but ignored the thought, dragging herself out of bed. Her clock indicated that the sun had not yet risen, but she was already behind schedule. It was only an hour before six o’clock, at which time she would have to send a letter to her sister and have all the equestrian citizens ready to launch. It was important that the fleet took advantage of the entire day. All the carriers from the previous night had already been packed away, leaving just the sailing crews to be prepped.

“John, wake up, we have to get ready.” The stallion in question replied with an agitated groan. Luna rolled her eyes, levitating a wooden mug of water towards the bed. She smiled mischievously as the water poured over Whitehooves’ face. Unfortunately, the reaction elicited was little more than for the Admiral to bat away the mug and get up to a sitting position.

“Alright, alright, I would have gotten up.” Little could be said for John’s or Luna’s appearance. Both had frizzy manes and appeared considerably unkempt. A mirror and comb quickly remedied the situation, but time was slipping away. The Admiral donned his commander’s coat, which was now a day old, and needed a wash. In contrast to John’s expectation, Luna placed her regular ceremonial armour away, choosing instead, a coat similar to her mate’s, but with a deep blue exterior and creamy white lining, rather than the bright red which the stallion wore. Golden epaulettes adorned the coats shoulder pads. The lapels and collar also had golden markings, giving her an air of authority. To top it off, she donned a black front facing bicorn hat; the front tip had a hole in it to accommodate her horn, while the back jutted out above Luna’s neck line. The outfit was befitting of any admiral. This too, was adorned with gold lace.

“What do you think?” Luna asked her mate, slightly apprehensive of what his response might be.

“It’s… different. Can I ask what prompted the change?” Luna frowned slightly. She had worked in secret for weeks to organise her new uniform.

“I don’t want to be the shadow of my sister. I need to be my own mare, show the citizens that I am worthy of their respect.” John couldn’t help but laugh. The Princess’s petty worries were quite amusing to the stallion.

“Oh Lulu, you don’t need to prove yourself. Every pony here would lay down their life for you, hell, I dou…” The Admiral was interrupted by Luna, who threw a pillow at him.

“I’m serious John, I know you mightn’t think so, but everypony’s respect for me is simply an extension from their reverence of Tia. Most of the aristocracy still think I am a war criminal.” The tears which Luna was now fighting back were clear, memories of Nightmare at the forefront of her mind. John knew exactly who she was talking about; Blueblood. He moved forward, nuzzling his mate’s cheek.

“Alright, let’s go out there and prove it.” John smiled briefly, before adding; “You look beautiful by the way, a hint of danger clearly makes a good replacement for jewellery.” The remark succeeded in forcing out a choked laugh, one which the stallion joined in with earnest. The Admiral donned his own tricorn hat, before exiting with his mate.

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Most of the crew was either still asleep, or only just waking when the ships finally launched from the docks. Due to the attack on Twilight and Cavalier, the scheduled departure had been moved to early morning, decreasing the risk of unwanted stowaways. The dozen or so sailponies scurrying around the deck of the “Chalice of Hope” were fresh and well rested, allowing a quick exit from the curious island. John watched the far horizon, an expanse of dark blue, broken only by the golden sky of the pre-morning. Luna had, as he was told the previous night, relinquished control over the setting of the moon to her sister for the time being, allowing her to more effectively deal with affairs of state. However, the Princess still wished to be in control of the moon’s assent each night, in fear that she may become obsolete. Whitehooves understood well enough, the nobles in Canterlot were like ravenous timber wolves. If any thought Luna was incapable of performing her duties, they scrambled at the opportunity to usurp her position. The most troubling of all had been Blueblood. When Luna had proposed the move from an absolute monarchy to that of a constitutional form, the pompous unicorn had fought against it, bitter and vicious. He claimed that the earth ponies would rise up against the nobility, pulling Equestria into chaos. Of course, none of this ever happened, but it was damaging to Luna’s reputation. Thankfully, Celestia supported the idea in full, silencing the troubling stallion as much as possible. This was only partially successful however, as Blueblood still held a large amount of sway, especially in the unicorn dominated districts.

“If she can betray Equestria once, she will do it again.” This had been the mantra that Blueblood and his more vocal supporters, had used to oppose her actions. If it were not for his then lowly position, John would have kicked his flank to The Changeling Kingdom. Then there was the issue with the “Bill of Rights”, brought in after The Great War. The bill was designed by Luna and the parliament which she had created. Its own drafting was a process which caused huge uproars within the parliament, as was the nature of discourse between two competing parties. But, after minor modification it had passed for submission to the noble’s for a vote, the aristocracy still serving it’s now diminishing purpose. The Bill entailed that individuals all civilised species that wished sanctioning within Equestria, would be subject to the same laws as any pony. In addition, nations which were protectorates of Equestria, namely the Nation of Griffona, would be able to act autonomously in the formulation of their taxation laws, administration and to a limited extent, armed forces. Finally, it entailed that taxation within Equestria be accorded to annual income, unlike before, where taxation remained constant despite one’s position in the economy. This last reform was the one which angered Blueblood and his supporters the most. Fortunately though, the populous loved the idea, so the aristocracy had been forced to take more desperate measures. They said the bill would allow changelings into Equestria, which was technically true, but in their scare campaign, the nobles forgot to mention that all individuals crossing the borders would face a screening test capable of telling those of harmful intent from otherwise. There were posters all over Canterlot depicting the royal wedding between Cadence and Shining, along with cartoons of ponies being sucked dry. The ignorance of some ponies had truly been astounding to John. Had they bothered to research Changelings, they would know that there were in fact many different kinds. Those lead by Chrysalis were only a small minority, one of the more militant of the changeling factions. Despite the anger of Blueblood, most of the Aristocracy was not overtly opposed, thus the “Bill of Rights” was passed. Soon, changelings of many tribes began the process of immigration. It was slow at first, only a few hundred deciding to live in Equestria, but after showing that they could feed on love without the need to take it by force, ponies began to trust the newcomers. Some ponies even became friends with the misunderstood species, which allowed the process of reconciliation after the wedding to finally begin. There had even been talk of a few individuals falling in love. It was still an extremely touchy issue, fought by Blueblood all the while, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Admiral, the Princess has new orders for you.” The sound of the night guard’s voice brought Whitehooves back to reality.

“Go ahead, Private” John motioned with a forward tilt of his head.

“The two prisoners are to be shown around the ship at their leisure; however they must be accompanied by Shining Armour and two guards at all times.” The guard extended the scroll he had been reading from, revealing the remainder of John’s orders. “In addition, Princess Luna requests that the elder prisoner be sent across to “The Explorer” just before sunset. The Princess would like to speak with it personally.” Although John had been, at first, quite disdainful of the Praetorians, he knew from experience with changelings, that there wasn’t any way he could denigrate an entire species. Frowning at the guard’s terminology, Whitehooves made a mental note that he wouldn’t tolerate any taunting of the pair, who were after all only children by any standard.

“Him, not it, Private, and they are our guests, not prisoners. Don’t make me remind you again, dismissed.” The guard blinked in slight confusion, but did not question his superior.

“Yes, Admiral, my apologies, Admiral.” Although undetectable to the average pony, years of practise allowed John to notice the slight insincerity present in the night guard’s voice. He could only watch as the guard flew back to “The Explorer”, eventually turning towards the stairs so that he might inform Captain Armour.

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“Thanks again for looking after her. I know Sparkling can be quite a handful.” Shining tried to levitate some bits over to Sorrin and Swift, but the latter pushed them back with a hoof.

“There is no need, just make sure Twilight makes a full recovery.” Swift replied, receiving a smile from his mate in agreement.

“Well, in that case, could I ask a favour?” Both stallions nodded in reply. Shining wondered if they were related to fluttershy. Kindness was a value that many ponies seemed to lack, much the Shining’s dismay. “I am currently looking after two Praetorians, both of which are the equivalent of Sparkling’s age, one of them even younger.” The Pegasi’s faces hardened slightly, but the waited for the Captain to finish. “I also understand that you are currently off duty, but I would appreciate it if you could accompany us while we roam the ship. Unofficially, they are simply guests, refugees even, but officially they are still technically prisoners and require a guard. I would proffer it to be ponies I trust, but if you decline I shall understand.” To Shining’s surprise, they both said yes, but Sorrin did offer a warning.

“I can guarantee everypony on board is not going to like the situation.”

“The officers should, within the next half hour, receive a note explaining the situation.” Armour offered a confident smile. “Don’t worry, if anypony steps out of line, I’ll take care of them. In either case, you two are quite the heroes. There is quite the possibility that your presence will help keep everypony happy.” Swift raised an eyebrow, partially mirroring his mate’s expression.

“We only did what any guard would do.” Despite the modest look the Pegasus tried to present, Shining could not help but notice a hint of pride emanating from the stallion.

“I suppose that is true, none the less, do not shirk your new found reputation so lightly, everypony could use a boost in moral.” Shining gave both stallions a nod, gesturing their dismissal. “Be outside my cabin in one hour.”

“Yes, Captain.” The pair replied in unison, turning to trot down the hallway. The unicorn was left with his thoughts for a moment before opening his sister’s door behind him. She needed the support, plus it would give Shining a chance to become more aquatinted with his sister’s comrade and, it seemed, mate; Cavalier.

NEWS!

Ok, so, this being my first fic, it is, looking back after 2 years of writing practise and tutoring, horrible. Thus I am going to be re-writing this entire story from the ground up. The basic story will be almost the same, but i shall focus much more on character development and flow. I will also be SLOWING IT RIGHT DOWN! thanks for reading, all and any feed back is appreciated. (yes it has been a LONG time but i have got my writing grove back for now.)