Loose Ends

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 1

Chapter 2

July 8

I’m Shining Armor. I know, I got this journal a year ago, but I just couldn’t think of anything to write about, but that changed today. I’m a big brother! Today, mom gave birth to my little sister! Her name’s Twilight Sparkle, and she’s a unicorn, just like me! Dad says that almost everypony we’re related to is a unicorn, so I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m so excited, though! I have a baby sister! I could tell from the moment I held her for the first time that we’re going to be best friends. I gave her one of my old toys to play with, and she loves it! And If she’s happy, I’m happy. I’m fourteen, so it’s not like I play with it any more.

Shining Armor paused for a moment. Taped to the page below this writing was a picture of him holding an infant Twilight. He looked at his flank, barren of his cutie mark, then remembered that he hadn’t gotten it until the year afterward, when he decided that he had wanted to join the Royal Guard.

August 2

Well, summer vacation is almost over. With school coming up, and the fact that Mom and Dad have to get back to work soon, they decided it was time to get a foal sitter. And guess who they got? They got a princess!! Her name’s Princess Mi Amore Cadenca (I really have no idea how to spell it yet), but she says we can call her Cadence. And she is beautiful. Not just that, she’s funny, kind, and smart. I’ll admit, I blushed when we first met, but… so did she. We became friends pretty quickly. She’s an alicorn, I’m a unicorn, so we talked about magic some. I tried to keep my flank hidden, so she didn’t see my lack of a cutie mark (why are they called cutie marks, by the way? It sounds stupid.), but somehow, she found out. She was cool about it, though, and didn’t ask. I think I… like her.

I’ve definitely never felt this way about a girl before.

September 1

School has officially started. As of today, I won’t be able to see Twilie (my nickname for my sister), but Cadence will be coming over every day. We don’t go to the same school, so the only time we see each other is when she comes over to foal sit. And since I don’t have many friends at school, (being the only one in your class not to have a mark does that) I look forward to every opportunity I get to see Twilie or Cadence.

January 8

It happened today! I got my cutie mark! I don’t care how dumb it sounds anymore, because I finally got it! It looks like a shield.

It appeared when I was walking down the street with Cadence and my family and we passed some guards marching down the street. I noticed that someone had lost control of a cart he was pushing, and it began rolling down the street toward the guards. Nopony else noticed it, so I made a shield of magic and the cart crashed into it and nopony was hurt. My head hurt a bit, and my vision was kind of blurred, but I felt proud.

Twilie was clapping her hooves together yelling “Again! Again!” And one of the guards approached me. He was wearing purple armor, unlike the bronze armor all of the other guards were wearing. He said “What’s your name, son?” I didn’t know what to say, but then I realized he was just asking for my name. “Shining Armor, sir” I said. “Well, Shining Armor, how old are you? We could use someone like you in the Royal Guard.” I paused. Was what I just did really that impressive? “I just turned fifteen yesterday, sir,” I said. He paused for a few moments, then said, “Well, you’re still too young to join. Tell you what, in three years, head down to the recruiting office downtown. You’re a talented kid, and I could get you into the West Pony military academy! Whaddaya say?” I thought about it for a few moments, then I felt a tingling sensation in my flank. I looked, and there it was. My mark. I shook his hoof and said “I’ll think about it.”

He nodded and walked back to his men, and then suddenly Cadence rushed up to me and hugged me. “YOU DID IT!” she said, “YOU GOT YOUR CUTIE MARK!” I stood there for a few moments, confused, and saw Dad wink at me. I smiled and hugged her back.

Today was probably the best day of my life.

Chapter 3

July 8

It’s been two years already. I know, I should’ve kept better track of everything, but after what happened with my mark and everything, I forgot I had this (yes, for two whole years).

I headed down to the recruiting station about a week after the incident and found the guy who had offered to let me into West Pony.

“Shining,” he said, “You’re a little early. Need something?” I just nodded and said, “Is it okay if I… don’t join when the three years are up? I still wanna be in the Royal Guard, don’t get me wrong. It’s just… I have a family, and I want to wait a bit. Until my sister can take care of herself.” He sat there, silently pondering this. “Well, it’s your choice. And I respect your decision. Just know that I’m in the military, and… something could happen to me. It’s a dangerous job. But, I’ll see what I can do.” I left, glad I had gotten that off my chest. I was a year ahead of my class, so I would have more time with my sister, given I would be graduating sooner and that I now had as much time as I needed.

I spent the weekends hanging out with either Cadence or Twilight, sometimes both. I still didn’t have very many friends, but many of my peers respected me, after what became known as the “shield incident”.

After a few months of reading bedtime stories to her, I taught Twilight how to read. She’s a fast learner. As soon as she had finished learning her alphabet, she became the biggest bookworm I’d ever seen. Whenever she wasn’t playing with me or eating, she was reading.

Soon, she took to calling the toy I’d given her “Smartypants”. Not the best name, I’ll admit, but she’s three years old. The good thing is that she named it at all. She loves that little doll. Apart from Cadence and me, it’s her only friend.

She’s also been learning how to use magic. She’s already developing telekinesis and even turned Smartypants green once! I remember, while Mom and Dad were out, she brought him up to me, crying, and asked me to turn her back. I did, and she was so relieved, it was like I’d just saved someone’s life! I know, I shouldn’t be laughing, I probably would’ve done the same thing, if I was her age.

Over time, I taught her how to fly a kite, how to make people grow facial hair (Cadence looks hilarious with a moustache, by the way.) and how to change the colors of things at will, in case there was another accident with Smartypants. She still has yet to get her mark, but I think I know what her special talent is.

Also, Cadence and I seem to be really good friends. I know, that’s been established already, but I’m talking about really good friends…. Almost like we’re more than just friends. Neither one of us talks about it, we usually just hang out, but I know she feels it too…

September 21

Almost four years have passed since the incident, and tonight, I’m left. I enlisted a month ago, and they said they would send a carriage to take me off tonight.

I called Cadence to ask for her to see me off along with Twilie and my parents. We all met right outside my front door. We were all silent for a while, Twilight was crying, and Cadence was trying to calm her down. I looked to Mom and Dad first.

“Thank you. For everything.” I said quietly. “We love you so much,” Mom said, fighting back tears herself. I approached her and embraced her and Dad. “I love you too,” I replied. “Go kick some ass for us, will ya?” Dad said as I let go of them, trying to be optimistic as usual. Mom kicked him in the shin when he said this, gesturing with her head toward my sister. “Sorry,” Dad said indignantly, rubbing the foreleg she had kicked. I couldn’t help but laugh.

Then, I approached Twilight and patted her on the head. She broke free of Cadence’s grip and rushed at me, clutching me with her forelegs tightly, not wanting to let me go. “D-D-Do you h-h-h-have t-to go?” She sobbed. I stroked her mane and said reassuringly, “Yes. I do, but don’t worry. You’ll still have Cadence, the best foal sitter ever, and I promise that I’m going to come back and visit whenever I can.”

She looked up at me, tears still flowing from her eyes “R-R-Really?”

“Really.”

I was no on the verge of tears as well, remembering the five years I’d spent with my little sister. Over those years, I’d taught her how to swim, we played a game we’d invented where we each put the craziest mustaches we could think of on each-other’s faces, and, overall, I’d watched Twilie’s skills grow and I watched her grow as a pony. “One thing, though,” I said, “Promise me you’ll make some friends. There’s more to life than reading, y’know.” She nodded and wiped her nose, still sniveling loudly. Finally, I looked to Cadence. In that moment, she looked more beautiful than ever. We said nothing, just looked at each other. Finally, I spoke, “Take good care of Twilight.” “Don’t you worry about her,” Cadence said. I nodded and kept looking at her, knowing that my sister was in good hoofs. After a few more moments, Cadence leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. “Good luck out there,” she said, “And try not to get yourself blown up or something.” I chuckled and nodded. After that, I grabbed my backpack filled with the essentials and we waited in silence. Only fifteen minutes passed, but it felt like hours. The lump in my throat was impossible to swallow as the carriage pulled up towards my home. A man in a uniform opened the door for me as I walked in, and I waved to my family, and I slammed the door behind me.

So, this is where I am now. Inside this carriage, lit only by a single lantern, with six other ponies, all of whom are asleep. The sound of snoring fills my ears, and I ask the colt in front, “how long ‘till we get there?”

“Just a few hours. Academy’s pretty far away from the city, for security reasons.”

That’s not what I expected.

Isn’t the Academy in Canterlot?

September 22

I’ve arrived, finally, and boy, was that an entrance!

Before I write about that, though, I need to tell whoever may be reading this about the trip over.

Basically, it was uneventful, except for one moment. A few minutes after the ponies began waking up, a grayish unicorn with a black mane spoke to me. “Hey,” he said, “Who are you?” He was fidgeting quite a bit, shifting his weight from left to right over and over again several times and glancing practically everywhere in the carriage. “Um, Shining Armor,” I replied, staring at the strange pony. He reached out a hoof and I shook it. “Name’s Bolt” he said. As soon as he said this, I noticed his peculiar cutie mark. It depicted what looked like ball of fire, which hovered above a horizontal bolt of lightning. “So, any particular reason you’re joining?” he inquired, still looking everywhere. I stopped a bit, then said, “I felt like I could be useful. Simple as that.” After I said this, he nodded thoughtfully, and settled on looking out of the window, but still constantly shifting in his seat.

“I hear training’s intense. They only want the best, and if you’re not one of ‘em, they either send you home, or you can choose to stay, and you either improve or die tryin’,” he said, glancing at me, supposedly sizing me up, “you look like you can handle yourself, though. I like you.” I sat there, silently. He wore a backpack similar to mine. Just a coincidence, I thought, seeing as we both lived in the same city. By now, almost everypony was awake, but silent. I looked into the corner opposite me, where there was a sleeping Pegasus. He had a white coat and shaggy blonde mane. His cutie mark was a crimson arrow. The strangest things about him, though, were his wings. They were covered in a thick film of some sort of mucus. I leaned over to Bolt and asked, “What’s with him?” “Nopony knows,” he replied, “his name’s Vigil, but that’s all we could get out of him.”

A few minutes passed in silence. Bolt was still fidgeting. Then, the colt up front came back and opened the doors. We were still moving extremely quickly, and the sound of wind filled our ears. Vigil lurched awake immediately. The colt who had opened the doors then said, “Alright, foals, this is where you all get off. You wanna make it to the ground? Use any abilities you’re gifted with to get you there. Unless you’re a chicken, in which case, grab yourself a parachute.” Not knowing what he was talking about, I looked to the ground. We were flying over a large canyon, hundreds of feet up. “Are you crazy?” I yelled over the wind. “No, Princess Celestia is. Now, you need a parachute?” he replied mockingly Just then, I hatched a plan. “Nah,” I said as I jumped out. As I began falling, I noticed that almost everypony except for me, Vigil and Bolt had gotten parachutes. I had been falling for thirty seconds, now. I began to levitate myself with my horn. I saw Bolt was falling headfirst, occasionally sending bursts of energy from his horn, slowing his descent. Vigil was in free-fall, looking quite relaxed and smirking. I stopped in midair to watch. Just before hitting the ground, Vigil opened his wings and flapped them. Instantly, the mucus fell of and he flew upward, climbing higher and higher. For some reason, I decided to follow. I flew upward, holding myself up with my magic, and soon caught up with him. He grinned at me. “A challenger, eh?” he exclaimed, suddenly closing his wings. Again, he fell, but this time, halfway down, he flapped his wings to speed his descent. I followed him, and saw Bolt had caught up with us. We flew downward, side by side, and – I can’t explain it but it felt right, the three of us alongside each other.

Suddenly, Vigil let out another burst of speed, and seemed to create a sonic boom. Bolt and I sped up, and broke the sound barrier as well. It was the most thrilling sensation I’ve ever felt. We were just barely behind him, and nanoseconds before hitting the ground, he opened his wings again to slow his descent and landed. I slowed myself down and let go when I was just above the ground, and Bolt seemed to flip himself over in midair (which was pretty funny, if I do say so myself ) and went back to occasionally launching bursts of energy until he landed as well. I looked at Vigil, and noticed that the mucus was forming around his wings again. “Er… nice wings,” I commented. “Thanks. Made ‘em myself,” He said nonchalantly. I stared at him for a few seconds. He laughed and said, “They’re artificial. When I was younger, I dabbled in genetic engineering. And this is what happened.” He gestured toward his wings as he finished. The three of us looked around and saw that everypony was hiking up to an encampment not too far from where we’d landed. As we followed, I asked Bolt, “Why’d you join in? You were almost finished.” He laughed before replying, “Same reason I enlisted; I wanted something to do.” With that, the three of us headed down to the camp.

When we got there, we were surrounded by wooden cabins and barbed wire that circled the camp. Everypony lined up alongside each other. I noticed that there were a lot more of us than before, and assumed we’d met up with a few other groups. A burly colt paced back and forth in front of us. “Welcome to the Training Grounds, foals,” he yelled confidently, “As some of you may have guessed, this is NOT the Academy. We lied to you. Got you to let your guard down, which you should never let someone do to you. You’ll be spending twelve months here, then you’ll be going back to the Academy, which is really up in Canterlot, where you’ll spend the last twelve months of your training until you are officially members of the Royal Guard. Now for the grand tour…”

So, we followed him around in silence, and he showed us the mess hall, showers, tear gas chamber, obstacle courses, and finally, assigned us our cabins, where we were to sleep every night while we were here. Luckily for me, I got to bunk with Vigil and Bolt. By now, it was time for dinner, and so we were all herded into the mess hall where we ate… something. It was actually quite good. After that, Vigil, Bolt and I headed over to the showers and back to our cabin. In there, we met three other Pegasi, one of them extremely buff, the others…. Moderately buff. The biggest of the three trotted up to me and said, tauntingly, “Well, look what we got here! Fresh meat.” With that, he lurched forward and made to punch me with his front hoof. Without thinking, I created a force-field in front of me. He hit it, and yelled in pain. I then got rid of the shield and the other two Pegasi made to attack me. Bolt sent a burst of magic at one of them, knocking him out. Vigil grabbed the other one other by the foreleg and threw him against the wall, knocking him out. The biggest of the three ran at me, and I grabbed him with – you guessed it – my magic and threw him aside. We then proceeded to pile their unconscious bodies on separate cots. “Assholes,” Vigil muttered as he made for his cot. “Why’d you help me out there?” I asked the two ponies I can honestly say are my friends. “You needed help, so I gave it to you,” Vigil said, “That’s how I treat everypony.” “And you’re pretty cool. I’d say you are one of the greatest colts I’ve ever met,” Bolt added. “No homo,” Vigil stated, blankly, and we all had a good laugh.

Now, both Vigil and Bolt are asleep, and, as I write this, I think of how much has changed in just a day. A few hours ago, I was at home, talking with my sister and Cadence. Now, I’m who-knows-where, about to start training for the freaking military. A few minutes ago, the biggest of the Pegasi woke up and told me I wouldn’t have time to write in this journal, seeing as we’d be training so much. So, I’ve decided not to write in here until I get out of here. See you in a year, I guess.

Chapter 4

September 22

Well, I made it through the first half of my training. I’m on my way back to Canterlot now, and once I get back to the Academy, I’ll be able to see my family probably once a month.

During this first year, I went through a lot. And, as was likely intended, I became stronger, in every sense of the word.

Every morning at 1:00 AM, the colt who took us on the tour (we now refer to him as “Sarge”) would come by everypony’s cabins and shoot everypony inside with a bee-bee gun. Pretty soon, Vigil started wearing his armor (which we’d gotten our first day of training) to bed! “I ain’t ashamed,” he’d say whenever Bolt or I teased him about it.

Throughout training, we learned hoof-to-hoof combat by being forced to beat each other up at random. We learned how to shoot various firearms and wield swords… that is, after we learned to clean toilets and floors, do perfect push-ups, and crawl through obstacle courses without getting snagged on any barbed wire. We went on 20-mile gallops at 5:00 AM each day, and if we broke any rules, we were put into the tear-gas chamber without gas masks and made to recite the Guard’s Creed:

I am an Equestrian Soldier.

I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the Equestria and live the Royal Guard Values.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the kingdom of Equestria in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the Equestrian way of life.

I am an Equestrian Soldier.

Most of the stuff went on isn’t really worth writing about. It was the same routine, most of the time. We just went through drills, ate, cracked a few jokes, showered and went to bed. After our first encounter with them, the Pegasi we bunked with just ignored us and went about their daily routines. They still taunted us every now and then, but as soon as we looked at them, they would just shut up and act like nothing happened.

They aren’t as tough as they look.

After only three weeks, their time here was up and they left. They hadn’t enrolled in the Academy, so they just went straight into the Guard. Seeing as this Training Camp in particular was suffering a shortage of new recruits, we got the cabin to ourselves.

A week before we were supposed to leave, we all stayed up and talked more than usual.

Bolt had just turned out the lights, and we were all lying in our separate cots. Out of the blue, I said, “Well, only a week left.” “Yup,” I heard Vigil and Bolt reply in unison. In the darkness, I could see Bolt fiddling with a pencil he’d found, and Vigil just lying there, his armor occasionally glinting in the moonlight that shone in through the window opposite him. “Say, Shining,” I heard Bolt ask, “You got a family or anything? Any particular reason you enlisted?”

“What brought that up?” I replied.

“Y’know, we’ve all known each other for almost a year now, and…” Bolt trailed off.

“Well, like I told you months ago, I joined because I felt like I could help,” I answered, “But as for family, I’ve got two awesome parents with great senses of humor. I also have a little sister; her name’s Twilight Sparkle, and she’d be about six by now, and I’ll tell you, she is the smartest filly I’ve ever known. She’d started reading essays by Gordon Freecolt when she was five. We’re… really close. Mom and Dad told me that she calls me her ‘BBBFF’.” I paused a bit, waiting a bit for a response. When none came, I explained. “It stands for ‘Big Brother Best Friend Forever,’ in case you’re wondering,” I said, and saw Vigil nod in understanding. “Anypony else?” Bolt inquired.

“Well, there is a… special mare,” I said, “Her name’s Cadence.”

“Interesting… do go on,” Vigil teased.

“Oh, shut up,” I said, laughing, “We’re just friends.”

“Doesn’t sound like it to me, the way you’re talking about her,” Bolt stated, grinning.

“I dunno, it’s confusing, right now,” I sighed, “I’d rather not talk about it…”

There was silence for a few moments, then I asked, “What about you, Bolt?”

Bolt was silent for a while, then said, “Well, I was unemployed, before this. I was always looking for work and… here I am. I’ve got two little brothers to take care of; since my dad died in a mining accident and my mom’s extremely sick, I’ve got to feed everypony myself. It’s gotten me into the habit of always having to do something to occupy myself, since I’m usually working.

“My brothers are both earth ponies, like my dad. The older of the two, Fritz turns thirteen in five days, and the other one, Coil, is eight. My mom’s a unicorn, but that doesn’t do her much good. She can barely lift a quill, her magic’s so weak…”

Bolt paused before finishing, “She’s practically dead already.”

We both looked to Vigil expectantly, waiting for him to start talking. When he noticed, he said, “Aw, c’mon!” Do I really have to give you my whole life’s story?” he stared at us both with his crimson eyes,, before telling us, “I’ll give you the short version. I was helpful and underappreciated. I tried to get into the Royal Guard, but they wouldn’t let me in, so I made myself some wings, ‘cuz I’m a freakin’ genius, and managed to get myself enlisted when I’d proven that they were real wings that I’d created myself. And before either one of you asks, no, I don’t have a family or friends, besides you two.”

With that, he turned over in his cot and went to sleep, or at least pretended to. Wordlessly, Bolt and I decided that it would be best to get some shut-eye, too.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole year since I’ve seen my own family.

November 3

I made it to the Academy a month ago. I’ve started taking various classes over various topics, from computer engineering to psychology.

That’s not why I’m writing this entry, though. I’m writing because of something that just happened.

I had just gotten out of some chemistry-related class I forget the name of. Because of the events that transpired over the past hour or so, it seems stupid that I’m worrying about something like that. Anyway, I was just walking out, when the professor teaching that class ran out of the room at me. He said something along the lines of, “Shining, you forgot this.” He handed me a piece of paper with some essay I’d written. “Wasn’t I supposed to turn this in to you?” I asked, giving the paper back to him, “You haven’t graded it yet.” He took the paper back, saying, “Yes, of course. My bad.”

I continued down the empty hallway. I was on my way back to my apartment, which I share with Vigil and Bolt. I passed a closed door and stopped. Something was banging on it. I trotted back, hesitantly. The banging was getting louder. I reached a hoof to the doorknob cautiously, and opened it. Behind the door was (as I already knew) an old classroom nopony had used in years. Inside was… the same professor I’d just talked with, bound and gagged. His forehead was bleeding profusely, and he was rolling round in a pool of blood, trying to scream through the gag in his mouth. I rushed to his side, untying him and yanking the gag out of his mouth immediately.

“What happened?” I asked him in a quiet voice, trying to help him stay calm. He stared at me, wide-eyed for a few moments, babbling incoherently. Eventually, he managed to get out, “Ch-Ch-Ch-Changelings…” before slipping into unconsciousness. Just then, I heard the door slam shut behind me. I turned around to see the other professor, who I now knew was an imposter. He was engulfed in green flames that soon consumed him, leaving behind what looked like a dark green alicorn with insect-like wings.

Yep. Definitely a changeling.

We stood there, staring at each other for a full minute. Finally, the intruder leapt at me. I rolled aside, causing it to miss and ram into the opposite wall. Almost immediately, it shook its head and turned back to face me. It closed its eyes for a few moments, then grinned. It was just then that I began to feel… anxious, like it knew what I was thinking, or something. Then, it was engulfed in another green flame.

And before me stood Twilight Sparkle.

She was older than when I last saw her, but only by a year or so. “It’s okay, big brother,” she said calmly, “It’s just a nightmare. You’re home. Now, do me a favor, and wake up.” “Twilie,” I gasped, reaching out to touch my little sister. Could it really be her? Suddenly, I felt very serene, like everything was going to be okay. I ran forward and embraced her, tears flowing from my eyes.

Then, I remembered the unconscious body that I had left right behind me. I looked back, and it was still there. Suddenly, the serenity I had felt just seconds ago shattered. I looked back to her, horrified, as a realization crept over me. “You’re not Twilight…” I muttered, rage building up inside of me. “Of course I am, silly,” she – no – it scoffed. “What’s the name of the doll I gave you when you were born?” I asked through gritted teeth. “Oh, that old thing? I threw it away years ago. You know that I’m too….” I cut it off. “WRONG!” I screamed, kicking the changeling with both of my hind legs. It flew backwards, into the same wall it had hit earlier. It began to levitate as I grabbed it with my magic. Before it was aware of what was going on, I threw it down to the ground and held it there.

It writhed on the ground, trying to escape its bonds. It even began shooting beams of magic from its horn in random directions, hoping to hit me. “WHY ARE YOU HERE?” I yelled at it, approaching it.

It laughed and said, no longer struggling, “The time of darkness is coming, young foal. Equestria will perish; the Queen has foreseen it. The Elements no longer realize Princess Celestia as their master, and your armies are no match for the many evils that await you. Equestria will die. I merely came as a messenger.” It then burst into a fit of insane laughter. I continued to hold it down, but it still managed to roll around on the ground, cackling. Eventually, the laughter began to grow weaker and weaker. It began to move more slowly, until, eventually, it just lay there, gasping for breath, and then, even that stopped. I stood over it and let go of it. Before it died, I heard it mutter, “First, the banished Princess bringeth nighttime eternal. Second, Equestria shalt fall into discord. Finally, whence love is at its strongest, one shalt deceive its betrothed and thus, creatures most foul shalt claim their landing, awaiting a future unforeseen.”

With that, it chuckled mirthlessly, and died.

I picked up the professor’s body and managed to get him out into the hallway. Being unusually exhausted, I had to place him in the hallway and called for help. When somepony finally came, I told him everything and showed him the dead changeling. He then took the unconscious professor and called for some passing guards, who told me to come with them. I had no choice but to follow, and didn’t question where we were going. At least, I didn’t, until we started trotting down the street toward the palace. “Uhh… Where are we going?” I stammered as the guards continued marching. Without pausing, the one obviously leading the group answered, “Princess Celestia wishes to see you.” I kept walking on silently, my mind a mess of questions.

Why did Princess Celestia want me? Had she found out about what had happened that quickly? Was I going to be punished for what I’d done?

I pushed that last thought out of my head. That was ridiculous. I’d acted to defend a professor. Suddenly, though, I remembered what had happened on the carriage last year.

“Are you crazy?”

“No, Princess Celestia is.”

I gulped.

Ten minutes passed, and finally, we arrived at the palace. After entering, we navigated a maze of corridors until we came to immense double-doors that must lead to the throne room. Two of the guards pushed the doors open, while others stood aside. I hesitated for a few moments, not sure what to do. Then, I noticed one of the guards gesturing inside. He looked familiar…

The guard who had offered to recruit me all those years ago. He smiled, reassuringly and mouthed, “You’ll be fine.” I nodded, and, filled with new confidence, marched into the large room.

There she was. Princess Celestia looked exactly like how the legends described her. She was an alicorn that towered over me, looking down with calm, knowing eyes. Her mane flapped, as if in some nonexistent breeze. Then, I saw two ponies I did not expect to meet. Bolt and Vigil sprinted into the room, yelling, “He’s innocent! He didn’t do anything! You can’t punish him!”

I then thought about how they were doing this, even when they had no idea what had happened.

I love those guys.

“Calm yourselves” the Princess said. Instantly, Vigil and Bolt felt silent and trotted to stand by my side. “It was Vigil’s idea,” Bolt whispered into my ear. Vigil scowled at him, and I struggled to keep a straight face. Princess Celestia eyed the three of us, almost like she was sizing us up. “Shining Armor,” she said with a tone of authority, (which makes sense) “I have hear much about you and your friends in this. I have heard about how you have taken several risks. In fact, I personally observed your training.

As you already know, a changeling infiltrated our fine city today. I was already aware of this, and had been preparing to send guards to eliminate the threat. By the time they had arrived, however, this threat had already been dealt with.”

She smiled.

“But… how did you know?” I asked.

She chuckled. “You must remember that I am a goddess,” she said, “Also, it helps that I own a telephone.” She gestured to a phone sitting in the corner of the room. I looked back to the door and saw one of the guards pull a cellphone out of one of the pockets on his uniform.

“I commend you for the swift action you took,” she continued, “You did not disappoint. Your friends did not, either, as they rushed to your aid, ready to help you, even when they were not aware of how they could.” Bolt beamed as she finished. Vigil simply nodded, as if in approval.

“Now, on a darker note,” the goddess continued, “I need you to tell me exactly what happened.”

So, I recounted the entire experience. I told about how I found the professor, how the changeling had turned into my sister, and about its prophecy.

“Hmmm,” the Princess pondered as I finished, “This is not what I expected. You may leave.” She looked back to us and gave a dismissive gesture. As I made for the door, Princess Celestia stopped me. “Shining Armor,” she called, “Due to the events that transpired tonight, you and your friends are excused from all of your classes for the rest of the week. During this time, I want the three of you to visit your families, to make sure they are safe.”

I nodded in understanding, turned, and left.

I’m going to go back home tomorrow, but right now, it’s late.

I really need to get some sleep.

November 6

Obviously, it’s been three days. Vigil, Bolt and I split up for the first two days. Bolt and I went to see our families, while Vigil stayed behind at the apartment.

My old home was only a few blocks away from the Academy, so I just walked.

Eventually, I was at my front door. I took in a deep breathe. It had been so long since I’d seen them. I hadn’t contacted anypony, so they didn’t know that I was coming.

Two whole minutes passed, but they felt more like hours. I decided that I would just wing it. Without further delay, I knocked on the door. I heard a muffled voice call from behind. After about ten seconds, it opened, and before me stood Cadence.

She stared at me blankly for a while, probably still processing what she was seeing. Suddenly, I was wrapped in her warm embrace. “I was so worried,” she whispered. “It’s alright,” I replied, “I’m here now.” I stroked her mane as we stood there, hugging. We didn’t say anything. Too soon, she pulled away from me. Smiling, she said, “Welcome home.” I grinned back at her.

She stepped aside as I walked in through the front door. I observed my surroundings. “Place hasn’t really changed much,” I commented. “Nope,” Cadence answered, closing the door behind us, “Your mom and dad are out running errands, by the way. They should be home in an hour or so.” “’Kay,” I replied, “Is Twilie still here?” Cadence pointed up the stairs, saying, “She’s in her room, probably reading.” “Alright, thanks,” I said, already trotting up the stairs. I came to a landing and turned left. Immediately I was faced with a familiar closed door with “Twilight Sparkle” carved into the wood. I slowly pushed the door open and poked my head in.

Inside was Twilight. She looked a bit older than when I last saw her… almost identical to the way the changeling had looked when it took her shape. There was one distinct difference, though: this one had a cutie mark. The mark looked like some violet star, surrounded by smaller, white ones.

She was, of course, reading. With one of her forelegs, she was holding Smartypants tightly.

“Hey, Twilie,” I said quietly. She turned to look at me, and her eyes immediately widened. She ran up to me, gave me a quick hug, and started yelling in a singsong voice, “SHINING’S BACK! SHINING’S BACK” while jumping for joy. She sprinted down the stairs and I heard her exclaim, “Cadence, guess what? Shining Armor’s back!” “I know! I saw him while he was going to see you!” Cadence replied cheerily. Just then, as I was coming down, the front door opened, and there were my parents. Mom was carrying a bag of groceries, which she dropped upon seeing me. Dad just stood there, staring. “Hi, guys,” I said, before hugging them for a few seconds, then pulling away. “Welcome home, son,” Dad said, patting me on the back. “Thanks, Dad,” I replied, “I’ll only be able to stay ‘till tomorrow evening, though. I have to get back to the Academy” “Oh,” Mom gasped, “I don’t think I got enough groceries! You must be famished!” “Mom, I’m fine,” I said, calming her down.

After that, we all sat down and I told them about Bolt and Vigil. I told them about everything that had happened since I left.

After I told them about the changeling, Twilight was a bit nervous, and everypony else was fairly concerned as well.

We changed the topic and, for the rest of the day, just hung out. Same with the next day. Eventually, evening came, and it was time for me to go. We said our good-byes, and when I got to Twilight, she said, “Shining, about what that changeling told you?” “What about it?” I asked.

“It said there would be ‘nighttime eternal’. And, in this book, I read about someone named Nightmare Moon, and how someday she would…”

“She isn’t coming back, Twilie. Don’t worry. I’m sure that changeling was just trying to scare us. I love you, little sis.”

We hugged again, and I turned to leave, waving back to everypony as I did so.

When I got back, none of us talked about the past two days. We all just went to a bar, the Green Dragon, and had a few drinks (I don’t remember that night at all).

I woke up the next morning with a headache and feeling sick to my stomach. Today’s Friday, so I’ve got two more days before having to get back to classes.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to bed.

Chapter 5

December 5

I’ve made it. After two years, I’ve finally become an official member of the Royal Guard. I actually got initiated two months ago, but I’ve been busy.

After the incident with the changeling, the professor remained in the hospital for a month. After that, he decided to retire. Things were pretty normal for the rest of the year. We attended our classes, and, once a month, went to visit our families on weekends. Usually, when we did this, Vigil would go out flying.

Bolt and I never learned where he was going, or if he even went anywhere, but we decided not to talk about it. That was Vigil’s business. Who were we to intrude?

At the beginning of every weekend this past year, we would head down to the Green Dragon for a few drinks (I decided not to drink very much, though, because that stuff is strong). Eventually, the bartender knew the three of us by name. I remember, the night before we were going to get initiated, we walked into the small pub, and I heard him call heartily, “THERE THEY ARE!” The bar instantly went quiet. Everypony looked at the three of us. “Fillies and gentlecolts,” The bartender continued, “Tomorrow, these three brave young stallions are going to make a sacrifice few would even dream of making. They, as some of you may know, are going to become Royal Guards! That’s right, everypony! These are some of the colts who will be out risking their lives, just so we can have the opportunity to drown ourselves in alcohol!”

Everypony guffawed at this, Bolt, Vigil and I included.

“But really,” he finished, “These three are some of my dearest friends, and, so, I’d like to propose a toast to them, and everypony else who is willing to sacrifice his or her life for his or her country.”

He, and everypony else in the pub raised their glasses, and shouted, “TO THE ROYAL GUARD!” in unison. They then proceeded to gulp down as much beer as possible before running out of breath. The bartender then turned up the music as loud as possible and made his way through the crowd toward us holding three pint-sized mugs. “How many bits is that gonna cost us?” Bolt asked as he took one of the mugs. “Don’t you worry about it. It’s on the house!” the bartender said jovially as Vigil and I took the remaining two mugs, “Also, if you could, I want to keep these, just as a little something to remember me by.” “Thanks,” Vigil said after already gulping down a small amount of the ale. “Was this your idea?” I asked, surprised that he would throw a party (because that’s exactly what it seemed to have turned into after the toast; I even noticed several decorations, like the confetti that littered the ground). “Actually,” he said, scratching his mane, “It was my niece’s idea. I wanted to do something special, and this was her recommendation. I’ll tell you what, I’m impressed. She’s only seven, and yet, she comes up with some of the best parties I’ve ever seen. Kid’s a natural, I tell ya!”

With that, he gave each one of us a pat on the back, bode us farewell and went off to mingle. As he cantered off, we all held up our mugs. “To life,” I said, before taking a swig from the mug along with my companions. And so, we spent the evening drinking, talking, and laughing (and, at one point, Vigil and some random pony started singing a chorus of “Danny Colt” drunkenly, but I digress). Bolt and I only drank half of our pints, sneaking outside and dunking the rest in a dark alley nearby afterward.

After everypony started leaving, we decided to get back to our apartment as well. Bolt and I supported Vigil, seeing as he was so drunk he could barely stand on his own four legs. It took a while, but somehow, we managed to get him back in one piece (and let’s just say, building Canterlot on a cliff-side probably wasn’t a very bright idea).

The next morning, I was shaken awake by Vigil. Although he’s one of those guys who’s seemingly immune to hangovers, I was surprised to see him up so early. When I looked at my alarm clock, it was 6:00; the ceremony didn’t start until noon. “What is it?” I said groggily. “There’s somepony in at the door. Says she knows you,” Vigil explained. This caught my attention. Who could it be? Cadence didn’t know where I now lived; I had meant to tell her, but I had never gotten around to actually doing it. Dad wasn’t the type of pony to get up this early, and, if Mom were up right now, it meant she was probably shopping. That left only one pony…

Twilight Sparkle sat on one of the many old cushions laid out around our apartment. She seemed deeply engaged in conversation with Bolt. I noticed a knapsack strapped to her back, and recognized it as the one I had used when I was her age. This wasn’t why I was interested in it, though. I found it interesting because, on occasion, the bag shook violently. I waved, trying to get my sister’s attention. It worked, as she instantly turned to look at me. She smiled, finished whatever conversation she was having with Bolt, and trotted up to me. “Whatcha doing here, Twilight?” I asked. “Oh, I just stopped by to wish you luck!” she said, “Y’know, what with you going into the Royal Guard and all.” She was uncharacteristically bright on this topic. “Okay, then what’s in the bag?” I inquired. “Oh, this?” she replied, taking it off and opening it, “It’s your new brother.”

Puzzled, I looked into the open bag. Inside was a sleeping purple dragon.

“When did you get this?”

“Oh, remember that exam I had to take to get into Princess Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns?” she asked in one breath.

“What? I didn’t hear about that.”

“It happened last year! You know, I had to hatch a baby dragon, there was this big explosion and… didn’t Mom and Dad tell you about it?”

I just stared at her blankly.

She then proceeded to tell me about how our parents had enrolled her in Princess Celestia’s school not long after I had left. Though she had struggled, she had managed to… well, let’s just say, she did much more than just pass after there had been a huge “explosion of colors,” as she described it. Because of the raw power she obviously possessed, Princess Celestia decided to personally train her in the art of magic. Twilight would actually be moving into the school to live there as soon as she was old enough to move out.

“So, why haven’t I seen ‘Spike’ before now?” I asked as she finished. “He was been kept in a facility at the palace, because his abilities were still developing,” she explained as she watched the dragon waddle around the room with an almost motherly look in her eye, “I wanted you to come with me to see him on one of your visits, but Princess Celestia said not to let him see anypony from the outside world until he became stable.”

Spike was now sitting atop Bolt’s back, pulling on his mane with both claws. “Aaw, he likes his Uncle Bolt,” Vigil said, striding into the room. Suddenly, Spike burped, and a jet of flames shot from his mouth, enveloping Vigil. When the fire died down, Vigil simply stood there, his face singed black, and part of his mane still burning. “Well, if you need me, I’m gonna go wrap my face in gauze,” he sighed, extinguishing the still lit part of his mane with a hoof. He then trotted into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him. “You sure you should be doing that with those kinds of burns?” Bolt called out. “I’ll be fine,” Vigil replied, “But, to answer your question, no. I have no idea.”

After this, Twilight grabbed Spike, who said, “buh-bye” to Bolt as he went back into the sack. She gave me a quick hug, saying, “Take care.” She said good-bye to Bolt, and bode farewell to Vigil by yelling, “BYE, WHAT’S-YOUR-NAME!” from across the entire apartment. “It’s Vigil,” he responded, emerging from the bathroom, his face heavily bandaged. She waved to us one last time, and shut the door behind her.

“I like that kid,” Vigil commented.

We spent the rest of the morning eating breakfast and getting ready for the ceremony. We each showered, and Bolt tried out a healing spell Twilight had told him about on Vigil. The result was an explosion that sent the two flying across the room in opposite directions, but, on the bright side, Vigil’s burns were healed. Vigil then wrapped the bandages around his now injured right foreleg, and kept his distance from Bolt for the next two hours. We each dressed in our formal uniforms, combed our manes and headed out to the palace, where the ceremony would be held. When we arrived at the courtyard, we noticed that several changes had been made, the most noticeable of which was the fact that a stage had been erected, as well as auditorium-style seats, of which I counted twenty rows. The front row held all of the guards-to-be, and, as Vigil, Bolt and I walked along the front row, we noticed that the seats reserved for us had been conveniently placed side-by-side. I sat in between my two friends, looking up to the stage, even though nothing was up there yet.

More ponies filed into the “auditorium,” yet everypony sitting up front was silent, unmoving. Well, Bolt was doing his usual fidgeting, and at one point turned and waved to a group of ponies I could only guess were his family. While he did this, I looked into the rows behind me for familiar faces, and saw them in the back. Cadence was talking with Twilight, Spike cradled in her front hoofs. Mom and Dad were right next to them, supposedly arguing over something. Cadence paused for a moment, looking at them, and emitted a heart-shaped puff of smoke from her horn. My parents inhaled it, and started acting much more civil.

I waved to them, but they didn’t notice. I eventually gave up, knowing that they would see me in a few minutes, anyway.

After a while, Princess Celestia and two guards walked up onto the stage. Instantly, the audience fell silent. “Fillies and gentlecolts,” Princess Celestia began a long speech that I barely remember. After twenty minutes or so, she started calling out the names of future guards, saying a few things about them, then they would say the Guard’s Creed and then be given a medal. This went on for several minutes, and I found myself not paying any attention at all. I barely listened, even when it was Bolt’s turn to go up. I heard the Princess talk about how he was “loyal and destined for greatness” or something along those lines, and he came back down, looking proud. He silently sat next to me, and, for the first time in the two years I’ve known him, he sat completely still.

Eventually, Princess Celestia came to “Shining Armor”. I rose from my seat and marched, up onto the stage, ignoring the thousands of eyes on me. “Now, many of you may know of the so-called “shield incident” that occurred some years ago, or, more recently, the horrible business with a changeling spy.

“May I present the brave stallion who showed great diligence and skill in both situations, saving the life of a valued captain in the shield incident, and, quite possibly, all of Canterlot during the changeling infiltration. I think I speak for us all when I say that we can all rest easy, knowing that guards like Shining Armor are protecting us!” After this, I heard a loud round of applause coming from the back. Princess Celestia then turned to me and whispered, “You know what to do.”

I raised my right hoof to my forehead in a salute and recited the Guard’s Creed confidently.

I lowered my hoof, and a gold medallion hovered above me, then went downward until it was hanging around my neck.

Another round of applause, and I was back in my seat. So, as the ceremony went on, I went back to barely listening. I looked to Bolt at one point, and noticed that he was blinking rapidly, as if struggling not to fall asleep. Vigil, on the other hoof, already was asleep. The time eventually came when the princess got to the V’s, and guess whose name was called first?

Vigil opened his eyes at the mention of his name. Strangely enough, he seemed to know exactly what was going on, and trotted up the stairs casually. When he got up, though, Princess Celestia didn’t say anything. She just looked at him with a look of… sympathy. She quietly levitated the medal around his neck, and quietly prompted him to recite the Guard’s Creed.

He strode back down to his chair, a blank expression on his face. I was concerned for my friend, but knew he wouldn’t want to talk about it. Eventually, I completely zoned out.

A few hours later, Bolt, Vigil and I found ourselves in the barracks down at the palace, unpacking our things into trunks at the ends of our beds. Vigil was, as I would have expected, throwing stuff into his trunk randomly. Bolt was sorting through his clothes and other belongings, organizing them neatly, if only because he was savoring the fact that he was doing something. I was somewhere in between, simply folding up clothing and stacking the clothes on top of each other, putting everything else off to the side of the trunk.

Around us, dozens of guards of all ranks and ages prepared for bed, as the sun was setting, while others were just waking up, preparing for the night shift. It’s been said that, ever since Princess Luna was banished thousands of years ago, the number of guards on duty at night has nearly tripled. I believe that, seeing as Princess Luna was the… protector of the night or something like that. Wouldn’t they need extra guards if she were to leave for some reason? I counted eighty seven marching out of these barracks, and that excludes the Pegasi flying out and those exiting other buildings.

The sun had long since set before the three of us were laying in our beds. It wasn’t until 21:00 that I fell asleep.

I still haven’t gotten used to military time...

Anyway, two months went by. We would wake up at 7:00, just as the sun was rising, eat breakfast, don our armor, and stand around… guarding things. We would mostly patrol around the castle grounds, but, on occasion, we would be assigned to specific groups and march around the entire city, watching for trouble. Bolt and I rarely saw Vigil or each other during our shifts. Since Vigil was one of the most skilled Pegasi in the entire guard, he would patrol the skies along with several others. Bolt and I were often assigned to two separate parts of the palace, so I was alone, most of the time.

Being in the Royal Guard isn’t exactly thrilling, so far. I’ll admit it.

But… I can’t quite explain it….

It feels like… something’s going to happen…

December 10

Four days ago, in the evening, I was called to the war room for a briefing. Apparently, some mercenaries were holed up in some cave, believed to have hostages. So, I headed to the war room, and found that only Vigil, Bolt, and the general were the only ones in there. I took a seat between Vigil and Bolt, and the general began explaining, “You’ve already been given the basics as to why you’re here, right?” “Yes, sir,” we all replied in unison, as we had been trained to do. “Good,” the general continued, “Well, now that you’re here, it’s time for details. You already know that there are mercenaries, holding at least one civilian captive. We don’t know who they’re working for, or if they’re acting alone, so don’t ask. All we know is that they have sent us messages, saying that they will kill the subject if we don’t meet their demands.”

We sat in silence for a moment or two, before Vigil spoke. “I’ve got a few questions,” he stated, “First, why just three of us? Second, why not just meet their demands? We could avoid the loss of life way more easily if we did that. Third, why us in particular?”

“Simple,” the general explained, “There are only three of you because they can’t see us coming. If they notice anything that might mean that we’re acting against them, they may panic, and innocent people will get hurt. Also, if they do find you, they may not react as harshly.

Secondly, we can’t give them what they want because they want weapons, and, based on what we’ve seen so far, I think we all know how they might use them. Now, as to why you three in particular are being sent on this mission… I don’t know. Princess Celestia’s orders.”

We all let this soak in for a minute. No more questions were asked.

“Tomorrow, as soon as you’re up, head to the armory to get yourselves geared up. Then, you have breakfast, then you leave. Dismissed.”

We all stood, saluted, and left for the barracks.

“Finally! Some action!” Bolt sighed, “I felt like I was gonna explode for a few months there!”

“This is gonna be bucking awesome!” Vigil exclaimed.

We got little rest, that night (well, I can only speak for myself.), feeling anxious about the next morning.

When we woke up, (or rather, got out of bed,) we went straight to the armory, as instructed. When we arrived, the general was standing in front of the large structure. He grinned. “There you are,” he said, “Follow me.” He then led us through the sliding doors of the building, up an elevator, and through a complex maze of small hallways. Eventually, we came to a door with a plaque that read, “mission corridor: B”.

We knew that this room contained supplies for scheduled missions to be carried out by the Royal Guard and research to be carried out by anyone with permission from the princess. Nopony ever used corridor A. The supplies held in there was to be used in an emergency. If the Elements of Harmony ever failed, the last resort would be to start nuking shit.

Attached to the door was a small metal plate with a keypad containing every one-digit number. The general tapped a few of the keys and the door flew open. Behind it was a vast room filled with shelves that held hundreds of packages of all shapes and sizes. We followed the general as he came to a shelf that contained three backpack-sized packages. He tossed one to each of us, and we grabbed them mid-flight. Each pack held a walkie-talkie, a pistol, some MRE’s, and toilet paper. The package itself seemed to have been made as a backpack for long journeys, with a plastic frame on the outside that you could strap sleeping bags and even small tents to.

Speaking of which, the general then threw us each our own sleeping bags and one-pony tents. Each of them had been tossed along with bungees that had hooks attached to each end. Knowing what these were for, we used two of the four each of us were given to strap the sleeping bag to the backpack, and did the same with the tents. Once we were done, the general handed each of us a short sword. With that, he dismissed us and we ate at the mess hall, still with our gear on us.

“Y’know, those guys must be really stupid,” Vigil said

“Who?” Bolt questioned through a mouthful of hay.

“Those mercenaries,” Vigil answered, “They’re holding a few ponies hostage so that we’ll give them weapons that they can use to keep doing crap like that. I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”

“Maybe they are just dumb,” I suggested, “It’s not like they’re professionally trained, or anything.”

“Yeah, I guess…” Vigil trailed off, looking off into space.

“Time to go,” Bolt stated, looking at the clock hanging on the wall opposite our table.

We each stood and left the mess hall for our first mission.

Chapter 6

December 11

Sorry for stopping so abruptly last time. I’ll explain why in a moment. For now, I’d like to pick up where I left off.

Now, where was I…

Vigil, Bolt and I were heading off to the war room, where we would be given procedure to follow, and leave from. When we got there, the general explained how we should use lethal force only if the situation was dire, and led us out the back, which led to what normally was a straight drop downward, hundreds of feet. However, when we came out, we found a large airship docked there. The general motioned for us to climb on board. “Now,” he called to us as we did so, “We can only get you so close to their position. They’ve got a pretty good view from where they are, so when we have to drop you off, it’ll be a three day hike. Once you’ve rescued the captive, we’ll give you further instructions.”

He saluted to us as we took off in the large ship. We sat in silence, waiting to be dropped off. The trip lasted four hours, and, before we knew it, we had landed and had to make the rest of the trip on foot. We were in the middle of a field that seemed to stretch on forever. To the north was a mountain, which was believed to be the location of the mercenaries’ hideout. Without hesitation, we started hiking, and didn’t stop until 21:00, when there was zero visibility.

When we bedded down for the night, we set up a fire and decided who would stand guard first. Vigil volunteered. I would be on duty next, followed by Bolt.

I was awakened at 1:00 by Vigil. There were bags under his eyes, but he seemed wide awake. “Your turn,” he whispered. I left my tent, and Vigil entered his own. I sat atop a large rock and gazed at the horizon. My mind wandered to several places. I thought of my family, of Cadence. I wondered when I would see them again. Then, I thought about my companions. Something seemed to be bothering Vigil. He never went into any detail whenever talking about his childhood. Could that be connected to how he was at the ceremony? I thought of how Princess Celestia looked at him… what was wrong?

And as for Princess Celestia herself, what was she planning for us? Why were we so important? Could it have something to do with the changeling’s prophecy?

“She isn’t coming back, Twilie…”

“Equestria shalt fall into discord…”

“Creatures most foul...”

I looked at my watch. It was 3:00. Bolt was supposed to be on duty. I went to his tent, woke him up, and went back to sleep.

The next morning, at 5:00, we woke up, ate breakfast, tore down camp, and kept walking. Since we were all wearing full combat armor, the hikes were long and tedious. We would eat and have water without stopping, so as to save time. We would have dinner before going to bed, and we went through the same routine. On the third night, I remembered that I had packed my journal. So, while I was on guard duty, I wrote.

While I was writing my last entry, guard duty was over for me. Seeing as I was exhausted, I woke up Bolt and returned to my tent, forgetting the journal completely (again).

The next morning, we awoke once more. We would be reaching the enemies’ hideout today. Without eating, or breaking down camp, or even bringing more than two MRE’s each, we approached the mountain. The walk only took an hour, and we arrived at the base of the mountain. There was a tunnel digging deep into the mountain. At its mouth, we noticed a small fire, still burning. As we approached it, we saw that two dragons sat around it. They were still quite young, standing on their hind legs, only a bit taller than us. I guessed that they were only about nineteen. Probably a bit older, knowing that dragons have long lifespans.

We all waited a bit, watching them while also scanning our surroundings. We soon noticed a huge pile of boulders, probably from a rockslide. It looked big enough to conceal the three of us, and it was positioned closer to the tunnel, so we stealthily approached it, and dove behind the pile. From there, we could clearly hear the conversation of the dragons.

“Whaddaya suppose those dumb ponies are gonna do?” The larger of the two chuckled.

“I dunno. They’re all about love and harmony and all that crap, so I’m assuming they’ll just have to do what we say. What I’m wondering is: what does that Chrysalis lady wants with all those weapons?”

“Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it, seeing as we’re getting a shitload of bits! I’ll bet – hold on…” The larger dragon sniffed the air. “Smell that?” he asked.

“Yeah… smells like…” the smaller one agreed.

They both unfolded their leathery wings and rose into the air. Incidentally, just a few seconds afterward, we heard to large objects land behind us.

“Think they know we’re here?” One of the dragons asked. I heard the other give a loud “Shhh!” in reply. “Oh, yes we do,” Vigil laughed, turning around and elbowing the smaller of the two dragons in the face, knocking him over, holding his snout in pain. The other ran at Vigil, and was thrown backward by a ball of fire created by Bolt. I drew my sword and held it to the larger dragon’s throat. “Who are you working for?” I asked quietly.

His eyes darted around. He was terrified. “I-I-I don’t know!” He pleaded, “All she ever told us was her name! She calls herself ‘Queen Chrysalis’! That’s all I know! I swear!”

“Alright, then,” I said, “What should we expect in there?” I gestured with my head to the cave.

“Inside, there are eighteen guards,” the dragon stated, gasping for breath, “There’s a captive, too, but I’ve never seen her! Please don’t hurt me!”

I responded by bashing him over the head with the hilt of my sword, knocking him out. We questioned the little guy too, but he knew even less than his buddy, so Vigil gave him a good head-butt, knocking the dragon out.

“Dude,” Bolt asked, astonished, “Doesn’t that hurt? Aren’t dragon scale super hard or something?”

“Hurts like crazy, but it was worth it,” was Vigil’s reply.

After that little encounter, we all crept into the tunnel, and eventually came to a large opening. Tents were set up around the area, and we each counted eighteen guards, all armed with various weapons; some carried swords, others had various guns, and some simply carried grenades (or, at least, one did). We didn’t see or hear anything that would be telltale signs of a hostage, but, then again, we couldn’t see inside the tents, so we couldn’t be entirely sure just yet. The three of us whispered to each other, devising a plan. Unfortunately, before we had finished, one of the dragons spotted. The grenade guy yelled, “Hey! What are you Royal Guard folk doin’? GET OUT!!” Without further discussion, he tossed one of his beloved explosives at us. The three of us rolled in separate directions as the grenade landed. Remembering my horn, I created a force-field around the grenade, isolating the explosion and rendering it harmless. Vigil’s wings unfolded, and the mucus fell from them again. He flew upward, dodging as a few dragons fired at him with AK-47’s. While Vigil was enjoying himself, Bolt shot beams of magic at two of the dragons, killing them both. I was busy having a swordfight with one of the hostiles, really just toying with him. I just impaled him on my blade when I heard a loud bang! and felt a sharp pain in several places on my back. I looked back and saw the remains of a grenade, and several bits of shrapnel embedded in my armor. I noticed that I had no severe injuries, and created a wall of magic, moving it forward until the grenade dragon was crushed in between it and a wall of the cave. Once he was unconscious, I let the wall dissipate and moved on to another dragon, beating him until he was unconscious as well. I looked around to see Bolt banging two dragons’ heads together, knocking them out. At his hoofs lay several dragons. Two of them were dead. Vigil had begun fighting the dragons who had been shooting at him. He flew right over the row of dragons’ heads, snapping the first one’s neck with his hind legs, landing, and engaging the rest in hoof-to-claw combat. He took the gun from the dragon closest to him with his mouth, throwing it aside.

I stopped watching, since three dragons had come to attack me. I picked one up with my magic and threw it at another. The third fled to a tent, and returned with a small gray filly with yellow eyes. The dragon held a knife to the filly’s throat. “If anypony moves, SHE DIES!!” he yelled, panic in his eyes. The filly struggled, but couldn’t escape. “Calm down,” I said, “Just put down the knife. Killing that little filly won’t save you. As soon as she’s dead, nothing will be keeping us from killing you.”

The dragon pondered this for a few moments. “If you’ll just let her go, we’ll take you into custody and maybe you can go free,” I continued explaining the situation to him, and he continued pondering this. Eventually, he let the filly go.

Suddenly, I heard a small thump!, he fell forward, and I saw Vigil standing behind him, one hoof raised like he’d just… whacked him across the back of the head.

“C’mon, Vigil. You didn’t need to do that,” I said.

“Well, he deserved it,” Vigil stated blandly, nudging the dragon with a hoof, “Plus, he’s not dead.”

As if on cue, the dragon groaned, but didn’t get up.

I pulled out my walkie-talkie. “The subject is safe. What should we do?”

“How many casualties?” Was the response I got.

“Six hostiles confirmed dead, fourteen wounded, including all enemies outside of the enemy hideout,” Bolt said to his walkie-talkie.

“Good. Search the area and take all weapons and suspicious objects,” the general ordered, “We’re sending in an extraction team now.”

The three of us proceeded to search all of the tents in the cave. We found several guns, swords, etc. However, one object perplexed me.

Searching one of the tents, I found a large egg. I knew it was a dragon’s egg. It had the right shape, size, and color. Why was this here, though? I laid it with everything else and moved everything to the mouth of the tunnel. The small filly was quiet, the entire time. I noticed her eyes were slightly crossed. I crouched in front of her, so that we saw eye-to-eye. “You okay?” I asked gently. She just nodded. “You got a name?” I inquired.

“Ditzy Doo. My friends call me Derpy.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Derpy.”

I reached out a hoof to shake, but she just stared at it, perplexed. I scanned the little filly a bit more. She was a Pegasus, with a cutie mark that depicted a cloud of bubbles. Her mane was yellow, like her eyes.

She had taken being kidnapped surprisingly well. I thought she would be in hysterics, but she just… sat there, more confused than afraid. I heard the sound of engines outside, followed by hoof steps. Soon, dozens of guards were charging into the cave, tying up the dragons, and taking the supplies. Vigil, Bolt and I left (with permission from the general) for the campsite, packed up our belongings, and returned to the tunnel. By now, everything had been loaded onto the ship, which had landed a few yards away from the entrance of the tunnel. Derpy was sitting at the front of the ship, being questioned by a guard. The three of us sat in the middle silently. A thought had suddenly occurred to me: I had killed today. Looking at Vigil and Bolt, I knew that they were thinking the same thing. I hadn’t felt like this when the changeling had died. Was that my fault? That thing just seemed to have just… died.

This time, however, I was definitely responsible for those deaths. True, Bolt and Vigil had killed some, too – more than me, in fact, but that didn’t excuse me for what I’d done.

Just then, the general walked onto the ship. He was levitating the egg in front of him with his horn. “Nice work,” he said, eyeing the egg, “Once we get back, you three have an audience with Princess Celestia, by the way.”

We didn’t respond right away; there wasn’t much to say, really. The general remained standing in front of us. It wasn’t until he was about to start moving toward the back of the ship when Bolt said, “Sir, I have a question.”

“Fire away, soldier,” the general responded. “Do… you ever get used to… you know…” Bolt began, “killing?” Our superior paused for a few moments before answering: “Not unless you’re some heartless monster.” “I was afraid you’d say that,” Bolt muttered as the general headed elsewhere. Five minutes later, we took off. At some point during the wait, we all began falling asleep.

When we awoke, we were once again docked at the area just outside the war room. Without needing to be told, we stepped off of the airship and started making our way to the palace. Suddenly, the general caught up with us, still carrying the egg. “Take this,” He said, holding it out to me. I simply nodded and levitated the egg in front of me as we continued walking.

By now, we had the layout of the palace memorized, so we didn’t have any trouble finding the throne room. We entered without knocking, or even waiting to be invited in. The princess was not bothered by this, however. She just greeted us with a simple, “Welcome back.”

The three of us stood silently, awaiting an explanation as to why we were here. Princess Celestia sat upon her throne, deep in thought. Eventually, she looked to us again. She stood, saying, “Come with me. I must show you something.” She left the throne room, and we followed, with me still holding the egg. When she stopped in front of a bookshelf, the sun goddess turned to look back at us. Without speaking, she looked back to the shelf, pulling a red book from it. Behind where the book had previously been was a small, oval-shaped metal plate, built into the shelf. The princess then placed a hoof on the plate, and pressed down. Almost immediately, the bookshelf shuddered and a clicking noise was heard. After that, the shelf swung forward, as if on invisible hinges. Behind it was a large, rectangular hole that led to a white, sterile and well-lit hallway. As we strode down the newly revealed hallway, we heard screeching noises. We (I can only speak for myself, but I’m pretty sure they were thinking the same thing) didn’t ask about this, however, seeing as we knew we were about to find out what it was.

Sure enough, at the end of the corridor, we came to a large room. It was the size of one of the hangars that holds airships. The area was surrounded by guards, who watched the area from huge towers. They looked down on several long tables, dozens of cots, some glass boxes that held eggs similar to mine in them, and… dragons. More than fifty dragons of all ages talked with each other, sitting at the tables and on the cots. Some were reading, while others were wrestling. The area was filled with voices, and I could barely hear the conversation that went on between the princess and a guard who had seen us enter.

“Take this egg to an incubator, please,” she said. The guard looked to me, and I loosened my grip on the egg. He grabbed it with his front hoofs and made for one of the empty glass containers, which must have been the incubators. I looked to my left and noticed the source of the screeching. Several infant dragons crawled around a playpen. One of them appeared upset, and was emanating the sound in question. A guard was trying to calm him, but to no avail. I looked to the princess, who gazed at the entire scene sadly.

“What is all this?” I asked her. She was silent for a few moments, before looking to the three of us with an indescribable look of sorrow in her eyes. It looked like it had been there for years – no, centuries. She had just been concealing it. “This is what must be done to maintain peace,” she replied. When she saw the blank looks on our faces, she elaborated. “You see,” she continued, “for years, the dragons have been relatively nonaggressive. However, recently, they have attacked towns and individual ponies. With each passing day, it seems that they have been growing more violent. We have found ourselves having to take drastic measures, destroying entire settlements of dragons.

“However, they are just individual groups, and so we have managed to keep peace with them as a species, but, during attacks, we have had to search targeted areas for eggs like these.” She looked to the incubators and continued, “They may not seem like it, but the dragons value their young greatly. If they were to learn that we had killed even one dragon in its stages of infancy, it could result in all-out war. We couldn’t leave them to die, as we could meet similar consequences. So, we only has one choice: we had to raise the dragons as our own. We hoped to mold the young hatchlings into productive members of our society. Originally, we attempted to have each and every one of them adopted by citizens.

“This did not work. Most were repulsed by the idea of having a dragon as a member of their families, so we kept them in this facility, where they could receive education and be cared for. Many of them volunteer for the Royal Guard, so we train them to work as soldiers and spies. On many occasions, we have had students hatch dragon eggs for tests at my school. Once it is done, we take them to this facility.

“Once your sister, Twilight Sparkle had become my personal student, (I let that last part go without comment; I wonder how many more things were there that I didn’t know about my sister?) she asked to see the dragon she had hatched. She insisted, and I took her here. She named him Spike, and came to visit him at every opportunity she got. Spike was more powerful than most of his kind, however, and had to be kept here while his abilities developed. Eventually, he became stable, and as soon as this happened, Twilight offered to adopt Spike: the only occasion in which a dragon was adopted into a pony’s family.”

We each let this soak in for a few moments. Vigil was the one to ask the next question that had arisen in each of our minds: “Then why did you bring us here?” The princess looked at us, examining each one of us closely, as if sizing us up; this was something she did often, as we had learned. “Because you may have to work with them, someday,” she stated. With that, she dismissed us, and we returned to life as usual.

Chapter 7

September 21

It’s been a while since I’d written this. Ten years ago today, I left to join the Royal Guard. It’s weird, how time just flies by. I’m going try to recount important things that have happened, though I’ll try to be brief, because that’s not why I’m writing this.

Throughout the months following the revelation about the dragons, Vigil, Bolt and I were sent on several various missions, from simply escorting traders through dangerous terrains to hunting down terrorists. However, no matter, what we did, or who we worked with, one thing was always constant: the three of us were always working together.

We were often called to the secret facility to make sure everything was alright. The three of us were there purely as guards, but we were allowed to interact with the dragons raised there, and even befriend them. Bolt and I would occasionally make conversation with the dragons, and I can honestly say that I care about each and every one of them, and Bolt shares the same bond with them. Vigil does, too, but he’s particularly fond of a baby dragon named Dominic. He’s considered an outsider by the other hatchlings, but Vigil’s always there for him. Even as I write this, he’s down at the facility, visiting Dominic.

Six years ago, we were assigned to an experimental regiment, containing twenty dragons and twenty ponies (including the three of us). We carried out all of our operations in secret, with only the knowledge of Princess Celestia herself. So far, we have yet to go on any extremely significant missions; honestly, throughout the years, they were all pretty much the same. We would travel to various locations to beat the crap out of various enemies for various reasons. We’re not at war, so we really just enforce the law.

After four years in the Royal Guard, we had become wealthy enough to get our own house, and, seeing as we were living in times of general peace, we were allowed to do so. Although we still spent most of our time on duty, we got one month off each year. During this free time, we would usually stay with our families for the first two weeks. While Bolt and I did this, Vigil would pay a visit to Dominic once a day, and then conduct scientific research in his room. Eventually, his wings no longer required the mucus coating around them for protecting, and he can actually pass off for a regular Pegasus now. After those first two weeks, we would head down to the Green Dragon for a few drinks and hang out for the rest of the month.

Occasionally, our families would visit us. Everypony in my family (Cadence included) considers Vigil and Bolt friends, and Twilight actually calls them her big brothers, sometimes.

Gradually, we’ve stopped seeing Cadence. Ever since Twilight turned eleven, she stopped foal sitting, and, only last year, stopped visiting altogether. We still keep in contact, but Cadence has her own business to attend to, (she is a princess, after all.) and all we can manage are letters.

Whenever Bolt’s family visits, only Coil and Fritz come; their mother was hospitalized. Bolt often sends many of the bits he earned home, and pays the bills from our house. Based on their visits, Coil seems to kind of ADD, constantly changing the topics of conversations. Whenever he wasn’t doing this, he was breaking something that belonged to us. He didn’t seem to do it on purpose; he was just so hyper. Fritz, on the other hoof, is attentive and eager to learn, but he has no sense of humor. He’s all business. Obviously, this gives rise to some problems between the two brothers.

Again, that’s not why I’m writing this.

Just a few minutes ago, I got a letter from Twilight, who, by now, has moved out of our parents’ house. I don’t have time to go into any detail, but she says that she’s been doing some reading. This alone shouldn’t be that surprising, seeing as this is Twilight Sparkle we’re talking about. What surprises me, though, is what she’s been reading about. She’s been researching Equestrian lore, and, more specifically, the Elements of Harmony and the return of Nightmare Moon. Apparently, based on her findings, she is returning. I remembered what I had told her all those years ago.

“She isn’t coming back, Twilie…”

Despite what I had said, I knew this was true. There had always been that nagging hint of doubt in my mind, like I didn’t even believe myself, no matter how sincere I had been. To back that up was the fact that she always agreed with me, unless she knew without a doubt that whatever I was saying was wrong. If she didn’t have proof against it, then she accepted what I said as fact. Because of this, we never really had any fights, growing up.

Apparently, she had already sent a letter to Princess Celestia. The princess soon replied, telling her to head down to Ponyville to work on some festivities. How could she be so ignorant? In all the years I’ve known Princess Celestia, she has never dismissed any idea so quickly.

I just told Bolt and Vigil about this, and they’re both heading to check up on their families (meaning Vigil’s checking on Dominic, and Bolt’s checking on his family.). Meanwhile, I’m going to the palace too see the princess. She has to do something about this.

September 23

These past few days have been… strange.

Like I said, I left to speak with Princess Celestia. I just burst through the door, but, like last time, she didn’t react. She just asked, “What do you need, my student?” I was outraged. How could she be so calm in such a dire situation? “You need to believe my sister,” I exclaimed, “Nightmare Moon’s returning! You have to do something! Are you just going to let everypony fend for themselves and possibly die, just because you thought something was just a… superstition? An old pony’s tale?” I stopped myself, staring at her.

“I do believe her,” the princess answered matter-of-factly, “I’ve always known, ever since you informed me about the changeling’s prophecy.” She gazed out of one of the windows as she continued, almost talking to herself, “What he said that day, it was something I knew would happen. I knew he would have a message, but he was dangerous, which was why I had sent those guards. As soon as I learned of his prophecy, I knew that, not only would Nightmare Moon return, but that much disaster would soon follow. He described the return of Discord, and he even foretold that, one day, his own people would attack. This is why I must ask you a favor.”

She looked back to me. Neither one of us blinked, we just looked each other in the eye. Eventually, she continued. “There are difficult times ahead,” she said, “You must remain strong. Hereafter, you and the rest of your… special regiment must constantly remain on your guard. You will not be allowed to go on leave at all until all of the threats have passed. You may have to go on missions frequently, and you will see combat more than once. There will be bloodshed. There will be suffering, but you must endure.”

I didn’t respond. What could I say?

“For your first assignment,” she said solemnly, “You and the rest of the Dragon Regiment are to watch over events in Ponyville. You must remain incognito, and look out for suspicious activities. Above all else, you must protect Twilight Sparkle, and anypony with whom she seems to develop a personal relationship.”

I perked up at this last part. “You mean…” I began.

“I’m sorry, but she cannot know of your presence. She may play an… important role in the defeat of Nightmare Moon, and any more obvious military presence than necessary for a large celebration may interfere,” Princess Celestia looked at me sadly as she said this. “Oh…” I slumped my shoulders as these last words sunk in. Without discussing the issue further, she called for all members of my regiment to the war room, where I was to relay the instructions to them.

I did so, then everypony left to get dressed into civilian clothing (in other words, most of them wore nothing at all). Vigil, Bolt and I just donned fedoras to disguise ourselves, since we planned on staying as far away from anypony who would recognize us as possible. The dragons were going to head to the town wearing full combat gear, modified for their use by a local blacksmith and gunsmith who had worked in the facility back when he was in the military. Seeing as their mere presence would arouse suspicions, they would remain out of sight, ready to spring into action at the first sign of trouble.

Without further ado, we departed in a carriage. We would be there by and the Celebration was going to be the next day. That only gave us a few hours before… I didn’t know what, exactly. How would this go down? Would the sun just set and not rise when it was supposed to, or would there be some explosion when Nightmare Moon appeared, or would she just be… there? The thought left my mind, however, when I realized that we would find out, one way or another.

We rode to the village in silence, as we often did. Bolt was idly fiddling with a pencil he had brought, while Vigil gazed out of a window.

We left the carriage as soon as it had entered Ponyville. As everypony in my regiment followed, the captain barked out a command. “Disperse,” he said, “Locate the subject and report to the location of the Sun Celebration at midnight.”

He looked to me. “Shining,” he continued, “Remember: you’re in charge of the dragons on this mission. Make sure they remain out of sight at all times. Dismissed.”

With that, the team split up, Vigil, Bolt and I (of course) remaining together. As we walked off, I pulled out my walkie-talkie. “This is Shining Armor,” I said, “What’s your status? Over.” Almost immediately, I got a response. “This is Quartz,” said a gruff voice, “All units are in position. We have visual on all six locations. Over.”

It took me a few moments to realize what he meant. We had been given orders to watch over some farm, a candy shop, a boutique, an area on the outskirts of town, the skies (in general) and a library.

The three of us made our way through the bustling streets with our heads down and our faces covered by our fedoras. Fortunately, nopony seemed to recognize us. Eventually, we came to an open space that must be the central hub for the town. There was a circular clearing with several shops built around it. As we approached it, Bolt pointed out something in the sky.

It was a chariot, being pulled by two Pegasi. When it landed, the three of us stepped back a little when we saw who was inside.

Twilight Sparkle stepped out of the chariot, soon followed by Spike, who appeared somewhat larger than the last time we met. He was saying something, but I couldn’t make out what from this distance. Twilight then turned to a pink earth pony, and spoke. Again, I couldn’t hear what was being said. The earth pony then gasped at the sight of my sister and ran. Twilight appeared bewildered by this, and, after speaking with Spike, left. The young dragon followed, and so did we. As we walked down the street, Vigil spoke into his walkie-talkie. “All units, converge in the town square,” he said, “We have visual on the subject. Over.”

Within minutes, the area was much more crowded with “civilians”. I looked up to the sky a few times and noted what looked like birds circling overhead; if I didn’t know better, I would have just thought they were eagles or something.

Six of the dragons overhead departed from the circle. They and two Pegasi were to track her movements from above, while three unicorns followed her on the ground, casting an invisibility spell over themselves to remain out of sight. The rest of us were to patrol the area and look out for trouble. Bolt, Vigil and I headed over to a sweet shop called Sugar Cube Corner to pass some time. At the front desk was the pink pony from earlier. She was very ecstatic about taking our order, and bounced happily into the kitchen and came back in three minutes with a tray of cupcakes. “How did you…?” Bolt began, taking the tray. “Have the exact cupcakes you ordered ready before you asked for them??” the pony replied loudly, “Well, you see…”

“I don’t wanna know,” Bolt interrupted, speaking both Vigil and mine’s minds for us. Something about this mare seemed… off, and I honestly think that, whatever she was going to say, it would either be very difficult to comprehend or make us very uncomfortable… or both. Since we needed our wits about us, we couldn’t afford to find out just yet. The mare’s mane flattened and she seemed depressed. Bolt looked to us guiltily, then looked back to her. “Maybe some other time, though. My friends and I are really busy, and we don’t have time to talk right now,” Bolt explained. When she heard this, the pony beamed and shook Bolt’s hoof vigorously. “I’m Pinkie Pie, by the way!” she exclaimed as she let go of Bolt’s hoof, “Who are you?”

“Bolt.”

“Name’s Vigil.”

“I’m Shining Armor.”

The mare named Pinkie Pie then shook Vigil’s hoof, then mine. As she did so, she said, “You should come over to the party I’m throwing tonight.” “What party?” I asked. “There’s this new mare in town named Twilight Sparkle. I’m throwing a party at the library to make her feel welcome, like I do with everypony who’s new here, but since I’m already throwing a party, I can’t throw one for you three, so you can just come to this party and I can say it was for four ponies!!” she said in one breath. “Um…” I began.

“We’ll be there, but don’t tell Twilight we’re here; we want it to be a… surprise,” Vigil said. “OKIE DOKIE LOKI!! It’s at the library!” Pinkie Pie screamed, “SEE YOU THERE!” With that, we left the building (after paying, of course) and sat at a table outside. We began eating, observing everypony who walked by very closely. Nothing seemed amiss, so far. According to what the agents following Twilight, she was currently eating at a farm called “Sweet Apple Acres”. She was surrounded by an enormous family, supposedly relatives of the mare Twilight met initially: Applejack. As we were finishing up our “meal”, we received word that Twilight was leaving the farm, but one dragon would remain behind to watch the inhabitants, while his comrades continued following my sister. As we were getting up, we were told that she was currently speaking with a Pegasus named Rainbow Dash, who was in charge of maintaining the weather during the Celebration. The three of us were walking through the town, when we noticed something. Two large colts were approaching a cottage, constantly glancing over their shoulders. Cautiously, we followed them. One of the colts knocked on the door of the cottage, and it opened slightly. They seemed to be talking to somepony, but I couldn’t make out anything from the distance we were at. We approached the cottage as the two colts walked in and slammed the door shut behind them. The building had one window, which we looked through, but the blinds were shut. However, we could hear a conversation through the glass, and we heard a noise that I instantly recognized.

It was the sound of flames violently consuming somepony.

Without hesitation, I ran to the front door, motioning for Vigil and Bolt to follow. As soon as I was at the door, I kicked t open with both of my hind legs. The door flew off of its hinges and fell to the ground. Inside the room the door led to were five changelings. “I can see why they have to disguise themselves,” Vigil sneered as he walked in behind Bolt and me, “They’re buckin’ ugly.”

The changelings stared at us for a few moments, trying to process what was happening. Before they could react, I was levitating one of them and throwing it across the room. As soon as I did that, the other changelings leapt at us. Bolt shot flames at one of them, burning its wings off. Vigil performed a suplex on one of them, while I grabbed another, slamming it against the ground. The remaining one ran up the stairs, but none of us could get to it before it used its own magic to destroy the staircase. While we were focused on this, the other changelings got back up and charged at us again. One whacked me across the back of the head with a pipe, knocking me to the ground. My vision was blurred as I watched Vigil grapple with two separate changelings, one of them being the wingless one. He grabbed one with his hoofs and threw it at the other, only to have them both get back up and charge at him again. Bolt had already taken care of the one that had been attacking him by the time I saw him. Once the changeling whose wings had been burned off saw this, he ran at Bolt as he approached me, and tackled him. As Bolt made to punch it, the changeling was consumed with green flames, and, when the flames subsided, Coil was standing in front of Bolt.

Just as I began to lose consciousness, I noticed that I was moving. My last thought before I blacked out was: “I’m being dragged somewhere”.

When I awoke, I was tied up in a cellar, lined with barrels. As I became capable of thinking again, I noticed that I was tied to Vigil and Bolt, who were still unconscious. In front of me sat the shattered remains of our walkie-talkies.

“Shit,” I muttered, continuing to observe my surroundings.

“Now, now, there’s no need for that kind of language around here,” said a female voice coming from the stairs leading down into the cellar. The door opened, and a large changeling with a long mane and some sort of crown on its head strode in. It had an air of both superiority and bloodlust about it that made my spine tingle. As I made to speak, Vigil opened his eyes and said calmly, “and who might you be, beautiful?”

Just as Vigil said this, Bolt jerked awake. “What’s going on?” Bolt yelled, eyes darting back and forth. “Calm down, we’re just captured,” Vigil said reassuringly. “Oh… Shit”, Bolt responded. “That’s what I said!” I exclaimed.

The changeling looked down at us with disgust in its eyes. “To answer your question, I am Queen Chrysalis,” it stated blandly. The three of us stared at the changeling blankly. “I am the ruler of the changelings!” Chrysalis added, now obviously just trying to intimidate us. Just to annoy her, we continued staring at her, but, truth be told, I was both furious and terrified. “Do we look like we give a buck?” Vigil asked.

“Oh, you’ll ‘give a buck’ soon!” Chrysalis laughed, “For, you see, I am here to aid in the return of Nightmare Moon!” “Uh-huh…” I pondered, “I thought the stars were going to help her with that or something.” “Nothing said that we could not aid them,” Chrysalis chuckled. “What are you planning?” Bolt said. “What do you take me for? A fool?” Chrysalis scoffed, “Why would I tell you?” “Could you at least tell us what you’re gonna do to us?” Vigil inquired, “Seeing as you’re obviously going to kill us, I feel like we have the right to at least know how.” “Isn’t it obvious?” Chrysalis said with a knowing smile.

It was then that I noticed a bit of string – a fuse – embedded into one of the barrels, extending to where it was just at the changeling’s feet. As she saw me eyeing the fuse, she grinned and said, “goodbye.” With that, she created a spark of magic that lit the fuse, and walked out the door calmly, slamming it shut behind her.

“Oh sweet Celestia, what are we gonna do?” Vigil cried I mock terror. When Bolt and I just gave him a blank stare, he looked up to his forehead then back to us repeatedly. Finally, Bolt and I got what he was trying to tell us and effortlessly untied the knots with our magic. “For the record, we did receive severe blows to the head,” Bolt said. “Yeah. That’s why I pretended to get myself knocked out,” Vigil retorted as we made our way for the door. “Wait, can’t we just stomp it out or something?” I asked, looking back to the fuse, which was burning rapidly. I stomped on the spark repeatedly, until it finally went out. “See? Problem sol—oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, watching as the spark ignited once again. I stomped on it, and it extinguished, then started up again, burning more quickly than before. I repeated this process five times before saying, “Screw it. Let’s get out of here.”

Without further ado, Vigil opened the door. “Whaddaya know,” he muttered, “She didn’t lock it.”

Behind the door were three changeling guards, each disguised as each one of us. They didn’t seem to notice us, and Vigil hovered over to his fedora, which lay on the floor right outside the doorway. Out of it, he pulled a small rag and a bottle filled with… some strange liquid. He doused the rag in the liquid, and held it over the mouth of his doppelganger. Almost immediately, it passed out, and Bolt shot a ball of fire at his doppelganger before it could react, while I created a bubble of energy around mine and threw it at a wall, knocking it out.

“Why did you bring chloroform?” I asked him as we made way for the door, which had been fixed and barricaded. “You never know,” he said, putting his hat back on. As we attempted to pry the door open, Bolt glanced back into the cellar. “Uh, guys?” He said, looking back to us. “What is it?” Vigil grunted, pulling on a wooden plank that was nailed to the doorway. “I don’t think that we have much time before…” Bolt was cut off by the sound of explosions coming from the cellar. With each explosion, the building shook violently. Flames began spreading from the cellar while the structure began caving in.

“The window!” I exclaimed, running to the other side of the room. Vigil beat me, literally flying through the window. I followed, jumping through its shattered remains, with Bolt right behind me. As soon as the three of us made it outside, we sprinted as far from the cottage as possible, not looking behind us until we had made it across the street. Only then did we stop and watch as the cottage burned to the ground. We only lingered for a minute, though. We didn’t want anypony knowing of our involvement. We would search the rubble later.

By now, the sun had long since set, and everypony seemed to be indoors. Not wanting to look conspicuous, we walked through town casually. Pinkie Pie’s party was probably going on right about now, so we had somewhere we could go without arousing suspicion. We made our way to the library, which was on the other side of town.

Once the library was in sight, I noticed that two dragons were perched on separate rooftops nearby. Both of them looked down at us and saluted as we opened the door and walked inside.

We were greeted with a wave of light and noise. Dozens of ponies inside were eating, drinking and laughing. I stepped forward, motioning for Vigil and Bolt to follow. They complied wordlessly, and we waded through the crowd. Eventually, we came to an uninhabited corner of the room, where a table and some chairs resided. Here, we took a seat and waited. Nopony seemed to notice us, so we were good. However, we did each recognize a gray, cross-eyed mare with a cutie mark depicting a cloud of bubbles. We each kept our head down as we saw Derpy, believing that she would recognize us if she were to see our faces. Eventually, I risked a glance up in her direction to see if she was still there.

Instead, I was face-to-face with Pinkie Pie.

“Oh my gosh!!” she yelled as Vigil and Bolt glanced up from under their fedoras, “YOU MADE IT!!!” “Yeah, we sure did,” I said, scooting away from the pink earth pony, “Is Twilight here?” “Nah, she just went off to bed,” Pinkie Pie said, frowning, “Why?”

“Oh, we’re just… old friends,” Vigil stepped in as I tried to think up an excuse, “We haven’t seen each other in a while, so, when we learned she was here too, we…” “OKAY! I getcha!” Pinkie interrupted, already hopping away, “Enjoy the party!”

“I see you’ve already met Pinkie Pie,” said a voice to our right. We glanced in the direction the voice had come from, and, sure enough, there was Juggernaut, the captain of our regiment. He was sitting in a previously empty seat to our… well, to our right. He held a bottle of whiskey in one hoof (I honestly never quite understood how we can do that) and the feathers on his brown wings were ruffled. “Are you drunk?” I asked him as he hiccupped loudly, “We’ve got a mission to do!” Vigil looked at the clock overhead. “With the rendezvous in one hour, too,” he said. Juggernaut chuckled and leaned close to me. Surprisingly, there was no scent of alcohol about him.

“And what makes you think I’d get drunk at a time like this, soldier?” he whispered into my ear. I looked closely at the bottle of whiskey, and noticed that less than a quarter of the bottle was empty. As I realized this, he took the smallest of swigs from the bottle. “Why are you here?” Bolt asked. “Well, in case you haven’t noticed, this is our new rendezvous point,” the captain replied, looking out into the crowd, “Look at that guy, reading in the corner opposite us. He hasn’t turned a single page for the whole two hours he’s been here.” I looked to where he was pointing, and, sure enough, there was a young colt whom I recognized as a member of our regiment just sitting there. “And those five stallions over there,” Juggernaut continued, pointing to another familiar five ponies, “Have been deep in conversation for the past half hour. Anypony who just so happened to eavesdrop long enough would realize that they’re repeating the same ten-minute conversation, over and over again.”

“Why don’t they just goof off?” Vigil asked, not looking away from the five ponies, “It would be much less suspicious.” “Because they’re scared,” Juggernaut answered, looking in the same direction as Vigil, “They know what’s coming. Look closely at that fine young colt in the corner again. You can see the faintest bead of seat trickling down his forehead. His breathing seems normal, so that rules out any rigorous physical activity, and it’s only 62 degrees Fahrenheit in here, so it can’t be the heat. Unless he’s got some medical condition – and he’s perfectly healthy, by the way – nervousness is the only likely explanation.”

He looked back to us. “They’re repeating themselves because they’re not thinking about what they’re doing; they’re thinking about what will happen in the next few hours,” he finished, looking to us. He got up and left us. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem curious as to why we didn’t know what was going on. In fact, he didn’t seem to notice anything at all.

We sat in silence for fifteen minutes, finally allowing our exhaustion from tonight’s events catch up with us. Vigil drifted off to “sleep” as usual, and Bolt got up to go get a drink. And so, I was left alone with my thoughts. I found myself gazing out the window at the moon. Why did my sister play such an important role in all of this? Did she know what was going on? And if she didn’t, why not? I felt like, if she played a pivotal role in the protection of Equestria, she should know.

Right?

After what felt like an eternity, Juggernaut called everypony in the area to attention. As I snapped out of my trance, I looked back to see that only twenty ponies remained, including myself. Bolt sat beside me, having returned, presumably, long before. Vigil was still in his dormant state, but I knew that he was paying very close attention to what was being said.

“Alright,” Juggernaut said in a booming voice, “Everypony but us has left for the Celebration. In ten minutes, Princess Celestia may or may not come out to raise the sun. If she doesn’t, I want ten of you following the subject, Twilight Sparkle. The other ten, along with the dragons, will make sure everypony is safe and indoors. You’re permitted to use lethal force only in defense of yourselves or civilians. However, on no circumstances can you attack…”

He pulled out a list of names as he said, “1. Rarity: white fur, purple mane, diamonds for her cutie mark. 2. Fluttershy: yellow fur, pink mane, butterflies for her cutie mark. 3. Applejack: orange fur, yellow mane, apples for her cutie mark. 4. Rainbow Dash: blue fur, rainbow mane, rainbow-colored lightning design for her cutie mark. 5. Pinkie Pie: pink hair, pink mane, balloons for her cutie mark, note: if possible, avoid any form of contact. Also, refrain from harming the subject.”

He folded the list and assigned us to our groups. Vigil, Bolt and I were going to be assigned to protect civilians along with the dragons.

After we had been assigned to our teams, we each made our way to where the ceremony would be held. Looking up, I saw all twenty dragons following overhead. Based on what I had been told, each one of them would take up a sniping position on nearby rooftops, ready to open fire at a moment’s notice.

We stopped right outside the building in which the Celebration would take place. The dragons took up their positions and the team that would be guarding Twilight would be waiting outside, while everypony else (including Vigil, Bolt and I) would be going inside. If anything went wrong, we would get all the civilians to safety, and both teams would officially split up and start their separate missions.

So, without further ado, we went inside, and waited.

Chapter 8

September 23 (cont.)

Vigil opened the door, holding it open for everypony as they entered. The area was crowded, as expected; everypony in town and several from all over Equestria had come today. The area was overlooked by a balcony where Celestia was supposed to appear.

And so, we waited.

Eventually, a hush fell over the crowd.

A loud fanfare performed by whistling birds filled the room. As the music ended, the mayor of Ponyville walked onto the stage beneath the balcony. “Fillies and gentlecolts,” she announced, “as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!” At this, everypony in the crowd cheered, and the mayor continued confidently. “In just a few moments,” she said, “our town will witness the magic of the Sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year!

“And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day: the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria, Princess Celestia!” As she finished, another fanfare began, and a curtain covering most of the balcony rose. All of the spotlights turned to it.

The balcony was empty.

Soon after, a dark mist appeared, followed by a large, black mare whose size rivaled that of Princess Celestia herself. A great commotion started, but I didn’t hear any of it. I became completely unaware of everything around me. I was completely numb. I continued looking up to the balcony, I didn’t see. I listened, but I didn’t hear anything. Eventually, though I did feel a shake, and snapped back to reality.

Bolt, as it turned out, had been the one shaking me. At the same time, he was looking up to the balcony. As my eyes refocused, I saw that Nightmare Moon still stood there, laughing insanely. The dark, starry mist that must have been her mane had grown into a large cloud that covered the ceiling. Three Pegasus guards flew at her, probably in an attempt to capture her. As Nightmare Moon saw them approaching, she conjured up bolts of lightning that struck the three of them down. After that, the crowd went into a mass panic. Nightmare Moon then resumed her laughing as she was consumed in the mist. It was thick, but I could tell that her body was rapidly deteriorating. I soon realized that she was, in fact evaporating, becoming one with the gaseous mass that enveloped her. The cloud squatted, as if about to jump, then flew out the door, followed by a rainbow-colored Pegasus.

Twilight Sparkle then began sprinting out. Juggernaut ordered his team to follow, but they waited two minutes, so as not to look like they were following her. Before they left, four other ponies made it to the door. After that, they left hastily, leaving me in charge of my team. I climbed up the stairs to the balcony alone after telling Vigil and Bolt to stay behind, so they could help everypony evacuate. “Alright, everypony, listen up!” I yelled over the commotion. Instantly, everypony froze and looked up at me. I pulled my guard’s badge out from under my hat (where else would I keep it?) and tossed the fedora aside. I held my badge up for everypony to see. “I’m with the Royal Guard,” I continued as they continued to watch me intently, “Now, I’ve got nine undercover colleagues down there in the crowd with you. Each one of them should be wearing their badges about now.” As I said this, I saw a few ponies in the crowd searching through their backpacks, of wherever they had been keeping their badges. Once they all had them on, I continued.

“I’m gonna have to ask each one of you to calmly find the nearest exit,” I said, “Once you’re outside, I want you to find a partner. It could be anypony, just as long as you’ve got someone to stay with you. If you can, get more than one partner."

“Once you’ve found your partner, I need you to head back to your homes. If you don’t live with the pony you select, then settle on a place for both of you to stay. I recommend you stay close to any guards you come across; you’ll know them by a badge, similar to the one I’m wearing, or they’ll be in full uniform. We’ve got snipers positioned on rooftops throughout the town in case there’s any trouble. Alright, now move out!”

With that, everypony began calmly moving towards the exits. Well, they did seem kind of confused, terrified, and not calm in any way, but hey: they managed to stay in a single file line until they got out and follow my instructions.

I climbed back down the stairs as civilians began leaving the building. I came across Vigil, who was guiding a family toward one of the doors. As he saw me, he pointed right ahead of him and said to the mother, “Alright, the door should be right up there. You should be able to make it back on your own, okay?” The mother nodded and motioned for her husband and son to follow. As they left, Vigil turned to face me and saluted with a smirk on his face. “At ease, soldier,” I said with mock authority. He obeyed my command just as Bolt ran up to us. “Hey guys,” he said casually, “So… how’ve you been these past… five minutes?” I shrugged as Vigil said, “Never been better!”

By now, everypony but us had managed to leave. The guards who had been here were outside, escorting particularly large groups. “Ready to go?” I asked my companions before heading outside.

It was just then that I heard gunfire.

The three of us sprinted outside, looking up to all of the rooftops where the dragons were supposed to be positioned. Atop the building to our right, we saw something very unnerving: a changeling had gotten its hoofs on one of our sniper rifles. As we continued looking around us, we saw one of our dragons get impaled on a changeling’s horn. Similar events were occurring on each rooftop. Not just changelings, either. I saw two griffons, three zebras, and one minotaur attacking the dragons. The dragon being attacked by the minotaur killed his adversary and several others managed to get airborne before their attackers even arrived. All of the civilians were indoors, it seemed, so the six surviving dragons gathered around us, along with all of the guards from our regiment. Several other guards looked at the dragons warily, ready to attack them. “Stand down,” I ordered, “They’re with us.” This explanation seemed good enough for them, as they let their guard down, somewhat. “Is there an armory nearby?” I asked the guard who seemed to be in charge. “Yes sir,” he replied, “It’s only about thirty yards south of here.” “Thank you,” I said, “You and your team stay here and hold a defensive position, since you’re already armed. You six dragons, come with us.”

With that, everypony in my team left to get armor and weapons.

The trip down to the armory was quite uneventful. Obviously, whatever was going on was just starting. We arrived at a concrete building on the edge of town, which looked very out of place among the greenery. No other houses had been built in the area, so this place was relatively secluded. “Alright, you six,” I said, turning to the dragons, “Stand guard out here. If you see any signs of trouble… tell us.”

They saluted and pulled out their pistols. When I realized that these were all they had other than their sniper rifles, I told them that once we had finished getting ready, we would stand guard while they geared up.

As we went inside, we saw that all of the lights had been turned off, and it was pitch black. One of the colts who had a bag on him pulled out a flashlight, which he held while I looked for a switch. After two minutes, I found such a switch, and flicked it. Instantly, fluorescent lights that ran along the ceiling illuminated the hallway we had apparently been standing in. We moved forward, looking for where all the supplies were kept. Eventually, we found a room that contained racks that held spears, swords, guns and various other weapons. There was a closet on one side of the room, which had thirty suits of armor. Each and every one of us grabbed some armor and a holster to carry pistols. I grabbed a sword and strapped it to my back, Vigil got a shotgun, and Bolt Just went for a few grenades. Others grabbed spears, some went for rifles and others still were content with just the sidearm they had obtained. Once we were ready, we went outside and waited for the dragons, who didn’t take nearly as long as us, admittedly.

Now that every single one of us was armed, we headed back to where we’d just come from to find all of the guards taking cover behind trees. Once one of them saw us, he motioned for each of us to get behind cover. Apparently, the snipers had begun shooting while we were gone. Each member of my group hid behind something, and a gunfight ensued. It wasn’t very thrilling, since we just popped up whenever an opponent was reloading. The dragons had their own tactic of flying around, landing just behind an enemy and throwing him off. I don’t know exactly how many enemies everypony had taken out, all I know is that after fifteen minutes, we were safe. As soon as we were sure of this, we got out from behind our cover and searched the area for additional threats. “Well, that was easy,” Bolt sighed as he got up. “Too easy…” Vigil pondered. Just as Vigil said this, we all heard Juggernaut’s voice on one of the dragon’s walkie-talkies. We heard gunfire in the background, along with yelling. “We’re on the edge of the Everfree Forest,” said Juggernaut’s voice, “We need assistance! The subject, Twilight Sparkle has gone in along with five companions. We’ve taken up a defensive position. We are surrounded by hostiles! Repeat, we need-”

The transmission was cut off. We stood silence for a few moments, thinking, calculating. The forest was about one mile east to our location, but, by the sounds of the transmission, we didn’t have very long. If we were to run, it would take about ten minutes, probably. There was, however, one other option…

“Flight,” Bolt said, stating everypony else’s thoughts. “Wait,” said a guard, “They’re only six dragons and… four Pegasi here. How’re we all gonna fly?” Vigil was the one to answer this question with, “Well, most unicorns can levitate objects. The skilled ones could probably levitate two or three ponies at once. Dragons are pretty strong, too, so maybe they could each carry somepony… if that’s alright with you, of course.” Vigil looked at each one of the dragons. Eventually, one jet black dragon who, based on his voice, I recognized to be Quartz spoke up. “If that’s what it takes to get the job done, then I’m all for it,” he stated, all of his fellow dragons nodding in agreement. After this exchange, I spoke. “I could probably carry five ponies, plus myself,” I said, “That should be enough at first. Everypony who isn’t carried by a dragon or me and isn’t a Pegasus should stay here and wait for my signal to start heading over. Does everypony understand?” They all saluted in acknowledgement and I selected the five who would be going with me (Bolt would be one of them, of course, and Vigil’s a Pegasus, so he could go himself.) before getting everypony separated into groups. The dragons each grabbed their designated ponies to escort and I created a spherical force-field around those who would be going with me. Once everypony was in their positions, we took off, with me levitating Bolt and four other ponies, while those who would be staying behind were already preparing themselves for what lay ahead of them. Including everypony from the group we had just teamed up with, the dragons, and myself, there were fifteen of us in the air, while twenty remained on the ground.

After less than two minutes, we saw where the action was. Similarly to the situation we’d just encountered, a wide variety of creatures were involved in the fight. Dragons, griffons, minotaurs, changelings, zebras, dogs, even a few ponies fought against our allies… and we were losing. I only spotted two unicorns and one Pegasus still fighting on our side, with more than seventy adversaries.

“Call the others,” I said to a random guard. He looked up from the horrific sight, then pulled out his walkie-talkie. “Calling all units. Begin heading for the objective. Over.”

I looked at Bolt for a few moments.

“You ready for this?” I asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Bolt replied, smiling nervously.

I nodded reassuringly, then opened a small hole in the top of our bubble so that my team could hear me as I yelled, “NOW!”

As soon as those words got out, I closed the hole and threw the bubble we stood in downward with all my might as the dragons and Pegasi dove toward the ground. As we plummeted, I created a smaller shield around every one of the ponies going with me. The larger shield crushed several changelings once it hit the ground and shattered immediately afterward. I looked around, making sure everypony with me was still okay, then let their shields dissolve. As I pulled out my sword and we dispersed, I saw that our dragons had dropped off their partners, then returned to the skies as they rained down fire upon the enemy. I made my way through the battlefield. A minotaur threw a punch at me, which I dodged. Immediately afterward, I impaled him on my sword and ran forward. I had to see if Juggernaut was okay. At one point, a group of zebras fired at me with machine guns, so I created a force-field around myself until they reloaded, then threw each of them aside with my magic.

Eventually, through all of the confusion, I saw the Pegasus whom I had seen fighting against impossible odds.

It was Juggernaut.

I wouldn’t have recognized him if I hadn’t seen his cutie mark, a shining cutlass; the flesh on part of his face had burned off completely, and the rest of his face was badly bruised and cut. One of his wings seemed to have completely come off, while the other one looked badly broken, but even as I watched him, he was still fighting. He still grappled with a griffon, throwing it to the ground with his front hooves and punching it repeatedly until it was coughing up blood. He panted, and looked up, right at me. As I made to speak, he picked up his enemy’s pistol and shot it right past my ear. “WHAT WAS THAT FOR?” I yelled over the madness. In reply, Juggernaut pointed behind me, and I looked over my shoulder to find a dead dog. “Oh…” was all I could manage to say when I saw this. “Glad to see you could make it,” the captain said nonchalantly, grabbing a changeling that had been sneaking up behind him and snapping its neck. “What’s going on here?” I asked, looking around and beheading an oncoming zebra with my sword. “I’m just as clueless as you, but I think we I’m speaking for both of us when I say that now isn’t the time to look for answers,” Juggernaut said, grabbing a thrown grenade out of mid-air and throwing it into a crowd of enemies.

The two of us quit talking for a while as a few minotaurs came at us. We managed to take them out, but I took a nasty blow to the head and Juggernaut lost his only remaining wing. A few minutes afterward, I saw Vigil in the distance, who was clearing out a path for him to move forward with his shotgun. He made his way to us, just as a series of explosions signaled Bolt’s arrival. The four of us kicked some ass (literally, in one instance. Donkeys seemed to have become involved, too.) together for a few minutes, and the confusion of our opponents, followed by more soldiers on our side running through the battlefield showed that the other team had arrived.

Juggernaut was obviously growing weaker every minute. He was soon struggling with even the weakest of enemies. Vigil, Bolt and I decided to find him a place to hide and, eventually, came to a ditch with a convenient bunch of wooden boards piled up next to it. We laid Juggernaut in the ditch and set the wooden boards across it, concealing him, but leaving a few holes so he could see and breathe. Vigil slipped his pistol down into the ditch with him, so he could defend himself if danger came, and we went back into the action. We continued fighting off several enemies of all species until the ground shook and we heard a loud booming noise… almost like something huge had just landed.

We all looked up to see a dragon, and not just the teenage ones that we had fought (and worked with) on multiple occasions, but a full grown dragon. It towered above the treetops, probably more than forty feet tall. It let out a deafening roar and swung its tail, sending several of our guys flying.

“Oh, come on!!” Bolt yelled, more than a little frustrated, “Why don’t we get adult dragons?” “Well, the Dragon Adoption Program’s only been up for eighty years, and since…” Vigil said before I cut him off. “Vigil, I don’t think now’s a good time to be a smart ass,” I said. “I know. I just couldn’t help myself,” Vigil replied, shrugging. We looked around, noticing that all of the enemies were leaving, now. None of our guys tried to capture them, though; we were all distracted by the enormous dragon that loomed over us.

And it did not seem friendly.

It drew a breath, then flames spewed from its mouth and nostrils. All thirty of the remaining soldiers scrambled for cover behind boulders and trees. It stopped for a bit, and one group of five soldiers came popped up from behind their cover to start shooting at it. This turned out to be a bad idea, as the bullets just bounced off of its scales, doing little more than annoying it. It swung its tail again, shattering the rocks the soldiers hid behind and sending the guards themselves flying. The dragons on our side flew with agility around the head of the big dragon, breathing fire on him. Eventually, he managed to swat one out of the sky.

“I don’t think we’ll last very long like this,” Bolt stated.

“We need to do something,” Vigil said.

Suddenly, an idea began forming in my head.

I remembered how Vigil had broken the sound barrier all those years ago. I remembered how Bolt could shoot pure magic strong enough to propel him in backward.

“I have a plan,” I told them.

I explained it to them, how Vigil would fly around, shooting at it. Bolt would be shooting at it with his magic, and I would be running around with a shield surrounding me. That was all I could think of at the time, but, with everypony of the twenty-five soldiers still standing and all attacking it at once, the dragon should be confused enough for me to formulate a better plan. Vigil took a few grenades from Bolt, then took off. Bolt then jumped out from behind his tree and shot balls of fire at the dragon. I waited a few seconds, the ran out and created a force-field around myself. Strangely enough, I seemed to be the one who caught its attention. It looked at me for a few seconds, then took a swing at me with one of its claws. I was sent flying, but I managed to keep the shield up. When I crashed into the ground, my head was hurting like crazy, but I hadn’t hit my head on anything. I’m guessing it was from the stress of keeping the shield up. My vision was blurred for a few moments, but I could make out a white figure flying around the dragon. It must have been Vigil. From what I could see and hear, he had shot the dragon in one of its eyes. That probably did little more than blind it somewhat, but we’d take what we could get. After my vision cleared up, I threw myself (still in the shield, of course) at the dragon, hitting it in the gut with enough force to send it flying. I flew backward some to get ready for another strike when Bolt threw a ball of fire at its opened mouth. It exploded in the dragon’s mouth, and it yelled in pain. It got up and started thrashing about blindly. I think it forgot that it could even breathe fire, it was so frustrated.

It stumbled backwards. After a few seconds, I realized that it was stumbling towards where Juggernaut was hidden. I made to change its course somehow, when I saw something. Juggernaut was limping up to the dragon from behind and was carrying… an RPG? He slung it up onto his soldier and stood on his hind legs so that he could aim more easily. I know from experience how much effort that requires, and, based on Juggernaut’s condition at the time, I knew that he wasn’t up to it. But somehow, he managed to find the strength to do what he obviously thought he had to do. Seconds passed, then I heard him call out in a hoarse voice, “Over here, you son of a bitch!”

It slowly began to turn to face him. Once it had done so, Juggernaut fired.

The projectile flew through the air for what seemed like forever; the world was in slow motion, it seemed. Finally, it hit the dragon right in the face and exploded. The dragon stumbled for a few moments, then fell forward… right on top of Juggernaut. As it fell, the world continued to move in slow motion, and Juggernaut collapsed, finally giving in to his injuries. He dropped his weapon, and looked right at me. He smiled weakly, and saluted.

Just then, Vigil took action. He swooped down, grabbing Juggernaut and taking him to safety, just as the dragon hit the ground with a deafening boom and a cloud of dust filled the air. After this had all happened, I rushed to Juggernaut and Vigil, as did Bolt. “How do you feel, sir?” I asked. Juggernaut laughed weakly as he said, “Terrible.” “We’ll get a medic right away,” I assured him, “You’ll pull through this, you hear me?”

He just laughed again. “Nah,” he stated, “I’m too far gone, trust me. Plus, even if I could make it out of here alive, I’d still rather die than spend the rest of my life looking like this.” He gestured to his whole disfigured face as he said this last part. A few moments passed before Juggernaut said, “I want you to take my place, Shining.” “E-excuse me, sir?” I said. “You heard me,” was all he said, “You’ve got the attributes of a real leader. I’ve followed your career in the Guard very closely, and I can honestly say that you won’t find a more qualified stallion in all of Equestria.” After he said this, he reached up to shake my hoof. I did so, fighting back tears. We had always been acquaintances, but it was then that I realized that it was more than just a business relationship; we were friends. He had come to the Green Dragon with us once before. I still laugh, remembering how he had gotten drunk and tried to hit on a few mares. He had bruises from that encounter for a whole two months.

A few minutes passed in silence before I asked him, “So, where did you get that RPG?” He smiled weakly. “This griffon found me, and… well… I don’t think I need to elaborate,” he said.

A few more moments passed. “It’s funny,” he finally said, his eyes going unfocused and his breaths getting weaker every moment, “all ponies think that death is such a terrible thing, and yet…” He coughed slightly before continuing, “It’s not really all that bad. I’ve done what I had to do, and now…” He began to tear up a bit as he said, “And now… I can rest. My story’s over, and you know what? It was a great ride, but now, it’s time to go.” He looked right at me as he said, “Thank you.”

With that, he drew his final breath, and Captain Juggernaut was dead.

Vigil took off his burned helmet, as did Bolt and I. I closed his remaining eye, so that he could rest. Once this was done, the three of us stood and saluted, reciting the Guard’s Creed:

I am an Equestrian Soldier.

I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the Equestria and live the Royal Guard Values.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the kingdom of Equestria in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the Equestrian way of life.

I am an Equestrian Soldier

After that, we stood in silence for ten full minutes. Then, the sun began to rise. As we all looked to the east, glad to see another sunrise, despite what had just happened, some carriages pulled by six Pegasi flew in. I told everypony to start getting on as I looked at this battlefield. Some ponies were respectfully placing our fallen allies in ornate coffins and reverently burying our fallen enemies in six foot trenches. The huge dragon was taken by a group of unicorns to an unknown location as I stepped into a carriage with Vigil and Bolt.

As I looked out the window, I saw six coffins holding dragons that wore Equestrian armor.

There will be a public memorial service held tomorrow for all of the fallen pony guards, and a secret funeral held for all of the dragons who had died, knowing that they would go down unsung heroes.

I really don’t feel like writing in this journal right now…

Chapter 9

September 24

Well, I’m back from both of the memorial services. The public one was held this morning in the palace courtyard, where the ceremony that had started our careers in the Royal Guard was held all those years ago.

The place was extremely crowded; almost half of Canterlot seemed to have attended. Vigil, Bolt and I would be part of the Honor Guard that would shoot our rifles into the air at the end of the ceremony, and we wore our full dress uniforms.

At the beginning, we marched in ahead of the ponies carrying coffins, each holding a fallen soldier. Each coffin was covered by an Equestrian flag to show the soldiers’ dedication to their country. As we reached the front, the Honor Guard split into two groups of five. Five of us went off to the left, and the other five went right. We all stood lined up, off to the side. Benches had been laid out similarly to how most churches are in Equestria: several rows of benches, divided into two columns by an aisle cutting through the center. At the end was a podium with several tables behind it. Each coffin was laid on one of the tables. Once the ponies carrying the coffins had finished their jobs, the sat in the front row, where they would be until the end of the service, when they would take the coffins to the cemetery to be buried.

Princess Celestia stepped up to the podium and said a few words about the dangerous times we were in and how, and I quote, “these soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our fair country”. As she talked, I zoned out a bit. I looked to the crowd and saw a little filly, no more than three years old. She was crying, inconsolable, in fact. The realization struck me that this child must have been the daughter of one of these dead soldiers, maybe even a sister.

I thought about Twilight. I was like a second father to her, in a sense. I could only imagine just how devastated she would be if I was up on one of those tables behind the podium.

The service only lasted thirty minutes. At the end, the two groups in the Honor Guard got together and stood in a line, side by side. We faced away from the audience, and grabbed our rifles with swift, identical movements. I stood in between Vigil and Bolt as we fired into the sky, away from the crowd. Our three shots rang out loudly through the empty palace grounds. Once we had fired our three shots, we slung our rifles over our right shoulders simultaneously, turned, and walked back up the aisle, followed by the coffins as a bugler who I couldn’t see played “Taps”. The Honor Guard marched up into the palace, halted on my command, and went back to the barracks as I called out, “At ease!” After that, we went down the passageway that we had now walked through hundreds of times. We approached the bookshelf and Vigil took the book. As soon as I pressed on the familiar metal plate hidden behind it, the bookshelf shuddered and clicked, then swung forward.

Unlike the first time we had walked down the hallway behind the shelf (and practically every other time we had walked this way) the corridor was silent. As we made it to the facility, we saw that all of the dragons were gathered around ten marble coffins. Piled on top of the coffins were wooden sticks, one for each of the dragons attending the funeral. Each dragon would light one stick from each coffin and place it inside the coffin. This would be done to symbolize that the fallen soldiers were honored among their living companions, and that they would meet again in the afterlife. After this, they would each bow their heads in a moment of silence to reflect on their lives with those who had died and to symbolize the peace that the soldiers were now experiencing. After that, all of the dragons would make an oath not to let any grief they’d be experiencing consume them, and to carry on with their lives.

Vigil, Bolt and I, along with all of the other ponies, could do nothing but watch what was going on from the background; this was a traditional dragon funeral, and we were not to interfere.

This service lasted for about three hours, most of it involving the mourners getting into a single-file line and lighting their fires. At the end of the ceremony, when they spoke the oath in the Tongue of Dragons, they were allowed to return to business as usual. However, the energy seemed to have been drained from all of them, and the room still remained silent. I don’t blame them; life down in that facility is rough, from what I’ve seen, and this brought each and every one of them close together. They each cared about one another like they were a family, and losing any one of those dragons would be like losing a brother.

Right now, I’m back at the barracks, along with Bolt and Vigil, finally letting the events from these past few days sink in. Nopony in our regiment had experienced anything like what happened the night of the Summer Sun Celebration. There was so much death that night. I remembered what Juggernaut had looked like; he was disfigured, almost beyond recognition. How many ponies had experienced similar fates that night and lived? Their lives would be ruined forever…

I could easily have been one of them.

I forced this idea out of my mind. If the changeling’s prophecy is true, there are still two major threats ahead of us, and that means that none of us can afford to think like that.

Regardless, the memories from that night will never cease to haunt me. I had witnessed and caused the end to so many lives that night, and that knowledge will stay with me until the day I die.

And from here on out, that feeling will only get worse…

September 25

I don’t have much to report today, really. Everypony involved in the incident at the Summer Sun Celebration is getting extended leisure time (usually mine’s from 13:00 to 13:30, but now it’s 13:00 to 15:00 along with – you guessed it – Vigil and Bolt) for the time being. That means that we’re about two hours sitting around the barracks on a daily basis.

Today I noticed somepony in the barracks with today’s newspaper. I asked him if I could take a look at it, not having kept up with current events in more than ten years now. He gave it to me, and I took a look at the front page – and saw my little sister’s face.

The picture was in black and white, with the headline: “New wielders of the Elements save the day”. In the picture, Twilight was with five other ponies. These five mares were the ones who we had been told not to hurt. It mentioned each one of them representing one of the Elements of Harmony: Rarity represents generosity, Applejack represents honesty, Rainbow Dash represents loyalty, Fluttershy represents kindness, Pinkie Pie represents laughter and Twilie… my little sis… she represents the mysterious missing element of magic. I always knew she was special but… I never even dreamed that she would save the world. I’m so proud of her, but it still tears me up inside to know that I was there to help her, and she can never know about it.

Yet, I’m happy that I can help her when she really needs me, even when she doesn’t know I’m there (because it’s inevitable: she’s gonna need military protection quite often, from now on.), and to know that, based on the article, she’s fulfilled that promise she made all those years ago.

“Promise me you’ll make some friends. There’s more to life than reading, y’know.”

Talk about mixed feelings.

On a lighter note, it’s been decided that I will, in fact, be captain of not just one, but five regiments in the domestic Royal Guard out of six, and the sixth regiment is Princess Celestia’s personal group of body guards. So, for all intents and purposes, I am captain of the Royal Guard.

There wasn’t a ceremony or anything. After my leisure time today, a messenger told me that Princess Celestia wanted me to meet her in the throne room. When I arrived, she sat on the throne with and old colt standing beside her. He smiled at me, but I didn’t recognize him.

“Shining Armor,” the Princess said, smiling down upon me, “I’m proud to announce that, after careful consideration, my sister and I have decided to appoint you as captain of all five military regiments of the Royal Guard stationed in Canterlot.”

I didn’t understand what she meant by this at first, then remembered the article; Nightmare Moon (or Princess Luna, as everypony calls her now) reconverted to the side of good, and now rules peacefully alongside her sister.

Anyway, after Princess Celestia said this, the old colt approached me, carrying a purple helmet, the kind that was normally worn by high-ranking soldiers in his front hoofs and he placed the helmet upon my head. After he did this, he returned to standing on all fours and continued to smile at me, saying, “You took longer than I expected, Shining.” When he said that, I knew who he was. I remembered that night all those years ago. The night when I saved those guards from an out-of-control cart. When the colt saw the look of recognition in my eyes, his smile spread into an all-out grin. He gave me a pat on the back and motioned for me to look at the princess. When I did so, I noticed that she was levitating a suit of armor that matched the helmet. I stood before the princess, and she loosened her grip on the armor so that I could take it and put it on, which I did. The colt saluted me after that, and I saluted him and the princess. “At ease,” she said, and I relaxed.

I made to leave, but the princess stopped me. “One more thing,” she said. She showed me three rolled up pieces of parchment. I took them, unrolling one. It read:

Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the Grand Galloping Gala.

Attached to the letter was a golden-colored ticket to the Gala. Knowing that each of the other pieces of parchment contained instantly, I thanked the princess and trotted out of the throne room.

I made it back to the barracks soon afterward. Vigil and Bolt still hadn’t come back from their posts, so I wrote a quick letter to my family, and then walked around the palace. I only just got back. Vigil and Bolt should be here in about two minutes. I’ll begin my duties as a captain tomorrow morning. I’m supposed to head over to the war room first thing in the morning to be briefed about the day’s agenda, and make sure everything goes as planned.

I wonder if I’ll still have time to write in this journal.

But a full schedule’s the least of my worries, isn’t it?

Chapter 10

October 11

Not much has happened since the last time I wrote. My parents sent a letter congratulating me about my promotion, and I carried out the duties I now have as captain. In my position, I normally just fill in everypony about the day’s agenda and oversee various operations. Nothing too big happened until just yesterday. A few days ago, somepony was captured, only that pony… was a dog. He was the leader of a small band of thieves called the “Diamond Dogs”. He was charged with theft and kidnapping. I was going to observe the interrogation and take notes regarding the mental health of the one being interrogated, evidence that could be used against him, and stuff like that.

Yesterday was the day of the interrogation. We were going to use the “good cop, bad cop” system here with Vigil being the bad cop and Bolt being the good cop. I sat behind a one-way glass window with a note pad and quill while the suspect sat at a table at a table in a room on the other side. I observed him. He wore a red vest and a spiked collar. He had a massive lower jaw and his eyes were a greenish color. He looked… familiar…

The door to the room swung open and in walked Vigil and Bolt. Before the interrogation began, I looked at my notepad. Already written across the top were the words: Notes for the interrogation of suspect: Rover. I looked back into the room and spoke into a microphone connected to speakers in the other room, saying, “You may begin.”

Almost immediately, Vigil shouted in Rover’s face. “Alright, punk! Did you do it or not?” The dog just sat there, looking at both of them. Vigil stepped away from Rover a bit so that Bolt could talk a bit. “Listen, friend,” he said, “I just wanna help. I can’t help you if you won’t admit to anything. True, you might not have done it, but if that’s the case, you need to give us some proof, or point us in the right direction.” He stepped back and Vigil waited a bit. The dog remained silent. “Still won’t cooperate, eh?” Vigil threw a punch at the dog and hit him dead in the face. Rover reeled back, but didn’t show any signs of pain. He just sat back up and smirked. “Fine,” he said, almost jokingly, “You want the truth? I’m guilty. All of the evidence points that way. There were six witnesses, not to mention the poor little unicorn we kidnapped. The useless bitch…” He trailed off, looking off into space. I quickly wrote in my notebook: Suspect confesses to the crime immediately and points out the evidence against him. Suspect appears uninterested in the matter, however.

Just as I looked back into the room, I was met with Rover’s greenish eyes. He was sitting at the table, looking directly at me. He shouldn’t have been able to see me, though; I was hidden behind the one-way mirror. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that he was looking me in the eye as he said, “But that’s the least of your worries, isn’t it?”

“What are you talking about?” Vigil seethed, only the slightest hint of uncertainty in his voice.

Rover let out a cold, mirthless laugh, the kind that makes your blood run cold. The kind that I had heard only once before, at the Academy…

Once he had finished, he looked back at me and said, “Shining Armor, is it? I believe we met at this year’s Summer Sun Celebration.”

It took me a few seconds to realize what he had meant. Suddenly I remembered that dog Juggernaut had saved me from. “H-how are you alive?” I stammered. The dog pulled back part of his vest, revealing a scar on his right shoulder… a bullet wound. “A word of advice: if you shoot to kill, make sure your target’s dead,” he said, grinning.

He cackled again, obviously enjoying this feeling of uncertainty he had created. I stared at Rover, incredulous. He continued to observe me through the one-way mirror. “W-what…” I stammered into the microphone before he cut me off. “Am I doing committing petty thievery when I’m supposed to be a dead terrorist?” He said, “Well, you could say that, like many others, I’m biding my time. Speaking of which…”

He looked at a clock overhead. “13:00,” he said aloud, “I believe there’s a good friend of mine paying your family a visit right about now, Bolt.”

Bolt froze when he heard this. His face was blank. Suddenly, he leaped at the dog, continually trying to punch him with his front hoofs. Vigil had to hold him back, and he was barely succeeding. “If anything happens to them, you son of a bitch, I swear to Celestia I’ll…” He said, continuing in his efforts to inflict any sort of injuries he could on the diamond dog, “…I’ll kill you!” “Then for my sake, you’d better hurry!” Rover sneered. Bolt sighed and got back onto all fours. He looked to where he thought I’d be sitting behind the mirror. “Go to them,” I said through the microphone. Bolt nodded and sprinted out the door, closing it behind him with his magic. “Vigil, I need you to alert the princess. I’ll finish the interrogation,” I continued. He saluted and ran out the door as well, leaving it open for me.

I got in as fast as I could, closing and locking the door behind me. “Just you and me,” I muttered, sitting down in front of the dog.

“Why were you working with the changelings?” I asked quietly, trying to contain the feeling of shock that I was still trying to cope with. “Those infidels?” Rover scoffed, “They are not welcome among us. However, you know the saying: ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’.”

“So…”

“All of us, the zebras, the griffons, the dogs, all but the changelings were united for one sole purpose that night.”

“Wait…”

“We are the Disciples of Chaos.”

I was silent for a few moments. What was he talking about?

“What are the disciples of chaos?” I asked.

“I believe you are familiar with Discord, the god of chaos?” Rover said.

“Yes…”

“We are his servants. For eons now, Discord has been trapped in a prison of stone. We exist to carry on his legacy. The changelings follow a different deity. We both attempted to aid in the rule of Nightmare Moon, but for different reasons: we simply wished to cause disharmony in His name, but they just carried out those acts in the name of their precious queen.”

I didn’t speak.

Minutes passed. Eventually, the door flew open behind me. In walked Princess Celestia, who was accompanied by two guards, who both went to restrain Rover. “What has he told you?” Celestia said with much intensity in her voice.

I told her everything I had learned from Rover. I thought I heard Celestia swear under her breath before she ordered the two guards to imprison the Diamond Dog and all of his accomplices. She then turned to me and looked me in the eye. “Do you know where Bolt lives?” she asked with urgency. I nodded before she continued, “Go to his home at once. There, you will meet your friends.”

“Why do I…” I started, but Celestia interrupted me with, “You’ll know when you get there.” Having known the princess for quite some time now, I knew it was best to just do what she said without question. I ran out of the building and left the base, galloping through the streets of Canterlot. I pushed through the crowds of ponies going about their daily business. Eventually, I made it to the lower-class section of the city. This area was run-down and nearly abandoned; almost everypony in Canterlot was living it up in one of the fancier parts of the city. This, place, on the other hand, was home to those who could afford live in the city, but not much more. In short, everypony here was barely scraping by.

I slowed as I passed each sagging, gray house. A feeling of foreboding slowly came over me. I made the turn onto Bolt’s street not knowing what to expect—not wanting to know, in fact. I approached his address. It was still obscured by an old shop and two houses.

It was then that I noticed smoke.

I nearly stopped, but there was no stopping at that point. I was too close to turn back.

I approached Bolt’s house, slower than before. I finally arrived.

I’ll never forget what I saw.

Bolt lay in front of the pile of embers that was once his house, sobbing.

“N-n-no… this can’t be happening…” he uttered. That was when I saw that he was cradling a small colt in his front hooves. As I approached, I saw that he was cradling the corpse of his brother, Coil. His body was covered in third-degree burns, except for a small, bleeding lump on his forehead. His eyes were still wide open, gazing blankly at his older brother, an expression of terror forever engraved on his mutilated face.

I continued to survey the scene, and I noticed Vigil searching through the wreckage. Eventually, he pulled out the body of a frail unicorn.

Bolt’s mom.

I threw some wood out of the way to allow him to pull the pony out of the rubble. “I notified the guards,” he sighed, “It looks like Fritz might be alive; Bolt said he hadn’t visited in months.”

I just nodded and trotted off to talk to Bolt. He was still sobbing over the corpse of his younger brother. I patted him on the back. Eventually, Bolt got a hold of himself and stood, placing Coil on the ground and shutting his brother’s eyes so that he could rest in peace. He stared down at Coil, tears no longer streaming down his face.

“Today would’ve been his eighteenth birthday,” he said, his voice shaking. He stood still for a few moments, then turned to me, a look of anger suddenly in his eyes. “I’m going to kill them, whoever did this,” he told me. His voice gradually rose in volume until he was screaming as he said, “I’ll kill every single one of them. Those bastards are going to wish they’d never been born! I’ll make them beg for death! They…”

I slapped him across the face. “Bolt, you’re better than this,” I yelled, trying to be the voice of reason, “You’re better than them! We’ve got to do this by the book! We’re not savages!” I looked him in the eye. “I promise you that there will be justice. Anyone involved with this’ll get what they deserve,” I said in a reassuring tone. “And we’ll be here to make sure that happens,” Vigil said, standing beside me.

We just stood there until other guards arrived to investigate. I informed them on what I knew and what they were to do. Once I had caught them up, the three of us began to head back to the palace as the sun began to set. As we entered the gates, we saw the night guards take up their positions. Halfway back to the barracks, we passed Princess Luna. She stopped and opened her mouth to speak, but the three of us walked on, not acknowledging her. I can’t speak for Vigil and Bolt, but after all of the death she had caused, I don’t think I’ll ever forgive her. I know that she’s changed, that she means well, but still…

On a brighter note, the Gala is next month. I’ve heard that Cadence will be there, too! At least I’ve got something to look forward to.

November 11

Today was the day. Tonight, Vigil Bolt and I went to the Gala. The preparations were pretty boring, mainly consisting of us mocking each other’s appearances as we put on our red dress uniforms. Living right outside of the palace, we made it there extremely early. Celestia greeted us brightly, and the three of us proceeded to the ballroom. Inside were a few other ponies who idly stood and talked as the ponies who’d be providing the music prepared their instruments. Vigil waved to Octavia, whom we had encountered on one of our nights at the bar long ago. She waved back, obviously recognizing us and then went back to tuning her cello.

So, the three of us stood by the buffet, joking about (although Bolt hardly spoke).

Time passed, and slowly, ponies started coming in and the music started playing. Bolt decided to go outside and Vigil and I had some of the fancy foods they had to offer, which we both spit out immediately. “I sure could go for some apple pie right about now,” Vigil sighed. He looked up at a nearby clock and said, “Hey the Wonderbolts will be performing soon. You wanna come?” “Nah,” I replied.

“Suite yourself,” he said, going outside to where the flight show was supposed to take place. Alone, I decided to walk out to the foyer, where Celestia was greeting the guests. Once I was out there, I noticed a purple unicorn standing by her.

I began to approach my sister, but just as I did so, I heard a familiar voice from behind me. “So how’ve you been, captain?”

I turned around to see Cadence standing before me, grinning.

I couldn’t fight back a smile. “I’ve been well, your highness.”

We both stood there for a while, just looking at each other and smiling. Eventually, Cadence broke the silence. “So, you wanna surprise Twilight?” she asked.

I looked to my sister. She looked bored out of her mind, standing there next to her teacher. I made to speak to her again when a guard approached me. “Sir, we have a situation in the ballroom!” he said. I looked at Twilight again, but decided that she could wait just a little longer. “Alright, what is it?”

The guard took me into the ballroom with Cadence following close behind. When we were inside, I couldn’t help but chuckle a little. On the stage where the musicians played was a familiar pink pony wearing one of the craziest dresses I’d ever seen, singing the “Pony Pokey”.

I looked at Cadence, who was smiling and humming along. “What course of action shall we take, sir?” The guard said, not amused. “Let’s just wait and see what happens.” I answered.

When she finished singing, the crowd scolded her, and almost immediately she pulled a turntable out of nowhere. She started playing the records on it and began jumping around the crowd when another familiar pony came in, pushing a cart with a delicious looking cake that looked about twelve feet tall. The pink mare jumped onto the cart, sending the cake flying at the biggest douche I’ve ever met, Prince Blueblood, who hid behind another familiar looking pony who took the blow head-on and began yelling at the prince. The events that followed caused one of the larger statues in the room to topple over. A rainbow-colored Pegasus caught the statue, but it began to wobble, knocking over all of the columns in the room like dominoes. At this point, Cadence and I began to head toward the exit. I saw Vigil and Bolt, beside themselves with laughter, and motioned for them to come with us. They followed, still laughing. I was just about to open the door when Celestia and Twilight walked in, surveying the seen. Almost immediately, another familiar Pegasus burst through a door as animals from the garden flooded the room. It was then that I opened the door and we left the palace, heading for the Green Dragon. The four of us stayed there until midnight, just hanging out. Even Bolt seemed to be in brighter spirits as we drank and laughed. At one point Vigil and Bolt started drunkenly singing to Pony Pokey as I watched along with Cadence and the bartender. We didn’t leave until the chandelier that Vigil had gotten onto collapsed and he started calling it a cunt.

I really need to talk to him about his drinking problem.

Anyway, Cadence told me that she would visit more often, which is awesome. I’m still disappointed that I didn’t get to talk to Twilie, but even so, tonight was a night to remember.

Author's Note

Finally, a new chapter!

Chapter 1

“We’re here!” Cadence exclaimed, nudging her husband. Shining Armor awoke in the carriage, next to his wife. They had just arrived at a large mansion, though Shining Armor had been asleep the whole trip and therefore had no idea how they had gotten there. It had been a taxing week, keeping the force-field up, preparing for the wedding, and dealing with the changelings.

He recognized the house – this was the home where thy decided to move to and start a family – but, being half-asleep, he couldn’t quite recall where they were at the moment.

All he knew at that moment was that they were going to move in, then leave for their honeymoon in Ponyville.

Shining Armor opened the door to the carriage and held it open for Cadence. On his way to the front door, he thanked the two Pegasi pulling the carriage, and they nodded curtly in reply. He grabbed one of the several boxes containing his and Cadence’s belongings, and began hauling it up into the house. “Do you need help sweetie?” Cadence asked her husband as he kicked the door open with one of his hind legs. “Nah,” he responded as he continued moving the cardboard box, “I’ve carried heavier things farther distances. Where should I put this?” Cadence pointed to the spiral staircase and said, “In our room, for now.” Shining Armor nodded and began carrying the box up the stairs with his forelegs. Upon reaching the top, he tripped and fell foreword onto the landing with a loud crash! He heard Cadence calling out “What happened?”

“I tripped and uh..” he looked at the contents of the box, now sprawled across the room, “dropped some stuff.”

“Are you okay? Is anything broken?”

He examined himself. “Just a few scratches. I’ll be fine.”

He paused, before laughing and saying, “Our stuff’s fine, too.”

Cadence laughed too. “Good,” she said. Shining Armor heard the door opening and closing. She had gone to get more boxes and bring them up. Just then, he remembered his horn, and how he could have just carried the box up here using magic. He chuckled quietly as he began levitating various objects and placing them back inside the box. He recognized most of these things. Everything in here was from his days in the Royal Guard. He still was a soldier; he wouldn’t be retiring for several more years, but these were mementos from the early days. A bit of shrapnel from the first time he’d seen combat. A glass mug from a bar he would go to with his friends while on leave. It was all here. He sighed, feeling nostalgic.

Then he grabbed a leather-bound book.

It was his journal.

He remembered that he hadn’t written in it very often, just when something of great importance happened.

He sighed again, and opened the book.