The Centurion Project

Chapters

Chapter 2: The Lone Centurion
Chapter 3: Surviving The Night
Chapter 4: Recovery
Chapter 5: Introductions
Chapter 6: Reflections
Chapter 7: The New Guard
Chapter 8: The First Week
Chapter 9: Adjustment
Chapter 10: Making Friends
Chapter 12: Short Days
Chapter 13: Preparations
Chapter 14: Exercises in Futility
Chapter 15: Dying to Heal
Chapter 16: Family?
Chapter 17: Discussions
Chapter 18: The RAT Exercise; Part 1
Chapter 19: The RAT Exercise; Part 2
Chapter 20: The RAT Exercise; Part 3
Chapter 21: Epicinium
Chapter 22: Semper Prorsum
Chapter 23: Another day passes
Chapter 24: Distractions
The Hearth's Warming Interlude
Chapter 27: The Royal Canterlot Wedding; Part 2
Chapter 28: Scarred
Chapter 29: Shaken Resolve
Chapter 30: Acta Non Verba
Chapter 31: Climbing Free
Chapter 32: Blood
Chapter 33: Choices
Chapter 34: Taking Command
Chapter 35: Laying the Groundwork
Chapter 36: Training Begins
Chapter 37: Endurance
Chapter 38: Fight Like a Man
Chapter 39: Lenois Noctem
Chapter 41: Training Continues
Chapter 42: Making Plans
Chapter 43: A Canterlot Wedding; Part 1
Chapter 44: The End of the Recruits
Chapter 45: Traitors in the Ranks
Chapter 46: Infiltrators
Chapter 47: How much a human?
Chapter 48: At the end of war
Chapter 49: A Canterlot Wedding; Part 2
Chapter 50: A Canterlot Wedding; Part 3
Chapter 51: Aftermath
The Crystal Empire Interlude: Part 1
The Crystal Empire Interlude: Part 2
Chapter 52: Final Goodbyes
Chapter 53: The March; Part 1
Chapter 54: The March; Part 2
Chapter 55: The March; Part 3
Chapter 55.5: The March; Opposition
Chapter 56: A Day of Battle; Part 1
Chapter 57: A Day of Battle; Part 2
Chapter 58: A Day of Battle; Part 3
Chapter 59: The Battle Ends
Chapter 60: Battering and Bloody
Chapter 61: Mending
Chapter 62: Report
Chapter 63: Reconciliation
Chapter 64: The March Continues
Chapter 65: Conflicts on the Horizon
Chapter 66: Idle Chatter
Chapter 67: Before the Walls of Saddle Arabia
Chapter 68: Opening Salvo
Chapter 69: Like Thieves in the Night
Chapter 70: Red Eagle; Part 1
Chapter 71: Red Eagle; Part 2
Chapter 72: Ambush
Chapter 73: Aftermath
Chapter 74: Potential for Loss
Chapter 1: The Anomaly
Chapter 11: Lessons in Recovery
Chapter 25: The Castle in the Everfree: The Armory
Chapter 26: The Royal Canterlot Wedding; Part 1
Chapter 40: Discipline

Chapter 2: The Lone Centurion

Journal Entry

Day 1123

This is probably a stupid question to think about now, but I wonder if most people know what its like to get stabbed. Maybe if most people knew is a better question (since ya know, most people are kind of absolutely fucking dead). Still, I have got to say, not a huge fan of it, especially if you get stabbed anywhere in the chest. Barring the fact that you’re probably gonna die cause the chest is where the heart and lungs are (kinda important), but it just feels like you’re gonna die even if you aren’t. Your heart pounds, you can’t remember how to breathe right cause your flipping shit thinkin “oh no! I’ve been stabbed!” Overall, it is not a pleasant experience. If anyone ever reads these fucking things, being stabbed 1/10. Much more fun to light your arm hair on fire, cause at least that grows back.

Elias felt the breath driven out of his lungs as his back impacted the unforgiving ground. He saw stars as his head connected shortly after. He groaned and fumbled at the clasp of his helmet. He tossed the plumed helm to his left as he clutched the back of his head, trying to make the sharp pain go away. Pain. Dead people didn’t feel pain.

Elias opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of dark foliage above his head. That wasn’t right. The anomaly had cleared the landscape around it, he should be seeing the same dark skies as always, not leaves. Elias rubbed the back of his head; if his head hurt, then he may have hallucinated the whole thing as a result of some tragic head injury. The attack, the bloody revenge, the chase. All a figment of his imagination.

For a second hope flickered in his chest, and Elias attempted to sit up to take stock of his surroundings, only to be driven back down by a sharp pain in his right lung. As he stared at the arrow protruding from his chest plate, Elias quickly made the realization that his stupid optimism was dead wrong. Elias sighed and laid back. So much for that thought. It had all happened, including the part where he had been driven off a cliff and into an anomaly. How he wasn’t dead was a mystery. The fall alone should have broken his spine, and that didn’t take into account the anomaly, which should have torn him apart in a horrific and violent manner. So why was he still breathing?

The why and how of his survival could wait for now, Elias decided. He needed to be more concerned with the what and where. The first being the pair of what’s currently sticking out of his chest and leg respectively. Elias looked around, and spotted his pack lying a few feet away. Moving carefully to avoid agitating the arrows, he scooted along the ground on his backside.

Those few feet exhausted Elias, and he struggled to breathe in a way that wouldn’t drive the arrow in his chest any deeper. Already he could feel it poking at his lung when he took too deep of a breath. Elias dragged his ruck sack to his side and briefly touched the pair of arrows sticking out of it. He opened the top flap and began carefully rifling through the bag’s contents, guiding himself primarily by touch. He was lucky, one of the arrows had gone clean through the bag without piercing anything, stopping only when it had hit the armor on his back. He quickly snapped the head off of this arrow and withdrew the shaft from his ruck, discarding it to the side. He pushed aside his spare tunics and underwear and found where the second arrow had embedded itself. The arrow had fully impaled his worn copy of Sun Tzu, and the tip of the arrow poked at his rolls of gauze; perfect.

Elias retrieved the gauze, choosing to leave the second arrow where it was; he could always deal with it later. Elias dragged himself so that he was propped up on a tree, and then decided he would deal with the most dangerous injury first. If he messed it up, at least he would die with less pain than if he started with the leg injury first. He withdrew his lighter from its pouch on his belt and balanced it in his lap. With the small flame as his light source, he got a slightly better look at the wound in his chest.

The arrow itself was embedded at least to the head; but Elias couldn’t really tell with his armor obscuring it. Blood seeped from the wound, so he knew it made some sort of contact. The odd thing was that the fletching of the arrow looked lightly charred, like someone had left it a little too close to a campfire. Didn’t matter. He could study it further once it was out his chest.

Elias had some cursory medical training, but how to take care of an arrow the right way was beyond him. He imagined the tip was barbed, which made simply pulling it out a fantasy. Even if he managed to not gouge a hole in his chest, it would ruin his mail and plate armor. As he weighed the merits of sacrificing his armor for his health, his hand brushed the arrow shaft, sending a jolt of pain through his chest, stopping his breath short. Elias choked for a moment before he was able to fully come back to his senses. Yes, removal was definitely out. Which left the second option, break the shaft, bind the wound, and pray that he found a kind enough soul to remove the head properly before some freak accident drove it all the way into his lung and he drowned in his own blood.

Elias took as deep of a breath as he dared before he placed his right hand firmly around the shaft where it protruded from his armor. He gritted his teeth as another jolt of pain shocked through his chest, but ignored it and grabbed the rest of the shaft in his left hand. He counted to three, but broke the shaft on two. He panted as he rode out the wave of pain that followed, coursing from his chest to his leg and back up again. Elias waited a few seconds before he opened his eyes again. His right hand was still firmly holding the remains of the arrow in place while his left clutched the shattered shaft. Blood seeped through his fingers, but ultimately, the head of the arrow didn’t feel like it was any deeper in his chest. Elias dropped the broken shaft and did his best to pack gauze into the wound in a way that he would be able to move without driving it deeper.

Once he was satisfied that the arrow wasn’t in immediate danger of killing him, he turned his attention to the one in his calf. Somehow, the arrow had slipped past his leg guard without damaging it. It had only just barely stuck in his leg, any farther to the right and it may have flat out missed. As it was, removal was much easier, especially given that the tip was already beginning to poke out of the flesh. Gritting his teeth, Elias pressed on the fletching and pushed the arrow the rest of the way through his skin. Once the blood-soaked head was fully out, Elias snapped off the head and pulled the shaft out the entrance of the wound. He then quickly bound the leg tightly, using the last of his gauze roll to do so.

Elias did his best to wipe the blood from his hands on the grass, and then, grabbing his lighter, he made his first attempt to stand. He used the tree at his back as a brace, and pushed himself to his feet, his left-hand clutching at his chest. That simple action was enough to drive the breath from his lungs. His injured leg held his weight, but just barely. He needed a safe place to rest, and he needed it badly. Even if he had somehow escaped from the raider gangs pursuing him, hungry animals would be able to smell his blood for miles and would relish at the chance for an easy meal. In his current state, that was all he was. A meal.

Using the dim light from his lighter, Elias repacked his bag and then dragged his ruck back to where he had left his helmet. Beside the discarded helm sat his scutum, its steel boss reflecting his pitiful light source. Elias dropped his ruck next to it and moved to retrieve his helmet. Blackness swamped his vision as he overbalanced, and his leg gave out beneath him. Elias collapsed, his face quickly meeting the dirt, his breath wheezing as sharp pain arced across his body. Long, agonizing coughs coursed through his chest as he tried vainly to recover. Briefly, Elias tasted blood in his mouth.

Eventually, after several painful minutes of coughing, Elias could breathe again. He was much worse off than he had initially thought. His body wouldn’t hold out long enough to find shelter. Elias rolled over and took a deep breath. Not bothering to find his lighter, he blindly fumbled for the straps on his bag, and upon finding it, Elias dragged it to his side. He then slid his left arm through the straps of his shield and laid it over his chest, the right side resting on his ruck sack. With this single piece of protection, Elias quickly drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

*****

Bright sunlight stabbed at his eyes as Elias awoke with a ragged cough. He wheezed as he brought his breathing under control. Shoving his shield off of his chest, Elias covered his weary eyes with his hand. He didn’t move for several minutes, and had it been a perfect world, he imagined that he wouldn’t move at all. But as things stood…

With a groan, Elias sat up, his hand drifting to his chest wound. In the morning light, the center of the bandage glistened red, but so far it hadn’t soaked completely through. The bandage around his leg was in a similar condition. He knew that he should change the bandages, but if he remembered correctly, he had only two rolls of gauze left. Elias opened his ruck and methodically removed everything inside.

In total, Elias still had all of his armor, his shield, and his gladius, as well as a single hand grenade. From the bag came a spare tunic and underwear, a full change of “normal” clothes, steel toed boots, and a pair of worn sandals. Toward the bottom of the bag sat his journals, most of them damaged in some way. Out too came Sun Tzu, and the Complete Roman Army, as well as his other rolls of gauze. These he stacked on top of his sandals.

Elias froze when his hand drifted across a familiar piece of cloth. His throat tightened as he removed his old legion standard, its brilliant golden eagle shining despite the bloodstains painting it. He took a deep breath, and with great care placed it on top of his stack journals. He looked away from the bit of cloth for a moment, taking several more deep breaths before continuing his check. Elias finished by emptying the pockets, which contained a half empty flask of whiskey, four cigarettes, a pair of binoculars with one functioning lens, and a bag of moldy jerky.

His canteens were gone. The pocket that had held them was scorched beyond recognition. Elias bit his tongue in thought for a moment, then quickly repacked his ruck sack, his first task clear. A healthy person could die of dehydration within days, and with his wounds leaking as they were, water needed to be a priority. As he moved to cinch the top of his ruck, Elias slipped the grenade from his belt and tucked it between his spare clothes. It was his last one, and he needed to conserve it for an emergency.

With his pack whole again, Elias got to his feet slowly. He tied both his shield and helmet to his ruck sack. Then, with great care, Elias slid the straps over his shoulders, tightening them so that it would move as little as possible. He did one last gear check, and then set off in the direction of the rising sun. The raider camps had been to the west, and he needed time to rest and refit before he began harassing them again. East was the best option.

As he walked, Elias shut out all noise as he tried to listen for the sound of rushing water. He also kept an eye out for any game trails that might lead to fresh water. While animals had a tendency to be rare, those that struggled on needed to drink.

Hours passed before Elias spotted a dirt path winding through the forest. He slipped into the brush by the side of the trail, and crouching as low as his injuries allowed, investigated the trail. The path was well worn, with dozens of animal tracks crossing it. To his eyes, it looked almost akin to one of the old hiking trails that still clung on in the long abandoned national parks. This trail however, contained no distinguishable shoe prints. What confused Elias was that it did seem to have hoof prints similar to that of a horse.

Elias had never seen a live horse before, since by the time he was out in the world by himself, most had been eaten or ridden to death. His only knowledge about them came from the books he scavenged. He gazed up the trail, his eyes following it as it winded deeper into the forest. Maybe some extremely lucky people had holed up in the forest and just lived off the land, keeping the horses alive against the odds. Elias frowned and stared back at trail in front of him. That thought didn’t completely explain why there were no human prints. In theory, they would need to walk at some point, and when they did, they would follow a trail like the one before him.

Unsure of what his findings meant, Elias decided to play it safe, and retreated into the trees, getting so he could only barely see the trail. He then followed it to his left, the terrain slowly declining.

Easier to find water in lowlands, he reasoned.

Elias walked for less than half an hour along the trail, stopping frequently to catch his breath. Initially, he had been able to ignore his wounds, the adrenaline he felt in his quest for water more than enough to keep him going; but the longer he walked, the more agitated they became. The one in his leg had become especially painful, blood finally soaking through the bandage. A red stream trickled down his leg and had begun pooling in his sandal. Elias leaned against a tree as he checked the injury, ensuring that the binding wasn’t slipping. He had wanted to save his extra gauze for once he found water. If he had a stable source of clean water, he could always boil the bandages and use them over and over until he found someone who could help him. He shook his head at the state of the bandage, sighing as he began to slide his ruck off.

Elias held his breath and froze as the pack was half way off his shoulders. He had thought he had heard… there. The sound was almost covered by the birds whistling in the trees, but he could just faintly hear voices, and what sounded to him like laughter. If anyone was that care-free, that likely meant they were settled nearby. If they were settled that meant they had a water supply. A trace of a grin flashed across his face as an optimistic thought crept in. If they were happy enough to laugh, they may be healthy enough to do so, which meant they just might have medical supplies or doctor that he so desperately needed.

Elias left the trail and instead followed the sound of the noise. He had to pause occasionally to relocate the sound, but after a few minutes, it was loud enough that he was able to track it easily. He quickened his pace, ignoring the sharp jolts of pain shooting up his leg and through his chest.

Ahead, the trees lightened, the sun all but erasing the shade the forest provided. Elias stopped short of these trees, intelligent thought returning. He had no idea what kind of people he was about to sprint headlong into. As far as he knew, the raiders had broken camp when they didn’t find his body and that laughter was them celebrating their escape from him. His eyes narrowed at the thought, and he crouched low. Elias withdrew his broken binoculars from his belt and crept forward, moving from tree to tree. In front of him, the trees broke, and a cursory glance displayed green fields surrounding a watering hole.

Elias picked a tree on the edge of the forest line and crouched behind it so that only his head could be seen. He then brought his broken binoculars to his eyes and took in the landscape.

He started with what was far away. Over a small hill, Elias saw what he thought were thatch rooftops, indicating a town of some kind. That was a good sign. Raiders didn’t create towns, and they certainly didn’t build them from nothing. The hillside itself was covered with thick green grass, greener than anything he had seen in ages. It looked almost untouched. Below the hillside sat his target, the shores of the most beautiful pond he had ever seen. He finally acknowledged the aching dryness in his mouth, and he almost started forward, only curbing his desperate thirst with the knowledge that he still hadn’t put eyes on the source of the voices.

Almost as if on cue, Elias spotted the small herd of horses sitting in the shade of a solitary tree. The colors on them seemed strange though. From all he had heard and read about, horses had largely natural color tones, ranging from muted reds to an array of deep browns, but these horses were all wrong. The colors ranged widely, two were white, but their manes were purple and blue. One was as blue as the sky, with an array of different colors decorating its head and back. Finally, a bright pink one seemed to bounce around in the shade, while a purple one sat relaxed on a blanket reading a book.

Elias coughed and slipped fully behind the tree. He checked his wounds, as well as his pulse. The bandages had been soaked clean through, but his pulse was still strong, nowhere near where it needed to be for him to be experiencing vivid hallucinations. It was at this moment that Elias seemed to realize how different the forest around him looked. Not a single tree looked malformed or damaged in any way. All of the grass, including the patch under his feet was lush, showing no signs of being browned with radiation. The air itself was bursting with the sounds of birdsong, something that only happened on the rarest of occasions. The sun itself seemed brighter, unobscured by the grey smog of a blasted world. The sky was so blue it was almost painful to look at. The air even smelled cleaner.

Elias seemed to freeze for a moment, his mind struggling to process what his senses were telling him. Elias spun back around and brought his binoculars back to his eyes, seeking out the multi-colored horses again. Most of them were watching the pink one, except for the white one with blue hair, who seemed to be looking around for potential threats. The pink one seemed to be convulsing in a strange manner.

Elias felt the breath in his chest stop when he realized that the pink horse was pointing directly at him. There was nothing but forest around him, and one of the legs was pointed right at his chest. Hundreds of yards away and the horse was just pointing at him. The rest began looking in his direction, but none seemed to have the unnerving focus of the pink one.

Moving as quietly as possible, Elias slipped back from the edge of the trees and made a beeline deeper into the forest. Water was now a secondary priority. Whatever creatures those were, they weren’t normal horses. Maybe they existed in a pocket of radiation and had mutated to have enhanced senses. A wild guess, but he didn’t know, and he didn’t care. What mattered was getting far away, then he could focus on finding water.

Chapter 3: Surviving The Night

Journal Entry

Day 1402

There are probably about a million different “survival guides” out there, but let me say, most of them are absolute shit. They’ll feed you some crap about how a human can survive weeks without food. Maybe that’s true if you consider breathing “survival”. Lemme tell you something though, a working man can only go about a week without food before he starts to get crazy. When you’re really hungry, you’ll start trying to eat anything, even if you know that it ain’t any good. About noon yesterday I saw this bony looking guy, had to be almost 50. Anyway, I haven’t eaten in two days, but this guy, he looked like he hadn’t eaten in two weeks. I watch him as he wanders around my shelter, but he doesn’t try to get in, simply looks at the boards and ignores it. I almost threw up when he found my shit bucket lying on the ground and went to work. I’ll spare the details, but needless to say that bucket was clean once he was done with it. Winter is always a fucking time to try and survive, but damn if I’m ever that desperate, the only thing I’m gonna bite down on is a bullet.

Elias groaned as he gently eased his feet into the stream. His sandals would need to be replaced soon. Normally, they protected his feet just fine for a long day of walking, but today, he had more than one blister on his foot where the shoe had been worn to nothing. The cool water provided temporary relief though, and Elias was more than happy to rest for a few minutes, giving the bloodied limbs a break.

While he hadn’t had to go far to find the stream, he had kept walking alongside it until the sun was setting to ensure that he wasn’t being pursued. After hours of only himself and the birds, he decided to finally go about cleaning his wounds. He started by washing the caked blood from the previous night from his hands. After he was relatively satisfied that his hands were clean, he set to work unwrapping the bandage from his leg. Elias grimaced as blood dripped from the wound into the stream. The day’s movement had not been kind, and the wound had only barely begun to scab around the edges. The rest was a vibrant red mess that hurt more than Elias would have liked. Filling his hands with water, Elias did his best to clean the wound, washing away any dirt that may have slipped under the bandage.

Once it was clean enough, Elias used part of his other roll of gauze to bind the wound again. He then gingerly prodded at the wound in his chest. The bandage was in much better condition than the one that had decorated his leg, but it was still a bright red, and he knew it needed changed. He took his time with this bandage, slowly peeling back the layers to save himself as much pain as possible, until after several minutes, the bloody red of the arrowhead touched the air. As soon as the last of the bandage pulled free, Elias immediately began wrapping it up with fresh gauze. He had no idea if it would make the wound worse trying to wash it, so, with caution in mind, he bound it tight once again.

With his wounds bound, Elias dropped the soiled bandages to his side and laid back, content to let his feet cool in the stream. The sky was clear of any clouds and was painted in a stunning array of oranges. The air was still warm, and Elias believed he could get away with another night without a fire or shelter. For the first time in years, Elias felt truly relaxed, and he began to doze, the babbling of the stream like soft music in his ears. His eyes closed for what felt like a moment, and then a twig snapped.

Elias’ eyes snapped open and his hand shifted immediately to his gladius. The sky was still clear, but it was clear that darkness had fallen long ago, and now Elias was out of his element. Whatever was in the woods behind him was likely nocturnal, and likely had the advantage of being able to see him clearly. Elias removed his feet from the stream and slid on his sandals, not bothering to dry his soaking, wrinkled feet. He could worry about the blisters after he managed to outrun whatever it was that was watching him.

Elias stood up and strapped on his ruck, his shield ready for use on his left arm. He squinted into the darkness of the forest, trying to spot the tell-tale glare that told him he was being watched. Spotting nothing, he instead looked for the ideal direction to run in. He was thankful that it was so clear; it allowed the moon to give him just a touch of light to make out the stream bank. Following his gut instinct, Elias moved upstream, making sure to stay well clear of the trees. While the moon could guide him in the open, the trees would make it too dark to see, easily concealing anything that might have deadly intent.

Elias hadn’t walked a hundred steps away from his napping spot when he spotted a pair of dark forms darting from the trees out the corner of his eyes. He dropped to ground, rendered breathless for a moment as the arrow drove itself a bit deeper into his body as his chest smacked the ground. As he regained his breath, he watched the pair of forms. Green eyes stared back at him and Elias tensed, ready to fight if he had to.

Elias felt his jaw almost drop in shock when the two creatures looked away and began scanning the ground where he had been laying moments before. They had to be toying with him, he thought. There was simply no way that he hadn’t been spotted. He was wearing shiny silver armor for fucks sake. Even at night he glowed like a disco ball. Yet somehow, the two creatures ignored him completely, instead choosing to sweep his former campsite. Elias, not wanting to throw away his absolutely stupid luck, began to crawl backward through the grass, doing his best to keep a low, silent profile amongst the vegetation. Even though the grass came up to his eyebrows, Elias knew that he was still far too visible, and the fact that he hadn’t been spotted was a miracle.

He froze when the horn of one of the creatures lit up in a deep red glow. In the light of its horn, Elias could clearly tell what the creatures were. They were just like the horses from earlier, though the colors were much more muted. The one with the horn was a bluish grey, while the other was almost black, with what looked to Elias like wings. Both were dressed in layered blue armor, including helmets with plumes not unlike the one decorating his own helm. If his memory served, he was staring at a unicorn and a pterippus according to Gallic and Greek mythology respectively. Both of which were armed, armored, and actively searching for him.

As distracted as he was with analyzing the horses, he had failed to realize what was suspended in the aura of the unicorn. Elias grimaced and silently cursed himself for being so stupid. Painted even redder by the aura of the unicorn, the blood-soaked bandage that had been on his leg hours ago seemed to mock him. The bandage floated closer to the nose of the pterippus, who sniffed at it. Elias felt his eye twitch. He needed to move, and fast. The breeze was slight, but he was upwind of the pair of horses.

Elias slowly inched his gladius from its sheathe, his eyes following the pterippus. He had no way to kill it if it got in the air. As it stood, he was going to have to move fast to even consider grounding the flying beast. He took as deep of a breath as he could and tensed, ready to make his attack, when the pterippus took flight, quickly disappearing over the trees. Elias’ gaze shifted quickly to the unicorn. The red aura was gone, as was the bandage. The unicorn scanned the ground where he had slept, likely looking for anything else that would make Elias easier to track.

Elias began to crawl backward again, his eyes scanning the top of the trees for any sign of more pterippi. If he could get far enough away, he could make a dash for the cover of the forest, then he wouldn’t have to…

“Please don’t move.”

Elias froze and his grip on his gladius tightened. The unicorn was staring right at him, just like the pink one had earlier. Now however, the unicorn was close, and its eyes were glowing bright green. His fight or flight response was in overdrive, but his body simply couldn’t decide which one. On one hand, it was one opponent, and Elias may still have the element of surprise if he moved fast enough. On the other hand, this was an unknown enemy with unknown capabilities and an unknown amount of reinforcements nearby. Either way he looked at it, Elias was not in a good spot.

Elias felt his eye twitch again as he watched the unicorn speak.

“You are injured, the bandages tell me that much. Believe me when I say we just want to talk. All you need to do is wait until the princess gets here, then we can see about getting you fixed up.”

Watching the words come out of the unicorn’s mouth was a surreal experience. A fairytale creature was speaking in perfect English and not only did it want him to stay and talk more, it wanted to help him as well.

Maybe I have gone insane, Elias thought for a moment.

Shrugging off that thought, Elias began to slowly crawl backward again. It was idiotic, but maybe the unicorn was bluffing, attempting to flush Elias out of his hiding spot. That hope was dashed when his foot tapped against a wall that matched the color of the unicorn’s magical aura.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be. We just need to know why you were spying on Ponyville today. Then we can help you. You’ve left a trail of blood in your wake; you can’t possibly keep running as you are.”

Elias ignored the unicorn’s words, and steeled his mind as he sprang into action. Flight was now out of the question, he was trapped. That left one option. With a shout, Elias was on his feet and sprinting at the unicorn, his armor glistening in the moonlight. The unicorn was slightly surprised by his sudden attack, but not as much as Elias would have liked. He swung his gladius at the unicorn’s neck, only to have the blade smacked away by a sword enwrapped in a red aura. That aura failed when his scutum cracked into the side of the unicorn’s head.

The unicorn’s helmet flew free, the strap snapped by the force of the blow. It hit the stream with a splash. The unicorn crumpled to the ground and the wall of energy behind Elias dissipated. Elias crouched next to the unicorn’s still body, his chest heaving. It had happened in seconds, but that brief bit of action had burned clean through his energy. His limbs felt fragile, and the wound in his chest ached with renewed pain.

Elias noticed the rise and fall of the unicorn’s chest and briefly considered slitting the creature’s throat. As he got to his feet, he sheathed his gladius, deciding against it. If these creatures were organized, they likely took priority in caring for their wounded, he reasoned. A wounded body could stop three to four more, leaving less to pursue him.

Elias stepped over the unicorn and began to walk downstream. It was likely that the pterippus had also spotted him, and would know that he had been retreating upstream. Better to go downstream and attempt to throw them off. He walked as fast as he could, doing his best to ignore the pain in his leg.

Elias didn’t make it far before he saw a brilliant red flare light up the night sky behind him. It painted the shadows around him crimson, and Elias knew that if he had managed to get away, his temporary lead would soon vanish. Walking onward, he scanned the landscape for any place he could set an ambush. Running wasn’t going to work on his busted leg, and Elias wasn’t one to crawl in a hole to hide; he needed a good place to take a stand. The stream to his right began to run faster as he walked, the noise covering the sound of his armor nicely.

The night seemed to grow darker as Elias walked. Elias had a creeping feeling that the shadows of the trees were hiding an unknown threat. He did his best to quicken his pace, pushing past the pain his injuries were causing him. He briefly considered crossing the stream in an attempt to throw off his scent but decided against it. It had had already gotten much faster, with the water rushing ahead to some unseen drop off.

Paranoid and attentive as he was, Elias was still unprepared when several dark forms peeled away from the trees, their quick, diagonal movement making clear their intentions. He gritted his teeth as he began to run, doing his best to stay ahead of the sprinting creatures. Elias assumed that they were more of the armored horses, but didn’t bother wasting time checking, instead focusing on keeping his balance. His leg was screaming at him to stop, any healing it had done in the past few hours squandered as he ran.

It took mere seconds for the horses to catch up. Unlike the unicorn, they said nothing, and instead seemed focused purely on running Elias down. Elias grimaced as he made a split-second decision and cut the straps to his ruck, letting the heavy bag fall away. The sum total of his life hit the ground, acting as a minor hurdle for the horses, who didn’t slow down as they leapt over it. Still, without the weight of his ruck on his back, Elias was able to pick his pace up a bit more, keeping just out of the horses’ reach.

Elias briefly considered turning to throw his scutum at the horses, going so far to even look back and pick out a target, but decided against it; he would need it when the inevitable fight came. While he was looking back however, he failed to notice that the ground he was running on ended abruptly. He had only an instance to realize his mistake as he pitched over the side of a steep cliff, the thundering of a waterfall echoing to his right.

The first hit hurt, his left arm snapping in two as he hit stone. The second hit hurt worse as his chest impacted, driving the breath fully from his lungs. The third hit didn’t hurt much at all, but was by far the worst of the three as Elias began to sink, his armor acting as an anchor. Elias clawed desperately at the murky, dark water, his lungs already on fire.

His luck held however as his sandals touched the silty bottom of the waterfall’s plunge pool. Elias tried not to panic as he walked forward, using his good arm as a paddle as he moved toward the shallow shoreline. Blackness tinted the edge of his vision as he struggled against the weight of his armor and the crushing pressure his lungs were under.

Elias gasped desperately as he flopped out of the water. Using his right hand, he dragged himself forward until only his sandals were still in the water, and then he simply collapsed. Each breath ended with a cough, and Elias struggled to breathe as he hacked up a stream of liquid from his lungs.

Funny, he thought, I don’t remember swallowing any water.

His shield was long gone, likely lost when he broke the arm. Luckily, his gladius had remained in its sheathe, meaning he still had at least a bit of protection. On his hands and knees, Elias fell into another coughing fit, this one more painful than the last. Elias tasted blood in his mouth, and he spit out a thick glob of it into the grass. Elias put a hand to his chest as he struggled to take another breath, and that’s when he noticed. The bandage covering his chest wound was gone, and he could no longer feel the tip of the arrow with his fingers.

Another coughing fit shook his body, and Elias felt his chest tighten as he desperately tried to take a breath. More blood welled up, pouring out of his nose as well as his mouth. He clutched at the chest wound, praying that maybe if he could contain the blood, he could breathe again.

Elias gave himself credit. When the horses impacted the ground in a half circle around him, he was on his feet, sword in hand within an instant. He kept his gladius pointed at the center of the semi-circle, ready to strike if any of them got too close. For a moment, the change in position allowed him to get half a breath of air before his chest tightened again. With his other arm broken, he couldn’t even try to stop the blood pouring from his chest, let alone figure out how he was going to remove the arrowhead so that he could breathe again. Time was as short as the amount of air he still had in his lungs, practically non-existent.

Maybe it was the shock, the fact that he couldn’t breathe, or the fact that he was certain that he was going to die, but Elias didn’t even flinch when a horse substantially larger than the rest stepped out of the shadows and lit the surrounding area blue with an aura from its horn. While most of the horses were a good foot shorter than he was, this one matched his height at six foot even. On any other occasion, Elias imagined that his brain would tell him that this was a leader of some kind. As it stood, all of the alarm bells in his head were screaming at him to breathe as coughing shook his body once again. On the last cough a spray of blood left his mouth, and he fell to one knee.

The large horse seemed to take this as a sign to move forward, which Elias quickly warded off with a growl and a half-hearted swing of his sword. The motion brought out more coughing and Elias wheezed as he fell to his hands and knees once more. Any attempt to draw breath made him choke, and the spots in his vision were steadily consuming it. Only vaguely did he realize that the horses were talking.

“Princess, I really don’t think you should too get close to that thing. It is still armed and clearly does not want help.”

Elias felt a piece of meat fall out of his mouth with that last cough. He managed to get a foot underneath his body, but as soon as he put any weight on it, he collapsed completely, choking in agony as he rolled onto his broken arm. His gladius fell away, disappearing into the growing darkness. He seemed to remember the moon being brighter.

“Captain, it is clear that the creature is in great pain and is simply scared. As far as we know, it is dying. I will not condemn an innocent creature to suffer in such a manner, call forth a healer.”

Elias realized that he was freezing. Odd considering how warm it had been earlier. He curled into a ball, cradling his broken arm. He had extra clothes in his ruck though. He could use those to warm up, get a fire going, the works. It would be a regular camping trip.

“Princess, if I may, it has already assaulted a guard and was caught spying on several of the Elements. It clearly has some sort of malicious intent.”

Elias stared blankly at the horses. They were talking. They weren’t supposed to be, but they were. The books he read said they didn’t. He had never seen one in real life though, so what did a book know?

“Captain that is enough. Malicious or not, we will not be able to tell if the creature dies. Call forth a healer immediately while I attempt to stabilize it.”

Elias felt his throat squeak as it searched for air. His chest grew tighter and tighter with each little gasp. It was so cold. He desperately wished it wasn’t.

Elias felt something roll him onto his back. It was so much warmer, he wanted to curl around it, let the warmth soak into his very core, but he found that he couldn’t move. None of his limbs would respond, neither would his head. He also realized that he couldn’t see, the world completely black. His last sense to go was his hearing. Elias heard one sentence before he passed out.

“Do not worry little one, you are safe now.”

Chapter 4: Recovery

Journal Entry: Day 1470

Town of Eastwood

That’s the third settlement this week. Raiders rolled in, enslaved or killed the townspeople, I roll in a few days later and butcher them all. One of these days people are going to figure out that they are never safe. I just hope the raiders don’t figure it out before I kill them all. Ammunition is starting to run low, even with what I’ve been picking up from the raiders. I need to find an alternative soon. Maybe after I catch up to those traitors, I can look into it. Still, Eastwood is burning, survivors, 0.

Elias coughed it into his arm. His eyes burned as he tried to peer through the smoke, desperate to find the battlefield again. Above him, the treetops were beginning to catch fire. Using his arm as a shield against the smoke, he advanced, using his gladius to cut through any burning brush that got in his way.

'Have to find them,' he thought. 'Have to get them away from here.'

Elias heard a scream to his right. He paused and tried to look in that direction, but saw nothing except fire. Another scream rent the air, this one distinctly female. He took a deep breath, then set off at a sprint. He did his best to skirt the areas that were burning, but after he was almost crushed by a burning log, he decided to ignore the pain in his feet and just push through.

As he dipped around a particularly large tree, a pair of faceless men swung bats at his head. Elias dipped under one swing, and caught the second one on his left arm. Elias did his best to ignore the sickening crunch and the wave of pain that attempted to overwhelm him. His gladius cut through the throat of the man who had broken his arm, and the man collapsed with a bloody gurgle.

Elias spun around just as the other man hit him in the arm again. Elias screamed this time, but it was a scream of both pain and rage. Elias kicked the man in the chest, sending him stumbling back into a tree. Elias then screamed again as he plunged his gladius deep into the man’s stomach. The sword embedded itself in the tree, but Elias didn’t care. Using his good arm, he grabbed the man’s chin and forced his eyes up.

And then the face changed. Elias yelped as he leapt backward. The man was gone. The only sign he had been there at all was Elias’ still bloody gladius embedded in the tree. Elias stood in shock for a moment. He had just killed…

Another scream echoed in his ears and Elias sprinted toward the sound, leaving his gladius in the tree. He stumbled several times, almost collapsing in agony more than once, but he pressed onward. Anything to be away from that face.

The ground changed when he wasn’t paying attention. Elias rolled down a steep hill, only stopping when his chest slammed into a stump. He coughed into his hand, barely registering the red covering it. He staggered to his feet and looked around. The smoke was gone, as was the heat of the flames. If anything, the forest was quiet, peaceful even. A light, white mist decorated the ground amongst the tall pine trees.

Elias fell to his knees when the scream appeared right beside his head. Over and over again. Scream after scream, so many different screams. A woman first, then a man’s scream. Cries of agony, pain, grief. So many screams. Elias shut his eyes as tight as he could and tried to cover his ears. Still the screams got through. They happened in his head, interrupting his thoughts, tearing him apart from the inside. He couldn’t take the screaming. He couldn’t take…

It all stopped at once. Everything was quiet again. Elias didn’t want to open his eyes. He knew only one silence this deep. He didn’t want to see it again. Didn’t want to bear witness anymore.

His eyes opened anyway. Elias looked across the desolate battlefield. Not even the birds wanted to disturb its silence. So many bodies. In the distance, the standard was raised high, its bearer wearing a smile on his face that Elias could see even from so far away. They were all smiling. Every single one. He could see every face, could remember every single one. Elias tried to forget. Tried to erase their names from his mind. Tried to invent terrible lies to make it so he wouldn’t remember this time. They would start to speak if he remembered.

Elias almost smiled when a sword tore through his chest.

Elias shot awake, a hand clutching the wound in his chest. His eyes were wide as he tried desperately to get his breathing under control. He was covered head to toe in sweat, and if he had been wearing any clothes, he was sure they would be soaked clean through.

It was this oddity that allowed Elias to bring himself fully out of his night terror. Gradually, his breathing got under control to a point that he noticed it didn’t hurt to take deep breaths anymore. Elias flopped back, his head hitting a pillow. He used his right hand to brush the sweat from his brow and he left it there, allowing the solid feeling of his hand to focus his mind.

After a few more deep breaths, Elias began to take stock of the room he was in. It was dark, the large windows clearly indicating that it was nighttime. Moon beams filtered into the room, allowing enough illumination for him to see a short row of empty beds beside him.

'An infirmary,' Elias thought to himself.

IV stands sat next to all of the beds, including the pole that sat next to him. The line attached to the bag dangled to the ground, and Elias could just barely see a blood-stained needle on the floor. He looked at his arm, quickly finding the leaking hole that the needle had occupied moments before. He moved to staunch the bleeding with his left hand, only to find the entire arm suspended in a cast. Elias looked back and forth between his bleeding arm and his broken arm, debating what his next course of action should be.

At that moment, a unicorn opened the door at far end of the infirmary and their eyes met. The horse’s eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight, and Elias didn’t want to blink. The unicorn flipped an unseen switch and the sudden light blinded Elias. He tried to raise his arm to cover his eyes, but the unicorn was already by his bedside, Elias’ arm gripped firmly between its hooves. The sensation was strange. Although there was clearly nothing that should allow the hooves to grip him, it felt like a pair of hands were wrapped around his arm. The unicorn tsked and Elias watched as a bandage floated off of a nightstand he hadn’t noticed.

“Looks like you blew the vein. I really don’t want to put another IV in this arm if I don’t have to.”

The unicorn was male if his voice was any indicator. Elias did his best to memorize different details about the apparent doctor. Yellow fur covered the horse, but Elias had expected this, the books he had read giving him a basic description to work off of. Horses had fur, and these ones should be no different. The similarities ended there, however. Ignoring the obvious horn sticking out of his head, the unicorn was smaller than normal horses. Elias estimated that it was maybe five to five and a half feet tall. The eyes were large, taking up most of the space on the unicorn’s face. The nose was smaller than he thought it would be. Finally, the unicorn was wearing a white coat, which Elias found that he wasn’t entirely shocked by. After all, the horses from before had been wearing armor. The horses from before…

In a mild state of panic, Elias attempted to jerk his arm away from the unicorn, drawing a confused look from the horse.

“You aren’t in any pain, are you? I thought I had put a powerful enough numbing spell on your arm so you wouldn’t feel it.”

Elias winced as he tried to formulate the words in his mind.

“Don’t trust,” he said. His voice was a bit hoarse, and the front and back of his sentence dropped off. The words that he had spoken sounded forced, like his tongue didn’t quite remember what proper speech felt like. It had been months since he had spoken last. Yelled sure, but he hadn’t shared any words with anyone. There was simply no need.

The unicorn’s brow furrowed.

“May I ask why?” he asked.

“Pursued by armored ones,” Elias said slowly. His voice sounded lower than he remembered. “Don’t know why, just wouldn’t leave me be.”

Elias winced at his rough speech. It was coming back slowly, but he would need a bit of practice if he wanted to sound vaguely intelligent. The unicorn laid a hoof on Elias’ shoulder. Elias felt his eye twitch as he looked at it.

“Look at me,” the unicorn said. Elias’ eyes shifted to the unicorn’s face, and he saw… concern?

“You are safe here. If you had truly done something terrible, the princess wouldn’t have brought you in for healing. Nopony is going to hurt you.”

Elias didn’t believe him. He couldn’t. It was a fever dream. Nothing was that simple, that easy.

“I attacked them. Hurt at least one,” Elias said.

The unicorn smirked.

“Who? Thunder? All you did was leave a big welt on his thick skull. He was madder that he lost his helmet than the fact that you hit him. He’s fine now, back to guard duty the same night.”

Elias didn’t believe that. He had snapped necks with the hits like that. Sure, that unicorn had still been breathing when he had left him, but it should have been weeks of recovery at least. It had to be a lie. Make him let his guard down. Still, they couldn’t know he was aware of their attempt at deception. Elias didn’t know what they intended for him, but he had to play his cards right, or he wouldn’t get a chance to escape. He laid back against the pillow and relaxed his arm.

“Where am I?” he rasped.

The unicorn seemed to take this as a good sign and resumed work on his arm.

“You’re in the castle medical ward. You’ve been here for two days now. It gave me quite the scare when Princess Luna brought you in all torn up like you were. I’m one of the best ponies in the business for battlefield medicine, but I haven’t seen wounds like that in all my time as a doctor.”

Elias noticed that the unicorn omitted any actual locations, confirming his suspicions. It was a sham; they were hiding something. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the unicorn finished wrapping his arm. The unicorn then levitated the clipboard into one of his hooves.

“Still, the princess couldn’t have timed it any better. I was just finishing organizing the supply room when she came in. I had all the tools I needed ready in a snap. Once we got that armor of yours off, it didn’t take long before we got that nasty arrowhead out of your chest.”

As he looked at the large bandage on his chest, Elias once again realized he was naked, his privates free for the world to see. Knowing any attempt to cover them would simply bring attention to his nakedness, he turned his head to the unicorn and asked;

“Where are my clothes?”

The unicorn looked up from his clipboard and scrunched his nose.

“I’m afraid we had to cut away the shirt. We couldn’t get the wound clean with it in the way. Your undergarment is intact, however. We removed it to ensure that it wouldn’t interrupt circulation. I can get it for you if it would make you more comfortable.”

Elias nodded. “I’d appreciate that.”

The unicorn smiled a bit and trotted off to retrieve Elias’ underwear. Elias simply stared at the ceiling, a plan taking shape in his mind. If he was lucky, the razor blade he had sewn into the waistband was still there. It wasn’t a substantial weapon, but it was better than nothing.

It took only a few minutes before the unicorn returned; the underwear suspended in his magic. Elias began to swing his leg out of the bed, but stopped when the underwear disappeared from the unicorn’s aura, reappearing around his crotch. He eyed the unicorn, who smiled back at him.

“That spell’s easy for getting clothes on. It is a lot harder to do under surgical stress. I’m sure the princess will be more than happy to help you find a tailor to get you new clothes once you’ve talked in the morning.”

Elias did his best to hide his grimace. Morning couldn’t be more than a few hours off. He needed more time to think. Still, the unicorn couldn’t be allowed to figure out what he was thinking. Elias gave a single tired nod to the horse and turned to his side. The unicorn sighed and began to walk away.

“Sleep well. And remember, you are safe here.”

The light clicked off, and Elias waited until the unicorn’s footsteps faded from earshot. Then he counted to a hundred. Then he did it again. After the two hundred counts had passed, Elias flipped to his back and used his right hand to feel along the seam of his underwear. It should be right where the tag used to… there.

Elias didn’t remove the blade, he wanted to keep it hidden for now. He would need time to make an escape plan, and in truth, all he needed to do was convince these “princesses” that he wouldn’t do anything.

Elias briefly rubbed the bandage covering his chest wound. It didn’t hurt much, which he considered a positive. He had no idea what the condition of his leg was, but he had a strong feeling that he could run if he had to. His eyes drifted shut as his exhaustion took over once more.

He was in the woods again.

The treetops were burning, as was the brush in the distance. Heavy smoke obscured the space between the trees. A scream tore through the forest. Elias hesitated for a moment, then sprinted in the opposite direction. He ignored the wall of flames that rose up to oppose him. He ignored the pain he felt as his hair began to burn, his arms charred from the heat.

Another scream echoed through the woods, sounding just as close as it was before. Elias tripped over an unseen root and collapsed to his knees, his chest burning from the exertion. He looked at his hands, expecting to see burns, but instead found them perfectly fine. They looked as healthy as normal. Elias looked up and found that he was in the same clearing as before. The fire was around him, but distant. He looked up as a third scream tore through the air. The tops of the trees were burning.

Elias remained on his knees until he heard a fourth scream. He decided to match it with a scream of his own. Maybe if he could drown it out…

Elias opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Briefly, he felt like he was being smothered, and then he caught his breath. A scream. Closer this time. Elias drew his sword.

“What do you want from me?” he screamed into the fire.

Nothing answered. Elias stared into the trees, daring anything to appear. A twig snapped behind him. Elias spun around, sword at the ready, only to find the scene different.

The woods were silent, a light mist crawling across the ground. Elias felt his breath quicken. He shook his head, clutching his sword with both hands. He wanted to run, to yell, anything that would keep the screams at bay. He even considered gouging his ear drums out, but he knew it wouldn’t work. Then the screams would simply be in his mind.

This time, they started as a whisper. Elias spun wildly, trying to find the source. A figure slipped through the fog, a shadow that Elias saw only out of the corner of his eye. He searched the mist, looking for anything. He took a cautious step forward, only to be driven back immediately by a scream in his face. Elias could almost feel the heat of someone’s breath behind this one. He reflexively tried to cover his ears, but then decided to try a different approach.

Elias roared at the scream, cutting the air in front of him with his gladius. The noise stopped immediately, and Elias grinned. Was that all he needed to do?

Elias bit his tongue to hold back a scream of pain as the gladius dropped from his grip. He clutched at his right hand, which was now bleeding profusely from a deep gouge in his palm. It looked almost as if it had been cut by a pocketknife.

The screams took advantage of his momentary weakness, and returned in full force. Elias searched for his gladius, but found that it had disappeared. He was defenseless. He couldn’t make them go away anymore. Elias pressed his hands to his ears, knowing that it wouldn’t help.

He screamed again. He didn’t care that it didn’t help. It just felt right that he should add his own voice to the hell trapped in his ears. Elias momentarily winced at the sound of his voice. It sounded like he had been screaming for hours; his throat felt raw.

Then he heard it. A voice was cutting through the screams. It felt more real than the rest. Less familiar, but more at the same time. Elias latched onto that voice, and used it like a scythe, cutting through the screams as he dragged himself back to reality.

Elias escaped the night terror slowly this time, his senses coming back one at a time. The first was sight. The room spun in brightly lit circles, but eventually his eyes were able to focus on the face in front of him. It was the unicorn from before, he was talking. Elias shook his head, his eyes wide. He couldn’t hear a thing the unicorn was saying. Touch came back second. Elias felt his chest heaving, his throat burned, and his right hand was in agony. Elias lifted his damaged arm, quickly noticing an alarming amount of blood dripping down his arm. His hand was covered in lacerations, and it didn’t take him long to see the razor blade suspended deep in his palm.

A hoof grabbed his face and pulled it back so that his eyes met the unicorn’s. His hearing came back in a rush. His desperate breathing, his heart thudding away; he even thought he could hear the blood rushing to his injured hand. On top of all of that was the unicorn, trying desperately to calm Elias down.

“You are safe!” the unicorn said, his voice almost at a yell.

Elias could tell that he had been repeating those words for some time. Only vaguely could he remember hearing them in his dream. Elias leaned his back against the nightstand at his back and stared at the ceiling as he slowed his breathing. He tried to pinch the bridge of his nose with his left hand, only to find the motion blocked by the cast. Elias let the arm drop to his lap and closed his eyes.

“I’m fine,” he whispered to himself, over and over again.

He counted to a hundred before he opened his eyes, swallowing roughly. His eyes fell on the unicorn in front of him, who at some point had stopped speaking and was instead just staring at him, concern obvious on his face. Those wide eyes searched Elias’ face desperately, looking for some sign that he wasn’t out of his mind anymore. Elias felt his eye twitch momentarily before he shook his head and leaned back again.

“I’m fine,” he repeated, as much for himself as for the unicorn before him. “It was just a dream.”

“That was no ordinary dream,” a voice said.

Elias’ eyes quickly found the source, a blue horse with a long horn and wings. Beside her stood an even taller white horse, again with a horn and wings. The pair seemed to be some sort of mix between a unicorn and a pterippus. Both had looks of concern painted clearly across their faces, mixed with something that Elias was all too familiar with, suspicion. His eyes flicked momentarily to the razor blade in his hand, then back to the pair of horses.

For some reason, Elias couldn’t hold their gazes. He shook his head before letting his eyes settle on the empty bed next him.

“I’m fine,” he repeated, his voice sounding a bit more confident.

His eyes flicked back to the pair of horses, who both held doubt in their eyes. Elias’ eyes finally fell on the unicorn in front of him, who didn’t look like he believed Elias for a moment. Elias let out a long breath, his chest finally steady.

“I’m fine,” he said with finality.

The unicorn looked like he wanted to argue the point, but he instead nodded silently and set to work on Elias’ hand. Elias winced as the unicorn’s aura forcefully removed the razor blade and floated it out of Elias’ sight. Elias silently cursed himself at that. His one out had been discovered only because he couldn’t keep control of his dreams. A stupid mistake that might cost him everything.

Elias bit his tongue as the unicorn applied antiseptic to his hand. He watched the doctor work, studying how his hooves functioned like hands, even without the extra digits attached. He became distracted from this however, when he felt a strange, warm sensation across his body. It almost felt like a sheet was dropped on him, and then it disappeared, the sensation vanishing instantly.

Elias’ eyes narrowed and immediately shot to the pair of horses standing above him.

“What did you just do?” he asked.

The white one smiled.

“I simply cast a warmth spell little one. You are shivering, and I thought it would make you more comfortable.”

Elias didn’t believe a single word.

“I don’t believe you,” he said.

The white horse’s smile fell slightly and the blue one shifted just a bit closer, almost in a protective manner. Internally, Elias panicked. Why had he said that? He had been tortured dozens of times, and had resisted a variety of truth drugs as well, lying was second nature and his thoughts were always closely guarded. What had they done to him?

Luckily for Elias, the unicorn finished bandaging his hand before his traitor tongue could spew any more of his thoughts to the world.

“Let’s get you back into bed,” the unicorn said as he moved to Elias’ side.

Elias brushed the unicorn off and attempted to get to his feet on his own, only to be driven back down as his vision swam. The room spun as pain coursed through his body. The unicorn once again moved to Elias’ side, and slid under Elias’ arm. Elias grimaced as the unicorn helped him up. He felt frail, like his legs were going to give out at any moment. Coupled with all of his injuries, Elias wasn’t confident he could stand unsupported, let alone put up a fight if he had to.

Still, when the unicorn tried to move him toward the bed, Elias resisted, electing to remain standing. He took a deep breath and met the gazes of the two horses in front of him. They were both watching him closely, likely looking for any sign that he intended to attack them.

Elias took a deep breath and rattled his brain. His diplomacy skills were extremely rusty, to the point where he believed that any attempt he made to get out of this situation peacefully would be met with stiff resistance. Yet, these creatures had taken the time to patch him up, and since he had woken up, they hadn’t explicitly tried to threaten him. That at least meant that they weren’t an immediate threat. Elias took another deep breath.

“I believe that we have gotten off on the wrong foot,” he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. “I am naturally a… cautious man, and with recent events I think you can understand a bit of… paranoia on my part.”

The white horse’s smile returned slightly. The blue one however, still looked wary, and kept a close eye on Elias’ movements.

“I apologize if my actions have caused any harm, they were merely acts taken in desperation. It was not my attention to spread havoc to those who did not deserve it.”

Elias winced, and rubbed at his chest wound briefly. All of this speaking was agitating it, his lungs un-used to the motion of taking breaths between sentences. He’d been alone for far too long. He pressed forward regardless.

“I am willing to co-operate with you as much as I can, at least as payment for saving my life. However,” Elias felt his gaze harden as he locked eyes with the white horse. “I will not do so under any sort of compulsion. I may be a stranger in this place that I do not yet know or understand, but I can tell when someone is messing with my mind. Trust is a two-way street; I will offer mine only if I am afforded it in return.”

Elias flexed his injured hand, trying not to flinch as pain flashed through it.

“If you are willing to meet that demand, then I will do my best to remedy any… mistakes committed on my part. Aye?”

Elias extended the damaged hand shakily. His body felt close to giving out, and it showed. His hand quivered in the air as he fought to keep it suspended. Elias did his best to ignore this however, instead trying to hold the white horse’s gaze. Her eyes fell in thought for a moment, before she nodded slowly. Elias watched her horn light up, and immediately felt the affect as she stripped her “spell” away. While he did feel a bit colder, he also felt more in control, as if his thoughts were his own once more. The white horse met his eyes again, a smile still on her face.

“I too must apologize little one. I can become rather protective of my ponies, and I will do anything to ensure their safety.”

The white horse raised a hoof and tried to gently grasp his hand, but Elias flinched anyway, the pain of the fresh cuts causing his hand to briefly spasm. Elias didn’t let the pain show on his face.

“You are right however; we must trust each other if we wish to build a better relationship for the future. I promise to you that I will do my very best to make sure that you are treated with fairness as long as you are our guest.”

She turned to the blue one.

“This reminds me of a friendship lesson Twilight sent the other day,” she joked. “Imagine what she would think if she saw this!”

The blue one smirked for a second, but still watched Elias closely. Elias extended his hand toward her as well.

“And you?” he asked.

The blue pony took longer to respond, her eyes holding much deeper suspicion than the white one.

'That or the white one is better at hiding it,' Elias thought.

After several tense moments, the blue one also nodded slowly before firmly taking Elias’ hand. Elias bit his tongue, ignoring the force behind the handshake.

“Very well. But be warned, any action taken to harm our subjects will be met with swift retribution.”

It was clear that the blue one was not nearly so free with her trust, and she was more than willing to let Elias know. Her piercing eyes never blinked as she spoke.

As Elias’ hand dropped back to his side, the unicorn spoke up.

“Princess, with your permission, I think that that is enough for today. He is clearly in great pain and needs more rest before his next healing session.” As he said this, the unicorn tried to nudge Elias toward the bed. Elias shrugged him off again.

“I’m fine, it’s just pain, I can ignore it.”

The unicorn looked at him incredulously.

“Ignore it?” he sputtered.

Elias nodded and shrugged.

“Life is pain,” he said. “What’s a little more?”

Elias looked to the tall ponies.

“In fact, if I get my gear back with a bit of food and water, I can be out of your hair by sundown. Point me toward the nearest patch of wilderness, and you’ll never see me again. You have my word.”

The white pony shook her head, the smile still on her face.

“That won’t be necessary. You are more than welcome to stay as our guest until you are fully healed. I would not be doing my duties as princess if I sent you into the Everfree in your current state.”

Elias filed that information away quickly. He had no idea what the “Everfree” was, but it sounded important, perhaps even a good hiding spot if he ever needed it. More importantly, she had called herself a princess, which meant that as long as she was in the room, he was likely being watched closely. His eyes darted around the room, looking for cameras, or any hidey-holes where a guard could be waiting in case he made any sudden moves. Elias didn’t search for long, however. Instead, his eyes quickly found their way back to the princess. Her eyes were studying him, though her face didn’t show it. In all likelihood, she was doing the same thing he was, watching every movement, stealing what information he could get from what few words were spoken.

Elias inclined his head.

“My thanks then, Princess…?”

The pony’s smile seemed to widen, which Elias took as a good sign. It wouldn’t hurt to build some positive affinity for now.

'Especially after what she just witnessed,' Elias thought.

“I am Princess Celestia,” she gestured with a wing toward the blue pony, “and this is my sister, Princess Luna.”

“Elias,” he replied simply.

“And I am Doctor Steel Scalpel,” the unicorn butted in. “Now that introductions are out of the way, Princess I really must insist that Elias gets more rest before you talk more. Even with the healing spells, he is still badly hurt, and shouldn’t be on his feet.”

The unicorn emphasized the last part of the sentence by pushing Elias closer to the bed. Elias opened his mouth to speak, but Scalpel cut him off.

“I swear if you say “I’m fine” one more time I will knock you out and strap you to the bed until I say that you’re fine.”

Elias raised an eyebrow, and his gaze flicked back to the princesses. Both now had smiles on their faces.

“I believe that Doctor Scalpel is correct, our questions can wait until you are better rested.” Turning to Scalpel she asked, “Would it be possible to have Elias well enough for conversation by tonight, say around dinner time?”

Scalpel nodded.

“Yes Princess, I believe I can have him in a better state by then, if he begins resting immediately.”

As he said this, Scalpel gave Elias a death glare and another nudge toward the still empty bed beside him. Elias glared back, but relented, grunting as he lifted his leg onto the bed. He flopped into the bed, dragging his injured leg up beside him. Elias briefly felt each of his ribs poking out with his fingers, then decided to simply rest his hands on his chest.

Once he was settled, he looked back up to the princesses. Celestia still had a smile on her face, while Luna had returned to watching him with suspicion.

Elias felt his eye twitch. Celestia needed to be watched closely. Nobody honest smiled that much. Suspicion, and even outright hostility he could understand, they were the standard emotions anyone felt when confronted with the unknown. But not happiness, or whatever that smile was hiding. The unknown meant danger, and only the insane or those with malicious intent smiled at danger. Still, Elias kept his thoughts from his face, maintaining his normal serious frown.

“It has been good to see you awake Elias; I believe I speak for both of us when I say that I am eager to talk with you more,” Celestia said. “Doctor, once you have finished with today’s healing session, the guard outside can escort Elias to his room to prepare for dinner.”

Scalpel nodded and gave a slight bow.

“Very well Princess.”

Celestia gave a slight nod to Elias and then began making her way toward the door, with Luna following in tow. The blue pony shot a quick glance over her shoulder at Elias, but said nothing as the pair left the infirmary.

As the doors closed, Elias felt Doctor Scalpel’s breath on his arm. He slowly turned his head, and met the pony’s rage filled eyes.

“What.” Elias said.

“What? WHAT?!?” You had me sneak in a bucking razor blade? Are you mad? What, we’re you going to try to fight your way out of the castle with it? Attack the princesses perhaps?”

Elias shook his head.

“That’s not what the razor is for,” he replied.

“And just what is it for then? What could possibly possess you to carry a razor blade in your clothes?”

“How many toes do I have?” Elias asked.

The question halted the anger radiating from the unicorn momentarily.

“Why? What does this have to do with the razor?”

Elias pointed toward his feet.

“How many toes do I have? Go ahead, count them.”

Scalpel looked at Elias’ feet and counted, then shook his head and said,

“Eight. I count eight toes.”

Elias nodded.

“Alright, now count how many fingers I have.”

The unicorn looked at him incredulously, but counted Elias’ fingers as well.

“Ten.”

Elias nodded again.

“Normally, those numbers match, used to match for me as well. Then I got captured by some less than savory individuals. Beat me half to death, then burned the bottoms of my feet so I couldn’t walk. When that wasn’t enough to get me to rat out the settlement I was working for at the time, they took a toe from each foot. Made me eat them too.”

Scalpel paled visibly, but said nothing. Elias continued.

“I got lucky. A real bad storm rolled in that night and as their tents began to wash away, I crawled into a flooded stream and let it carry me down river. After that, I decided not to rely on luck, and made a contingency so that I would never be held in a situation like that again. The razor is that contingency, a simple but effective out.”

Scalpel shook his head.

“I'm going to just ignore what you're implying and focus on what's important. Why did you cut up your hand like that? Surely your nightmares would have caused an issue before today.”

Elias looked away.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen. It has never gotten that bad before.”

“Do you need somepony to talk to about it? I’m sure Princess Luna would be more than happy to…”

“No,” Elias replied sharply. “They’re just dreams. They’ll fade in time.”

“Elias, that isn’t healthy.”

Elias snorted.

“Because I’m just the pinnacle of health. It’s fine; nothing I can’t handle alone.” He said the word ‘alone’ with force.

Scalpel sighed.

“If you say so. We can talk more on your “dreams” later. Right now, let’s heal your physical wounds. Lie back, this may hurt a bit.”

Chapter 5: Introductions

Journal Entry: Day 1345

There is nothing quite like clean clothes. Especially when they don’t have any holes in them (which nowadays, big surprise, everything has holes). Found an abandoned mall the other day, largely picked clean, except there was this closet in the back of the shoes store. Cracked that fucker open and there it was, an apocalypse treasure. Not only was it all in good shape, it was all men’s clothes. No more tearing dresses apart to make patchwork t-shirts for this guy. Set myself up with about a dozen new shirts, some new shoes, pants, the works. Even got this really nice trench coat, it’s gonna be fucking excellent come winter. Torched the rest though. Anyone still out there can eat shit. Hope they freeze.

Elias scanned every inch of the hallway as he walked past, making mental notes of distinguishing markers, trying to find a path that would lead to an exit. After spending several long, painful few hours with Doctor Scalpel healing his wounds, Elias was able to walk unaided, though his arm was still in a cast. Because of his “accident” with the razor, Scalpel told him that he had to pick what was going to take priority for healing. Elias would have to wait until the following day to be healed fully. Still, he felt physically better than he had in weeks.

Elias flexed his hand, looking briefly at the scars that now marred the lines that crossed it. The wounds looked years old, and they were as rough and calloused as the rest of his hand. Elias looked up from his new scars and instead stared at the back of the pterippus guard he was following. He was dressed in gold armor, and wore a short sword on his hip, while a blue-plumed helmet sat atop his head. What surprised Elias however was how little the armor actually covered its user. While he could imagine that the ponies would value speed over armor integrity, that wouldn’t explain why they didn’t fashion a mail-based armor that would allow them maneuverability with mild protection for the entire body, rather than heavy plate on just some areas. From what he could see, the shoes the pony wore did nothing to protect its legs, while its underside was completely exposed. Coupled with how open the helm was around the throat, the armor seemed almost ornamental.

Elias was brought out of his inspection by the pterippus stopping in front of a simple wooden door. The pony pulled a set of keys from beneath his armor and unlocked the door.

“Here are your quarters. The bathroom is through that door there,” ge said gesturing at the far wall. “Dinner isn’t for a few hours, so you’ll have plenty of time to get comfortable. I’ll be out here if you need anything.”

Elias slowly walked into the room, his eyes searching every inch of it. At the center was a large bed with pristine crimson sheets. Above that, a simple chandelier gave light to the room. The walls were lined with an assortment of dressers and empty bookcases. Elias looked at his feet, only beginning to notice the plush carpet beneath his grimy toes. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been on clean carpet.

“Sir!”

Elias flinched and turned around. The pterippus was standing behind him, a concerned look on his face.

“Are you alright? If the room isn’t to your liking, I’m sure Princess Celestia wouldn’t mind if you wanted a different one.”

Elias blinked, then shook his head, trying to fight away the daze.

“It’s fine. It’s just… different.”

The pterippus looked doubtful, but didn’t press the issue.

“If you need anything at all, I will be right outside,” the pony said before slowly closing the door as he left.

Elias stared at the closed door for a moment, then shifted his gaze to the open doorway that the pterippus had gestured to. It had been years since he had used anything with real plumbing. If these ponies were intelligent enough to develop IV’s, they had to have running water.

His desire to shower briefly overwhelmed his natural paranoia, and Elias quickly found himself standing in the white tiled bathroom. Elias stood slack jawed for a moment. It was so clean. The walls shined, and Elias could see exactly where he had walked, the black dirt from his feet standing out vibrantly against the tiles. To his left sat a deep tub, the water steaming and decorated with flower petals. This he ignored in favor of the shower to his right, the pair of handles drawing him like a magnet.

Elias began to strip off his underwear, only to realize that he was still wearing a cast. While his mind damned the thing from preventing him from tasting heaven, his eyes searched the bathroom for something to cover it with. It took him seconds to find a bag sitting on one of the counters with a small note sitting atop it.

For covering your cast. Simply place your arm inside, then tighten the strings. When you are finished bathing, pull on the strings and it will slide off.

Doctor Scalpel

Elias picked up the bag and inspected it. It was made of simple black cloth, with gold colored string rimming the opening. Elias re-read the note, then gingerly put his arm in the bag. When nothing happened, he pulled on the strings. Before he could tie them together, the whole bag tightened, wrapping tight around the cast. Elias gave his arm an experimental shake, and when the bag didn’t move, he grinned slightly.

Elias quickly lost his underwear, walked into the shower, and following the symbols on the handles, he fell into bliss. Scalding hot water fell onto his face, burning away weeks of built up grime. Sweat, dirt, blood; all of it bled away and down the drain. Elias simply stood under the water, letting it blast across his body, the heat relieving stress from his battered muscles. It was bliss. After several minutes of pure relaxation, Elias sighed and got to work.

Taking the bar of soap from its dish, he scrubbed down his body, taking extra time to clean out his arm pits, and nails. He ignored the flashes of pain when some of the dirt took hair and dead flesh with it. Elias took his time, he hadn’t bathed properly in at least two months, and the buildup was severe. Places he didn’t think dirt could reach were caked in it, and before long the soap bar was whittled down to nothing. Once he thought himself clean enough, Elias turned off the blessed water and stepped out of the shower, taking a towel from a hook on the wall.

After drying himself off thoroughly, Elias pulled the string and the bag slid smoothly off his arm. To his surprise, the cast looked cleaner, and the dirt was gone from beneath his fingernails. He looked inside the bag, but saw nothing out the ordinary. Shaking his head in mild amazement, Elias set the bag back on the counter and wrapped the towel around his waist. Before he could move toward the doorway, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror above the sink.

Elias winced as he inspected himself. He was already a skinny guy on a good day, but now he could see each of his ribs distinctly. His dark auburn hair hung almost to his shoulders, with several strands attempting to cover his sunken, bloodshot eyes. Elias briefly stroked the thick stubble on his face. While it wasn’t enough to be considered a beard by any standard, it was still thicker than he had ever had before. He briefly looked about for a razor, then shrugged, deciding to let it be. Moving lower, Elias gently touched his newest scar. It was a small scar, only about the size of his pinkie finger, but a deep one, and despite the magic Scalpel had performed, it was still tender. Elias looked back into his eyes, the same usual simmering anger hiding just below the surface of his blue eyes.

Elias sighed and moved away from the mirror. He didn’t want to go down the path his mind usually followed when he saw his reflection. Instead, he left the bathroom, relishing how much lighter he felt. Everything felt sharper, and even his breathing seemed easier. The wonders of a proper shower.

Basking in the sensation, Elias calmly re-examined his surroundings. He blinked in surprise when he noticed his armor sitting on a stand in the corner next to the bed. How had he missed it the first time?

Elias quickly made his way to the armor stand, and found all of his equipment there, including his gladius. He withdrew it from its sheathe and inspected the blade. Someone had tried to clean it, but there were still flecks of blood up and down the blade. The edge was slightly dulled as well, and the blade lacked its normal sheen. Elias slowly re-sheathed the sword and inspected his armor. It too had been cleaned, but the armor needed drastic repairs if he intended to use it again.

Below the stand sat his ruck, with a clean, mended tunic laying atop it. Elias moved it to the bed before searching through his ruck for a clean pair of underwear. After he found it, he pulled out his spare sandals as well. His original pair was nowhere to be found, and in all likelihood were beyond repair anyway.

After dressing, Elias set to work. Using a hand towel and a basin from the bathroom, he scrubbed at his gear, eradicating the dirt and blood that clung to it like glue. He started with his ruck, which was the easiest to clean, then went through each individual piece of armor, some dirtier than others. His gladius he saved for last. The sheathe was never easy to clean, and the blade needed special attention if he wanted to sharpen it properly.

As Elias scrubbed away a particularly stubborn bit of dirt, he paused and stared at the blade in his hands. What was he doing? He had all the tools necessary to escape, to disappear into a forest and never be found, yet here he was worrying about cleanliness. His eyes darted up and around the room, looking for anything that might be affecting his mental state. It was clear that the magic of the ponies had some measure of reality involved, as was evidenced by his freshly healed wounds. It wasn’t a stretch to imagine that magic could be used to make him docile, and weak. But then again, why would they do that? From what he had seen, the pony creatures held no true malicious intent. Even though they had pursued him, almost to death, they had still mended his wounds, and then had given him all of his belongings back, including a weapon. It was a level of trust that made Elias both uncomfortable and curious at the same time. That curiosity gnawed at the back of his head; whittling away at his ingrained suspicion.

Elias drew the whetstone from his ruck and began sharpening the blade. He had to find out more. It was all too strange; it flew in the face of the paranoia that had kept him alive for so long. He needed more information before he made any decisions. Being rash would do nothing to help him in the long run. With a mental confirmation on his plan, Elias focused on the maintenance of his gear. A clean knife is a longer life.

Elias ran his rag up and down his gladius, and then gave the blade a few experimental swings. Satisfied, Elias set the blade in its sheathe on the bed and stood up. A knock sounded off from the door just as Elias finished strapping on his sword belt. He sheathed his pristine, sharp blade as it opened, revealing the same pterippus guard from before. The pony smiled.

“You’re certainly looking better. A good bath can fix any issue, am I right?”

The pterippus chuckled for a moment, which then trailed off into nothing when Elias continued to stare at him in silence, his frown prominent on his face. The guard cleared his throat nervously.

“I-if you are ready, the princesses are waiting.”

Elias nodded and began to move toward the door, then paused as his hair fell into his face. That wouldn’t do. Elias turned back to his ruck, digging through it. He had to have spare rope somewhere.

The remainder of the coil sat at the bottom of the ruck, and Elias had to tug to pull it out. He briefly measured out an appropriate length, then with a smooth motion, he drew his dagger and cut the rope in two. Elias pulled back his hair as best as he could with the cast, then tied it into a loose ponytail. A single strand fell into his face, but Elias ignored it, satisfied that he looked presentable enough. If anything, he was just grateful that he was clean for once.

He faced the guard once more, sheathing his dagger behind his back as he did so. The pterippus seemed much more tense now, likely made very aware by his little display that Elias was armed. Elias smiled internally.

'Good,' he thought, 'let them fear. It simply provides me with another tool should I need it.'

Since his tunics lacked pockets, Elias clasped his hands behind his back.

“Ready?” the guard asked.

Elias nodded silently, and the pterippus left the room, with Elias close behind. As they walked, Elias again made mental notes of the layout of the hallways, noting which ones seemed familiar and which ones were foreign. Within thirty steps Elias was out of familiar ground and in uncharted territory, so he began memorizing the way back to his room, from there he was confident he could plot out an escape route.

While doing this, Elias also occasionally watched the pony leading him. Every couple of steps, the pterippus would throw a glance over his shoulder at Elias, and as soon as he noticed that Elias was watching him, his head would snap forward, almost as if he was ashamed of getting caught. Elias thought it odd, but ultimately disregarded the action. If it didn’t factor into his escape plan or into his diplomatic measures, then it didn’t matter.

It didn’t take long for the pair to come upon a tall door, which Elias assumed led to some sort of formal dining area. The pterippus said a few words to the guards, then quickly slipped through the doors, indicating that Elias should wait outside for the moment.

The pair of guards by the door remained silent, their eyes boring into Elias as he leaned against the wall, his thumbs tucked into his sword belt. He was glad for the weight of his weapons, a comfort in an increasingly unfamiliar situation. Elias kept his mind off all of the oddities however; panic at the irrational would help no one.

Elias sniffed, and scratched his nose, using the motion to disguise his eyes as he looked at the pair of guards.

One was a pterippus, though the wings seemed different. While Elias couldn’t tell precisely from a distance, they looked almost like the wings of a bat. The other had neither wings, nor a horn. Both were grey in color, and wore blue armor that looked vaguely familiar.

Elias bristled when it clicked. The armor was nearly identical to the armor of the ponies that had ambushed him, and in the end, had also captured him. A thousand thoughts flashed through Elias’ mind, all of them violent. Elias sighed and rubbed at his eyes, dismissing the thoughts immediately. He needed to suppress that part of himself for now, put all of it as far from his mind as possible. The ponies seemed to forgive and forget quickly, he would have to at least pretend to do so if he wanted to establish any positive relationships with them.

The guards exchanged a glance as they watched Elias, but they said nothing. Elias took a deep breath and stared at the wall, letting all of his thoughts fade into oblivion as he zoned out, letting his mind grow calm.

Before he could fully relax, the doors opened. The sudden burst of noise caused Elias to flinch, but he was able to keep his hand from grabbing his sword handle. Another pony dressed in blue armor, minus the helmet, stepped out, whispering to the pterippus guard. Then she turned to Elias with a grin.

“If you’re ready, the Princesses are waiting.”

Elias nodded silently and pushed off the wall, following the pony through the doors. On the other side was a small, brightly lit dining hall. A simple round table sat at its center, with a large set of glass doors leading into darkness at the far end. Elias had no doubt that the doors led outside, an easy exit. Perfect. At the table sat three familiar ponies, along with one he did not recognize. The foreign purple unicorn watched him intently, a scroll and quill floating next to her head. Elias already didn’t like the pony.

He took the empty seat next to Steel Scalpel, who looked up and smiled as Elias sat down. No doubt the unicorn was there for Elias’ “comfort” since he had been the one to drag him from his night terror. Unfortunately, Elias did note that he felt slightly more relaxed in the presence of the pony. His mind subconsciously identified him as a potential ally. His frown deepened as he tried to raise emotional walls to keep everyone at a distance. It would not help to get attached now.

The guard took the seat to Elias’ immediate left, her eyes glancing to the princesses before settling on Elias. Elias pretended not to notice. He kept his right hand in his lap, leaving his casted hand on the table. Celestia smiled brightly, and Elias couldn’t tell if the expression was genuine or not. Either way, he needed to act appropriately if he wanted this to go well. Nothing was free, especially not medical care. He had no doubt the ponies would have some sort of price for what they had “given” him, and he needed to be careful if he wanted to limit his debt as much as possible.

“You are certainly looking refreshed Elias,” Celestia said. “I take it your room is to your liking?”

Elias nodded slowly.

“It’s certainly… nicer than what I’m used to.”

The act of speaking seemed to drive the purple unicorn wild. Her quill and scroll began moving furiously, writing at breakneck speed as the unicorn spoke, practically shouting at Elias as words poured from her mouth like a flood.

“You said it was nicer than you were used to, meaning you aren’t used to the royal treatment, so you must live somewhere that’s simpler than Canterlot. But you were in the Everfree forest, so maybe you lived in the forest wherever you came from. Where was that by the way? Ooh, and how did you manage dimensional travel? What’s magic like where you’re from? I bet it is a simply fascinating place, do you have family? Friends? What’s the culture like? I bet its-…”

The unicorn silenced immediately when Celestia placed a wing on her back. Elias let out a long breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. A quick glance down saw that his entire body was tensed up, ready to spring into action. His casted arm was braced against the table, ready to flip it as a distraction. His right hand was firmly gripped around the hilt of his gladius, a sliver of steel already out of the sheathe. Elias looked up, quickly noticing that the rest of the table was also tense, ready to answer any moves he made.

Elias took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He let his gladius slip fully back into its sheathe, then relaxed in his seat, placing both of his arms on the table, with his casted arm over his right one. Once he had mentally calmed himself, Elias opened his eyes again and looked up, remaining silent. Celestia nudged the purple unicorn, who smiled sheepishly at him.

“Sorry, I guess I got a bit excited. It’s not every day that you get to meet a new species after all. I’m Twilight,” she said, extending a hoof over the table.

Elias stared at the appendage in hesitation for a second, then reached out with his right hand and shook it firmly.

“Elias,” he replied simply.

After he let go, Twilight seemed to stare at her hoof for a moment. Her nose then quickly became buried in the roll of paper, the feather working furiously. Celestia sighed, but smiled.

“I must apologize for my protégé, she tends to be overenthusiastic in her academic studies.”

Her eyes settled on the muttering purple unicorn.

“Despite her progress in making friends, she can relapse into her old ways of study first, and be personable second.”

Elias shrugged, the motion exposing some tension in his shoulders. He rubbed at it with his fingers as he tried to ease the strain.

“It’s fine. I’m not exactly a personable guy myself,” he said as he worked loose the knot of muscle. Scalpel watched him with a look of fascination.

“Is there something the matter Elias?” he asked, curious.

Elias winced as he pressed harder, trying to force the muscle to loosen.

“Not at all. Just an old injury that flares up occasionally,” he replied.

“How old?” the unicorn asked. He looked like he wanted to rise from his seat, but Elias shot him a look to make him stay in it. That seemed to make Scalpel even more concerned. “Have you had somepony properly look at it? A physical therapist perhaps?”

Elias chuckled and let his hand drop. The tension was still there, and likely would be for some time.

“There aren’t a lot of therapists where I’m from,” he said. “And the injury is maybe four years old. Dislocated my shoulder and had to put it back in myself.”

Elias felt a twinge of pain from the memory.

“It didn’t go well,” he said finally, cutting off any further conversation about it.

Celestia seemed to notice the dramatic shift in tone, so she cleared her throat and smiled as she drew everybody’s eyes to her. Elias rolled his left shoulder one more time, wishing he could clench his casted arm. He would just have to suffer through the pain.

“Let’s put off formal introductions until after we have eaten, shall we?” Celestia said.

Once she received nods in agreement, her horn lit up and the far door opened swiftly, but silently. Elias was glad it was quiet, the sudden motion was more than enough to put him on edge, but if it had slammed open, he might have reacted poorly. Elias chastised himself mentally. He was being far too jumpy.

All thoughts were washed away when the smells hit him. He swallowed roughly as his worn, abused nose took in scents that weren’t horrifying for once. An abundant mixture of different smells seemed to reach out. Some were sweet, similar to the pre-packaged candies he had spent many a day eating as his only meals. Others were more natural, and as the team of service ponies began setting and uncovering dishes, Elias spotted one large pot that looked like it was filled with tomato soup, a childhood favorite of his. Several large baskets of freshly baked bread were set upon the table, as were two large bowls full of greens. Elias eyed these bowls carefully, spotting what he thought was grass amongst the leaves of lettuce. Something to be avoided.

The coup de grâce was when one of the severs gently set a silver covered platter directly in front of Elias, swiftly unveiling a steaming piece of well-done steak. Elias’ eyes widened as he studied it, comparing it to the pictures he had seen on menu’s and in cook books. He had been far too young to have steak when the world ended, so he had never actually eaten any before the cow herds died out. The closest substitute he had ever was the flank of a scrawny dear that had already been half gnawed on. The steak was nearly triple the size of that, and smelled wonderful, the meaty scent completely overwhelming his senses, including his sense of caution and paranoia.

Elias swallowed roughly and looked up, finding everyone looking at him with expectation.

“Is something the matter Elias? Steel Scalpel and I assumed you were a carnivore based on your physical features.”

Elias nodded slowly as his eyes drifted back to the tantalizing piece of meat before him.

“Omnivore actually,” he said absently.

He felt his hand twitch. He could almost imagine how it tasted; how tender it would be. Elias warred with himself for control. One half wanted to take it apart bite by bite, savoring it, learning everything he could about how meat should truly be prepared. The other wanted it eaten, and wanted it eaten two minutes ago.

Elias cleared his throat, and pointed at the steak.

“That’s real?” he asked, well aware of the dangers of fake meats.

Celestia nodded, her face a mix of a cautious happiness. Elias wondered briefly if he should be paying more attention to the white pony, but he couldn't focus. Not with the steak in front of him.

“That it is Elias. We host many foreign dignitaries here that are carnivores. If you would like something else…”

Elias shook his head and reached for the silverware to his right. It was a bit mis-sized, but it would more than suffice for his intentions. He put the fork in his left hand, since he couldn’t well make cutting motions with a casted arm. The knife slid through the steak like it was passing through water, and Elias quickly found a bite sized piece waiting in front of his eyes.

When he bit down, a shudder passed through his body. Had he any less control, Elias was sure that he would have cried. It was the single best thing he had eaten. Not just since the end, but ever. The tenderness, the flavor, the perfection of the temperature, warm enough to be noticeable, but not burning hot, coupled with the perfection of the juice that poured out as he chewed. It wasn’t enough to be overwhelming, but it was in no way dry or tough.

The first genuine smile he had in months touched his face as he sat back in momentary bliss. For a moment he even forgot where he was, then his mind clicked back as he realized that he was being stared at. All of the ponies had a range of amused expressions, with the most severe being from the guard to his left, who was trying to hide a snicker behind a hoof. Elias cleared his throat and sat up.

“T-thank you. It’s very good. Best I’ve had in… awhile.” he said, not willing to meet their eyes as he tried to hide his embarrassment.

“I’m glad,” Celestia said, her tone warm. “I shall make sure to give your compliments to the chef.”

It seemed to be a que, because the ponies all began taking food, stacking it on their plates. As they began to eat, they also began to chat with each other, talking about day to day events that Elias had no interest or context for, so he simply listened, remaining silent as he did his best to eat slowly. The steak was incredibly rich, and if he scarfed it down too quickly, his stomach would rebel. He had no wish to be stuck up all night with meat sweats and stomach pains.

It didn’t take Elias particularly long to become full. While he had managed to polish off the steak, he didn’t even bother trying to take from any of the other dishes. This inaction seemed to draw attention.

“Are you feeling alright Elias?” Celestia asked, cutting through the mild conversations. “I hope that we have not made you ill.

He nodded, content to leave his cast on the table, while his right hand rested on his stomach.

“I’m fine. Just have to be smart. Limit myself.”

Celestia looked to Scalpel, who shrugged while nodding in agreement.

“If he’s anything like a pony, he needs to introduce himself to real food slowly.” Scalpel side-eyed Elias. “I got a look at what he had been eating, and it only barely qualifies as edible. Most of it was beginning to rot.”

Elias shrugged.

“I made do,” he replied.

Scalpel scoffed.

“If you hadn’t already begun limiting your intake, I would think you delirious. Describing your condition as starving would be an understatement. With your permission;” he turned to Celestia, “as well as yours Princess, I’d like to run some tests for vitamin deficiencies, as well as run through some questionnaires to determine an appropriate diet." He turned back to Elias. "I am genuinely surprised that you have as much energy as you do, because all physical indicators should put you in a bed with an IV for the next month.”

“I’m fine. If I can walk, I can run. If I can run, I can fight. I don’t need to be any healthier than that,” Elias grunted in response. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw both the guard and Luna nod in agreement.

Scalpel opened his mouth to protest, his irritation visible, but Celestia cut him off with a small shake of her head. She quickly steered the conversation away again.

“So, Elias, I know this all must seem like a substantial change, but I am curious, you have not asked much of us. Do you know anything about Equestria?”

Elias shook his head.

“Nothing besides the name now. As for your… peoples, I only have my knowledge of old Greco-Roman myth, and I am going on the assumption that that information is… inaccurate at best.”

Twilight poked her head out from behind the scroll, and Elias realized she hadn’t stopped writing since they had spoken last. That included while eating.

“Your species has myths about ponies?” she asked through a mouthful of lettuce. “I was under the impression that you came from a different dimension, or at least a different world.”

“As far as I know I am,” Elias replied. “And the myths are just that, myth. They were made by people trying to explain strange events around them, to give meaning to otherwise uninteresting lives. There was no evidence of anything other than standard breeds of horse and pony on earth. Certainly, no unicorns or pterippus’.”

The ponies seemed confused by the Greek word. Twilight began furiously scribbling again, while the guard asked;

“What is a petrippa… pertipp… The second one that isn’t unicorn.” she spat out finally.

“It’s Greek for winged horse,” Elias recited off, his mind thinking back to the book he had read it in.

He didn’t remember the name, just the cover, which had a hoplite looking out over the sea on it. He had kept that book for three years, had memorized it twice. He lamented he didn’t still have it; having dropped it in one of his “homes” due to its weight.

“Pegasus was the famous pterippus, and there was some contention over which name is correct.”

“Greek?” Twilight asked, not looking up from her notes. “Are you a Greek?”

Elias shook his head.

“No, I just studied the Greeks intimately. They were a mighty society while they lasted. Some credit them with the formation of western civilization, though I am more of the mind that the Romans hold that title.”

Elias couldn’t tell, but he was fairly sure that Twilight’s hair began sticking out at all angles as the intensity of her writing increased.

“Gah! So many cultures, so much information, and we haven’t even started!” she cried out. “Slow down! I can’t keep up!”

Celestia laid a wing over the unicorn.

“Twilight, there will be ample time for cultural study later. I promise that you won’t miss a thing.”

Elias felt his paranoia rush back in, and his body tensed slightly. The way she said it indicated she intended to keep Elias around, maybe against his will. A small part of his mind whispered that he was being insane to shove away creatures that were truly looking after him, but he crushed it. The meal had made him weak; it had gotten him talking. He hadn’t tasted anything amiss with it, but then again, he had never eaten a steak, he didn’t know what to look for. He shifted slightly in his chair, making a mental note to keep a bit quieter and more concise with his answers.

Celestia didn’t seem to notice his shift in posture, and she smiled brightly as Twilight calmed down slightly, going so far as to set the scroll down for the moment, though the quill was still suspended in the air.

“If you do not mind Elias, I think it would be best if we all introduced ourselves and set about business before we begin comparing tales. I shall begin; I am Celestia of the Sun, Princess of Equestria.”

She nudged Twilight lightly, and the pony grinned sheepishly.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle, personal student to Princess Celestia, and Element of Magic.”

Elias had no idea what the “Element of Magic” was, but the way she said it indicated that it was of some importance. Perhaps a weapon of some sort? He tucked the thought away as Scalpel went next.

“Doctor Steel Scalpel, Canterlot Castle’s lead surgeon.”

The pony to his left went next.

“Captain Nightshade, leader of the lunar guard.”

“Luna of the Moon, Princess of Equestria.”

As Luna said this, her eyes seemed to bore into Elias, as if presenting a challenge to match the power of their titles. Elias bit his cheek, a bit of long unused pride rising in his chest.

“My name,” he started slowly, “was Elias William James Bright; Commander of Legio I Americana. Now, it is simply Elias.”

Luna’s stare seemed to intensify.

“Why did you not tell us your full name earlier?” she asked accusingly, “did you not agree to be completely honest with us?”

Elias matched the stare evenly.

“I told the truth; you asked for my name, and I gave what it currently is. If you want me to list the names I’ve been given, I’ll be talking until the sun rises,” he shot back. Luna’s stare quickly became a glare, and her jaw clenched. Before she could say anything, Celestia butted in.

“That won’t be necessary Elias,” she said, trying to keep the conversation calm. She shot a quick glare at her sister that Elias almost missed, before turning back to him with what he surmised was supposed to be a calming smile. It was starting to unnerve him how much the ponies smiled, and he actually preferred the angry glares of Luna. That was more of what he was used to.

“So you are, or at least were in a military?” Celestia asked.

Elias exhaled deeply as he stared at the wall in thought.

“Yes and no,” he responded. “If we are going by the standard definition for a military, then no; my legion was recognized by no nation, mostly because there were no nations left to recognize us.”

He drummed his fingers on the table.

“Technically speaking, we were a high functioning militia force, of which, I was both founder and commander.”

That seemed to raise a few eyebrows.

“You founded an army?” Nightshade asked. “All by yourself? That seems… How did you arm them? How large was it?”

Elias shrugged.

“In desperation, people will follow those who are confident. Most of the time, it leads them to the scum of the world who prey on the weak to look strong. At the time of my legion’s founding, I was better than that. With a few friends at my back, we had a noble goal, take back the wastelands. Arming was simply a matter of scavenging up enough materials and manuals to teach ourselves. While I studied military doctrine and strategy, others worked as blacksmiths, or carpenters. We made do.”

Twilight raised a hoof, her face re-obscured by the scroll as the writing began anew.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how much of your world was this “Wasteland”? Is it like the Badlands just outside of Equestria?”

“I haven’t seen that much of your world to make a complete comparison, but…”

Elias paused, combing through his recent memories of the day he had spent in the woods.

“Here, the sun shines; almost too brightly. The sky is still blue. The trees, the grass it’s all…” He fumbled for the word. “Alive. On Earth, most of the world isn’t like that. There are a few oases that provide food and clean water, but the rest? It’s just gone.”

“Dead,” Elias finished flatly. His eyes became vacant as he stared at the table.

The dining room fell eerily silent. Nobody said anything. Elias took a deep breath, then re-focused back in, drawing his thoughts back from the darker corners of his mind. He looked up to find everyone staring at him once more, a range of emotions evident on their faces; primarily empathetic grief. Twilight broke the silence.

“What happened?” she asked bluntly.

Celestia shot her a rebuking glare.

“Twilight that is hardly appro-.”

Elias raised his hand slightly to stop the admonishment.

“It’s fine. It happened years ago.” He sighed, his eyes staring at the table once more, though now they had an intensity behind them. “These days I don’t even feel a sense of loss. As bad as they were, the wastelands were home for half my life. I was a child when the world died.”

Elias chuckled without humor.

“The sad part is that I cannot honestly remember what it was like to be a kid. It makes me feel old.”

Elias adjusted in his seat, sitting taller so his voice wouldn’t be as growly. As the textbooks said; proper professional orators practice perfect poetic posture precisely. He had only read that line once and somehow it had stuck like a cancer in his head.

“I was thirteen when it happened. I was already… scarred at the time because of an incident that happened the year before, so I almost didn’t notice.”

He chuckled again.

“So wrapped up in myself that I almost slept through the end of the world. It’d be funny if it wasn’t so pointless.”

Elias picked up the unused spoon from his napkin, spinning it between his fingers, admiring the glint as he continued.

“Earth was a planet of eight billion people, a million cultures; both old and new, forgotten and thriving. There were hundreds of countries, most with their own language, whether an original one, or a spin of a common tongue.”

“Eight billion?” Twilight asked in awe. “How did they all get along?”

Elias frowned.

“They didn’t,” he replied. “Never have, and now they never will.”

He looked up from the table and matched Celestia’s eyes, who was listening with rapt attention.

“Something you have to understand about humans is that we are a violent species. It’s how we’ve always been. From the first caveman to figure out fire could be used as something more than a heat source, to the animals that figured out how to create weapons that could snuff out millions in a second. Human ingenuity shined brightest when it came to learning new ways to kill each other. Our best inventions have been born from war. We are flightless, but we found a way to travel hundreds of miles in minutes because we wanted planes that couldn’t be shot down. We saw the stars above our heads and decided we wanted to get closer, so we took a weapon of war and we did it. We went to space, touched our moon.”

Elias smiled wistfully.

“I only wish that I could have been born just a bit earlier. To see such a feat would have been…”

His voice trailed off as he imagined it. A long-suppressed part of his mind rose, but was quickly quelled. Elias set the spoon down gently as he dragged himself back on track.

“Anyway, the most powerful nations, my own included, hoarded weapons that could extinguish life on an untold scale. The idea was that if they had enough, they could deter others from using them.”

Elias scratched his head and smiled.

“And that worked?” Nightshade asked. While she was much better at concealing her curiosity and shock than Twilight or Scalpel, Elias was able to detect more than a little of both in her voice. He chuckled and nodded.

“Surprisingly enough, it did for a while. Until it didn’t.”

All humor vanished from his face.

“Some fat idiot from some dictatorship in the middle of nowhere that nobody thought was a threat decided he didn’t care about the consequences of his actions; so, he pushed a button.”

Elias snapped his fingers.

“And like that thirteen million people were dead. So, the nightmare began.”

Elias sighed, rubbing his thumb on a callus on his middle finger.

“I won’t share the details, suffice to say that all of the worst fears about the weapons came to light within seconds. Nobody would take a step back and pursue a smart solution. It was far too late for that.”

Elias felt his eye twitch as he watched Twilight write. He had kept the detail about nukes deliberately vague, hopefully enough so that nobody would even attempt asking about them. Twilight was writing down everything he was saying, and while he had no doubt that Celestia kept her on a short leash, others who read her notes may not be so restricted. He wouldn’t be responsible for a nuclear holocaust.

Elias looked away from the purple unicorn and back to Celestia.

“It took minutes. The human race went from the mightiest species in the solar system, a species who dreamed about touching the stars, a species who consisted of masters of every art, of every craft; we went from eight billion people to just over five million, scattered across a dying, blasted globe that held less life with each day.”

Elias scratched his scalp again.

“My family and I, we were in the middle of some nowhere forest. We liked how quiet it was, how peaceful. The quiet only made it louder when the ground began to shake, and the sky turned white. The screams were haunting. We were miles outside of the nearest town, yet we still heard the screaming. Then we saw the smoke. Then we smelled it.” He smirked. “I can’t think of one good reason why a thirteen year old kid should know what a dead body smells like, but there it was.”

“The death of a species,” Elias said hollowly. “And I got a front row seat.”

Elias sighed and looked up again. The table was dead silent, all of the ponies occupying it were completely stunned. For the first time since he had sat down, Twilight’s feather was still, its scratching silent as well. Even Luna’s face, which had borne a gaze of constant suspicion since they had met in the infirmary, was painted with pure shock. Celestia was the first to recover, albeit very slowly. Her eyes locked with his.

“I… don’t know what else to say but to give you my sincerest apologies Elias. For something so horrible to happen, especially when you were still so young… I can’t imagine the pain you must carry.

Elias shrugged and tore his eyes away from her sad gaze.

“I moved past that a long time ago. I’ve learned that you can’t dwell on the past. Otherwise, it haunts you to the point you can’t function. At some point, you simply… stop. Stop thinking about it, stop caring about it. It’s just the way it is.”

“B…. but so many.” Twilight stammered. “How… how do you stop caring?”

Elias shrugged. The motion felt stiff. His body was beginning to tense up. He had no doubt in his mind why.

“You just don’t. You can’t grieve for everyone. It will kill you; I’ve watched people simply die from grief. The only way to keep going, to survive, is to kill first; even if that means killing the part of yourself that cared.”

“It’s cold,” Elias said. “I understand that, but I can honestly tell you that I wouldn’t still be breathing if I didn’t cut away most of my emotional ties. It’s the way it had to be.”

The feather and the paper dropped to the table as Twilight slammed a hoof down.

“You can’t simply cut off your emotions,” she said angrily. “And you shouldn’t either! It’s heartless.”

Elias’ eyes flicked upward, staring at her in barely concealed anger. A familiar fire was building in his gut, and Elias tried to take a deep breath to keep his mind calm. He couldn’t lose control now.

“It isn’t a matter of should or shouldn’t. It is a matter of necessity. I did what I had to. I cut away what I needed to.”

That evidently wasn’t enough for the pony.

“What about your family? Or your friends?” she asked, her voice beginning to rise. “Did you cut them away too? Were they left behind? Or did you never care?”

Elias was on his feet before he even knew he was in motion. He felt his eye twitch as his rage built.

“I buried my family,” Elias snapped back. Twilight flinched visibly, cowering back. Her mouth flapped as she tried to express regret, but it was far too late for that now. “Both of my parents, both sisters. Gone. Dead. When you lose that much, when you have to dig the graves, then come talk to me about what you should and shouldn’t do with your emotions.”

Celestia slowly stood, trying to remain unthreatening as she attempted to calm him.

“Elias, please. I am sure that Twilight did not mean-…”

“No!” Elias shouted, slamming his fist into the table. “I have lost everything! Everyone I have ever known is gone. Dead and buried and I will never get to see them again; only to be accused of not caring enough by someone who could never approach the level of suffering on any given day in an entire lifetime!”

Elias slammed the table again, savoring the pain in his hand. His ears were ringing, like someone held church bells next to his head. His heartbeat led the way in the chorus of ringing, providing the rhythm for the maelstrom consuming his rationality.

“I carry the weight of thousands on my back. Every memory, every person, every grave I have had to fill, it fills every space in my soul. Every thought is twisted by someone I have lost; every action I take I wonder what could have been if I had been strong enough to save them.”

He hit the table for a third time.

“I will not sit here and be accused of not caring when I have not gotten a single peaceful night of sleep in years that isn’t plagued by some memory of someone I cared about screaming as they meet an awful end.”

Elias closed his eyes, his fist resting on the table. He took a shaky breath.

“I will not,” he repeated quietly, his voice at a whisper.

Elias’s voice caught at the back of his throat. A wave of emotions that he had been keeping at bay for months rushed to the front of his mind like a hurricane. His eyes grew wet in a way that they hadn’t in years. His chest shuddered as he struggled to breathe.

“I need air,” he whispered, shaking his head.

Elias took a deep breath and straightened to his full height.

“Do those lead outside?” he asked, pointing to the doors at the far end of the dining room.

“They do,” Nightshade answered dumbly.

Elias nodded.

“If you’ll excuse me.”

Elias quickly moved around the table and strode across the room, opening the doors wide as he stepped into the cool night.

Chapter 6: Reflections

Journal Entry

Day 1490

I am insane. I have to be. I saw this light floating by a few days ago, I ignored it, thought it was just my mind playing tricks because I was hungry, but two days ago I started seeing someone creeping around my house. Kept looking at the doors and the windows, like he was trying to get in. When I got outside, nothing. No trace, not even a dusty footprint. Maybe he left though, was just too curious for his own good. What keeps messing with me is that I swear I saw his face, just for a second, when he looked up.

He looked just like me.

There has to be a reason, right? I haven’t seen anyone in three weeks, and the first guy I see... It has to be my imagination, right? Right?

Elias stormed into the silence of the night, his sandals the only source of noise. His mind was on fire. He wanted to scream. His frustrations, his anger. He wanted to yell into the empty black of the night sky, just to hear the sound. He wanted to thrash about, destroy something, slam his arms on something till they snapped, anything. He needed to feel something.

Elias did none of that, and instead grimaced in silence until he stumbled upon a marble railing overlooking a sheer cliff. He took a deep breath and leaned against the rail, his eyes staring into nothing as he tried to sort through his thoughts.

He growled and screwed his eyes shut. He tried to visualize his mind, to lock away the memories that had been dragged from the dark holes he kept them in. The more he tried control his thoughts, the more they got away from him. Past fears, and doubts slowly rose up, and Elias’ breath quickened. He gripped the rail with his good hand as he tried vainly to keep control.

In a wave, everything that had happened hit him like a ton of bricks, driving the air from his chest. Elias struggled to breathe as his thoughts began wreaking havoc in full force. The losses of the past few months, the injuries he had tried to shrug off, the absolute absurdity of the situation he found himself in. Talking, magical ponies. He had to have gone insane again. Last time was nowhere near as vivid, nor as outlandish, but it had to be his mind failing. He had no other way to rationalize what had happened over the past few days.

Just as Elias felt he was going to pitch over the edge, he heard footsteps behind him, and his mind cleared like a bucket of water had been tossed onto a campfire fire. Elias shook his head and tried to mentally prepare for what was coming.

“Oh, bravo Elias! Well done!”

Elias screwed his eyes shut.

“Shut up,” he growled.

A hand planted itself firmly on his back, shaking his shoulder.

“Why? You did great! An opportunity for a fresh start and you throw it away like you always have, your determination to remain alone is truly commendable.”

Elias slapped the hand away and whirled around to face himself.

“Fuck off. You aren’t real, and even if you were you have no idea what I have to live with, nobody does.”

Other-Elias clapped his hands and laughed.

“Ah, but see that’s just it! Nobody knows! And yet here you are, treating the people who took you in, free of charge I might add, like they are the enemy, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary.”

“Like what?” Elias snapped. “Chasing me off a cliff? Nearly getting me killed?”

“First off, the guard told you that they just wanted to talk, and you attacked him,” Other-Elias said, counting on his fingers. “Second, you ran off that cliff because you weren’t paying attention.” He extended another finger, “And thirdly, even after all that, they still kept you alive and patched you up. Does that really sound like they were honestly trying to kill you?”

Elias didn’t reply, simply spinning back around to stare out into the night. Other-Elias clapped and laughed again.

“Ha! You can’t even refute me! How low have you truly fallen?”

Elias spun around and tried to backhand Other-Elias, but his hand passed right through his grinning face.

“Very nice Elias. you already said I’m not real, and yet you’re going to try and hit me? You really are pathetic these days huh? Striking imaginary enemies, driving away potential allies for perceived slights, truly the epitome of modern man.”

“What would you have me do?” Elias shouted, throwing his arms wide. “Why do I even keep going anymore? What is the point of all this?”

Other-Elias chuckled and shook his head.

“If you’re asking for the answers to the mysteries of life like why we’re here, you’re gonna need to look elsewhere bud. If you are genuinely asking for advice on how to un-fuck this situation however, that I can help with.”

Other-Elias paused, crossing his arms. Elias waited in silence for a second before crossing his own arms.

“Well? What “advice” do you have for me oh wise one?” he snapped sarcastically.

Other-Elias stared at Elias for a second, his face becoming serious.

“I think it’s very simple. Change.”

Elias stared at him in disbelief.

“That’s it? Change? Are you fucking kidding me? That’s your big premier advice?!?”

Other-Elias shook his head and sighed.

“You asked why you keep going, and honestly, there is no answer for that. You have no reason to keep breathing. We got our revenge months ago, we just kept attacking those raiders because it was something to do. Now, that’s gone. We have nothing.”

Other-Elias moved around Elias and leaned against the rail, his eyes staring up at the moon.

“All of that is the past though. We can’t go back, and even if we could we shouldn’t. There’s nothing for us but death back on Earth.”

Elias sighed and leaned on the rail next to him, his eyes staring at his hands.

“So, what do I do? You said change, but how? How do I go forward from where I am now when I lack purpose?”

“That’s what needs to change first. I have a good feeling that the ponies were going to offer… something. A job maybe, I don’t know. Whatever it is though, it is a chance. Right now, the only purpose we have is to find a purpose. Something worth fighting for.”

Elias smirked.

“And here I was thinking you were gonna tell me some BS about laying down the sword and becoming a farmer.”

Other-Elias gave him a deadpanned expression.

“Us becoming a farmer is about as likely as us going to the moon.”

Elias sighed and rested his forehead on the railing.

“How do I fix what I’ve just broken? How am I going to go back in there and not look like a deranged, violent psychopath? How do I even go about convincing myself that I’m not out of my mind crazy? I can’t keep control. I’ve tried with little success because I simply don’t know how to keep sane.”

Other-Elias laughed.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll figure something out. We’re smart like that. You want my advice though? I would open your eyes and stop talking to yourself.”

Elias took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Other-Elias was gone, was never there in the first place. Elias didn’t bother looking around. He had spent weeks trying to find evidence that Other-Elias was something more substantive than his imagination, but had always come up short. The fact that he had somehow followed Elias through the anomaly confirmed the fact that the being didn’t exist outside of the boundaries of Elias’ mind.

Before he could think of a solution, Elias’ ears caught the subtle footfalls of somebody who was trying to sneak around, but was terrible at it. He didn’t even bother turning around; he had a sneaking suspicion who it was anyway.

“You can come out. You’re not fooling anyone Scalpel.”

The footsteps fell silent, as if Elias hadn’t already called the pony out. Then he heard a sigh and the unicorn walked carefully onto the stonework before the balcony. Scalpel walked to within a few steps of Elias before he stopped. Elias could imagine a few of the things running through the pony’s mind, none of them likely good. He braced himself, ready for the dismissal, the hostile words that were surely brewing. He’d been thrown out of much worse places for much less.

He was surprised when Scalpel asked;

“Are you alright?”

Elias smiled mentally, chuckling.

‘No,’ he thought.

“I’m fine,” he replied aloud; his expression blank.

Scalpel sighed, and trotted up beside Elias. He braced his forelegs against the rail, joining Elias in looking out over the dark landscape.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Scalpel asked.

Elias shook his head.

“I think everyone knows how I handle talking about it.”

Scalpel snorted and leaned his chin against the rail.

“I guess so, but I think Ms. Sparkle was way out of line. Anypony with eyes could have seen that it was a touchy subject. I should have stepped in, should have pushed the conversation somewhere else. For that I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Elias replied, side-eyeing the pony. “You owe me nothing. I am more than capable of looking after myself."

He exhaled deeply and looked out again. He could see lights dotting the landscape, clusters of brightness in an otherwise featureless landscape. Elias did his best to ignore the pony beside him, he had no interest in talking.

Scalpel looked at him.

“How long have you been alone Elias?”

Elias started at the sudden question. It was a deep one too. Scalpel seemed to notice the increase in tension, so he reached out with a hoof, gently touching Elias’ cast.

“You don’t have to answer if you feel uncomfortable,” Scalpel said softly. “I just want to help, and I believe that a bit of background information is important so that I don’t make things worse.”

Elias shrugged off the pony, turning his shoulder away to close himself off. Irritation flashed in his mind, and Elias considered telling the pony to leave him be. That small voice at the back of his head recommended a different method, so Elias settled for the middle ground.

“What am I doing here Scalpel?” he asked. “Why are you trying to help me? I’ve already done more than enough to be driven away, so why do you ponies seem to care so much?”

Scalpel smiled.

“Because that’s how ponies are Elias. It’s in our nature.”

Elias scoffed.

“I guess that’s where we differ. Humans aren’t kind. Humans don’t care. They’re vicious, nasty creatures whose sole goal in life seems to be to destroy.” He rubbed at the palm of his hand. “I am no different, so you’re much better just leaving me be.”

“I don’t believe that Elias. If that were true, you would not be haunted as you are,” Scalpel said. “If you truly only valued destruction, you wouldn’t study cultures, you wouldn’t tell stories about flying humans. We have not known each other long Elias, but I have no doubt that you have much to share, and I have hunch that most of it isn’t destructive in anyway.”

Elias grunted in response, but remained otherwise silent. He wished he could find something to look at in the dark, but his eyes simply couldn’t see far enough. So, Elias looked up, trying to study the stars, trying to compare them to the stars he saw far too little of on Earth. Scalpel tapped him gently on his cast. Elias looked to the pony, most of his anger gone, replaced by a feeling of tired depression. The pony smiled though.

“If you don’t mind me asking, did you want to fly before the… “end”?” Scalpel asked.

Elias shook his head.

“No,” he said blankly, thinking to end any conversation before it started.

Scalpel looked at him curiously, evidently having other ideas.

“But what about all of that stuff about seeing the stars? You sounded absolutely fascinated by it.”

Elias shrugged.

“I’ve done a lot of reading. Nothing more. I used to be curious, but that is gone with everything else. Drop it.”

Scalpel frowned.

“Talking about your interests is a good way to cope and move past trauma. It is better to be open about yourself rather than to bottle it all up.”

Elias felt his eye twitch as his irritation changed to anger. He turned to the pony with a tight-lipped expression.

“You’re right, I should be more open.” Elias threw his arms wide. “What would you like to know? Favorite color? What I had for breakfast yesterday perhaps?” Elias winked and tapped his nose, giving the pony a false smile. “Oh, I know, how about all the ways I’ve killed people? Would you like to know the number? Perhaps you would like to know which ones deserved it and which ones didn’t?”

Scalpel took a step back, fear flashing briefly across his face. Elias snorted, letting the act drop.

“No,” he said flatly. “I don’t need to be more open. I think I need to stay as silent and isolated as I can. For the betterment of others,” he finished with a sneer.

Elias leaned against the rail again, looking out into the dark once more. He could see the lights of faraway towns and hamlets, wondered what they were like. His imagination was of no use, as ugly and bent as it was, so Elias dismissed the wishful thinking from his mind and sighed.

“Why are you out here Scalpel? It can’t be for my charming personality.”

The pony sighed.

“No,” Scalpel agreed. “Princess Celestia sent me to see if you would come back inside. She has admonished her student and wishes to continue where we left off.”

Elias smirked.

“Where we left off was me shouting and then storming out. Why you? Why not the guard? Surely an armed pony would have a better chance of bringing me back if I said no.”

Scalpel shrugged.

“Princess Celestia thought you might be more comfortable if a friend came to talk with you.”

Elias’ eyes narrowed.

“Then we’re back to square one, why did she send you?”

“W-well I thought…” Scalpel stammered.

Elias straightened and fixed the pony with a stare.

“You thought you were my friend?” he asked. Scalpel nodded, and Elias noticed his tail wag slightly. “You are not,” Elias said with finality.

He felt a measure of satisfaction in watching the pony visibly droop. If he could be cruel enough, he would drive the good doctor away, ensuring his future safety. The small voice at the back of his mind tried to protest, but Elias shoved it away. It would be better for all.

“Listen closely Doctor Scalpel, we are not, and we will not be friends. I do not have friends because my friends end up in early graves.”

He took a step forward, and was pleased to see Scalpel take a step back.

“I have no friends; I have no family. I will never have either. That is better for me, and better for everyone else, because that means nobody gets hurt by my actions, but me.”

Elias snorted.

“Do the smart thing and stay as far away as possible. You’ll live longer.”

Then he turned away, not waiting to see the pony’s reaction. Elias leaned back against the rail, waiting to hear the retreat of footsteps. After waiting for nearly a minute, Elias looked to his side, found that the unicorn was still standing there. He was watching Elias intently, as if studying him, working out the right thing to say. Elias grimaced; he didn’t need this pony getting ideas.

“Go back inside Scalpel,” Elias said with force. “I’ll go back when I’ve figured out what I’m going to do next.”

The pony remained in place. Elias growled.

“Go damnit!” he shouted, shocking Scalpel into motion.

He watched the pony bolt into the trees, his footsteps moving briskly away. Elias snorted and turned back to the open air once more. He counted to twenty before the second pony dropped from the branches of the trees.

“That wasn’t very nice of you Elias,” Nightshade said as she walked from the shadows.

“Yeah?” Elias said without turning around. “Good. Maybe he’ll take my advice and stay away from me. It’s better for his health.”

Nightshade snorted in reply.

“I’m sure you are the authority on what is healthy Mr. Gaping Chest Wound.”

Elias looked over his shoulder at the pony.

“Don’t act so innocent Captain. If my memory is correct, you were to one who wanted me to choke on my own blood yes?”

Nightshade frowned, giving Elias a reason to smile.

“That’s what I thought. Chin up though, you were absolutely right.” He faced forward. “You should have left me to die.”

The pony remained silent for a moment, before Elias heard chuckling behind him. He scowled and shoved off the rail, turning around to find Nightshade barely concealing her laughter behind an armored hoof. Elias tucked his thumbs into his sword belt.

“Something funny?” he asked flatly.

Nightshade nodded, pointing at Elias.

“Yeah,” she snickered, “I’m looking at a joke right now.”

Elias smirked.

“Cute. But unless I’m mistaken, one of us is a wastelander with enough blood on his hands to fill an ocean, while the other is a pony who looks like they have less fight in them than some of my meals. Spare me your contempt.”

Nightshade giggled.

“You really are sad. Believe me, you don’t have my contempt, just my pity.”

Elias frowned.

“Then spare me that as well. I no more need your pity than I need Scalpel’s “friendship”. I’ll find my own way, alone. Just like always.”

Nightshade shrugged, tilting her head slightly. Elias didn’t like the smirk still decorating her face.

“You could, but you are going to have a devil of a time convincing the princesses to let you go free. You’ve shown an unwillingness to be peaceful with their ponies, and I’m afraid that’s a big no no. Kindhearted we may be, but not so kind to let a threat walk away free of charge.”

Her smile widened slightly.

“Besides, alone? Really doesn’t seem to work out for you big guy. Especially not when you go running off cliffs without wings. I kind of figured a new species would be smarter than that.”

Elias shrugged, using the motion to disguise his hand moving toward the hilt of his gladius.

“Tends to happen when one is chased off a cliff. I wished to be left alone, but I was pursued. I did what I thought would aid my escape, and I’ll continue to do so now.”

Nightshade sighed.

“As much as I am loving this conversation, I have a job to do here. You are coming back inside, now. Princess Celestia is a big believer in second chances, so I suggest making a good impression this time. Now let’s go.”

Elias felt his thumb dance of the hilt of his gladius.

“No,” he replied simply.

Nightshade sighed again, holding a hoof up to her face in exasperation.

“Please don’t make me beat you into the ground to get you back in. I really don’t want to do that paperwork again.”

Elias shrugged.

“I have made myself abundantly clear. My best-case scenario is wandering into a forest to live out as many days as I can bear before dying. Alone. I don’t need help from anyone, not from Scalpel, not from your princesses, and not from you. I don’t need your second chances.”

The small voice in the back of his head screamed at him to stop, but Elias didn’t listen. Why he had even considered Other-Elias’ advice was a mystery now. He felt his blood begin to boil as his body prepared for the fight he knew was coming.

Nightshade sighed for a third time before slamming her hoof down.

“Alright, I’ll tell you what Elias, if you can beat me in a duel, I’ll convince the princesses to let you walk into your stupid forest and wander like a fairy until you drop from another stab wound. Buck, I’ll pull the chariot to drop your ungrateful ass there.”

Elias smirked.

“Where’s the rest?” he asked, knowing that it didn’t matter. He’d been fighting hand-to-hand for years. While she had the advantage of wings and a smaller, likely faster, body, he knew he had the reach to swat her out of the air. A few well-placed hits would be enough to bring her down quickly.

Nightshade smiled broadly.

“If I win, you are going to come back inside with me. If I win in three hits, you have to accept whatever the princesses offer, and you have to play nice.”

“Really?” Elias said with a deadpan look. “Play nice? What am I, a child?”

“You certainly act like one,” Nightshade shot back.

Elias sighed and shook his head, waving his casted hand.

“What does playing nice entail?”

“Eager to lose?” Nightshade taunted.

Elias glared at the pony.

“A smart fighter knows the stakes before going into combat. It makes them fight harder. I wouldn’t expect a soft pony living in opulence to know anything about fighting though.”

Elias drew his gladius in one long motion, the steel glinting in the moonlight. Mirroring the motion he used with his shield, he balanced the blade on his cast. Nightshade flared her wings and bent low to the ground.

“I am going to enjoy putting you flat on your ass.”

“Bold talk, but I have yet to hear your little stakes if you take me down in three hits,” Elias replied evenly. In truth he didn’t care, but mentally planning out his attack would be important if he wanted to get the drop on his undersized foe. The two began to circle each other.

“If I take you down in three hits, you have to apologize to Doctor Scalpel. You hurt him more than I think you intended; pushing him away was one thing, but I didn’t like the look in his eyes. He took it personally.”

Elias scoffed.

“That isn’t my issue. Next.”

Nightshade gritted her teeth.

“Next, you are going to answer Ms. Sparkle’s questions. I will be nearby to ensure she doesn’t overstep, but she won’t leave anyone be until she gets as much information out of you that she can. We’ll stick to human cultures.”

Elias clicked his tongue.

“Is that it? Apologize and act as a living textbook? It seems like a gross misuse of a wager.”

Nightshade shrugged.

“Those stakes are good enough for me. Besides, you have no idea what that purple terror can do. Besides the princesses, she is likely the only pony in Equestria I don’t want to pick a fight with. Standing between her and new information is a mistake nobody wants to make.”

Elias stopped, spreading his feet into a wide stance.

“Deal then. I am eager to be away from this place. It is far too nice and peaceful. I will be much happier when I am sure that nobody will get hurt on my account.”

“Besides yourself, right?” Nightshade asked, her hooves twitching as she made slight adjustments to her own stance.

Elias nodded and let his face go blank. He made sure to watch her eyes as they both stood completely still, waiting for the other to make a move. The pony’s eyes seemed to flash in the low light. Elias took a deep breath before he rushed forward, leading with a hard slash at her face.

Nightshade dipped back, exactly like Elias intended. His cast punched out, acting as a makeshift mace as he tried to knock the pony over the head. As it approached contact, Nightshade seemed to disappear, vanishing from sight instantly. Elias let the swing follow through and used his overbalanced state to roll forward, sliding to his feet and back into a defensive stance, his gladius flat in front of his chest.

Their swords clashed together with a flash of sparks, allowing Elias to see a brief look of determination in Nightshade’s eyes as she gripped a short sword in her teeth. Elias drilled her in the throat with his knee, wincing slightly when it cut against the edge of her chest plate. The pony wove her way back, the sword sliding into an unseen sheathe as she coughed. She glared at Elias.

“That’s a dirty move,” she spat between coughs.

Elias reset his stance, once again balancing the blade on his cast, bending his knees as he waited for his opponent to strike back.

“There’s no such thing between combatants. To lose is to die, so all is fair for survival.”

Nightshade growled, falling back into the stance she used before. Her serious expression then turned into a smirk, and she disappeared once more. Elias narrowed his eyes as he looked for signs of movement. She wasn’t just fast; she was turning invisible. That made things more challenging. He held his breath, trying to listen for sounds of movement. All he could hear was his mild tinnitus.

Elias gasped in pain when he felt a blade run across his calves. He staggered forward, spinning in a circle as he swung his sword in all directions to ward off a second attack. He found his balance, resetting his stance as he slowly backed toward the rail. If he could cut off a direction of attack, he could better predict the strikes of his silent, invisible foe.

He felt his rump bump against the stone railing, and Elias scanned the balcony, waiting for a sign of an incoming strike.

“Two,” said a voice, only a whisper in his ear.

Elias whirled around, swinging at the air behind him. He heard a giggle, then felt a sharp sting in his good hand. Blood poured out of a long wound on his arm, making his grip on his gladius slick. Elias growled, mentally cursing himself. He had forgotten she could fly.

Nightshade chuckled as she gently set down on the ground, her wings quickly tucking against her sides.

“Give up yet?” she said mockingly.

“I’ll die first,” Elias snarled, he rushed forward again.

It had worked the first time, and she wouldn’t use the same strategy to dodge twice. If he took a swing to his left or right, he would have a fifty-fifty chance of hitting her. It wasn’t his best strategy, but he was beginning to realize he was out of his element in this fight. He wasn’t a duelist; he was a scrapper. He needed to get close and stay close. He relied heavily on his armor for protection, and without it or his shield, he was far too exposed.

As Elias prepared for the pony to move right or left, he was mildly surprised when she turned around. That surprised lasted until her hooves drilled into his chest, cracking at least two ribs as he flew backward, his sword flying from his grip. He felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder as he hit the rail, knew instantly that he had dislocated it.

Elias, tried to ignore the pains and push back up, but he was far too slow. He felt the familiar prick of a blade at his throat, and he glared at Nightshade, who stared down at him smugly.

“And that is three. Looks like you are going to get a lot of practice playing nice.”

Elias smirked and pressed forward against the point of the sword drawing blood from his throat. Nightshade pulled back a step, removing the sharp object.

“Says who?” Elias said, a sadistic grin on his face. “Are you going to kill me if I refuse?” He looked to the bloody tip of the sword, then back to Nightshade. She looked at the blade as well before sheathing it.

“No, but you made a binding agreement with a member of the Lunar Guard. Such agreements can be enforced by any means, including magical compulsion.” She smiled widely. “Try to get out of this and the princesses can make you do anything and everything with the wave of a horn. You’ll be a little model citizen within a week, serving tea and doing the housework.”

She made the mistake of remaining too close, and Elias let his anger do his thinking as his hand shot out, grabbing her by the throat and yanking her in close.

“Threaten my mind again and you will learn intimately what I keep hidden away,” he growled, holding her eye contact by force. He felt a pair of stabs this time, his eyes flickering down to a pair of extremely sharp knives digging into his throat, drawing yet more blood. He tightened his grip, pressing against her windpipe. She squeaked as her air was cut off, but she didn’t waver.

As the pair of knives began to press in deeper, Nightshade was yanked from his grip, the blades vanishing as he too was swept into the air. The pair quickly found themselves before an angry looking Steel Scalpel, who looked between them with a glare on his face, his horn aglow.

“What the buck are you two thinking?” he said, his voice just below a yell, yet no less angry. “Dueling on castle grounds? What we’re you going to do? Fight till one of you died?”

He looked to Elias.

“I understand that you may not have had an easy life Elias, and I can understand anger and suspicion and a wish to remain isolated, but I would think somebody of your intelligence would be able to tell when to pick your fights. We aren’t your enemies, so stop treating every action we do to help as an insult. It’s beneath you.”

His head flicked to Nightshade.

“As for you Captain, really? You had to pick a fight with someone who has only just gotten out of the medical ward? Has sparring with the other guards become too boring? You are making a fool of yourself out here and I have no idea how I am going to explain your injuries to the princesses.”

Scalpel straightened, his face becoming calm.

“This is what’s going to happen next. First, Captain Nightshade will apologize to Elias for challenging him to a duel when he expressed the wish to remain alone to think.” He shot a glare at the pony when she opened her mouth to protest. Her mouth clamped shut and she crossed her hooves, looking away in anger. Scalpel smiled slightly. “Then, Elias will apologize to Captain Nightshade for being a poor sport.”

“No, I won’t,” Elias said. “I am not beaten until I say I am. The only time I will admit defeat is when I die.”

Scalpel growled.

“Elias, don’t play games, I am no longer in the mood. We both know you lost. You will fulfill the agreement you foolishly made with Captain Nightshade because we both know it’s the right thing to do, and despite your anti-social nature, we both know you are a human of strong morals. You have not done wrong yet, do not start now by breaking your word.”

Elias wanted to shoot back an angry retort, but he found that he had none. Scalpel was right. He had given his word, and had lost, fair and square, as much as he hated to admit it. He could feel the streams of blood running down his neck, could feel his arm dangling from its socket. He sighed in defeat, staring at the ground.

“Fine, just let me down so we can get this over with.”

Scalpel nodded; his expression neutral as he gently lowered Elias to the ground.

'At least he’s kind enough not to gloat,' Elias thought.

Elias tried to remain standing when his feet hit the ground, but he only lasted long enough to settle on his backside, his calves screaming as the deep cuts made themselves known. Elias applied pressure with his right hand to the wounds on his neck, while he watched Nightshade remain in the air, still suspended in Scalpel’s aura. She shot him a glare as she flailed about.

“Let me down Doc! I already said I’d apologize!”

Scalpel shook her a little in his magical grip.

“I’m not done with you yet Captain,” he said. “Are you honestly telling me it was a smart decision to threaten another creature’s mind? Elias had every right to be angry about that, and I’m surprised he was restrained as he was! You should be ashamed of making a threat like that!”

Nightshade huffed.

“He doesn’t take us seriously Doc. I needed to get through that thick skull to make sure he knew we aren’t just something he can push around.”

“You did that when you bucked him into a stone railing Captain!” Scalpel shouted. “He was merely trying to salvage his pride, and you threaten his very being? What were you thinking?”

“I…” she drooped, and her ears flattened, “wasn’t. Sorry Doc, I guess I got carried away.”

She looked to Elias and sighed.

“And sorry to you too Elias. That was cruel of me. Nopony should or ever will mess with your mind in Equestria. I was just frustrated that you were challenging the agreement we made.”

Elias shrugged with his right shoulder.

“It doesn’t matter. I was an idiot for trying to go back on my word. I’m sorry for doing that.”

He left his apology there, had no other words to say that would make him look like less of an ass. Both Scalpel and Nightshade seemed to accept the apology, and Scalpel gently lifted the guard to the ground. Scalpel then trotted over to Elias, brushing his hand aside as he looked at the neck wounds. He tsked as he looked at the weeping cuts.

“I have no idea how I’m going to explain this,” he said, gently prodding the small holes with his hoof.

The unicorn sighed as he lifted a roll of bandages from his white coat, wrapping them firmly around Elias’ throat, moving on to his arm, then his legs. Every once in a while, he would shoot a glare at Nightshade, who was watching from a few feet away.

“Did you really have to cut his legs Nightshade?” Scalpel asked as he bit off the white bandages, already colored red with blood.

The pony shrugged, grinning at Elias.

“No, but he kicked me in the neck. As far as I’m concerned, we’re even.”

“You can hide bruises in your fur Captain, how am I going to hide bandages across three different limbs and his neck?”

Elias braced his left arm against the stone ground. He felt a jolt of pain shoot up it as he braced his shoulder with his right hand. This was going to really hurt.

“You aren’t going to hide it,” he said as he mentally worked up the courage to go through with it.

“Then what are we going to tell the princesses?” Scalpel asked. “I don’t think you two would want the truth being told first, and while I’m not one to lie to the princesses…”

“So, don’t,” Elias said.

The anticipation was only making it worse. He just needed to do it in one motion, just like before. Except for the part where he did it wrong and nearly crippled his left arm. He would like to avoid that if all possible.

“I’ll do the talking," he continued, "and you two can just nod along with me. I am an excellent liar. They may suspect, but they won’t have evidence to the contrary unless one of you two says something.”

Elias took a deep breath and pressed his cast against the ground. Scalpel looked at him with concern.

“Elias, I can do that for you. I can even cast a pain reduction spell if you’d like.”

Elias met Scalpel’s eyes and shook his head.

“There’s no need for that,” he said simply, keeping his face even despite the immense pain he was in. “I got better at doing this a while ago. It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”

Scalpel looked at him with a mixture of doubt and belief, as if the two were trying to decide who was right.

“Really?” he asked hopefully.

Elias shook his head.

“Nope.”

And then he shoved down. A wave of pain rushed over Elias, and for a second, he was halfway between blacking out or throwing up. He briefly considered both. Then he let out a long breath and sat up, cradling his arm as the pain subsided to a dull roar. He swallowed roughly as he met Scalpel’s eyes once again. The pony had an expression of horror.

“Why would you do that?” he asked incredulously.

Elias shrugged, rolling his shoulder gently as he made sure it was properly in place again.

“To show you that as long as you play along, I can lie well enough. Just don’t chip in and we’ll be fine.”

Scalpel sighed.

“We are all going to be in so much trouble for this, but we’ll do it your way.”

He eyed Elias’ cradled arm.

“I don’t have a sling on hoof, but we can go to the medical ward once we are done speaking with the princesses. Would you like a painkiller spell?”

Elias shook his head and grunted as he tried to roll to his feet. He pretended not to notice the slight nudge that Scalpel gave him when his balance almost failed. Standing shakily on his re-injured legs, Elias scanned about for his fallen gladius. Nightshade poked his side with a hoof, the blade in her teeth; a peace offering. Elias sighed and took it gently, giving her a gruff ‘thank you’ before sliding the gladius back into its sheathe.

He paused in place for a moment, before he looked to Scalpel.

“Hey, uh, Doctor?”

Scalpel looked up at Elias expectantly.

“Yes Elias?”

Elias thumbed his cast as he looked away from the pony.

“Sorry. About earlier. I shouldn’t have driven you away like I did.”

Scalpel blinked in response.

“Apology accepted Elias. I can sense there is a but coming however.”

Elias nodded in agreement, looking back to Scalpel as he exhaled deeply.

“The but is that the message still holds true. We are not friends. We can’t be, not if you wish to live a long, happy life.”

Scalpel sighed, then shook his head as he smiled.

“Alright Elias, I’ll keep that in mind. For now, I will agree with you. We aren’t friends, but I don’t think that will always be the case. This is not your wastelands, all of the rules that apply there do not apply here. Equestria is a peaceful nation. All I ask is that you keep an open mind and don’t drive away ponies who wish to be friends with you.”

Elias shrugged.

“I make no promises. But…” He paused then nodded in agreement. “I’ll try.”

Scalpel smiled.

“That’s all I ask.”

Elias looked away, back toward the trees and doors beyond that held his immediate fate. Part of his mind was trying to cook up a suitable lie that he could feed the princesses to explain his injuries, while another part was fighting with the small voice at the back of his skull that was trying to justify an emotional attachment to Steel Scalpel. Elias sighed, feeling a nasty itch appear under his cast.

“Let’s get this over with.”

Chapter 7: The New Guard

Journal Entry

Day Bite Me (870)

All work and no play makes me a dull boy, but any play makes me a dead boy. Is it better to be dull or dead? I should ask jimmy; he’s been swimming in the swimming hole for hours. He can hold his breath for a very long time. The concrete must help. I’ll fish him out before he gets wrinkly, make sure he knows I’m not going to ground him for stabbing me in the hand.

“Are you honestly trying to convince my sister and I that you sustained these injuries during a, quote; “human cultural sharing ritual”?” Luna asked in disbelief.

Elias couldn’t blame her, it wasn’t his most believable lie, but he had few options. The best lies were small and contained a measure of truth. There was no semi-honest answer that would dismiss the bandages on his legs and neck.

“I am trying to convince nobody of anything,” Elias responded blankly, meeting her eyes with a bored stare. “You asked what happened, I answered. I’ve been hurt much worse sharing my culture with other humans, these are glory wounds, nothing I haven’t suffered before.”

Luna turned her glare on Nightshade, who was standing at a rigid attention, her face blank as she tried not to sweat. Elias frankly enjoyed watching the ponies back up his lie with their silence. He had no doubt one, if not both would talk to the princesses in private to tell the truth, but right now, they were following him blindly. He could say anything, and they would agree. They were in far too deep to back out now.

“Is all of this true Captain? You were merely sharing cultures with our guest?” Luna asked accusingly.

Nightshade wisely remained silent, and Elias let her suffer for a moment before butting in by clearing his throat. The blue princess glared at him as he spoke.

“Princess, it is tradition for none of the participants to speak of the cultural sharing. It is meant to be a rather intimate ritual between…” Elias paused as he tasted the word in his mouth. He didn’t like it, even as he said it with a calm voice. “friends.”

Twilight groaned and slammed her head into the table.

“I can’t believe I missed out on more human culture! I’m missing all of the good stuff!”

She had been surprisingly open to conversation with Elias despite his outburst. She had offered a tentative apology; which Elias had accepted at the prodding of Steel Scalpel. He made sure to add the condition to steer clear of any subjects he didn’t wish to discuss, but he promised to tell as much as he could, fulfilling his deal with Nightshade. The thestral had grinned at him mockingly before she had drawn Luna’s ire. Said ire which was now being thrown around the room as Luna tried to pry the truth from the human and the two closed lipped ponies.

As he had assured the two ponies, the princesses couldn’t disprove his statements, and with the silence of their subjects, along with the occasional groan from Twilight, they were forced to concede. Elias could tell neither of them were happy about it, with Luna pointedly glaring at all three suspects while Celestia simply frowned in disappointment, looking primarily at Scalpel and Elias.

“Very well,” Celestia said slowly. “If you are sure that nothing negative has happened, I shall move along to other matters. Though I will be talking with each of you individually to ensure that all is truly well. I have no wish for grudges amongst my subjects.”

Elias wanted to point out that he didn’t fit into that category, but he tactfully remained silent. He had no desire to have the princesses find out the truth immediately, and being overly mouthy would only lead to more pressure. It would be better to let the events fade from memory a little before they figure the truth out.

He shifted his weight between his feet, his legs aching as the pain began to set in. While he had no doubt that Luna would enjoy watching him suffer, Celestia seemed to notice his discomfort, and she gestured toward the empty seats at the cleared table.

“Please, let us begin anew. We still have much to discuss this evening.”

They all resumed their previous seats, though Elias noticed that both Scalpel and Nightshade scooted their chairs just a bit closer to him. Luna had an almost predatory look on her face as she scanned the faces of the two obviously guilty ponies. Elias’ calm, almost bored demeanor acted as a calming agent however, and the lie was believed… for now.

“I believe it would be better for all if we steered our conversations toward the future, rather than the past, agreed?” Celestia said.

Everybody responded with silent nods, and Celestia smiled.

“Excellent.” She faced Elias directly. “Elias, the… events of tonight have only strengthened my resolve to assist you.”

Elias bit his cheek, suppressing the irritation he could already feel rising in his chest. Although a large part was directed at the ponies for pitying him, a small portion of that anger was directed at himself. Why he had he made such a stupid bet? It didn’t matter what Celestia said, he would have to accept; that, or shoot the last bit of character he had left in the face. Elias really didn’t like that option; he had tried it once. Never again.

“My sister and I have discussed several potential solutions,” Celestia continued. “First, we have already begun researching a method by which to send you back to your world. While we pursued this avenue, you would stay as our guest within Canterlot Castle, and hopefully we could help you resolve your issues with your emotional distress.”

Elias shook his head.

“I wouldn’t waste your time. I was brought here by a freak accident; something called an anomaly. They usually disappear after contact with a living creature, so it is likely gone.” He shrugged. “Besides, I have nothing waiting for me on Earth but pain and death.”

Celestia inclined her head.

“I had surmised as such, but I did not want to assume and keep you trapped here.”

'And yet, here is exactly where I’ll be trapped,' Elias thought, biting his tongue.

He briefly considered bolting again, but that small voice at the back of his mind yelled at him to keep his word. Elias sometimes wished he could physically slap that voice.

“Another solution we discussed was a... parole of sorts,” Celestia said. Elias raised an eyebrow in response, but Celestia quickly continued. “I am not accusing you of a crime,” she said, trying to allay his fears.

“Yet,” Luna growled.

Celestia shot her a glare before continuing, turning back to Elias.

“We merely wish to see if you are compatible with our ponies. Through what I am sure is no fault of your own, you have been traumatized, and as such may not realize when you are being too… aggressive.”

Elias smirked.

“You can just say that I’m a violent anti-social threat. I don’t mind. If I didn’t have keen self-awareness, I would have gone insane. Humans are supposed to be social creatures. Certain circumstances have made me an outlier.”

Celestia seemed to hold onto only the social creatures bit, because she sat up slightly.

“Then this solution may work the best. I would like to send you to Ponyville with Twilight. Once there, she will assist in educating you on pony society while you are re-socialized. Her friends are marvelous ponies, and I am sure they are more than capable with helping you find peace.”

“What would I do for housing and food?” Elias asked.

“Ooh! You can stay with me!” Twilight said excitedly. “We can stay up for hours talking about humans and you can help me study and then we’ll organize the library! I always need an extra pair of hands when tidying up.”

Elias felt his eye twitch as he watched the overly excited unicorn ramble. That solution died quickly in his mind. He had already disliked the notion of being forced into a society, but doing so while being at the mercy of Twilight and what was quickly becoming an obsession of hers; he’d rather not.

Elias looked back to Celestia.

“Did you have any other solutions? I don’t think I’m the peaceful library type.”

Celestia sighed, shaking her head at Twilight’s antics.

“Indeed. The third solution is to take you on as a guard here. This solution would allow Doctor Scalpel and Luna to closely monitor, and assist your emotional state. You would need to sign a service contract, but your full room and board would be covered, along with a stipend paid weekly.”

“How long would this contract be for?” Elias asked, already solidifying in his mind which option he would take.

If anything else, being a guard would be an excuse to remain constantly armed. He didn’t care how peaceful ponies saw themselves. He’d be dead and buried before he walked around without his gladius.

“The standard guard contract is five years,” Celestia replied. “Though, we could modify yours to be based upon your physical and mental state. If both Doctor Scalpel and Luna determine that you are emotionally stable, I would have no issues with allowing you to find a different place in our society at your discretion.”

Given the look he was receiving from Luna, Elias knew he was going to be stuck with the five-year contract. He could already sense a grudge forming against him. It was funny considering.

“What does being a guard entail?” he asked, making sure he knew what he was getting into.

Nightshade was actually the one to answer, her voice only slightly robotic as she spoke.

“Depending on which service you choose. You would be involved in twelve-hour shifts with an assortment of positions. We would need to ensure you have complete combat and duty training, but ultimately you are a watcher; waiting for something to go wrong so that you can respond in a quick and efficient manner.”

“While the guard acts as Equestria’s primary military body,” Celestia continued, “it is solely based here in Canterlot and acts more as a peacekeeping force. Most disputes are solved by our ponies themselves or, in extreme cases, during our day and night courts. It is very rare that any threats require a… violent response.”

Elias smirked, pointedly looking at Nightshade and Luna.

“Really? How interesting.”

Luna sniffed, sticking her nose in the air.

“You are a special case Elias. My guards attempted to confront you in a non-violent manner, and you responded by assaulting them. What followed was merely insurance that you wouldn’t remain a threat.”

Elias shrugged in dismissal.

“I’m not blaming you; it isn’t dissimilar to how I would have responded. Next time though, please just do me the favor of stabbing me to death. Nearly drowning isn’t nearly as fun as it’s cracked up to be.”

Luna pushed back her seat, her voice rising as she jabbed a hoof at him.

“That would not have occurred if you had simply remained in place! Instead you ran along like a mare in heat! Your tail between your legs as you tried to escape.”

Elias tilted his head, trying to appear calm when in truth he wanted to laugh. He couldn’t be bothered to get angry; this was starting to get kind of fun. He hadn’t had a good verbal sparring in a while, and it would seem that Luna had a bit of an anger issue. Her buttons were easy to push. Who was he to waste an ideal situation?

“I was merely making a tactical withdrawal to a better position to fight an unknown enemy that outnumbered me. What would you think when creatures straight out of a story book came by your campsite and started sniffing your bloody bandages? It isn’t my fault your version of introductions comes at the point of a sword in the dead of night,” Elias responded.

“Brought about only because you decided to act like a sneak thief in the middle of the day!” Luna shouted. Elias glanced over to Celestia, who was shaking her head slowly, her face one of exasperation. Evidently this wasn’t the first time this had happened.

Elias cocked his head.

“I apologize for being delirious, I seem to recall having an arrow in my chest. My judgement tends to suffer when I’m bleeding my life away.”

Luna scoffed.

“Please, you have the dramatic sense of a foal. If you were truly that injured, you should have approached Ponyville on the main path and received proper medical care. Instead you ran and cowered like a child.”

Elias felt a grin spread across his face.

“You’re accusing me of being a child, yet one of us is shouting at the top of their lungs, in front of her subordinates and sister no less, while the other is a human merely trying to learn more about his new environment. Who would you say is acting childish now Princess?”

Luna turned beet red. Her mouth opened and Elias heard an impressive intake of air. He braced himself for a shout, but was blindsided when it came from Celestia instead.

“ENOUGH!” she shouted, slamming her forehooves into the table, nearly upending it.

All of the ponies jumped, while Elias tried to contain his amusement. This was far too easy. Maybe he did have a place here. A little bit of troublemaking never hurt anyone. Celestia took a deep breath and settled back into her seat, her face calming visibly as she brought her flash of anger under control.

“Luna, you should be ashamed of yourself. To be so easily goaded; I thought we had worked on this,” Celestia admonished.

Luna looked down as she sat in her chair, occasionally shooting a glare at Elias when she thought nobody was looking. Celestia looked to Elias, and shook her head in disappointment.

“As for you Elias, I cannot pretend to be happy with your words, but I also cannot punish you for them. Do note that should you accept a position in the guard, such behavior will not be tolerated.”

Elias nodded, keeping his face calm as he responded.

“Of course, Princess. My apologies. I always found that a bit of argumentative banter eased tensions.”

“Why do I severely doubt that?” Scalpel muttered.

Celestia gave Scalpel a look that told Elias she agreed with him, but they all let the subject drop. Calm and dignified once more, Celestia said;

“There are three guard branches, though the Royal Guard is off limits until you serve a full year within one of the regular guard forces, as well as passing a series of exams.”

“And the other two?” Elias asked.

He leaned forward in his slightly, his recently unused curiosity beginning to rise. Elias felt mentally cluttered, like his mind was stuck between two points. One was trying to warn him to remain cautious, to only learn enough to get done and get out. It advised him to drive the ponies away, to remain aloof until whatever service he was due was up, then run as he had planned earlier.

The other half wanted to relax, to let go of his suspicions so it could learn. It wanted to find a library, to see what books they had. A new world meant new cultures to study, new civilizations. He relished his knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman life, and he really wanted to see how this world stood up in the face of human empires. It wanted to joke, to play, to see and experience. All of that could be done by using this chance as a tool for future interests.

Elias decided to lean toward the latter voice. Escape was a solid back up, and remaining aloof would have benefits for keeping certain ponies away, Elias felt his eyes flick to Luna before flicking back to Celestia, but he had an opportunity here. If nothing else, learning more could be used as a weapon.

Satisfied with his mental justification, Elias listened carefully as Celestia continued to speak.

“The Solar Guard is my personal branch,” she said, “They are led by Guard Captain Shining Armor, and operate from dawn till dusk, guarding the daylight hours. It is the largest of the three guard forces, and I am sure that you would be able to make many friends if that should be your wish.”

Luna, seeming much more controlled than earlier, continued where Celestia left off.

“As for the Lunar Guard, it is a much smaller force, but no less powerful. You have already met Captain Nightshade, and should you choose this branch, you will act as guardian of the night,” she smiled sinisterly, “with me of course. It will also allow us to… get to know each other better.”

Elias gave her an unimpressed look before turning back to Celestia.

“I’m assuming there is some sort of paper I’ll have to sign?” he asked.

She seemed to perk up in her seat as her smile brightened.

“Are you sure you’ve already decided? We would be more than happy to allow you to rest for a few more days so that you could think about this. It is no small decision.”

Elias shrugged, trying not to look at Nightshade as he spoke.

“I’ve already told myself that I would accept what I could get, and this is going to be the best option. Signing a few years of my life away for peace of mind isn’t so bad; I’m young, I’ll have plenty of time after.”

Celestia nodded.

“Very well Elias. I shall have the appropriate documentation prepared before your first training session. Shall I put you down for the Solar Guard then?”

“The Lunar Guard actually,” Elias replied calmly.

“WHAT?” Luna shouted, her hooves hitting the table.

Elias heard Scalpel sigh and saw a small pouch float into Nightshade’s waiting hoof, the pony keeping a straight face as she tucked it away in her armor. The motion went unnoticed as Luna began to rant.

“This is unacceptable!” she said, pointing at Elias. “You merely wish to be a member of my guard to make a mockery of it! To tarnish its name and uniform! I shall not allow it.”

Elias frowned, meeting the seething pony’s eyes with his calm ones.

“I will do no such thing. Though I may forget myself from time to time, I am still a man of my word, and whatever terms and rules your contract has, I shall follow them to the best of my ability.”

Elias straightened in his seat, erasing the slouch he had been maintaining lazily.

“I have no interest in bringing your guard shame Princess. I shall treat whatever position I am given with the same respect as I would my own legion. If you do not believe me-…” Elias stood, unsheathing his sword. He flipped it in his hand and offered the hilt to Luna. “then take this and let’s end this farce here and now. I have no interest in being some sort of passive subject, and I will not continue a life lived in shame. If my word isn’t valued, then life lacks meaning. If you don’t believe me, take up my sword, and let’s talk no more.”

As he finished, he gently tossed the blade, letting it clatter to a stop just in front of Luna. Her eyes flickered back and forth between Elias’ calm face and the sharp blade glistening before her. Elias could see the shock in her eyes, and he imagined that it was mirrored on the faces of the other ponies. The words were a bit melodramatic, as was the action of giving her his sword, but it served its purpose. If nothing else, it was a full commitment that should get the ponies to trust him. Exactly as he needed them to.

“Elias, I don’t…” Luna started. She seemed unable to continue, so Elias gestured to the sword.

“Princess, for a man, his word is his life. If he does not honor it, he doesn’t deserve to live, and is no longer a man. Only those who are insane or cowardly willingly break their word.”

“And which are you?” Nightshade asked.

Elias shrugged, the motion drawing pain from his arm. He re-cradled it as he answered.

“I don’t know anymore,” he replied simply.

Nightshade frowned, and Elias could tell she didn’t really accept the answer, but she wasn’t important right now. Elias looked back to Luna, who was now solely staring at his gladius.

“I have given the choice to you Princess,” he said. “My life is in your hands. That’s how much I believe my word is worth.”

Luna frowned in thought, and Elias could practically see the gears turning behind her eyes. For a split second, Elias thought he could see a smile on her lips, then the moment passed as she raised her head, her face a calm mask. The gladius lifted into the air in her blue aura, and Elias watched as it spiraled through the air.

“Are you sure about this human?” she asked him carefully. “Will you be able to devote yourself to the night, and by extension me? Your duties shall not be light.”

“No challenge has put me down yet,” Elias replied. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep moving forward.”

The blade settled in the air above his head, its edge pointing down. Luna’s eyes were locked with Elias’, both of them unflinching.

“Will you swear to have no fear? Will you pledge to give your life for others should it become necessary?”

Elias smirked.

“I’ve already survived my worst nightmares, and therefore I fear nothing. I’ve been living for myself for a while now. It might be a good change of pace to die for others.”

Luna tilted her head slightly, and this time Elias was sure he had seen her smile. Not in a mocking fashion either, but a genuine smile. Odd.

“Very well then.” The gladius descended swiftly, fast enough that he felt the air cut as it stopped just short of his tunic. Elias didn’t so much as blink. The blade gently alighted on his left shoulder, then his right. “I dub thee Guardsman Bright,” Luna said, her tone rising slightly as she made her proclamation, “official member of the Lunar Guard. Serve thy position well Guardsman, I shall be watching you closely.”

Elias’ gladius flipped smoothly in the air, the hilt now facing him. He inclined his head slightly as he took the offered blade, sheathing it quickly. The rest of the ponies stomped lightly; what Elias assumed was their version of clapping. Either way, it made him uncomfortable, and Elias quickly sat back down, supporting his arm once more as he tried to avoid eye contact with all of the smiling ponies. He felt his face flush slightly in embarrassment, and he pushed hard to suppress the emotion. That was supposed to be a display of grit and fortitude; the ponies acting like it was a congratulatory affair was foreign to him. Mostly, he just didn’t like the positive attention.

His actions seemed to win him favor with Luna, because her glares at him ceased, replaced by a calm mask, hiding her emotions carefully. Nightshade leaned over.

“Nice job,” she whispered in his ear.

*****

Elias walked behind Luna; their pace leisurely as they walked through the castle corridors. Thanks to Doctor Scalpel, his arm was in a proper sling now, though Elias had rejected the use of any kind of painkiller, medicinal or otherwise. Elias wanted to keep his head clear. He had to make rational, well thought out decisions; he couldn’t let the ponies effect how he thought. While he was going to be stuck with the them for the long haul, he didn’t intend to change much. He had to remain stand-offish, even it meant alienating a few people.

“So, Guardsman, while I do believe you are sincere in your pledge to perform your duties to your fullest, I must say I am curious. Your armor and weapons seem to indicate that you would prefer fighting in daylight, yet you chose the night. May I ask why?”

Luna said all of this without looking back or so much as a misstep.

“Unfortunately, that armor was made for me during my time as a legion commander,” Elias replied. “Normally, you would be correct. When fighting with a unit trained as mine was, daytime is the best to organize and fight battles.” Elias felt a smile at the corner of his mouth. “The armor is supposed to shine in the sunlight; a visual intimidation factor if you will.” His thoughts quickly soured. “When what happened happened, I was left with only my armor. I kept wearing it even though my strategies changed. I chose the night guard because I have had an abundance of practice striking from darkness.”

He shrugged as he brought his rogue emotions back under control.

“Also, I like it better than the day. Sunlight is great and all, but the quiet doesn’t seem so unnatural at night.”

“I apologize Guardsman, it is likely no small thing to witness the death of one’s species,” Luna replied.

“It wasn’t just my species Princess; it was all of them. Humans killed the whole planet. What still lives won’t be doing so for long. It’s why I know I won’t go back. I’d rather take my chances in mysterious fantasy world than my own.”

Luna snorted, and yet the action somehow seemed dignified.

“Our world is fantastical? Nonsense. You are the one who speaks of touching stars. We are tame by comparison.”

Elias eyed the back of her head.

“Ignoring the radical difference in species, you have the natural ability to fly and to use magic. Real magic, not card tricks, genuine magic. Humans have no such thing. I would say actual magic weighs in favor of being more fantastical.”

Luna scoffed.

“Please Guardsman, all creatures have innate magic. Your species must have simply missed or ignored the signs of your world’s magic.”

Elias shrugged, looking at the wall pointedly as they walked.

“I guess you could be right Princess. For instance, having thumbs is awful useful, one could say it’s the magic finger, though there might be some debate on that.” He titled his head slightly as he looked back at the pony.

Luna sighed and stopped, turning around with a disappointed look on her face.

“Guardsman, as much as I enjoy your nigh flippant tone; you will act like a professional while in my guard. I shall tolerate no less.”

Elias bit back a retort that he wasn’t technically a guard yet, but the look on her face helped him drive the comment away. He didn’t know precisely what it was, he just didn’t like seeing Luna look at him like that. It reminded him of…

Elias blinked, widening his eyes so that the memory would stay buried. He couldn’t afford another panic attack so quickly. Elias let the small voice at the back of his mind have the reigns for a moment. He bowed his head, lowering his eyes.

“Sorry Princess. I’ll get it under control.”

Her eyes narrowed at his quick submission, but she nodded and turned back around, resuming her quick stride. Elias followed close behind. The rest of the walk was in silence, with Elias unwilling to give anything more than short, non-descriptive answers. As they arrived at a door, that to Elias looked the same as any other, Luna stopped, turning to him once more.

“Before we enter this room,” she said, indicating the doorway with her hoof, “the gryphon that resides here is a bit, how do I put this properly… eccentric,” she finished.

Elias was a bit more in shock that she had mentioned another fairytale creature. Clearing his throat, he asked;

“Respectively Princess, are there any other mystical creatures I should know about? Do you perhaps keep a dragon nearby? Maybe a hydra or two? Should I be expecting a minotaur on an afternoon jog perchance?”

“These creatures are all fantastical to your world as well?” she asked in reply.

Elias nodded.

“From an assortment of different cultures.” He sighed, blowing some hair from in front of his eyes. “They’re all real, aren’t they?”

“Quite,” Luna answered with an amused smirk. “Though you are unlikely to find any within our borders, especially not in Canterlot.”

Elias sighed, his face downcast as he thought, his mind struggling to grasp the situation as it slowly unfolded. Evidently his mood was readable.

“Are you all right Guardsman?” Luna asked, a frown on her face.

Her tone also became slightly more concerned, which Elias found mildly irritating. He didn’t need pity. The small voice helped him suppress the urge to lash out, and Elias answered the question truthfully.

“Just beginning to realize how out of my depth I am Princess. It’s… a lot to process. I’ll probably have to do some reading so that I don’t induce another panic attack from mental strain alone.”

“Guardsman, if you still need further time to recover, it is not a sign of weakness,” Luna said. “I am quite willing to delay your entrance to the guard in favor of you being better adjusted.”

Elias shook his head slowly.

“No, no. I’m… I’ll get better faster if I get to work. I’ll just need to borrow some books; if you don’t mind of course,” he added, looking back to Luna.

She eyed him carefully, but nodded.

“The Royal Library is always available for all guards. I shall be sure to take you there before our tasks tonight are completed.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Elias said, his mind drifting off as he laid out what he would look for.

He would start with some sort of cultural book, or maybe something on local fauna, He could then expand to history, and if he was truly free to look up what he wanted; local weaponry. Magic had to have an impact on warfare, and Elias would need to have intimate knowledge of it if he wanted to learn how to counter it in the future.

His mind snapped back to the present like a bowstring. He gestured to the door with his good arm.

“You were saying about the gryphon?” he asked leadingly.

Luna sighed, staring at the door in what Elias assumed was trepidation.

“Let us finish quickly. I do like Anyon, but when he is working, he has a nasty tendency to be abrasive. It can be distasteful.”

She sighed again and pushed open the door, letting out a wave of heat and noise from the room. She walked confidently in, and Elias followed, letting the door close behind him as he squinted, trying to let his eyes adjusted to the sudden change in both light and heat. Where the corridor had been a bit cool, this room was sweltering. Elias saw several furnaces running at full steam, and that was just in the front area of the room. The back area was blocked by a simple wooden barricade that ran floor to ceiling, with only a door and a bathtub sized opening in the middle. Through said opening, Elias spotted rows of dark blue armor, across from rows of bright gold armor. In the center sat more furnaces, as well as a myriad of tools hanging from the ceiling. It all looked disorganized and tightly packed.

Yet skittering throughout it all like a madman was a gryphon, straight out of a story book. Elias noted however, that this one seemed rougher than those drawn in any book he had seen. Its head feathers were black, though whether that was from its natural color or the soot hanging in the air, Elias couldn’t tell. As it flipped back and forth between a workbench and hammering a glowing sword, Elias noticed that one of its eyes were missing, with a long scar over the socket in its place. All of this he observed in the second that it took Luna to walk to the opening which acted as a storefront for the blacksmith.

She cleared her throat loudly.

“Anyon? I am here for the special request.”

Without looking up from his work, the gryphon answered.

“Princess, ah already said ah cannot make a bed that bounces for ya. It cannot be done! The frame won’t take the strain! There just ain’t a material out there that can take the abuse an alicorn can throw at it! It cannot be done!”

Luna’s ears twitched in embarrassment, her eyes flicking to Elias as she gauged his reaction. Elias kept a passive look on his face as he feigned looking around the smithy, pretending to be uninterested in what the gryphon had let slip.

Luna cleared her throat loudly as she looked back to Anyon.

“I am not here about… that request Anyon,” she said, her eyes flicking back to Elias again. She leaned forward a bit, as if trying to shield the already exposed information from him. “That was supposed to remain private!” she hissed.

The gryphon spun around, abandoning his work as his eye found quickly found Elias, who stared back.

“Ach!” the gryphon said, his eye flicking back to Luna. “You did not tell me you were bringin’ him! The armor’s almost ready, ah just have to wait for the enchantments to settle.”

Elias looked to Luna, his face showing his confusion.

“Armor?” he echoed. “What’s wrong with my old set?”

Luna opened her mouth to respond, but Anyon scoffed first.

“Ignorin the fact that it’s the wrong color, yer “old set” is dung. Ah’ve seen hatchlings with better skill out the egg then who’er made that.”

Elias growled and his hand clamped onto the hilt of his sword.

“My best friend made that armor,” he said, his eyes becoming dangerous.

Anyon scoffed again.

“Yer friend’s an idiot and needs to find himself a new craft if he intends to live with himself. Ah wouldn’t arm my cat with that low-grade mish-mash rubbish.”

Elias felt his hand freeze as he began to tug his sword free. His eyes quickly fell on Luna, who’s horn was lit up. She ignored him in favor of glaring at Anyon, who currently had his beak clamped shut in a blue aura.

“That is enough. I will not have either of you instigating a fight. We have already had one of those tonight.” she said, pointedly looking at the bandages wrapped around Elias’ legs. “You two will cease this folly at once, am I clear?” She looked to Elias apologetically. “Your old armor was quite fine Elias, but it simply does not meet the needs of your new position. Please, let us not have violence again, it is not fitting this night.”

Elias scowled, but he let his hand drop away from his gladius. Anyon waved a claw at his entrapped beak, and Luna released him. The bird scratched it before staring at Elias. He rubbed at his chin as he looked the man up and down.

“Princess Luna’s right. Yer old set was missing enchantments, and it wasn’t made from good ol’ Equestrian steel.” Almost as an afterthought, he added, “Ahm sorry ‘bout yer friend, ahm sure he did his best.”

The gryphon extended a claw of peace to Elias, which Elias simply glared at. Anyon snorted.

“Fine, be like that.” He turned his shoulder to Elias as he looked to Luna. “I don’t know where ya keep finding these strays Princess, but they could learn a thing or two about manners afore you bring ‘em in ‘ere.”

“Someone should teach you some manners, buzzard,” Elias spat in Latin, carefully tucking his thumb into his sword belt. “I didn’t carry that armor for this long to have some raggedy bird spit on it.”

“I already said I’m sorry youngblood,” Anyon snapped back. “Take the damn apology so we can both move on from this.”

The pair froze as they stared in shock at each other. Luna looked between them in confusion. She didn’t understand the tongue in which they spoke, but it was clear they understood each other. Anyon was the first to recover, his glare fixed intently on Elias.

“How in the world do you know the old tongue?” he questioned sharply.

“I would ask you the same thing,” Elias responded, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the gryphon. “It is an old tongue, but a human one. Latin. The language of conquerors.”

Anyon shook his head, and Elias noted some of the black, now clearly soot fall off with the motion.

“Nay. That is the language of kings. Rex loqueris. Gryphon leaders have been speaking that tongue for ages to each other to counter any who would plot against them.”

Elias looked at the gryphon curiously.

“If that’s the case, then how do you know it? This workshop of yours doesn’t look like much of a kingdom to me.”

Anyon laughed.

“Aye youngblood, that it is not. No, ah used to live far from ‘ere in Gryphonia, as the king’s personal blacksmith!” His chest feathers fluffed out with pride. “And being the best blacksmith meant ah was privy to everything, even a language that was meant for a special few.”

“So why are you here now?” Elias asked. “That sounds like something you would never leave for anything.”

Anyon nodded in agreement, then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“It was. But… ah may or may not have shared a nest with the king’s wife, if you catch my meaning.”

Elias blinked in shock.

“You gave up your position as the king’s personal blacksmith, a life likely filled with more luxury in a single day then I’ve seen in my entire life, just to fuck his wife?” Elias asked slowly.

“Guardsman!” Luna said, aghast. Anyon only laughed.

“The youngblood knows his words! About time someone with some class started creepin’ ‘bout this place. Anyway, just about. Ya gotta understand, she was the fairest catch in the land, and since he’s king, she had an awful tendency to get real lonely…”

Elias shook his head in disbelief.

“Nobody gets that lonely.”

“Ah was younger then ya daft idiot!” Anyon screeched. “An’ even if ah wasn’t, ah coulda still wooed her with my handsome charms.” He puffed his chest out again and combed back his dusty, black feathers.

The gryphon then looked to Elias, who just stood, one eyebrow raised as he subtly shook his head again. Anyon sighed and let the façade drop.

“Ah yer right. Ah’m an old bird now. She’d want some youngblood stud like yerself.” He shrugged, his rugged demeanor returning in full. “Still, back then ah was a bit more foolish and hotheaded. Much like yerself.”

Elias sneered at him silently as Anyon continued.

“Ah was with the fair lady for some time, oh and the things she could do…” he stared wistfully into the air. Luna sighed and sent a light shock through her horn, making the gryphon jump. He continued instantly. “One day the king came home early, and well, there ain’t no fightin’ the king, so ah gave her a kiss and flew the coop.”

Anyon gestured toward Luna.

“The princesses were kind enough to offer me sanctuary in exchange for my smithin’ talents, so ah changed my name and now ah’m here in Canterlot to stay. Have been for some time now.”

Elias looked to Luna.

“And this king was just okay with that? You can’t expect me to believe he never found out.”

Luna smirked.

“He found out within a week. You must understand King Steel Talon is not a bad king, in fact he excels at the position, and has done so for as many centuries as my sister and I have ruled Equestria. His work simply keeps him busy, and every wife he takes begins to be neglected as duty overtakes personal life. It is why my sister and I do not take lovers.”

“That seems like a rather bleak life,” Elias said.

Luna shrugged in response.

“Such is the fate of near immortals. We are viewed as gods by some. This is a false premise of course, but regardless, remaining ageless despite the millennia passing does leave one to isolation. Only in recent times has the world become peaceful enough to even consider such personal trivialities. Tell me Guardsman, would you seek out love on your world as you try to carve civilization from the wilds?”

Elias thought about the question for a moment before shaking his head.

“No, I guess not. I always saw other people getting together, but never really…”

“Found the time?” Luna finished.

“Yeah,” Elias said. “I was always too busy keeping things running.”

Luna nodded.

“Precisely. Now spread that existence over centuries. Your duties become your life at some point, it is… calmer that way.”

Luna’s voice drifted off, and Elias almost felt like he should ask her if she was alright. He instead decided to push the conversation forward.

“So how did you end up getting away with it? If he knew that quickly, there must have been some sort of repercussions.”

“Aye,” Anyon said, nodding. “There was. Even though the princesses took me in, ah had already lost the eye at that point, and King Talon made me swear off any rights ah had as a gryphon. As far as everyone back home is concerned, ah died.”

Luna perked up slightly at the reassertion of the original conversation.

“As for us, we gave the gryphons a small bit of territory on the edge of our borders. It was merely a ceremonial gesture. Talon saved face by making a permanent diplomatic treaty with Equestria, while we got a superior arms smith. I do not fault my ponies and their efforts, but…”

“Only two species know how to make real armor,” Anyon cut in. “And it’s gryphons and minotaurs. If ponies get all their fancy spells and such, we get the magical know how to enchant any piece of metal we come across. It’s in our blood,” he said, his pride returning. Anyon’s eye seemed to twinkle as he smirked and winked at Elias.

“Besides, ah got the better deal for it anyway. None of them feather heads appreciated my armor fully. Here’s much better. Nobody can even challenge my craftwork, nobody dares!” he proclaimed loudly.

Elias grunted in response, only slightly impressed.

“Guess it worked out then.”

Anyon winked again.

“Oh aye. Ah get everything ah could ever want. Peace, quiet, three square meals, all the best materials I could want…” He paused as he smirked broadly, “and opportunities to chase after those young and spry pegasi always flying ‘bout the place. Haven’t caught one yet, but when I do…”

Luna sighed and rubbed her eyes with a hoof.

“Anyon, can we please get back to the task at hoof. Elias has accepted a place in the Lunar Guard and needs his equipment.”

“Course he does!” Anyon said, his voice at a shout. “That’s why ya came to me! It won’t be long now, was workin’ on the shield when ya came in, had to make sure the improvements were right.”

Elias’ face twisted slightly as he felt anger rise again.

“Are you going to tell me my scutum is worthless too?”

Anyon shook his head.

“Nay youngblood, that shield is a piece of real craftsmanship. If it’s made by the same friend, he shoulda been a carpenter. The woods a bit different than ah’m used to, it’s a bit tougher and less pliant, but otherwise it’s just well used. You’ve seen a few fights, haven’t you?”

Elias nodded silently, and Anyon continued.

“Ah took the liberty of making some improvements. Put a couple fortifying enchantments on it, gave it a fresh coat of paint, I’ll double check to make sure I did the right branch first. I had an inkling ya would go with Princess Luna, but ya never know.” He scratched his feathers, sending more soot into the air. “I do got one question for ya though.”

He turned around and began rifling through a stack of what looked like scrap material. Only once he fully buried his head in the stack did he find what he was looking for, and he drew out a long, familiar piece of material.

“Now ah understood why you got two sets of handles, especially now that ah see ya, by what is this doodad for? Ah couldn’t figure the reason you had it.”

Anyon laid a long piece of leather on top of the counter, and Elias picked it up, lightly touching the holsters with his thumb.

“It’s for holding pilla,” Elias replied, wistfully staring at the worn strap. “I, and my legionaries would carry two each for throwing. They were carried on the shield for easy access.”

He carefully laid the strap back down.

“I lost mine some time ago. One broke in half, while the other went down in the chest of a man who fell into a river. I haven’t had time to make new ones.”

Anyon frowned in thought.

“Ah’m afraid ah ain’t familiar with that word youngblood. Ya wouldn’t happen to have a design ah could look at? Ah can do my best to recreate from words, but if ya want the real thing, ah need somethin’ to look at.”

Elias looked at the gryphon curiously.

“Am I allowed to get something like that made?” He looked back to Luna questioningly. “I can’t imagine you would want me to have non-uniform weaponry.”

Luna shrugged.

“You will not be an orthodox guard,” she replied. “If you require additional equipment to perform your duties in the best manner possible, I see no issue with Anyon creating these pilla. I shall be interested to see how they function.”

Elias looked back to Anyon.

“I have a book back with my gear. It should have everything you need.”

“Stop by anytime,” Anyon said. “New weapons are always good fun.”

His eyes fell to Elias’ waist.

“Ya mind if ah take a look at that youngblood?” he said pointing at the sword hilt.

Elias followed his claw to the gladius, and his hand gripped it tightly.

“What do you want it for?” Elias asked, his voice dripping with paranoia.

Anyon sighed in exasperation.

“Maybe to hit ya on that stubborn skull of yers.” The gryphon beckoned Elias to hand the blade over. “Come on now, ah jus’ want to take a look. It’s the only bit ah haven’t got a peek at.”

Elias didn’t budge. His eyes stared back and forth between Anyon’s eyes and his outstretched talon.

“Don’t give me that look youngblood!” Anyon squawked. “Ah ain’t gonna break it, ah just wanna look. A blacksmith can tell a lot about someone on how they treat their blade.”

Elias stared at the gryphon’s waiting hand, his thoughts racing for a second. He sighed as he found he agreed with the old buzzard’s logic, so he unbuckled his sword belt, laying it all gently in Anyon’s waiting palm. The bird nodded gratefully. He gently spread apart the belt, and Elias watched tensely as the bird got a small magnifying glass from some unseen drawer. Elias twitched; he felt naked without his blades on his hip. Still, he controlled himself while Anyon slowly went over the belt, step by step.

He began by drawing forth Elias’ knife, a blade that was as long as the distance between the tip of his middle finger and his wrist. The gryphon ran a claw up and down the glistening blade before setting it down on the counter without comment. Anyon then held the belt up, studying each part of it before he grasped the sheathe of Elias’ gladius.

The blade came from its sheathe smoothly and soundlessly. Elias felt a flash of pride as Anyon cooed at the blade, spinning it slowly as its pristine edges flashed in the light of the furnaces.

“Now this here’s a piece of craftsmanship. Did yer friend make this one as well?” Anyon asked, looking to Elias before his eyes drifted back to the blade, studying its sharp edges. He seemed hypnotized by it.

Elias nodded as he answered the question.

“It was the last piece he made. He started with my armor, and then ended with my sword. It took him two months working for sixteen hours every day to make all that armor and weaponry. My gladius came last. A gift. He was really proud of it, said it was his best piece of work.”

Anyon nodded in agreement.

“It shows. Ah take everything ah said back. This… this is real work.” He swung the blade through the air experimentally before looking to Elias again.

“You the one keepin’ it sharp and clean?”

Elias snorted before he nodded.

“I trust nobody else to do it right.”

“Good answer,” Anyon said.

He tapped at the base of the blade, flipping it over as he looked closely at the hilt.

“Leather around wood around steel,” he muttered. “The hilt is custom?”

Elias nodded.

“Aye, I had a knife like that, and that hilt made it easier to transition to sword play.”

Anyon nodded silently as he ran a claw across a chip near the base of the hilt.

“It’s seen use.”

“Aye,” Elias said solemnly. “Too much if you ask me.”

Anyon smiled at the statement as he flipped the blade again, once more analyzing the sharp point.

“Another good answer. A good sword should never see too much fighting. A good fighter always approaches conflict with an open hand.” He looked to Elias, saying; “If’n you don’t mind, ah’d like to take a crack at this. It’ll just take a minute, and ah swear you’ll like the results.”

Elias frowned, wished desperately for the sword belt back; but he nodded.

“Just… be careful. That sword is one of the only things I have left.”

Anyon nodded and gave Elias a grin.

“Don’t worry youngblood, it’s a beauty of a blade; it’s just missing those special touches only a gryphon can give it.”

The bird spun around, quickly pulling down half a dozen tools as he shoved the gladius into a furnace. Elias couldn’t even pretend he didn’t flinch when the whole gladius, hilt and all was sealed behind that steel door. Elias shifted on his feet as his thumb messed with his sling. Luna seemed to be watching his movements carefully, but for once Elias didn’t care what information he might be giving away with his body language. He wanted his sword back.

After the longest ten-count in existence, Anyon withdrew the heated blade from the furnace, quickly pouring a vial of liquid over the hilt as he whispered something at the sword. Elias saw a light haze spread over the blade before settling into it, the gladius taking on a small glow before it looked like normal once more. Anyon then looked over his shoulder.

“She got a name youngblood?” the gryphon asked as he reached for another vial.

“Gavin called it the Reaper,” Elias responded. Anyon scoffed.

“That’s pretentious. And the sword is a she youngblood, ah’m surprised one like yerself who gives her such care would treat her as anything less.”

He poured the second vial over the sword, this time carving runes in the liquid with his talons.

“Nah, she’s gonna be a little Feather on yer hip youngblood. Perfect for a stud eagle such as yerself.”

Elias flinched as his blood ran cold. ‘They don’t know. They don’t know.” He repeated mentally, trying to remove the shock from his system. Luna frowned.

“Are you all right Guardsman? Does that name mean something?”

Anyon looked over his shoulder.

“If ya don’t like it ah can always make somethin’ different. Blades whatever ya want her to be.”

Elias shook his head far too quickly.

“No, it’s fine. There is nothing wrong with Feather. It’s a fine name. Speaks to the lightness of the swing.”

Anyon smiled as he went back to the sword.

“Aye that it does. A good slashing weapon this is, though ah imagine this is a thrusting sword too. Fantastic design.”

Elias swallowed nervously, pointedly not looking at Luna as she eyed him carefully. She then looked away, as if trying to break down the sentence to find what had brought out Elias’ nerves. He couldn’t let her figure it out. He cleared his throat loudly as he shifted is weight between his feet.

“If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly are you doing?” Elias asked, pointing to his gladius with his good hand.

Anyon grinned as he raised the blade into the air. He moved back toward the counter and passed the sword to Elias.

“See for yerself youngblood.”

Elias noticed instantly that the hilt felt different in his hand. He gave it an experimental swing in the air as he looked at the blade, studying it for differences. When he didn’t find any, he looked back to Anyon. The gryphon had a block of stone laid on the counter.

“Give it a swing youngblood. Ah wanna make sure ah ain’t losin’ my touch.”

Elias opened his mouth to protest, but found that he had more than a bit of confidence that the gladius, Feather, would be just fine. He swung the blade as hard as he could at the left corner of the block. Likely due to his exhaustion, his aim was slightly off, cutting out a bigger chunk of the rock than he had intended. Elias’ eyes widened when the blade didn’t jar back, but instead cut clean through the stone, the corner sliding to the ground before shattering into a hundred pieces. Elias felt the chips bite into his feet, but he didn’t care; he felt hypnotized by the sword in his hand.

The blade was unmarred, and in truth looked sharper than ever. In awe, Elias looked back Anyon, who nodded with a satisfied grin.

“Gryphon magic youngblood. Ain’t nothing that can beat it. Little Feather can cut through just about anything unenchanted and more than a few things that are. She’ll never dull either. It’ll take a mountain of force to break her, but don’t go trying, or you’ll succeed.”

Elias swung the blade through the air again.

“There’s something else. It feels… easier to swing her.” He looked to Anyon. “If that makes sense.”

The gryphon chuckled.

“That’s just a little confidence enchantment. It ain’t nothing compared to some of the endurance spells the unicorns got stirring about, but you’ll get a few more swings out of her, don’t ya doubt.”

“I…I don’t know what to say,” Elias stammered.

Anyon smiled broadly, a playful wink in his eye.

“Well, a pony might say thank you or some such; you though? Ah imagine you’ll call me an old buzzard and say how little Feather there isn’t worthy to wipe your arse.”

Elias mock laughed.

“Ha ha, very funny. Thank you, and fuck you.”

“Ah me ears!” Anyon squawked, his tone clearly mocking Elias. “So vulgar, and in front of the princess no less!” He flopped onto the ground dramatically. “Oh, you’ll be sent to the sun fer sure!”

Elias looked to Luna with a deadpan look, and she simply sighed and shook her head.

“Anyon, when will the rest of Guardsman Bright’s equipment be ready?”

The gryphon popped up, his one eye still staring at Elias.

“Ah the youngblood can come fetch it in a day or two. If he’s gonna be carryin’ a sword like that, he needs the armor to match. I got a few ideas in mind. He gonna be wearin’ the red all the time?”

Elias looked to Luna and shrugged. The princess looked to Anyon.

“No, I shall see him to a tailor. He is in a drastic need for new clothing.”

Anyon nodded in agreement as he pushed Elias’ sword belt forward. Elias didn’t need a second invitation. As he began to strap it on with one hand, no easy feat, Anyon snorted.

“Ah’m surprised that the youngblood isn’t struttin’ his stuff. That raggedy thing don’t do a thing to make the mares come to him.”

Elias looked down at his clothes. He pinched the well-worn fabric between two fingers before he looked back up.

“What’s wrong with this? It’s my favorite tunic.”

Anyon snorted.

“It’s got no protection youngblood. That thing couldn’t stop a breezie.”

“It isn’t meant for protection from attacks,” Elias responded. “It’s meant to prevent chaffing under armor and to help keep me covered.”

“From what?” Luna asked curiously.

Elias looked between them, quickly noticing that they were both in fact, nude. Great. He flapped his arm as he tried to think of how to justify casual clothing to two species of nudists. He finally seized on the similarity between the two creatures.

“You both have fur. I don’t. My clothing helps keep me warm, and keeps bugs and such off my back.”

Anyon squinted.

“Ah guess you are a hairless thing. Still, ah’m an old coot and ah can tell that yer little dress ain’t impressing nobody.”

Elias felt his face flush slightly.

“It isn’t a dress,” he growled.

“Of course it isn’t,” Luna scoffed. “A dress would not look so wretched. That “tunic” looks like a potato sack.”

Elias opened his mouth to protest, looking to Anyon for help. The gryphon’s grin broadened.

“Don’t worry Guardsman, ah think ya look pretty in yer dress.”

Elias’ mouth flapped in fury as he tried to think of a retort that wouldn’t make him look even more foolish. He jabbed a finger at the gryphon, then shook his head and spun away with a growl, quickly leaving the room as anger, and no small amount of embarrassment overtook him.

Chapter 8: The First Week

Journal Entry

Day 768? 769 probably

I didn’t do much today. Tried to scavenge, but the weather was too cold. I got robbed last week, somebody got in and took all of my clothes, so now all I have is what’s on my back. I decided to lay bait and set up a nasty trap that I saw in an old book. It’s called a Pun Stick Trap, I think. Doesn’t matter, I made sure to sharpen the stakes nice and pointy. I have a bottle of bleach stashed nearby too. If I’m lucky I will catch them alive, payback is gonna be a bitch.

Elias scratched his head as he stared at the wall. The prison cell was a bit chilly, but Elias honestly didn’t care much. He had begun slipping into apathy after the second day, but this little visit just made it worse. In truth, he wished the cell as a bit more run down and dank. It would at least give him something to do, something to complain to himself about. Instead he was stuck in a perfectly maintained stone cell, each grey wall as featureless as the next. The steel bars were in pristine condition, with not even a spot of rust on them. Elias groaned in boredom, unable to find anything to occupy his mind within the picture-perfect cell.

*****

His week had been a tidal wave of anger and irritation, with each new day bringing something new to further drive his anger up the wall. After he had left Anyon and Luna cackling behind him, he had waited in the corridor, shutting off their mockery as he studied his sword, swinging it through the air as he tested its weight, ensuring that it hadn’t changed enough to throw him off balance if he got in a fight. Luna had eventually come out of the blacksmith’s room, and she had remained silent while she led him around the castle, showing him important locations. The armory, the cafeteria, the training grounds. The last stop had been the castle tailor, who had looked upon Elias’ tunic and sandals with greater disdain than Luna or Anyon. She assured both Elias and Luna that he would have an array of new clothing and shoes that would be just as functional as his current gear, while also being more durable and, quote “more befitting a member of the guard”.

Elias wasn’t wearing any of that clothing yet. Despite the fact that the unicorn had finished within twenty-four hours, Elias was still unsure about it. It looked far too soft to take the punishment he submitted his clothing to. When asked, Elias said he was saving it for when he started his guard duties. Elias closed his eyes as his head thudded against the stone wall. That day was now likely farther away, and Elias couldn’t tell if he was angry that he couldn’t get it over with already, or glad that he didn’t have to interact with anyone yet.

After the visit with the tailor, Luna had dropped Elias by his quarters, somewhere around seven in the morning, giving him a small schedule for the next night. Nightshade was supposed to stop by his room promptly at 6 p.m. to wake him; with the intention of getting his body naturally prepared to sleep during the day. Unfortunately for her, Elias was gone by that time, his night terrors driving him awake almost as soon as he fell asleep. Using the map on the back of his schedule, Elias found his way to the library at the hour of 11 a.m. He was surprised when he found Twilight there, and was even more surprised when she just silently waved when she spotted him. He had expected the pony to jump him for more information, but she simply continued reading, letting the human go in peace.

It didn’t take Elias long to get lost in the long row of books, and he picked out several small books on simple subjects, primarily history. He then settled against a bookshelf and began reading, losing track of time as he tore through page after page. He didn’t even look up until he began hearing a series of pops. When he did, he saw a series of purple flashes. To his credit, Elias only jumped a little when Twilight appeared beside him; with a very angry looking Nightshade beside her. That had been the first time he had gotten yelled at by the thestral, (a species he had learned about in a biology book that had snuck its way into his stack).

Throughout the dressing down, Elias couldn’t help but watch Twilight curiously as she went through the stack of books he collected. Throughout Nightshade’s tirade, the unicorn would disappear with a book, then return with three, setting them beside his pile before combing through it once more. By the time Nightshade had finished, the stack of books was nearly as tall as he was, and had been split into three separate stacks. Twilight however, looked completely satisfied with herself, perched atop the books as she waited for Nightshade to stop. When she did, the thestral looked at the stack in awe.

“I don’t remember that many books being there before,” she said.

Twilight smiled.

“I just added in a few references and newer versions of some of the books Elias had picked out.” She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “I’ve kinda had a whole list prepared if we ever came into contact with a foreign species, and I may or may not have filled out that list so that Elias would have the basic level knowledge of Equestrian history, culture, as well as flora, fauna, and pony biology.”

“That’s the basics?” Nightshade asked, dumbfounded. “I haven’t read that many books in my entire life.”

Twilight scoffed, waving her hoof dismissively.

“Maybe not all at once Captain, but this include stuff that gets taught to colts and fillies in school. Elias is starting with no knowledge! He needs everything! He’s got so much homework to do!”

Elias flinched at the word homework. He enjoyed reading as much as he enjoyed breathing, but homework? It had been the only bullet he had dodged in the apocalypse. All of his schooling was self-taught past an elementary level; it allowed him to pick up a myriad of useful skills, as well as to study what he enjoyed, like ancient Mediterranean and European cultures. There was no homework though. If he became disinterested with a subject, he abandoned it. Still, Elias knew he had an out, and it was in the form of a sling on his arm.

“Twilight, there is no way I can carry all of that,” he said, pointing to the cast decorating his forearm.

The unicorn scoffed again.

“Just put it in your enchanted saddlebags. All guards have them. I know because Shiny gave me his old set when he got promoted.”

“Guardsman Bright hasn’t been issued his saddle bags, nor has he received much of his equipment,” Nightshade responded. She glared at the man. “In fact, we are supposed to be getting that equipment now, if Guardsman Bright had been in his room on time!”

Elias gestured to the long shelves and the blank walls.

“There are no clocks in here! How am I supposed to keep track of time, count?”

“You are supposed to use your standard issue pocket watch Guardsman!” Nightshade snapped back. “This was all covered in your training manual.”

Elias placed his hand on his hip.

“Do you mean that standard issue watch I haven’t gotten yet, or perhaps the training manual, which I have also not received?”

Nightshade opened her mouth to respond, then stopped. She flushed red in anger, mostly because Elias knew he had gotten one up on her.

“If you had been in your room this entire time instead of wandering you would have been on time!” she shouted. Then she reached beneath her armor, drawing forth a blue and black watch, handing it to Elias.

“Here. It's magically synced with every other watch in Canterlot Castle. This is how you will stay on time at all times. It also acts as an alarm system if there are any major security threats.”

Elias clicked it open with his thumb, noting a flashing blue light on the inside face.

“Is that meant to be the alarm?” he asked, flipping it around to show the flashing light to Nightshade. The thestral looked away in embarrassment.

“It is. I… may or may have not sounded an escape alarm when you weren’t in your room. I should alert the all clear before you get pounced.”

Elias clicked the watch closed, wrapping the chain around his sword belt before he tucked it into an empty pouch.

“Escape? So I am a prisoner then.”

Nightshade rubbed her nose with a hoof.

“Technically you’re an escaped mental patient until Doctor Scalpel and Princess Luna clear you. You are free to wander wherever you like, I just…” Her ears drooped. “I panicked when you weren’t in your room. It is my responsibility to keep track of all the guards, and I thought you had vanished, maybe losing it after everything that’s happened. Sorry.”

Elias felt conflicted. On one hand, he had intense anger for two reasons; the first of which was that he was considered a mental patient and a flight risk. The second was that even if that was an honest excuse, he was still being treated like a prisoner. There was no trust. The small voice at the back of his mind was screaming at him to just accept it, to think of it like the parole it was. He hadn’t earned their trust yet, and therefore he should wait before getting angry. Elias decided to listen to this voice, partly.

He clamped down his emotions and put his usual grim expression on his face, leaving his voice neutral.

“It’s fine,” he responded curtly. “Let’s just get started. What are we supposed to be doing first?”

After that, Elias took all of the books to his room, with help of course, and then he and Nightshade made their way to the medical ward. He was greeted by an enthusiastic Scalpel, who hadn’t even noticed the fact that they were nearly an hour late. Elias was quickly dragged onto a bed, where Scalpel began his healing treatments, all while directing a pair of nurses that ran about pell-mell preparing what Elias imagined were a series of tests. His eye twitched when he saw some of instruments that got laid out, but he wouldn’t show weakness. If these were standard for ponies, he was more than capable of taking it.

Once the healing was complete and his arm was free from both its sling and cast, the tests started with a questionnaire. An in-depth questionnaire. That alone took two hours. The questions ranged from how he was physically feeling, to his medical history (of which there was none), to what he liked to do for fun. More than once Elias had to pass a question, either because he had no answer, or because he didn’t want to address the answers he had. The longer the questioning went on, the more irritated he got, which Elias had no doubt also went down on the sheet, which just further fed into his anger.

When Elias reached the point where he felt like he was going to snap, Scalpel moved on. He had Elias strip of his clothes, and unfortunately that meant all of them. Elias and Scalpel had a shouting match when the pony told him he had to lose the briefs as well, and while Scalpel had said that it was purely for medical reasons, Elias pointed out that Nightshade was still in the room. The thestral had only grinned in response, saying nothing as Scalpel forcefully asserted that she was supposed to be there. Elias didn’t believe him for a second.

In a dastardly act of privacy invasion, Scalpel had eventually just teleported the underwear away, leaving Elias with no clothes and a flushed face. He grumbled while the unicorn did his tests, moving quick and efficiently through them. It was the only reason Elias didn’t strike the pony. After poking and prodding and collecting some extremely private and vile samples, Scalpel gave Elias his briefs back, which Elias had back on in under a second.

After that, it had been relatively standard as Scalpel poked and prodded at Elias’ numerous scars, as well as his extremely visible ribs. Everything he said was written down, and the questions came again, less personal, and therefore easier to answer. Scalpel asked him about his dietary needs, and while Elias wasn’t an expert on the “perfect” diet, he had a fair grasp of what he needed.

As the tests seemed to be winding down, Elias felt like he was in the clear. He had managed to stay relatively calm, and he had only one close call. That was until…

“So Elias, let’s talk about the markings on your back.” Scalpel said, gesturing for Elias to take a seat in a stool in the center of the room.

Elias sat down, but he did so hunched over, clasping his hands in front of him. His paranoia spiked up.

“Which ones?” Elias asked. “Be aware, some of those stories won’t be told.”

Scalpel nodded as he sat in a rolling chair and rolled around to Elias’ back, his warm hooves lightly prodding at several different spots.

“Only answer what you feel comfortable with Elias. I don’t want you to be unhappy in anyway. This is just so I can begin to get an idea into some of your past traumas. It will help me come up with several therapy strategies that may ease the effects of your night terrors non-magically.”

Elias sighed and nodded. Strictly speaking that was something that he wanted. He didn’t know enough about magic yet, and he certainly didn’t trust anything that affected his mental state.

“Fine. Pick one and let’s get this done.”

“Let’s start with the biggest marking. Not the why, but the what.” Scalpel said, his hoof running down a scar that Elias knew cut the red eagle in two. “It seems to be in the style of a cutie mark, but of course the location is all wrong and it lacks any magical signature whatsoever. Furthermore, I wouldn’t say it is an Equestrian tattoo, because while weak in magic, they still emit something. The only comparison I can make to this marking would be to an unnaturally abnormal birthmark, or, in likelihood, it is similar to minotaur rune tattoos. If it’s that… I would like to know why you would submit to that kind of physical torment.”

Elias looked over his shoulder.

“First I need to know what these rune tattoos are. How are they put on?”

Scalpel sighed as he prodded the edges of the tattoo.

“Minotaurs use a needle, a small hammer, and berry ink to quite literally carve runes into their skin. It is a very painful and permanent process. Equestrian tattoos are much safer, and more importantly, removable. No risk of infection, no regrets if you don’t like it afterwards. Drunk bets can be removed in a flash.”

Elias snorted and turned back forward.

“It’s not quite as ugly as you described; humans use actual ink, but yes. It is similar to the minotaur rune tattoos. Needle and all. The whole piece took hours to complete.”

Scalpel sighed.

“I was afraid you would say that. Is there any particular reason you did this to yourself?”

“Then? Because it was the reward I gave my legionaries for completing their training. The legion symbol and the names of every single legionnaire. Two hundred names.” Elias smiled for a second, then his eyes fell, and he looked down at his hands. “Now it serves as a reminder. That’s I’ll say about it.”

Scalpel nodded, and Elias felt his hoof on a particularly nasty scar near his left hip.

“And this one? It appears to be a brand, but I highly doubt that it is self-administered. Hopefully not another reward.”

Elias bit his cheek.

“Nope. A nasty group, killed three hundred people in four separate settlements. I tracked them down and got captured unfortunately. It was the same group that took a few toes. When I escaped I returned, killed most of them and then b-…” His jaw snapped shut, nearly biting the tip of his tongue off in the process. He rethought the rest of his statement. “I executed the rest as well. Nobody does what they did and gets away with it. There are some lines that you never cross, and they did so and never looked back. They got what they earned.”

Elias could feel Scalpel’s frown at his back. The unicorn didn’t press the issue however, merely stood and gestured for Elias to re-dress. He did so swiftly, wincing slightly as his recently healed chest wound pulled, the tender flesh still not entirely mobile. As Elias slipped on his sandals and looped on his sword belt, Scalpel gestured he re-take his seat. Elias sat, this time facing the unicorn.

Scalpel sighed as he looked at his clipboard notes.

“I really don’t know what to say to you Elias. It's clear that none of this is your fault, I just wish I knew more about your developing years.” He noted Elias’ scowl but continued. “Being unwilling to talk about it tells me enough Elias, I have no more questions for you today. This is my recommendation, however; first, we should bring your physical state back. Nothing about your body appears healthy. I will know specifically what needs remedy when the tests come back, but right now you are sleep deprived, dehydrated, and teetering on the edge of starvation. How you kept going in this state, adding injuries along the way I might add, is a testament to your endurance if nothing else.”

Scalpel looked to Nightshade.

“He isn’t performing any duties this week, and if he’s still this skinny by the end of the week, he won’t do any next week either.”

Elias groaned.

“I’m fine. Sitting around doing nothing will make my mental health worse, not better.”

Scalpel glared at him.

“Tough. Use the time to fulfill your promise to talk with Ms. Sparkle about Earth cultures. Find a hobby, since you seem to lack any other than,” he flipped a few pages on his clipboard up, “reading and combat training.” He looked at Elias. “Those aren’t hobbies. I mean, reading is, but that can’t be your whole day. You need to socialize, find something physically relaxing to do. Keeping mentally occupied is one thing, but you need to be emotionally occupied as well. Otherwise, all we’re doing is putting a band-aid on a broken bone.”

Elias looked at the pony for a second, trying and failing to hold his gaze. He looked away as he stood.

“Thanks for the checkup Doc, but I’m fine. I just need something to do. Everything fades with time.”

Scalpel sighed.

“That’s not true and we both know it Elias, just… nothing physically strenuous. If nothing else, we’ll fix your body before it gives out. It won’t last at this pace for long. Make sure to eat something, I know you skipped breakfast.”

Nightshade snorted as she pushed her way out of her seat.

“Don’t worry Doc, I’ll make sure he gets healthy,” she smiled sadistically at Elias. “Even if I have to hurt him to do it.”

The rest of that first day had included four meals, all of which were far too large for one person to eat, after which he was met by Twilight and Luna in the library. Twilight spent the first four hours asking question after question, made worse when Elias went off on one tangent or another about some minuscule aspect of human culture. Each word seemed to spark a dozen new questions, and by the time she simply collapsed from exhaustion around midnight, she had a stack of notes that would fill several books. Elias hadn’t even gotten started, and what he did talk about was primarily ancient cultures, not really his own. He was going to be talking for the rest of eternity before that unicorn was satisfied.

After that, he and Luna simply sat and stared at each other as a pair of guards stole the sleeping Twilight away, taking her mountain of notes with her. As an hour rolled by, followed swiftly by another, Elias began to grow irritated. Luna just sat and stared at him, not blinking for minutes at a time. Whenever he opened his mouth to speak, to ask what the purpose of this exercise was, she would merely raise a hoof for silence.

And so, Elias brooded, sorting through what he knew and didn’t know, as well as what he still wanted to know. What he knew was slim, but he did have cursory knowledge of ponies now, or at least those that operated around the castle. Professionalism was first for them, though for most friendliness wasn’t far behind. While Elias was a curiosity, he wasn’t treated with outright fear or disgust. Evidently a bipedal, largely hairless creature wasn’t the strangest thing that they had seen. He couldn’t tell if that was a positive thing or not. Did it tell him that they were numb to oddities, and were therefore prepared, or did the friendliness demonstrate weakness that indicated they were completely unprepared if a real threat appeared?

Elias zoned back in, his eyes still staring into Luna’s as she stared back. The princesses at least seemed cautious enough. If anything, that bit of paranoia on her part was comforting, if at the same time it was irritating as they kept him trapped here. If it was an attempt at reconditioning him, it was the strangest form he had seen. He had been beaten, burned, starved, cut, drowned, beaten some more, but brainwashing by… friendship? Was that the game here?

Elias slid out the handy pocket watch he had been given and checked the time. Fifteen till six. They had been sitting and doing nothing for nearly six hours. Elias sighed and replaced the watch before he looked back to Luna, who had watched the action with disinterest.

“Princess, if I may, what is the purpose of this?” he asked, for once uninterrupted. “This time could have been spent doing something useful.”

Luna tilted her head.

“Such as?”

Elias gestured to the books surrounding them.

“Reading? Or getting started on whatever,” he pulled out the schedule he had been given and read the last entry on the list, “emotional dream therapy is. I won’t pretend to understand what that is and will just assume that thrown together sentences like it are magic speak that I don’t and will never understand.”

Luna tilted her head.

“Dream magic is accessible to all sentient creatures Guardsman. With careful practice, even you could access it with ease. As for the therapy session, that is what we have been doing. You have stated previously that you require action to keep your darkest thoughts at bay, and yet we have sat in silence for hours without a major negative reaction. I must say I am impressed Guardsman. I thought you would speak up sooner than this.” She looked to the bookcases. “Or at the very least find something to read. Doing nothing can be quite dull if one does not know how to do it properly.

Elias raised a finger and opened his mouth, then closed it. He ran a hand through his stubble a few times as he tried to suppress his anger. She was mocking him, as was the voice at the back of his head. He wanted to stab it. Instead of committing bodily harm to a piece of his psyche, Elias dropped his hand and straightened in his seat.

“With your permission, can I go back to my room now?” Elias asked.

Luna nodded calmly.

“Of course, Guardsman. I shall see you again tomorrow night.”

So had ended the first day. Elias entered his room, stuck halfway between overwhelming frustration and confusion. On one hand, it hadn’t gone bad, and he had kept control of himself. On the other hand, he had accomplished nothing. Idling about talking brought him no satisfaction, no sense of accomplishment. Even scavenging had its ups, but this was just pointless. At least Elias felt so. Regardless, he removed the covers from his bed and curled up on the floor, feeling more comfortable without the support of the feathery mattress.

The second day began much the same as the first, with Elias awake before noon due to his night terrors. Instead of going to the library (since it appeared Twilight had delivered the library to him), Elias decided to do some physical training. After dropping off the Roman military book with Anyon, he collected his old armor and made his way to the practice field. Being the middle of the day, it was empty, so Elias was free to do as he wished. He began with laps around the track, trying to get strength back into his healed legs.

After sweating through his tunic in the afternoon sun, Elias stripped the cloth garment off, keeping only his sword belt, sandals, and briefs on as he ran through stance drills. While unpractical for a solitary fighter, Elias enjoyed the familiarity the maneuvers gave him. At the very least he got his muscles working as he swung his sword and blocked with an imaginary shield at invisible foes.

As it became near to the time that Nightshade would come looking for him, Elias began to pack up his equipment when Anyon had flown down from the castle, a thick bundle in his arms.

“Ah youngblood, thought ah might find ya here!” the gryphon squawked excitedly as he landed.

Elias watched as Anyon held the bundle in one arm while he hobbled about quickly on the other three. Despite the obvious impediment, the gryphon moved quickly, likely well practiced at the maneuver. The old bird smiled widely as he let the bundle flop onto the table next to Elias’ armor. Undoing a length of rope, Anyon quickly spread the bundle apart, revealing Elias’ shield, as well as half a dozen brand new pilla.

Elias carefully eyed the shield as he picked it up, inspecting it with both hands. Anyon grinned proudly.

“Ah made sure to get that done first. Ah’ll have yer armor done by tomorrow, no doubt. Just had to make a few extra improvements to make it like yer sword. How’s the little Feather handling by the way?”

Elias tilted his head as ran his thumb along the shields edge.

“She hasn’t had to kill anyone yet, so I would say pretty good.”

Anyon grinned.

“Aye that’s good.”

The gryphon remained silent while Elias looked over his shield. Elias flipped it over, looking at the steel boss on the front. He could faintly see runic outlines embedded in the steel, glowing slightly when he got close. When Anyon noticed Elias’ focus he said;

“Standard hardening enchantment. That boss should never tarnish or dent. It would take a mighty big swing to even scratch it.”

Elias nodded silently, holding the shield out at arm’s length so he could look at the full picture. The bright red and yellow was gone, replaced by a mixture of dark purple, blue, and some accents of silver. The designs however remained intact. Elias looked to Anyon.

“Are the legion lightning bolts a Lunar Guard standard?”

The gryphon scoffed.

“Nah, but none of the ponies are holdin' shields either. Ah got permission from the Princess to make yer gear special, so ah’m gonna make it special. Besides, it’s a bit o’ home ain't it?”

Elias nodded as he thumbed the lightning bolts that ran diagonally across the scutum. He was unused to seeing the shield unmarred. He had gotten scratches on it the day it was made. Now though, it positively gleamed in the sun as it sat ready for use. Anyon scoffed and motioned for him to hurry up.

“Come on now. Shields ain’t for gawking, they’re for wearing, try it on.”

Elias smirked and flipped the shield back over, gripping the steel horizontal handle.

“Actually, this shield is for holding. The straps are for carrying it.”

Anyon came around Elias and looked at how held it from behind. Anyon cocked his head.

“But yer bracin’ it with yer wrist. That ain’t a very sturdy grip.”

Elias nodded.

“Not alone, but when you hold it like this,” he turned his body, so his left side was facing out. The edges of the shield laid against his shoulder and his knee, “your whole-body acts as a brace. In formation it makes it an incredibly strong form.”

Elias turned again, centering his grip on the scutum handle.

“When you’re in single combat, the shield can be punched with,” he said, swinging the shield through the air. Elias grimaced as the motion sent a flash of pain up his left arm, but he ignored it as he reset his stance. Elias looked to Anyon, who was regarding him with curiosity. “Does that make sense?”

Anyon frowned and stroked his chin.

“Ah guess. Ya seem to know what yer talkin’ about, it just looks a bit odd for me. Maybe ah’m just old.”

Elias shrugged. His eyes quickly fell to the pilla, and he set the shield down, carefully picking up one of the long javelins as he inspected it. He looked down the shaft, making sure it was perfectly straight. The weight felt right, perfectly balanced with weighted steel on both ends. Anyon looked cautiously at Elias as he ran his hands up and down the javelin, feeling for any inconsistencies in the wood.

“Ah tried followin' yer book as best ah could. The design ya wanted was easy to recreate, didn’t take me more than a few minutes to make casts for the heads. If’n you don’t mind me askin’, what were there other types of these…” The gryphon paused before he snapped his claws. “Pilla! That was the word. Feels kinda weird.”

Elias nodded in understanding. Latin was by no means an easy language to learn, and if there was a language here that was already nigh identical, he could understand why new words might be difficult.

“Well, the Romans always worried about their enemies taking their pilla from the dead and then using them against other Romans. So, they put in intentional faults into each pillum. Initially it was just the weakness of the heads, they used soft metals so the tip would bend and break, but eventually they developed designs that had the shaft break on contact, while another had additional weights to encourage an enemy to drop his shield. It was an ingenious move. Worked fairly well too.”

Anyon nodded in understanding.

“Sounds smart. Hope ya didn’t mind, but these ain’t got no faults.”

Elias smiled as he sent the javelin spinning through his fingers.

“No issue at all. Nobody knows how to throw these anymore, except me of course. If somebody could throw one of these back at me, then they deserve to kill me.”

Anyon scoffed.

“Don’t let the princesses catch ya sayin’ that. They’ll try to make ya soft with their friendship and such.”

Elias looked at the gryphon.

“Says the guy who’s been living under their roof for how long?”

Anyon glared at him.

“Ya know what ah meant youngblood. Just fer that little remark, ya gotta put on a show now.”

Elias looked around, suddenly becoming self-conscious. While they had been speaking, the day guards, as well as a few night guards had begun filtering onto the training grounds. Very few of them were actually training, however. Primarily, they were staring at him and Anyon. Elias grabbed his watch from his sword belt and checked the time. Twenty minutes to six. He turned to Anyon.

“Look, I’m going to be late, and Nightshade flipped out last time…”

Anyon just laughed.

“No excuses youngblood. Ah rushed these pilla of yours out, and now ah wanna see how it’s done. Ya don’t even gotta put yer fancy dress back on, just show me how there used. Ah’m curious.”

Elias opened his mouth to protest, then decided against it. It would be faster to just nail a target and be done. Elias grabbed his shield, sliding two pilla into their sheathes. He then grabbed a third in his hand as he turned around, searching for an appropriate target. He quickly spotted a trio of straw dummies. Elias let out a shrill whistle, then pointed to his targets with his pilla. Any ponies near the dummies moved away, while the rest watched intently.

As Elias gauged the distance, he leaned over to Anyon.

“What would you say that is, two hundred feet?”

The gryphon cocked his head, making it so his one eye was facing the dummies.

“Ah’m thinkin’ two-fifteen.”

Elias rolled his shoulder as he rotated the pilla in his hand, his fingers curling carefully around the shaft.

“I was thinking more of two-twelve.”

Elias took a single step forward with his left foot as he pulled his right shoulder back. His right foot came down next, and as his body curled over the limb, he let the pilla go, his arm extended fully. Like a bullet, the spear sang through the air, taking the dummy in the head. Its “neck” snapped in two under the force, and the spear carried it off. Elias rolled his shoulder as he drew another pilla from his shield. He winked as he gauged the second target.

“Two-eleven.”

The second pilla tore through the dummy’s torso, impaling it firmly. The shaft of the spear bounced slightly as the force was distributed thought out the target’s “body”. Elias didn’t notice, he had his eyes already on the third target, and the third pilla sat in his hands, ready to fly.

“Two-eleven, minus two inches.”

This pilla struck the post that served as the dummy’s neck. Elias suspected that whatever Anyon enchanted the javelins with helped, but the spear cut clean through, and the head rolled away as the spear clattered against the stone wall. Elias winced as he lightly massaged his shoulder. He turned back to a stunned looking Anyon as he set the shield down with the rest of his equipment.

“Now imagine charging into a line of soldiers that can all throw like that. A pilum is a nice tool in the right hands.” Elias said. His hand was a bit scraped from gripping the second pilla too tightly. He had meant for that one to take off the target’s head as well, but they didn’t need to know that he had missed.

As he rubbed at the minor scrapes on his hand and prepared to go and retrieve his pilla, he heard a shout ring across the training ground. He sighed as he looked at his watch. That little demonstration had cost him. Like a bat out of hell, Nightshade glided down, impacting a few feet from Elias, a look of fury on her face.

“Damnit Guardsman! You are on express orders not to conduct strenuous activities, and here you are at the training grounds, throwing spears!” the thestral shouted at him.

Elias sighed, and he straightened.

“Captain, I was just running some standard exercises, I didn’t believe they would be considered strenuous.”

Nightshade glared up at him.

“I didn’t ask what you believed Guardsman. This is the second time you have not been where you should be. If I hadn’t seen a lot of idle hooves!” she shouted, pointedly looking at all the guards watching the confrontation. When they all scrambled to look busy, Nightshade nodded in satisfaction before turning back to Elias. “If I hadn’t seen all of these guards standing about, I would have sent out another escape alarm. You need to focus Elias. I understand that you may feel bored, but you if you keep pushing yourself like this…” She sighed, her eyes looking down. “Look, you are a few bad days away from being strapped to a bed so that Scalpel can control every aspect of your life until you are deemed healthy.”

Nightshade looked up to Elias, and he couldn’t help but see the sympathy that her orange eyes held.

“I get it Elias, I really do. You need to move, you need to keep busy, I get it. I am more than sure you have your reasons. But have you considered that maybe all of this is for your benefit? We’re just trying to help you get better, even if you don’t want to admit the problem.”

Elias looked away.

“I know what the problems are. I don’t sleep. I have anger problems. I got it. I’m an anti-social, potentially sociopathic freak. Too dangerous to be left alone. I’m a risk.”

Nightshade glared at him, then just shook her head in disappointment.

“Get your gear Guardsman. We have a schedule to keep.”

The rest of that day had been a blur. After the “incident” at the training field, another guard had been assigned to watch Elias. If he hadn’t felt like a prisoner before, having a constant shadow sealed it. It didn’t help that the pony seemed to have some animosity toward Elias, though he had no idea what he did to cause it. In truth he didn’t care, and Elias made it painfully obvious that he was ignoring the pony.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Twilight in the library, once again talking about Earth until his face turned blue. Once more the notes piled high, and once more the purple unicorn passed out somewhere around midnight before she quit. Elias rubbed at his eyes when Luna began to silently stare at him once again, repeating her “technique” from the previous day. Except today’s stare was less of a calm gaze, and more of a hardened glare. Elias responded by not even looking at her, instead finding interest in the far wall.

It was somewhere around three when Luna spoke.

“Why were you at the training grounds today Guardsman?”

Elias barely registered the question for a moment, and when he did, he looked at her, tilting his head slightly as he sat up in his chair.

“For the same reason I came to the library yesterday. I need to keep myself occupied. Whether it is physical or mental, I have a drive to do something.” He shrugged. “The training grounds was merely a way for me to start getting in shape again. I’m not a very useful guard if I don’t keep my training up.”

Luna frowned.

“Nor are you a useful guard if you keel over and die. It has been iterated several times that you need rest, and yet you seem both keen to avoid it, as well as unwilling to accept help in finding it.”

Elias shrugged.

“I get enough rest to get by. As long as I find food, which thanks to you hasn’t been an issue, I’m fine. I can keep going for as long as I need to. My throws at the training ground prove that at least.”

“That is what concerns me most Guardsman. Despite clear mental, physical and emotional deterioration, your body seems completely intact, ignoring your injuries and deficiencies. It is most unnatural, and it concerns me to say the least.”

“Then why give me this?” Elias said, tapping his gladius. “Why give me any of it? Why the whole guard business? Why the fancy room, and the medical treatment, and the food. Why? I don’t get it. Of everything that has happened since I’ve gotten here, I still haven’t figured that last part out.” His tone shifted, becoming more aggressive as his anger grew. At what, he did not know, but Elias could feel the rage boiling in his gut. “Why? Why do you care? Why does anyone care? What have I done to earn any of this?” he snapped.

“Nothing Guardsman,” Luna replied calmly. “You have not earned the treatment you have received.”

Elias threw his hands up.

“Then why am I receiving it? Why am I the one who gets to sleep safe and sound every night, instead of literally anyone else who is more deserving? Why do I get to go to bed with a full stomach when I know damn well that somewhere on Earth, a hundred go hungry? Why the hell is it me?” he shouted.

Elias was on his feet now. He held his angry glare at Luna for only a second before he turned away, holding a hand over his mouth as he mulled. He opened his mouth more than once as he began to say something, then shuttered the thought away, crushing it brutally as his thoughts tried to keep anything important tamped down. Eventually he just grunted in anger.

“Princess, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone.”

Luna nodded.

“Of course, Guardsman. I shall see you tomorrow night.”

*****

That brought Elias to now. He stared out through the cell bars as he heard a door slam shut. Voices echoed through the dungeon, and he briefly wondered how much of that anger was directed at him. Elias smirked, closing his eyes once more as he sat. Apparently trying to leave the castle with nothing more than a bundle of rope and a knife left a bad, almost suicidal impression on the guards. His flippant disregard for their questions likely didn’t help. He hadn’t made it more than twenty steps outside the gate before he was lifted in a magical aura and lifted back inside, quickly deposited in the cell when he began playing with the knife by tossing it in the air. Maybe it could have been viewed as childish, but Elias didn’t care. If he wanted to act childish in this insane environment of talking ponies and magic, he would do so. It wasn’t like he got to live through most of his childhood anyway.

Elias heard a deep sigh and he cracked open his eyes to find Luna standing in the cell doorway, her face covered with a disappointed stare.

“Hello Princess,” Elias said cheerfully. “Come to visit the "suicidal" monkey?”

Her gaze hardened.

“That was a very foolish action Guardsman. You could have been seriously injured.”

Elias snorted.

“Please tell me you don’t honestly believe what the gate guards said. If I really wanted to die, I had an arrow in my chest less than a week ago. I could have more than solved the issue then.”

Luna sighed, the disappointment dripping from her tone.

“Elias, is this truly what you want? To sit in a cell? Wasting the rest of your days tortured inside while the world continues around you?”

Elias shrugged, giving no verbal answer. Another sigh came from Luna.

“What exactly is this supposed to prove Elias? And to who?” she asked. “What do you have to gain from this behavior? I will not pretend to know your tragedies, but whoever you lost, is this the life they would have wanted from you?”

Elias smiled; he knew that would be dragged out against him. He looked to Luna; the smile wide on his face.

“Yes, I think they would,” he replied smugly. “Because I am still, and will always act as a protector, even if nobody else can know what they are being protected from.” He gestured to the cell walls around him. “This is where I belong Princess. This or a grave. Not because of what I’ve done, but because of what I know.”

He chuckled darkly and stared at his legs.

“Knowledge is power,” he said mockingly. “And I have knowledge that could bring about the end of your world, just like it did mine. If a cell is what it takes to remain silent, then so be it. Torture and solitude aren’t new to me.”

He scratched the back of his head and laughed.

“Even if both are willing and of my own design.”

He didn’t look back up, didn’t feel like listening to the judgements of Luna. She had no doubt more to say, but Elias didn’t want to hear it. He knew he was right. Some things should never be shared, and for him, that was over half of his life.

Elias did look up when he heard the door shut, with the pony princess inside the bars, rather than out. Elias watched the key turn in the lock, before disappearing altogether. He looked at Luna with a sigh.

“What are you doing Princess?” he asked.

She sat down beside him, far enough away that they weren’t touching, but close enough that he could feel her body heat. She settled until she was comfortable, then she looked at him.

“I am waiting with you. Despite your wishes to remain alone in a cage, I shall not let you. This is supposed to be a punishment. So, you shall remain here, with me, until I decide you are fit to be out on your own again.”

Elias shook his head and looked away.

“You are the ruler of a nation. Is this really the best use of your time?” he asked.

Luna laid her head on the stone floor and closed her eyes.

“I can perform much of my duties from here. The important ones at least. Captain Nightshade will handle the rest, and if she needs my presence, then she will push off the work until we are free from this place.”

Elias smirked.

“Your solution to the mentally deranged human that would rather sit in cell than go to therapy, is to lock yourself in with him?” He chuckled as he looked at Luna. “How are we supposed to get out Princess? I don’t have a key, and I have none of the tools I’d need to pick the lock.”

“The door is keyed to your magical signature Elias. It shall open when you touch it.”

Elias’ grin widened.

“And how precisely is that supposed to work when I have no magical signature?” he asked.

Luna scoffed.

“All living things have a magical signature, from the ponies to the grass. Even a creature from a different realm should have a magical signature.”

Elias raised an eyebrow.

“Really? How much are you willing to stake on that?”

He got to his feet, and walked to the cell door. He reached a hand out, but stopped short, looking back to Luna.

“Are you really one hundred percent certain that this door will open? Because I am one hundred percent sure that it won’t.”

Luna frowned at him.

“I do not appreciate your doubt of my abilities Elias. I can cast a magic detection spell as well as anypony, and I identified your signature as soon as Doctor Scalpel finished his initial healing sessions. That door is keyed to that signature.”

Elias didn’t break eye contact as he firmly grasped the bar and tried to rattle it. The steel didn’t so much as budge. The anger in Luna’s eyes turned to disbelief. She shot to her feet.

“That’s impossible, I am quite certain I did it right!”

She got close to the bars and watched him intently, motioning for him to pull at the sealed door again. So he did, to the same result. Elias wanted to laugh as he saw her eye twitch in disbelief.

“B-but I scanned you!” she shouted. “I have used that spell a hundred times! I know the signatures of every pony in Canterlot Castle!”

Elias chuckled as he moved away from the bar, resuming his seat on the floor. He threw his hands over his knees as he watched the pony try to figure out where she went wrong. Elias already had a theory, but he wanted to see how long it took her. When she began to mumble to herself and pace, Elias decided to throw her a bone.

“When did you do your scan?” he asked simply.

Luna looked at him, her eyes narrowed.

“I do not see how that matters. The time does not impact the spell result.”

“No, but I imagine who is nearby, say, casting healing magic might,” Elias replied smoothly, his smile poking back out. “Now I’m no expert on magic, but I think we can both logically work out where you found my “magic signature”.”

Luna stopped, then looked between Elias and the cell door, then back to Elias as the realization dawned on her. Elias could almost see the pieces falling together in her eyes.

“I-I scanned Doctor Scalpel!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “I detected his signature from the healing spells and identified that as your signature! We shall be stuck here for days!” She let of a string of what Elias assumed were expletives in some sort of old pony tongue.

Elias let her freak out for a moment before he spoke again.

“Can you not send some sort of message out with your magic? Perhaps to whoever is on guard of these cells?”

Luna moaned and thumped her head against the wall.

“Nay, these dungeons seal off all magics save for the ambient ones, and we haven’t had a permanent guard here for centuries. They were designed specifically to contain my sister and I, as a precaution of course. Being the most powerful beings in Equestria is a threat, and we wanted to never be without a failsafe.”

“And yet I’m viewed as insane for trying to isolate myself,” Elias muttered. Luna scoffed as she resumed her pacing.

“You might have knowledge that you deem forbidden, but your physical prowess is limited. My sister and I raise and lower the sun and moon. It is hardly comparable.”

Luna stopped, then pounced on Elias like a cat, startling him as she got right in his face.

“Of course! When I fail to lower the moon, ‘Tia shall come looking! It is the perfect escape plan!”

Elias tried to lean away, but found stone blocking his skull. He cleared his throat.

“Ah, Princess…?”

Luna seemed to come down from her excited high, quickly realizing what she was doing. She hopped back, combing her flowing hair with a hoof as she fell back into her normal, professional demeanor. Elias spotted a tinge of red on her face as she refused to meet his eyes.

“My apologies Guardsman, I may have been overenthusiastic.”

Elias nodded dumbly.

“Right. It’s fine. Sunup shouldn’t be too far off.”

Luna settled onto the stone floor once more, huffing as she laid her chin on the floor.

“I cannot believe I made such a foolish mistake. A foal should have noticed the similarities in magical signatures.” She gave an exasperated groan at the ceiling.

Elias resumed staring at the wall, but found that he had nothing left that he wanted to think about. Boredom was his ultimate enemy, as it allowed dark parts of his mind freedom, so he looked at Luna, who was still pouting on the floor. Elias looked away, didn’t know how to start a conversation. What did he have to talk to a pony princess about?

He stared back at the wall, his gaze boring into the smooth grey material. The only thing of note on the wall was the fact the wall itself was featureless., and therefore worthless for occupying his mind. Elias didn’t know why it was suddenly hard to just, not think. He had been fine for hours before Luna had decided to initiate her scheme.

Speaking of the devil, she huffed again, and Elias caught her glance at him, though it occurred in less than a second. When Elias began to shift his eyes forward again, she sighed loudly. Elias remained silent. Luna sighed louder, and her wings fluttered slightly. Elias crossed his arms across his chest, confident he could wait the pony out, whatever she was doing. He closed his eyes as he listened to Luna take in a long gulp of air, before loudly exhaling, shifting about as she did so. Elias scratched his head as he tried to tune the pony out.

Eventually, once she stopped her squirming and sighing, Luna shot up, glaring at Elias.

“Guardsman you are supposed to ask if I am alright!”

Elias looked at her with one cracked eye.

“Why?”

Luna crossed her hooves.

“Because this is a lesson to teach you about being a good friend. If nothing else, it is a lesson about checking on your princess.”

Elias raised a finger.

“First, we aren’t friends, we do not know each other at all.”

He raised another finger.

“Second, we won’t be friends, because I don’t make friends anymore. I learned that lesson enough times.”

He lifted a third finger as he closed his eye and faced forward once more.

“Third, I can see you, right next to me, completely safe and sound. You are uninjured, and besides the means of the cell, you aren’t even restrained. You’re fine, and if we want to really be technical, I’m not even a guard yet.”

He dropped his hand and exhaled deeply. He could feel Luna staring at him, though he couldn’t tell what emotion was on her face. When he opened his eyes to check, he saw a halfway between anger and sadness.

“We are not friends?” she asked.

Elias sighed.

“No, and for good reason. Besides our names, what do we know about each other?” he looked at the pony. “Do we know each other’s birthdays? Our favorite hobbies? Our deepest fears? No. We know none of that. At best you are my teacher/therapist/boss.” He snorted. “At worst you’re my warden. Though,” he paused and gestured toward the closed cell doors, “I am rather interested in your warden strategies. Locking yourself with a potentially dangerous human seems like a tactical error to me.”

The anger evidently won out, because Luna’s next statement was at a furious yell.

“I know what I am doing Guardsman! Maybe being locked in here with you was an elaborate part of my strategy to get you to open up so that we can help you!”

Elias chuckled.

“And how is that strategy working out Princess? Yielding the results, you wanted?”

Luna growled at him.

“It would be if there wasn’t a stubborn human who refuses aid in the way.” The anger suddenly disappeared from both her tone and posture as she laid back down, scooting closer to Elias. He eyed her carefully. Luna smiled up at him.

“So Guardsman, you have pointed out several faults in my plan, so I shall thank you by getting to know you better that we might be better friends.”

“We can’t be better friends if we aren’t friends at all,” Elias said.

Luna huffed.

“Fine, have it your way Guardsman. Then I am merely inquiring information so that I may be able to understand if you are a safety hazard or not for my subjects. Does that suffice for a reason?”

Elias sighed and rubbed at his face. Morning couldn’t come soon enough.

“On two conditions. One, if I don’t want to answer a question, I’m not answering it. Second, I’d like to ask some questions in return.”

Luna perked up and clapped her hooves together.

“Excellent! A marvelous first step Guardsman! We shall be friends before the sun rise!”

Elias waited in silence for the first question. When it didn’t come, he cracked open his eyes to find Luna sitting directly in front of him with a wide, creepy smile on her face. Elias really didn’t like that smile.

“Princess, what are you doing?” he asked.

“I am sitting in front of you Guardsman,” she said back, her voice chipper. “That doesn’t seem like a good first question, but to each their own I suppose.”

Elias resisted the urge to smack himself in the face. Luna adjusted as she sat up taller, sitting straight as she looked at the slouched human.

“So Guardsman, when is your birthday?”

Elias stared at her.

“Really?”

Luna tutted.

“Now Guardsman, you already got a question. It is my turn, and I wish to know your birthday.”

“Fine. July 14th.”

Luna pouted.

“Unfortunate, your birthday has already passed this year. The celebrations are most enthusiastic, and there are wonderful moon pies. A shame.” She looked up, her smile returning.

“What is your next question Guardsman?”

“You said something about ambient magic? What is it?”

Luna pondered the question for a second before answering.

“Well, to begin, there are three ambient magics; song, dream, and life. All sentient creatures are capable of accessing the first two at any time, while the third exists in everything. From the stones to the trees to the ponies, everything has life magic, even if only in small amounts.”

Elias nodded.

“Except me,” he said, pointing a thumb at his chest. Luna frowned and shook her head.

“I simply made a mistake when detecting your magical signature Guardsman, that does not mean that you have no signature. As I said everything has ambient magic within, that includes you.”

Elias shook his head.

“I’m afraid not. On Earth there is no dream magic, I won’t even ask what song magic is, and there is no life magic. We simply…” he shrugged. “don’t have anything. Human “magic” is just illusions and parlor tricks. Looked like fun, but it’s all sleight of hand.”

“That cannot be true,” Luna denied adamantly. “It is a definite rule of existence. The sun and moon require magic for motion, friendship has magical power, and everything has magic within! It is fact.”

Elias chuckled.

“Then I’m going to put you for a spin when I say that the sun doesn’t move, at least not on Earth. Maybe here it needs to be controlled, but on my world, we rotated around it. It’s what gave us the seasons.”

Luna scoffed.

“Your world sounds ludicrous. It sounds like the perfect home for Discord, so random and directionless.” She paused, then added, “No offense Guardsman.”

Elias shrugged.

“None taken. Maybe if things had been more coordinated humanity might not be in its death throes. Let’s move on.”

Luna nodded in agreement before smiling again. Elias was beginning to become unnerved by that smile. It seemed like it was trying forcefully to be genuine, but failing miserably.

“So Guardsman, what is your favorite hobby?”

Elias sighed and ran his hand over his face. It was going to be a long night.

*****

Luna watched Elias sleep intently, taking note of every little movement his face and hands made. They had questioned each other back and forth for hours, with her questions focusing on the surface personality of Elias, while his questions tended to focus on historical events, along with minor aspects of pony culture. Eventually, the human began to grow visibly tired, so Luna had stopped, telling the human to sleep while she managed the dream realm. A minor falsehood, since Equestria only very rarely had any nightmares that needed intervention, but it got Elias to lay back and attempt sleep.

It was usually obvious when a being started to dream, and Luna intended to find out the mystery of the human’s night terrors. When she had first seen the human in the light of day, writhing in terror on the floor of the infirmary, she had been surprised when she was unable to touch his dreams. She could sense them, could find the emotional turmoil, but she had been completely unable to pierce the barrier around his mind. It had manifested like a hurricane, pushing her magic away with powerful gusts of wind and violent strikes of lightning. Few creatures could force away her magic like that, and all of them were evil or extremely powerful, usually both. Hence her initial… caution regarding the human. Only when he began to show the signs of immense mental trauma did she begin to lower her guard, theorizing that his mind was simply strong against intrusion due to walls he had established within himself. It wasn’t unheard of, just incredibly rare.

His hand twitched. Luna watched intently as his face twisted, just a little. His upper lip curled, and his eyes seemed to screw tighter. She settled herself next to the human, keeping her horn pointed directly pointed at his forehead. Luna watched patiently, and the signs grew steadily more aggressive. Both of his hands were twitching constantly now, curling and flexing as if he was holding something. His lips were curled into a snarl, and his body seemed tense, his muscles flexing. His breathing came faster as a low growl issued from his throat. Luna closed her eyes and channeled her dream magic, focusing it through her horn as she targeted the mind of the human in front of her.

She quickly opened her eyes, seeing the starry plane of the dreamscape. Finding his nightmare wasn’t hard, the swirling maelstrom of torment standing out like fire in a haystack amongst the peaceful dreams of her subjects. She approached it slowly, studying its tall walls intently. She probed the edges lightly, seeing if minor calming magic would assist in lessening the storm, but then her magic sputtered out, and she remembered that her direct magics were blocked by the cell she resided in. She growled in frustration. She had gotten complacent since her return; she would need more practice for complex situations such as this one.

She walked around the perimeter of the dream, trying to see inside. Usually she could force the dream apart, creating a hole to slip inside so that she could either view, or interject herself if it became too serious. The second option usually destroyed the dream, and made her job harder, so she preferred the first option, as it allowed her to integrate herself within the dream to naturally calm the pony in need. Since she didn’t have her normal magic on hoof however, she would be forced to poke a hole with her own manifestation, or let the dream run its course.

Luna prodded the wall with her hoof, feeling it bite back in retaliation. The pain was minor, so Luna pushed forward, submerging her entire foreleg into the black cloud. For a moment it seemed to calm, then it struck back violently. With a yelp, Luna jumped back, rubbing her lightly scorched foreleg. She glared at the wall; her eyes tinged with anger now. A single nightmare thought it could defeat her? She would show it, and when she did, it would be crushed beneath her hooves.

Luna went headfirst this time, ignoring the minor shocks and jolts she received as she pushed through the cloud. She kept her head down as the wind whipped at her face. She felt a dozen small shocks race across her body as she walked forward, driving to make her quit. She wouldn’t falter, this was her duty as princess! Nopony, nobody had a nightmare that she couldn’t save them from. So, Luna ignored the pain as she trod forward.

She covered her eyes and tried to look ahead. Faintly, she saw a small glow, like an ember from a fire. Luna grinned in victory and redoubled her efforts. So too did the maelstrom. Hail and rain joined the wind and lightning, striking her over and over as she pushed onward. She began to hear whispers as well; though she could not make out a single word they said. She did her best to ignore them, and the light grew brighter. Luna roared as she charged forward, ducking through the hail that pelted her from all sides.

The maelstrom vanished all at once. The wind, the rain, the lightning, the hail, all of it simply stopped. Luna took a moment to breathe as she looked back. Behind her was featureless, not like the star filled skies of the dreamscape, but simply empty of anything but the faint red light emanating from in front of her. For some reason, Luna felt a twinge of nervousness. This had never happened before, and unlike usual, she did not have a secure method to leave. Should she really be here? Was it safe? She scoffed as she swung her head forward, dismissing the notions. She was Princess Luna, Keeper of the Night. She controlled dreams with the same authority that she controlled the moon. Nothing had the power to stop her here, even without her alicorn magic.

Luna walked forward, scanning the featureless landscape for anything of note. Besides the light, it remained empty, another abnormality. When she usually grew close to a nightmare’s source, some features became clear. It allowed her to begin to theorize what the dream was about, as well as determine a way to resolve the hidden issue behind it. The touch of nervousness returned, whispering to Luna that she was out of her element. She scoffed once more and increased her pace to a fast trot. The light was growing closer.

When she finally reached the source, Luna was surprised to find it all emanated from a small hole in the dreamscape. No larger than a dinner platter, it showed her a forest on fire, the very treetops aflame. Through the smoke Luna spotted a trio of figures, two featureless, while the third was very clearly Guardsman Bright. She watched in horror as the two featureless humans jumped Bright. She heard a cry of pain, as well as an awful snap as a bat one of the men carried cracked into Bright’s arm. The guardsman roared in rage and pain back at them, and Luna watched as his sword tore through one with savage efficiency, the body disappearing as soon as it hit the ground. The second man swung again, hitting Bright’s now broken arm. Luna flinched at the second cry of pain. Bright didn’t let the agony overwhelm him however, and he quickly turned the tables, impaling the second man through his stomach, leaving him hanging on a tree.

Guardsman Bright stumbled away in horror, and Luna noticed that the featureless man suddenly had a distinguishable face, but then it was gone. Bright stumbled away, clutching his arm as he ran through the burning woods. Luna saw no more enemies for the guardsman to fight, and decided that now would be a good time to intervene. She prodded the hole gently, feeling surprise when it suddenly disappeared. The landscape around her became black, with no light emanating from anywhere. She lightly tapped her chest regalia, and the ambient glow from the crescent emblazoned on it gave her something to see with. She frowned when she saw nothing but darkness around her.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Luna whirled around. That voice had been right in her ear. She could feel the heat from whoever said it. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to see in the dim light.

“Show yourself,” she said into the void. “I am Princess Luna and I intend to help Guardsman Bright with this nightmare!”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

She whirled around again. Again nothing. She was being mocked.

“I demand that you reveal yourself!” she shouted. “This is a nonsensical farce and I will not tolerate it!”

“It isn’t safe,” a whisper said.

“You shouldn’t be here,” another echoed.

Luna felt the twinge of nervousness return, but crushed it. If she lost control of her own emotions, she would not be able to help Bright with his. She picked a direction and walked forward, determined to find another gap in the dream, while at the same distancing herself from the voices. It didn’t work, they followed her, growing in number.

“It isn’t safe, you need to leave.”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“He isn’t well, he isn’t safe.”

Luna growled as she pressed her ears against her head.

“Cease your inane babble,” she said. “I care not about safety; no dream can hurt me.”

“It isn’t safe. It isn’t safe here.”

“You shouldn’t be here, it isn’t safe.”

“He isn’t well. This isn’t safe.”

“Help him.”

Luna stopped, her ears flicking up. One of the voices had said something different. She strained as she tried to hear it again. Unfortunately for her, the other voices had other ideas.

“You are not safe. Get out.”

“He isn’t well. He is a threat.”

“Kill him. It’s what he deserves. Kill him.”

“You will only be safe once he is dead.”

“Save him. He is lost.”

“Save him?” Luna called out into the black. “Save Elias? Who is speaking? Is he alone here?”

“Die. End yourself. It is the only way.”

Luna took a step back, they were targeting her now?

“Jump off the bridge. There is nothing left for you.”

“Just fall damn you. Quit! You deserve nothing less than agony!”

“Do it you failure. Death is the only way, and it’s all you have earned. Collect your reward!”

The voices rose to a shout, and Luna felt like they battered her more than the maelstrom ever did.

“Look at what you have wrought! Is this what you wanted? All of this pain? All of this blood?”

Luna took another step back, her ears pinned to the side of her head.

“Take a look damn you!” a voice shouted in her face. “Look at your kingdom of ashes and bones! See the consequences of your actions!”

Luna took a third step, her eyes closing as she shook her head.

“Stop,” she said quietly.

“Don’t you realize you fool? How many? How many are dead because of you?”

“You’ve just lost your way. You’ll find it again.”

“Look! How many friends are dead? How many will never see another sunrise? Was it all worth it? Open your eyes and look! Look at what you’ve done!”

“You’re a monster! Look! Look at the bodies! Look at the pain!”

Luna channeled a hidden reserve of rage and spread her wings.

“ENOUGH!” she shouted, her voice shocking through the darkness, forcing it, and the voices away.

She took deep gulps of air in as she settled her mind. How had they known? This was Bright’s dream, how had they known about…

Only when the cries reached her ears did she realize that they didn’t know. They couldn’t. They weren’t talking to her. Luna slowly turned around, seeing a small human child, curled in a ball. He wore unfamiliar clothes, but that hair was unmistakable. Luna crept up to the weeping child, not wanting to startle him.

“Guardsman Bright? Elias?” she asked carefully.

The child curled up tighter, whimpering softly.

“Go away. It isn’t safe here. He isn’t safe.”

Luna knelt next to the child.

“Who isn’t safe? Elias please, it is Princess Luna, I am trying to help you. This is a nightmare.”

The child just shook his head.

“Please leave. He isn’t safe. I can’t…”

The child sobbed and his face disappeared within his jacket. Luna got close to the child, touching him gently.

“It is alright Elias, I am here. I can help.”

“No,” the child replied. “Nobody is safe from him. He’s…”

The crying stopped instantly, and the child looked out from his jacket with terror written clearly on his face. He stared at Luna.

“Leave. He’s coming. I can’t keep you safe. You need to leave.”

Luna stood, her eyes scanning the darkness.

“There is nothing here that can harm me child. Whatever demon ails you, I shall defeat it, then you will see all is well.”

The child grabbed her regalia. His eyes pleaded with her desperately.

“Please! You need to leave! He’s an animal, a monster! Nothing can stop him! You aren’t safe!”

Luna scoffed and looked away, but then the grip became stronger. Suddenly the child became a much older Elias, almost similar to the one she was familiar with. He was clean shaven however, and his hair was much shorter.

“Princess you have to leave! This isn’t something you can fight! Run! Run damn you! It’s for your protection!”

Elias paled and looked out into the darkness. His hands slipped from her regalia.

“He’s here,” he said softly.

Then he vanished. Luna looked around, searching the darkness.

“Guardsman Bright? Where have you gone?” she called.

A human shape suddenly appeared at the edge of her regalia light. Luna squinted as she tried to make out the face. She took a step forward, recoiling when she felt something warm and wet on her hoof. A quick look showed her thick red blood. A pool spread slowly toward her, and then Luna noticed the bodies. Each had a distinct face, and their vacant eyes seemed to bore into her soul. Luna felt fear, not nervousness, but true fear. She shouldn’t be here. She should have left. Swallowing roughly, she looked at the single standing figure before her.

He took a step forward, and Luna was able to clearly see that it was Elias, though much younger than she had seen. His thin limbs were covered in red, as was much of his chest. It dripped off of him, contributing to the steadily growing puddle at her feet. In one hand he held a long knife, while the other held a bloody hatchet. His pants were soaked clear through, and they too were simply red. Only his face was partially visible, though long blood splatters painted that as well. Luna took a step back when she met his eyes.

She saw only rage and death there. No recognition, nothing even vaguely intelligent, just hatred. A storm kicked up around them, and lightning flashed behind the human. Luna felt bile rise in her throat as she saw horrifying images of blood and meat. A stack of dripping heads. Piles of burning corpses. She threw up when she saw a man with his back axed apart. The man before her began to laugh, loudly and cruelly. He took a step forward, and as he approached, Luna saw another flash of lightning behind him, illuminating a red eagle made of bones and blood.

Luna heard a cry from behind her and she saw Guardsman Bright, decked out in the full armor she had first found him in, charging the crazed man. Sword in hand, he shouted as he swung at the man’s head. The knife came up, knocking the sword aside, and the crazed man embedded the hatchet in Bright’s chest. He cried out in pain, and he stabbed the crazed man in the thigh, his sword locking against a bone. The crazed man just laughed at the wound and headbutted Bright in the face. As Bright fell back, the man crudely yanked the hatchet from his chest, and Luna saw a gush of blood fall from the wound. Clutching his chest, Bright tried to stagger toward her, but collapsed, his sandaled feet slipping in the blood beneath him. His blue eyes found her, and she saw such desperation in them.

“Please…” he begged weakly. “I can keep him here, but I have to do it alone. You need to run aw-…”

His sentence was choked off by the hatchet embedding itself in the back of his skull. Luna watched as the light left his eyes and Bright disappeared, leaving her alone with the demon of a man.

She began to channel a spell to return her dream manifestation to her body, but her horn fizzled out. The cell. The man cackled madly as he stepped over the pile of bodies. The hatchet twirled in his grip. Luna felt her fight or flight response kick in, and she growled, lowering her head. She was a princess; she would not back down against a lone foe, no matter how horrifying and brutal. With a cry, she charged, her horn aimed at his chest. The man’s laugh reached a fevered pitch. She never stood a chance. As he sidestepped her charge, the hatchet came down on her wings. Luna cried out in agony.

She shot awake, flapping back until her spine hit the cell bars. She quickly began feeling at the base of her wings, making sure that they were still attached and whole. Her pristine blue feathers felt like silk in her hooves, and she sighed with relief. She then looked herself over, seeing no blood, nor any evidence of damage from the maelstrom. Despite what it had felt like, it had all just been a dream. Taking another deep breath to calm her frazzled nerves, she settled into a calm sitting position, finally looking over to Guardsman Bright.

Elias had put his hands around his head and scrunched up his eyes as he took long, deep breaths. He rocked back and forth slightly. Luna watched in concern; had he reached a breaking point? Was it something she had done? She didn’t think she affected anything, but had she? Did it have to do with that blood covered Elias she had seen? She had no answer. The man remained silent for nearly a minute before his hands dropped and his eyes opened. He looked past Luna, staring dazedly at the wall.

“So, uhm… we were still trading questions, right?” Elias asked. Luna nodded, her eyes trying to catch his. Elias ran his tongue over his dry lips.

“Was it your turn or mine?” he asked.

“Yours,” Luna responded simply. Elias nodded, his eyes glazing as if in thought.

Luna watched him intently. She wasn’t sure if he was still piecing things together, or if he had simply forgotten his dream. Eventually, he seemed to shift slightly, and Luna leaned forward, eager to hear the question he had come up with.

“Princess… why do you want to be my friend?” He looked at her, his eyes betraying his exhaustion.

Luna felt a bit startled by it. It wasn’t like he hadn’t asked it before, but it was his tone. He sounded… beaten. Like he had just been on the losing end of a duel. And maybe he had. She had seen his other selves disappear, leaving only that horrible Elias behind. She scanned his face, searching for signs of rage or hatred. No longer did she see the intense anger, nor the intentionally flippant disregard for the feelings of others. She didn’t even see that hidden desire to keep other’s safe, even at the cost of his own sanity. All she saw was pain. Suffering. She realized this was the most defenseless she had seen him. Not even screaming in horror at demons only he could see was quite as vulnerable as this.

“Because…” she started to reply, then stopped.

His eyes waited expectantly, and Luna knew this was an important moment. The wrong thing could set him back, she had succeeded in getting him to open up, if only slightly. He was primed, he just needed something to anchor the right feelings in his mind. But those horrible images… Luna frowned when she realized that she wasn’t that anchor. She was jaded right now, had seen too much that hadn’t been intentionally shared. If anything, she felt like she had violated the privacy of his mind. She needed someone else to form that first friendship, then she could open him fully. After that, she imagined he could heal, but right now, he was right. Those images… That man… He needed to stay isolated until he decided to reach out. She had no doubt that that man was something significant from Bright’s past, could even be a past incarnation of himself, but she knew that he wasn’t truly evil, at least no more so than she was when she was Nightmare Moon. The other Elias’; trying to warn her, trying to help her. One had actually “died” doing so. Clearly it was much more gray than good and evil, and Luna knew that she could figure it out in time and with effort, but forcing him forward would only make things worse, would only drive his walls up higher. To tear them down, Luna had to acknowledge that they worked, that they kept a threat contained.

She sighed deeply, looking at the floor before she continued.

“I wanted to be your friend because I believed that it would help you. I believed if I could get you to open up to me, or Captain Nightshade, or Doctor Scalpel, then we could quickly and simply fix your issues.”

She looked up to Elias, saw him still focused intently on her words.

“I have realized however, that forcing friendship upon you, trying to contain you, will only make you shut out others more. There is no simple fix. I apologize that it has taken a lengthy… meditation to realize this. So, I relinquish. You are free to go about your daily life free of interference.”

Elias blinked.

“Just like that? Does that mean none of this guard business?”

Luna scoffed.

“Nay. You signed a contract, and you shall fulfill it. Five years of service, as agreed upon. We still need to ensure that you are not a danger to our ponies, and so far, I am not impressed.” She tilted her head. “But, you may start your duties as soon as you wish, and provided you fulfill said duties to the best of your ability, I shall ensure that Captain Nightshade doesn’t try to restrict your wanderings.”

Elias nodded, biting his cheek.

“That’s fair, I guess. Could I start tonight I wanted?”

Luna nodded.

“Of course, Guardsman. Check with Captain Nightshade for your posting. She shall see to your duty schedule.”

They heard a door slam open, and Luna watched as said pony sprinted into view.

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear…” Elias muttered.

“Princess I am so sorry; I didn’t realize you got trapped down here!” Nightshade said, glaring pointedly through the bars at Elias. “You really wouldn’t let her out to at least lower the moon? What’s wrong with you?”

Luna raised a hoof to silence the thestral.

“Do not blame Guardsman Bright, Captain. I mis-synchronized the aura spell. It is keyed to Doctor Scalpel, not Guardsman Bright. Do you still have the spare key I gave you?”

Nightshade nodded and she quickly had the key in the lock and the door opened. Luna stood, a little bit too quickly, and she looked back to Elias. The man hadn’t moved. His legs were tucked against his chest, and his eyes seemed to have become vacant again. Nightshade looked to her in question. Luna sighed, nervously approaching the still human.

“Guardsman? Are you prepared to leave?” she asked softly. He remained still, his eyes staring into nowhere.

Luna prodded his hand lightly with her hoof. The physical contact seemed to jolt him, and he blinked several times before his eyes focused in, focusing on her. Luna saw the pain and exhaustion retreat as he seemed to come alive. He blinked again as his legs untucked and his body relaxed slightly.

“Sorry Princess, did you say something?” he asked.

“I asked if you are ready to leave Guardsman,” Luna said softly.

Elias blinked again, then looked to the open cell door. He nodded and pushed himself to his feet, his joints cracking as he stood. Luna noticed him wince several times, but he put no voice to the pain he was feeling. She wondered if he thought that was for the protection of others as well.

Either way, it didn’t matter for now. She made a mental note to write down everything she had seen in the dream. Once he began opening up to other ponies, she would be able to help him further, but right now, he needed to go out on his own. Luna sighed internally as he and Nightshade began to discuss his duties. She had failed, for now. But she would succeed in time.

She didn’t want to imagine what would happen if she couldn’t.

Chapter 9: Adjustment

Journal Entry

Day 1100

Found myself in an old town today. Funny enough, it hadn’t been turned into glass, and in fact looked intact on the surface. Of course, three years of absolutely no maintenance will tear down any structure not made of stone, so several buildings were filled with flooded garbage and the like. Slim pickings, but I made do. The good news was that there were no romance books. The bad news was that the reason there were none was because the town library was coated in twenty feet of mud. I didn’t realize I was on the roof until I saw the sign down the mud pile. A shame really. I’ve been thinking about taking a library and (after purging the scum of the earth books) making it a home away from home. I certainly need another stockpile. I may be young (never again a kid though) but I’ve got some ideas that may bear fruit for putting a piece of the world back together. If for no other reason than to make up for some of the stuff I’ve done. We’ll see.

Three weeks had passed, and throughout them, Elias noticed several things. First among them was that he was wrong. Working didn’t help. It didn’t hurt, but it didn’t put him at ease at all. This surprised Elias more than anything. When in the wastes, he had always found that moving on had warded off the nightmares, exhaustion had been his greatest ally. Yet even when he fell into bed, barely able to move his body, he still woke up only hours later, either sweating holes through the sheets, or with his voice blown out, usually both. Luckily for anyone around him, his room had silence spells that kept his night terrors to himself.

Every day Elias woke up hours before he was supposed to be up, as well as hours before his body got full rest. It resulted in him being irritable, more so than usual. What made it worse was that Elias realized that he had been absolutely wrong about his isolation. Not that it didn’t help; but when he was on his own, and therefore in control of what he did throughout any given day, he had complete control. He stopped when he wanted, and he moved when he wanted. Scavenging provided a measure of reward to all the effort, but here, why was he doing it? His obligation was there, but otherwise... it provided nothing for him other than three meals a day and a constant roof over his head. While he didn’t want to seem ungrateful for living in the greatest luxury he had experienced in his life, he also despised every second of it. He wished to go find that forest he had woken up in and explore it. This world was fresh and alive, yet here he was shuttered away, working the nights and sleeping away pieces of the day. It only made his self-reflections worse.

Other than that, boredom was a constant companion. Elias found temporary solace in learning and training, but at times it only seemed to make him angrier. Each swing seemed to strike with furious, deadly intent. Very few of his “fellow” guards had interest in sparring with him. While initially he had issues getting around their magical abilities, Elias had learned their weaknesses quickly. Pegasi and thestrals were fast and could fly, but they tended to rush their fighting, getting exhausted quickly. Elias merely had to land a hit or two before they went down, and since he was loaded with heavy armor, he could weather whatever hits they landed. His night guard armor was enchanted to re-direct magical attacks, so they were forced to engage him up close. Unicorns were more complex, since their magic could overwhelm the simple enchantments in his armor. The first time, Elias had no way to stop the unicorn from simply floating him ten feet above the ground before dropping him outside the fighting grounds. When he faced the same unicorn again, Elias did so with a pouch full of sharp rocks. He had nailed the unicorn in the eye and had carried her wailing body outside the fighting bounds, before then taking the pony to the infirmary. While she was fine, she also held a grudge, and Elias found his midnight meal turned into hay more than once. It had only stopped when Nightshade watched it happen one night while she had been yelling at Elias for bleeding on the carpets. He didn’t have meal problems after that.

Earth ponies were substantially stronger than he was, yet also only slightly slower. These were his hardest fights, and more often than not, he ended up fighting them with sheer brutality, swinging as hard as he could at the weak spots in their armor. Most of the times this strategy worked, until he was just a hair too slow, and wound up with massive bruises on his chest from being bucked into a wall. His visits to the infirmary were frequent, and in truth, Elias found that he enjoyed them, even if he got yelled at by Scalpel every time he limped in, leaving a red trail in his wake.

Overall, Elias hated being a guard. Isolation only worked when it was complete. Witnessing social interactions and not being involved rubbed him wrong. While he had no interest in making friends, he also had no interest simply repeating a cycle of work, eat, and half sleep. It also embarrassed him to admit that he had no idea how to make friends. Clearly the methods of providing food, shelter, and safety wouldn’t work here, since all three were plentiful. He thought to ask the ponies he knew, but quickly found that they had resumed life as it was before he arrived. Nightshade quickly became Captain Nightshade. Back talk was a punishable offense, and Elias didn’t much enjoy cleaning bathrooms he didn’t even use.

Luna was far out of his reach, and the only times he saw her was when he stood guard in the night court. During these times his job was to remain silent and do nothing. No help there. Whenever he tried to approach her outside of work, she was either busy, or she found an excuse to avoid him. She had been giving him a colder shoulder than before, and Elias suspected it had something to do with their time in the prison cell. He had no idea what had occurred in there that had so thoroughly driven her away, but since he had no evidence of what transpired, and she was a pony princess while he was just a human, he had no method to confront her about it.

Twilight ended up leaving after the first week, her interest only barely satisfied, but enough so that she could return home. Elias had no interest in writing letters to the hyper-enthusiastic pony, so that end was dead as well.

Only Steel Scalpel was left, but Elias needed an injury as an excuse to speak with him. After the fourth consecutive visit in a single day several days ago, Scalpel had gone off as well, and not in the usual bickering, scolding manner. He had gotten truly angry, screaming at Elias for getting hurt so often. As he tore into the man, Elias couldn’t help but feel like the pony had grown tired of seeing him, and Elias had left the infirmary with his head down. The next day when he got cut down the length of his right arm, Elias had patched it himself, using the last roll of bandages from his ruck. That had earned him another scolding from Nightshade, but he still didn’t visit the infirmary. Even now the cut was still healing, a thick scab running up and down his arm, occasionally cracking and leaking blood when he over-stretched his arm. It was also extremely tender, and Elias had an even more difficult time sleeping than before.

Elias growled as his pilla skittered off the ground to the left of the target. He rolled his shoulder as he tried to massage away the pain in his shoulder. That had been another recent addition. With his improving physical health, his nerves seemed to become more sensitive, likely because more of them were alive and kicking. Injuries that he thought were long gone sprung up, resulting in days where it hurt to roll out of bed. Something that someone at the ripe old age of nineteen shouldn’t be experiencing. He still refused pain dulling magic though, he didn’t trust it.

The more he read on magic, the more conflicted his thoughts became on the subject. On one hand, it was an incredibly tool, both for healing, as well as a weapon. He had watched some of the unicorns practice. They could obliterate targets with a number of things, and at massive ranges too. On the other hand, he had no real protection from it. His armor helped, but only against the minor stuff, like conjured lightning or mind magic. And only weak mind magic as well. Besides, he would have to go back to the infirmary to get anything significant in terms of healing, and Elias now had a good reason to avoid the place.

Elias resisted the urge to scratch his arm as he grabbed another pilla, taking a deep breath as he stared down the straw dummy. He bounced the pilla in his hand for a moment, then he sent it flying through the air. This one stuck the dummy in the chest, hitting a few inches above the center of the target. Elias grunted in semi-satisfaction as he reached down to grab another pilla. As he scooped up the last one, he noticed a pony a few feet away, just... watching him. It wasn’t like the usual staring. Usually, he got one of three looks. The first was disgust. Elias assumes it was due to his species, though in truth it could have been a number of things. These he dismissed out of hand, only looking at the pony enough to memorize their faces as he made them look away with his much harsher glare. He saved each face for later. Elias never forgot a potential enemy.

The second type was the curious ones. They just wanted to know more about how the new creature worked. These took only a few minutes to get bored or driven away. Elias was not pleasant to be around, a fact he knew and had made no attempts to change. For the best. It was suffering, but he was better off alone. If only he could get himself to realize that.

Finally, there were the “bullies”. For some reason, certain guard members saw him as a threat. Not a physical one to be feared, but a threat to their station, to be bullied into submission. Elias had no idea why they acted like schoolyard children, but he largely ignored them. If anything, he found their attempts to “torment” him funny. If he ever became irritated, they were usually scared away by a few harsh words, simple and easy. Human threats were so much more violent and colorful than pony ones. It also didn’t hurt that Elias meant every single one and had the capability to carry them all out.

This pony however, a blue pegasus, was looking at him with what he could only describe as childlike joy. Elias blinked a few times as he focused on the target in front of him, rather than the pony to his left. Elias took a deep breath as he emptied his thoughts and focused. This time when the pilla hit the target, it tore through the center of the target, “killing” it perfectly. As he followed through with the throw, he heard a little ooh, and he glared at the pony. The pegasus seemed to ignore his gaze as he looked at the targets, his tail swishing on the ground. Only after a few moments of complete silence did he realize that Elias was staring at him. The pony jumped, yelping as he did so.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt you! I just thought you looked cool!”

The pony stood up rapidly, but Elias put up a hand to stop him. The pony froze in an awkward squat. Elias motioned for him to sit, and the pegasus did so slowly.

“I just want to know why you’re watching.” Elias said. “You seem more... engaged than anyone else.”

The pegasus grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry, I just thought what you were doing looked really cool and wanted to get closer. And it is!” He said chipperly. “The way you move, and you almost never miss, and all of it without magic? It’s so cool! How do you do it?”

“Practice.” Elias responded simply. The pegasus nodded excitedly, as if waiting for something else. Elias didn’t have anything, so he merely pointed to all of the pilla sitting down range and grunted as he moved to gather them. The pegasus remained in place, his happy face still shining in the late-afternoon sun.

Elias tried to ignore the pony as he collected his pilla, pulling and tugging at some that were more stuck in the targets than others. As he snatched them up, he heard hoofsteps behind him, and Elias assumed the pony had left. Only when he scooped the last spear into his arms and looked back to the rest of his equipment did he realize that it had actually been the sound of three ponies walking up to the pegasus, who seemed to be intentionally avoiding their eyes. Elias frowned, speeding up his stride as he got closer.

“So, you’re hanging out with another freak now? Come on Flash, can you suck any more as a guard?”

Elias recognized the lead pony, a snow-white unicorn in gold armor. It was one of the “bullies”. One of the more persistent ones too. Elias had so far threatened him with a beating and a broken leg, along with a jab about glue that went far over his head. Elias’ frown deepened.

“Didn’t I tell you to not be within two hundred feet of me?” Elias said as he walked up, letting his pilla drop onto their cloth wrap. The unicorn’s friends flinched back, but the center pony remained still, a wide grin on his face.

“Guardsman Bright! How good to see you! Looking as sociable as ever I see.”

“Spare the words and get lost White Shine.” Elias snapped. “I gave you a warning, and if I have to put some muscle behind my words to make sure their followed, then I will.”

White Shine took a step back, putting a hoof in the air.

“No need to be hostile Bright! We were merely saying hello to our friend!” The unicorn looked to the pegasus that was doing his best to vanish without actually doing anything other than looking sad.

“Isn’t that right Flash?”

Elias snorted.

“You having friends is about as likely as me growing a horn. Get lost Shine. I won’t tell you again.”

Shine scoffed.

“You do not own this castle Guardsman, and you would do well to remember that I am actually a pony while you are a-“

Elias kicked sand into the unicorn’s face. He crossed his arms across his bare chest as the pony sputtered, choking on the dust that easily slid into every open hole and crack. His friends looked at Elias in shock, as did the pegasus. Elias waited silently. As White Shine cleared his face, he glared at Elias, pointing a hoof.

“Princess Celestia will hear about this!” he screamed, spitting dust out of his mouth, “she’ll throw a freak like you in the dungeon for assaulting me!”

Elias bent down so that he was at eye level with the pony.

“Go ahead Shine. We both know she’ll interrogate every single witness under a truth spell. I’ll include your “friendly” behavior very clearly. With luck, we’ll share a cell. Then you’ll have all the time in the world to learn about human prison culture.”

Elias grinned sadistically. Shine gulped and finally backed away, a small look of fear in the pony’s eyes. He gestured to his stooges and they made a hasty departure. Elias waited until they were out of sight before he bent down to collect his pilla. He didn’t make it far before the pegasus pounced on him.

“That was so great!” The pegasus shouted in his ear. “They can’t even do anything back; they’ve been bothering me forever! My name is Night Flash! Do you want to be my friend?”

Elias shoved the pony off roughly. He pointed a finger at the pegasus

“First things first, don’t jump on me. I’m not a bed and you are not a dog.” The pegasus landed lightly on his feet, grinning sheepishly.

“Heh sorry. I got a bit excited.”

Elias dusted himself off, only partially successfully due to the dirt clinging to his sweat. Elias grimaced at it as he tried to wipe it off on his underwear. He looked at the pegasus as he did so.

“Got a name?”

“Guardspony Night Flash!” The pegasus said excitedly.

Elias squinted at the pegasus.

“You’re a guard? Why do you put up with that bull then?” He said gesturing over his shoulder to where the bullies had fled.

Night Flash looked at his hooves.

“It’s just easier to let them say what they want sometimes. I tried fighting them once, but they outnumbered me, and they beat me up. I ended up spending two months in the infirmary.”

“And you didn’t report that because?”

“They threatened to get me banned from the guard, and then blacklisted. White Shine has some powerful family members that could hurt my, and by extension my family’s reputation in Canterlot. I don’t want to burden them with that, so I just let him get away with it.”

Elias stacked his pilla, wrapping the now dusty cloth around them. He’d clean it later.

“Let me know if it happens again. They’re punks, and cowards. Any show of force will turn them away. Use their status against them, if they want to blacklist you, threaten to take your story to the newspapers. They seem to love controversy in noble families. You might also try to see if their parents would disown them. That would be a treat.”

Elias pulled the rope right and swung the bundle over his shoulder. Night Flash was looking at him in shock.

“H-how do you know all that?” The pegasus asked. “The rumors said you didn’t know anything about pony culture.”

Elias shrugged.

“I read a lot.”

He strode toward the table where the rest of his gear waited. He needed to take another shower before his shift started. He really didn’t want another lecture on hygiene. Ponies didn’t know what dirty meant. He had half a mind to stop showering all together to prove a point. Unfortunately, it was far too relaxing, and Elias knew he would never willingly go without the luxury again. Damn it, he was becoming weak. Soft ponies and their wonderous showers with that heavenly hot water.

Elias let the bundle thud onto the table as he grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat away. It was always sunny and warm in Equestria, and if the books he had read were in anyway true, that was intentional. The pegasi evidently scheduled rain for most evenings, while keeping it dry, warm, and sunny during the day. It had taken him less than a weak of waking up early to get a nice tan in the late afternoon sun.

Night Flash popped up beside him, his wide eyes looking at both Elias and all of Elias’ gear. He oo’ed softly and Elias watched as he slowly reached out a hoof, like a cat about to push an object off a table. Elias softly nudged his scutum, moving it closer to Flash’s extended hoof. As soon as his hoof came into contact with the steel frame of the shield, he oo’ed softly again, then looked to Elias, as if asking permission. Elias gestured at the shield as he grabbed his sword belt, looping it around his waist as he kept an eye on the pony.

“Go ahead. I highly doubt you can break it just by looking at it.”

Flash’s tail swished and his eyes seemed to grow even more excited. How, Elias had no idea. He had thought the pony was as happy as he could be, but it seemed this one contained boundless happiness. With a quick flap of his wings, Flash was on the table, walking around the shield as he inspected it. Elias watched the pony as he looked at the shield, occasionally prodding it as he circled it. Elias blinked and looked away, focusing on putting his belt back on. As he listened to the Pegasus coo softly at the shield, Elias tied all of his armor together with a rope. It would make it easier to carry it back to his room without getting it dirty.

Tucking his tunic in his belt, Elias shouldered the armor and the bundle of pilla. Night Flash held up the shield, still in awe. He had the handle facing him, and he looked between it and Elias.

“How do you carry this thing? It’s huge!” Night Flash tried to lift the shield from the table, trying to balance on his hind leg as he tried to stand.

As he began to pitch backward, Elias grabbed the edge of the shield, catching it, and him in one motion. The pegasus grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry.”

Elias flipped the shield so that its face laid flat on the table. He pointed to the steel handle crossing the shield horizontally.

“I hold that to fight.”

He then pointed to the two leather straps running vertically.

“And those to carry it on my back.”

He then grabbed the steel handle, bracing the shield against his body as he began to walk away. Night Flash hopped down from the table and followed him.

“So how long have you been in Equestria?” The pegasus asked.

“A month.” Elias replied.

“Wow!” Flash said. “Have you gone out exploring? Where have you visited?”

“I haven’t gone anywhere.” Elias said. “I was brought to Canterlot when I was hurt, and so I stayed here after making an agreement with the princesses.”

Flash looked at him in awe.

“You met the princesses and you’ve only been here a month? That’s amazing! I’ve lived in Canterlot all my life and I’ve only met them once at guard graduation.”

“Uh huh.” Elias said, already becoming irritated with this conversation. He had no idea why. “You said you’re a guard? Where’s your armor?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m not on duty tonight!” Night Flash replied.

The pegasus bolted ahead for a moment, grabbing the door for Elias. He grunted a thanks as he tilted his body to fit through. Elias heard the door close, and then Night Flash was at his side once more, trotting along with glee.

“Captain Nightshade wanted to see me for an incognito assignment for tomorrow night. There’s some kind of big rave going on downtown, so she wants some guards who can blend in there. She says I can get along with anypony, so I’ll do great!”

Elias had no issue believing that. His mind froze for an instant, paranoia creeping to the front. Why was he still talking to this pony? He was making small talk, an oddity if he ever experienced one, especially for him. Elias felt himself tense up, and he looked down at the pony trotting blissfully at his side. Night Flash hummed quietly, as if completely at peace with the world.

“Hey, do you mind if I ask you some questions?” Night Flash asked.

“Sure.” Elias replied, immediately cursing himself silently. Why did he say yes?!?

“Thanks!” Night Flash replied chipperly. “I just wanted to see if any of the rumors are true. First question, do you eat ponies?”

Elias blinked.

“Why would you be talking to me if you thought I ate ponies? Before that, why would I constantly be around ponies if I ate them?”

Night Flash shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re like a snake and only have to eat a pony every once in a while. Or maybe you’re like a vampony and just have to drink pony blood.”

Elias didn’t begin to have time to unpack either of those statements.

“I eat meat, not ponies. I make a point of not eating anything that talks.” Elias replied.

He had never been desperate enough to attempt cannibalism, and he liked to think that he would never become desperate enough. Eating something that talked back to him? That had irrefutable proof of intelligence? No, he’d die first. That counted for ponies too, misshapen though they may be. If it sounded human, then it wasn’t food. Night Flash seemed happy enough with the answer.

“Cool, so you’re kind of like a gryphon. That’s really the only rumor I cared about.”

Elias thought the pegasus would fall into silence. Instead, Night Flash threw him for a loop when he asked;

“Can we be friends?”

Elias stopped. His room was just ahead, maybe thirty seconds of walking. He could just bolt, leaving the question unanswered. The issue with that plan was that the pony might come asking again later. It wasn’t a good option. That left him with two options, yes or no. The small voice at the back of his mind screamed yes, while the paranoid center calmly shook its head no. Even if he wanted a friend, he had to push the pony away, for his own good.

“No.” Elias said forcefully, resuming his walk.

It took less than a second to feel the absence at his side. He couldn’t see the pony, but Elias had already seen enough crying ponies to imagine the sight; the fuzzy creatures always seemed to cry. It was a pitiful image. The whimper that hit his ear a second later didn’t help. Elias sighed as he stopped again. He knew he shouldn’t look back. It would make him soft; he knew what was waiting. His paranoid voice screamed at him to keep walking. It was for the pony’s safety. This voice at the center of his mind was shouted down as the voice at the back became louder, shouting for sympathy. Things were different here, if he was willing to reach out. He didn’t have to tell his story, it said, but he did need to change, or the same thing would happen again. Cruel that his mind knew how to feed on its own paranoia.

Taking a deep breath, he half turned. He saw Night Flash turning, walking away slowly with his head downcast and his wings dropped, dragging at his sides as he walked. Elias felt like slamming his head into the wall.

“Wait.” He said.

Night Flash’s head perked up instantly, and he looked at Elias with hope in his eyes Elias felt a second urge to just walk away, but this one he suppressed. It may have taken months to accomplish, but he was finally getting lonely. He wouldn’t last long without someone to talk to. This pony might just be that person.

“Look, Night Flash was it?”

The pegasus nodded, a smile touching the corners of his mouth. Such optimism. It felt foreign that it was directed at Elias.

“I’m not a good person. I cannot be anymore clear about that. But… let’s talk about this in private. I won’t flat out tell you no, and doing so was cruel and I’m sorry for that, but I won’t say yes either. How much time do you have before you need to see Captain Nightshade?”

“I can see her any time tonight.” Night Flash answered.

The pegasus was perking up significantly now. His wings were once again tucked at his sides, while the tears were gone from his eyes. Elias had no idea how his emotions bounced back and forth like that, nor really why his rejection had caused such an intense reaction. It didn’t matter, Night Flash didn’t seem to care as long as the carrot of friendship still hung in front of him.

Elias took another deep breath, then waved to the pony.

“Come on. My room isn’t far, we’ll talk about this more there.”

Night Flash quickly found his way to Elias’ side once again, though this time slightly more subdued. Elias noticed the pegasus frequently glancing up at him, and Elias did his best to avoid eye contact. Still, it felt… better to have someone next to him. More comfortable than walking through the halls alone. They remained silent until his door came into view, as well as an irritated looking Nightshade. Internally, Elias groaned. Not again.

“Guardsman Bright, I seem to distinctly remember giving you a watch for the purpose of being on time, and yet here we are playing this game again.”

She blinked in surprise when she realized he wasn’t alone as usual.

“Guardspony Flash, I thought you were off today.”

The demeanor of the pegasus at his side changed immediately. Snapping to attention the pegasus had a serious poker face, revealing nothing. Any traces of emotion vanished from his body language, and his voice seemed to drop an octave as he responded.

“I was just stopping in to see you Captain about the concert tomorrow night. I wanted to report that everypony is ready and on standby to meet up outside by eleven-thirty. It should go smoothly.”

Nightshade nodded.

“Excellent. I have full faith in you Flash; you’ve done stellar work in the past, and I expect the same going forward.”

Her gaze turned to Elias, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes when her nose curled in disgust.

“Do I need to remind you again about the cleanliness standards Guardsman?”

“No Captain.” Elias said, sighing. “I was coming back to cleanup before my guard shift. I must-“

“Actually Captain, Guardsman Bright was just showing me how some of his tools worked.” Night Flash cut in, surprising Elias. “He was beginning to pack up when I interrupted him. It’s my fault Captain.”

Nightshade looked between the two. Her eyes narrowed at Elias, who simply met her with a dead look. Nightshade snorted.

“Alright then. Make sure to have yourself cleaned up and presentable Guardsman Bright, you’re on throne room duty tonight. I won’t have you stinking in public.”

Elias nodded silently. The thestral gave him and Night Flash one more once over, then snorted again as she turned around to walk away.

“Carry on you two.”

Elias waited until she was out of sight before moving. He glared down at Night Flash.

“What was that?” he asked.

The pony shrugged.

“You did the same thing for me; buck, you helped me much more. Besides, it was all true. You were finishing up, I delayed you.”

Elias accepted the reasoning. Technically they were now even. He had helped the pegasus, and now he had received help in return.

“Alright then, what was that change in attitude though? You seemed… well incredibly serious. Given how you’ve acted so far, that isn’t what I expected.”

Night Flash shrugged again.

“When I was still in training I kind of developed a second personality for when I’m on duty. He does all of the heavy lifting and serious stuff so that I can have all of the fun!” As he said the last word, he hopped, fluttering his wings slightly as he spun in a circle. “It’s just my way of separating work and life.”

Night Flash grinned sheepishly when he realized Elias was still watching, albeit with an eyebrow raised.

“Sorry.” He said.

“No need.” Elias replied. He fished a key from his sword belt and fitted it into his door. As he began to turn the key, he stopped, looking over his shoulder. “Oh, and uh, thanks for that. You saved me a lot of trouble.”

“No problem!” Night Flash said, his chipper tone back in full.

Elias unlocked the door and quickly pushing it open into his dark room. He flipped the light switch as he walked past, and let the bundle of pilla drop from his shoulder. It hit the ground with a thud, and was followed quickly by his scutum. His armor he laid on his bed, setting it down gently. Elias then took out his tunic from his belt and threw it over the armor before taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He gestured for Night Flash to take the one chair in the room. The pegasus dragged the chair until it was directly in front of Elias, then settled in it.

Elias ran a hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head as he thought how to start this. He really needed a haircut, his hair was at his shoulders now, and crawling steadily down. That didn’t matter now though. He had to get this done the right way. Elias looked back up to Night Flash, who waited expectantly, already at the edge of his seat. Elias scratched his nose as he spoke.

“Let’s start with the obvious then, you want to be my friend?”

Night Flash smiled and nodded.

“Yup!”

“May I ask why?”

Night Flash shrugged.

“I like having friends, and I don’t like when I see ponies without friends. Everypony should have at least one friend.”

Elias bit his cheek.

“You don’t know anything about me though. I could be anything, could have done anything, and you don’t know. That’s all right with you?”

Night Flash thought for a second, then nodded briskly.

“Yup!”

Elias sighed. He couldn’t do this. He should have played his cards with Nightshade or Luna. At least they had the common sense to be wary. Despite his obvious capability to be completely serious, Night Flash seemed to want to not care.

“Look, Night Flash…” Elias growled. He wasn’t good at being emotive. Best to just rip off the band-aid. “Look, if you want to be friends with me, I have rules. These are for both your wellbeing, as well as my own. I’m just going to list them, and if you decide you still want to be friends afterwards… then done. We’ll be friends, and I will do my best not to let you down. If not, then we will leave on even terms and be done with each other. Agreed?”

That seemed to get the pony’s attention. His serious demeanor returned, and he simply nodded once, silent. Elias put up a finger.

“First, don’t ask about my past. As far as you and the rest of the world are concerned, my life started a month ago. Anything before that is off limits unless I talk about it first. This is my biggest rule, and if it’s broken, then I’m sorry, but I won’t speak to you again. Simple as that.”

Night Flash nodded.

“Alright, can I ask personality questions though? I do want to get to know you better, and you can just tell me if I overstep.”

Elias nodded.

“That sounds good.”

He noticed the pegasus shift nervously in his seat. Elias quickly realized the body movement as the same one the pony had made earlier when he had pounced on him earlier. That needed to be stopped before Elias reacted in the wrong way.

“Rule two,” he said, extending another finger, “No physical contact. I’ve noticed that ponies like being in contact with one another, but I’m not like that. Earlier, we both got lucky that I didn’t try to stab you. This is really just a safety concern. I’m jumpy, always. So, no touching until I can lose some of my… old habits.”

Night Flash stopped squirming and nodded.

“What about hoofshakes and pats on the back?” he asked.

Elias pondered the question for a second, rocking his head back in forth as he decided.

“Only if you talk to me first. You seem like a genuinely nice guy, and I really don’t want you to end up with a knife through your hoof.”

Night Flash nodded again.

“Engage vocally and then light friendly motions. Got it.”

“Rule three,” Elias sighed deeply, “I have issues. Bad ones. I can’t promise that I’ll always act rationally. I am paranoid, I have nasty anger issues. I’m not a social person, and I can be cold. On top of that, I’m out of my natural environment. Not just because you are a different species, but because all of this,” he said, gesturing to room around them, “is new to me. The world I came from was rough and you had to be rougher to survive in it. It’s left me with some nasty scars that I’m trying to heal, but it will take more than a month to do so. Those old habits I just mentioned don’t end at being jumpy. I apologize in advance if I do anything to hurt you, and if you ever feel the need to stop being friends, I get it. I’m not an easy guy to be around.”

“If I can be stop being your friend, that means were friends, right?” Night Flash asked.

Elias looked at the pony nervously. The pegasus was beginning to squirm in his chair again.

“If you follow my rules and still want to… yes. I suppose we are.”

The squirming intensified, and for a second, he thought the pegasus would pounce him anyway. He tensed in anticipation, making sure his hands were near his lap rather than his sword or dagger. He was surprised when a hoof came out in a slow motion. Elias’ eyes flicked between the outstretched hoof and Night Flash’s eyes.

“Rule number two friend.” The pony grinned. “I do really want to be your friend Guardsman.”

Elias nodded, and he felt a smile touch his own face. He shook the hoof with his hand, gripping it firmly.

“All right Night Flash. Friends it is.”

Night Flash smiled broadly.

“Great!” He hopped down from the chair and slid it back across the room. “I hate to duck out on you when we just met, but I promised my parents I would have midnight meal with them.”

Elias waved the pony’s excuse away.

“Don’t worry about it. I have to clean up and get to work anyway. And… thanks Flash. It means a lot that you are willing to try being my friend despite, well me.”

Night Flash smiled.

“It’s no problem! Like I said, everypony needs a friend, even if they aren’t a pony. Do you mind if I bring some of my other friends to mid-meal in a few days?”

Elias silently dreaded the question. A single friend was one thing, but several all in the span of a few days? It seemed like too much.

Elias mentally slapped himself. He was a warrior and he couldn’t conquer social interactions? To hell with that weak part of his mind. A good fighter knew balance. Elias nodded to Night Flash.

“Just make sure they know the rules. I don’t want to cause problems between you and your friends.”

Night Flash waved the statement away.

“Psh, I don’t think you will. They’re great ponies, you just have to meet them first!”

Elias checked his watch. Twenty minutes. It would be fast, but he could still make it. He looked up to force Night Flash out, but found the pony already outside his door. Upon making eye contact, the pegasus waved.

“See you later friend!” he shouted as he ran down the hallway.

Elias sat in dumbfounded silence for a second, then he felt a smile creep across his face. He felt the voice in the back of his head fall silent for once, satisfied that he had done something… good. Actually good. Elias rose from his bed, slowly approaching the door and closing it softly. His mind gave him a good memory for once, of friends long past, their eyes bright like those of Night Flash. Elias smiled wistfully, then cleared his head as he moved to get ready for his guard shift.

Chapter 10: Making Friends

Journal Entry

Day 2019

It finally happened! Thirty people! I found thirty whole people! This isn’t just some stray, they all stick together, and they already know how to fight! I tried to get closer yesterday, but they have a few firearms, so they shot at me, probably thought I was some sort of raider or other animal. If they only knew. We’re near an old town for the night, and they even have the discipline to cover their campfire, they’re perfect! I’m going to try approaching them noisy like at dawn. Tristan always tells me to approach people with open hands, I really hope I can get them to the community. 30 people! That’s almost as much as I’ve found in the last month! I really hope I can make friends with these people, can’t tackle the world alone! I know, I’ve tried.

Elias sat alone at what he called lunch, but what most of the ponies called mid-meal. Exactly at midnight, and noon, the entirety of the guard went off shift for an hour, all packing into the massive room that made up the mess hall. Elias thought it would be massively inefficient and slow, but the cooks always matched the rapid influx of guards, feeding the long lines within minutes. The food was always hot, and always tailored to the needs of whoever it was given to. Before Elias a half-eaten plate of spaghetti, a meal he had become quickly familiar with. Since most of their more exotic foods required hay, Elias usually had something simple; pasta, a lettuce-based salad, and occasionally a plate of meat. Pasta was the most common however, since ponies ate the exact same ingredients. In truth, it was always good, but Elias wished he could eat something more diverse. A long untouched part of his mind wondered if they could make hotdogs. Elias pictured a pony pressing a dozen mystery meats into one link of sausage, then shook his head. A steak was one thing, but ground meats were entirely different.

In his hands, Elias was re-reading a book on the short, but evidently brutal, nightmare wars. It was one of the only periods of great physical turmoil in all of Equestria’s written history. Thousands of years passed without war, and Elias, despite his studious disposition, quickly found himself bored trying to learn it all. It didn’t help that the copies that Sparkle had given him included useless information, such as the price of peaches during a few centuries of peach shortages, during which time apples made a rise to power as Equestria’s number one fruit. Elias really wished he didn’t know that. He took another bite of his spaghetti, savoring a chunk of tomato that waited in the sauce. If he knew what came next, he wouldn’t have taken a bite at all.

“Hey Red!” Night Flash shouted across the mess hall.

Elias inhaled quickly, and as a result, the treasonous tomato lodged itself in his windpipe. Elias shoved the book from his lap as he bent over, slamming his fist into his armored chest. This was the reason. He had always wondered why the ponies took off their armor to eat, and now he was learning firsthand why. The steel was blocking his attempts to dislodge the demon fruit in his throat. As Elias sent a damning curse to tomato crops everywhere, he felt a hoof slam into his back. The red fruit from hell hit his plate, and Elias dragged in a ragged breath as he coughed loudly. Night Flash poked his head around as he patted Elias’ back. Concern was written clearly on the pony’s face. Elias glared at him.

“First, thanks for that. Second, why the fuck did you call me that Night Flash?”

The pegasus cocked his head.

“I thought Red was your name, because of the big mark you have on your back. I assumed it wasn’t a cutie mark, but you never know.”

Upon hearing Red used as his name again, Elias ran a hand through his hair. While choking, his brain had temporarily forgotten, but now it hit him in a wave. Elias felt his vision blur, and heard an immense ringing in his ears. The concern on Night Flash’s face deepened.

“Are you all right? Was it something I did?” the pony asked.

Elias held up a finger.

“J-just…”

He took hold of his functions for a single moment to say;

“Give me a second. I need to freak out.”

Then his head was hidden in his arms. Elias panted violently as his eyes darted around the now dark space. The ringing became whispering, tinged with distant screams. His hands felt sticky, and he felt overwhelmingly hot. He bit his lip as he tried not to cry out in pain. His legs were on fire, and he could smell the burning hair. Liquid rolled down his arms, it was in his hair, on his face. He could taste the blood…

Like a bucket of cold water, it all vanished. The blood he tasted was from where he was biting into his lip. His hands were hot and sweaty, so was his neck. That’s what was running down his back and arms. The rest wasn’t real. It simply wasn’t. Elias took a deep breath and looked around. It was darker than his arms could have made. To his right something fuzzy pressed against his side. A quick look saw Night Flash staring back, watching him intently. Elias blinked once.

“w-… What happened?”

“I saw you eating and said hi, using the name Red. You responded in shock and began choking, which I helped fix. You then asked why I used the name again, and I made the mistake of saying it again. You then said you had to freak out and curled up. You looked panicked, so I covered and am still covering you with my wings.”

Elias looked up, and confirmed that, indeed, wings were causing the darkness around him. Elias took another breath.

“I didn’t do anything else?” he asked.

Night Flash shook his head.

“Nope. You just started whispering to yourself and started sweating. That’s it.”

Elias nodded. He took a few more breaths to ensure that he was back being mentally stable, then looked back at Night Flash.

“Sorry about that. That name used to… It was bad. It’s been a very long time since I’ve heard it.”

“What should I call you then?” Night Flash asked. “I’m sorry assumed, I’ll ask next time, but for now, is Bright okay?”

Elias thought for a second. He couldn’t do this every time he heard one of the most common colors in existence. He needed to be desensitized, and maybe Night Flash was just the pony to do it.

“No,” Elias said. “I want you to call me Red. I need to get past this, and the only way to do that is to hear it every single day from somebody I’m beginning to trust.”

Elias looked at Night Flash.

“Only you get to call me Red though. If anyone else does it, shut them down. I’m taking a big personal step allowing you to do it, and I won’t let just anyone say that name. Okay?”

Night Flash nodded and smiled.

“You got it Red.”

Elias flinched, but he kept control this time. Whether that was because he just finished a panic attack, or because he had allowed himself to be comfortable and let Night Flash in a little, Elias didn’t know. Still, it was a start.

“Thanks for this Flash.” Elias said pointing up to the wings still covering the pair.

The pony nodded and smiled.

“That’s what friends are for.”

Elias and Night Flash sat up, with the pegasus tucking his wings back under his armor. Almost as an afterthought, Elias slugged the pony in the shoulder. When he gasped in pain and looked to Elias, Elias pointed a finger at him.

“That’s for making me freak out.”

He then surprised the both of them by giving the pony a quick two second hug.

“And that’s for having my back.”

Night Flash rubbed his shoulder, but smiled widely, his goofy grin spreading across his face. Elias grimaced in response, trying to resume his attitude as the big mean human. It didn’t help that they had an audience. Night Flash plopped down next to Elias while the other three ponies took seats across the table, with all three staring at Elias. Night Flash smiled brightly.

“Red, meet my friends, Ice Blossom, Scarlet Shield, and Book Binder!”

The first two, a pair of pegasi; one with red fur and a black mane, and the other with light blue fur and a white mane, glared at Elias. The third, a unicorn with light green fur and a red-violet mane, looked at Elias curiously. Night Flash smiled at Elias.

“We’ve been friends since training! They’re the best ponies I know!”

Elias rolled his jaw. He wanted to snap at the pegasi that were giving him a death glare, but decided not to, extending his hand to Book Binder.

“Elias.”

She smiled widely and shook his hand.

“Book Binder. Night Flash hasn’t stopped talking about you for the past two days.”

Elias side-eyed the pegasus who seemed very interested in his food.

“Anything good?”

Book Binder snorted.

“Only good. From your fighting styles, to your weapons, to your help with White Shine. Thanks for that by the way. We all have issues with that bully, and we can’t touch him because of his family connections.”

The center pegasus, Scarlet Shield stopped glaring at Elias for a second, turning to Night Flash.

“Wait, this is the guy you were talking about? I thought you were talking about a weird pony, or a gryphon or something, not this…” his voice trailed off as he noticed Elias watching him.

The human motioned for the pony to continue.

“Well go on, I would love to hear what people think about me. Tells me the kind of reputation I need to uphold.”

Elias waited silently as the pony stammered for an answer. The pony ducked his head down and wisely began to eat his food. Elias nodded.

“Right.”

Elias reached under the table to grab his fallen book. The table fell into an awkward silence as the ponies ate, each now pointedly looking away from Elias, save for Night Flash who was munching happily. Elias supposed the pegasus was happy with baby steps.

Elias began to read again, picking up where he left off, particularly the difference in battle strategy between the Equestrian and Nightmare forces. According to the book, Nightmare Moon (Elias needed to research more about that figure later) was the superior strategist, outmaneuvering Celestia with smaller, more maneuverable forces. She won every battle, inflicting horrible losses on the princess, yet Celestia had numbers at her back. Elias drew a comparison between the Equestrian history and the story of Hannibal of Carthage. Hannibal rarely lost a battle, but he had no way to get more troops, while the Romans threw army after army at him. The same thing had happened here. Eventually, Celestia had turned the tables and had ambushed Nightmare Moon, using some kind of weapon to drive the pony away. The book said that Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon, but Elias attributed it to dramatic flair. The author seemed to take quite a few narrative liberties, especially at the part where it said Nightmare Moon was gone for a thousand years. That just seemed silly.

Elias then stopped reading and looked around him. He was currently sitting in a room full of talking, magical ponies. Silly had nothing to do with it. Elias nudged Night Flash, who was slurping away at a particularly long pasta noodle. The pony stopped mid-swallow, and looked to where Elias was pointing on the page.

“That isn’t true, is it?” Elias asked.

Night Flash sucked in the rest of the noodle, smacking his lips in satisfaction before he answered.

“It’s true alright!” Flash said. “Princess Luna came back after a thousand-year banishment, fought the Elements of Harmony, then got blasted! All of the evil left her, and now she’s back to being a princess like the old days!”

Elias stared at the pony.

“That would imply that both Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna are well over a thousand years old.”

Flash nodded.

“Yup! Alicorns live for a really long time. If I remember grade school right, it’s because of all of the magic they require to raise the sun and moon. Nopony really knows how old they are, but most ponies just assume they’re immortal.”

Elias sighed and closed the book, setting it on the table.

“And there goes my sanity again. Nothing here makes sense.” Elias scratched at his eyebrow as he rested his head in his hands, glaring at the book. “And I am clearly not reading the right material to get educated.”

Elias watched with dulled fascination as the book was lifted in a mint green aura. While it was interesting to watch magic function up close, Elias was quickly growing tired of not understanding it. The thought had crossed his mind to abandon any area of study that involved magic, but evidently all areas of study involved magic. Book Binder floated the book in front of her eyes, then tutted as she inspected the cover.

“Well here’s your issue; sompony in that library gave you an ancient tactics book when what you need is a non-pony basics primer.”

She rifled through her saddle bags, and Elias quickly found two books floating in front of him. One looked relatively normal; A Non-Equestrian Guide for All Things Equestrian. The second book however, looked like something he used to find in abandoned day-cares, complete with rainbow colored unicorns on the face. Gingerly, Elias took both of the books, setting down the one he was actually likely to read, while he turned the bright pink one around.

“Really? What is this for, three-year old’s?”

Book Binder shrugged.

“Basically, I borrowed it from my baby cousin. It’s got some useful things in it though. I can’t imagine you’ve gotten a proper school education since you’ve been here, so it might help you catch up.”

Elias opened his mouth to reply, but he just sighed and flipped the book back around before setting it on top of the guidebook.

“Thanks.” He said with a dead voice. He extended his hand, motioning for the tactics book. “I’d like that back though. It’s a great read save for the parts I lack context for.”

Book Binder seemed a bit shocked.

“You’re the one who chose this out?” She said passing the book to Elias.

The man nodded.

“Yep. It helps me put things into perspective. I studied a great deal of different military tactics some time ago. Greek, Roman, Celtic, Germanic, the works. It’s how I learned my ancestral history, I thought it would work here too.” He arranged the books into a stack, intentionally obscuring the child’s book. “But, unfortunately, as all things seem to work in this place, knowledge of magic is required to some degree.”

Elias spread his hands.

“Clearly I am lacking severely in that department being a non-magical creature.”

Scarlet Shield seemed to perk up slightly. For the first time since he had started eating, his head rose, looking at Elias.

“You like studying military tactics? How do the armies on your world fight?”

Elias felt Night Flash shift nervously. He looked over to pony, who was watching him intently. Technically speaking, that was a violation of rule number one, but Elias really didn’t care. Night Flash was biting his lip, as if Elias was a hand grenade, waiting to go off at the slightest provocation. Elias pretended for a moment that that wasn’t the case, and answered the question. Fighting was a subject he enjoyed talking about. Certain fights however…

“Depends where and when. I’ll stick to the historical period most similar to Equestria. My personal favorite, the Romans, fought in long shield walls with heavy armor. It’s where I actually take all of my fighting techniques from.”

And then he was off. Twilight had wanted to know about human culture; music, food and art. His focus areas, Roman oration and combat, were barely touched. Now Elias felt like he could actually talk about something. It helped that his audience seemed to become more in awe with every question answered. Elias and Scarlet Shield practically fed of each other’s excitement; each ancient battle strategy brought more questions. Elias talked about what worked and what didn’t. He talked about the massive armies and the even more massive battles that spanned the Mediterranean Sea.

Lunch ended far too soon. Even as they disposed of their trash and collected their gear Scarlet Shield and Elias talked back and forth, with the pony asking lightning fast questions while Elias gave abridged answers, with the promise for the full versions when they had time. As they began to part ways, Elias found himself unwilling to tear himself away from the conversation. Only at the prodding of Night Flash did he shut up with a final wave to Scarlet, who seemed just as uneager to stop as the human was.

As Night Flash and Elias walked to their post for the night, Elias felt a bit… springy. He felt lighter in step, and for once Elias caught an honest smile that remained on his face for more than second. It had been a very long time since that had happened. As he realized this, his temporarily dormant paranoia reared its nasty head, and Elias felt the mood slip away. A dozen suspicious, and in truth ridiculous, thoughts sprang to the forefront. Was he being used for strategical information? Was this all a ruse to get the secrets of humanity out of him? The ponies had seemed almost antagonistic at the beginning of the meal, yet by the end one had him practically spilling his guts.

As he and Night Flash assumed their posts, Elias frowned, feeling more than a little bit confused as the two voices in his head warred with each other.

*****

The end of that shift found Elias pacing in his room. Back and forth, back and forth. Standing completely still for six more hours had done nothing to help his paranoia, and now it was back in full force. He eyed the mattress to his bed, underneath which his journals were hidden. He had been re-reading old entries to make sure he stayed on his toes, but he couldn’t remember if any of the entries were about trust. A memory of blood flashed in his mind, and Elias quickly shoved it away. Every time he had been betrayed; he had lost his mind. He doubted that anything coherent could be found in those entries, certainly nothing that would help him now.

Elias felt the presence in the room, scoffing loudly when he saw Other-Elias sitting calmly on his bed.

“Great, now you show up. Where were you earlier?”

Other-Elias cocked his head.

“Trying to make sure you didn’t do something stupid. If you haven’t noticed, you seem to lack full control over your emotions.”

Elias stopped momentarily to glare at Other-Elias before he resumed his pacing.

“And I wonder why that is.” Elias said. Other-Elias smirked.

“Maybe if you would just listen to me once in your life, we might not be having these issues.”

“I tried listening to you once, a lot of people died. A lot of friends.” Elias replied.

Other-Elias scowled.

“There is no way to anticipate the actions of cowards. I gave you all the information I had and made a decision based on that. How was I supposed to know that-…”?

“Don’t you dare speak that bastard’s name!” Elias shouted at Other-Elias.

The specter raised his hands.

“Fine, fine. I had no way of knowing that would happen. Blaming us for counting on him is like blaming yourself for falling into that damn light show and ending up here. There was no way to predict what would happen.”

“I’m shocked that you aren’t happy we fell face into an anomaly with a gaping chest wound. You seemed keen to make light of the situation a few weeks ago.”

Other-Elias sighed.

“Look, I understand the paranoia; being unnaturally suspicious kept us alive and safe for a while, but the evidence is here that you don’t need it anymore! Look around us Elias! We’ve been in the same room for nearly a month and nothing significant has happened. Sure, we’ve had minor lows, but look at all the ups! Food that is hot and provided three times a day, no charge. We have new equipment that requires less maintenance. We have all the books we could ever want. We have a bed and a room, and both are in no danger of collapsing into a filth ridden pile of rot.” Other-Elias pointed to the bathroom. “I don’t think I have to mention the fully functioning heated shower. I don’t know about you, but bathing in mud puddles again does not sound like a good time to me.”

Elias growled in frustration.

“But what if it’s all a game! You know what we have in our head. We have enough knowledge to let them figure out modern weaponry. Jumping from gunpowder to nuclear armaments would take them a few years max! What if this is all a bid to get human military technology to… to…”

“To what?” Other-Elias laughed in disbelief. “Elias, they have a grand total of one war in their history books. One. It shouldn’t even count because it was a civil war. The ponies solve all of their problems with diplomacy. Why should we be any different?”

Elias glared at the man.

“We’re a problem that needs solved now?”

Other-Elias looked at him with a deadpan expression.

“We wouldn’t be having this conversation if we we’re anything less than a problem that needed solved. Even in the end times, people who talked to themselves like this were considered madmen. Just because we mostly have a handle on it doesn’t make it better. We’re clinically unstable, at best.”

Elias silently mouthed his words in a mocking manner. When Other-Elias simply crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, Elias clamped his mouth shut.

“All right then mastermind, how do we go about this? We what, trust them with our very soul?”

Other-Elias shrugged.

“I don’t see why we can’t continue like the end of lunch today. The rules you made are pretty solid, just stick to those. Let everything we like talking about be free game.”

Elias shook his head and turned away as he changed his pacing pattern, pacing between the bathroom and the front door.

“No, no. What if I let important stuff slip? What if I let them in too close and they get killed? We lost our mind last time, hell, every time we lost somebody important. If that happens here…”

Other-Elias sighed.

“You are really over thinking this Elias.” From nowhere came a piece of paper and a pen. Other-Elias drew out a quick sketch on his lap. “Here’s what you need to do, plan the battlefield, write it down if you have to. Plan out a conversation in detail, leave nothing untouched. Build a castle of subjects and stories that we like. Set them up in a maze that would take a master to work through. Each gate passed should be darker than the next. Start with the surface level stuff; cultural stuff, army logistics, everything. Then make the interior of the keep about the end times and the wasteland. A bit nastier and more personal, but still just the surface.”

Elias stopped pacing and stared at the page in Other-Elias’ hands. Unable to read it upside down, he moved to the bed, sitting beside the man as he watched over his shoulder. Other-Elias continued, shading the “keep” in.

“After that, move on to atrocities; this is where you test their mettle. If they can listen without reacting too severely, then you make the decision to let them in closer, but if they get emotional in a way we don’t like, shut the gates, draw closed the bridges and leave them stranded. Keep them outside where it’s safe, then we know for certain that they won’t survive being our friend and we can cut emotional ties early.”

Other-Elias handed the pen and the finished drawing over to Elias. Once in his hands, the image became clearer, as did the lists associated with each fortification. He had set up a multilayered castra, with each wall consisting of a list of subjects that he could man the barricade with. Elias twirled the pen in his right hand.

“I guess that works. But what happens if someone makes it all the way in-…”

Elias looked up to find that he was alone. His right hand was stained with ink, largely due to the quill he was spinning in his fingers. The paper was clear though, his handwriting labeling his social battle strategy out in detail. Elias sighed. It could work. He needed to make sure he was read up so he could hold a two-way conversation, rather than the semi-lecture he had shared with Scarlet Shield. Elias frowned, wandering over to his desk. On it sat the books Binder had given him. Part of a friendship was mutual trust, right? His instincts said yes, trust in others judgement was a positive.

Elias picked up the primer, thumbing it open briefly as he checked the reading level. It was largely pictureless, and the words were about the standard for a dime-novel. With the thickness of the book, Elias set it aside. He would need a few days and likely intense study to fully grasp whatever the book held. That left the other book.

Elias made sure his door was locked, and then barricaded before he even touched the frilly pink book. Why he was having such an adverse reaction to the book, he did not know. He had once worn a shirt made entirely out of cut up dresses and sun hats for three months, how could a children’s book be his mental match?

Elias scowled, shoving away his trepidation. Stopping only to wipe his hand free of ink, Elias quickly snatched up the book, opening the cover to the first page as he walked back to his bed. He was surprised to find that it had a table of contents.

A Pony’s Guide to Making Friends

Chapter 1: Starting out

Chapter 2: Trust

Chapter 3: Boundaries

Chapter 4: How to handle rough patches

Chapter 5: The importance of forgiveness

Chapter 6: Friendship is Magic

Elias shook his head at the last chapter title. If that wasn’t the most chintzy-est line he had ever read. He had half a mind to toss the book back on the desk and be done for the day, but the now large voice in the back of his mind poked at him to at least read a chapter. Elias sighed, standing up to grab a sheet of paper and another quill. If he was going to suffer, he had to take notes so that he would only read it once.

*****

Elias rubbed at his eyes. He checked his watch; still thirty minutes before his shift began. What should have taken him less than hour had instead turned into an all-day project. A stack of notes sat on the desk at his side, covered front and back with comments and ideas for further areas of study. He had read through what he had termed the “friendship” book at least seven times now, each time combing through it carefully, noting minor details that he needed to clarify through questions or other sources. Overall, Elias felt overwhelmed. Pony society seemed so simple on the surface. Elias had thought human societal norms would apply, but he was incredibly wrong.

As he had gone through the friendship book, he had used the primer as a constant cross-reference, both answering questions while raising hosts of new ones. When he thought he understood a social norm, suddenly it was different for each type of pony. He had believed had almost figured it all out until he hit that sixth chapter. Then magic came into play, and Elias dove straight off the cliff, hitting the bottom of a well that would take him days of reading to climb out of.

On top of that, a migraine had begun to form somewhere around noon and hadn’t retreated. Elias had tried to walk away from the reading, but the pressure behind his eyes continued to build. It eventually spread to his nose and throat, and Elias found himself blowing his nose and coughing, which only seemed to make the headache worse.

With a groan, Elias checked his watch again. Fifteen minutes till he needed to be in the main guard room. He pushed back from the desk, standing up quickly. Too quickly. The room swam and Elias had to grip the desk to keep his balance. A cough wracked his chest. Elias growled as he tried to ignore whatever his body was trying to tell him. He attributed it to his lack of sleep and staggered to his armor stand. Quickly donning the armor and sword belt, Elias scooped up his shield and a single pilla, sliding it into a sheathe as he left his room.

Elias began to sweat profusely as he approached the guard room. He had to wipe his brow several times to keep it dry. His tunic was so drenched with sweat that it clung to his chest, almost as if had been swimming. His shield felt heavy in his hand, like it had been loaded down with lead. Elias blinked rapidly as he tried to clear his vision.

Elias stumbled as he reached the guard room doorway, clinging to the frame with his open hand. His legs shook, and Elias felt aches in his elbows that he was sure weren’t there before. He leaned against the doorway for a second as he caught his breath. Once he felt slightly, but not really better, Elias pushed off the frame and walked into the guard room, looking for the closest seat possible. Luckily, Night Flash was a step ahead of him. The pegasus waved, smiling as he and Book Binder sat in the very first row, with a single seat saved for Elias. Elias gave a half-wave back, then did his best not to stumble about as he walked the few steps to the seat. He pulled the chair out far enough to sit in, then flopped down, taking off his helmet and setting it on the desk before him. Elias then leaned his elbows against the desk as he held his head. The pressure was reaching a peak, hammering away furiously at his forehead. He felt something touch his arm, looking over to find Night Flash looking at him with concern.

“Are you all right Red? You’re looking kind of pale.”

Elias nodded in response, opening his mouth to answer. Instead of words, a long, ragged cough tore through his chest, and Elias quickly found himself struggling to breathe as he covered his mouth with his hand. The hoof shifted from his arm to his back as Night Flash gave him pats to try and relieve the coughing. It eventually stopped, and Elias blinked dumbly as he stared at a spattering of blood in his palm. He quickly rubbed it on his tunic and sat up, hiding the hand under the desk. He swallowed roughly, tasting iron in his mouth as he looked at Night Flash. The pegasus was frowning.

“Are you all right? You look like you’ve come down with something. There’s no shame in taking a day off if you got sick.”

Elias shook his head. He was feeling slightly better after the coughing. His chest felt a bit looser, and while the headache was still getting worse, he felt substantially cooler.

“I’m fine.” Elias responded. “I just need to get to work, and I’ll be right as rain.”

As Elias finished saying this, another bout of coughing welled up in his chest. His eyes and nose streamed as he fought to breathe once more. Elias cursed silently at his body. It wasn’t enough that he was barely functioning mentally, his body had decided today was the day to give up the ghost? Elias swore up and down at his rotten luck. If he was going to die of nothing at all, he really wished it had happened a long time ago, not when he had an opportunity to get himself together. Elias clamped down on his stomach as he felt bile rising his throat. Whether this was a new symptom, or just a result of the coughing, he had no idea, but he would not be vomiting today. Especially not with almost the entirety of the Luna Guard watching. While Elias didn’t care about their opinions of him, he wasn’t going to open himself to ridicule.

With supreme effort, Elias was able to stop coughing for a moment, taking short breaths through his nose to avoid irritating his throat and chest further. He cleared his throat aggressively, rolling the mucus up and down as he tried to remedy the sudden ailments. Night Flash looked like he was going to ask if Elias was okay again, but at that moment Nightshade walked in.

The entirety of the Lunar Guard shot to their feet, and stood at a rigid attention, save for Elias, who swayed as if pushed by a breeze. Being at the front did him no favors for hiding his condition, and being the only human in the room likely didn’t help either. Nightshade stopped directly in front of the man, scowling at him.

“Guardsman Bright, nice to see you’re on time, but frankly, you look like you slept in Tartarus yesterday. Is there a good reason you cannot stand at an appropriate attention?”

Elias cleared his throat for a final time, trying to make his voice sound normal but failing miserably.

“No reason at all Captain. Just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.” He rasped.

Night Flash cleared his throat as well, drawing Nightshade’s attention.

“I think Guardsman Bright is sick Captain. He’s been coughing something fierce and he came in all sweaty and stumble-y.”

Elias growled, letting the flash of irritation he felt at Night Flash carry away a bit of the pain from his headache.

“I’m fine. Guardspony Flash doesn’t know what he’s talking about. It’s just exhaustion, nothing I haven’t dealt with before. I can still do my job.”

Nightshade looked at him with a deadpan stare.

“Bright, you can’t stand straight, and you haven’t stood straight since I got here. Flash, take him to the Doc to get checked out. It might have something to do with that nasty looking gash on his arm.”

Elias shook his head in denial as Night Flash began to move to pull him to the infirmary.

“I said I’m fine.” He asserted forcefully. “A cough and a headache aren’t enough to stop me from doing anything.”

Nightshade exhaled heavily.

“All right Guardsman, if this is the game you want to play. Stand before me on the floor and we’ll test if you’re “fine”.”

Elias shoved the seat back with his legs, and then took a few confident steps to get around the desk. On the third step, he was on his knees, vomiting violently on the floor. It was initially yellow in color, but the second heave brought out a torrent of red. Elias tasted more iron in his mouth, and he heard several ponies call out for a healer. He tried to push himself up on his hands, but his legs gave out, the weakness returning. Instead of pushing himself to his feet, Elias collapsed completely onto his side. His hand spasmed before his eyes, and his vision quickly blurred before he fell away into blackness.

*****

Blackness met him when he woke up. Elias couldn’t open his eyes. For a split second, he panicked, wondering if falling had made him blind. Only when he rubbed his eye lids and felt a thick film of crust did he realize that they were simply still shut. He quickly scraped the crust from both of his eyes, opening them slowly. The familiar ceilings of the infirmary met his tired eyes. Elias groaned and tried to sit up, only for a firm pair of hooves to gently push him back down. Looking to his left, Elias saw Steel Scalpel. He flinched when he met the unicorn’s eyes, and for a second he didn’t know why. Then he remembered. Scalpel evidently did too, because his ears drooped, and he looked down. Elias tried to say something, but the only thing that escaped his throat was a dry cough. Scalpel sat up, lifting a cup of water with a straw to Elias’ mouth.

“Drink. You need to keep your fluids up.” Scalpel said gently.

Elias accepted the water without protest, drinking as fast as the straw would allow. Once the glass was empty, Elias released the straw and Scalpel floated it to rest on top of the nightstand. He then fluffed out Elias’ pillow, gently prodding the man to lay back. Elias did so silently, trying to get a bearing on his situation. His entire body hurt; not in the familiar over exhaustion manner either. It felt like he had been drained of every liquid he had and was left a dried-out husk filled with meat and bones. He looked over to Scalpel, who was still watching him with sad eyes.

“What happened?” Elias said, his voice barely above a scratchy whisper.

“You passed out in the guard room after vomiting up an unhealthy amount of blood.” Scalpel responded simply. “That was two days ago. You’ve been here since.”

Elias closed his eyes, shutting out the light for a second. Using more than one sense at a time hurt right now.

“Why?”

Scalpel exhaled deeply.

“It’s complicated. Let’s start with the obvious; you haven’t been sleeping well, and Night Flash indicated that you pulled an all-nighter before the incident. Is that true?”

Elias nodded silently.

“Your body was already in desperate need of rest Elias. You’ve been pushing yourself physically every night and you haven’t been getting enough rest during the day. Staying up all day simply forced your body to start shutting down. That’s just the first cause, yet it’s more than enough to kill some ponies.”

Elias monitored weakly for him to continue.

“I’ve been having sleeping issues for years; I know it wasn’t that. What else?”

Scalpel sighed.

“The book you spent the entire night reading was coated in live Pony Flu cells. Normally it only affects children of all races. Everyone gets it once and then they’re immune for life. Your immune system was completely free of it, so it attacked with vigor. Being exhausted made your response weaker than it should have been, and finally, your body was already busy trying to fight a different infection.”

Elias opened his eyes when he felt Scalpel reach across his chest to tap on his right arm, and more specifically, the now healed scar that ran down it. Because he had nowhere to hide the limb, Elias turned away from Scalpel, unwilling to meet the pony’s eyes. The unicorn sighed again.

“Elias… Why didn’t you come in for this? This could have killed you given long enough. You were at risk of blood poisoning, and if you had gotten the flu a day later your immune system would have been too compromised to function. What should have been a series of minor inconveniences turned into something very real, and…”

Scalpel stopped, and Elias heard the pony whimper. The pony buried his muzzle in his hooves as he cried.

“Oh Celestia, it’s my fault,” the pony sobbed. “I yelled at you for coming in and I almost got you killed.”

Elias felt a twinge in his chest, and it took a prod from the voice at the back of his head to realize it wasn’t a physical twinge. Maybe it was the delirium, but Elias reached out a hand toward Scalpel, an idea forming shakily in his head. The pony stopped instantly when Elias began scratching him lightly behind the ear.

“Isn’t your fault Doc.” Elias said softly. “I shouldn’t have been getting banged up so often. I put too much pressure on you.”

Scalpel sniffed, rubbing his nose as he looked at Elias’ chest.

“It wasn’t about the stupid injuries for you though. Sure, you got hurt and sure you needed help, but primarily, you were here to talk to me. You were reaching out in your own way, and how did I respond? By blowing up at you. I drove away your first attempt to make a friend. It is absolutely my fault.”

Elias noticed that the pony made no move to stop the ear scratching. If anything, Scalpel seemed to relax more and more as Elias continued. Interesting information. He could use that later for… Elias stopped himself mentally. For what? For once, no voices snapped back at him. Both the voice in the back of his head, as well as the voice in the center were silent. It had been years since he had felt alone in his own head, even for a moment. It felt… clean. Like he wasn’t sharing it with a pair of rabid dogs anymore. His thoughts, at least for the moment, came from just him. Those thoughts told him that running wasn’t an option anymore. His grand plan to live alone in some forest shelter didn’t mesh with how he felt now. He had no plan. No contingency for the future, no wall to throw up in the face of life. Life that he had the opportunity, right now, to change for himself. He hoped for the better. There was only one way to find out.

Elias stopped scratching behind Scalpel’s ears, and the pony looked up at him.

“I think…” Elias paused, nervousness popping up for a second. Elias quickly ran through what he wanted to say, then, confident in his course, continued. “I think we shouldn’t lay blame here Doc. What happened happened, and I think we should just move on.”

Scalpel sniffed again.

“You don’t blame me?” he asked.

Elias smiled slightly, then resumed scratching the pony’s ears. Unknowingly, Scalpel cooed softly, bending into Elias’ hand. Elias made a mental note. He would need to do more research to make sure this wasn’t seen as a romantic act; he didn’t want to send to wrong message. Still, it felt right, and he had a strong feeling the friendly message got across.

“Not at all. I’d like to ask a favor though.”

Scalpel sighed and smiled, his eyes closing.

“Anything. I want to make it up to you for yelling at you. You were hurting and I just got so mad that you kept getting hurt. I should have talked to you about it, and I can’t express how sorry I am for that, and I hope you can forgive me.”

“I will if you’ll be my friend.” Elias responded.

Scalpel’s eyes opened, and he put a hoof on Elias’ arm, gently pushing away the hand from his ears.

“A-are you sure? I-I don’t want to intrude, and I know I hurt you by…”

Elias just smiled silently at Scalpel and the pony’s voice tapered off. Scalpel slowly smiled back, and Elias saw tears on the corners of his eyes.

“Okay Elias. Friends it is.”

The unicorn shifted nervously for a second, and Elias rolled his eyes. He opened his arm.

“Get it over with you fuzzy monstrosity.”

Scalpel smiled, and like a cat, he carefully pounced on Elias, landing mostly on the bed, but still wrapping Elias in a hug. Elias scoffed, trying to deny how nice the hug felt.

“I swear, everybody has been staring at me with that look in their eyes for weeks.”

Scalpel stepped back, hopping off the bed and returning to his seat.

“It’s pony nature to try and hug someone that looks unhappy. If friendship wasn’t magic, I would imagine that hugs would be.”

Elias grimaced as if in pain and rolled over onto his side, facing away from the pony.

“All right, that’s enough niceness for a lifetime. I’m going back to being a violent, anti-social human.”

Scalpel smiled at his back.

“It’s too late Elias. We’ve gotten our hugs in you now. First, we make friends with you and give you hugs, then we find you a special somepony to cuddle with. Before you know it, you’ll be a healthy, happy member of Equestria.”

Elias groaned and tried to cover his ears.

“I should punch you. I should throw this bed out of that window and jump. I feel like I should fight a bear just to compensate for what you just said. You can’t possibly make this day any lamer.”

Elias swore he could hear Scalpel smirk.

“Maybe not, but I know two ponies who can. They should be arriving any minute now.”

As he said that, the door to the infirmary slammed open. Elias looked over his shoulder and saw Book Binder staring at him, her eyes wide. Night Flash was right beside her with the same expression. They both looked like they had just run a few miles in full armor. Elias looked to Scalpel, who smiled back. His horn lit up, and their night guard armor disappeared from their bodies. The pair of ponies didn’t even seem to notice. They simply rushed at him in a flying sprint, pouncing onto the bed. They both chose a side, Binder to his left, and Flash to his right. Unlike Scalpel’s respectful, soft hug that had lasted only a few seconds, these two decided to lock onto Elias, hugging him tightly as they nuzzled into his sides. Elias felt himself flush red as he realized he was unable to maneuver his arms to pry the fuzzy attackers free. He would have to result to diplomacy.

“Get off of me you two!” He growled.

The words had the opposite affect than he had in mind. Both of their grips tightened as Book Binder cried in his ear.

“No! You need hugs! I won’t let you die on us!”

Elias looked helplessly to Night Flash, hoping the pegasus would have common sense or reason. He evidently had neither.

“We won’t let you go Red! I have to break rule 2 to make sure you’re safe. Our friendship is worth that!”

Elias looked to his last ally in the room.

“Doc! Help me!” he said desperately.

Scalpel smiled.

“Elias, as both your doctor and your friend, I assure you that you are perfectly safe. In fact, this can only help you. It’s best to just accept your situation.”

“You traitor!” Elias shouted back.

As the pair of snuggling ponies settled down, they also both relaxed. Binder tucker herself under his arm, pressing firmly into his side as she set her head under his chin. Night Flash spread his wings out slightly, covering most of Elias’ chest as the pony got comfortable, his muzzle resting next to Elias’ ear. It took the man a second to realize that the maneuver was strategic. Now he couldn’t move his head to glare at either of them. Book Binder’s horn sat dangerously at his throat. It wouldn’t be a threat unless he resisted. The clever bastards.

Elias huffed, blowing a stray piece of hair from his face.

“I am going to ask this calmly once. Please get off, I don’t need to be hugged. I’m fine.”

Elias heard Book Binder sniff softly and he mentally groaned. He had already helped one crying pony today, wasn’t that enough?

“No, you’re not fine Elias.” She whimpered softly. “I gave you a book covered in flu germs. I could have killed you!”

“But you didn’t.” Elias protested. “I just got a little sick, that’s all.”

Book Binder sat up and glared at him with tears in her eyes.

“That’s not the point you big idiot!” She shouted at him. “What kind of friend infects another friend with a deadly virus the first time they meet?” She sniffed and looked down. “I hurt you really badly, and if it weren’t for Night Flash and Doctor Scalpel you might have died.” She sniffed again, wiping at her muzzle as she whimpered; “I’m a terrible pony.”

Elias felt his heart palpitate. This was the most emotional contact he had in well over a year, and he felt like it was going to overwhelm the strained muscle. If he didn’t already know how soul crushing absolute loneliness could be, he imagined he would wish for it back. That, however, was not an option Elias wanted to take. If he wanted to ensure it didn’t return, he needed friends, and these ponies were his only, and likely best option. He had to do the right thing, even if it stabbed at a core part of his being.

Book Binder eeped in surprised when Elias grabbed her and pulled her close to his chest. He waited for her to resettle before he spoke, her big eyes watching him intently, still rimmed with tears.

“Let’s start with the obvious Binder; you’re not a terrible pony. You had no way of knowing the book was covered in germs. You said it was your cousin’s, when was she sick with the flu?”

“Three weeks ago.” Book Binder responded softly.

“See, I would think any germs would be dead by then. Either way, aren’t all the adults in Equestria already immune to the Pony Flu?”

She sniffled.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Elias smiled.

“So, do you really think I would blame you for making an honest mistake? I certainly didn’t expect to contract a violent, potentially killer case of the flu overnight. What would my grave read? Here lies Elias Bright, he died because of a pink children’s book?”

Book Binder giggled and smacked him lightly over the head.

“That isn’t funny.” She sighed. “But no. I guess you wouldn’t blame me. I’m still sorry Elias. If just one more thing went wrong, you could have died.”

Elias shrugged.

“You can’t live on ifs. If you sat here all day pondering what could have been, you’ll never move forward.”

Book Binder smiled and nuzzled his ribcage.

“I guess you’re right. Thanks Elias. You are far too nice.”

He groaned loudly.

“Don’t say that. Give me another poison book. Put another arrow in my chest. Anything but calling me nice.”

She giggled.

“You’re the nicest human I’ve ever met.” She said, mocking him. “Standing up to bullies, saying nice things, being so forgiving. You’re a big softy.”

Elias tried to push himself up to run from the soft, kind ponies, almost succeeding as the pair of ponies at his side protested, unable to stop him. The unicorn traitor reared his fuzzy head however, and Elias quickly found himself pinned under three fuzzy ponies, with Steel Scalpel resting calmly on his chest.

“I’ll come for all of you!” Elias growled. “Nowhere will be safe! I’m Elias Bright damnit! That name should inspire fear!”

Night Flash stuck his tongue out at Elias.

“Tough, we only know you as a friend now. And there is nothing you can do to get rid of us.”

Elias smiled at the pony’s words, content to remain silent for a second. Only when he heard a snore at his side did he realize that he made a mistake. He blinked and looked at the pony on his chest, then to the one at his left, then finally to the one at his right. All three had fallen asleep, smiling in contentment. Elias thought about prodding them awake, then decided against it. He felt wonderfully warm, as if covered by a living blanket. His own eyes drooped, and Elias sighed softly as he let sleep claim him peacefully.

Chapter 12: Short Days

Journal Entry

Day 2130

Training is going awesomely! Two hundred volunteers, who would have thought I could get that many? I have to be honest though, I’m nervous that so many of them are friends. All of my officers (ha! I have officers!) are close friends, and not just because they’re my friends, but because in all honesty, they are the strongest ones. Nobody outshines them in fighting, running, marching, or in following orders. Now, maybe that’s because I’ve been talking about this idea for a month or two (or more, I can’t remember) but man are they good! David even got a bunch of the recruits to march in time! I already have a really good feeling about this. If he did that in a day, we’re going to be marching against raiders by the end of the month. Look out world, the new Romans are coming!

Elias stretched his arms toward the ceiling, pressing as hard as he could to release the tension built up in his arms. It had been a full week of bed rest, and he was back in his room, preparing for the “light” duties that Nightshade had laid out to work him back into the schedule. He had a guard outside his door to ensure he didn’t go anywhere near the training field. Steel Scalpel had made sure that Elias had no opportunities to revisit the infirmary on business. Elias had half a mind to show the unicorn that he could get hurt doing anything, but decided against it. It wouldn’t be, ugh, friendly, of him.

With the return of his health came the return of many other things, such as the night terrors, and his normal aggressive, bitter personality. While isolated, Elias felt the same as he ever did, focusing on improving either his physical prowess, or his store of knowledge to remain distracted. In this department, he was met with only mild success. Most aspects of pony culture were still completely lost on him, as was anything involving magic. He tried again and again to read up on both, but always found his mind wandering elsewhere, usually a history book that sat under the initiate magic tome. While the Equestrian’s lacked many notable wars, other species were not so gentle. Dragons, gryphons, diamond dogs, zebras, minotaurs, and some sort of nasty creature called changelings were at a near constant of warfare with each other. Part of Elias wished to go travel to some of the faraway lands, going so far as to ask Luna if they ever did ventures to foreign capitals. While she admitted they did, she also told him they were a rarity and were only ever diplomatic missions in times of crises. The answer wasn’t what Elias had hoped for, but he made note of places he’d like to visit once his guard contract expired.

That line of thinking had brought him to where he was now. A bestiary in hand as he made his way toward the cafeteria. Breakfast awaited, as did his two friends. Elias was mostly happy with the idea of having close friends again, though that ever-present voice in the center of his mind whispered to watch the shadows, to keep them so close that nothing could ever hurt them. Elias kept the voice low, but made sure it didn’t disappear completely. A bit of paranoia on Night Flash and Book Binder’s behalf wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Speaking of the pair, Elias smiled as he saw them waiting outside the cafeteria entrance. He found it a bit strange that the massive double doors were closed though, usually they were thrown wide during mealtimes to accommodate the influx of guards. As he got closer, his suspicions grew when he noticed the two trying very hard to remain still, shaking their heads slowly at him as they kept their mouths clamped shut. Elias let his hand fall to his gladius as he scanned the hallway around them, searching for any threats. Everything seemed normal save for the cafeteria doors, which remained closed. Elias raised an eyebrow as he looked between the shut doors and the two ponies, who were shaking their heads even more vigorously. Elias pressed his ear to the door, and faintly heard… singing?

Elias side-eyed the two ponies.

“Is everything alright in there? Did something happen?”

Night Flash whimpered and shook his head as he tried to hide his eyes behind his hooves. Book Binder made the mistake of opening her mouth, and instead of the normal, spoken answer he expected, Elias was met with singing.

“We won’t lose again!” she sang loudly, her eyes holding nothing but hatred for Elias.

She tried to block her mouth with her hooves, but Elias was in for a second shock when Night Flash sang next, evidently giving in to the unseen pressure that was acting on the both of them.

“Together we can win!” Flash sang back, looking not at Elias, but at Book Binder.

Whatever force acted on them, Book Binder, upon seeing her oblivious lover singing, gave in completely. She alighted on Elias’ shoulders long enough to smack him upside the head, then the two raced into the cafeteria. The doors swung open widely, and Elias was treated to not one, but both of the guard branches singing wildly at each other. He watched Flash and Binder join the Lunar Guard, their voices added to a chorus of ponies trying to motivate themselves for some “big game”. The Solar Guard, on the other hand, was enthusiastically patting itself on the back at their unbeaten win streak. Lacking any context whatsoever left Elias confused, especially given that he could hear instruments, despite seeing none. Of all the things he had seen in Equestria, this was by far the strangest.

“Ah, I see the guard is conducting their annual competitive musical number.” Luna said.

Elias jumped slightly, the alicorn having appeared from nowhere. She smiled at him widely, which unnerved Elias even more. He scratched the back of his head as he remained fixated on the hundreds of ponies performing coordinated dance moves at each other.

“The what?” Elias asked stupidly.

“Every year the Solar and Lunar guards fight head to head in a number of competitions based on veterancy.” Luna sighed. “Unfortunately, my sister’s guard usually comes out on top due to their raw strength.” She smiled and perked up, looking at the blue clad ponies that danced and flapped around each other. “But it looks like my ponies are in top form this year. Perhaps we can win one of these exercises!”

And then she turned to him, that smile still wide. Elias stared blankly back. Luna nodded with her head toward the musical number, still staring at him. Elias raised an eyebrow, looking to the musical number, then back to the blue princess before him.

“What?” he asked.

Luna’s smile wavered slightly.

“Do you not wish to join with your compatriots?”

Elias smirked and shook his head.

“In what, singing? Absolutely not. If there is one thing I have never done in my adult life, it is sing. I imagine my voice sounds something like a drowning dog mixed with a bucket of hot gravel. Completely unpleasant for any and all involved.”

Luna scoffed.

“Musical harmony magic will make any damage to your vocal cords void. While in song, everyone is always exactly where they need to be. In tone, coordination, and lyric.”

Elias looked back to the musical number as he watched a trio of thestrals do coordinated barrel rolls through the air.

“I guess that explains how this was thrown together without practice.” Elias noted. “I’ve got nothing for you though. I already told you I’m not magical. No “musical harmony magic” for this guy.” He said, jabbing a thumb at his chest.

Luna huffed.

“I have already told you Guardsman Bright; all creatures have ambient magic. I merely mis-calibrated a spell. Go on, sing! Let the harmony flow through you!”

She smiled again as she finished her proclamation. Elias snorted and remained silent, crossing his arms. As the two guard branches went at each other in song, Elias waited, completely still. This evidently agitated Luna, because she began to prod him in the side.

“Why aren’t you singing yet?” she mumbled to herself. She prodded his plated ribs. “Is it because you never had a first song? Can age be a factor?”

Elias shook his head.

“Princess, I already told you, humans don’t have magic. People who sang on Earth had years of careful practice. This kind of thing,” he said, gesturing to the musical number in front of him, “only happened with months to years of practice. And that was before everything went bad.”

Luna frowned as she prodded his ribs again.

“I don’t believe that Guardsman. Perhaps a mild education on the use of ambient song magic will help you find your voice.” She cleared her throat, and Elias at least did her the courtesy of looking at her while she spoke. “To start, whenever a being feels an immense deal of personal harmony or strife with those around them, they break into a song that flows from the heart, relieving magical tension in the body. It is quite a wonderful experience, very relaxing.”

Elias snorted.

“I doubt that. Book Binder and Night Flash were out here trying to wait out the song when I found them. They were doing their damndest to not move at all. When I talked to them, they looked like they were forced to participate. I think Book Binder is going to kill me when this is over. You should have seen the look she gave me.”

Luna nodded in understanding.

“Of course. When musical harmony such as this becomes regular, a few ponies will attempt to avoid it, but in truth, they could no more have avoided the song than we could avoid breathing. Any being with association to the subject of the music is compelled to join in. I am shocked that you have been able to resist this compulsion. I have never met a creature who could do so.”

Elias sighed and shook his head.

“There is no compulsion Princess, I’m trying to tell you. I’ve got nothing. No ambient magic whatsoever.”

Luna scoffed at him again. She prodded his ribs for the third time.

“Nonsense. Every creature, no matter their level of harmony magic, has to sing when called upon. It is a fact of reality.”

“Every creature huh? Does that mean Anyon had a song then? What was it about, a sword?”

Luna sighed as she kept prodding at his ribs.

“Unfortunately, yes. I was involved. That song took nearly an hour to complete. All because we forgot a few steel shipments in a row. Anyon felt underappreciated, and it took me that long to convince him otherwise. He is a stubborn creature.” She growled and sat down, using both of her forehooves to prod at Elias’ ribs. “Much like you. Why won’t you sing?”

Elias sighed at the pony’s antics.

“It isn’t going to happen Princess. I don’t sing. Maybe you’re just weird for all of this magic nonsense.”

Luna scowled. Her horn charged up and she tried to send a shock into his side. Elias felt a slight tingle as his armor absorbed most of the electricity.

“We are not the weird ones here Guardsman, you are. Do you not have any inclination to sing?” She asked, looking at him with her green eyes. “You are filled with strife; would singing about it not bring you closure? It certainly helped me when I returned from being Nightmare Moon.”

Elias had read about that the other day. Evidently the Elements of Harmony were a weapon (like he had suspected) that could be used to imprison, or “cure” magical beings of evil. Luna, who had called herself Nightmare Moon, had been purged of her “jealousy” with the weapon, and had returned to Equestria only a few years ago. Still, while interesting, Elias knew it had nothing to do with the subject on hand.

“I’m going to have to go with a firm no. Even if I practiced beforehand, and felt this “harmony” magic you keep telling me I should have, I wouldn’t. I don’t sing.”

Luna changed tactics and began prodding him in the gut.

“Elias, your voice is likely beautiful, give it a chance. Feel all of your conflict in your heart, and let it soar through you throat!” She prodded his stomach again. “Do it. Sing for me.”

“No.” Elias replied flatly.

She growled and glared at him.

“Elias, release your harmony magic and sing!”

“Absolutely not, there is no such thing.”

“I know that isn’t true.” Luna replied adamantly. “Sing for me.”

“No! I already told you I don’t sing.” Elias snapped.

Luna titled her head and smiled.

“I can make it an order if that will encourage you.” She straightened her posture, assuming the regal stance that she used in the throne room. “Guardsman Bright I order you to sing for me at once.”

Elias scoffed in response.

“First, it is within the code of conduct to refuse absurd orders; and this qualifies, second they just finished up, so I’m getting breakfast.”

Luna’s head snapped to the cafeteria where the ponies were already settling back into their seats as the two sides glared over their shoulders at each other. She looked back to Elias, who winked and smiled as he walked forward, book in hand. Luna pouted, calling after him.

“I will look into this matter further Guardsman Bright! Do not believe that you have won this day! One of these days you shall sing!”

Elias shook his head as he got in line. He felt a fuzzy body on his shoulders, followed quickly by a hoof against his head.

“How could you do that to your friends?” Book Binder said in his ear, her play anger clear. “I thought you cared about us?”

Elias smiled.

“How was I supposed to know that would happen? Humans don’t have “song” magic. Hell, we don’t have magic.”

Night Flash looked at him, his mouth agape.

“What?” he shouted. “You never have to sing if you don’t want to?”

Elias nodded, noting that Flash’s observation had drawn a bit of attention. Elias raised his voice accordingly.

“Humans have no magic to speak of, and therefore, we do not feel compulsions to do things like sing and dance unless we want to.” He glanced behind his head at Book Binder. “If we feel any internal strife, we do what normal people do, either fight about, talk about, or suppress it.”

Book Binder snorted, resting her head on top of his.

“That sounds dumb and unhealthy. Usually musical harmony is a wonderful experience.” She glared darkly across the room at the Solar Guard. “Usually.”

Elias gave the serving ponies a nod as they loaded him down with a steak and a healthy dose of mashed potatoes. He also grabbed him Book Binder’s plate of salad greens and a flower sandwich. Out of the corner of his eye, Elias noticed that Night Flash gave him a funny look. It had only been a glance, but it looked like the pegasus had a mix of sadness and joy on his face. Elias frowned, wondering if he should ask the pony if something was wrong.

Book Binder directed him to a table, that while largely empty of ponies, was covered in a wide spread of papers and what looked to Elias like battle maps. Scarlet Shield looked up, and upon spotting them approaching, he smiled widely.

“Great! You’re here, I can’t wait to see what you have to say about the exercise this year.”

Book Binder hopped off of Elias’ shoulders, and took her tray as she cleared a small part of the table to set it down.

“Where’s Ice Blossom? She’s usually with you Scarlet.” The unicorn said as she sat down.

Scarlet Shield smiled.

“Didn’t you hear? She passed her Royal Guard exams today!” he said excitedly. “They already did the induction ceremony and everything. Now she’s a big-time guard!”

Scarlet pointed to where the Royal Guard sat as a single group. Elias realized that he had never actually noticed the ponies, especially not their armor. While Flash, Binder, and Shield waved at the white maned pony at the other table, Elias studied the ponies around her. Unlike the seemingly happy-go-lucky ponies he found around him, these ponies seemed much closer to him in terms of personality. They talked only amongst themselves, occasionally casting a glare at anyone else who got too close. He saw many faces that looked like scowling was the default expression. Their armor was jet black with red and gold accents. The plumes on their helmets were also gold, and the plumes seemed to shine across the room at him.

Elias blinked when he realized that every single member of the Royal Guard was wearing armor. Unlike the rest of the guard, they evidently didn’t take it off before coming to eat. Interesting.

Ice Blossom whispered something to one of the ponies at her side, who gave her a single nod. He caught Elias staring at them, and glared at the human. Elias smirked and didn’t let his gaze waver. He then pointedly looked back to his food as he began to eat, breaking eye contact on his terms. Occasionally looking at the Royal Guards between bites. Ice Blossom smiled widely at whatever the pony said and came trotting over to their table. The three ponies smiled as she approached, but looked between each other nervously. Elias frowned. A nasty thought occurred, and he wondered what Flash and Binder would do if he attacked the pegasus if she said something he didn’t like. A threat was a threat, and he would deal with anything swiftly, friend or no.

He watched her carefully as she approached. Her smile seemed innocent enough, as did her gait. Elias waited silently as she called out to the ponies around him.

“Bring it in guys! I got permission for a one-time rule break!” she shouted with glee.

The nervous atmosphere vanished from the table, and Binder, Flash, and Scarlet leapt to their feet, all wrapping around the armored pegasus as they cheered excitedly. Elias feigned interest in his meal, which wasn’t difficult due to the always expert preparation of the steak. One eye and one ear remained up as he watched them carefully. Book Binder pealed back from the hug first, in awe as she looked at Ice Blossom’s armor.

“Oh my gosh, that is so cool!” she gushed. “It looks so good on you Blossom! So how was it? Was it as hard as they say?”

Ice Blossom smiled and tapped her nose.

“You know I’m not allowed to say Binder! You gotta do it yourself to find out.”

Book Binder gave a fake pout, then hugged her friend again.

“Oh well, I have to get as many of these in as I can.” She pulled back and danced on her hooftips. “I can’t believe you’re a Royal Guardspony now! It’s so exciting!”

Scarlet groaned and face-hoofed.

“Agh, but now we lost one of our best pegasi for the big exercise! We’re going to be short this year!”

Ice Blossom stuck her tongue out at the pegasus.

“So you only like me cause of my skills Shield? I’m hurt.”

Scarlet flushed red and rubbed his hoof abashedly.

“Sorry.” He mumbled.

Ice Blossom rolled her eyes and dragged the pegasus closer. She gave him a peck on the cheek, making him blush even redder.

“Don’t worry fly boy, I know you didn’t mean it. Besides, the Lunar Guard has a wild card this year!”

Elias blinked when he realized she was pointing at him. He stared at the four blankly. Night Flash titled his head.

“I guess you’re right.” The pegasus said. “Red is really good at throwing those spear things, and we’ve never seen him really fight.”

Scarlet however, looked much happier.

“Who cares about that, Bright has a whole world of military tactics!”

The pegasus leaped at Elias, stopping only because his chest impacted the table. The rough impact did nothing to deter the excited pegasus. He scrabbled across the table, scooping up a dozen sheets of paper, shoving them all at Elias.

“I need everything!” Shield pleaded. “We only scratched the surface at lunch the other day, and I need everything to make the best plans ever! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!”

Elias sighed when the pegasus fluffed himself up, putting on a very nasty set of puppy dog eyes. Second only to crying, ponies were extremely adept at making eyes that made any soul cave due to their combined sadness and cuteness. He suspected it was the way they stayed war-free for so long. It looked like a kitten that had its tail stomped on. Elias scratched the back of his head with his fork.

“Sure, just come by my room after shift. We can work on it then. Be warned though, I may start to lecture you about ancient military history. I tend to get off track.”

Scarlet scoffed.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time. Thanks Bright! We’ll show the sun butts this year!”

The pegasus hopped down from the table, trotting happily back to Ice Blossom like a cat who had just caught a fish. She rolled her eyes, and smacked the happy pegasus with her wing.

“You’re ridiculous, I swear Shield. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure we’re completely good before the rules start getting enforced. You guys know how it is.”

Book Binder sighed.

“Yeah, no physical contact, no talking to the each other during shifts. Do you still get Sundays off for swimming?”

Ice Blossom grinned.

“As if I’d miss out swimming circles around the three of you! We’ll make sure to catch up fully on Sunday. If you don’t mind though, I’d like a private word with Guardsman Bright.”

Elias’ eyes narrowed, and he set down the piece of steak he was about to eat. Flash, Binder, and Shield looked nervously between the two. Night Flash in particular seemed antsy.

“Red isn’t in any trouble, is he?”

Ice Blossom bumped him playfully, the motion indicating they should begin to move away.

“No, he’s not in trouble.” She side-eyed Elias. “At least not yet. It’s just something small, don’t worry about it. It’ll only take a second, then we can get one more hug for the road!”

She nudged Night Flash again. The pegasus looked to Elias, as if checking if he was all right. Elias bit his cheek and nodded for the pony to go. Night Flash frowned, but he, Binder and Shield moved away. Elias braced his elbows on the table.

“So Royal Guardspony Blossom, what can I do for you?” Elias asked.

She took a seat at the table, staring at him evenly. He had to admit; she had an excellent poker face.

“Let’s be frank with each other Elias, I saw that little look you gave me as I came over. Technically, I could use it to court martial you, especially since you decided to glare at Captain Chaser when he caught you looking.”

Elias shrugged.

“Then do so. I analyze threats, and while I don’t personally have a lot of experience with you, relationships have a nasty habit of souring when somebody moves up in rank. I don’t know your past relationship with those three, but they’re my friends now too. I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure their safety, including going against Royal Guardsponies.”

She snorted.

“Do you really think you could take on even one Royal Guard? We’re the best of the best for a reason.”

“There’s always a bigger fish,” Elias responded. “It isn’t about whether you can win, it’s about whether you should try to.”

Ice Blossom grinned.

“That’s what I like to hear.” She spread her hooves. “I have to admit, I was a bit nervous when Night Flash befriended you, but I can see, like usual, he knew what he was doing.”

She extended her hoof across the table.

“Let’s agree to stay out of each other’s way, and be good friends to those three, huh?”

Elias nodded silently. He took the offered hoof and gave it a few solid shakes before letting his hand drop.

“So, we’re good?” he asked.

Ice Blossom snorted.

“Good enough. Don’t expect a hug from me.”

Elias grinned, then nodded his head toward the Royal Guard table.

“And what about the guy with the grey hair who’s still giving me the stink eye?”

Ice Blossom took a quick glance over her shoulder and smirked.

“Captain Chaser won’t give you any issues. I’ll smooth his feathers out. That or call mom on him.”

Elias raised an eyebrow.

“Brother?”

Ice Blossom nodded.

“Older brother. Helped prep me for the exam. He can be a bit protective. And hot headed.”

She sighed and looked over her shoulder again.

“You know, he might just try to pick a fight with you. Just be ready for that. He’s fast.”

Elias snorted and picked up his fork.

“Everybody here is fast for me. I’ll figure it out, or worst comes to worst, get my ass kicked so that Scalpel can yell at me again. That’ll be a treat.”

As he ate the meat, he gave a whistle to Flash, and motioned for the trio of waiting ponies to come back over. They did so quickly, closing the distance in a second. Book Binder gave Ice Blossom one last hug, then walked around the table to plop down next to Elias, leaning against him. Elias noticed that look on Night Flash’s face again, a healthy mix of sorrow and joy. Ice Blossom noticed too, and she looked at Elias questioningly. Elias stole one of the sheets of paper from the table and scribbled a quick note on it, folding it before passing it to the pegasus. She opened and quickly scanned it before refolding it and smiling. She gave Night Flash and Scarlet Shield one more hug each before giving them one last wave as she walked back to her own table. Her entire demeanor changed as she walked, and once she sat down, Elias noticed that there wasn’t a trace of any emotion but anger. The grey maned pony quickly whispered in her ear, and she whispered a response. Elias tried to follow their mouth movements, but his attention was quickly dragged away by Night Flash.

“So, what were you two talking about?” he asked.

Elias noticed that his voice seemed off, like he was forcing the happiness into it, rather than just naturally being his chipper self.

“Nothing big, just making sure we saw eye to eye. I have to ask though, what’s the rules about the Royal Guard? What, you aren’t allowed to talk with her anymore?” he asked, gesturing in Ice Blossom's direction.

Night Flash nodded.

“Yep.” He said simply. “Royal Guardsponies aren’t supposed to interact with either of the other branches unless absolutely necessary. They also always have to wear their armor, and they always have to look serious. I guess it comes with being the most elite ponies there are.”

Elias’ eyes flicked back to the Royal Guard table. Ice Blossom was eating and chatting with the other guards, but that grey maned pony was still watching him. Elias frowned. That look reeked of a problem waiting to happen. The only thing he could do was be prepared and wait. He cleared his throat as he looked away.

“So, this big exercise everybody is going on about, what is it?”

Book Binder groaned loudly. She pushed off of Elias and put her head on the table as she tried to cover her ears.

“I don’t even want to think about it right now.” She whined. “It’s awful every year!”

Elias looked to Night Flash and Scarlet shield, who both nodded grimly.

“We always get creamed by the Solar Guards.” Scarlet said. “Basically, every year since Princess Luna returned and took over the Lunar Guard, her and Princess Celestia have held a competition. It’s broken down by time spent with the guard, so we’re the lowest group. For the past three years we have been against the same group of ponies, and every year we lose. The Solar Guard gets all of the big, flashy ponies. Since we have to be more subtle when we go out, we lack in the power department.”

Elias thought for a second. Likely the reason they were losing was due to poor use of their abilities. A strategy issue he could fix, but that was for later.

“So, what, is it a big battle, or a series of obstacle courses?”

Scarlet dragged out a map from the bottom of the pile. Spreading it on the table, he said,

“It changes every year. The team captains will be given a map of the arena once we get there. We then have half an hour to set up our plan, then we fight! We do that three times, unless one team wins the first two rounds.”

The pegasus drooped slightly.

“We haven’t ever gotten past the second round.”

Elias stroked his stubble in thought.

“Who’s the team captain? I would assume that it isn’t Captain Nightshade.”

“Uh-uh.” Scarlet responded. “The captain is randomly chosen from any of the guards who volunteer. I’m really hoping I get it this year. With your human tactics at our side, there’s no way we can lose!”

“Is that so?” an arrogant, familiar voice said.

Scarlet drooped, and Night Flash suddenly found great interest in his plate. Book Binder stiffened at Elias’ side, but she kept her head hidden in her hooves. Elias calmly stared at the white unicorn that was ruining his meal. White Shine leaned down next to Scarlet.

“Ooh, look at all of these notes! It’s a shame that it takes more than a few books and some fancy maps to make a plan. It also takes intelligence, as well as the power to execute the plan. Do you want to know which one you’re lacking Shieldy?”

Elias calmly stabbed another piece of beef, making sure he caught the unicorn’s eyes as he ate it. White Shine flinched slightly, but his asinine grin didn’t waver. He leaned over to Night Flash.

“How about you Flash, are you going to be team captain this year? I can’t wait to see you in the arena.”

Elias sniffed, drawing White Shine’s eyes again as ate another piece of beef. The unicorn’s lip curled up in disgust.

“Do you have something to say monkey, or are you truly just that disgusting of an eater?”

Elias smiled. He stabbed another piece of beef and offered it to the unicorn.

“Want some White Shine? It’s nice and juicy. The cooks here do an excellent job, it never tastes like it’s been dead for more than an hour. Best meat I’ve ever eaten.”

White Shine blanched and turned a shade of pale green. He shook his head vigorously.

“N-no. Ponies don’t eat meat.” He said, clearly flustered and put off his bullying game.

Elias smiled as he shrugged and put the piece of meat in his mouth, savoring it as he let the unicorn watch. Elias then made a big show of swallowing it. It had gotten a bit quieter in the cafeteria, and a quick glance showed Elias that the Royal Guardsponies were watching him very intently. His eyes flicked back to White Shine, and he smiled widely, making sure that his canines were showing.

Elias embedded the fork in the wooden table as he shot to his feet, grabbing White Shine by the throat. His smile was gone now, and the cafeteria fell instantly quiet. Elias curled his fingers around White Shine’s neck, keeping it just tight enough to restrict a bit of air flow. If the unicorn would stop panicking, he would find that he could breathe just fine. Elias dragged the pony over the table and held him so that they were nose to nose.

“I will say this once, and only once. You are going to leave my friends and I alone, permanently. If I catch you coming near any of them with anything less than smiles and kind words, the next piece of meat on my plate will be your sorry ass.”

The unicorn tried to kick him, so Elias shook him aggressively, tightening his grip so that more air was cut off. White Shine gasped and stopped flailing. Elias made sure that the pony made eye contact, ensuring that the unicorn saw his death in Elias’ eyes. Lowering his voice to a whispered growl, Elias said;

“I dare you to cross me you pathetic piece of shit. I don’t care who you’re related to, if I ever find out that you did something to these ponies, or their families, there is no force in Equestria that will save you from me. Are we clear?”

White Shine nodded and tapped on Elias’ arm, begging for release. Elias snorted and dropped the pony, letting him fall to the ground with a thump. White Shine was on his feet and scrambling away in an instant. Elias waited until the pony made it to the doors before he sat back down. Elias cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulder; reaching across the table had been a stretch and the grabbing motion had agitated his left shoulder again. Elias winced in pain as he massaged it lightly, then decided it would be better to just ignore the pain and he set about eating again.

When he looked up, Binder, Flash, and Scarlet were all looking at him in awe. Elias took another bite of his steak. The last one unfortunately. He made sure to savor it completely. When he looked back up from the plate, the trio of ponies were still staring at him. Elias sighed.

“All right, what did I do wrong this time?”

Then he saw the look in their eyes. Elias slowly set down his fork. Night Flash’s rump began to waggle. Elias held up his hands.

“Now guys, just… wait.”

The three exchanged a single glance, and then smiled ferally at Elias. He briefly wondered if it was too late to go back to being an anti-social loner. As three fuzzy bodies dragged him from his seat, he smiled and decided that yes, it was.

Chapter 13: Preparations

Journal Entry 2221

Legio I Americana is fully up and running! I am so excited! All the gear is done, spring is coming, we’ve been training together for months, it’s going to work! I’ve been reading like crazy to make sure I know every tactical decision in the book. I’m gonna be the best commander there ever was and-

Elias looked up from his journal, snapping it closed at the sound of a knock at his door. He checked his watch; Scarlet had decided to run home to grab some more notebooks, and Elias wasn’t expecting him back for another hour. Elias cautiously slid the journal back under his bed and crept forward, keeping his left hand near his sword hilt. The knock sounded again; a bit harder this time. Elias frowned as he thought about who it could be.

He had already gotten yelled at by Nightshade, and then Luna for “assaulting” a guard. They had let him off with a warning though. Since there were plenty of witnesses to White Shine’s behavior, Elias’ response was declared justified, with the note that he would be in serious trouble if he did it again. Elias had taken it with silence, content in the knowledge that if the worm decided to try that stunt again, he wouldn’t be off the hook with light strangulation and verbal threats. Next time meant a severe beating, and if White Shine was stupid enough to come back for thirds, that meant death. Any threats Elias made would be put to action. He made sure to always use punishments he knew how to carry out, and luckily for him, that library was vast and detailed.

If it wasn’t Nightshade or Luna, then who? As the third set of knocks echoed through his room, Elias lightly gripped his gladius and flung the door open wide enough for him to see who it was, while also hiding the blade. Elias blinked in surprise when he saw Night Flash standing outside, a depressed expression on his face. The pony looked up at Elias, putting on a fake smile.

“Hey Red, can I come in? I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Elias nodded and let the door open fully.

“Sure, Night Flash, I’ve got time.”

The pegasus nodded in thanks and then walked into Elias’ room, looking around only briefly before he settled on the desk chair. Elias watched the pegasus as he moved about. His wings; normally kept tucked at his sides, were drooping onto the floor. His fur seemed ruffled, a far cry from the tidy fur of a few hours ago. His mane had the same effect, and it had clumped in some places. A slightly closer look saw that the fur underneath his eyes was matted, as if he had been crying. Elias felt fury. If that unicorn did a damn thing, he was going to skip step two, and move straight into pinning his ass to the training grounds with a pilla.

Elias crossed the room and quickly sat down on the edge of his bed. Night Flash didn’t look at him.

“Was it White Shine again?” Elias asked, trying to keep anger from his voice.

Night Flash shook his head. That put Elias’ anger off, bringing him back to confusion. Then who had caused such strife with the pegasus? Elias clasped his hands together, and tapped his foot as he waited for Night Flash to say something. When the pegasus remained silent, still staring at the floor, Elias frowned.

“You said you wanted to talk about something Flash, and if it isn’t White Shine, I’m afraid I’ve got no idea what it is. Who’s got you beating yourself up?”

“You.” Night Flash whispered.

Elias blinked, then opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. Elias sighed.

‘Well that didn’t take very long,’ he thought to himself.

“Ah, I…” Elias rubbed the back of his head. “Well I can’t say I’m happy about this, but if you don’t want to be friends anymore, I said I’d understand. I’ll make sure to leave you be from now on.”

The words cut his soul like a knife, but Elias pretended not to notice. He was a man of his word after all. Night Flash looked at him in shock, however.

“Nononono!” the pegasus stammered. “That’s not what I meant. I still really want to be friends with you Red!”

Elias felt a twinge of relief as he looked up at the pegasus.

“Then, what? What is this about Flash?”

Night Flash sighed and looked downcast.

“I just… I wanted to come give you my blessing for courting Book Binder. She seems to really like you, and…” The pegasus sighed again, and Elias noticed tears at the corners of his eyes. “I don’t want any hard feelings between us. I don’t know if you knew, but I have a huge crush on her, I just… I thought she felt the same toward me, but she’s never asked me out!” he sniffed. “She seems like she likes you though, so I won’t stand in your way.”

Elias sat in dumb silence. Then he smiled. Followed quickly by a small chuckle. That was quickly followed by a laugh, then several more. It took a little warmup, but Elias was soon rolling with laughter. Night Flash growled at him in an unusual display of anger.

“This isn’t funny Red! She’s really important to me!”

Elias gestured for the pegasus to move to the bed.

“Come over here you fuzzy monster. It’s not funny yet, but it will be. Come here.”

Night Flash hesitated for a second, but slid off the chair, moving to the bed. As he sat beside Elias, he looked at the man carefully. Elias did the same back, but he couldn’t help but laugh at the pegasus again. The pout Night Flash gave in response didn’t help. Elias threw an arm around the pony.

“Look, Flash…” he chuckled again. “Bud, go ask her out. She isn’t courting me; she’s waiting for you. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but you two are clueless about each other. I’ve known you for a little over a week, and I already know that neither of you would make the first move without a poke to do so. Book Binder told me that she’s worried she’ll scare you away by doing things the traditional way. She wants you to ask her out.”

He’d have to apologize to Book Binder for revealing her secret, but ultimately, Elias knew it was for the best. It wasn’t even a noteworthy secret anyway, and the revelation would bring her what she wanted, so all in all, it would be a net positive. Night Flash mulled in silence, then looked up to Elias with his big eyes.

“Really?” he asked hopefully, his tail swishing slightly.

Elias smirked and shook his head.

“Yes. Really. I doubt she’s even expecting anything special. Do something you always do with her and drop the question. Make it seem like any other day.”

Night Flash grinned at him goofily. That look returned to his eyes, and Elias quickly got to his feet. He pointed at the pony.

“No, not twice in one day! I’m already getting soft enough without being constantly hugged! I’m a warrior damn it!”

Night Flash stared at him with that goofy smile. He shifted, and ruffled his feathers, sitting prim and proper now. He tilted his head slightly.

“Red, I would like to redeem that one willing hug. No complaints, and a full snuggle.”

Elias sighed. He cursed his past self. He had to give credit to Night Flash though, the pony knew when to use it.

Elias moved back to the bed and sat down, extending his arms out to the pony. Night Flash’s butt waggled, and he sprang at Elias, wrapping him tightly in a hug. Elias was surprised when it lasted only a few seconds. Night Flash pulled away quickly, bouncing up and down on the bed. His wings fluttered in excitement as he cheered.

“She likes me! She likes me!” He chirped as he bounced around.

Elias watched the pegasus bounce and chirp happily with a smile. He decided he liked watching this Night Flash much better than the sad one. It was a big thing to be willing to part with his crush for a friend, that wasn’t lost on Elias. Mid-air, Night Flash froze, and flopped lamely to the ground as he missed the bed entirely. His head poked back up in an instant, staring at Elias.

“What should I get her? Should I take her Doughnut Joe’s? It’s where we first met… but it’s so informal! Should I do it today? Tomorrow? How about next week?” Night Flash asked, staring dreamily at Elias’ chest. “What am I gonna do? I want it to be special because well, she’s gonna be my special somepony!”

Night Flash stopped staring at Elias’ chest, and looked up to his eyes.

“What would you do Red? Have you ever had a special somepony?”

Elias shook his head.

“No, and I won’t have one. Friends are one thing, that’s a bit… serious for my taste. Besides, you think any girl is going to want to go anywhere with this ugly face?” he asked, pointing to his unevenly haired face. He should really shave one of these days. “No. No, I’m better off sticking to what I’m good at. I’d recommend you look to somebody with a bit more experience in matters of the heart.”

Night Flash frowned as he stared at Elias.

“All right Red, if you say so. I think you should stay open minded to the idea of a special somepony though. It took you no time at all to make three great friends!” The pegasus paused for a moment. “Actually, you made four! Doctor Scalpel counts!” Night Flash’s tail wagged back and forth. “And that’s only in a couple weeks! Imagine if you found a special somepony! You could go on dates and move out of the castle; it would be great! Plus, you get somepony who likes some of the stuff you like, and you have somepony to share everything with! There are no downsides.”

Elias snorted.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Still, you’re better off asking somebody else for dating advice, because I don’t have any human experience, let alone any practice with pony dating. I imagine there are some important cultural differences.”

Night Flash nodded thoughtfully. His eyes lit up and he gasped as he had an idea. Leaping to his feet, Night Flash bolted toward the door, then he stopped and sprinted back, hugging Elias forcefully.

“Thanks Red, you’re the best friend a stallion good ask for.”

Elias patted the pony on the back.

“Sure Flash, just trying to catch up for what you and Book Binder have done for me. You may not think so, but I owe the both of you.”

Night Flash smiled.

“No, you don’t, but thanks for being a good friend anyway. I think the future is going to be bright. Pun intended.”

Elias groaned and shoved the pony away from him.

“Get out. No puns around me. Nope, we’re done here today.”

Night Flash laughed and trotted to the door. As he opened it to leave, he turned, a smile still on his face.

“See you bright and early for breakfast tomorrow!”

Elias groaned again and grabbed a book. The door was already closed by the time it was in the air. Elias flopped back as it hit the door and decided to doze. It would suffice until Scarlet Shield got back.

*****

After an exhaustive morning of talking about human battle strategy, Elias had to drag his feet to make it to the cafeteria. Unlike usual, where he got at least a few hours of sleep before he was jarred awake by a night terror, Scarlet Shield was far worse. The pony’s energy seemed inexhaustible. It had been after one in the afternoon before Elias blacked out the first time. He had managed to shake himself awake, and had continued right where he had left off, until twenty minutes later when he blacked out again, this time collapsing onto the bed. When he woke up, it was to Scarlet trying to tuck him into bed. Elias had tried to get back up to continue, but the pony had easily pushed him back down, telling Elias to sleep with the promise that they would pick up the next morning.

When Elias woke up with twenty minutes to get to shift, he scrambled madly as a burst of adrenaline kicked in, and then immediately faded once he was at his post. The rest of the night was a blur that Elias only woke up from when he was taking his morning meal. As he staggered away from the food line, he quickly spotted Scarlet, still pouring over maps, next to a very close Book Binder and Night Flash. Elias did his best not to fall into a seat, doing so only long enough that he could push his food, a bowl of tomato soup, out of the way of his collapsing face.

As his head thudded to the table, Elias heard Book Binder giggle. He cracked open an eye, quickly locating the unicorn pressed tightly against a grinning Night Flash. Elias made note of a blue feather tucked behind her ear, wondered vaguely if that had been there before, then decided he didn’t care. He closed his eyes again, praying for once that sleep would take him. The noise of the cafeteria left him unable to sleep however, so Elias grunted, rolling his head so he could look at the pair easier.

“Took my poor advice I see.” He said.

Night Flash nodded enthusiastically.

“Yep! Thanks, so much Red. I convinced Book Binder to go to breakfast with me, then I asked her to be my special somepony over her favorite doughnut!”

Book Binder sighed softly.

“It was the best thing ever. I couldn’t have wished for a better first date.”

She stuck her tongue out at Elias.

“And for somebody with so many secrets, you stink at keeping them.”

Elias raised a finger.

“Your secret was dumb and made Flash think you were courting me. Me telling him brought you together, so now you can both be happy. If anything you should be thanking me. You two would have danced around the issue for months.”

Book Binder rolled her eyes, then grinned mischeviously.

“Alright Elias, I’ll thank you alright, with a big, snuggly hug.”

Elias flipped up a different finger as he pointed it at the unicorn.

“I am too tired to deal with you today.”

Elias snorted and rolled his head, glaring with one eye at Scarlet. The pegasus didn’t seem to notice for a moment. When he noticed, he just stared back.

“What?” he asked.

Elias didn’t say anything, he just continued glaring at the pony. Scarlet looked to Flash and Binder, then back to Elias.

“What?” he asked.

A bit of nervousness tinged his voice. Elias continued to glare in silence. Book Binder snorted and prodded the back of Elias’ head.

“Hey, be nice. He’s not used to dealing with old ponies like yourself.”

Elias turned his withering glare to her.

“I’m not old.” He grumbled.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Well you’re certainly no spring chicken. I don’t know anyone our age who has all of the physical issues you do. Aching joints, grouchy when you don’t sleep, picky diet. Admit it Elias, you’re not just a human, you’re an old human.”

“I’m 19.” He grumbled as he faced the table, closing his eyes again as he felt his exhaustion attempt to overtake him. He welcomed the black abyss of sleep, and in truth couldn’t wait to get off shift so he could collapse into bed. Scarlet could stuff it for an evening. Elias would probably just throw his copy of Sun Tzu at the pony. That should keep him more than busy. Book Binder poked the back of his head.

“Hey, I didn’t catch what you said, how old are you?” Book Binder asked.

Elias grunted, but didn’t respond. This resulted in another prod to the back of his head. He could hear Night Flash snickering, while also whispering into Book Binder’s ear to leave Elias be. The unicorn didn’t listen however, and continued to poke the back of Elias’ head.

“Come on, at least give me a hint, a birthday maybe? We’ve talked so much, and we still don’t know any of the good stuff!”

“I already told Princess Luna. Go ask her.” Elias grumbled softly. He felt Book Binder huff and shift closer.

“Can you please say that again? Your old man voice is grumbly, and I can’t hear it.”

Elias sat up as he squinted at her. She merely smiled back, so innocent and sweet. If it was anyone else, he might have smacked her upside the head as she was so fond of doing to him.

“I said I already told Princess Luna. Ask her.”

Elias then let his head thud back to the table. Book Binder gasped.

“My my, and what situation has our big strong Elias gotten himself into where he’s telling the princess his birthday?”

She was mocking him, that much was clear. He had the upper hand however, being an angry, bitter troublemaker constantly gave him a wealth of stories, even in Equestria.

“Got thrown in the dungeon, she decided she would try to make me open up, so she keyed the door to my magical signature so that it would only open when I opened it.” He smiled broadly. “Joke was on her, because I don’t have any magic, though she doesn’t believe that. She got locked in there with me, so to pass the time until someone came looking, we asked each other questions.”

Elias tilted his head so that he could look at Book Binder while he smirked.

“So, since you want to know, I already told someone. Go ask Princess Luna. She knows more than most.”

Book Binder sat still for a moment, then smacked Elias in the back of the head, sticking her tongue out at him.

“You’re mean Elias. You know I’ll never do that.”

Elias nodded.

“Exactly. Win win for me.”

Book Binder huffed again. She looked back to Night Flash.

“Can you get him to tell? You know his weaknesses, right?”

Night Flash shrugged.

“I don’t know anything. All I know is that he lies about whether or not he likes hugs, and he doesn’t like not sleeping.”

Elias glared at the pegasus, while Book Binder eyed the human with a huge grin.

“Elias, is there something you are hiding from us about hugs?” she asked innocently.

Elias scowled in reply.

“No. I don’t like physical contact of any kind. Rule number two exists for a reason. Night Flash is just love struck and is associating his feelings for you with me.”

Night Flash snorted.

“I think I can tell when somepony likes a hug or not. I hate to throw you under the carriage but…”

“I’ll kill all of you.” Elias said, burying his head under his arms. “No one will find the bodies.”

Book Binder laughed and Elias heard her walk around the table. The unicorn climbed on top of the bench, and then on top of Elias. She settled on his head, and the man glowered at the two pegasi that were barely containing their laughter.

“Book Binder, get off.” Elias said, trying to sound angry.

The fuzzy being on top of his skull shifted as she found balance on his head. Her chest fur pressed warmly into his hair. Book Binder tsked.

“Night Flash I think you’re right! Our old, grumpy human just says all of things he does to make himself look tough! I think we need to hug him more to make him show his true self to the world! We’ll make him a soft, cuddly-…”

Elias pushed himself up quickly, and Book Binder somehow remained perched on his head. As he reached up to remove the unicorn to teach her a lesson about calling him soft, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia walked into the cafeteria, followed swiftly by Captain Nightshade and Captain Shining Armor. The cafeteria burst into motion as everyone silently snapped to attention. This included Elias and Book Binder, who, unfortunately for the both of them, didn’t climb down before she did so. The result was a new kind of plume as all four of her hooves found purchase in his hair. She stood at her best attention, though Elias knew that her face matched his own; absolutely crimson with embarrassment.

Elias was already one of the most stand-out people in the room, and having a five-foot-tall unicorn on top of that drew eyes like a magnet. Including those of two guard captains, and two princesses. Luna snorted once as she walked forward, waving a furious looking Nightshade back with a wing. Elias and Book Binder were both forced to remain absolutely still while the princess approached. If either of them moved, they would draw ire. Whatever Luna intended to do; they would both just have to suffer through.

Luna stopped sharply in front of Elias, her eyes glancing up at Book Binder only briefly, before she looked to his face. She seemed to ponder what she wanted to say for a second, then smiled slightly. Elias hated that smile.

“Guardsman Bright, I believe I like your new hat, is it custom?” She asked playfully.

Elias rolled his tongue in his cheek. Too late to be anything but smart back.

“It’s just some local fair. A friend recommended it.” He replied, glaring at Night Flash.

The pegasus wisely decided not to meet his eyes. Luna noticed, but decided not to comment. She smirked as she faked studying the “hat”.

“I must say, it is very soft looking. Is the fur real?”

“It is, though the “hat” is not quite finished. It’s fur still needs some preparation before being presentable to the general public.”

He heard Book Binder sharply intake air. Elias had no doubt she’d try to make him pay for that jab later, but right now, she deserved it. Luna nodded, as if he had just told her some revolutionary thing.

“Quite. Do be carefully not to ruffle the fur too much however, you wouldn’t want such a fine hat flying away.”

Elias snorted.

“I have a friend who will take very good care of it. He recently became an expert on this particular hat.”

Luna smiled.

“That sounds wonderful; give him my congratulations.” Her smile dropped and her nose came up. “Despite how wonderful that hat is, I will have to ask you to remove it Guardsman. It is against regulation to wear it indoors.”

“Of course Princess.”

Elias scooped the pony off the top of his head, and Book Binder issued a small eep as he held her under one arm. Now able to look at her face, Elias was happy to note that she was painted a lovely shade of bright red. She refused to meet anyone’s eyes, including Luna’s. She seemed to wait expectantly for Elias to set her on the ground, and when that didn’t happen, Elias felt the pony trying not to squirm in his grip.

Luna snorted again as she smiled and turned away.

“Carry on Guardsman.”

As she walked back silently to the entrance where her sister and the two guard captains were waiting, Book Binder began to squirm slightly.

“Elias, put me down! You’re making a scene.” she whispered as softly as she could.

Elias smirked.

“No, I don’t think I will.” He replied, equally as soft. “If you don’t want even more attention, I suggest you stop. You haven’t even begun to see a scene yet.”

Elias and Book Binder noted a glare from Nightshade, and with another small eep, Book Binder stopped wriggling about, falling completely still. She flushed red again, and Elias had no doubt she would be teased for days to come. Good.

Luna nodded to Celestia as she moved to her side, a small smile still on her face. Celestia looked around the still silent cafeteria. With great dramatic flair, she cleared her voice, then smiled warmly.

“I am glad to see all of you well on this fine morning. Our announcement is a brief one, but extremely important. As you all may know, we will be conducting the Royal Assessment Training Exercise soon, and I am pleased to announce that it will be two weeks from today.”

Elias saw Scarlet stiffen and begin to sweat out of the corner of his eye. Throughout the cafeteria, there was a small tone of hushed whispers as the guards discussed the upped timetable. It was more than loud enough for Nightshade to hear.

“Quiet, the lot of you!” she snapped. “Show some respect for the princess.”

The whispering stopped. The thestral gave a slight nod to Celestia.

“Please, continue Princess.”

Celestia smiled.

“Thank you, Captain.” To the guards, she continued. “I realize this is sooner than many of you have anticipated, but I assure you it is with good reason. Over the course of the winter this year, your guard training will be increased in preparation for a royal wedding this spring.”

Celestia inclined her head toward Shining Armor.

“Our very own Captain Shining Armor will be married in early April, and as such, we hope to have all of our guard branches at full strength for security purposes.” The alicorn smiled widely. “Which brings me to my second announcement. Captain Armor and Captain Nightshade have already taken the names of everypony who wishes to volunteer for team captain, but this year’s exercise will have an extra stake. Due to Captain Armor’s marriage, he will be promoted and moved elsewhere, vacating the position of Solar Guard Captain. Anypony who wishes to submit an application is expected to volunteer for exercise captain.”

This brought out another round of whispers, significantly louder this time. Celestia waited for a few seconds before she cleared her throat, waiting for the guards to quiet down again.

“Regardless if you are chosen or not, your performance during the exercise will be monitored closely by myself and Luna, so do your very best!”

She smiled broadly, as she and Luna turned, leaving the cafeteria. Nightshade stepped forward.

“Anypony who still wants to volunteer who team captain will do so by noon today with either Captain Armor or myself! That is all.”

Then she and Armor left as well. The cafeteria immediately burst into excited chatter. Elias noted several ponies follow immediately after Nightshade. This was overshadowed by the now flailing pony under his arm.

“Let me go Elias!” she said, smacking his chest with her hooves. “I can’t believe you wouldn’t put me down the entire time!”

Elias snorted as he set the indignant pony on the bench. She crossed her hooves and turned away from him. Elias looked to Scarlet and Flash. Scarlet was already busy pouring over his maps again, his vigor renewed. Flash just smiled at Book Binder and Elias. As Elias sat back on the bench, he said;

“That’s what you get for trying to hug me in public. Serves you right.”

Book Binder stuck her tongue out at him.

“You just need to be more open to public displays of affection.” She said. Book Binder then sighed turning to Elias. “But I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have tried to force hugs out of you. It wasn’t the nice thing to do. Friends?”

She extended her hoofs, smiling innocently. Elias scoffed.

“Really? You’re apologizing for trying to force a hug by asking for hug?”

Book Binder huffed and crossed her hooves.

“Fine, be like that. One of these days you’re going to beg me for a hug.”

The unicorn scooted under the table, popping up next to Night Flash. The pegasus extended his hooves to Book Binder, who smiled widely. The two embraced, and as they did so Book Binder stuck her tongue out at Elias again.

“See? Night Flash is a proper gentlecolt! He gives me hugs whenever I want or need them.”

“Anything for my special mare.” Night Flash said as he gave her a peck on the cheek.

Book Binder flushed red and swatted at the pegasus. Night Flash ducked under the swing. He wrapped his wing around the unicorn and pulled her close. Elias rolled his eyes at their antics and grabbed his plate, checking the temperature of his soup to see if it was still edible. Finding it lukewarm, Elias shrugged and began to drink it. He was about halfway through the bowl when he noticed Night Flash giving him a funny look. Elias set the bowl down and wiped his mouth.

“What?” he asked.

Night Flash laughed.

“Are you going to volunteer for team captain or what? I asked you twice.”

Elias frowned.

“No. No I’m not.” He said quickly, his voice raising slightly.

Scarlet poked his head up from the maps.

“Aw, come one Elias, you should do it! I’m going to, and you have more knowledge about human battle tactics, you’d be great!”

Elias shook his head. He ran a hand through his hair.

“No. If whoever gets it wants my help with a plan, then I’ll act as a tactician, otherwise, I want no part of leading anything.”

Night Flash and Book Binder both frowned. Elias felt like he could feel stares on his back, and he struggled to ignore them. To ignore everything. He took a deep breath as he tried to keep calm. Scarlet pressed again, however.

“But don’t you have experience in battle? All of the rumors say you used to be some big commander of something. Don’t you want to do that again?”

“No!” Elias shouted at the pegasus, his anger flashing to a peak in a heartbeat. His fist slammed into the table. “I already said I want no part in leading anything! I said that, so drop it!”

Elias panted, and he felt sweat stream down his back. He stared at the table, and he felt his vision blur slightly as he began to hyperventilate. Trying to keep control, he pointed a finger at Scarlet.

“I- I said I didn’t…” Elias swallowed roughly. His hands began to shake violently. “I… just…”

Elias wrapped his hands around his head as he rocked on the bench. He closed his eyes as he felt that familiar mix of anger, sadness, and worst of all, panic well up in his chest. Even with his eyes shut, Elias felt the room spin.

He felt a fuzzy body on top of his back almost immediately. It was swiftly followed by a second one, pressed against his arms. Elias heard whispers, and for a second, he thought his panic attack was growing worse. He pulled back slightly, trying to find a way to close his ears. Only when the body to his front moved close again did he realize that the whispers were emanating from someone else, rather than from within his head.

“Come back to here and now Elias. You’re with us, and just us.” Book Binder whispered softly in one ear.

“We’ve got your back Red, nobody here but us and you.” Night Flash whispered in the other.

“I… I can’t… not again…” Elias whimpered softly.

Book Binder ran her hoof through his hair.

“Shh…” she whispered. “It’s all right, nobody is going to make you do anything you don’t want to. Put it out of your mind. Just focus on our voices and those terrible hugs you hate so much.”

Elias snorted as he felt a part of his mind disappear back into its dark hole.

“I should smack Night Flash for that comment.” Elias said, his voice still shaking a bit.

The pegasus on his head shifted slightly.

“Why do I get smacked? I didn’t say anything.”

Elias felt Book Binder press a little tighter against him.

“Don’t worry Honey, it’s just how Elias shows his love for us. Think of it as an aggressive thank you, with his hand.”

Elias cracked his eyes open, and Book Binder smiled back at him. Elias quickly noted that they were under Night Flash’s wings again, and looking up saw the pegasus smiling down at him, though that did not erase the look for concern in Flash’s eyes. Seeing the pegasus looking at him upside brought a slight smile to Elias’ face though, and it certainly helped when Book Binder began sticking her tongue out at him. Elias sighed, letting his head thud to the table.

“I’ve really got to start getting a handle on this.”

Book Binder nuzzled his arm softly.

“Maybe there’s nothing to get a handle on. Healing is slow, and I imagine whatever is causing these panic attacks is recent and painful. I won’t pretend it will be easy, but we’re going to be at your side the entire time, alright? Night Flash and I will never leave you alone with this.”

Night Flash settled his muzzle into the crook of Elias’ neck.

“She’s right Red, you’re never getting away from us. It’s what friends are for.”

Elias smiled.

“Thanks, you two. I don’t think I can say in words how much I’m glad I have you both.”

He reached out and scratched Book Binder behind the ear. The unicorn sighed softly, pressing against his hand.

“Mhm, you don’t need to when you can do that.”

Elias felt Night Flash sink slightly on his head.

“Now hold on, don’t I get any-…”

He was interrupted as Elias’ other arm curled up, catching him just behind his left ear. The pegasus relaxed completely, his leg kicking Elias in the side.

“Ah, that’s the stuff.” He said happily.

Elias snorted. He continued to scratch the ponies for a minute before he stopped, pushing up to be released. Night Flash slid off of his back, but instead of moving around the table to sit by Book Binder once more, the pegasus settled next to Elias, leaning on the human. Book Binder levitated his food over, and the two began to eat quietly. Elias took a deep breath and brought his own meal close, eating it despite its cold temperature.

When he looked up from the soup, he found Scarlet staring at him. Tears rimmed the pony’s eyes, and his mouth hung open, as if he was struggling to say something. Elias stared at the pony for a moment, tight lipped as he quelled a bit of anger. Technically speaking, the pegasus had triggered the panic attack, and therefore should be punished for it. Elias let out a loud exhale. No, that wasn’t right. While he wasn’t as close with Scarlet as he was with Binder and Flash, he was still a friend. He just needed a lesson in the rules.

“Scarlet?”

The pegasus gulped and looked away.

“Yeah?” Scarlet asked carefully.

“Let’s start with the obvious, first, that was completely your fault, but you also had no idea that would happen, so I don’t blame you. Ok?”

Scarlet nodded and sniffed.

“I’m sorry Elias, I didn’t know, and I shouldn’t have talked about it and-…”

Elias held up a hand to stop the pony from rambling.

“I already said I don’t blame you, so an apology isn’t necessary. The second thing is, just avoid the subject in the future. I’ll try to keep stuff like this from happening, but I probably won’t be able to catch it all. If it happens, it happens, and as you saw, we already have something in place to help me get out of the panic attack, all right?”

Scarlet nodded again.

“Ok Elias. Do you need me to join in next time?”

Book Binder smiled widely.

“Absolutely! The more the merrier! Especially since you haven’t had one of his ear scratches yet! It will just make Elias more comfortable!”

Elias raised an eyebrow at the unicorn.

“Only if you’re comfortable with missing out on scratches occasionally.”

Book Binder looked at him inquisitively.

“Why is that?”

Elias responded by wiggling his fingers.

“I only have two hands. That means two ponies get scratched, not three.”

Book Binder sucked air in through her teeth. She looked to Scarlet.

“On second thought, maybe Night Flash and I will handle it. We wouldn’t want to break Elias’ rules.”

Elias snorted while Night Flash grinned silently. The three began to eat again, with Scarlet looking noticeably less depressed, though his eyes would occasionally drift to Elias’ hands. When the human caught him for the third time, Elias snapped.

“That’s right, I almost forgot. Book Binder, smack Scarlet Shield for me please.”

Without even looking up from her meal, the unicorn drilled Scarlet in the back of the head. The pegasus yelped and rubbed at the welt with his hoof.

“Hey! What was that for?” he whined.

Elias pointed a spoon at his face.

“For freaking me out. It’s only fair since I smacked Night Flash when he did it. Think of that as your punishment.”

Scarlet actually smiled at that.

“Alright, thanks then. I still kind of felt bad.”

Elias rolled his eyes and they all continued eating in companionable silence.

Author's Note

A bit of a fast turn around for the "Night Flash thinks Book Binder has a thing for Elias" but really, that subplot was just added to give Night Flash a reason to talk to Elias about the romance stuff, so I never really had any intention of making it a big deal. Hope it doesn't come off as rushed, or forced or anything.
Anyway, the big things are coming into play! The first (major) event of the story is on the horizon!

Chapter 14: Exercises in Futility

Journal Entry

Day 720

I have no idea what I’m doing. I have all of these guns and knives and swords and I have no idea how to use anything but a few of the rifles. Ammo is always short, and I don’t know what I’m going to do when it runs out. I’ve start playing with the knives during my free time, but I don’t know the first thing about throwing them, and I definitely can’t fight with them. There aren’t any books about throwing knives! I can learn to cook, and hunt, and track, but knife throwing? Knife fighting? I’m never going to figure this out, I swear. I should have just ended it with my family.

Elias dipped under the wing-blade, jabbing out with his fist, right into the joint of Night Flash’s wing. The pegasus grunted, and as he landed, he did so off-balance. Elias was on him in a heartbeat, slashing with wild abandon, hacking away whatever defense the stallion put up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Book Binder’s horn charge up, so he stepped back, narrowly dodging a rock the size of his fist. Night Flash was not so lucky, and the rock clocked him in the muzzle. With a yelp, the stallion fell back, clutching his bleeding muzzle. Elias grabbed a stone from one of his belt pouches. Before this training session, he had replaced the normally sharp stones with blunt ones, so he didn’t permanently blind one of his best friends. The rock impacted her right above her eye, and her eyes crossed as she collapsed, her magic sputtering out.

Elias rolled his shoulder as he turned to face his last opponent. Scarlet Shield looked at Elias nervously, his eyes darting to his fallen compatriots. Elias gave his gladius a little twirl, then began to walk forward slowly, forcing confrontation. Scarlet frowned, look at Elias’ feet. Elias responded by taking another rock from his belt and throwing it at the pony. The stone hit him in the muzzle, not hard, but hard enough to startle him. Scarlet snorted, going cross eyed as he stared at his throbbing muzzle. Elias rolled his eyes and closed the distance between them in a step. By the time Scarlet was focused enough to react, Elias’ sword was already gently poking at his neck. Elias snorted and smiled.

“You’re overthinking this again Scarlet. You need to act as you think. If you just think, and think, your enemy will have the opportunity to get the better of you.”

Scarlet sighed.

“I know, I know. It’s just… what happens if I mess up? Isn’t exposing my flank even worse?”

“Than not moving?" Elias asked. "No, even if you miss a strike, you can always roll away and try again. If your opponent hits you while you think about moving, that’s it. No second chances. You need to rely on your reflexes Shield, and if you can’t have faith in them, then that’s where you need to work on the most.”

Elias pulled the sword away, sheathing it quickly. Scarlet rubbed his neck. His wings fluttered slightly at his sides.

“Thanks Elias, sorry that I’m not getting this.”

Elias shrugged.

“It’s not a big deal right now. We’re practicing for an exercise, and this is what, the third practice? You have time, but you have to work at it. If you want to win in combat, you have to pull out all of the stops. No hesitation, no mercy.”

“I’ll say.” Night Flash grumbled, trying to staunch the flow of blood pouring from his muzzle. “That rock hurt!”

“Blame your marefriend Flash, she threw it, I just avoided it.”

The pony in question groaned loudly as she rubbed her forehead.

“Yeah, but why did you have to hit me so hard? I think you made me overload.”

Elias shrugged.

“Sorry Book Binder. When it’s three on one, I tend to take it a bit seriously. I have a nasty issue with losing.”

He walked over to the unicorn, offering his hand to help her stand up. She glared at him, but accepted it, leaning heavily on him. Elias felt a brief pang of concern.

“Are you all right Binder?”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

“I’m fine, but I’m glad to see you care. It means we’re getting to you.”

Elias resisted the urge to shove the pony away, but he saw her wobble slightly, so he put a tentative hand on her back, holding her steady against his side. Elias frowned, his mind warring with itself. He should be pushing them harder, driving the ponies to their breaking points. That paranoid voice in the center of his mind was enraged that he was repeating a mistake that had cost him everything before. He should be scolding them; he should tell them that they’re going to run the same exercise over and over again until they get it down perfect.

Night Flash limped slightly, the result of a cut halfway down his foreleg. The stallion looked disappointed in himself, and Elias hated that look on the pony. Elias frowned and sighed.

“You two are getting much better at fighting as a team.” He said, trying to be encouraging.

The small voice at the back of his head prodded for him to go on.

He couldn’t make them stronger if they didn’t believe they would improve, it said. Besides, it was for an exercise chock full of safety procedures. Ponies who sustained “serious injury” would be teleported away, before the hit. The exercise would be closely monitored by several dozen unicorns, as well as both princesses to ensure that all of the guards would be safe. Coupled with that, the entire medical staff of Canterlot Castle would be on standby, with the Royal Guards acting as runners to fetch or stop any fighting that got too serious. Overall, Elias didn’t have to worry about the safety of his friends. Elias was a bit glad that he had been listening to that voice more of late.

Night Flash looked up, still holding his nose with one hoof.

“Do you really think so?” he asked hopefully.

Elias nodded.

“I do. You are beginning to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how to compensate for them. You just need more practice on the timing. Your reflexes aren’t quick enough to react when you need them to. If Binder had thrown that rock when I put you off balance, she could have given you the opportunity to recover and strike me back.”

Elias side eyed Scarlet.

“Or if Shield attacked me at all, you could have had the same affect.”

The pegasus drooped. He kneaded the ground with one hoof.

“Sorry.” He mumbled.

Elias sighed and shook his head.

“I can’t give you nice words Shield. We’ve fought three times, and not once have you hit me. Both Binder and Flash have separately landed hits, and they get closer to landing more every time.”

Elias took off his helmet and wiped some sweat from his forehead.

“Maybe I’m just not a good enough teacher.” He thought aloud. He looked to Scarlet, who seemed to droop even further at the words. “When you got into the guard, who was your training instructor?”

“Royal Guardspony Lucky Swing. We only had two weeks together, but she helped me qualify for the Lunar Guard. We can’t talk to her though! It’s against the rules.”

Elias rubbed at his eyes as they walked back over to the equipment table. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted where a group of Royal Guards were training. It looked to be an intense sparring match. A small circle of Royal Guards watched the match silently. Elias pointed at the group.

“Is she over there right now?”

Scarlet looked toward the Royal Guards.

“Y- I mean no! Elias you can’t go over there! Even if you don’t get in trouble, you might get hurt!”

Elias snorted as he set down his helmet and shield.

“You let me worry about if I get hurt. Besides, I haven’t visited Scalpel yet this week, it’ll be a good chance to chat if something does happen.”

He began to move away from the table, but Book Binder caught his arm while Night Flash barred his path. Elias looked between the two in confusion.

“What? You act like I’m going to die just from going over there.”

Night Flash looked at him seriously.

“If it was anypony else, we wouldn’t be as concerned, but it’s you Red, you can be…”

“Volatile, easy to anger, short tempered,” Book Binder rattled off. "Overly aggressive, provocative, a general troublemaker."

“Yeah.” Night Flash agreed. “That. We’re just concerned you’re going to pick a fight with one of them. You’re a good fighter, but they’re the best! They routinely duel the princesses! We’re worried that if you go over there…”

“You will actually get yourself killed.” Book Binder finished.

Elias looked between the two.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear half of that.” He gently shrugged Book Binder off his arm, scooping her up and setting her on the equipment table.

“Besides, I can be diplomatic and friendly.” Elias said, putting on a fake smile.

The reaction was the opposite of what he hoped for. Book Binder snorted and laughed at him, while Night Flash shook his head, struggling not to join her. Scarlet Shield just looked away, refusing to meet Elias’ eyes. The man frowned.

“Wow, thank you for your kind words of encouragement.” He ran his tongue over his teeth, and grunted. “Doesn’t matter though, Scarlet needs a better teacher, my methods aren’t working.”

Scarlet Shield sighed.

“Elias, I just need more time! I can get it right eventually, just… let’s run it again, I swear I can get you this time.”

Elias shook his head.

“No Scarlet. You need extra help. What I said earlier about getting it with more practice? Bullshit. I can see that, I was just being too self-confident to think that I could help you. There’s no shame in the fact that I can’t, but if I don’t go over there now and get you a teacher that works, then when the moment of truth comes, you’ll hesitate and fail. I’d rather risk a potential beating at the hands of a few ponies than seeing you lying in a ditch with your throat cut open.”

Scarlet flinched at the semi-graphic description. He shuffled the dirt with his hoof.

“I don’t want you getting hurt on my behalf.” He said softly.

“And I don’t want you getting hurt at all.” Elias responded. “We have a little less than a month before the exercise, don’t you want to get better by then?”

Scarlet nodded.

“I do.” He replied.

“Then let me do this for you Scarlet. You need more help. I’ll be happy to still train with you, but I’m not enough. Again, there’s no shame in that, but there is shame in not getting someone who can fix the issue.”

Book Binder snorted, and covered her muzzle to hide a wide smile. Elias looked at her, eyebrow raised. She smiled and waved him on.

“Do continue. I’m taking notes.”

Elias rolled his eyes and walked away, bypassing the ponies. He walked straight toward the Royal Guards, making his intentions obvious. It took only a few steps before he caught the eyes of a few Royal Guards. Mere seconds after that, the rest began visibly staring at him as he walked over. Elias had no doubt in his mind that it was some sort of scare tactic to keep unwanted ponies away, but he wasn’t a pony, was he? Either way, it didn’t matter, he wouldn’t be deterred by a mean look or two. Elias kept his steps even and calm, his stride the same as it always was. By the time he was within a few feet of them, the entirety of the group was glaring silently at him, including the two ponies who had been sparring moments before. Elias met these glares with a blank, almost bored stare. Elias quickly identified Captain Chaser as the grey maned pegasus made his way before Elias.

“What do you want Guardsman?” he asked gruffly.

Elias put his thumbs on his sword belt.

“I was hoping to speak with, or at least be pointed to Royal Guardspony Luck Swing. A friend of mine is having difficulties with his fighting techniques, and I’m not informed enough about pegasi to teach him properly. I wanted to see if she would be willing to help him, since she was the one who helped him get in the guard in the first place.”

A mare with a pink mane began pushing herself through the crowd of guards, and Elias felt himself smile slightly. He mentally scoffed at his friends.

‘See?’ he thought, mentally sticking his middle finger up at Book Binder. ‘I can be friendly and calm when I want to’.

As the pony who he imagined was Lucky Swing made her way through the crowd of ponies, Chaser stopped her, extending a wing to cut off her path.

“Not so fast Swing, I’m feeling a bit doubtful about Guardsman Bright’s intentions. Who’s this friend of yours? Why didn’t he approach Swing himself?”

Elias smirked.

“Really? Maybe it’s because you’ve got everyone here under your thumb. None of my friends wanted me to come over here, but I believed, and still do, that Scarlet needs better help then I can give. There’s no more ulterior motive than wanting my friend to not get himself stabbed to death. I would be appreciative if you, or at least Royal Guardspony Swing could assist me in that motive.”

“Scarlet?” the mare piped up. “You mean Scarlet Shield? What’s he doing wrong now?”

Elias scratched his nose.

“Overthinking everything to the point that he isn’t moving at all. It’s not that he’s frozen with fear, that I could fix, it’s that he has to plan out every little step before making it. When the fight shifts, he has to shift his plan. It results in him standing there doing nothing. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

She sighed.

“That idiot. I warned him during guard training not to pull that crap. It just means he’s been using maps more than he has a sword.”

She stepped in front of Chaser’s outstretched wing.

“Captain, I can take care of this in a snap. If nothing else, I can show Guardsman Bright what he needs to do to break Shield out of his stupidity.”

Chaser spun around the pegasus, growling as he pressed his forehead against hers, pushing her backward toward the rest of the Royal Guards.

“That isn’t the issue here Swing. I don’t give a buck about what problems “Scarlet Shield” is having,” he snarled. “What I am concerned with is the message we are sending by letting some Lunar Guard, who isn’t a pony mind you, come and demand a Royal Guardspony’s presence. It makes us look weak.”

Elias coughed, and Chaser’s head snapped toward the man.

“I asked for Royal Guardspony Swing’s help, I didn’t demand anything.”

Chaser growled at him.

“Butt out human. I’ll deal with you in a moment.”

Elias snorted and smiled, but said nothing else. He turned his back on the pony, looking over to where all three of his friends were watching him carefully. Night Flash looked like he was mouthing a ‘What’s going on?’, so Elias responded by shrugging. He tuned his ears over his shoulder as he stared at the sky. It was turning into a lovely afternoon, the sunset promised to be a brilliant orange if the sky was any indicator.

“I will not have one of my ponies rolling in the dirt with some random Lunar Guardspony, especially one who can’t even fight for himself. It makes you look bad, and therefore it makes the Royal Guard look bad.”

“Sir, I don’t think that-…”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion Swing! I will not have you make a fool of yourself by helping some hapless moron who can’t fight!”

Elias snorted. Chaser gave him a death glare.

“I thought I told you to butt out human.”

Elias smiled and put his hands up in mock defense.

“I didn’t say anything. Just merely listening to the wise words of a Royal Guard Captain.”

The pegasus growled at him again, and Elias made note that this particular pony liked growling.

“I suggest you move along Guardsman. Swing won’t be helping you, or your worthless friend.”

Elias bit his tongue to prevent himself from snapping on the pony. He suppressed the anger he found welling up at the word "worthless". Elias sniffed and shuffled his feet slightly. As he thought for a brief moment, a few flippant words came to mind, and Elias grinned slightly.

“I’ll take you suggestion into consideration Captain, but I think I’ll remain here for the time being while I think it over. This spot has a wonderful breeze, and I would be remiss if I didn’t take the time to enjoy it. You know us night guards, we have such a thinking problem. If only someone had the foresight or capability to solve the issue.” Elias smirked. “Strange.”

Elias then turned his back on the pony again, this time making a blatant show out of it as he whistled loudly, staring into the sky without a care in the world. He could practically hear Chaser’s teeth grinding in anger. Elias smiled widely.

“Leave Bright. I won’t tell you again.” Chaser growled.

Elias snorted in response.

“First, I wouldn’t still be here with you just let Ms. Swing come and help me, but for some reason, being a Royal Guard Captain means you have a stick shoved firmly up your ass. Makes me wonder what you do all day if not helping better your fellow ponies.”

Elias glanced over his shoulder and crossed his arms.

“Second, I dare you to make me.”

Elias blinked, and then the pegasus was in front of him, a feral snarl on his face. A second later, Elias was on the ground, clutching at his bleeding nose. Sharp pain lanced through his face, and he had no doubt that his nose had been broken. Elias winced as he wiped blood away from his face. As his mind processed what had happened, blood dripped into his left eye. Running his fingers along his eyebrow found that it had been split open. Seeing his blood on his fingertips, Elias felt only one thing; rage.

Chaser grinned at him.

“Bravado goes out the window when your flat on your ass, doesn’t it human?”

Elias pushed himself to his feet, and his gladius found its way from its sheathe.

“I’m going to cut you in half Chaser.” Elias responded. “I’m done talking, done doing things the nice way.”

The pegasus spread his wings, and Elias noted each and every blade, shining brightly at him. He didn’t care. Damn risk, damn thinking this through. It was time for blood. Elias braced his gladius on his wrist guard, falling into a half-crouch. Before the two could begin to circle each other, Elias found a different pegasus in front of him. Night Flash pushed Elias backward, using his wings to block his sight line to Chaser.

“Red, please don’t do this.” He begged. “This fight isn’t worth it, I promise you. Just, come back and train. We’ll figure out a way to help Scarlet, but this won’t help him at all.”

With each word Flash pushed a bit more, shoving Elias back a few steps. The human tried to shift around him, but the pegasus was very good at getting in his way. Elias growled.

“Move Flash, this isn’t about getting a trainer anymore. He wants to treat me like that? He’s going to pay for it.”

Night Flash pushed him again.

“That’s exactly it Red, this isn’t about helping Scarlet anymore. That’s why you came over here, and that didn’t work. Please don’t do this. Binder and I still need your help, even if you can’t help Scarlet. You won’t be able to help us improve if you’re in a hospital bed. Even if you win, you’re going to get hurt. Remember why you’re fighting Red, remember your friends.”

“If I walk away now, I will look weak.” Elias growled. “I will not give that arrogant ass something to lord over me.”

Night Flash smiled.

“But we both know you aren’t weak, and by walking away, you’ll be showing Chaser that he’s beneath you. You’ll be the stronger pony by walking away. You already got back up, that’s all you needed to do to look strong.”

Elias snorted, feeling a bit of mirth cut through his anger. Elias tried to force the rage back up, to ignore Flash’s words. He found that he couldn’t; the pegasus was right. He had come over here with a mission, and he had failed to accomplish it. Done and done, fighting wouldn’t help anyone, especially if he lost. Chaser was clearly significantly faster than the average pegasus guard, and Elias didn’t have his shield. He was at a disadvantage. He would likely just make a fool of himself.

Elias glared at Flash.

“Everything you just said is complete shit Flash.” He sighed. “But fine, we’ll do things your way.” He sheathed his gladius. “You owe me for this.”

Flash smiled and nodded.

“Sure Red, I’ll make sure to pay you back in full.”

Elias closed his eyes, swaying a bit as the adrenaline began to wane. He touched his nose, holding back the stem of blood.

“I’m going to see Scalpel to get this fixed up. We’ll train more tomorrow.”

Flash nodded again, but didn’t drop his wings. Elias suspected it was to make sure he didn’t see Chaser and immediately get angry again. Elias snorted and turned away. Flash fell in beside him, his wings at his side as he smiled up at Elias.

“Thanks Red. I promise, it’s better this way.”

Elias grumbled softly as they began to walk away.

“That’s right monkey! Run away like a little coward, back to your pathetic friends!”

The dagger was gone from his hand before Elias realized he was holding it. Chaser still had an arrogant smile on his face when the blade hit him in the chest, embedding itself firmly in his armor. Elias straightened to his full height as the pegasus just stared at the blade protruding from his chest. Night Flash sighed, shaking his head as he took a few steps away.

“So bucking close.” Elias heard the pony whisper.

Elias drew his gladius with his right hand, more than ready to spill some blood again. Whatever rational thought Night Flash put into his head vanished as anger rose to the forefront. Chaser glared at him with a look of hatred. Ignoring the knife sticking out of his armor, the pegasus growled and spread his wings once more. With a roar, the pony rushed him. Elias flipped his gladius into an underhanded grip. Chaser’s wingblades dug into his flesh as Elias pressed between them. Ignoring the cuts on his arms and neck, Elias grappled the pegasus. In his blind rage, Chaser’s speed was non-existent. Evidently it required some measure of focus. Elias grabbed hold of Chaser’s torso, lifting the pony high into the air, before slamming him cruelly into the ground. The pony landed with a gasp as the air left his lungs. Chaser skidded away; his armor coated with dust as he struggled to breathe. Elias flipped the gladius back in his grip.

Red liquid dropped to the ground, and Elias pressed his left hand to his throat, pulling it away to find it slicked with blood. Elias growled and pressed it back, doing his best to stem the flow as Chaser got to his feet. The pegasus glared at him with hatred as he panted.

“I’m going to hurt you Bright.” The pony grunted. “I don’t care who you think you are, you don’t get to treat a Royal Guardspony like that. I’m going to make you bleed.”

“Promises promises.” Elias replied. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

This time the pegasus played it smart. He and Elias began to circle one another. Blood pattered to the ground, slipping through his fingers. Elias growled, passing his sword from his right hand to his left. Then he pressed his clean hand against the wound, staunching the cut as he tried to get a good grip on his sword. The grip was slick, but ultimately, Elias was able to keep a firm hand around the sword.

Ponies began to crowd around them, mostly Royal Guards, as their blades clashed together. Elias had no doubt in his mind that the wingblades that Chaser was sporting were every bit as powerful as Feather was. The human sent a silent thank you to Anyon for the additions to the blade, with each hit he could feel the force of their blows race up his arm through the sword. A lesser blade would have snapped long ago, but his gladius held strong as Elias swung time and again at the pegasus, who would either dodge out of the way, or meet it with equal anger and force.

Elias thrusted forward, jabbing at Chaser. The pegasus blocked the strike, and responded in kind, unleashing a flurry of attacks. With one of his hands occupied, Elias struggled to keep up with the quick pony. He bit his tongue as more than one cut tore through his flesh, spilling more and more red onto the ground. While it was an uneven match, Elias still got licks in. A small cut above the eye, a punch to the throat. With each second that passed, Chaser looked more haggard and worn out as the results of a dozen cuts wore on him. While Elias received more hits, he still dished out a bit of pain. He was fairly confident he could outlast the pony, pain wasn’t new, and the wounds he was sustaining weren’t that severe, no matter how large the puddle on the ground was growing.

The two broke away from each other, and began circling once more. They were both panting heavily, and Elias was walking with a fairly dramatic limp, the result of a nasty cut that had slipped past his greaves. He was proud however, to see one of Chaser’s wings bent out of shape. The pony hadn’t retracted fully on a swing, so Elias had cut at the bone of the limb. A small spray of blood and a few feathers saw the wing dangling uselessly at the pony’s side. Sure, he had received a headbutt in reply, but that bit of blood on his sword was worth every hurt. Elias had to give credit to that black armor though, it had substantially more covering than the normal guard armors, and his sword was never able to bite very deep into Chaser’s body.

Elias stabbed downward, aiming at the other wing. Chaser sidestepped the attack and tried to turn to buck at Elias. The human took a step backward, avoiding the deadly hooves. He also almost lost his balance. As he stumbled back. he eyed the blood on the ground. There was quite a bit now. Most of it was likely his. His vision was beginning to blur slightly, and he felt that his grip on his gladius was becoming tenuous at best. His eyes narrowed as he took a deep breath, trying to find focus. He needed to finish this.

Midnight Chaser evidently felt the same. He straightened slightly, and Elias was surprised when he gave the human a slight bow, using his good wing to salute at Elias. The blade on the tip touched Chaser’s forehead, then moved slowly to the ground, the blade just barely touching the dirt. Elias smirked. He returned the gesture, straightening as much as his body could before touching the flat of his blade to his nose, before letting it fall to his side in a fencing stance. Chaser snorted.

“I’ll take your surrender anytime human.” He said confidently.

Elias grinned as his gladius rose again.

“I’ll die first.”

He swayed slightly as he dropped into his combat pose, laying the blade of his sword across an imaginary shield. Chaser nodded once, and Elias could have sworn he saw a touch of a grin. It was gone in a second, and they both tensed. The air seemed still, and the crowd of ponies they had drawn waited with bated breath. Elias looked at none of them, his focus was only on Chaser. The pony met his eyes, and as the two stared, they seemed to share… something. Elias couldn’t place the notion, but it felt almost as if the pony understood, if only a little bit, what Elias had lived through. The pegasus blinked.

Elias rushed forward in silence, his gladius scything through the air at Chaser’s head. Mid-swing, Elias felt himself freeze as an intense pain lit up his stomach. With the momentary delay in momentum, the sword passed through empty air, and Elias stumbled forward slightly, overbalanced when it didn’t connect with anything. He kept his on his feet however, and Elias turned around, his gladius in hand, ready to continue. Chaser was looking at him in horror, his wings hanging limply at his side, with a noticeable absence from his chest armor. Elias snorted.

‘Really?’ he thought. ‘Now you get squeamish for a fight? A bit late for t-…’

Elias coughed slightly, and blood spilled down his chin. He took a step forward, and Elias felt that intense pain in his stomach again. With another cough, he looked down and found his dagger embedded firmly in his stomach. Elias reached for the blade with his right hand, temporarily uncaring about his weeping neck wound. Elias swayed slightly as he looked from the knife back to Chaser, who was looking at Elias as if he had seen death itself.

Elias staggered to his left, seeking a way out of the circle. He just needed to get to the infirmary, then he would be as right as rain. Sure, Scalpel was going to yell at him, but hey, better than dying right? Elias walked through the cleared path. All of the ponies were watching him with clear and utter horror on their faces. Elias ignored every single one. Keeping the knife hilt cupped, he tried to hold back the blood that was seeping out around the knife.

Elias made it half a dozen steps before he realized he was going to pass out. The world swam before his eyes as he rocked back and forth. With one final stagger forward, he looked back. Chaser was still staring at him through the cleared path of ponies. Elias winked.

“I guess you win Captain,” he said, coughing up more blood as he did so.

Chaser shook his head slightly, his ears folded against his head. Elias snorted in amusement at the sight. The gladius clattered from his grip as he fell on his side. Blackness swarmed his vision, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as the ground rushed up to meet him.

Chapter 15: Dying to Heal

Luna trotted cheerfully down the long corridors. In her wake flew a carefully assembled stack of books and notes that were the culmination of several extremely fruitful days and nights of labor. Nightshade had informed her that Elias was making friends, three in fact! The two incidents she had dealt with personally had confirmed it. Night Flash and Book Binder were the perfect ponies for the job of helping tame the human, and according to all of the reports were making immense strides in progress. Why she had not thought of them earlier, she did not know, but Luna couldn’t be happier with the initial results.

While the human had not been witnessed initiating public displays of friendship, he had received many, and besides a few grumbles, had been witnessed returning most of them. Besides the one notable incident with the Solar Guard (Shoe Shiner was it?) Elias’ record had remained quite clean. He was viewed smiling and talking with his new friends, while being slightly more amicable with his fellow guards. It wasn’t anything overtly significant, but it was progress, and Luna felt extremely comfortable beginning her own infiltration of his personal life. With the good work of Flash and Binder, she had a perfect foundation to help the human solve his deepest issues.

Normally, Luna would focus only on the night terrors, but Elias’ case was somewhat more complex than extremely bad dreams. It wasn’t a simple case of severe stress, or nerves, or mild paranoia. While these symptoms did occur in the human, they were just that, symptoms. There was a much larger issue at play, and Luna was bound and determined to fix it. She had consulted with leading psychologists from across Equestria, seeking opinions on Elias’ mental state. Even with the limited records they had of his history, many of the ponies had jumped upon the opportunity to study such an extreme mental case, especially that of a new species. Each and every one thought they would find some creature locked in a padded cell, but they were all left in a state of shock when Luna led them to a scrying room, from which they watched Elias functioning almost like a regular pony.

Due to her nigh continuous watching of the human, she had quickly picked up on the small things, and it didn’t take any of the mind doctors long to figure the human out either. His large-scale panic attacks were few and far between, but if one knew what to look for as she did, they could very clearly see a man running on fumes. He kept an excellent public face that rarely slipped, but sometimes he would reveal himself, particularly through his eyes. Luna loved watching those blue eyes, but she hated when she saw panic, or fear, or anger in them. His eyes were always moving, rarely watching one thing at a time. Only when his friends were physically close, particularly when Flash would try to sneak a hug in, would she see true relaxation in his eyes. Though he outwardly hid it, Luna could tell clearly that he greatly enjoyed the physical affections of her night guards.

While she was the expert on Elias’ behavior, she was not the expert on mental states, no matter how much she studied. Each evening when her night court hit a lull, she would visit the scrying room, joining the psychologists as they studied the motions of the human, making notes as they wrote down every little aspect of Elias’ behavior.

After nearly a month of study, they had reached a conclusion. Everything; his over-defensiveness, his unwillingness to open up, even to those he trusted, the anger in his eyes, the panic attacks, the night terrors, all were the culmination of one great failure. Whatever the event was, it had led Elias to drive away anyone who got close, not because he feared letting them in, but because he feared losing them.

The first step on his road to recovery had already been overcome. He had, albeit slowly, begun letting others inside his heart. Now he had a select friend group, and they were steadily chipping away at the walls of his heart. They weren’t completely inside yet, but they were slowly worming deeper, making Elias more and more comfortable with his life, and with those around him. As far along as they were now, Luna was sure that she could use them to comfort the human, to make Elias see that he was completely safe, and that whatever he feared would never come to pass again. It simply wouldn’t happen.

Luna hummed and smiled, feeling almost giddy. She was used to her sister’s protégé saving all of the broken, hurt ponies (herself included), but now all of her effort would allow her to pass the favor to someone else! She could finally help someone like she was helped. The doors leading to the training grounds came into view, and Luna quickened her pace, eager to get started. All of her observations had made it clear that it was Elias’ favorite place to be when he wasn’t on duty. Luna swung open the doors, hoping to find the human still training lightly with his friends, or even better, perhaps they had dragged him to the ground and collapsed on top of him in a pile, that would be a sight.

What she decidedly did not want to find was Elias stumbling away from Royal Guard Captain Chaser, clutching at a brilliant knife that was buried to the hilt in his stomach. Even from where she was, Luna could see the blood pouring down from the man, could see the trail that led to a circle of staring ponies. Elias turned and said something to Chaser before collapsing, falling limply into the dirt. Luna felt panic flash in her mind. Was the idiotic fool really going to die right when she finished preparing to help him?

Anger overcame the panic and Luna growled. With a flash of magic, two things happened. The books she had been carrying vanished, dropping lightly into her bedroom with a soft pop. Second, the lunar princess appeared above the bleeding human, quickly summoning a storm cloud above the training grounds as her rage manifested. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked as the grey clouds manifested. The guard ponies flinched and cowered as she bellowed loudly.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS FOLLY?!?” she shouted, making full use of the Royal Canterlot voice.

Most of the guards flinched back, avoiding her harsh gaze as they remained silent. One pegasus, who Luna recognized as Night Flash, charged forward, running past her with a cry as he slid in beside the fallen Elias. The pegasus pressed his hooves against one of the numerous wounds decorating the human’s body as he tried vainly to staunch the blood flow. A pair of shouts echoed across the training field, and Luna watched as two more ponies charged from where they had been watching at a distance. Book Binder and Scarlet Shield looked at Elias in horror as they joined Night Flash in trying to slow the blood spilling from his body.

“Flash, what the buck happened?” Book Binder cried. “I thought that maybe there was a hoof fight, not whatever this is!”

Flash whimpered, barely holding back tears as red flowed past his hooves.

“I-I’m sorry, I-… I- Red almost walked away… but-…”

The guardspony looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown as tears welled up in his eyes. Book Binder lightly touched the pegasus’ wing.

“We’ll talk about it later. Right now, we need to get him to the infirmary.”

She looked up to Luna, who nodded.

“See to it immediately. I shall follow in a moment.”

Lifting Elias in her magic, Book Binder set him on Flash’s back, and then the trio raced away, leaving a clear trail of blood in their wake. Luna coolly looked back to her still frozen guards, with her eyes falling squarely on the Royal Guard captain that stood at their center. She hoped that he could see the barely contained anger in her eyes. He didn’t even seem to notice her however; he was still staring in open mouthed shock at the long lines of blood that stained the dirt of the training grounds. Luna snorted in disgust and disappointment. She looked to the guards around him, her mouth set in a hard frown.

“Anyone who bore witness to the inciting actions leading up to this… event, shall submit a detailed report, under a truth spell. Anyone caught attempting to lie on said reports will be evicted from the guard, and will be put on a permanent watch list. I expect these reports submitted by midnight, tonight.”

She looked with distaste, and more than a little discomfort, at the blood on the ground.

“Clean this mess up. Scrub the grounds clean with bleach if you must, it will be a suitable punishment for standing by and watching a fellow guard collapse in a pool of his own blood.”

A few of the guards flinched, and even more looked away in shame. Luna walked forward, grabbing hold of Midnight Chaser in her magic, dragging him so that they were nose to nose. The pony finally looked at her, though the horror never left his eyes.

“As for you, Captain, you will wait in the throne room, at attention, in silence, until I arrive. I have half a mind to throw you from the mountain to test your current flight capabilities,” she growled, pointedly looking down at his marred wing. “but as a princess, that would reflect poorly on me. You should more than know better than to pick fights with another guard, however antagonistic they may be. I shall be checking your report very clearly.”

Chaser nodded dumbly, and Luna dropped the pony. She noted the bloody injuries that he sported, and sighed internally. He looked like he had been on the receiving end of a mauling by a manticore. She couldn’t let two of her guards bleed to death, now could she? She picked out the first pony that made eye contact with her, a pegasus with a pink mane.

“Royal Guard Lucky Swing, see to the Captain’s injuries. Bandages only, no numbing spells, no magic healing. He can stew with his glory wounds for a bit.”

Lucky Swing nodded and saluted before laying a hoof on Chaser’s shoulders.

“C’mon Cap let’s get you cleaned up.” She said, her voice calm.

Satisfied that the situation would soon be remedied, Luna strode quickly toward the doors leading into the castle. Even if she had no idea where the infirmary was, the trail of blood was clear and easy to follow. As she rushed inside, she saw several members of the cleaning staff staring at the red line that skated across the carpets. Luna would have to apologize to them, again. With the arrival of Elias, this sort of bloody incident was happening more often, and as a result, the carpets were being cleaned much more frequently. It put strain on the castle staff who had to spend hours scrubbing and magically removing the red stains. For some reason, the human’s blood carried a nasty tendency to stain anything it touched, and the normal, magical methods of removing it proved somewhat ineffective. Short of replacing the entire carpet, Luna had pressed that the servants find an alternative way to remove it, and while they had succeeded in doing so, it was a long and arduous process that involved a great deal of lemon juice and soap.

‘Maybe we should move the infirmary closer to the training field’, Luna thought to herself as she trotted past another stunned maid.

The trail of blood seemed to diminish as she approached the infirmary, and Luna knew that it was a good sign when she heard loud yelling coming from behind the closed doors. She pushed them open with her magic, and Luna felt a small smile creep onto her face as she bore the sight.

Elias also looked like he had been mauled by a manticore, but the human seemed awake and alert. His armor lay stacked in a bloody pile in the corner. Scarlet Shield had a rag in hoof and was doing his best to wipe away the blood staining the blue steel. Elias’ chest lay bare, with heavy white bandages wrapped around his midsection. Luna could see blood peeking through the bandages, but in truth, it didn’t look that bad. That couldn’t be said for other parts of his body.

Half of Elias’ face had swollen up, sealing one eye shut. A thick white bandage covered his eyebrow, and Luna could see the bandage wrapped partially around his head. The other eye was focused on a pair of ponies who seemed to be trading off who was yelling at the man, and who was treating his wounds. The one yelling currently was Scalpel, while Book Binder just glared at the human while wrapping a bandage firmly around a cut on his leg.

“I mean really Elias, do you have an actual death wish, or did you get hit on the head recently? Because if it isn’t either of those, then I have no idea what is the matter with you! What part of getting your nose broken said to you, “Hm, you know what’s a good idea? Picking a fight with the Captain of the Royal Bucking Guard!””

Elias opened his mouth to respond, but all that escaped was a grunt as Book Binder tightened the bandage aggressively. He glared at the unicorn, who glared back even more fiercely.

“Don’t give me that look, you’re more than welcome to do this yourself.”

The human lifted his right hand and gave Book Binder what Luna imagined was an obscene gesture. She had limited exposure to the fingered species since her return, so in truth, the gesture could mean anything. When the human didn’t reach down however, something she fully expected given his usual stubborn mentality, Luna quickly looked to see if he had sustained a major injury to his arms, preventing any motion. What she saw almost made her laugh.

Night Flash was doing his best impression of a stuffed animal as he snuggled tightly around Elias’ left arm. The pegasus was smiling cheerfully now, a far cry from the near breakdown she had seen only a few minutes ago. His grip seemed like a vise, and any twitch of the arm saw the pegasus clinging tighter as he prevented movement. Luna had no doubt that Elias had the strength to push the pegasus away, but she knew from the glances the man would occasionally put toward the pony that he wouldn’t do that, likely ever.

Tying the bandage off, Book Binder got to her feet, and Scalpel made his way to the bedside as he began wrapping a nasty looking cut on Elias’ neck. The wound had already been cleaned, and even from the entrance of the infirmary Luna could see that it had already received some magical healing, as it bled no longer. Still, it ran the length of his neck in a bright red line.

Book Binder growled loudly.

“And why exactly did you stop walking away? Flash was right beside you, and you were coming back toward Shield and I, and then you stopped and whipped around. Why?”

Elias growled softly. He opened his mouth to respond, but Scalpel put a hoof over his mouth.

“No talking, I need you still while I wrap this.”

Scalpel gently tilted Elias’ head to the left, which had the effect of making Elias grimace, while making Night Flash coo softly as the human’s chin ended up on his back. The pegasus nuzzled Elias’ cheek and sighed contently. The motion also brought the human’s eye to the infirmary doors, where Luna was still standing silently, watching the whole affair with amusement. Elias tried to nudge Scalpel, but the unicorn ignored him. When he opened his mouth to speak again, Scalpel covered it with a hoof once more.

“I said no talking. You can explain yourself when we’re through with you.”

Elias issued another low growl. He grabbed Scalpel’s jaw, then forced his head to turn to where Luna was standing. The unicorn let out a squeak of surprise, then Elias released him. Scalpel quickly finished wrapping Elias’ neck wound as Luna walked through the infirmary toward the human’s bed. Book Binder’s tail flicked back and forth as she looked at Luna, and though Luna saw anger there, she could tell it wasn’t directed at her. Scarlet Shield set down his rag and fell in beside the unicorn, and the two saluted sharply. Luna waved them down as she smiled at the third guard who seemed to either be willfully ignoring her presence, or dead asleep. Book Binder followed her eyes and she gently nudged Night Flash. The pegasus only curled tighter around Elias’ arm.

Book Binder smiled and looked to Luna.

“Sorry Princess, he’s been like this since Elias woke up. For some reason he blames himself for what happened, rather than the actual guilty party.” She said, shooting a glare at Elias.

He grunted.

“Don’t look at me, I told him the same thing. It’s not my fault he won’t listen.”

Night Flash nuzzled his neck.

“Shh, Red. I know it isn’t your fault. You were just doing what you thought was right.”

Elias sighed, and Luna thought for a moment that he would shove the pony away when his right arm lifted up, but she relaxed when he just began to scratch Flash’s ears. The pegasus smiled and shifted slightly, keeping Elias’ left arm thoroughly pinned. The human shook his head and watched the pegasus, a small smile touching his wounded face. Luna felt her heart warm at the sight. The Elias of a month ago wouldn’t have smiled like that. Despite this setback, she could probably still try to work with him. Especially if he was a captive audience…

Luna looked to Scalpel.

“Tell me Doctor, will he survive?”

Scalpel snorted and looked at Elias like he wanted to smack the man.

“He shouldn’t, but he will. I did a few scans of his body, and if I studied my human anatomy right, Chaser missed anything vital. He’s got a broken nose, severe lacerations, and he almost nicked an artery in his neck, but otherwise he’s stable.” He growled at Elias. “Which means I’m going to spend the next three bucking days caring for your stupid butt, because you,” he jabbed his hoof at Elias, “seem to enjoy getting hurt! We talked about this, you don’t need a stab wound to come and visit! You can just walk in!”

Elias snorted in what Luna assumed was a laugh. She noted a bit of blood pouring from his nose.

“It’s too far Doc.” He replied. “Why walk when you can get someone to carry you?”

He snorted again as his chest shuddered with laughter. That laugh quickly turned into a cough, and Elias began to choke as he clutched the wound in his stomach. Any anger on Scalpel and Binder’s faces vanished instantly, replaced with concern. Flash also poked his head up, watching Elias intently as the man rubbed at his chest to alleviate the irritation. Scalpel charged up his horn, and a cloud of yellow energy dropped onto Elias’ chest. With a few more coughs his lungs seemed to calm down, and Elias flopped back on the pillows, his eye staring at the ceiling. He cleared his throat.

“What can I do for you Princess?” Elias asked, his voice hoarse.

Luna sighed.

“I am merely here to check on your condition. I will need more time to determine fault, but rest assured, Captain Chaser shall receive punishment for his actions today. It is beneath his position and he should have kn-“

“No.” Elias cut in.

Luna blinked in surprise. Nobody interrupted her, ever. And they certainly didn’t do so while deliberately countering her intentions.

“Excuse you?” she said, her voice holding a touch of anger.

Elias winced slightly as he turned his head to look at her.

“You can’t, and you won’t. It will sour the relationship we just established, and all of this blood will have meant nothing. Do absolutely nothing, the situation has been resolved.”

Luna frowned.

“And what exactly does that mean? You nearly died Elias, and Captain Chaser is solely responsible for that. You may have injured him, but in no way did you achieve anything in your fight.”

Elias smirked.

“I disagree, I think we’ll get on just swimmingly now.”

He chuckled softly, coughing a few times. Scalpel charged his horn again, but Elias waved the pony down as he got his breathing under control. The human smiled at Luna.

“A question for you Princess, how many alphas does a pack of wolves have?”

“One.” She answered, confusion seeping into her tone. “But I do not see what that has to do with your current situation, or why I should not punish Captain Chaser.”

“I’m getting there.” Elias said. “Next question, how would you describe Captain Nightshade, or Captain Chaser? Would you say they are more aggressive than the average pony, or less?”

“More. Much more.” Luna responded.

Elias snapped his fingers.

“Exactly. But since they are the head of their “pack” this aggression is used to keep the troops in line. They sit on their little thrones overlooking their little domains where they rule. While you ultimately have the last say, would I be wrong if I said that you almost never question their authority?”

Luna nodded.

“Of course, we chose them for a reason. It is rare that they are ever involved in incidents such as this. Their records are nearly spotless.”

“So, what is it about me that has gotten me in a fight with each of them?” Elias asked, tilting his head slightly.

“Besides the fact that you intentionally antagonize everypony you meet?” Scalpel grumbled. “Coupled with a reputation for anger, cruelty, and overall meanness, I have no idea at all.”

Night Flash popped his head up from Elias’ shoulder.

“Hey! Don’t say that, Red is super nice!”

Elias snorted and scratched the pony behind the ear.

“No, I’m not.” He said.

Flash looked up at him with his big eyes.

“But you do all kinds of nice things.” The pegasus refuted. “You keep White Shine away; you’re helping Binder and I train for the big exercise! Heck, the only reason you got in that fight is because you were trying to get Scarlet a better teacher. All of that stuff is nice.”

“Those are things I do for my friends.” Elias said. “Otherwise, I’m not a nice person at all. Remember rule one?”

Night Flash frowned and he looked down in thought. He grunted in agreement after a moment of thinking. He laid his head back down on Elias’ shoulder.

“I guess you’re right, but you could be a lot worse.”

Elias shrugged, resuming his scratching of the pegasus.

“Maybe, but that isn’t the point. Everything Scalpel said is true, and those are all important factors to consider, because the big question here is, why? Why do my actions so thoroughly antagonize the guard captains to the point that we fight?”

Elias looked around the room as if he was a schoolteacher looking for somepony with their hoof raised. Luna held back a snort of amusement as she tried to imagine the human teaching foals. He was more likely to eat them than teach them. Though on second thought, she did remember how fond he was of talking about his race’s history. Perhaps she could picture it, though in all likelihood it would end with the human giving all of the children wooden swords to attack each other with. She smiled at the thought of thirty colts and fillies running around a classroom causing pandemonium while Elias watched them fight with pride. He’d probably even give them fighting tips.

“It’s because I’m a challenger to their positions.” Elias continued. “The alphas of each guard group are facing down an outsider who is every bit as aggressive and capable to lead as them, and they see me as a threat. A lone wolf challenging the established order. Give it enough time, I’m sure Captain Armor and I will fight each other as well.”

He rubbed his neck lightly.

“Though I hope I actually win that fight.” Elias grumbled.

“So, what you’re saying is that both Captain Chaser, and Captain Nightshade provoked fights with you because they thought you would steal their jobs?” Book Binder asked in disbelief. “That sounds a bit crazy, don’t you think? I mean, if that’s the case, why haven’t you gotten in a fight with Princess Luna or Princess Celestia?”

Elias shrugged.

“Probably because that’s a different fight entirely. While maybe not as strong as a fighter, I have the capabilities and experience to be a small-scale leader like Captain Chaser or Captain Nightshade. This was seen as a threat by them.” Elias blew air through his teeth. “If they had bothered to ask, they would have found there was nothing to worry about, because this lone wolf tried being the pack alpha once, and he will not do so again.”

He looked at the ceiling.

“As for why the princesses and I haven’t come to blows is because they have likely seen this whole song and dance before. If all of the stories I have read are true, they are centuries old, and whatever little mortals like myself do is beneath them on a grand scale. I’m no more a threat to them than a match is to an ocean.”

Elias looked to Luna.

“Which brings us full circle. This fight was that of an alpha defending his pack, whatever the situation was that provoked it. The fight was going to happen at some point, whether today, or in two years, it was bound to occur.”

He smiled widely.

“And I think I came out of it pretty well if I do say so myself.”

Book Binder sighed and face hoofed.

“If you weren’t in a hospital bed right now, I would smack you upside the head Elias.”

Elias didn’t look away from Luna.

“But that’s why you can’t punish Chaser, because if you do, you show the pack, the Royal Guards, that you support an upstart lone wolf rather than the pack leader. He was doing the right thing, even if he was completely wrong and an utter ass about it. If you punish him, the pack is going to get nasty, and you better believe that this bed is going to see a whole lot more of me.”

He spread his hand.

“But, if he goes with a little slap on the wrist, then this whole thing goes away. We shared a moment of respect; so as far as I see it, we’re done, just like Captain Nightshade and I. Give him something small, like cleaning toilets for a week, that will establish your authority as his alpha, while also letting him know that you understand why he did what he did.”

Luna took his explanation apart piece by piece in her mind, and she felt more than a little frustrated when she realized he was absolutely right. By giving Chaser a severe punishment like he deserved, say throwing him in a cell, then the Royal Guard would come after Elias for revenge. The last thing she needed was for more ponies in the hospital, or Keeper’s forbid dead ponies. She also didn’t want to wake up one evening to find a dead human in a gutter. She had put so much work into finding a solution to Elias’ mental issues, and she would see it to fruition.

She sighed and shook her head.

“Fine Elias, I shall give him only a light punishment.”

Elias nodded once and laid back, letting out a breath of air as he relaxed slightly.

“That’s all I ask Princess.”

Luna stared at the human for a moment, before saying;

“You are quite the creature Elias. You are wise far beyond your extremely young age. What is your secret?”

Elias snorted.

“Experience. That whole alpha versus lone wolf speech? It isn’t the first time I’ve been beaten to within an inch of my life by someone I should have had complete trust in.”

Elias’ mood darkened significantly.

“I’ve challenged more than one alpha in my life, and it was even worse then. Tristan made these wounds look like child’s play.”

Luna cocked her head.

“Tristan? Who is this Tristan?”

Elias flinched visibly. Luna watched as he began to shake violently. He seemed to grow pale, and his hands clenched and unclenched, over and over again. His eye closed and he shook his head slowly.

“I-…”

The human was interrupted by Night Flash shoving him roughly. As Elias cried out in shock, the pony pounced on his chest, nuzzling him aggressively in the face. Elias spat as he tried to pry the pegasus off of him. Undeterred by the flailing human, Flash kept up his assault of snuggles. His wings flapped out, slapping Elias repeatedly in the face as the pegasus twirled in a circle. Luna couldn’t help but giggle in confusion as Night Flash did his strange dance across the human, leaping up and down the bed as Elias tried to grab the suddenly crazy pony.

Eventually, Night Flash moved just a hair too slow, and Elias snagged his hind legs. With a yelp from Night Flash, the human flipped him over and held him firmly in both hands, Elias’ face contorted in a mixture of irritation, confusion, and a touch of concern.

“In the politest way I can possibly think of;” Elias said slowly. “What the fuck was that Flash?”

The pony grinned sheepishly, not even trying to squirm away from Elias’ grip.

“I may have gone overboard on the distraction, but it worked didn’t it? You’re fine?”

Elias blinked stupidly at the pony. His fingers loosened as he stared at the pony.

“Huh,” was all the human said.

Night Flash sat on his chest for a moment, then looked pointedly at Elias’ left arm. The human raised it dumbly. Night Flash grinned and dove under it, resuming his former position around the limb as he got comfortable against the human. Elias’ hand dropped on his head and began scratching his ears. Flash chirped happily as he settled, looking out happily at all of the stunned ponies in the room.

“Is- is it really that simple?” Scalpel asked. “A bit of minor aggravation as a distraction, and just like that, no more panic?”

Flash snorted.

“Of course not. It’s a useful trick, but it won’t always work, especially if you can’t see the signs like I did. I just got lucky is all, and it worked out.” He looked to Luna. “Princess, can we avoid the T-word from now on please?”

She nodded.

“Of course. It shall be driven from my mind.”

Oh, it was perfect. Night Flash exceeded her expectations, and Luna had no doubt that now Book Binder was formulating her own methods for distracting the human if her face was any indication. The two of them could likely calm Elias down from anything, and the longer they were together as friends, Luna suspected that ability would only grow stronger. Luna could see in real time how the pieces were beginning to fit together. She did her best not to squeal in excitement. She mostly succeeded, though she had a goofy looking smile on her face.

Elias was the first to notice it, and he matched it with a scowl.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, trying to put a growl in his voice.

Luna snorted softly.

“I think I am beginning to understand how you are only nineteen years old, a foal by Equestrian standards, yet have so much experience. Your life is constantly shifting, you never seem to stop going forward.”

Elias nodded in agreement, sighing loudly. Luna heard a squeak, and noticed Book Binder twitch slightly out of the corner of her eye, but she decided to ignore the motion. It was likely nothing.

“Yeah, I can never catch a fucking break.” He grumbled.

“P-Princess?” Book Binder stuttered.

Luna looked at the unicorn, and quickly noticed that the pony looked like she was on the verge of exploding. Her whole body was on end, and her tail flicked back and forth at a vigorous pace. An aura of energy seemed to glow around the pony in a vaguely familiar manner. Luna couldn’t tell if she should feel nervous around the pony, so she took a cautionary step back. Following the unicorn’s eyes, she noticed that they were fixed squarely on Elias, who was beginning to shift nervously in his bed. Luna shot a glance to Scalpel, who quickly moved away from the bed as well.

“Yes, Book Binder?” Luna responded cautiously.

“Y-you said Elias i-is nineteen?” Book Binder’s eye twitched slightly, and her forelegs inched forward. “A-as in... years?” she squeaked.

Elias shot Luna a glance.

“Princess, please do not answer that question. I’ve seen that look, and god damn it, I have had enough hugs today from one pony, I don’t need a second one on me.”

Luna doubted that, in fact, he likely needed many more pony hugs. They had so far done wonders for the human. What could telling Book Binder his age really do? It wasn’t like she could seriously injure him, and they were already in the infirmary! Luna smiled slightly as she prepared to repeat his age. Evidently someone else had the same idea.

Night Flash snorted softly into Elias’ ribs.

“Yes Bindey, Red is indeed nineteen years old, you heard the princess right.”

Book Binder’s pupils consumed her entire eye, and she began to quiver violently. Elias looked at Night Flash with hatred.

“You fucking traitor.” He said softly.

Night Flash grinned and settled back into the crook of Elias’ arm, his eyes watching Book Binder.

“Love you too Red.”

Then the unicorn struck. With a loud cry, she seemed to fly through the air, an amazing feat given her lack of wings. She landed on the bedspread to Elias’ right, with just enough time down to springboard off of the bed and latch onto the human’s head. It happened in the blink of an eye, and Luna couldn’t suppress a guffaw as she looked at Elias, who was trying to pry a now weeping Book Binder from the side of his head. The unicorn didn’t budge as she stroked his hair with her hoof.

“My baby boy!” she cried. “Don’t worry, momma’s here!”

Elias opened his mouth, only to find her tail flapping in his face. He spit out the hair as he growled, still trying to push her away.

“What is wrong with you people!” he tried to yell. “I’m still the same age I was five minutes ago when you dragged my bleeding ass in here!”

Book Binder’s eyes snapped open and she looked at the bloody wounds decorating every part of Elias’ body. As if she was seeing the injuries for the first time, she squealed in horror. She stroked his hair harder.

“Don’t worry baby boy, we’ll make sure Doctor Scalpel gets you all fixed up, good as new. Momma will be here the entire time.”

Elias looked out from beneath the unicorn in visible confusion.

“Have I missed something?” he said. “Where is this “momma” stuff coming from?”

He looked to Scarlet and Scalpel, who both shrugged in confusion. His eyes stopped only momentarily on Night Flash, who he realized was whispering in Book Binder’s ear, goading her on. That left one pony in the room. Elias looked to Luna.

“Princess, what is going on? Have I done something? Friends is one thing, but what just happened? What is currently happen- Book Binder god damn it stop petting me!”

The unicorn tutted and taped him lightly on the back of the head.

“Now now, don’t use that language young man. Just let momma spoil you for a few minutes.”

And then she immediately resumed her snuggling of his head. Elias looked at Luna again in desperation. The alicorn giggled as she watched Book Binder play with Elias’ hair.

“I believe I know the cause of this sudden, motherly affection.” She said calmly.

Book Binder shifted, perching herself on Elias’ shoulders as she tsked and conjured a magical brush. Untying the string that kept Elias’ hair tied together, the unicorn fluffed it out and began combing it with the conjured brush. Elias had the look of someone who was being physically tortured. His face was a beet red, though whether that was from genuine anger or just embarrassment, Luna did not know. Elias gestured silently for her to continue, so she did so, a smile decorating her face as Book Binder fretted over the human’s hair.

“In the time before my banishment, wars were extremely uncommon, but small-scale skirmishes and raids were not. Many towns were sacked with their adult population taken or killed.” Luna shuddered in memory of burning buildings and razed towns. “Suffice to say that widespread peace was tentative at best. Regardless, many a foal was left orphaned in these outlying communities, and despite my sister and I’s best efforts, we simply could not find homes quickly enough. Certain communities were attacked more than others, and it was a struggle to keep the towns themselves safe, let alone locate adequate homes for all of the abandoned foals.”

Book Binder frowned.

“Elias, you really need to take better care of your mane. It’s all knotted and tangled. Are you brushing it regularly?”

“No.” Elias growled. “I wash it and tie it back. It’s all the hair care I need.” He looked to Luna. “Please continue Princess. I am eager how this story relates to whatever this is.” He said, pointing at Book Binder as she yanked at a stubborn knot of hair.

Luna enjoyed watching the mare fret over the human, and she had half a mind to remain silent just to watch it. She wondered briefly if she should get a camera. The expression on Elias’ face told her that it would likely be a bad idea at the time. She cleared her throat and continued.

“By comparison, certain interior communities were stricken with a different ailment. Whether through disease or,” she growled slightly at the memories of a certain chaotic entity, “magical means, many mares were left barren, unable to produce the children they so desperately wanted. It took us a few years, but eventually we realized that these two problems had one very simple solution.”

Elias leaned forward as he tried to look back at Book Binder in disgust.

“Did you just lick me?”

Book Binder seized his head in her hooves and dragged him back.

“Hush, it got the tangle undone, didn’t it?”

Scalpel snorted with laughter, and Elias’ eyes immediately found the pony. He pointed a finger at the unicorn.

“You’re lucky I don’t have anything to throw.”

He quickly found a bundle of bandages floating in front of his hand. Elias glanced back at Book Binder, who smiled back.

“I can’t let my baby boy get mocked by the other ponies, now can I?”

Elias grumbled softly in thanks, then looked dangerously at Scalpel. The unicorn doctor snorted.

“Oh please, it’s a roll of gauze, do you really think you can make that hu…-?”

He yelped as the roll of bandages drilled him in the nose. Luna was surprised when she saw his nose begin bleed slightly. Scalpel pressed his hoof to his bloody nose and looked with wide eyes at the human who was staring smugly back.

“What the buck Elias?” he shouted. “That really hurt!”

Elias snorted.

“Serves you right. Besides, you act like I didn’t also give you the tool to solve the problem.”

Scalpel growled and the roll of bandages raised in his magic, ready to throw back at the human, when Book Binder hopped on top off of Elias’ head, growling loudly at the doctor.

“Don’t you dare Scalpel.” She said, her horn charging with crackling green energy.

Scalpel paled and nodded dumbly. He unrolled a length of bandage and pressed it against his nose, levitating the rest of the bundle elsewhere. Only once his horn stopped glowing did Book Binder return to her chipper, mothering self as she began to brush Elias’ hair anew. Elias looked with his one eye at Luna.

“So, this solution of yours, what was it?”

“My sister and I crafted a simple, but powerful runic spell.” Luna said. “We laid it across Equestria with one purpose, draw loving parents to abandoned foals. A sort of adoption at first sight.”

She gestured to Book Binder.

“Upon first contact, the mother would smother the foal with love and affection, solidifying their place as a parent in the foal’s heart.” She smiled wistfully. “Twas a wonderful thing to witness in my day. I only wish that I could have witnessed what Tia was like when she adopted our fair niece. It must have been the most ridiculous sight.”

Luna paused wistfully, then sighed.

“I am getting off track.” She looked to Elias. “Due to the relative peace of the last thousand years, the rune has remained largely unused, as there are few foals who are orphaned that are not immediately scooped up by dotting parents, primarily due to the improvements made to our adoption systems. Since you physically appear to be a grown adult Elias, this reaction is likely a delayed one. Book Binder must have tapped into the old runic magic in some form. Night Flash, you two have recently begun a romantic relationship, correct?”

Night Flash nodded happily.

“Yep! We’ve already begun talking about how we want everything to work out. Proposals, engagement, marriage,” the pegasus flushed red. “having kids of our own.”

Luna smiled widely.

“Indeed. You have my congratulations.” She looked back to Elias, who frowned deeply.

“But I’m not a child.” The man said. “Even if we just go by age, I am a grown adult by human standards.”

“Not by Equestrian standards, however.” Luna replied. “For ponies, full maturity is only reached at the age of twenty-five. Most ponies do not leave home permanently until they are just short of thirty years. I believe the magic is based purely on years lived, and so Book Binder has identified you as an orphaned foal that is need of love and care.”

Elias twitched slightly.

“So, is all of this purely the result of some random magic? That seems…” his frown deepened. “I don’t know how I feel about that.”

Luna could see the conflict in his eyes. She imagined it was likely the same internal fight he had when deciding to make friends again. This, however, was a much more serious situation. Luna took a few more steps forward and laid a hoof on his leg, seeking to comfort him.

“Elias, these feelings, while provoked through magical means, were within Book Binder the entire time. Everything she feels for you is absolutely genuine, they are just being temporarily amplified by the spell. These feelings will still exist after the rune wears off.”

Elias flinched slightly. Luna wondered briefly if her words had made things worse. Book Binder, however, didn’t seem to notice his rapidly depressing mood, as she hummed happily as she ran the comb through Elias’ hair.

“You know, we should really get your mane cut Elias. Yours is all long and unstylish. How are you going to ever find a respectable mare to bring home to us?”

Elias snorted, trying to force himself back to a calmer state of mind.

“Pretending I didn’t hear the second part; my hair is fine. I keep it clean, and that’s what matters.”

Book Binder huffed.

“Cleaning it is only part of the job, you have to make it look good! I’m thinking braids, one big one down the back. Oh! Maybe a few beads as well! That will have the mares positively swooning over you.”

“You are not putting beads in my hair. It’s fine as it is.” Elias growled, and Luna believed the mild banter had successfully pulled him away from whatever dark place his mind was drifting toward.

“Hush you,” Book Binder scoffed. “No son of mine is going to run around looking like some sort of degenerate.”

Luna watched Elias’ face shift through a range of emotions as his mouth flapped wordlessly. His body grew tense, and his face paled slightly. Book Binder must have felt him stiffen, because she stopped combing his hair.

“Elias? Baby, are you alright?” She asked, her voice tinged with fear.

Night Flash sat up, studying Elias’ face.

“Red? Is this another…?”

Elias shook his head.

“No…” he said softly. “I… I think this is something else.”

Book Binder climbed off his shoulders and onto his chest. She tried to make eye contact, but Elias’ eyes seemed to stare into nothing. She whimpered softly.

“Elias? Please speak to me. I’m sorry if I got carried away. I…”

Elias blinked once. His mouth drifted open slowly before her spoke, his eyes still looking elsewhere.

“I-… I think I need to…”

Book Binder crawled off of him as he rolled onto his side, staring blankly at the wall. Tears streamed down Book Binders face as Night Flash rose, rubbing her back softly.

“I’m sorry Elias, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just…” she sobbed lightly.

Luna’s heart went out to the mare. She had seen something like this happen before as well. A foal who simply had no interest in being adopted, a small mistake by the rune that left a broken-hearted parent with nobody to shower with love. She frowned at Elias’ back, her anger flashing briefly at the human. How dare he reject such powerful love.

Book Binder sniffed, rubbing at her eyes.

“I-I’ll go. I know you don’t want to see me right now, and I can understand if y- eep!”

She squirmed slightly as Elias’ arm reached over and scooped her up, carrying the pony to his front. Luna shifted slightly so she could see, and she smiled widely as she saw that Book Binder was being hugged tightly against the human’s chest, his large arms keeping her from moving anywhere. His eyes were only half open, as if he was struggling to stay awake.

“Nobody said you could go anywhere.” Elias growled softly, his eyes drifting closed.

Book Binder watched as he seemed to nod off, and she smiled, nuzzling into his chest. She seemed to relish the warmth the human’s body gave off. Book Binder motioned for Night Flash to join her. The pegasus climbed atop Elias’ side and settled there before letting his wings hang down, covering them like a blanket. Luna watched as the pair of ponies sighed happily before their eyes closed as well. They began to snore lightly, a sign that they were completely asleep.

Luna was amazed. She had no idea what to think of the encounter. She prayed desperately that it would stick, that Elias would accept the family that had just unofficially adopted him. Friends were extremely important, but she had never even considered how missing a family might affect the human. Luna needed to rethink her approach, needed to consult with the doctors that were watching even now. As the three settled completely and the snores began to grow in intensity, she motioned for Scalpel and Scarlet to follow her out of the infirmary.

“Come,” she said softly, “let us leave them to rest in peace. Doctor, please try to keep as many ponies away from here as possible. Even if Elias accepts this relationship, he will be embarrassed if too many ponies know of it. He might try to push them away, and that is the absolute last thing we want.”

Scalpel nodded as he cast a glance back at the sleeping ponies and human.

“Of course, Princess, my lips are sealed.”

Luna nodded and smiled. They closed the doors quietly.

“Good. Scarlet, please report to Captain Nightshade and alert her that Night Flash and Book Binder on an important mission for me and will miss their regular guard shift. If she wants more information than that, she can come to me.”

The pegasus saluted.

“Yes Princess.” He said.

Luna waited for him to race off, but Shield stood in place, looking as if he wanted to say something. Luna tilted her head slightly.

“Is there something else Guardspony?”

Shield sighed and looked down, his expression turning dejected.

“I just wanted to tell you that all of this is my fault. Elias went over to the Royal Guards because he was trying to find my old combat trainer. If it wasn’t for me, none of this would have happened.”

Luna smiled.

“You are correct, and it is for that reason I must thank you.”

The pegasus looked at her in confusion.

“B-but Elias got hurt! Shouldn’t I be punished or something?”

Luna snorted.

“Elias was right about one thing, he was going to get in a fight with Captain Chaser, and in all likelihood, he will continue to pick fights and get injured. While his metaphor was a bit… odd, it rings true. Elias is a little troublemaker, and so trouble will continue to find him, and he will continue to get hurt.”

She looked to the closed doors.

“But it seems through his physical suffering, he is beginning to find the basis for emotional peace. If all goes well, Elias now has a loving pair of parents that will help him to stay out of trouble. This is a direct result of the situation he finds himself in, and so, you have my thanks Scarlet Shield. Perhaps Elias needs to be hurt to find his peace.”

Luna cleared her throat, straightening to her full stature.

“Regardless, you shall not be punished. Carry out your orders to Captain Nightshade.” She growled softly. “I have one more pony to see today. Scalpel, post a sign on the door, I need you with me in the throne room.”

*****

Luna walked briskly toward the throne room, anger on her mind. While she realized the wisdom of Elias’ words, she also knew that his definition of “light” punishment and her own were very different. A message needed to be sent, alpha or not. Midnight Chaser needed a sufficient punishment.

As she approached the small side door that led behind her throne, Luna felt her ears twitch as she realized she heard yelling. She quickened her pace as she opened the door before her, revealing the throne room. Of particular note were three ponies. First, her sister was sitting on her throne, staring down with an expression of shock and confusion at the other two. Luna quickly noted the source of the yelling, a white maned pegasus named Ice Blossom. The pegasus was standing in front of Captain Chaser, yelling, and occasionally smacking the guard captain as he simply took the abuse, a look of silent acceptance on his face. Even with the bandages decorating his body, Chaser looked like he had been through the ringer. His eyes seemed glazed, and even standing at attention as she had ordered, his shoulders were slumped. He would flinch occasionally at the verbal abuse his sister was throwing at him, but otherwise, he was still. He didn’t even seem to notice the second princess now in the room.

Luna listened to Ice Blossom as she climbed the steps to her throne, sitting next her sister silently.

“And another thing! Are you bucking serious? You couldn’t just let things end, oh no. I’ve already read some of the initial witness reports Chase! Why the buck did you call the human a coward when his friend convinced him to walk away? Are you dense? Are you actually bucking stupid? The situation was done, but no, not for you! You just had to insult the human, right there, in front of everypony!”

She slapped him, the sound echoing through the throne room.

“Of all the stupid things Chase! He was asking for a bucking trainer! He wasn’t trying to overthrow Equestria! He wasn’t trying to rut your marefriend! He was asking, and that’s another thing, the human asked Chase. Why the buck didn’t you just let Lucky Swing help him?” She slapped him again. “You know what? I don’t care, because you didn’t let her, like some kind of idiot!”

“So that’s what caused it.” Celestia said softly.

Luna glanced at her sister. Celestia looked to her with visible confusion.

“What has happened this afternoon Luna? One moment I am concluding my day court, and the next Captain Chaser is being led in by Lucky Swing, covered in battle wounds. Shouldn’t he be in the infirmary?”

Luna gestured for Doctor Scalpel to go begin working on Chaser. The unicorn nodded silently, and he levitated a small array of tools behind him as he began to silently prod at Chaser’s bandages. Ice Blossom either didn’t notice, or didn’t care as she continued laying into her brother.

“And let’s not talk about how you almost lost the bucking fight. Really Chase? One little human was too much for our fearless Captain? You should have been able to take him down in two hits! And quietly! But no, Mister Bigshot here wants to try and make a fool out of the human, so what does he do? Duels him with wingblades! In the process, you seem to have forgotten that wingblades CUT THINGS!”

She slapped him a third time.

“And then you didn’t even win with them Chase! You had to use the human’s own knife to put him down. Should I be submitting a resignation Chase? Did I go to the wrong stallion for help with my Royal Guard exams? Because if I did, I need to know, so that I can tell Princess Celestia why she shouldn’t throw our entire family onto the moon for being bucking deranged!”

Luna snorted softly, nudging Celestia with her wing.

“How about it Tia? Do you want to throw some of our subjects onto the moon?”

Celestia sighed, shaking her head.

“I have no idea where they keep coming with the idea that the moon is my solution for everything. It was one time Luna, one time!”

Luna snorted again as Celestia seemed to realize who she was talking to. Her sister grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry Lulu, I know it must still be a bit of a sensitive subject.”

Luna waved her hoof dismissively.

“Nonsense sister, it has been several years since my return. I have atoned, I am princess once more, and I have you back. It is all in the past and shall remain there.”

She looked down at the ponies before her.

“This, however, is in the present, and must be dealt with. Fear not sister, I shall handle it swiftly.”

Luna cleared her throat loudly, and for a second, Ice Blossom whirled on her in anger, her mouth open as if she would snap on the princess for interrupting her tirade. When she saw who she was about to mouth off at, she froze in shock, then straightened into a quick salute.

“My apologies Princess, I was just trying to educate my brother on why the decisions he made today were incorrect.”

Luna kept an even expression on her face.

“Quite. Regardless, I need you elsewhere. Is Lucky Swing nearby?”

Ice Blossom shook her head.

“No Princess. I sent her back on duty. I thought it best that everypony start working again to avoid any… further incidents.”

Luna noticed the pegasus shoot a small glance at Chaser. She let the motion slide without comment.

“Retrieve Lucky Swing and tell her to report to Captain Nightshade on my order. This whole debacle was started over one of my guards not having adequate combat training, and the situation must be remedied immediately. Have Captain Nightshade schedule training hours for Guardspony Swing and Guardspony Scarlet Shield. Alert them that I will be personally checking on his progress daily.”

Ice Blossom nodded and saluted once more. She turned around, glaring at Chaser one more time before she trotted from the throne room. Luna waited calmly for the doors to shut before she looked at the pegasus before her.

“Stand before the judgement of your princesses Captain. We have much to talk about.”

Chaser flinched slightly, but did as she commanded. He limped forward, standing attention before the throne.

“I submit myself fully to whatever judgement you pass upon me Princess.” He said confidently. “I know I have committed a horrible act, and I know that the fault for this incident lies squarely on my shoulders.”

Luna rose from her throne, walking slowly down the steps so that she could stare directly into his eyes, towering over the pony.

“I am completely aware of who is at fault Captain, remain silent.” She growled. “It is that waggling tongue of yours that has brought this incident to a head, and I will not have it continue.”

Chaser nodded silently. Luna took a deep breath, and she began to pace slowly around the pegasus.

“Captain, answer each question honestly and as concisely as possible. Am I clear?”

Chaser nodded.

“Yes Princess.”

Luna inspected the wound on his wing as Scalpel peeled back the hastily applied bandages. Elias had managed to clip the joint, and Chaser was lucky that he had not swung harder. If he had, the limb might have fully been detached.

“Did you, or did you not attack Guardsman Bright first?”

Chaser drooped slightly.

“I did Princess. I thought if I could knock him down, he would leave well enough alone.”

“If that is the case, then why did you provoke him again when Guardspony Night Flash had talked the human into walking away?”

“I…” his ears pinned to the side of his head. “I don’t know Princess. I just felt... angry when I saw the human. Like… Like he had done something wrong, even though he didn’t.” Chaser frowned, then shook his head. “That isn’t it either, I just… I can’t explain it.”

Luna nodded as she prodded at a nasty looking cut on his foreleg.

“Would it be sufficient to say that you felt threatened by Guardsman Bright?”

Chaser remained silent in thought for a moment before he nodded slowly.

“I suppose so Princess.”

Luna sighed deeply.

“Damn that man.” She grumbled. “What a silly, yet accurate metaphor, and from one so young no less.”

Scalpel snorted and Luna spotted a small smirk on his face.

“It’s probably because he’s an adult by experience in the body of a teenager. He's wise beyond his years, even if Elias is an adult by human standards, it’s apparent on all of my scans that he is still growing. Maybe the humans just made their age laws strange.” Scalpel snorted again. “Which makes me wonder just how he spent such a short time learning so much about the way of the world.”

Chaser looked at the unicorn in confusion.

“H-how old is he?” he asked.

Luna walked directly in front of Chaser, and the stallion snapped his gaze forward, falling back into attention. Luna stared at the stallion for a moment before she smiled.

“Nineteen years old Captain. You decided to brawl with a nineteen-year-old today, and though you came out on top,” she looked pointedly at his injuries, “I believe that the young human did more than well enough for himself.”

Chaser looked at her in open-mouthed horror. After a minute of silence, his jaw clamped closed.

“Princess, I would request your permission to resign my command, I am not worthy of the position of Captain and I-..”

“Denied Captain.” Luna cut in. “It is the first part of your punishment. You will continue to serve as Royal Guard Captain with the knowledge that you instigated a fight with what one who could be legally considered a foal. If it makes you feel better, by his human standards, Guardsman Bright is an adult.” She snorted. “Though I think we both know that his standards do not matter here in any sort of manner, legal or otherwise.”

Chaser sighed and nodded. Luna appreciated how guilty and horrified he still looked. It was a good sign; it meant he would likely put forth genuine effort to change his behavior.

“If I may Princess,” Chaser said, his voice low and submissive, “what is the rest of my punishment?”

Luna frowned and resumed her pacing.

“To be truthful with you Captain, I do not know. While I have a fair list of punishments that I think would match the crime, Guardsman Bright has personally requested that you remain largely unpunished. Some silly notion about the guard services as wolf packs or some such.”

Scalpel snorted again, but remained silent when Luna shot him a glare. The unicorn just shook his head with a smile as he rewrapped Chaser’s injuries, applying minor healing spells as he went. Luna made a full cycle around Chaser as she continued.

“To sum his metaphor, Guardsman Bright believes that he is, and will continue to be, an instigative threat against all of our guard captains. Since he has fought, and lost, to two already, he believes that any hostilities have been resolved now that you have “claimed” your right to lead. The notion is utterly ridiculous, and I am curious if it is not a result of his injuries…” she paused and looked Chaser up and down, “but I will respect his theory. We shall see in the coming weeks if it is correct.”

“As such,” she continued, “I need to devise a punishment suitable to shame you for your actions, while also ensuring that the Royal Guard does not pursue Guardsman Bright with some sort of foolhardy vendetta. I have made great personal effort into making that human healthy, and I will not see it thrown away because of some silly notion of pack mentality.”

Luna paused once more in front of Captain Chaser. The pony wisely kept his mouth shut as she stared at him. Her thoughts were blank on the perfect punishment, something that was an oddity for her. She had designed the Canterlot torture chambers after all, this should be a breeze. As she combed through her ideas, a scroll popped into the air at her side.

Luna caught it with her magic, and she unrolled it, scanning the words quickly. It was the first of what she imagined would be many witness reports. Ah, from Royal Guardspony Lucky Swing, excellent. She was likely one of the more credible sources. As she read through the report thoroughly, a devious smile spread across Luna’s face. Oh, she had a punishment all right.

Rolling the scroll closed, Luna resumed her normal, blank demeanor. Though he did well to hide it, Luna could see a bit of nervousness in Captain Chaser’s eyes. Luna smiled lightly, which made the pony even more nervous.

“I have just been inspired Captain,” she proclaimed. She waved the scroll in her magic. “This is Royal Guardspony Lucky Swing’s report, and I must say once more, the inciting incident is something that shouldn’t have caused such issue. I think that perhaps Guardsman Bright got it wrong. Perhaps you weren’t angry because the human was a threat, but rather because you were jealous that he asked for a different Royal Guardspony to help train Scarlet Shield.”

Chaser opened his mouth to protest, but a nasty glare from Luna warned him to remain silent. His jaw snapped shut, and she continued.

“As such, I think your punishment will be simple.” She said with a smile. “Lucky Swing shows a very good measure of control, something I think that you lack Captain. As such, you will report to Captain Nightshade and will request that you be allowed to join Lucky Swing’s training sessions. Royal Guardspony Swing will teach you and Scarlet Shield together, for the benefit of all of course.”

Luna could tell that the pegasus wanted to protest, but after a moment of silent thinking, he sighed and nodded.

“Of course, Princess. I shall be sure to attend each and every one of Lucky Swing’s training sessions.”

Luna nodded.

“Good. As soon as Scalpel is finished you are free to go.”

Chaser nodded and saluted stiffly, grunting in pain as a wound on his foreleg bent. Scalpel backed away.

“I’m as finished as I’m going to be until tomorrow. Come to the infirmary first thing and I’ll get you sorted out.”

Chaser nodded and bowed to Luna and Celestia before leaving. His head wasn’t quite held high, but neither was he looking quite as ashamed as he was when she walked in. Luna shook her head. She had no idea how, but Elias was proving to be absolutely right. She needed to get close to the human soon, Luna decided. She smiled slightly as she thought about Elias, likely still curled around a pony in the infirmary. He would rest first, then she would strike.

Chapter 16: Family?

Therapy Diary: Day 423

I’m so cold. I don’t have any food. I don’t have any water. The snow keeps falling and I don’t think I’ll be able to go outside. I wish… I wish…

I wish I could go home. Nothing is right anymore. I thought things were bad after… it. But this is so much worse. I want my mom back. I want my dad back. I want my sisters, and my dog, and my house, and I just want something to eat. I’m sorry to anyone who reads this, but I’m so scared. I just want to go home.

Elias awoke with a yawn, holding his pillow to his face. The sun tore through the windows, stabbing him right in the eye, specifically aligned so he had to acknowledge its blazing presence. Elias groaned, and he tried to grab his pillow to block the light, only for it to giggle softly and squirm in his grasp. Elias opened his right eye, ignoring the glare of the sun as he stared into a wall of green fluff, all pressed against his face. Elias snorted softly, and his “pillow” giggled again.

Elias managed to pull his head back, and Book Binder grinned at him.

“Good morning to you too baby boy. Sleep well?”

Elias nodded, but his rising discomfort must have shown in his eye, because Book Binder’s smile disappeared. She scooted forward, but when Elias moved further back, she stopped.

“What’s wrong Elias? Did I do something wrong?”

Elias sighed, trying to keep control of his mind as it went to war with itself once again. He was surprised at the quick venom, usually he had to wake up before he had a headache. The center voice was on a tirade about the dangers of getting too close to the ponies, while the voice at the back of his head was prodding him to just accept how things were. It kept whispering the word family softly.

“It’s nothing Binder, I’m just… thinking.”

Book Binder settled on the bed, watching Elias carefully.

“That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one. It’s because of the momma stuff, isn’t it?”

Elias opened his mouth to deny it, but found that he didn’t want to. If nothing else, she was his friend, right? And just like that inane, childish book said, you shouldn’t lie to friends.

“Yes,” he admitted, looking away.

Book Binder sighed, laying her head down on her hooves.

“I’m sorry Elias, I didn’t mean for this to happen this way.”

For some reason, that hurt more than he would have liked. Elias flinched at the words as he replied to her.

“Does that mean… it isn’t real? You don’t actually feel like that toward me?”

Book Binder laid her hoof gently against his cheek.

“Elias, I absolutely want to dote on you like a proper mother should. If I had my way, Princess Luna would release you and I from the guard and I could become a librarian full time. Night Flash could come home every day and we would eat every meal together and we would talk for hours about how our days were. You would go to school, and I would help you with your homework, and everything would simply be amazing, but I know that won’t happen. You aren’t a darling little foal,” she giggled lightly, “even if I want you to be my little baby boy.”

She sighed again as she withdrew the hoof.

“But I know that might not happen either. You are grown Elias, and by your own admission, you are an adult. You can make your own adult decisions. I don’t want to force anything on you that you don’t want.”

Elias’ mind felt locked in one place, doubt still weighing heavy on his thoughts.

“But the feelings are still real? They aren’t just because of the spell Princess Luna talked about?”

Book Binder smiled sweetly.

“Of course they are real Elias. I think that’s why I was so fast to be friends with you. Night Flash was there, and I think I could feel his feelings for me, and there you were, the loner you are, just waiting for someone to care for you. Then Night Flash began to court me, and then I heard your real age… It just brought everything to a boiling point. The rune was merely a catalyst. All of the feelings I have for you now, were there then. They’ve just been pushed to the surface.”

She paused, and then sighed for a third time.

“I hope that helps Elias. I don’t want us to drift apart, no matter what. The three of us should stick together, things just came at us in a rush, and I’m sorry if you feel overwhelmed.”

Elias saw sorrow on the mare’s face, and he mentally smacked himself for causing that. The rear part of his mind rose up, screaming at him to just accept her as his new mother. It would make her happy, it whispered, its voice flipping as it tried different strategies to convince him. Maybe it was the zealousness of the voice, but it put him off the thought. The rear voice seemed to panic silently as he rejected its ideas, milling about in confusion as it tried to find a way to convince him. Elias, however, had a safe idea, satisfying the paranoid center, as well as the affectionate back. If he could express his feelings for once, maybe they could come up with a solution together.

“Book Binder I…” he stopped as he looked at her. He felt a tear in his eye, and tried to blink it away. “Please listen all the way through, because I don’t want to hurt you. You’re a good friend and I…”

His eye closed and he stopped as fear welled up in his mind. Should he be doing this? What had he done to deserve a potential family? Even worse, what if he pushed them away? He didn’t look forward to the idea of being alone again. He felt a light touch on his face, and his eye opened to find Book Binder much closer, her muzzle almost on top of his nose.

“Just talk Elias. No matter what you say, Flash and I aren’t going anywhere. We’re going to stick to you like glue.” She nudged Night Flash slightly, causing the pegasus to kick and grumble in his sleep. “Especially since Flash seems to enjoy sleeping on you. You’d think without the fur you wouldn’t be as comfortable to lay against as a pony, but you’re really warm. It’s very relaxing.”

Elias snorted softly.

“Thanks,” he said.

Book Binder settled again.

“Go ahead Elias, I’m all ears.”

Elias took a deep breath before he started.

“I… Book Binder, I want to say yes.” He clenched his hand into a tight fist. “It hurts how much I want to say yes. To have a family again is beyond my wildest dreams.”

He slumped slightly.

“But I can’t. I don’t have the strength to.”

His eye flicked back to the mare.

“I don’t want to hurt you because of my personal failings. I don’t know about ponies, or pony culture. I don’t know how you express love and affection; I don’t know how I should act, and I don’t know how to avoid disappointing you. I am a nasty, vicious man, and I’m not entirely sure that someone like me should have a family.”

Elias sighed, looking away.

“I don’t know how to be a man worthy of having somebody who loves me.”

Book Binder touched his nose with her hoof, then, when he refused to look, she guided his chin so that they made eye contact. She smiled.

“Elias, you don’t have to be worthy of us. You just have to keep being you, and we’ll be proud of you. The rest doesn’t matter, because Flash and I know that you aren’t a pony. You show your affection and love in smaller ways. Given enough time, we’ll figure out each and every one of them. You just have to give us a chance.”

When Elias didn’t immediately respond, she sighed, but her smile didn’t falter.

“Elias, I think we’re both grown enough to know that there isn’t going to be some grand declaration of love. You aren’t going to scoop us up and crush us with a hug, crying your eyes out, begging to be adopted. It simply won’t happen.”

“Would you like me too?” Elias asked, trying to joke.

“Maybe in the future, but not now.” Book Binder replied. “I can tell that you are willfully trying to slow your life down. You are nineteen Elias, no matter what the human standard is, a year is a year. You are far too weathered and wise and experienced for someone your age. The things you must have lived through…” she shook her head, stopping herself. “I won’t ask, but I know your life has been a rush from one place to another, and now that you’re here, you want to slow down. I understand that, and I want to help you, so here is my solution to our shared problem.”

“Shared?” Elias asked, raising an eyebrow.

She bopped his nose again.

“Yes, shared,” she said, clicking her tongue. “I want a baby boy to spoil rotten, and you want a family but have a fear about it. I will not ask what, but I know that something about having a new family scares you, and I don’t want that. So, this is my solution, let’s take it slow, step by step and ease into it. First, we start with nicknames. I’ll leave it to your discretion which one’s stick, but baby boy will forever be on the table, and you will never escape it.”

Elias snorted softly. His fears were beginning to peel back as the mare talked. Her voice was so kind, and Elias found that he just simply wanted to listen to her speak, without listening to the words. He faintly missed the feeling he had when she was petting him. Book Binder seemed to pick up on his thoughts, as she shifted, climbing around his head. Elias felt her press lightly against the back of his head as she began to stroke his hair with her hoof.

“Then we move on to light affectionate gestures. Like your rules for friendship, I shall warn you when I am about to do anything overtly motherly.”

“Such as?” Elias asked, feeling significantly more relaxed.

“Everypony has seen Night Flash and I hug you, so I was thinking… kisses?”

She seemed nervous about suggesting it, and Elias felt more than nervous about accepting it, but he just nodded slightly in reply. Book Binder relaxed as she continued.

“This is the first phase. It gets you used to being coddled, just a little, and it lets me know your limits. We can do this for a few months, even a year if you need the time.”

“You’re willing to wait that long for me?” Elias asked, turning to try and face her.

Normally it would work, but with the bandage covering his left eye, he couldn’t see her. He felt her hooves gently push his head to face forward. She then resumed stroking his hair.

“Elias, I am willing to wait a century for you. I waited all of this time for Night Flash to ask me out, I can wait out a human, no matter anti-social and distant he chooses to make himself.”

She stopped stroking his hair and laid her head on top of his sighing softly as she rubbed her cheek in his hair.

“The second phase is the more serious stuff. Moving in together would be one aspect. I don’t know how it would work, but maybe we could send you to school, you have some basic subjects that you aren’t up to date on yet. Another thing we could do is take a vacation together, just the three of us. Maybe you meet our parents. The kind of things a family does together.”

Elias liked how it sounded. No more castle, no more guard shifts. Sure, school would likely be a hassle and a half, and Elias would riot if he got stuck in a classroom with actual children, but the rest seemed… nice. He couldn’t ever remember meeting his grandparents. Maybe that little detail could change the outcomes. On the other hand, he’d lose his outlet for violence. A regular guy probably wasn’t allowed to carry a sword around, and he had no way to keep his combat skills up to protect his friends. The rush of thoughts, both positive and negative was nearly overwhelming.

“What comes after that?” Elias asked softly, his mind racing as he struggled to process.

Book Binder smiled as she nuzzled his head.

“Then we make it official Elias. If we can get through all of that, then we already are a family. It’s just putting it on paper at that point. Elias Bright, official adopted son of Night Flash and Book Binder.”

She sighed dreamily.

“And then it’s over and we’re a happy family. I can spoil you however I like, and we’ll live out the rest of our lives together. You’ll bring home some darling mare that I will be far too critical of until you tell us you’re getting married, then I’ll spoil her as well. It will be perfect.”

She sighed again, then shook herself from her daydream.

“If that’s what you want of course.” Book Binder added. “If you want nothing to do with us… I understand. We’ll still be friends, as best we can be. Either way, we aren’t going anywhere.”

She shuffled slightly, and the nervousness returned in her voice.

“So… what do you say? Do you want to at least try?” Book Binder asked tentatively.

Fear lanced through Elias’ mind again as the two voices rose to a fevered pitch. The center voice was trying to tear a hole in his skull as it thrashed madly to get him to say no. It threw up the horrifying images of his past, and Elias had to close his eyes to force them away. He had help though. Using all of its strength, the rear voice manifested, and Elias’ heard Other-Elias whispering softly in his ear.

“Do it Elias. What other purpose could we want? This is our endgame; this is where we need to end up. No more lone wolf. That just gets people hurt. We do this, and the cycle breaks, it has to. When did everything bad start happening? Where has the pain all come from? We both know the answer, and this is the way to end it. I beg you to say yes. It’s the only right decision we can make.”

Elias mentally nodded, and together they clamped down on the center voice, throwing it back in its cage. There was a time and place for suspicion, for paranoia, but the mare behind him and the stallion on his chest were beyond those base instincts. They were his friends, and if he accepted them fully, they would be family. Elias swallowed roughly, but he nodded physically this time.

“I think… yes. I would like to try.”

Unlike his expectation, Book Binder didn’t do anything overly emotive. He could feel her smile, and then she began stroking his hair again. She sighed happily.

“Thank you Elias. I promise you won’t regret it. If you’ll allow me, I’d like to give you a small kiss on the forehead.”

Elias tried to look up, but again found his view blocked by the bandage. He felt unnaturally nervous about the thought of the pony giving him a kiss, but he nodded anyway. Book Binder bent over and laid a gentle kiss on his forehead, the contact itself lasting less than a second. She then began to hum as she rested against his neck. Elias sat in silence as she drifted asleep once more. His mind was beginning to settle, and for once, the voice in the center and the voice the rear of his mind were silent. He was unused to having his head to himself. Elias found that he liked the feeling, and he silently thanked the two ponies on top of him for bringing him temporary peace.

*****

Elias looked up with a smile as Book Binder and Night Flash looked around in sleepy confusion from what should be his bed. The human had a rag in his hand and was carefully scraping away the blood from his armor. A bucket full of red water sat at his feet, and so far, he had cleaned everything to pristine quality save for his chest piece and gladius, which was nowhere to be found. Elias smiled when both ponies finally locked onto him, scrubbing away.

“Red, you shouldn’t be up, you need rest.” Night Flash yawned.

Elias shrugged, ignoring a small twinge of pain from his gut.

“I’ve already rested enough. I’m ready to get going again.” Elias replied as he ran a finger over the hole in the stomach of his armor.

He frowned as he flipped the cuirass over and began to scrub at the interior, where the worst of the blood was. Book Binder sighed and rose from the bed, hopping down as she trotted over to Elias.

“Please don’t be stubborn Elias. You got stabbed yesterday, unless you want your injuries to worsen, you need bed rest.”

She blinked some her tiredness away, then looked between Elias and the Night Flash occupied bed.

“Wait, how did you get out of bed without us noticing?” she asked in confusion.

Elias smiled slightly as he flipped his armor back over.

“Night Flash sleeps like a rock, and you like sleeping near Night Flash. Ignoring a few aches and pains, I feel just fine, so it was only a bit of wiggling and I got you around each other. Then I got to work.” He rubbed aggressively at a spot of red near the neck piece. “Scarlet did his best, but it takes an experienced hand to get rid of this much blood.”

Book Binder snorted.

“Only you would be concerned about your armor over your stab wounds. Utterly ridiculous.”

She didn’t press him further, choosing instead to simply sit beside him.

“You know Scalpel’s going to yell at you, right?”

Elias nodded.

“Yep, but he’s really going to yell when we go and get food.”

Book Binder tsked.

“Elias, that isn’t a good idea. You really shouldn’t be walking.”

“Should, shouldn’t. They’re both relative. I need to drop this armor off with Anyon anyway, and the cafeteria is just a few hallways down from that,” he paused in thought, then shook his head as he continued to scrub away. “I think I can make it. The only thing that really hurts still is my stomach. The rest feels just fine.”

Book Binder sighed heavily and shook her head.

“You are unbelievable Elias. Fine, we’ll get food, but Night Flash and I are going to be at your side the entire way in case you stumble, and if you do, you’re coming right back here, no protests.”

“Deal.” Elias said simply as he gave his armor a last once-over.

Satisfied with its state of cleanliness, he moved to collect all of the pieces, only for Book Binder to steal them away from him. When he looked to her to protest, she shot him a glare.

“I’m already being far too lenient in not just strapping you to the bed. Night Flash and I will carry your armor, then we’ll go eat.”

Night Flash grinned at Elias as he hopped off the bed. He waited silently with that happy smile while Book Binder loaded him down with armor, then she took the chest piece in her magic. Elias grunted as he got to his feet, holding his stomach lightly as he took a few confident steps. Night Flash and Book Binder pinned themselves to his left and right respectively, and the two began to chatter about nothing as they walked.

They made it as far as Anyon’s smithy before Elias began to feel winded. His stomach lanced pain up his spine, and his steps were shaky at best. He waited outside while they dropped off the armor for repair, then the three of them began walking toward the cafeteria. Again, the pair of ponies glued themselves to his sides, but this time they were watching Elias, checking constantly if he was able to continue.

It took them longer than usual, but they did make it to the cafeteria doors without incident. After a short breather, Elias let them escort him inside, moving to the line as fast as he was able. As they waited, Elias realized that the cafeteria was silent. He tried to subtly look around, which was made more difficult by the fact that he still had a bandage covering his left eye. Lacking his normal depth perception, he felt like he wasn’t as adept at reading the expressions of the ponies around him. The general emotion he got was shock, but that was all he could glean.

Binder and Flash either didn’t notice, or chose not to care, because they chattered on, with Book Binder scooping up Elias’ food before he could lay hands on it. Night Flash remained at his side while Book Binder trotted ahead, setting the food down as she pulled out the bench so Elias didn’t have to swing his legs as wide as usual. He gave her a grunt of thanks as he plopped down, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. He looked down at his tunic to find it not only soaked with sweat, but with crusted blood as well. As he touched the hole above his stomach, he realized that he probably looked like a walking corpse, complete with bloody clothes. He looked up at Book Binder, who was waiting for him to start eating.

“I think I should have cleaned up a little before doing this,” he said.

She smiled and nodded.

“Probably, but I didn’t want to press you. I’ll drop by your room to get some clean clothes when we finish. Eat up, you look exhausted.”

Elias grunted in agreement and set about the eating the soup before him. As he began to eat, the cafeteria began to resume its normal, noisy state. Elias noticed more than a few looks at him, but he decided to only focus on the two ponies that were sitting with him. Night Flash sat at his side this time, chomping happily into a sandwich, while Book Binder sat across from the two of them, one-eye on her salad, while her other eye was on Elias, likely ensuring that he wasn't going to do anything to further hurt himself.

Evidently, she had a third eye as well, because she began to growl quietly. Elias looked at her, then around, having to spin his head around to get a full view of the room. It took him a few passes, but he found the reason for her sudden aggression. Captain Chaser was staring at him, as were a good portion of the Royal Guards. Again, due to his lack of depth perception, he couldn’t tell if they were glaring at him or not. Either way it didn’t matter, because Chaser rose from his seat and moved around their table, stiffly, Elias noted with a bit of pride.

Elias felt Night Flash press closer to his side, and while Book Binder stopped growling, she shot a withering glare at the guard captain. The pegasus seemed undeterred, and Elias did his best to watch him evenly with his one eye. He held no anger toward the pony, nor was he afraid of him. Elias knew better, a sound beating was one way to solve a whole lot of issues, though if he wanted to play twice, Elias would find a way to stand long enough to land a few blows. He doubted that was the reason that Chaser was coming over, however.

Elias winced as he turned, adjusting his body so that he didn’t have to turn his neck at an awkward angle to see the pony. Though Scalpel had sealed it up fairly well, the bandage pulled on his neck wound when he kept it turned for too long. Chaser stopped by the table, and while he received glares from the two ponies, he and Elias simply stared at one another. Elias waited silently for the pony to speak, and when Chaser continued to just stare, he cleared his throat loudly.

“Something I can do for you Captain?” Elias asked.

Chaser blinked as the words shook him from his stupor. The stallion looked away for a moment before looking back to Elias.

“I… wanted to see how you were doing. That seems like an awful lot of bandages.”

Elias shrugged.

“Scalpel will probably find me and try to tear my head off, but I’ve survived worse.” Elias nodded toward Chaser’s wing. “Is that getting better?”

Chaser followed his eye to the bandage on his wing joint.

“Yeah, it’ll heal back to normal by the end of the week. I should be flying at full strength after that.”

He looked at Elias’ stomach and flinched.

“How’s the stab wound?”

Elias snorted.

“I don’t think you hit anything too important. Armor caught the worst of it anyway. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

Chaser nodded awkwardly.

“Good. Good.”

He seemed to shuffle in place for a moment, looking around the cafeteria. Elias waited in silence for the pony to speak again. Chaser rubbed the back of his head with a hoof, looked at Elias, then looked away again. Taking a breath, he sighed, and straightened.

“Guardsman Bright, I want to formally say that I’m-“

“That sentence better end with “a pony” because if it’s an apology, save it.” Elias said. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

Chaser blinked again, this time in surprise.

“What?” he asked in disbelief.

Elias grinned.

“What do you have to apologize for?” Elias asked him. “Winning? I could have still walked away, besides, the fight was fun, we both came out relatively intact.” He shrugged. “As far as I see it, we’re even.”

Chaser looked at him in stunned silence, and a glance at Book Binder found the same expression, except tinged with more anger.

“What?” he asked her.

“What?” Binder shrieked back. “You nearly die, and that’s considered fun for you? Did you get hit on the head?”

Elias touched a hand to his chest.

“And here I thought you liked the results of all of this,” he said mockingly. “Already tired of me are you?”

She waved her fork at him.

“Don’t you start with me young man. I’ll have Flash pin you down right here and then I’ll confess my love for my,” she leaned in and whispered, “baby boy,” she leaned back out, “for everypony to see. I will make sure everypony in the world knows, and your big tough guy reputation will vanish.”

“Until I pick a fight with someone else,” Elias shot back. “I believe Captain Armor is next on the list.”

“If you’re going to fight Shining Armor you need to stay close. He’s really good at making shields and striking from a distance.” Chaser said, looking a bit dazed as he spoke.

Book Binder growled softly.

“Respectfully Captain, don’t encourage him. I’ll be very unhappy with you if you do.”

Elias was surprised of the relative openness of the vague threat. Chaser took it with stride, however.

“Noted Guardspony Binder.” He looked to Elias. “Are you sure though? Princess Luna said you asked her not to punish me, but I didn’t really believe her. You just seem like the kind of pony that would…”

“Hold a grudge?” Elias asked with a smile. He rubbed his nose. “You would be right, for serious things. This wasn’t that serious. Just two guys,” he scratched his head as he tried to come up with a suitable word. Elias snapped his fingers as he thought of something that fit. “Sparring! That’s it. We were just sparring; it got a little too serious. Nothing more.”

Chaser blinked at Elias again.

“If you say so.”

The pegasus seemed to rock in place, and Elias had no doubt that his mind was still trying to process that Elias wasn’t angry, or actively seeking vengeance. Elias sighed and rubbed at his eye. The bridge of his nose, while no longer broken, was still a bit tender.

“Captain, if I may, what punishment did Princess Luna give you?”

“When I learned of your age, I attempted to submit my resignation, but she declined it. She then ordered me to participate in Lucky Swing’s training sessions with Scarlet Shield. They start tomorrow,” The pony replied.

Chaser looked at his hooves.

“She said you had a reason for not giving me something harsh, but I still feel like I should be punished in some way. The training session won’t be anything terrible, and in truth Lucky Swing will probably just use me to demonstrate moves for Scarlet Shield, but that isn’t that bad. A bit shameful, but not punishing.”

He frowned and seemed to wither.

“No matter how you look, or talk,” Chaser glanced at his wing and chuckled weakly, “or fight, you’re still a kid Bright. I’m a Royal Guard Captain, and I picked a fight with a nineteen-year-old kid. That deserves punishing, even if you don’t agree.”

Elias closed his eyes in thought as he scratched at his facial hair. This wouldn’t go away if the pony kept knocking himself over it. He groaned internally as he tried to think of a solution. Nightshade had responded exactly like a human would, forgiving, forgetting, and moving on. Now she just yelled at him every other day. Chaser was different though, and he was clearly harboring severe guilt. The issue still remained that if he was severely punished, certain members of the Royal Guard would come for blood. Elias had no interest in more blood feuds. He had won the last one by tracking down and killing everyone who had learned the name he had been using at the time. It was a nasty affair he didn’t care to repeat.

Elias scratched the back of his head as he looked at Chase with one eye.

“Captain, tell you what, will you consider this done if you do a favor for me?”

Chaser nodded immediately; his mouth set in a tight line.

“Absolutely. I need to pay in some capacity for hurting you this badly. It never should have happened and even though you don’t want it, I apologize for what happened.”

Elias rolled his shoulder.

“I want a rematch then.” Elias smiled, gesturing at his injuries. “Not now of course, but when we’re both in fit, fighting shape, you and me are going to go toe to toe again, and this time I’m going to have everything.”

Chaser looked at him in disbelief.

“You weren’t fighting me fully? Why would you hold back?”

Elias laughed, and shook his head, waving his hands.

“No no no, that’s not what I meant. I was fighting like a dog to keep up with you.” He chuckled. “No, I mean no broken nose beforehand, and I’ll have my shield. I have tangled with two guard captains, and in neither case have I been using my scutum.”

He clenched his left hand.

“I need that thing to control a fight. Without it, I’m just a really big, slow target.”

Elias caught Chaser’s eyes.

“Would that suffice for a punishment? Having to fight a lowly nineteen-year-old Lunar Guard, again?” Elias snorted. “Then you could show me up by beating me into a hospital bed a second time. That’d be pretty funny.”

A glance at Book Binder told him that she disagreed. Heavily. Elias wisely kept his eye on Chaser, who was looking at him as if he had sprouted a second head. Elias smiled widely, glad that he could stump the pony with something other than aggression. He extended his right hand, flinching as the motion stretched a cut on his arm.

“What do you say?” Elias asked, keeping the grin on his face.

Chaser blinked, then slowly accepted the offered hand, still staring at Elias with visible confusion.

“That could work. We’ll make sure to do it right though. I really don’t want to see you bleeding like that again. It was…” he shivered. “horrifying. It’s different than fighting a manticore or any other monster. That much blood shouldn’t come from a pony. Ever.”

“Still, will that do? I really don’t want this blowing out of proportion.”

Chaser gave him a funny look again.

“I guess so, yeah. You’re a strange pony, Bright, you know that?”

Elias snorted.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Let’s talk more about it later. I’m still a bit frail right now, and I think it’s about time to start crawling back toward the infirmary so Scalpel doesn’t lose it.”

Chaser smiled for a second before his Royal Guard demeanor took over. He gave Elias a single, silent nod before turning away. Before Elias could begin to eat again, the pegasus stopped and turned back around.

“I almost forgot.” Chaser said. “Congratulations Guardsman Bright, you usurped my record as youngest guard official guard member.” He sighed deeply. “I don’t think anypony will ever be able to beat yours though. Legally speaking, I was the youngest allowed at twenty-four.”

Elias smiled.

“If we want to be technical, you are still the youngest volunteer member of the guard. I was pressed into service.” He chuckled. “All to see if I wouldn’t be aggressive around ponies. I think we can both appreciate the irony of that.”

“That we can Guardsman. We shall speak again at another time.” Chaser looked at something near the cafeteria doors. “But I believe you have an appointment with somepony else.”

Elias looked to his right and found a very angry unicorn staring back. Even across the cafeteria, he could feel the heat coming off of Scalpel’s glare. Elias looked to Chaser to change his favor, only to find the guard captain already gone, trotting off to his table. Elias could feel the first step Scalpel took toward him. He took a deep breath and tried to stand up, only to find his butt glued to the seat. Thinking it was merely muscle fatigue, Elias tried to push up from the table, only to find his hands glued to the tabletop. He looked up and found Book Binder smiling at him, her horn aglow.

“Sorry baby boy, you’re not getting out of this,” she leaned closer, “especially since you just asked for a bucking rematch with Captain Chaser.”

Elias saw anger flash across her eyes, quickly replaced by amusement as she sat back down.

“What comes next is a mother teaching her wayward son a lesson about learning from his mistakes.”

Elias tugged gently at his hands. His eye looked back to Scalpel, who was slowly growing closer. Elias was fairly sure he could actually see flames in the pony’s eyes. How that was possible, he had no idea, but he attributed it to magic. Elias looked to Book Binder.

“You know, I have never actually seen him this angry. I think he might kill me to prove a point.”

Book Binder scoffed.

“I highly doubt that will happen.”

Scalpel seemed to lose his restraint in that instant.

“ELIAS!” he bellowed.

Elias felt his hair blow back at the force of the shout. He looked around the cafeteria and found that the guards were acting like nothing was happening. He saw more than a few ponies simply chatting away, eating their food like Steel Scalpel didn’t look like he was going to explode into a ball of fire. Book Binder cringed, however.

“Alright, you might have a point,” she whispered.

Night Flash scrambled under Elias’ stuck arms and sat in his lap; a smile wide on his face.

“Don’t worry Red!” he said cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to the approaching maelstrom. “I’ll protect you! He can’t be mad at all of us.”

“Can’t I?” Scalpel said, suddenly right next to Elias.

The human would have jumped if he wasn’t literally glued to his seat. To say that Scalpel was angry was an understatement. Elias could feel heat radiating off of the pony as he glared intensely at Elias.

“I’ll make you a very simple deal Elias. We are going back to the infirmary right now, and I will be carrying you. Otherwise, I am knocking you out, then carrying you anyways.”

Elias grinned at him.

“Sorry Scalpel, I can’t go anywhere.” He looked pointedly at Book Binder. “Someone glued me to the table.”

“You glued him down?” Scalpel asked Binder, grinding his teeth.

The mare chuckled weakly.

“Didn’t want him running away like last time. That’s a good thing, right?” she squeaked.

“Unglue him,” Scalpel demanded quietly.

His tail flicked back and forth as he glared at Book Binder. She smiled meekly as she cast a quick spell. Elias had just enough time to pull his hands free before he was lifted into the air. Night Flash cried out as he slipped from Elias’ lap. Elias hung upside down in front of Scalpel.

“Not a word until we get back to the infirmary, am I clear?” the unicorn growled.

Elias made a point of not responding. When Scalpel began to quiver with anger, Elias smiled and shrugged.

“What? You said not a word. An answer would be a word.”

The fire flashed in Scalpel’s eyes, and as his magic flared, Elias distinctly heard the sound of somebody’s hoof hitting their face. A rather nasty looking ball of light formed right in front of Elias’ face, and he had only a second before Scalpel sent it forward and Elias blacked out.

Chapter 17: Discussions

Journal Entry 976

I think it’s going to be healthy for me to write down a set of rules I developed. Things are terrible awful lonely rough out here, and I need to have a clear set of principles if I want to stay alive. So, here are the basics for this first attempt, I might try to add more as I think of them.

1. Save what you can. Food, resources, people. Everything has value, you just might not realize it yet.
2. Mercy comes in many forms. Don’t be afraid to do what is needed, even if it hurts.
3. Diplomacy first. A loaded gun is nice, but isn’t always needed. Talking is usually a good first step (or at least I think it is)
4. People are inherently good

1440 Edit: people are dog shit. Worthless in every aspect and should be shot on sight. They lie, cheat, steal, kill. They are no better than wild animals and should be treated as such. No mercy. Take care of yourself, and only yourself.

Elias stood with Night Flash to his left, on the other side of the doorway as the two stared at the wall in complete silence. It was by far one of the worst guard positions to have, but Elias always found that the utter silence and solitude was better than having to deal with the inane questions the castle staff always asked, and that he, as a guard, was required to answer. Why that had been a part of the guard manual, he had no idea, but it was a requirement, so answer the questions he did. Usually the ponies gave up when he only gave them short, non-descriptive answers. None of the cleaning staff ever came by Luna’s room during the hours when she maintained the dream realm. Elias had no idea what that actually meant, but he chalked it up to magic and left it there.

After stealing him from the cafeteria, Scalpel had actually strapped him to the bed, with what he claimed was an uncuttable rope. Not to be out done, Elias had found, upon his awakening, his gladius waiting on his bedside, cleaned and polished with a note from Scarlet apologizing for everything. After sighing about the pony’s misplaced guilt, Elias had tried, using the extra sharpness of Feather, to cut and work away at the rope. He had shouted with victory when he had cut through the rope, only for the two lengths to immediately seal back together and electrocute him. Since it lacked any visible knot, and he had no urge to be a twitching mess, Elias had left the rope around his ankle be.

As punishment for letting Elias talk them into leaving the infirmary, Night Flash and Book Binder had gotten the punishment of limited visitation. When Book Binder had responded by going to Luna, Scalpel had relented, letting them visit whenever, on the condition that they had limited physical contact with Elias. Another letter to the princess later, Scalpel had broken completely and had left the two be, as long as they promised to not allow Elias out of the bed. Book Binder had agreed cheerfully, cuddling up with the disgruntled human as she read aloud to him from a dozen different books. Elias found that they both liked the Daring Doo books the most, though he preferred the parts with the action, while she preferred the sections where Daring interacted with her love interest. Elias had spitefully refused to learn the stallion’s name, and after several hours arguing with Book Binder, the two had decided that she would simply read these sections to herself, curled under Elias’ arm while he and Flash talked.

After three days, Scalpel had set him free, with a harsh warning about returning, as well as a scheduled meal together. The unicorn believed that if he left the infirmary more, Elias would stop going to it. Elias imagined that their Wednesday meal would likely become a regular thing, and a large part of him hoped it would.

Either way, his wounds were healed completely, and without scarring, so he quickly fell back into the swing of things. He trained daily with Flash and Binder, and each day they continued to improve, despite the fact that he continued to win their scuffles. More than once Elias had to get on Book Binder for hesitating. With the trial motherhood ongoing, she had a difficult time striking out at her “baby boy”, despite Elias’ insurances that he would be fine. It didn’t help that the one time that she succeeded with an attack, she put him through a stone wall. Even when he comforted her, telling her that she did perfectly, she wouldn’t listen, tearing up as she tried to, quote; “kiss his boo boos away”. Elias had let Flash handle that one.

That incident was one of several that had begun to show the mixed results of the trial motherhood. Sometimes, Elias felt like he was growing ever calmer and closer to his friends and “potential” parents. They sparred, laughed, and simply talked, with Elias growing more comfortable with Book Binder’s motherly gestures. Other days however, Elias relapsed. His temper grew shorter, flashing up at little things that wouldn’t normally cause him issue. The rate of his violent panic attacks increased, and he got lucky that Night Flash was usually close, because the pegasus was usually able to quickly and quietly break Elias free. Usually. The intensity of his night terrors increased as well, with as many as two to three happening per night. Whenever somebody tried to pry about the content of the dreams, Elias would leave as quickly as possible, his anger growing to the point where he was a breath away from striking someone. One incident had been far too close, and he had only barely held himself back, his fingernails digging into his palms as he stalked away with murder on his mind.

Other days were simply… off. While not bitter and filled with simmering rage, Elias felt the need to be alone, to avoid his friends. He hid out in the depths of the library, ignoring the soft calls of Book Binder or Night Flash, even occasionally Luna as he buried himself in a book, tucked between bookshelves so that he couldn’t be found. It made him feel like a coward, but it was the only way he felt like he could relax. With all of the ponies pushing him so hard, especially Book Binder, Elias felt like he was at his wits end. Only after long hours of silence could Elias muster up the strength to drag himself back to the populated halls, where he was swiftly met by a worried Book Binder, which left the human feeling even worse about himself. The only way he could cope and not drive her further away was to pretend that he was merely distracted and lost track of time. A few half-jokes about his poor hearing later and Book Binder would relax, though he occasionally caught her giving him nervous glances. It would allow them to fall back into their normal rhythm however, and so they would usually eat, or spar.

Over the course of their combat sessions, Night Flash and Book Binder showed noticeable improvement, and they could tell. It showed in the way they held themselves, walking taller, being a bit more physical with their play banter at each other. They were also a bit more boisterous, which Elias found himself enjoying greatly. Scarlet got better as well, although at a much slower pace. Despite their almost friendly truce, Elias didn’t want to antagonize the Royal Guard captain further, so he watched at a distance as the two pegasi sparred lightly with each other while Lucky Swing coached. On one occasion, she had actually approached Elias for his assistance in motivating Scarlet Shield. For every match he “won”, he got an extra hour in tactics planning. For every match he “lost” an hour was taken away. A win was determined by the pegasus landing a single hit on Chaser, while a loss was getting thrown from the arena.

Though it took him many, many tries, Scarlet began to win. When he began to win every match, Lucky Swing had upped the conditions, making Scarlet land two hits. It had taken him a bit longer to meet this benchmark, but Elias had no doubt in his mind that he would get it with time. They still had a full week to prep for the big exercise, and Scarlet was working like a dog to be ready. Every conversation somehow brought the subject up, and each ended with Scarlet wistfully looking into the air as he prayed that he got to be team captain. Elias hoped the pegaus got it.

Elias was jarred from his thoughts by the sound of the door to his left opening. Luna walked out, yawning widely as she looked between him and Night Flash.

“Ah, I see the shift has not yet changed. Pray tell, what time is it?”

Being the more dexterous of the two guards, Elias pulled out his watch.

“Just past 5:45 Princess,” he answered, quickly closing the watch and tucking it back within his belt.

Luna nodded, rubbing at her eyes as she yawned a second time. She shivered briefly, ruffling all of her feathers before she looked to Elias with a smile.

“Come Guardsman Bright, I wish to take an early morning stroll. It is so rare that I am free to watch Canterlot awaken.”

She looked down to Night Flash.

“Guardspony Flash, you shall remain here. Alert any interested parties that I am walking the streets.”

Night Flash gave her a single, grim nod. Luna then smiled widely at Elias.

“Come Guardsman!” she said cheerfully. “We have much to see!”

Elias bit his lip to avoid sighing as she began to prance away. He slipped his pilum into one of the available sheathes. He certainly wasn’t going to parade around with the thing in his hand.

It took him a few quick steps to catch up with the energetic princess, but when he did, he fell in behind her, keeping an even pace that matched hers perfectly. That had been another interesting part of the small training he had received. There was a way to walk “properly” when escorting a princess, and that meant he was forced to practice a certain pace that they always fell into. Lucky for him, he wasn’t limited by the relatively stubby pony legs, and his long strides matched up very well with that of Luna. All that was left was to simply get the right speed for each one, which had taken less than a minute. Nightshade had been unhappy at that, claiming the best part of the training was watching ponies stumble around learning how to walk fast without trotting.

As they walked, Luna would greet any pony she saw, though that primarily consisted of Lunar Guards, with the odd maid or chef appearing for a moment. They stopped only once when Luna gave a compliment to one of the maids that had apparently been tasked with cleaning up Elias’ blood. The maid gave the human a glare as she accepted the praise, but then went about her day like nothing had happened.

Luna continued her cheerful trot as they exited the castle. Outside of the gates, she paused briefly to stare into the sky, her horn alight as she made minute adjustments to the moonset. Then they were on their way. Elias struggled not to stare at Luna as she skipped along. Other ponies were not so subtle. They openly gaped with surprise as their princess pranced through the streets happily, a wide smile on her face as she occasionally stopped at shop windows, watching bakers prepare their goods, or made her way over to open displays, smelling flowers as florists watered their blooming plants.

Throughout it all, Elias simply stood silently and watched. He was surprised that he didn’t get more looks, but he attributed it to the fact that Luna was literally hoping from place to place. Her wings flapped occasionally as she bounced through the air, and her cries of joy were loud enough to echo down the mostly quiet street.

As they reached the end of the street, Luna bounced into Elias’ side, giggling happily as she leaned against him. Elias tried to ignore the feeling of incredibly soft fur on his arm. He was surprised that to find that it was even softer than Book Binder's fur, and he had to suppress the urge to start petting the princess like a cat.

“Ah, that was excellent,” she said breathlessly. “It tis my second favorite time of night.”

Elias glanced at her before looking forward again.

“Your second favorite time of night is right before it ends?” Elias asked.

She nodded.

“Indeed, it is Guardsman. It is the only other time of night when my ponies are becoming active once again. True, it might be to prepare for my sister’s day, but I like to view it as my subjects are enjoying my early morning twilight, seeing the stars just before they vanish.”

Luna looked around as they continued to walk, going down a less active street.

“Tis also a good time to view the world at large. You see how everything looks just before it is prepared for the light of day. Everything is still calm, and tucked away, warm and safe.”

She paused in the middle of the street, twirling around as she looked at the white Canterlot buildings. Her smile still wide, Luna took in a deep breath, closing her eyes as she savored the air. As her eyes opened, she looked to Elias. He stared back, waiting for the real reason they were out here. He had no doubt she enjoyed being out of the castle, but that wasn’t why she had brought him out into Canterlot. She didn’t keep him waiting long.

“So, Guardsman, let us talk.”

Elias scanned the buildings as if looking for a threat.

“And just what will we be talking about Princess?” he asked absently.

“Think of this as a… wellness check,” she replied. “I wish to see how you are truly adjusting.”

Elias snorted.

“Wouldn’t you be better asking Scalpel? He’s seen about as much of my body as I have at this point. I’m sure he has a folder on me the size of a tome.”

“That is not the kind of wellness I am speaking of Guardsman Bright,” Luna replied, her voice a bit short with irritation. “Despite your many fights, and injuries, your body is substantially stronger and more filled in than when we found you. That much is obvious. I am referring to your mental state, the one you keep private.”

Elias frowned. Now he found solace in looking at the buildings. He didn’t want to talk about this. Not now, not ever. He had found comfort in pretending there wasn’t a problem, and having friends that continued to grow closer had helped him in believing it.

“I’m doing just fine Princess,” Elias replied robotically. “Talking more, been working on my temper with Book Binder on occasion. Things are going swimmingly.”

Luna didn’t believe it; he could hear it in her voice.

“So, your night terrors have faded?” she asked.

Elias sighed and looked at his feet.

“No,” he admitted. “I still have them every night, without fail. On the upside, they haven’t gotten much worse, so there’s that.”

Luna snorted.

“Guardsman Bright that is false, and both you and I know that. They have increased in number, and they have begun increasing in intensity. You thrash more, and it seems you have a greater difficulty fully coming out of the terrors when you awaken.”

Elias looked at her with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

“You’ve been watching me sleep?”

Luna sighed.

“Of course I have Guardsman. As are six of Equestria’s leading psychologists. They have come to the conclusion that you are further suppressing your inner turmoil, rather than using the available avenues you have created to release it. It seems making friends has made you even more secretive, not less.”

“Are you suggesting that I should get rid of my friends for personal benefit?” Elias asked, his voice becoming slightly angry at the implication.

Sure, he had severe anxiety of what could come in the future, particularly concerning Binder and Flash, but that didn’t mean he was going to kick them to the curb. Elias froze internally when he came to the conclusion that he’d rather die than let them go. The voice in the back of his head sat in smug silence.

“No Elias, I am not at all suggesting that,” Luna said, backpedaling. “I am merely trying to determine what will work to help you. A damaged soul yearns for something, and more often than not, simple friendship is enough to fill that void.”

Elias snorted and looked to the buildings again.

“Not for me though huh?” he said, trying to put humor into his voice.

It didn’t work, his tone sounding off, almost jaded. Elias didn’t know who to blame for that particular failure, so he blamed himself. He was the one with the issues after all. He was the one who struggled to form relationships on the baseless assumption that the universe itself would cruelly snatch his friends away like it had done so many times before. Putting the thoughts to the forefront made him feel exhausted, and Elias desperately wished for something to draw him away from this dark place.

Luna sighed deeply as she seemed to notice the shadow that had passed over his mind.

“Guardsman Bright I believe you are a special case. You yearn for friendship, but also much more. Tell me, and answer me honestly, do you like fighting?”

Elias smiled weakly.

“Princess, I love fighting. Until recently it was the only time I felt truly alive.” He clenched his fist as he pictured any number of fights. “The adrenaline makes you giddy, makes it so you can ignore pain, and the blood spilling from your body. The physical sensations are so satisfying that it’s unnatural.”

He looked at her, his eyes partially obscured by the shadow of his helmet.

“Have you ever felt someone’s bones break under your fist? Have you felt the blood splatter on your face, and the entire time you feel aware that you did that, and you simply love it? The heat, the feeling of your muscles tensing and relaxing as you swing away, taking a life in an instant.”

He laughed at himself in disgust.

“And that’s the worst part. The feeling of power you get when you take a life.” He snorted as he shook his head and looked away, once more finding solace in the quiet buildings. “I should be locked up Princess, because I love that feeling. It makes me feel like I’m on top of the world when I kill someone. The fact that I can admit it is even worse. Ending a life shouldn’t give me a rush, and yet it does all the same. It’s the ultimate victory; an enemy who will never rise to fight you again.”

Luna seemed to take his admission of horror in stride, looking at him calmly.

“Have you ever asked yourself why you feel as you do? Do you know if you have ever felt disgusted by your acts?”

“Princess I feel disgusted by my “acts” now. That won’t stop me from doing them again, won’t stop me from relishing the sensations. If you’re asking if there was ever a point when I didn’t feel good killing, then the answer is yes, but that was a very long time ago,” he sighed, “and a very different Elias.”

Luna took them down another side street as they continued to walk. The first rays of sunshine were beginning to decorate the sky in an array of light pinks. It would only be a matter of time before the streets were painted with gold as ponies began to truly awaken. Elias had never seen the city in the daytime, and in truth had never really seen it at night. As part of his guard contract, his first year of duties were restricted to the castle. It had made sense; they certainly didn’t want him to bolt in the middle of an Everfree patrol. Since he spent much of his time in the training grounds, and now with his friends, he had never gotten out and about.

“Tell me Guardsman,” Luna continued, “have you ever considered that you are merely associating the “rush” as you say, of killing with the actual feeling of pride you feel for defending the people you care about?”

Elias shrugged.

“I’ve tried to justify the feeling over the years Princess. I told myself I was killing the “bad guys”, I was “protecting” people, I was “defending” myself, but the simple truth is that I found something I was very good at, and I enjoyed it. It is probably for the best that I don’t have a special talent as you do, because what the hell would it say about me?”

Luna frowned in thought as she tapped her hoof on the ground.

“I believe it would speak more to your caring nature than you believe,” she responded. “Even though you may not show it like a pony would, you are extremely protective of your friends. All of this points back to your lack of openness, even with them. So, I must ask; what are you trying to protect them from?”

Elias reached under his helmet to scratch the back of his head.

“Princess, if I may, what is the purpose of this? How is any of this supposed to help?”

Luna smiled widely.

“I am merely trying to hear your inner thoughts in the open. The first step to help someone heal, as I have been advised, is to be open. That is why I have admitted to my observations of your behavior. Though you may not think it, you are crying out for help. It is my duty to see that you have it, before things get worse.”

“Get worse?” Elias asked. “How can I possibly get worse from here save for going insane?”

Again, Elias thought to himself.

Luna’s smile dropped. She looked around, and finding no ponies, she let her voice drop in volume slightly.

“Tell me Guardsman, have you had any suicidal thoughts?”

Elias blinked in surprise.

“Why would you ask that?” he asked, not answering the question.

Luna noticed, but humored him.

“Your theory that you are a rival alpha to our guard captains bears merit, but the more I think about it, I am forced to draw the conclusion that perhaps you are looking for ponies that can grant you death. Humans are a warrior race, by your own admission. I researched similar races, and found that minotuars, when old and ready to die, will seek out strong opponents to battle. This is in the hopes of being killed in the glory of combat, as they believe that the Keepers will grant them rewards if they die fighting.”

She stopped, and made Elias turn toward her.

“So tell me Guardsman,” she said with concerned eyes, “are you trying to find your death at the hoof of another?”

Elias had to make a mental effort not to take a step away from the alicorn. She was watching him carefully. Any and all movements were being studied carefully, including the absolute silence Elias was answering her with. He found that he really didn’t want to think of his actions in this light, and prayed for a distraction.

Fortunately for him, the universe provided for once. Elias heard what sounded like a cry for help, though it was extremely faint. He looked away from Luna, scanning his right as he looked for the source.

“Did you hear that?” he asked.

“Guardsman Bright, do not avoid the question, it is unbecoming,” she said sharply.

Elias held up a hand for her to be quiet as he listened carefully. He really hoped it wasn’t just the ringing that usually occupied his ears. A soft thump seemed to echo in his right ear, and he tracked the sound to a solitary alleyway tucked subtly between two short buildings.

Luna stomped her hoof in frustration.

“I will not be dismissed Guardsman! If you do not wish to speak about this, then merely say so, do not wave at me like some kind of dog!”

Elias felt a flash of irritation.

“Princess shut up and listen!” he said, keeping his voice low, but no less filled with anger.

She glared at him, but her mouth clamped shut as she twirled her ears around. The tension drained from her body when another muffled thump exited the alley, followed by two male voices talking in loud, harsh voices.

“Somepony is arguing? At this hour?” she asked, looking to Elias with confusion. “What could be the cause of such strife?”

Elias shrugged.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. I’ll be back in a flash.”

As he began to make his way toward the alley, Luna called out to him.

“Do try to resolve it peacefully Guardsman!”

Elias gave her a wave of acknowledgement as he grumbled to himself.

“I don’t solve everything with violence you know.”

‘Yes, you do,’ a voice in the back of his head whispered.

Elias ignored it as he let his hand drift to his gladius hilt. He didn’t grasp Feather yet, he wanted to prove to himself that he could solve whatever situation was waiting without jumping to violence. He peered cautiously down the alley, finding it shrouded in darkness. The rising sun hadn’t quite begun to touch every part of the city, and while the street was growing lighter by the second, much of the alley was still dim. Through that darkness, Elias could see three figures illuminated clearly in the glow of a magical aura. All three had lit horns, towering over a fourth figure who was huddled against the wall, trying to cower behind a basket of what looked to Elias to be bread. Whenever her mouth opened, the three ponies would raise their voices in a false argument, drowning her out. Elias felt his blood rise when one of them, the unicorn in the center, spat on the pony. She whimpered loudly, looking around desperately for help.

Elias cleared his throat as he approached, making no attempt to disguise his armed status.

“What’s going on down here?” he asked in the “formal” guard manner.

One of the unicorns half turned before looking back to the mare.

“None of your bucking business. Now buzz off before you get hurt.”

Elias smiled. He kept his strides long as he came to within a few feet of the ponies.

“Now, I’m feeling awful merciful, since this little act of yours saved me from a rather nasty conversation, so I’m going to let you try that again before I break your jaw.”

Elias cracked his knuckles against his hip as he flexed his hand.

“So, let me ask again, because I think I have poor hearing.”

Elias stopped at an arm’s length from the ponies.

“What’s going on here?”

The three ponies whirled on him with open snarls, only for the expression to disappear as they all paled.

“Oh buck,” the one on the right said.

The middle one growled.

“I don’t know what that thing is, but we can take it. There’s three of us.”

The one on the left smacked him in the head.

“No we can’t you idiot, look at that armor! Whatever it is, it’s a Lunar Guard!”

The leftmost stallion put on a too wide smile as he looked at Elias.

“Kind sir, I am so sorry about my friend, he just drinks too much coffee in the morning and gets easily excited. This is all just a big… misunderstanding.”

Elias rolled his tongue over his teeth.

“A misunderstanding huh? That’s your excuse for why that young lady is on the ground?” he said, nodding his head at the mare.

She looked at him with a mixture of fear and hope. Elias tried to give her his most reassuring smile before he looked back to the leftmost unicorn, who was shifting on his hooves nervously. Elias wiped his nose with his thumb, spitting into the dirt.

“Now, let’s not pretend that I’m an idiot. Give me the real reason you’re tormenting this young lady or things are going to get nasty for the three of you.”

The leftmost stallion tried to keep his smile up, but as he met Elias’ eyes, that smile faltered, giving way to fear.

“W-we... she owes us money you see...” he stammered.

“Really?” Elias asked with a wide grin. “I want all of you to say the exact amount she owes you, at the same time.”

The three looked at each other stupidly, then began to say the beginnings of three different numbers. As they dragged out their words in an effort to coordinate their speech, Elias raised a hand to stop them. They fell into an angry silence as they shot glares at each other.

“That’s about what I thought,” Elias said calmly. “You’re all full of shit, and if you lie to me again, I will ensure you are punished. Now shut your traps and take three steps back.”

Elias then motioned to the mare with his free hand.

“Come on Miss. These three aren’t going to do a thing to you now.”

He waved for her to move toward him. A flicker of a smile passed over the mare’s face, and she began to rise, only for the middle stallion to shove her back down roughly. She yelped as she hit the wall again. The center stallion growled as his horn glowed with increasing intensity.

“Buck this! I’m not going to be pushed around by one bucking gu-!”

He let out a cry of pain as the stone shattered his nose. Elias kept his face blank as he tossed a second stone lightly in his hand. He watched the pony on the left.

“I suggest you collect your friend and leave before I stop being so kind.”

The unicorn smiled weakly, bowing slightly as he and the right pony grabbed their fallen compatriot and dragged him to his feet. Still clutching his nose as he looked at Elias with fear, the three raced down toward the far end of the alley. Elias watched as they scrambled around a corner and disappeared. He then put the stone back in its pouch and closed the remaining steps toward the mare.

She shivered in fear as he approached, squeaking lightly when his shadow towered over her. Elias dropped into a squat, offering her his hand. He waited patiently with a smile as she opened her eyes. She looked at his hand warily before looking up at his face, fear evident across her face.

“It’s okay ma’am,” he said softly, as if talking to a hurt animal, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

She looked at him in stunned silence for a second more, then leaped at him, clinging to his chest as she cried tears of relief. Elias remained still for a moment, lost in the speed of her action, then he began gently petting her back with his shield hand. His free hand grabbed her basket; he left the bread that had fallen free, and then he rose to his feet. Bracing her rump with his hand, he carried her back toward the alley exit he had entered from. The entire way, she sobbed into his neck, her tears wet against his skin.

As he walked into the light of the street, Luna met him with a smile. It faltered only momentarily at the sight of the sobbing pony, but it rose again, shifting from a happy smile to a caring one.

“Hello Guardsman, I see you have helped one of my little ponies. Who is this?” she asked softly.

The mare sniffled as she replied.

“I-I’m Baked Loaf.

She didn’t turn around, her eyes still closed and buried firmly in Elias’ neck. He passed off her basket to Luna so he could use his free hand to further brace the pony. In the growing light of day, he saw that she was a peach colored pegasus with a light purple mane.

Elias dropped into a crouch as she began to taper off. She pulled away from him, wiping her eyes as she flushed red with embarrassment.

“Sorry about that Guardspony, I was just…” she looked at the ground and trembled, “scared.”

Elias smiled as he remained crouched, doing his best not to tower over, and therefore further scare, the shaken pony.

“It’s no problem at all Ms. Loaf. If you don’t mind me asking though, why were those three after you?”

“T-they…” she closed her eyes and teared up. “I don’t know!” she wailed. “I paid them back twice now! I should never have borrowed from them!” She looked to Elias, her eyes pleading. “Please, you have to believe me! I only asked for their help because part of my shop burned down and I couldn’t afford to fix it! They approached me and offered to get it fixed if I paid them back within a month. And I did! I paid them two days early!”

She whimpered softly, and she looked with fear toward the still dark alley. Elias gently reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder.

“Take your time Miss. Just say it slow and calm like.”

Baked Loaf flinched under his touch, but when she saw him patiently waiting with a smile, she smiled back, rubbing against his hand.

“They wouldn’t leave me be after that,” she continued, calming down slightly. “I paid in full, but they said I owed them interest. When I paid them again, they said I still owed them. So, I told them they weren’t welcome around my shop anymore. I got my brother and his friends to protect it, and to walk me home.”

She cooed softly as Elias’ hand moved up to scratch her ears.

“Mhm, but today my brother got sick and couldn’t get any of his friends to walk me to my shop. They’re either all sick like he is, or they’re all out of Canterlot. So, I tried to take some shortcuts to get to work, but they ambushed me.”

She smiled as she looked at Elias.

“But then you came along.” She nuzzled his hand again. “Such a brave…”

She froze and looked at him with blinking, owlish eyes. Elias raised an eyebrow as he waited for her mind to come back. Blinking again, she took a slight step back, then stared over his shoulder. She squeaked as she fell into a bow.

“Princess Luna, I am so sorry! I didn’t even realize you were here.”

Luna sighed as she walked forward. Laying a wing on Baked Loaf’s back, she stood the pony up.

“It is quite alright Ms. Loaf. What is important right now is that you are safe. As we speak the stallions who have assaulted you are being captured by my guards. Rest assured, they shall not bother you again.”

Baked Loaf smiled widely. Her hooves twitched as if she wanted to leap at Luna to give the alicorn a hug, but she held herself in control.

“Thank you, Princess,” she said brightly. “I already feel safer.”

She glanced over at Elias, with a strange light in her eyes.

“Though I wouldn’t mind if your guard could escort me to my shop.”

Elias saw a brief flash of what looked like anger pass through Luna’s eyes, but the alicorn nodded as she looked at him, her voice cheerful.

“Of course, Ms. Loaf. Guardsman Bright would be happy to.”

Baked Loaf quickly pounced onto his chest again, with Elias barely catching her with his free hand. She adjusted, while suspended in only one arm, eventually settling into a small ball as she looked up at him with a shining smile. Elias looked to Luna with a raised eyebrow. He saw that brief anger again, but it passed quickly as she shooed him to go. The breadbasket floated back into his grasp, and Baked Loaf pointed down the street in the direction of her shop.

Elias looked back to Luna one more time, and she smiled at him.

“Go on Guardsman, we shall continue our conversation later.”

Not if I can help it, Elias thought to himself. He gave her a brief nod, and with a basket in one hand and a pony in the other, he followed Baked Loaf’s directions to her shop.

Unbeknownst to Elias, Luna watched as he walked away with the pegasus in his arms. She felt a twinge of jealously again, but she had no idea where the emotion was coming from. This had actually been a part of her adjusted plan. With the help of the doctors, she had determined that if he wasn’t missing just friendship, then he was missing something much greater. Book Binder and Night Flash had gotten a head start by claiming him as they’re own, and while resistant, Luna knew that in time, Elias would accept their offer. His stubbornness couldn’t stand against the love of a mother.

The second part had been to find Elias a suitable mate. With his own admission that he had never pursued love, she had the psychologists lay out a plan that would find him in the hooves of a lover. The pony who he was intimate with had to get the man to open up. Love could conquer any trauma, especially given time. At worst, a lover might give the human a child, and here he could find peace by raising his own seed to adulthood, and therefore find happiness in the accomplishments of another.

So why was she jealous when a potential solution had quite literally fallen into her lap? She had seen that look in Baked Loaf’s eyes. Maybe it was because Elias had swooped in to save her, but the pony had become instantly enamored with the human. It was clear to Luna that he didn’t notice however, and Luna attributed it to his interactions with Book Binder and Night Flash. The pair had already pushed the limits of friendly physical contact, and with the reaction of the rune, it was clear to Luna that it was because they wanted Elias as a son. It was clear that this was a far different reaction however, and that left Luna feeling conflicted for an unknown reason. She frowned deeply as she pondered it.

Luna was jolted from her thoughts as Midnight Chaser touched down beside her, giving her a quick salute.

“Princess, we have apprehended the suspects. One of them had a broken nose, but otherwise they are just terrified out of their wits.” He smiled proudly. “The Royal Guard armor gets them every time.”

Luna nodded absently as she stared at the corner that Elias had disappeared around.

“Quite. Place them in the dungeons. We shall need a full report of the story from Guardsman Bright, as well as the witness reports from a pegasus named Baked Loaf. Have one of the guards tailing Bright drop into her shop after he leaves to collect her statement. I shall determine the punishment of the suspects tomorrow night.”

Chaser nodded and saluted before he took to the sky again, leaving Luna alone with her confused thoughts as the sun continued to rise.

Author's Note

Thank you all for your support, because as of this chapter, I have been officially featured! It is a good day, and I hope I can continue to impress!

Chapter 18: The RAT Exercise; Part 1

Journal Entry

Day 2145

Holy crap have we come far. I took the best of the best from the legion on a combat patrol. Ran up against a little scavenging party from a nearby raider camp. They thought they could take us because they outnumbered us two to one. We cut those odds in half, twice. Only three injuries, but thanks to the training of Sarah and her medics, nobody died! We drove the raiders away, snatched up their stuff, then ran back home. Stephen took a nasty hit to the head, but Sarah reports that he’s going to be just fine within a week. The helmet Bevin made really saved Stephen’s ass, and I can’t wait until everyone is fitted up. Whenever I ask about his progress though, Bevin always gives me cryptic answers. I’d be annoyed with him (I mean the guy is as old as I am, but he treats me like a kid sometimes) but then he just gives me one of his trademark smiles as he says he’s working on something special. I have no idea how Sarah puts up with the guy living with her. Doesn’t matter, things are going great! We’ll show those raiders yet.

Elias rolled his shoulder to try and ease the tension he could feel gradually settling there. They had been standing in formation for well over an hour, waiting patiently as the sun rose. The princesses had the Royal Guard cover both guard shifts for the past day, and supported with endurance and energy spells, said guards were constantly keeping watch over the other two guard forces as they stared at each other. When called to report for the exercise, they had already been divided into their veterancy categories, and so Elias found himself at the back of the formation, since he was one of the newest, and youngest guards. One stallion twitched nervously to his right, having been recruited only the day before. Why the pony didn’t wait another week, Elias had no idea, but the earth pony wouldn’t stop shooting looks at him.

The last week had been hectic, and Elias was glad for it. After depositing Baked Loaf at her bakery, Elias had returned to the castle. The mare seemed disappointed at his rapid departure, but he had promised to stop in at some point, and with that promise in mind, she had let him leave. Upon his return, Elias immediately went to sleep, awakening a few short hours later in a pool of sweat. After a scalding shower, he had set about compiling as much of his knowledge on Roman battle tactics on paper as possible. As Lucky Swing pushed Scarlet harder and harder, the pegasus won less and less, and so he got no time with Elias to mentally prepare his strategies. The pegasus stole every moment to talk when he could, covering the lunch table with maps as he tried to find the time somewhere.

Overall however, Scarlet was in a much better physical state than he had been before. He had even begun joining Elias in his sparring sessions with Binder and Flash. While he struggled to keep up, he no longer stood like a frozen stick, and when the three ponies got tired, Elias sparred further with Lucky Swing and Midnight Chaser. Most of these fights ended with the pair teaming up on the man, and though he got licks in, he often lost. Badly. It left him with a sense of satisfaction, however. His body hardened and he got marginally faster the more they fought, and over the span of the week, Elias felt like even he had found improvement.

That led them to now, where they were standing outside of Canterlot, shoulder to shoulder, waiting for the princesses to put their finishing touches on the arena. According to Scalpel, said arena was magically conjured by the princesses, contained within an artificial forest that would automatically teleport away anyone who got in too far. Part of Elias was curious about how it looked from the outside.

The youngest guards were slated to go first. The stated reason for this was so that they could “watch and improve” themselves by watching the older guards after their match was finished, but Elias suspected that it was just because nobody expected anything substantial from the young guards. Their fights would likely be short, unorganized, and messy.

“At attention ponies!” a voice called out loudly, ringing across the open field they waited in.

Most of the guards remained still, as they were supposed to already be at attention, but some of the guards, such as the one beside Elias, flinched and straightened. Taller than anyone else, Elias was able to watch clearly as two guard captains and the princesses descended from the sky. As they landed, Captain Armor popped into existence beside them, a wide grin on his face. With a nod from the princesses, he stepped forward.

“Good morning guardponies! Today is the day of the Royal Assessment Training Exercise, and each and every one of you will be participating. I hope you have gotten plenty of rest, because the results of today will determine how hard you are pushed in the coming months. My wedding is going to go off without a hitch, and if it doesn’t, all of you will be held accountable.”

Elias rolled his eyes under his helmet as he continued to stare bored-ly forward. He really wished they could get this started. He could feel his body beginning to twitch with pent up anticipation from the promise of action. The pony to his right gulped nervously. Captain Armor seemed to relish his power over the guards for a moment more, then with a smile, he gave a slight bow to Celestia. Inclining her head, she stepped forward.

“Greetings all, as Captain Armor as stated, this test is of upmost importance for our future.” She smiled brightly, her white fur seeming to glow in the rising sunlight. “I have no doubt in my mind that you will all do your best.”

A large book appeared from nowhere, and Celestia opened it carefully, still smiling.

“And now, for the annual reading of the rules.”

Clearing her throat loudly, she began to read, her voice carrying to everyone as she spoke with perfect clarity.

“First, no grievances shall be carried past the arena. This is exercise is for training purposes only, and whatever the result, you are all Equestrian guards. Carry your duty with pride, no matter the outcome of today.”

Elias snorted to himself.

‘Yeah right,’ he thought, ‘if nobody gets in a fight later, I’ll find a marefriend tomorrow.’

Elias blinked in surprise at the Equestrian twist to his thought.

‘I’m localizing,’ he thought with horror.

Celestia continued while the human dealt with his minor internal crisis.

“Second, all guards will try their absolute best during the exercise. I know that we have not had any recent issues, but after the bribing scandal two years ago, we are better being careful. Any guard found to be accepting bribes for intentional failure will be punished severely.”

The page turned.

“Finally, we shall go over the safety briefing, then on to the team captain announcements.”

Elias spotted a plume that he was fairly sure belonged to Scarlet Shield. Though the motion was slight, it bobbed excitedly at the words “team captain”. Each guard was allowed to bring their full gear, which included a set of saddle bags. Scarlet’s were stuffed to the bursting with a myriad of different battle strategies and tactics that the pegasus wanted to use. Though Elias knew much of it would be worthless, he hoped the pegasus would get the position for one reason. At some point when Elias wasn’t looking, Scarlet had compiled and written a full list of every Lunar Guard in their class, along with their associated strengths and unique talents. Skimming over it once or twice, Elias had been impressed at the level of detail. As long as Elias offered him a few words to direct him, the pegasus was more than ready to lead the charge, especially given his already intense dedication to the position.

“As you all know, the arena is outfitted with a standard safety aura, maintained by two dozen of Equestria’s strongest unicorns.” Celestia said. “This aura will teleport any “injured” combatants to the grandstands, before the injury occurs. Any guards removed will return in the following round. Should this aura in anyway fail, a team of our best healers are on standby, and teams of Royal Guardsponies will circle the battlefield to ensure that nopony is seriously injured.”

Elias was actually fairly happy at the news of that. It meant he could fight without restriction. Going for the throat would only result in a pop and a vanished pony. No blood, no screaming, just another target vanished. When Elias had asked about why the spell wasn’t simply applied over the entirety of the Canterlot training grounds, he had found that the only reason was because it took so many skilled unicorns to pull off that it was simply better to train the guards to avoid hurting themselves.

The oversized book slammed closed and Celestia smiled brightly as she tucked it under her wing.

“With that out of the way, let us begin!” she said cheerfully. “Our team captains have already been selected, and when your name is called, please step to the front of your section.”

A long scroll appeared from nowhere, much like the tome had. As she unrolled it, Elias tuned out her voice, thinking about who they would be facing. Since the Lunar Guard held roughly two hundred less guards than the Solar Guard force, the oldest tier of the Solar Guard was put up against a team of Royal Guards for the sake of the exercise. This round was more for the personal enjoyment of the guard forces, as occasionally the best Lunar Guards would be thrown into the mix as well. They would be the final exercise, running only one round as the moon rose. According to Night Flash it was a lot of fun to watch, and Elias found himself looking forward to it.

Elias blinked and reasserted his attention as she began to read for their section.

“For the Fourth Section Lunar Guard Captain, we have selected; Guardspony Palisade!”

Elias didn’t hear an audible groan, but he certainly felt it. The guards around him, save for the newest one to his right, shifted in frustration, their posture drooping as the pegasus made his way forward. Elias noted that Scarlet’s plume had sunk by at least an inch, and he had no doubt that his friend was trying to mentally justify why he hadn’t been chosen.

If Celestia and Luna noticed the frustrations of the youngest Lunar Guards, they did nothing to show it as Celestia continued to read the final team captain.

“Representing the Fourth Section Solar Guard as Team Captain, we have selected; Guardspony White Shine!”

Elias’ hand instinctively curled into a fist as the unicorn made his way forward, his arrogant demeanor apparent as he strutted with an asinine smile on his face. Though he hadn’t seen the unicorn since his “incident” in the cafeteria, Elias still carried heavy hatred for the pony. On one hand, he despised the fact that scum like White Shine could make team captain. On the other, Elias now had an excellent motivation to help his team in every way possible to win. Physically hurting the pony, while satisfying and an excellent deterrent, did nothing to impact his life outside of the guard. Whipping his ass in a training exercise however…

Celestia rolled the scroll up with her magic.

“The rest of the rules shall be addressed by your team captains! The first guard groups should make their way to the teleportation area within the next five minutes. Do well my ponies! I shall be watching you all very closely.”

Captain Nightshade and Captain Armor gave the dismissal order, and the ponies began to drift toward their assigned areas. Elias relaxed in place, waiting for his friends to come to him. They had coordinated that beforehand, and since he was easily the most visible, he was their rally point. Scarlet arrived first, looking dejected as he approached. The pegasus said nothing, merely sitting beside Elias, leaning against the man’s leg as he sighed and pouted.

Night Flash and Book Binder arrived next. Both had a look of irritation on their faces, but Book Binder was by far the more vocal of the two.

“I can’t believe they chose Palisade AGAIN!” she said, her voice at a near shout.

Elias kept an eye up to make sure nobody was glaring at the unicorn, but he quickly found that most of the Lunar Guards agreed with the sentiment. Some were muttering darkly to themselves, while others were silent and dejected like Scarlet. Elias nudged the pegasus lightly, then nodded toward the teleportation area. The red pegasus sighed and got to his hooves. They walked as a tight group, though Elias quickly noticed the new pony falling in behind them, trying to remain unnoticed.

“Do you mind if I ask why this Palisade is a bad choice?” Elias asked carefully.

Night Flash sighed and kicked a stone.

“Because he’s been the team captain three times now, and every year he uses the same plan that has literally never worked. He refuses to let anyone who doesn’t suck up to him give him advice. So we lose, again and again.”

Elias nodded in understanding. A static leader was one of the worse kinds. Not as bad as a cowardly leader, but it was up there.

“Has anyone tried broaching this issue with Captain Nightshade?”

Scarlet nodded.

“I tried last year when we lost for the sixth round in a row. She just told me that the princesses chose him for a reason, and that we should trust in their judgement.” He sighed. “So that was that.”

Elias nodded again.

“What do you think new guy?” he asked loudly, looking over his shoulder at the pony in their trail.

The earth pony seemed stunned that Elias was addressing him directly. He stopped walking forward, so Elias did the same, half-turning to look at the pony. His fur was a deep gray, and his mane was a brilliant white. The pony looked around, as if expecting Elias to be talking to someone else. The human sighed.

“Yes, you,” he said, pointing clearly at the pony. He then pointed to the ground at his feet. “Come here, my hearing isn’t so good, and I’m not going to have you yelling at me.”

The earth pony flinched slightly, but he trotted forward, walking beside Elias as they began moving forward again. Out of the corner of his eye, Elias saw a small smile on Book Binder’s face as she nudged Night Flash. The pegasus was positively beaming, and he motioned for Elias to continue talking with the earth pony. Rolling his eyes, he looked down at the pony.

“What’s your name?” he asked gruffly.

“G-Gray Granite sir.”

Elias groaned in disgust.

“Ugh, don’t call me sir. I’m nobody’s sir. My name’s Elias.” He rolled his neck, hearing a loud pop as he did so. “So, tell me Granite, what do you think of our new team captain?”

The earth pony flinched slightly under the weight of Elias’ eyes. He looked away as if in thought, then answered.

“Well, everypony else seems to not like him, and since everypony has more experience than me, I think I should follow their lead.” He tilted his head. “On the other hoof, I’ve never met Palisade, so I have no idea what he’s like, and my parents taught me to give everypony the benefit of the doubt at least once.”

Elias grunted.

“Not a bad answer. I find myself in agreement with you Granite. Let’s see what Palisade has to offer before we throw him off the bridge, shall we?”

“And if he doesn’t meet your expectations?” Book Binder asked leadingly.

Elias snorted, looking back at her with a sinister grin.

“I think everyone here knows how I respond with people who think their better than everyone else. I’ll give our beloved team captain a kick up the ass if he needs it, rest assured.”

Book Binder rolled her eyes, but smiled as she shook her head.

“I know you will baby boy. Make sure not to hurt him too much, he’s actually a pretty good fighter.”

They stepped into the teleportation with the rest of the waiting Lunar Guard in their class. The Solar Guard approached not far behind them, with White Shine smugly smiling at the front. As his troops filtered in, he stopped a few feet away from Elias with several of his stooges stopping behind him.

White Shine laughed loudly, drawing the glares of several Lunar Guards.

“Will you look at that, the loser freak has finally found his home with all of the other losers.”

He cackled loudly, and his stooges joined in. Elias stared at him calmly. The fact that the pony hadn’t gotten closer was message enough to him. It signified fear. White Shine seemed to look him up and down. Pointing at Elias’ shield and pilla, he sneered and asked;

“What are those things Bright? Don’t you know that everything isn’t about who has the biggest spear?”

He and his friends laughed again. He heard a few growls in their direction, primarily coming from Book Binder, but Elias could only smirk as he said;

“Is that what you have to tell yourself when you look in the mirror every morning Shine?”

The grin vanished from the unicorn’s face. Loud snickers and chuckles echoed from the Lunar Guards behind Elias, and Elias was pleased to see that a few of the Solar Guards were only barely restraining themselves from joining in. As Elias smiled widely, the laughter continued to grow as White Shine turned crimson. His mouth flapped as he struggled to come up with an adequate comeback.

“You won’t be so smart when we kick your flank into the dirt Bright!” he snapped loudly.

Elias snorted and grinned.

“We’ll see Shine.” He tapped his chin as if in thought, then his grin widened. “Actually, you know what, I think I came up with a great nickname for you,” he paused dramatically, raising his pinkie finger and bending it up and down, “Little Spear.”

The laughter grew in strength as White Shine managed to paint his face in an even deeper shade of red. One of his little friends whispered something in the unicorn’s ear, and he nodded as they guided him away. A small cheer went up from the Lunar Guards. What made Elias smile the most, besides shaming White Shine, was the fact that Scarlet was now smiling again. A warm feeling touched Elias’ heart, and he only barely recognized the source as the voice resting comfortably in the back of his head. Scarlet covered his muzzle as he snorted loudly and gently kicked Elias’ leg.

“How do you do that Elias? White Shine used to be the biggest bully in the guard, but you’ve managed to get him to be a laughingstock without blinking. What’s your secret?”

Elias shrugged nonchalantly as he glared at the unicorn, who glared back as his buddies whispered in his ear.

“Lupus non timet canem latrantem.”

Scarlet cocked his head in confusion. Elias snorted and rolled his eyes. He really needed to teach the ponies some Latin. The only person who knew what he was saying was Anyon, and Elias imagined that the art would be lost on the gryphon. That, and he hadn’t really seen the bird in a while. Elias frowned lightly as he made a mental note to visit the blacksmith.

“A wolf is not afraid of a barking dog,” Elias explained to Scarlet.

The pegasus ahhed in understanding as Nightshade descended from the sky with Palisade in tow. As the brown pony fell in with the Lunar Guards, Nightshade looked around, glaring at anyone who dared to meet her eyes.

“Alright, quiet down you giddy lot of fillies!” she shouted. “Get together and brace, the unicorns said they improved the mass teleportation this year, but somehow I doubt it.”

Elias wondered briefly what she meant by brace, but the air around them hummed with energy, and he felt his stomach touch his throat as they all vanished in a massive flash of light.

*****

Elias stumbled a few feet away from the mass of ponies before he collapsed to his knees, violently throwing up his breakfast. A mix of eggs, soggy toast, and milk poured forth in an awful torrent of bile. Book Binder quickly found him and rubbed his back softly, almost unnoticeable through his armor.

“Just get it all out Elias, the first teleport is rough for everypony.”

Elias tried to speak, only for more bile to rise. As he continued to throw up, Night Flash looked around in a daze, his eyes hazy.

“I’m pretty sure that was worse than last year,” he said.

“I feel that,” Scarlet echoed, a bit green in the face as he watched Elias empty his guts into the dirt.

Elias blinked the tears from his eyes as he finished up, his stomach growing less turbulent by the second. He spit into the dirt, then wiped his mouth as he took a canteen from his belt. Sitting up on his knees he took a heavy swig of water, then spit it into the pool of vomit before him. Tucking the canteen back into its pouch, he looked at Book Binder.

“That was foul,” he said disgustedly.

She just smiled and helped him to his feet. He gave her a light thanks as he began to look around. The Solar Guards were gone, likely on their own side of the arena. The Lunar Guards stood largely in place as they each shook off the effects of the teleportation spell. To Elias’ left sat a red tent, with what looked to be a massive table inside. Just behind it on a raised mound was a flagpole with a shimmering blue flag decorating it. Luna’s cutie mark was emblazoned brightly across much of the flag, and the cloth flowed tranquilly in the breeze. Elias felt a slight chill on that breeze. When he had asked Night Flash about it earlier, the pegasus had merely nodded, his smile wide as he replied;

“That’s the first winter breeze. It won’t be long before Cloudsdale arrives to deliver the snow clouds.”

Why they were already making ready to create winter in October, Elias had no idea, but it didn’t concern him much. His duties were all inside, and the castle was kept the same temperature year-round. He wouldn’t even need to get warmer clothes.

Elias studied the area to his right, spotting three wide paths that disappeared into the thick trees around their base site. While doing this, he felt a tap on his hip, and he looked down to find Book Binder smiling brightly up at him.

Cocking his head, Elias asked;

“What?”

Book Binder snorted.

“Always so eloquent with your questions Elias. I just merely wished to give you some physical affection before we start.”

Elias sighed, but nodded, bending down so that she could easily reach his face. She squeed softly, as to not draw attention, then gave Elias a brief peck on the cheek, followed by a tight squeeze of a hug.

“I know you’re better at this than any of us baby boy,” she whispered in his ear, “do momma proud.”

Elias flushed red. He glared death at Scarlet when he caught the pegasus watching them with a grin. He looked away quickly, but every couple seconds he found the pegasus watching again.

“I will. Take care of yourself M-Binder.”

Book Binder giggled softly as he used what they had deemed their “transition” name. Elias was not at all comfortable calling Book Binder, Mom, nor was he comfortable calling Flash, Dad. To begin easing the tension in his mind, Elias had begun to add a ‘M’ to the front of Book Binder’s name to indicate when he was treating her as his mom. She always became giddy when he used the transition name, and over the past few days, he had begun to use it more and more publicly as he got somewhat comfortable with the idea of having a real family again. The voice in the center of his head usually shrieked a bloody racket when he thought about that, but today it was silent, likely focused on how he was going to further humiliate White Shine.

“Attention everypony!” Palisade called out as he made himself known near the front of the tent.

Elias and Book Binder broke apart as Elias rose to his feet, and they moved with the rest of the Lunar Guard toward the pegasus. Elias noted the grumbles of irritation that spread amongst the assembled guards, but if Palisade noticed, he didn’t show it. He smiled as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“As you all know, I am team captain this year, and so I will select my advising team!”

The pegasus began to rattle off a series of names, and the ponies that didn’t look like they wanted to throw him off a mountain walked forward, standing at his side happily. As each name was called, Scarlet seemed to droop further and further. Night Flash sat beside the depressed pegasus, draping a wing around his shoulders as they waited in silence for Palisade to finish. Elias looked at the sky as he began to zone out, only to be shocked from his near stupor by the pegasus’ voice.

“And last, but not least, Guardsman Bright!”

Elias blinked as he looked down from the brilliant blue of the sky to the brown of the pegasus at the front of the crowd. Scarlet looked at Elias in awe as the man stood stone still, unsure of how to react. He got a prod from Book Binder, who nudged him forward with a wide smile. The first step was hesitant, but as Elias took the second, he felt absolute control creep over his body. The voices in his head grew silent, and the walls between them temporarily bled together as a personality he had thought dead rose to the front.

His stride broadcasted confidence, and the affect was clear on the ponies that moved silently out of his way. Palisade seemed to flinch slightly under his even gaze as Elias grew closer. The human rolled his joints as he walked, loosening up. They had half an hour to lay out their battle plan, but Elias wanted to be warmed up anyway. He stopped a few feet short of Palisade and the rest of his advisors. Elias slid his shield onto his back, the straps fitting snugly over his shoulders as he crossed his arms.

“Might I ask why you want me?” Elias asked, his voice calm, giving nothing away.

Palisade shifted nervously, likely not expecting the question. He smiled as he looked back for support.

“Well, uh, Guardsman, you’ve fought against Captain Nightshade and Captain Chaser,” the pegasus replied. “I thought if anypony was an expert on combat, it would be you. I’d love to hear your thoughts on my battleplans.”

Elias thought about mentioning that a good fighter didn’t always make a good strategist, but the pony was already staring at him nervously enough. Elias nodded silently and walked to Palisade’s left, falling in beside a pair of nervous looking unicorns. Both stared straight forward, refusing to meet Elias’ eyes. Elias snorted and crossed his arms again. Palisade gave him another nervous look before looking back to the assembled guards.

“Alright, we’ll be out shortly to tell everypony their positions! I think we have a real shot this year!”

Elias noticed that many of the guards were not focused on Palisade, but on him. Curiosity and more than a little hope sat in their expressions. This, Palisade noticed, and he looked at Elias again with more trepidation. Elias’ scowl deepened, this problem would need to be nipped in the bud, and fast. While he knew that the pegasus had likely called him forth as a gesture of openness, he also knew that the pegasus already likely had a “plan” in mind. Elias would need to alter, or replace that plan so that it would work, all without seizing control from Palisade. He had about as much interest in giving orders as the pegasus had about receiving them. A trickle of irrational fear crept through his mind, but he squashed it. Strategizing wasn’t leading. Elias would do everything it took to pass the burden of leadership off on someone else.

Palisade led them into the tent, and Elias got a much better view of what was inside. It was much more spacious than it originally looked from the outside. A large oak table sat in the center, though in truth, even with the table, Elias was sure that they could fit the entirety of their team within the cloth walls of the tent. They only had two hundred ponies, and with almost thirty seats, there was plenty of room to stand around and still see the map at the center of the table.

Said map brought out a bit of excitement in Elias. It wasn’t made of paper or cloth, but of magical sand. The full scope of the battlegrounds was spread out in detail as Elias took a seat directly in front of the map. One of the other ponies gave him a funny look, which Elias ignored as he took off his helmet and took in every detail of the map. It consisted of three clear lanes, partially obscured in places with small hills and trees. Between each lane was a thick mass of trees, brush, and thickets, designed to deter the ponies from using these areas. Elias had been told by Scarlet that these areas had thick anti-magic runes over them, rendering all of the natural pony strengths useless. Pegasi couldn’t fly, unicorns couldn’t cast, earth ponies grew physically weaker, and armor enchantments failed. Essentially, it was a no-go zone.

At each end of the map sat a tower with a three-dimensional flag waving at the top, meant to signify their base. With curiosity getting the better of him, Elias tapped a small switch on the edge of the map, and watched with awe as the entire thing fell to a ground level perspective. Each tree was created in intimate detail before his eyes, showing him a realistic view of the battlefield from a pony’s perspective. His eyes drifted to the left of the map where a series of colored quills sat waiting. His fingers twitched has he suppressed the need to pluck one of the feathers free to make non-sensical marks on the map. Elias desperately wished he had more time to play with it, but he heard someone clear their throat, and looked up to find Palisade waiting for him, tapping his hoof on the table in mild irritation.

Elias smiled sheepishly, flipping the toggle that allowed the map to return to normal.

“Sorry, I’ve never seen something like this. The maps I used to use were… simpler.”

Elias had no idea where the abashed feeling came from, but he struggled to suppress it as Palisade smiled and nodded in understanding.

“It’s quite alright Guardsman Bright. Many ponies haven’t had the opportunity to use an interactive sand map. In fact, it is typically reserved for the Guard Captains, but for the sake of the exercise, we get access to one.”

The pegasus looked to the pony sitting across from Elias, a bluish gray colored unicorn who was glaring at Elias intently with green eyes.

“Thunder, could you bring up the battleplan?”

The unicorn nodded silently, not looking away from Elias as he adjusted the map. Elias felt like he recognized the pony, but he couldn’t quite remember from where. He felt a flash of recognition as he saw the unicorn’s aura light up, a deep red that lifted and directed several of the quills to draw on the sand.

“Have we met?” Elias asked, knowing full well what the answer was.

The unicorn snorted.

“You hit me in the head and left me to die. On top of that, you made me lose my helmet.”

Elias shrugged.

“You got a new one.”

“And the part where you hit me and left me for dead?”

Elias waved that away with his hand.

“Common human greeting. Used to do it all of the time with this tribe of people who lived to the north of me.”

The pony snorted again.

“There is no way that any of that is true.”

Elias smiled.

“The part where I left them for dead with head injuries is.”

The pony looked at him with conflicted eyes. Elias met his stare evenly, keeping the slight smirk on his face. The pony scoffed and focused on the map.

“I have no idea if I like you or want to throw you into a river with your armor on.”

Elias chuckled.

“Then I must be getting better at this talking thing, because that’s better than I usually do,” he extended his hand. “Elias.”

The unicorn bumped it with his hoof, not looking up from the map.

“Thundercrash.”

Elias sat back in his chair as he tucked his hands into his armpits. Though he slouched slightly, he made sure to keep a full view of the map as Thundercrash worked on it. It took Elias all of ten seconds to find out what was wrong with the plan. Palisade smiled widely as the map began to come together.

“Alright ponies, the plan is just like last year, but this time we have two additional shield ponies on our side! I believe that if we concentrate both of them over our flag, we can weather whatever the Solar Guard throws at us, then charge out when they’re exhausted. We’ll sweep them from the field this year!” he proclaimed happily.

Elias frowned as he leaned forward to study the fully drawn map. Three lines had been drawn in the middle of each lane, with the intention of pulling back to concentrate around the base. It was a purely defensive play, and not even a good one. As most of the ponies brown nosed and patted their leader on the back, Elias cleared his throat as he sat back in his seat. Palisade looked at him, his smile bright.

“Yes, Guardsman Bright? Do you have some insight on how to make our plan function better?”

Elias shook his head.

“Nope, just had a question. Why aren’t we attacking them? The game is capture the flag, is it not?”

Palisade nodded.

“It is, but the Solar Guard has many more powerhouses than we do. Our ponies have a tendency to strike quickly from darkness, and since it is light out, we are forced to play to our secondary strength, which is defense. We have several ponies who are well versed in bubble shield spells.” He chuckled. “Unfortunately, you cannot throw illusions at the enemy, or else we could sweep the field easily.”

The ponies laughed at the joke, but Elias held his stare.

“Why not?” he asked.

Palisade’s smile became strained.

“I think that’s obvious Guardsman Bright; illusions aren’t real. They can no more hurt you than a single blade of grass can.”

“Right,” Elias agreed sitting up. He pulled his left hand from his armpit and pointed at the map as he looked at Palisade.

“But why aren’t we using the spells of our illusionists to form a distraction while a large part of our force dips around their main attack to take their flag? By waiting, we’re letting the Solar Guard pick how they want to attack.”

“We have the homefield advantage,” Palisade responded shortly.

“The homefield which is flat and featureless,” Elias argued. “I’d agree if we say had a series of mountains, or fortifications around us, but it’s a flat plane. It’s not to our advantage to sit and wait in an open kill zone.”

One of the ponies, a green pegasus rose from his seat with his mouth open. Palisade waved him down before he could speak, however.

“It’s alright Green Leaf, I asked Guardsman Bright here because he’s good at fighting, I like these questions.” He turned back to Elias. “The reason we want to stay in the flat area around our base is because it gives us full line of sight, while condensing our forces to work best with each other. We may not be the most powerful ponies, but most of us have fought together several times. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we work better if we can communicate clearly.”

Elias nodded, processing the statement. The justification wasn’t bad per say, just misguided.

“While that may be true,” Elias conceded, “do you think the same is any less true for the Solar Guards? We’ve been broken down by veterancy. Besides a few others and myself, everyone has done this song and dance before. The results are going to be the same as well.”

Green Leaf was out of his seat again in an instant.

“You know what Bright? You should be grateful to even be in this tent. I don’t care if you’ve fought with two guard captains, you lost both times.” He sneered. “Why don’t you let the ponies who know what they’re doing make the battleplan, hm?”

Elias nodded in agreement.

“Alright then, let’s see the plans from all the battle winners in the room.” he said, gesturing toward the map with an open hand.

The ponies glared at him, but when he caught their eyes, they looked away in shame. Elias looked at Green Leaf, who met his gaze with fury.

“I might be new here, but on the battlefield, I likely have more experience than anyone in the guard.” Elias said. “I’m trying to make sure we win, because I’ve seen the record. Three years you’ve run this play, and three years it has failed, brutally. Wouldn’t you like to make it to the third round for once?”

Elias looked to Palisade. The brown pegasus met his gaze, not with anger, but tiredness, almost as if he had expected this result. Part of Elias wondered if his inclusion had been intentional for this very reason. Palisade sighed deeply as his eyes fell to the table.

“Alright, I’ll send a letter to the princesses resigning as team captain. Guardsman Bright, if you are confident you can lead us to victory, I’ll let you have it.”

Elias froze in wide eyed shock. That was the very opposite of what he wanted. Fear traced across his mind as his hands spread out on the table.

“Absolutely not,” Elias said forcefully.

Palisade looked at him in confusion.

“But you said you wanted to run your own plan, and the leader always writes the plan.”

Elias laughed, drawing more confused looks from the ponies. He smiled at Palisade.

“That’s really funny, but absolutely wrong. If it was true, then why are any of us here?” Elias asked, pointing at himself, then all of the ponies at the table. “The point of this little tent is so that we can lay out a plan. A good leader uses all of their resources, including a strategist.”

Elias rubbed his eyebrow with his thumb.

“The last thing I want out of today is to be giving orders. You can have that job for the rest of both of our lives for all I care. Me though? Let me write the plan, work it out with an advisor or two of my choosing, then you give the word on how it’s executed.”

Elias rolled his shoulder, easing what tension had built up in it.

“I’m a fighter, and I’ll follow whatever orders you give to the letter Captain, but if we use this plan,” he said, jabbing a finger at the map, “we’re going to lose. You let me come up with something though? I can guarantee us at least one round, if not the whole exercise.”

Elias then tucked his hands back under his arm pits as he looked at Palisade.

“Like I said though, you’re in charge. I don’t want the position, I don’t want to give orders, I want to win. That’s it. If you say we run that,” he nodded at the map, “then we run it. I would advise against it however.”

Elias looked around the tent.

“But I am but one guard. You have a host of other advisors here. You’re in charge, the decision is yours,” he said. Elias tilted his head. “But, if you need more motivation to see it my way, then think of it like this. If we try it and it works, you look good because you ran a new play that worked out and learned the benefit of trusting your advisors. On the other hand, we lose, you throw me out and blame me, and then run whatever plan you like without some loudmouth like myself questioning you.” Elias spread his hands. “The way I see it, you can’t lose anything else.”

Elias then fell silent as he watched Palisade. The pegasus frowned in thought, his eyes flickering around some unseen spot on the table. The other ponies at the table remained silent, splitting their gazes between Elias and Palisade. Elias counted to sixty-four before the pegasus spoke up. Palisade loudly as he looked up.

“Before I agree to anything, I want to know what it is.” His hazel eyes looked at Elias intently. “I’d like an idea of what I’m throwing ponies at.”

Elias grinned and nodded.

“That I can do Captain.”

Elias sat up, leaning over the battle plan. He didn’t touch it yet, keeping his hands tucked under his armpits. As he studied it silently, Elias reached out, erasing the work Thundercrash had done. He then grabbed a quill and began drawing carefully.

“Is this the exact same plan you’ve run for three years?” Elias asked aloud.

Thundercrash nodded.

“I’ve drawn it the same each time. The adjustments we’ve made have been a pony or two at most.”

Elias tilted his head as he studied the developing map.

“And the Solar Guard, how have they responded traditionally?”

Green Leaf snorted dismissively.

“I don’t see how that matters.”

Elias didn’t even bother with a response to the pony. After a moment of pure silence, Palisade cleared his throat.

“Each year the Solar Guard rushes all three lanes. We created the initial lines to wear them out a bit before they came at us for real. I’ve only gotten a scout to their base once, but they always leave about a dozen ponies in three groups of four on all sides of the base around their flag.”

Elias nodded and changed quills, adding golden positions to the map. Thundercrash eyed his work curiously.

“If I might ask, what’s the point of knowing how the Solar Guard are attacking us? No matter how we defend in the lanes, they always sweep us out. They’re faster, more powerful.”

Elias nodded.

“That they are, but I’m thinking even a powerful pony can be dragged down by numbers.”

He put his finishing touches on the plan, adjusting a few formations with a blue quill, then sat back to admire his handiwork. Three filled in golden boxes pushed at each lane equally, with empty boxes around the solar flag. The Lunar side looked much different. On the right lane sat an empty blue box, meant to represent maybe ten ponies. In the center sat a filled in box, which he was going to refer to as the hold line. On the left sat two boxes, one far behind the other. The first one was filled in as normal, but the rear one was filled in gray, which represented invisibility to Elias.

Elias sucked his teeth as he looked at his battle plan. The positions were right, but he needed better information on the strength of the troops at his disposal. Without looking away from the map, he shouted;

“SCARLET SHIELD, GET YOUR ASS IN HERE NOW!”

The ponies all flinched back at the volume of his voice, or maybe it was the authority it carried. Either way, they remained silent as Scarlet bolted into the tent, looking around in shock until he spotted Elias. The human looked up to meet his eyes, then waved him over to the table.

“Come here, I need your abilities list. The plan will work better if we put the right ponies in the right places.”

Scarlet nodded and crept forward, his eyes flicking around nervously as he approached the table. Elias pushed himself to his feet and pointed for Scarlet to take the chair. The pegasus hopped up, then rifled through his saddlebags, dragging out a thick packet of information. Elias took it quickly, flipping to the summaries page as he frowned in concentration. Laying the packet on the table, he began to adjust each formation carefully as he dragged out a blank sheet of paper to make notes on. He pointed at the formations as he spoke.

“Alright Scarlet, here’s what I was thinking. Classic left flank sweep. The center should be manned by a mix of the first and second-best fighters, and it’s where I think I need to be. It just has to sit in place and hold, buying time for the left to shove forward.”

He pointed to the unshaded box on the right.

“The right flank should consist of…” he flipped a few pages, then made a note. “Here, our illusionists. What I’m thinking is they use their magic to make the field look like Palisade’s original plan. We know the Solar Guard’s will send out scouts, and they’re probably expecting the same thing he’s done every time, so let’s play to that and give them what they want. One illusionist on the right, and one at base. With both creating illusions of our forces, White Shine will fall for it hook, line, and sinker and won’t be sufficiently prepared for the rush on the left.”

Scarlet frowned in thought.

“Do you intend for the left flank to push forward from the start? Even if they routed whatever White Shine sent down that flank, he would still have ample time to withdraw the other two lanes to protect his base. We need to get him to commit fully before we can push his left flank.”

Elias smiled and tapped his forehead with the quill.

“Exactly, so here’s what I’m thinking.” He flipped through the packet again. “It was… ah here we are, Charmer, she has an invisibility bubble that she can keep up for an hour or more. We use her to cover the rear left force until we are engaged on all fronts, then she drops it while Palisade leads the charge to sweep up and left.”

He looked to Palisade, who was nodding in awed understanding.

“Captain, I would recommend you pick the strongest fighters for this rear team.” Elias said, pointing at the grayed-out box. “You’re going to need to hit hard, heavy, and lightning fast. If you take too long going up the left, White Shine will get the opportunity to retreat some of his ponies back. We’ll do our best to keep him occupied, but we’re going to get awful busy when they realize that the right flank is purely a diversion.”

He scratched his head as he made a few notes on the map.

“I expect that the right flank will be hard pressed to divert the push there. They’ll need to sweep back around the copse of trees and sprint up the center, as if they’re running to the real push. When the Solar Guards realize that the flag isn’t at base, they’ll likely hit us in the middle. I hope you can nab their flag before that happens. I don’t have any particular interest in fighting while surrounded.”

Palisade looked at him in visible confusion.

“What do you mean that the flag won’t be at base? We have to keep it clearly visible at all times or we forfeit.”

Elias nodded.

“I know, that’s why you’re going to be wearing it in your plume.”

All of the ponies looked at him with their mouths agape. Elias looked around at each of them.

“What? I’ve been told that Palisade is a capable fighter, he’ll be in the rear left group, he’ll stand outside of the invisible shield. It will look like he’s observing, and ready to retreat should the fight go south. The flag is blue like our plumes, so while it will be clearly visible to those looking for it, it will fool those who just take a glance at it. A moving flag will keep the enemy guessing, and it’s much easier to defend than a flag that sits in place. We can keep a pony running at top speed, we can’t make a flagpole run around.”

A few of the ponies smiled at the lame joke, and it was enough to break their stares. Palisade gulped nervously.

“Are you sure? It seems like a big risk. Too risky if you ask me.”

“Aduentes fortuna iuvat,” Elias whispered to himself.

The ponies looked at each other in confusion, but Elias shook himself mentally and looked to Palisade.

“The biggest risks often give the greatest rewards.” Elias replied with a grin. “If you keep your group tight and don’t get bogged down, we can sweep this in under an hour. Easy peasy.” Elias inclined his head. “But it’s on you Captain. I’m confident in my plan, but you give the orders here. If you say no, then it’s a no.”

Palisade shook his head.

“No no, your plan is… well it’s certainly daring. I kind of want to try it just to see if it can work.”

He frowned as he studied the map. Elias waited patiently, subtly handing Scarlet’s notes back so that he could slip them in his saddle bags. The pony slipped the bags off and draped them on the table. Elias eyed him curiously.

“Aren’t you going to carry that? We don’t want the enemy getting that information.”

“The command tent is off limits and is enforced with an automatic removal from the exercise,” Scarlet replied. “Nopony would dare coming in here once we start.”

Elias nodded quietly, looking back to Palisade. The brown pegasus caught his eyes, then sighed and nodded.

“Let’s do it. We’ve already established what happens if it fails, so everything is set. Guardsman Bright, I’d like you to give the briefing, and I am making you lead the center group.” Elias opened his mouth to protest, but Palisade cut him off with a raised hoof.” You just have to keep them in-line and fighting, no giving orders. Think of yourself as a motivational speaker that attacks ponies.”

Elias flinched slightly at the idea of keeping others in-line, but took comfort in the finishing sentence. It allowed him to mentally justify acting like a leader, while not technically being a leader. The center part of his mind grumbled that this was a mistake, but Elias ignored it.

“Do you know who you want where?” Elias asked.

Palisade nodded.

“I’ve been working with these ponies for a few years now, and I know who’s the best and who… isn’t. Save for you and the new guy. What’s his name? Marble?”

“Granite,” Elias replied quickly, feeling oddly protective of the earth pony. “I’ll take him with me in the center. If nothing else, he looks like he’s got some muscle. He should put up a suitable fight, combat expert or no.”

Palisade nodded.

“Then let’s get this out to everypony so we can get set up.”

*****

Elias fingered a groove in his pilum nervously. Despite the calm face he had maintained while making the plan, and despite the authority by which he had explained it to the rest of the Lunar Guards, Elias had severe doubts about his plan. Mostly because it was the first plan he had made since… it, that was going to be executed. The only relief he found was that he wasn’t giving orders. That, and the fact that Night Flash was at his side, along with the new pony, Granite. Arrayed around them were a large chunk of the Lunar Guards, numbering forty ponies. Palisade had grouped them by familiarity with each other, then broke those into the sections of the plan. By the time they were marching away from their base camp, the illusions were already up in full force, and if Elias didn’t know better, he would have thought Palisade was going to the left flank alone.

A shadow passed briefly overhead, and Elias had just enough time to find the pegasus that caused it before she disappeared, her golden clad body speeding toward their base. Night Flash snorted.

“So Red, tell me honestly, is this going to work? Not that I’m not confident that it will fail, but… you know…”

Elias laughed.

“I won’t lie to you and say that I’m one hundred percent sure it will work, but it’s better than the alternative. Sure, we might do more damage to them that way, but we won’t win. They have power, so cowering behind a shield would have just extended the match, if they didn’t already plan to counter it. This will work, I’m fairly sure.”

Night Flash snorted and nudged his leg.

“You’re not very good at pep talks Red.”

Elias smiled weakly. He knew he could give some awe-inspiring speech; he had practiced Roman style oration for days on end. He knew precisely what to say to get everyone riled up and ready to fight, but he knew he wouldn’t survive the speech. It would feel too familiar, too much like leading. Swallowing roughly, Elias nodded.

“No, I am not,” he agreed meekly.

Night Flash gave him a curious look, pressing gently against Elias’ side, then a low rumble began to sound from their front. Elias felt his confidence return as his mind prepared to fight. His muscles relaxed, and Elias carefully drew another pilum from his shield holding it in his left hand as he waited. The dust cloud became visible quickly, and around him, the Lunar Guards moved into position. Elias happily noted that they all avoided standing directly behind him; it would make it easier for him to throw.

The Solar Guards came roaring into view, shouting with glee as they spotted the blue clad Lunar Guards. The sight of them charging blindly forward made Elias smile. He pointed his pilum toward the approaching ponies.

“This bunch means that it’s going to work. Look at them, there’s no strategy, they’re just coming straight at us.” He snorted. “Their funeral.”

Elias flipped the pilum in his grip. Eyeing the Solar Guards, he made a split section calculation. The spear went into the air, and he heard a shout of shock ring out as a pony disappeared with a pop.

“That’s one,” Elias said as he passed the pilum between his hands.

The Solar Guards sped up their charge. An amber colored shield descended in front of Elias as spells were thrown their way. Powerful fireballs impacted the shield, the blistering heat scorching his face, but Elias didn’t so much as blink as he sent a second pilum through the air, followed swiftly by a third. A unicorn laughed arrogantly as he conjured a shield, blocking the first pilum, dropping it just in time for the second to come roaring in to drill him in the face. He vanished with a flash of light and a pop. Elias smiled savagely as he drew Feather. The blade felt lighter than ever, and for a second, Elias felt giddy. He looked to Night Flash; the pony’s face serious as he tensed into a combat pose.

“And that’s two, a good start, don’t you think?”

Night Flash nodded grimly. Out of the corners of his eyes, Elias saw the Lunar Guards line up, tensing as they resisted the urge to sprint forward. Elias had not so subtly recommended they remain in place, to let the Solar Guards wear themselves out as they charged. Only when they were within a few feet would the Lunar Guards rush forward. Elias snarled as he began to see the pupils of the ponies that were charging their shield.

Elias was the first to lurch forward, silent as he pushed past the conjured shield. The Solar Guards seemed to pick up their pace again, and as Elias came within arm’s reach, he dropped to his knees, bracing his shield against his knee and shoulder at an angle. Unable to stop his forward momentum, the earth pony that had been charging directly at him went up the shield. As he felt the hooves impact his shield, Elias flipped it, sending the pony into the dirt. A Lunar Guard pounced on him, stabbing him in his exposed belly, and then he was gone.

Elias had already moved on to his next foe. An earth pony flipped around as she tried to buck at him. Elias simply took a step back, letting her hooves flail at the air. With the pony overbalanced, Elias punched her with his shield, knocking her helmet lose before he stabbed at her exposed flank. The tip of the gladius touched her, and she vanished, as did her helmet. Elias looked around at the engaged ponies, quickly finding Night Flash nearby dueling with another pegasus.

Flash executed a quick feint, one that the golden clad pegasus ignored. He swung wildly at Night Flash’s throat, and Flash stepped back to avoid the strike. The Solar pegasus pressed his advantage, but unfortunately for him, he had nobody watching his back. Elias’ shield cracked into his ribs, and the pony spun to meet his new opponent. As he did so, Night Flash struck, hitting him in the throat with his wing blades. The pegasus vanished, and Elias grinned at Night Flash.

Flash’s eyes widened, and he pointed over Elias’ shoulder. The human spun on his heel, driving his shield into the dirt as he crouched behind it. Flames washed over his arms, the heat setting his hair on fire. Elias ignored the stinging pain, grabbing a stone from its pouch. He peaked around the shield, finding the unicorn and launching the stone before a second fireball impacted against his shield. Elias heard a cry, followed by a pop. When Elias stood, Night Flash was smiling widely at him from where the unicorn had been.

Elias snorted and grinned at the pegasus’ happy expression, but neither of them had time to say anything as they were dragged back into the fighting by two different opponents. Elias dipped under the outstretched wings of a caramel colored pegasus. Flipping his sword in his grip, Elias punched the pegasus in the throat. As the pony sputtered and retreated, Elias slashed at his head with his gladius. Another pop, another beaten foe.

Elias found no rest however, as an earth pony with a rather impressive axe kicked him in the chest. Elias stumbled back, ignoring the throbbing pain in his ribs. He growled as she tried to bury the axe in his chest. He blocked the thick blade with his gladius, sparks flying as steel clashed. She attempted to kick him again, but Elias blocked her hoof with his scutum, and then he reared back, building enough force to cruelly headbutt her in the muzzle. His helmet hit her with a crack of bone, and the earth pony cried out in pain. Elias got his shield under one of her hooves, then flipped her. Clutching her broken nose, she was no threat as Elias made her disappear with a slash across the throat.

*****

Another pony in golden armor appeared in the stands, clutching at a broken nose as a team of healers swarmed her, their horns alight as they mended the injury, erasing her pain as they quietly comforted the pony. Luna couldn’t help but wonder why Elias seemed to inflict an initial wound before going for the killing strike. Was it merely a part of his fighting style that she was overthinking? Or was there a more sinister implication that was begin suddenly brought to light? Even since their conversation in the streets of Canterlot, he had shown more noticeable improvement with the continued affections of Book Binder and Night Flash, but perhaps putting him on the battlefield was a mistake.

Celestia gasped as Elias dipped under a lance of magical energy, countering it with a brutal swing of his shield that caused the unicorn to appear in the stands, grumbling and rubbing her horn softly. Seemingly without a second though, the human immediately engaged another, sparks flying as he fought off an earth pony who was wielding a short sword in his teeth.

“I must say,” Celestia said calmly, “Palisade has dramatically improved his planning since last year. Using Elias as a distraction in the center lane while the majority of their troops go left is an effective strategy. If they were not outnumbered as they are, I would expect your guards to hold strong with the human at the lead.”

Luna sniffed as she shifted her eyes away from the captivating human. She looked at the right lane, where the illusions were rapidly disappearing as the Solar Guards began attacking the real Luna Guards. Several loud pops echoed in the stands as blue-clad ponies appeared, their eyes instantly focusing on the battlefield before them.

“I do not believe that Guardspony Palisade has improved like you think sister,” Luna replied. “He has learned an important lesson, the one I wanted him to learn in fact, but I believe the plan, as well as the success of it lies squarely at the hands of Guardsman Bright. He has used his foreign expertise to great effect.”

Luna frowned as the rest of the illusions vanished, and the three remaining Lunar Guards began to flee the vastly superior Solar force. They were quickly set upon, and they disappeared from the field.

The Solar Guards quickly sprinted to the Lunar Guard base, but upon arriving, they found nothing. They milled about in confusion for a moment, then they seemed to lock onto the sound of fighting, and they raced up the middle lane. Celestia clicked her tongue.

“Oh my, that is good,” she said. “Palisade’s forces are almost at my flag, and there is nopony that can help the guards left behind. If your middle group can hold out for a minute or two…”

The Solar Guards around them cheered as the right group charged at the Luna Guards in the center. A loud cry seemed to cut through the air, and Luna was unsurprised to see Elias rush the group by himself, his armor glistening in the sunlight. She hoped that he would hold out.

*****

“To the rear!” a voice cried out desperately.

Elias looked with wild eyes as a loud shout cut through the air. A few of the Solar Guards around him cheered as their fighting increased in intensity. Elias noticed a few concerned expressions on the faces of his compatriots, and more than one began to fall back. Into the charging hooves of more Solar Guards. They were cut down swiftly, disappearing as the lines of ponies began to merge.

With a roar that cut through the noise, Elias rushed, alone, at the charging lines of Solar Guards. They flinched at the power of his voice, and he slammed into them with his shield leading the way. The first pony he hit vanished with a pop as their neck curled backward. As his momentum faltered, Elias began to swing Feather in wide circles, fighting like a man possessed as he felt his throat burn at his continued shouting.

A unicorn began to charge her horn, but Elias met this with a fist, and then a shield to the head. She vanished. Elias felt a sword cut into his back, his armor taking the worst of the damage, and he whirled, grabbing the pony responsible, a purple pegasus. Lifting him into the air, Elias threw the pony at a pair of his charging friends. All he heard was a grunt of pain as he moved on. He caught another pegasus unaware, stabbing him in the neck. A unicorn he slid under, cutting at the pony’s belly.

Elias rolled to his feet, prepared to swing, only to find blue in his face, rather than gold. Granite lifted a pair of unicorns into the air, slamming them to the ground with a shout. One disappeared instantly, while the second one let out a whoosh of air as his lungs were emptied by force. Granite then drew a dagger from beneath his armor and slashed the ponies throat, and he vanished. Elias gave him a short nod of respect, and then the two dove back in.

As Elias cut the wing-joints of a pegasus, a pair of unicorns took the vanished pony’s place. Unlike the rest of the Solar Guards, these two didn’t try to rush Elias. They stood back, drawing glimmering swords as they squared off with Elias. The human braced Feather against his shield, finding his combat stance as he took the moment to breathe. They watched each other carefully for a moment, and just as the one on the left began to shift forward, a loud crack echoed through the sky.

Elias looked up to find a curtain of blue sparks painting the sky with brilliant light. The sounds of fighting died quickly as the ponies all looked to the sky, watching more fireworks crackle loudly in stunned silence. As the sparks began to fade, a loud set of cheers rang out. Elias looked around as the blue clad ponies began to shout and bounce around, hugging each other as they celebrated joyfully. Elias noted that over half of their number were gone, likely taken by the charge from their rear.

Elias sheathed his gladius, taking a bit of dried jerky from his belt as he took a moment to catch his breath. He was incredibly hot and sweaty. His chest cried out in pain where he had been kicked, and his muscles felt like he had just finished a marathon. Still, the rush felt good, and Elias was very pleased with how he had personally performed, not to mention the satisfaction of winning. As he continued chewing the jerky, he gave a small two fingered salute to the pair of stunned unicorns.

He began to walk back toward the Lunar Guard base when he felt Night Flash land on his shoulders, hugging his head.

“It worked! It worked!” Flash shouted joyfully in his ear. “I can’t believe we won Red!”

Elias snorted, glancing back at the pony.

“Wow, glad to know you trust my judgement Flash.”

Night Flash flushed red with embarrassment.

“I wasn’t thinking we were going to lose per se…”

Elias reached over to give him a quick scratch on the chin, since his ears were covered by a helmet. As he began to walk forward again, Elias found himself surrounded by celebrating Lunar Guards, most of them jostling him as they trotted at his side. They chattered excitedly, some offering compliments to Elias, while others pointed at him while telling the other guards about some move or another that he performed. Mostly, they just stared at him with pure joy, the excitement from their first victory clear in their eyes.

Elias sighed internally. That excitement was soon to vanish, and he saw the reason why clearly on the faces of the Solar Guards as they separated. The golden ponies looked pissed now, and Elias had no doubt that the next round would not find such success.

Authors Note: In case anyone wanted a rough sketch of the battle plan, here's what I was able to make using a combination of Inkarnate and Paint. It isn't the best, but I think it acts as a nice visualization of what I was thinking while writing the scene.

The Arena Layout

The Solar Guard Attack

The Left Flank Pushes Forward

The Left Flank Wins, Middle Lane Holds

Author's Note

Audentes fortuna iuvat: Fortune favors the bold

I hope you enjoyed reading the first of three chapters in the RATE chain, and I hope I can continue to impress!

Chapter 19: The RAT Exercise; Part 2

Elias thought long and hard about a new plan as they walked back into their base camp. The returning ponies were met with a loud cheer, and Elias saw Palisade waving the Solar Guard flag around proudly. A Royal Guardspony waited beside the pegasus in silence, her expression blank as she watched the celebrating ponies around her. After another round of cheers, Palisade gave it to the unicorn, smiling brightly. She took it with a small, grim nod and she disappeared in a flash of light. Palisade looked around as everyone continued to celebrate, and as his eyes fell on Elias, he let out another cheer as he pointed at the human.

“And here’s the guard of the hour! Let’s hear it for Guardsman Bright!”

Elias’ frown deepened as the ponies around him shouted loudly. Some even began to chant his name. No part of him welcomed the attention. The back of his mind simply wanted to relish quietly in the victory with his friends, while the center was whispering dark thoughts about how all of this felt a bit too familiar. Palisade didn’t notice Elias’ dark expression as he waved the human toward the command tent. The crowd of guards parted before Elias, and at some point, Night Flash hopped down from his shoulders. They continued to cheer as he entered the command tent, his frown clearly present on his face as he found the ponies waiting inside just as jubilant as the ponies outside. Save for one.

Scarlet grimaced as Steel Scalpel carefully removed what looked like a branch from the pegasus’ wing. Elias gave the pony a questioning look, and he looked away, clearly embarrassed.

“I didn’t even last five minutes,” he said, his voice dripping with shame. “Some earth pony bucked me right into a shrub, and I spent most of the battle trying to get out.”

Elias gave him a pat on the back.

“It’s okay Scarlet, the plan worked, that’s what matters. If we’re both being honest, you’re most important contribution was beforehand, not during the fight.”

Scarlet snorted.

“Wow, thanks for the inspiration Elias. You really make me feel better.”

Elias plopped down in the chair next to him.

“You’ve been training for what? A week and a half? Real combat prowess takes years to hone. Right now, your head is the best part of you, the rest will come in time, if,” he raised a finger in the air, pointing it at Scarlet, “you keep training. You got sloppy because you didn’t practice, so if you want to get better, you have to keep pushing at it.”

Scarlet nodded silently. He looked at the map blankly for a second before a smile crept across his muzzle. He looked to Elias.

“So, we won huh? How about that.”

Elias sighed and nodded. He removed his helmet and set it on the table, running a hand through his sweaty hair.

“That we did,” Elias replied.

He felt a poke on his arm, breaking him from his short daze. Scalpel looked at him expectantly. Elias met the gaze with confusion.

“Doc, I’m more than f-“

He hissed in pain as Scalpel wrenched his left arm up. The unicorn smirked at him.

“Fine? I was watching you the whole time Elias; I saw those hits you took.”

He prodded at Elias’ ribs, and Elias winced as he felt the pokes through his armor. Scalpel clicked his tongue as he charged his horn, letting the magic sit over Elias’ bruised ribs.

“I must say though; I’m surprised the aura didn’t grab you for this one. I guess because it didn’t break anything, and you kept going, well done for that by the way, it didn’t think it was a “critical” injury. I really hope it isn’t going upon what you view as a critical injury, otherwise this exercise might be the death of you.”

“That wouldn’t be so bad,” Elias replied, “I go out swinging and nobody is even getting hurt, win win.”

Scalpel sighed and shook his head, remaining silent as he healed Elias’ side. Palisade cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s eyes as he smiled brightly at Elias.

“Well I must say, you were absolutely right about that plan, that was positively exhilarating!” He placed his hooves on the table as he got nods of agreement from almost everyone. “I say let’s run it again, and we’ll win for sure!”

Elias shook his head as he pushed himself to his feet, grabbing a quill as he began working on the map again, altering the plan. Scalpel tsked in protest as Elias stretched his chest, but the unicorn elected not to give the human any rebuking words.

“No, it won’t work, and in reality, we’re going to lose the next round. Whatever we do, it won’t work.”

The happy smiles dropped as everyone stared at Elias like he had just killed their pet dog. Scarlet perked up over his shoulder as he studied Elias’ changes to the battleplan.

“Why won’t the plan work again Elias?” he asked softly, his voice void of judgement.

He likely just wanted to hear Elias think out loud, and had probably already accepted Elias’ words as fact. Elias frowned as he erased a block with his fingers, re-drawing it a few inches down.

“Because Palisade was absolutely right when he said this plan was too risky. It relies on too many moving pieces, and certain emotions from our opponents.” He scratched his hair with his left hand. “Every part of the first round was thought out. White Shine expected Palisade to run the same plan, he no longer expects that, and if anything, we just pissed their entire team off.”

Elias looked up at Palisade.

“We shouldn’t have celebrated, at all. As soon as those fireworks went into the sky we should have just turned around in silence and walked home, but we didn’t. I watched the faces of the Solar Guards, they’re mad. Not blindly so either, they’re sitting over there thinking about how they’re going to give us payback for shaming them.”

“B-but we didn’t shame them!” Palisade protested. “We were just excited that we won for once. Nopony said anything bad about them, if anything we were just so happy the plan worked.”

Elias nodded as he looked back to the map.

“True, but that’s not how they’ll see it, and if White Shine is smart, he’ll rile them up before the next round. We caught them with their pants down, and they know it, so they’re going to come at us full force. They likely didn’t even lay out a plan for last round, but you’d better be damn sure they’re picking apart our strategy as we speak. They have smart ponies on their team. They’ll rip our plan apart and come up with a counter that will wipe us out soundly, I have no doubt.”

Green Leaf scoffed.

“Great, so what? This was all for nothing? We get one win and you’re ready to give up? That’s awfully pathetic.”

Elias glared silently at the pony. For a few moments, Green Leaf met the glare. Then as it continued, he looked away, mumbling to himself as Elias stared in silence. Only when Scarlet tapped him on the shoulder did he look away. Scarlet pointed to the map.

“So, what’s your plan Elias? I know you have something working up there.”

Elias nodded as he put the finishing touches on the map.

“The way I see it, we’re going to lose the next round, so I’m planning for it. They’re going to try and prove that we’re one trick ponies, and I say let them. Let them think we found a new toy that won us a match. White Shine has his face in the mud, and he’s listening to everyone who can help him drag it back out.”

Elias pointed at the blocks on the map.

“I made minor alterations to the first-round plan, but it’s essentially the same idea, we just flipped the lanes. This time the center will be the illusion while the left is the push lane again. They either think we won’t try the same lane twice, or they will. Either way, the going will be rough, if you go anywhere at all. I'll be on the right lane, and we'll try to push forward, but I doubt we're going to move much. I have a hunch that the Solar Guardsponies are going to come at us full force, but we'll do our best to push through.”

He sighed as he crossed his arms.

“My plan is to sacrifice a round, and then we hit them hard in the third round. We get them arrogant again and the third round, while not easy, will be feasible.”

Immediately cries of protest rose up, barraging Elias as he stood in silence.

“We can’t just give them a win! We’re so close!”

“Let’s try the old plan!” one of the ponies suggested, “they won’t expect it!”

Elias waited as they argued. Scalpel finished with his bruises, giving Elias a pat on the arm before departing with his medical bag. Elias made minute adjustments to the map, making it perfect while the ponies argued with each other. The entire time, Palisade watched him in silence. He raised a hoof, and eventually the arguments ceased as they watched the team captain.

“What are you thinking Bright?” he asked softly.

Elias took a deep breath before he answered. Looking away from the map, he looked around the table as he spoke.

“Look, this is all just a big game of chess, most battles are. You don’t kill a king by rushing him head on. You have to make smart plays, and sometimes you have to sacrifice a pawn or two. If you try to save every single pawn, you quickly find that they’re all gone.”

Elias sighed deeply as he stared at the table.

“I learned that lesson the hard way. I celebrated after a few little wins and I got cocky. I wasn’t prepared when the enemy hit me, and when I didn’t find time to recover, they kept hitting until everything just… ended.”

Images of pain and fire flashed through his eyes, and Elias reached out a hand to Scarlet, scratching the pony behind the ears. He found solace in the motion, and with a few deep breaths, he was able to continue. He looked up to Palisade.

“If we get too caught up in a single past win here, we’re just going to end up being the almost brigade. Everyone will look to us and think ‘they almost did it, they almost beat the odds, they almost won it all’.”

Elias bit his cheek in thought.

“But almost doesn’t count. I’m coming up with a plan to win us the day, and it’s a hell of a plan with a lot more risk than the first one. But I think it’ll work, if we let one round go. If we get the Solar Guards thinking that they’re on top of the world again, then we’ll have it. We win.”

He shrugged, looking around at the ponies.

“All victories require sacrifice. I think we can find that here, you just have to trust me.”

Palisade stared at him carefully, studying Elias. No one else made a noise at the table, save for Scarlet, who whimpered softly, his tongue hanging from his mouth as he enjoyed Elias’ scratches. Palisade smirked as he watched the red pegasus’ antics, then looked around the table.

“Does anypony have anything else? Any other groundbreaking plans that can sweep the second round?”

All he got was silence in response. Green Leaf glared at Elias, and for a second, his mouth opened, but then it snapped shut and he looked at the table, shaking his head. Palisade sighed and looked at Elias.

“You were right the first time Guardsman; I see no reason to doubt your judgement now.” He ran a hoof through his mane, letting out a loud exhale. “so how do we go about this? We just… throw the second round?”

Elias shook his head, dropping his hand from Scarlet’s head. The pony groaned softly, and for a second he reached out, trying to drag Elias’ hand back to his head. When he got strange looks from his fellow ponies however, he chuckled weakly, then sat low in his seat.

“No,” Elias replied. “We have to fight like dogs to try and win. Just because I’m accounting for us losing, doesn’t mean we should actively try to. I could be absolutely wrong, in which case the plan, with its current adjustments, could work just fine.” He spread his hands. “Either way, if we aren’t trying our absolute best, they’ll suspect foul play, and the third round will slip through our hands. We can’t fight any less than our hardest.”

He gestured to Palisade.

“I’d recommend that you keep the flag again, it will help sell the one trick play bit. Otherwise;” he shrugged and sighed, “fight like hell. Try to win. If we do, then I’ll be glad to be wrong, but I have a strong feeling that I won’t be.”

Palisade shared his sigh and nodded.

“Alright then, that’s our plan. Smiles on while we brief and set up. The less ponies that know this is a sacrifice play, the better.”

Everyone grumbled in agreement and began to filter out of the tent.

*****

Elias growled as he parried a strike from the earth pony on his right, while simultaneously blocking the hooves of the earth pony to his left. The Solar Guards had definitely stepped up their game. While Elias had so far defeated two separate pairs of ponies, they just kept coming at him in groups of two, and the longer he fought, the more tired he got, especially since he was having a rough time overpowering the third pair that was attacking him. Without his assistance, the Lunar Guards around him were steadily being pushed back, with many vanishing as their Solar counterparts got the better of them. He had already seen Granite vanish as he was dragged down by a pair of earth ponies, and the last time he had seen Night Flash, the pegasus had a slash on one of his forelegs, and was missing his helmet as he squared off with a Solar pegasus.

Elias dipped under a swing from his left, and responded by lashing out with his gladius. Feather tasted only air, and the over extension nearly cost him the arm as a wicked axe blade glanced off his wrist-guard. Elias slammed his scutum forward, trying to knock the axe from the earth pony's teeth, but the mare took a short step back, and this strike missed too. Elias tried to take a step back to breathe, but neither of the ponies let him, and they advanced with his steps, their weapons scratching the paint of his scutum.

The Lunar Guard line had begun to waver, though to their credit, those who remained fought on, dishing out as much damage as they could. It didn’t matter though; the odds were not in their favor. Elias just hoped that Palisade’s group was faring better than his was.

Elias roared as he tried to rush the earth pony to his left, only to be driven back by a brutal swing from the one on his right, nearly taking his head off. He took a step back, put off balance as his charge faltered. This didn’t go unnoticed, and an opportunistic pegasus darted in, his hooves slamming down on Elias’ calf.

Elias howled in pain and did his best not to stumble as hot agony raced up his right leg. He felt the muscles tear as his bones snapped in two. His shield dropped from his grasp, and Elias grabbed the pegasus by the back of the neck. The pony had been shocked into stillness by Elias’ cry of agony, and it would serve to be his downfall. Elias punched the pegasus twice in the muzzle, breaking the pony’s nose, before he stabbed the pegasus in the neck, the weight disappearing from his grip. Elias then cut at the earth pony to his right, catching the stunned pony in the chest. She too vanished, which left one.

The earth pony overcame her shock that Elias was still on his feet, and she gripped her axe tighter in her teeth. With a growl, she launched herself at him. Elias swung at her head, trying to cut off the charge. The pain put off his aim, allowing the earth pony to dip under his sloppy swing. She swung widely, and then the axe came down in a spray as it embedded itself in Elias’ chest.

Elias cried out again, his agony splitting the air. Blood painted his face in a spattering of red, but Elias still remained on his feet. The earth pony stared at him in horror as he glared at her, his eyes finding her over the blade of the axe. Feather found her throat quickly, and she disappeared with a pop of magic, the look of shocked horror still on her face.

Elias panted heavily as he stared at the sky, relishing the feeling of the sun on his face. He sent a silent thank you to Anyon for his armor. While he was in a nasty spot, he could already tell that the chest wound wouldn’t kill him. Not immediately at least. Maybe it was the blood loss, or the absolute agony in his shattered leg, but after sheathing his gladius, Elias gripped the handle of the axe. Taking a single breath, Elias ripped the axe free from his chest. Blood pattered to the ground, and Elias was close behind as he collapsed. He pressed his hands to the wound, trying to staunch the bleeding as he groaned in pain. On second thought, it probably wasn’t a good idea to pull out the axe.

Elias blinked in the bright light of the sun. He looked around to find that the ponies were still fighting, though there were substantially fewer blue ponies than there were golden ponies now. Either way, the match hadn’t ended, and he was still on the field. That had to mean that he could still fight. Elias pushed himself up onto one knee, and drew Feather, the blade shining in the light of the day. He silently dared someone to attack him.

A pegasus, perhaps thinking him easy prey, rushed Elias, not even bothering to disguise his approach as his wingblades reached out like sharp fingers, aimed right at Elias’ throat. It was simplicity itself to simply lay back, flopping to the ground as he stuck his gladius in the air, bracing it with both hands. The pegasus couldn’t curb his momentum, and he ran straight into the outstretched sword, impaling himself as he disappeared with a pop. Elias grinned and sat back up, trying to ignore the red puddle on the ground around him. Elias spotted his shield, laying clearly in the dust a few feet away. Spotting no immediate threats, Elias tried to stand.

He got as far as putting his right foot down before he collapsed into the dirt, face first. Elias groaned in pain, keeping enough awareness around him to realized that he had kept hold of his gladius. A shadow passed over his body, and his grip on the blade tightened.

“Guardsman Bright, please release your weapon that we might assist you,” a voice said calmly.

Elias cracked open an eye, not even realizing it was closed in the first place. He quickly saw a trio of frowning faces standing over him, two familiar, and one not so. The black armor on the unfamiliar one meant Royal Guard though, so he knew she wasn’t an enemy.

Elias huffed, the only response he could muster as he uncurled his fingers from Feather’s hilt. The unfamiliar pony smiled down at him.

“Very good Guardsman. Don’t worry a thing, we’re going to take good care of you.”

Elias felt a warm feeling pass over his body, and he smiled at the pretty pony as his pain largely vanished.

Together, the three ponies rolled Elias onto a stretcher. The movement agitated Elias’ throat, and he coughed, sending a spatter of blood over the three. Surprisingly, none of them seemed particularly disgusted by it. In his delirious state, Elias found that he could only grin at them.

“Sorry,” he said, the syllables slurring slightly. “Guess it’s a bit worse than I thought.”

Chaser frowned at him as they teleported. Elias’ gut lurched, but thankfully it wasn’t as bad as the one earlier.

“Is he going to be alright Doc? He’s looking pretty rough.”

Scalpel sighed and nodded as he removed Elias’ helmet, running a hoof through Elias’ hair. Elias stuck his tongue out at the pony in response.

“Unfortunately, he should make a full recovery, which means this will undoubtedly happen again.”

The unfamiliar pony smirked as her horn lit up.

“Why Doctor Scalpel, if I didn’t know better, I would think you’re trying to keep the good Guardsman here permanently crippled. Surely you wouldn’t be so cruel?”

Scalpel scoffed.

“Please, he’d probably charge into battle on one leg if we cut it off. He’s stubborn like that.” His hoof gestured at Elias’ wounds. “All of this is probably a flesh wound for him, even if it’s much worse.”

Elias giggled slightly as he felt magic tickle at his chest.

“I’d say I’ll walk it off, but I think someone broke my leg.”

Scalpel frowned and he put a hoof over Elias’ mouth.

“Elias, stop talking. Healer Bandage needs your chest still so that she can heal it properly.”

Elias rolled his eyes dismissively in response. He remained largely silent however, with only a few giggles escaping as he felt the tickles began to make their way to his leg. Chaser frowned down at him again.

“What’s wrong with him Doc? Sure he’s hurt, but he didn’t seem like this last time.”

The pony that Scalpel had called Bandage looked up at Chaser.

“I gave him a heavy sedative spell.” She looked at Elias with a smile, ruffling his hair with her hoof. Elias giggled stupidly and stuck his tongue out at her as well. “It was supposed to knock the Guardsman out, but it appears that it just made him a bit giddy. As long as he isn’t hurting, I think we can deal with a bit of silly chatter.”

Scalpel sighed again, drawing Elias’ eyes. The unicorn smiled down at the human, and he began to pet Elias’ hair again.

“I have no idea why the safety spell didn’t grab him when his leg broke. The wound is serious enough that he should have been snatched up, but he wasn’t, he just kept fighting.”

Chaser nodded.

“That he did, and if I hadn’t already tangoed with him once, I’d think he was cheating. He took out four different ponies before he dropped, and he looked like he wanted to keep going.”

Elias snorted as he imagined Chaser in a dress.

“We’ve never danced before Captain. I think you’re mis-remembering stuff. Should get that checked out.”

Chaser grinned.

“Maybe not Guardsman, but would you like to?”

Elias snorted again.

“No, I can’t dance. Just like I can’t sing. Princess Luna is full of it if she believes in stuff like song magic.” He scoffed as he closed his eyes, feeling slightly tired. “I tried to tell her that ambient magic doesn’t work on me, but no! The human who’s lived with himself for nineteen years apparently doesn’t know squat, just because he doesn’t know anything about magic, suddenly he’s not an expert.”

Elias paused, opening his eyes. He blinked stupidly at Scalpel, squinting as he stared at the pony.

“Who was that just talking? He sounds like an idiot.”

Bandage snorted with laughter.

“I don’t know why everypony has it out for this guy, he’s great.”

Scalpel shook his head in exasperation.

“And it only took one of the most powerful numbing spells in Equestria. Elias, look at me for a second.”

Elias pointedly looked away, staring just to the left of Scalpel’s head. The unicorn sighed and shook his head again as he held a hoof to his face.

“I don’t know why I thought I would get anything other than that result. Look, Elias, what was that about ambient magic not working on you?”

Elias blinked and focused on Scalpel.

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, ambient magics don’t affect me. I don’t have a magical signature at all. Princess Luna thought I did, but she scanned your magic while you were healing me.” He sniffed as he stared at nothing behind the unicorn. “Yeah, she hasn’t scanned me since, and every time ambient magic is used, it doesn’t work on me. There was this song thing a week ago, I just watched. Did nothing for me.”

Chaser looked at Scalpel.

“Could that be true?” he asked. “Could he lack ambient magic, giving the safety spell nothing to latch onto?”

Scalpel shrugged in response.

“Could be. I don’t know enough about magic theory to deny it, and it sounds right. I’ll ask the princesses about it later.”

Elias blinked stupidly as his eyes shifted from Scalpel to Chaser. Elias blinked a few more times, before he slowly said;

“Captain, I don’t wish to alarm you, but you are covered in fur. Like… everywhere. Head to-“

Elias tried to look down, but found that his head was stuck in place. It probably had something to do with Scalpel holding his head.

“Hm… I’m going to assume toe, but you might want to get that checked just in case.”

Elias looked up to Scalpel, then smiled widely.

“Oh hey, Scalpel’s here. He can take care of that problem for you Captain!”

Bandage snorted again, covering her muzzle as she tried not to collapse in laughter. Chaser glared at her.

“Healer…” he said, his tone a warning.

She waved a hoof dismissively at the pegasus.

“Oh, don’t be a killjoy Captain. I’m just thinking about the fun we could be having here. You’ve got to get this guy for us. Not counting the fact that he’s one of the nastiest fighters I’ve ever seen, he’s absolutely hilarious. Come on Captain, he’s what the Royal Guard needs these days.”

Chaser sighed face-hoofing.

“Fine Bandage, I’ll try to convince him to work on an application when he isn’t staring at me like that.”

Scalpel slapped Elias’ hand as it rose up to touch his fur. The human hissed at him in reply. Scalpel just kept petting the human’s hair, ignoring the glare he was receiving. Chaser prodded Elias’ side, and so the human stared at him, his eyes looking clear for a second.

“Guardsman Bright, would you be interested about a place in the Royal Guard? Healer Bandage is right that you’ve got the right kind of stuff, but it won’t be easy work. It will take a lot of sweat, and studying to get in.”

Elias frowned slightly, staring at nothing as he thought.

“Well,” he replied slowly, “I’d have to put some real thought into that. I’d need to talk to Book Binder, and Night Flash, because I definitely don’t want to leave my potential parents behind. That’d just be wrong.”

Chaser looked to Scalpel.

“His what?”

Scalpel sighed.

“Guardsponies Book Binder and Night Flash have offered adoption to Guardsman Bright here. Due to some internal trauma he refuses to share,” he said, pointedly looking down at Elias. “he hasn’t outright accepted. They’re doing some kind of progressive parenthood to get him used to the idea. So far, I think it’s going well, but who knows with this one.”

Elias crossed his arms over his chest.

“I don’t care how much you drug me Scalpel, these lips are sealed.”

Scalpel sighed again.

“If I didn’t know the exact symptoms of delirium, I’d think you were just trying to mess with me Elias. As it stands, I’m going to write everything you say down and use it as blackmail.”

Elias stuck his tongue out at Scalpel, causing the pony to smile as he resumed petting Elias’ head. Scalpel looked to Chaser.

“Take the answer as a tentative yes. I’ll make sure to talk to him about it when he isn’t out of his mind.”

Chaser nodded in agreement.

“Good, have him stop by my office. If nothing else, I’d like a serious conversation with him about this.”

Chaser looked down at Elias.

“I’m watching you in the third round Guardsman. I know better than to think the first-round strategy was from Palisade. If I’m being honest, I’m really looking forward to see what you to win.”

Elias grinned at him.

“Oh, you’re going to love it. Maybe the spell helped me think, or maybe it was the snapping of my leg, who knows, but I’ve come up with exactly what we need. Just remember to keep your eye on the flag. The twist will surprise you.”

Chaser nodded and gave Elias a pat on the shoulder.

“Maybe I will Guardsman. Do well, I’m rooting for you.”

With that, the pegasus left. Scalpel frowned down at Elias.

“How do you know that there’s going to be a third round?” he asked. “Palisade could still pull through.”

Elias snorted dismissively, raising three fingers on his left hand.

“And three, two, one…”

A golden flare spiraled into the air, exploding with a shower of sparkles. Elias giggled.

“And as usual, my sour expectations are met. Mors mihi lucrum.”

Bandage shook her head as she watched the golden glow fade away.

“Alright, now that’s just spooky. Down to the second too.”

She smiled at Elias, who smiled dazedly back.

“You need to join the Royal Guard, Bright. I haven’t seen many ponies that just scream ‘Royal Guard’ material, but you definitely fit that bill.”

Elias grinned at her.

“Aw, thanks! That means a lot.” He snorted softly. “I’m just lucky to have you here.” He looked up at Scalpel. “This mean pony is gonna start yelling at me as soon as you're gone. As long as you’re here, he wouldn’t dare!”

Scalpel glared at Elias while Bandage laughed again. The unicorn rose, shifting to sit near Elias’ head.

“Well Guardsman Bright, you’re all healed up. Scalpel will take you back to your base camp, then dispel the numbing enchantment, alright?”

She reached out a hoof to Elias,

“Stay cool and safe, you hear?”

Elias bumped it with his fist.

“Why would I want to do that?” he replied. He stuck his tongue out at Scalpel. “I’d much rather come up here and bother Scalpel some more than be something like “safe”. Besides, I know he likes to play mother hen.”

Elias laughed, then stopped suddenly as he stared widely at Scalpel’s face. The unicorn looked at him nervously as he reached a finger out, poking Scalpel in the nose.

“Doc,” he said dumbly, “you’re a pony.”

Bandage burst out laughing as Scalpel just shook his head in exasperation, his horn lighting up as they vanished in a flash.

*****

Elias scowled darkly as he rubbed at his temples. His mouth tasted foul, and his head was pounding. He felt like an idiot, and he had no idea why. All he remembered was collapsing, then waking up as Scalpel escorted him into the command tent. It was empty for now, so Scalpel decided to ensure that Elias ate and drank something to replace his lost blood. As Elias chewed, he vaguely recalled talking to Chaser, as well as another pony. She had seemed nice, and after prodding at Scalpel, the unicorn had given Elias a name, Bloody Bandage, as well as her recommendation that he look into joining the Royal Guard. Elias gave him a noncommittal, “I’ll think on it,” before falling into a brooding silence.

Not counting the splitting migraine that he had, Elias altogether felt like hammered shit. His cuirass sat on the table beside him, looking a bloody mess. A large cut marred the left breastplate, and Elias knew he wouldn’t be wearing it again anytime soon. His tunic had fared much worse. The cloth had been nearly ripped in half, and blood stained the blue fabric, turning it black. Underneath it sat a massive bandage across his chest wound. Bandage had used most of her magic to mend his leg, which ached, but was fully functional. The bandage was a compromise with Scalpel. The unicorn had threatened to make Elias sit out of the third round if he didn’t wear it, so despite the stiffness of the broad bandage, Elias relented. He didn’t believe for a second that the wound was at risk of tearing open again, but what could he do? He waited in silence for the Lunar Guards to return.

After a few minutes of waiting, dejected Lunar Guards began to wander into the command tent. Elias noted the beaten looks on their faces, the defeated posture of their bodies. He also noted that more ponies filtered in than before, including Book Binder and Night Flash as they supported a limping Scarlet into the tent. Elias made to stand, but Scalpel pushed him back in his seat as the unicorn rose, taking Scarlet by the foreleg as he guided him to an empty seat. His horn lit up as he treated the pony’s injuries, what looked to Elias like a broken muzzle, as well as several deep cuts along his flank.

Book Binder crawled up on Elias’, huffing slightly as she let her weight sink into his back. She hummed quietly in his ear, saying nothing as she closed her eyes and dozed. Night Flash gave Elias a half smile as he climbed into Elias’ lap, settling down with his chin on the table. Elias instinctively scratched the pony’s ears, his mind combing through his plan one more time as everyone settled. A glance around found that nearly their entire team was in the tent now, and most of those ponies were glaring at one place.

Elias calmly met their glares, eventually finding Palisade at the end of the table. The pegasus was also glaring at him, though it was a much more tempered glare than others were giving him. Elias tapped his fingers against the table, waiting in bored silence for the pegasus to speak. Palisade snorted.

“So Mr. Strategist, that didn’t work. We lost. Badly.”

Elias scoffed and smiled.

“You’re telling me. I got an axe in the chest and my leg snapped like a twig.”

His fingers dragged apart his tunic, displaying the red splotched bandage that covered his pale chest. Palisade flinched back at the sight, and Elias noted several gasps at the bloody damage. Book Binder tsked softly on his back, but she only rubbed her face softly against his neck, remaining silent.

“Let’s just say I know the pain of losing intimately and leave it at that.” He let his hand drop. “It could have been a lot worse, and either way, I expected this.”

Palisade sighed deeply and looked at the table.

“So, you have a plan?”

Elias nodded silently, then grunted as he lifted Night Flash off his lap, placing the pegasus on his seat while he reached for the map. Elias fingered the bandage on his chest softly as he reached out to the map, snatching up a quill as he began to erase the previous plan. Book Binder moaned softly as she was forced to climb down from his shoulders, but settled next to Night Flash, huffing into his neck fur.

“The Solar Guards think us incompetent now, so that works to our favor," Elias said. "We gave them their arrogance back, and that’s what we’re going to play to.”

One of the guards scoffed.

“Why? If you didn’t notice, we got creamed. The first round was a fluke and we should just quit while we’re ahead.”

Elias stopped before the quill in his hand could touch the sand. He blinked as he stared at the map, then looked up, tracking the source of the voice until he found the pony in question, a gray thestral. Elias stared at her for a second, then pointed outside.

“Then go,” he said simply, keeping any trace of emotion from his voice. “Quit. If that’s what you feel is best, then do it. I won’t stop you.”

Some of the guards recoiled back at his words. The thestral’s ears pinned to the side of her head, and her mouth flapped wordlessly. Elias looked around at the ponies around him.

“What?” he asked forcefully. “She says she wants to quit, so I say she should.” He looked back to the thestral, waving toward the tent entrance. “Go on now. Follow your instincts. Quit. Show us how a guard quits.”

The pony shook her head.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I don’t want to quit.”

“Then start acting like it,” Elias replied, anger creeping into his tone.

He looked around again.

“That goes for all of you. Each, and every one of you has already decided the battle in your minds, which means when we go out there again, we are going to lose, because you won’t give it your all. You’ve given up in here, so you won’t care out there.”

Elias smiled, then chuckled.

“It’s pretty funny considering all you did before today was lose. You’d figure you could get over the feeling by now.”

Green Leaf growled at him.

“This isn’t funny Bright. We’re following your plans, and now we’re losing.”

“Ah, but see, I said this would happen, and it did.” Elias replied, grinning at the pony. “You act like we were just supposed to win out the gate again. You got arrogant, just like White Shine and all of the Solar Guards have. I advise you lose that arrogance before this stops becoming a game and the stakes start getting real.”

Elias tapped his chest.

“Because for some of us, the stakes are already very real.”

Green Leaf backed down, glaring at the table, sufficiently cowed. Elias looked around the tent, looking for anyone else who thought to challenge him. Most didn’t meet his gaze. Elias saw Scarlet rise from the corner of his eye. Despite Scalpel's protests, the pegasus climbed stiffly onto the table, plopping down right in front of the map. He stared at the magical object intently.

“What’s the plan now Elias? We lost, and you said that would make them arrogant again, and I believe you completely. So how do we beat them?”

Elias grinned as he began to draw.

“By being even more arrogant than them of course.”

Chapter 20: The RAT Exercise; Part 3

Elias took long strides forward. At his side walked Night Flash and Scarlet Shield, with Gray Granite and a pair of unicorns directly behind him. Around them marched almost the entirety of their team, with less than a dozen hidden elsewhere. Serious expressions decorated their faces as they walked down the center lane. The blue armor gleamed in the sunlight on everyone save for Elias, who was nearly naked. Part of his plan was going to reply on intimidation, so Elias showed his confidence by going into battle with armor only protecting his calves. His wrist guards, helmet, and cuirass remained in the command tent. Since he was already taking a cue from the Gauls with his battle dress, Elias had decided to commit, so he had torn away his tunic as well, ripping the fabric into long lengths. He had gotten some interesting looks as his scarred and tattooed back was exposed for the world to see, but for once, Elias didn’t care. He felt nothing showing off his old legion markings, and since nobody asked him questions about it, he was able to remain completely calm.

Overhead, a pair of pegasi powered by, their golden armor shining bright as they took in the march of the Lunar Guard. They disappeared back toward their base, and Elias nodded in grim satisfaction. He had made everything as clear as possible. No illusions covered their approach, nor did any occupy the other lanes. Their base sat empty. Tied tightly around his arm was a blue flag, flapping in the wind as they walked. Elias intentionally kept his shield on his back so that there would be no opportunity to miss the blue cloth.

While most of the ponies around him walked confidently, Elias noted that more than a few were scanning the trees nervously as they moved closer and closer to the enemy base. Elias knew that the fear was misplaced. White Shine didn’t have the tactical mind to pull off an ambush; that, and it wasn’t his style. No, the unicorn would hear his scouting reports and wait, massing his force to meet Elias head on. Elias just hoped the unicorn was arrogant enough to wait until they got closer to their base.

As the lane straightened, the trees faded away. The Lunar Guards walked unopposed into the open plain before the Solar Guard base. Elias saw their flag flapping in the breeze atop their flagpole. He knew it wouldn’t be there long. Elias’ eyes drifted down, nodding approvingly as he looked over the force arrayed against them. If nothing else, the Solar Guard’s battle line was quite intimidating. Earth ponies stood interspersed amongst unicorns, who had their horns charged as Elias walked his forces calmly into view. Overhead, the pegasi circled like carrion birds. Elias knew they were watching him, and he was glad for it.

‘Keep your eyes on the flag,’ Elias thought to himself.

In front of his forces stood White Shine, the unicorn waving a small green flag for truce. Scarlet handed Elias a green handkerchief, and he waved it in the air. The two combatants strode forward from their ranks, meeting halfway across the field. White Shine brought several ponies with him, while Elias walked alone. He needed an unbroken mask of confidence, and if any of his friends got nervous, it would spoil everything.

As they met, Elias saw that hated pretentious smile on White Shine’s muzzle. Elias couldn’t wait to see it gone.

“So Bright,” White Shine said with a sneer, “Palisade sends his monkey out to do his dirty work does he?”

Elias shrugged.

“No, he’s just smart enough to stay back with his troops so he can give orders. If nothing else, he’s keeping fresh, unlike you and your stooges here.” Elias smirked at the ponies around White Shine. “Afraid I’d beat your ass during the truce?”

White Shine matched his smirk.

“Such crass bravado does you no good when you bring your flag right to me. Say, you wouldn’t happen to be surrendering, would you? I have a bet running, and I must say, it is quite lucrative.” He smiled sweetly at Elias. “I’d even offer you a share if you gave me your flag. Even monkeys need money.”

“Is that really the only insult you have on me Little Spear,” Elias said with a grin. “All you’ve ever called me is a monkey, and I have to say, the insult is almost as boring as listening to you talk.” He chuckled. “Let me say, that is a low bar.”

White Shine scowled at him.

“Uncultured brute. That quick tongue is going to get you in trouble Bright, because it isn’t matched with a quick wit. What is to stop me from simply betraying this truce and taking the flag from your wretched body?”

Elias scratched his nose and grinned.

“First, it doesn’t matter how many goons you throw at me Shine, I’ll send them back in pieces. We are in different fighting classes you and I.” He thumbed his nose. “I personally dare you to try and take this flag.”

Elias extended his index finger as White Shine tensed up.

“However, before you do anything stupid and hasty, I want you to think on something. If you betray the truce that you called, all you’re going to do is make yourself look like a dishonorable coward who will never make it beyond a simple guard because he can’t be trusted.”

Elias shrugged at the pony.

“Besides, you no more want a fightless win than I do. If you feel you’re up to it, go ahead. Betray the truce and try to take the flag. You might win this little exercise, but I get the biggest, nastiest piece of slander against you that I can ever have. Believe me when I say that you will never live it down.”

Elias pointed at the Lunar Guards at his back with a thumb.

“Me and mine can just claim you cheated. The act of breaking a truce will haunt your name wherever you go. Just what will your family think when they hear the name White Shine the Truce Breaker. It’s a hell of a title if I do say so myself. One that might have some consequences too. Is one win really worth that?”

White Shine stared at him with hate for a moment, then he smiled widely.

“Well played Bright, it seems you do have a brain in that thick skull of yours. A touch of cunning too. If you were just a hair smarter and a lot better looking, you might even pass for a pony of noble blood. If you weren’t a monkey of course.”

Elias smirked and shook his head, looking at nothing of the unicorn’s shoulder.

“There’s that same insult again. You lack creativity Shine. You should pay somebody to compensate for that.” He snorted. “It wouldn’t be the first time somebody compensated for you.”

White Shine’s glare returned, and the unicorn growled.

“This truce is over. Go back to your pathetic friends so that we can kick your flank and rub it into the dirt.”

Elias winked at the pony as he turned away.

“Come and try Little Spear. I’ll be waiting.”

Elias turned, walking back to his line slowly. He gave the subtlest of nods to Night Flash, who tapped his chest armor three times. The taps were repeated through the Lunar Guards, a near silent signal that carried across the battlefield. The trap was set. The spell shield descended as soon as Elias fell back into line, and offensive spells crackled across it a second after. A loud shout echoed forth as the Solar Guards charged behind their wall of spells.

Elias grinned as he drew Feather, the blade living up to its name. Maybe it was the giddiness he was feeling, the rush of real, visceral combat, but the blade felt like nothing in his hand. His plan was coming together, and as the golden clad ponies charged, Elias took a few deep breaths. Time for a bit more psychological warfare. He had been largely silent while fighting today, but in this final charge, that would change.

Elias had a great deal of experience with screams. He had heard all of them; grief, rage, but most importantly, pain. Elias had a lot of very personal experiences with pain. Causing it, feeling it, both inside and out. Pain was an old friend, and a bitter enemy that wouldn’t let him be. Elias could feel all of the old hurts tucked away in his head, and for a moment, he felt completely comfortable tapping into them. He knew the feeling wouldn’t last, likely not even till the end of the day, but Elias felt high on his feeling of wholeness. It was how he should feel, but so rarely did.

The scream he used had the power to turn blood to ice. He had heard it far too many times, both in reality, and his dreams. He chose it because he knew exactly what reaction it would cause. The scream he chose was uttered from the mouths of people in the greatest of agonies, a scream that happened, not when the hot knife cut into their spine, nor when the hatchet came down again and again. No, it was the scream they uttered when their back was slowly pulled from their ribcage, muscle and fat straining to stay attached. As Elias opened his mouth and screamed, he knew exactly what it sounded like.

It was the scream of a blood eagle, and this one felt more than ready to stretch his wings.

Elias let out his soul shattering howl, and amplified by the spells of one of the unicorns behind him, it sang across the battlefield, causing even his troops to flinch in fear. They had prepared for this however, so as Elias rushed forward, they followed without hesitation. As he sprinted headlong at the Solar Guards, Elias let his scream shift from that of a dying man, to that of a raging one. Elias felt pure anger flow like water through his veins, heating his blood as he ran. The charging line of Solar Guards at his front balked, and as Elias came in range, he swung with deadly efficiency, slamming into their line, cracking the center of the charge. The sounds of armor crunching against armor as the two sides met was horrific, and music to Elias’ ears.

Elias whirled and fought like a demon. He had warned the Lunar Guards to stay well away, and they did so, allowing him to cut loose. With the knowledge of the last two rounds, Elias had noticed that contact of any kind to certain areas on ponies made the safety spell activate, sending them away. His fighting strategy consisted of flailing wildly, striking those areas as hard as he could until the pony vanished. Half a dozen guards dropped quickly to this strategy, clearing the area around him. Elias responded by pushing forward, slamming into the second half of the charging line with increased intensity. He dipped under the jab of a spear and lashed out with the back of his hand, catching the pony in the muzzle as his scutum slammed home against the pony's neck. She vanished as another pony pushed into the suddenly empty space. Elias rushed forward under the cut of the short sword, rather than back. The earth pony balked at his careless charge, and Feather found a brief home in the pony's chest before he too disappeared.

Throughout it all, Elias kept screaming, uninterrupted as he sent silent thank you’s to the second unicorn who was maintaining an endurance spell on the human. The spell granted the human increased speed, stamina, and most importantly, lung capacity. While the intention was to make it so he could drag in more air to fight for longer, Elias used it to seem like an ungodly wraith, shrieking in the face of his opponents before he attacked. A slash bit into a pegasus’ neck while his shield slammed into a unicorn’s horn. They both vanished and Elias screamed at the next pony in line. It worked well. Very well.

So well in fact, that Elias quickly found himself without any opponents as he broke through the Solar Guard line. Elias briefly noticed that somehow, somebody stole his underwear, leaving him stark naked, but in his near berserker state, he didn’t care. Elias stumbled slightly as he fell out of range of the amplification and endurance spells, but Elias didn’t feel that tired at all. If anything, he felt better than usual, like a great weight had been temporarily lifted from his shoulders. A loud shout echoed behind him, then the crash of steel echoed through the air once more as a small wing of the Lunar Guard slammed into the Solar Guard's left flank, hopefully panicking the golden-clad ponies. If his math was right, Elias imagined that in about thirty seconds, the second flanking force would drop their invisibility bubble and hit the right flank, and then it would be the simple task of mopping up the fenced in Solar Guards. Elias couldn't think on any of that however, he had a job to do.

As he regained his footing, Elias spotted White Shine and his stooges near the flag. They were staring at him in shock, but then they grinned. Elias took a quick glance around to find that he was alone, but he didn’t feel concerned about it, it was part of the plan. He needed to buy time and occupy the four golden clad ponies, three unicorns and a familiar, axe wielding earth pony. Elias cracked his neck as he stalked forward, keeping quiet now. He wanted to save every bit of his energy now, especially since he needed to keep all four occupied. That, or take them out.

Elias charged them, making sure to grab a stone or two from his sword belt as he did so. Sure enough, he felt himself begin to lift into the air. A sharp stone and a pain filled screech later, Elias was running again. As their compatriot vanished, White Shine and the other unicorn exchanged a glance. Neither tried the same trick, instead levitating pairs of glowing swords while the earth pony ran to meet Elias’ charge, her battle axe in her teeth.

Elias lowered his head behind his shield as he met the earth pony. The boss of his scutum caused the axe blade to bounce away, and Elias shoved forward, trying to plow into the earth pony to know her off her hooves. Before he could get close enough, Elias was forced to parry a sword strike aimed at his legs. Tucking himself tighter behind the shield, Elias felt a sword strike bite into his left shoulder. Pain lanced down the arm, but as Elias took a step back, the blade vanished. A glance told him the injury wasn’t serious, and Elias peaked out to plan an attack against his three remaining opponents.

They didn’t give him enough time, and Elias knew in a flash that he wasn’t going to last long. He rolled forward under a pair of sword strikes aimed at his head, and Elias came to his feet face to face with the other unicorn. The pony paled, trying to bring his swords forward to strike Elias, but the human cracked him in the side of the head with his shield. The pony vanished.

Elias turned on his heels just in time to block another axe swing, this one nearly ripping the shield from his arm. Elias slashed desperately with Feather, driving the pony back. Before he could press his advantage, a large pair of golden swords cut at his neck. Elias stumbled backward as he tried to avoid getting his throat slit. He managed to hold his balance for a few steps, but then the earth pony plowed into him, sending his scutum flying from his grip. With his primary defense gone, while off balance, White Shine dissipated his swords and charged a spell, hitting Elias square in the chest with a blast of raw magic.

Pain arced across Elias’ chest, and his jaw seized up, nearly cutting his tongue in two. He collapsed, writhing to the ground as he tried to keep a steady grip on his gladius. The earth pony was having none of that, as she stomped on his wrist, causing his hand to fall open, releasing the blade into the dirt. As Elias panted, trying to get air in his chest to push the earth pony away, he found a blade pressed against his throat. Elias closed one eye to see through the glare of the sunlight, and found White Shine staring smugly down at him.

“Surrender Bright. It is the honorable thing, you are beaten.”

Elias winced as he spoke.

“Really?” he said breathlessly, “because I’ve got you right where I want you.”

White Shine rolled his eyes.

“Fine, be a stupid monkey to the bitter end then. Hold him still Wood Cutter, I shall take the flag from him.”

Elias felt the earth pony pin his limbs, watching closely as White Shine undid his helmet, waving his mane dramatically as he set it on the ground. The unicorn then conjured a small, golden blade and approached Elias. The human tried to squirm, but found that the earth pony was substantially stronger than he was. She didn’t so much as budge despite his best effort.

White Shine looked in Elias’ eyes as he cut the cloth from Elias’ arm, holding it triumphantly in the air.

“And like that, we are victorious!” he proclaimed loudly.

A boom echoed around them and Elias watched as fireworks lit up the sky. He grinned when they exploded with blue sparks, rather than gold. White Shine looked at the color’s with horror, then he looked at the bloody rag in his hooves. He got in Elias’ face, waving the cloth with fury.

“What the buck is this Bright?” he shouted angrily.

Elias snorted.

“That my dear White Shine, is called bait. And if you’ll take a look at your flag, that is called a win for my team.”

The unicorn’s head snapped up, watching in horror as Book Binder, with the real flag suspended in her plume, waved the Solar Guard flag back and forth, shouting jubilantly. Elias felt a smile creep across his face as shouts of victory echoed across the battlefield. White Shine spun on him again, his face contorted with rage.

“Y-You!”

Elias said nothing, nor did he move. Mostly because of the heavy pony that was still pinning him to the ground, not in anger, but in complete shock. Elias smiled, clearing his throat loudly as he stared at the earth pony. She blinked, and looked down at him.

“Ah, Wood Cutter was it? Could you let me up?”

The pony blinked again, then looked down at how she was still pinning his limbs to the ground. She grinned sheepishly, blushing as she backed off. Elias sat up, then pushed himself to his feet. As he began dusting himself off, Book Binder sprinted at him, flag in her magic as she leaped, crashing onto his shoulders. Elias stumbled, but managed to keep his balance as he pony wrapped her hooves around his head.

“We did it, we did it, we did it!” she crowed loudly in his ear.

Elias blinked as the golden material of the flag found its way in front of his eyes, blinding him.

“We actually did it Elias! We won! We finally won!”

Elias smiled and brushed the flag aside, attempting to bend over to retrieve his fallen sword and shield. He managed to grab and sheathe Feather, but the scutum remained out of reach as the rest of their team flooded in. The Lunar Guards cheered and jostled him as they celebrated loudly. Elias spotted more than one pony with tears of joy on their faces. He supposed it was an occasion worthy of crying for, though he knew tears would never touch his face for something so casual and safe.

Elias nearly toppled again when Night Flash flapped up, joining Book Binder on his shoulders. He used his wings for balance as he hugged the unicorn. She giggled as she pulled him in for a kiss, and Elias watched as the pegasus’ hips began to waggle as if he was going to try for the next step.

“Hey!” Elias yelled at them, trying to cut through the noise. “If you’re going to do that, do it on the ground! You’re wearing armor and neither of you are exactly light. I’m strong, but not that strong.”

Elias felt Binder lightly smack the back of his head.

“Hush you, we’re trying to have a moment.”

Night Flash just smiled at the two of them however, hopping off of Elias’ shoulders gracefully. Book Binder sighed, then nuzzled the back of Elias’ head as she whispered for him to let her down as well. Once the pair was on the ground, they continued to celebrate, joining in the cheering as the flag was passed around. Elias felt someone poke his side, and looked down to find Scarlet, his scutum in the pony’s teeth. Elias took the shield in his left hand.

“Thanks Scarlet, I really didn’t want to have to go look for this.”

The pegasus nodded happily.

“Hey, it’s the least I can do since you helped us win!” The pegasus jumped into the air, his wings fluttering at his side. “I can’t believe we did it!”

He smiled at Elias for a second, then his eyes drifted downward slightly, and his face flushed as he looked away. The pegasus cleared his throat.

“Uh, Elias, you might want to cover up. You're uhm…”

He waved at Elias’ crotch, and Elias joined him in flushing red as he used his shield to cover his exposed genitals. He had forgotten that. He had no clothes, and while that was okay for ponies, or even himself in the heat of battle, the fighting was done, and now he desperately wished he hadn’t torn his tunic into strips to make a decoy flag. Elias was kind of curious about who had stolen his briefs as well. They hadn’t even left a scratch; the underwear was simply gone. He shuddered at the thought of someone taking them as a souvenir. As Elias mused about how he was going to escape the battlefield with his dignity intact, a loud cry caused everyone to freeze and snap to.

“ATTENTION!” Nightshade shouted as she descended from the sky like a bullet. “Guardspony Palisade, Guardspony White Shine, front and center! All else, face the address.”

Elias turned and quickly saw Luna, Celestia, Nightshade, and Captain Armor, all waiting with serious faces. Elias felt sweat run down his exposed back. He desperately prayed that this was all some sort of strange twist on his night terrors. He’d never had a nude dream, but he saw no reason not to start now. Any kind of dream would be better than this.

The two team captains stood at attention directly in front of Celestia and Luna. Celestia cleared her throat loudly as she addressed them.

“Team Captain White Shine, you have sent your guard captain a letter expressing concerns that you opponents cheated. Would you care to expound on this?”

White Shine grinned with all the smugness of a cat who just intentionally threw up on somebody’s breakfast.

“Of course, Princess. The forces of Palisade broke the rule of hiding their flag.” He levitated the scrap of Elias’ tunic in front of the princesses. “This false flag was worn by one of Palisade’s guards, while the other was secreted away. This is in clear violation of the rules, and therefore their “victory” is moot.”

He shifted slightly as he straightened, his nose in the air as his eyes glanced back at Elias. Elias didn’t respond whatsoever; he had actually planned for this as well. He even gave Palisade the entire justification, so if the pony would just say it…

Celestia looked to Palisade.

“How do you respond to these allegations Guardspony Palisade?”

“They’re completely untrue Princess,” Palisade replied confidently.

Elias began to let out a sigh of relief, until he heard the brown pegasus’ next words.

“Though if I may be so bold, I did not hold the entirety of the battle plan, and therefore I am not the best pony to defend it. That honor should go to our chief strategist, Guardsman Bright.”

Elias immediately felt all eyes shift to him.

‘Damn you Palisade,’ Elias thought angrily to himself. ‘You’re going to pay for this.’

Celestia looked at him carefully.

“Guardsman Bright, please step forward.”

Elias did so, with several ponies shifting out of his way. Scarlet gave him an apologetic look as he walked away, and Elias heard a trail of gasps left in his wake. This day shouldn’t have been this bad. It really shouldn’t have been. Elias took a deep breath as he took a glance at White Shine, who smiled smugly back. That smile got Elias’ blood up, so his confidence returned as well. Keeping his shield over his front, Elias straightened as he fell into a modified attention in front of the princesses. He pretended that he didn’t know that his ass was currently on display to the entirety of both teams. If he could keep his scutum blocking his crotch, he would be fine.

Evidently the universe had other ideas, primarily in the form of Nightshade. The thestral frowned deeply as she glared at him.

“Guardsman Bright, you stand at attention when in front of the princesses, so fall in.”

Elias bit his lip as he struggled not to just duck and run.

“Captain, that’s not really a good idea right now, I don’t-“

“I don’t care what you think Bright!” she shouted at him. “Now stand at attention before I take you back to the castle and run you till you drop!”

Elias sighed deeply. Of course not. He scratched his eyebrow, looking at the angry thestral. She glared furiously back. Elias took a deep breath.

“Well, you asked for it…”

Elias straightened to attention, and his shield fell to his side. His eyes never left Nightshade’s face however, so he was able to watch in real time as she became redder than a tomato. Her eyes were locked on his lower half, and Elias just shook his head in embarrassment as he looked to the two princesses. Both stared at him with jaws agape, as did Captain Armor, though luckily his eyes weren’t directed downward. Instead, the unicorn was just staring dumbly at Elias’ scarred chest. A glance down showed him that the bandage that had covered his axe wound was gone as well, and the brutal looking scar ran from his left pectoral down to his belly button.

“Elias… you’re naked,” Luna finally said, her eyes dragging themselves away from his bare crotch.

“Eeyup,” Elias replied, nodding simply as he bit his lip.

Celestia was the first to clear herself fully from her stupor. Her magenta eyes found his, and he saw a slight smile on her face.

“I must say, I am quite excited to hear how this played into your grand plan.”

“To be fair Princess, I did have underwear on earlier, but somebody tore them off,” Elias replied, casting a glance over his shoulder at a large group of Solar Guards. “If you want to find out the entire reason of why I’m naked, you’ll have to ask someone else.”

“Quite,” Celestia said with a smile. “Now, on to business, White Shine has leveled a rather serious accusation against your team, how do you respond?”

Elias did his best not to move at all, ignoring the shiver he felt as the wind picked up slightly. It carried a cold edge to it, and Elias could only pray that nobody else decided to join in on what was slowly turning out to be a shitty day.

“White Shine’s allegations are false, and I have concrete evidence to prove it.” The more he spoke, the less self-aware Elias became, so he relaxed as best he could as he continued. “To start, there is nothing in the rule book about creating a false flag, so that portion of the deception is completely fair. Second, prior to the match, I had Palisade send a message to Captain Nightshade, requesting that she watch Book Binder for the entirety of the match.”

He looked over to the thestral, who still had her eyes locked on his lower half.

“I would assume she did so, and you can check everything I say with her observations.”

He straightened, facing Celestia once more.

“Even if she didn’t however, the plan was as such. The entirety of our force, save for Book Binder left our base first, traveling down the center lane toward White Shine’s base. This was to draw the eyes of his scouts while Book Binder waited at base. After an allotted amount of time, Book Binder left the base, travelling along the left lane and around the left side of the arena, just inside the forest boundaries. The thought was that nobody would think to search such areas, since they so obviously restrict a pony's magical abilities. As far as I know, she held her head high as she walked up the lane, and the flag remained in sight of anyone who was looking.”

Elias cleared his throat, as he resisted the urge to cover up.

“My nakedness, as with the enhanced screaming, obvious attack, and even talking to White Shine was with the intention of keeping his eyes off the real flag. As Captain Nightshade is currently demonstrating, this strategy worked well.”

Luna snorted as her eyes broke away from Elias to look at the guard captain. She nudged the thestral in the side with a hoof.

“Captain, I believe you are drooling,” she said playfully.

Nightshade’s jaw snapped shut and she flushed crimson as her wings shuffled. She straightened and her eyes stared into nothing as she tried to look at nobody at all, especially not Elias. Celestia smiled widely.

“Indeed, it would seem so. You are free to cover up Guardsman Bright, I think you have proved that point adequately.”

Elias nodded at her gratefully and his scutum slid over his front, blocking sight access to his crotch. He caught what looked like a pout on Luna’s face, as well as what was definitely a pout on Nightshade’s. Neither met his eye however, and Celestia motioned for him to continue. Elias took a deep breath.

“With White Shine’s forces squarely focused on my antics, Book Binder was able to simply walk up to their flag and take it, the real flag was in her plume the entire time.”

Seeing nothing else to lose, Elias cleared his throat as he threw a glance at White Shine.

“I believe Guardspony White Shine is calling foul because he does not wish to have it brought to your attention that he was spending more time checking “spears” than he was planning effective battle strategy.”

A feather could have dropped, and he would have heard it. The silence in the air was chilling, and if Elias didn’t have all eyes on him before, he certainly did now. To make a joke like that, to Celestia’s face, while naked, during an important discussion probably wasn’t his smartest move. It was certainly a worthwhile one though. White Shine had decided to match Nightshade in flushing crimson, his eyes filled with rage as he glared at Elias.

Elias however, kept a straight face as he gauged the reactions of the ponies in front of him. Nightshade was looking at him with a mixture of horror and pride, along with something… else. Her eyes were narrowed to pin pricks, and she quivered as she tried not to laugh. Luna just had pure joy in her eyes. She only barely suppressed the signs of her mirth as her normally flowing tail swished back and forth while she bit her bottom lip, a wide grin on her face. Captain Armor was aggressively chewing on his cheek as he shook his head back and forth, turning a light shade of red as he held his breath. Finally, Celestia calmly maintained her mask and nodded as if Elias had just given her ground breaking insight. She looked to Nightshade.

“Are his reports concerning Guardspony Book Binder accurate Captain?”

Nightshade nodded, straightening as she let her professionalism suppress her emotions.

“Yes Princess. Book Binder remained clearly visible throughout the exercise. Had any of White Shine’s forces tried looking in the woods for her, she could have been capture swiftly.”

Celestia nodded, then looked to White Shine.

“Tell me then White Shine, is Guardsman Bright’s claim that you were studying the spears of other guards true?”

Elias' jaw clamped down as he struggled not to grin. She was playing along, and that made everything so much worse. White Shine looked aghast that Celestia had even asked such a question, and he could only stutter as he tried to reply.

“P-princess I-I I don’t think...”

“Come now Guardspony, either you were distracted during your planning period, studying the spear shafts of other guards as Guardsman Bright claims, or you weren’t, in which case you made an oversight concerning your battle strategy. Which is it?”

White Shine seemed frozen in place for a moment, then he sighed as he visibly drooped, his muzzle pointed toward the ground.

“Princess, I would like to withdraw my accusations.”

Celestia smiled brightly.

“Excellent.” She looked to Palisade, who was standing to the left of Elias. “Team Captain Palisade, you have my congratulations, your forces have won today’s game.”

The ponies behind him let out a cheer, and Elias was surprised to find that ponies from both teams were cheering. Solar Guard mingled with Lunar Guards as they hugged and jostled, chattering happily as they began to exchange stories and congratulations with each other. The Lunar Guards bragged about their win, while Solar Guards gave them playful jabs, claiming their minor victories in comparing the number of eliminations. As he watched the ponies celebrate with each other, Nightshade stalked up to him, punching him in an undamaged portion of his chest.

“That wasn’t funny Bright!” she shouted at him, though the words seemed to lack her usual heat. “I don’t care how much Guardspony Shine is checking you out, you don’t brag about it to the princesses.”

Elias groaned as Nightshade smiled, giggling at him. The ponies nearby laughed too, and Elias noticed more than a few looks at his still exposed butt. Nightshade pressed close to him, handing a slip of paper into his hands as she fake growled at him.

“Don’t do it again.”

She turned away, and Elias noticed her tail twitch upward as she did so. He attributed it to her laughter, and ignored it, instead focusing on the paper. He unfolded it slightly, peaking at the words written on it.

‘Keep up the good work Guardsman. And consider being nude more often, it suits you.’

-L

Elias looked up, quickly finding Luna. She winked at him, her cheeks slightly red as she, Celestia, and Nightshade took to the air. Elias stared after them in confusion, tucking the note into one of his belt pouches where he could keep it safe.

He didn’t have long to stare however, as Book Binder jumped on his shoulders again, pointing toward the arena exit as she cried out for celebratory refreshments. Her cheer instantly spread to the rest of the guards as they cheered loudly, surrounding Elias as they pushed forward, a fuzzy mass of loud ponies that swept them away back toward the castle.

Chapter 21: Epicinium

The air was charged with excitement as Elias felt another pair of hooves pat him on the back. Everything was loud, and Elias almost wished that he could take his meal and find some place quiet to relax alone.

After their match, two other classes of guards had fought, with one victory going to the Lunar Guards, while the other went to the Solar Guards. As the sun began to set, the princesses had decided to call the rest of the exercise off for the day, to be resumed at dawn. As a result, the two guard forces began to celebrate as they poured back into the castle cafeteria. The chefs had to work overtime to feed everyone as they came rushing in. More than one pony got chased off with a stirring spoon as they tried to get seconds, or in some cases, thirds.

And as almost every single one came out of that lunch line, they found their way to the table where Elias was seated with Scarlet, Book Binder, Night Flash, Scalpel, and the new pony to their group, Granite. Word had spread quickly about his decisive, game winning planning, and according to just about everyone who came to give him a pat on the back, he also had set a record for the highest single number of downed opponents in an exercise. The official counters credited him with thirty-nine confirmed “kills”, though Elias could only remember twenty-eight of those. He wasn’t going to dampen anyone’s spirits however, so he just went with the thirty-nine figure as more and more ponies came by to congratulate him.

Elias was surprised when members of all three guard branches did the congratulating. He was even more surprised when several Royal Guard members, that he was fairly sure hated him for his scrap with Chaser, asked him if he would be applying for their branch. While he gave them the same answer he had given Scalpel, Book Binder looked pleased as peaches as she watched the affair from across the table. She remained silent, beaming as she leaned against Night Flash, tearing through her salad as she watched pony after pony come up to visit the suddenly popular human.

As the entirety of all three guard forces finished getting their food, things began to calm down. The background talk and banter were still loud, but Elias felt like he was less on edge. He had an idea why his blood was up, but he was doing his best to finish out the day. Once he got back to his room, he could just sleep everything away and start fresh after another round of night terrors. He knew that the dreams would be particularly nasty this time; he had tapped into some long unused things to pull out that victory, especially at the beginning of that last fight. That screech was beginning to ring in his ears, and it made Elias’ temper short as it gripped his chest in a vise.

Elias tried to focus on the large meal he had been given, with Scalpel poking him in the side occasionally to eat. After finding some clothes, as well as getting another round of healing for his chest wound, Elias had been shoved to the front of the mess line by the unicorn. Most ponies wanted him to go first anyway, and those who looked like they wanted to protest were met by a growling Scalpel. Being the castle’s chief physician, as well as one of the few ponies who was actively responsible for healing injuries, nobody decided to argue. The injury itself was still clearly visible, and Scalpel had told him the scarring would be permanent, not that Elias particularly cared. He was already a patchwork of old wounds, what was one more?

Elias didn’t even taste the sizable piece of steak as he chewed, his mind slowly declining the more he sat still. He tried to not let it show, but he had let the ponies get too close, and they noticed quickly. Scalpel inched closer, pressing against his side as Book Binder and Night Flash looked at him with visible concern.

“Red? Is something wrong?” Night Flash asked.

Elias shook his head silently as he rubbed at his eyes. He felt exhausted as his body and mind slowly crashed. As he took a deep breath, Elias felt a hoof against his arm. He cracked his hands open to see Book Binder reaching out, looking at him as he imagined a mother would. Her eyes were soft, and caring, ready to make all of his hurts go away. Unfortunately for her, there was nothing she could do for him. Elias sighed, and stared at his half-eaten meal.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry. I just… it’s just the aftermath of fighting like that. Real fighting. It always hits hard.”

Elias scratched the back of his head as he looked to Scalpel.

“Do you have any issues with drug addicts? Addictions of any kind?”

Scalpel shook his head.

“No, most ponies use magical numbing spells because they’re safer. Drugs are only used sparingly on the most serious cases when we have no other options, and we use de-tox spells to purge any symptoms of addiction that might occur.”

“But you do know the symptoms of addiction?” Elias asked.

The unicorn nodded silently.

“Good, then the metaphor will work,” Elias said. “Because this is all like a big addiction.” He put his hand high in the air. “During the fight, no matter what hits I took, this is how I felt. Whole, high on life, I felt good with myself and the world, everything was great.”

He sighed, and slowly began to lower his hand.

“But now I’m beginning to crash. Like a drug fiend with no fix, I’ll go down and down till I hit the bottom.”

Elias picked up his fork and began to pick at his food.

“Nothing to stop it, nothing to blunt it. I just need to sleep it off. I’ll be fine in a few days.”

Elias felt a brief sensation pass over his body, but it felt like nothing more than a warm breeze that disappeared in a second. He looked over to Scalpel, who was frowning, his horn alight.

“What are you doing?” Elias asked the pony.

“You said it was like an addiction, so I attempted to treat it as such. Since you don’t have magic on your world, it was worth a shot to see if magical de-tox would work.”

Elias shrugged.

“I guess. Don’t think about it too hard, it’s nothing. It will pass.”

Scalpel snorted.

“You mean like you said your night terrors would?”

The pony immediately blanched and looked at Elias with wide eyes.

“Elias, I didn’t mean to say it like that, I…”

Elias waved him away.

“Don’t worry about it Doc. I can take a low blow or two. I’m just surprised you had it in you.”

Their table fell silent, and Elias stared at his plate with dead eyes. Book Binder and Night Flash glared heavily at Scalpel, and the unicorn nudged Elias with his hoof, trying to ignore their angry eyes.

“You said this has happened before, right? How did you deal with it then?”

“Drank until I blacked out in a ditch. When I woke up, I had a migraine that would last a week. After that it was simply managing the pain and it distracted me from the feeling of hopelessness.” Elias thumbed his plate idly. “After the headache vanished, the post-battle depression was usually gone, and I got back up and pushed on.” He snorted. “Guess I can’t do that anymore. I only have half a bottle’s worth of whiskey in my room, and I’m five years from the legal minimum to buy more.”

Book Binder’s glare at Scalpel intensified.

“I will need to ask where that whiskey is baby boy. You can get in big trouble if somepony finds it.”

Elias felt a ghost of a smile touch his face for a moment.

“Nobody will ever find it. It’s the best hidden thing in that room. I’m saving it for a special occasion.”

Book Binder’s eyes drifted to him, the anger softening.

“Elias, please. I don’t want you getting hurt, and you are still too young to be drinking. It isn’t healthy.”

Elias snorted again.

“If I’m too young to be drinking, then why does everything seem to hurt so much these days? I almost feel like I should drink more often.”

Elias tried to smile, to pass off his words as a joke, but the words but a bit too deep, and the looks he was receiving from his friends made it hurt just a little more. He sighed and rubbed at his face again, pushing the plate away.

“I think I’m going to go get some air,” Elias said. When Book Binder pushed back from the table, Elias held up a hand. “Alone please.”

Elias saw a flash of hurt in her eyes, and that cut at his heart further. He couldn’t dwell on it yet, he needed to be away right now. From everything.

Before he could push away from the table, his least favorite pony decided to rear his ugly head behind Night Flash and Book Binder, appearing from the crowd of Solar Guards like a chameleon. White Shine sneered at Elias, and the human found that the unicorn’s stooges were trying to mirror the expression.

“So, the cheater has to run away before his dirty little secrets get out? I’m not surprised, how else would you get this rag tag group of freaks around you?”

Elias rubbed at his temple as he tried to dismiss the anger he could already feel rising.

“White Shine, I’m not in the mood for your petty bullshit today. You lost, be a man and take it on the chin. Now fuck off and leave us be before I get angry.”

The unicorn scoffed.

“You can’t give me orders Bright, I don’t care what anypony says about you, you’re a fraud, and even if you weren’t, you’re a filthy, worthless no good monkey.”

Elias glared at the pony, throwing up his hands.

“You know what, fine White Shine, I’m a dirty monkey. Congratulations. Now will you leave me the fuck be?”

“No, because I want the rest. Admit you’re a no-good cheater, right here, in front of everypony. I won’t rest until everypony sees you the way you are.”

Elias snorted.

“Then you’re going to get awfully tired, because with me, what you see is what you get. I’m not that complex.”

“That’s a funny way to say that you’re simple minded Bright.” White Shine sneered. “So tell me, was it one of your worthless friends that actually made those plans? Or did you have somepony outside who was feeding you information?” The unicorn scoffed again. “You know what? I don’t need an answer to that, because I know that none of your worthless friends could ever be smart enough to come up with any of that on their own.”

Elias felt a deep rage building in his chest, stabbing back the hopeless post-battle feeling. His right hand subconsciously drifted under the table, finding the hilt of Feather as he glared daggers at the unicorn.

“I’m only going to give you one more warning White Shine. You’re going to leave, now, or I’m going to cut you in half where you stand. There’s no safety spell for you here, you self-righteous prick, so leave or die. I’m done playing this game.”

White Shine sneered at him again.

“Then do something Bright. I know you won’t. You’re just a weak little monkey who hides behind even weaker ponies. I dare you to attack me, because you’ll regret it coward.”

Elias tried to push to his feet, his hand firmly clamped on the hilt of his gladius, but he found that he couldn’t move. A pair of lit horns showed him why, and he glared at Scalpel as the unicorn took Elias’ sword belt. In the same moment, Night Flash jumped from his seat, getting into White Shine’s face as he began to tear into the unicorn, quickly drawing the attention of the entire cafeteria.

“Why can’t you just leave us alone White Shine?” Night Flash shouted. “We don’t like you, and let’s be honest, nopony does! So why do you come back to us every time? We’ve literally done nothing to you, except for Red, who just happened to be a better planner than you. What’s wrong with that?” He pointed at Elias’ chest. “Red has had a rough life, and he has done it all at a younger age than anypony in history! He’s nineteen for buck’s sake! Let him have his small wins and friendships so that he can get better! Is that so much to ask?”

Elias felt many eyes on his back at the public revelation of his age. He tried to feel angry about it, but looking at Night Flash standing up for him made him forget. He couldn’t tell if he felt pride, or… safety because of the pegasus. A small smile quirked across his face as he watched White Shine’s shocked face. That smile began to disappear as he saw rage filter through the unicorn’s eyes, and he seemed to tower over Night Flash.

“How dare you speak to me in that tone you low born rat?” White Shine growled.

Elias felt his eye twitch as Night Flash flinched back.

“You are nothing more than common gutter trash,” White Shine continued. “Your family is as worthless as you are, and after today, they will be even lower than that.” Night Flash flinched back again, while Elias slowly pushed his chair back. “I will have them ruined, and then evicted into Canterlot’s streets. Your name will be dragged through the mud so that even the diamond dogs will spit on you. You think you can stand up to me? With who at your back, your equally worthless friends? The braindead monkey? You are a joke.”

“D-don’t talk about Red like that,” Night Flash protested.

Elias growled as White Shine jabbed him with a hoof.

“I’ll talk about that stupid monkey however I please Flash,” he said with a sneer, “because there isn’t a thing that you, or your worthless marefriend, or any of your other worthless compatriots can do to me.” He rose to his full height, the sneer still on his face. “And I’ll prove it Flash.”

He then dumped the tray of food he was carrying over the pegasus, the tray dropping like a stone on Flash’s head as his mouth opened to laugh as he pointed at Night Flash. He never got the chance.

Elias’ fist broke White Shine’s jaw before he even remembered rising from the table. Elias could hear screaming in his ears as he felt blood flow freely over his knuckles. Only when he felt the burning in his throat did he realize that he was the source of the noise. Elias found that he didn’t care, he had a singular purpose now. Cause pain.

His left hand grabbed White Shine by the throat, and he whirled around, slamming the pony down on the table. Food flew away as Elias kept his grip, his right-hand pumping back and forth as blow after blow landed on the pony’s shattered jaw. Maybe it was because it was happening so fast, or maybe it was because he had already gone into shock, but White Shine didn’t so much as move as Elias pummeled the pony. He merely gurgled through the blood that poured over his face as teeth fell loose.

Elias felt someone tug on his arm, and a quick glance found one of White Shine’s stooges, trying to pull him away as the other one charged a spell. Elias dropped White Shine, latching onto the first pony’s head with his entire palm. Elias then slammed the pony’s head into the corner of the table, feeling the crunch of the pony’s skull deep in his fingertips. The pony’s legs flailed wildly as his brain tried to re-establish motor function, but he ultimately failed as he fell to the ground with a weak moan. Elias’ eyes flicked to the second pony. The unicorn looked at Elias with horror, the spell sitting half charged on his horn. Elias unclenched his fist as he prepared to eliminate this threat as well, but the pony quickly moved back, dragged by his tail into the waiting hooves of half a dozen Solar Guards. They merely gave Elias a look and a nod, which he returned as he cracked his neck, returning to the source of his rage; returning to his purpose here.

White Shine had moved little. He had rolled over, and had tried to grasp the edges of the table to crawl away. He whimpered as Elias clamped a hand on his shoulder and flipped him over, a punch quickly snapping across his chin. Elias looked at his knuckles, taking the time to carefully remove a tooth before he looked back to the pony, his rage clear and pure across his set jawline. Elias climbed up on the table, straddling the pony so that he wouldn’t move as the beating progressed. Elias slugged White Shine in the gut with his left hand, and as the unicorn let out a groan of air, Elias’ right hand cut across his brow. Satisfied with the result, Elias did it again, feeling a rib crack under one fist as White Shine’s eyebrow split open under the force of the other.

As Elias continued pounding the pony, he found that he wasn’t satisfied. A simple beating wouldn’t be enough, not for this. The unicorn had to know why he was being beaten; had to know why he would wake up in a cold sweat thinking of this day. Elias had to make White Shine understand, and the beating was only a third of that. He needed to get to work on the other two thirds. First, the reason why.

Elias paused, grabbing White Shine by his chest plate, pulling him up so that they were nose to nose.

“I know you can hear my voice Shine, but I want to make sure, because it has been a bit of time since I’ve had to do one of these. Tap your hoof twice on the table if you can hear me.”

When the unicorn only groaned in response, Elias slapped him. He barely noticed as several locks of his hair fell into his face, likely coming untied with the bursts of motion. Elias didn’t care, he had eyes only for the pony before him.

“That wasn’t the right answer you slimy piece of shit, two taps or I’m skipping the nice guy act you’re receiving right now, and I’m skipping straight to the mean stuff. Now tap. The fucking. TABLE!” Elias screamed into his face.

Elias waited three seconds, going so far as to rear his hand back to begin the beating anew, when he heard two taps on the table. Elias’ eye flicked down to White Shine’s hoof to ensure it wasn’t a fluke.

“Again.”

The hoof tapped twice, faster than before. White Shine was conscious and clearly terrified now, that much was clear. Elias stared at the beaten face before him. The pony hadn’t seen a thing yet.

“Good, so now there are no excuses, because this is the absolute last time you are receiving a warning from me. If I so much as see your sorry ass again, I will not hesitate to kill you. There is no force, on my earth or yours, that will save you from me, is that clear?”

The hoof tapped twice.

“Good. Now, do I need to go over where you absolutely fucked up, or do you think you can figure out why you are going to have the worst day of your life today?”

White Shine whimpered, and his hoof began rapidly tapping on the table. Elias growled in frustration, mostly because he shouldn’t have broken the pony’s mouth first. Elias grabbed the hoof roughly, silencing it.

“One for no, two for yes, do you understand the mistake you made?”

Two taps.

“Do you need more motivation to never do it again?”

One tap. Elias snorted.

“I don’t believe you. I strangled you, I shamed you, and even now that I’ve beaten your face in, I don’t think it’s enough. I still don’t think you’ve learned your lesson.”

His grip on the pony’s throat tightened, and the unicorn let out a squeak. Elias regarded him with disgust, thinking how best to cause the unicorn more pain. His mind was unfortunately blank, and Elias knew why. The ponies had gotten to him, and the knowledge that they were even now watching made him weak. He didn’t have what it took to truly break the pony in his grip. Elias sighed internally. An uninspired torture popped into his head, and he decided to go with it. It should send a message anyway.

Elias slammed White Shine back against the table, then punched him in the mouth again.

“Remember this pain White Shine. Remember the sound of my voice, remember the feeling of my fist as it shatters your bones. Know that if you fuck with me again, I will skin you alive and then pin your skinless corpse to the castle walls by your tail. The entire time you will be alive, and awake, and I will ensure that only when you have experienced the true meaning of pain that you will die. I promise you this. I don’t want to see you again, ever.”

Elias sighed as he took a step back from the pony.

“But I’m not the man I used to be. Thank the “worthless” ponies for that, because if it wasn’t for them, you wouldn’t be breathing. I would have beaten you to death weeks ago.”

Elias rubbed at the blood on his knuckles, wincing as he felt the skin part under his thumb. He had split every knuckle open and then some. The pain brought out enough anger to finish his work. Elias glared at White Shine’s shivering body. The pony was attempting to curl up into a ball, but he couldn’t because of his pain. The sight was pathetic. Elias advanced on the pony, gripping his neck again as he slapped him across the face.

“Wake back up White Shine, I’m not done with you yet. I already told you that I don’t believe a single filthy word you say, and so I’m going to give you something that will make you remember me when the bruises heal, and the nightmares fade. I want the sight of me to make you die a little inside, but I am a merciful man now, so I’ll let you choose, is it going to be a scar, or permanent disfigurement?” Elias grabbed the pony’s cheeks, squeezing them tightly in his fingers. “And do note, if I find that the scar is removed, I’ll come and give you another. If healing magic is really all it’s cut out to be, that disfigurement will have to be fairly nasty.” Elias flicked the unicorn’s horn. “I’m thinking you lose this. It’s at least a hand’s worth of damage, no?”

Elias backhanded the pony across the face, then picked him up to slam him back against the table. When the pony only groaned, Elias punched him in the throat, then backhanded him again. Elias flinched as a speck of blood spattered over his eye. A part of him wanted to curl up and die at the sensation of the warm liquid drifting slowly down his face. Elias did his best to ignore it as he threatened the unicorn before him.

“Pick now Shine, one tap for a scar, two for the horn. Choose quickly, or I do both.”

White Shine’s hoof dropped before he finished speaking. The sound was clear, a single tap. Elias searched briefly for something to cut the pony with, his eyes quickly locking on the steak knife he had been eating with. Elias reached out for the knife, taking the blade carefully in his hand as he tightened his grip on his target. Elias then eyed White Shine like an artist would a canvas.

The longer he looked at the unicorn however, the less will he had to go through with it. His hand; a hand that had spilled oceans of blood without falter, a hand that had crafted tortures that shouldn’t be spoken of, quivered. It shook violently as he clenched the knife. Elias tried to squash the doubt that rose, tried to drive away the voices that raged in his head. They weren’t the same as usual; in fact all but one weren’t even human. The voices of his friends, and even ponies that he had only barely met rang in his ears. Nightshade, Chaser, Ice Blossom, Bloody Bandage, and those so much closer to his heart, Scarlet Shield, Steel Scalpel, Night Flash and Book Binder. All of them didn’t attempt to dissuade him, not directly. Instead they laughed, and cried, and talked, to each other and to him. They didn’t need to say words, they just had to be. The effect was overwhelming, and Elias felt his resolve crumble.

Elias’ eyes opened and he realized that everything was silent. The only noise in the cafeteria was his own heaving chest. Elias looked down at the bloodied form of White Shine. He tried to drive the rage up, the brutal anger that he always kept just below the surface. He couldn’t find it. Instead, Elias simply felt hollow, like he was standing on the edge, teetering as he threatened to pitch over the side. Elias growled as he raised the knife in the air. His arm tensed, and it hung dangerously in the air, but… it didn’t descend. He couldn’t do it. Things had changed, or at least he had. He had changed.

As the truth flew through his mind, Elias slowly let his arm fall to his side. He tossed the knife on the table, shaking his head as he took a step back. He smirked, though it dropped quickly.

“You’re lucky Shine,” he said, his voice far too loud in his ears. “Those “worthless” ponies you so thoroughly hate got to me, far more than even I knew. I can’t do it. I’m done. Know that if you cross me or my friends again, I won’t find such difficulties.”

Elias then turned away, stumbling slightly as exhaustion swept over his body. He tried to brush the hair from his eyes, but Elias found that it stuck to his face, pinned there by the blood of his victim. Though he wanted to do nothing more than run away, he faced the aftermath of his actions directly. His friends were staring at him. In horror, in shock, with sadness, sympathy, pride, understanding, every expression was accounted for on each face, save for one. Flash was softly whimpering, his face buried under the pile of goop that had been White Shine’s food. Elias sighed deeply as he crouched down next to the crying pony, wiping away the worst of it with his bloodied hands. Night Flash recoiled slightly as Elias’ hands worked softly over his head to remove the foodstuffs, but Elias didn’t stop until he was largely clean. He sighed deeply as he looked at his friend; fear touched his mind, but that would be for later. He reached out a hand to pet Night Flash’s mane in an effort to comfort the pony. It only took a touch, and then Night Flash’s hooves were wrapped firmly around his body, the pegasus crying loudly as he clung to Elias’ tunic. Elias hesitated for only a second before he gave the pony a hug in return, lifting the pegasus as he stood to his full height.

Elias felt a drop of blood trail down his face, knew that undoubtedly his entire face was painted with splatters of red. He looked around the cafeteria, found a range of emotions around him. He did his best to wet his bone-dry tongue before he spoke.

“When someone comes looking for me, I’ll be getting cleaned up in my room. I won’t leave it anytime soon.”

He then carried Night Flash toward the cafeteria entrance, cradling the pegasus’ head as he whispered soft words of comfort in the pony’s ear. He didn’t quite make the doors before Book Binder caught up, trotting silently beside him as they walked toward his room. Elias didn’t look down to her, but they seemed to understand one another completely as they walked, unopposed. It didn’t take them long to reach his bedroom, and even though he was still crying, Night Flash was slightly calmer than he had been before. Book Binder looked between the two, as if debating who to help first, but Elias had waved her toward the bathroom with Flash.

“Go Binder,” Elias said softly, rubbing at his split knuckles. “I’ll be fine.”

The unicorn gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, then she and Night Flash closed the bathroom door behind them. Elias listened to the sound of armor being removed, followed by the sound of his shower running as he stared blankly at the floor. He had no idea what to think, wasn’t even sure if he remembered how to. He couldn’t tell if he should be happy with himself that he hadn’t finished with White Shine, or if he was angry at himself for becoming so weak. Elias had no idea who he was, and so when the knock came at his front door, he almost welcomed it. Almost.

Elias rose from the bed stiffly as he shuffled to the door, opening it slowly. Outside stood Nightshade and Scarlet, likely both chosen because he knew them well and wouldn’t lay a finger on either. Scarlet wouldn’t meet his eyes, while Nightshade’s floppy thestral ears pinned themselves to the sides of her helmet.

“Hey Guardsman,” she said softly.

“Hello Captain,” Elias replied, his voice equally as soft.

She sighed and looked at the ground.

“You know why I’m here?”

Elias nodded.

“That I do Captain.”

The thestral sighed again, a trace of a whimper filtering into her voice as she spoke.

“Guardspony Shield, the cuffs please.”

Scarlet didn’t move. He stared at Elias, finally meeting his eyes. Elias saw anger there, but he could tell it wasn’t directed at him. Nightshade looked at the pegasus.

“Guardspony, the shackles, please.”

“Captain, this is bucking stupid,” Scarlet replied.

“I know that Shield,” Nightshade growled, “but we have to do this.”

The pegasus looked at her with a glare.

“This isn’t fair Captain! He didn’t do anything wrong!”

Nightshade looked like she was about to shout in Scarlet’s face, but Elias interrupted her, laying one of his bloodied hands on Scarlet’s shoulder softly.

“Scarlet… it’s fine,” Elias said gently. “get the cuffs like Captain Nightshade asked.”

The pegasus looked at him with tears in his eyes, then he looked at the floor.

“This isn’t fair Elias. We won. You helped us win. Today was supposed to be a good day.” He whimpered softly and his ears drooped. “This isn’t fair.”

Elias smiled slightly.

“Life never is Scarlet, I learned that a long time ago. But there’s been enough pain today, let’s just do this right and get it done.”

The pony swallowed roughly, wiping his muzzle as he did his best to straighten. He pulled a pair of what Elias imagined were custom shackles, made specifically for his skinny wrists. As they clamped around his forearms, Elias noticed a thin chain that kept them close to each other, giving him no opportunity to move his arms independently. The cuffs ended just above his knuckles, rubbing painfully against the split skin, while also serving to crunch his fingers together. Elias looked to Nightshade, who had a sad, desperate look in her eyes as she stared back. She bit her lip as she attached the chain lead to the back of her armor.

“C’mon Elias. Let’s go,” she said, gently tugging on the chain.

Elias needed no prodding. He walked forward, following the pony into the hallway. Four Royal Guards were waiting, decked out fully in their black armor. Even the enchantments were activated, disguising each pony under the magical illusion that made them identical in all but gender. Even with the magic hiding their appearances, Elias knew who each one was. The pair in front were Lucky Swing and Ice Blossom, while the pair that fell in behind him were Chaser and Bandage. He could tell by how they were watching him. None of them held malice, and if anything, Ice Blossom looked at him with gratefulness. As Nightshade started forward, Elias tugged gently on the chain, stopping her as he looked at his still open door.

“Can you leave someone behind to tell Binder and Flash? They deserve to know where I am.”

Nightshade nodded.

“Scarlet, escort them both to Princess Luna when they’re ready. Not before, got it?”

Scarlet nodded silently, looking desperately to Elias. The human gave him a small smile, and the pegasus drooped further as he dragged himself into the room, shutting the door behind him. Elias looked to Nightshade, who was watching him with those large, sad eyes.

“Ready when you are Captain,” Elias said, trying to put something, anything reassuring back into his voice.

He failed miserably, and Nightshade merely nodded as she began to walk forward. They formed a tight group as they walked through the castle, going in a direction that was familiar to Elias. Even having only visited the dungeon once, he already knew the way. As they walked, the serving staff looked at him with curiosity, and then upon seeing the literal blood on his hands, fear. They moved away quickly, and any who didn’t were moved by the Royal Guards around him. Elias made note that the hallway, usually lined carefully with either golden or blue armor was covered completely with black. Each guard they passed wore that distinctive red and black, and each one watched him carefully as they walked past.

The dungeon was as cold as he remembered it, and Nightshade paused before a familiar wooden door, that would lead to a familiar set of boring, blank cells. She looked back at Chaser.

“I think I can handle Elias from here Captain Chaser.”

“We both know that I can’t allow that Captain Nightshade. We don’t leave until the…” Chaser paused, and Elias could hear from his tone that the words didn’t feel right on his tongue. “until the threat is contained,” he finished. “Now continue in your duties Captain.”

Nightshade withered under him, throwing another apologetic look toward Elias as she opened the door, walking through, tugging Elias along with her. She unlocked the same cell he had spent that night with Luna in, and then she looked at his hands, the key dangling in her mouth. Her eyes flickered over to Chaser again.

“Do we really need to keep the cuffs on? He came quietly and has made no attempts to harm anypony else.”

Chaser sighed.

“Captain Nightshade, please don’t make this harder than it needs to be. You received our orders at the same time as I did, and you full well know that Bright will remain in those cuffs until the princesses say otherwise. Now put him in the cell.”

Nightshade stomped her hoof.

“It’s an alicorn proof cell for buck’s sake! There’s no way he can get out!”

Weapons were drawn as the Royal Guard all stood off against Nightshade.

“He goes in the cell now Captain, or you both do,” Chaser said, his voice still calm.

For a second, Nightshade looked like she would press the issue, but Elias, his cuffed hands in the air, bent low before her. She looked at him, her lip quivering. Elias smiled, booping her on the nose with his exposed fingers. She snorted softly, the sadness temporarily retreating from her eyes.

“Come on Captain, don’t put yourself at risk for the stinky human you yell at every day. What, are you going to miss your six-foot-tall punching bag?”

She sniffled as she looked at him.

“Elias I…” she looked down, dejected. “This isn’t right. Everypony watched what happened. Maybe we wouldn’t have responded the exact same way, but anypony in your place would have attacked White Shine. He got what was coming to him.”

Elias kept the smile on his face as he reached under helmet, scratching softly at the base of her ear. It wasn’t as easy as scratching a pony with his free hands, but she cooed softly regardless, lifting slightly as she pressed against his hand. Exactly what he needed. Elias pushed her, just enough to cause her to stumble back into Chaser’s waiting hooves. The Royal Guard Captain grabbed her as Elias stood and wrapped his fingers around the cell door, walking into the cell as he pulled the door closed behind him. The door shut with a loud clang, and he heard the deadbolt secure itself firmly in place as he flopped onto his rump, leaning against the wall for balance as he sank down. Elias half-closed his eyes as he leaned back against the cold stone surface. All of guards took their helmets off, the illusions dispelling before his eyes. They all stared at him, each with sympathy. Nightshade whimpered and fled the cellblock, and at a nudge from Chaser, the other three ponies chased after her. Elias heard the wooden door slam shut behind them, then he focused his gaze squarely on Chaser.

“So, Captain, what am I looking at here?” Elias asked.

Chaser sighed, running his hoof through his mane.

“In terms of charges? Two counts of attempted murder, three counts of assault on a guard, thirty-seven counts of brutality, as well as half a dozen disturbing harmony charges. You scared some ponies today Elias. I can’t say I blame your actions, but… it was a sight to be sure.”

Elias nodded in agreement.

“Say I get found guilty of all of that, what next? The chopping block?”

Chaser flinched.

“Maybe. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a “dangerous criminal” such as yourself. While not nearly widespread, you’re being treated up there with the worst of them. Banishment is one potential punishment, as is encasement in stone. There has also been talk of a mindwipe and reset to make you “more harmonious”.”

Elias’ eyes flew open at that. He stared at Chaser.

“You promise me that the last one won’t come to pass Captain. You can’t let it. I’ll do anything else, but not that. Never that.”

Chaser flinched away from his stare.

“It’s out of my hooves Elias. What the princesses decide, they decide. I have no say.”

Elias got to his feet, approaching the bars slowly with murderous intent. His face twitched with barely concealed rage.

“Chaser, I swear to everything that you, and the princesses hold dear, that if they even consider touching my mind, I will show them that what I did to White Shine was just a fun party trick. It will be a cold day in hell before I let anyone try to remake my mind.” He slammed his manacled hands against the bars, provoking a jump from the pony. “You tell them that. They can kill me, imprison me, banish me, I don’t care, but that will never happen. I’ll see cities burn before I let anyone near my head. You tell them that.”

Chaser nodded, regaining his calm demeanor.

“And if nothing happens? What promises do you have for the princesses that this incident won’t happen again?”

Elias looked with dead eyes at his feet. He walked back to the wall, sliding down it once more as he stared at Chaser.

“I don’t know Captain. I simply don’t know.”

He scratched at the back of his head. He let his hands fall into his lap as his vision began to blur as the aftermath of the day’s events began to catch up. The voices rose, filled with hate and spite for one another, as well as himself.

“Maybe it doesn’t matter what they decide.”

Elias snorted, glaring at the grey stone floors. He should have been able to take comfort in the feeling of nothingness he felt, but this time it didn’t help. He couldn’t stop picturing White Shine’s beaten in face. The colors occasionally flickered in his minds eye, and Elias hated himself just a little more when the unicorn became a blue pegasus, just for a second. Elias looked up to Chaser as the first tear crawled down his cheek.

“Maybe I’m right where I belong already.”

Author's Note

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton

Thank you all for your comments. There is a healthy amount of discussion, which I always enjoy seeing. If nothing else, it makes me think about the little things in the story and how to properly write the characters. A suggestion I would like to make though, always keep a suspicious mind. Nothing in this story happens without intention, and nothing is as it seems at face value. I am playing some long games (as are some of the characters cough cough celestia cough) with some plot points, and with some characters. Nobody is safe, no relationship is certain, and people change. The world is fluid, and I hope I can continue to impress with it!

Chapter 22: Semper Prorsum

Elias cracked open his eye at the sound of the wooden door opening. For two days he had sat, alone, with no visitors. He was lucky that he had been eating before he had attacked White Shine, because they didn’t even come in to give him food or water. He had to relieve himself in a corner of the cell, the one opposite where he was currently sitting. His tunic reeked now, as did the rest of the cell, of blood and piss. His hands were caked with blood, and due to the shackles, he had a difficult time properly getting his tunic out of the way to urinate. Altogether, he felt fairly awful. It didn’t help that cell was kept at a much colder level than he was used to. Due to their fur, most of the ponies wouldn’t likely notice the chill in the air, but lacking anything under than his tunic and underwear, Elias felt it to his core. If he wasn’t severely dehydrated, he would imagine that he would be shivering. As it stood, he wasn’t moving much, with each motion bringing him fresh pain.

It had been a long two days with himself. Though he had ultimately concluded that he had done the right thing in both attacking, then sparing White Shine, it had taken a lot of soul searching and convincing to get to that point. The voices screamed at each other at full volume, creating excuses and reasons about why he should or shouldn’t have done more. Why he should or shouldn’t have killed White Shine. It had left Elias in a daze for hours, and ultimately, he had tried for peace in sleep. He found none, as the night terrors would occasionally change, with the sounds of bones crunching under his split knuckles as he pounded away at some faceless pony that all too often became someone he knew and cared about. After the third failed attempt, Elias had begun to pace, doing his best to ignore all of the warning signs his body was sending him about his imminent physical collapse. Elias shrugged it off by justifying his body as a tool. If his mind wasn’t whole, the body didn’t matter.

So, he paced, back and forth as he waged war with both voices in his head, taking positives and negatives from each as he carefully crafted the why of what he had done. Why had he attacked White Shine? The unicorn had struck and humiliated Elias’ best friend. Why had beat the pony to within an inch of his life? To send a message, both to White Shine, and to anyone else who thought they could get away with the bullying shit anymore. Why had he stopped? Because he would have been left alone and abandoned if White Shine had died. His friends would have viewed him as a monster.

The last point felt sour in Elias’ mouth when he had decided on it, but he couldn’t admit that they had changed him that much. He needed to be a battle-hardened protector for the ponies, they needed him to make the hard choices, to spill the blood that needed spilled. He had more than proved that by fighting their top ponies and surviving. By their legal standards he was a child, yet he was near the top of the combat game. In real combat, he would probably be the best. Elias had made that point as a concession with himself. If he had become that weak, he should just kill himself. There was no point in pressing on, he would always fail his friends. If it was just to keep them close however, that he could justify.

Three ponies quickly came into his view; Luna, Nightshade, and Scalpel. Each recoiled in disgust as the smell of his cell reached their noses.

“W-what is this?” Luna asked. “Guardsman Bright, have you not been cared for? When is the last time a guard has checked for your relief and feeding?”

Elias snorted, looking to the stains in the far corner.

“I believe the last time was a little over two days ago, when I was put in here. No food, no water, no blankets, no restroom visits, not a word for me. I’d say it’s a fairly genius method of torture, pain by neglect, but let’s be honest, I’ve lived through worse. Give it another week, then we can talk about how much this sucks.”

Nightshade unlocked the cell, and Scalpel moved forward, quickly lifting Elias’ manacled hands. His eyes flashed with anger, as he looked back at the guard captain and princess.

“Princess Luna, if I may be frank, what the buck are these shackles? Anypony with half a brain could realize that these fit under cruel and unusual punishment, especially given that he’s been wearing them for two days.” His horn lit up brightly, and Elias winced as the unicorn magically unlocked the shackles.

The metal fell limply to the cell floor, and Scalpel looked at Elias apologetically as he spread each fingers apart, one by one. The pain was severe, as was the damage. His knuckles had begun to ooze after the first fitful sleep Elias had, and each shift in posture had just made it worse as the steel of the shackles pulled back more flesh. The wounds had started to itch when he couldn’t avoid urinating on them. With the color they were now, Elias had no doubt that they were infected, and he winced in pain as Scalpel dabbed at them with rubbing alcohol from a large black bag he had brought with him.

Scalpel sighed deeply as he stared at Elias’ hands, then at the human’s apparel. He looked back at Luna.

“Princess, we can’t have him stand trial like this. Two days with no medical treatment, no cleaning, and no food and water? He’s liable to collapse.” He looked at Elias’ hands. “And we can’t put those shackles back on his hands and bandage them. It’s one or the other, and I think you know which one I want.”

“Then mend Guardsman Bright’s wounds, Doctor. I know not why this has occurred, but rest assured that whoever is responsible will be punished.”

Nightshade cleared her throat, wincing back from the glare Luna gave her.

“Princess, Captain Chaser is under orders to deliver Elias to the throne room only if he is chained. Otherwise, he can’t leave this cell.”

Luna growled.

“Captain Chaser will do whatever I tell him, because Iam Princess Luna of Equestria. He would not dare disobey my orders.”

Nightshade sighed.

“Princess, it isn’t that I don’t completely agree with you, but he’s under direct orders from Princess Celestia. He has to follow her orders until she changes them. He can’t listen to one princess over another. It’s all in the rule books.”

Luna’s scowl deepened.

“Why would my sister order this?” she said, pointing at Elias. “This is barbaric treatment, no matter the crime. I do not recall this level of cruelty in her.”

“The Royal Guards are treating Elias like an omega level threat princess,” Nightshade replied as if that explained everything.

“Omega?” Elias asked.

Luna looked to him, and he saw anger simmering in her eyes.

“It is a code for the most extreme magical threats. Discord, and Nightmare Moon are notable examples. These are threats that require direct action to avoid spreading chaos and suffering, typically through the use of the Elements of Harmony.” Her head looked back to Nightshade. “Which makes little sense, as Guardsman Bright’s actions, while violent, were not only targeted, but provoked.” Her eyes took on a dangerous glint. “I shall be having words with Celestia about this.”

Elias sighed, pulling himself to his feet. He had to lean heavily on the wall for support, and he gave a thankful glance to Scalpel as he began to pant, drained from the lack of water. Elias did his best to ignore the signals of pain that his body sent him as he stayed on his feet. He got hurt far too much these days. Far, far too much. He kicked at the shackles with his foot.

“Come on, let’s get this done. I’m not worth all of this debate and internal strife. I’m one human with issues. What happens, happens. At this point, I’m just tired of the process.”

When nobody moved toward the fallen shackles, Elias kicked them again.

“One of you has to put them on. I’m kind of unable to do it myself,” he said, trying to make it seem like a joke.

Nobody laughed. Nightshade, grabbing the shackles in her hooves, shuffled forward. She hesitated for a moment, the shackles hanging just before Elias’ bloodied hands. Elias rolled his eyes, and grunted. He pushed off the wall, laying his hands as best as he could within the shackles. Nightshade sighed and clamped them closed. Elias hissed in pain as the metal seemed to immediately rub against his split knuckles. Nightshade attached the lead to her armor again, but she didn’t tug forward as Elias slumped against the wall again, unable to muster the energy to stand unaided. Luna growled.

“This is utterly ridiculous. How does anypony expect you to stand throughout a trial if you are too weakened to walk? Scalpel, fetch a stretcher, we shall carry Guardsman Bright if we must.”

Elias shook his head.

“No, I’m… I can walk. Just give me a second to catch my breath.”

Luna stomped her hoof, her mouth open as she began to argue with him, but Scalpel stepped up beside Elias, motioning for the human to lean on him. Elias did so, heavily. They were both lucky that he was still so light. Any weight he had gained in the past few months had gone straight to the muscles he had developed with constant exercise, and since he hadn’t really built up any fat, those had quickly begun to erode away without water and food. As such, Scalpel was able to help him greatly as they limped behind Nightshade. The thestral sighed again as she looked at Luna, almost as if begging her for another solution. The alicorn had none. Her only action was to fall in on the other side of Elias, keeping the human on his feet, pinned between their fuzzy bodies. Elias welcomed the heat, though he knew that he should be repulsed by the rather intimate contact, especially given that he was going to be in public very soon. Given how his fates had drastically shifted over the past few days, Elias couldn’t find it within himself to care.

Nightshade led the way, keeping her pace slow to give Elias a chance to keep up. Even with that concession, as well as the ponies supporting him, Elias quickly found himself winded, struggling to press on. His mouth was barren of moisture, and he wondered if he should ask for something to drink. When the wooden door leading out of the cell block opened, Elias got his answer.

He didn’t know what to think when he saw no less than a dozen Royal Guards waiting on the other side of the door. They tensed as it opened, but as he was guided out, Elias noted that more than one guard recoiled in horror at the sight of him. Captain Chaser just shook his head as Luna and Scalpel guided the thin human forward.

“Princess, he was in there for two days? What happened?”

Luna glared at the pegasus.

“I should be asking you that Captain. Why was Guardsman Bright not granted food and water? Why did nopony check if he needed to relieve himself? And why are those infernal restraints crafted as they are? Is it not enough to restrain his limbs? Have we really begun to develop unnecessarily torturous methods of restraint?”

Chaser shook his head.

“Princess, that cell is outfitted with the standard commodities. Food, water, a bed, and a bathroom are all provided for any creature to summon magically. There is no reason that the threat should not have been able to access it.”

Elias tried to lift his head to tap his nose, but found that the lead chain wasn’t long enough. Sighing away the urge to use his common mannerisms, Elias chuckled weakly as he looked at Chaser.

“Ah, but Captain, you seem to be forgetting something very important about this “threat”.”

Elias looked to Scalpel.

“What do you think Doc? Seven, eight times? I’m thinking seven times I’ve told somebody that I have no magic, and they didn’t listen to a damn word.”

His chuckle became a delirious giggle.

“Nope. No magic for this man. Or is it boy? Technically speaking, by your laws I’m a minor, so did somebody commit a crime by neglecting me?”

He giggled again, trying to shove away his rising anger. Scalpel stroked his arm, gently shushing the man.

“Elias, please don’t talk. You’re not thinking properly, and you might cause problems for yourself.”

Elias blinked as he looked down at the unicorn. A moment of clarity popped into his head as he said;

“I’m talking like a madman, aren’t I?”

Scalpel nodded. Elias sighed as he leaned against the unicorn more.

“Alright Doc, I’ll try to keep quiet. You owe me though.”

The unicorn snorted.

“And what do you want as payback? You don’t go anywhere.”

Elias nodded.

“Maybe you can get me some ice cream, I haven’t had that in years. I’m curious if it’s still as good as I remember.” He chuckled darkly. “Or maybe you can buy some booze for me. If I’m going to be arrested and tried like an adult, I might as well be able to drink myself into a coma like one.”

Then Elias fell silent, staring blankly at the floor. Scalpel sighed as he rubbed against the human. Luna looked at Chaser with anger.

“Even if he should have had the methods to feed and water himself, why was Guardsman Bright not checked on? It is standard procedure to monitor a prisoner at least four times in a twelve-hour cycle.”

Chaser sighed and turned around.

“Princess Celestia ordered that the threat remain isolated until trial. She is unaware if he possesses any mind magic and didn’t want to risk anypony falling under his spell.”

Elias chuckled madly at that, but didn’t say anything. Luna scowled at the back of Chaser’s helmet.

“’Tia and I will definitely be having words about this. Lead the way Captain, but keep the pace slow. Guardsman Bright is severely dehydrated and cannot move at a quick speed.”

Chaser nodded once and they began the march forward. The pace was agonizingly slow, but even still, Elias found himself on the verge of collapse with every step, aid or no. He needed water, but the route they took went nowhere close to anywhere he could get some, not even a fountain. He would have settled for a fountain. He had drunk from much worse before.

Though it took them a bit of time, likely longer than anyone had planned for, they arrived at the throne room. Luna gave Elias a reassuring pat with her wing, then she went through the large doors first. Elias vaguely heard someone announce her, but he couldn’t find it within himself to care. Chaser and his guards stood to the side, waving Nightshade forward. She took a deep breath, then with a gentle tug, she began to walk.

Elias did his best to dig up his energy reserves, but found little left. The still fresh scar on his chest panged as he moved forward, his long stride gone, replaced by a short shuffle as his sandals dragged against the carpet. He had to squint as they entered the throne room, for some reason it seemed unnaturally bright, and the light assaulted his eyes. He was surprised when he heard nothing more than a few quiet gasps. With all of the security he apparently warranted, he had expected a full crowd, screaming from every end of the room at him in hatred. Evidently not.

As his eyes adjusted to the unnatural light of the throne room, he spotted only a few ponies. On her throne sat Celestia, with Luna to her left, barely disguising a glare at the larger alicorn, while Twilight sat to her right, her eyes staring into a scroll. Celestia’s eyes fell on Elias, and unlike everyone else who had laid eyes on him, she didn’t seem to care about his ill condition. No, that wasn’t quite true. It was much subtler; her professional mask was better at hiding her thoughts and emotions. As he walked closer, Elias still saw the signs of discomfort. Her nostrils flared just a tad, likely smelling the stench that poured from his body. He noticed her eyes twitch downwards, and Elias looked as well to find his hands bleeding freely once more. It wasn’t much blood, but it was enough to drip. His shackles had worn through his scabs, rending them to nothing. It hurt, but Elias found that he didn’t particularly care about that either. It was good to know his sense of apathy still worked.

Besides the ponies on the throne and the guards stationed around the room, the throne room was empty. It honestly surprised Elias. He had expected a bit of a spectacle with rotten fruits and screaming ponies, crying for his blood, but then again, he had never been an actual criminal court, so it was likely that all of the stories he had read had been highly exaggerated.

Nightshade led him to just before the throne before she untethered his shackles. She then moved away quickly, assuming a position beside the steps as she stared blankly ahead, her ears twitching as she tried not to stare at him. Scalpel remained at his side, keeping Elias on his feet. Celestia stared at the pony for a moment.

“You may go now Doctor. I assure you that I will entrust Elias to your care once the trial has concluded.”

“Elias can not stand on his own Princess,” Scalpel replied. “He’s dangerously dehydrated, and he hasn’t eaten in two days. If I’m not here, he’ll collapse.”

Elias scoffed.

“Nice to know you have faith in me Doc. Makes me feel all warm inside.”

Elias pushed off of the unicorn, swaying for a second before he found a stance that he could hold for hours with little effort. His feet were spread apart, with his toes pointed outward as his hands dangled in front of him. As long as he didn’t rock from front to back, he could keep his balance. For a while at least. Scalpel sighed as he looked at Elias.

“You’re a big idiot, you know that?” Scalpel said.

Elias nodded.

“Yup, now get out of here before you get me in more trouble.”

Scalpel snorted. He looked like he wanted to give Elias a hug, but he evidently thought better of it, because he moved away, walking slowly to a door on the side of the throne room. Elias heard it open and close, but his eyes were only forward, meeting Celestia’s gaze as she stared at him. They remained like that for a moment before she spoke.

“Why have you not eaten in two days Elias? Is this some sort of self-punishment that you sought to inflict upon yourself?”

Elias shook his head as he chuckled.

“You’ve never been starving before, have you?” He held up his hands. “Don’t answer that, because I already know the answer is no. A man who has starved never goes without again if he can help it. I no more wanted to go hungry and sit in a pool of my own filth than anyone wants to smell it.”

“Then why did you not make use of the facilities in your cell?”

“Because I can’t Princess,” Elias replied simply. “I have no magic, and therefore I cannot act on anything that requires magic to function.” He shrugged. “I’ve told just about everyone I could, but it seems that nobody listens. I don’t have a magic signature, I’ve never had a magic signature, and I can’t access anything that would require a magical signature.”

He smiled as his anger rose, and with it, his energy.

“I don’t know how much more proof anyone needs that I’m right. The safety net in the exercise didn’t work. When the guards did their little song and dance, I had no reaction. The cell wouldn’t open when Princess Luna keyed it to my “signature”.” He shrugged. “I have no magic, and honestly, I don’t know why you isolated me, but now is the perfect time to prove it.”

He tried to move his arms to spread his hands, but the chains stopped him, reminding him that he was bound. Elias sighed as he tried to point at his chest.

“Take a good look Princess, in fact I invite both of you,” he said, looking to Luna. “Scan for magic of any kind, and I promise you that you will find nothing. Not even a drop.”

Celestia frowned, but her horn lit up. Elias felt a brief tingling sensation pass over his body, catching in his chest painfully for a moment. It wasn’t that significant for him, but Celestia recoiled like she had just been electrocuted. She looked at him in horror.

“T-that can’t be right. It isn’t possible.” she said. “You can’t exist if this is true.”

Luna looked at her sister, then at Elias, who waited calmly. Instead of casting her detection spell from the throne, she walked down, standing directly in front of Elias as her horn charged with blue energy. Elias waited calmly as he felt a similar sensation pass over his body, but Luna’s felt… kinder than Celestia’s had, as well as more thorough. The sensation seemed to take its time, remaining in his head, as well as his chest for a few seconds before it continued along his body. Luna sighed, and her green eyes found his.

“I had suspected this would happen; it is why I did not have Doctor Scalpel heal your wounds.” She looked over her shoulder at Celestia. “It would appear that Guardsman Bright is indeed correct. No magic exists in his body. He shouldn’t exist, and stands as a fact against nature.”

She sat before Elias, examining him up and down.

“And yet he is wholly and unequivocally possible. He is every bit a living, breathing, feeling creature, and yet distinctly lacks the very thing that makes living creatures alive. It is most interesting.”

“It is not interesting Luna,” Celestia said angrily. “It is dangerous.”

Elias saw fear in her eyes now. He wanted to laugh. He had thought this was going to be about his attack on White Shine, but the evidence that he lacked magic seemed to take center stage instantly. He changed from a deranged human to a monster in Celestia’s eyes in an instant. If she only knew what a real monster looked like.

“Could this be the work of Discord?” Celestia asked. “He would benefit from such a subtle method by which to spread strife and chaos. It is more violent than his usual means, but it has been effective in disturbing our ponies.”

“Nay sister, Discord’s magic would show in my young guardsman if that were the case.” Luna motioned for Elias to sit as she carefully poked and prodded at him. “Regardless, Discord is currently being reformed by Lady Fluttershy, and if we believe that Guardsman Bright is a product of his magic, then we have a much bigger problem on our hooves than the actions of my wayward guard.”

Luna scoffed as she lifted his chained hands in the air.

“Elias, I wish to remove these infernal chains and run tests on your person, can you promise that you will not seek to harm anyone while I do so?”

Elias shrugged.

“As long as White Shine isn’t waiting in the wings, absolutely. I hurt who I needed to, and hopefully I won’t have to do it again if he learned his lesson.”

“Luna, what are you doing?” Celestia asked, her voice tinged with paranoia. “Move away from the creature, I do not wish for it to harm you.”

Luna glanced over her shoulder.

“Do you have so little faith in me ‘Tia? I am more than capable with dealing with Guardsman Bright, especially given his current state.” She turned to look at him. “Besides, I don’t think the Guardsman will hurt me. You seem to fear that he is any less the person he was a few days ago, while I on the other hand have already experienced Bright at some of his lows, and can safely tell you that he is a caring creature who acts only in accordance with his own morals.”

She tilted her head as she stared into Elias’ soul.

“You attacked White Shine because he struck Night Flash, did you not? You reacted to a friend in need in the way you knew best, by eliminating the threat, permanently.”

Elias nodded, his voice becoming low.

“I warned him Princess. I warned him what would happen, but he didn’t listen. Now nobody will second guess my word again, and if he’s smart, White Shine will stay far away from me or my friends.”

Luna smiled.

“Indeed, he will. We shall discuss that in a moment however,” she turned to look over her shoulder. “Twilight Sparkle, I request your assistance. I need somepony to record our findings while maintaining a detection spell.”

The purple unicorn squealed with her usual excitement and bounced down the throne, plopping to a seat beside Luna. Her nose wrinkled as she got close to Elias, but she didn’t shy away. Her horn charged to a brilliant purple, and Elias felt another sensation pass over his body. Once it had combed through him once, it parked itself in his chest, and Elias struggled not to scratch at it. Twilight oo’ed softly as her quill began to write. She looked to Luna, a bright smile on her face.

“Assistant Twilight Sparkle, ready when you are Princess!” she said with a giggle.

Elias eyed the unicorn carefully.

“Is it too late to go back in the cell and starve to death? I don’t like that look in her eye.”

Luna scoffed as she gently grabbed Elias’ hands.

“Nonsense Guardsman, young Twilight is merely excited about the prospect of a new avenue of study. She is of no danger to you.”

Twilight, seemingly oblivious to the two people talking about her, giggled again, twitching in excitement.

“There’s so much we can learn! My first experiment with Princess Luna and we are performing such groundbreaking work!” She straightened, her nose sticking in the air as she stared at Elias. She cleared her throat loudly as her quill began to speed across the page. “Test log 1: Subject is a pale, human male. See notes on human physical features and cultures. Subject is 19 years old, an adolescent by Equestrian standards, but an adult by his own standards. Subject shows signs of heavy scarring, both emotional and physical, and is currently in a state of dehydration and minor starvation. Assistant would recommend immediate medical attention, after tests have been concluded.”

Luna nodded.

“We concur. I shall send a message to Doctor Scalpel to have a meal prepared. If nothing else, it should keep him and Guardsman Bright’s friends busy. Continue Twilight.”

“On the note Princess Luna left off, Subject has successfully made friends!” she said cheerfully, grinning at Elias. “Despite anti-social tendencies, Subject has a minimum of four close friends, with several more potential friends speaking positively of the subject’s character! See witness notes. This leads us to our first test.”

She looked to Luna as she spoke.

“Subject claims that he lacks magic of any kind, and initial scans by three ponies confirms it. Subject is magic free in his natural state. This leads to many interesting questions, such as; if the soul is based in magic, can a living creature without magic have one? Subject claims that ambient magics have no effect on him, yet has daily nightmares. This introduces the question of how a dream manifests, and if the subject is having true dreams at all? We shall determine these answers in further experimentation, but for now…”

Twilight looked to Luna.

“I’m ready for the first test Princess!” she chirped happily.

Luna nodded, and looked to Elias.

“First, we shall be testing your body’s reaction to magic. We know you can be affected by it, but I wish to know on a magical level how your body distributes magic. Twilight, orate what you feel through your detection spell.”

The purple unicorn nodded as Luna’s horn lit up. A blue aura settled over Elias’ hands, and he watched as the wounds began to seal up painlessly. The quill flashed across the scroll as Twilight spoke.

“Subject is currently having his hands healed by Princess Luna. The magic distribution is… strange really. It seems to concentrate long enough over his injuries to mend them slightly, but then it slides away, as if his body is seeking to draw in the magic. It is poorly regulated, and it is distributing the magic unevenly. Subject should be showing signs of overload but,” she looked Elias up and down, “Subject does not seem bothered by magical clogs at his focal points.”

Luna gradually cut off her magic, and Elias was free to flex his healed hands. They were still bloody, and they had heavy, tooth shaped scars on the knuckles, but ultimately, they felt good as new. Twilight grabbed one of his hands, looking it over with a magnifying glass.

“Despite the power of the healing spell, Subject still scarred.” She looked to Luna. “Do you think it has to do with the magic being siphoned away?”

Luna nodded.

“Indeed it does, but I am curious, where has the magic been siphoned to?”

Twilight hummed quietly as she closed her eyes.

“Looking at his aura, or at least where his aura should be, it appears as if your magic has filled the gap Princess, though it is important to note that it is slipping away quickly. The ambient magic in the room is absorbing it back.”

She opened her eyes and tilted her head as she looked at Elias.

“Weird. It’s like you have the potential to have magic, but no way to create or sustain any magic put into you. Your body matches the signature, but otherwise… nothing. Princess Celestia was right, you’re impossible and shouldn’t exist.”

Twilight clapped her hooves together and cheered.

“It’s so great! And I get to help study it!”

Elias snorted and looked at Luna.

“At least somebody is having a good day.”

The alicorn smiled at him.

“Your luck shall change soon Guardsman. Trust is in the power of friendship.”

Elias looked at her with mock disgust.

“Ugh, don’t say that. You’re liable to give me a stroke.”

Luna chuckled.

“Perhaps then you would rather hear it from one of your friends? Book Binder and Night Flash are most excited to speak with you, and I’m sure that Book Binder especially can’t wait to give you a good cuddle.”

Elias realized that it was meant to be playful banter, but the words brought out a real concern within him. He looked at the floor.

“How are they?” he asked softly.

Luna noticed his abrupt change in mood, and she sighed, laying a hoof on his shoulder.

“They miss you Elias, and they are worried sick for you. It has been as long a two days for them as I imagine it was for you.”

“They’re not… scared of me?” Elias asked.

Luna sighed.

“That will be for them to tell you. I imagine not however, it was for Night Flash’s sake that you attacked White Shine, was it not?”

Elias nodded.

“I warned him Princess,” Elias said softly. “He wouldn’t listen, and I…”

He felt anger build in his chest, almost as if his mind was trying to throw up one more barricade, but Elias couldn’t find it within himself to utilize that anger. Sadness welled up next, threatening to overwhelm him as his breath became shaky, but that too slipped away, disappearing into a numb void that swallowed his chest.

“I just saw that look on Night Flash’s face. He looked so hurt, and scared, and in that moment, I knew why, and I knew I had to fix it.” He shrugged. “So I removed the why. No more threat, no more hurt. If White Shine is smart, it won’t happen again, and if it does… he’ll regret it for the rest of his short life.”

Luna sighed.

“So it is safe to say that you do not regret your actions?”

Elias shrugged.

“My only regret is that it happened when and where it did. I wish Binder and Flash never had to see that side of me. It was only a matter of time I suppose.”

He sighed deeply. The sadness returned, though this time it stuck slightly in his mind as the paranoid center voice whispered dark words in his ear.

“They’re going to hate me for this, aren’t they?” Elias asked Luna softly. “Book Binder and Night Flash I mean. They’ll try to hide it, but they’re going to hate me. I’m going to be alone again.”

Elias remained silent for a moment before he snorted and shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m done. You have your guilty confession, if that’s what you were after with this little exercise.”

He mustered the energy to push himself to his feet. Elias met Celestia’s eyes as he rolled his shoulders, feeling the muscle pull as he did so.

“I’m prepared for whatever punishment you give me. I'm no expert, but I read enough about Equestrian law to know that I have no rights, as I don't qualify as a citizen of any recognizable nation. Punish me however you will, I just ask that I get to see Book Binder and Night Flash once beforehand. I don’t want their last thought of me being… like that.”

Celestia looked him up and down. Elias briefly noticed that the unnatural light in the room dimmed slightly, allowing him to properly look at the alicorn without squinting. She was clearly studying him intently, and Elias could tell from the look in her eyes that her feelings about him were mixed at best. How she flipped back and forth from thinking him a monster or a monstrous human was almost amusing to watch, and it told Elias that she had paranoia to rival his own, though hers was likely kept in much better check. Something won out however, and her face resumed its unreadable status as she straightened in her throne.

“Elias, before I tell you your punishment, I must tell you why you waited in isolation. Your actions have created quite the stir in the castle, and in Canterlot as a whole. Entire sections of the guards, Royal, Solar, and Lunar have rallied to your cause even if you did not ask them to. I feared that you were controlling their minds, but the stories they told me were of a man in pain. Some of them have not met you, yet they know your name and know your actions.”

She rose from her throne and walked down. Luna gave Elias a small smile before she ushered Twilight to the side. Celestia continued as she approached the human.

“For two days I have had pony after pony come to this room, under a truth spell no less, and beg me for your release. Several of whom blame themselves for what happened. I feared that you had wormed your way into my kingdom to tear it apart from the inside, and that I had foolishly let it happen.”

Celestia snorted as she cast a glance toward Luna.

“I had even thought you had brainwashed my sister if you’d imagine that.”

Her smile quickly dropped.

“And for two days I was utterly convinced that you had managed to usurp my kingdom and my people, had taken my sister away from me when I only had her back for three years, and then you snapped, ready to make use of this new power.”

She sighed, and Elias noticed tears in her eyes.

“Yet here you stand before me, ready to face my wrath, knowing that you may be executed or worse, and your only wish was that you see you friends again.” She snorted and shook her head. “I am a fool. A delusional fool to think so little of you. I hope you can find it within your heart to find forgiveness for this old m-…”

Elias silenced her by putting his hand over her mouth. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t a smart thing to do, and his hand likely smelled horrible, but in his slightly delirious state, he couldn’t find it within himself to care. Besides, it had the effect he wanted, and he was quick to drop it once he realized she wouldn’t continue. Elias blinked at the alicorn as she stared silently at him.

“There’s nothing to forgive Princess,” Elias said simply after a long moment of silence. “You did what you thought was right with the information you had, and I can’t blame you for that, as nobody should.” He thumbed his nose as he tried to itch his facial hair. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve stayed in much worse conditions for much longer. You just spoiled me and got me used to things like regular meals, and running water, so if anything, I should be thanking you, and begging you for forgiveness.”

Celestia smiled at him.

“Kind words my little human. Regardless, I offer my sincerest apologies for how you have been treated these past few days, and if there is anything you need, at all, then please ask.” She sighed and straightened. “But first, we must address your punishment.”

Elias nodded, looking nervously to Luna, who gave him a playful grin. He felt that it didn’t make it better. His eyes drifted back to Celestia as she spoke.

“Elias, as punishment for defending Guardspony Night Flash, as well as for escorting him to safety after the incident, you shall have two guards placed at your side, to watch your every movement, day and night. These guards will have full discretion to better your physical and mental health.” Elias noticed a small grin tugging on the corners of her mouth. “In addition, Doctor Scalpel, with the assistance of Princess Luna, shall determine a full regiment to aid in your rehabilitation.”

Luna raised her nose in the air.

“In fact, I have already begun to prepare the first portion of your recovery, and your guards have already been alerted.”

Elias really didn’t like the sound of that. Celestia let her grin out as she continued.

“Next, you shall be attending weekly lectures meant to improve your skills as a guard, and Captain Chaser will have an application on his desk by the end of January. You have turned some heads Elias, and I expect you to fulfill your true potential, just as I expect of all of my subjects. Which brings me to the final portion of my punishment.”

She turned to Twilight.

“Twilight, you are usually prepared, do you have a citizenship form on you by chance?”

The purple unicorn nodded.

“Of course, Princess! It was on my checklist of potential outcomes!”

A saddlebag appeared from nowhere, bulging with excess papers, and what Elias could only assume were books, though from the way they were bulging, he imagined that they could function as explosives. From the unmanageable mess of papers floated a solid, crisp looking sheet. It floated over to Celestia, who looked it over, filling a few spaces in as she read through it. The sheet then floated over to Luna, who repeated the process. She gave a wink to Elias as she passed the paper back to Celestia, who nodded in approval before giving it to Elias.

The human had no idea what they had did with all of their writing, and it took him a second to realize that they were screwing with him. The paper was simple, not dissimilar to a birth certificate. On it sat a space for his name, which had been filled in, with both middle names too. Both princesses had already signed the certificate as well, and both were looking at him eagerly. It only took a whisper, but it put enough doubt in his mind to make him ask;

“Princess, I know there’s a saying about gift horses and where you shouldn’t look at them, but… why?” he asked, looking from the paper to Celestia. “Why am I not facing a more severe punishment?”

Celestia smiled warmly at him.

“Disregarding your repeated displays that you are an honorable, caring man who only does what he believes is right?” She sighed. “White Shine’s parents actually came to visit with us during the second night of deliberation. What truly surprised me was when they asked to see you so that they could give you their thanks.”

“Their thanks?” Elias asked, stupefied. “I beat their son, not as badly as I could have, but badly enough.”

Celestia sighed.

“Indeed, but I thank you for showing restraint. It is one of the contributing factors to your light punishment. Regardless, it appears there were a multitude of complaints levied against the unicorn that were withheld under the threat of disgrace from the guard. I have had to apologize to many of my guards for letting this slip my notice, but I have made sure that nopony can wield their family’s status like a weapon now. Still,” she continued, “White Shine’s parents are fine ponies, and upon hearing of their son’s behavior, they wished for your immediate release, even going so far to offer the payment for a defense attorney should you have needed it. Nobody is pressing charges however, so this matter was safe to resolve internally.”

She sighed again as her eyes found Elias’.

“And so, we have. Make no mistake, we shall be watching you closely to ensure this was a one-time occurrence, but to pretend that there weren’t many factors that brought this to a head would be foolish. You have made such progress since your arrival here, and you have found a series of beautiful relationships that I hope will continue to flourish. This is a way to bring you closer to our ponies as it were.” She snorted. “Though I would be amused in seeing how you would function as a full-blooded pony, I believe this will more than make you one of us if the rumors I have heard are any indication.”

Elias looked over the paper once more before he sighed and motioned for someone to give him a pen. A quill quickly floated into his grasp. Elias hesitated for a moment, then made a slight edit to his name before he signed it. If Night Flash ever saw it, he imagined the pony would like it. As soon as he was finished signing the certificate, both it and the quill disappeared. Celestia smiled brightly.

“Excellent, it shall be added to the vault of records this very day, and you shall receive your copy by the end of the week. Now, Luna, I believe you are responsible for punishing Elias?”

Luna grinned, and Elias found that he couldn’t decide if he hated that grin or not. While it contained a hint of malevolent intent, Elias also saw understanding in it. He imagined they would be talking in private later. He didn’t believe for a second that his beating of White Shine would be erased so quickly. But that was for later.

“Indeed I am Sister, and I believe it is high time that Guardsman Bright be taught his place on the pecking order.” She looked over her shoulder and called out loudly. “Guard Specialist Binder! Guard Specialist Flash! See to your charge immediately!”

The throne room doors slammed open with extreme force. Elias momentarily blinked as he tried to remember if there were any guards on either side of those doors. If there were… they likely weren’t breathing now, much like Elias found himself. Compared to Elias, ponies were rather light, especially the pegasi, whose bones were lighter to help them fly. This did not stop a certain blue pegasus from crushing Elias’ ribs in a mighty hug as the pony rubbed himself up and down Elias’ body. It took seconds, but Elias was sure that every part of his body was covered by Night Flash as the pony bounced around in excitement. Elias tried to defend himself from the onslaught, but this time the pony never slowed down, and Elias couldn’t grab him.

Only an outside intervention saved Elias, and that intervention was in the form of a smiling Book Binder, decked fully in her Lunar Guard armor. Night Flash flailed in the air as she lifted the pegasus away, giggling softly.

“Bindey let me down! Red needs our love!”

She stuck her tongue out at the pegasus.

“Indeed he does lover, but I get first dibs on our little human.”

Elias groaned and didn’t bother to rise off the ground.

“I’d officially like to request different personal guards.”

“Denied,” Luna replied smoothly. “There aren’t two ponies I trust more to oversee you Elias, and besides, do you really want somepony you don’t know sharing a room with you?”

Elias stopped fake pouting and actually sat up.

“Sharing a room? Princess I don’t think that’s a good idea. I still have daily issues with my night terrors. I don’t want to disturb them.”

Elias felt a harsh slap on the back of his head, and as he rubbed at it, he glared at Book Binder, who stuck her tongue out him.

“Young man, stop trying to get rid of us. We’re sticking by you like glue, and that’s final. Besides, Princess Luna has observed that you don’t have your night terrors when we sleep with you, and it is part of her mandatory experiments that we test this theory.”

Elias must have had a fearful expression on his face because Book Binder smiled sweetly at him.

“I know this is a big step Elias, but we just want to make sure that you’re actually getting better. We have already put extra beds in the room if it doesn’t work out, and Flash and I have ear plugs if we need them, but I don’t think we will. We’re not going anywhere, alright?”

Elias nodded, then scratched the back of his head. His mind was alight with possible outcomes his “punishment” could have. The voice at the back of his head whispered a dangerous idea, but if Flash and Binder were putting on a brave front, then it would expose them. If not… At least Book Binder would be happy. He looked at some random point on the wall.

“Hey Binder… I know it’s kind of poor timing and all given recent events but… could we move on to phase two? I-if you want that is.”

Elias winced as Night Flash hit the floor with a yelp as Book Binder’s magic sputtered out. The unicorn was quite literally vibrating with energy as she stared at him. Luna chuckled loudly.

“My Sister, it seems our attempts at punishment pale in comparison with Guardsman Bright’s methods of punishing himself. We shall have to put greater thought into our efforts in the future.”

Elias felt himself lift into the air as Book Binder saluted smartly at Luna.

“Princess, permission to take the next few days to get better acquainted with my new charge?”

Luna looked at Elias, who desperately shook his head no. She smiled and nodded.

“Of course Guardspony Binder, Guardspony Flash may have the time off as well. We wouldn’t want any discontentment in our ranks, now would we? Take good care of Bright, Guardspony.” She paused as she turned away, but then Luna stopped and looked back with a mischievous grin. “Oh, and Guardspony? Elias smells, I suggest he have a nice bath to clean up. Oversee that personally, would you?”

Elias decidedly did not like the way that sounded, but Book Binder apparently did. She gasped in soft joy for a moment. While she stood still, Night Flash flapped his way up to Elias, wrapping his hooves around Elias’ neck as he smiled brightly.

“You ready to learn how to fly Red? I know you don’t have wings, but Bindey’s going to take us for a ride anyway!”

Elias looked over his shoulder at the pony.

“Why is Binder so stuck on the word bath? She acts like taking a shower is some big thing.”

Night Flash grinned.

“You’ll see Red. It’s just a little piece of pony culture we’re going to get to share with you!”

Before Elias could fully process that statement, they were off like a shot, as Book Binder cheered loudly.

*****

“Are you sure about this Luna?” Celestia asked as the trio disappeared, with Book Binder’s calls of joy following them. “I do not think Elias is inherently evil, but there is still something dark lurking in his mind.”

Luna nodded.

“Indeed there is ‘Tia, I have seen it. I have also seen that he is doing his best to contain it, and he is making a real effort to open himself up. We will only learn in time what scars him so, but I believe with those two watching him, nothing bad will happen. Guardsman Bright is right about one thing; nopony will disturb him or his friends again. That should be enough to keep him contained. We shall soon learn how isolated this incident was.”

Celestia sighed and nodded.

“Yes, we shall.” She smiled as she looked at Luna. “If you don’t mind me prying, what are some of your tactics to care for our little human?”

Luna tsked.

“Now Sister, that would ruin the fun!” she giggled softly as she pranced away.

Celestia maintained her smile until the doors closed behind her sister, then her face fell into a frown. Though she had been telling the truth about no longer fearing Elias or his intentions, she had thought the human was more mentally stable than he was. It concerned her that the careful pieces she had put in place were falling apart before her eyes with all of the moving factors surrounding the man.

Celestia snorted and brushed away her doubts. Considering the loyalty he had already built amongst her ponies, and the abundance of time they had left before preparations began, she was sure that Elias would be in a much better place to suit their needs. The RAT exam had only confirmed what she already knew; they needed him to lead. Nopony had held a candle to his combat prowess, and if he was put in full command, rather than acting as a simple strategist, he would be the perfect tool they needed to cross the Long Forest to Saddle Arabia. The minotaur lands were dangerous, wild, and ripe for war, something her ponies were not able to handle alone. The human however, he knew what war was, and if all things went to plan, he could wage it effortlessly on their behalf.

Celestia wouldn't let Luna know of her intentions quite yet, and despite a pony or two, nobody knew of her intentions, nor her efforts to make the human a loyal, willing warrior. He was a capable fighter, there was little doubt about that, but she still needed more time to observe the human, adjusting his progress as needed to ensure that he would meet their needs, just like she had when she had quietly encouraged several of the ponies in Elias' life to grow closer to him; without their knowledge of course. Whispered words did much to make ponies curious, and the recommendation she had received from her proposed generals to prod Night Flash's curiosity toward the human had paid off in spades and then some. White Shine's foolish actions more than proved that. It also showed that Elias had not lost his brutal edge, which was a serious concern Celestia had when she had offered the human the opportunity to join the guard. The pony in her said that she should prioritize ensuring that he would be a safe, functional member of society, but the ruler knew that his aggression was a desperately needed tool. Her ponies were kind creatures, and she had been like a mother to them, far too much. Celestia knew she wouldn't stop; she enjoyed keeping them safe as much as they enjoyed their peaceful lives. Still, she needed someone with a warrior's instinct.

Celestia's frown deepened as she continued thinking. Had she become too manipulative? Tampering with Elias' life, it caused a bit of minor discomfort in her head the more she thought about the small details. She had done similar things in the past, and to great results. The Elements of Harmony were rediscovered, had suitable bearers, and she got her sister back all in one fell swoop. It was a brilliant move that brought about a so far unprecedented scale of harmony across Equestria, and Celestia knew that with gentle nudges in the right places, a new alicorn would soon earn the title of Princess; in a few years of course. Moving too fast would only disturb and over-pressure her student.

They were similar in that regard, Elias and Twilight. Volatile, obsessed, though the Keepers only knew why. Each could be set off by the smallest event, and Celestia wondered briefly which would be worse if they finally lost control. Twilight was clearly more individually powerful of the two, and her strength increased with each day. It was only blunted by her teachings, as well as the safety net established with her friend group. As a unicorn though, Twilight had unmatched power and skill with magic, so much so that she was nearly a rival to Celestia. It was only because her utter devotion to her teacher that Twilight would never rise as a threat; that, and she was simply too good of a pony. It took others to bring it out, but the unicorn was incredibly kind-hearted, and Celestia had no doubts that they would be friends for centuries to come.

Elias on the other-hoof was different. Given enough time, she suspected that Elias would be able to raise an army of ponies loyal to his name. It would be simple to put a rebellion down, but it would be costly in terms of lives, and that was something she definitely did not want. She cared deeply for her ponies, and Celestia would make the human disappear quietly should anything like that come to pass. Unfortunately, she could find no blunting force to such a terrible outcome other than the human's immense self-control. None of the guards had even attempted to stop him when he had begun pummeling White Shine, and according to the reports, it was only by his own will that the human stopped before the unicorn died.

Celestia sighed as she thought about the foolish unicorn. It had enraged her when she had heard about what White Shine had been threatening her guards with. To think that something so serious was happening right under her nose was infuriating, and Celestia had made it very clear that such behavior would not be tolerated and anypony who was caught continuing it would be severely punished. She only wished she had been able to catch the incident before it came to a head. Her focus had been elsewhere however, the upcoming wedding, and the mountain of planning and coordination that would follow. It was a failure of hers, but not one that she thought would matter in the long term. Unless it happened again.

Celestia sighed and rubbed the base of her horn.

“Raven, could you please do something for me?”

The white unicorn popped out from her disguised workroom behind the throne, blinking rapidly with her bleary eyes as she adjusted her glasses.

“Yes Princess?” she asked.

“Do ensure that former Guardspony White Shine never comes within a thousand feet of the castle. In fact, put a restraining order on him to avoid any contact with Night Flash, Book Binder, and Elias Bright.”

The unicorn nodded, her horn alight as the door to her work area closed. Assured that the incident wouldn’t be able to repeat itself any time soon, Celestia returned to thinking, combing through her plans for any flaws that could lead to catastrophe.

Chapter 23: Another day passes

Book Binder sighed happily as she watched her boys sleep. It had taken more than a little bit of fighting, some running, and a lot of yelling, but she had bathed with Elias and Night Flash successfully, prodding the human till he admitted that it wasn’t so bad. After getting the stink off of the man, coupled with a fresh set of clothes and a slowly sipped gallon of water, Binder had taken them both out to eat, something she wasn’t surprised to hear that Elias had never done. Book Binder couldn’t help but be ecstatic at taking him on his first trip into the city that wasn’t guard related. It had been a simple trip to Doughnut Joe’s and a walk in a park, but it was so peaceful. They had laughed and talked about nothing while they walked. Book Binder had made sure to intentionally keep the conversation away from the more serious topics, and she had mostly succeeded, with only one minor hiccup when Elias had accidentally punched a door frame and swore. She and Flash had instinctively flinched, and when Elias noticed, he grew sullen and distant. Only an assault of snuggles brought their collective mood back up, and they had continued their day out with a new pep in their step.

They had become exhausted quickly though, and it had taken a supreme effort on her part to get the pair back to the castle without one of them falling asleep. Upon making it back to their now shared room, Elias had promptly collapsed onto his bed, not bothering to crawl under the covers. Night Flash remedied this issue by flopping on top of the human, spreading his wings out as he began to snore loudly. Book Binder could only watch with joy as Elias joined the pegasus, and the two snored together. Once she was sure they were asleep, Book Binder quietly tucked them in, and Elias subconsciously helped by grabbing Night Flash and hugging the pegasus to his chest. Book Binder was thankful that they had already moved some basic things into the room, because she was able to find her camera and snap a photo of the moment, tucking it away in a small photo album that she knew she would find plenty of use for.

Book Binder perked up slightly from her bed as she watched Elias shift in the darkness. She frowned when she heard a low whimper exit his mouth. Rising silently, Book Binder crept across the rug and hopped into Elias’ bed. Night Flash was watching him with concern, awake and alert as she was.

“What happened?” she whispered as quietly as possible.

Night Flash shrugged.

“I don’t know, one second he was sleeping like a baby, and then he just got all tense. It isn’t as bad as Princess Luna and Steel Scalpel said it would be, but I think he’s having a nightmare.”

Book Binder looked at Elias’ arms, and found them wrapped tightly around Night Flash’s barrel. She looked at the pegasus.

“He’s not squeezing you too hard, is he?”

Night Flash shook his head and wiggled around so that he was facing Elias. Flash frowned as he looked at Elias’ face, which seemed to twist in pain.

“Should we try to wake him up?” Flash asked. “What did Princess Luna say about treating his nightmares?”

Book Binder levitated over her saddlebags and rifled through them to find a special notebook that she had been given for this specific occurrence. She quickly wrote a brief message out, then with a tear of the paper, it disappeared. Book Binder set the notebook to the side and continued to study Elias as he grew more emotive. He would occasionally whisper nonsensical words, while his hands began to curl into fists. Night Flash wriggled out from under his arm to adjust, then pouted as Book Binder dragged him back further when Elias tried to reach out for the pony.

“Come on Bindey, we need to do something!” Night Flash whined, “Red just wants somepony to sleep with him is all, I’m sure of it.”

Book Binder smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“I know Flashy, but Princess Luna wants to make sure nopony gets hurt. Elias isn’t always in control of his actions, and we have to make sure he isn’t a danger to himself.”

Night Flash huffed as he looked at Elias, who had since flipped over, muttering loudly to himself as his legs kicked under the blankets. Even in the dark Book Binder could see the sweat beading on his forehead as he tossed and turned. Night Flash began to pace silently on the carpet, casting a glance at Elias every few seconds as he moved back and forth. Book Binder sympathized with him; the longer they waited, the less sure she felt that they should be waiting at all.

Lucky for them both, a soft knock came at the door, and Book Binder was quick to answer it. The light from the hallway was nonexistent as Luna slipped into the room, her green eyes quickly locking onto Elias, who had successfully thrown his covers to the floor. The human had then curled into a ball as he continued to mutter and sweat. Luna moved around the side of his bed, sitting beside it as her horn lit up. She was silent for a moment, then she sighed.

“His dream is still wrapped in a storm. Let us try it with somepony beside him. Night Flash, you are first.”

The pegasus nodded and quickly hopped onto the bed, settling beside Elias. The human had his arms back around the pony almost instantly, sighing softly as his arms pulled Flash close to his chest. Night Flash smiled and rubbed against Elias’ chest, keeping his eyes open as he waited for Luna’s feedback. The princess tried to enter his dream again, but sighed and shook her head.

“It is internally less turbulent, that much I can tell, but it has not ceased, nor has the storm lessened. Book Binder, I would like to try you next. Perhaps he requires the touch of his mother.”

Night Flash sighed, giving Elias one last nuzzle before he began to move away. Before he could wriggle free, Elias growled, and his arms quickly pushed the pegasus off the bed. Night Flash yelped in surprise as he hit the floor, and Luna’s frown deepened.

“The storm has worsened; something is wrong. I shall try to press in, do not disturb me, no matter what happens.”

She then closed her eyes and her horn charged a brighter blue. Elias began to writhe as if he was in immense pain, which surprised Book Binder. He always seemed so calm when he got hurt, shaking injuries off like they were nothing, no matter how severe. Now though, now he looked like he was in agony. The muttering became louder and louder until he was shrieking at the top of his lungs. His tunic was soaked clean through as he fought enemies only he could see. Night Flash whimpered slightly as he crawled away from the bed, sitting at Book Binder’s side as he watched Elias write and howl.

“C’mon Red. Come on back to us,” he whispered softly.

Book Binder wrapped a hoof around him and pulled him close as they watched in horrified silence as Elias continued to scream while Luna sat in silence. Her face held intense focus as magic poured from her horn. Though it was only minutes, it felt like hours before Elias began to grow still. Luna sighed deeply as her horn fell dark and she rose.

“Another failure I am afraid. I am no closer to understanding what tortures him, nor why he has suddenly begun reacting negatively to intimate contact. It is most strange, and I wish to see how he reacts with Book Binder. We shall repeat this experiment the next time he has a terror, but for now, I have subdued his mind. He should sleep through the night.”

As if existing for the spite of others, Elias began to stir. His head poked up, and his arms seemed to drift lazily across his bed. What surprised Book Binder was that his eyes seemed different as they opened and searched around the room. The blue seemed… lacking. As if something wasn’t there. It shook her when his voice matched the feeling, sounding as if years had been stripped away.

“H-hello?” he called weakly. “Is somebody there?”

The three ponies were all frozen. They merely stared at Elias as his eyes seemed to pass over them without noticing their presence. The human whimpered and curled into a ball. He began to shiver violently, and his next words broke Book Binder’s heart in two.

“M-mom?” he called softly. “I-I can’t s-see you. A-are y-you still here?”

Nobody dared to breathe, which seemed to make Elias’ reaction worse, as he began to cry.

“M-Mom?” he said, his voice louder and more desperate. “Mom please, you’re scaring me.”

Book Binder realized that she could see it, and it was in fact the thing she had seen missing from his eyes. No matter what happened, underneath all of the pain, desperation, and anger, Elias, her Elias was always so confident. His every action was guided by something that only he knew, but was guided, nonetheless. Even in the throughs of a panic attack that confidence was just below the surface, hiding, waiting to be brought back out. There was none of that now. She saw only blind terror as he cast out blindly, calling for a mother that wouldn’t answer. She didn’t know what to do, they had no way to find his parents, no way to bring this… this child any comfort. He was so dangerously alone and terrified, and she had no idea what to do.

Then Luna nudged her as his cries became more desperate. Book Binder met the princess’s eyes.

“Go to him Book Binder. I know not what has brought out this state, but he needs his mother.”

Book Binder blinked as she stared at Luna, then her eyes fell on Elias, who was curling into a ball as his cries increased in volume and desperation. Her mind clicked into place as she stared upon her son, and he was her son, no matter how much he protested. That poor, lonely human was hers, and low to any who tried to hurt him.

“Yes baby?” she called softly, sweetly. “Momma’s here baby, what do you need?”

Elias’s eyes locked onto her, then shifted away as he searched the room. He whimpered.

“Mom? I can’t see you, it’s too dark. C-Could you come hug me? I’m scared…”

Book Binder moved around the side of the bed, grabbing the blankets in her magic as she gently forced her human to lay back spread out. Elias didn’t fight her as she tucked him back in, standing by his head as she smiled at him.

“Is that better baby?” she asked, reaching out to stroke his head.

Elias visibly relaxed when her hoof began to run through his hair. He looked at her and Book Binder saw that heart melting smile that she loved, each and every time she saw it. It faded quickly however, and Book Binder noticed tears in his eyes as he looked away.

“Elias, what’s wrong?” she asked. “I don’t like to see my baby boy hurting.”

He sniffed.

“I-… Could you sleep with me tonight Mom? I- I had the dream again.”

Book Binder blinked as she looked to Luna, who merely waved for her to continue. Book Binder looked back to Elias, who was staring at her with those sweet eyes. She hated the tears she saw in them, and she absolutely despised the fear she saw. Book Binder gave him a reassuring smile as she climbed into his bed, walking over his body to settle against his back so that she could continue brushing his head.

“Would you like to tell me what your dream was about Elias? Saying it out loud might make you feel better.”

Elias tensed for a moment, and Book Binder feared that she had overstepped. She didn’t pull away though, just continued brushing his head. With her silent support, the human relaxed, staring silently at the wall for a moment.

“Are you sure?” he asked quietly. “It was really bad this time.”

Book Binder nodded.

“I want to hear it Elias, but if you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t. I will be here anyway.”

Elias sniffled, and he shifted slightly. Book Binder smiled when he pressed against her more. She hugged his head, and laid a small kiss on his forehead.

“Go on baby, it will help, I promise.”

He sniffled again, but he started to speak, his words coming in stutters as he began to cry softly again.

“I-it was the one where everyone died Mom. You, and Dad, and Anna, and Sarah and I…” he sobbed. “Mom it was just me left a-and there was so much blood and I…”

“Shhh,” Book Binder said, giving him another hug. “Keep going baby, you can do it.”

“T-then y-you were back!” Elias said, as if he was trying to prove his words, “b-but then He came, a-and you said you d-didn’t want me anymore.” He whimpered. “And then I was alone, and nobody would help me, and I was so scared.”

Elias flipped over suddenly, grabbing Book Binder and pulling her tight against his chest.

“Please don’t leave me Mom. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

Book Binder let out a squeak of shock, but when she realized that he was just trying to cling to her, she relaxed, petting his chest as she nuzzled against his chin.

“It’s okay baby boy,” she said softly. “Momma isn’t going anywhere.”

She wriggled out of his grip and curled around his head, guiding his hand to her chest with a hoof while the other hoof stroked through his hair.

“I’m never going to let you be alone again, Elias. Never, ever, alright?”

Elias nodded sleepily and his eyes drifted closed.

“Thanks momma, I love you.”

Book Binder felt her heart melt as she laid her head on top of his.

“I love you too baby.”

She waited until he had fallen back asleep before she cracked her eyes open. Luna was writing furiously on a series of scrolls, sending them away with her magic as she finished each observation. Night Flash was standing next to her, staring silently at Book Binder. She motioned for him to join her in the bed, but he didn’t, sniffling softly as he turned away. Book Binder frowned.

“Flashy, what’s wrong? You love to cuddle with Elias.”

He shook his head and his ears flattened.

“He doesn’t like me Bindey. Not like he likes you. I don’t think he wants me as his dad.”

“Nay Guardspony Night Flash, I do not believe that is the case,” Luna replied with a frown.

Letters started to appear as fast as she sent them off. She read them with one eye as she continued to write with the other.

“The doctors I hired seem to believe that much of his emotional trauma is grounded with whatever happened to his biological family. It has been a piece we have been missing for weeks, and only recently have the full implications come to light, including what has happened this night.”

She scowled as she looked over a particularly long scroll.

“It seems to be a common theory that his family died in a horrific manner, likely while Elias watched. Unfortunately,” she said, glancing at Elias’ sleeping body, “Elias is likely unwilling to speak of this trauma, and will likely remain unwilling for many years. Such an event could not have been kind to his mind. I only wish we had another source of information about his past.”

Book Binder and Night Flash exchanged a look, each thinking the same thing. Book Binder continued stroking Elias’ hair, checking that he was truly asleep before she spoke softly.

“We know what happened to his parents Princess,” Book Binder admitted; her eyes focused squarely on Elias.

Such pain on his face. So young, yet so very old. Luna stared at her very furiously.

“And you decided to withhold this information why?”

“Elias didn’t, and doesn’t wish to share it, so I’m not going to say more than I have to. Suffice to say, Night Flash and I looked into his journals, and they are very detailed.” She sighed deeply. “Elias doesn’t even know we read them; I had to lie to his face, otherwise he would have pushed us away, and likely tried to run. It is… better this way. We’ll tell him eventually, but only when he’s ready, not before.”

Luna growled.

“Guardspony, you will turn over these journals immediately. They could contain valuable information that can mend Elias’ mind. Is that not the ultimate goal here? To help this man find peace?”

Book Binder smiled.

“It is, but he’ll never find peace if we force it on him. He’ll fight, it’s what my baby does.” She looked sadly to Luna. “I’m sorry Princess, but I won’t be turning over anything. I’ll tell you what happened to Elias’ family, but nothing else. The rest you will have to learn from him when he shares it with you.”

Luna’s eyes glinted dangerously, flicking like lightning to Night Flash for a second before they settled back on Book Binder.

“Guardspony, you would dare disobey a direct order from your Princess? I could have you punished for such treason.”

Book Binder was only mildly surprised when Night Flash leaped onto the bed, turning heel and flaring his wings widely as he growled at Luna.

“That’s enough Princess,” he said, his demeanor serious as he faced off with the alicorn. “That’s my family you’re talking about, and if you want to get at them, you’ll go through me.”

For a moment, Luna looked like she would actually attack the pegasus, then her serious demeanor disappeared as she levitated Night Flash into the air with a smile. She dropped the pegasus next to Book Binder, grinning widely as she plopped him down.

“Well said Guardspony!” Luna proclaimed with a loud whisper. “A better father there could not be, standing up against an alicorn as you have.”

Night Flash looked at her with confusion, and when he seemed to lock in place, Book Binder rolled her eyes, dragging him off his hooves to rest against Elias’ chest. Once more, the human immediately found the pony and dragged him close, sighing softly as he relaxed further. Night Flash smiled up at the human, then closed his eyes to drift away into slumber.

Book Binder snorted in exasperation as her boys slept once more. She looked to Luna, who was smiling at them.

“A good family I think,” Luna said. “You have chosen your mate and child well Book Binder.”

The unicorn smiled.

“Thank you, Princess, things are slowly coming together.” She sighed deeply. “I hope I can be as good as his real mother though. He thought the world of her. It makes it especially tragic how she died. How his family died really.”

Luna matched her sigh.

“Book Binder, you do not have to speak of this if you do not wish to do so. My words were merely to provoke Night Flash to make him realize that he is every bit the capable father that Elias needs. I do not wish to pry into what is fast becoming a shared history.”

Book Binder smiled.

“Thank you, Princess, but this is something that may be crucial to helping Elias recover. It’s… it hurts him. A lot. Even the later parts of his journals, years after it happened, show the signs that he’s still thinking about her.” She sighed. “I wonder if I can ever live up to how he sees her.”

“Book Binder,” Luna said softly, “he would not have been comforted by your presence if he valued you as anything less than his mother. Though he may not admit or vocalize it, maybe ever, he loves you deeply. Do not doubt this love.”

Book Binder smiled as she stared at Elias’ sleeping face.

“I won’t Princess. He’s my baby boy, I could never doubt him.” She sighed sadly. “What are the chances of him remembering what happened tonight?”

“Slim to none I’m afraid,” Luna replied. “It is likely that a dormant personality rose to the forefront when his primary personality couldn’t handle the mental strain of the events of the past couple days. By morning, he shall likely return to normal with no memory of tonight, maybe even as far as today.” She sighed deeply. “It has been a long one.”

Book Binder nodded.

“Yes, it has,” she agreed absently. “It was fun though, once we got past the initial awkwardness. It felt like a regular family outing.”

Luna smiled at her.

“I am glad to hear it.” She bowed her head. “I shall take my leave then. You need your rest as much as these two do.”

“He killed them you know,” Book Binder said bluntly.

Luna froze in place, her green eyes cutting through the darkness.

“What?” she asked, her voice sharp.

“His family,” Book Binder replied. “Elias killed them, all of them. He was thirteen years old and he was forced to kill his family. He didn’t have a choice.”

Luna crept up to the bed and sat down.

“I must hear how he “did not have a choice.” In what environment could you not have a choice for killing your family?” Luna’s frown was clearly visible in the dark as she stared at Elias, who pulled Night Flash just a bit closer. The pegasus snorted into Elias’ facial hair, and the human chuckled softly. Book Binder ruffled Elias’ hair, then looked to Luna with a sad smile.

“Please don’t blame him for it, Princess, and please don’t let it make you think he’s a monster, because he isn’t. Wasn’t.” Book Binder sighed, and shook her head. “His journals are more than just his. For the first several hundred or so entries, Elias’ family contributed, not every entry, but in most of them. Little notes here and there to make him happy when he re-read them.”

She shifted slightly.

“From what I read, Elias had a traumatic incident when he was even younger, but I shall leave that private; needless to say, the journals were meant as a therapy treatment for dealing with this trauma, and when his world “ended” he began to ask his family to put in entries, as a way to cope with what I can only imagine was a horrible place.”

Book Binder took a shaky breath as she stared at Elias. Her poor, tortured boy. She would make it up to him, if it took everything she had, she would make his life just a little better. She wiped away a tear before continuing.

“I don’t know what “radiation poisoning” is, and Elias spared the details, probably because he was so young, but it was bad. He was the only one spared. Both sisters, both parents, even the family dog; all of them got so sick, and at thirteen Elias had to care for them all.”

Book Binder chuckled bitterly.

“He’s my baby boy at nineteen, but he already had to grow up and act like an adult at thirteen.” She wiped away a sniffle as she looked to Luna. “What kind of world Princess? What kind of world could be so cruel? Why couldn’t Elias come here sooner so that I could save him from that cruelty?”

Luna shook her head.

“I know not Book Binder, but he is here now. It is why I am trying so hard to help him, and why I am glad that he has found you.”

Book Binder nodded.

“I’m glad too. I just…” She sighed. “The radiation poisoning was a slow killer. It took days to fully kill a human, though his pet dog died within hours. Over the course of four days Elias went out to get food and water for his family, and for four days he only brought back scraps. He didn’t feed himself, saving everything for his mother and sisters.” She snorted. “His stubborn father wouldn’t eat anything; it makes me see where Elias gets it from.”

She sighed and looked at Night Flash, who’s leg kicked as Elias subconsciously rubbed his chest fur.

“Sometimes I worry about how Elias and Night Flash are going to be together. Right now they have nothing to connect about. Sure, Night Flash was the first pony that decided to be Elias’ friend, and he won’t ever let Elias shake him off, but they have little in common.” She smiled sadly. “Night Flash simply loves flying, something that neither Elias nor I can participate in. I think the only reason they even like each other is because Night Flash just likes seeing ponies, and in this case a human, smile. He loves listening too, so even when Elias is talking about something that Flash couldn’t care less about, he listens like it’s the single most important thing in the world.”

Book Binder tickled the pegasus’ belly. Night Flash giggled, and his wing swatted Elias’ chest. The human frowned and pulled the pony closer, causing Night Flash to sigh happily as he rubbed against Elias’ chin. Book Binder continued as she watched the pair.

“I think they might have issues, but who knows? The real problem is having Night Flash as a father figure. Elias’ father was abusive on and off; it’s why he formed such a close relationship with his mother. She would always protect him and rock him to sleep when his dad flew off the handle. There’s more than one journal about how Elias hated his father, until the end that is. Elias said he changed overnight, going from a deadbeat to a hero in an instant. Suddenly the beatings stopped as his dad tried to teach Elias everything he would need to know to survive.”

Book Binder parted a portion of Elias’ hair, noting the small, white scar that hid amongst the sea of red. She sighed and continued.

“Still, his dad was stubborn until he began spitting up blood, then he asked Elias to kill him. Until I read his journal, I didn’t know that there was such a thing as a “mercy killing”.”

Book Binder felt tears in her eyes as she rubbed her cheek against Elias’.

“My poor baby,” she said softly.

She then looked to Luna.

“We live in a paradise Princess, we truly do. I didn’t realize it until I read Elias’ journals, but everything is perfect here. Even our darkest days don’t compare to his worst. So much death. Mercy killings, suicide, genocide, torture methods that could haunt dreams.” She shuddered. “Night Flash and I made sure to skip as many of those as possible, but humans sound like monsters on paper. If I never met Elias, I’d think they were the worst nightmare anypony could ever think up. I think I understand why he carries what he does, even if it hurts him so much to do it.”

“Regardless of the horror, it is not safe for him,” Luna said. “He will need to share these things if he ever wishes to make peace with them.” She looked at Elias for a moment before looking back to Book Binder, “Consider also; what if the journals you speak of are inaccurate? Could it be possible that Elias views his fellow humans through a lens darkened by personal pain and suffering?”

Book Binder shrugged.

“Maybe, but I doubt it. He has the scars Princess. Some of the stories must be true, and this one is, because he did it. He used a “gun”, which killed his father in an instant. His older sisters begged for release next, so he killed them as well in the same method. That left one, and the gun stopped working. So he had to kill her personally…”

Book Binder whimpered softly as she tightened her grip on Elias’ head.

“My poor baby. He loved that woman more than he loved life. It tore him up inside when she begged him for death.”

Elias shifted in his sleep so that his face was looking at Book Binder. A small frown touched his lips. Book Binder leaned over and kissed his cheek gently, and the frown molded into a smile. Book Binder nuzzled him softly. She looked to Luna with tears in her eyes.

“And then she made it worse. She asked him to keep living. The only thing he wanted was to stay with them, but she pushed him away, made him walk on his own. It was the last lesson he received from his parents. If you want someone to live, you have to push them away, and at every low point in his life, Elias believed that he broke this rule.” She sniffled. “He’s breaking it now, that’s what he thinks at least. He’s waiting for us to die, and he’s so scared every time he smiles, because he thinks it’s going to be the last he shares with us.”

Luna frowned in thought as she stared at Elias.

“That is… While insightful, that is also absolutely horrifying. I can only imagine the rest of his adolescence is filled with similar stories.”

Book Binder sighed.

“Worse actually. His journals are a mess, but he kept to a daily schedule of writing something in them.” Her lip quivered as she looked at Luna. “Princess, am I a bad pony if I know every bad thing Elias has done, and don’t care? Am I bad if I know he’s done horrible things, but I love him anyway?”

Luna tried to smile and reassure Book Binder, but she found that she could not. Instead, she sighed and looked away.

“I am afraid I am not the pony to ask Book Binder. Celestia would be much better suited to answering that particular question.”

Book Binder gasped.

“I’m sorry Princess, I didn’t mean-“

Luna held up a hoof.

“It is quite alright Book Binder; it is the reason I am trying so hard. After all this time I have found a kindred spirit, and wish to see him made well as I was.” She snorted. “Unfortunately, I do not believe a simple blast from the Elements of Harmony will suffice to remedy the problem.”

Book Binder nodded silently in agreement, then she noticed something odd. It wasn’t particularly unusual to find a pony staring at Elias, he was an oddity after all, but it was the way Luna was staring at the man. She couldn’t quite place the look, but it felt familiar, almost as if…

Book Binder gasped, and in her surprise, she accidently popped Elias on the head with her hoof. The man grunted and rolled over. Book Binder let out a squeak as she suddenly found herself crushed under the combined weight of her human and her stallion. She faintly heard someone chuckling, then found herself suspended in the air after a brief teleportation spell. Book Binder grinned sheepishly at Luna as the alicorn grinned at her curiously.

“Is there something you have noticed Book Binder?”

Book Binder shook her head rapidly.

“Nope!” she adamantly denied. “Not even a little!”

Luna frowned, then her eyes drifted back to Elias, who seemed to be searching for Book Binder blindly. His face indicated his discomfort, and he began to growl at his continued failure. Luna looked back to Book Binder.

“Speak quickly your observation Guardspony, your charge is beginning to notice your absence.”

Book Binder whimpered as she looked between Elias and Luna, then she sighed.

“Princess, I can’t just say it flat out, or it will change. I don’t want to ruin it just because I noticed!”

Luna frowned, setting Book Binder down beside Elias. His hand quickly found the unicorn, and dragged her toward his back. Book Binder found her position around his head again, and the human snorted softly before falling still again. Book Binder tried to avoid Luna’s gaze, but their eyes eventually locked. Book Binder sighed.

“Princess, just… keep an open mind? I believe kindred spirits might be more on the nose than you might think.”

Luna tilted her head slightly, but didn’t respond. She looked at Elias for a moment, then rose.

“Good night Book Binder,” she said as she moved toward the door, “keep up your excellent work, and if there is anything I can do to help, do not be afraid to ask.”

Book Binder nodded silently, prepared to curl up and fall asleep. She waited for a moment however, remaining still as the door opened and shut behind the princess. Once the room was still, Book Binder levitated over a small notebook that she had gotten to replace her old scribe log. She levitated over a quill as well, and cracking the cover open, she wrote, using the light from her horn to see. Her idea was simple, but maybe it could have a big impact on the sleeping human beside her.

Journal Entry

Day 1

Hello baby boy. The first thing I have to say is that I love you so much, and I will always be proud of you. You’re sleeping beside me right now, and though you’ve had a minor setback, I know you’ll get better. Never stop fighting Elias, and never be afraid. The world can never beat you down badly enough that you can’t rise again, and if it means anything to you, I’ll always be right beside you, ready to help you if you stumble.

Love,

Book Binder

Book Binder smiled at the short entry, then levitated the journal back into her saddlebags. She would need to get up early to get a new notebook, but if she could fill at least one book of messages for her son, she would consider it a success. The unicorn snuggled up tightly to Elias’ back, and sighed as she rested her chin on his shoulder, smiling as she let sleep take her.

Author's Note

For anyone interested, I will link to the article that I am loosely basing Elias' mental condition on, from which I have dramatized some of the symptoms (mixing in a few mental issues, such as PTSD) to give a full grasp on the cracked mental state that Elias keeps his careful facade over.
https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/major-depression-with-psychotic-features
Also, if you feel anything could be improved in this chapter, let me know, because it's a bit of a mixed bag in my mind. On one hand, I wanted to reveal some backstory and show off some Elias' damaged psyche, but on the other hand it feels a bit... off. Don't know why, but I am open to suggestions on how to make it seem less jarring.
Finally, three chapters left in act 1! They will heavily deal with Elias' broken mental state (and his psychotic break), and then we move the plot forward in act 2! I am excited to return some characters to form, as well as explore the wider world now that Elias will move on from just being a guard.

Chapter 24: Distractions

Journal Entry

Day 1101

I’m always a bit surprised when I find stores of food. Of course, it’s never any of the good stuff, but why did people always stock up on random shit? Like really, thirty-seven jars of peanut butter? Why? Why is there an entire cabinet in your house dedicated to just peanut butter? You couldn’t at least put some jelly in there? I am extremely grateful that I never developed a peanut allergy like… . Anyway, it’s good news that I can eat the stuff. I should be able to get it to last at least a month, if not more. Depends if I can find something to put it on, eating raw peanut butter out of the jar is only going to get me by on a jar a day. I wish crackers kept better; I haven’t seen one of those salty fuckers in three months. Always turn to mush if the littlest bit of water gets on them.

Elias walked slowly through the halls; his thumbs tucked into his sword belt. Though she was trying to be sneaky, a Royal Guardspony was shadowing him as he wandered aimlessly through the castle corridors. He didn’t know where Book Binder and Night Flash were; the pair had been absent when he woke up. After taking a quick shower and waiting around for a few minutes, Elias had decided to just get his breakfast on his own. After passing a few guard stations, Scarlet had come rocketing around a corner, nearly tackling Elias as he panted. The pegasus claimed that he had just seen Elias and tried to catch up, but from the looks he received from some of the guards, Elias suspected that he was supposed to have an escort while wandering about. Why nobody bothered to tell him that, Elias didn’t know. Regardless, Scarlet, after catching his breath, had immediately begun talking about the rest of the guard exercises. When they came upon the cafeteria, they were met by a pacing Granite, who smiled happily when he saw Elias and Scarlet. He didn’t say anything, merely followed right behind them, smiling brightly, his tail wishing back and forth.

Elias remained largely silent at the meal, brooding as he watched those around him. A small part of him was nervous about what his fellow guards thought of him, but when he could find no trace of fear from either Scarlet or Granite, it made him genuinely happy. If his friends were willing to move past the incident without issue, he was okay with the rest of the guard treating him as a threat. Unfortunately, he was technically on “vacation”, so when they had to go to shift, Elias found himself alone, with nothing to do. He had tried wandering toward the training grounds, but his shadow had, not so subtly, coughed and shook her head when he began walking in that direction. A minor adjustment sent him toward the infirmary, but Scalpel was absent, out on call to some house fire in Canterlot proper.

That left him to wander. He thought about who he could talk to, but quickly realized that he had nobody outside of the guard. Night Flash and Book Binder were Guardsponies, as were all of his friends. Luna had to run court, and if not that, she had a dozen other political things to do, so that was a bust. His favorite past times included reading and fighting. He had far too much energy to sit still and read, and he was being actively pushed away from fighting, which left him at a loss. A tinge of worry stitched across his chest as he realized that he hadn’t talked to his parents in a while. He wondered where…

Elias stopped dead in the middle of the hallway, staring into nothing as his mind worked. When had that happened? It wasn’t out loud, and nobody else knew, but he had thought about Night Flash and Book Binder as his parents. Was… was that a bad thing? Wasn’t it something he ultimately wanted? Elias almost wished he would have a panic attack so that his personality would split so he could have somebody to talk to. As he stood, stiff as a plank, he found that his mind decided to leave him be for a moment, and so his thoughts were his and his alone. With that freedom, Elias found himself paralyzed with indecision.

Unbeknownst to the now frozen human, Anyon was chasing after a pegasus; a young purple maid who had been flirting with the gryphon for weeks. She had challenged him to the old race for lace game, and Anyon knew he could catch the flighty creature this time. He had a real chance with this one, that laugh, those shining eyes… Oh he just knew he had to get her. Maybe they couldn’t make little gryphon babies, but then again, there was that one doctor in the lower district. Anyon heard, primarily through a certain alicorn who seemed to be one of three creatures on the planet that visited him, that the unicorn could make any species compatible, so if he could just focus on that purple tail before him, maybe he could get a few kids of his own. Now that would be a treat.

“You’re going to have to move faster than that you old buzzard!” Split Tip sang over her shoulder.

Anyon huffed loudly as she darted nimbly around a corner. Damn pegasai could move fast, and he wasn’t as young as he used to be. He had the endurance, but she would end the race before he caught up, and then she’d tease him, just like always. She’d been kind enough to give him a date though, and while he got a bit mixed up with pony and gryphon mating traditions, he thought she had fun. She’d even tried a bit of steak! Sure, she immediately spit it out, but the attempt was there.

Anyon rounded the corner, taking a deep breath as he tried to pick up his speed, only to come to a crashing halt as he realized that Split Tip was staring at a certain youngblood, concern on her face. Anyon took a second to catch his breath before he approached her. Anyon flicked her lightly with his wing as he stood beside her, staring down at Elias. She glanced at him with an apologetic look.

“Sorry fuzzy, but that doesn’t count.”

Anyon huffed.

“Can’t an old bird get somethin’?”

Split Tip smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“How about a snuggle later? You got closer this time.”

Anyon blushed for a second, giving her a jerky nod.

“Thanks fer understanding.”

The blush dropped as he sighed, looking at the muttering human before him.

“Why don’t you go back to work Tip, I think I can handle this, least till I can get a princess here.”

The youngblood looked lost. His eyes seemed vacant as he stared right past the winged creatures standing above him. His legs weren’t quite tucked to his chest, but they were close. His hands hung limply at his side, and his head rested against the stone wall. His mouth moved, and though there was sound coming out, it was nonsensical and soft. Tip leaned against Anyon.

“Are you sure? I can run and grab a guard, see if maybe he’s supposed to be with somepony right now.”

Anyon shook his head.

“Nah, this is somethin’ else. I got a rundown from Princess Luna, he’s free to wander, but it’s lookin’ to me that maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. Go on now, I gotta put on the mean bird act to get him movin’.”

Tip chuckled and rubbed against him.

“Save some for later Anny. You know I positively love the mean bird act.”

Anyon swatted at the pegasus as she danced away, laughing lightly.

“Away ya harpy!” Anyon squawked. “Ya know better than to use yer charms in the castle!”

“See you later lover!” she called happily as she slipped down another hallway.

Anyon blushed again as he grumbled something about pegasi and their fur, then his eye settled on the mumbling human before him. Anyon frowned, kicking the youngblood’s foot. When that didn’t provoke a response, Anyon did it again, this time much harder. The youngblood didn’t so much as twitch. Anyon huffed as he looked around for somebody to pass this off on. All he found was a single Royal Guard trying to remain incognito, who just stared at him with a bored look in her eyes. Anyon glared at the pony

“Ain’t this supposed to be your job?” he asked gruffly.

The unicorn shrugged.

“My orders are to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself or others, whatever else he does with his time is up to him.”

Anyon grumbled again as he kicked the youngblood again. When the human didn’t move, Anyon huffed.

“Oi, youngblood, get up.”

The human remained still. Anyon frowned and waved a hand in front of his face. The human’s eyes didn’t even track the movement. Growling softly, Anyon grabbed hold of the youngblood’s dress and yanked him back and forth while squawking loudly in his face.

“Get up ya skinny bastard!”

Anyon was pleased when he provoked a reaction out of the human. He was less pleased when that reaction was to lash out with a fist, punching him in the jaw. Anyon fell back with a yelp, clutching his beak as the youngblood looked at him with surprise, his fist pulled back, ready to strike again.

“Why are you yelling at me?” Elias asked, stunned at the sight of the gryphon.

The hallway had been empty a second ago, where had the bird come from? Anyon snorted as he rubbed his chin.

“Ah think ah should be the one askin’ the questions. Why are ya just sittin’ here youngblood? Ya looked off.”

Elias opened his mouth to say that he was standing, not sitting, but with the gryphon standing over him, he found that he was definitely sitting. Elias frowned, pushing himself to his feet. He scratched the back of his head as he looked around, finding nothing of note until his eyes settled back on Anyon, who was watching him with curiosity.

“You alright youngblood?”

Elias looked up and down the hallway, the frown still present on his face. He ran a hand over his face as he took a deep breath. Had he passed out? It clearly wasn’t a panic attack, because Anyon seemed somewhat calm, that and the Royal Guard hadn’t run off. Elias cracked his neck before looking back to the old gryphon.

“Fine. Just… lost right now, I guess. I’m usually at work during this time of the night.”

Anyon snorted.

“Yer tellin’ me ya don’t do anythin’ but work? That sounds awful dull, if’n ya ask me.”

Elias shrugged, scratching his ear.

“Something to do I guess.”

Anyon squinted as he looked the human up and down. He grunted softly.

“Are ya really tellin’ me ya don’t do nothin’ but guard stuff? What about yer free time?”

Elias shrugged.

“I train, or I read,” Elias replied.

He gestured toward the Royal Guard standing nonchalantly behind them.

“She won’t let me do the first, and I’m too restless to do the second. I really don’t do much else, work, fight, sleep. It’s simple, but it works most of the time.”

“Spoken like a youngblood,” Anyon huffed.

He then glared at the black armored unicorn.

“Speakin’ o’ you, ah thought ya said you were supposed to stop him from hurtin’ ponies!” he said, gesturing at Elias. “Where were ya when he swung at me?”

The unicorn shrugged.

“I would hit you if you yelled in my face too. Besides, he didn’t hit you that hard.”

Anyon rubbed his jaw and grumbled, glaring at the unicorn briefly before he looked back to Elias, who still felt lost. He couldn’t find anything to focus on, and in truth, there was nothing he really wanted to focus on. Anyon stared at him silently for a moment, then grunted and shook his head, grabbing Elias’ tunic with a claw.

“This ain’t gonna do youngblood, we gotta get you doin’ somethin’ and ah know just the place to start.”

*****

Luna sighed as she poured over her paperwork while she walked toward the scrying room. The night court had been uneventful, which meant she had to work on some of the overflow from her sister’s court. Four years since her return, and still very few ponies came to petition. Sure, it was largely because the disputes were usually dealt with by a lower court system that hadn’t existed before her banishment, but somepony could make it to her level, right?

Either way, the nobles were too lazy to stay up during the night, and they frequently pestered Celestia, so when Luna found a calm night court, followed by a calm dreamscape, she helped sort through the trash to find proposals that had actual merit. Unfortunately, even the honest nobles had to submit massive packets of information that Luna was forced to sift through, line by line, searching for the one sentence that could sign over the kingdom to some greedy pony. While she had no doubts about the intentions of Fancy Pants, she still had to check that infrastructure improvement bill didn’t have any unnecessary clauses. Such was bureaucracy.

Luna trotted past Anyon’s normally quiet smithy, only to stop when she heard a myriad of curses flowing forth. She looked at the door curiously, lighting her horn to check that the sound dampening enchantments were still in place. When she confirmed that they were, she became even more curious. Luna pressed her ear to the door, listening to the two distinct voices go back and forth, in what sounded like two distinct languages. Luna eyed the packet still suspended in her aura, then listened to the sound of something metal being thrown. It was a perfect excuse to delay more paperwork.

Luna cracked open the smithy door, and the stream of curses grew louder as she beheld the sight of Anyon screaming at the top of his lungs at Elias, who was screaming right back, his hand hovering over a pair of tongs. Luna could tell that something was in the furnace in front of Elias, but she really couldn’t tell why Anyon was yelling over it.

“Look ya daft idiot, ya take it out when ah say ya take it out, not before, not after!” the gryphon squawked.

“Or maybe you trust me to actually count to thirty you feathered bastard!” Elias shouted back, ducking under a bar of steel that had been thrown at his head. “You told me thirty seconds, so I’m counting to thirty seconds, now fuck off so I can focus, or I’m going to mess it up!”

“Ya already messed it up ya clumsy tall-pony! Ah said to count to thirty, forty seconds ago!”

“Not by my count!” Elias replied angrily.

Luna counted to six before Elias’ hands dropped on the tongs, pulling out a long, thin piece of glowing steel. Anyon hopped across the smithy in a single flap, trying to snatch the tongs from the shouting human, who almost dropped the heated metal on his foot. The two shouted at each other in a string of foreign curses as Elias shoved the gryphon away from him with an elbow. He then moved quickly toward an anvil, laying the glowing steel across it as he flailed about for a hammer. Anyon provided one, following it quickly with a swing at Elias’ head with his claw. The human took the slap as he swung at the steel, backhanding Anyon across the beak as he pulled the hammer back. The gryphon squawked indignantly.

“Ya call that a hit? The steel will be cool by the time it’s hammered flat! Ah’ve had breezies who could swing a hammer better!”

Elias ignored him as the hammer came down again, focusing on the task in his hands. Anyon fell silent as he watched over Elias’ shoulder, occasionally making minute adjustments to the man’s posture. Anyon glanced up to find Luna watching the pair with no small amount of confusion. He gave her a small wave before he zeroed back in on Elias’ swings.

“A bit softer now lad, ya got it where ya need to start makin’ the small changes. Little taps now, keep ‘em fast and low.”

Elais responded silently to the advice, hammering across the piece of steel. He raised the steel before his eyes, then laid it back down, stepping out of the way so that Anyon could get a closer look. The gryphon frowned as he handled the steel, what looked to Luna like a knife blade. He turned the still glowing metal over in his talons, then nodded as he laid it back on the anvil.

“Look close youngblood, ya almost got it perfect this time.” He snatched a hammer from the racks suspended above their heads and began tapping near the point of the knife. “Ya made the tip a bit thick, nothin’ we can’t fix, but it’ll make it a beast to sharpen down later on if we don’t get it now.”

Elias nodded.

“Is that something I’ll learn to eyeball with practice?”

Anyon nodded as he raised the blade before his eyes.

“That it is youngblood. Takes years, but you’ll get it.”

Anyon grinned before dropping the blade into the quenching bucket. He let it sit for a moment before pulling it back out, inspecting the blade once more. He motioned for Elias to get close.

“Now ya see there? That’s what ya should be aimin’ for fer a blade like this. Keep the tip thin like the rest of the blade, but not so much that it’s gonna snap off when ya cut into a bar o’ soap.”

Anyon patted the human on the back as he dropped the blade back into the water bucket.

“Good work for yer first time youngblood, now start fillin’ the furnace again. Ya let it get too low, and yer lucky the steel stayed as hot as it did.”

Elias rolled his eyes and gave Anyon his middle finger as he walked toward the back of the smithy, snatching up a shovel on the way. Luna felt her confusion at the rapid shifts in conversational tone creep across her face. Anyon looked at her with a grin.

“Evenin’ Princess,” he said, “what can ah do for ya?”

“I heard the sounds of an argument coming from within your workshop and decided to investigate, as you are usually alone. I certainly did not expect to find Guardsman Bright in here with you.”

She glanced around the gryphon as Elias came back to the front, stripped to his undergarment and pulling a large cart weighed down with what looked like coal. The human didn’t acknowledge anyone as he let the handle drop. He stabbed into the pile of coal with a shovel, guiding it over to the furnaces. Anyon looked over his shoulder at the human and snorted.

“Ah, just teachin’ the youngblood a bit about the craft. Found him wanderin’ all crazy like, so ah decided to give him somethin’ to do. Too bad he’s got the blacksmithin’ sense of a foal!” Anyon finished with a squawk.

“I blame my teacher,” Elias replied without looking up.

“A good workpony never blames his tools,” Anyon snapped at him.

Elias smirked.

“Anyon, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you just called yourself a tool.”

Anyon snorted again, looking back to Luna.

“He aint’ terrible, and he can do the heavy lifting, so he’s good enough for me. Do ya need him?”

“I suppose we could begin our nightly activities early,” Luna replied. “What was your argument about? We have been cataloging Elias’ aggressive periods in hopes of finding what spurs his anger.”

Anyon tilted his head in confusion.

“Argument?”

He looked back to Elias, who met his confused stare with a shrug before continuing to shovel coal. Anyon looked back to Luna.

“We weren’t havin’ no argument. We were just workin’ in here. Ah was givin’ the youngblood pointers and such.”

“By yelling at each other?” Luna asked in disbelief.

Anyon shrugged, looking to Elias again.

“Just talkin’, ain’t we youngblood?”

The human nodded, wiping his brow as he leaned on the shovel. Elias squinted at Luna.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed Princess, but everyone seems awfully prim and proper around here. I try to keep it toned back, but Anyon is the only person who actually speaks like a normal person.”

He stabbed the shovel into the pile, putting one last scoop into the furnace before setting the shovel down.

“It’s actually been nice to cut loose and swear. If I so much as say the word “fuck” these days without some reason behind it, I get looks like I just murdered a small child. It’s just a word, yet everybody gets up in arms about it.” He shook his head and sighed. “I do not understand it, but it’s not an issue, I guess. Already made the change, so who fucking cares?”

Anyon grinned and nodded, grabbing a towel from the overhang to toss at Elias. The human caught it deftly as he snatched up his tunic and his sword belt, wiping himself down as he walked to the front of the smithy.

“So, what do you need me for Princess?” Elias asked.

“Have you spoken with Book Binder or Night Flash today?” Luna asked, answering his question with a question.

Elias wiped off his hands, tossing the towel into a corner far from the furnaces. HE shook his head as he pulled his tunic over his head.

“Can’t say I have. They were gone from my room before I got up.”

Luna smiled.

“Excellent, then we must be off. There is much that needs done this night.”

She turned to leave the room while Elias looked to Anyon, who shrugged. Elias sighed and made his way around the counter, following Luna into the much brighter, and cooler, hallway. Elias briefly wished that he had more to wear, and he made a note to go and talk to the tailor later about getting some winter clothes. Luna smiled at him as she motioned for him to follow. Elias fell in behind her, frowning at the back of her head as she led him through a maze of corridors.

“So Guardsman Bright, did you enjoy your time with Anyon?” Luna asked, making small talk.

Elias shrugged.

“I guess. It was definitely refreshing from all of the soft pony stuff.” He scratched his head. “I think I’m going to start visiting him more often, he seems much more… human really. Ponies are nice to be around and all, but sometimes I just feel out of place.” He chuckled. “Even when I can pick fights with some of the other guards.”

“Out of place?” Luna echoed.

“Yeah,” Elias agreed, “Humans and ponies aren’t that different from each other, barring the obvious differences, but sometimes ponies seem too… cuddly?” Elias shrugged. “I don’t know, I just think that if I was anywhere except a castle full of the more aggressive ponies in Equestria, I’d lose my mind. At least anyone who is in the guard sort of understands where I’m coming from.”

“Would it be accurate to say that pony culture is more of a shock compared to your experience with gryphon culture?” Luna asked.

They were getting close to the room, and if Elias thought ponies were too cuddly now…

Elias shrugged again.

“I guess.” He sighed. “I don’t know, it’s complicated. My friends are great, and I care about all of them and wouldn’t trade them for anything, but…”

“But…?” Luna pressured.

“But, I can’t “shoot the shit” with them.” Elias said. “They don’t swear, and they’re not competitive conversationalists. Sometimes I just want someone to yell at me for no reason so I can yell and swear right back, and then we go on with our day like nothing happened.”

Elias shrugged for a third time.

“It might be a human concept of friendship, but I feel like every conversation here is trying to find some deeper meaning, rather than just be some relaxing nothing. Even with Book Binder and Night Flash, it feels… strained. Like we have nothing to relate about.”

He sighed.

“And I guess that’s partly my fault. My interests are fighting and history about fighting. It doesn’t exactly open a lot of avenues for conversation.”

Luna remained silent as she thought out an appropriate response.

“Have you considered trying to find new interests?” She asked. “You say you lack a friend to, quote; “shoot the shit” with, but it rather seemed like you enjoyed working with Anyon.” She smiled over her shoulder at Elias. “That old gryphon needs more friends anyway, and I would have no qualms with adjusting your guard schedule to occasionally let you help him with his smithing duties. Would such an arrangement be of interest to you?”

Elias tilted his head back and forth as he rolled his tongue in his cheek.

“Sure, I think that would be fine with me,” he paused, then added; “though I wouldn’t want to impose on Anyon. If he doesn’t want me there, I don’t want to intrude.”

Luna scoffed.

“What he wants is not part of the equation. What he needs is somepony else to talk to. Besides myself, and recently one of my maids, he is alone in that shop of his.” She looked back at Elias. “Much like you, he isolates himself, partly because of the cultural differences you have identified as a positive. For those who are not used to his aggressive conversation style, he can be… vexing.”

Elias snorted.

“That’s a funny way to say, “speaks like everyone should”.”

Luna rolled her eyes.

“Quite.”

They came upon their destination, and Luna did her best to disguise her smile as she paused before the closed door. She calmly looked Elias up and down, snorting slightly at the smell of burnt hair and charcoal on the man. Still, even with a few black spots, he was clean enough for what came next. She cleared her throat as she met Elias’ eyes.

“Guardsman, today will be an exercise of your choosing, designed to either draw out your inner anguish, or provide a method for relief of inner turmoil. This door,” She said, gesturing at the closed and silent door before them, “leads to Book Binder, Night Flash, and an array of ponies that have been chosen for a “special” reason.”

Elias’ eyes narrowed.

“What reason?” he asked suspiciously.

Luna smiled mischievously.

“You shall see if you choose it.”

Elias glanced at the door, then back to Luna. He crossed his arms.

“And what is the other option?” he asked.

Luna gestured down the hallway.

“The other choice is to have a long, detailed conversation with one of the psychologists I have hired to observe your behavior these past months. Observation is useful, but truthful answers from your mouth are much more insightful. I shall let Book Binder or Night Flash come along for this task to help you remain calm, but I shall not allow both.”

Elias had several questions, but the most important one in his mind was about the “observing” part.

“How long, and how much have I been spied on?”

Luna waved a hoof.

“Fear not Elias, the observers only watch when you exit your room, or when you are inside with one of your friends. Any private things, like changing or showering, were only observed by myself, and even that wasn’t every day.”

Elias looked at in her in disbelief.

“And how is that supposed to make me feel better?” He blinked stupidly. “Wait, you’ve been watching me shower?”

Luna scoffed.

“You act like I have been peeping on you. I have been observing your bathing behaviors to see what consistencies, if any, you have between showers, evaluating how you bathe based on the stress of the day. Even if I was just watching to watch you in the nude, the scrying spell makes sure to cover any private areas that would normally be hidden by your underclothes. Besides, it is common for ponies to bathe together Elias, there is nothing on your nude person that I have not seen before, however impressive it may be.”

Luna flushed red when she realized what she said, and her expression was matched by Elias, who now refused to meet her eyes.

“I’m going to ignore that and decidedly go with the second option, if for no better reason than to determine if I’m going to attack the shrink that’s been watching me every day.”

Luna grumbled as she stared at the closed door.

“Of course you did,” she mumbled. “Couldn’t just win me a few bits.”

Elias raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

“What was that Princess?”

She waved her hoof dismissively.

“It is of no import to you, which pony do you want to come with you for comfort?”

Elias thought for a second. On one hand, Book Binder would likely be the more effective choice with all of the mother stuff, but then again, Night Flash had a very good track record for catching his panic attacks. The pegasus seemed to react with lightning quick reflexes, comforting Elias before he even realized he was having an attack. Elias frowned. He didn’t want to hurt Book Binder’s feelings though, would she mind if he picked Night Flash over her? Or for that matter, would Night Flash feel left out if he picked Book Binder? Elias ran his hand through his facial hair, then looked to Luna, who was watching him carefully.

“Are you sure I can’t take both? I don’t want one of them to feel shorted.”

Luna groaned again, much louder this time, and she slapped herself in the face.

“Why did I make that bet? Guardsman, you are destroying all of my expectations… and my royal bank account!” Her head thudded into the wall. “Why must you act as you do?”

Elias smirked at the princess.

“I live to disappoint. For curiosities sake, who are you making bets with?”

“That would be me!” Nightshade said cheerfully as she popped into view beside Luna.

Elias briefly wondered how long she had been there; he had forgotten she could turn invisible. He wondered if it was something special in her armor. Luna grumbled as she handed the thestral a comically oversized bag of bits from beneath her wings.

“Here is your payment Captain, though you may lose it if Guardsman Bright succeeds in the third phase of tonight’s exercise.”

Nightshade snorted.

“Please, ten minutes? Piece of cake. Doctor Rubber Glove won’t last five.”

“Rubber Glove?” Elias echoed. “That has certain implications that I don’t think I want to address.”

Luna scoffed.

“Doctor Glove is an expert in matters of the mind. He came all the way from Baltimare to observe and speak with you. I had my doubts that you would be willing to speak with him, but now that those fears have been assuaged, I have no doubts that you two will speak for a great amount of time, especially since you will have both of your guards with you.”

Elias scowled as he felt a minute pang in his chest.

“Ugh, don’t refer to Book Binder and Night Flash like that. It makes having them around feel… impersonal.”

“And that agitates you?” Luna asked.

Elias’ eye twitched.

“More than I like, can we get started already? I don’t like all of this standing around.”

Luna snorted, but nodded. She made to move down the hall, but Nightshade stopped her.

“Uh Princess, I already moved Doctor Glove into this room.” She smiled widely at Elias. “I knew Guardsman Bright wouldn’t let me down, so I took the liberty of getting everything set up in a comfortable environment.”

Luna frowned at the pony.

“This room has windows, does it not?”

Nightshade nodded.

“And the other room didn’t, don’t think I forgot about the second half of our bet. It’s double if he throws Glove out the window.” She grinned, cocking her head. “You weren’t trying to skip out on that, were you Princess?”

Luna grumbled more as she glared at Nightshade, who stood up straight, an innocent smile on her face. Luna sighed and looked to Elias.

“Please just… Please just keep your violent reactions to a minimum. Doctor Glove can be a bit… zealous in his methods, and I really need a win today. Eleven minutes is all I ask.”

Nightshade tsked.

“Princess, you shouldn’t force Elias not to act out his emotions. Suppressing that kind of thing could be bad for him…”

Luna’s head whipped toward the thestral.

“That is why I did not give him an order Captain. He is free to act as he wishes.”

Luna gave Elias what he imagined was supposed to be a sultry look, which only served to make him uncomfortable.

“Though I would be perfectly willing to reward a certain human for assisting me in my victory.”

Elias gave her a look of discomfort.

“You make me want to lose with that expression.”

Luna pouted at him while Nightshade giggled. The thestral elbowed the alicorn, grinning at her.

“Go on Princess, tell Bright what his reward would have been, I’m sure that’ll make this even funnier.”

Luna flushed red, which Elias took as a sign that whatever it was, it was most definitely not what he would consider a reward.

“I just wished to take him to see my old castle,” Luna grumbled. “He had indicated that he had an interest in exploring.”

Elias blinked.

“Really? That actually sounds great.”

Luna perked up instantly, her normal flowing tail wagging slightly.

“Truly?” she asked excitedly. “Because I wished to take you to the Everfree to see it! The ruins have been unoccupied for years, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see more of Equestria!”

Elias felt a grin touch his face.

“That actually sounds like fun. Who wouldn’t want to explore some ruins? It’s something straight out of a Daring Doo book.”

Nightshade groaned and face hoofed as she passed the bag of bits back to Luna, who cheered.

“Come on Bright, you lived in a post apocalypse wasteland, and even you got sucked into those lame books? What is everypony’s thing about those things?”

Elias shrugged.

“Book Binder read them to me, and she does a bunch of the voices, so they seem to really pop. Dragged me in a book at a time.”

Luna stuck her tongue out at Nightshade.

“See Captain? It was a bonding experience. Those “lame books” serve as a positive influence.” She hefted the bag, and grinned widely. “That bet has been building silently for over a month, oh joyous day.”

She smiled brightly at Elias.

“Thank you, Guardsman, you have done well this night! Now all you need to do is survive ten minutes with Doctor Glove, and this night shall be truly profitable.”

Elias then found himself lurching through the air as Luna opened the door and tossed him into a waiting chair. Book Binder and Night Flash both blinked in surprise at his sudden entrance, but the latter quickly found a place in Elias’ lap while the former crawled onto his shoulders as she untied his hair and began to brush it out. The yellow unicorn before him tutted and wrote down a few notes on his clipboard before he looked up at Elias and smiled widely.

“Well Mister Bright, I think we can begin!”

Elias heard a loud click behind him, and he half turned to look at the door.

“What was that?” he asked.

The unicorn smiled.

“Just ensuring you can’t duck out early Mister Bright, I want to get the full hour with you.”

Elias’ eyes narrowed as he stared at the pony. Night Flash sighed, guiding the human’s hand up to his ears.

*****

Luna and Nightshade both flapped just outside of the room where Elias’ session with Doctor Glove was taking place, staring at the watch as if their lives depended on it. The seconds ticked by painfully for the both of them as the small hand neared the ten-minute mark. Luna licked her lips in anticipation as it crawled ever closer to the cutoff, while Nightshade gnawed on her lip, praying desperately that the shouts they were currently listening to would escalate further. She knew she shouldn’t, but she really wanted the bits the bet would win her back. She needed the money to begin to prepare her master plan to win a certain stallion’s heart.

Luna cheered silently as the hand passed ten minutes. Nightshade groaned softly. She then threw up her hooves as the good doctor came through the window three seconds later. While Luna caught the unicorn in her magic, Nightshade flew through the window, scowling at Elias, who matched her scowl with one of his one. The human was clenching and unclenching his fist while an irritated Book Binder and Night Flash glared at the window where Rubber Glove had made a fast, forced exit. Nightshade wasn’t focused on that, however.

“Really Bright?” she snapped. “You couldn’t have done that twenty seconds ago? Now I owe Princess Luna like fifty bits! And you made me lose all my gains from earlier!”

Elias snorted dismissively as he sat back down. Night Flash hopped back into his lap, settling like a cat on his lap, where Elias’ hand quickly found his way to the pegasus’ ears. Nightshade briefly wished she could trade places with the pony. Those ear scratches looked really good, and those fingers…

Nightshade shook her head, trying to find her irritation as Luna touched lightly back into the room with Rubber Glove in tow. The unicorn brushed himself off as he was set back on his feet. He huffed loudly.

“Well, if that’s how you want to act, I believe I shall remain as strictly an observer. I was made to believe you were open to any and all options that would improve your temperament, but it would seem that I am mistaken.”

Book Binder growled at the unicorn as she settled back on Elias’ shoulders.

“I suggest Doctor that you not talk to us about your “solutions” again. If Elias hadn’t put your through that window, I definitely would have, and believe me, I would not have been as gentle.”

Luna frowned as she looked between Book Binder and Rubber Glove. The unicorns glared at each other hatefully.

“I fear I share Doctor Glove’s surprise Guardspony, I would have expected finding a solution for Elias’ aggression would have been a top priority for you.”

“I apologize Princess, but I will not neuter my baby boy because he hurts the occasional pony, who has so far, absolutely deserved it.”

Luna felt her blood go cold as she and Nightshade turned to glare at Rubber Glove. The unicorn flinched under their intense gazes. He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

“P-Princess, it is not so drastic a solution. Mister Bright is very similar in nature to the gorillas we have in the Baltimare zoo. One of the great apes had an issue getting along with the rest, but a quick snip later and he was as docile as a puppy. I thought perhaps I would mention the solution as a last-ditch effort.” He cowered when Luna’s glare intensified. “It was just a hypothetical of course.”

Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath to avoid throwing the pony out of the window herself. When she opened them, her steely demeanor did nothing to comfort Rubber Glove as the unicorn continued backing away, squeaking as his rump hit the wall.

“Doctor Glove, I find that I no longer have need of your services,” Luna said coldly. “I tasked you to find a way to ease Guardsman Bright’s internal suffering, so that he may find his peaceful center. All of this would help him to act less aggressively in his day to day interactions, not to remove his aggression completely. What I did not task was to treat him like a misbehaving dog.”

Her snarl caused Glove to flinch. He wisely remained silent as Luna continued.

“To suggest such a thing is an affront to the oaths you have sworn as a medical practitioner, and rest assured, the proper authorities will be told of your little “hypothetical”. Pray that you have not suggested similar ideas elsewhere in your practice.”

She looked to Nightshade, who looked like she was a second away from jumping the pony.

“Take Doctor Glove to his room, and have him on a train to Baltimare within the hour. Tell the rest of the doctors that they will clear out if they shared in this “idea”. I will not stand this sort of talk, it is abhorrent and cruel, at the very least, and if any of them are found to be in possession of such an idea in their observation notes and they do not leave this night, they will be punished.”

Nightshade nodded and saluted crisply. She stalked up to Glove, grabbing him roughly. The unicorn flinched as he walked by Elias and his parents, with each giving him a nasty glare as he cowered away. As the door slammed behind the pair, Luna sighed deeply.

“Guardsman Bright, Guardsponies Night Flash and Book Binder, I offer my sincerest apologies. Doctor Rubber Glove was said to be the best psychologist in Baltimare, even with eccentricities. I assure you that his practice will be thoroughly investigated for this. I had no idea that his oddities could become so… ugly.”

Elias nodded blankly, his anger vanishing with the unicorn gone from the room.

“It’s fine Princess, he’s gone now, and you got rid of everyone like him, so we shouldn’t have issues. He’s just lucky I got to him first.”

Book Binder snorted in agreement.

“I’d show him what aggressive meant. Stupid know-nothing, bone headed…”

Elias leaned back against the unicorn’s chest fluff, staring up at her silently. Book Binder sighed, then laid herself over his face, smothering the human as she hugged his head.

“Don’t worry baby, I’ll never let anypony get at you like that.”

Elias grunted, and he continued scratching Night Flash’s ears while the pegasus glared at the carpet darkly. Luna turned to the window, casting a spell to restore its solid glass pane. As the shards filtered back into place, she sighed again, rubbing at her forehead. If Elias didn’t like the idea of dealing with a psychologist before, he definitely wouldn’t like it now that Night Flash and Book Binder were stacked against the idea. Despite her victory in the bet, this had not turned out as she had hoped.

Taking a deep breath once more, Luna looked to Elias, who had a single eye poking free from Book Binder’s fluff. Every time he exhaled; the unicorn would giggle softly as his breath ruffled her tummy fur. The sight brought a smile to Luna’s face.

“I again apologize Elias, had I known that Doctor Glove would recommend a treatment such as that, I would never have considered him to speak with you.”

Elias waved her apology away.

“It’s fine Princess, he’s gone, it’s done. Do I still get to go to the ruins you mentioned though?”

Luna sighed and shook her head as she smiled at the human.

“Of course Elias, it will take some time to free up my schedule, but we shall go to my old castle as soon as possible.”

Elias gave her a thumbs up, then scooped up Night Flash while also swiping Book Binder from his head. The two ponies squirmed and griped at the human as Elias laughed at them, carrying both under his arms as he walked from the room.

The Hearth's Warming Interlude

Journal Entry: 920

Short entry today, it’s that time of year. The wind is howling, I have no food, and I’m alone. Typical Christmas, I guess. I just… I just wish somebody was left. Somebody to talk to, or just sit near. I’d give the clothes off my back for somebody to share a meal with. I’d even settle for talking while just they ate.

I hate winter, hate Christmas. It took my family away, and I’ll see it erased from the history books for its crime.

Elias stared at his ceiling with dead eyes. His room was dark, empty, and cold. His mood matched that feeling with frightening intensity. It had been a long couple of weeks, and today was only going to make that worse. To prevent the lonely desperation from setting in, Elias shoved off his covers and rolled to his feet, shuffling toward the bathroom for a shower. He stopped momentarily to check his watch. Four thirty in the afternoon, lovely. He had managed to wake up just when the holiday was starting. He had tried exhausting himself as much as possible the previous day, but with his… fight with Book Binder, it hadn’t exactly gone as planned, and he had simply stumbled into bed to avoid thinking.

The thought of the shouting match between himself and the unicorn brought out a new wave of melancholy as he trudged into the shower. It would be better to just let the hot water wash away his feelings for a while. As he stood under the shower head, Elias thought about how he was going to occupy his time. Technically speaking, he wasn’t supposed to be in the castle. All of the staff, including all three guard groups got Hearth’s Warming Eve, and Hearth’s Warming day off. Elias had checked, and even Anyon had found somebody to go home with for Hearth’s Warming; a purple pegasus named Split Tip that he had eventually “caught”. It was some sort of strange gryphon mating habit, but the pair seemed happy enough together, so Elias made no attempts to butt into their celebration. Since he had nowhere else to go however, he was stuck.

Elias opened his eyes to let the scalding water attack them. The sharp pain was more than enough to distract his mind again as it tried to wander back to the argument and subsequent fallout. He already hated this time of year, and now he had one more bad memory to throw on the stack. He needed to find a distraction, something to numb the ache. As Elias rubbed at his eyes, he remembered a certain pack of cigarettes and a half-full flask that was secured safely in his ruck sack. It wasn’t anything miraculous, but it would work well as a numbing agent if he could find a suitable distraction.

Elias left the shower, still occasionally rubbing at his now sore eyes as he dried off. He didn’t bother turning on the light to his room, content to fumble around in the dark so that he didn’t have to see the abandoned personal effects of his two absent roommates. He had a detailed idea where everything was anyway, so with only two stubbed toes, Elias dressed himself, in both his regular tunic, as well as his guard armor. He rifled through his ruck for his “illegal narcotics”. Book Binder had tried to find them, but she had ultimately failed, mostly through a secret deal with Night Flash to keep them on the move. Hugs were evidently an effective currency for the pegasus, and though it had pained Elias to sell himself for so cheap, he found that it now payed off in spades. Besides, with what had happened, it wasn’t likely that Flash would even come to claim his…

Elias stood up quickly as he ripped the well-abused pack of cigarettes from his ruck. His left hand latched onto the flask, and Elias quickly tucked them both into his belt. On a whim, Elias drew forth one of the cigarettes, tucking it behind his ear as he checked his lighter. It still had a bit of fuel in it, but that was probably going to change this evening. Another piece of his past turned to trash. Elias wondered briefly if he would keep it and attempt to refill it once the lighter died, then decided it didn’t matter. It would happen in the future, no point in fretting about it now.

Elias weaved around his bed, scooping up his scutum and a single pilum as he plopped his helmet loosely on his head. If he was going to be largely alone for the day, he saw no reason not to carry out his usual duties. He could stop by the cafeteria, breaking in if necessary, to get some food. He might be rusty, but he still had his lock picking set. It would be a time-consuming distraction if nothing else. After that, he could make up his own guard schedule, wandering about as he did his job with the same blank focus he always did. It had surprised Elias to find that he could stand for hours at a time without thinking of a single thing. It was a marvelous way to relax, if only he didn’t have to stand at attention for the entire time, constantly dealing with the stares and glares of any ponies that looked his way. While his friends seemed quick to forgive and forget, some people still treated him like a ticking time bomb. He had reassured as many as possible that it would only happen if they decided to come after him or his friends, but after a while, Elias quit. Better for them to be nervous around him, just so long as they were scared of him. Fear was just as good a deterrent as respect.

Elias found the cafeteria unlocked, and so he pillaged it softly, stealing a cloth sack to fill with bread and a few cans of bean stew. It had been a long time since he had to eat soup out of the cold can, but maybe it would bring him so familiarity and comfort. At least he wouldn’t be upholding the Christmas tradition of starving. Unfortunately, the guard kitchen was absent of booze, so he couldn’t swipe any extra to “warm” his night up.

With a small bag of loot over his shoulder, Elias locked up the cafeteria before wandering back to his room to grab the shoddily made cloak the castle tailor had sewn him. Evidently, she was a friend of White Shine, and she hadn’t appreciated Elias’ attack on the pony. The cloak was made of a single, thin layer of wool that barely went down to his waist. It did nothing to ward away the cold for his bare legs, and if the wind was blowing, did nothing to keep him warm at all. Elias hadn’t complained however; he had no alternatives, no knowledge about Canterlot to find an appropriate clothes maker. On top of that, Elias had no money, or at least none that he knew how to get access to. With the princesses providing for all of his needs, he never found a reason to figure out how to collect his paycheck, so Elias found himself without. Until winter had begun to set in, it hadn’t mattered, but with the tailor actively sabotaging his clothing requests, Elias found himself suffering in silence as he shivered during the guard shifts that took place outside.

Elias briefly considered heading to the castle entrance for a while. The cold would definitely act as a distraction, and he would get an opportunity to smoke. Elias checked his watch, felt the thin cloak on his back, then shook his head and snorted. Only half an hour had passed, and he would need the cigarettes to get through what was going to be a very long night. Elias sighed and wandered past the empty infirmary. Scalpel was visiting a brother in some city by the coast, Manehattan if Elias remembered correctly.

Elias briefly poked his head outside to look at the prospect of throwing pilla, but the training grounds sat dark, the magical lanterns that kept them lit at night out. A light dusting of snow covered the grounds, and a gust of wind sent Elias back into the relative warmth of the castle. He frowned as he shook off a shiver, rubbing at his arms as he continued to stalk through the castle. It was usually a quiet place, even with the bustling staff cleaning everything, but now it was downright silent. It made an already chilly building seem cold, and Elias found that he couldn’t ward away the chill that had managed to creep into his very bones. He blew into his hands as he rubbed them together, wondering if he should just give up and try to black out in his room. The idea of sitting in the dark didn’t exactly excite him however, so Elias pushed on to a different section of the castle.

He wandered back by the infirmary, checking again that nobody was inside. Then he continued to one of his normal guard positions. Tying his bag of food around his waist, Elias withdrew his pilum from its sheathe and leaned against the wall with a sigh, trying to find the blankness that came with hours of guarding.

*****

Luna sighed happily as she smacked her lips. She followed it with a wide yawn, her mood cheerful as rolled over on her plush bed. It had been a labor of love from her sister the year prior, also known as the last year the pair would exchange Hearth’s Warming gifts. Though she absolutely adored the gift, especially given the softness of the feather mattress, she had been horrified to learn that Celestia had been plucking her own feathers over the past thousand years to make the bed a reality. Sure, it would never lose its fluff, nor its softness, but the fact that her sister was plucking feathers was insane, and Luna had forced her to promise to never do such a thing again. It also didn’t help that all Luna got her in return was a never-ending slice of her favorite cake; a pegasi made cloud cake. Though ‘Tia had put on a brave face and had given Luna one of her trademarked bone crushing hugs, Luna couldn’t help but feel like her gift didn’t carry the same level of thoughtfulness.

Luna giggled softly as she remembered finding Celestia the next morning, kicking softly from beneath a pile of pillows, the uneaten cake on top. The alicorn had groaned something about eating too much cake, and then Luna had been kind enough to clean her up and tuck her into bed for Hearth’s Warming. When she awoke, the pair had simply sat around talking and enjoying each other’s company by a fire, a mountain of pillows and blankets around them. It had been a marvelous day, one that Luna would treasure for years to come.

Luna rolled over, checking the clock that sat silently beside her bed. Six thirty-five in the evening, excellent. As was her new tradition, Luna had officially slept in, and as she sat up to stretch, she was glad for the few minutes of extra rest. Today was going to be a wonderful day. Celestia would awaken from her nap in twenty minutes, and Twilight and her friends would be over in two hours. Though she had a lot of work to do, Luna was looking forward to all of it. It was rare that she was not hounded by servants and nobility to look prim and proper. Though she was used to the royal treatment, Luna was also used to being able to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted to do it. If she wanted to spend an evening throwing flour about the royal kitchen, then by the moon she would do so, who cared what the nobility thought?

Unfortunately, Celestia informed her upon her return that such actions were generally frowned upon, so the only opportunity she found to truly let her hair down was Hearth’s Warming, when the castle was empty of everyone but her close friends, and sister.

After her return, Luna had been nervous about Hearth’s Warming. Many of the old traditions had been abandoned, such as the ceremonial gladiator tournaments to dispose of excess grievances, or the ceremonial wendigo burning; to well, burn another filthy wendigo. With her sisters help however, she had been introduced to the softer traditions, and this year would be her first attempt at what ‘Tia called a “Hearth’s Warming Celebration”. The tradition had originally been just between Celestia and Twilight, but after her return, they had taken a small break for Luna’s sake. But this year would be different! This year, she and ‘Tia were supposed to be making an assortment of baked goods for the party, which would happen as the moon finished rising. Then the Elements would arrive, and they would have a fun filled evening of sweets, hot chocolate, a raging fire, and fine company. They would talk and tell stories late into the night, then they were supposed to pass out in a large pile until the next morning.

Luna was particularly excited about the last aspect of the party. Herds, even platonic ones had become frowned upon in recent years, and Luna couldn’t fathom the reasoning behind it. The shortage of stallions was as common as ever, and the practice was actually conducive to greater harmony amongst her subjects, along with some other notable, but arguably fun, festivities. While she had no interest in romantic herds, Luna’s platonic herd used to be legendary for the massive hundred pony piles they would form to sleep, and she could hardly wait for the evening to begin. Perhaps if she could get some popular ponies involved in a small-scale herd, she could bring the practice back to life. She had, after all, already drafted a bill that would grant a tax cut to any pony that would wish to snuggle with their princess. If only the small-minded nobility didn’t get in her way when she tried to pass it. In time they would see the true glory of snuggles!

Luna giggled softly to herself. It would be a joyous evening, and her extra sleep would help her last. She needed the extra half hour to make the moon rising special after all, and what better way to replenish her energy reserves?

Luna lazily rolled from bed, slipping her hooves into her fuzzy bunny slippers that one of her guards had gifted to her. The poor thestral had been the first to approach her upon her return to join her newly reformed Lunar Guard, and she had accepted immediately, offering him a high position if he was willing to work hard for it. What had surprised her was when the young stallion had declined, favoring a simple guard position instead. He simply wished to serve her, and as a gift for giving him an average guard position, he had sent her a pair of bright pink slippers that he claimed were almost as good as real fur. As Luna dug out her centuries old manticore fur robe, she found that she agreed with the pony, they were almost as good. Nothing could beat the real thing though. The genuine fur was so soft, and so fluffy, enchanted with an eternity spell to make sure it never faded. It would be impossible to find one now; the intentional sale of furs had been outlawed prior to her return as well.

Luna looked at herself in the mirror, her mane, usually flowing and smooth, looked ruffled, with some of the stars in it clumping together. She lacked her usual crown, as well as her usual regalia. The only thing around her neck was her pendant, something that Celestia had practically cried over when she saw Luna wearing it. They had a personal party that evening, and Luna could practically feel any disagreements the pair had resolve themselves as they hugged and chatted in earnest for the first real time since her return.

Luna left the happy memory alone as she returned to her reflection. Overall, she looked positively undignified, disheveled, and sloppy, everything a princess should not be. Luna giggled and clapped her hooves together in excitement. Perfect! The castle would be empty of guards and servants, a tradition that had sad origins, but now was now a happy occasion. Before her return, and before Celestia had started taking on magical students, she had emptied the castle to reflect and be isolated for a day or two, letting her ponies have their happy Hearth’s Warmings while she sat and watched the moon alone. Now they would fill the empty halls with their laughter, and their silly games. No longer would anypony in all of Equestria have a sour Hearth’s Warming.

Luna trotted over to her bedroom door, more than ready to begin sipping at a steaming cup of coffee. She threw the door open with ease and spun her way into the hallway, her smile wide. She almost felt like she would burst into joyous song, until she saw a blue armored human standing by her doorway, watching her with a bored stare. Luna paused in her motions, staring at Elias dumbly. Her habitual instincts took over, and she gave him a slight nod as she straightened to her normal posture.

“Good evening Guardsman Bright.”

He returned the nod, and Luna noticed a small white object tucked underneath his helmet.

“Evening Princess.”

The two stared silently at each other. Though he clearly noticed her attire, Luna suspected that he was remaining quiet on it for his own personal sake. She sniffed, sticking her nose in the air.

“You do not have to remain silent on my account Guardsman, feel free to comment on my dress as much as you like, you cannot offend me.”

Elias raised an eyebrow, his eyes searching over her quickly before meeting her eyes again.

“What’s there to comment Princess? You look like you just woke up, it’s Hearth’s Warming eve, and you’re a princess. You can wear whatever you like in your house as far as I see it.”

Luna felt herself blush in embarrassment.

‘Or maybe he was remaining silent out of kindness,’ Luna thought to herself.

She didn’t know why she jumped to the irrationally negative thought of Elias’ character. He had proven that he was a kind individual more than once, though he had an odd way of demonstrating that kindness. Luna ran her slippered hoof over the carpet for a moment before she met his eyes again.

“Why are you here Guardsman?” Luna asked, “You have this evening, as well as the next off.”

Elias nodded.

“That I do, but I have nothing better to do, and sitting in an empty room alone didn’t have a lot of appeal, so I decided to just do my regular job to occupy the time.”

Luna frowned.

“I would have imagined Book Binder and Night Flash would invite you to stay with them for Hearth’s Warming. They seemed most excited to be with you.”

Elias scratched his nose.

“They offered, but I turned them down. I didn’t want to be a burden on their holiday, so I told them I would be fine here. It’s not a big deal.”

Luna’s frown deepened when she saw the lie in his eyes. Even he did not believe the words coming from his mouth.

“That is not the truth Guardsman, at least not the whole truth. Where is the rest?”

Elias’ eyes met hers for a brief moment, and Luna saw sadness in those brilliant blue eyes. He sighed and looked at his feet.

“We fought about it a few days ago. It started over some little nothing. It should have stayed nothing, but it didn’t.”

“What was it about?” Luna asked.

Elias snorted, waving his hand around them.

“About staying with them for Hearth’s Warming. I told Book Binder I didn’t want to be a burden, and that I was concerned about what her family would think about me. She responded by telling me I wasn’t a burden, and that her parents would like me just fine.”

He snorted again.

“I think that turning my argument on its head just pissed me off, because I did the same thing right back. I told her that her parents would likely hate me, said I would ruin the holiday for everyone. After that, she accused me of acting like a child, and it got worse from there. I don’t know when we started yelling, but we just kept going and going. She said some stuff, I said nastier stuff back, and we just…”

Elias fell silent, scratching at his nose with his thumb. He looked at Luna again, then sighed.

“Let’s just say we didn’t leave on good terms. I figured out pretty quick that I was in the wrong, so I tried to catch up to her and apologize, but then I was late for my shift, and Nightshade got on my case.” His eyes burned with regret. “And then she was gone. She and Night Flash slipped away, taking a few extra days of leave. I haven’t talked to either since. I’m not even sure if they would want to talk to me if we had the chance.”

Luna was frozen with horror. She had no idea what to say. This wasn’t supposed to be happening, and it especially wasn’t supposed to be happening now. It was Hearth’s Warming! Elias’ nostrils flared and he straightened slightly, looking at Luna with eyes filled with simmering anger. She had no doubt that said anger was directed inwardly.

“It doesn’t matter,” Elias said. “I’ll figure this out in time. Worst comes to worst…” He paused, shaking his head as he slumped again. “Then it comes to it. I’m not going to hold those two back because of something stupid like my feelings.”

He snorted in disgust, then cleared his throat.

“Either way, I’ll be out of your hair Princess. I was just standing guard here till you got up, so now I’m thinking I’ll take a walk outside. Maybe I can go park myself outside the front gates for a while, watch the snow fall.”

He pulled a flask from his belt, unscrewing the top quickly as he took a fast swig. Elias shuddered briefly as he stared at the flask.

“Damn, that got stronger with the trip. Good stuff.”

He glanced up, meeting Luna’s eyes. As if he had just realized the pony was there, he grunted sheepishly, then offered the flask to her.

“Want some Princess? That’s authentic American whiskey right there.”

Luna took the offered flask, glancing at it cautiously before she shrugged and took a sip. The liquid inside tasted something akin to changeling blood, and it burned the entire length of her throat as she struggled not to throw it up. The look of disgust was clear on her face, because Elias chuckled.

“Burns right? Found that in some rich guy’s place three years ago. A solid 180 proof if I remember correctly. Anything stronger and it’s like drinking rubbing alcohol.”

Luna looked at the flask with distaste as she floated it back to Elias’ waiting hand.

“That is most foul Guardsman. I cannot imagine it is good for you.”

Elias shrugged as he screwed the top back on. He slipped it into his belt.

“Maybe not, but it does its job. Makes you feel a bit warmer and a lot happier. It’s all it needs to be.”

Luna scoffed.

“Clearly you have not drunken some of the spirits my ponies have created in Equestria’s long history. The apple cider is something that ponies would kill for if they were just a tad more violent. There is never enough, even for a princess.”

Elias shrugged again.

“Then I’ll save everyone the trouble. Besides, it’s not like I can buy anything alcoholic, not for a few years at least. That drinking age of yours is a bit too high for my taste.”

Luna looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“That is right, you are not of age. I could have you imprisoned for having that foul substance.”

Elias smiled.

“I’ll tell the guard on duty. I wouldn’t hold your breath though; he’s got a real soft spot for cigarettes.”

He tapped the small white object behind his ear. Luna leaned in slightly to look at it properly, and confirmed that yes, it was indeed a smoking device. Another thing that had been banned in her long absence. Not that she had ever been a particular fan of that nasty habit anyway. Elias sighed, and his smile fell as Luna continued to glare at his vices.

“Princess, just… It will all be gone by the end of today. I’ve been saving everything I had left for a special occasion, and tonight is going to be that occasion. I’ll have nothing left by the sunrise.”

He let out a single, wet cough. Elias scowled as he cleared his throat. Luna took a step back; the man looked like a lama that wanted to spit. He didn’t however, and much to Luna’s disgust, he swallowed whatever was clogging his throat. His eyes flicked to Luna, then back to the ground.

“Sorry Princess, I’m taking up your day for nothing. I’m going to move on if you don’t mind.”

Luna nodded silently, and the human pushed off the wall. Trudging his way down the hallway. He gave her a small wave as he turned the corner, and then he was gone, leaving Luna alone and dazed. What should she do? A glance into her room showed that only a few minutes had passed, cutting into her solitary coffee time, but should she pursue the human? Was it better to let him brood?

Another glance at the clock made her calculate how much time remained until the Elements would arrive. If he was truly going to the front gate, then he would likely get drafted into helping them inside. She could fulfill her Hearth’s Warming plans until then, and after that she could invite him inside to warm himself by the fire. At the very least he would be fed and warm, and that would be enough, even if he did not join in on the Hearth’s warming pile. Luna snorted softly and smiled as she closed her bedroom door. Or maybe she would force him to act as the base for the pile, then they could smother him with love and attention. That would force the human to be happy.

Luna smiled as she imagined it, the plan solidifying as she trotted to the kitchens. Her good mood returned in full. She would show him, and then she would drag his soon-to-be parents back as well so that they could join in, smothering the human with love. It would be a good Hearth’s Warming for all, just as it should be.

*****

Elias blew air into his hands as he tried to keep his body tight. It should have had the effect of keeping him warmer, but with the wind howling as it was, it didn’t really help. The sun had set over an hour ago, and Elias had stopped checking the time when he found that it was almost as frozen as he was. The snow was falling swiftly, already climbing above his toes. He had smoked through one cigarette, and he was fast working on the second. The snow covered streets still had the occasional pony running by, usually with a gift or two suspended in an aura, or tucked carefully on their back as they sprinted to and fro.

Elias did his best to find something to watch, but as the wind grew worse, he found himself pacing before the gate more often than not. He was lucky that part of his ancestry was Norse, because otherwise his exposed legs might have just frozen off. He eyed the barrel that would provide him with warmth, if he could figure out how to get the damned thing started. It had to be a magic thing, because his lighter did nothing to the fuel that sat in the brazier. The accumulated sticks and logs sat, unwilling, or unable to light, and so unable to give off light and warmth.

He only minded half of that. While he really wanted to go inside to get warm, he knew Luna was up and trying to act normal, and he didn’t want to interrupt. He had put no thought into what the princesses might be doing for Hearth’s Warming, and while he had no interest in the holiday, nor its human surrogate, it didn’t mean he had to ruin it for others, especially not the pair of ponies that had helped him out in some rough spots. If nothing else, he could fall back on his wasteland code to guide him, and it said that favors should always be repaid. That meant they had scratched his back; he could keep out of their way and be bitter elsewhere. Even if elsewhere was a freezing hellscape with white evil raining from the sky and down his shirt.

Elias resisted the urge to rip the cloak off his body to shake the snow loose again. He knew it would only make the issue worse, but the urge was still there, and his hands twitched more than once to rip off the worthless piece of cloth. A gust of wind wiped away this idea as he shivered, slipping his shield over his back with the pilum returned to its sheathe. Elias ducked back into one of the guard boxes, taking temporary shelter from the wind as he held his cigarette to take a swig from his flask. It was nearly empty, he had practically drained it on his walk to the gate, and now he was going for the finish. If for nothing else, he wanted a mild buzz to wait out the rest of the evening.

Only a group of fast approaching voices stopped him from downing the rest of the flask in one go. Elias let a swallow’s worth fall back in as he wiped his face, placing his cigarette between his lips once more as he peaked out of the guard box. Squinting into the snow, Elias found a group of well-lit ponies trotting happily toward the castle. Further squinting also noted a small creature carrying a stack of luggage as tall as Elias was, so the human sighed; screwing his flask tight as he tucked it in his belt and walked forward.

“Anything I can help you ladies with?” Elias said, his voice loud enough to cut through the whistling of the wind.

All six stopped suddenly, with their seventh running into somebody’s rump, sending the luggage to the ground, including a few bags that slid to Elias’ feet. He moved forward, scooping up a couple of bags as the lizard-boy got to his feet. Once he realized that it wasn’t a pony helping him, the lizard-boy stared at him in shock as well. One of the ponies he recognized however, so Elias squinted at her and gave her a small wave as he bent over to grab another bag.

“Evening Twilight,” he said gruffly, struggling slightly as he lifted a bag that felt like it was holding an entire couch in it.

The purple unicorn in question started from her stunned state and smiled widely.

“Hey Elias, you’re looking better.”

The human grunted as he slung a bag over his shoulder.

“Just what I get for eating three meals a day. Back for more about Earth?”

Twilight’s eyes lit up for a moment, and she almost nodded, then she drooped slightly.

“No, we’re here for Princess Celestia’s Hearth’s Warming party.” She blinked for a moment as Elias snagged another bag from the snow. “Wait, why do I sound so sad about that? I’m here for Princess Celestia’s Hearth’s Warming party!” she said cheerfully. “Though I’m kind of surprised that you’re here Elias, I thought the princesses gave the guard off for Hearth’s Warming.”

Elias nodded as he swiped the last bag from the ground. With Twilight talking to him, the rest of the ponies seemed to lose their nervousness, though one of them was staring at him like he just ate their dog, while two of them, an orange one and a blue one, looked like they wanted to pick a fight. One was staring at him in a strange manner that he didn’t recognize, which caused the lizard-boy to eye him with jealousy. Finally, a vaguely familiar looking pink one looked like she was going to jump him. With all of their luggage in hand however, Elias doubted that that was going to happen. Elias nodded toward the gatehouse and they began walking inside, with the chatter resuming quietly behind him as Elias talked with Twilight.

“They did, but I don’t have anything better to do, so I’m out working. Might as well.”

Twilight frowned.

“You haven’t made any friends to celebrate Hearth’s Warming with?”

Elias shifted the weight in his hands so that he could toss the cigarette that had reached the filter. He made sure to flick the ember-ridden thing into a snowbank. He sniffed and rubbed at his nose before he shifted the luggage back.

“From what I read, Hearth’s Warming is about family, and I didn’t want to impose on anyone, so I stayed here. If had known about the party and all that, I’d have probably left to find a bench to sleep on or something. It would be cold, but hey, I’d live.”

‘Probably’, he kept to himself.

Twilight’s frown remained unwavering.

“I mean, technically you’re right, but Hearth’s Warming can be more than just about family. After all, I brought all of my friends with me to celebrate!”

Elias eyed the group and snorted.

“Maybe, but tell me, are they just your “friends” or are they more than that? Can you honestly tell me that you don’t care for them just a little bit more than as friends?”

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but then she stopped. Her frown returned as she remained in thought all of the way up to the castle doors. Elias easily shoved them open with his shoulders, holding the door so that everyone could get inside. The entryway was lit, but unoccupied. Elias had no doubt that the ponies knew where they needed to be, so he set down the luggage to the side of the door, leaving it ajar so that he could exit into the snow once more. Twilight was still frowning in thought. She sighed loudly.

“Wow, I can’t believe one little sentence stumped me so well. I tried to compare my relationships with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, all of my friends, and Spike, and I think I have an answer.”

She looked at Elias, who was relishing the interior heat for the moment.

“I guess you’re absolutely right Elias, I do value my friends more than just being friendly. I’m sorry that you haven’t found anypony like that.”

Elias shrugged as he tried to keep his internal pain from his face.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m fine alone. It’s two days, I think I can make do.”

The white unicorn with the purple mane who was giving him a strange look suddenly got far too close.

“Nonesense darling,” she said with a strange accent. “I am more than sure that the princesses wouldn’t mind if we brought such a strong, capable stallion such as yourself to our little party.”

The unicorn winked at him, and it briefly occurred to Elias what was happening.

“I know I certainly wouldn’t mind being good friends with one as… muscular as yourself.” Her eyes drifted up and down his body as she spoke, and if Elias was a more thoughtful man, he might have cared.

Elias snorted and took a step away from the pony.

“Now I’m no expert on pony culture, but I think it’s more than a little weird for somebody to be hitting on a nineteen-year-old, so I’m just going to go back outside,” he said, pointing a thumb at the still open door, leaking heat and light into the cold night.

The white unicorn blanched visibly, and her mouth flapped as she tried to stammer a response. The orange and blue ponies both snickered however, and the lizard, which Elias imagined was the one named Spike, looked relieved. What that said about his age, Elias didn’t know, and he didn’t particularly care. The encountered was already beginning to wear thin, and he was warm enough to survive outside for a little bit longer. Seeing the awkward lull in the conversation as an opportunity, Elias made his way toward the doors, slipping outside just as a tall white form appeared at the top of the staircase. He slipped the door quietly as he heard a chorus of greetings and laughter as the princesses entered the foyer. He made sure the door jamb closed silently before he began trudging back to his guard box. The wind seemed to roar in his ears as he walked, and Elias felt a particularly nasty chill race up his spine as he tugged the cloak tighter around his chest.

*****

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight called out as she raced to embrace her mentor.

Luna frowned as she watched the doors slip closed. Elias had outmaneuvered her without even trying. He had acted on her prediction to help the Elements inside, but as she and her sister entered the front hall, he had subtly disappeared, sliding out the open door to the frigid outside. Luna was fairly sure that Celestia hadn’t even noticed the human, and she thought it unlikely that any of the Elements would discuss him for long once the party truly got under way. The opportunity to drag him inside for warmth and cuddles had came and went, and Luna had no idea how to act upon her instinct to help him now.

“Luna? Are you alright?” Celestia asked, her voice worried.

Luna shook herself from her stupor and looked around to find everyone staring at her. She smiled weakly.

“Yes ‘Tia, I am quite alright. Just… thinking.”

Celestia tutted and dragged Luna into a warm embrace.

“Now Luna, you know better than to be thinking about your duties at a time like this. It’s Hearth’s Warming after all!”

Luna tried to pull away from her older sister, but quickly found herself being hugged by Twilight and her friends as well. She blushed slightly, then accepted her fate as she rubbed against her sister’s chest fluff. Though she felt much more relaxed, a small thought wriggled at the back of her mind that Elias should be experiencing this, that he should be sharing in the wonderous companionship she was enjoying. If she wanted to solve the problem however, she needed to make sure nobody was worried about her.

Luna pulled away from the hug with a smile. She waved her horn and all of the luggage stacked in the entryway disappeared, teleported to their respective suites.

“Come!” she proclaimed trotting toward the prepared party room, “There is much celebrating that needs doing! We have made many baked goods!”

Everyone gave a cheer and they all began to chatter as they walked toward the party. Luna cast one last glance at the sealed doors, her mind working on a method to get Elias into position for maximum love and friendship.

*****

“Come on you fucking thing,” Elias hissed, “you worked twice tonight, and you can work one more time. It will be the last one, I swear, then you can be as broken as you like.”

The lighter remained dead in his numb fingers, oblivious to Elias’ bargaining. It had steadily gotten colder since he went outside. The wind seemed to howl in his ears, and Elias regretted not being more prepared. He had no hat to cover his head, no pants or stockings to cover his legs, and the cloak seemed thinner and thinner with each gust of wind. Elias growled as the flint tore away a piece of thumb flesh as he tried to light it. Anger rose hot in his mind, and Elias slammed the worthless lighter into the equally worthless brazier. The unlit cigarette quickly followed, all unlit, all worthless.

Elias wiped away some ice that had crusted to his beard. Months of not shaving had netted him a fully-grown face of hair, not that it kept him any warmer. Elias briefly considered going inside to brood in his room, but after checking his watch to find that it was only just past ten, he decided he could wait out the cold for a little while longer. Elias searched the dark streets before him for something to hate, but quickly found nothing. The street seemed calm, almost peaceful. There were no more last-minute shoppers, no ponies at all really. Even in the land of magic and rainbows, Elias had expected at least one lonely soul to be wandering like himself, but there were none. Each door in sight was closed, and in each window a single candle sat, giving the only light on the pitch back night.

Elias let out a pained gasp as everything seemed to slow. The wind died down, going from a raging howl to a nonexistent whisper. The snow still fell, but instead of the tiny flakes that found their way into his eyes, large, graceful flakes descended from the sky. They floated softly through the air, and Elias poked his head out of the guard box to get a better look. In a childlike sense of wonder, Elias looked up to the sky, seeing something he had only ever read about. He couldn’t remember ever willingly going outside in the snow, and he certainly never remembered it looking like this.

Like a million stars the snow fell, glinting softly off of the candles in every window. It shouldn’t have been enough light, but for once, Elias could see in the dark. Everything seemed crystal clear. Like it was by design. Elias stuck out his tongue, catching a flake or two. His breath produced a cloud in the dark air, and Elias chuckled softly as he watched it dissipate. The cold seemed distant now. Everything felt rather distant.

A strange feeling twinged in Elias’ chest; an extremely unfamiliar one. Elias let out a cough, trying to dislodge whatever was stuck in his throat, but when it didn’t fade away, he attributed it to something else. Elias then tried pacing, thinking perhaps it was a result of the cold air that seemed to burn his nose with every breath. That didn’t help either, if anything, the feeling grew stronger, creating an unknown urge.

Elias leaned against the castle wall, blowing clouds of fog into the air, and he watched with fascination as they faded away. He wondered briefly what that felt like. To simply dissipate, to fade into nothing. Elias smiled at the thought, then frowned. His mind was quiet, yet it felt at conflict with itself, as if two powers were warring for control. Elias ignored it as another symptom of exposure. The thought to go back inside popped up once more, quickly countered by the wish to not disturb the Hearth’s Warming party that was likely shining brightly through one of the castle windows.

Elias wandered over to the brazier, blowing into his hands to get them to uncurl enough to grab his lighter and cigarette. This time, the lighter came on with the second flick, and Elias was able to light the cigarette with ease. He tucked the lighter back into his belt as he took a long pull on the cigarette, staring blankly into the dark. The quiet was deafening, though Elias felt that it didn’t have to be. Sure, the calm darkness was beautiful, but there were other things that could be beautiful. Song for one.

Elias blinked as a warm rush of pleasant memories filtered across his mind. Each one involved a song of some kind, children’s songs to teach the abc’s, drinking songs to celebrate great victories, shoddily written bardic songs from a married couple who wanted to start up a circus; a hell of a feat for the post apocalypse, but more to them. One song seemed to stand out though, a Christmas song. Normally Elias would drive such a disgusting thing as far from his mind as possible. This had always been a dark time of year, whether it was called Christmas, or Hearth’s Warming, Elias should hate it, but the song that was slowly worming forward in his thoughts was one of a better time, when he still had everything he wanted in life. Peace, a family, friends, his innocence. A time when blood didn’t have to be shed, when he could smile and laugh without having to worry about the ever-present enemy that threatened to take everything away. It was a time when he was young, when his sisters were young, when his dad wasn’t bitter at his lot in life, and when his mother smiled day after day, always happy, always a shining spot in his life.

Elias felt his chest tighten as he realized that he wouldn’t find that sensation again. He had destroyed the opportunity. He had hurt Book Binder irreparably. Had said words, that when spoken, could never be taken back and could only fester as regret, weighing down an already leaden heart. Elias felt his legs weaken and he slumped against the wall. The half-smoked cigarette dangled perilously from his lips, and only a last second burst of energy caught it before it could fall to the snow. Then Elias decided to let it fall anyway. He didn’t want it, didn’t want anything except to sleep. He was done, he had no reason to push on, no motivation to continue fighting for his own existence. After all, it was because of Night Flash and Book Binder that he had friends at all, and with them gone, the rest of his friends would likely follow. He was alone again, and the feeling cut him to the core. Desperation and a sense of loss crept over him, and Elias wanted to do nothing more than collapse, to let the snow claim him. It would make the night completely silent.

Heh, silent night. Elias smirked as the old song rose in his mind. The feeling in his chest returned with renewed vigor, shoving away the thoughts of desperation. Elias straightened from his slump, brushing the ice from his beard as he leaned against the castle wall, blowing a cloud into the night sky. How did that song go again? He could vaguely remember the tune, but the words were all but lost to time. Elias was fairly sure he could remember the first line though.

“Si - lent night,” Elias said more than sang.

He snorted at the sound of his voice. To say it sounded rough was an understatement, but the feeling in his chest seemed to want him to continue, so continue he did. The lyrics for the second line popped into his head as if somebody was feeding him the words.

“Ho – ly night,” Elias sang.

Elias spat out a fat glob of phlegm as he tried to clear his throat. It was getting there, and Elias swore he could hear bells. Maybe that was just the ringing in his ears. He paused, looking around to see if anyone was watching him make a fool of himself, but upon finding nobody, Elias shrugged and began to pace as the song rose in his mind, and he continued to sing, his voice growing stronger with every word.

*****

Luna smiled widely as Applejack and Rainbow Dash raced to chug their mugs of cider. She and Pinkie Pie had a running pool of who would be victorious, and while the party pony had put her bits on the blue pegasus, Luna was more than confident that the pony with apple in her name could down the apple cider the fastest. She grinned with savage delight as Applejack slammed down another mug, scooping up the next one in the same movement as she began to pump it back.

“Come on Dashie!” Pinkie cheered. “Gummy needs a new pair of slippers!”

Rainbow Dash redoubled her efforts, slamming down her own mug as she began chugging rapidly at the second. Luna watched in horror as she caught up to Applejack with ease, the two resuming their neck and neck race. Luna growled at the farm pony.

“Do think fair Applejack, a happy princess could do much to help a simple farmer expand her crop. There are many ancient spells meant to increase crop yields, and these methods have been lost to the ages. They could be granted however, to a certain pony who won their princess a large sum of bits.”

Applejack increased her efforts as well, taking the lead once more as she moved onto the next mug. Luna eyed them carefully; three left. If she could motivate the farm pony a little more, the victory, and the bits would be hers. The money was of import to her. That, and Luna just really wanted to win. She had been eyeing a certain set of stockings during her nightly wanderings, and she wanted to buy them strictly off the books. She did not need Celestia teasing her for her comfortable, but quite provocative, purchase. The stockings were the most lovely shade of red though, and the lace at the top, the way they would hug her thighs…

Luna tried to erase the blush that had crept to her face as she focused on motivating her drinking champion. She opened her mouth to give the farmer more incentive; then, as if appearing from nowhere, Luna felt a familiar twinge in her chest. The game was suddenly forgotten, and her head swiveled toward the window as her ears strained to find a trace of the song being sung. Luna sprang to her feet, distracting Applejack as Rainbow Dash secured the victory. She and Pinkie cheered loudly, and Luna teleported the bag of bits to their side of the table without a second thought or moment of protest as she began trotting toward the window, searching in the snow for a sign of the source of the song. It was low in intensity, but it still felt powerful, as if it was struggling against another force. The song was beginning to swell, and Luna had an idea of who was the source of the conflict.

She stared out the window intently as she searched, looking for a sign of light that would lead her to the human. Celestia was quickly at her side, followed by most of Twilight’s friends.

“Is something wrong Luna?” Celestia asked, her voice tinged with concern.

Luna frowned deeply as a nasty gust of wind brushed against the glass. She looked to the assembled ponies.

“Elias, the guard that assisted you inside, did he give any indication of where he was going?”

Twilight shook her head.

“Not really, he just said he was going back outside and then left.”

Celestia looked between the two.

“Elias is here? Why? He should have had Hearth’s Warming off with the rest of our guards.”

Luna nodded.

“He decided to conduct his normal duties. The ponies I would have thought would take him home evidently fought with him over the very subject. He believes that he has permanently alienated them, and is therefore alone tonight. It would seem it is causing a measure of conflict within the man, and he has managed to tap into the ambiance of song. I merely wish to ensure that he is not meeting his death as we speak.”

“It is mighty chilly out there,” Applejack said. “And he looked a bit worse for wear, if ya don’t mind me sayin’. He didn’t have no meat on his bones, and if ah saw right, he didn’t have no fur neither.”

Luna nodded as she let the sensation in her chest guide her vision. Clearly, she was the only one connected to the human’s song, so she should be able to target his position by testing where the magic was the strongest. Only when she faced the gatehouse did it reach its peak. If she had less control, she might have begun singing right there; but the unfamiliarity of the song lyrics, so organized and impersonal, at least for her, let Luna remain in control enough to speak her next words as she prepared a minor teleportation spell.

“I shall not be long, and I will not require assistance. Please, return to your merriment, I shall send for help if I need it.”

And then she disappeared, reappearing just outside the window. She narrowed her eyes to keep the snow out as she flapped violently to stay in the air. When the ice drove her to ground, Luna scanned the air, looking for the tell-tale signs of a hostile power. The average snowfall, no matter how cold, could not drive an alicorn from flight. It took her a few moments, but she found the red eyes just as the wendigo let a howl split the peaceful sky. Nobody could likely hear it besides herself and its potential food source. Luna sent a praise of thanks to the Keepers for forcing song magic into Elias as she began to fight her way through the growing snow drifts. She needed to be quick, if she didn’t reach the human before the song ended, the wendigo would sweep away what little harmony had found its way into his heart, and the beast would likely kill him.

To make the magic in the air more powerful, Luna let her voice join in.

“Sleep in heav – en – ly peace, Sleep in heav – en – ly peace.”

The solo became a duet, and the air seemed to still as she pushed forward. Luna ignored the pained howls of the wendigo as she ran. She needed to reach him. She held her head high, let her strong vocal cords sing high into the night, her tones perfect as she moved.

*****

Elias was surprised when the bells changed to become a second voice. Maybe it was the cold seeping into his bones, but Elias felt mesmerized by the sound. It sounded familiar, and so wonderfully beautiful. It carried a haunting tone to it, and each note was sung in a perfect key to harmonize with his singing. Whoever she was, Elias felt that he really wanted to meet her face to face. By comparison, his voice sound rough, tripping and stumbling over the tones as he tried his best to keep the lyrics in his head. The song was human damnit, why did it feel like his mind was freezing every other line? It didn’t really matter now; he didn’t really know the entire song, and the lyrics in his head seemed to repeat the first verse anyway, so he started from the beginning.

“Si - lent night.”

Elias felt a long shiver play down his body. The air in his lungs seemed to freeze as he struggled to continue. Was it getting colder? Elias didn’t know, and he felt content to try and sit down to huddle for warmth. The thought of going inside never even crossed his mind as he began to freeze.

“H-h-holy…”

Elias felt his teeth chatter, biting away the second half of the lyric. The music seemed to hang by a thread in the air, and the cold crept in. Elias closed his eyes and tried to breathe warmth into his hands. It was so cold, and Elias swore he could hear wolves howling. The ice crept up his legs as the snow piled on his quivering shoulders. For a brief moment, Elias felt like he was at death’s door, and he welcomed the sensation. That is, until she arrived.

He felt her first, her very presence stopping the snow fall, bringing with it warmth, and a feeling of security. Elias looked at her from beneath his frozen-on helmet, shivering violently as he struggled to keep breathing. Luna smiled sadly at him as that angelic voice came from her mouth.

“All is calm,” she sang sweetly, “All is bright.”

The chill seemed to ease, and Elias found warm air in his lungs once more. Though he still shivered, he was able to continue as the lyrics rose again in his mind.

“R-round yon vir – gin, mother and child.”

Luna’s smile widened as she continued.

“Ho – ly In – fant so ten – der and mild.”

The wind howled in his ears, and Elias curled tighter into his ball. The song hung in the air again, and Elias felt cold touch at his heart. A gasp of pain escaped his chest as the muscle began to palpitate. Only a soft touch on his shoulder brought Elias back from the brink. The Elias felt that it was supposed to be his turn, Luna sang the next lyric for him.

“Sleep in heav – en – ly peace!” she sang brightly, her hoof extended toward him.

“S-sleep in heav – en – ly peace,” Elias finished softly, his voice just above a whisper.

The air seemed to return to normal as he finished, and the howling behind the wind died. Elias took a chilling breath and promptly passed out against the alicorn to his left.

*****

Luna let out a long sigh as she watched the human fall into unconsciousness. The wendigo had let out a spine shattering howl as it lost its meal, but it vanished upon the completion of the song. As a result, Elias was still alive, but only barely. His armor and clothing were coated in a thin layer of ice, as was his red facial hair. She would check him further once inside, but Luna suspected that the damage was severe. She ran quickly after placing the human on her back, keeping him tucked safely beneath her wings.

She hit the castle doors at a dead run, slamming them closed with a thought as she ran toward the nearest in-use fireplace. Another set of doors barred her path, and these she slammed through as well. She eyed the fireplace in the party room briefly, then continued her run, opting to take Elias somewhere more private. If he woke up, he would cause issues if he continued the inane thought of “being a burden”. It would be better to nip the issue in the bud so that she could care for him swiftly and efficiently.

Her run was not fast enough however, and Luna quickly found herself being hounded as her sister and the Elements began to pelt her with questions. Unfortunately, her sister decided to take direct action, and block her from the door that would lead to her bedroom.

“My word, Luna, where was he to end up in such a state?” Celestia asked, her voice cutting through the myriad of inane questions.

“Outside, by the gate,” Luna responded shortly, dipping around her sister. “A wendigo was attempting to make a feast of the man’s internal strife. We should have continued the ancient hunt for the ugly beasts. The blood of its kin on the castle steps would have kept it away.”

Celestia waved for the Elements to remain in place as she caught up with Luna, falling in beside her as they ran toward her room.

“What is the source of such strife? You said he had conflict with his friends, but that shouldn’t have been on a level to attract a wendigo, especially not to the heart of Canterlot.”

Luna threw open her door, casting a small fireball into her fireplace as she levitated a whirlwind of pillows and blankets onto the floor before it. She stripped away Elias’ armor and weaponry as she laid the human down gently, tucking a thick blanket made of gryphon feathers over his body. Luna frowned when the human didn’t move at all, his face an abnormal pale, even for him.

“I know not sister, but I shall find out when he awakens. As it stands, he will likely be uncomfortable with the attentions of too many ponies. I have no wish to draw more wendigos here, so I, and I alone will nurse him to health.”

Celestia gave her a light nuzzle, which Luna gratefully returned.

“Are you sure?” Celestia asked. “Perhaps he just needs more friends to brighten his spirits. He knows Twilight well enough.”

Luna shook her head and sighed.

“Nay, he does not. I have gained much insight into how he thinks by observing him these past months, and if I know the Guardsman well enough, he will try to push even me away. In all likelihood he will make some false claim about he was “fine” and how it was only a minor chill that could have stolen the life from his body.”

Celestia smiled and rolled her eyes.

“Sounds like somepony I know. Far too stubborn for her own good, likes doing things her way, sound familiar?”

Luna snorted dismissively and waved her hoof.

“Do not make light of me at this time sister. You may poke your fun when I do not have to focus so on the Guardsman’s health.”

Her tone softened as she looked at Celestia.

“But could you please bring some food, and check if we need company occasionally? I do not wish for this night to be ruined by events out of our control.”

Celestia nodded.

“Of course, Luna, I will check every hour, and I will tell Twilight and the girls that everything is fine, Elias merely fell asleep and grew ill. It will set them at ease if nothing else.”

Luna nodded.

“Thank you, sister, now if you will excuse me, I shall check on his condition.”

Celestia gave her one last squeeze before she left the room, shutting the door softly behind her. Luna sighed as she lifted the blanket away, scooting Elias a bit closer to the fire so that he would warm faster while she checked on him. Luna frowned at his soaking wet clothing, and with a wave of her horn, she burned all of it away. All of it. Luna flushed furiously as she checked his genitals for frostbite, and when she found none, Luna quickly covered them with a pillow. She took a few deep breaths to avoid collapsing from embarrassment, then she continued her check-up.

His toes were largely black with frostbite, but a powerful healing spell brought them back to life. Luna was even pleased to see a few of the digits wiggle lightly as she checked them with her hooves, ensuring that the magic had done its job. Next came the hands, which were in a similar state. Luna repeated her procedure, healing, then checking the fingers to make sure they were fully healed. Luna then moved her inspection upward. Elias’ face, while incredibly pale, was surprisingly free of frostbite, and she attributed it to the harmony magic that had found its way inside, and then out again through his song.

Luna briefly pondered that song as she checked the rest of his body for frostbite. It clearly had significant meaning to Elias, as she had never heard anything of its likeness in all of her years. It had also been unlike a usual harmonious song. They were usually very specific in intent, directed directly at whatever strife was hidden deep in the singer’s heart, yet Elias’ had seemed to come from his head. It was almost as if it had been written beforehand, and then he had remembered it, causing a reaction with Equestria’s ambient magic when he began to sing. She couldn’t dismiss the idea as strange, as standard ambient magics had no effect on the human. Perhaps she had found an avenue to connect the human to the lifeblood of her ponies, but she could only test that theory with time.

Elias groaned lightly as he stirred, his blue eyes gazing at her hazily.

“P-… Princess? What…?”

Luna resisted the urge to swipe him in the back of the head.

“You fell unconscious while outside. I brought you to my bedroom to warm you up, you nearly froze to death.”

Just as she predicted, Elias rolled over and tried to push himself up.

“Y-you d-didn’t need to do that,” Elias said through his shivers. “I-it wasn’t e-even that cold out.”

Luna watched calmly as he got to his feet, and as he began looking toward the door, Luna immediately lifted him into the air. He grunted heavily as she laid him back down on the rug in front of the fire. She then grabbed another thick, black blanket from her bed and draped it over the human. Finally, she resettled his temporary pillow bed, fluffing them out as she laid him down.

Elias remained silent, and Luna was forced to suppress a giggle as he pulled the blanket tighter around his body. Normally he seemed so collected, even when in great pain, yet now the human looked positively adorable as he shivered. He inched himself toward the fire, holding his pale hands toward the flame. Luna watched with fascination as they slowly uncurled as he warmed the digits up. Even with the added heat and blankets, the human was still shivering too much, so Luna did the only thing she could think of to warm his body up faster.

Luna moved silently, sitting behind the human, her fur only inches from his covered back. She remained unnoticed as the human focused on the fire. With a small push of magic, coupled with her large wings, she dragged Elias to her chest, making sure that every part of his freezing body was covered with her warm, fuzzy one. For a brief moment, he didn’t protest, simply sighing as her plush chest fluff pressed against his back. The moment ended as he warmed up however, and Elias tried to squirm away.

“Princess… I don’t… think this is necessary,” he said between chatters. “I-I’ll be fine in a minute.”

Luna tightened her wings around his body, pinning the man’s arms to his chest.

“Elias, this is absolutely necessary. You could have died in that cold, and if I hadn’t come to rescue you, you may well have. What would Book Binder and Night Flash think if you perished in the cold on Hearth’s Warming Eve?”

Elias stopped moving, and for a second, Luna thought he had simply accepted his fate to be snuggled to warmth and happiness. Then she heard a small sob. Elias pressed against her, burying his face in her chest fur as he cried. Her instincts took over, and Luna wrapped her hooves around the man. She stroked his hair like she had seen Book Binder do, and she rocked him back and forth, trying to comfort him. She had meant it as a light, playful statement, and had expected the usual bitter, almost angry reply, not this.

Luna was at a loss of what to say, of how to comfort him. The brief idea to joke about catching him singing popped into her mind, but she shoved it away. It would only make the situation worse. This was clearly a moment of weakness for the man, and mocking him in a way that would further damage his pride would drive him away from her, not closer. Thinking of nothing better, Luna just silently rocked the man back and forth, levitating a few more blankets and pillows around him for comfort. She constructed a fortress of soft things that she hoped would bring the man comfort.

It took some time, but eventually, his tears slowed, and Elias once again attempted to pull away. Luna didn’t let him free, instead opening her wings so that she could lay her head on top of his in an attempt to calm him down. As she continued to softly rock the human, Luna couldn’t help but smell his hair. While nowhere near as sweet smelling as a pony, it had its own positive qualities. Perhaps she had a bias from her personal experiences with Elias, but it was almost as if she could smell his strength, as well as the intense pain he kept below the surface. It had the bite of salt, while the sadness of his tears seemed a bit sweeter. She could even detect a bit of iron, no doubt from some long-healed injury. Luna found that she really enjoyed the smell, but wished it stemmed from happiness, rather than internal pain.

Luna cleared her throat softly, not letting Elias wriggle free as she spoke.

“Elias, while I respect your right to privacy, I think you would feel better if you spoke of what is truly troubling you. This is not the result of a simple argument, and I do not wish to see you hurting so on Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

She was rather surprised when he answered immediately. She had expected to have to pry something from him.

“I have this… horrible feeling inside Princess,” Elias said numbly, staring blankly at the fire. “You said I could have died, but the more I think about it, the more I’m thinking that I was trying to. I tried to kill myself by exposure tonight.”

The words made Luna stiffen as a chill ran down her spine. It was a nasty admission, and Luna felt her eyes drift to the window where the wind began to howl loudly. She pulled the human a little tighter against her chest as the air seemed to grow colder.

“Why Elias?” Luna asked as she stoked the fire, driving the orange flames higher. “I had thought things were getting better for you. Until tonight you have seemed almost happy, especially when you were with Night Flash and Book Binder. What could you have done to bring you so low?”

Elias sniffled, and he again tried to scoot away. Luna swatted the back of his head and dragged him close again.

“Cease your senseless struggles and answer the question Guardsman,” Luna said irritably.

She felt the human shiver, and Luna winced internally as she rubbed his back softly, switching tactics.

“Please Elias, more than you know has happened this night, and you cannot bottle these emotions away. They are eating at you, even I can see that. Speak, it will help.”

Elias sniffled again.

“It’s all been a lie Princess. I’ve been putting on a brave face for the sake of everyone around me, but things haven’t been getting better, they’ve been getting worse.”

A trace of a whimper crept into his voice.

“I love Book Binder and Night Flash to death, but maybe that’s the problem. I feel like I haven’t been in control, and my night terrors have been getting steadily worse. I used to have one a night, but for the past three weeks I’ve been getting three or four every single time I go to sleep. It doesn’t matter how tired I get, or who’s beside me, it doesn’t help.”

He clenched his fists as he extended an arm at the fire.

“And I know why; it’s because I know what’s going to happen, and I’d rather die than see it again.”

Luna stroked his hair.

“What is going to happen Elias? What could possibly drive you to these lengths to escape it?”

Elias remained silent, shaking his head as he stared at the fire with dead eyes. Luna sighed, and shifted her questioning.

“Is it still the same reoccurring night terror?”

“No,” he whispered softly in reply.

He sounded like he was on the verge of crying again. Luna rubbed his back as she laid longways beside him, covering his torso with her wing as she laid her head on his neck.

“Tell me. What new threat haunts your dreams?”

She felt Elias curl in on himself, but he still answered, his voice choked with pain.

“It’s the same setting, the same motions, but all of the faces… they changed. I don’t see my old friends anymore, don’t hear their screams.”

“Then who?” Luna asked simply.

Elias whimpered softly.

“Night Flash, Book Binder, Scarlet, Scalpel, Chaser, Nightshade.”

He paused, as if holding something back. Luna gently prodded him, whispering in his ear.

“Go on Elias, who else?”

He refused to look at her.

“You,” he said softly.

Luna was surprised when he began to cry again. Once more, she had no words, had not thought they were even close. It was by his own declaration that they were not friends, and Luna looked back through her recent memory to find a moment where Elias could have begun caring about her. She found little of note; a small chase over medicine, his assistance in scouting her castle, a scolding or two over his injuries, a note about his nudity. Luna smiled lightly at the memory of that day. It had been a series of highs and lows, but she found it a good memory nonetheless.

Perhaps it was then? Or perhaps it was the professional relationship they had established, a rock of calmness in his life. She was never threatened, rarely involved with him really, but she was always there, ready to step in if she needed to push the human back on track. Night after night when he stood guard; by her bedroom, by her throne, and even by her side. Was that it? He valued her for being a constant in his life?

Elias shook himself from his crying, and a bitter anger slipped into his tone as he spoke.

“You, you and everyone else I know dead in some violent, bloody manner. Dead in a ditch with who left to watch it all?

His fist hit his chest with an angry thump.

“Me. Only me. The lone survivor once more. Then I die as well, a hole in my heart as I collapse in a puddle of my own pain and blood.”

He sniffed as Luna stroked his hair once more.

“I just wanted to go quietly. No screams of pain, no blood, no watching everyone I love and care about die. I just… I wanted a quiet death, and tonight, I almost found one.”

Luna let out a deep sigh as she stared down at the human. Though he wouldn’t look up, she could still see a burning anger in his eyes.

“Do you still want that death Elias? Tonight?”

Elias shook his head.

“No,” he replied, “because you made me think about how everyone else would feel. I was being a selfish coward tonight, trying to die in a cowardly manner. What could of man would I have died as if you hadn’t come out to save me?”

He shifted so that he could look up at Luna. Luna loved the blues of his eyes, so brilliant and shining. She did not love the agony she saw in them, and she silently made a vow to erase as much of that pain as possible.

“Can you imagine how Book Binder would feel if she stumbled on my frozen corpse? The grief might kill her.”

Elias whimpered softly.

“She loves me that much, and I can’t even go to her for help, for anything. Too much of a coward to let her be my mother, too much of a coward to go with her for Hearth’s Warming. She’s so much stronger than I am. Everyone is. I’m a pathetic coward.”

Luna felt a flash of anger at his self-deprecation.

“Elias Bright listen well to my words,” she said, her voice commanding his attention. “You are not weak; you are not a coward. This wallowing will not stand, I will not allow it. This talk shall end here, and if I must, I shall make it an order.” Her voice softened as she tried to make him relax against her once more. “You are strong Elias, stronger than you, or anypony else knows. You are strong because you are so very young, and you have been alone for far too much of your life. It is only now that you are finding happiness in a stable, peaceful environment that you have become afraid.”

Luna stroked his back, and she felt his muscles untense as her hoof ran across his bare flesh.

“You have spent so much of your life in loss Elias, I do not need an accounting of your past to see that much. Now that you have built yourself up again, you fear losing it all again. I understand Elias, I truly do, but your fears are unjustified. Equestria is a land of peace, and pushing away your friends is not needed anymore. Maybe in the past, but here, now, you need these relationships Elias, they help keep you strong.”

Luna laid her chin on his shoulder.

“I cannot make these feelings go away Elias, only you can do that, but please, if you ever have thoughts of this nature again, come to me. It does not matter the time of day, nor what I am doing, I will make the time for you.”

“Okay,” Elias said softly.

He sat in contemplative silence for a moment, staring at the fire. Luna stroked and petted him, seeking to make him as relaxed and calm as possible. As they sat in silence, Luna falsely believed he had drifted to sleep, but his voice was clear as he asked;

“Princess, do you believe in an afterlife?”

A poignant question to ask, but an easy one for her to answer.

“Of course I do Elias. All ponies, all creatures do. Do you not?”

Elias shrugged.

“I don’t know. Humans have nothing but stories to go on. No magic, no evidence to the existence of anything beyond what we can see and touch. The sun and moon move on their own. Nature is wild and requires a fist to be tamed. Humans are warriors, and the environment was just another enemy for us to conquer. When we succeeded, we turned on each other. A million cultures all with different views of what happens after death. Reincarnation, heaven, hell, a different word in every language for each.”

He snorted softly.

“I know about so many different afterlives. I’m not sure if any of them are real, and part of me doesn’t want any of them to be.”

Luna shifted slightly so that Elias’ legs were intertwined with hers. If the human noticed, he did not shift to avoid her. Luna felt a small smile creep across her face as her fur brushed against his lightly haired legs. He couldn’t escape with pinned legs, and if she could keep him talking, perhaps she could convince him to join in a larger snuggle pile.

“Would you like to hear of our afterlife? Perhaps it would help set your mind at ease.”

Elias shrugged again, remaining vocally silent. Luna took it as a yes.

“For all the sentient creatures of Equus, death is merely a journey. One gives up their mortal body and travels to the court of the Keepers of Harmony. Here, their soul is judged according to the virtues of the Keepers, and they are given one of three paths. For those who lived their lives by virtue, they go to the Verdant Fields. Here, they are happy for all eternity, reunited with old friends and family, while also free to make an infinite number of new friends. The sun always shines, and the night sky is always beautiful.”

“So it’s heaven,” Elias said, nodding. “And this is real? You have proof?”

Luna smiled and nodded.

“Indeed, I do. I have personally visited with the Keepers, as all true alicorns have. Our immortality was granted to us by the Council, as were all of our powers and duties.”

Luna stared into the fireplace as she remembered the ages old memory.

“My sister and I went together, becoming alicorns so that we could watch and grow our kingdom into a place of joyous harmony across the millennia. As was our duty, just as important as raising the celestial bodies. I am a princess for a reason you know.”

Elias snorted, and Luna moved on.

“The second path is the middle ground, for those who may have lived a dishonorable life, but not necessarily an evil one. These souls can attempt to gain entry to the Verdant Fields via trial, or they can plead with the Keepers for a second chance. They are allowed to reincarnate, memoryless, and they try their life again.”

Luna checked to ensure Elias was still listening, and found him watching her intently. She continued.

“Most succeed on this second chance, and they gain immediate entrance to the Verdant Fields upon their second death. It is just short of a compulsion to do good, and so they go through life living in harmony, and are justly rewarded.”

Elias nodded in silence.

“And what about the evil people? What about the ones who are beyond redemption?”

Luna could already see what he was trying to get at. She sighed and shook her head.

“Elias, you aren-“

“That’s not for you to decide,” he snapped. “What happens?”

Luna looked at the human sadly, but continued.

“For those beyond redemption, their souls are imprisoned within Tartarus, spending an eternity alone in a cage. They are routinely visited and punished by the Keepers for their evil acts.”

Elias nodded.

“That’s me then. If I go anywhere when I die, I’m going to Tartarus.”

Luna elected to ignore his self-loathing.

“What do you mean by “if”, Elias? Upon your death, you shall be judged, as all are. Such is life on Equus. It is a fact of living.”

“I don’t think so,” Elias replied. “Because if I remember correctly, a magical signature was a “fact of life” in your world too, and yet who’s lacking one?” He snorted dismissively. “I’m thinking it has less to do with magic, and more to do with the fact that your signatures are evidence for a soul. I have no signature, so it stands to reason that I also have no measurable soul. When I die, there will be nothing but a body lying in the dirt.”

He whimpered.

“And that terrifies me more than any punishment in hell.”

“Then why Elias?” Luna asked. “If you hold a fear of death, then why did you try to end your life prematurely?”

“Before? I don’t know, it just seemed like the right thing to do. Now? Book Binder and Night Flash don’t need to be thinking about me for eternity. I want them to forget me, and then they can find their happiness together.” He shook his head as anger began pouring from him. “How selfish have I been? Making friends, playing at being somebody’s son. I’m no better than a rapid dog, and if life wasn’t so cruel, I would have been put down a long time ago.”

He shivered, and Luna felt cold seep back into the air. She resisted the urge to growl as she sent a mental threat at the wendigos creeping about outside.

‘You shall not get this one beast,’ she challenged. ‘He is mine, and I will make him better.’

The human continued.

“By living, I’m only causing people pain, even if they don’t know it’s happening.”

Luna nuzzled his back. Maybe she could physically push love into his heart. Even if not, she at least enjoyed the sensation.

“Elias, please do not lose hope,” she said as she shifted, wrapping her tail around their intertwined legs. “You have an entire life ahead of you, and I know as a certainty that the Keepers will judge the entirety of your life. Soul or no, you are alive, and I have no doubts they will find you wherever you go after you die. One horrible act in the beginning can be erased with years of shared love and kindness.”

She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.

“You have made such progress in improving yourself. No more are you the distant, quick to anger man that I found in the woods. You may not have noticed, but you have much greater restraint now, and much greater compassion. I shudder to think of what you will be like in twenty years.” She chuckled, prodding his ribs as she tried to force him to smile. “Maybe if you continue at the pace you are at, I can give my crown to you and retire. All hail Princess Bright, the first Human-Equestrian Princess.”

Elias snorted weakly, and Luna’s smiled widened as she saw him smirk.

“Do you think I’ll have to get the wings and the horn too?”

Luna nodded.

“Oh, I am more than sure you will have the entire package. You’ll be a fuzzy little pony princess, benevolent and kind to all of your soft, fuzzy subjects.”

Elias’ smirk turned into a grin.

“I think I’ll reinstate prima nocta. Maybe public executions too. No more petty thievery in this kingdom.”

Luna groaned loudly, and slapped the back of his head.

“You are insufferable. ‘Tia would have to put you on the moon for a thousand-year stint.”

She nuzzled the area she struck, relishing in a fresh whiff of his hair.

“But please do not throw your life away Elias, not based on fear. You have a soul; I can feel it. The Keepers will find you worthy if you keep pushing forward. You are close to finding true happiness, I know it. Just wait and see, enjoy your time with Book Binder and Night Flash. They love you so much.”

She felt a brief pang in her heart as she held the human close. Elias stared at the fire in silence once more, and Luna took the time to do a bit of friendly grooming. She conjured a magical brush and began to run it through his damp hair, straightening it out as she undid his hair tie. She wondered what he would look like clean shaven with short hair. It would probably make the human look roguish, and quite dashing. The longer she pictured the human with minute physical changes, the more she flushed, so Luna decided to clear her mind and focus on brushing his hair.

It blindsided her when he asked;

“Princess, are we friends?”

Luna had to try hard not to rip the brush from his head mid stroke. She took a deep breath, wondering briefly why he was full of deep questions today, and then she formulated her answer.

“Well,” she started carefully, “I would have to say no. You made yourself very clear when we shared a cell. Your words were “We are not friends, and we never will be.” Despite the ridiculous notions behind the statement, I have respected that wish and remained away, at least as best I could.”

Elias seemed to sink into the floor, and he tried to move away. A wing prevented that, ensuring that he stayed pressed against her chest fluff.

“Has that wish changed?” she asked with a knowing smile.

He would not have brought up the issue if he did not wish it to change. Friendship would be an important step, and Luna would be remiss if she didn’t take the opportunity to move him closer to her side.

“Yes,” he replied softly, curling in on himself, as if to hide from his admission.

Luna just smiled and felt her heart warm. Butterflies flew about in her stomach, but she attributed that to her light dinner. She nuzzled his neck softly.

“Then I would say that we are friends Elias. I think you are a wonderful, brave man, and I would be glad to have you closer in my life.” She watched him smile as she used a feather to tickle under his chin. “Besides,” she added playfully, “I could use a new human pillow. Book Binder may have ulterior motives for adopting you. You are very warm, and I must say, I am jealous that she gets you to bed with every day.”

Luna blushed heavily as she realized what she had just said. Elias didn’t seem to notice as he chuckled at her continued tickling. That only served to make her blush worse. Luna found that she liked hearing him laugh. She could listen to him laugh forever, but Luna let the feather fall away. She didn’t want to push the man too far.

“Can I ask a favor of you Princess?” Elias asked.

Luna resumed petting his hair.

“If we are friends, then it is Luna while in private. And of course, you can Elias. I wish to see you happy, and I will do anything to make it happen.”

Elias sighed.

“Please don’t tell Flash or Binder about what happened tonight.”

Luna frowned.

“Elias, it would be better to-“

“Please Luna, you can’t tell them,” he pleaded. “It would break Book Binder’s heart, and I wouldn’t be able to bear that.”

He tried to rise, but with his legs tangled with hers, as well as the hooves around his chest, and the wing draped over his body, the human couldn’t move much. This form of imprisonment seemed to make him squirm more as he tried to escape to plead his case. Unwilling to let the human free of her cuddles, Luna coaxed him down, rubbing his back and neck as she made him relax back into her grasp.

“Alright Elias,” Luna said softly, “I shall keep your secret, but only on the condition that you stay here tonight. I will not condemn a friend to spend Hearth’s Warming Eve alone. ‘Tia shall understand, I shall even have her bring us some food so that you may restore your strength.”

Elias nodded, and Luna almost cooed as he adjusted himself against her fur. She felt a hand grasp at her chest tuft, and the human’s face pressed against her neck.

“Okay, thank you Luna.”

Luna smiled and laid her head across his back.

“You are most welcome Elias. Now rest, I shall be here to ward away your nightmares.”

She lit her horn and cast a minor sleep spell on him, continuing to pet him as he drifted away into slumber. She then cast a minor warming spell, followed by an aura to ward away dreams of any kind. She didn’t know how well it would work, but she had to try something.

Once he began to snore, Luna rose, using a large pillow to temporarily take her place. She was pleased to note a look of discomfort from her disappearance, and Luna set to work quickly; to comfort the sleeping Elias of course. It certainly wasn’t because she enjoyed having the human pressed against her side.

Levitating several objects from around her room, Luna worked fast. She penned two letters, one to Celestia with the reason for her continued, and now permanent absence, as well as a petition for food to be brought to her room. Luna briefly considered asking her to bring a few ponies to snuggle with Elias, then a pang of jealousy touched her chest, and she left it out. She would hold Elias alone tonight.

As she sent the letter away, Luna wrote up the second one, with her destination already in mind; Book Binder. Luna kept her word to keep Elias’ suicide attempt a secret, but she heavily emphasized that the human missed both of the ponies. She asked Book Binder to be at the castle early to spend Hearth’s Warming day with Elias. After giving them his location, she sent the letter away.

Satisfied that the holiday would be saved for everyone, she levitated Elias into the air. She adjusted the pillows and blankets to make an appropriate bed for the both of them, adding a few of her personal affects in the mix to make it more comfortable, then Luna settled on her cozy throne, laying Elias down beside her. She gently removed the pillow from his grasp, then dragged the human to her side with a wing. The human sighed happily and buried his face in her chest fluff, causing Luna to giggle. She knew he wouldn’t be like this when he woke up, and it would likely be a very long time before she found herself close to the human at all. So she relished every bit of the contact, nuzzling his head as she drew in his scent.

A thin book levitated over from her nightstand. It was a childhood book of hers, a book that was only read during Hearth’s Warming. It would be a perfect read while she waited for her food. Luna smiled widely as Elias hugged her tightly, and she nuzzled his sleeping face before cracking open the cover as she began reading aloud softly.

“Twas Hearth’s Warming Eve, and all through the house, not a thing was stirring, not even a mouse…”

*****

Book Binder stared longingly out the window, the candle beside her face the only source of light in the room. She had abandoned her attempts to get in the holiday spirit hours ago; she just couldn’t put any heart in it. She had done her best, singing carols with her parents, cuddling up next to Night Flash as they talked and shared cookies, but it wasn’t complete. She missed her baby boy, even if he had said…

Book Binder shook her head as the words rose in her ears. She refused to believe them. They had just gotten so angry with each other, and he had said it to hurt her, nothing more. It was just an argument, it had to be. He was her son damnit, and even if she had to convince him, she would. She would do anything to have him with her.

She heard the door open and close softly as Night Flash crept into their shared room. Though his parents had offered space, they had decided to take up a temporary residence with her parents until they could buy their dream house. They had it picked out and everything, a lovely two-story townhouse that was painted a soft blue, near the edge of the city. The current occupant, a librarian Book Binder had studied with before she joined the guard, intended to move to Fillydelphia to work at a college there. She just needed to finish her tenure in Canterlot, but by summer, the house would be available, and thanks to some well-placed tea sessions, she had rekindled their friendship, as well as secured their bid on the house.

Night Flash rubbed her shoulders with his hooves, rubbing softly against her neck as he sighed and joined her.

“You miss him too?”

Book Binder sniffled.

“Of course I do Flash. I hate what happened between us, and I hate the fact that he isn’t here right now. I don’t know why he had to be so stubborn. It’s Hearth’s Warming! So what if it might have been awkward with my parents? Who bucking cares?” she cried.

Book Binder wiped her eyes as tears threatened to cloud her vision. She huffed as her chin hit the windowsill.

“I just want him here Flashy. It isn’t Hearth’s Warming if he isn’t here.”

Night Flash sighed and embraced her with his wings, laying his chin on her shoulder.

“I know Bindey, but we knew this might happen. It hurts, but maybe… Maybe we should just enjoy the time we spent together.”

Book Binder whimpered and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to enjoy the time they spent together, she wanted to spend more time together. She just wished there was some way to bring them back together, and soon. As if answering her prayers, she faintly heard a light pop, and Book Binder opened her eyes to see a rolled-up letter suspended in the air, the royal seal clear in the candlelight. Then the letter dropped. Right onto the candle’s flame.

Book Binder let out a cry of alarm as she snatched the paper up in her magic, trying to blow the flame out. Flash darted from the room, returning almost as quickly as he left. He had a cup of water in his hooves, and Book Binder quickly dipped the flaming corner of the scroll into the water, smothering the flame. She let out a sigh of relief, then cast a quick drying and preservation spell to mend the damage. It was ultimately minor, and once her spells had settled, Book Binder levitated the wrapped scroll before her eyes curiously.

“Why would Princess Luna send us a letter?” Night Flash asked as he sat beside her. “Do you think it’s some sort of emergency?”

Book Binder frowned and shrugged.

“I don’t think so, but there’s no way of knowing without opening it.”

She removed the seal, quickly unrolling the letter. Her eyes widened as she read it.

Dear Book Binder and Night Flash,

I hope this message finds you well. I hate to interrupt your Hearth’s Warming celebrations, but a matter has come up that I believe requires your concern. Elias has fallen ill due to some ill-conceived notions that he does not wish shared. I have made a promise not to speak of them, and would ask that you ask him yourselves. For the night, he shall remain in my care, but he misses you greatly, and I believe that it would be of great help to stay with him come morning. He has kept the details of your argument vague, but he believes he has driven you away permanently.

If you do still care for him, please arrive at the castle gates by 6 A.M. I shall be waiting to bring you to his current resting place. He needs the love and affection of his parents. If you do not wish to see him… so be it. I shall do my best to comfort him.

I shall eagerly await your presence.

Sincerely,

Princess Luna

Book Binder gasped softly. He missed them. He probably regretted every word between them, and he wanted them back. Her human was alone on Hearth’s Warming Eve. That wouldn’t do, that wouldn’t do at all.

Book Binder shoved the letter into Night Flash’s hooves as she began to dart around the room, throwing a small suitcase onto the bed as she threw in everything she would need to make his night special. Though she didn’t remember buying the tomato soup, she threw it in the case anyway. Elias was sick! He needed as much soup, love, and cuddles as she could bring. The presents she had feared would sit unused went in after the soup. Book Binder giggled at the thought of her baby boy unwrapping his gifts. She knew that he had some sort of holiday that was similar to Hearth’s Warming, and though he hated the ‘Christmas’, she would make sure that he adored Hearth’s Warming. Argument or not, she would make sure everything was perfect before the new year.

“Bindey,” Flash said, looking up from the letter.

Book Binder didn’t notice, tossing her pair of snowshoes near the door. A pair of her fluffiest socks went into the suitcase. If she was going to snuggle up with Flash and Elias, she would do it at her warmest. She made sure to snag a pair for Night Flash as well, double the socks, double the snuggles. As she began to ransack the room for spare blankets to swaddle Elias in, Night Flash waved the letter in her face as he called her name again.

“Bindey, this is all unneces-“

Book Binder levitated him out of her way as she snatched up her favorite Hearth’s Warming story books. She hadn’t read them in years on account of growing too old for them, but now that she had Elias…

Night Flash sighed, then jumped into the suitcase before she could put the books inside. He then put the letter right in front of her face as he did his best shout-whisper.

“Bindey!”

Book Binder stopped, her eyes flitting around frantically as she looked for more things to shove in her suitcase.

“What? Elias needs us Flash, we have to get to the castle with everything we can to comfort him!”

Night Flash snorted.

“Bindey, while I absolutely love how much you care about Red, and I really want to join you in getting ready to see him, we can’t go to the castle until morning. Princess Luna’s going to be with him all night.”

Book Binder frowned.

“And where did you get that idea? Just because she said to meet her in the morning, it doesn’t mean she’s going to stay with him all night.”

Night Flash smiled at her, and Book Binder couldn’t help but return that smile. He hopped off of the suitcase and pointed at the letter.

“Probably where she said that “for the night, he will remain in my care”,” Night Flash said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. “We’ll see Red in the morning, and then we’ll make everything right, as a family. You know he didn’t mean what he said. Everypony just got angry is all. Let’s celebrate for the rest of tonight with your parents, then we can get up bright and early to see Red, alright?”

Book Binder sighed, and reading over the letter again, she agreed. She smiled at Night Flash and pulled him into a hug.

“Thank you Flash, you know just how to calm me down.” She sighed sadly, looking to the cracked door. “I’ve really mucked up Hearth’s Warming for everypony, haven’t I?”

Night Flash set the letter in the suitcase and wrapped a wing around Book Binder.

“Not at all honey, you just got everypony worried is all. But now, everything is going to work out. I think your parents are still up, and we haven’t eaten all of the cookies yet.”

Book Binder gave a fake gasp.

“Are there any gingerbread cookies left?”

Night Flash clicked his tongue.

“I don’t know… your dad seemed to be eyeing them before I came to check on you. We’d better race down there to make sure.”

Book Binder flicked him on the nose with her tail.

“Well then come on slow poke, I want to save some for Elias. That boy is far too skinny for my liking.”

Night Flash giggled as he swung open the door.

“Now you sound like my mom. Always complaining that I’m not big enough to keep myself warm.”

Book Binder bumped him playfully.

“It’s not my fault I got two skinny boys.” She stuck her tongue out. “Besides, Elias doesn’t have any fur! I have to fatten him up if he’s going to stay warm when we can’t cuddle him.”

Night Flash stopped mid-step, sharply intaking air. Book Binder rolled her eyes, then lightly poked his side with her hoof.

“That’s right Flashy, our darling Red is going to be all cold without anypony to cuddle with. We’ll have to fix that tomorrow, won’t we?”

He looked at her with wide eyes.

“Did you pack the extra fuzzy socks?”

Book Binder nodded with a smug grin.

“That I did.”

He twitched slightly, then darted past her.

“Come on Bindey! The faster we eat the faster we sleep! The faster we sleep, the faster morning comes! The faster morning comes-“

“The faster we see Elias,” Book Binder finished excitedly as she trotted after her coltfriend.

She couldn’t wait.

*****

Elias stalked toward his room, his feet stomping loudly as he tried to lengthen his stride to outpace the fuming unicorn that wouldn’t let him be.

“Come on Elias, it’s just two days! It’s really not that big of a deal, and I know for a fact that my parents will love you!”

Elias shook his head as he sighed loudly at the same argument she had been hashing out for the past half hour. He responded in kind.

“The answer is still, and will remain no Book Binder. This is something way outside of my comfort zone. I mean, meeting your family? Your real family? That’s a big no for me. Too much…”

He threw his hand up as he waved away the rest of the statement. Book Binder huffed.

“You’re my “real family” too Elias, or at least you will be soon.”

“That remains to be seen,” Elias replied snappily as he turned the corner.

Book Binder rolled her eyes as she followed him.

“Fine, be like that. Act like a child for all I care. You are still my ‘potential’ son, free to make whatever choices you want.” She smiled. “For example, you could choose to make your potential mother happy, and come to Hearth’s Warming with us!”

“No!” Elias responded sharply. He sighed at the harsh tone of his voice, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, we’ve been taking things a step at a time, and I’ve been adjusting with it. The slow pace is what helps me keep going, but now you’re asking me to take a big leap forward, a leap that I’m just not ready to do. This time of year already brings out my worst; I don’t need more stress on top of that.” He snorted. “Your parents would probably hate me on a good day, this time of year? They won’t want to look at me.”

Elias spotted his bedroom door, and increased his pace. Maybe if he could just get his equipment, he could go on shift early to be away from her. He didn’t bother turning on the light as he shoved the door open. Elias quickly busied himself with nothing tasks, anything to try and avoid continuing the conversation. The unicorn remained determined however, standing in the doorway as she groaned loudly.

“Elias, you’re being paranoid! They won’t hate you!”

Elias waved a finger as he grabbed a used tunic, tossing it toward the bathroom hamper.

“Ah, but see that’s just it! Paranoia is my thing; it’s part of the whole rules system for a reason. If you can’t handle the thing that kept me alive all these years…”

“But this isn’t your Earth anymore!” Book Binder protested. “You don’t need your paranoia; we’ve been over this a dozen times!”

Elias straightened, sighed, then glared at her.

“Book Binder, I’m done talking about this. I’m not going to your parent’s house for Hearth’s Warming, end of story. No more.”

He tried to let his anger fizzle out, or at the very least simmer down, but the unicorn had other ideas. Elias felt his eye twitch as Book Binder decided to press more of his buttons.

“Why?” she snapped. “Why aren’t you coming with me for Hearth’s Warming? I want the reason.”

Elias threw his hands in the air. He had a dozen reasons. She was becoming too overbearing, too protective. Sometimes she treated him like a literal child, despite the fact that he was a grown adult who could make his own grown adult decisions. The mare insisted on trying to baby him, to the point that he had to escape just so he could breathe. She needed him to do things, rather than just asking if he would do them. What he wanted was never even considered. He couldn’t articulate the feelings in words, however.

“Why the fuck does it matter why?” Elias yelled at her. “I said no, so that’s the end of it! You act like not seeing each other for two whole days will be the end of the world!”

She stomped a hoof down.

“And you act like meeting my parents is going to kill you! It won’t be that bad!” she shouted back.

“I don’t care how bad you think it will or won’t be, I already said I’m not going with you!”

“If you loved me you would be!” Book Binder yelled.

“Then maybe I don’t love you!” Elia roared in return.

As soon as the words left his mouth Elias wished he could take them back. Book Binder physically recoiled as if she had been struck, taking a step back into the hallway. Even with the shadows on her face, Elias could see the glistening of tears. The air was silent, stagnant, thick enough to cut. Elias reached out a hand, his voice soft.

“Binder, wait…”

She dashed away silently. Elias bolted to the door, hanging out of it just in time to catch the back end of a teleportation spell. As he watched the magic fade into the air, Elias felt his chest tighten.

“Nonononono,” Elias whispered to himself.

He walked into the hallway, checking to the right and left.

“Book Binder!” he called. “Please come back! Book Binder!”

Elias found it hard to breathe. She was gone. He had driven her away. Cold rage, directed only inwardly, boiled up in his chest. Elias growled as he punched the door frame as hard as he could, relishing the pain in his fist. He checked briefly to ensure that he hadn’t broken anything, then Elias walked back into his room, running a hand through his tied back hair as he thought long and hard about what he should do.

How could he say something so unbelievably stupid? What could he do to make up for it? Could he make up for it? Elias held a hand over his mouth as a bout of nauseated grief passed over his stomach. He choked back the urge to cry, keeping his face dry as he used his self-directed anger to bottle his emotions up tight. They would only get in the way of his focus.

Elias checked his watch; three minutes till his shift started. He needed to move fast. She and Night Flash had taken the day off, as well as the next one. Then it was Hearth’s Warming Eve. If he could find her before he had to go on duty… He’d just need to beg his life out.

Elias grabbed his shield and helmet, slamming his door closed as he left his room at a jog. He swept hallway after hallway for that wonderful green unicorn. Only when he neared the guard room did he spot her, weeping into Night Flash’ shoulder. The pegasus was doing his best to comfort her, but it was clear to anyone with eyes that she was a mess now. Elias felt a pang in his heart as he stared dumbly at the damage he had caused.

Elias mentally slapped himself, and started forward. He needed to talk to her now, apologize, and then beg for forgiveness. Anything to make her feel better, to get her back. Night Flash didn’t look away from Book Binder as he began to guide her away, his wing laid out over her back. They were moving too fast; they were going to get around the corner. Elias began to pick up his pace, only to be stopped by a certain thestral as he neared the guard room.

“Ah, hello Bright, right on time,” Nightshade said with a smile.

Her eyes seemed happy, and she seemed devoid of her usual irritation with him. Great.

“Get on in here so that we can get the daily briefing done. No pony wants to be sitting around right before Hearth’s Warming.”

Elias smiled at her weakly. They were getting away.

“Just… can I have a minute Captain?” Elias asked. “I really need to talk with someone. It will just take a second.”

Nightshade snorted, removing her watch from beneath her armor. After checking it, she shook her head and pushed him toward the door.

“Should have thought of that before arriving exactly on time. You want to talk with somepony? Be early. Now let’s go before you’re late and I have to write you up, again.”

Elias latched onto the doorframe with his fingers as he tried to push himself backward. The thestral wouldn’t be ignored however, and she growled at him.

“Get in the bucking room Bright. You might be the hot thing with that exercise win, but it doesn’t earn you the right to disobey an order, or be late!”

Elias felt a smile crack on his face. A commotion would draw their attention if he couldn’t do it directly. Elias felt himself be shoved forward, so he clawed his way back into the hallway to get a view of the pair of ponies. If he could get Nightshade to yell at him loud enough…

They were already gone. The hallway was empty. Book Binder was gone. The chance to apologize was lost. As Nightshade reared back to give him a nasty shove, Elias let go of the doorframe. He conceded and shuffled into the guard room. Nightshade opened her mouth to yell at him, then stopped as she looked upon the human’s defeated face. In less than a second he had gone from energetic to be elsewhere, to sullen. She frowned, taking a peek at the hallway, then looked back to Elias.

“Take a seat Guardsman. We have work to do.”

Elias nodded, and he felt reality slip away as depression surrounded him in a black cloud.

**Hearth’s Warming Day **

Elias groaned loudly as he stirred from the nightmare. At least he didn’t wake up shrieking this time. He cracked his eyes open as he looked around the room. He quickly noticed that it wasn’t his own, and that he wasn’t alone. What he thought had been a blanket was actually a blue pony. Elias grunted and tried to brush Night Flash’s wing off, but he found that the pony was heavier than normal. He was also behind Elias, rather than the usual; on top of Elias’ chest. Elias tried to scoot away from the pony’s chest, but a long blue hoof dragged him back, and he felt somebody’s hot breath on his neck. The strength behind the limb was decidedly not Night Flash, as the pegasus usually just moaned and complained whenever Elias shifted away from him. No, this was somebody much stronger, and the more Elias’ eyes adjusted to the dim room, the more he suspected that he was sleeping with somebody he should definitely not be sleeping with.

Luna snorted in his ear, her starry mane falling over his nose as she rolled on top of him. Elias flushed red as he re-learned very quickly that he was stark naked. He could feel her fur on every part of his body, and it was more than enough to cause him to try and make a real escape attempt. The sleeping alicorn above him had other ideas however, and unfortunately for Elias, she had the upper hand. She had his legs pinned between hers, and he didn’t want to tug on the tail that was wrapped around his waist. That left his upper half, which the princess was clinging to as she laid her muzzle on his chest. Elias thought quickly, maybe if he could free his torso, he could wiggle his legs away from the alicorn’s grasp. The tail… he’d just have to figure that one out when it came to it.

Elias looked around, quickly spotting a large pillow within arm’s reach. He wiggled out his left arm, while simultaneously scratching under Luna’s chin with his right. The alicorn cooed and relaxed enough for Elias to stretch out, grab the pillow, then slide it between them. Like a fish to a worm, Luna latched onto the pillow. Though her hooves were still gripping tightly around his back, Elias now had more wriggle room, so he did his best to free his legs while he wiggled out of the alicorn’s grip.

Elias tried to tickle Luna’s nose with his fingers. If he could get her to scratch at her nose, then maybe he could escape the one hoof. Elias let out a silent cheer as his plan began to bear fruit. A hoof rose and brushed his fingers away, and Elias began to wriggle, only for her wings to wrap around his body, followed by both hooves as she drove him against her chest fur. He felt her giggle softly.

“You will have to do better than that to escape my snuggles human. In my time, cuddle piles could last days at a time. My record was two weeks with a single cuddle buddy. With the heat your body produces, I believe we can make it an easy three.”

Elias cursed his treacherous body as it yawned. Her fur was incredibly fuzzy and warm, like a living bed, except it didn’t suffer from being too soft. Luna didn’t help him resist as she smiled and hugged him tight.

“That’s right Elias, submit to my superior snuggling techniques. Your guests should arrive shortly. As I promised them, I shall keep you company. Now sleep, you need your rest.”

Elias opened his mouth to protest, but another yawn escaped. Luna giggled.

“Yes Elias, sleep once more. I shall keep you warm far into the morning. I would hate for you not to be well rested.”

Elias managed to resist the urge to close his eyes, and he glared up at Luna, who smiled warmly back.

“What guests?” he asked, suppressing a third yawn.

Luna’s smile took on an air of mischievousness.

“A pair of ponies that you miss very much. I shall say no more, I do not wish to ruin the surprise.”

Elias had an idea anyway, and while a large part of his mind was nervous to see the two, he also welcomed the opportunity to apologize. Even if they wanted nothing to do with him after, he wanted them to know he was sorry.

With the pair both awake, Luna stoked the fire, bringing it up to a warm crackle as she levitated an assortment of dishes over to their “bedside”. No longer afflicted by his brush with an icy death, Elias tried to calmly extricate himself from Luna, but the alicorn kept snatching him back, pinning him effectively to her chest. With physical escape out of the question, Elias turned to the diplomatic solution of making her feel as awkward as he did about the situation.

“Princess…”

“Luna.”

“Luna,” Elias agreed, “don’t you think all of this is rather… intimate?”

Luna frowned as she sniffed at a cold kettle of coffee. She cast a warming spell, and poured out two cups of steaming black liquid. She sat up, dragging Elias along with her. She levitated their bed of pillows into a fort of sorts, keeping as much heat trapped around them as possible. Luna made sure to drape a blanket over Elias’ head, and she found herself pleased with the result of her brief inspiration. The human looked positively adorable with the blanket pulled over his head, like an angry kitten who was trying to be tough, but was failing miserably.

“Not at all Elias, before my banishment it was quite common for friends to warm by the fire in such a manner as this. Is it different for humans?”

She levitated the cup of coffee into Elias’ hands. He accepted it with a mumbled thank you, but didn’t drink. Maybe he didn’t like coffee? No, he was getting comfortable, leaning against her chest. Luna smiled and let her wings “casually” wrap tighter around his body as they stared at the fire together.

“I really don’t know,” Elias replied. “To say my experience growing up was normal would be a flat out lie, but in the few romance novels I tried reading, this kind of thing was very common.”

“Oh?” Luna asked. “I never figured you for the romantic type Elias.”

The human snorted, and Luna was pleased when he sipped at his coffee.

“You’d be right. The key words were “tried reading”. I didn’t make it far, and usually, romance novels ended up as firewood. That, or toilet paper when I couldn’t find anymore.”

Luna scoffed at the idea of using books in such a manner.

“I would caution you not to repeat that near my sister’s protégé. Twilight would likely hunt you down for disrespecting books of any nature in such a manner.”

Elias shrugged.

“It was a different place, a different world. If it’s between me getting an infection from feces, or a crappy romance dime-novel, I think I know which one I would choose.”

Luna felt her detection spell ding, and she conjured a quick double at the front gates to escort Book Binder and Night Flash into the castle. She smiled mischievously. If she could keep Elias talking for a few more minutes…

“You must realize Elias; this is a different world. We share many things, but perhaps you need more exposure to the world of ponies. A more informal education if you will. Books can only teach you so much.”

Elias snorted dismissively.

“And what would I be “educated” on?”

Luna rested her chin on top of his head.

“Primarily the differences between romantic intimacy, and platonic intimacy. Ponies give out a myriad of signals that I am afraid will go right over your head if you are not paying attention. A strapping young stallion like yourself will likely begin courting soon, and I would not wish to see you hurting ponies, or worse, returning signals without knowing about it.”

“Aren’t I a child by your standards?” Elias asked, glancing back at her. “I should have years before I worry about that kind of thing.”

Luna snorted and shook her head.

“You are no more a child than I am an old mare. Our biological clocks tick at a different rate than that of the average pony, and so our standards for mating also differ. You are a fully mature adult, just as I am still a radiant, young alicorn.”

“Or you’re an old lady, you’re just really good at disguising it,” he said with a smirk.

Luna swatted his head.

“Rule number one Elias, you do not mock a lady’s age!”

When he just continued to laugh, she raised her hoof to swat him again. He threw up his hands in mock surrender.

“Alright alright, you’re not old!”

The hoof lowered. Luna huffed and dragged him close so that she could bury her muzzle in his hair. He seemed to tense as she took a long whiff of his scent. Luna sighed and rubbed her cheek against his head.

“Fear not Elias, an exchange of scents is common amongst friends as well. Though it became less common with the advent of perfumes, ponies can tell much about a another through scent alone.”

It was a small lie, but not one he would ever likely find out about. Smelling was considered an intimate act within friend and familial groups, and an exchange of scents was considered positively romantic when done between two nonfamilial ponies. Elias relaxed, but not fully, as if he doubted her words. Luna sighed.

“Tell me Elias, what would you consider romantically intimate?”

Elias chuckled weakly.

“Sitting in the arms, or in this case hooves, of another, while naked, in front of a fire, covered in blankets comes to mind. Primarily the naked part. Why do you ponies seem to always to take my clothes?”

He was trying to pass it as a joke, but Luna could tell that it was a real concern, and a bit of an embarrassment for the human. She considered the evidence before her, and realized that save for the one notable occasion, Elias was always covered in some fashion. The removal of clothes was likely for only one of two reasons; the act of cleaning and changing of said clothes, or as he said, romantic intimacy. Luna felt the realization dawn on her as she realized what this might look like from his perspective.

“Elias, am I making you uncomfortable by sitting with you like this?” she asked, moving away slightly.

She missed the contact of her fur on his back, but she would never get closer if she pushed him away by making him uncomfortable. He seemed to miss the contact as well however, as he leaned back into her.

“Yes and no,” he replied. “The human in me says this is… weird especially since I don’t have any clothes on, but you said it was normal for pony friends, right?”

His words seemed to desperately seek affirmation. Luna nuzzled the top of his head.

“Of course it is normal Elias. Ponies are largely nude, and snuggling with a friend is a very common occurrence. If it would make you feel better, I can retrieve some garments for you.”

She looked away in embarrassment.

“I unfortunately do not have your clothing from last night, as I burned them away in my haste to get your warm and dry. I shall have the tailor make you more.”

“That was my favorite pair of sandals,” Elias grumbled.

He shifted slightly in Luna’s chest fur, and the action almost felt like he was trying to nuzzle her. Had she been alone, she would have cheered. So many factors she had never considered when trying to make him well. Human physical intimacy was different than a pony’s, but if she could make him treat physical intimacy like a pony would, it might just make him more comfortable and nonviolent. He still wasn’t fully relaxed, however.

“So all of this is just,” he paused, “between friends?”

Luna smiled and nodded.

“Absolutely Elias, romantic intimacy is similar, but you will be able to tell the difference very clearly. This however,” she said, gesturing with her hoof, “is just between a pair of good friends.”

The human sighed and leaned against her fully. Luna snorted as she rubbed her cheek against his head.

“Either way, you should not feel a need to hide yourself behind clothes Elias. Your body, while different, is quite… impressive,” Luna finished with a smile and a blush. She switched tracks quickly, not wishing to make things awkward. “You certainly seemed comfortable charging across a battlefield while nude.”

She felt him blush, and heat rose to his face.

“That was different,” he mumbled. “It was supposed to be a distraction.”

Luna grinned.

“Then you should be very proud, because you certainly distracted me,” she teased.

Elias groaned loudly and tried to wiggle away in embarrassment, but Luna laughed and wrapped him tightly in her hooves, pressing his face into her fur as she heard a knock at the door. She opened it quickly with her magic, exposing Book Binder and Night Flash. The pair looked at her with some confusion, though Luna noticed Book Binder’s eyes light up at the sight of Elias, wrapped firmly in her hooves. The human however, shivered at the sight of the ponies, and any trace of humor vanished as he tried to instinctively shy away. Book Binder drooped, and Luna felt the room balance on a knife blade. She growled, and quickly grabbed everything she would need with her magic. Nobody would escape her grasp today without being made happy.

First, she conjured a pair of underwear for Elias. The human would only grow more and more shy with continued nudity, so she crafted a pair of undergarments similar to those she had destroyed. These she subtly teleported onto his body as she levitated him away from her, and into the air. Next, Luna teleported Book Binder, and Night Flash’s suitcase onto her bed, along with all of their winter gear. They didn’t seem to notice as they too were levitated into the air. Finally, Luna adjusted herself, finding every piece of soft material in her room and the next, creating a fort of pillows decorated with a bed of thick blankets. She smiled as she shook the rust off of her cuddle pile skills. She and Celestia had always used to make such bastions of softness in the old days, and the one she assembled was worthy of her name.

She then dragged the two ponies on top of the human, settling them all down atop the blankets. Luna then calmly placed herself above all of them, using her wings to force them together. She smiled when Night Flash caught on first, adding his wings to the effort as he shoved Elias and Book Binder at each other. The two seemed to hesitate for a moment, each shifting nervously as they avoided looking at the other. Upon meeting each other’s eyes however, they both latched onto each other, with Elias burying his face firmly in Book Binder’s chest fluff as they pulled each other close. The unicorn rocked him back and forth as she brushed his hair with a hoof, tears streaming down her face.

“B-Binder I-…” Elias tried to say.

Book Binder shushed him as she nuzzled his cheek.

“Hush Elias, I already know. You don’t have to say anything. Momma already knows.”

“No,” Elias said, pulling away from her hooves. “I have to say this, I have to tell you how sorry I am. I have to beg for forgiveness, because it doesn’t matter how angry I got, I never should have said that. Anything else, but never that.”

Book Binder tried to grab the human, but he managed to elude her grasp. Luna saw tears in her eyes as he continued shying away. Book Binder whimpered, and stomped a hoof.

“Please Elias, I don’t care. I just want our little family to be together again. We can start over from step one, I don’t care! I just want to have my baby back.”

“Why?” Elias replied softly, “Why do you want me back? I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve anyone.”

Luna scooted the human into range of Book Binder’s hooves, and the unicorn acted quickly, pulling him close as she wrapped herself around his chest, nuzzling his chin with increased vigor.

“It isn’t about deserve baby,” Book Binder said softly. “It’s about my love for you. You don’t have to say anything Elias, I know you’re sorry, and I know you didn’t mean it. We just got angry with each other is all. I know you didn’t mean it.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Elias said. “If it meant nothing, or if it meant something, I’m sorry. I am so sorry Book Binder; I just hope you can forgive me.”

“Done,” Book Binder said softly, clicking her tongue.

Elias opened his mouth to protest the immediate acceptance, but Book Binder gently pressed it shut as she continued.

“I forgive you Elias, completely and utterly, because that’s what a good mother does,” she said with a smile. “We had a nasty argument, and now we can both admit we were wrong and move on.”

She sighed as she leaned against him.

“I shouldn’t have pushed you like that Elias, and I am sorry. I don’t know why it seemed so important at the time, but afterwards, I realized that I’d much rather just have you. The angry, paranoid, uniquely handsome you.”

She rubbed her cheek against his neck.

“My baby boy.”

Elias sat in silence for a moment, his eyes lost in a daze as he held the affectionate unicorn. Then he leaned down and did his best attempt at imitating her nuzzle as he rubbed their cheeks together.

“Thanks Book Binder,” he said softly.

Book Binder couldn’t have looked happier as she began aggressively nuzzling Elias’ head, rocking back and forth. She began to hum as they rocked, and Night Flash smiled brightly up at Luna.

‘Thank you,’ he mouthed silently.

Luna nodded and gave him a smile.

The four of them remained still and quiet for a long time. Night Flash just seemed to soak in the warmth and happiness, his smile wide as he preened, occasionally stopping to give Book Binder a nuzzle. Said unicorn silently fretted over Elias, brushing his hair, massaging his back; anything that involved physical contact, she did, relishing the presence of the human. Elias remained largely silent, enjoying the attention for a while, then tolerating it for the largest time. He didn’t want to push Book Binder away, but when the unicorn stuck out her tongue to run it through his hair, he decided he’d had enough. Elias pulled her into a quick hug, then motioned for Luna to uncurl her wings so that he could stand. The alicorn cocked her head in reply.

“You wish to leave already?” she asked playfully. “I don’t think a few hours is a good enough apology Elias. What will your mother think?”

He scowled at her.

“I think she’ll understand that I’m a living being who needs to take a piss.”

Luna giggled as Book Binder swatted the back of his head.

“Elias! Language!” she scolded. “You can’t just say any word willy nilly in front of the princess!”

Elias gave her a deadpan look.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say “willy nilly” to me, and get up now. I really do need to use the bathroom.”

His eyes flicked downward.

“And put on clothes. You ponies have fur, while I’ve got squat. I need something to stay warm in this freezing castle.”

Book Binder clapped her hooves together, then shoved the human free of Luna’s wings.

“Well go on then! Night Flash and I will get your presents ready!”

“Presents?” Elias asked in confusion.

Book Binder shoved him harder, shooing him toward Luna’s bathroom. Elias looked to the alicorn as he stood up, and she gave him a nod of permission. He threw suspicious glances over his shoulder as he shut the door behind him. As soon as the door jamb slipped closed, Book Binder leapt to her feet, dipping around Luna as she ran for the bed. Luna watched in amusement as Night Flash was quickly dragged over as Book Binder threw open her suitcase. She grabbed a set of black socks, shoving them toward Night Flash.

“Put them on Flash! Elias is cold, and we need to keep him warm!”

She gushed as she removed a brilliant green and red set for herself, sliding them on with her magic as she grabbed a pair of presents with her hooves. Book Binder dragged them in front of the fireplace, then blinked as she realized that Luna was still there. The unicorn grinned sheepishly.

“I hope you don’t mind if we have a bit of Hearth’s Warming here Princess.”

Luna returned her smile.

“Only if you don’t mind if I help to keep my guards warm. I would be a poor princess if I let a certain human freeze to death.”

Book Binder’s grin took on a mischievous look, and she winked as she pranced back to Night Flash, who was struggling to get his socks on his hind legs. She waited until Book Binder began to help the ashamed pegasus with his socks before she rose. Luna made her way over to her extensively curated collection of clothing, accumulated meticulously before and after her banishment, with some notable additions made by her sister during the interim. A special place was preserved for a certain pair of stockings that had eluded her once more, but she ignored this hole in her dresser, instead picking out a wonderfully soft pair that she had been given only a month after her return. It was a gift from a clan of thestrals that had passed the socks down through the centuries, adding another layer of rare silk that could only be made on the winter solstice. The result was a pair of purple socks that shimmered as they climbed up her legs, while also feeling as soft as the most shampooed fur in existence. They were her third favorite pair, and her favorite non-romantic pair.

Luna slid them on quickly, watching with amusement as Book Binder lifted Night Flash into the air, scowling as she investigated his bare leg. Evidently it was causing the pegasus some issue to get the final sock on, and the unicorn was determined to find out why. Luna perked up her ears to find the sound of her toilet operating, as well as a few choice curses from Elias. He would be out soon. Luna took over Book Binder’s levitation spell, pulling Night Flash close so that she could focus on teleporting the final sock on. Adding and removing clothing with Elias was easy, as much of his body hair was coarse and easy to avoid when shifting the clothing through space. A pony, however, was covered in millions of sensitive hairs that could cause great pain, comfort, or pleasure when used in certain manners. She wished to avoid two of those, and the only way to do that was to teleport the sock on the right way. A flash of light later, Luna levitated the fully socked pegasus back to Book Binder, who pounced on her mate, nuzzling his head as she playfully mocked him for needing a princess’s help to dress.

Then Elias exited the bathroom, his brow furrowed as he looked back at the toilet.

“I am ninety percent sure that your toilet is possessed, because that is not how it’s supposed to flush.” He turned and looked to the ponies, his face shifting to one of shock; red faced shock.

Elias cleared his throat and looked away.

“Alright, I need an explanation immediately before me and the window become very good friends. This,” he said, waving at Luna, “has to have implications that I am missing, because it doesn’t look normal.”

Luna smiled.

“Oh? And what does it look like Elias?” she said teasingly. “Choose your words carefully as you address your princess.”

Elias flushed redder, and he pointedly refused to meet anyone’s eyes.

“Somebody has three seconds to explain before I leave. I am not clothed, nor sane enough to be dealing with more weird BS in one day. Not without a shirt or something.”

Luna rolled her eyes at the dramatic man.

“Elias, socks are worn by ponies as an extra layer of warmth. While there are socks that could be considered romantically intimate, nopony here is wearing such a set.” She smiled coyly at the human. “But perhaps I should put on my favorite pair if that would help you distinguish the difference.”

Luna chuckled as Elias flushed the deepest red she had ever seen. The human was positively crimson in the face. He shook his head as he refused to meet her eyes.

“That’s it, I’m getting clothes. I have to deal with today with something else on, and at this point, I’ll take anything.”

“Great!” Book Binder chirped cheerfully.

Elias quickly found himself suspended in a green aura as she levitated him back to the pile of pillows. Night Flash quickly joined him, perching himself on Elias’ shoulders. The human grimaced as Night Flash kneaded his shoulders, but that shifted to a smile when the pegasus settled, sighing happily as he laid his chin on Elias’ head. Elias reached up and gave him a scratch behind the ears as Book Binder levitated the packages over. Elias looked at the wrapped gifts with some trepidation as Book Binder plopped down in front of him, passing around a plate of cookies that Luna had left lying around. Elias took one, nibbling on in it as he kept his hands well away from the presents. Luna settled onto the pillows, but remained slightly distant from the trio, not wishing to interrupt their family moment.

“So what’s this about?” he asked nervously.

Book Binder giggled as she settled before Elias.

“It’s presents silly! Night Flash and I got you a couple of things we are sure you’ll love!”

Elias’ eyes flicked to the brightly colored packages, but didn’t reach out as his eyes flicked back up to Book Binder.

“But I didn’t get you anything,” he said.

Book Binder waved his excuse away.

“That’s the point of Hearth’s Warming silly. Mom’s get their children gifts, and special someponies exchange gifts, it’s just how it works!”

Elias eyed the presents again, twitching nervously as he stared at them. He sighed when he saw Book Binder begin to droop.

“I’m sorry Book Binder it’s just… I don’t think I’ve told anyone this, but humans had a holiday similar to Hearth’s Warming, in spirit at least.”

He shook his head, and a momentary glint spread across his eyes as he stared at the presents.

“I’ll spare the details, but it hasn’t ever been a happy memory. I’m just… nervous I guess.”

He scratched his head, unblinking as he stared at his gifts.

“It’s the same with everything else, I just can’t get over the fact that things are different here.” He snorted. “You’d figure it would be easy, what with the magic, and the multitude of new species, but no. Especially not with this.”

Night Flash and Book Binder exchanged a knowing look, which Luna caught, but Elias didn’t. He seemed fixated on the wrapped boxes before him. Night Flash climbed down from Elias’ shoulders, motioning for Luna to lean against the human. When the night princess only gave him a confused look, he reached out and dragged her against Elias’ back. Almost instinctively, Elias leaned back into her chest fur, his eyes never wavering from the presents. Smiling widely, Night Flash then settled at Elias’ side, laying his head in the human’s lap. He guided Elias’ still hand to his ears, and the fingers moved quickly, massaging the pegasus’ ears as Night Flash groaned happily.

“We’ve got you Red,” Night Flash said quietly, his leg kicking. “Whatever happened in the past, we’ve got you in the now. Let’s just have fun together, you’ll, ooh that’s the spot, love your presents.”

Elias snorted and shook his head as his gaze finally broke from the presents seated before him. He glanced at all three ponies, and though he looked slightly embarrassed when he looked at Luna, he didn’t move away from her. Luna smiled and waited cheerfully as Book Binder nudged the first present, a small box wrapped in a dull green foil, forward. Elias picked it up gently, as if afraid he would break it, then he looked to Book Binder.

“Are you sure I don’t need to do anything for you? It doesn’t have to be big, but doing nothing feels… not right.”

Book Binder huffed, and crossed her hooves.

“Fine, then how about this, you’re gift to me for Hearth’s Warming is that I get to baby you, no restrictions, for the rest of the day. We can start back on the progression tomorrow. How does that sound?”

Elias nodded slowly.

“Alright, that sounds fine.”

Book Binder froze, staring at him in open-mouthed shock.

“Really?” she asked breathlessly. “Do you mean that?”

Elias ran his thumb across the package in his hand, then nodded.

“I don’t see why not.”

Book Binder’s eyes widened, and then she pounced on Elias, rubbing herself up and down his body.

“My baby boy!” she cried. “Thank you so much! Oh, today is going to be perfect!”

Elias spat, but didn’t protest as her tail flicked him in the mouth as she spun around, settling next to Night Flash’s head. Book Binder sighed happily, then tapped his leg.

“Open it baby! It’s special, and you’ll love it!”

Elias smirked, then looked to Night Flash.

“What about you Flash, you want anything for Hearth’s Warming?”

The pegasus looked at Elias and shrugged, reaching out for a sugar cookie to nibble on. His eyes flickered toward the present.

“Go ahead and open it Elias, I’ll come up with something later.” He rubbed Book Binder’s side with his wing. “Right now, I have everything I could ever want.”

Elias snorted and shook his head.

“You’re such a sap Flash.”

His face twitched and a small smile appeared. Elias ruffled Night Flash’s mane.

“Thanks for staying by me.”

Night Flash nodded wordlessly, matching Elias’ smile as he shooed him toward the present. Elias gave it one last look of trepidation, then took a deep breath as he let his fingers tear into the paper. Elias briefly considered unwrapping it carefully, and got as far as lifting the paper from a whole side, but then a piece of childlike glee came from nowhere in his mind, and his fingers tore the paper asunder. Book Binder giggled softly as she watched him tear the paper away from the book. Elias flipped it over, then turned it over as he righted the cover. His smile widened as Book Binder motioned for him to show everyone. A round of oos and awes came forth as Elias faced the cover toward himself again.

“I didn’t think this was supposed to be out until after new year’s?” Elias said, looking toward Book Binder.

The unicorn smiled and nodded.

“Well, I may or may not know a mare or two who may or may not have gotten an early version of the book. I might have had to edit a few college applications, but I think getting Daring Doo and the Forbidden City of Clouds for my darling little colt was well worth it.”

Elias bit his tongue to prevent himself from looking at her with a deadpan stare. Instead, he did something that he knew she would absolutely love, and something that he found that he would enjoy himself.

“Would you mind reading it to me today?” he asked, his voice soft in embarrassment.

Book Binder beamed at the request. Elias found the book levitated from his hands, replaced by a another present, this one larger, but softer than the last.

“Of course Elias, maybe tonight after dinner we can snuggle up together.”

Luna ruffled her feathers, rubbing her fur against Elias’ back. The human didn’t react much. A brief twitch passed over his face. He shuffled slightly, but he still didn’t pull away from Luna.

“That would be nice,” he said softly.

Book Binder, perhaps noticing the hidden, but growing look of uncomfortableness on his face, nodded silently and pressed on the package in his hands, silently encouraging Elias to continue. He took another deep breath, then pressed onward. A brief, ugly memory rose in his eyes, but a quick look to Night Flash, then Book Binder, as well as the feeling of Luna’s fur against his back calmed him instantly, and Elias tore at the paper around what he knew was a set of clothes.

Elias blinked in minor confusion at the bright blue tunic in his hands. It was beautifully made, and the fabric was incredibly soft in his fingers as he rubbed at one of the brilliant yellow lightning bolts that ran down the side between his thumb and forefinger. Night Flash gasped softly.

“Wow Bindey, that is so cool!”

Book Binder smiled.

“I know! I can’t wait for Elias to try it on, can you just imagine him in Wonderbolts colors?”

Night Flash nodded and looked at Elias expectantly. The human smiled weakly, looking between them as his confusion deepened.

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, because this does look really nice, but… Wonderbolts?”

Book Binder giggled and she looked to Night Flash, who was staring at Elias in horror. His mouth flapped as he tried to say something, but the only thing that came forth was a squeak. Book Binder rubbed his back and looked to Elias.

“Oh, you’ve done it now, Night Flash is the second biggest Wonderbolt’s fan in northern Equestria, and I can’t tell if he’s going to jump you or scold you for not knowing about them.”

“Second?” Elias asked. “Doesn’t the phrase usually go “the biggest fan”?”

Book Binder shrugged.

“It should, but some mare in Ponyville claimed the actual title, so Flash is second. It’s not a big deal, not compared to not knowing who the Wonderbolts are.”

Elias shrugged.

“What is it, a magic show?”

Night Flash sucked in what sounded like a painful amount of air. Book Binder giggled and kissed his cheek.

“Go get him honey.”

Night Flash immediately got to his hooves, then pounced on Elias. Luna carefully took a step back the second the pegasus hit Elias’ chest, letting them fall onto the blankets as Night Flash yelled in Elias’ face.

“THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY NOT A MAGIC SHOW!” Night Flash shouted right in Elias’ ear. “The Wonderbolts are the single greatest flight team in all of Equestria and I will not let this… this ignorance of their greatness continue!” the pegasus declared.

He growled at Elias, pressing his muzzle against the human’s nose.

“I am invoking my right as best friend, and potential future father, and you and I and Book Binder are going to the next available Wonderbolts show that so that we may properly educate you on your heritage, am I clear?”

“My heritage?” Elias gulped.

Book Binder smiled and shook her head.

“Oh, my sweet boy, you do not learn.”

The human looked at her, then at Night Flash in shock. He had never seen Night Flash get so… assertive. It was almost scary. Book Binder evidently didn’t share his opinion, because she rose, then purred as she nuzzled Night Flash’s back.

“Mmmm, I like this Night Flash,” she said softly. “It’s very fitting, especially for our little uneducated degenerate of a son.”

She looked at Elias with a playful gleam in her eyes.

“Flashy, I don’t think you’ve convinced him yet. He hasn’t agreed to your terms.”

Night Flash growled again, and his eyes seemed to bore into Elias’ soul. Instead of a yell, his voice was low, as if the anger was genuine.

“Elias, I swear to you, you will be snuggled until we physically turn you into a pony, if you do not come to a Wonderbolts show, so that you may learn of your pegasus ancestry. Am. I. Clear?”

Elias cringed slightly.

“Fine! Fine, I’m sorry I didn’t know, and I’ll come to a show with you! It’s just that you never talk about them! Nobody here does!”

He looked back to Luna for help, but the blue alicorn shook her head.

“Do not look to me Elias, I am a Wonderbolts fan, as is my sister. It is one of our favorite bonding activities that we can get away with doing in public.” She sighed and looked into the air. “I wish that I could fly in the sky as they do, the speed, the grace, the daring. Tis truly a sight.”

Elias looked back to Night Flash, who was frowning, his eyes staring at Elias’ chest. The pegasus sat for a minute in silence, then grunted.

“I guess we haven’t.”

His serious demeanor disappeared, and for a second Elias thought the pony would cry. Night Flash sniffled slightly, wiping his eye.

“It’s my fault that you don’t know about the Wonderbolts. I’m sorry Red, I-…”

Elias wrapped one arm around the pony’s barrel, pulling him into a hug, while the other scratched Night Flash’s ears. Elias tapped the pegasus’ nose lightly.

“None of that,” Elias said. “If I’m not allowed to be depressed on Hearth’s Warming, neither are you, okay?”

Night Flash smiled and nodded.

“Thanks Red.”

The pegasus fell silent for a moment, then noticed the bright blue he was sitting on. Night Flash wiggled free of Elias’ grip, then pushed the tunic toward the human.

“Well put it on!” he said excitedly. “I promise, it might take a while, but once you see a Wonderbolts show, you’ll be hooked for life!”

“I don’t doubt it,” Elias replied.

He unbundled the tunic, then slipped it quickly over his head. It flowed over his shoulders without resistance, a perfect fit as it sat weightlessly on his body. The tunic was clearly something that he would not be wearing on duty. Book Binder oo’ed softly and Night Flash beamed. To maintain some level of his regular demeanor, Elias snorted and rolled his eyes at the two, but he gave them both a hug.

“Thank you, both of you.” Elias smiled, and he tried to hide it as he wiped a tear from his eye, but Book Binder caught it anyway, and nuzzled his cheek.

“Of course baby boy. It may not have turned out like we expected, but I think we can all safely say that this was a very good Hearth’s Warming.”

They all mumbled agreements and Elias leaned back into Luna, surprised that he could still mostly feel her fur on his now covered back. The alicorn didn’t seem to mind either, as she leaned into Elias just enough for him to realize that she was doing it. Elias blushed and didn’t look up, knowing that she was watching his face closely. Luna laid her head on top of his, humming quietly as the trio stared into the fire, simply enjoying each other’s company.

The rest of the day passed as a warm, happy blur for Elias. They sat and occasionally spoke with each other, but mostly they remained silent, staring into the fire as they relaxed fully. More than once they fell into a pile and slept for an hour or two, only to be shaken awake by somebody needing to use the bathroom, or more often, somebody wanting food.

It was well into the afternoon before they left Luna’s room, with the alicorn going to celebrate with her sister, while Elias, Book Binder, and Night Flash all went back to their shared room. Once there, Book Binder had lit the fireplace while Elias and Night Flash pushed the beds together, forming one massive bed that Book Binder stacked high with pilfered pillows and blankets. They made their own fortress of softness, then Night Flash cuddled up underneath Elias’ arm and fell asleep while the human and Book Binder read his new book together.

The unicorn lasted for hours as she read, but eventually she tired as well, and she curled up on Elias’ chest, nuzzling his hairy chin as she fell asleep quietly. With the ponies asleep, Elias was left alone with his thoughts and the crackle of the fire. The voices in his head were silent, either traumatized into submission by his near-death experience, or celebrating silently at the return of his parents. Subconsciously, Elias scratched the ears of both ponies, making them smile as they slept. Elias stared at the ceiling, vaguely hearing a howling as he remained still. The air held a brief chill, but Elias found that the two ponies curled around his body were more than enough to ward the cold away. Finding no turbulence, and more than satisfied with how Hearth’s Warming turned out, Elias closed his eyes, finding slumber as he hugged the ponies he would do anything for tightly to his chest.

Author's Note

And so ends Act 1! Everyone is in their starting positions and the plot is rearing and ready to run! I hope you enjoyed this (rather lengthy) interlude, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter, The Royal Canterlot Wedding! Time for things to start getting ugly.

Chapter 27: The Royal Canterlot Wedding; Part 2

As Elias limped through the trees, he scanned for any branches that would make good crutches, while at the same time, he scanned the brush for any changelings that could be creeping about. It also let Elias ignore the looks that Luna was giving him as she led their group forward. Night Flash stalked the rear, diving in and out of the bushes as he did his best to blend with the background. More than once Elias lost track of the pegasus, only for him to appear from the branches of a tree, or crawling on his belly through the dirt as he moved from bush to bush.

A low buzzing was Elias’ only warning as two changelings dropped from the trees to bar their path forward. Elias pushed off of Luna and lurched forward, dragging his leg forward as he limped at the enemy. Though he couldn’t understand them, Elias was sure that the changelings were laughing at him. He couldn’t expect help however; Luna still refused to join in the fray for some mysterious reason, and a call from Night Flash told Elias that the pegasus was facing his own opponents. Elias shouted to better ignore his broken leg as he swung hard at the left changeling, hoping his superior reach would work in his favor. The changeling easily dipped back, and the second one hissed, lashing out with its hooves as it swung at Elias’ chest.

Elias blocked the swing with a cut from Feather, the blade biting deep into the changeling’s leg. The creature hissed and fell back, and as Elias moved to pursue it, the left changeling struck, slamming into Elias’ shield as it tried to bite at his face. Elias tucked his cheeks below the shield edge, and he felt teeth scrape against his helmet. He grunted in pain as he adjusted his right foot to better hold his balance, and then Elias shoved outward, pushing the bug back as he swung at the approaching right changeling. The slash took off the creature’s jaw, and it collapsed with a wet scream. Startled into stillness, Elias cut the throat of the left changeling, then finished off the jawless one.

Elias fell to his left knee as exhaustion caught up to him. Elias felt sweat pool under the rim of his helmet, and rivers of sweat rolled down his back, soaking his tunic as he tried to ignore the stabbing pain in his right leg. He really wished he hadn’t broken the limb; even a serious bruising could be ignored, but broken bones? It would take a real effort to get past.

Luna helped the human to his feet, guiding his arm around her neck as she pushed forward, a goo stained Night Flash darting to her side to check on them, before disappearing back into the trees.

“Come Elias,” Luna said. “We are not far, then we shall get you proper medical treatment.”

“I’m fine,” Elias grunted in reply. “I can still swing a sword, so I can still fight.”

“Of course you can Guardsman,” Luna said softly.

She waved the other ponies on, and they continued pushing through the gardens, following a series of increasingly obscure paths as Luna guided them toward her personal safe room. Elias briefly wondered why they hadn’t covered it during training, but assumed it was for this very reason. The changelings had made excellent infiltrators, so much so that Elias hadn’t even noticed that Scarlet was physically different. Elias mentally chastised himself for letting the pegasus’ strange behavior go unquestioned. He should have pressed harder, then maybe he would know what had happened to his friend.

The acknowledgement that he was out of the loop so completely caused Elias to stumble momentarily, his foot tripping over a loose stone. Luna was quick to drag him back up, forcing the human to lean against her heavily as she pressed on. Though she said nothing, Elias caught the look of concern she gave him. He decided to ignore it, his thoughts becoming panicky as he wondered where Book Binder was, where Scalpel was, and especially what had happened to Scarlet. The infirmary had been cut off; was Scalpel dead? Captured? The same could be asked of Scarlet, who had changed weeks ago. Was the pegasus being held somewhere? Or was he dead, unnoticed by anyone close to him until the last possible second? Elias shuddered as his mind tore at itself in a rage.

Fortunately, the changelings provided an excellent distraction as more seemed to crawl from the woodwork. Three of them squared off against Elias as he pushed himself to his feet once more. They grinned as the human limped forward, Feather hanging limply in his grip. Elias looked between them, looking for signs of an attack.

‘Come on you bastards,” Elias thought, making his limp more dramatic as he closed another foot of distance. ‘Take the bait.’

The center changeling leaped forward, its body hitting the ground with a thud as the head rolled away, bouncing along the ground with a green trail spilling goo in its wake. Elias shouted as he let the strike follow through completely, its trajectory ending on the right changeling’s cheek. The bug leaned away, saving it from being cut in two, but the tip of the blade cut a long scar along its cheek, spilling thick drops of goo into the dirt. It glared at Elias as the left changeling attacked, its horn charging as it sent a bolt of energy into Elias’ side.

His shield was a second too slow, and the bolt drove the air from his lungs as it caused his muscles to freeze up. Elias thanked Anyon as his armor countered the magic’s effects within seconds, letting Elias dip back as the right changeling tried to gore him with its horn. Feather parried the sharp bone away as Elias retreated another step, trying to find balance on his broken leg. A bit of goo caused his sandal to slip, and for a moment, Elias hung to his balance by a thread. Luna called out to him, screaming his name in what sounded like panic.

The left changeling’s eyes locked onto the noise, and as Elias planted his left foot and caught himself, it lurched around him, its horn pointed at the alicorn’s chest. Time slowed to a crawl as Elias made a decision. The changeling’s tail was close, and if he grabbed it, he could stop the creature with a brutal punch to the face using his shield hand. That plan however exposed his back to the right changeling, and he knew full well that if he went with that plan, he would get hurt; badly. The other option was to ignore the changeling and hope that Luna could kill it without his help. Given her recent track record, and the looks of terror the ponies were giving the black-shelled creature, Elias knew that what he did next was going to hurt.

His hand clamped down on the changeling’s tail, and he ripped it backward, drawing a yelp from the creature. Its neck snapped as his scutum slammed into its chin, and the body fell away as Elias tried to turn around to address the threat to his rear.

Not fast enough.

What felt like a flaming sword tore through his left hip, scraping against the bone as a black horn poked through the front of his armor. A brief spot of rage at the injury led Elias’ elbow backward, shattering the horn from the changeling’s head. It wailed in agony as it fell back, clutching the base of its broken appendage. Elias was on the creature in a second, pummeling it with his scutum as he slipped it from his arm, gripping it with both hands as he slammed the edge down, over and over, into the changeling’s jaw. The head caved in after the third hit, and it was little more than a puddle after the fifth.

Elias fell onto his rump after the seventh hit, his scutum sliding from his grip as he clutched at the horn piercing his side in wordless agony. Even the slightest of touches sent a bolt of agony through his ribs, shortening his breath to nothing as he held back the light stream of blood pouring onto the ground. Elias scrunched up his eyes and rocked as he tried to pull the horn free, but when the pain threatened to make him black out, Elias stopped, his breath coming in gasps as he cast around for his fallen sword and shield.

Luna was waiting when his eyes opened, her face pressed against his as she said words that he couldn’t hear. Elias blinked dumbly at her as he found that his ears were ringing in a terrible racket, blocking his hearing quite effectively. Her eyes caught his, and her mouth seemed to move faster, but Elias could only shake his head, pointing to his ears in a sign that he was temporarily deaf. It took a few more seconds, but her voice broke through, first as a whisper, then in a low shout as his body kicked back into gear.

“Elias, please, I need you to rise,” Luna said desperately.

She looked over her shoulder, and Elias followed her eyes to find Night Flash fighting with no less than seven changelings. One of his wings hung limp at his side, and his helmet was missing as he dueled the bugs for dominance. The other pegasus was gone, while the unicorn lay twitching in his blood, a nasty hole burned through his throat. Only the maid was uninjured, and Elias suspected that she wouldn’t be much longer if the looks a pair of changelings creeping from the bushes were any indication.

Elias felt two things; first, he felt the hilt of Feather, pressed firmly into his hand by Luna’s hoof as she begged desperately for him to get up. The second was a deep rage. So far, he hadn’t lost anything. Nobody important to him had died, yet. That was going to change soon if he didn’t get up and fight. No more games, no more training. Elias felt his left eye twitch as he felt the rage tear into his soul, eating away the pain in his nerves as Elias pushed himself to his feet. He forsook his shield, instead choosing to draw the dagger he kept behind his back. A deep, never touched piece of his mind begged for release, and Elias took only a second to put a tight leash around the creature. Then he set it loose with one job in mind; kill changelings.

Elias let out a bloodthirsty howl as he sprinted forward, tackling the pair of changelings as he fought not just with sword and knife, but tooth and nail as well. Despite their hard shells, the ears of the changelings were like normal pony ears, and Elias had no issue tearing them away as his teeth sank in deep, the foul goo pouring into his mouth as he growled and writhed, shaking his head back and forth to cause as much damage as possible. He spat away the ear in his mouth and latched onto another as he plunged his dagger through the eye of one changeling, while Feather tore through the gut of the other one. Knowing that the creatures were as good as dead, Elias was back on his feet in an instant, his eyes hungry with a feral desire to kill. That desire turned to bloody hatred as he heard Night Flash yelp in pain. A line of blood poured from the pony’s flank, and the sight of it sent Elias’ rage to new heights.

Like a demon, Elias ignored the crunch of his leg bones as he sprinted forward. Feather decapitated two changelings with a single swing, the tightly packed bugs working to his advantage as he hit them blindly. Out of the corner of his eye, Elias was able to take in much of the remaining battlefield as he headbutted a changeling in the face, shattering its muzzle as his dagger bit into its skull. Night Flash had moved back, staring at Elias in horror as he dragged the maid to safety with Luna. Luna, who was also staring at Elias in horror as he tore through the changelings like water flowed through a riverbed.

His gladius sung as blood and goo spattered the trees. Elias took many hits, but he simply didn’t care. He was immune to pain, immune to hurt as his body ignored it all, the rage fueling his domination of the changelings. Even when another pack of them dove into the fray, the fight remained one-sided. He cut through changeling after changeling, spilling more blood than Elias had seen in months. Feather cut through one changeling’s leg, severing the limb, and with the force behind the swing, the gladius followed through and bit into another changeling’s face. A part of him was horrified by the pride he felt as their bodies collapsed with shrieks of pain, but that part was ignored as he cornered the last bug. It stared at him in open-mouthed shock as he advanced on it, an ungodly, blood covered specter of death, towering over the tiny creature.

It whimpered and covered its head with its hooves as it cowered at his feet, its back firmly pressed against the trunk of the tree. With Elias’ wide swings, the bug had nowhere to go, and it would be simplicity itself to end it with a swing to the throat. Elias stopped, however. The creature at his feet was terrified of him, and it clearly wasn’t going to be fighting anymore. Elias felt his rage slip away as he looked around at the gore-soaked battlefield around him, most of it caused directly by him. Dozens of bodies covered the ground like a carpet. Elias didn’t look directly behind him; he already knew that the ponies were watching him for what he did next. Elias looked back to the changeling. It had peaked an eye out, likely wondering where the sword that would end its life would be. Feather dripped with gore, and a glance at his dagger found that the blade had shattered, the blade fallen away at some point in the fight. Elias snorted and discarded the useless hilt. Then his eyes fully settled on the changeling, and he made a split-second decision.

Feather stabbed into the tree, right next to the changeling’s head. The creature shrieked in terror, then stopped as it looked with wide eyes up to Elias, who glared hatefully down at it.

“If I have your word that you’ll leave, now, and never return, I’ll let you live,” Elias said with a growl.

The changeling stared at him in pure shock.

“Y-you will let me go?” it said, its voice sounding a bit garbled, but otherwise completely coherent.

Elias leaned closer, trying to ignore the rising pains from his body. The changeling hid behind its hooves again.

“Don’t think this is just an act of mercy; you have a job to do for me.”

Elias grabbed the changeling’s chin, forcing it to look at the slain bodies that carpeted the ground.

“See that?” Elias asked, pointing to a changeling body that had been cut in two. “That’s what waits for each and every one of you ugly freaks that decide to fuck with me.”

Elias punched the changeling in the muzzle, and released his hold on the creature’s face. The bug rubbed his nose, then quivered when he saw Elias still towering over him.

“You tell all of your little friends what’s going to happen to them if they come after us.” Elias jabbed his finger at the bodies. “Because that is just a warmup. Now get out of my sight before I cut your eyes out.”

The changeling nodded furiously as it slipped away, fleeing silently into the bushes. Elias removed Feather from the bark of the tree, passing the sword to his left hand while his right clutched at the horn stabbed through his hip. Exhaustion and pain covered his body like a blanket, trying to coax him to sleep. Elias swayed for a moment as he closed his eyes, sightlessly staring into the leaves as he debated just giving in. He didn’t, choosing instead to limp very slowly back toward Luna and Night Flash. They both moved to aid him, but he waved them away. If he leaned on either, he wouldn’t get back up. His leg was on fire with pain, as was his hip. Neither of these accounted for the dozen or so bites and cuts he had on his arms and neck. The berserker fit had fully fled his system, the monster thrown back into its cage. Elias could feel it as he struggled to walk.

“W-…we need to move,” Elias said.

Luna nodded solemnly as she passed him his scutum with her hooves.

“Yes Guardsman, we do. Come, we are not far.”

Elias motioned for Night Flash to take the lead while he brought up the slow, plodding rear. The maid was now wholly terrified of him, pressing tightly against Luna’s wing, casting frequent glances back at Elias as they moved slowly along.

It took them a few minutes to reach Luna’s destination, but they remained unopposed. The trees swayed lightly in a chill spring breeze, and the sweat that coated Elias’ brow made him shiver lightly as he limped into the small clearing behind Luna.

It was a relatively simple area. Two benches sat on opposite sides of the stone circle in the center, while the middle was occupied by a tall, white statue of a pony on its hind legs, waving a flag in its teeth with Luna’s cutie mark on it. Luna walked up the statue, then braced against it as she attempted to push it aside. It didn’t so much as budge. The alicorn sighed, then motioned to the bottom of the statue.

“The safe room is beneath this statue. Move it, and we can get in. Once inside, the door shall seal, permanently, from within and without, and we will be safe for the time being. Should we need to run further, there is another exit lower on the mountain.”

Elias looked to Night Flash, and the pair limped up to the statue. On a three count, the two shoved with all their remaining strength, and slowly but surely, they moved the statue aside. A small sewer grate was hidden under the statue, and Elias breathlessly motioned for Flash to open it. As the pegasus did so, Elias motioned to Luna.

“Princess, you’re first with the maid. Then Flash, then me.”

Luna frowned and shook her head as Flash pushed the cover aside, keeping it close enough to the hole to drag it back easily.

“Absolutely not Guardsman, you are horrifically injured, you shall go first so that we can assist you. Please, get inside.”

Elias shook his head and took a lurching step forward. His hand clamped on her shoulder, and Elias roughly shoved Luna toward the sewer grate. She yelped in surprise, and as she caught her balance, she spun on the human, fury in her eyes.

“How dare you treat me like that Elias!” she said angrily. “I am your princess!”

“Who hasn’t done much today, has she?” Elias snapped. “We’ve fought like dogs, and lost more than a few along the way, yet you can’t seem to be bothered to so much as swing a sword.”

Elias shoved her again, grunting in pain as the motion pulled on the wound in his side.

“So, since I’m the heavy lifter, I get the last say. Now get in the hole before I use what little life I have left to throw you in it.”

Luna opened her mouth to protest, but Night Flash gently touched her other shoulder and guided her toward the hole.

“He’s right Princess,” Night Flash said carefully. “I know you have a good reason for holding back your magic, but you can’t do any good up here, and quite frankly, it’s our job to hold the line while you escape. Red knows what he’s doing, and he’ll be right behind us.”

He shot a look at Elias, and the human nodded.

“The faster you’re inside, the faster we’re safe,” Elias said.

Luna sighed, the nodded.

“Fine, we shall follow your plan Guardsman Bright, but rest assured that this will have consequences.”

Elias opened his palm to show off the black horn in his armor.

“It already has Princess, now get in before we’re spotted.”

Luna turned around, then stepped down with her back hooves. As her head disappeared into the hole, Night Flash pushed the maid in after her. Elias limped over to the sewer hole, his eyes up as Night Flash began the climb down. Elias nudged the grate closer to the hole with his foot, keeping all of his senses tuned outward. His left eye twitched as a loud buzzing reached his ears. Elias glanced down at Night Flash, and from the look on the pegasus’ face, he heard it too. A hoof came back up, touching the second to last rung as the pegasus began to rise. Elias couldn’t allow that.

Night Flash cried out as Elias shoved the grate closed, planting his left foot firmly on the stone as over a dozen changelings touched down, with one familiar one thrown to the ground before the rest. The changeling whimpered as one in dark blue armor impacted the ground next to it, kicking the comparatively tiny creature as it grabbed the changeling by the throat, holding it up as the armored one pointed at Elias. Elias felt the desperate shouts of Night Flash beneath his foot, but he ignored them as he tried to ease what tension he could. Apparently, the day had decided it was never going to end. Joy.

“Is this the creature you said killed our brothers?” the armored changeling asked of the small one.

The small changeling squeaked as Elias glared at it, and it tried to shy away from him, which unfortunately brought it back to face the armored changeling. Said changeling sneered at the little bug.

“I guess that’s a yes,” it cackled.

Cruelly, the armored changeling threw the small one to the ground, towering over it like Elias had.

“Trax, you have got to be the weakest, most worthless changeling I have ever met,” the armored one snarled.

It kicked Trax again, and the small changeling whimpered as it curled into a ball. Elias watched it all with disinterest. If he was going to fight, he’d much rather deal without all of the posturing. It was dull to watch. Luckily for him, the armored changeling ignored Trax and turned to Elias, grinning widely as a violent shiver passed through the creature. The blue eyes became green, and Elias felt the air crackle as power seemed to suddenly radiate from the creature.

“I must say human, you have done well to intimidate my hive,” the changeling cackled in a decidedly female voice, taking a few steps toward Elias. “Already the echoes of your fighting are being felt throughout all of my subjects. Tell me, what is your secret? To go on, as disfigured as you are?”

Elias shrugged, looking around the circle of changelings. His best count was twenty-three, but there could easily be dozens more in the trees.

“Meat usually helps,” Elias replied. “That, and years of hardened combat against fighters that would make you wet your pants, but what can I say?”

His eyes took on a dangerous glint as he glared daggers at the changeling.

“They couldn’t be that tough. I killed them after all.”

The changeling snorted and laughed.

“Indeed human. Had I not already felt the frequent deaths of my subjects at your hands, I might well think that was pointless boasting.” The changeling glared at Trax. “Unfortunately for me, this one was very descriptive about your actions, a “violent, unstoppable, changeling eating monster,” he called you. I shall look very carefully through his memories to find the truth,” the changeling looked back to him. “but I have no doubt that you will be mildly impressive at least. Some minor entertainment after the conquering of Canterlot no doubt.”

Elias rolled his eyes.

“Why is it always the way with you wanna-be tyrants that you say you’ve won before you’ve actually done so?” He snorted. “As long as I breathe, you lose. Every time.”

The changeling smiled widely, and a nasty chuckle spread amongst the black bugs. The armored one shook its head.

“An interesting choice of words human, and given your valor in the face of annihilation, I shall grant your request. Death in battle it shall be.”

The changeling snorted in distaste as its green eyes studied his bloodied body.

“Unfortunately, it would appear that you have spent much of your fight on my subjects, and therefore are not a real challenge for my captain. This will not do if I wish to test his new abilities.”

Elias growled and twirled Feather in his hand.

“I have more than enough fight left to kill all of you.”

The changeling threw its head back and laughed.

“Ha! Now there is the foolish bravado I am so used to hearing.”

The changeling wiped a tear from its eye and shook its head.

“No human, you do not have that strength. Perhaps a drone or three, but not this force, and certainly not my captain.”

The changeling tapped its hoof against its chin.

“But I am a merciful queen, and as such, I wish for all of my subjects to meet their needs in life, and that includes you human, short your servitude may be.”

“Queen?” Elias asked. “I honestly expected more than…” he waved his sword at the armored changeling. “well, this.”

The changeling frowned.

“Uneducated welp, I shall forgive that transgression only because you will die soon. You will never gaze upon the true visage of Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings. This vessel merely acts as a conduit for my consciousness while I take the Elements of Harmony hostage.” The changeling waved its hoof. “You are a minor plaything, nothing more. Celestia is in a pod, and Luna will follow. The conquest of Equestria is a foregone conclusion.”

The changeling grinned at Elias.

“So let us quit with the idle chatter and make with the fun. I wish to see a powerful defender die today, and so I will. Choose an injury, and I shall heal it. It shall make the fight more enjoyable.”

Elias snorted.

“Do you really think I’m that stupid?” he asked. “The second I let you close enough, I’m done. No contest.”

Elias slammed his gladius against his scutum.

“I think I’ll die like a man, thank you very much.”

The changeling rolled its eyes.

“Fine, be a prude like the ponies.”

The creature’s horn lit up with a brilliant green aura, and Elias tensed, ready to spring into action; only for the changeling to begin speaking, rather than attacking.

“I, Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, pledge my word that I will heal a single wound with magic, and no other action against the human before me. So, it is bound.”

The changeling’s horn pointed at Elias, then the creature frowned as its magic sputtered out. It tilted its head, confusion visible on its face.

“You have no magical signature?” the changeling asked. “That is most odd.”

Elias shrugged.

“Comes with being a human. If you don’t mind my asking, what was that… thing you just did?” Elias asked, waving his fingers at the lingering green in the air.

The changeling continued staring at him with eyes narrowed.

“A simple truth geas, forcing the user to keep their word at the cost of death. It had nothing to lock onto within you however, most strange indeed.”

The changeling stared at him for a moment longer, than shook with visible irritation.

“Cease your distracting nature at once!” it shouted at him. “Choose the wound or die quickly like a common animal. Make you choice human!”

Elias sighed, he had nothing else to lose. The voices shouting below his feet were gone, with Luna and Night Flash likely giving up and retreating to safety. He tapped his right leg. Might as well go out swinging.

“It’s broken,” he said simply. “I won’t be able to fight with a limp.”

“Very well,” the changeling replied.

Elias tensed up as a green aura surrounded his leg, but the changeling did as promised. The bone snapped into place, drawing a grunt from Elias, but within seconds it was mended, with only a trace of pain left over in the fixed limb. Elias kicked out with the leg, straightening his balance. The horn in his side was agony, but now that he could walk, it was almost bearable. Elias watched as the armored changeling shuddered again, and the blue eyes returned. The creature grinned ferally at Elias, and it drew a pair of nasty looking blades from sheathes on its back. The first was a longsword, crackling with green energy that raced up and down its black blade. Elias couldn’t tell if it was the shape of the sword, but it looked serrated near the tip, which he found odd. The other weapon was a relatively small hand axe, but it too crackled with energy. A sickly black energy seemed to seep through the air around the jagged axe head, and Elias made a mental note to avoid that blade at all costs.

The armored changeling cackled loudly, and he and Elias began circling one another. Elias tried to balance between staying relaxed and maintaining his combat stance. Instead of its usual place on top of his scutum, Feather hung at his side, the blade twinkling in the sunlight. The changeling stopped momentarily over the sewer grate, tapping on it with its hind leg. It didn’t budge, and Elias had no doubt that it had sealed, just like Luna said it would. It brought a small grin to Elias’ face, and the changeling grunted softly as he moved on.

The two circled back to their original positions before they stopped, squaring off against one another. The rest of the changelings seemed to close in, forming a loose circle around the combatants, save for one. Trax attempted to scurry away, only for two changelings to grab the little bug and turn him around, forcing him to stare Elias down. The armored changeling snorted in disgust as he glared at the smaller changeling.

“Watch closely Trax, I will show you how a true changeling fights. This human creature will be dead in minutes.”

The armored changeling grinned at Elias, and the human responded by falling fully into his combat position, wincing as the horn shifted in his hip. Elias took a deep breath, watching the changeling’s eyes closely. The bug stared arrogantly back, but for once, Elias wasn’t sure that the emotion was misplaced. Elias squashed his self-doubt, and with one more calming breath, he lunged forward.

Feather screeched against the changeling’s sword; the blow intended to take the bugs head off parried away as the axe descended on Elias’ left side. The blade bit into the wood of Elias’ scutum, and the human was horrified to see the black magic leeching the color from his shield. Elias lashed out with his knee, clipping the changeling in the chin, forcing the bug to fall back. It swung wildly at Elias head, which he easily ducked under as the axe ripped free. Elias took a few quick steps back, waving his gladius to ward off any attacks. Elias reset his stance, raising his shield in time to block a brutal swing from the changeling’s sword.

Elias dipped to his left, grunting in pain as the axe parted the air next to his right shoulder. The wound in his hip was already giving him issues, and they had just started. Despite his hatred for the changeling queen, he sent her a brief word of thanks for the healing. The fight would have ended already if his leg was still broken. Feather glanced across the changeling’s armor, leaving little more than a scratch as the sword came down again, scarring the boss of Elias’ scutum. Elias tried to kick out again, but the axe came down on his leg, and he was forced to dart back. He hissed as fire ran up his leg. It had been a glancing blow on his thigh, but whatever magic the blade had, it left a nasty pain behind. It felt like the leg was broken anew, and Elias had to put great effort into not limping. The changeling grinned widely, its fangs shining at Elias as it cackled.

“Do you feel that human? It is a lovely new magic our queen developed. It has so many wonderful effects.”

Elias growled as he fell back, ready to drive the changeling away, but the creature merely stood still, watching Elias as it continued to laugh. Elias glanced down at the wound in his leg, scowling as he saw a black substance surrounding the wound. He wondered briefly if it would prevent it from healing. In the moment of distraction, the changeling pounced forward, its wings buzzing as both blades came down at Elias’ head.

Elias suppressed a scream of agony as the sword bit into his shoulder. His scutum had blunted the blow, but the sword cut through his armor like it was made of paper, sending a fresh torrent of blood to the ground as the changeling ripped it free. As close as they were, the motion was just slow enough to allow Elias to get his own stab in, and Feather found a temporary home in the changeling’s flank, stabbing deep as he found a chink in the thick blue armor. The changeling howled in pain, and the two headbutted one another, drawing back as they inspected their wounds, all while continuing to stare hatefully at each other. A light stream of blood pattered to the ground as Elias pressed down on his shoulder. It hurt, and the blade had cut deep, but he could still feel his sword hand, and the wound didn’t have the black magic lingering around it. He could still fight, he just needed to move faster.

The changeling glared at Elias as it limped, its hind leg twitching occasionally as goo dripped to the ground.

“You will pay for that with blood human,” the changeling growled.

“Promises, promises,” Elias responded flippantly.

Then the two were at it again, blades clashing as their fighting began anew.

*****

“Stupid, stupid, STUPID!” Luna bellowed as she raced through the tunnels. She had already dropped the maid off at the safe room, leaving her with a password that only she and Night Flash knew. Said pegasus was keeping pace behind her, hot on her tail as she led him through the maze of sewers that would lead them outside. Luna knew she should have forced Elias into the sewer first, but with her magic largely stored away, the human was physically stronger than she was. He had more than proven it by shoving her, and while the motion had hurt her pride, it had also hurt her heart. He had never raised his hand against her, but now things had become very serious, and another Elias had appeared. That fury she had seen on his face as he annihilated the changelings was vaguely reminiscent of the figure she had seen in his dreams, yet he had come out of it, showing mercy. Luna would thank Book Binder and Night Flash for that later, they were the source of that control after all. The effort to temper the human seemed successful, at least partially. Maybe Celestia’s plan would work. Maybe…

Luna stumbled as she tried to rocket around a corner, and she was forced to stop to catch her breath. Her normal magical endurance was gone, and she had not run as a normal pony for years. She felt shame as Night Flash stopped beside her, the pegasus showing no sign of exertion.

“How far are we Princess?” he asked, his voice low with barely concealed anger.

Luna felt sympathy for the pegasus. She would have felt the same guilt if she had been a literal hoofstep away from helping Elias. The fact that that brave, strong, absolute moron of a human had sealed the entrance, right in Night Flash’s face made the pegasus both angry, and terrified. Despite the brave face he put on, they all knew that the human had suffered grievous wounds already, and after days of brutal guard shifts, Elias was likely already reaching his limits. An adrenaline rush would only take somebody so far, and the human had practically collapsed after that last fight. She could only worry at the thought of how he was faring now.

“Not… far…” Luna answered between pants. “You will need to fly alone back to the gardens, assist Guardsman Bright, and hide him away. I shall remain outside the exit so that you may bring him back here.”

Night Flash nodded.

“I’ll drag him back unconscious if I have to,” he growled softly.

Luna nodded breathlessly. She straightened, taking a big gulp of air, then she set off again. As they continued their run, Luna prayed desperately that things were going well for her human guard.

*****

Things were not going well for Elias. He had only managed to land one more solid hit against the changeling, cutting off one of the changeling’s wings. He had paid for that with a cut across his abdomen, as well as a stab into his calf. His armor seemed to crumble away from the black magic of that axe, and with another black cut on his body, Elias was beginning to feel faint. His vision had started blurring as his body screamed for rest. His reactions were slowing down as his chest heaved for more air to keep his limbs swinging. Sweat pooled with the blood that dripped to the ground, and the air was rank with the smell of salt and iron.

As Elias smacked the changeling’s axe out of line, he couldn’t help but glance at all of the changeling’s surrounding them. Though they were staring at him like he was a piece of meat on their dinner plate, they also seemed impressed that he was still standing. Elias punched the armored changeling in the muzzle, paying for it with a nick across his neck. Like any audience, the changelings began to cheer as the blades rang against each other, jeering at the armored changeling when he was forced back. More than once the changeling snarled at them, losing focus long enough for Elias to inflict one minor wound or another. Their dance ebbed and flowed, speeding up and slowing down as the fighters burned through their energy like a forest fire.

Time seemed to slow for Elias as he spotted an opening. The changeling was constantly rotating between his axe and sword, with each blade descending seconds after the other. If he could lock down one blade for long enough, he could get in a killing blow against the changeling’s throat. Hopefully that would startle the rest into fleeing, or at least stun them long enough for Elias to go to work. He set his feet, trying to avoid slipping in blood as he charged forward.

What he didn’t take into account was changeling magic. The changeling grinned at Elias, and its horn flashed as a bolt of energy leaped out to meet the human’s charge. Elias was forced to catch the magic on his shield, and with the wound in his side, he had to twist awkwardly to parry the subsequent sword swing at his neck. As he twisted, his scutum lowered, just enough for the axe to cut up the side of his face.

Elias screamed in pain as his left eye shut. His right eye soon followed as the changeling’s sword tore his helmet away, severing the strap as it cut from right to left across his face. Elias fell on his back as a bolt of energy ripped through his chest. As blood streamed down his face, Elias kept enough consciousness to raise his scutum to block an incoming attack. He felt the changeling’s axe stick in the wood, but with his focus shattered, the bug was easily able to rip the shield away, and with no protection other than the blind swinging of Feather, the changeling buried its sword into his thigh.

As Elias howled in agony, he realized he could still see colors. He wasn’t fully blind, which was a positive, but his face had already swollen to the point where he was temporarily without sight. As if it mattered. The changeling cackled madly as it slowly twirled the sword in Elias’ leg, ripping holes in the flesh as it taunted him.

“An admirable fight human,” it said. Elias could feel the heat from its breath as it leaned close, blocking what little light he could see. “I shall ask my queen to let me bear a few of the scars you have given me. If nothing else, you provided her with some measure of entertainment, and you have proven that nothing can stop the changelings. Die now, and know that your princesses will soon lick the hooves of Queen Chrysalis as docile broodmares.”

Elias let Feather fall from his grip, and though the motion caused him immeasurable pain, he reached out, grabbing the changeling’s armor as he slammed his forehead into the creature’s muzzle. It yelped in pain, and in its panic, it tore the sword from his thigh. Elias cried out again as his hand dropped to the wound, clutching it to stem the tide of blood flowing forth. The changeling snarled at him, then laughed loudly.

“Well played human!” it called mockingly. “Accepting death is for the weak, and you have proven that you deserve more. Let us make it last, together!”

A hoof slammed into Elias’ cheek, and he flopped to his side, his tongue rolling in his mouth limply as he struggled to stay awake. Everything hurt so much… Elias felt a warm feeling in his leg, followed by another punch into his jaw as the changeling cackled.

“Ah, ah, ah,” it mocked, “you aren’t allowed to bleed to death just yet human. I must show the hive how to take you apart should we ever encounter another of your kind.”

Elias recoiled in disgust as he felt a slimy tongue on his right cheek.

“Or perhaps I should convert you; your savagery would serve the hive well, and I think breaking your will would be most enjoyable.”

Elias weakly attempted to headbutt the changeling again, but the creature merely laughed as it pulled back. It then slammed its forehead into his own, jarring Elias as he struggled to maintain consciousness.

“That’s right human, fight. Fight to survive, that instinct will serve us well.”

Elias could feel the air crackle with energy, and the changeling released him to fall onto his back as it charged a spell. He heard a multitude of hoofsteps as the rest of the changeling’s closed in.

“Come brothers, let us bring another into the hive. We shall welcome this human as one of our own, and he shall serve the queen well.”

He didn’t know what that meant, but he wasn’t going to wait to find out. Elias felt the hilt of Feather under his fingertips. He counted to three, waiting until the energy felt like it had reached its zenith. Then, using the last wind he had left in his broken body, he lurched up, stabbing the blade through the changeling’s chest. The power dissipated over his head, and the other changeling’s shrieked in horror. Elias felt his hatred rise, and his left fist rose, pounding the changeling blindly in the jaw.

“You thought… I would just lay down… and die?” Elias growled.

He shouted with rage as he lurched up, using his weight to drag the changeling to the ground. It gasped wetly in his grasp, but he didn’t let it fight back. Instead, he let Feather go, using both fists to pound the changeling’s face, using the differences in colors to remain on target. The shrieks continued as a buzzing rose in the air. Fresh rage gave him new energy and his fists rose like hammers, pounding down on the anvil that was the changeling’s face.

As his fist hit the changeling’s helmet, Elias roared in pain, ripping the armor free, before using it to continue bludgeoning the bug before him. He felt the strange material bend under the force of his hits, and though he felt a blade tear into his ribs, Elias ignored it as the changeling’s around him shrieked. A strange sensation passed over Elias, causing him to momentarily hesitate. The next punch quickly fell however, and Elias continued beating away at the changeling before him.

Only when he felt his fist enter the goo of the changeling’s brain did he stop, sitting back on his heels as he stared blindly at the sky. He didn’t know what happened, but the rest of the changeling’s were gone, the air silent of their buzzing and chattering. Elias felt around, clasping Feather’s hilt as he dragged the blade across the wet stones to his side. Swallowing roughly, Elias then attempted to stand. The wound in his leg, while partially healed by the armored changeling, still wept blood, and Elias could feel it draining his energy as he limped around, trying to stumble into his scutum. Even if he had scared off the changeling’s nearby, more would come. He made too easy a target.

Elias was ultimately fine with that. It meant they would be watching him, attacking him, rather than somepony else. Elias felt his sandaled toe kick his shield as he realized that he hadn’t thought someone. If he could move his face, Elias imagined he would have laughed. As it was, his mouth was twisted shut by the swelling of his cheek. A low growl escaped, but that was all.

Hooking his foot through the straps of his scutum, Elias limped in the direction he remembered the statue being. His sword arm swung blindly, and when Feather touched stone, Elias reached out with his left hand, eventually finding the statue. He dragged himself to rest on it, sighing as his body screamed a million different signals, most of them about the damage he had taken. Elias ignored all of them as he focused on breathing and listening. The only sound he could hear was the wind whispering through the trees, so Elias leaned back, his bare head touching the legs of the statue as he waited, Feather across his lap.

*****

Luna cursed her current frailty, cursed the changelings, and most of all cursed Elias for being the brave idiot he was. She had misremembered the routes to the exit, and after two backtracking attempts, she and Night Flash were only just getting to the entrance. She made a note to leave markers in the tunnels that she, and she alone would understand. Perhaps hieroglyphs, that would suffice. Better than stumbling about blindly like some kind of buffoon. As she gulped in air, she pointed wordlessly to the door that led to the side of Canterlot mountain. Night Flash pushed past her, making ready to charge the door, when a pulse of magic passed over them in the form of a massive bubble spell. Luna blinked, looking the direction of the castle. Had Celestia wasted their effort? Luna tasted the magic, then confirmed, no, no it originated from two ponies, not one. Luna scowled as she detected Cadence’s magic, but quickly identified that it didn’t originate from the alicorn’s personal magic stores, but rather her ambient ones. It was most strange, but Luna had no doubt that their efforts over the past few months were not for naught. Or so she hoped.

Luna looked to Night Flash, who was frowning at her in confusion.

“Go to the castle, see what has happened,” Luna said. “I shall find Guardsman Bright.”

Night Flash hesitated.

“But I’m faster Princess, what if Red is hurt? Or what if he needs help?”

Luna walked to the door, putting in the simple lock to open it.

“I suspect that the changelings have been evicted from Canterlot, and Guardsman Bright will need medical attention. You are faster, that is why you shall check on the situation in the castle, find a medical team, and bring them to the garden immediately, am I clear Guardspony Flash?”

Night Flash nodded, and he took off like an arrow as soon as the door opened wide enough for him to squeeze through. Luna followed as best as her exhausted body was able, running up the narrow stairs that were cleverly hidden with invisibility runes placed centuries ago. They had originally been designed for smuggling wine into the castle by Celestia during a prohibitionary period, but Luna had easily repurposed them for her own devices, and with a few stone shifting spells, she was more than sure even her sister would have a difficult time in the sewers. As she cleared another flight of stairs, Luna’s only regret was not putting in an elevator.

It took her far longer than she would have liked, and she felt very much not like a princess, but once she reached the top of the stares, she sprinted toward the gardens, weaving between the trees as she raced for the sealed entrance. Throughout the run, she encountered nobody, pony or changeling. She hoped that was a good sign, rather than one of the potential multitudes of negative ones. If she didn’t have to conserve her magic, Luna would have been sending off a hundred letters a minute to find out the situation, to save lives, but for now, she would just have to do her best to save one.

The clearing was devastated, and Luna couldn’t suppress a gasp as she looked upon it. Blood and changeling goo coated the ground. A body with a smashed in head twitched amongst a particularly nasty pool of gore. Luna did her best to ignore the corpse as she looked around for Elias. As still as he was, Luna missed the human the first time, but when she saw him, she could only stare in horror.

The human was covered from head to toe in gore, and it was clear that a lot of it was his own. His face had been cut apart, and deep wounds seeped at key points in his body, including a nasty wound across his belly. The horn still rested in his hip, and a fresh wound seeped from his previously broken leg. Elias sat on the pedestal of the statue, blindly staring forward, unmoving and pale as he waited with a chilling stillness. His sword sat in his blood-soaked hands, shining in spite of the gore that decorated it.

Luna took a few cautious steps toward the human, trying to see if he was still breathing. As her hoofsteps clattered on the stones, Elias’ head shot in her direction, seeking her out through hearing alone.

“Who’s there?” he asked with a grumbling croak.

Luna noted a nasty gash on his throat, and as it seeped blood, she realized that she had no way to help him. His marred face twitched, and the timber of his voice raised as his torso turned in her direction.

“I said, who’s there?” Elias asked loudly, his voice slurring as he spoke.

Luna heard fear in that voice, though it was slight. She put on her best smile, even though she knew he couldn’t see it, and she spoke softly.

“It is I Guardsman, it is Princess Luna.”

Instead of comforting the human, her words seemed to agitate him. Elias’ grip on his gladius tightened and he tried to rise to his feet. Instead of putting up a staunch defense, Elias collapsed with a groan, revealing a large puddle of blood that stained the pedestal where he had been sitting. Luna rushed forward, catching his head in her wings as he flopped to the ground. His sightless, swollen face stared at her.

“C-can’t trust y-you,” he spat out. “C-could be one of them. Scarlet was.”

He seemed to wither under that admission, but Luna couldn’t focus on that right now, she needed to keep him alive. Blood trickled down his chin, and Luna cast about desperately for even a simple bandage. She gently grabbed his hand, stopping it from gripping the gladius he was searching for. She guided his bloody fingers to her chest, and stroked his arm softly, taking care not to run her hoof over any of the bite marks that ran up and down the limb.

“I am real Elias,” Luna said softly. “and I am here for you.”

The human shivered in her grasp, and she quickly got over her disgust for the gore painting the human as she pressed herself against his chest, covering his body with her wings as she laid her head near his neck, pressing her ear against his skin to feel for a pulse. His heart was beating a mile a minute, strained for a million different reasons, but it was still going strong. Luna smiled at the sound.

“Y-you used my name,” Elias said softly. The tension drained from his body. “Y-you’re real Princess. None of the changelings knew my name.”

Luna nodded silently, continuing to stroke the human as she prayed for Night Flash to hurry. Any pony would suffice, so long as they had bandages. With the amount of red decorating the dirt, it was a miracle that Elias was awake, let alone coherent enough to be making rational justifications. More and more blood seeped forth, and Luna had no way to stop it. It nearly brought her to tears at the thought of letting the human die to preserve her magic stores, but she had to be a princess first, and he was a guard after all. He knew that death was a real possibility. Luna stifled her emotions as she continued to keep the human warm.

“Princess?” a voice called through the trees, “Princess, where are you?”

“Here!” she called in response.

She ran a hoof through Elias’ hair, smiling at the human.

“Elias, are you still awake?” she asked hopefully.

He grunted in response, and his fingers curled slightly in her chest fur, causing Luna to giggle softly as Bloody Bandage and a fresh team of Royal Guards sprinted into the clearing, escorted by a wild looking Night Flash. He let out a yelp as he spotted Elias, and he attempted to run to the human’s side, only to be stopped by two of the Royal Guards. He growled at them, his wingblades flashing brilliantly as he prepared to force his way past, but he stopped when he saw a trio of healers shove even Luna out of the way as they set to work on the battered human. The alicorn blinked in a stupor as she rose to her feet, but she didn’t protest as the ponies quickly ripped away Elias’ armor. The pair of unicorn’s cast healing spell after healing spell on the human, while the pegasus set up a series of IV drips, stabbing needles into both of Elias’ arms to fill him with desperately needed fluids. As they lifted him onto a stretcher, Luna moved to Night Flash’s side, hugging him tightly with her wing. The pegasus watched the Royal Guards swarm over the stretcher, lifting it into the air as they carried the human toward the infirmary.

“Is he going to be alright Princess?” Night Flash asked quietly.

Luna nodded.

“Of course he is Guardspony, that human has survived worse, and recovered without issue. This is just another day in the office for him.”

Night Flash looked at the destroyed changeling.

“It happened again Princess. He lost control because of me.”

Luna sighed, feeling a deep tiredness.

“Yes, he did Guardspony. I cannot help but think of it in a positive light however.”

Night Flash looked to her with confusion in his eyes.

“How so?”

Luna smiled down at the pony and began to guide him away from the clearing, motioning subtly for the Royal Guards to begin clearing the mess.

“It just shows that he loves you very much Guardspony, he is willing to do anything to make sure you aren’t hurt.” She shivered as she began walking back toward the hidden staircase. “I shudder to think what would happen if Elias saw anypony hurt his dear mother.”

Night Flash snorted.

“Yeah, if we thought that was bad, I don’t think anypony wants to see what would happen if Bindey got hurt where Red could see. “

Though Luna could tell he was trying to make light of it, the thought clearly depressed the pony. He was likely worried sick about his mate. Luna rubbed his back softly.

“Fear not Guardspony, I have no doubts that Guardspony Book Binder is fine.” She snorted. “If anything, she is probably singlehandedly responsible for stopping the invasion, preserving scrolls with one hoof while eradicating changelings with the other, all in the name of her “baby boy”.”

That put a small smile on Night Flash’s face, and he chuckled as they walked. That smile quickly dissolved when he sighed loudly shaking his head.

“Is this going to ruin everything Princess?” Night Flash asked. “Is Red going to still want us?”

Luna stopped, turning the pony in her hooves quickly as she looked him seriously in the eyes.

“What he does or doesn’t want is irrelevant Guardspony,” Luna said plainly. “Elias will need you, and he will need you as soon as possible. He will be physically marred by this incident, and you, and Book Binder need to ignore it all. You must continue loving him as if nothing has happened. Nothing at all can change in your relationship, am I clear?”

“Marred?” Night Flash echoed. “But healing magic doesn’t leave any scars, not big ones at least.”

Luna shook him, trying to make him focus.

“Guardspony, listen to my words; nothing can change. Elias will be scarred, and you must treat him the same, am I clear? This is the single most important task I will ever give you as a guard.”

Night Flash blinked at her, but nodded.

“Alright Princess, but I still don’t get it. What’s wrong with Red? What do you mean by marred?”

Luna sighed, rubbing her forehead as she released the pegasus and resumed their march to retrieve the maid from her saferoom.

“Tell me Guardspony, what do you know about changeling magic?

Chapter 28: Scarred

Luna tried to massage away the migraine that was pounding away at her skull. The cleanup effort of the botched wedding, botched invasion, and then the make-up wedding was a monumental effort, one so significant that she had never gotten the opportunity to clean up. Gore still stained her normally pristine fur as she trudged toward her bedroom. After they had ensured the changelings had been evicted from Canterlot by Cadence and Shining Armor, she had immediately begun tasking the guard forces to find the replaced ponies, as well as hunt down any changeling stragglers that had escaped the love spell. It hadn’t taken long to find a massive pod room beneath the castle, filled to the brim with thousands of ponies, many of them replaced guards. By the early estimates, a full half of both the Lunar, and Solar Guards had been replaced, with only a few select members of the Royal Guard vanishing. Those were largely just their informants however, and they had only succeeded in distracting the elite force long enough for the invasion to take place. Either way, the effort was successful, and it demonstrated a complete, and utter failure in preparedness. They would need to shore up their illusion detection defenses if they wanted to prevent a repeat event.

Even as she walked the castle halls, ponies from all over Equestria were streaming in to Canterlot to contribute to the cleanup. Doctors and nurses poured in by the dozen, creating makeshift hospitals in the streets to free as many ponies from the pods as quickly as possible. Some of the ponies had been replaced for weeks, and would be bed-ridden due to the nasty changeling venom that kept them docile within the pods. Luna shuddered at the thought of breathing goo for weeks on end. Celestia had told her that it was awful for the few minutes she had experienced the sensation when she was captured, and to sustain that day after day… Luna was glad for the fresh support of the doctors.

In addition to medical staff, a host of other ponies; maids, carpenters, farmers laden with surplus food, and even the humble ditch diggers poured in as repairs were made in and around the castle. Luna had been surprised to hear that the most intense violence occurred around Elias. With the human being such an unknown factor, the changelings had marked him, and any with him, as kill on sight. Otherwise, they prioritized capture, content to siphon love from her subjects as they preyed on the city. Still, there were bodies to bury, blood to clean, and damage to mend. Mass graves were dug outside the walls for the changelings, while the bodies of fallen ponies were carried away in the hastily prepared coffins, shipped away to their homes so that they might find proper rest.

It was with this depressing thought, Luna turned the corner, and quickly spotted something very wrong outside her door; or rather, someone. Elias leaned heavily against the wall, a spear in one hand as he visibly teetered on the verge of passing out. White bandages covered every inch of his body, including his face, which was partially hidden under his still blood-soaked helmet. The plume was matted, its normally pristine blue stained black with blood. His armor was in rotted tatters, with much of it simply gone as it hung from his frame, and on a second glance, Luna noticed that Elias lacked his normal shield. He looked off without it. A quick whiff of the air found that the hallway reeked of blood, despite being clear of any gore. The first part of the castle to receive repairs had been her quarters and the hallways surrounding them. The source of the smell was obvious as the blind human turned to look at her. Thick pads of gauze were wrapped over his eyes, leaving his mouth partially obscured as he spoke.

“Evening Princess,” he said quietly. He then chuckled weakly, clutching at his stomach as he did so. “Or at least I think its evening. Can’t really check the time, now can I?”

Luna was torn between a need to sweep the human off his feet to force him to rest, or to yell at him for being up in the first place. She also vaguely wondered how he knew that it was her, but she shoved that thought aside.

“Why are you not in the infirmary?” she asked him forcefully as she approached. “Your wounds are significant, and you need bed rest.”

Elias shrugged and his blinded eyes faced forward again.

“Scalpel needed the beds for the ponies he’s dragging out of those cocoon things. He’s full to the breaking point, so I made myself scarce.”

“And the reason you are not resting in your own room?” Luna asked.

Elias flinched at the question.

“It’s too quiet in there,” he responded. “So, I gave Scalpel the extra space. It has a working stove and running water, so the doctors can get anything and everything for their patients. It’s a recovery room for the time being.”

Luna sighed, and rubbed her forehead as she approached her bedroom door.

“I suppose I can’t scold you for giving your space to those in need, but why are you here Guardsman? You should not be on guard duty in your condition.”

He shrugged again as she stood before him. A closer inspection showed Luna that no attempt had been made to clean or mend his blue steel armor. Horrible rents painted black with blood covered the armor, and Luna noted a few that she hadn’t been able to see before. She would be impressed at his fortitude if she wasn't nearly enraged that he wasn’t currently trying to pull a guard shift in his state.

“Captain Nightshade needed someone on the position,” Elias said. “We’re stretched thin, and everyone who can is out hunting changelings, so the guards who are able to stand are being assigned to the normal positions around the castle. Something about providing a sense of security, I wasn't paying attention." He shrugged a third time. "I fit well enough into that category, so she gave me the easy duty, brought me here, then left. This section of the castle is blocked off from anybody except guards and princesses for the time being, so I just have to stand around, and attack whoever doesn’t fit into one of those categories.”

“And how do you know that I am not a member of the nobility with a voice altering spell?” Luna asked playfully.

“A member of the nobility wouldn’t have gasped like I shot their dog when they walked around that corner,” Elias responded smoothly, his sightless eyes facing her as he grinned wearily.

Luna snorted.

“You can hardly blame me; you should not be up Elias, and I will not let you remain as you are.”

She opened her bedroom door, then calmly levitated the human inside. Due to Celestia’s failed attempt to brawl with Chrysalis, they were already going to be leaving a few weeks later, so Luna saw no issue casting a few minor spells to help her contain the human, who was already trying to squirm free. Whether a result of his injuries, or from what was likely a drained well of energy, said struggles were weak, and Luna was easily able to disarm, and dis-armor the human. His blood-soaked tunic quickly followed, though Luna took care to not obliterate the garment like she did last time.

“What are you doing?” Elias asked, his voice showing only the barest of traces of irritation.

“You can perform your duties just as well from my side while you rest,” Luna responded.

To serve her point, she levitated his sword belt into his hands as she set Elias down on her bed. Before the human could make any attempts to rise, Luna joined him, curling around his body as she levitated over her dragonfire candle and the host of letters she would be working on. Her horn then fell dark as she began conserving her magic once more, sure that she had easily caught up to Celestia’s earlier use.

Luna set to work quickly, her hoof working at lightning speed as she put the quill to paper. Only after the first letter was written and sent did she realize that she hadn’t heard any further words of protest from Elias. She looked down to the human to find him snoring softly, the sound music to her ears as she smiled widely. Even covered in bandages like something out of a horror story, the human looked positively adorable as he slept. Luna briefly wished she could recall Book Binder and Night Flash and have them curl up with their adopted son, but unfortunately, the two had remained unscathed enough that they were deployed on the changeling hunt. If Luna remembered the initial reports correctly, they were somewhere near Appleloosa, and would return in a few days.

Elias snorted in his sleep, and Luna felt her heart melt when he cuddled tighter against her side. The human’s face momentarily twisted in a scowl, but when Luna rubbed his back with her wing, it shifted into a content smile as he sighed and relaxed against her body. That smile vanished, as did Luna’s when a loud knock echoed at through her door. Elias scowled as he shifted in his sleep, and Luna covered his body with her wing as she called softly to the unwelcome intruder.

“Come in, and do so quietly.”

Nightshade opened the door with a nasty snarl across her face. The thestral had heavy bags under eyes, and a look of pure rage decorated her golden eyes as she looked at Luna.

“Where is Guardsman Bright? He said he could handle a guard shift, and yet he’s not at his post. When I find him I’m going to give that lazy human a piece of my hoof up his a-“

“That is quite enough Captain,” Luna whispered harshly.

She lifted her wing to reveal Elias, his bandaged face twisting in discomfort at the sudden lack of his blanket. His left hand weakly reached out to snatch the feathered limb back, while his right clutched his sword belt as if his life depended on it. As his fingers found her feathers, Luna let the limb fall back over the human. He let out another sigh and his snores quickly resumed as Luna smiled down at the sleeping human. She then looked to Nightshade, who was staring at the covered human in shock. Luna lightly cleared her throat, and the thestral’s eyes found hers.

“Princess I… did he ask to do this?”

Luna shook her head.

“No Captain, but it would not do to let one who fought as hard as Elias did to stand guard. He is at his physical breaking point, and that will only further add to his emotional strain. I brought him inside and removed his armor to let him sleep.” She looked down at the snoring human. “He needs it.”

Nightshade sighed and nodded.

“He’s not the only one. Princess, I came here for two reasons, well one really, but now that I’m here…”

“What do you need Captain?” Luna asked, cutting through the rambling.

Nightshade took a deep breath.

“Princess, I just wanted to apologize for my complete and utter failure. The fault for the invasion rests solely at my hooves.” She glared at the floor as her ears pinned themselves to the side of her head. “I should have noticed the changes among the guards, I should have better prepped for something like this, and… I didn’t. Ponies got hurt because of my failings, and I’m sorry for failing my duties.”

Luna opened her mouth to reply, but she felt Elias shift under her wing. His blind face poked through the feathers and he sightlessly stared at Nightshade. A hard frown was on his face as he and the thestral stared at each other. Sniffing loudly, Elias cleared his throat, then he spoke slowly as he woke up fully.

“It’s good to be sorry Captain, but it’s better to start learning from the mistake. What are we looking at in terms of casualties?”

“Wounded?” Nightshade asked. “Counting all of the ponies put in pods; four hundred Lunar Guards, six hundred Solar Guards, and well over a thousand civilians. Dead?” She flinched at the word. “Three civilians, and ten Solar Guards. We got lucky.”

Elias nodded.

“That we did. I imagine the changelings are licking uglier wounds than we are, but it doesn’t matter what their doing, what matters is what we’re going to do. Feeling sorry only helps so much, use it as a catalyst to improve everything. More detection, stronger guards, better awareness for missing people. Never be unprepared again. Learn from the mistakes now while the casualties are negligible. Thirteen ponies? I know that by myself I killed at least double that number in changelings.”

Nightshade snorted softly.

“Four times actually. We tallied the bodies. You killed at least fifty-two that we can directly confirm that were you, but that number could easily be doubled if we tried harder. We found dozens of bodies in your wake.”

Elias shrugged the stat away.

“Doesn’t matter. It’s a minor victory that doesn’t matter to anyone who knows what they’re doing. We need to focus on the fact that we almost lost.”

He turned to look up at Luna.

“Speaking of, how did we win? I remember something weird passing over me, but I had no idea what it was.”

“Shining Armor and Princess Cadence used the power of their love to drive the changelings away,” Luna responded. “It manifested in the form of a bubble shield that largely pushed the invaders back into the Badlands. The changelings that managed to remain in Equestria’s borders will not do so for long.”

Though she couldn’t see it, Luna had no doubt in her mind that Elias was staring at her as if she had sprouted a second horn. The human grumbled something under his breath, then disappeared back under her feathers.

“Sorry Princess, but I’m too tired to be dealing with more nonsense right now. I’m going back to bed.”

“Oh no you don’t.” Nightshade said.

She moved fast, grabbing Elias’ foot as she dragged him away from Luna’s grasp.

“You have an appointment with the Doc. He says he found someone to speed up your healing regimen.”

Elias groaned loudly as he was dragged across the bed, and Luna felt pleased as a peach that he reached an arm out to try and stay at her side. She knew it was likely due to blood loss, but the human was actively craving physical affection. A silver lining to his horrific injuries. Nightshade was stronger however, and she forced Elias to stand at her side as she pushed him toward the door.

“Quit being a baby Guardsman, you can get your snuggle buddy back when we’re done,” Nightshade said with a wink back at Luna, who blushed lightly.

Elias sighed and rubbed at his forehead.

“Fine, but I need help finding my armor. And my clothes,” he tried to shoot a glare at Luna, but he was a few inches off as he sent a nasty look at her nightstand. “ponies keep taking them, and I still don’t know why.”

Luna scoffed.

“You were wearing a nasty, bloodstained tunic, and it smelled. I would not allow something so vile to touch my bed sheets.”

“Is that why you’re still covered in blood?” Elias responded.

Luna blinked, then looked down at her fur. Sure enough, she had completely forgotten that she had never cleaned up; the human had completely distracted her. She flushed red with embarrassment as she realized that she likely stunk as badly as he did. She glared at the human, who was smiling at her right shoulder.

“Go to your healing session Guardsman!” she shouted. “Captain, ensure that he returns to my quarters so that I may punish him for his insolence.”

Nightshade gave her a goofy grin, but saluted and grabbed Elias gently by the arm as she guided the blind human to the door. As they left, Luna gave herself a sniff, then recoiled in disgust. She quickly penned a letter to the cleaning staff requesting fresh sheets, then she got to her feet and sprinted into her bathroom, more than ready to scrub herself clean.

*****

Elias stared at darkness as he waited silently. Around him, the sounds of ponies retching told him that he was in the infirmary, or at least somewhere being treated as an infirmary. He had been told that the effort to free everyone from the pods would take days, and the longer it took, the more severe the aftereffects. As a result, the pods were being given around the clock treatment as the doctors and nurses of Canterlot worked at a furious pace to get everyone free. It was one of the reasons Elias had excused himself as soon as he had come to. Though it hurt like hell, he could move enough to free a bed, and he wasn’t at any risk of dying, so he didn’t need it. A part of his mind knew that Scarlet was hidden somewhere in that army of pods, and he would be damned if he let the pegasus suffer anymore than he already had.

Elias felt someone tap on his knee, and he did his best to approximate the source of the tapping.

“Yep?” he asked quietly.

“Elias, next to me is Doctor Horse, from Ponyville,” Scalpel said slowly. “He’s a specialist in healing spells, so he’s going to be helping me remove your bandages so that you can see again, alright?”

Elias snorted.

“My ears are working fine Doc; you don’t need to talk like that.”

Scalpel sighed, and Elias imagined that the unicorn was rubbing his forehead.

“Same thing, different day with you,” he grumbled. “Go ahead Doctor, and don’t worry about hurting him, he won’t tell you if he’s in any pain.”

Elias grinned in the direction of the pony’s voice.

“Aw Scalpel, you have been listening,” he said mockingly.

Elias heard Scalpel grumble as he moved away, then he felt another tap on his knee.

“Elias, I am Doctor Horse, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine if you can get me at least one eye back,” Elias replied. “I’m not big on being led around; I’d like to walk on my own, thank you very much.”

“Let’s see if we can’t get both of your eyes back, hm?” Doctor Horse replied. “Please lie back, I don’t want to accidentally graze anything as I’m removing your bandages.”

Elias nodded silently, then felt behind him as he made sure that he wouldn’t fall off the bed. Doctor Horse helped him by guiding his head down, then by lifting Elias’ bandaged legs onto the bed. The unicorn moved around the bed, then tapped an uninjured part of Elias’ arm.

“Alright Elias, I’m going to start with what I’m told is the lighter of the two wounds. I want to make sure you can see out of at least one eye by the end of today, okay?”

Elias nodded.

“Alright Doc.”

Elias twitched nervously as he felt hooves gently pulling away the bandages on the right side of his face. As he slowly pulled back the gauze pads, Doctor Horse said;

“You may wish to close your eyes. It’s awfully bright in here, and it might irritate them if you get flooded with light all at once.”

Elias nodded and closed his eyes, watching the light grow under his right eyelid. Doctor Horse clicked his tongue, but Elias could almost hear him smile as he gently touched a hoof to Elias’ face.

“Well, that one isn’t so bad at all. I think we can even get rid of the scar. Doctor Scalpel did a marvelous job.”

Elias slowly cracked his eye open, blinking rapidly as he let it adjust to the light of the infirmary. A yellow unicorn with glasses smiled back at him as the pony prodded at his eyebrow.

“Not bad at all,” Doctor Horse said, his horn lighting up.

Elias felt a warm sensation pass through his face, and then Doctor Horse clapped his hooves together.

“Good as new!” he proudly declared, levitating a mirror to Elias’ hand.

The human took it, inspecting his eye carefully. The changeling’s sword had managed to miss it, and as the remains of the cut sealed itself, Elias was able to confirm that it was good as new; the blue of his eye was its usual simmering self, though he was fairly proud to note that there was less rage hiding just below the surface. He snorted as he set the mirror down. Book Binder would likely tackle him if she ever heard about the full extent of his wounds, and honestly, Elias was becoming less and less resistant to the idea. It was a... good feeling. Or at least Elias thought it was. That was positive, right?

Doctor Horse moved around the side of the bed once more, dipping into Elias’ blind spot.

“Give me just a moment Elias, and I’ll have this side fixed up just as good.”

Elias gave the pony a thumbs up, then scanned the infirmary as the unicorn went to work. It was full to capacity, but Elias suspected that it wouldn’t be so for much longer. A multitude of nurses ran pell-mell between the beds, quickly delivering buckets for vomiting, and returning just as quickly to collect them. IV’s hung on poles by each bed, and the ponies that weren’t pitching their guts to the ground were resting calmly, tucked under multi-colored quilts with what looked like apples on them. Somepony’s donation likely.

It took a second for Elias to realize that the sound by his head was gone, as was the bandage. He blinked stupidly as he stared at the ceiling with both eyes, then he turned, smiling widely at Doctor Horse.

“What do you know?” Elias said in an unusually cheerful manner. “Both eyes back, just like you said Doc. I guess a thank you is in order.”

Elias’ good cheer turned into confusion as the pony looked at him with horror written all over his face. Elias blinked, then tilted his head as he looked at the unicorn.

“You alright Doc?” Elias asked. “What, is there a bad scar or something?”

Doctor Horse shook his head slowly, then spun around and sprinted away from Elias’ bedside. The human winced and held his stomach wound carefully as he sat up, staring in confusion after the fleeing pony. Several of the nurses stopped in confusion as well, staring after the pony’s retreating brown tail, then they looked to Elias, who stared back in confusion. They gasped loudly and quickly set about their tasks, casting him nervous glances as they intentionally avoided eye contact. Elias briefly considered rising from his bed to ask what the issue was, but something made him decide against it. Instead, he laid back, staring at the familiar ceiling as he began to silently count the stone tiles. He reached fifty-two before Scalpel was at his bedside. The unicorn gasped softly, but unlike Doctor Horse, he didn’t flee, and he didn’t look at Elias like he was some kind of monster. The unicorn instead began gently prodding Elias’ face with his hoof, making notes on a clipboard as he asked a series of questions.

“Elias, do you feel any tightness in your face?” Scalpel asked quietly

“No, is there something wrong?” Elias asked carefully.

Scalpel tsked, and levitated over a black bag, from which he pulled a number of tools, poking at Elias’ cheek.

“I don’t think so, but I haven’t exactly seen a case like this, so I’m going to send a letter to Princess Luna. She should know if there’s any problems.”

Scalpel levitated a small flashlight in front of Elias’ left eye and clicked it on.

“Do you see anything abnormal?” Scalpel asked, covering Elias’ right eye with his hoof.

Elias shrugged and stared at the pony.

“Define abnormal,” Elias responded sarcastically, “because if we’re going by the human standard, that list will be long.”

Scalpel snorted and shook his head.

“I think we can safely cross off impact of the mental state.”

The unicorn then sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Elias, I need to move you somewhere more private, and I’ll you why when we get there, it’s just… look, you have a nasty scar now and it’s going to scare ponies. I’m going to cover up your left eye, then you and I are going for a walk, okay?”

Elias immediately felt suspicion return to the forefront of his mind, and his eyes narrowed as he stared at the pony.

“What does it look like?” Elias asked cautiously.

Scalpel paused, the bandages he was intending to use floating in the air next to his head. The unicorn then sighed.

“Elias, I say this as your friend, but just… trust me? I don’t know enough about what’s happened to make an accurate diagnosis, and once you see it, you’ll have questions that I can’t answer. We just need to get you somewhere isolated, have the princesses look at it, and then we’ll go from there, okay?”

Elias scowled at the pony, and he was briefly tempted to force Scalpel to show him, but part of his mind relished the excuse to see Luna again, so he silently nodded and laid back as the bandage drifted over, re-covering the left half of his face. He heard a soft pop, what he assumed was Scalpel sending off the letter, and then the stallion was helping Elias off of the bed. The nurses still gave him glances as they walked past, but they were tempered now, and Elias wondered what could be so bad about a scar on his eye that hadn’t even affected his vision.

As they left the infirmary, a letter popped into existence beside Scalpel’s head, and the unicorn read it swiftly, guiding Elias back toward Luna’s room. The blue alicorn met them outside, and Elias briefly noticed that her starry mane looked wet, something that seemed odd as it continued to flow.

“Come,” Luna said. “We can look at the damage in comfort if nothing else.”

Elias tsked as he walked into the room that he had been in only a short while ago.

“Princess, did you redecorate?” he joked. “It’s been so long, and the place has changed so much.”

Luna snorted and smiled, then seemed to catch herself, and gave him a deadpan look as she sat him on the bed.

“If that is your best attempt at a jest Guardsman, you will have to try harder.”

Elias shrugged as Scalpel dragged a chair before the human and sat down in it.

“Made you laugh, didn’t I?”

Luna rolled her eyes, then sat down next to Scalpel as the unicorn set down his bag of tools. She tsked softly as she looked at the right side of Elias’ face.

“His injuries seem on track for healing. It was the left eye that had the abnormality yes?”

Scalpel nodded, looking toward the bandages covering Elias’ face. His horn lit up, and Elias blinked as the white drifted away from his eye, allowing him to see fully. Luna frowned and prodded Elias’ cheek with her hoof.

“That’s what Doctor Horse found when he removed the bandages,” Scalpel said. “As far as I can tell it’s just a physical change. Elias said he didn’t feel or see any different, but I’m out of my depth here.”

Luna nodded.

“You were wise to contact me immediately. Have you checked on his other wounds yet?”

Scalpel shook his head.

“No Princess, I haven’t. I don’t even know what caused this one to react like it has.”

Elias looked between the ponies in confusion.

“Can someone fill me in here?” he asked. “What’s wrong with my face?”

Luna ignored his question, and she pressed a hoof on his shoulder, guiding him to lie down. Elias frowned silently at the ceiling, and as the ponies moved onto the bed to look at his other wounds, he felt himself drifting away to sleep. The blankets were incredibly soft, and he had two of his friends right next to him, all soft and warm…

Elias hissed in pain, brought back to consciousness violently as Luna jabbed a hoof into his leg. He swatted away the offending hoof with one hand as the other clamped down over the throbbing injury. Elias glared at the alicorn.

“What was that for?” Elias asked.

Luna gave him a sympathetic look, then guided him to lie back down.

“My apologies Elias, but I am without my normal means to analyze your wounds. We can not risk altering your mental state with a numbing spell either, so you must endure while Steel Scalpel and I asses them.”

She gently took his hand in her hoof and guided it away from the wound, then Scalpel prodded at it again. Elias bit his tongue, and tensed up to prevent himself from smacking the unicorn. The pain didn’t last long though, and once it was through, Scalpel replaced the bandage on his leg wound. The unicorn frowned as he looked at Luna.

“Princess I don’t understand. That wound resists healing magic, but once healed leaves no noticeable scarring.”

Luna nodded.

“Indeed, take a look at the wound in Elias’ hip while I question him about my theory.”

Luna obscured his view of the ceiling as her green eyes stared down at him. Elias felt another bandage peel away, but felt no pain as Scalpel prodded the wound.

“Tell me Elias, the changeling that caused many of these wounds, what was it like?” Luna asked.

Elias frowned in thought for a moment before answering.

“Physically speaking, it was the same as the rest, but it wore blue armor and used actual weapons.”

“The weapons,” Luna seized upon, “what were they like?”

“One was a sword,” Elias replied simply. “It had this green energy around it, but otherwise it seemed fine. It hurt like any other cut.”

“And the other weapon?” Luna asked as she motioned for Scalpel to move to a wound on Elias’ other leg.

“An axe,” Elias replied. “It had this black glow around it, and it hurt like hell when it hit. The sword cut the right side of my face, while the axe cut the left.”

Luna disappeared from his view, and she tapped a wound on his left leg.

“And this cut? Which weapon cause it?” she asked.

“The axe,” Elias responded without looking.

“And this one?” she asked, tapping his gut.

“The axe again,” Elias responded, his irritation rising. “Can I ask what point you are trying to make here Princess? I have about a hundred different cuts, what difference does one nasty looking weapon do?”

Luna sighed, and she and Scalpel helped Elias sit up. He was quick to notice several ugly black marks across his body where some of his wounds should have been. Of note on his body were three of the black covered wounds, one on his left leg, one across his stomach, and the third in his side where the changeling horn had been. Elias felt numb inside as he ran a finger across the wound on his leg, quickly recognizing the feeling as the chitin that covered the changelings. The hard, black material melded seamlessly with his skin, the pink flesh not at all discolored. Elias softly rubbed at the wound on his gut, finding the same thing. The wound on his hip was in an identical state.

As Elias discovered his wounds, Scalpel and Luna watched him silently, each with sympathy written clearly on their faces. For some reason, that irritated Elias, even going so far as to make him angry. He didn’t need sympathy, he needed answers. Elias ran his thumb along his cheekbone to scratch his nose, but froze when his thumbnail momentarily rubbed against more chitin. His anger flashed defensively as panic raced to the forefront of his mind. Doctor Horse had run away, the nurses refused to look at him, Scalpel isolated him away from everyone else. It all clicked. He just had to confirm it.

Elias glared at Luna and Scalpel.

“What happened to my eye?” he growled.

The ponies exchanged a look, but neither answered. Elias felt his face twitch as his anger flashed up further.

“What. Happened. To. My. Fucking. Eye,” Elias repeated slowly, doing his best to keep his rage from his voice.

Scalpel flinched at his tone, while Luna sighed and laid a hoof on his arm.

“Before we show you, I can safely say that it is nothing more than a physical abnormality. I can detect no magic in you now, just like I couldn’t detect any before. You are still completely human in every way, shape, and form. This kind of magic takes hours of exposure to provoke any serious changes to a being, and with your magicless state, it would take even longer.” She sighed again. “I believe it was the severity of your wounds that caused the changes as they are, but be reassured that they will not grow any worse from where they are now.”

Elias couldn’t help but feel slightly relaxed at her words. Her voice was soothing and calm, flying in the face of the building rage in his mind. It tempered the winds of anger, and Elias exhaled loudly as he stared at his hands.

“Show me,” he said, his voice only slightly angry.

Luna gave him a small smile, then nodded toward her dresser. Scalpel rose nervously from his seat and he trotted over to the piece of furniture, quickly retrieving a hand mirror before returning, cautiously handing over to Elias. The human momentarily hesitated before directing the reflective surface toward his face, but as he did so, he felt fear creep into his being.

A thick, black scar ran down from his hairline, splitting his eyebrow in two as it ran down his cheek, ending on his chin. That wasn’t the worst part, however. His eye… Elias peeled back his eye socket with two fingers as he looked at the pure blue orb. It had changed completely, and instead of his normal human eye with its blue iris, a changeling’s eye stared back, with a slitted, white iris bisecting it. The eye blinked in time with him, and as he looked around with it, he realized that it felt like normal, it was simply different. It was the eye of an enemy, of the enemy. The bugs had almost taken his best friend away, had nearly killed Luna. And now… Now he was like them, at least partially. Another mark of failure. His failure.

Elias flipped the mirror over in his hands as he handed it back to Scalpel, not looking up as he felt the energy drain from his body. He was incredibly tired, and the urge to curl up and never move again had never been stronger in his mind. He did his best to not let it show, but by the way Luna was looking at him, Elias could tell that he had failed miserably. Now that he knew, he couldn't just get the image of the way the nurses had looked at him out of his head. He was already an oddity that attracted stares, but now everyone would fear his mere presence . That cut his core, and Elias couldn't quite figure out why.

“A monster inside and out now, huh?” he asked bitterly, the words feelings right.

Luna scowled at him, but her gaze quickly softened.

“Neither of those things are true Elias. You are a hero. These scars were earned in the defense of me, my ponies, and my kingdom. I, nor anypony else could ask more from you.”

The words bounced off of Elias’ wall of mind-numbing self-hatred. He took a deep breath, and tapping his leg gently, he assessed that he had enough strength to find somewhere to curl up in a ball to sleep. Elias suppressed a grunt as he pushed himself to his feet.

“Meet you in the infirmary for my next healing session?” Elias asked Scalpel.

The unicorn nodded sadly.

“Tomorrow Elias, bright and early as always.”

The human nodded and walked around the two ponies numbly. He couldn’t feel anything as he cracked open Luna’s door and slipped out, his mind wandering as his feet carried him to some unknown destination.

Chapter 29: Shaken Resolve

Journal Entry

Day 2050

They shouldn’t be here. They shouldn’t care. I’m no better than an animal. They shouldn’t be taking care of me, shouldn’t be helping me at all. They’re going out of their way to make sure I get better, and I know better than to think they have the resources to do it. I keep trying to drive them away, but they won’t listen. They say I’m delirious, and I probably am, but they still need to leave. It isn’t safe out here. It’s never been safe out here. The village though… Well stocked, solid leadership, and plentiful numbers. Safety. As safe as you can get. Safer than some psycho with a broken leg, broken arm, broken ribs, broken collarbone…

They need to leave. It’s the only way they’ll survive. Damn them for their stubbornness, and damn me for my weakness, because I couldn’t bear to see them go.

Elias stared with dead eyes at the plate before him, the large steak decorating it looking entirely unappetizing despite his immense hunger. Three days had passed since the revelation that he had been scarred and now looked like some sort of monster, and they had been the longest three days he had experienced since he had come to Equestria.

Everyone he knew was gone. Scalpel, after finishing with the castle’s medical needs had quickly moved to Canterlot General, adding his talents to the pod freeing efforts there. It was there that they had found Scarlet Shield, but with such extended time in the cocoon, the pegasus was still in the recovery ward of the castle in an induced coma. He wasn’t supposed to wake up for another week, but Elias prayed that he would awaken earlier. As for all of his other guard friends, they were still out on changeling hunts, scouring Equestria for any more pockets of the nasty little bugs. From what little word he had gotten, at least three other cities had minor pockets of infiltrators, driving home the continued need for the guard forces to be out and about. All three forces were largely deployed, with only a few dozen guards left in Canterlot, primarily consisting of those freed from the pods, or those who had been injured like Elias had. The halls seemed empty, and far too quiet without the guards, and every day Elias spent endless hours wandering about, looking for a familiar face to talk too.

In the end, only Luna and Anyon had stayed behind. Anyon wasn’t available, as he was still working on the big secret order the princesses had given him. Said order was so important that Elias wasn’t even allowed to sit quietly in the smithy, something the human would have enjoyed, because then he could have at least been near somebody. As for Luna… Elias avoided her when he could. The more he looked at their “friendship” the more he realized that it wasn’t a friendship at all. She saw him as a project, something to fix, nothing more. Every conversation became a mission to get him to open up, and he found that he couldn’t talk with her. He just wanted to talk of nothing, or at the very least go back and forth, trading inner turmoil for something personal about the alicorn, but she never seemed willing, dismissing his concerns as extraneous as she tried to learn more about him. He couldn’t stand it, and so he did what he seemed to be doing a lot lately. He ran and hid, too much of a coward to stand up for himself.

As Elias stared at his full plate, he wished just one pony had stayed behind with him. He’d take anyone, even the quiet Gray Granite. The earth pony was usually a silent presence at their lunch table, and he was a big listener. Elias had shared barely a dozen sentences with the earth pony, yet his heart still ached to see him, even if it was just that silent smile he always seemed to have.

It physically hurt Elias to admit that he missed Book Binder and Night Flash especially. He missed the feeling of having them close, missed all of the motherly gestures that Book Binder showered on him. He wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed with the ponies at his side, acting as fuzzy pillows as they slept in a pile, content with each other’s presence. Most of all however, he was terrified of the pair. What would they think about him now? Every time a pony looked at his bad eye, they would gasp and try to scurry away, avoiding his gaze. Before Scalpel had left, he had set up Elias with an illusionist who specialized in covering up facial scars with enchanted pairs of glasses, but those wouldn’t be ready for at least another two weeks. Until then, he was stuck, and his mind shaken at the thought of his friends rejecting him on sight.

Elias ran a hand through his too long hair and pushed the bench back from the table. The noise was loud in the quiet cafeteria, but Elias didn’t care. He just needed to wander some more. Get his mind off of everything. As he got one stiff leg over the bench, the cafeteria doors slammed open and a very familiar and welcome blue form stared Elias down, his wings puffed out to the sides.

“Red!” Night Flash cried cheerfully as he sprinted at full tilt across the stone floor.

The pegasus barreled into Elias as he pinned the human to the bench, snuggling aggressively against his face. Though he sputtered loudly as fur got in his mouth, Elias made no real attempt to remove the hyper-affectionate pony, instead relishing the sudden burst of physical contact. It took a magical intervention by Book Binder for Elias to get an opportunity to breathe, and even then, Night Flash squirmed in the air as he tried to get back to attacking Elias. Book Binder rolled her eyes at the pegasus as she seated herself on the bench at Elias’ side as the human sat up. Only then did she set Night Flash on the ground. The pegasus pouted for a moment, then wiggled his rump as he scrambled up on Elias’ shoulders rubbing his cheek against Elias’ hair as he sighed happily. Elias shared the sentiment as he scooted close enough to Book Binder that he could feel her fur on his arm.

“You’re back I see,” Elias said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Yep!” Night Flash chirped, his hooves dangling around Elias’ neck. “Back to the normal guard shifts too! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna reduced the search to just the Royal Guardsponies, and even they won’t be out looking for changelings for much longer.”

“That’s good,” Elias said awkwardly.

The trio fell into a dead silence as they looked at each other. Elias didn’t know how to express how happy he was to seem them without seeming needy. He just wanted to pull them both close and never let go. Book Binder seemed catch on anyway, and she softly nuzzled his chest as she leaned against him.

“We missed you,” she said quietly.

It was more than enough to provoke a reaction from Elias. His arm snatched the unicorn up and he hugged her tightly to his chest while he rested his cheek in her mane. Book Binder giggled, and she nuzzled his face in reply. Night Flash chirped happily, and his wings splayed across them as he snuggled against Elias’ neck.

“I missed you too,” Elias said softly, his voice muffled further as his face was pressed into Book Binder’s fur.

Neither of the ponies replied, with Night Flash sighing happily while Book Binder just hummed, content to just be hugged. It didn’t take long for Elias to become uncomfortable with the extended physical contact, but it felt… different than usual, dulled almost. Regardless, he pulled back and smiled at Book Binder, who beamed back in reply.

It only took one glance at his face, one moment of shock and horror. Though it was gone in an instant, Elias noticed her expression anyway, and his heart crumbled. He turned away, staring at nothing to his left in shame. His face as quickly guided back as Book Binder smiled sadly at him, rubbing his scarred cheek with her hoof.

“I’m sorry Elias, it just startled me up close was all.”

Elias turned away again.

“It’s fine Book Binder. I… I get it.”

The unicorn sighed and rubbed herself against his chest, staring at his cold food.

“Were you just sitting down to eat?” she asked quietly, likely already knowing the answer.

Elias lied in reply anyway.

“Yes, would you two like to join me?”

She nodded silently, and Night Flash hopped down from Elias’ shoulders, trotting to the food line to grab them something to eat. Book Binder resumed humming, pressing softly against Elias’ tunic as they sat. Book Binder occasionally prodded him to eat. He did so for her benefit, and though it was cold, he couldn’t help but enjoy the meal. Night Flash returned quickly, sitting across from the pair as he set the trays down. He smiled widely at Elias, and the human took comfort in the fact that the pegasus didn’t flinch at all as he looked at his bad eye. It cracked through the cloud that had settled over Elias’ mind, and it let him breathe comfortably, lifting just a bit of the weight from his chest.

The ponies began to eat, staying quiet as they did so. Elias noticed a rapid influx of guard ponies in his peripherals, but he didn’t really care about them, nor their horrified stares. He just cared about the two ponies beside him. After he had finished the steak, Elias cleared his throat, looking between Flash and Binder.

“So,” Elias asked slowly, trying to think of anything to say, “are you two just stopping in, or are you back for good?”

Book Binder gave him a wry grin like she was about to mock him for his question, but the look in his eyes must have told her that it wasn’t the time, and it changed to a warm smile.

“The changeling search has been reduced,” Book Binder said, repeating what Night Flash had told him. “Flash and I will be back on normal duty with you as of today.”

Elias nodded silently and looked away, scratching his hair awkwardly as he struggled for something to say. The mood was depressed to say the least, and he could do a lot to fix that. Maybe changing the subject would work. His eyes flicked momentarily to Night Flash, where he noticed a silver colored ring around the pony’s neck. Idly, he gestured to it.

“What’s that Flash? I’ve never known you to wear jewelry.”

Book Binder choked momentarily as she painfully inhaled a piece of her salad, while Night Flash grinned stupidly at Elias. The unicorn flailed for her glass of water, downing half of it before she gasped for air and glared at Elias. She then smacked him upside the head as his face slowly broke out in a grin at her cute, angry expression. She looked like an angry puppy when she was mad.

“Don’t laugh at me young man!” she shouted as Night Flash continued smiling at Elias, who was now chuckling loudly. “I’ll have you know I could have died!”

That just made Elias laugh harder, and even Night Flash giggled, causing Book Binder to glare at the pegasus. He shrugged, then pointed at the laughing Elias, who was clutching at his still wounded gut. Book Binder huffed, but then smiled and rolled her eyes.

“Keep laughing it up Elias, I’ll make sure I get you back for this in spades.”

Elias snorted.

“I’m sure,” he said, his laughter winding down as he looked at the green pony.

Book Binder cocked an eyebrow with an “oh really?” expression on her face. She harrumphed, then looked to her food as she began to eat once more.

“You’re never going to see it coming baby boy. Momma Binder knows how to embarrass her little human, and this time I’m not going to hold anything back. You’ll see.”

Elias wanted to snort and wave his hand dismissively, but he quickly realized that she had been very retrained with him thus far, save for a notable incident or two. She could quite literally do anything at all, and as he was now, Elias was in no state to ward the pony away. If anything, he might just accept it, and that had the potential of making him… ugh, like her motherly behavior. More than he already did at least.

“Book Binder I’m sorry for laughing at you,” Elias said, trying to backpedal.

The tone of his voice, having a bit too much panic and fear in it, had the effect of depressing the mood once more, and Book Binder realized that quickly as his face fell. She sighed, but smiled at him.

“Don’t worry Elias, I’m not actually going to do anything too bad, just something that will surprise you. I promise, it’ll be something small, and I know that you’re going to love it.”

“Can you at least give me a hint?” he asked as he smiled weakly at her.

Book Binder clicked her tongue as she looked at his hair.

“I’m thinking maybe a surprise haircut. I think I can convince somepony to knock you out long enough so that we can do something with that nasty mess of hair you have. I mean really Elias, I understand that you keep it clean and tie it back, but it’s far too long! It just doesn’t seem to suit you.”

Elias took a moment to swallow his pride and his trepidation as he ran a thumb down his scar.

“That wouldn’t be… terrible,” he replied. “Did you have a particular barber in mind?”

Book Binder gasped softly, and her tail twitched with excitement.

“Really?” she asked, her eyes gleaming.

Elias scratched his scalp.

“Sure, why not. I could stand for something small.”

Book Binder gasped softly, and then she was on his shoulders, a brush in her magic as she ran it through his shoulder-length hair.

“Oh, there are so many things we could do! It definitely needs to be shorter, but have you considered putting a streak of color in it? Maybe something bright and flashy, like a blue! It would go with your eyes, and then we could shave off that nasty beard of yours, and…”

Elias groaned as he looked at Night Flash with exasperation. The pegasus grinned back.

“Why do I even speak?” Elias grumbled.

Night Flash shrugged.

“I don’t know, but you made Bindey happy, so take it as a silver lining.”

Elias grumbled something about ponies being too excitable over little things, then he brought his attention back to the ring around Night Flash’s neck.

“So, what’s the ring for?” Elias asked. “It seems important, but I haven’t got the faintest idea what for.”

Book Binder seemed to freeze momentarily, but her brushing quickly resumed, albeit with less excitement. Night Flash motioned for the unicorn to speak, so she did so slowly.

“Elias before we start, I just want to ask you to wait until we’re done talking before making any decisions, alright? Please?”

Elias’ eyes narrowed as he glanced back at the unicorn. Her words had put him instantly on guard, but Elias found that it took less of a mental effort than usual to trust her. The voices in his head were being unusually quiet. Elias mentally scowled and ignored their vacant presence. He didn’t need their help to make a good decision anyway. He nodded.

“Alright Book Binder, I’ll wait, just… don’t drop any bombshells on me.”

The unicorn let out a small breath as she relaxed.

“Let’s start with the question you asked then Elias,” she said, dispelling the brush as she hopped from his shoulders, retying his ponytail as she sat back on the bench. She fiddled with her hooves nervously as she looked up at Elias with a cautious smile, then she gestured toward her horn, where Elias noticed a very similar silver band.

“These, in pony culture, are rings that are typically exchanged when two ponies are engaged.”

Elias blinked at her stupidly, then looked to Night Flash with wide eyes. The pegasus seemed to match Book Binder’s nervousness, but his smile was still strong as he waited for Elias to piece everything together. It didn’t take him long, but the shocked expression didn’t leave his face as he looked between them.

“When…? I mean, I guess it was the logical conclusion, but when did you…?” Elias stuttered. He blinked as he tried to grab his frazzled thoughts from the empty space between his ears and connect them into coherence. “I, um… Congratulations?” he offered. “But, when did that happen? You’ve only been gone a couple of days.”

Book Binder sighed happily as she stared affectionately at Night Flash.

“It was positively romantic Elias,” she said, leaning against the human as she continued staring at her mate. “On the second night out, we were just coming back from patrol when Flashy popped the question, in front of everypony no less. The moon was out, it was just a bit chilly, and we were all sweaty and gross from running around all day, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing.”

“So of course I said yes,” Book Binder continued. “Then Flashy took me back to our tent and we had a romantic dinner followed by cuddling.” She snorted. “Well, as romantic as hay rations can be anyway.”

Elias looked to Night Flash, who still had a trace of nervousness in his eyes.

“What inspired you?” Elias asked. “It took you months to read the signals that Book Binder loved you. How did you know now was the time?”

Night Flash rubbed the back of his head.

“It was the wedding actually. It put things into perspective for me. When you got carried away by the medical ponies, I started searching for Book Binder, worried sick that I would find… something bad.”

Night Flash glanced at Book Binder with what looked like shame.

“I shouldn’t have been worried, she’s as a good a fighter as I am, but I just kept running through the what ifs? What if she had gotten hurt and I hadn’t still tied the knot with her? She’s a once in a lifetime mare, and I realized that I was being stupid about the whole thing.” He shrugged. “I already had the rings made, so I took them with us and proposed.”

“Well,” Elias said, “that’s great! I’m happy for the two of you. Did you already have an idea for when the wedding is going to be?”

It seemed like the right kind of question to ask, and both Book Binder and Night Flash perked up at the question.

“We were thinking about this summer or fall, maybe August?” Book Binder said. “It’s going to be a busy year. Our dream house is going to be available, and now we have a wedding to worry about, but I can’t wait for any of it!”

Elias felt his happiness for the ponies drain from his body at the mention of the house. That meant they wouldn’t be around as much. They especially wouldn’t be sleeping with him anymore. Sure, it hadn’t stopped the night terrors, but he had taken comfort in having somebody beside him afterward. Now that was going to vanish, and only in a few short months.

Book Binder sighed as she read his facial expression clearly. She rubbed his thigh lightly with her hoof as she encouraged him to look at her. When he met the unicorn’s eyes, she smiled.

“This is why I wanted you to hold your thoughts until we were finished Elias, because when I said our, I meant it. The house will be perfect for all three of us, and while I know it’s a really big step, I want to invite you to join us when we buy it.”

She sighed again as fear flashed across Elias’ eyes.

“But it’s just that Elias, an invitation. I learned my lesson on Hearth’s Warming, and I won’t push you on this. Just think about it, okay? We still have a bit of time before we can sign the deed, and we won’t be leaving your side until then.”

Elias swallowed roughly and nodded.

“Okay,” he said softly. “I’ll think about it.”

Book Binder nodded. She looked to Night Flash, then sighed a third time.

“Elias there’s… also something else.”

Elias matched her sigh, and motioned for her to continue as he rubbed at his brow to ward of the slowly approaching migraine. Taking a deep breath, Book Binder said it in one go.

“Elias, we are having a party today with our parents to celebrate our engagement, and we’d both really like if you came with us.”

Elias almost said yes immediately, if for no other reason than it would make the pony happy and potentially ward off the much more serious house discussion until he was in a better mental state. As his mouth opened however, his fingers ran across the thick band of chitin that ran down his face, and he sighed as his shoulders slumped.

“If you were willing to wait until my glasses came in to cover up this,” he said gesturing at his bad eye, “then I would say yes. As I am now though? No, I don’t want to start a panic. Not with the invasion so fresh on everypony’s minds.”

Book Binder clicked her tongue and sighed once more.

“That… is a good reason I’m afraid to admit. I’m sorry Elias, I didn’t even think about that, and I can’t imagine how it’s been for you these past couple days.”

The human tried to shrug it off.

“The staring isn’t anything new, it’s just changed a little. I’m coping like I always have.”

“That isn’t exactly comforting Elias,” Book Binder said, “but I understand completely. I’m going to leave a little early to go help my dad prepare dinner, but Night Flash won’t leave until later, so if you change your mind, he’ll take you to the party, okay?”

Elias nodded silently, and he wrapped his arm around the mare, pulling her close once more as he stared with dead eyes at the table.

“When are you leaving?” Elias asked quietly.

“In an hour or two,” Book Binder replied. “Did you have anything you wanted to do in the meantime? We’re completely free.”

Before he could answer, the cafeteria doors opened, and a Royal Guardspony made a beeline for their table. The mare flinched when she got close and was able to see the full extent of Elias’ bad eye. She recovered quickly however, and handed the human a letter.

“Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna request your presence in the throne room immediately Guardsman. It’s urgent.”

Elias only gave a cursory glance at the royal seal at the bottom of the letter, then he rolled it up and tucked it into his sword belt. He gave Book Binder a quick scratch behind the ears as he rose.

“See you later then?”

She nodded and smiled sadly.

“Tonight at the latest Elias. I’ll make sure to save you something to eat.”

He nodded and climbed around the bench, motioning for the guardspony to lead on. She did so silently, leading him away from the table. Elias gave Night Flash and Book Binder a wave as they walked through the cafeteria doors, and then they were on their way to the throne room. Elias quickly noticed that there were many more ponies in the halls. Tired looking guards staggered in the direction of the barracks, while the cleaning staff moved like a whirlwind around them, snatching up filthy pieces of armor that needed repair and cleaning. The more ponies they passed however, the more seemed to notice Elias and his bad eye. It surprised him when he noticed that while most of the ponies looked at him with the usual shock and horror, some gave him nods of respect and even admiration.

It was a small comfort at least, and as they walked, Elias felt a small portion of his self-confidence return. He’d been acting like a wimp for the last few days, moping about as he was, so Elias did the next best thing to resolving his issues, he began to fake it. Elias straightened as he walked, and his chest puffed out slightly. Instead of staring at the floor as he walked, Elias stared ahead, doing his best not to flinch as the occasional pony gasped loud enough for him to hear.

The doors to the throne room couldn’t come soon enough. His false front began to wither away as its maintenance sapped Elias’ energy. The doors were pulled swiftly open by a pair of Solar guards, and the Royal Guardspony motioned for Elias to enter. With only a moment’s hesitation, Elias did so, walking slowly as he took in the room.

The normally empty throne room was packed with ponies, most of whom were wearing guard armor. Elias spotted a few familiar faces, with Palisade briefly poking his head up to give Elias a silent wave, but the human made no attempts to join any of the conversations. They talked with each other in quiet circles, and as Elias strode forward, their eyes quickly fell on him. While most gave him the standard mix of horrified gasps with the occasional look of respect, several ponies in odd white armor gave him death glares. Elias met their glares evenly, showing no emotion as he let his bad eye do the work of intimidation for him. The effect was immediate as the ponies flinched and looked away. For a moment, Elias realized that the scar may have just been a blessing in disguise, a new tool in his arsenal to use as he saw fit.

He didn’t have long to ponder that thought however, because Celestia spotted the tall human from her throne and smiled widely as she raised her hooves to quiet the chatter in the room.

“Gentleponies, we are all accounted for. Please, let us begin.”

The clusters of ponies dissipated, forming into loose blocks. The white armored ponies pushed their way to the front, and Elias decided to remain near the side, leaning silently against a column as he tucked his thumbs into his sword belt. On the throne sat the two princesses, and as the room adjusted and fell silent, they cast about, with both pairs of eyes falling on him at the same time. Celestia smiled again.

“Come Elias, to the front. We have much to discuss, and you are a very important member of that discussion.”

All eyes turned toward the human, who could only blink dumbly back. He felt abnormally nervous, and it felt like everyone was judging his every action. Why that mattered to Elias, he didn’t know, but he did his best to shove the feeling aside as he pushed off the column, walking to the base of the throne. The ponies in white scowled at him as he fell in beside them, but they remained silent as Elias fell into a loose attention. He tried not to shuffle his feet nervously as he clasped his hands behind his back. He had a sour feeling in his gut, and from the looks that Luna was giving him, this meeting was not going to make his day any better. Celestia was all smiles however as she addressed the crowd of ponies.

“I thank you all for being here on such short notice, I understand that everypony has been working hard after the failed invasion attempt, but my sister and I thought that now would be ideal to begin implementing some changes now that we have fully repelled the changelings!”

A loud cheer went up from the ponies, making Elias flinch lightly. Why was he being so jumpy? His mind felt like it was teetering on the edge of an abyss, and he couldn’t figure out why. The feeling was sickening, and Elias had to blink rapidly to prevent the room from spinning. As the ponies quieted down, the sensation died down, but it didn’t go away. It stayed subtly at the center of his head, making him incredibly anxious. His only sense of relief came from the fact that nobody seemed to notice his sudden bout of paranoia. Celestia continued once the room was quiet once more.

“Now, I know that you are all eager to hear the results of the Royal Assessment Training Exercise, but we have an important matter to attend to before doing so.”

Elias felt his left eye twitch as she looked down at him with a wide smile. His eyes flicked over to Luna who was smiling as well, though her smile seemed a lot more comforting. She subtly motioned for him to remain calm as Celestia looked out to the crowd again.

“As you all know, Queen Chrysalis and her hordes were defeated by Princess Cadence and Prince Armor, but we cannot, in good conscience, discount the valorous efforts of one of our own. This guard was solely responsible for defending Princess Luna from an attempted assassination attempt by the changelings, and is also responsible for escorting her to a safe location during the invasion, battling through waves of attackers as he risked life and limb for the safety of his princess, and for the safety of Equestria.”

Elias took a deep breath as he resisted the urge to refute her words. There was nothing “sole” about it. Night Flash had been at his side the entire time, and if it weren’t for the efforts of several of the castle staff, they would have been swarmed in the hallways. However, Elias understood the need to make legends, and that would require a bit of embellishment. Though he doubted he fit the bill, a hero could inspire others to greatness, give them a goal to reach for, a role model to emulate. Elias was more than sure that Caesar had an army of advisors and confidants at his back, but nobody talked about them, just the man himself with all of his accomplishments. Elias just wished somebody else was in his position as Luna waved him forward.

The blue alicorn met him at the base of the throne, her smile bright as Captain Nightshade handed her a small blue and gold medal in the shape of a crescent moon. Luna took the medal in her hooves, leaning close as she pinned it to his tunic over his heart.

“I can tell by the look in your eyes that you think you do not deserve this Elias,” she whispered in his ear, intentionally fumbling the medal, giving her longer to speak. “I only ask that you wear it long enough to give it to Book Binder. She will take great pleasure in seeing your award, agreed?”

Elias sighed lightly, and his breath ruffled the fur on her neck.

“Fine Princess. I just did what I promised I would though, nothing more.”

Luna took a step back, beaming widely.

“Perhaps Guardsman, but I thank you regardless, and I apologize for what will come next.”

Elias tilted his head as she made an official proclamation in his honor, causing the ponies to cheer and stomp their hooves as he stood in numb silence. What did that mean? What comes next? Were they going to cast him out? Was it the rage he had entered when fighting the changelings? No, that couldn’t be it. They would have secreted him away quietly, with nobody being the wiser. No, this was something else, and Elias had a sinking feeling that it was much worse than being made to disappear.

His eyes widened with realization as he looked around the room. It took him a second to make the connections, but it was there regardless. The ponies were largely made up of the prospective guard captains, most of whom who had acted as team captains during the RAT exercise. Though former Captain Armor was nowhere to be found, a glance to the left of the throne found Captain Chaser, and Captain Nightshade as she resumed her position furthest away from the steps. Both were watching Elias with carefully measured pride. The human blinked as he looked back to Luna, who would occasionally glance his direction, but would give him no further hints about what was to come.

‘They wouldn’t dare,' Elias thought, his mind beginning to panic. 'There’s no way in hell they could be that blind.'

Celestia cleared her throat and spread her wings as she motioned for the room to quiet once again. She smiled widely out at the ponies.

“On to business then. Unfortunately, while we appreciated the myriad of applications, as well as your stellar performance records, we could only select a few for the open captain positions. The rest of this meeting will be top secret, and only the highest level of our guards are beholden to the information we will discuss. As such, when your name is called, please make your way to the base of the throne. Once the reading has concluded, the rest of you are dismissed to continue your duties as usual.”

The ponies to his back stared at Celestia hopefully as a list was levitated before her by her assistant. Excitement crackled in the air, but all Elias could do was pray that his name wasn’t on that list. The universe spit in his eye instantly, as his name was the first read. A grumble of shock rolled through the room, and Elias instinctively fell back onto a harder part of his mind, letting his posture stiffen as his lips curled downward in a hard frown. Since he was already before the throne, he didn’t move, instead straightening his back as he waited for the alicorn to continue. Celestia did so quickly, rattling off name after name as a colorful assortment of ponies strode forth.

Though the list was only a dozen names, it seemed to take forever, with ponies glaring at him the whole while. Elias tuned them out, staring blankly at the wall behind Luna’s head. The blue alicorn refused to look at him, and that set his skin further on edge as time seemed to crawl by. Once Celestia finished, the list disappeared, and she smiled widely.

“I thank all of you for your submissions, and should more positions become available in the future, those who were not named shall be on the short list for consideration. You are dismissed for the afternoon, and I, as well as all of Equestria, thank you for your service.”

The ponies sharply saluted, then they began to filter out quietly, whispering and grumbling amongst themselves while the named ponies remained in place before the throne. Captain Nightshade and Captain Chaser fell in beside the ponies in white, and the doors closed, leaving the room suspended in complete, unnerving silence. Elias caught a quick glance that Luna gave him, and it drove a spike of fear in between his shoulder blades. Nothing good was going to come of this.

“Gentleponies, I thank you for being here today," Celestia said, "and I must offer my congratulations. You have been selected from amongst the finest guards that Equestria has to offer, and today all of your hard work and devotion shall be rewarded.”

All of the ponies seemed to straighten, any grimaces directed toward Elias forgotten as they perked up. Elias could only remain still, his mind paralyzed as his gut became weighed down by stones of fear. His poker face must have been excellent, because Celestia continued on without a second thought.

“Before we distribute your new ranks and titles, I think it best to tell you why we are so rapidly expanding our guard forces.”

Her assistant dragged a large chalkboard from behind the throne, on which was drawn a detailed map of Equestria, with areas as far west as Saddle Arabia. Elias hadn’t read much about the lands to the west save for the minotaurs, but he knew that the ponies of Saddle Arabia were fast allies of Equestria, and that they were in a near constant state of war or diplomacy to end war. It came with the territory of being the largest weapons manufacturer in the region, with three major cities at least that only produced machines of war. The rest of the state was largely agrarian like Equestria was, however, with much of the north of their nation purely consistent of farmers and simple tradesponies.

“As you may know, this road,” Celestia said, motioning to a white line that ran through the minotaur lands, “is one of only two routes that we have connecting our kingdom with Saddle Arabia. The Badlands and the Frozen Glaciers to our north are impassable, while the roads to the south through Zebrica are off limits due to a series of nasty conflicts engulfing their lands.”

The white alicorn sighed.

“While we have already succeeded in attaining non-aggression pacts with the majority of the zebra tribes, we have also offered to act as diplomatic intermediators. Unfortunately, they seek to resolve their differences internally, and we have been declined by all who we have offered our services to. They have declared that any pony found within their borders will be detained as a spy, and with our current plans, marching an army through their lands would be an outright declaration of war.”

“As such,” she continued, “we shall be conducting a march through the northern minotaur lands along the main tradeway. It is my hope that we will be unopposed, and if we are lucky, completely unnoticed. My sister has cautioned pragmatism however, and we will be expanding all of our guard forces in anticipation for the march.”

A brown mare to Elias’ left raised her hoof. Celestia inclined her head.

“Yes, Guardspony Twirl?”

“Respectfully Princess, but why? Why can’t we use our usual methods to get to Saddle Arabia? You and Princess Luna could be there and back in a flash with teleportation.”

Princess Celestia smiled.

“Indeed we could under normal circumstances Guardspony, but that brings me to the second portion of this briefing. This is not a simple diplomatic mission, but one of magical intent.”

She tapped the southern portion of the minotaur lands.

“Recently, the minotaur clans have become agitated, and as such, there have been an increased number of attacks on our trade caravans on the main tradeway. We have tried diplomacy, but the clan chiefs will not listen, claiming that “weak ponies” have no idea what it means to be diplomatic.”

Several of the ponies in white scoffed loudly, grumbling about “filthy brutes”, and “uneducated animals”. These grumbles went ignored as Celestia continued.

“Since they are unwilling to relent in their attacks, my sister and I have decided to simply remove the problem, and that is the road itself.”

She looked carefully down the row of ponies and the one human, meeting each of their eyes carefully.

“This information cannot leave this room, and if any of you so much as breathe a word of it, you will be imprisoned until after the march is completed. All of your rights will be suspended, and you will remain in the dungeons. Is that clear?”

Everyone nodded silently, their faces grim. Celestia took a deep breath.

“Though you may not admit it, and I will not ask you to do so, some of you likely wondered why I, and my sister were unable to truly assist in the defense of Canterlot during the wedding.”

That piqued Elias’ interest, and momentarily, the fear that had been hounding his mind vanished. He had been marred because of Luna’s inaction, and while he couldn’t find it within himself to blame the alicorn, he still wanted a reason why she hadn’t fought. They were supposed to be all-powerful beings after all.

“Luna and I, since the beginning of the new year, have been conserving our magic,” Celestia explained. “The purpose of this march will be to establish a permanent, always functioning portal between Saddle Arabia, our client state, and Canterlot. To accomplish this task, we had two options.”

She smiled grimly.

“The first was an abhorrent practice, and I think that you could all agree that sacrificing three hundred unicorns for their magic would be a poor choice.”

A weak chuckle passed through the ponies, but Elias could tell that some of them feared even the mention of such magic.

“The second choice is much safer, but requires a great deal of personal sacrifice on the part of all the alicorns of Equestria,” Celestia continued. “Myself, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadence have already gone through the first two stages of the magical conservation, limiting our earth pony magic, as well as our pegasus magic to nothing. This has shown itself in the lack of ability to fly, as well as physical weakness.”

That explained how he was so easily able to push Luna around when they had gotten to her hideaway. Elias caught a brief flash of anger from the blue alicorn as she looked at him, but he could only shrug silently. His strategy had kept her safe and nobody had even died because of it. He wasn’t going to apologize for a bit of needed aggression.

“As of the beginning of March, we have begun the final stage, conserving our largest well of energy, our unicorn magic,” Celestia said. “Common methods of magical transportation, such as teleportation will disrupt the storage of magic, rendering our efforts moot. Furthermore, chariots and balloons can not make the journey fast enough, and will have to at some point land, in which case we would be helpless. The safest method is an organized force of protection, by way of a military march.”

She looked slightly ashamed as she continued.

“Unfortunately, my actions at the wedding nearly sabotaged the efforts of the last few months, and only when I had begun attacking Chrysalis did I realize that I needed to rely on others to fight the battle. I let her magic overpower my own, and tasked the Elements to defeat the changelings. Luckily, Princess Cadence was able to tap into the ambient love magic between herself and Prince Armor, and they drove away the invasion without destroying our efforts. She has my sincerest thanks for that, and I have given her the freedom to take an extended honeymoon. Otherwise she would be with us today.”

“At what point would you have stepped in?” Elias asked, his tone sharp.

The words cut like a knife through the room, and Celestia seemed startled that somebody had spoken up.

“I… am afraid I don’t understand,” Celestia said slowly, her shock clear in her tone.

That only brought Elias’ anger higher.

“Then allow me to clarify,” he said, his voice ringing with bitterness. “How many of your subjects, how many ponies had to end up dead in a ditch for you to step in and cast aside whatever this is.”

He waved his hand at the chalkboard.

“Because what I’m hearing is that you almost allowed an invasion in the heart of your kingdom, rather than sacrifice… what? A safer trade route?”

Elias stared at her with disbelief.

“I don’t know about you, but the stakes just don’t stack up in my eyes.” He raised his left hand. “In one hand you have the ponies that I imagine you love and care about.” He raised his right hand. “In the other you have a road that you don’t want to use anymore. Those don’t balance in my mind.”

“It’s a bit more complex than that Guardsman,” Chaser cut in, his voice a bit short, but not yet angry. “The main tradeway with Saddle Arabia is plagued with cases of kidnappings, raids, murders, and that’s just what we know about. The minotaurs use the merchants that travel the road for ransoms, plundering their cargos.”

The pegasus glanced toward Celestia, who nodded in agreement, motioning for the guard captain to continue.

“We also believe that it is where the changeling’s were able to build their army for the invasion,” Chaser said, “We’ve had dozens of missing pony cases along that road, and we believe that Chrysalis and her minions have been swiping small caravans for their love. Some of our scouts have found abandoned cargos with no trace of the ponies who had been carrying them. We want that to stop, and this portal solves the issue. The next invasion might not even happen even we can choke off their supply of love.”

Elias scowled, but silently relented the point. The logic was sound enough, if not the most effective method to solve the issue. He still wanted an answer about what point would have been enough for the princesses to jump in the fight. From the reports he had gotten his hands on, they had only survived by the skin of their teeth, accompanied by magical bullshit that shouldn’t have worked in the first place.

Elias felt his eye twitch as he returned the glares of the ponies around him. Besides the two alicorns that were looking between each other nervously, only three ponies weren’t shooting him death glares, and they were the only three whose names he knew. The rest, however, didn’t know him personally, and Elias used his reputation, as well as his tall, powerful posture to cow them into looking away. The ponies occasionally glanced his direction, but not one dared to speak up against him.

After she finished whispering with Luna, Celestia straightened, and she smiled widely.

“Let us get back on track. I understand your concerns Elias, but rest assured, my sister and I had contingencies in place, even if Princess Cadence and Prince Armor hadn’t intervened.”

Elias sighed, and shook his head, but motioned for her to continue. Words were meaningless, and until she showed him substantial evidence of a backup plan, he wouldn’t believe such a thing existed. No sense fighting about in public, however. Celestia sat up straight and continued as her assistant levitated a series of new, shining sets of armor, accompanied by a myriad of different plumes, in what Elias assumed were indicative of different ranks. The white-armored ponies made sure they were first in line, and while Elias couldn’t help but snort at their pettiness, he was surprised when even Nightshade and Chaser took armor from the racks. Promotions for everyone indeed, or at least, almost everyone. Elias let out a small breath of relief when he didn’t see anything human sized or shaped. Maybe he was just being included in this because he was a “hero”, though he suspected it was actually because he had value as a military advisor. Still, advisor he could do.

The assistant, along with a trio of guards helped distribute the armor out to the ponies, who began to excitedly chatter amongst themselves while Celestia watch with a smile.

“As of today, you have all been promoted, and you shall receive your permanent orders shortly. To make things simpler however, please stand in order by your branch.”

She looked to the now golden clad ponies first.

“Dukes Arrowheart, Shattered Shield, Lionheart, Dragon-eye, and Everfree, as well as Sir Orange Juice, you shall be the generals of the Solar Guard, and your captains shall be Brisk Day, and Solar Comet.”

The pair of unicorns saluted the six new generals crisply, and Elias couldn’t help but shake his head in exasperation. He had no idea what plan would benefit from having six separate commanders of one force, but Elias imagined that if he was going to be advising, the Solar Guard was going to be the worst going by a long shot. As the golden clad ponies fell in line, Celestia continued.

“General Chaser, I assume you have already selected your replacement, as well as your officers?” Celestia asked the black armored pony.

The pegasus had only replaced his helmet, and even then, he was still holding it carefully on his back. He nodded briskly.

“Indeed I have Princess. I will inform Royal Guardsponies Blood Bandage and Ice Blossom of their promotions immediately following this meeting.”

Celestia smiled and nodded.

“Excellent. Luna?”

The blue alicorn inclined her head toward her sister, and looked down at the blue armored ponies.

“Nightshade, you and Starry Skies shall act as co-generals, and your captains shall be Palisade, Violet Blossom, Cinnamon Twirl, and Specter. I shall leave it to your discretion who is subordinate to whom.”

The ponies nodded and saluted sharply before falling into line, chattering excitedly amongst themselves, save for Nightshade, who was regarding Elias with concern written clearly on her face. That didn’t bode well.

Like any potentially hazardous situation, Elias regarded it all with a flat, almost bored stare. The emotion felt false, but maybe if he could broadcast enough confidence, he could get himself to believe it. As Luna turned to sit on her throne, Celestia regarded him with a smile.

“Now, to become used to our new routines and procedures, our new captains are dismissed to go about their regularly scheduled duties. The rest of this meeting shall be between myself, my sister, and the generals. Thank you for attending everypony, I look forward to what we will accomplish together.”

Elias bit his cheek as he resisted the urge to walk away with the captains. Despite her words, Celestia was still watching him, more than indicating he should stay in place. He didn’t like that at all, and he had to concentrate to avoid twitching in place. Energy was rising in his body as his mind started kicking into overdrive. Both voices returned, but only the one in the center was making sense. It wanted to run. It wanted to run, collect his gear, find Book Binder and Night Flash and make a break for it. The rear voice cautioned against that, but it couldn’t offer much else, as it was confused, desperately seeking out more information as Elias stood in place, doing his best not to panic.

Clearly Elias was not the only one uncomfortable with his continued presence, because a red and brown unicorn stepped forward, frowning at Elias as he asked;

“Princess if I may, why is the Guardsman still here? I understand completely awarding him for his valor, but will this not be a strategy meeting? Something beyond the Guardsman’s… capabilities?”

Normally Elias would have snapped at such an insult, but he desperately wished the ponies words would buy him a ticket out of the throne room. He needed to be somewhere else. The shoe was about to drop, he could feel it in the air. Celestia shook her head, however.

“Nay General Lionheart, Elias is exactly where he needs to be, especially given that what I have to say next involves him most crucially.”

‘Nononononono,’ Elias mentally whispered to himself.

“Starting tomorrow, we shall begin a new recruitment campaign,” Celestia said as her assistant flipped the chalkboard.

Elias felt his eye twitch as he saw the entry on the furthest right, under which his name sat. They hadn’t listened to a word that had come out of his mouth. Not a fucking word.

“It is our hope to have an army of over ten thousand strong for this march,” Celestia continued, ignorant of Elias’ internal conflict. “These new guards will of course be trained, outfitted, and subordinate to all of you, who will act as the coordinators and leaders, should we face combat.”

She continued speaking, and somewhere inside, Elias felt a part of his mind snap, crumbling away under the weight of the words he saw on that damned chalkboard. For a moment, rage climbed high in his mind, and his body shook with pent up aggression and hatred. His right hand reached for his sword belt.

Instead of grasping the hilt of Feather, the hand drifted higher, meeting his left as it undid the pin of the medal stuck in his tunic. Elias ignored the glances he got as he repined the medal to his sword belt, then removed the familiar weight from his waist. Celestia only stopped talking when the leather bundle landed with a loud thud at her feet, startling her as Elias turned around and walked away. Cold, calculating calm swept over his mind, and Elias felt confident as he strode away from the throne, breathing deeply to maintain the state. He needed to leave before something much worse happened.

He didn’t walk fast enough.

“Elias!” Celestia called. “Where are you going? You have not yet been told what you will be doing.”

What he would be doing. Funny phrasing that. Elias had a very good idea of “what he would be doing” very soon. He ignored the advice of both parts of his mind that insisted he keep walking on in silence. Elias half-turned as he stared at Celestia with his bad eye, a nasty twitch racing through his face as he smiled maniacally.

“Oh?” he asked. “Then tell me Princess, because maybe my eyesight might be poor, because that,” he said, jabbing his finger like a dagger at the chalkboard, “looks like you want to me to not only command an army, but to build one from nothing. Am I wrong?”

Celestia frowned and shook her head.

“No, you are correct in your assumptions, but Elias, I had been made to believe that you were growing more comfortable with your past, and that having something to work towards might further improve your mental stability. I must say that I am rather surprised you are not happier about this, is it not something you desire?”

Elias couldn’t help himself. He laughed. Madly. He turned away, covering his mouth as he tried to prevent it, but the low chuckle escaped anyway, and it quickly rose in volume as his chest was racked with sadistic laughter. He clutched his stomach, aching with the pain of his wounds as he tried to calm himself down. It didn’t work. The voices in his head provided no guidance. They were panicking as much as he was.

Still, his cackling had to wind down sometime, and Elias had to wipe a tear from his eye as he stared at Celestia shaking his head, a mad grin still on his face.

“I do hope that was a joke Princess, because if it was anything else, you are going to be very glad I gave you my sword.” He paused for a moment, then snorted and chuckled. “I’m going to leave now. I think that’s the smart thing to do. I think I’ll go somewhere quiet to cool off, and I suggest that nobody follow me.”

Luna decided not to listen to what Elias thought was a coherent, intelligent statement.

“Elias, please, let us explain-…”

“Shut up!” Elias snapped, the grin disappearing.

Luan flinched back, as did all of the ponies, save for Celestia, whose smile disappeared. She frowned heavily at Elias, but he couldn’t care less as he glared at Luna.

“You don’t get to speak my name anymore,” Elias snarled. “She,” he said, jabbing a finger at Celestia, “said that she was “made to believe” that I was getting better, that this farce was something that I wanted, and there are only a few people that I know that would be able to tell her something like that, a lie though it may be.”

“It isn’t a lie Elias,” Luna pleaded. “Please, have you not improved? Do you not feel like you were in a better place than before?”

“No!” Elias shouted back. “Because how much of it is true? Has this been your goal the entire time?”

Elias flinched under his own words, and his anger momentarily dissipated. Had this been her plan? Was it a lie? His mind flashed back through not only her actions, but those of everyone around him. His eye twitched as he tried to deny what was sitting before his eyes.

“Has it?” he asked her softly, praying that he was wrong.

Elias could tell from a glance that he was right. Luna had tears in her eyes, and she was shaking her head, but that wasn’t a no. It was just denial of the fact that he had exposed the truth. Elias felt a part of his heart die, and the voice at the back of his head vanished, beaten into a cage by the weight of the revelation. Still, Elias clung to a shred of hope. He needed to hear it.

“How much?” he asked, his voice rising. “How much of it was a lie to get me here?”

Nobody answered him, they only stared. Elias swallowed roughly and looked toward the stained-glass windows. He roughly ran his hand down his beard, trying to piece his words together through the wave of anger that was rising in his mind.

“If nobody else is going to do it, then I guess I have to,” Elias said. “Let’s start with the obvious I guess. The citizenship; that wasn’t supposed to “make me closer” with ponies, that was to appease some law so that I could hold the position of general, right?”

Luna opened her mouth, no doubt to deny his words, but Elias continued anyway, cutting her off.

“The exercise, Palisade was put in that position, not because you wanted him to learn something about being a leader, but to make me comfortable with the idea of leading, right?”

Elias’ fingernails bit in his palms as he struggled to keep his arms at his side. His body quivered with barely contained anger.

“How much more?” he asked, looking to Luna. “What else was a lie? Did you actually save my life? Or was that some sort of deception to make me feel indebted to you? Do I actually have any friends? Any family?” The accusation cut at his heart even as he made it. “Or were they all just agents, feeding me a steady stream of lies that made me comfortable with myself again, hm? HOW MUCH OF MY FUCKING LIFE, IS A GOD DAMNED LIE?!?”

His roar provoked a reaction. Luna whimpered and flinched away, hiding behind Celestia as the elder alicorn spread her wings wide. Chaser leapt in front of the throne, his wingblades extended, and after a moment of hesitation, Nightshade did as well. Elias imagined that if he was armed, they would fight, but he was lucky enough to have the foresight to get rid of his sword belt.

Either way, it didn’t matter. He was spent. His anger vanished into the air as Elias found that he was no longer able to sustain the level of rage he would need to keep going, not against the ponies at least. Their deception had been perfect, and he couldn’t find it within himself, no matter how angry he was, to raise a hand against them, not in serious combat. They made him weak, and so any fight he had left in his body vanished as he rocked in place, holding back the tears of pain that threatened to spill forth.

Elias took a shaky breath as he continued.

“I thought…” He snorted weakly and shook his head. “I don’t know what I thought, or maybe I didn’t think at all.” He looked up, finding Luna staring out at him with pain in her eyes. “I have to say, you did an excellent job. I really believed what you were telling me. I thought, just for a heartbeat, that I could be something more. That maybe, just maybe I had a chance to be something other than a fucking killer.”

Elias ran both of his hands through his hair as his eyes fell to the floor.

“But I guess not. It doesn’t matter though, so congratulations, because I won’t strike out against you. You did a damn good job of neutering me. Like a stray dog,” he finished his voice containing nothing.

He snorted once as he turned around, walking toward the doors.

“I’m leaving. Don’t expect me back, and don’t you dare follow me.”

Elias mustered enough anger to slam through the doors, and then he took off at a run, desperate for a place of sanctuary. He needed to be alone.

*****

Luna felt her heart shatter into pieces as the human left her throne room. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. She knew the words to say to reassure him, but his anger, it had caused her to freeze. His eyes had betrayed what he was hiding beneath that desperate façade that had fooled everyone else. He was terrified. He was terrified, and she had done nothing to ease his fears. She hadn’t put the pieces together, but when he explained it… He was right. It was all a set up. He had been pushed down a road that led him here, the last place he wanted to end up, and now he believed that every step along the way had been carefully orchestrated to make him a leader again.

Celestia sighed as she dropped her wings.

“Gentleponies, please excuse my sister and I, but we shall postpone this meeting until a later time. That… did not go as intended. Please, there is a reception awaiting all of you in the royal dining room. Enjoy your fill and the evening off, I shall send you letters when we require your presence once more. General Chaser, please stay for a moment.”

Luna sniffled, rubbing at her eyes as she tried to muster up her normal princess demeanor.

“And you as well General Nightshade.”

The two had matching frowns on their faces, though Nightshade would occasionally cast a glance behind her at the closed throne room doors. The other ponies filtered out, whispering amongst themselves, no doubt about what had just transpired. Luna reached out with her hoof, dragging Elias’ sword belt to rest before her. She had almost never seen the human without it, and the fact that he had given it away willingly chilled her to the core. It implied that he was done with her completely, and Luna found that she was terrified at that implication. She tucked the belt under her wing, pressing it tight against her chest as she mentally promised herself that by the end of the day, Elias would have the blade back.

Once the throne room was empty save for the four of them, Celestia shook her head.

“I do not understand, all of the signs seemed to indicate that Elias was growing more comfortable with his past, and yet his reaction seemed more akin to the way he was when we found him. Paranoid, angry, bitter. I cannot fathom what has been going on within that head of his.”

Luna sighed, briefly taking a moment to catch a bit of the human’s scent from his leather belt. It was a bit sweatier than his hair had been, but it was more than enough to brighten her mood.

“Nay sister, it is almost the opposite in fact. Elias had grown increasingly secretive, even with his friends, and I am afraid that we have just shattered whatever progress he made within an afternoon.”

She looked to Celestia, who was eyeing her with sympathy.

“Luna, I am sorry for the things he said. He might have been angry, but he had no right to accuse you like he did.”

Luna shrugged as she let her face become a mask.

“Perhaps not, sister, but as I think on his words, I find that I can understand where he is coming from. Is there any merit to the accusation that his citizenship was merely to make him qualify to be a general?”

Celestia nodded, and looked away in shame.

“It was, but I meant it when I said I wanted him to be closer with our ponies! It satisfied both needs in one fell swoop.”

Luna sighed.

“Perhaps, but that one grain of truth is enough to make the rest of his accusations seem true as well, untrue though they may be. The rest was simply… coincidence.” She frowned as she stood, taking her time climbing down the stairs of the throne. “I made Palisade team captain again in the hopes that he would learn the value of advisors, since that would be the role he would assume under General Nightshade. Elias made an excellent role model for this, and in truth, I am glad that the captains were dismissed before this fiasco. If we can comfort Elias, then Palisade’s role model will stand, and he will serve well.”

She motioned for Nightshade to follow her as she made for the throne room doors. Celestia’s voice stopped her, however.

“Luna, where are you going?

“To fix my mistakes ‘Tia,” Luna replied calmly. “I have been a fool to think he was ready for a burden such as this. I have watched him night and day, and I saw every sign that said he wouldn’t want this, would never want this. I have not discovered the whole story, but I know enough to know that giving him a family, giving him friends, only made this offer worse. He is terrified of losing everything, and the wedding made that a frightening reality.”

She scoffed and shook her head.

“And I am a doubly damned fool for springing this on him now. His adoptive parents only returned today, and he has had no time to take comfort in his emotional rocks. I have taken a cracked man and broken him. Elias is scared, angry, and if we do not help him now, he will run. I will not allow that. I…” She paused, a slip of the tongue away from making an irreversible confession. “He is my guard, and therefore my responsibility, and despite what he may believe, he is my friend. I will not leave Elias in his time of need.”

She didn’t wait for a reply as Nightshade opened the doors before her. Once through, they walked at a brisk trot, with Nightshade combing the hallways as they passed.

“What’s the plan Princess?” Nightshade asked. “Do we need to put an alert out for Elias?”

Luna shook her head.

“No, that will only make him run. You and I, and perhaps Doctor Scalpel shall search for him. Anypony else will not know how to handle Elias, especially not in the emotional state the human is in now.”

“What about Night Flash and Book Binder?” Nightshade pointed out. “They know Elias better than anyone.”

Luna sighed.

“I wish to involve them, but Elias believes he’s been living a lie. He may lash out at them, and they have already had an incident like that once. I would rather they not repeat it.”

Chapter 30: Acta Non Verba

Journal Entry

Day 1200

Fucking cowards, stabbed in the back, literall-

Journal Entry

Day 1440

Those sons of bitches, I’ll kill them, kill them a-

Journal Entry

Day 2450

They’re gone… I’ll kill him for this. Tristan, your head is going to be on a fucking pike for th-

Elias shouted with frustration as he threw his journals against the wall. The useless bricks of paper gave him no insight, no method to protect himself against a betrayal of the heart. The lies he had been told… What should he do? He had been betrayed before, for many reasons, but this? This wasn’t about food, or safety, or too much aggression, this was something else. The ponies had fed him the belief that not only could he be like them, but that he already was. He made friends, he had a family, he was a citizen of Equestria. All a lie, a web of falsehoods to make him a killing machine under a different ruler. It could be considered a joke if it didn’t hurt so damn much.

“Red?”

That voice, one of three that could destroy him with a breath. That damned pony. Elias didn’t dare look toward the doorway where Night Flash was standing, likely looking at the devastated room with concern. He just stared at the wall, his face twisted with a hundred different emotions as they ran through his devastated mind. He didn’t want to confront this so soon. He wasn’t ready. He’d never be ready. He couldn’t do this.

But he had to as Night Flash cautiously walked forward. Though his steps were soft on the carpet, Elias felt each one as the pony moved closer. It took him three steps for Elias to work up the courage to spin around, using his anger like a hammer to batter his emotions into place. He almost broke down anyway when he saw Night Flash’s eyes, so bright and happy, but so filled with concern. Elias raised a fist in anger to drive away the pony any way he could, but as the pegasus watched him, completely open and trusting, he couldn’t do it. The princesses were at fault, probably Nightshade and Chaser as well, but not Flash. He couldn’t admit that to himself. Elias fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands as he sobbed.

He couldn’t do this. It was so much worse than before. Every old wound, ripped open along with a host of new ones. It was the death of his soul by a thousand cuts, and Elias felt every second of it. The agony was overwhelming, and Elias couldn’t find a single part of his mind that could process the pain.

*****

Night Flash could only watch with a pained heart as his friend, his son, dropped to his knees and cried. Even in the seconds that Night Flash had seen Red’s face, he could tell that something bad had happened, something that broke Red’s already fragile heart. The man put on a brave face, one that even Book Binder sometimes had difficulty seeing through, but Night Flash always saw the pain. Today had been a low, and Night Flash imagined that if he and Book Binder hadn’t come home, the human would have been in a bad place. Apparently even that wasn’t enough, because pain had found him anyway, and now Night Flash had to step in to fix his poor little human.

It took him seconds to wrap his hooves and wings around the sobbing human, pulling him close as the man cried into his chest fur. Night Flash didn’t say anything, didn’t even try to coddle Elias like Book Binder usually did. Instead he just waited, petting Red’s back softly with a hoof while he held him in place, sheltering the shattered man from the world that always seemed to hurt him. It didn't take him long to work up the anger to attempt to drive Night Flash away, and Red pushed hard to try to make Night Flash let go.

“Go away Night Flash,” Red cried, doing his best to sound angry, but sounding sad instead. “The game is over. I know that it’s all a lie. You don’t need to pretend anymore.”

Red managed to pull away just enough for Night Flash to smack him upside the head, then the pegasus roughly hugged him down once more.

“I don’t know what’s happened Red, but nothing about our relationship is pretend,” Night Flash snarled. “Don’t you dare let Book Binder catch you saying something like that, and in fact, I don’t want to hear that sort of talk either, am I understood?”

Night Flash had to suppress a giggle as Red snorted into his ticklish fluff, so he let the human get a bit of breathing room. He looked shamed, but better. The tears were beginning to dry as he stared at the floor, so Night Flash flipped over, sliding under Red’s eyes as he smiled brightly, sticking his tongue out at the human. It brought out the tiniest smile that Flash had ever seen, but it was enough. Red sighed and scooped Night Flash up, hugging him tightly.

“I’m sorry Flash, I just… I’m sorry.”

Night Flash rubbed his cheek against Red’s neck.

“It’s fine Red, I don’t need to know what happened to get you like this, not yet at least.”

Red sighed and shook his head.

“No. That could have gone badly if you were any less of a great pony, and you deserve an explanation.”

Night Flash nuzzled the man’s cheek.

“Mhm, tomorrow Red. It’s going to hurt you too much to stew on it now.” He sighed and looked up at Elias’ mismatched eyes. “I know you said you didn’t want to, but could you please come to our little party? It’s just family, and I don’t want to leave you here alone. Please?”

For a moment, Night Flash thought that Red might still say no, but then a sad glint passed over his human’s eyes, and the man nodded.

“Okay Flash, just… can you stay close? I need someone by my side right now.”

Night Flash nodded once and rolled over, rubbing against Red’s hip as the man got to his feet. The man looked around the torn apart room and sighed. That wouldn’t do. He needed to keep Red distracted, at least until he got Book Binder to start helping out. Together, they could help the human through whatever was plaguing him. Night Flash used his wing to scoot Red toward the open door, and when the human tried to protest, Night Flash pushed him harder.

It took him a bit of effort, but Night Flash not only got Red in the hallway, but he managed to close the broken door behind him as well. Red didn’t have his sword belt, something that looked odd for the human, but without it, he had no keys, so he had kicked the door in. Night Flash did his best to draw Red’s eyes away from the broken door jamb, and when the physical effort wasn’t enough to distract the human, Night Flash turned to one of the few subject matters that he had absolute expertise on. The Wonderbolts!

*****

Every step was agony for Elias as they moved through the Canterlot streets. A minuscule part of his mind had taken solace in Night Flash’s stern comforting, but doubt reigned supreme, and Elias couldn’t help but feel every single stare at his bad eye. Whispers that should have meant nothing to him cut like daggers, and he couldn’t drive them away. His normal defenses had been torn apart, and he felt exposed, especially without a single means to defend himself. Without his sword belt, Elias felt completely vulnerable. For the first time in years he felt helpless, dependent on somebody else, somebody who happened to be a fluffy blue pegasus who was all smiles as he chattered away happily. Elias could tell that the loud, happy energy was only for his sake, so he did his best to listen and stay involved with Night Flash, but happy words could only do so much, and Elias kept falling into awkward silences as they walked.

Luckily for them, the townhouse wasn’t too far from the castle, and it only took them a few minutes to walk there. As Night Flash approached the door, Elias instantly realized that he would only barely fit. It was clearly built with normal ponies in mind, and the doorway was shorter than the alicorn designed castle doorways. Elias slouched to avoid smacking his head on the frame. Then, he was forced to squeeze past Night Flash as the pegasus pushed the door closed. The entryway could probably fit two to three slimmer ponies in it comfortably, but with his relatively wide shoulders, Elias made it a tight fit. He didn’t complain however; it kept Night Flash good and close, and right now, Elias needed the physical contact he was coming to rely heavily on.

“Bindey! We’re here!” Night Flash called as the door slipped shut with a click.

“We’re in the kitchen!” Book Binder called in return. “Give me just a second, and I’ll be right out!”

Elias heard a series of hushed whispers, and his paranoia flared high. His bad eye twitched with nervousness, and his body grew instantly tense. Flash noticed and rubbed against his side, making no attempt to push past.

“Don’t worry Red,” he said quietly. “I’ve got your back, no matter what.”

Elias nodded numbly and took comfort in scratching Night Flash’s ears. The pony smiled and pressed closer. Book Binder’s head poked around the corner to the kitchen, and her already bright smile widened when she spotted Elias. She quickly sped into the entryway, wrapping Elias in a firm hug as she squealed with joy. Elias couldn’t help but flinch at the sudden contact as his mind tried to make sense of the information it was taking in in comparison to the revelations in the throne room. Book Binder noticed immediately, and she looked at him with concerned eyes.

“Elias? What’s wrong baby?” she asked quietly. “Do you not want to be here? I won’t hold it against you if you need to leave.”

Elias felt a flash of panic, and his arms quickly wrapped around the pony and dragged her closer.

“No! No.” He pressed his chin into her mane. “I just got some very bad news is all. I’m fine. I just… I don’t want to intrude.”

Book Binder scoffed.

“Nonsense, even if you weren’t my baby boy, you are the best friend I have that isn’t my fiancé.” She nuzzled his neck, her horn poking him in the beard. “Besides, technically speaking, you are the only reason Night Flash and I are getting married, so I dare anypony to say you don’t belong here.”

Book Binder pulled back from the hug, her smile cautious.

“Are you sure you want to be here though Elias? You look… rattled. It must have been some very bad news.”

Elias swallowed roughly and nodded.

“It was, is.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “But it doesn’t matter right now, and we’ll talk about it later. You two… I have both of you at my side, and right now, that’s all I need.”

He awkwardly ran a hand through his hair.

“If you’ll have me of course.”

Book Binder rolled her eyes, lighting up her horn. Unlike the castle however, the townhouse was cramped, so when Elias floated up, his head slammed into the ceiling, drawing a grunt from the man. Book Binder gasped, and her magic cut out, dropping Elias right on top of Night Flash. The two quickly became a tangled mess, with each trying to stand to get out of the other’s way. They accidentally headbutted each other, and as they grunted and clutched at their aching foreheads, they made eye contact. They grinned at each other, then laughed. Book Binder flushed red as they both playfully mocked her.

“That’s all yours Flash,” Elias said with a grin as he unwrapped his leg from one of Night Flash’s wings. “You’re going to have to watch the kids in case she starts trying to juggle them.”

Night Flash stuck his tongue out at Elias as he got the other wing free and got to his feet.

“You’re one of those kids she’s trying to juggle Elias. Maybe you should try not to make her worry so much.”

“No promises,” Elias snorted in reply.

Book Binder rolled up a pair of newspapers with her magic and began swatting at the two, who continued laughing at her expense. She was smiling widely however, and as each hit connected, Elias couldn’t feel any real force behind the swings, just enough to make the presence of the newspapers known. Night Flash winked at Elias, then he dove underneath one of the swipes aimed for his head. The pegasus quickly pounced on Book Binder, pinning the unicorn down to deliver a smattering of kisses along her muzzle. As she giggled and squealed happily, Elias couldn’t help but feel the need to look away, slightly embarrassed by the very public display of romantic affection. Still, the sound of Book Binder happily reprimanding Night Flash for jumping on her made him smile and helped to keep the rest of the world at bay as he settled into a calming rut. Everything else was terrible, and Elias found himself surrounded by manipulative liars, but not these two. They were innocent, and they genuinely wanted him for him, and nothing else. It was enough for the moment. It had to be.

The sound of the laughter, coupled with Book Binder’s loud scolding’s drew attention, and a purple unicorn mare poked her head around the corner, curiosity written on her face. She smiled lightly when she saw Book Binder flip Night Flash over, ticking the pegasus’ belly, and causing him to giggle. Her eyes then drifted past the pair to where Elias was waiting silently. She gasped softly, and disappeared back into the kitchen, where hushed whispering quickly began to flow forth once more. The sound made Elias nervous, and he instinctively moved backward, his left hand reaching for the doorknob.

Night Flash was at his side in an instant, hugging Elias tightly as he looked up with pleading eyes.

“Please Red, don’t go yet. Give our parents a chance.”

“Book Binder,” a voice, distinctively female, called from the kitchen, “could you please come here for a moment?”

The green unicorn looked like she desperately wanted to make sure Elias wouldn’t bolt, but Night Flash shooed her on as he gently pulled Elias by the hand toward a living room. The pegasus didn’t say anything as he sat them down on a small, yet plush couch. To calm himself down, Elias investigated his surroundings, his thumb subconsciously rubbing the callouses on his hands. The walls were painted a very pale blue, and were covered in an assortment of family pictures, as well as a few paintings. On the far wall was a large, white marble fireplace, in which crackled a small fire. On either side of it was a pair of bookcases, filled to the bursting with tomes and novels.

What drew Elias’ eye the most was the large family portrait above the fireplace. He gave Night Flash a quick scratch behind the ears before he stood, walking slowly over to the picture so that he could get a better look at it. It surprised him that both of Night Flash’s and Book Binder’s families were in the detailed painting. The pegasus sat with his wings around an abashed pair of younger siblings. The pegasus looked exactly like Night Flash, though he wore his hair slightly different. The unicorn seemed almost out of place, and if her eyes hadn’t been the same as her brothers and father, Elias would have thought she was adopted. Her coat was a snow white, and she was clearly the youngest of the three, coming to only halfway up Night Flash’s puffed out chest. Behind the trio stood who Elias assumed were mom and dad, a unicorn and pegasus respectively, both beaming with pride as they stood tall behind their children. Next to them, almost pressed together was Book Binder’s much smaller family. She was clearly an only child, but she looked no less happy as she sat, prim and pristine with her mother and father, a pair of unicorns, at her back. They seemed as ecstatic as she was, likely even more so when the painting was made. It probably functioned to cement the future of the two families.

“Like it?” Night Flash asked, standing at Elias’ side as he stared up at the painting.

“It’s very detailed,” Elias replied with a nod, crossing his arms over his chest.

He leaned closer, squinting as he looked at the level of detail the painter had accomplished. He had to say, he was impressed. It was almost like a photograph.

“He got the fur right and everything, I can’t imagine how much this cost.”

Night Flash snorted and waved a hoof.

“It was worth it. Mrs. Breeze and Mr. Shard took care of the cost. I was just surprised that I could get Shooting Star to sit still. That pony has a lot of energy.”

Elias pointed at the slightly smaller pegasus wrapped in Night Flash’s wings.

“I’m assuming that’s him?”

Night Flash smiled brightly at Elias.

“Yep! My little bro. I’ve taught him everything he knows about flying!”

“And about fighting!” a second Night Flash said.

Elias half-turned in time to see Night Flash’s nearly identical brother crash into him, sending the older pegasus sprawling. It quickly turned into a scuffle as Elias watched Night Flash hold back, doing his best only to pin his younger brother, rather than strike him. It took a few minutes of flapping, mock growling, and more than one pegasus hitting the chairs and couches scattered about the room, but Night Flash eventually pinned his younger brother with a grin, plucking out a feather to begin tickling the pony’s belly. Shooting Star gasped and tried to squirm away.

“Come on Flash,” he begged as the feather slowly lowered. “I don’t want to look like a wimp in front of your cool guard friend!”

Night Flash glanced at Elias, the feather dangling from his teeth. In his moment of distraction, Shooting Star wiggled free by slapping Flash in the face with his wings. As Night Flash reared away from the sudden attack, the younger pegasus rolled to his feet and stuck his tongue out.

“Ha! Now I can reveal all of your dorky secrets!” Shooting Star exclaimed.

Night Flash growled and pounced, attempting to grab the pegasus again. Shooting Star shot out of the way however, bouncing onto the couch as he smiled widely at Elias.

“He has the whole Wonderbolts card collection you know,” Shooting Star said as his eyes darted between Elias and his brother.

Night Flash pounced again, this time only a hair away from grabbing Shooting Star as the pegasus flapped across the room, landing in an armchair.

“Autographed too!” Shooting Star wiggled his butt and flapped out of the way of Night Flash, landing back on the floor. “He’s very proud, and he shows everypony who comes by!”

Shooting Star made to leap away again, but his hooves were quickly glued to the carpet by a familiar green aura. He let out a yelp of panic as Night Flash bowled him over, feather still in his teeth. The younger pegasus began to beg for mercy again, but this time Night Flash didn’t listen, instead skipping straight to rendering his younger brother in a laughing mess. Elias glanced over to Book Binder, who was smiling warmly at him. Elias couldn’t help but take comfort in that smile, so kind and caring, especially for somebody who didn’t deserve it.

Whatever tension he had managed to release by watching the brothers squabble immediately reoccupied his body as his eyes drifted to the floor at the nasty thought. Book Binder let out a gentle sigh, and she walked around the two wrestling balls of fluff on the floor, gently grabbing Elias’ hand with her magic.

“Come on Elias, I know that look, and I know just the pony you need to meet to make it go away.”

She didn’t give him the opportunity to protest as she dragged him out of the living room and into the kitchen, where five ponies were waiting. Elias felt his left eye twitch when all of their eyes fell on him as Book Binder led him in. As if taken directly from the painting, Book Binder and Night Flash’s parents stared at him with mixed emotions. Elias could easily identify who was who. Night Flash’s parents looked like separated out versions of their son. Flash’s mom matched his fur color perfectly, and she was giving Elias the nastiest glare. Next to her was a grey pegasus that looked just like Night Flash in every way save for his coloration. Even the eyes matched, which was downright fascinating. He too was glaring at Elias, his muzzle set in a hard frown. In his lap sat a small white unicorn, who stared at Elias’ bad eye with fear, shivering and cuddling tight against her father’s chest.

Book Binder’s parents were a completely different story. Book Binder’s mom, a light purple unicorn, was staring at Elias in what could only be described as awe. A familiar twinkle sat in the mare’s eyes, and if Elias didn’t know better, he would think that the pony was about to try to pounce on him. Her father, a remarkably familiar pony, had the same look, his rump wiggling ever so slightly in his chair.

“Is this him?” Book Binder’s mom asked softly.

Book Binder’s dad nodded once.

“Yup, it sure is.”

The light purple unicorn nodded slowly, then looked at Book Binder, who dipped around Elias to stand next to her parents, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“Book Binder, is this the guard you told us so much about?” her mom asked sweetly.

Book Binder smiled at Elias and nodded once like her father.

“Yup, he sure is.”

The light purple unicorn smiled widely.

“Have you already shown him how we introduce ourselves in this family?”

Book Binder clicked her tongue and nodded again.

“Of course I did. In fact, Elias loves it so much that we do it every day.”

Her mother’s pupils dilated, and she tensed up, wiggling her rump aggressively in the air.

“Excellent.”

As a unit, all three ponies leaped at Elias, driving him to the ground in a perfectly coordinated ball of fluff as all three began aggressively snuggling his face. Learning from the lessons of his past, Elias wisely kept his mouth shut to avoid inhaling the copious amounts of fluff that covered the trio. He waited patiently for the ponies to get it out of their system, but when the affectionate creatures didn’t stop after a hundred count, Elias set to work removing them. Their numbers worked in their favor unfortunately. Still, he wouldn’t go down without a fight, and he managed to get his right arm free, curling it around the bright blue unicorn hugging his chest tightly. A few scratches later and the pony’s grip loosened as the stallion purred like a cat, leaning into Elias’ hand. Elias was smart enough to keep the scratching fingers always just out of reach, drawing the pony away as he kept trying to lean into the scratches.

With the breathing room afforded him by the departure of one of the ponies, Elias was able to wriggle his left hand free. The limb set about the same plan as his right one had, and he drew Book Binder’s mother away with the promises of ear scratches. That left one, and she was staring at him with an arrogant grin.

“You may have defeated my parent’s snuggles Elias,” Book Binder said with a smile, “but I am wise to your ways, and while I enjoy them, your ear scratches will not be enough.”

Elias smiled right back.

“Maybe, but you seem to forget that we have an audience. Night Flash stopped wrestling his brother less than a minute ago, and he never misses out on snuggling.”

Book Binder looked up in confusion, then her eyes widened as she beheld a quivering Night Flash, his tail lashing back and forth as he eyed the two cooing ponies to Elias’ left and right. Book Binder held up her hooves in mock defense.

“Now Flashy, think about this, we can snuggle him together! Isn’t that better for everypon-…”

She didn’t get to finish as Night Flash let loose all of his energy, too much in fact, which was precisely what Elias was counting on. The force of his loving tackle drove Book Binder off of Elias’ chest, and the human grinned in satisfaction as he ceased his scratching distractions and got to his feet. He immediately heard protests from Book Binder’s parents, but Elias ignored them as he brushed himself off, looking with a smile at the flailing Book Binder, who was being aggressively snuggled by a very happy Night Flash. The pegasus rubbed himself on every part of her body before settling on top of her, laying his muzzle in her mane. The unicorn managed to throw a glare at Elias, who crossed his arms and grinned.

“Not so nice on the receiving end, is it?”

Book Binder scoffed at him and wrapped her hooves around Night Flash, hugging him tightly.

“It is absolutely wonderful Elias, and don’t pretend for a second that you don’t like snuggles. They made you smile, didn’t they?”

Elias sighed, but nodded in agreement. Her noticing his smile seemed to drive it away, though Elias did his best to force a grin. Nobody else noticed save for Book Binder, who gently tapped Night Flash. The pegasus gave her one more last squeeze before climbing off, helping her to her feet. Standing side by side, she smiled brightly, then looked around the kitchen.

“This is everypony, so let’s do introductions!”

Book Binder pointed first to her parents.

“Those two fuzzy ponies are my parents, Velvet Breeze, and Ice Shard, who apparently you’ve already met.”

Elias nodded and looked at the bright blue unicorn.

“We did, not under the best circumstances though.”

Elias scratched his nose.

“I don’t mean to seem rude, but I kind of figured you might have been somewhat angry with me for leaving you in a room full of changelings.”

Ice Shard scoffed and waved his hoof.

“Nonsense, I saw how you were fighting! You were quite literally thrown out the window. Heck, if you hadn’t been, I would imagine you would have stayed up there while Princess Luna and the rest of our little group got away.”

The unicorn looked to his wife.

“Velvet you should have seen it! Night Flash and I were fighting a hallway packed full of changelings, and this fine young guard comes barreling in, telling us to save the princess while he fought them all by himself! There must have been over fifty of the nasty little creatures!”

Book Binder gritted her teeth in a forced smile and glared at Elias.

“Really?” she asked, her tone clearly angry. “I had no idea that ever happened.”

Elias chuckled. He was already going to be in a hole with the mare, what was digging a little deeper?

“It was much worse when we got to Princess Luna’s escape route. I locked her and Night Flash inside and faced off a changeling captain and his little attack force with a broken leg and more than a few stab wounds. It’s how I got this lovely thing,” he said, tapping his scar.

Elias watched Book Binder twitch with furious energy, but Shooting Star leaped in front of her, flapping in front of Elias’ eyes as he gushed.

“That’s so cool!” he crowed. “Did you win? What did the changeling captain look like? Was he just like the rest of them? Can you read minds? Does your eye hurt?”

The pegasus yelped as he was yanked backward cruelly by his tail. His mother wrapped her hooves around him and immediately began brushing his mane, causing the young stallion to squirm.

“Mom! You’re embarrassing me!” Shooting Star complained loudly.

“Hush,” his mother replied. “I already warned you once today about flapping in the house, and I don’t think you want me to notice that you and Night Flash were wrestling again, now do you?”

Shooting Star’s mouth clamped closed and he crossed his hooves irritably as he let his mother brush his hair. The unicorn looked at Elias cautiously.

“I’m Moonlit Night. You’ve already met Shooting Star of course.” She looked to her right. “This is my husband, Night Twister, and our daughter Sunny Fields.”

Night Twister’s eyes seemed to bore into Elias’ skull as the grey pegasus stared at the human. The little white unicorn in his lap was staring at Elias with curiosity now, rather than fear. Elias tried to avoid staring back at the pony, and instead met Moonlit Night’s eyes, extending his right hand slowly.

“I’m Elias,” he said.

The unicorn looked at his hand with obvious disgust, but she accepted it, giving it a few quick shakes before letting the limb fall way. She looked to Night Flash with a frown clear across her face.

“I thought you said your friend’s name was Red, not Elis.”

Night Flash smiled, but as his eyes flicked from Elias to his mother, Elias could tell that that smile was strained.

“Mom, I already told you all about this,” he said slowly. “I call him Red, but everypony else calls him Elias. Legally, that is his name and Red is my nickname for him.”

Elias opened his mouth to surprise Night Flash with some news that would make the pony happy, but Moonlit Night cut him off by scoffing and turning her nose.

“Well I think it’s a silly name. What does it even mean? It’s not a sensible name, like Book Binder, or Shooting Star. Now those names have meaning!”

Elias scratched his nose with his thumb and looked to the floor.

“Elias actually comes from the Greek translation of Elijah, or prophet, in the bible. That’s just the literal translation though, and most of the time Elias is used as a name for someone who is very kind, and outgoing. Somebody who cares about everyone and everything, can always be trusted to be honest, and loyal.” Elias smiled widely and chuckled. “It’s really ironic all things considered, but hey, nobody knew what the world was going to be like when they named me, so…”

Elias closed his eyes and took a moment to breathe. The flash of panic that rose in his mind was his own fault this time, but that didn’t make it any easier to drive the horrible images away. These were less gory than usual, but no less painful. The fact that it was such a simple beating made it all the harder to dispose of, and Elias couldn’t help but flinch when he felt a hoof on his arm.

“Are you alright Elias?” Book Binder asked softly.

“I’m fine Book Binder,” Elias replied. “I just… Needed a second. I don’t know why I said anything.”

He took another breath and opened his eyes. Book Binder smiled, but unlike usual, she didn’t make a motherly move, she instead just gave him a quick hug, before turning around to motion at the dining room.

“If everypony will take a seat, Mom and I will have food out in a minute!”

She somehow got behind Elias and nudged him forward, where Night Flash slipped under his arm, forcing the human to scratch his ears while he picked up his Wonderbolts talk from earlier, chattering away loudly and brightly as he walked Elias to the table. Behind his back, Book Binder not-so-subtly motioned for Ice Shard to join the two.

“So anyway, I thought that this year Fleetfoot was going to get a good shot to open the first race, but it was Captain Spitfire again! I mean, I’m as a big a fan of hers as the next pegasus, but come on! You’ve got to let a newer pony take the lead some time!”

Night Flash led Elias to a chair on the end of the table, sitting him down quickly as he darted from the room in a flurry of feathers. Ice Shard blinked as the pegasus leaped around him, then he looked to Elias with a smile.

“He’ll be back in a second I’m sure.”

Ice Shard took the seat to Elias’ right. The human tapped the table with his fingers, biting his lip as he stared at the unicorn. He needed to ask, the question drilling a hole in his mind.

“Are you sure you aren’t angry with me for leaving you, accidental it might have been?”

Ice Shard smiled and shook his head.

“Of course I’m not angry with you, who could be? You fought like a demon, and besides, I spent maybe an hour inside of one of their nasty little pods. They didn’t have time to drag me off to wherever they were storing ponies, so the way I see it, you made my day a whole lot easier. I’m grateful if nothing else.”

It unnerved the human with how much the pony was smiling, but he couldn’t see any malice, nor dishonesty in the gesture, so he just accepted it at face value.

That thought made Elias blink, and he quickly did a search of his mind. Why did he accept it at face value? Had he not gotten himself into a deep hole by taking things at face value? He took the princesses both at face value, had believed the steady stream of lies they had fed him. Why should he trust these ponies? Just because they were family to his closest friends, that didn’t mean they didn’t have ulterior motives. Already he could see the pieces falling into place. They were trying to make him softer, to make him feel like his service was a good thing. That’s what Ice Shard was trying to do at least. They were trying to make him feel wanted, valued as a brutal warrior. A killer for the right team.

‘What was wrong with that?’ the voice in the back of his head asked.

Elias couldn’t find a part of his mind that could answer the question in a way that mattered. His skill set was in that of a warrior. He was a killer, a fighter who knew what it took to destroy one’s enemies, so why was he resisting what the ponies were trying to tell him? They weren’t trying neuter the warrior, only to steer him in the right direction. His devastation of the changeling’s demonstrated that Elias was no softer on his enemies than before, even if he did spare one of them. That was an old tactic as well; to give the enemy fear by letting one tell horrifying stories. Had they changed him? Did it matter if they did? Hadn’t he been happier before today? Elias frowned as he tried to remember if he knew what happiness felt like. Quick flashes popped up, and Elias was more than a little surprised at how many happy memories there were of the ponies who had wronged him. Even in the times where he should have been miserable, Elias could only remember the events fondly. Getting locked in a cell with Luna, his many trips to the infirmary; especially the one where he had attempted escape to avoid that foul medication. Hearth’s Warming morning rose quickly in his mind, and Elias couldn’t help but feel happy as he remembered waking up next to Luna. She had woven that day carefully, and though it had started out horribly, she had helped mend his relationship with Book Binder. That certainly wasn’t a malicious action.

Elias squashed all of the happy thoughts brutally, recognizing the voice in the back of his head as he smacked it around, driving it back into its cage. He would not forgive and forget. The ponies had lied to him. Luna had lied to him. She didn’t deserve his help, and she certainly didn’t deserve his forgiveness. He tried to raise a wall of bitterness and hatred to block off the happy memories, but it functioned more like a net, letting many of the smaller moments slip through. A dark joke from Luna while on a throne room shift, a small hug when Nightshade thought nobody was looking. The effort just dug the hole of his anger and confusion deeper, and only when he felt a hoof on his arm did Elias manage to pull himself back to reality.

“Red? Are you okay?” Night Flash said quietly.

Elias blinked and met the pegasus’ eyes. It was still just the three of them in the dining room, and Elias could hear the occasional chatter coming from the kitchen, so that meant he hadn’t zoned out for long. Ice Shard was giving him a curious look while taking notes on a pad of lined paper, while Night Flash adjusted his head so that they were staring into each other’s eyes. Concern oozed from the pony, but Elias couldn’t help but notice the massive book that was sitting on the table next to him. Elias tilted his head and motioned to it.

“What’s that?”

Night Flash frowned at the obvious attempt at diverting the conversation.

“It’s a binder from my Wonderbolts card collection, are you sure you’re alright Red? You seem really off.”

Elias dodged the question by pointedly staring at the thick binder of cards. When Night Flash didn’t move to grab it, Elias motioned toward the book.

“Are you going to show me your cards or what? How am I supposed to find my interest in the Wonderbolts if nobody shows me anything about them?”

Night Flash looked torn. Elias could tell that the pony wanted to press on and help him with his internal issues, but he could also tell that Night Flash really wanted to further his education about the Wonderbolts. Over the winter they had usually been too tired to mention the flying team, then followed the wedding, and the subsequent changeling hunt. This was the first day that they had the time to sit down and talk, and Elias knew which option would win out. Night Flash didn’t disappoint as he snatched up the binder. He hopped into Elias’ lap, leaning back against the human as he cracked it open, revealing a very detailed list of the different sections the collection was separated into.

“We’re going to snuggle and talk later Red, you tricky human, but we have so much to cover!”

He stared at the table of contents for a moment, tapping his chin, then he gasped softly and began rapidly flipping through the pages, each packed full of cards.

‘And this is just the first book?’ Elias thought with horror.

Night Flash didn’t seem to notice at all as he stopped on a page filled with glowing and shifting cards. He giggled softly in excitement, then looked to Elias.

“Tell me Red, what do you know about collector’s editions?”

Author's Note

I actually didn’t know a hell of a lot about the name Elias when I pieced it together from a name generator, but when I looked it up, turns out I named my character “prophet,” which I suppose could make sense, given that he believes he knows what will happen in the future, but meh, accidental meaningful name. As for the rest of Elias’ definition for his name, I snagged it from Urban dictionary while trying to find what ‘Elias’ had meaning for other than as a biblical reference. Here is said Urban Dictionary page;

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Elias

Chapter 31: Climbing Free

Elias shouldn’t have gotten sucked in. He shouldn’t have let Night Flash suck him in. He was a man who had seen battlefields that stretched for miles, had seen mass graves, had sat on piles of bones and watched the sunrise. He had smashed open bank vaults and burned the contents. His world had been a literal playground, where anything was free as long as he had the strength to take it, and Elias almost never found himself lacking. He had traveled as far east as the coast, and as far south as the White House, intent on taking the desk of the president, only to find it covered in piles of feces. He had a dozen homes with a million possessions, and anything and everything had been his, and he threw it all away, becoming a minimalist in his pursuit for far greater, but less material things.

But now he was as obsessed with the damned Wonderbolts cards as Night Flash was. There were just so many kinds, and some of them could actually speak! Talking playing cards, who comes up with something like that? Elias didn’t know, but he sat enraptured, firing off questions as Night Flash showed him the best his vast collection had to offer.

“This one,” Night Flash said excitedly, holding up a card with a pony who looked like Spitfire, but with all the wrong colors, “is from the one-year anniversary of Princess Luna’s return! It’s tradition for the Wonderbolts to perform during the Summer Sun Celebration, but Princess Luna, at the time, wanted to start her own separate version of the Wonderbolts, so she asked Captain Spitfire and a hoof-picked team to dress up in different costumes with color enchantments to promote the Shadowbolts!”

At the word Shadowbolts, the card seemed to come alive. The picture shifted from two dimensional to three dimensional as the little pegasus came to life. She gave a grin and a wink to Night Flash, then took off into the air, doing a corkscrew loop before touching back down with a soft woop. The pony then faded back into the card, leaving Elias to stare with open-mouthed awe. He really wanted to ask Night Flash if he could make the card do its little show again, but there were so many more cards to see, so he asked;

“What happened to the Shadowbolts? Do you have a collection of their cards as well?”

Night Flash sighed and shook his head.

“Unfortunately no. This set was printed before the celebration, and when they prepared to take off for their practice run, Spitfire found that the magic in the uniforms interfered with their traditional pyrotechnics. She and Princess Luna tried to brainstorm to solve the issue, but they couldn’t figure it out in time, so Princess Luna told them to forgo the uniforms temporarily so that they could figure it out for a secret performance for the next Nightmare Night.”

He slid the card back into its protective sheet, then drew out another one with a pony that Elias thought was Soarin, with black fur instead of blue. The magic of the card activated, and the pegasus neighed before flapping into the air. Elias followed the motion up until the miniature pony almost touched the ceiling, then the pony flapped down hard, pulling up just in time to land softly on his hooves.

“What happened next?” Elias asked, completely enraptured as the pony took off again, spiraling in tight circles.

“Unfortunately, or I guess I should say fortunately, the show went off without a hitch, and Captain Spitfire spiced up their fireworks and maneuvers to make Princess Luna’s cutie mark. The princess loved it so much that she became an instant Wonderbolts fan and abandoned the effort to make her own team. I don’t think she’s missed a single race in Canterlot since.”

Night Flash closed the book, and Elias almost protested, but then he looked up and found that everyone was watching them intently, with the food steaming and waiting on the table. Elias coughed into his hand to hide his embarrassment, but he leaned close to Night Flash.

“Can we look at more later? I really want to see what’s in the other books,” he whispered softly.

Night Flash grinned and nodded before hopping from Elias’ lap. The book levitated away, setting down on a side table while Book Binder beamed at him from the second seat to his left. That just made him flush redder, and Elias had to resist the urge to bury his head in his hands as Night Flash moved to the seat directly to his left and plopped down happily. Shooting Star groaned loudly from his place across the table. He didn’t show as much discipline as Elias as his head hit the table with a thud.

“I can’t believe Flash got another pony interested in those dumb cards. They’re not even that great,” he grumbled.

Night Flash scoffed at his younger brother.

“You’re just jealous because somepony shares one of my interests. Besides, they’re really cool Star! I don’t know why you don’t like them.”

“They don’t compare to the real thing!” Shooting Star exclaimed, throwing his hooves in the air. “Nothing can compare to seeing the Wonderbolts in action!”

Elias cleared his throat, drawing the younger pegasus’ attention.

“I’ve never been to a Wonderbolts show, so I wouldn’t know.” He waved at the binder. “Those cards are the closest thing I’ve ever seen, and if that doesn’t compare, I can’t wait to see the real thing.”

“Oh,” Shooting Star said as he calmed down instantly. “I guess I get it then. You should go see a show then, it’s the best thing you’ll ever see.”

The pegasus sat a bit low in his seat as he tried not to flush with embarrassment at his outburst. His parents were giving him death glares, while Night Flash beamed, alternating between looking at Book Binder and Elias. Velvet Breeze broke the silence by smiling and raising a steaming bowl of potatoes.

“So, who’s first?”

Idle chatter filled the table as food was passed around. Elias had to be picky with his choices, but he noticed quickly that only one of the dishes contained something that he flat out couldn’t eat, while the rest were simply vegetarian versions of his normal diet. Book Binder leaned over as she passed a basket of bread.

“If this isn’t enough, I will make you a snack when we go back to the castle, okay?” she whispered.

Elias nodded silently, trying not to meet the glare that Moonlit Night was giving him. He did his best to match the amount of food the ponies around him were taking, but as he set down the last dish to start eating, Velvet tsked and shook her head.

“That won’t do at all Elias, you are a growing stallion and need more than us older ponies do.”

She levitated the bowl of pasta back over, scooping out a large serving before dumping it over the minute portion Elias had given himself. Before Elias could protest, the potatoes found their way to his plate as well, and they too were upended, making a mound of food that towered over the table. Elias couldn’t help but chuckle lightly as the basket of bread lifted next, depositing the largest two rolls next to his already overflowing plate.

“If you keep adding more Mrs. Breeze, I’m going to start growing the wrong way.”

Ice Shard smiled and laughed.

“Please, Book Binder tells us how much you exercise in the guard. We’d need half the food in Canterlot just to put a few extra pounds on your skinny bones.” The pony patted his belly. “Maybe when you’re my age you can worry about “growing the wrong way”.”

Elias felt the beginnings of relaxation creep into his shoulder blades as the pony chuckled. He felt momentary confidence return as Velvet set down the food bowls and motioned for him to start, so he scooped up the awkwardly sized fork, and did so. Any calmness he had managed to achieve blew away like a fly in the breeze as Moonlit Night glared at him, her voice cutting like a cold dagger through the warm atmosphere.

“Just how old are you Mr. Bright?” Her gaze momentarily softened as she shot a smile at Night Flash. “My darling little Flashy hasn’t given me a precise number in all of our conversations.”

The bread Elias had taken a large bite from seemed to stick in his throat as his mouth became dry. He swallowed roughly and stared at his plate, trying to take comfort in the multi-colored meal. He rubbed his thumb along his eyebrow as he answered.

“I’m uh… I’m nineteen.”

The ponies reacted just like they always did. Elias tried to ignore their stares as he continued to eat. He could tell that Book Binder wanted to get up and give him a hug, but the pony remained seated, giving him a sympathetic look as she too continued to eat. Elias felt Night Flash rub his hoof against his left knee under the table in what Elias imagined was supposed to be a comforting gesture. It helped, but not nearly enough.

“You’re younger than I am?” Shooting Star asked in a daze.

Elias sighed and nodded, scratching at the hair behind his ear.

“If you’re older than nineteen years old, than yes. Just believe me when I say that every day of my nineteen years felt like a lifetime.”

Shooting Star seemed to be floored by the statement, and Elias couldn’t tell whether that was a good thing or not. It bought him silence however, and Elias did his best to continue eating. The revelation seemed to further irritate Moonlit Night, and her glare returned in force as she got over her shock.

“And why exactly did the princesses let a nineteen-year-old… whatever you are, into the guard, when my Shooting Star has to wait until he is the proper age of twenty-three? I don’t think it’s fair that some new creature gets special treatment over regular ponies.”

Elias felt the rational part of his mind take a nasty hit to the knees as it collapsed under the wave of anger that was rising in his chest. He rolled a bit of food from between his bottom teeth before he set his fork down and looked at her.

“Maybe it would have been fair if your son got one of these hmm?” Elias said, thumbing his scar. “Perhaps you would have been proud when your son gets stared at like he’s some kind of rabid animal because he did his job right and got disfigured because of it.”

Elias felt his breath catch in his chest for a moment, but for once, he forced his own panic attack away. Damn Moonlit Night, and damn anyone else who looked down on him. He didn’t care what they thought. He didn’t need them. He only cared about two ponies, and from the looks they had on their faces, they were on his side.

Elias took a deep breath, letting his body relax as he picked his fork back up and began eating anew. Damn anyone who wanted to ruin the day. It wasn't just any day either, it was Book Binder and Night Flash’s day. Everything had been far too focused on him, and Elias had a mind to change that. He looked to Book Binder with a small, forced grin.

“So, have you two started making plans for your wedding day, or is that something that’s in the future?”

“Flash and I were hoping to have something small…” Book Binder started slowly.

Her mother squeaked in protest.

“Absolutely not young lady. You and your wonderful stallion are going to have a proper Canterlot wedding, with all of the bells and whistles! I already have a friend working out availability dates for the castle gardens, and when you’re ready, I have a few dress makers lined up.”

Book Binder groaned.

“But Mom, I was hoping to wear your wedding dress! We already talked about how well the aquamarines match my fur! It just makes everything pop!”

Velvet sighed in exasperation, but smiled.

“I know baby, I just want it to be special for you. Either way, we’ll need to get that dress properly fitted if you decide to go with it.”

Book Binder snorted.

“Mom, are you trying to call me fat?”

Velvet rolled her eyes.

“Quite the opposite dear. You might have gotten fat if you stayed a librarian, but being in the guard has done wonders for your figure, and I’m worried that my old dress will just slide off. While I’m sure your fiancé might enjoy that, I would rather you make it through the ceremony at least.”

Almost everyone chuckled, save for one pony, who had continued glaring at Elias. Moonlit Night’s eye twitched.

“Something funny Mr. Bright?”

Elias didn’t bother turning his head toward the unicorn. He merely used his eyes to stare back at her as he stabbed at his pasta.

“The joke was fairly funny Mrs. Night, both the intended one, as well as the unintended one.”

Velvet smiled and cocked her head.

“What was the unintended joke Elias?”

“Undressing while going down the aisle is a bit ironic considering that ponies are largely nude.” He tugged on his tunic with his thumb and forefinger. “Everyone here is naked besides myself. I just thought it a bit funnier that nudity during the wedding would be frowned upon as opposed to regular nudity is all.”

Velvet chuckled and nodded in understanding. Moonlit Night was not so accepting of Elias’ interpretation of the joke.

“So our traditions are a laughing matter now?” she snapped.

Elias kept the smile on his face as he shook his head and stared with increasingly tired eyes at his half empty plate.

“I didn’t say that Mrs. Night, just made an observation about a difference in culture that I thought amusing. Nothing more than that.”

He tried again to shift the focus as he looked to Night Flash and Book Binder again.

“So, do you two have a date in mind, or are you winging it?”

Elias could tell that Book Binder knew he was trying to make an effort to remain civil, and she smiled apologetically as she tapped her chin.

“Well, Flash wants a wedding sometime in either summer or fall, but I was kind of hoping for a spring wedding.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, we missed that mark this year, and I’m not sure I want to wait around for an entire year to get married, so I think sometime in the fall, probably before the Running of the Leaves.”

“What’s that?” Elias asked quickly, noting Moonlit Night opening her mouth to speak more. She sent him another nasty glare as Night Flash replied.

“The Running of the Leaves is how ponies in the smaller towns clear the trees to make ready for winter. It’s a big race where the ponies primarily stay together as a pack and use the combined force of their hoofsteps to knock the leaves down in one go.”

Night Flash smiled widely.

“Maybe this year we can go watch! We always talk about doing it, but we all get so busy around wintertime, and I think it would be really cool to take a mini-vacation to see the race.”

Elias nodded in agreement.

“It sounds like fun. If nothing else it would certainly be interesting to see. On Earth the leaves always just fell naturally, back when most trees still had leaves of course.”

“What does that mean?” Shooting Star asked curiously. “You didn’t have leaves where you were from?”

Elias shook his head.

“No, not really. We used to though. We had vast forests that would just stretch to the horizon, lush and green, and completely untouched by man.” He smiled wistfully. “The woods near my childhood home were like that, the trees were tall, and it was always shaded and cool, even on the hottest summer day. I used to run around with my sisters and our dog through those woods, exploring and playing. It was good times.”

“What happened?” Shooting Star asked.

Elias felt his mood drop like a stone as the happy memories were shoved away in an instant. He had so few good memories, and he wished that he could relish in their pleasant presence for a little while longer. Elias sighed and stared at the table for a second before he answered.

“Well,” he scratched the back of his head as he figured out how to best phrase it, “let’s just say things got bad, to a point where very little could survive. The trees died, and once the leaves fell, they were gone for good. By the time I left, the forests were decaying, and all you could see to the horizon was bleak, blasted white husks.”

Elias frowned and shook his head as he picked his fork back up.

“It wasn’t a good place anymore, let’s leave it at that.”

Elias made a mental note to stop talking. Each time he tried, it always brought out more pain, and caused the meal to fall into a silence. He just needed someone else to speak and run with it so that he could listen and eat, then leave. The longer he stayed, the more alien he felt. The glares Moonlit Night continued to shoot him didn’t help at all, and he knew that his continued presence was just causing a rift between the ponies.

As he continued to eat, Book Binder asked Night Twister about his work, and she took over directing the conversation, keeping the subjects light and decidedly away from Elias. Lucky for him, she was much better at keeping things on track, and even Moonlit Night would occasionally stop glaring at him as the conversation flowed.

They moved through an assortment of topics, some of which Elias listened to with interest, while others he tuned out, focusing on the food before him. He quickly figured out that he wasn’t going to be able to eat half of it, let alone all of it. He had been eating light for days, and the bread, pasta, potato combo was far too filling for his stomach. Velvet Breeze gave him a look of concern as he set down his fork.

“Is everything alright Elias? It looks like you’ve hardly eaten a thing.”

Elias glanced down at his food, then back up to the unicorn.

“That’s only because you gave me enough food to feed a family. I don’t eat this much in a day, let alone in one sitting.”

Velvet snorted and smiled, as did Moonlit Night, which unnerved Elias, setting off alarm bells in his head.

“That actually brings up a question I had Mr. Bright; do you have any family?” the mare asked, her voice sweet, but her intent clearly malicious.

Elias winced as the question bounced around his head like a hand grenade. He waited for the timer to tick down as Night Flash set his hooves on the table and glared at his mother.

“Mom, that’s enough. This is supposed to be a party for fun, not an interrogation of my friend.”

Moonlit Night held up her hooves defensively.

“I apologize Flashy, but I was just trying to learn more about Mr. Bright. The creature that keeps my darling boy and his beautiful fiancé away from my dinner table so often must be pretty important. I just simply wanted to know what his family is like is all.”

“Was,” Elias said simply, his eyes staring deadly at the table.

The table fell to silence, and Elias glanced up, looking to Moonlit Night with vacant eyes.

“Was like. Past tense. They’re dead. Have been for some time.”

The unicorn’s mouth opened in a small ‘o’ of shock, but Elias couldn’t find it within himself to care. The meal in his stomach sank like a stone, and Elias knew his mental state was soon to follow. He pushed back from the table and took the napkin from his lap, swiftly wiping his mouth as he stood up.

“Mrs. Breeze, thank you for your hospitality, the food was excellent,” Elias said with no emotion as he turned away.

He moved quickly to the door, and only Book Binder’s magic was able to stop him from leaving. Elias sighed as the unicorn turned him around and tried to bring herself to eye level. He saw tears in her eyes, and they pleaded with him to stay, but Elias knew that he wouldn’t. Things were only going to get worse if he stayed.

“Elias, I am so sorry,” Book Binder said. “I thought we had warned them about this, but I think Moonlit Night is just protective, and…”

Elias gave her a small hug, cutting the unicorn off. She sighed and rubbed his back, but Elias withdrew quickly, opening the door with his left hand.

“Don’t worry about it Book Binder,” Elias said softly. “Just go back in there and have a good meal with your in-laws. Make sure Flash doesn’t say anything regrettable to his mother.”

Book Binder whimpered as he took a step outside.

“But what about you Elias? You can’t be alone right now; I can see that. You need somepony beside you. Please don’t go, we’ll figure this out.”

Elias shook his head and looked outside, squinting as a beam of sunlight caught his bad eye. His focus was fading, and he could feel his self-control dangle on a thread, worn to the point that the slightest misstep could push him to a breaking point. He needed distance.

“There’s nothing to figure out Book Binder. Try to have a good day, we’ll talk later. I’m happy for both of you, and I hope I haven’t ruined anything.”

Book Binder sighed and shook her head as her ears flattened.

“You could never Elias. Please stay safe. I don’t want to find you in a hospital bed again.”

Elias felt a trace of a grin flash across his face, and he looked back at her and winked.

“No promises. Now get back in there and have a good time, I’ll be alright. We’ll talk later.”

The words felt hollow, but Elias kept his best smile on his face. Book Binder sighed again, but she accepted the fact that he was leaving. She gave him a quick hug around the waist, then held the door open as Elias slid out of the small house. He gave her what he thought was a reassuring smile as he waved, but the look on Binder’s face was one that indicated she didn’t believe it. The door closed slowly, and Elias waited for a moment to see if the unicorn would charge out to stop him anyway. When she didn’t, Elias began making his way toward the castle.

He was exhausted. The day had already been an emotional train wreck, and as he walked, Elias realized that the last place he wanted to be was somewhere he could be found. He needed somewhere where nobody would pursue him, not to hide, but to simply be alone.

As he walked, a shadow fell across his face, and Elias squinted as he looked up at the massive peak above him. Canterlot was placed halfway up the mountain, and he had read from more than one guide that said it would take an experienced climber only a few hours to reach the peak. While he had no experience with climbing, Elias also had hands, and better, fingers. He should, in theory, be able to reach the peak at least as fast as an experienced pony.

Elias felt a smirk touch his face as his mind quieted under the pressure of a new challenge. He quickened place, and he felt his emotions relax as he made his way toward his room. The singular task provided excellent focus and motivation, and the excitement of defeating a massive new enemy filled him with energy as he began to sprint to gather the necessary supplies.

*****

Elias grimaced as he sucked on his thumbnail, eyeing the remaining climb with irritation. Scaling a mountain evidently required more preparation than he thought. After reaching his room, Elias wrapped his hands with some spare cloth from a worn away tunic, then grabbed the coil of rope from his ruck. He was fired up and ready to set to work, more than ready to find the perfect distraction. Nobody had stopped him as he moved quickly through the palace, and if they gave him strange looks, he was too focused elsewhere to notice. He had jogged to the free climb area of some no-name park. It was here that he stared up the rock face with a confident, almost arrogant grin, and then he started his climb.

It was within the first few hundred feet of sheer rock face that Elias realized he was far out of his depth. The wrappings on his hands did little to protect them from the sharp stone handholds of the mountain, and now the blue strips were painted red as the cloth acted as makeshift bandages. Most of his fingertips were rubbed raw, and he was missing several fingernails as well. The pain didn’t stop him however, and Elias had climbed on.

Now, he was sitting on a ledge within two hundred feet of the top, but his legs felt like burning jelly, his back was in bone splitting agony, and he couldn’t feel the blood dripping slowly from his hands. On top of all of that, it was almost dark. The sun had begun setting about halfway up, and as he stared out over the growing lights of Canterlot, Elias noticed that it was giving him barely enough light to see by. If his math was right, he had maybe fifteen minutes before the sky grew black. With darkness came cold, and unprepared as he was, Elias was beginning to shiver.

The man sighed and got to his feet, gritting his teeth as he grabbed hold of the wall above his head. Movement would provide the warmth he needed to survive. With immense effort, Elias pulled himself up using his upper arm strength alone. The already strained and tired muscles screamed at him for more rest, but he ignored their cries as he found a foot hold. His left hand rose as his right foot found a hold, and he pushed forward, unwilling to fail again. He would have one victory, even if he collapsed at the top.

While he was adjusting his feet, a hand hold pulled free. Rocks clattered down the cliff side, and Elias felt the breath catch in his throat. For that brief second, he hung, hundreds of feet in the air, held only by three nail-less fingers, with nothing else to prevent him from dropping like a blood-filled stone. Then his right hand came up again, and he found a stable hold. His feet followed the lead of his hands, and he scrambled up a foot. Catching his breath, Elias stared down at the ground, then grinned ferally. A low chuckle quickly turned into a loud yell as he whooped, enjoying the rush he felt from his near-death experience.

Filled with adrenaline, Elias grinned like a madman as he scrambled up the rock face, abandoning caution. Within a few minutes he could see the edge that led to the top of the mountain, it was just an arm’s length out of reach. If he played it smart, he could carefully scale the rest of the face with ease, but Elias felt high on his pumping adrenaline. Nearly dying had done wonders for his brain, and he had one last risk in him before his body collapsed under the advanced strain he had put it through.

Elias leaned back on his calves, tensing his muscles as he prepared to make the jump. He gave himself a six count, bouncing back and forth as he did the minute calculations. If his distance was even a little off, he would drop. The rope was long gone, used up toward the lower areas of the mountain. There was no safety net, no way out if he missed. Elias smiled as the feeling of blind danger gave him the necessary energy. He pushed up with all his might as he made a flying leap, his arm extended to close the last few inches.

He only just made it. Four fingers snagged on the edge, and Elias cried out in both pain and victory as he felt one of his remaining fingernails pull back. Before it could crack and fall off his finger completely, Elias latched onto the ledge with his other hand, pulling himself into a weak, quivering mess on the top. His right arm and leg dangled dangerously over the edge, and Elias felt curiosity bloom as he debated simply rolling off the side. Could he catch himself fast enough, or would he plummet? Such questions.

Elias panted loudly as he laid on his back, pointedly ignoring the blue alicorn to his left. Luna sat under a very warm looking blanket, next to an even warmer looking fire, with a waiting meal and a tall, spectacular looking glass of water. Elias ignored all of it, as well as the dryness of his mouth as he stared at the darkening sky in victory. He conquered the mountain; not with help, not with ponies. He didn’t need friends, and he didn’t even need to kill to beat this enemy. He just won, all by the strength of his will. Nobody could take his victory from him, for he had won it alone.

Victory only kept him warm for so long however, and it grew more difficult to ignore the crackle of the fire just a few feet away. Luna looked to the stars that were beginning to poke through the sunset.

“Did you climb on your earth often?” Luna asked. “You spoke very passionately about touching the sky when we first met; was this a way to achieve that goal?”

Elias didn’t answer. A shiver passed through his body as he became painfully aware of how his sweat was beginning to freeze to his tunic, and by extension, the mountain top. The stone seemed to leach away his body heat, and the sun going down was not helping.

Luna sighed loudly.

“Elias, please do not ignore me. Any words, even those that may hurt, are better than silence.”

Elias felt a grin split his face as he laughed loudly.

“I disagree completely.” He snorted and shook his head. “And don’t say that like it’s some sort of fact that you know, because it isn’t. I know some very nasty words that will hurt you more than either of us would like, so I’m going to lay here in silence until I figure how to climb down in the dark, while you enjoy all of the things you brought up. Talk if you want, I won’t answer. I don’t talk to people I don’t trust in some capacity, and you have shown me that you, and your sister are incapable of that trust.”

“Elias, I am sorry that we deceived you, but-…”

Elias rolled to his left and stared at her.

“No, don’t say that, because that isn’t true. You’re not sorry you lied to me, you’re sorry it didn’t work, you’re sorry that I didn’t just roll over and accept the lie. We both know you’re here for a reason, so don’t lie to me more. You can stop digging that hole.”

He rolled back onto his spine and flinched as a cold gust of wind chilled his dangling fingers. The sky was cloudless, giving him nothing to focus on. That left words, so he spoke.

“Do you know how awful today has been because of you and your sister? Do you know what I almost did to Night Flash? That poor, innocent stallion saw me losing my collective shit on anything and everything within our room, and he didn’t hesitate to step in.” Elias chuckled without humor. “I almost hit him, because I thought he was one of your little spies, sent to fuck me up and make me weaker than I already am.”

Elias rubbed his eyes with the palms of his bloodied hands, doing his best to avoid painting his eyes red.

“I almost hit him,” Elias repeated. “I almost struck one of the only ponies that I have left that I know I can trust. He doesn’t deserve to deal with me, and whatever gods you have are cruel for putting us in the same room as each other. I’m a special kind of hell that I wouldn’t reserve for my worst enemies, and Night Flash of all people gets roped into dealing with me. What a joke.”

Elias sighed and glanced at Luna.

“That’s what you did today. I already lost one adopted family, and you nearly cost me the second one. That’s how my day has been today, so now that I’m done talking to you, I would prefer there to be silence. I’ll take a nap and then climb down, alone.”

He closed his eyes and laid still, trying to ignore the cold that swept up through his tunic. It took less than a minute before Luna tried to pipe up.

“Elias, I…”

Ah!” Elias snapped, raising a finger. “Sleep requires quiet.”

Another shiver rolled through his body, and Elias tried to ignore the pounding in his chest as a gust of breeze tried to knock him from his perilous perch. Luna whined softly.

“Please Elias, come away from the ledge. I understand your anger toward me, but please do not put yourself at risk because of it. I shall call the guards to come fetch me if that is your wish, just please, come warm yourself and rest.”

Elias cracked an eye open and stared at her as he rubbed at his face in thought.

“I should just roll off the cliff. It’s a hell of a drop, and nobody can stop me. It would solve everyone’s issues in one fell swoop. A second or two of falling, then sweet, sweet oblivion.”

He didn’t mean the words, but the look on Luna’s face as she glared at him was worth it.

“Keep looking at me like that, and I’ll do it out of spite,” he said with a sadistic chuckle.

Luna’s glare softened and her eyes pleaded with him to move toward the fire. Another gust of wind pushed him toward the edge, and Elias sank his fingers into a crevice as his body weight teetered back and forth on the edge. He knew within a second, thanks to the shrieks of both voices in his head, that he didn’t want to die. He had given an unspoken promise to Book Binder to see her again, and Night Flash still hadn’t shown him the rest of the Wonderbolts cards. The two were plenty of reason to live for. Elias used his hand hold to drag himself back from the edge. He heard and ignored a sigh of relief from Luna as he rolled to his feet, trudging to the fire. The alicorn pulled a candle from a set of saddlebags obscured by her blanket.

“I shall leave a page with you to call a chariot should you require it,” Luna said. “My guards will be here as soon as I send this-…”

Elias waved her down as he fell on his rump next to the fire wincing as he shoved his battered fingers next to it.

“Don’t bother. This conversation is going to happen whether I want it or not, so we might as well get it done now.” He snorted. “Not like anyone cares what I want.”

“I care Elias,” Luna whispered.

Elias shook his head, not looking up from the flames.

“No, you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t be up here to try to convince me.”

Luna sighed, and Elias caught hints of tears in her eyes, but they disappeared quickly as she removed the cover from the plate. She shifted the plate, a teacup, and a blanket toward him.

“Please Elias, eat, drink. We shall talk when you have recovered from your climb. It was no easy feat do climb Canterlot mountain without equipment.”

Elias smiled weakly, but with pride.

“No, not it wasn’t.”

His tongue was barren of moisture, so he started with what he assumed was tea. He drank the entire cup in one swig, then did his best to not spit it up as the foul substance slithered down his throat. Elias looked to Luna with a look of disgust.

“What was that?”

“A dosage of healing potion Elias,” Luna said with a small smile. “You were tracking blood up my mountain, so I thought you could use a mild boost before Scalpel catches you tracking blood through the castle yet again.”

Elias felt his bad eye twitch at the mention of the pony’s name. Yet one more potential spy. Another agent designed to make him weak, soft. It was because of Scalpel that he ended up connecting so heavily with Book Binder and Night Flash. The unicorn always just “happened” to cave when the pair of ponies pressed him for more visitation. Another tactic to draw him in, to lower his defenses so that when the sucker punch was delivered, he would have no choice but to lay down and accept it. His face twitched again as anger rose, and Luna sighed.

“Elias, please do not think that everything was a carefully planned out lie. It is merely a host of coincidences, matched with a scarce few instances of manipulation. I promise that none of your friends were planted as such.”

Elias’ eyes flicked up, and he cocked his head.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better? Congratulations Elias, most of the sandwich we shoved down your throat wasn’t made of shit, just a little bit of it was, so see? It isn’t so bad; you only swallowed a small piece of shit.”

Elias snorted and his eyes fell.

“A grain of manipulation is still manipulation. It makes you no less guilty, but for consolation, it doesn’t make you any more guilty either. I promise,” he sneered, mocking her words.

Luna looked pained at his tone, but she didn’t press him, instead falling silent as she stared at the fire. Her hoof reached out and nudged the meal next to Elias. Knowing she wouldn’t stop until he ate something, Elias snatched up a bread roll and the glass of water. He had managed to empty his stomach during one of his breaks, and the water was much needed considering he hadn’t brought any. He drank smart though, taking sips until the glass was nearly half empty.

A gust of wind made him shiver and caused the fire to flicker. Luna noticed instantly, and she nudged the blanket toward him.

“Take this Elias, you have no fur, and winter has only just concluded. The nights will be chilly for some time yet.”

Elias ignored her words and he set down the glass, staring at the fire wordlessly as he thought about how best to tear apart her arguments. Even her help was another piece of the puzzle, another strand of the web to trap him into doing their bidding. More lies disguised as sweet truths. His resolve felt weak though, and each gust of wind brought another shiver as he tried to avoid staring at the blanket. He wrapped his arms around his chest, and huddled close to the fire, letting as much anger free as he could to stay warm. It didn’t help, and his teeth began to chatter quietly as his sweat finished freezing to his back.

Luna frowned, nudging the blanket again.

“Elias, please, I brought this for you, and for no other reason. Take it, you are pale with cold.”

“I’m” ‘freezing’ “fine,” Elias replied. “I’ll get warmer as we talk, so go ahead, sell me the lie you want me to believe. I’m ready to get this done.”

A hurt look flashed over Luna’s face again, and she shuffled in her seat.

“Elias, I am not trying to sell you a lie. I want to see you happy with your life, and I want to see you freed of your pain. I genuinely believe that by leading, by starting this venture anew, you will find inner peace.”

Elias snorted and shook his head.

“Really? That’s you’re argument? This is all for my sake?” He chuckled dryly. “And here I thought you were going to try to tell me all about the greater good and how Equestria needs me.”

Luna sighed.

“There is that as well, but I knew better than to attempt to justify my actions that way. This is all very personal for you, and I believe you can see great personal benefit from this.”

Elias’ eyes flicked up, and his face twisted in a snarl.

“You think I give a fuck about “personal benefit”? Is that what you think this is about, me? You haven’t listened to a damn thing I’ve said. It’s never been about me, and if you actually cared half as much as you say you do, then you’d know that.”

More pain flashed across Luna’s face, but this time she countered his words by getting angry. She matched his snarl with one of her own.

“Elias, I do care, and I have been listening. I know that you think you are somehow protecting everyone around you by bottling your emotions and your memories inside, but that is not healthy, and it is killing you. You need to let these things out, to talk about them, grieve about them, and then move past them. You told me not to spend too much time looking back, yet your life is controlled by your past, to the point that for every step you take forward, you are thrown back a hundred. If you say no, I must know why. Let us talk this out, from a friend to a friend.”

Elias smirked and looked up at her.

“Friend to a friend? You’re making an awful lot of assumptions.”

Luna’s anger faded for a brief moment, and she stared at him in confusion.

“But… we are friends. You said as much during Hearth’s Warming. We may have been busy these past months, and we may be currently experiencing a rough patch in our friendship, but we are still friends.”

Elias’ smirk widened and he shook his head.

“No, we aren’t. Every piece of that “friendship” was built on lies and deception, and therefore doesn’t exist. At best, I’m your guard. You don’t want to know what we are at worst.”

He snorted dismissively again, and his eyes fell back to the fire, rolling his healing fingers near the heat.

“As far as I am concerned, we aren’t friends, and we never have been.”

Luna blinked at him in shock.

“Elias, that simply is not true, my actions on Hearth’s Warming prove it!” she protested.

Elias laughed at the alicorn.

“Spare me the shock and confusion, we both know that you just saved me to protect your investment. I can’t well lead an army if I die in the snow. That’s just simple math, try again.”

Luna growled at him, and for a moment, Elias felt the air around them grow colder.

“I was not trying to save your life for any sort of gain Elias, and I did not need to comfort you following your suicide attempt, nor did I need to cover it up. I saved your life because I care about you, and because we are friends. We connected in harmonious song, and we have spent many an evening together having fun with Nightshade. Despite this argument we find ourselves in, we are friends.”

She said it like it was a statement of fact, but Elias knew better. She was a dedicated actor though.

“No, we aren’t," he replied. "I don’t care how you spin it, and I don’t care what “fun” you bring up to try to justify it. Nightshade is probably the biggest agent you put on me, and I’m sure she’s fed you a steady stream of information about my habits. Everything that happened between us was just more manipulation, you think I couldn’t figure out why we didn’t bet using money? Because money wouldn’t have made me your docile little pup, seeking whatever treat you dangled from your hoof.”

“We aren’t friends,” Elias snapped. “We never have been, and I think it’s more than safe to confirm what I knew in that damn jail cell months ago; we never will be.”

Luna had a look that revealed both her outrage, and her anger at his statement. The blanket around her shoulders fell to the ground as she hopped to her feet, her face flush with rage as her mouth opened.

“ELIAS BRIGHT, WE ARE FRIENDS AND WE SHALL BE SO TILL THE END OF TIME. CEASE YOU NONSENSICAL PRATTLING SO THAT I MAY APOLOGIZE FOR THE WRONG DOINGS OF MY SISTER AND I!”

Elias blinked the moisture back into his eyes as he recovered from the full blunt force of the Royal Canterlot Voice, but instead of what was likely her intended effect of cowing him into submission, he jumped to his feet, his voice preparing to rise as he tried to match her in volume. He jabbed a finger at her and opened his mouth to yell, then stopped, his mouth twisting in a humorless smile. He spread his hands and took a step back from the alicorn.

“You know what? I believe you completely,” Elias said to Luna. “In fact, because I so completely believe you, I am going to give you the exact same choice that you forced on me.”

The smile dropped as Luna looked at him with concern. Elias put on a fake pout.

“Come now, don’t look like that, it’s for your personal benefit after all.”

Elias felt his eye twitch as the bastardized version of her words spat out at her. Luna flinched back slightly, and a part of Elias’ mind whispered that he might be making a mistake, that she might be genuinely sorry, but Elias ignored it and continued.

“The first option is this;” he raised a finger, “I stay in the Lunar Guard, not as a captain, or some sort of strategist, but as the everyday guard. I will fight, and bleed, and maybe die in your name, but I won’t lead. In this option, we can stay friends, and I will let you take me to all the little cuddle piles your fuzzy pony heart could ever want.”

Luna looked briefly hopeful, but that expression died as Elias extended a second finger.

“Or, I can be your General. I’ll raise a legion for you, and I’ll teach them to fight, and I’ll lead them to war, just like you and Celestia want. I will fight, and bleed, and maybe die alongside them.” Elias tilted his head and shrugged as he amended his words. “Hopefully die actually. Blood’s going to be spilled, and people will die, I would rather give my life for a legionnaire then see them dead on some nameless battlefield. But back on topic; in this option we aren’t friends any more. End of story. I won’t speak to you, or so much as glance in your direction if it isn’t work related.”

Elias spread his hands as he let his face fall into a blank stare.

“Choose.”

Luna’s face immediately shifted to one of denial and frustration as her eyes flicked back and forth across the ground. Her mouth opened and closed while Elias waited silently, crossing his arms to ward off the shivering. The moon wasn’t up yet, but it was fully dark, and the cold air felt like tiny knives as it sent prickles down his skin. That didn’t matter however, and he kept his still gaze on Luna as she stomped a hoof in frustration and looked at him.

“That isn’t fair!” she cried. “I wish for us to remain close Elias, but we need your help! If you are merely a guard in my employ, Celestia’s generals will not listen to you, and they are the majority!”

She plopped down and stared at the fire, sniffling loudly.

“I need your vote to carry any changes that need to be made, and despite what you may believe, you are an incredibly persuasive, charismatic individual. You can sway their opinions and see things done right. We need your help.”

She sniffled and rubbed at her eyes.

“But I don’t want to lose one of my only friends.”

She continued sniffling, and Elias could tell clearly that she was on the verge of crying. Why he provoked that reaction, he didn’t know, but he could tell from the look on her face that it wasn’t for show. She genuinely felt the weight of the decision as she struggled to pick one of the options.

Elias sighed loudly as his anger toward the alicorn evaporated into the air. He plopped down across from her, then as an afterthought, snatched up the blanket. It brightened her mood slightly as he draped it over his shoulders, and the threat of tears vanished as the small concession brought her calm. Elias did his best not to shiver as he huddled in the blanket, staring blankly at the fire.

“Now you feel a fraction of the strife I feel. Now you have a taste of why I can’t say yes. I have to decide who’s more important, a million faceless nobodies that I couldn’t care less about, or the people that I care about. I’m just some random human teenager, what do I know about making that kind of call?”

He rubbed at his nose.

“I don’t know anything.”

Luna stared at him in thought for a moment, then sighed loudly.

“Before I answer your question, I have to ask Elias; you have referred to me neither by name, nor by title. Why?”

Elias didn’t look up.

“Because I haven’t decided who you are to me yet. Are you my princess? Just the person I guard every day, is that all you are to me? Are you a traitor to me? You betrayed my trust, that, or you haven’t listened to anything I have told you, and in my mind, that’s almost worse.”

He rubbed his hands together and blew between his thumbs, trying to warm his palms up. He met Luna’s eyes.

“Or, are you my friend? Were you ever my friend? Because I’m no expert, but if you were my friend, and if you are still my friend, then you have been one of the worst friends I have ever had. You threw me to the wolves Luna. You stabbed me in the back by suggesting that I create an army for you in front of everyone. If you actually cared, you wouldn’t have sprung this on me, you would have talked to me about it the moment you thought the idea up.”

He snorted dismissively and stared back to the crackling flames.

“But I guess that’s what can answer the question. When did you start considering this? Has every action since you saw me been leading here, or has this only been a recent development, brought on by someone else?”

Luna sighed.

“I can tell you the truth Elias, but I do not think you will believe me.”

She paused, as if asking for permission, so Elias silently waved for her to continue. The alicorn took a long breath before she did so, with her eyes joining his as they stared at the fire together.

“The plan to travel to Saddle Arabia has been on Celestia and I’s mind for a bit over a year. The tradeway has always been plagued with issues, and the Saddle Arabian’s have recently become embroiled in the Zebrica civil war, so they constantly send requests for medical aid. They know better than to ask for military aid, but treating injuries, and saving lives? We would not deserve our crowns if we did not contribute to easing the suffering brought about by war.”

She sighed and continued.

“The main tradeway saw increased use as we encouraged merchants to take their wares to Saddle Arabia, selling goods and services tax free so that their cities could find some measure of relief. As Midnight Chaser said, we believe that Chrysalis was able to breed an army from the love she snatched from that road, but we can’t simply abandon our client state out of fear of the changelings. We have made a commitment to Saddle Arabia, and we will continue to honor it, but we needed a better way.”

Luna shuffled her hooves, glancing up for a moment at the space next to Elias before her eyes flicked back down.

“I was informed of your greater role in our march two months ago, it was why I was late to one of our poker games, and why I was distracted enough to let you win.”

“Let me win?” Elias asked with a raised eyebrow. “I won fair and square; my poker face is excellent.”

Luna snorted and waved her hoof dismissively.

“If I was paying attention, I could have noticed your bluff. Your poker face is perfect, but you can tell when you lie in poker because you tap your leg with your smallest two fingers.”

Her face fell and she looked away.

“But I knew that night, and I wished to tell you, but I feared that it would ruin the evening. It was the first time Nightshade and I didn’t have to coax you to play, and you were more relaxed about the bets. I did not want to ruin our fun.”

Elias winced as he remembered the evening. It had been an excellent, relaxing day, followed by an incredibly enjoyable night, and even though he had lost nine out of the ten games to Nightshade, he had secured his first victory in cards against the ponies, all because of a bluff that had slipped under both Nightshade, and Luna’s noses. Luna had congratulated him with a hug, one of the first he had accepted without fear or complaint, while Nightshade congratulated him by slipping him a flask full of hard cider. While it wasn’t as rough as his whiskey had been, it was more than enough to brighten a few rough days. If he remembered correctly, he still had some left in the flask on his sword belt. The belt he threw away.

Luna shifted slightly, and a glint of metal caught Elias’ eye as the alicorn settled again. His eyes narrowed and stared at a carefully wrapped bundle of cloth. Luna followed his eyes down, then smiled, using her hooves to drag the bundle free of her saddle bags. She passed it over the fire, and Elias took it gently, running his hands up and down the cloth as he unwrapped his sword belt, gladius and all. Elias glanced at Luna, who’s smile took on a sad glint.

“That was never ours Elias, and it was never a symbol of your service to me. That belt, and that sword is yours and yours alone. No matter what decision you make, it will continue to be yours.”

Elias’ hand rested on the hilt of his gladius for a moment, but he didn’t want to see the blade. Not yet. The hand shifted and Elias withdrew his flask, quickly unscrewing the top and taking a long swig. He then offered it to Luna, who didn’t hesitate to accept it. She took a long swig as well, and passed the flask back as she sighed.

“Elias I… I am sorry. For everything. I have brought you great pain, and you are right, I am a terrible friend. Whether it is born of my ignorance of your past or not, I should have talked to you about this. I was a coward for not facing this issue, and I am sorry Elias.” She sniffled and laid down, closing her eyes as tears began to flow. “I’m so sorry. I’m a bad friend.”

Her sobs were near silent, but they were audible enough over the crackle of the fire. Elias closed his eyes and rocked as he listened to them for a moment. The voices both began to talk, but Elias crushed them both. He didn’t need any reminders of his failures, and he didn’t need anyone telling him how to act. He knew what was right, and whispers would not help him in the slightest.

Elias grunted as he got to his feet, though Luna didn’t notice as she continued to softly weep. Elias moved around the fire, and then when he got close enough to the alicorn, he poked her side with his foot. Her cries momentarily stopped as she looked up with teary eyes, and Elias grunted at her.

“Get up, I’m going to sit there,” he said, pointing to the space just before her.

The alicorn sniffled and nodded silently as she rose. Elias sat quickly, gently grabbing her wing as she tried to wander around the fire. Luna gasped as he guided her to his back. As her fur pressed against his back, Elias felt the tension drain from his body, and he rubbed his cheek against the fluff affectionately. It was another change the ponies had forced on him, but one Elias didn’t mind so much. The creatures were designed for snuggling, and the mountaintop was cold. He wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to be warm and comfortable, and he knew that it would make Luna just a bit happier. She would need that kernel of happiness for what came next.

Luna shuffled as she settled around him, wrapping his body with both her hooves and wings. Elias closed his eyes and let her rock him as she nuzzled the top of his head.

“What has brought this about Elias?” Luna murmured. “This is for a reason, I can tell.”

Elias nodded and sighed.

“I’m going to tell you a story Luna, and I will need your help to get me through it, because it is the reason I am the man I am today. All the horrors of my world just might not have mattered if my legion had survived, but they didn’t, and I am going to tell you why I cannot build a new legion for you.”

Luna sighed.

“You have made up your mind then?”

“No,” Elias replied, opening his eyes and shifting so that he could stare into the fire. “And neither have you. We will both give each other our answers when I finish, but maybe this is all just another one of my innumerable failures. Listen closely, because I will not be able to tell this story twice.”

Luna nodded and nuzzled his neck. Her breath was warm, she was warm on his back, and Elias couldn’t help but feel absolute comfort being held by the large pony.

“Alright Elias, I shall listen. Stop if it hurts you too much, I do not enjoy seeing you suffer.”

‘And yet here we are,’ Elias thought.

He took a few deep breaths to mentally prepare, then he let the words slip off his tongue.

“I suppose I should start with the monster. I was younger then, the ripe age of sixteen, and I was little more than an animal. I did awful things to innocent people, and nobody could stop me.”

He snorted.

“And before you think that there was some noble goal behind it all, there wasn’t. I was causing suffering because I loved it. No more reason than that. I spilled an ocean of blood for laughs, and I can safely say that if I had met me, I would have cut me down without hesitation. No better than a rabid beast.”

He sighed and shifted so that his cheek laid in Luna’s fur. Already his mind was alight with painful memories, and he had just started. Her fur was as soft as ever however, and he took as much comfort from her as he could.

“I found someone who was different. A man named Tristan.” Elias snorted again. “A man, bullshit, he was a boy like me. A year older, but better in every way. He had walked the same road I had; he was just farther along. When he found me, I was starving, sick, and bleeding to death. The result of a fight with a pack of dogs. I was too beaten up to turn them to food, so while they rotted, I crawled into a hole to die.”

Elias let out a long breath of air.

“He wouldn’t let me though, he saw “potential” in me, whatever that was supposed to mean. He bandaged me up, then dragged my sorry ass back to a camp he had made with his close friends.”

Elias paused and closed his eyes as a sob threatened to ruin his calm.

“Those stupid, beautiful people. I had no reason to live, no value, and they didn’t care a bit. They fed me, clothed me, nursed me back to health. They also weren’t so caring about my privacy. They read my journals; saw every nasty detail I had carried out. The books were filthy then, filled with a million wrongs as I cut my way through the world, destroying anything in my path.”

He smiled wistfully.

“And they didn’t care. Like I said, Tristan saw potential. He wanted to show me a “better way”. Once they got me back on my feet, they set about teaching me how to use my “talents” for a good reason. To hurt the right people.”

He looked up at Luna as the first of what he knew would be a torrent of tears crept down his cheek.

“How Luna? How did they take a monster and make a man out of him? Any sane person would have slit my throat and left me for the worms.”

Elias rubbed his eyes with the heal of his hand.

“But not them. Good people. The best really.”

“They were your family,” Luna whispered softly.

Her hoof found his back and began rubbing small circles. Elias closed his eyes and sighed, leaning into her as he nodded.

“They were. Just like Book Binder and Night Flash, they were closer to me than anyone related by blood. I loved them more than anything in the world.”

He closed his eyes and refocused.

“We wandered for awhile, picking up strays, hurting the people who deserved it. As we got more and more people, we built a town, putting up tall walls while we kept dragging in people from the wastes. We gave them a home, a measure of safety. It was good, things were getting better.”

Elias scratched the back of his head and smirked.

“Then, me being me, I fucked up.”

He giggled madly, and he felt Luna’s grip tighten around his body as his mind teetered near the edge of sanity.

“Like anything has changed. I still do the same stupid shit, still overreact to any little thing that comes my way. White Shine was evidence enough of that.”

Luna’s hoof shifted and stroked his head.

“You protected a friend Elias, and you did not do lasting physical damage to White Shine. At worst you were justified in your punishment.”

Elias snorted dismissively.

“Whatever you say Luna. Back to then, I beat a man half to death for stealing food. Broke both of his legs, then dragged him outside of our settlement where I kept beating him until my friends pulled me off of him. Tristan, he was our leader at the time, said I wasn’t welcome any more, that I had gone too far. He was mad, and now that we had a community, a bit scared. He was afraid that the lessons he taught me hadn’t stuck, that I was still the rabid dog they found.”

Elias sighed, and scratched at his nose.

“We shared some nasty words, and we ended up at each other’s throats. I called him a soft-hearted coward, said that he didn’t have what it took to keep our town safe. So being the calm, reasonable man I am, I challenged him for leadership.”

Elias’ smirk returned.

“I got taught a new lesson that day, because he proved me wrong in spades. He made the beating that I gave the thief look like child’s play. When he was done, the only thing I could do was walk. He broke both arms, my jaw, some ribs, and then when I still tried to keep fighting, he dislocated my shoulder to prove a point.”

He tapped the limb as a bout of cold caused it to ache.

“Still hurts to this day.”

Luna’s eyes stared at him in horror.

“That’s… Elias that is terrible.”

Elias shrugged and looked back to the fire.

“Maybe, but I deserved it. He exiled me after that, and the timing couldn’t have been worse. I had beaten the man because I was concerned about food for the winter. Well, now they had one less mouth to feed.”

“So, I stumbled away,” Elias continued. “I could barely hear through the pain, but some of my friends begged him to allow me back in. He couldn’t look weak though, couldn’t go back on his word, so he didn’t listen. Wouldn’t have mattered if he did, because I would have kept walking.

“Beaten half to death, and my stupid ass still had a sense of pride,” Elias said with a laugh. “I wandered off, and a few friends came after me. I sent them back, said things to hurt them, to drive them away. Like an old dog, I knew I was going to die, and I didn’t want anyone suffering on my account.”

“How did you survive?” Luna asked. “I cannot believe you treated such grievous wounds yourself.”

Elias snorted and shook his head.

“Maybe a broken leg, but not two broken arms. Lucky me though, because my friends were more stubborn than I was. That first night I walked until I collapsed, praying the first snow would kill me.”

Elias felt a shiver pass through his body, and Luna responded by shifting them both closer to the fire. He closed his eyes once more as he rubbed against her chest fur. It was so wonderfully soft. He was going to miss it.

“They nabbed me within a few minutes, strapped me to a bed, then dragged me into a nearby building. They had seen the signs of my mental relapse, and they had already prepped for the day I would get myself into trouble. They hadn’t expected it to be so severe, but they managed to patch me up. Then they waited for me to wake up.”

Elias sighed.

“Two days later, I managed to regain enough consciousness to speak, but this time I used a different tactic. I begged them to leave me, to let me die. I knew what I had done, and it burned me to the core with how weak I was. I was done with living, didn’t want to act as a dead weight on their lives.”

“A burden…” Luna said softly.

Elias grinned and tapped his forehead.

“Now you’re drawing the parallels. Tell me Luna, how much of this little story sounds familiar? Should I get to the part where I came up with the idea where I built a legion? Or maybe the part where I ended up as the leader and built it from the ground up?”

He snapped his fingers, his irritation rising to fevered pitch as his mind convulsed with internal pain.

“Oh, I know, how about the part where the people I love more than anything decided to fucking volunteer for my little venture?”

He snorted, keeping control as he closed his eyes, settling against Luna’s fluffy chest fur.

“I know what’s going to happen the moment I ask for trainees. I know which hooves exactly will go into the air without hesitation. I know who will decide to “help” and they are the exact reason why I won’t do it at all. I won’t lost them again. My legion on earth was butchered before my eyes and there wasn’t a damn thing I could to save even one of them.”

He rubbed at his eyes, trying to keep the tears back.

“I won’t lose them again,” he said, trying to sound angry. “Damn the greater good, I have lost more than enough for the sake of others.”

Luna sighed, and Elias felt her nuzzle the top of his head.

“The pain you must carry Elias,” she said softly. “I am sorry, and I wish that you did not have to suffer like this. We have begun on a road to your recovery, no matter your answer at the end. Please, continue your tale. I wish to hear the entire story, no matter how much it hurts.”

‘You would,’ he thought, ‘because you’re not the one who’s hurting.’

He continued regardless. The words wanted out now, and even if she tried to get him to stop, he wasn’t sure he could anymore.

“We suffered that winter,” he said with a shaky breath. “Food was nonexistent, and more than one of my friends abandoned the effort, not that anyone blamed them. Starving to death is one of the more painful deaths, and I hadn’t stopped encouraging them to leave. January rolled around and we were freezing, starving, and desperate. Then we found it.”

Elias smirked.

“That damn library. What I thought was salvation. I should have burned it to the ground.”

Luna snorted.

“Take caution saying that around Twilight. She would attack you for such words.”

“If she heard about half the things I’ve done to books, she would have obliterated me on contact and we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Elias replied.

“Wouldn’t that be so bad,” he muttered.

Elias could feel Luna’s frown on his back, but he didn’t care, and he continued his story without issue.

“We broke in, and the place was untouched. Clean, quiet, dry, even a bit warm. Most importantly though, it was being used for a canned food drive. Why nobody had noticed, I don’t know, but our luck changed in an instant. We had firewood, entertainment, and food enough to last for a year minimum.”

“More than that,” Elias said, taking a breath, “we had information. For a few days we just lounged around, but as we got bored, we started combing through the library. As we read, I came to a realization. Nobody was going to last much longer living like we were. There was a finite supply of canned food, and that was running out. That made us look up farming techniques. Then we realized that bullets were all but gone too, so we looked up blacksmithing so that we could make weapons.”

Elias waved his hand in a circle.

“On and on we looked and read. Then, I stumbled into a section that had been a childhood favorite of mine; history. That particular library had a large Latin cultures section, and it took me less than a day to become obsessed with Rome.”

Elias smiled wistfully as he looked to the stars overhead. He wondered briefly why the moon still wasn’t out, but he continued his story without interruption.

“My friends were smart, and they encouraged my obsession. They saw me changing before their eyes. I started talking differently, I paid more attention to physical health and appearance. I learned how to become a public speaker, and taught myself ancient battle strategy, I was learning from the greats after all. I taught myself Latin, I read about every great leader in Roman history, and I learned how they got to their greatness. I actually started taking notes, making these vast plans for a… project.”

He snorted dismissively.

“It was a fools dream, conjured by some idiot kid who spent half of his life as a psychopath.”

Luna clicked her tongue.

“I doubt that Elias. Tell me, what was this plan of yours?”

Elias rolled his eyes; of course she would try to encourage the behavior too. She was no different than any of his friends then, a dreamer.

“I wanted to take back the wastes from the scum of the world who saw fit to prey on the weak,” Elias said simply. “I wanted to build a new Rome on the ruins of the wasteland. Once things were up, we could build a senate, and have elections, and an army and just…”

He sighed deeply. His shoulders slumped and he stared at the ground.

“I wanted to be something else for once. Not just a fighter, or a killer, or a scavenger. I wanted to plan cities, to carve out a society that could learn from the past and make a better way. Maybe we could have reversed the damage our parents had done, or maybe we just had to be the defenders of what was left. I didn’t care, I just needed a catalyst to ensure that we wouldn’t live in fear of those who had more muscle.”

“I still have the plans you know,” he said, looking back to Luna. “I kept the most important parts in my journals. Battle formations, standards, material lists… city designs.”

Luna smiled down at him.

“I never figured you for a city planner Elias, perhaps there could be a future for you in architecture.”

Elias rolled his eyes and snorted.

“Not likely. I drew the plans in crayon; literally. I burned through all of the pencils and pens in the library, so when the markers and colored pencils ran out, I was left with crayons. To add insult to injury, I, in my infinite naïve stupidity, named my city Pax. What kind of sentimental moron calls a city peace?”

Luna leaned over and nuzzled his neck softly.

“A man who has been shown hope, and who has embraced it wholeheartedly. Please, continue.”

Elias scoffed in reply, but continued with the story.

“When spring came, we gathered up everything of value, torched the rest, then went back to the town. Tristan was waiting, watching for our return. Later one of my friends told me that he felt guilty for what he had done and had gone looking for me the same day that he had nearly beat me to death. When he couldn’t find me and came back to more missing people, he sat in vigil and watched, day after day, praying for our return. Everyone I sent home he welcomed back with open arms.”

Elias sighed.

“But not me. Not the monster, who even now hasn’t changed a damn bit. I’m still the same maniac that beat a man for stealing a can of soup.”

“Elias, that isn’t true,” Luna replied. “You are not a monster.”

“Aren’t I?” Elias said, tapping his scar. “Used to be that I could pass for normal, freak I may be, but now? The whispers cut deep Luna. They shouldn’t, but each word cuts like a knife, and I can’t help but feel that they’re right. The outside just reflects what’s inside now.”

Luna hugged him tightly.

“No Elias, none of that is the case. You not a monster, inside nor out. That scar shows that you are a hero to Equestria, and in time ponies will come to understand that. For those who do not understand or take issue with you anyway, send them to me. I shall straighten them out.”

“And do what?” Elias said with a snort. “Force them to be my friend? No, it doesn’t matter. I’ll either toughen up and shut them out or I won’t, and I’ll suffer. It’s not important.”

Luna sighed again, but she didn’t press the issue.

“This Tristan, what did he do?” she prodded.

“He stormed out of the walls with this massive knife in his hands,” Elias said, his eyes seeing the blade clearly. “I thought he was going to kill me, and if I’m being honest, I was ready for it. I wasn’t even going to stop him if he decided to just end it right there and then.”

He snorted.

“Was I in for a shock when he gave me the knife and begged for me to kill him. He was crying and just begging on his knees, pleading with me for some kind of punishment; some idiotic notion that I needed to pay him back for the beating he gave me. When I stopped sending people home, he thought we had all perished. Five lives were on his head, all of whom were close friends. All because he didn’t keep control.”

Elias rolled his shoulder.

“We were far too much alike in that regard, but at the time, I had no interest in payback, I only wanted to move forward. I threw the knife away and grabbed him, holding him close as he cried, then I just started talking. I showed him my plans on the spot, gave him the left-over food we brought, and then I went on and on about all the good we were going to do. Then I asked him to be let back in. No was never even considered.”

Elias smiled wistfully.

“You know what comes next of course. Big homecoming party, tears, forgiveness, all of that sappy bullshit. The next day I was put front and center and I laid out my big plan. What I didn’t know was that during the winter, Tristan had made contact with a few other sizable settlements. They were supposed to arrive just after my group came back, and by the end of that week we had some three thousand people, more than I had seen in just shy of a decade.”

Elias let out a long breath of air, then tapped Luna’s hoof gently as he rose. He needed to pace. Energy was building in his limbs, and if he got angry, he didn’t want to lash out at her. She didn’t deserve anything that severe. He made small back and forths on the other side of the fire, staring at the stone as he continued.

“We were organized, we had resources, and most importantly, we had bodies. It was the perfect environment for an excited, stupid seventeen-year-old to start preaching his gospel about how we were going to be the people who rebuilt the world.”

He snorted again.

“And they ate it up like they were dying of starvation.”

“Perhaps it was starvation of the spirit,” Luna said. “You offered them a better way, and much like yourself, they needed to believe in something.”

Elias shrugged.

“Maybe. Either way, I asked for volunteers to train up a legion; our protective and offensive arm. Tristan would stay at home since he had made the contact, and he was our de facto leader. So while he maintained and led the home front, my job was to build, then lead the legion. The plan was to have a little senate set up for anyone who voluntarily fought. By the end of the day I had two hundred volunteers, with another hundred waiting in the wings as a reserve.”

Elias spread his hands as he made another turn, taking a deep breath.

“And then we built. I taught and trained the legionaries the basics of combat, while my friends and I figured out all of the skills we needed. Our books became the single greatest tool we had. Everyone learned a trade; mine was battle strategy, but it extended to everything. Blacksmithing, carpentry, sewing, farming, everything. We trained and built, and worked together and within a month I thought we were ready to take on the world. We had shiny new weapons and slick battle maneuvers. An unstoppable machine to fight back any takers.”

“A big shiny threat,” Elias finished coldly.

He stared at the ground, the closed his eyes and continued.

“We struck out, messed up some nearby raiders, scooped up the slaves they had, and took them home to set free. They just dived into the community, working their asses off to pay us back, and though we told them it wasn’t necessary, we didn’t try to stop them. The work needed done, and if they were eager, more to them. We were riding high, and I honestly thought that we would never lose. That nobody could beat us, and in time, we would win without effort.”

He tilted his head.

“Taking out the small fries however, attracted some dangerous attention.”

“Elias,” Luna said, picking up on the undertone of the story, “you couldn’t have known…”

“But I did!” he snapped in reply. “I knew they were out there! I had attacked them before, and they knew me by name!” He let his anger fall as he snorted dismissively. “They had every right to be scared of what I built, and what does a scared animal do when it’s backed into a corner? It fights. Our little victories had put the raiders in quite the spot. Suddenly, somebody was organized, and was acting like a big threat, and word was getting out. They knew how it worked; they knew the strategy I was using.”

He lowered his hand to his waist.

“You start at the bottom and work your way up. Cut off the small heads first, then when you get good at that, take on a bigger opponent. Pretty soon the boss has no underlings to bully into line, and you can take them out too. They knew what would happen, so they made “arrangements”.”

Luna cocked her head.

“Arrangements?”

Elias felt a nasty flash of rage build up as his thoughts fell back in time. He rubbed his thumb against a callous on his middle finger.

“Survivors do anything to stay alive. Betrayal is just another step forward.”

A look of horror passed over the alicorn’s face.

“Elias, no…”

Elias licked his lips and sniffed.

“Riding high, I decided to take a swing at one of the big camps in the region. As soon as we left, the village got surrounded and Tristan cut a deal to save their skins. He didn’t even try to use the signaling system we made to make us turn around.”

He closed his eyes.

“We went to the camp to find them ready for us. Outnumbered us a hundred to one, so after a short scrap, we turned and ran. I thought if we could make it behind the village walls we could hold them back, bottleneck their numbers so that our armor could mean more and we could drive them away. We ran and ran, getting good and tired. All we had to do was get back.”

He looked up to Luna.

“And we did. We made it to the village gates intact, no losses. Some cuts and scrapes, and we were dead tired, but we hadn’t lost a life yet.”

He tilted his head and broke eye contact, turning to the cold black of the night sky.

“We hit those doors to find them locked, with the cowards who locked them tucked away in their beds with the promise that they would be safe from the raiders. They had “protection.” My naïve ass thought that that was my job.”

Elias felt a sob well up in his throat, threatening to choke his words away, but he pushed it down and pressed on, ignoring the tears that crawled down his cheek.

“We were just so fucking tired. We had run for miles with pounds of gear on our back. The gates were closed, and the enemy was close on our heels. I… I didn’t know what else to do.”

Chapter 32: Blood

Centurion Smith pounded on the heavy wooden gate with his fist, cursing the people inside loudly and violently as he threatened and called for them to come out. Elias ignored the pointless noise as he paced back and forth before the gate, rubbing his bare face with a hand as he tried to think. Bevin and his far too-new wife; Sarah, watched him silently. She sat in her man’s lap, resting her head on his shoulder as they waited for the much younger Elias to make a decision. Though he could feel their support for whatever he decided to do, Elias noted that they didn’t voice that support, no doubt mentally preparing for what came next. Why two grown adults, years older than he was, were waiting on his decision making abilities, Elias didn’t know, but he couldn’t let them down, any of them. So many people were waiting for his orders, so many friends…

Elias turned around and walked the other direction, trying to come up with a strategy that could win them the day. Smith kicked the door hard.

“Fucking cowards!” he bellowed at the sealed wood.

With a huff he turned away from the door and glared at Elias, crossing his arms.

“Elias, we need you to say something. We can’t just fucking sit here all night. These fucking traitors aren’t opening up, and the raiders are getting closer. I for one refuse to just sit here and wait to die.”

Bevin sighed.

“Darius, relax. We’re all going to be just fine, just let Elias think for a minute. He’ll get us out of this.”

Smith rolled his eyes and threw his hands into the air.

“Yeah, right. Sure. A fucking army is coming down on our heads, and we’re… what? Sitting around? At the very least tell us to get in a line so that we can FUCKING DIE WITH A BIT OF PRIDE!”

Elias whirled on the man and grabbed him by the collar of his armor, pulling them so that they were nose to nose.

“Darius, kindly shut the fuck up. Everyone is exhausted from running ten miles with full gear, and I’m trying to let them relax for a minute so that when the fight comes, or we start running again, we don’t have to leave anyone. Stop welching like a little bitch, sit the fuck down, and shut your fucking hole so that I can think. You won’t be able to fight off anything if you keep running around like a chicken with its head cut off.”

Elias shoved the man away, then resumed his pacing. Darius looked at him with a bit of shock, then did as he was told and took a seat, grumbling softly as he stared at his hands. Elias made three more turns before he spoke up again.

“Do we have anything to break down the gate? We could easily refortify the position if we could get inside.”

Bevin sighed and shook his head.

“All of my tools are in my smithy Elias. Even then, I’d need a couple hours to crack it open. We did a good job when we built it.”

Elias nodded.

“Which makes me even more curious as to why Tristan decided to throw us to the wolves. The gate is strong and secure, what did the raiders have to make him slam the doors closed in our face?”

Darius scoffed.

“Or Tristan is just the pussy we always knew him as, and leaving him in charge was the biggest mistake we ever made.”

Elias shrugged.

“Maybe, but that thinking doesn’t help us now. What about places to hide? We could abandon our armor and bolt for some place to our east. We’d have to start again, but we’re all trained up in survival skills. We’ll make it.”

Sarah shook her head.

“We’re too tired for that Elias. Our little group could probably get away with that, but everyone else? We’d lose half the legion easily. We also have no idea what the raiders are going to do if they find a pile of abandoned armor outside the settlement. They could burn it to the ground.”

“We should burn it to the ground…” Darius grumbled.

Elias jabbed a finger at the man.

“Darius, shut the fuck up. You aren’t helping. Either come up with a solution, or say nothing. You may have given up like a dickless coward, but I intend to get as many people through this as possible, and I don’t need your stupid pessimism fucking with me. Shut up.”

Darius leaped to his feet, and he quickly got into Elias’ face.

“Oh yeah? And what are you going to do if I don’t shut up? What can you possibly do to me that matters more than the literal hundreds of assholes coming for our heads?”

Elias butted heads with him and growled.

“Did you forget who the fuck I am Darius? I will-..”

“Enough!” Bevin said as he jumped up and shoved them apart. “This isn’t helping anyone!”

He shoved Darius toward the trees where the legionaries were waiting.

“Go check on everyone, make sure they’re getting water. We aren’t done today, and you’d better believe we need to be as hydrated as possible.”

Darius gave one last hateful glare at Elias, then huffed and stalked away. Bevin looked back to Elias, grabbing his shoulder to make their eyes meet. Elias tried to pull away, but Bevin didn’t let him, and the man used his strong hands to hold Elias in place.

“Calm back down Elias, and think. You have a wonderful brain in that head, and I know you can figure something out. Darius is right in the fact that we can’t stay here for much longer.”

Elias nodded and pulled away, looking toward the wooden gates that seemed to tower before him. What should have been a comforting sight looked more like a dark specter, black and powerful, threatening to take away everything he loved.

“I know. I need to make a decision, a plan, something.”

He sighed deeply, shaking his head.

“But I don’t have anything. This was the plan. This was supposed to be the fix to my fuck up. We made it back here and then…”

Elias walked up to the gate, laying a hand on it. As if it would change by the amount of force used to open it, he pressed lightly, silently begging for the lock to slip open so they could get inside. When it did not give, he punched the door as hard as he could.

“It wasn’t supposed to be fucking closed!”

He rested his forehead on the door, closing his eyes as desperation creeped in.

“I don’t know what to do,” he whispered as tears flowed down his face.

He felt a pressure on his back, then felt a pair of arms wrap around his chest.

“It’s alright Elias,” Sarah said softly. “It’s alright. It’s not your fault.”

He knew better than that. It was his fault; it was only his fault. He had made the plans, he had led them into battle, and he had told them to turn and run to the village. It was all his fault, and everyone he loved was going to die because of him.

Bevin turned Elias around and pulled him close as that first sob creeped up his throat. Elias cried helplessly as the man rubbed his hair.

“Shh,” he said softly. “It’s alright Elias, we’re here. We won’t leave you behind.”

Elias pushed away, using his anger as a hammer to fire up his mind. He shook his head, and shoved them both back.

“No, that’s exactly what you’re going to do. Sarah, go get Darius. The three of you will leave your equipment nearby, and then you’re going to run. Go to the town near the library. Stay there for a few days, then sneak back to the village and see if Tristan will let you back in. Then at least you’ll be alive. I’ll take the legion to fight the raiders for as long as we can. That’ll buy you time, and once they see me dead, they won't care about anyone else. Just go, run.”

Sarah gave him a pained look.

“Elias… we won’t leave you, or anyone behind. That isn’t who we are; you know that. We’re family, and if we die… then we die together.”

Elias opened his mouth to shout her down, to insult them both and drive them away, but he couldn’t. Another soft sob wracked his chest, and Bevin grabbed him, pulling him close again as the tears began anew.

*****

Elias shuddered as he took a pause. Tears streamed freely down his face. Luna had convinced him to sit back down with her, and he was glad for her presence as he began to cry. She stroked his head.

“Like Book Binder and Night Flash,” she said softly.

“Painfully like them,” Elias said. “Parallels. It’s all happened before, and now it’s happening again. It’s why I keep driving them away. I have to, I can’t let them too close.”

He took a shaky breath and shook his head.

“But it doesn’t matter, because it’s already too late. I didn’t do my job and keep them at arm’s length. They love me too much, and if it happens again, they won’t leave. They won’t live for me.”

He buried his face in Luna’s fur.

“And it’ll kill me when they die.”

*****

Elias slipped under a swing aimed at his head, then caught a second bat on his shield. His gladius impaled the first raider, a short woman, in the eye, while it took the second, a massive hulk of a man, in the thigh. The second raider bellowed and tried to grab at the blade, but Elias ripped it free, roaring in the man’s face as the gladius tore through his ribs. His scutum cracked into the man’s chin, and he collapsed with a scream, clutching at the wounds. Elias had no time to finish killing the man as he threw himself into another breach in the shield wall.

He had maneuvered them into the forest near the village, setting up a defensive rectangle to protect them from all avenues. He had then set fires far to their flanks to bottleneck the raider advance. As he expected, the raiders came from all sides anyway, denting their armor with an assortment of shoddily made melee weapons, primarily hatchets and baseball bats. For a time, the legion cut through them like a scythe through wheat, but their numbers were endless, and his legionaries were tiring, dulling like any other blade. Elias felt a blow glance off his helmet, and he responded with a brutal slash to the man’s abdomen. The man screamed, but didn’t drop. Elias planted his left heel on the ground and planted the right on the man's sternum, kicking him in the chest and driving him back into a trio of charging raiders. They collapsed in a heap, and it gave Elias the breathing room to help the men to his right and left. His gladius sang as it whetted its appetite for blood, sending more people stumbling to the red mud.

A fresh group of raiders let out a battle-cry, and they rushed in without fear. The press tightened as metal met flesh, and more screams split the air. Elias felt the air leave his lungs as a bat made its way behind his scutum, cracking against his armored ribs. He punched the raider in the face, answering her blow with a broken nose. She staggered back, then growled at him and tried to swing again. Elias dipped under her and flipped her over on his shield. He turned his back to the press for a moment to stab her in the throat, then turned back, accepting a nasty punch on the chin. Though it rattled his teeth and made his vision blur slightly, Elias braced his legs and pushed, sending a pocket of raiders sprawling.

Elias suppressed a groan as even more barely armored raiders flooded into the clearing, their war cries loud. What surprised him was when the red wearing individuals slammed into the raiders to his front, rather than the legionaries to his side. Attacked from behind, and easily cut off from their reinforcements, the press lightened as his legionaries let out their own war cry, cutting down the raiders with renewed vigor at the sight of their unexpected allies. Elias pointed his gladius high into the air, and rushed forward with a shout, leading the charge to meet the red individuals in the middle. His gladius tore through one raider’s stomach, then plunged into another’s ribs. His scutum acted like a battering ram, cracking into a raider’s knees. The man to Elias’ left killed the injured raider, letting out a feral cry as the body collapsed with a gaping hole in its throat.

Elias felt his gladius catch on another blade, and Elias quickly found himself face to face with one of the red wearing raiders. The man was familiar, and in fact was another friend. Steven grinned and winked at him.

“Evening Elias, gotten yourself into a scrap, have you?”

Elias let his blade drop as he embraced the man. The raiders began to rout, and as they ran, they clogged up their fellows, driving their attack away as panic sowed into their ranks. It gave them a minute of breathing room as the legionaries mixed with the reserves, greeting them with hugs, cheers, and more than a few tears. Elias smiled widely as his eyes teared up.

“It’s good to see you Steven, are the gates open? Did Tristan change his mind?”

The man drooped and shook his head.

“No, and when we win, we can’t go back. We came out here to help with the knowledge that we wouldn’t be allowed back in, and if we stagger back wounded, he’s promised to kill us. A raider representative came to check on the village as we left. He’s real scared Elias, it’s a damn shame. But we got what weapons we got scavenge, and we came out swinging. The whole reserve force volunteered.”

Elias let out a long sigh, but his smile didn’t disappear.

“Alright, that’s a bit disheartening, but we can do this. Can you take up the rear defense? It will fortify our front and flanks much better if we can tighten up our armor.”

Steven nodded.

“Can do buddy, let’s give them a nasty nosebleed to remember us by.”

Elias grinned and clapped his shoulder in agreement. He turned around.

“First cohort spread out to the flanks and front! The reserves will hold our rear!”

A cheer went up as the red clad men and women filtered through the ranks of silver. Elias nodded silently as he watched, his mind racing. There was a carpet of bodies at their feet. Maybe, just maybe there was a chance to make it through. The raiders couldn’t keep sending waves of people forward. Eventually the stacks of bodies would cause more fear than whatever the raider bosses threatened. If they could survive a bit longer and inflict more casualties, then maybe they could call a meeting. A deal with the devil would be worth it if his friends survived. He had made worse deals before.

Steven gave Elias a slight squeeze on the shoulder, then made to move away. Then the first gunshot split the air. The man collapsed with a hole in his head, hitting the ground with a dull thud. Elias watched with horror as a dozen more people followed, collapsing as machine gun fire mowed through reserves and legionaries alike. He didn’t know what to do. Their armor couldn’t stand against concentrated gun fire. The raiders weren’t supposed to have guns! His intel said everything was empty. Only he and Tristan knew of a pair of SAW’s that still held a few belts of ammunition.

As another dozen dropped, the full realization of Tristan’s betrayal flashed through his mind. Raw hate consumed any good memories of the man, and Elias swore to every god in existence that he would see the man suffer for his sins. That anger let his mind snap into focus, and he gave orders as bullets flew by his head.

“Spread out! Break formation, and get on the ground! They’re firing blind and will run dry!”

His legionaries dropped instantly, with the reserves following suit a few dangerous seconds behind. Almost as soon as they spread out, the guns fell silent, and a loud cry echoed through the air as a fresh group of raiders rushed forward. Elias screamed bloody rage at them as he yelled for his troops to rise. Their heavy armor, so crucial to keeping them safe and alive became their Achilles-heel as his legionaries struggled to rise in the heavy equipment. Far too many were set upon quickly by the swarms of raiders, and Elias couldn’t do anything but watch and kill, praying that his blade made a difference. His gladius split the air as he swung it with deadly efficiency. There was no more formation, no more army. This was a brawl to the death, and he would be damned if he didn’t take a thousand of the bastards with him to hell.

A raider with a pair of kitchen knives lunged at Elias. He caught the charge on his scutum, then headbutted the raider, finishing the scrawny woman off with a quick cut to her throat. Another quickly followed with a sharpened stick. That man quickly lost his right hand, and Elias left him to scream and bleed out, jumping over him to slam into a pair of raiders trying to attack one of his legionaries from behind. While one was driven back by his shield, the other managed to block Elias’ first gladius swing. The second caught the man in the thigh, and the third took out his eyes. As the raider collapsed with a shriek, his friend got to her feet, and Elias grabbed her by the throat, slamming his scutum into her face until she became limp in his hands. Taking a dangerous second to breathe, Elias looked around the battlefield.

Without the strength of their formation, legionaries started to fall. The sheer number of raiders, coupled with the sudden fire support, shattered any semblance of organized morale. Nobody ran, however. They knew the stakes if they turned their backs, so they fought like rabid animals, fighting with steel and bone as they created an ungodly racket of death. The already bloody ground became slick as the red liquid flowed freely, frequently joined by corpses as lifeless bodies fell. Elias dove back into the fighting, his throat going hoarse as he did his best to kill and demoralize the raiders. At some point his scutum was torn from his grip, so Elias ripped his helmet free and fought with that. It too disappeared, so his dagger appeared in his hand next, quickly becoming slick with blood as he carved great holes in the raiders.

Elias ducked under a bat aimed for his skull, then spun around, driving the point of his gladius through the raider's neck. His dagger plunged into the gurgling man's ribs, then both blades ripped free. A legionnaire to Elias' right was dragged to the ground with a shout, and both raiders on top of of the silver-clad man raised filthy machete's into the air. Elias' dagger sprouted from one of their chests, and his gladius stole the life from the second. Elias pushed their bodies off his legionnaire, dragging the man to his feet. He gave Elias a tired nod, then scooped up his gladius and dove back in, stabbing a raider in the gut. Elias didn't pay him anymore attention as he spun on his heel, catching a hatchet on his gladius. His blade locked, so Elias reached forward with his free hand, grabbing the raider by the shirt and yanking her forward. He headbutted her once, and that was enough to get his gladius free. The blade bit into her right arm, then into her throat. She collapsed with a shocked expression and a whimper. Elias didn't care as he looked for someone else to kill. He was not left wanting, and with ease he dove back in.

Only a familiar scream dragged his attention away from the fighting, and Elias looked up as his gladius tore the throat from a man. Even across the battlefield, he could clearly see four raiders latched onto a screaming Sarah, dragging her away from Bevin’s dead body with an evil grin present on their faces. They were moving toward the forest, which had an odd orange glint amongst its leaves. Death wasn’t enough for the bastards, and as Elias let out another feral shout, he knew that it wouldn’t be enough for him either.

He cut his way through the battlefield, leaving a string of bodies in his wake. It took him far too long, and as he broke free, another loud scream split the air, far to his front. He needed to move quickly, so he didn’t even spare a glance toward his best friend’s corpse. Grief would come later, he had to save at least one. Elias rushed into the leaves, knowing he couldn’t do anything to help his legionaries if his mind was on his friend’s fate. He ignored the leaves slapping against his face, then ignored the smoke as it began clogging his nose.

A third scream split through the air as Elias crashed through a clearing. The fire had closed the way behind him, and as a fourth scream split the air, Elias took off, following the sound as best he could through the growing clouds of smoke that burned his eyes and nose. As he sprinted by a tree, two raiders leaped out, with one of them swinging at his arm. Elias caught the bat with his hand, and wrenched it away, plunging his gladius deep into the man’s guts. Directing the body, he caught the attack of the second raider on the body’s shoulder. He then ripped his gladius free and flung himself at the second raider, tackling him to the ground. The blade descended quickly, and though he wanted to make the raider suffer, Elias made the kill quick. He needed to find Sarah.

No more screams split the air, but voices did as they loudly shouted at on another. Elias crept through the brush silently. It took him under a minute to find the four raiders, with two helping a third bandage a wound on his arm. The fourth raider stood over Sarah’s lifeless body, shaking his head.

“Damnit Brian, why’d you have to go and do that? If we brought her back alive we would have an excuse for not having to fight no more, but now we gotta go back, or the boss will kill us!”

The wounded man snarled at his friend.

“The bitch stabbed me! She got what she deserved, and so will the rest of them. Besides, just drag me back to camp, and you can say that I got hurt pursuing her, so you took care of me. We’re gonna win, so it’s not like the boss can blame us for being safe.”

Elias quickly grew tired of listening to the quartet of murderers, and he moved fast to end them. The first man standing over Sarah was dead before he hit the ground. The other three stared at him with horror in their eyes, and the uninjured pair fumbled at their weapons to defend themselves. They never had a chance. Elias killed the first one with a dagger in his neck. The second collapsed with a scream as Elias slashed out his eyes. The third let out a wet gasp as the gladius pinned him to the tree, lancing through the man’s left lung. Elias grabbed the raider's head and stared into his eyes as the man slowly choked on his own blood. Only when the light died did he rip the gladius free, moving to silence the blinded man. A glance back at Sarah brought out a dark part of his mind, and Elias flipped the man over, pressing on his throat with a sandaled foot. The man’s fists tried to batter away his leg, but Elias didn’t notice the efforts, he merely waited.

Once the man was quiet, Elias slit his throat to be ensure his fate, then he let his gladius fall to the grass. His anger vanished in an instant, and his mind seemed to stick in one place. He couldn't think properly, so Elias relied on instinct. He staggered over to Sarah, dropping behind her. As softly as he could, Elais grabbed her head and lowered it into his lap. He brushed her shoulder length hair with his fingers softly and smoothly, going through the motions with practiced ease. She had always forced him to do it as a calming exercise, and as he began to cry, his hand moved without thought.

*****

Elias fell silent, staring with numb eyes at the fire. His hand ran down his sword belt, miming the motion of brushing as his fingertips remembered the sensation. Top to bottom. Top to bottom. Luna reached out gently with her hooves, forcing his hands to stop as she pulled him close.

“Elias I… I don’t know what to say other than I’m sorry. I am so very sorry.”

Elias glanced up long enough to notice the tears on her face, matting the fur around her eyes as she stared down at him. The tears were gone from his eyes, however. He felt numb, dead. Nothing mattered, and all he could feel was a sense of loss as he rested his head against her furry chest.

“Thanks,” Elias said without emotion. “After that I fell asleep with her in my arms. It rained that night, and when I woke up everything hurt, inside and out. I lucked out that one of the raiders was using a shovel as a weapon, and I did my best to dig her a grave, leaving her helmet as a marker before I staggered off. She deserved better. A better death, better life. She definitely deserved a better friend than me.”

Luna sighed and nuzzled the top of his head.

“That isn’t for you to say Elias. She loved you, and that means that she couldn’t have had a better friend. You cannot choose the people that love you, and even if you distance yourself, that love will remain if it is true. I can assure you that she watched you from your afterlife and smiled when she saw that you survived because of her.”

Elias flinched at the statement, and he pulled away from Luna, getting to his feet once more. He left the blanket behind this time, he needed to feel the chill of the air. He moved to the edge of the cliff and stared at the lights of Canterlot. So many vibrant, living ponies. So peaceful, untouched. Innocent. Elias desperately prayed that they would remain that way for all time. Without look back to the fire, Elias continued.

“I hope you’re wrong Luna, because if she was watching me, then she knows the atrocities I committed in revenge for her death.” He paused, then shook his head. “That is not a story I will share tonight however, and I am fairly certain I will never share it. I did things Luna, horrible things. Tristan deserved it, but everyone else? No. No, and I won’t speak of it further, so don’t you dare ask.”

Luna, perhaps sensing the immense tension in the statement, sighed and nodded her agreement.

“What happened next? Did you find any survivors?”

Elias shrugged and turned back to the fire.

“No. The raiders were very thorough. The rain had put out the forest fire, and had put down the smell, but it was still immense as I stumbled back to my legion. They… died. All of them. The legionaries, the reserves… gone. The raiders took the eagle we made, probably as a trophy, but they left the standard, and it still fluttered as the first wind of winter put a chill in the air. By no rights should I have survived that night, and the flag shouldn't have survived either, but...”

Elias reached out his fingers as he imagined the proud banner on its pole, then his eyes flicked to his sword belt. He approached it nervously, bending down slowly as he rifled through the pouches. His fingers alighted on the soft fabric as he pulled it out, and he stared at that golden eagle for a moment before he passed the standard to Luna, who took it with equal caution.

“The marker of my legion’s death. The raiders at least had enough respect to not defile the bodies, they just left them where they died. It’s the only reason I went as softly on them as I did. If they had polluted my legionaries, if they had defiled the standard, I would have demanded you send me back so that I could kill them all. That revenge died when I came here though, and that slight gesture, so insignificant to most people, meant a lot to me.”

He plopped on his rump, snatching up the blanket once more. Luna carefully folded up his old legion standard as he got comfortable, and she set it on his sword belt.

“But they were gone, and there were far too many for me to bury, so I had to leave most of them there. I buried Darius, Bevin, Steven, but nobody else. I just didn’t have the strength to keep going.”

He sniffled and stared at his feet.

“My last great failure. I couldn’t even respect their memory. I took the standard, found my equipment, then left to get revenge.”

A tear crawled down his cheek.

“But it didn’t matter. None of it did. I got everyone killed by being too big, too ambitious. All of my friends, my family. Gone. Dead. My fault. I-it was m-my….”

Luna grabbed him in an instant and pulled him close, letting him weep into her fur. The pain, the suffering was clear across every part of his body, and Luna could only keep him close, praying desperately that she hadn’t just broken him by getting him to share his story. Such losses, and then with everything that had happened since they had found him? He was right to fear a repeat of such losses, was right to be terrified of the proposition they had offered him. In his place, Luna imagined she would react exactly the same way.

She could also tell that there was more to the story. His revenge was something even darker, but Luna found that she couldn’t care less about what he might be hiding. Whatever man had staggered away from that battlefield clearly wasn’t the man that had just emptied a piece of his soul to her. It certainly wasn’t the man that was weeping unapologetically into her fur as years of suppressed grief made itself known. This man had things he wanted to protect again, even from himself. He was aware of all of his faults and failings, and he was simply scared of messing up again, of losing it all once more. Luna had little idea what humans were like, but she imagined that one with lesser strength than Elias would have simply collapsed by now, consumed by guilt and grief.

Elias’ tears tapered off, and he tried to silently shy away from Luna’s grasp. She didn’t let him, and despite the seriousness of the situation, she found that she simply enjoyed having him close. A flash of butterflies touched her stomach, but this time Luna couldn’t tell why. She just knew he couldn’t escape her. She needed him close as much as he needed her to talk to, even if he wouldn’t admit it. Luna gently stroked his long hair with a hoof.

“Listen closely Elias, I only wish to say this once. You did not fail them; not like you think. Perhaps you failed as a leader, though I do not think so, but I know as a fact that you did not fail as a friend. Never as a friend. You fought, and suffered, and you gave your all to make sure they succeeded.”

She looked to the sky as her horn pinged briefly. It was nearly time to raise the moon.

“Sometimes the world is cruel for no reason at all. No matter how good a person, no matter how righteous the cause, or how tight the bonds between them, the world hurts them anyway. It is what makes life alive. We cannot change what happens in the past, so we cannot look back, just like you told me in my castle.”

She nuzzled the top of his head, causing the man to squirm.

“I know this will sound cruel given what you have told me, but I just ask you to think on my words, even if your answer is still no. What happened on your world will never happen here. Should you take the position, you will have seven months to prepare, not one. Your legion is as big or small as you desire, and you can recruit from the whole of Equestria. Conscript thousands if you must. You will not need to learn new skills, for your armor and supplies will be provided by my sister and I.”

She could tell that he wanted to pull away, to run from her words, but Luna tightened her grip, resting her head against his back. His heart raced in her ears, and Luna sighed as she listened to its furious pumping and continued.

“Most of all however, you will always have us. Your friends, my sister and I, even Princess Cadence. All of Equestria will be behind you, and the weight of the world will not be on your shoulders, but will be shared with the other generals. There will be no gates closed when you need them open. I beseech you Elias, this one, final time. Please, form a new legion. Learn from your mistakes and use your vast knowledge to protect the ones you love. Only you have that raw battlefield knowledge, and only you can see the job done right so that nopony dies unnecessarily. I put faith in my other generals, but you Elias, you I trust the most. Your hardships will ensure that no mistakes are made. We need your expertise desperately, and only by making you equal in station will you have an equal voice when making decisions. Please Elias, I beg you; not as your princess, but as your friend, please accept.”

Then she let go. Her hooves remained around his body, but they held no force to hold him back. If he wanted to leave, he could do so, and Luna would accept whatever consequences her words brought. No anger rose in the human before her however, and instead he seemed to shrink, hiding behind the wings and blanket that were keeping him warm. He shook his head silently though, and Luna’s heart sank.

His voice barely above a whisper, Elias said;

“I’ll think about it.”

Luna let out a small sigh of relief, and nuzzled his back.

“Thank you, Elias, that is all I ask. If we can do this right, we may never have to worry about war to our west again. Take as much time as you need to decide. I will ensure that nobody pressures you into making a decision you do not want.”

Elias nodded silently, then looked around.

“So how do we get down from here?” he asked quietly.

“I have a letter prepared,” Luna replied. “A pair of my guards are on standby to carry us to the castle.”

Elias nodded again, then leaned back into her fur. Luna smiled as the butterflies returned. The sight was simply perfect, and she couldn’t find a single thing wrong with the man before her. A flash of fear lanced through her mind as she made the realization that had been building since Hearth’s Warming Eve. She loved him.

Everything, even in his weakened, almost beaten state, she loved it all. His scent was overpowering in her nose, and she couldn’t help but find it sweeter than even the most expensive perfumes. His beautiful blue eyes stared into the dark, the usual focus there, but now accompanied by a bit of grief, as well as… gratitude? The scar on his face did nothing to mar his handsomeness, though Luna faintly wished he would shave. He had always had a scraggly beard, but even fully grown, she wished to see his perfect face clean. Luna closed her eyes and sighed softly as he adjusted, leaning heavily into her fur. The sensation was heavenly, and she wished it would never end. Having him close… she would have to give it up. If he accepted, this would be the last time she could snuggle him. For a while at least.

She had no idea how to approach such a subject anyway, or if she should approach it at all. What would her subjects think? What would her sister think? After his panic attack in the throne room, Elias and Celestia were already going to have trouble getting along, but if she started publicly courting him, her sister might take a note from her student and blow Luna’s feelings out of proportion. Even worse, what if he did not return her feelings? Would she drive him further away? Being friends was one thing, but she had made none of the traditional moves to ensure that she would woo him, or to test if she should even try. Luna felt herself tense up slightly as she thought about it further.

He was also a capable stallion, and while not conventionally attractive, there were plenty of mares with exotic tastes, and Elias was by no means an ugly mate. On top of that, he was still completely available to any attempts at love. A flash of panic raced through Luna's thoughts, and a mean streak of possessiveness quickly followed, creeping into her mind. She would need to act quickly, and smartly. She both needed to keep her feelings a secret until she was sure that he wouldn’t reject her outright, as well as mark him as hers to keep other enterprising mates away. That would require focus, and the utmost caution. She needed time alone, to plan, to make arrangements.

Luna sighed as her horn pinged again. She needed to raise the moon, she just silently hoped that Elias wouldn’t judge her sub-par performance too harshly.

Elias felt immensely tired. His chest felt heavy, and all of his limbs ached with untold tension and pain. None of it could hold a candle to the agony he felt inside. It felt… depleted though, as if just a little had been chipped away. Maybe all of the BS the ponies had told him about when it came to sharing was right, not like he’d ever verbally admit it. It didn’t matter, he felt tired, he needed sleep. He just hoped that his night terrors would take a night off and let him sleep in peace for once.

Elias blinked rapidly as he tried to rid himself of his tiredness. It felt like something was happening, something significant. He looked up with his mis-matched, bleary eyes to find Luna’s horn aglow. The blue light illuminated her beautiful face perfectly, and with her eyes closed, she focused her magic. Even without any concept of what it was supposed to feel like, Elias could almost reach out and touch the power that charged the air. He briefly looked around to find what she was acting her magic on, then realized what it was as the moon slipped into view.

From his seat on top of the mountain, the moon looked super massive. Each crater seemed clearly defined, and the brilliant white of it was nearly blinding. Elias could only watch in awe as it shifted higher and higher into the sky. As it carved through its orbit, Elias spotted an ocean of stars spread in its wake, twinkling brightly as they spread across the sky. Everywhere he looked he saw light, brilliant, shining light. His eyes glanced back to the master of such beauty, and he couldn’t help but lean into her fur as he watched the shower of stars unfold.

To say he had never seen anything like it would be a drastic understatement. He couldn’t keep the word from his mind, which surprised him as he rarely found the opportunity to use it, but maybe it was because he hadn’t learned the true meaning before he saw the display. It was beautiful, simply, stunningly beautiful. His eyes looked to Luna. She was beautiful. The way the light painted her face with its light, the way her muzzle seemed to hide the hint of a smile. Her green eyes seemed to sparkle in the moonlight, and her hair flowed lightly, matching perfectly with the stars that consumed the blackness of the night sky. She was simply beautiful.

An odd sensation touched Elias’ chest, and he did a quick mental check to make sure that it wasn’t some repressed demon taking opportunity of his momentary weakness. No… No, it was something different. Something new. He couldn’t place what the emotion might be though, so Elias ignored it. It wasn’t bad, so it didn’t matter much. Leaning against Luna though, that felt right. Elias felt his eyes begin to close as he rubbed his cheek in her fluff. Exhaustion swept over his mind, and the last thought he had as he blacked out was that it wouldn’t be so bad to snuggle with her at least one more time…

Luna sighed softly as she closed her eyes for a moment, letting a cloud of fog drift into the air. The moon hung dead center in the sky, its light providing illumination to the land below. Unlike her usual moon raising ceremony however, she didn’t look out on her ponies, nor did she look out over her kingdom, her domain of the night. Instead, she stared lovingly at the lone human snuggling tightly against her chest. A hand clutched at her fur, while the other was wrapped easily around her barrel. His cheek rested deep in her fluff, and an absolutely dazzling smile covered his face as the first of what she knew would be many snores crept forth. The sight nearly made her tear up with joy, and Luna felt her resolve to court the human harden. She needed to be the rock in his life, needed to make it so that he could have the peace and happiness that he needed. She needed to earn his love, so that she could love, and spoil him in return. She would make Elias her stallion, and then she would protect him for all time. She just needed to guide him through certain steps first.

Shifting slightly, his good eye cracked open for a second before closing again. His cheek rubbed deeper into her chest fluff, and a deep, calm breath escaped his lungs as he held her close.

“Thanks for letting me share Moony,” he grumbled softly. “And you did good. Best moonrise I’ve ever seen. You did…”

He slipped away again, unnoticing of Luna’s wide smile as his words brought her to tears of pure joy. She leaned close and gave him a chaste peck on the cheek before curling around his body.

“Thank you, Elias,” she whispered softly, so softly in fact that it was nearly unspoken. “I shall cherish your words forever, no matter what happens. Thank you so very much my love.”

Resting her chin on his shoulder, she flared her wings and let them fall completely over his body, shielding him from the cold of the night. She rifled through her saddle bags briefly, then sent away the letter calling her guards, making sure she added a note for them to take their time. She hummed a lullaby softly as she stared at the moon, her mind quiet and satisfied as she waited with her human.

Chapter 33: Choices

Elias woke up slowly, which in and of itself was an oddity. He never woke up peacefully, ever. Even his best days led to night terrors, they were simply a fact of life. He went to bed, he woke up a few hours later either screaming his head off or in a cold sweat, it was how things were. Not today though, today he woke up slowly, and in truth, he felt unwilling to leave the warmth of his bed. A knock on his door however, prodded him awake.

With a groan, Elias rubbed at his face, and rolled free from the comfortable bed. He felt a dozen aches in his legs and arms, as well as a significant twinge in his shoulder. Elias tried not to groan in pain as he massaged the overly used muscle. He briefly wondered if Scalpel would be able to fix the ages old injury; magic was a thing after all. Maybe the unicorn could make it like new, then Elias would have to deal with one less ache every time he did anything.

Another insistent knock came from the door.

“I’m coming,” Elias said loudly.

Pushing himself to his feet, Elias worked at his shoulder as he walked stiffly toward the door. With a final grunt of pain, Elias opened it, and was immediately pounced by a certain blue pegasus. Night Flash landed on his chest, and immediately pressed his fuzzy cheek against Elias’ as he snuggled in deep.

“Red, I am so sorry about yesterday! I thought I my mom would be nicer, but she just got so overprotective and I…”

Elias placed a hand over his muzzle, silencing the pegasus instantly. Elias made sure their eyes met, then he silently pulled Night Flash closer and hugged him, softly, yet firmly. The pegasus sighed and returned it, nuzzling Elias’ bare chest. As the pony grew comfortable, Elias kept his voice soft.

“Flash, it’s fine. I’m fine.”

Night Flash sniffled.

“I know Red, I know. I just… I thought she would like you more. When you left… I got scared that you wouldn’t want to see us again.”

Elias glanced to Book Binder, who gave him a sad smile.

“We were nervous Elias. You just seemed so… lost. Beaten. You were trying so hard to make us happy, but it backfired so horribly. I’m sorry Elias, I am so sorry that that happened to you. You put in far too much effort to have it thrown back in your face, and I am so sorry that it all was.”

Elias motioned for her to walk closer. The unicorn hesitated for a moment, then did so. As soon as she was close enough, Elias grabbed her and pulled her into the hug as well. Book Binder sighed happily as she rubbed against both of them, and the three remained in place for a while, simply relishing the physical contact.

The lack of bathing must have gotten to the ponies more sensitive senses however, because Book Binder peeled away from the hug first, smiling at Elias as she closed the door behind them. Night Flash was a bit more reluctant, so Elias scooped him up and carried the pegasus to the bed, setting him on an undisturbed portion. Elias then began rifling through the clothes strewn about the room, searching for a cleanish tunic to wear before he took his morning shower.

“So what are you two doing here?” Elias asked as he took a whiff of one of his red tunics.

It didn’t quite smell bad… Elias mentally shrugged and pulled the tunic over his head while Book Binder answered. She levitated a large white box toward him with a smile on her face.

“We thought we would treat you! Doughnut Joe’s is the best in Canterlot, and what better way to celebrate our engagement than with doughnuts?”

Elias smiled at the offer, but as he came fully awake, the pressure that he had found momentary escape from pressed down on his skull. The decision he had been given was massive, and his discussion with Luna had brought him no closer to reaching an answer. Her argument rang around his skull, chased by the fear of what could happen, of what could repeat. He couldn’t lose everything again, he just couldn’t, he wouldn't. However, Luna seemed like she was telling him the truth, and no matter what he had said to the alicorn, he didn’t want to lose her either. She was a valuable council in his life, and a source of calm from the turbulence of his thoughts. Save for the instances where he ended up in his death bed, she didn’t treat him like a child or a threat, just a person.

Elias’ smile dipped as he thought about that. The relationship between even them had changed, and she didn’t want him to remain a simple guard. She trusted him immensely to offer such a thing to a foreigner, both in species and birthplace. Citizenship be damned, he didn’t know anything about Equestria, not really. He had been outside of Canterlot only two times, and both had him walking about the Everfree.

What he did know was war, and that was what Luna was counting on. She, and by extension her sister, knew as well as he did that the ponies would be drastically under prepared for real fighting. The wedding was more than evidence of that. Even if they were infiltrated, the guards should have been able to put up a better fight, yet most were captured within moments of the initial attack. Even if they practiced at a new high for the next seven months, training was only part of the battle. Elias had no idea how they would deal with the logistics of the march, or even if anyone was thinking about those logistics. They needed an expert, and while he was no Caesar or Alexander, he was human, and that made him that expert.

Elias blinked as Night Flash’s hoof touched his arm. The pegasus oozed concern as he scooted closer.

“What’s wrong Red? You know that whatever it is, we’re always going to be here, right?”

Elias sighed and sat down next to him.

“I know. It’s that very fact that worries me.”

He scratched the back of his head, running a hand through his untied hair. Book Binder looked at him with a frown as the box of doughnuts floated over to rest in their miniature kitchen. She sat down in front of him, laying her head on his knee as she stared up with her wide pony eyes.

“Come on Elias, talk to us. What are you trying to hide behind those eyes of yours? Did the dinner get to you that much?”

Elias shook his head.

“No, or at least not really. It certainly didn’t help, don’t get me wrong, but if I hadn’t gone to see the princesses beforehand, I think I could have dealt with it better.”

“What did the princesses want to talk to you about?” Night Flash, leaning against Elias’ shoulder. “You seemed very upset when I found you back here.”

Elias snorted dismissively as he reached up to scratch the pony’s ears, doing his best to ignore the still, largely destroyed room.

“Upset seems like a gross understatement.”

His lame attempt to dodge the question didn’t work as Book Binder and Night Flash watched him with silent, caring eyes. Elias sighed deeply.

“The princesses offered me a job, a promotion if you will.”

“I’d say that’s wonderful news Elias,” Book Binder said, “but it feels like there’s more to it than a simple rank bump.”

Elias nodded.

“They want me to make a legion, from scratch, hence why they offered me a position as a general. It’s for some big march in seven months. They want extra bodies, so each guard force is opening recruiting across Equestria, and they believe they need an extra one.”

Book Binder gasped softly and rubbed his knee.

“Elias I… I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how that must make you feel.”

The phrasing of her words seemed a bit odd, but Elias decided to ignore it as he nodded silently and pushed himself to his feet. Lifting the mattress, he retrieved the set of journals hidden under it. After letting the mattress drop, Elias stared at the worn covers for a minute, then glanced at the pair of ponies beside him. Taking a deep breath, Elias offered the books to Night Flash and Book Binder.

“If you want to understand, then read these. I’ve kept them hidden from you for long enough. You deserve the whole truth about me.”

Book Binder’s face took on an odd look as she shook her head.

“Elias, we don’t need that. We know those are private, and that you have good reason for keeping it that way.”

She tried to use a bit of magic to push his hand back, but Elias pressed the journals forward.

“No, you’re my friends, and I haven’t been telling you the whole truth. I can’t have our relationships be built on falsehoods. You don’t deserve to be lied to.”

Book Binder looked to Night Flash, who sighed and nodded once. The mare seemed to wither as she rose to her feet. She walked in front of Elias, gently pushing the journals back with her hoof.

“If today is going to be a day of truth, then… we have something to tell you as well.”

Elias noticed tears in her eyes as she looked at him with the saddest expression he had ever seen. He found that he despised that look on her face.

“Elias,” she took another deep breath. “We already read your journals. We know everything that has happened to you. Both of us do.”

Elias blinked at her in shock as his hand fell to his side.

“What?” he asked in disbelief.

The single word cause Book Binder to flinch, but she didn’t look away as the tears climbed down her cheeks.

“When you got sick. We were cleaning your room and we found the journals and we read them. I told you we didn’t because I was scared you would push us away, but we read them. Every word. Every torture, and terrible act, we read through it all.”

The notebooks fell from his limp fingers as shock climbed through his mind, rending apart any coherent thought.

“B-but, then why…?” Elias asked stutteringly. “Why did you decide to be my friends? Why try to be my parents? Why didn’t you do the smart thing and run far far away?” Elias demanded, his voice sounding unintentionally sharp in his ears.

Book Binder whimpered softly.

“Because you aren’t the same now as you were then Elias. The man in the journals isn’t the man we know,” she said, doing her best to maintain eye contact. “You are so much better now. You care about your friends, you do what’s right, you’ve been nothing but kind and honest since you came to Equestria, and when we read the journals, we saw that you were trying to be a better person. Succeeding too!”

She reached out for a moment, then seemed to think better of it as her bottom lip quivered and her hoof retreated.

“Please Elias,” she pleaded. “We just wanted to help you be your true self, the man we know and love! We didn't want you to hurt all alone.”

Night Flash rose from the bed and stood at her side, nuzzling her neck softly. The action broke the dam in her eyes, and Book Binder turned away from Elias, weeping into the pegasus’ fur. Elias had never really seen the expression on Night Flash’s face, but the pegasus looked suddenly tired and so much older, like life had taken an immeasurable toll in only a few moments. His eyes betrayed his exhaustion, covering the usual youthful cheerfulness that Elias usually found.

“We can understand if you’re angry Red,” the blue pegasus said. “If you don’t want to see us again, then so be it. We still love you all the same. Say the word and we’ll go.”

Elias stood in paralyzed silence for a moment. Very little of his mind actually cared that they had read his journals. He had been prepared to let them read the notebooks, what did it matter if they already knew? No, no that wasn’t quite right. It did matter, but not in a negative way. The voice at the back of his mind screamed at him to act. His friends, and potential family were hurting inside because of him, and he was standing like a lump. Elias moved quickly, his face twisting in a false snarl as he scooped the two ponies up, pressing them tight against his chest in a bone crushing hug.

“I don’t recall saying that you two were allowed to go anywhere,” Elias growled. “If you think I’m ever going to let you escape me now, you’re sorely mistaken.”

Book Binder gasped happily and latched her hooves around his neck.

“You mean you don’t care that we lied to you?”

Elias let out a long breath as he plopped down on the bed. Technically speaking, it really bothered him that he had again been lied to, but this was different than what the princesses had done. This was far more to his personal benefit, and it was Book Binder and Night Flash, was he really going to risk driving them away over something that had happened months ago? He stared at the ceiling for a moment before answering.

“You read all of that and decided to be my friends anyway. I couldn’t be angry if I wanted to be. You saw a monster and treated him like any other person.”

He laid his chin on top of her head.

“I couldn’t ask for more from you.”

Book Binder let out a sigh of relief and nuzzled his neck, taking care not to stab him with her horn.

“Thank you Elias, just… thank you.”

Elias matched her sigh with one of his own.

“Can you just promise me one thing?”

Book Binder wiggled free from his grip so that she could stare into his eyes.

“Anything baby boy, just ask.”

Elias felt his bad eye twitch for a moment before he dragged her close again, petting her mane as he rubbed his cheek against hers.

“Please don’t leave me,” he said softly.

Tears sprang from his eyes as a tidal wave of familiar, yet foreign emotions crashed into his battered mind. He felt like an utter child, but he had no idea how to make the sensation stop, so Elias just held on to the ponies in his arms. His grip on the ponies tightened as he kept them as close as possible, as if his hands were the only thing keeping them at his side. Night Flash nuzzled his chin, then grabbed Elias’ head with his hooves, forcing eye contact.

“Red, I want you to listen to me carefully, because I’m only going to say this once. Under no circumstances, ever, will we leave you. You are more than just a friend, and no matter what happens, no matter what paperwork we write, no matter where we are, we are your family. It’s as simple as that. It doesn’t have to be official, and if it will make you more comfortable, we’ll never make it official, but we will always be with you, no matter what happens, alright?”

Elias sniffled meekly as he tried to dry his tears. Night Flash just smiled and rubbed against his wet cheek.

“We’ve got you buddy, forever and always.” The pegasus snorted and wiggled closer, wrapping his wings around the human in a hug. “Besides, I dare you to try and escape our hugs.”

The joke was small, but it caused Elias to smirk. Book Binder then chuckled, followed by Night Flash dropping his serious expression. The three hugged each other as they all laughed. With the mood brightened, Book Binder began trying to blow raspberries on Elias’ neck. He responded by grabbing her with both hands and tickling her belly fur. The mare squealed as she tried to escape his dexterous fingers. Flash quickly came to his fiance's aid, pushing Elias back onto the bed as he tried to pin the offending limb, only to be caught by the other arm. Soon, both ponies were wiggling as they cried out for the human to stop his attack on their soft belly fur.

Once he made them sufficiently red in the face, Elias stopped, letting them both catch their breath. He sat back, chuckling at their antics. When they recovered, they exchanged a lightning fast look and pounced Elias as one, pinning his arms as they nuzzled his sides. The human groaned in play agony at the overly sweet display, but that just made things worse as Flash tried to find his ticklish areas. Elias, with his battle-torn, numb body, had nearly none, and as the pegasus searched desperately, Elias thought he would get away without being tickled. Only his feet were free from nerve damage, and he knew for a fact that the pair of ponies would never guess it.

Until Book Binder made mention of Elias’ unusually bare feet. A trace of fear must have creeped across his face, because the pair grinned at each other, and Elias knew instantly that he was in trouble. Plucking a stray feather from Flash’s wings, Book Binder pinned his legs while Flash held his arms. With her magic, Book Binder began to run the feather up and down the sole of his foot, and it took him seconds to begin laughing uncontrollably. Luckily enough for him, he had enough strength to snatch Night Flash up, resuming his attack on the pegasus' belly fur while he tried to ward Book Binder away from his feet.

Once they were all sufficiently red in the face, they collapsed in a pile on the bed, smiling at each other brightly.

“You two are mean,” Elias said breathlessly. “Ambushing a man in his room like this. The epitome of cruelty.”

Book Binder stuck her tongue out at him.

“Would you prefer if we did this in the cafeteria? What would all of the guard ponies think of the big strong human reduced to a giggling mess because of a feather? Your reputation would be ruined.”

Elias snorted.

“Maybe, but I’d like to see anyone say something to my face.”

Book Binder swatted his chest.

“Hush. You won’t do a thing. My little sweetheart baby boy wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Night Flash and Elias exchanged a look and a chuckle, causing Book Binder to pout. Her expression melted away as Elias’ fingers found her ears, scratching them gently. The unicorn cooed softly and she snuggled up against his chest.

“Mhm, I wish we could do this everyday,” she said softly.

Elias sighed.

“But alas…”

“I know,” she replied. “Whatever happens, we’re going to be here Elias. Flash is right; no matter what any legal paperwork says, we’re family. Nothing can separate us.”

Elias stared at the ceiling.

“Don’t be so sure,” he said softly, “because I still haven’t made a decision.”

He glanced down at the unicorn and pegasus, and both stared back. Their eyes held nothing but complete understanding and compassion, and while it felt nice to have those eyes directed at him, they didn’t help him make a choice. His eyes drifted back to the ceiling.

“If I go through with taking the princesses' offer, I can’t have a family, I can’t even have friends. At least not you two. I know you’ll volunteer the second I put anything out.”

“Try to stop us,” Night Flash said with a smile.

“I’ve thought about it,” Elias replied, looking down at the pony.

Night Flash cocked his head and the smile dropped.

“Why? Do you not want to have us as fellow guards at least?”

Elias shook his head.

“No. In fact, if I had my way, both of you would be dismissed from the guard right now. I would send you home so that you could be safe, because I am absolutely terrified of what can happen if you don’t stay here.”

He raised a finger.

“And before you say anything, I know that’s not my call. I know you could go over my head, I know that you’re supposed to be protecting me, but let’s be completely honest with each other. No matter what the law says about my age, no matter how much I have enjoyed pretending to be less than I am, I’m the best fighter out of all of us. My killer instinct overpowers anybody’s. I've taken hundreds of lives, and nowadays, I don't even blink when I make the call to go for a killing blow. I’m just better at it, and that means I am better at protecting you two, than you are at protecting me.”

He sat up as the ponies moved off his chest. Elias stared at his hands as he rubbed at the wealth of callouses decorating his fingers.

“Frankly, I’m better at everything when it comes to war. I'm human, it means I'm better at dealing death than anything. My mind is wired for war, especially given what I've been through. It’s why the princesses are right, as much as I hate to admit it. They do need me, Equestria needs me, and I hate the fact that it does. I don’t want to be needed. Not as a killer at least. I just… I don’t know what to do.”

He looked to Book Binder.

“So what do you think I should do? Should I stay as a regular guard and just fight like anypony else would, or do I,” Elias waved his hand around as he looked for the word, “give in? Give the princesses what they want and do the same thing that got everyone I loved killed the last time I tried it?”

He sighed and leaned against Night Flash. The pony wrapped a wing around his body and rested his head on Elias’ back.

“If I become a general though, the trial parenthood is over. Full stop. The answer will be a definite no, especially if you two volunteer. I won’t put my parents through the kind of hell I’m thinking about for training. I’m going to need to be cruel, distant. General Bright only, not Elias, not Red, not anything. No friends, no parents. I will need to be absolutely alone so that I can focus on making sure as many ponies make it home as possible.”

Book Binder leaned against his other shoulder and exhaled loudly.

“I… can’t give you an easy answer Elias. I would love to have my baby boy be “General Bright”, but I think you’re right. You will have to be cruel, especially to us. We’re going to volunteer, whether you like it or not, but if you see us as your parents, you won’t be hard on us, won’t train us like we need to be trained. Not only will we not get the training we need, but you will be so worried and caught up on our safety that other things will slip by, making things worst. If all that happens, then I feel that what you fear will happen will come to pass. It’s not something any of us want.”

She rubbed his back with her hoof as she met his eyes.

“I just want you to know that whatever happens Elias, we are always going to be friends. I know there will be terrible days, and sometimes, we’ll feel angry at you, but I can see it in your eyes that you want us to adopt you officially, and that will get us through the hard days and make our love for you all the stronger.”

She rubbed his knee.

“It is something you want, right?”

Elias nodded and looked away.

“It’s a terrible time to make up my mind about it, but yes, I think I do. General Bright can’t accept though, and it’s one of the reasons that makes this such a difficult choice.”

Book Binder nuzzled his neck.

“I know baby boy. I will not pressure you to do anything you don’t want, but should you decide to be General Bright, then know that once this “march” is over, I’m foalnapping you and adopting you. No questions, no hesitation. We will have the paper’s signed personally by the princesses, and then I’m taking you home proper like.”

Elias snorted at the thought, then hugged the mare tightly.

“Good to know Book Binder. I’ll keep that in mind.”

He glanced at her and winked with his good eye.

“But you should know better than to threaten me with a reward.”

Book Binder rolled her eyes, then sprang to her feet, waggling her butt as she pounced on him. Night Flash joined in quickly, settling on top of his chest. As both ponies began nuzzling against his body, Elias made sure to catch eye contact as he said;

“I love you.”

Book Binder squeaked, then pounced on his head, rubbing his hair as she rocked him back and forth, humming softly.

*****

Elias knocked on the door to the infirmary as softly as he could. Scalpel was there in an instant, shooing him in. They didn’t speak as they approached the bed where Scarlet Shield was still asleep, completely dead to the world as he snored softly. Elias gave Scalpel a quick scratch behind the ears as he sat down, staring at the sleeping pegasus.

It had taken two days for them to find the pony’s pod, and he had already been trapped in it for almost a month. As a result, the pegasus was one of the last to leave the infirmary as Scalpel made sure that the changeling venom didn’t have any permanent effects. Elias had made sure to visit as regularly as he could once the pod had been found, but he never seemed to catch Scarlet while he was awake. Scalpel claimed that since they had pulled him from the coma, he only woke up for a few minutes each day, and from the gaunt look on Scarlet’s sleeping form, Elias believed him. The pegasus was being fed by an IV, and even though he seemed to be sleeping calmly, his breath would occasionally come in short gasps before settling into a stable rhythm.

Scalpel pulled up a second chair and sat beside Elias, sighing as they watched Scarlet sleep. The unicorn turned to Elias for a moment, then leaned against him.

“I know you’re not here for a checkup Elias, but how are you doing? For what I’ve heard, the last couple of days have not been easy for you.”

Elias snorted.

“News about my little freak out spread that fast huh? Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The gossip mill loves talking about me.”

Scalpel shrugged.

“I don’t really care what the rumors say, I want to hear your side of it. I know you had a good reason for tearing into the princesses. Otherwise that permanent tattoo on your back would seem a bit pointless.”

Elias snorted dismissively.

“There isn’t much of a story to tell Scalpel. Everyone I loved died the last time I made a legion, and the princesses want another. Badly. Luna even followed me up to the top of the mountain to make sure I didn’t die, and then tried to talk me into it. If nothing else, it shows me that there’s a need, but nobody seems to be thinking about what it will cost.”

Scalpel sighed.

“Then... well, you have to do it, because you are thinking about what it will cost. If you’re the only one who can think like that, then they need you. Simple as that, no matter how much it personally hurts, it’s the truth.”

“I know,” Elias replied blankly. “In my mind, it’s never really been a question of if they need my help, it’s a question of if I have the strength to give it. Everyone seems to think I’ve got it in me, and for some reason, they're already prepped to stand at my side, but I’m not so sure.” He snorted dismissively. “I’ve already got two volunteers if I accept, but what about you Scalpel? Are you going to charge into battle at my side?”

Elias felt a mild sense of relief when Scalpel laughed loudly. The unicorn slapped Elias' back and doubled over, wiping at his eyes as long peals of laughter escaped his chest.

“Buck no!” Scalpel said. “I’m a doctor Elias! My place is here, in the castle, making the pain go away, not out on the battlefield hurting ponies. No, I don’t think I’m going to charge into battle with you. Probably ever.”

Elias couldn’t help but wrap an arm around the pony and pull him close.

“Good. That’s one less friend I have to watch out for then. Makes my job easier. I wish everyone was as inclined to stay behind as you are. Then I would have no doubts whatsoever.”

Scalpel grinned, then started as Scarlet rolled over with a scowl on his face. He rubbed at his eyes with his hooves, then looked to Elias. He looked back to Scalpel, then Elias again. A small smile crept across his face.

“Hey, you finally came to visit. About time.”

Elias’ mirth slipped. About time. About time he noticed that Scarlet was missing. About time he actually checked on his friend, rather than letting his strange behavior slip to the wayside. About time he made sure that his friend was okay. Elias’ eyes flicked to the ground as he let out a deep sigh. Scarlet quickly noticed the change in demeanor and his scowl deepened.

“Oh buck no, I am not hearing this speech again.”

Scarlet scooted to the edge of the bed and grabbed at Elias’ face with his hooves.

“It isn’t your fault Elias, it isn’t anypony’s fault but mine. I shouldn’t have gotten captured, that’s it. The only thing that needs fixed is I need to be a better fighter, so that next time I can beat as many bugs as possible to a pulp. Now get that stupid bucking look off your face and tell me about this legion thing. I only caught the tail end of your conversation.”

Elias slapped his hooves away.

“No, I’m not telling you a thing, and you’re wrong. It’s my fault completely. I noticed when the bug didn't quite act right, but I didn’t push hard enough, didn’t do enough to expose the changeling that took your place. If Night Flash was just a second too slow, that damn bug could have torn his throat out without a thought. That would have been on me, not you.”

Elias gestured to the bed, and the IV’s dangling from Scarlet’s body.

“Besides, you’re injured, or at least sick. You can’t leave that bed until you’re better, so telling you anything more than "get better" is pretty worthless.”

Scarlet looked at him with disbelief clearly written on his face.

“Really? You of all ponies is going to tell me to stay in bed because I got hurt? Really? Buck no. Tell me what this legion is, because I need to get out of here, now. If you don’t tell me, and if you don’t let me in, I’m going to do something stupid like you and climb Canterlot mountain. There isn’t going to be a princess to rescue me, however. Nopony would even come looking.”

“I would,” Elias said softly.

Scarlet drooped for a second, with his ears pinning themselves to the side of his head.

“I know you would Elias, but that’s just it. You couldn’t have known. You can’t detect magic, so you wouldn’t even begin to know what to look for. I got snatched, and replaced. The changeling that did it died, and now I’m going to get better. Let’s both just agree that it’s my fault, and then you can tell me about this legion of yours, because I want to be wherever you are. I need to get stronger, and the more I see and hear, and work with you, the more I know that you are going to make me that way. I won’t take no for an answer.”

Elias cocked his head and stared at the pony.

“Yeah? And what are you going to do if I tell you no? Attack me?”

Scarlet’s eyes narrowed and his hooves drifted toward his IV lines as if to rip them out. He was stopped as Scalpel let out a string of rapid no’s and levitated Elias into the air and onto a separate bed, where he quickly used that cursed rope from his previous visits to restrain the human’s arm. He then got regular straps and threatened Scarlet with them as he glared at the two of them.

“Really? The two most injured ponies from the invasion are going to brawl? For what? To get bucked up some more? Not on my watch!”

Scalpel whirled on Elias.

“And just for the attempt, you are getting a physical evaluation!” he said, jabbing his hoof at Elias. “You weren’t eating before your meeting with the princesses, and from what I can tell you haven’t eaten well since. You’ll be lucky to make it out of here today with your little act.”

Elias rolled his eyes.

“I wouldn’t be so sure Doc. I’m supposed to be eating with Book Binder and Night Flash for dinner. I would love to see you make me late.”

The unicorn grumbled something under his breath, but Elias noticed a small flash of fear in his eyes at the mention of the mare’s name. He knew the power she could bring to bear, and so, the rope disappeared from Elias’ arm as Scalpel relinquished.

“Fine, but I’m still going to give you a once over," Scalpel said. "I noticed some scarring on your hands that wasn’t there before. Scarlet, stay in that bed, or so help me I will find a pony that can cast a paralyzation spell on you.”

The pegasus rolled his eyes, but his hooves drifted away from the IV lines. Settling into his pillow with a huff, he stared at Elias.

“Don’t think this has stopped me Elias. Now tell me about this legion of yours, I’ll take any job you give me, I just need to be involved in some way. Make me polish armor for all I care, just so long as I get better.”

Elias side-eyed the pony as he crossed his arms.

“You assume that I’m going to accept the offer the princesses gave me. I still haven’t decided, still haven’t determined if it’s worth risking my friends.”

Scarlet sighed loudly and rolled his eyes.

“Elias, you’re going to do it. I know that for a fact. It’s just who you are; you see something wrong and you fix it if you know how to. This is something you can most definitely fix. Besides, most of your friends are guards, and if word got out that you were given the opportunity to help the princesses out and turned it down, how many friends do you think you would have left?”

Elias rolled onto his side and glared at Scarlet.

“Are you trying to batter me into accepting by using my friendships as a weapon?”

“Yeah, I am,” Scarlet said with a nod. “I know you’re going to accept eventually, Book Binder and Night Flash both know you’re going to accept eventually, and I would go so far to say that you know you are going to accept eventually, you’re just wasting time doubting yourself. That’s just it though, you’re wasting time. If you just threw away all the doubt and started working, you would have had a few extra days to make sure everything went perfectly, but where are you? In the infirmary getting dressed down by a pony who got thrown into a bush during the RATE. I say this in the nicest way possible Elias; pony the buck up. My friend wouldn’t run away from a challenge like this, and the more you sit and mope around, the more I’m convinced that that eye of yours isn’t just for show.”

Elias felt anger flashed hot in his mind, and despite Scalpel’s protests, he whirled his legs out of the bed and jabbed a finger at Scarlet.

“And what the fuck do you know Scarlet? I accept this little general position; I won’t have any friends. None, zero. I will have to push everypony I know away so that I can do my job right. The eye was earned doing what nobody else could, so don’t you dare accuse me of running away. I run from nothing.”

Scarlet rolled his eyes again.

“Sure, that’s why you’re letting Scalpel fret over you like a mother hen instead of getting out there and kicking flank at your new job.”

“Fine you ungrateful parrot!” Elias shouted. “I’ll do it! I’m going to punish your sorry ass so relentlessly in training that you’ll wish you were never born, let alone joined up with me!”

Scarlet smiled.

“Great! So where do I need to submit my application?”

Elias opened his mouth to reply that he would accept any applications through his assistant, but then realized that he didn’t have an assistant. He changed his answer to say that the application could be dropped off in his office, but then he realized he didn’t have an office either. Finally, his mind realized that he had accepted the position to the point that he was already making a mental checklist of everything he would need to just get his legion started, let alone begin recruiting. Elias sighed mentally at the acceptance, but Scarlet was right, he was wasting time. He needed to make a decision and commit, and he knew which answer he was going to take, no matter what doubts he had. The ponies would die in droves if he didn’t implement basic military reforms to their quite sad military forces.

Elias’ eyes flicked up to Scarlet, who was watching him with a smug smile. Elias sneered at the pegasus.

“Fuck you Scarlet, and wipe that stupid look off your face or I’ll reject whatever application you send me for insubordination. Now get better or you won’t be doing anything with me.”

Scarlet gave him a goofy smile and a salute. Unfortunately for him, the motion was too snappy, and he accidentally tore free one of his IV lines. Scalpel immediately set upon the pegasus, yelling at him as he cleaned up the drip of blood. A bevy of tools floated into the air as he prepared to put in another IV line, and while Scarlet tried to convince the doctor that it wasn’t needed, Elias made his exit. Scarlet’s words had helped, but he still needed to think, to make sure he was choosing the right path.

He quickly made his way to the castle gardens, wandering through the bushes and trees until he found the spot where he had managed to kill the changeling captain by the skin of his teeth. Impressively, it was free of blood or goo, and instead the marble state shined a brilliant white. Elias felt his bad eye twitch as he stared at the statue where he had nearly died from blood loss, then he began to pace.

He intentionally began dragging out bad memories, trying to drive himself into a panic attack. He needed to physically speak with Other-Elias, needed to make sure that his entire brain was set on his choice. If even a little bit of his mind held doubt, then he wouldn’t be able to focus, and he would fail to keep anyone safe. If he held such doubt, he needed to say no, but the more he talked to ponies, the more the reasons seemed to become cemented in his mind. He needed to help them, but he had to be sure of himself first.

Elias’ breaths came in short gasps as he riled himself up, using the images of a field of blood and bodies to bring him to the brink. He used the image of Sarah’s grave to shove him over the edge, and cool calm washed over him as Other-Elias took a seat at the base of the statue.

“This isn’t healthy you know,” the man said calmly.

Elias shrugged and continued to pace as his mind calmed.

“Maybe, but it’s necessary. I needed to talk to you.”

“The fact that you think me someone separate from you is even more concerning Elias, and I really think we should get that checked out.”

Elias felt his anger flash and he whirled on the specter.

“Look I just…! I need to talk this out. This is the only way I know how.”

Other-Elias exhaled loudly and waved him on.

“Then let’s get this done. I think we can both agree that the answer is yes.”

Elias nodded in agreement and re-clasped his hands behind his back.

“Yeah, but I need to know the limit. Do I keep my friends? I’m going to be relentless, but do I still try to maintain our relationships, or do I drive them away until after?”

Other-Elias ran a hand through his hair.

“You want an honest answer? I say ban any friends from joining, period. Make it a condition of your acceptance that Book Binder, Night Flash, and Scarlet are evicted from the guard, permanently.”

He looked to the sky.

“That, or make them stay behind to guard the castle. Whatever keeps them far away from the march.”

“Absolutely not!” Center Elias roared as he stormed into the clearing.

Elias blinked at the second specter, and he stopped pacing to stare at him. He checked behind him to make sure Other-Elias was still by the statue, then he looked back to Center Elias. Elias snorted in disbelief.

“There’s two of you now,” he stated numbly.

Center Elias ignored the comment and instead jabbed a finger at Other-Elias.

“You’re a fucking idiot. We drive them away like that, and not only will we lose all of our friends, but we won’t have anyone we can trust! We need their sharp minds, and we know they will follow our orders to the letter. Besides, leaving them behind will put them in greater danger than if we trained them up. What happens when foreign nations learn about the departure of the princesses and the sum of all the guards? Suddenly the capital of Equestria looks like a juicy target!”

Other-Elias scoffed.

“Please, besides the invasion, nothing ever happens here. It’s as peaceful as it can be, and anyone foolish enough to invade will be destroyed by the princesses as soon as they hear about it. All we’d have to do is make one unicorn with long range teleportation spells stayed behind. They could deliver news of invasion before any forces got near Canterlot, then the princesses would abandon their little portal plan and return swinging. Keeping our friends here would be safer and allow us to focus on our legion.”

Elias looked between the two and chuckled.

“Let me get this straight," Elias said. He jabbed a finger at Other-Elias. "The fucker who said it was a good idea to make the friends in the first place, and has told me to risk everything at every turn is now advising caution, while your paranoid ass,” he said pointing at Center Elias, “is recommending we bring them with us? Am I going crazy here?”

Other-Elias rolled his eyes.

“We’re already crazy, but that’s beside the point. Putting Night Flash and Book Binder anywhere near a battlefield is a mistake. If that’s the limit of the exclusion, then fine, but we need to make sure those two are safe. We cannot lose another Bevin and Sarah. We just can’t.”

“And we won’t,” Center Elias snapped. “That’s why it’s so important that we bring them with us! We train them to be battle-hardened warriors, then keep them at the rear of the field. We will have thousands of other soldiers from the different guard forces around us. We can literally make as big a legion as we want! We can have a cohort around each pony! Hundreds of bodyguards! What could be better? Then we get the added benefit of keeping them close, and using their talents as advisors to make sure we don’t fuck up. We need that voice in our life. Then we don’t alienate them, and after the march, we all go home with fat retirement paychecks, and they can adopt us as planned.”

“Sonofabitch,” Other-Elias muttered as he accepted the logic.

Elias was of another mind, however.

“What do you mean “adopt us as planned”? I told them that if I take this, the adoption thing is done. It was one of my conditions.”

Center Elias snorted and waved his hand dismissively.

“And then Book Binder said she would adopt us without contest. Those were the terms we agreed to, and if you think our will can match hers, you’re sorely mistaken. That mare is a force of nature when it comes to being a mom.”

Other-Elias grunted in agreement. Elias looked between them both with a look of disbelief on his face.

“Seriously? You two are just… okay with that? What happened to caution and keeping everyone at arm’s length?”

Center Elias fixed him with a deadpan look.

“That ship sailed when those two read our journals. Not to mention the fact that you decided to share our life story with Luna. You’re the only one at fault here. If you wanted to keep them at arm’s length, you should have stopped listening to this tool months ago,” he said, gesturing toward Other-Elias.

The man shrugged and nodded in agreement.

“Not untrue. Still, I think we can safely agree that my advice was largely sound.”

Elias sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.

“I hate both of you, mostly because you two, much like everyone else, are right. The fact that it has taken this long to figure that out is concerning and brings back the question if I should do this at all. Am I going to do the job right if I keep getting hung up on the past? Am I of sound enough mind to be playing with the lives of hundreds, including the ponies I love the most?”

Other-Elias grunted as he got to his feet.

“Our past is what gives us the knowledge to do this right, and frankly, its something that nobody in Equestria has. The only thing we need to do to ensure success is have absolute control. No interference, from anyone. Not the other generals, not the princesses, and not our friends. We know what it will take to correct our past mistakes, and I think it’s safe to say that we won’t be as ambitious and idiotic with our tactical decisions like last time, agreed?”

Center Elias nodded, then vanished. Elias let out a long exhale then waved the second specter away.

“Fine, it’s decided then. Now keep quiet in there unless I need help. I need to make solid choices and I don’t need the two of you getting me distracted.”

Elias counted to one hundred before he turned around. Neither specter was there, but a sense of self-confidence seeped through his mind. He could do this, he had to. He ran through the list of things he’d need to do in his mind, but first, he had dinner with two very special ponies.

Chapter 34: Taking Command

Luna mentally groaned as she listened to the ponies beneath her bicker. She couldn’t care about their words in the slightest as the pair of generals went back and forth, spouting nonsense, seemingly without productive intention. They had been going for the better part of an hour, and if their tones were any indication, they would be yammering away from some time yet.

In order to get their ponies into a more militant mindset, her sister had decided that they needed to have daily planning sessions. Both of the alicorns took time from their courts to ensure that each meeting could be attended by at least one princess, if not both. The idea was that the generals would get a feel for working with each other, and then be able to work together more efficiently. Unfortunately, most were still wrapping up their prior duties, so only two, General Lionheart and General Arrowheart, were shouting at each other about how they would split the command of the Solar Guard. Luna rubbed at the base of her horn as she tried to ward away the rapidly approaching migraine that was building. The meeting wasn’t any different than it had been the day before, nor the day before that. They had no direction yet, so when they weren’t trying to brown nose at Celestia’s feet, they would either bicker or fall silent, acting like pouting children. It was positively infuriating.

Luna blinked as the talk shifted mid-sentence from command to recruitment strategies. The “debate” intensified as they argued what kind of ponies they would prioritize for recruitment. Lionheart suggested “common ponies”, and argued that a large number of the middle and lower-class ponies would be perfect. Arrowheart, on the other hand, wanted to recruit exclusively from the nobility, stating that they needed intelligent ponies they could trust, not commoners. Both were beginning to get on Luna’s last nerve. She had initially struggled with such issues upon her return, but upon making friends with several ponies in Ponyville, she knew that the label “commoner” had nothing to do with intellectual or physical superiority, but pure economic choices. If anything, the common ponies were superior in every regard save monetary to the noble class.

“Posturing imbeciles,” Luna grumbled under her breath as the yelling began anew.

Celestia shot her a look that half said she was disappointed with the statement, but also said that she agreed with its sentiment.

Luna turned her ears off and looked to the stained-glass windows of the throne room, trying to find some semblance of solace from the turbulence that surrounded her. She really wished she had not promised to not pressure Elias. The only way she felt she could avoid affecting his decision was by avoiding the human entirely. Since he was also technically on leave, she hadn’t seen him at all since she had left him in his bed three days ago. His tall, skinny form had been a constant presence in her life, especially recently, and now she missed that silent stare, those beautiful, mis-matched eyes. She desperately wished to coax him into another game night with Nightshade, to enjoy each other's company as they had before the invasion.

Luna’s ears perked up slightly as she heard raised voices in the hallway. The pair of bickering ponies before her didn’t seem to notice. The noise seemed to get louder, and a very familiar shout rang clearly above the rest of the voices. Dead quiet followed, and Luna waited with baited breath as the throne room doors began to crawl open. As they did so, Lionheart and Arrowheart stopped arguing, whirling together to scold whomever interrupted them.

They didn’t dare say a thing as Elias strode into the room. Luna couldn’t help but flush lightly at the sight of him. He looked so… powerful. The air around the man radiated with confidence. He was so much the same, but so very much different. His armor was back to a silver color, but it positively shined as he walked, a far cry from the bloodied, beaten scrap they found him in. Red accents lined the edges, and they were matched by a red tunic, and a red plumed helmet under his left arm, and unlike the red of the Royal Guards, it almost seemed brighter, more brilliant, and pristine. Perhaps she was biased, or perhaps it was the difference in contrast from his pale skin and the brilliant red, but it seemed to pop as he walked forward.

Most of all however, were the changes to his face and head. Luna had to take deep breaths at the sight of his clean-shaven face. She wanted to pinch herself to ensure it wasn’t a daydream, but she didn’t, instead straightening her posture so that her face slipped into its normal royal mask. She couldn’t keep a slight smile from peeking through as he got closer though. Without his scraggly beard and shoulder-length hair, he looked positively handsome. The chiseled chin, those piercing eyes… Even the long black scar that split the left half of his face did nothing to mar his appearance, and if anything, it made him even more attractive. His red hair had been shaved down on the sides of his head, and the top was decorated by a spiky, seemingly ruffled mop, but Luna could just barely tell that it was intentional. Whatever barber he had gone to, the pony had done a superb job cleaning him up.

His face was serious as he walked past the silent generals, making his way directly to the foot of her side of the throne. The motion wasn’t lost on anyone; he saw her as his princess first, and Luna couldn’t have been happier. Despite the fact that he was completely unaware of her affections, he was already growing closer to her. Luna wanted to squeal with joy. She kept her face even as he gave her a crisp salute.

“Yes, Guardsman Bright? What can I do for you on this fine afternoon?”

His face showed little emotion, keeping a professional mask to rival hers.

“I have come to my decision concerning your offer, and I will accept the position of general if some conditions are met.”

Luna didn’t try to stop the wide smile that crept across her face. She had already drawn the conclusion from his attire, but to hear the words! It was coming together; everything would work out! He had already proven he would be an invaluable strategist and combat expert, and if he was on equal standing with other generals, he would have equal voice. She could throw her vote behind his words as much as possible, and likely, Nightshade and Chaser would do the same. Luna did her best to suppress her giddiness as she began to reply, but Lionheart snorted derisively, earning him a nasty glare from Luna, which he promptly ignored.

“And this is coming from the same low-born guard that decided to try and shame the princesses when he first received the extremely gracious offer? What makes you think that the offer is still open to you Bright?”

Luna’s muzzle curled in a snarl, more than ready to protect her human, but Elias looked non-plussed as he cast a single eye over his shoulder, intentionally keeping his back to the pony. It was clearly an insult, and from Lionheart’s face, it was an effective one. The unicorn seemed to turn red as the human spoke with a calm, even voice.

“Disregarding the fact that Princess Luna approached me about the matter personally in private? The need is great, and with the help of some friends, I have decided that I will overcome my personal issues for the greater good. The need has not lessened in the past few days and if this little,” he cleared his throat and smirked, nodding toward the table, “planning session of yours is any indication, you have no idea what you’re doing. Seven months isn’t a lot of time, yet here you are, pissing the time away. I have enough common sense to be able to tell when I’m needed, and thanks to some smart ponies,” Luna blushed lightly when his eyes flicked to her for a moment, “I have determined that I can fix any mistakes as they arise. They have my back, and I will ensure that the errors of my past aren’t repeated.”

He turned his eyes back to Luna.

“If my conditions are met that is.”

Celestia cleared her throat, directing the human’s attention to her. Luna almost protested. She loved looking at his eyes. They were so calm, so focused now. They even lacked the normal edge of misery that always seemed to hide within, and that sight alone made Luna ecstatic. She could spend days staring into those eyes.

“And what conditions might those be Elias?" Celestia asked. "We would have an idea of what you are asking for before agreeing.”

“Of course Princess,” he replied calmly.

Elais pulled two bundles of paper from a satchel behind his back. He offered them with a passive look on his face, and Celestia’s assistant levitated the scrolls before the alicorns' eyes. As they unrolled the bundles, Elias clasped his hands behind his back.

“That is everything in writing, but I shall summarize it orally as well. Simply put, I have one primary condition, and it is that I have complete control over my legion. You are the princesses, and you hold absolute authority in Equestria, I recognize that, but my legion will be mine and mine alone. Whenever I am in command, I have the only say. Whatever happens in training, or after, I will not stand having my decisions questioned. My terms are addressed fully in the written version, but suffice to say, if I am constantly being second guessed in practice, then my soldiers won’t trust my judgement on the battlefield.”

His mouth curled downward into a soft frown.

“I won’t train an army that won’t follow my orders to the letter. All that will do is get a lot of ponies killed, and I will not be a part of it.”

Luna found that she trusted him completely, and she set her bundle to the side for later reading. The motion brought his eyes back to her, and Luna couldn’t help but blush lightly as their eyes met once more. She fidgeted with her wings, trying to not draw attention from anyone else. What was wrong with her? Sure, she had recently come to terms with her significant feelings for the man, but she was acting like a nervous schoolfilly! She couldn’t help herself though, especially when the barest trace of a smile poked through his stern mask. He was smiling at her! Did he know? Had he been awake when she had made her silent confession on the mountaintop? He had to know! Look at that smirk! She was going to be exposed in front of everyone! Luckily, before Luna could work herself up to her breaking point, Celestia spoke.

“This is rather in depth…” she muttered as she flipped another page. “It will take time to read through your request fully, and I must commend your thoroughness, but say we meet this demand, do you have any more?”

Elias shrugged.

“None so important as this one. The rest is logistical in nature, and concerns smaller things, like recruiting, and work space.”

Celestia looked up from her bundle of papers, and turned to Luna.

“What do you think sister? You have spent more time with Elias than I; can he be trusted with complete control over our ponies?”

Luna shrugged.

“I believe he can, but if we have any doubts, then Elias’ earlier protest to our offer was valid, and we shouldn’t put him in a commanding position. We either trust him, or we do not. I for one believe fully that he will mold our ponies into fine soldiers, and that he will not be too rough on them.”

She side-eyed him, and he shrugged unhelpfully.

“I won’t kill or permanently maim them,” Elias said calmly. “That is all I can promise.”

Celestia frowned in thought for a moment, then smiled as she set her bundle to the side.

“If you are in agreement then Luna, I think we can concede the good general’s condition. Was there anything else that needed addressed today General Bright?”

Elias nodded, showing no emotion to her use of his title.

“Two simple things. First, I officially request that I be allowed to accept any volunteers from the Solar, and Lunar Guards. I will need veterans to keep fresh recruits in line, and while my training will be far more taxing than the standard guard training, the veterans will be of immense value to me.”

Celestia smiled and nodded in agreement.

“Very well, but on the condition that you do not target the other guard branches for recruitment. They may approach you, but I do not wish to see recruitment materials around the castle.”

“Of course Princess,” Elias responded, “and you have my thanks.”

He looked over his shoulder, and his voice boomed as he called out;

“Adiutor Binder! First Centurion Flash! You may now enter the throne room.”

Luna watched with amusement as two ponies, already clad in red and silver, trotted forward confidently. As they moved, Luna noticed that all three silver clad individuals were struggling to hold back smiles of pride. She looked to Elias, who avoided her gaze.

“General, if I didn’t know any better, I would think you executed your orders before you received them.”

He shrugged without looking back to her.

“Technically I merely bought two ponies an expensive gift. It’s purely coincidental that said gift happened to correspond with their rank within my legion.”

Luna smiled and rolled her eyes.

“Quite.”

Book Binder and Night Flash stopped before Elias and saluted him before quickly moving to either side of the man. As they got into what was likely a pre-coordinated position, Luna studied their armor carefully. With both of them closer, it was clear that they were wearing very different styles of protection. Night Flash had armor very similar to Elias’ heavy plate. Links of chain mail protected his joints, and it looked to her like his wing blades had been modified to act more as armor than weapons. Her curiosity piqued, Luna rose from her throne, walking slowly down to the pegasus.

He had perfect composure as she approached, and he remained calm and still as she poked and prodded at his armor. When Luna tapped on his wing, he extended it fully, and she got a good view of the metal shielding it. Each feather was covered with plate, though the metal was thinner on his primaries. Seemingly to compensate, a mesh of chain mail filled the spaces between each feather, leaving no gaps. Luna frowned as she lifted the wing with her hoof to test its weight.

“What are his wing guards made from? It seems abnormally light to be made from Equestrian steel.”

“It’s still Equestrian steel,” Elias replied, glancing over. “I had Anyon enchant it with a feather weight enchantment, and all the pegasus armors will have the same enchantment. It wouldn’t do to take away their number one advantage.”

Luna raised an eyebrow as she stared at the metal covered pegasus before her.

“He can still fly?”

Elias nodded, and he motioned to Night Flash. The pegasus smiled as he lowered his wing, then he took a step back from Luna before giving a single mighty flap. He shot near to the ceiling, before spiraling back down, landing with a second flap in his previous position. He beamed with pride, and though he tried to hide it, Elias did as well. The slip lasted only a second however, and nobody besides Luna caught it. She admired the armor again, while Elias’s face fell into a slight scowl.

“The tunic is bolstered with an endurance, and a speed enchantment," Elias continued. "In full armor, First Centurion Flash could race with the best. He needed to be able to dart around the battlefield and be where I could not be. He should meet that need exceptionally well now.”

Luna nodded.

“An impressive display.”

Luna shifted her attention to Book Binder. The unicorn’s armor looked much more graceful than either of the plated stallions. While Luna spotted key sections bolstered by chain mail and leather, most of it was surprisingly made of silver cloth. Luna frowned as she prodded at it, feeling the smooth material with her hoof.

“I must say, outwardly, this armor looks frail, and weak. I honestly expected more from you Elias, what is the secret here?”

“Hit her,” Elias said simply.

Luna frowned and walked around Book Binder, meeting her eyes. A playful glint was housed there as the unicorn waited silently for Luna to strike. The alicorn’s frown deepened for a second, then she shrugged and turned around, giving the unicorn a hardy buck.

The air was driven from Luna’s lungs as the feeling of her hooves slammed into her regalia plate, knocking her from her hooves. She staggered back a step or two, falling to her knees as she fought for a moment to breathe. Celestia let out a gasp and rose to help her up, but Luna raised her hoof and shook her head. It didn’t hurt that much, not like it would have had she had her full earth pony strength. She shot a glare at Elias, who gave her an impassive look back.

“Temporal displacement and redirection spell,” Elias said smoothly. “It was expensive, but I will only have one assistant, so I believe it was a worthwhile cost.”

Luna snorted as she got to her feet.

“You could not have simply explained that? I have extensive knowledge on spellcraft, I would have understood.”

Elias shrugged and flicked his nose with his thumb as he looked away.

“Perhaps, but I always feel that a demonstration gets the message across clearly. Besides, that’s how I learned what Anyon meant when he hired his unicorn friend to enchant the armor.”

Luna smiled at the idea of the human swinging with all his might at it and getting hurt. Book Binder probably goaded him on too, if her smirk was any indication. Luna rolled her eyes again and began looking over Book Binder’s armor again.

“Very well General, continue. I wish to know everything about this strange looking armor.”

Elias shrugged.

“There isn’t much more to tell. Adiutor Binder will be at my side at all times; managing legion records and filtering any written communication I receive, and as such she needs to be well protected. Unfortunately, due to the great deal of supplies she needs to work, we needed to sacrifice armor weight. Her tunic is modified to be thicker and more protective, and it contains several enchanted pockets with her essentials. When we go on the march, she will also have enchanted saddle bags to allow her to carry as much as she wants, provided she can bear the weight.”

As Luna continued inspecting Book Binder's armor, she saw the subtle explanation for why he had made sure that the two ponies would likely be more protected than even she and her sister would be, but she knew that he was justified. If for no other reason, it would make him less fearful of their loss, and she would ensure that he received as much funding as possible to make them safe. A few bits was hardly worth the cost of piece of mind for the paranoid man.

“I must say General, this is all very impressive, and I hope it is indicative of what is to come. These were gifts you say? They cannot have been cheap, where did you acquire the funding for them?”

“Out of pocket,” Elias said. “Turns out being a guard for several months and never collecting a bit leads to quite the interest buildup. Had I the inclination, I could retire comfortably tomorrow.”

Luna sniffed.

“Then I am glad you do not have such inclinations. You had mentioned a second matter that needed resolved, what is it?”

Elias took a deep breath, and looked around.

“I just need somewhere to work; an office of some kind. There is a lot I’ll need to iron out before I even begin recruiting, and I’ll need some place to work.”

Luna smiled and nodded. She looked to Celestia.

“I shall lead General Bright to his new offices, and show him to his new training grounds. I assume you have things handled here sister?”

Celestia rolled her eyes and nodded.

“Indeed I do. And to you General Bright, thank you. I mean that sincerely. We shall ensure that your every want and desire will be met when this is finished. Your advice and service shall be invaluable in the coming months.”

Elias gave her a half bow.

“Of course Princess. I live to serve.”

Celestia settled back onto her throne with a calm nod. Luna walked past the three silver clad individuals, and she motioned with her wing for them to follow.

*****

Elias kept an even, measured expression on his face as Luna led them toward his office. He slowly picked apart his acceptance of his role as general, and every word the princesses had said in reply. It had gone perfectly, with each piece of his plan working as it should have. Even the other generals, the absolute morons they were, had contributed, making him seem godly of purpose by comparison. Let them posture and bicker, he knew what it took to win, and now, both Luna and Celestia knew it. From the occasional glances Luna was throwing his way, she likely already thought like that, but the important factor was Celestia, and by extension Cadence. He needed all three alicorns working to keep their “generals” in line. While he had no issue working with Nightshade and Chaser as equals, even as a subordinate to either, Elias knew that most, if not all, of the other generals were incompetent, and there would likely be many long days ahead as he tried to batter them into a proper military force. The fact that there were no less than ten generals was evidence enough that they had little to no idea what they were doing. If he hadn’t seen the “magic of harmony” in action, Elias would have suspected that they had managed to build and then hold a kingdom by sheer dumb luck.

Luna stopped before a door with a frosted glass window, then pushed it open. She smiled at him and waved with her hoof for them to enter. Elias let his subordinates go first, following behind Night Flash as he looked around the office space. Book Binder let out a whistle as she looked around.

“Very nice, this is even better than the head scribe office.”

“It’ll do,” Elias said with a frown.

Moving past the ponies, he set his helmet down on the main desk and looked around at his office space. It wasn’t anything incredible, and the room only included two desks, which suited him just fine. Only he and Book Binder would be working on paperwork anyway. The primary desk looked strange though, in a good way. As he ran a hand across its oaken surface, he quickly pieced together that it was the first truly human designed furniture he had seen in Equestria. Due to the size of the ponies, Elias had adapted easily enough to most things, but the desk and the chair behind it… they had been made for him. He threw a glance back at Luna, who was all smiles as she stared back.

“I take it everything is to your liking?” she asked, her teeth shining.

Elias looked away and took a deep breath. It was time to do something he was very much not looking forward to. But he needed to do it. He had done it with Night Flash and Book Binder, he had to do it with Luna. Elias took another breath before he turned around and clasped his hands behind his back.

“It is certainly suitable, thank you Princess.”

His voice was a flat monotone, and Luna seemed almost hurt by the lack of emotion in his words. Her eyes flicked between Book Binder and Night Flash before her smile returned with an almost nervous look to it.

“I… am glad Elias. I know you will find much success here.”

Elias nodded shortly.

“I should hope so. If you should ever need to speak with me, I will likely be here for the foreseeable future, at least until recruiting ends.”

Luna flinched again, and for some reason, the motion hurt. Elias ignored it, keeping his blank mask on. Her eyes flicked to Book Binder and Night Flash again. Both ponies gave her apologetic looks, but as he had instructed, neither spoke. Luna chuckled nervously as her eyes resettled on him.

“Elias, I… Is something wrong? You are treating me… differently. I believe we are in private enough company to speak as friends.”

Elias looked to the floor. The wood was clearly of high quality, and Elias briefly wondered if he should put some sort of decorations in his office to soften the echo the room had.

“Princess, what did I say on the mountain top? What did I tell you would happen if I accepted this position?”

She opened her mouth to respond, but Elias cut her off, keeping his voice calm and even, as to not seem angry with her.

“I said that we would no longer be friends, I said that I would have no friends whatsoever.”

He gestured to Book Binder and Night Flash.

“Already I have cut personal ties with both Adiutor Binder and First Centurion Flash. Part of our preparations yesterday was moving all of their belongings out of my quarters, and we officially ended our personal relationships. They are not my potential parents; they are not my friends. They are my subordinates, from now, until the march is over, or until they retire from the guard. If things progress how I imagine they will, Scarlet Shield and Gray Granite will also share that fate. The only friend I can safely say that I have is Steel Scalpel, who has personally confirmed that he is not going with us. He will be safe; completely so. Everyone else however…”

He spread his hands and let them fall to his side.

“It’s the way it has to be. The top is lonely, primarily because it takes immense focus to do one’s job right when you control everything. Perhaps we can rekindle our friendship once this is over, but for now… We are nothing but Princess and General.”

Luna looked at him with horror as he finished and waited silently for her reply. Elias watched as a stream of emotions filtered through her eyes, then she straightened and surprisingly, smiled.

“Very well General. I shall partially accept this because you have done me a great service by accepting your role. I have heard tale however, that Book Binder shall force adoption upon you once the march has concluded. I shall do everything in my power to ensure she finds success, and rest assured, your adoption papers will be extremely binding.”

Luna winked at Book Binder, who wisely said nothing, but a smile crept across her muzzle as she turned away from Elias to conceal it.

“Furthermore,” Luna continued, “you have made a minor error in not signing your contract for this position before making such a declaration. I shall make sure to include several clauses about your employment following the march, and should you continue to follow this course, I shall be forced to implement the cuddle clause.”

Elias felt his bad eye twitch at that. She had tried no less than eight times to get him to sign a cuddle clause. It was a nasty piece of paperwork that legally bound someone to be freely available to give anyone who asked a hug. It granted a wealth of special privileges, and rewards for doing so, as well as a generous royal stipend, but Elias knew for a fact that Luna would relentlessly hunt him down for its use. He couldn’t well sign something like that and be a general. It simply wouldn’t work. Luna smiled knowingly as his eyes met hers.

“Or, I shall keep your original contract intact, and we shall modify our friendship. I can understand remaining professional, and I will personally promise that I will cease any activities to further your pony cultural education. We shall remain on a first name basis only when we are truly alone, and we shall maintain no more physical contact than a hoofshake. You need someone to talk to Elias, an equal, and I can be that pony. Your other potential confidants will be working beside you, while I shall remain away. My sister and I are entrusting you, and the other generals fully with the preparations for the march, and as such, we will never talk about your work in private unless you wish to do so.”

Her smile dropped slightly as she took a few steps forward and extended her hoof.

“I think this arrangement can suffice to keep you the distant General Bright, while also not losing sight of Elias Bright. Are we agreed?”

Elias took a deep breath, taking a moment to think it through. Seeing no viable alternative that wouldn’t flat out alienate one of his biggest allies, Elias nodded and accepted the hoof.

“Fine, but if you push my limits, it will have consequences.”

Luna nodded, and it surprised Elias when she stepped away, keeping her royal mask up.

“Of course General. As I said before, I am immensely grateful to you for doing this, and Equestria will soon be in your debt, of that I have no doubt. I just need to make sure you see the lights at the end of the tunnel, and I cannot do that from the throne. I will send an assistant by to begin walking you through the necessary paperwork, and to deliver supplies to your second. Our next planning session is tomorrow morning at eight o’ clock.”

Elias nodded silently, and Luna turned around to leave, stopping just long enough to give him a wink before trotting away. Elias let out a long sigh, but he couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“That didn’t go as planned,” he said.

Night Flash shrugged.

“Maybe, but Princess Luna has a point. Having no friends can be just as dangerous as having too many in your position. We all get the need for focus General, but having one friend? I think you can handle that and keep everything on track.”

Elias nodded in agreement.

“Let’s hope I can. Now let’s get to work. I want recruiting materials up by the end of the week. First Centurion, take a walk, find what ponies are going to volunteer from the guard forces. Tell them what it will mean to be in my legion. Adiutor Binder, you may set up your working area however you wish, just so long as it isn’t distracting to your work.”

She nodded silently, and with a glance at each other, the pair of ponies left the room, leaving Elias to think in silence. He looked around the office again, but upon finding nothing of note, he sighed and stood before his desk. The thought of still having at least one friend popped up in his mind, and Elias couldn’t help but smile faintly. He then cruelly crushed his happiness, letting anger rise up to drive the feeling into submission. He wasn’t supposed to be happy; he was supposed to be focused. Even despite his harsh words, the ponies were worming in, distracting him. Elias punched his desk with a fist, glaring daggers at the wood service. They weren’t listening, and the more they treated him kindly, the more he was slipping backward. It had been less than a day, and already he was compromising his values. Elias felt a familiar cold feeling wash down his body, but unlike usual, he didn’t let his anger fade. He didn’t look up, though he somehow knew that Other-Elias was leaning against the doorframe.

“You say a fucking word about calming down, and I’m going to beat the hell from you,” Elias growled.

Other-Elias raised his hands in mock defense.

“I wasn’t going to say anything like that. I wanted to tell you to buck up. Luna’s still close, and while an issue, it’s also a solution. We keep her happy, and the royal treasury becomes our playground. She’s agreed to keep at arm’s length, which is good. That lets us keep in her graces, while also focusing on our work. If we get distracted, compensate by spending. Better gear, better armor. Build additional training grounds if we need to, whatever. Spend as much as we can get away with, but keep her happy, and Book Binder and Night Flash alive. She was right about the light at the end of the tunnel. We go too dark, and this all becomes meaningless.”

Elias scowled at his desk, but nodded in agreement. The argument was sound enough.

“Fine. Go away then, I need to review the armor specifications for the legionaries and auxiliaries before I send them to Anyon.”

“Did you say something General?”

Elias opened his eyes and turned to find Book Binder in the doorway with a pair of saddlebags in her mouth, while another pair sat on her flanks. She looked concerned, but respectively so. That was good, she was respecting the boundaries they had established. Elias shook his head.

“Just talking to myself about work that needs done. Carry on Adiutor, let’s get to work before the Princess’s assistant drops by.”

Chapter 35: Laying the Groundwork

Elias scowled heavily as he stalked through the long halls. A massive series of migraines had developed after the third week of waking up in the early morning, rather than in the afternoon. He cursed his choice to be a night guard; it had effectively ruined his sleep schedule, and with the departure of his living pillows, Elias had found little sleep in the first few days following the acceptance of his position. It didn’t help that it had taken direct orders from both princesses to get him to stop sifting through the absolute mountains of paperwork that he had to fill out. Book Binder did her best to soften the blow, but many of the forms required his personal signature, and even with the stamp Luna had given him, Elias had done his job and read through each form in detail, making sure he wasn’t putting his name to anything he disagreed with. Two forms had slid in sneaky conditions that would have effectively made him a slave to the crown, though when he brought it up with Luna, she had flown into a blistering rage, eradicating the forms and sending a few dozen scribes to change the language in the archives. While a bit overzealous, it had eased his fears about further manipulation from the pony princess.

Another form had also prevented him from actually recruiting anyone, being that he was not a biological citizen of Equestria. That form had also been burned, but by Celestia, rather than Luna. The white alicorn had recognized the hoof writing, and had found that it had been a recent amendment put forth by one of her generals; Sir Orange Juice. The pony had been subsequently stripped of rank in front of his peers, and when he tried to protest, Celestia threatened to strip his noble title as well. That had shut the unicorn up, and he had fled the throne room in disgrace. Celestia then said in no uncertain terms that anyone found trying to usurp Elias’ position would be met with severe punishment. Perhaps it had been a show for his benefit, but Elias had found that he trusted the white alicorn just a hair more. It wasn’t anywhere close to the devotion she likely sought from him, but it colored her a slightly lighter shade of manipulative in his eyes.

Without having to check his back constantly for people trying to stab it, Elias had made good headway with the help of his subordinates. Well over three hundred guards had submitted applications for the legion, and while a few were sent back to their respective guard forces at the requests of the other generals, Elias already had a good base of experience from which to build his legion. Though he would keep the positions fluid until he was sure the ponies were the right fit, he had already offered out all of his commanding positions. Chief Strategist was assigned to Scarlet, on the promise that the stallion would maintain his bed rest, as well as study for an advanced tactics test that Elias would put him through. He had given the pegasus a wealth of hand written study materials, and every time he stopped by the infirmary to discuss medical supplies with Steel Scalpel, Scarlet was always hard at work, his bed lined with books and open notebooks. He usually didn’t register Elias’ presence, and when he did, he gave a wave and a grunt, not even looking up as he studied away. Elias hoped the pegasus would succeed.

It had surprised him when Ice Blossom submitted an application, and when he had called her forth to ask why, she had claimed it was simply because she missed serving with her friends. While he was sure that it was part of the reason, Elias suspected there was more at play, especially when Chaser didn’t pester him to reclaim his sister for the Royal Guard. It rankled Elias to think that the the ponies were trying to plant spies, but he needed her experience. A Royal Guard would be an excellent role model, and with his plans for training, a pony role model was what he needed most. Either way, he put her up for one of the centurion positions, and he knew without a doubt that she would work well as one of the training officers. Another pony that had surprised him was Gray Granite, who had submitted an application only for an officer’s role. Elias had granted the request, mostly out of curiosity. The pony was newer to the guard than he was, and he was so soft spoken. How such a pony would fair in a leadership position, Elias didn’t know, but if he failed, Elias would throw him back to the Lunar Guard. Nightshade would be happy to have another capable fighter at least.

On a more personal level, things had been going swimmingly with his adjusted relationships, mostly. Luna had been respectful in her modification of their relationship, and the more he dwelled on it, the more Elias had extremely mixed feelings about the whole arrangement. On one hand, it put him on edge. He wasn’t supposed to have any friends, yet he had caved instantly the moment she pressured him. If it hadn’t been done in private, Elias would have worried how that reflected on him and his word, but as it was, he couldn’t help but feel happy at keeping one close confidant. He had poured out a piece of his very soul to Luna, then turned on his heel and said they wouldn’t speak again for seven months? No, he liked their modified arrangement better, especially when he had ambushed her and hammered out the details of their professional friendship sessions.

Though the alicorn tried to fight him on writing out the rules, Elias had managed strength in that department, and together they agreed on a once a week, one-hour session in which they did nothing but sit, talk, and relax. Though she had complained about it, Elias had also stipulated a maximum of one physical gesture per session, meaning that no matter what, he couldn’t be made softer. So far, though she had silently complained about all of his rules, it had worked out well, and when he was around the alicorn, Elias felt greatly relaxed. It let him just talk, and they often spoke of little nothings, primarily their work schedules and how much they despised them. While they chatted, Elias came up with new, better ways to organize his legion. He kept a pad of paper at him on all times, and Luna always watched with a smile as his hand moved with lightning speed across the pages, recording his ideas with ease. He didn’t know why, but that smile always seemed to encourage him, and whenever he saw it, ideas seemed to flow freer. On occasion, Elias even asked Luna about one point or another, taking her input into consideration and adjusting his plans accordingly.

Unfortunately, not all of her suggestions could be implemented, and Elias had been forced to be cruel when it had come time to address his initial picks for the officer positions. He had made it clear that their previous friendships no longer had value, and that anyone wishing to remain personally close had to retire, effectively immediately. Though there had been a few protests, Elias didn’t waver his position, and in the end, they all fell in line, making the same sort of threats that Book Binder had. Elias had no issue accepting said threats, so long as the ponies giving them would focus until their job was over. Afterword, Elias would give them free reign; he just wanted to see them all survive.

The rest of that day had been spent running the officers through the basics of his training plans, as well as all of the necessary protocols and punishments. Elias had received some disgusted looks when he brought out the pair of lashes he had had made, but nopony vocalized their protest, and Elias knew that when it came time to use the beating instruments, they would either use them, or they would leave his legion. The entire time, Elias made notes on the strengths and weaknesses of his officers, collecting a thick packet of notes on each one as he decided precisely where they would be the most useful. It was going to take some work, but Elias felt confident he could make the right choices.

Elias struggled not to groan as he massaged his temple. Under his arm was a thick bundle of papers that he was hoping to get approved by his fellow generals. While he had no issue designing the recruiting materials for his legion, the rest of the generals apparently wanted “help” with their recruiting strategies, so Elias was forced to pitch in. or be subject to an endless stream of complaining from the ponies about how he wasn’t contributing to the “greater effort”. The day’s meeting, which was strangely earlier than most, was about the subject, and Elias knew he would be expected to attend, despite only barely learning about it in passing. He would have looked like a fool to show up two hours late, and with the wrong materials. It certainly would have done no favors for his credibility with the ponies.

Elias passed by another guard, who was a mare, surprisingly enough. He had so far only seen female guards on his morning walk, and it confused Elias, especially given that the guard was almost an even split on the male to female ratio, with it leaning ever so slightly in the males’ favor. Yet all the guards he had seen since he had gotten up were female guardsponies. Each and every one of them had also given him the same strange look that the thestral was giving him as he strode by, turning the corner to the hallway leading to the back entrance of the throne room. Elias cast a glance over his shoulder to find the pony sniffing the air in his passing, and her eyes seemed to light up as he hit the throne room doors. They quickly shut behind him, and the strangeness was forgotten as he caught sight of his fellow generals, or rather four of them.

Elias rubbed at his forehead again as he made his way to the table, letting his satchel fall upon it with a thud. Everfree and Midnight Chaser gave him a shocked look, while Starry Skies gave him the same eyes that the guard had given him. She sniffed the air, then smiled widely at him. Elias might have found it creepy if he hadn’t been staring at Nightshade, who was rubbing herself against Chaser’s side. The mare had eyes only for the pegasus next to her, and she purred loudly as she nipped at his neck. Elias raised an eyebrow, but said nothing to either of them as he looked to Everfree.

“Good morning, I believe we are supposed to be discussing recruiting strategies?”

“What are you doing here Bright?” Chaser replied bluntly.

Elias cocked his head at the pegasus, doing his best to ignore Nightshade as she rammed her forehead into the pony’s neck. Why the thestral was acting like an overly affectionate cat, Elias didn’t know, and he wouldn’t let it distract him.

“It’s a planning meeting, and while I have already developed and begun implementing my recruitment strategies, everyone else had expressed an interest in having my assistance to better draw in recruits.”

He gestured toward his satchel.

“So I prepared an example of my strategies, and had my adiutor create samples for each branch that you can use to develop your own strategies. If you need any assistance understanding or implementing the materials, I am here to consult with.”

He shrugged.

“Why wouldn’t I be here? And speaking of, where is everyone else?”

Chaser and Everfree exchanged a look. The zebra grabbed the satchel and quickly removed all of the paperwork within while Chaser bit his lip, as if he was trying to come up with something to say. Nightshade purred as she nuzzled his side again, and the action seemed to flick a switch in his mind as he met Elias’ eyes again.

“You don’t know what this week is, do you?”

Elias shrugged and shook his head.

“The third week of April?” Elias offered.

Nightshade snorted mildly, and for the first time since he had entered the room, she looked at him with a wide smile.

“Oh, you are going to be having a lot of fun today Bright. Chase, don’t you dare tell him.”

The pegasus sighed.

“I wasn’t going to, not in words at least. Saying what it is usually drives every mare nearby into a frenzy. I have no idea why, but hey, at least I’m safe this year.”

Nightshade rubbed against his neck and nibbled on his ear again.

“I wouldn’t quite say that General, but let’s just say that you have a pass until later, hm?”

Elias’ eyes flicked between the two, looking for subtle differences. All he found was a gray feather behind Nightshade’s ear, and a tuft of fur attached to a gold chain around Chaser’s neck. The objects clearly meant something, but what? Chaser had mentioned being protected, from what? Starry Skies licked her lips as she stared at him, and it gave Elias another hint. It had something to do with the female ponies, that much was relatively clear, but what was missing? He had pieces, but not the whole puzzle. Elias silently cursed his lack of social awareness, then doubly cursed himself for being distracted. He had a task to do, and it wasn’t to talk about subtle cultural nothings that had little to no impact on him.

Elias let a scowl fall over his face, and he looked to the one pony, or rather zebra, that was actually working with his materials.

“Anything I can assist you with General Everfree?” Elias asked shortly, indicating clearly that whatever Chaser and Nightshade were talking about didn’t matter to him.

The zebra looked up from his materials.

“No, and in fact, I do not think your consultation is needed. Your paperwork is impeccable, give my compliments to your assistant. This will be invaluable in the coming days.”

Elias nodded, taking only a little pride in the zebra’s praise. He was an odd one, Everfree. Belonging to a small tribe of zebras that had migrated to Equestria centuries ago, it was one of only three noble families in Canterlot that weren’t unicorns. Apparently when they sought sanctuary with Celestia, they had offered their life-long military aid in any wars the fledgling nation found itself embattled in, and as such, they were distinguished warriors. Everfree was the current family leader, and of the Solar Guard Generals, he was the only one that Elias took no serious issues with, especially since he seemed respectful enough when Elias offered his assistance.

“I shall also respect the wishes of silence from General Nightshade,” the zebra said smoothly, “but I would recommend returning to your quarters or your office General Bright. Not unless you are seeking to be claimed.”

Elias opened his mouth to ask what he meant by “claimed”, but a glance to Starry Skies told him that she would show him quickly what the word meant in context if he didn’t leave soon. Her nostrils flared, and her tail lashed back and forth excitedly as she quivered with anticipation. Perhaps taking Everfree’s advice would be sound until he had a greater idea about what was going on.

Elias kept his cool as he collected his satchel, slinging it over his shoulder in a smooth motion.

“If you need any further assistance or clarification, I will be in my office for much of the day.”

Chaser and Everfree nodded, while Nightshade made a slight shooing motion as she smiled sadistically at Elias. Elias ignored her, moving back toward the throne room doors. Out of the corner of his eye, Elias saw Starry Skies drop from her position at the table, and begin to follow him, but Nightshade quickly caught the mare’s tail, and fast whispering seemed to cut through the air. What the words were, Elias didn’t know, but they were clearly important as the energy seemed to completely leave the pony in the time it took him to reach and then open the throne room doors. He was sure he heard a sigh of disappointment as the doors closed behind him, but Elias ignored that as well. Did the distractions ever cease?

Evidently not, because during his entire walk back to his office, Elias seemed to catch the eye of every member of the staff in the castle, all of whom were for some reason, mares. Elias was certain that there were at least a few stallions on staff, but none of them seemed to exist anymore, and each turned corner found another pair of eyes that followed him down the halls. It drove up Elias’ paranoia, and his steps sub-consciously sped up as he sought the sanctuary of his office. The chair, his chair, was calling his name. Despite his best attempts to ignore the obvious tailor-made gift, Elias could only relax truly when he sank into the faux-leather seat, designed specifically for him. Even mountains of paperwork breezed by in that chair, and Elias was becoming slowly more adept at finding solace in his office. He just needed to get there before the energy building in the air overflowed, and crushed him under its manic weight.

By the time he reached his office door, he had at least two tails, and the sound of sniffing followed him through the door, disappearing only once he shut the frosted glass and wooden barrier. Elias waited next to the door for a moment, keeping his hand on the handle, and listening intently. The sound of somepony pawing at the door briefly came through, followed by a slight whimper. Disheartened, the pony trotted away, still sniffing the air. Elias waited until the sound of hoofsteps was gone, then pulled away from the door. Book Binder didn’t look up from her desk as she toiled away at a stack of paperwork that never seemed to shorten.

“Finding escape from heat week in here huh? Just make sure you leave soon. General Bright shouldn’t come in, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he did.”

Elias blinked at the mare, and cocked his head.

“I did come in Adiutor. What is “heat week”?”

Book Binder looked up at the wall for a moment, her eyes blank as her mind processed the sound of his voice. Her head then turned to him, and her eyes lit up with happiness, followed swiftly by sheer panic. She dropped her quill and rose from her desk.

“Elias, you need to go back to your room, you shouldn’t be out. At all. I’ll deliver you some food, make sure you have everything you need, but you really need to go back to your room.”

Elias frowned as he let go of the door handle and straightened.

“Ignoring your breach in protocol, why? What is heat week? Is it the reason that only mares seem to be doing their jobs today?”

Book Binder sighed, and rubbed at her forehead.

“Right, okay, this is going to be a fun explanation. General, can I just… refer to you by name for a few minutes? This is a talk that parents usually have with their foals, and talking from assistant to general is just… strange. It’s a one-time thing, it’s just very important that I not be distracted while I tell you about heat. I don't want to mess up the explanation.”

Elias scowled, but he needed the answers more than he needed her to follow their rules. If it happened again, she knew the punishment, and at least she was asking first. Elias moved around the mare and set his satchel on his desk. He then calmly sat down in his chair, doing his best not to slouch into its comfortable leather.

“Alright, for the moment Adiutor, you are allowed to refer to me by name. Now, what is heat, and why should I be hiding from it?”

Book Binder pulled her chair out from behind her desk and sat it before his, plopping down swiftly.

“Alright, I am assuming you know how children are made?”

Elias rolled his eyes and nodded.

“Yes, I can grasp the basics. Mom and Dad love each other, or not sometimes, and they do non-polite things in the bedroom, and nine months later a child is born. At least for humans. I am assuming just about everything is the same for ponies?”

Book Binder nodded.

“Functionally, yes, but what I suspect is a difference between humans and ponies is that mares mandatorily go into something called heat once a year. While those seeking to have children go into a regular, milder heat once every few months, a spring heat happens every year without fail. It usually happens in the third week of April, and is the only time that mares are forced to be sexually reproductive.”

“Forced?” Elias echoed.

Book Binder nodded and bit her lip.

“There’s really no known way to combat a spring heat, save for the obvious. Most mares take medication to dull the symptoms, and for those with mates, most of the symptoms go away, since they do not have to actively seek out a mate. For everypony else however...”

“Oh,” Elias said simply.

Then understanding dawned in his mind. The looks, the sniffing. They were likely checking, not for his scent, but the scent of another female on him. Elias was clean, especially given that Book Binder wasn’t near him anymore. He had essentially dove into shark infested waters while the sharks were in a blood-rage. That wasn’t good.

Book Binder nodded at his look of understanding.

“It’s why the princesses legislated that all stallions can choose to remain home from work for the week. Only those who are actively seeking mates go out during heat week. All the other stallions usually don’t leave their houses though, with their family bringing them food so they never expose themselves. It’s actually very good business for little fillies and colts, and every year the mail service hires extra ponies to pick up the slack. Think of it as a week long holiday for stallions every year where they essentially can’t show their faces unless their married.”

“Is that why Night Flash isn’t here?” Elias asked.

Book Binder nodded.

“Unless I staked my claim on him sometime this month, the scent will be a little muddled. I kept him safe at my parent’s house, just in case. Most mares will recognize him has taken and respectfully stay away, but some go wild with desperation toward the end of the week, so I thought it better to be careful. Besides, my parents love having him around, and he loves helping them around the house, so who am I to risk him?”

“Why keep the stallions inside though?” Elias asked. “Heat sounds… distracting. Wouldn’t it be better to let mares stay home and deal with it?”

Book Binder shook her head.

“It was tried one year, but with such a severe disparity between the number of stallions and mares, the country basically shut down. On top of that, it didn’t help the primary issue, since the mares knew they could just go out and find working stallions. It was a mess, and the princesses found it easier to just hide the stallions away and send the mares about their business. Heat is annoying, but is manageable when there aren’t any stallions around.”

‘Like me,’ Elias thought.

He nodded in agreement with Book Binder’s words, then sighed.

“So, I know I’ve been seen out and about by no less than a dozen enterprising mares. Are they going to be hurt by my stupidity?”

Book Binder shrugged.

“They shouldn’t, not unless they had some prior interest in you. Like I said, spring heat is unavoidable, and most mares are just trying to scratch the itch. There are plenty of… institutions that stallions work at to satiate the desires of most mares, so that they can go back to their lives as normal. You might disappoint a few ponies, but I highly doubt any have taken a romantic interest in you.”

Elias glanced from his desk and grinned at Book Binder.

“Well that makes it sound like I’m not attractive to them. Are you saying I couldn’t find a mare?”

Book Binder snorted and rolled her eyes.

“I’m not going to answer that, because Momma Binder has an answer, but it is not appropriate for now. Suffice to say that I will expect you to have a mare by this time next year. You’re coming of age soon, and the control the castle mares have maintained is honestly more than I would have imagined most of them had. You are extremely attractive Elias, so much so that it still mystifies me how young you are. It just shows that your standard for adulthood is what most ponies will go by, rather than ours.”

“Most?” Elias asked.

Book Binder met his eyes with a smile.

“Very soon General. Very soon you will be my baby boy. I for one can’t wait and will follow every rule you put forth to earn it.”

She rose from her seat and dragged it back to its proper place behind her desk.

“But that is the sum of it. If you would like my advice, I would wait until nighttime to sneak back to your room. I can deliver food, books, paperwork, whatever you need, but unless you intend to get started on a family early, I suggest you remain hidden. You turn heads General, and though you aren’t a pony, fewer and fewer ponies around here are starting to care.”

Elias frowned and stared at his desk for a moment, trying to work up a plan to still be productive, while also taking Book Binder’s advice. The recruitment forms for the general populace had only gone out a day ago, and he needed to be on hand when the applications started flowing in. He intended to personally approve and deny each application to make sure nobody that didn't meet his standards slipped through. He and Book Binder had drafted up a healthy set of rules for who could apply to the legion, and while he trusted her completely, his paranoia would only be satisfied if he put his personal stamp of approval on the applications. It wouldn’t do to simply let the work sit until the end of the week. He had already pissed away enough time with his indecision about the legion, and now he had the potential to lose another week of working? That wouldn’t do.

A knock came from the door, causing Elias to jump from his thoughts. A brief thought to hide under his desk and let Book Binder handle it flashed through his mind, but Elias crushed it and straightened in his chair. If it was a mare trying to “mate” with him, then he would tell her in no uncertain terms that he was uninterested and that he had been unaware of what heat was. He wasn’t going to let heat week shake his focus, he would just need to power through it.

“Come in,” Elias said clearly, and calmly.

He was confident that whoever it was, Elias would have no issues talking to them. He was proven absolutely wrong as Luna walked into the room with a brilliant smile on her face. Did alicorns go into heat like all the other mares? How the hell was he supposed to tell the one friend he was allowing himself to have no? Could he tell her no? The dryness in his throat gave him no confidence as she walked into his office.

“Ah, so the rumors are true then, General Bright is on the prowl,” she said with a wide grin.

She was mocking him, that much was clear. She didn’t seem to be sniffing the air though, was that a good sign? The alicorn looked to Book Binder.

“If I had to caution a guess, I would assume he did not know about heat?”

Book Binder nodded.

“Yes Princess, but I have informed General Bright fully. We were just discussing our strategy to get him back to his quarters, while also maintaining our workflow. It’s going to be interesting trying to deliver all of his work there without anypony other than myself to deliver it. I’m sure we’ll figure something out though.”

Luna turned back to Elias, and her smile seemed to grow wider.

“That won’t be necessary Adiutor Binder, I have been informed of General Bright’s plight by General Nightshade, and have already devised a solution.”

She pulled her saddlebags off and took a seat, rifling through them with her hooves. Producing a thin, silver neck chain, she turned and plucked a larger feather from her wings, then quickly affixed the feather to the chain. She smiled proudly at her quick handiwork, then placed it carefully on Elias’ desk. Her green eyes flicked up the Elias, who had to suppress a smile. She had such pretty eyes. Elias mentally destroyed the thought, why was he so unfocused? Luna was speaking, and to avoid having an internal meltdown, Elias focused on her words.

“There, that should suffice to ward away any mares so that you may go about your business as usual. As I promised, I will do everything in my power to assist you, and losing a week of work will only agitate your paranoia. If you wear this, you will be able to move about freely.”

Elias took the feather in his hand, spinning it momentarily as he looked at it in the light. It was incredibly soft as he ran his thumb down it, and it seemed almost alive in his fingertips. He looked to Luna to find her still smiling, though her normally flowing tail was lashing back and forth slightly on the floor.

“All I need to do is wear it?” Elias asked.

Luna nodded, and a trace of nervousness flashed across her face, but her smile didn’t waver.

“Indeed General. You may tell ponies who you got it from or not, though between the two of us, I would rather you kept this private. It is an act between good friends.”

She put extra emphasis on good, but Elias felt a few pieces fall into place in his mind. Good friends, of course that made sense! Book Binder had a feather behind her ear when she and Flash started courting, and it was likely a sign that they were serious about their friendship beforehand. Nightshade and Chaser always seemed to work well with each other, and the feather this morning meant that she was likely courting him as well, with the feather signifying the closeness of their friendship. It was some sort of tiered system of friendship, with the act of the feather signifying the level just below courting. Elias could see Luna’s ulterior motives plainly; if he accepted the feather, he was basically saying they would be lifelong friends, and that he would never drive her away. It all made perfect sense, and while a blatant act of manipulation on her part, Elias quickly realized that he was completely content with such an act. He vaguely wished he had something to give her in exchange, but surely the concession he was making by accepting her silent offer was enough, right?

Elias slipped the neck chain over his head and let the feather fall onto his tunic, the blue standing out brilliantly amongst the bright red of his clothes. He heard a brief gasp from Book Binder, and his eyes flashed up to find her holding her hooves to her mouth. Panic raced through his mind. Had he mis-read the situation?

“Is something wrong Adiutor? Have I made a mistake?”

His eyes flicked over to Luna, who looked absolutely ecstatic, but who still had nervousness in her eyes, likely caused by his sudden hesitation.

“Good friends, right? I’m not reading this wrong?”

His eyes flicked back to Book Binder as she nodded quickly and dropped her hooves to her desk.

“Yes General, just an act between close friends.” She paused, then added, “and Princess Luna is right, it will certainly keep any mares in heat away from you. Make sure to wear it for the next week at least.”

Luna shot the mare a grateful look, then she smiled at Elias widely.

“Indeed. To make sure there are no mistakes, keep it visible at all times. The scent on the feather should ward most away, but the sight of the feather will be a guarantee.”

Elias nodded, eyeing both ponies carefully. They had gotten more comfortable, and neither showed further signs of nervousness. Had he been overthinking it? Had he mis-read their facial expressions? Only minutes prior he had been unable to detect why all the mares in the castle were interested in him, so it was certainly a possibility that he was just social blind when it came to ponies. Elias frowned momentarily, then rolled his shoulders. It didn’t matter. If it was a pass to move about without harassment, then so be it. He would figure things out if it was anything more than what both ponies told him. Besides, the feather was really soft as he rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger.

*****

Luna had to resist the urge to grab Elias’ hand and parading the oblivious human around the castle. She couldn’t believe that she had gotten away with it! For a moment, Luna feared that she had been exposed as she saw his eyes light up with comprehension, but he seemingly made the wrong connection, and saw it as a special occurrence between friends. His lack of knowledge on pony culture served her well however, and seeing his fingers gently massage her primary made her giddy. Just watching the human with her feather was intoxicating, and Luna imagined that if she was in heat like her fellow mares, nothing would stop her from taking the human by force. Luckily, neither she, nor her sister had experienced heat in centuries, even before her banishment. While she would look forward to it in the future, now was not the time to be dealing with such thoughts. She needed to remain subtle, and while gifting Elias a primary was anything but, she knew that Book Binder had her back, especially given the subtle glances the mare kept throwing her way.

Elias leaned back in his custom-made chair and met her eyes.

“It’s really soft,” he noted calmly. “Are all pony feathers like this?”

Luna nodded.

“Yes, but note that my feathers are softer than most due to being an alicorn. Like myself, they will last for centuries without tarnish or fade.”

Elias grunted, and Luna mentally gushed as his eyes fell back to the feather. She needed to leave though. Restraint was the key, and if Luna stuck around and watched him interact with her primary, it would only clue him in to her feelings about him. Luna closed her saddlebags and rose, draping the bags across her back. She knew just what to do to draw his focus elsewhere however, so she cleared her throat loudly.

“General, I know you have already begun implementing your recruitment measures; do you have early estimates on the size of your legion?”

Elias stared at her blankly for a moment, then like clockwork, his eyes snapped back into focus, and his hands moved over his desk, snatching up a stack of papers.

“I do. In terms of recruits, we’re anticipating somewhere between four and six thousand initial recruits, with nearly two thousand put on a reserve list. I do, however, anticipate that we will lose a great deal of the recruits due to the intensity of my training regimens, so I estimate anywhere from a thousand to three thousand legionaries ready to fight by the end of training. I will be thorough in my effort to weed out the weak, and I can guarantee that we will be sending quite a few ponies home.”

Keepers below did she love hearing him speak. Despite his adamance that he despised his position and wanted nothing to do with it, he was very good at his job, and so very passionate about it. The grief of his previous losses acted as a diamond focus for his sharp mind, and Luna knew that with their help, he was going to do great things.

She hoped desperately that everything would go right for the man. He had made a brilliant show of strength to his fellow generals, yet his outer façade, so carefully crafted and maintained was just that, false. He was scared, terrified even. It showed in little moments, small, almost non-existent glances toward Book Binder or Night Flash. The pair were always with him, and sometimes Luna was able to catch the little signals. A hand twitch as he passed Book Binder a form, the intentional crossing of his arms to resist hugging Night Flash, an envious look when the two departed together on some errand. He was a master at hiding his emotions, but Luna could tell that he was beginning to suffer again. He had found some small measure of peace after Hearth’s Warming, yet here he was, toiling away again, all while ignoring his personal health.

That was her fault, and it was something she would have to beg his forgiveness for when the time came. She had done this to him, had set him on this path. He would have left had it not been for her personal intervention. Would he have found freedom though? Knowing how he thought, his sense of honor and pride would have made him dwell on the decision. He would have spent many days thinking about whether he was coward or not. This way at least, he did his duty, did right by his warrior side, and then would be rewarded handsomely for his service. Then the rest of his life could begin, hopefully at her side.

If he rejected her when she began public courting him, it would hurt. That, Luna could be certain of, but she would hold no grudge against the man. Perhaps she would be angry and disheartened for a time, but she could never harm him in any capacity. She had already worked behind the scenes with her scribes to set up a generous retirement fund for the man, with more than enough annual bits to find and start a family should he love a different mare. It was the least she could do for him given what he was risking for her.

She didn’t believe he would reject her though. As he spoke, his fingers drifted naturally back to her primary, massaging it lightly. Luna wished she could feel those wonderful fingers behind her ears, wished she could sweep Elias away to some isolated, comfortable place to confess her love to him. She would bring Book Binder and Night Flash of course, he wouldn’t be truly happy without them, but she would help him find peace. It was what his very soul was crying out for, and she would help him find that, in time.

“What are your intentions concerning your rejected applications?” Luna asked as he finished detailing his plans for training.

Elias scratched his forehead with his thumb.

“That depends on the reason for rejection. I’m working with the other generals to ensure that ponies with existing guard family members can’t join up, so I hope that we can create a system to keep those ponies well away from the battlefield. As for the rest… there’s nothing I can force. My health standards are my own, and while some may view them as too strict, I know what it takes to be a warrior. My training will not be easy, and the march will be even less so. The strong will live, the weak will die. It’s just the way of war. I’d like to avoid taking as many weaklings as possible.”

Luna nodded in understanding.

“Very well. I shall talk with General Chaser and General Nightshade about adopting some of your standards. It is important for our guard forces to be strong. Do you have any opinions on how we could best modify the existing guard requirements to better meet your standards?”

His eyes flickered up from his desk, and the genuine smile on his face brought the butterflies in her stomach to life.

“And here I thought you’d never ask.”

He became more energetic as he talked. Luna loved it. She kept her ears focused on his speech, going so far as to take a notepad from her saddlebags to keep track of his recommendations as her mind compartmentalized. It was a strategy that it had taken her and her sister centuries to develop, but the strategy let Luna hang on every word while also letting her daydream about the human. He clearly loved jobs involving militarism; perhaps she could encourage him to write his experiences down? He was a master at combat, and far above many of the strategists she had met, so perhaps there was a future for him as a teacher. It would allow him to be in control of a classroom, sculpting young minds with his energy, all while keeping him safe and away from the dangers of the world that had taken so much away.

Or perhaps he would enjoy something completely different. He loved working with his hands, and while she was sure many ponies would enjoy his talents as a masseur, perhaps he would make a good chef? It was very hands on, and would require the intense focus that he put toward everything else in his life. He would retain familiarity with sharp objects, and then he could interact with plenty of ponies. If he became a true expert, he would even be able to open his own restaurant! He seemed to enjoy building things, and a business would occupy his days and work perfectly with his restless nature.

Maybe that was the issue with her thought. Luna scribbled down a note about targeting recruitment, then glanced back up to find Elias’ eyes shining back at her. She blushed lightly and looked back to her notes, writing down his every word. She was thinking about how he currently was, but perhaps he would seek significant change when the march ended. He had voiced a lack of resistance toward Book Binder’s motherly advances when the march was over; it could signify a crossroads for the man, and something close to his new family would be more suitable. The royal library was always looking for more helpers, and Elias loved reading, that much she knew as fact. She could easily arrange for a leading position for Book Binder, keep Night Flash on as a Lunar Guard, then allow Elias to simply be among the books. A quiet existence, a calm one would see him to peace, and perhaps all the tension and pain would simply… disappear.

Luna mentally sighed at the idea as she wrote it, and the others down in her footnotes. That one… it was likely the best for Elias, but the worst for her. The librarians had become close to the man, especially with his pending relationship with Book Binder. She had heard many a rumor that they wished for his hand to hold. If he decided to become interested in such an offer, she… would cope. It was not her decision to make. Elias was the man she loved, but she would not stand in his way, would never stand in his way. She was willing to let the man she loved love somepony else if it made him happy, and even if she wasn’t willing, it wasn’t her choice. Elias was nothing if not his own man. She couldn’t force him to love her, she could only do her best to convince him to accept her love.

She took comfort in his fingers around her feather. He cared about her at the very least. He was her friend, a close one at that to have made such a concession to her. She had pressed and pressed, yet he did not turn her away. Such a kind man, such a wonderful heart. Luna smiled at Elias as he finished his speech and sat back in his chair. He matched her smile with his own.

“Any questions Princess?”

She shook her head.

“None at all General, you are very descriptive. Thank you for your help, in this matter and all others. I shall see you again soon I hope?”

She had to. Her heart ached to see him in more than a professional setting. Luna cursed herself for her weakness, but kept her smile up. Elias didn’t let her down as he nodded.

“Of course Princess, just as scheduled. I wouldn’t break a date.”

Luna clenched her jaw as she struggled not to gasp. A date. She knew what he actually meant, but a date. She hadn’t even thought of their friendship appointments like that. A date. She and Elias had gone on dates. The lovesick little filly in her chest fainted as she rose.

“Very well General, I shall see you Friday in the gardens. Do not be late.”

He gave her a nod as his face slipped back into his profession mask. As Luna turned, she noted his fingers on her primary one last time, then trotted away, making straight for her room. She stopped to send a letter to Nightshade, then broke into a jog. She needed somepony to talk to and release snuggle tension on, and as she increased her pace, she realized that she needed it now.

Author's Note

I don't know if I made Elias made too oblivious, but I'm playing up the angle that he is a masterful and maneuverable strategist, suffering in the social department. Coupled with a still relatively new culture, he is liable to take social cues the wrong way.

Chapter 36: Training Begins

Elias walked calmly, moving at his casual pace. Nobody was at his side, and if all things were well, the ponies that were supposed to be would be standing with the rest, their armor polished till it shined in the early morning sun. It was going to be a very long day, but Elias would be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit excited. It was time to get started, time to start breaking his recruits. After he and Book Binder had went through the stack of applications case by case, they had come up with no less than six thousand recruits. It had surprised both Elias, as well as the other generals, that his recruitment had been so successful. Not a single other guard force could boast the fresh numbers he could, and Elias still wasn’t quite sure why his campaign had been so successful. He had brought in a few recruits for interviews, but their answers had been vague, and they seemed more in awe of his facial scar than anything else. Only after a talk with Celestia had he discovered that his name had become attached to a silly rumor that was quickly turning into a small legend. Elias Bright, the Human Hero of Canterlot they were calling him, and a quick glance at their recruitment posters showed that he and Book Binder had used his full name under the contact information. Apparently, it gave credibility to their recruitment statement; “Serve with the best!”

Either way, after weeding out those with existing guard family members, as well as those who didn’t meet the health requirements, Elias had an army of recruits, and so the true tests could begin. Much like the test his fledgling legion was currently taking, that of patience. On the battlefield, waiting for the enemy to appear was common, and if the ponies fell asleep on their feet waiting for a measly three hours before dawn, they wouldn’t be fit for him. All of the veterans should have lasted easily, but the fresh recruits… Elias had a plan. All was going to go well. He had accounted thoroughly for every occurrence, every little step they would need to take to become masterful fighters. He had their training planned out to the second, and every single instance would be punishing, driving them toward their breaking points. Only the strong would be beside him at the end, and Elias knew that this time, he would get it right. He had to.

Elias pushed through the doors leading to the training yard. Under one arm was his helmet, its bright red plume straight and clean. The silvery steel shined in the morning light, as did all of his armor. His bad eye was out for all to see, and as he took the long way toward the stage set above the training grounds, he made sure every pony in the front row of the legion could get a good look at it. The set of glasses Luna had commissioned for him waited on the table on the stage, but Elias wanted everyone to see his bad eye, wanted them to know exactly what their “legend” looked like. There was a time and a place for hiding the thick black scar, and the blue changeling eye, but it would not do to hide it in front of his potential legionaries. By the end of training, he would know them all by name, and they would know him personally as both friend and commander. It was the only way he knew to make sure he had absolute command in their minds, above even the princesses.

As Elias stalked past the ponies, he saw more than one set of nervous eyes follow his movement, but they wisely didn’t move their necks. No doubt the work of Night Flash or Book Binder. Still, it was a positive sign that they were showing initiative to improve the discipline of his recruits, even on the first day of training. Elias reached the end of the line, then grunted in a mild display of satisfaction. He turned on his heel and walked briskly to the stage, taking the steps two at a time. Book Binder, Night Flash, Ice Blossom, and Gray Granite waited at the top, all decorated fully in their legionnaire armor. None of them moved as Elias cast an inspecting eye over them. Picking one at random, Elias stared down Gray Granite, and when the pony simply stared back without flinching, Elias nodded and moved to his table, setting his helmet down. He pulled his illusory glasses from their carrying case and put them on, feeling a slight warm sensation roll down his face. Though he couldn’t see it, Elias knew that his bad eye now mirrored his normal one, and that the scar was no longer made of chitin. Instead, the long cut was merely pale scar tissue, marking his face clearly, just without the changeling-esque enhancements.

Elias had actually gotten used to the eye already. Waking up with the strange looking thing had become a norm, and with his focus on being a general, he had become used to the stares he received. Fear on first contact was a useful weapon, and when he didn’t get something he needed, he could intimidate whoever denied him into submission. On top of that, Elias noticed subtle things about the eye. Luna claimed that it would function just as his other eye did, yet Elias swore he could see better in the dark with his bad eye. In addition, Elias began noticing slight ripples around the royal guards whenever they had their illusory enchantments activated. It wasn’t like he could see through the magic, but he could definitely tell it was there. He had told Scalpel about it, and the unicorn had set up a few tests. Through trial and error, the pair had theorized that Elias could only see illusion magic through his bad eye, something that made Elias incredibly happy. There would be no more replaced friends on his watch, and any changelings that tried would be dead before they knew what hit them. It was a useful tool.

Elias looked over his equipment for a moment, inspecting his wrist guards to ensure that they were on straight. He needed the ponies to sweat, needed them to realize he neither valued them, nor their time. They needed to be nothing before he could make them something. He would say so in as many words of course, but they needed to come up with the idea first, needed to learn that they didn’t matter to him, not yet.

Quietly, and without turning around, Elias asked;

“Adiutor, have all of our training uniforms been delivered?”

Book Binder nodded.

“Yes General, the Manehattan blacksmiths delivered everything yesterday. Anyon tried to stop them, and then when I told him why we went outside the castle for the gear, he huffed but accepted my response. He lodged a formal complaint with me and wishes to know when he’s going to receive the armor order for the rest of the legion.”

Elias nodded as he massaged a callous on his hand.

“Tell him in approximately two months. I should have the early weapons estimates in three weeks, but the armor needs to wait. It’s going to be costly stuff, and I don’t need him wasting his time and talent on armor for soldiers that don’t exist. Not even half of this lot will last the week.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Elias noticed a few ponies bristle at the insult. He made note of their faces, made sure to remember them in detail for when they failed. Failures deserved insults, and until any of them proved they could succeed, he would insult them freely. Just another way to break them down.

Book Binder made a quick note in her leather-bound appointment book, then quickly slid the book back into her saddlebags, straightening back to attention as soon as she was finished. That was good, he wouldn’t have to single her out yet. The first time it happened to his old friends was going to hurt, especially for Night Flash and Book Binder. Elias took a deep breath and ignored the feelings he felt. It didn’t matter. When it needed to be done, he would do it. They knew what they were risking, he had warned them in full. There was simply no more time for warnings or feelings, now it was time to be General Bright.

Elias looked out across the assembled ponies with a scowl, clasping his hands behind his back. Without turning around, Elias said;

“First Centurion Flash, Centurions Blossom and Granite, join the recruits in their blocks. First Centurion at the center, Centurions Blossom and Granite, go to your cohorts.”

To their credit, all three moved swiftly from the stage, and Night Flash found his spot quite easily. Blossom and Granite moved too slow however, with the former getting momentarily confused as she searched for her assigned place. She fell into line, and Elias was pleased to note a bead of sweat on the pegasus’ face as he began approaching with even steps. Book Binder followed him off the stage, standing just to the left of it as Elias stalked forward. Getting close to Ice Blossom, Elias didn’t bother looking down at her, and instead looked out over his recruits.

“Do you know where you have failed Centurion?” Elias asked quietly.

The pegasus nodded silently. A mistake on her part. Elias’ voice hit the air like a hammer on an anvil, a powerful shout that cut through the training grounds, and made many of the recruits flinch.

“If you know your mistake Centurion, then why have you not begun your punishment?” Elias roared in her face. “It is within your duties to distribute punishment for failure, that includes your own. If you cannot have enough foresight to grasp the full scope of your duties, I will find someone who will, am I clear?”

Ice Blossom nodded.

“Yes General.”

“THEN WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU STILL STANDING HERE?” Elias shouted.

She took off like a shot, bolting for the training ground gates. Elias knew she would do the full lap of the city. Blossom was a rock-solid guard, and he was happy to have her as a centurion. He just needed the example that nobody was free from punishment, and from the looks of some of the recruits, they understood that lesson clearly.

Elias let his face become neutral as he began pacing at the front of the formation.

“Good morning recruits,” Elias called evenly. “Welcome to your first day of training. Adiutor Binder has already taken attendance, and while I have not looked at her work, I trust her completely. If you are still here, then that means you were here on time, a good first step. Those that were late should have been rejected at the gate, and rest assured, if I find someone here that was late, there will be consequences.”

He stopped before a bright yellow pony with neon green hair. It was a strange coloration combo, but Elias didn’t particularly care about that. He was much more interested in the nervous look in her eyes, and the quake in the pony’s knees. It might just have been because of his close presence, but the pony was a step away from breaking down. Elias stared at her for a moment, then resumed looking above the ponies’ heads.

“If there is anyone here who was late, or feels that they no longer belong in my legion, now is the time to back out without punishment. If you wait for even a second too long, you will be whipped before I throw you out. Step forward if you have decided that this is not for you.”

Elias waited calmly as a few ponies slipped out of the formation and trotted with their heads down to the front of the formation. Elias extended a hand toward Book Binder, and the unicorn pulled out a list, crossing off names as the ponies left. Elias glanced down at the pony before him. She no longer had her eyes locked on him, but was watching the ponies who were leaving in disbelief. Elias glanced at the small line, then back to the pegasus before him.

“Thinking about quitting? There’s no shame in it, yet.”

The yellow pegasus blinked at his words, then she shook her head.

“N-no sir. I signed up for a reason. I have to give it my best, even if I fail in the end. I won’t quit on the first day.”

Elias cocked his head.

“But you will on the second?”

The pony shook her head.

“The third then? Perhaps the fourth day? At what point will you become a quitter? You mentioned quitting on the first day like that is somehow better or worse than quitting on the fifth, or the sixth day. At what point do you think that I should find it acceptable to quit? At what point will you decide to stop wasting my time? Are you going to quit on me? Are you going to let me, my legion, and everyone around you down? Are you going to quit?”

Her ears pinned to the side of her head and she looked down. Elias waited calmly as he watched her think. Her emotions flashed clearly through her eyes, and when she glanced back up, Elias saw steel in her gaze.

“No sir, I won’t quit. I have to do my best.”

Elias nodded and looked out across the legion.

“Good. We’ll see how long that attitude will last. Report to Adiutor Binder, you will help her distribute the training armor.”

The pegasus nodded, then dipped around him at a brisk trot. Elias didn’t bother watching her go. He instead began pacing between the rows of ponies, looking for signs of weakness.

“For those of you who have decided to stay,” Elias said loudly, his voice easily carrying through the training grounds, “your window for leaving shame-free is closing. Adiutor Binder will soon begin passing out your training equipment, and with it will come your legion number, and your legion helmet. Once you receive these items, you will officially be a legion recruit, and any action you take will have the potential to reflect poorly on my legion.”

Elias turned around sharply, his face twisting into a snarl.

“I do not take kindly to those who make my legion look bad, and in time, neither will those of you who survive to become legionaries.”

A few more ponies slipped out of formation; their dignity gone as they raced for Book Binder. Perhaps it was the word survive, but Elias was glad to see them go. If they couldn’t handle his hard talk, they wouldn’t survive his brutal training. He continued pacing silently, frequently making eye contact with some of the ponies that were twitchy. A few withered under his eyes and slunk away, but most did their best to meet his gaze and stay in formation.

Once the weakest had quit and left the training area, Elias continued his pacing, ensuring that nobody else was going to leave. When nobody did, and he could no longer find the immediate signs of weakness, Elias spoke again.

“Those of you that are left, your opportunity to leave without shame has passed. Know that from this moment forth you are my recruits, and as such, you will not leave my legion without my say so. Punishment can be expected from quitting, because not only are you making me, and by extension my legion bad, you are making those around you look bad. You have taken my name by remaining, and I promise you that if you make my name look bad, I will make you sorry for it.”

Elias hear an audible gulp, but upon stopping to glance around, he found nobody that looked nervous enough to have made the noise. Elias let his face fall into a scowl, then began walking slowly toward the front.

“Listen well now recruits, because I do not repeat myself, and anyone found ignorant of their orders will be found guilty of disobeying them and will be punished as such.”

He signaled for Book Binder, Night Flash, Gray Granite, and the recruit pegasus to begin passing out the training armor. As the first ponies received their gear, Elias made his voice rise to a shout. It was unnecessary, but he saw a few recruits growing lax, and that wouldn’t do.

“Your first lesson as recruits in my command is that you are all worthless to me! Whatever you have accomplished before now, whoever your family may be, none of it matters. Not to me, not to your officers, and not to your princesses, though they may lie to your face to make you feel better.”

Wisely, nobody chuckled. It was a good sign for so early in the day, it meant they were actually listening to his words, his tone. Elias resisted the urge to grin with satisfaction.

“Because a number of you won’t last the month, I will not bother to learn your name. I don’t give a rat’s ass about your special talent, because unless I deem it so, it is unimportant. I will be giving you a new special talent, and that talent will be to follow orders. You are not ponies, you are bodies in a machine. You have one purpose here, to fight. My purpose here is to teach you how to do so, and the best I way I know how is to make sure every step you take is a battle.”

Elias motioned to the ponies in the front row who were beginning to put on the dull grey training armor.

“What your officers are giving out is your training armor. You will become best friends with this armor, because if you are anything less, you will be punished. This is the equipment you will wear at all times when you are not either sleeping, or bathing. If you are eating, you will be in armor. If you are running, you will be in armor.”

Elias spun on his heel, causing a blue earth pony to his left to flinch.

“If you are taking a shit, you will be wearing your armor, and you will ensure that you apologize to it for the inconvenience. This armor will shine when you are done cleaning it, and you, and you alone will be responsible for its maintenance. Your officers will conduct an inspection every morning, ensure that if it does become damaged, you fix it by then.”

Elias’ ears picked up a small gasp of shock as Ice Blossom bolted back into the training grounds. She was covered in sweat, but she took one glance at her fellow officers, and she moved to the stage, dragging out a larger crate. She cracked open the top, and then she passed out the “specialized” gear. Elias smirked at the sight of some disbelieving faces as the ponies beheld the wing binders, horn nullifiers, and weighted vests he had commissioned. Elias turned about and continued his speech.

“Because each of you have no value, and because none of you are special, you shall all be equals until I say otherwise. You will not have special talents, or magical strengths to make you exceptional in my eyes. Instead, you will persevere, you will show inner strength, of will, of intelligence. If you can do that, then I might give you your specialties back.”

Elias cocked his head and shrugged.

“Maybe.”

Taking a breath, he continued.

“For the pegasi, you shall receive wing binders. Too many of you are reliant on your wings, and that will not do. I need you to fight on the ground with everyone else, and so I shall keep you grounded until you learn to fight without your precious wings. For the unicorns, it is the same issue, but with your horns. It is high time to start using your hooves, and if you feel like you already know how use your hooves, then congratulations, this shouldn’t be a challenge for you.”

“For the earth ponies,” Elias said, then paused. He snorted. “You’re magically strong. There isn’t much I can do to hinder that, other than to push you harder. You will receive weighted vests to push you as hard as everyone else.”

A unicorn stepped out of line from the back with a look of disgust on his face.

“Alright, if nopony else is going to say something, then I will. This is crazy, not to mention illegal. You can’t expect us to go through all of this crap just because you’re some weird, monkey looking thing. It isn’t fair, and I for one won’t stand for it.”

Elias watched Gray Granite drop his crate and begin striding with purpose toward the errant unicorn. The armored pony opened his mouth to no doubt verbally punish the unicorn, but Elias raised a hand to keep him silent.

“No words Centurion, just seize him. Give him 10 lashes for speaking out of turn. Then give him a helmet and make him wait by the stage. Tell me when you’re finished.”

Gray Granite nodded grimly, and the unicorn gave Elias a look of horror as the armored earth pony grabbed him by the tail, forcing him toward the front. Elias didn’t watch, and instead waited in silence for the sound of the flog. It was another test, one that he needed to ensure that the ponies could go through with. If his hand was the only one distributing martial punishment, the ponies would resent him, and they wouldn’t see the reason of why they were getting beaten. They needed to understand, and as the first crack and cry split the air, Elias knew that Granite was going to excel in his role. Elias would have to watch for blindness when following orders, but otherwise, Elias knew the earth pony would have what it took. The beating progressed mechanically, with each crack of the whip sounding no less forceful than the first hit.

Elias walked through the now stunned rows of ponies. Even a few of the former guards looked shaken up, but Elias didn’t care. They would become desensitized in time, or they would leave, and the legion would be stronger for it. Elias began slowly pacing toward the front.

“This little demonstration brings me to my next point. There is no task that I will ask you to do that I will not do myself. You will have your restrictions, and so will I. I have no magical abilities however, no wings, no horn, no magic strength or connection to the earth. I have no magic whatsoever. Everything I do is by my own strength, and I shall say this clearly for all to here; that strength is worthless.”

Elias got to the front row and stopped as the last crack split the air. The flog was designed to merely be painful, to do little more than leave welts on the back of the pony it was being used on, yet the unicorn who had spoken out was weeping like he had been branded. It was pathetic. Elias watched with no sympathy as Granite untied him from the whipping pole and dragged him toward the center stage, shoving a helmet into his hooves as he forced the unicorn to stand up straight. Elias decided to let the pony stew with his pain for a moment. Elias looked out to the assembled legion.

“You are all worthless alone, but so am I. Personal success matters not at all in my legion, because if we cannot succeed as a group, then we are already dead. If you believe you are not capable enough to pull your weight here, then this,” he said, motioning to the large bell beside the stage, “is for you. Name it what you like, but this is for the failures and the quitters. I need only those of you who are strong enough in body and mind to seize victory. Those whose mind gives out before their body are not fit to fight with me, and I will be saving your life by sending you home.”

Elias motioned for Granite to bring the whipped pony forward. The unicorn whimpered loudly and tried to shy away from Elias, but the human didn’t make any moves to harm him further. He instead gently took the training helmet from the pony’s grasp and raised it into the air.

“This is a symbol of your commitment to the legion. In time, it will be replaced with an actual helmet, but I will not piss away the royal treasury on making real armor for quitters. Should you last the month, the real training will begin; everything else is merely to push you to the breaking point.”

Elias gave the helmet back to the pony, and kneeled beside him. Softly, he said;

“Take your helmet and place it next to the bell, then ring it and go home. You’re done here.”

The pony sniffled and nodded. Elias stood up and waited while the pony set the helmet down carefully, no doubt trying to prevent further punishment. He then took the bell rope in his teeth and gave it a solid yank. The bell rang once, and Elias motioned for Granite to escort the pony out of the training grounds. Elias then looked to the assembled formation of recruits.

“To ring the bell means that you accept your failure. It is, in fact, the ultimate acceptance of your inadequacy as a soldier, because rest assured, those that make it through my training will be the finest soldiers Equestria has ever seen. Once you have rung this bell, you will not be allowed to return to my legion, ever.”

Elias stepped away from the lone helmet and began his pacing anew.

“I can see already that some of you wish to quit after that little punishment, but you will wait. I told you that your last opportunity to leave without shame left, and so it has. Everyone here will know of your failure, so stand up straight and try to act like you have pride. I assure you that you do not.”

Gray Granite trotted back to the crate of training armor and continued passing it out without a hitch. Elias watched him move for a moment, then continued to the final portion of his speech. He knew he had conveyed how rough he was going to be, but without a light at the end of the tunnel, most, if not all the ponies would quit. They needed a reason why they were fighting, and Elias appreciated that heavily. In his experience with humans, they didn’t really need a solid reason to fight, they just did so based on some primal instinct. Perhaps ponies were more civilized in that regard, likely the result of either their magic, or the fact that they were considered “prey” animals. Either way, Elias knew how to fire up the strong ponies, and he would wait while the weak saw themselves out.

“I shall always be honest with you recruits. I shall always give you a detailed summary of what I, and the other generals are doing, and you shall always have a clear picture of why we are doing what we are doing. This fall, we, as well as the rest of the guard forces, will be conducting a march to the capital city of Saddle Arabia. The reason is to establish a magical portal linking their capital with Canterlot in order to create lasting peace to our west in the minotaur lands. The princesses believe that Chrysalis and her ilk raised their army with love stolen from the main tradeway, so think of this all as a roundabout method of revenge against those black-shelled bastards.”

The word revenge caused some stares to harden into glares as the ponies steeled themselves. More than a few of them were Canterlot locals, or at least had family in the city. It was an easy rally point for the ponies, and as he continued pacing, Elias could tell that it was a blemish on the national pride of the Equestrians. Nobody launched an invasion on Equestria, and if they did, they certainly didn’t try to gun for three princesses at the same time. Understanding about his prominent facial scar seemed to dawn in some eyes, and a few nervous looks disappeared. Good, they were beginning to figure it out.

“Every action you take will be with purpose,” Elias said without pause. “Before you will act, you will think. My orders are law, but nobody is perfect, and even I need the occasional course correction. In time, you will be able to tell when I am right and wrong, but for now, I am always right. If I tell you to jump, your only response should be to ask how high. You are in my legion, and therefore you are mine. I will decide where you go, and what you do, and I will determine if you even belong here. The next few months will be the most punishing and rewarding months of your lives if you’re willing to toughen up and power through.”

Elias made his way to the front of the formation.

“Those of you that survive to the end will be the best of the best. You will be legionaries. Soldiers of the eagle, of the Legio I Equus.”

Upon the verbal que, Book Binder peeled away from the formation, leaving the rest of the officers to distribute the training equipment. Moving behind the stage, the unicorn quickly dragged out a tall pair of standards. The first, a rearing pony made of pure gold, shined brightly in the morning sun, making it almost difficult to look at. The second was the legion standard, matching the standard of his earthen legion near perfectly, save for the letters that decorated it. The golden eagle was also slightly larger, with its wings spread fully as it shimmered and flapped in the light breeze. Elias smiled lightly as he looked upon both images with pride. Soon, he would have soldiers worthy of both banners. He had a lot of work to do in the interim.

Elias took the standard first, holding it into the air with one arm.

“This is your symbol. Your every action will be done under this banner, respect it, because nations will come to either fear or respect this symbol. I strive for both.”

Passing Book Binder the standard, Elias took the pony and raised it into the air.

“This is your representation of Equestria. This is your princess, your home, your family. This represents everything you strive to protect. On the battlefield, should you ever feel doubt, should you ever feel fear, then look to the golden pony, because it is the hopes and prayers of everyone you love, it is the guarantee of coming home. You will honor it, you will fight for it, you may even die for it!”

Elias passed the golden pony back to Book Binder and re-clasped his hands behind his back.

“In time, two of you shall have the privilege of carrying these standards into battle, and make no mistake, it is an honor. Should we lose either of these standards, then I can safely say that we will be lost. The two ponies chosen to carry these standards will be the best of us, and they will act as the honor guard. If you want that to be you, then push yourself to your breaking point and beyond. Soar for new heights that you couldn’t imagine in your wildest dreams.”

Elias paused, looking out over the recruits for hopefuls. He saw a few eyes that were transfixed by the shiny gold of the standard, of the legion pony. That had been a small change that Elias knew would make a big impact. The eagle meant a lot in Roman culture, and while a significant symbol for the legion to have, Elias knew that the ponies would rally better if one of their standards was more meaningful to them from the start. In time both would be theirs, but they needed to see themselves in their legion, and replacing the legion eagle with a legion pony was a small sacrifice to make for unity of action and purpose.

His officers finished passing out the training equipment, so Elias made his final offer for freedom.

“If any of you have heard my words today and decided that you do not have what it takes to be the best, and that you do not wish to serve with the best, then please step forward now and place your helmet next to the bell.”

Three shifted out of the formation, the training gear sitting on their backs. Two of them gave Elias arrogant glares as they stalked past. Likely they thought they were above him, but what they thought didn’t matter, they were the ones who were quitting. All three set down their helmets, but the first pony decided to be a rebel. As soon as he kicked dirt on his training helmet, Ice Blossom was on the pony, dragging him to the whipping post. Granite made the other two wait while the cracks of the whip went out over the formation. The other two ponies flinched with each yelp and cry, but the mild beating soon ended. Ice Blossom gave the rebel no break as she dragged him back to his helmet. Setting the pony up straight, she jabbed a hoof at the scuffed helmet.

“You wanna leave? Fine, but show some respect, the princesses payed far too much money for this equipment for you to kick dirt on it,” Ice Blossom spat.

The pony cringed, though whether it was from fear of another whipping, or the pegasus’ tone, Elias didn’t know, and he didn’t care. The rebel picked up the helmet with his teeth, then gently set it by the bell. He then looked back to Blossom, who motioned toward the rope, and with an almost shy look, the pony let loose the second ring of the day. Elias knew that many would soon follow. The other two ponies quickly, and carefully set down their helmets, then rang the bell. Granite fell in beside them, removing their training gear, and then Book Binder escorted them out, recording their names on the roster.

Elias watched all of it with an impassive stare. The weakest had been weeded out, but now it was time to get to work on the next group, and then the next. He looked to the formation and scowled.

“This morning, you will be getting familiar with one another, your officers, and your new quarters. First however, you will be familiar with me. You may address me as General, or General Bright. Sir is saved for the normal guards. Do note, if you call me sir, that is grounds for punishment. I would learn the ranks of everyone above you quickly.”

He took one more look over his recruits, then nodded in satisfaction. It wasn’t a bad start, and the morning was only just beginning.

“With that out of the way; Centurions! Get the recruits in formation, we’re going for a run.”

*****

Elias rolled his shoulder as he stalked back toward his office. In his hand was the members report; they were already down nearly two hundred. His early estimates for recruitment had been spot on, with six thousand meeting his strict requirements. While only a dozen or two left before training had even started, the rest had started dropping like flies as he introduced the ponies to his punishing endurance training. Each day started with a lap of the entirety of Canterlot, followed by physical fitness tests through the obstacle course he and Blossom had designed. It was an incredibly difficult, nigh impossible course, even for him, and every time the ponies “failed” he sent them on another lap of the city. He had personally counted thirty quitting just from that effort.

After running them half to death in the morning, Elias let his officers handle them over lunch. He gave them a lengthy first day break; a full two hours to eat, then settle into the freshly built recruit quarters. Elias had made sure to skimp on cost for the recruit buildings, providing only the barest of essentials. The buildings were little more than long barns with plumbing, and the beds were simple cots and blankets. The legionnaire quarters would be far nicer, but until more of the ponies quit, Elias wasn’t going to waste effort, or money on them.

The afternoon started with another lap of Canterlot, this time in their “packs”, which consisted of rubble loaded into saddlebags. The entire time, Elias ran ahead, behind, and beside his recruits, hurling insults at them. Two had broken down and cried, while another one had snapped and had tried attacking Elias. After a very public beating in the Canterlot streets, Elias had carried the unconscious pony over his shoulder the rest of the way, balancing the pony’s weight with his saddlebags. Two more bells were rung, with his attacker thrown into the stockade for the night. Raw, violent anger was a tool Elias could utilize; he just hoped the pony would learn his lesson by morning.

After the run came basic combat training. The real phalanx training wouldn’t start for another month or so, but while some of the ponies had their guard training, others were starting fresh, they needed to know how to fight when the formation disintegrated, or when they became isolated. Elias spent most of that time observing, ensuring that his officers were being hard on the recruits. Gray Granite caught his eye more than once. It was like the pony had been waiting to step into the role of the hardened, battle-ready centurion, goading the recruits against each other, and when the ponies had enough and began fighting amongst themselves, he stepped in expertly, showing them some new move, or strategy to grapple their opponent. His cohort saw the best cohesion and already Elias could spot the weak links and the rising stars. It had earned the earth pony a compliment, which he beamed at. Then one of his recruits stepped out of line, and the centurion came out again, sending the pony out on another lap of the city.

Elias’ part in the day ended with a briefing to all of the recruits, passing out the first version of the official legion manual, which included the basics of everything they would learn in time. It ranged from basic battle strategy and chain of command, to the grooming standards and dress code. For some reason, three more recruits left after he read through that section, declaring his requirements “tyrannical” simply because the tunics they were required to wear would cover their cutie marks, as if the armor wasn’t already doing that. Again though, Elias was glad to be rid of them. If minute, nothing issues caused them problems, he didn’t want them anywhere near a battlefield.

Elias rubbed his sweaty forehead. In terms of a first day, it had been an excellent start, and with two Royal Guards taking care of the standards for the night, the recruits would be prepared for the next day. Maybe it would work. Maybe he could do it right this time. Elias snorted dismissively at his optimism, and pushed open the door to his office to find an unwelcome sight.

Celestia waited calmly with her rump in his chair, and the sight of the alicorn enraged Elias. That was his chair damnit! He didn’t need some fluffy pony sitting in it! A vaguely familiar pony sat across from her in Book Binder’s chair, and the pony flinched as Elias entered the room. Luna looked up from where she had been pacing behind his desk, and a flicker of a smile passed over her face before it settled into her professional mask.

Elias did the same, letting his hands fall behind his back as he stared at the ponies that were in his office without permission.

“Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, I did not expect to see you here, is there something you needed from me?”

Celestia sighed and shuffled in Elias’ chair. It almost made him smile. Of course it wasn’t comfortable, it wasn’t designed with a pony in mind.

“I have received some rather disturbing news General, and I wanted to ensure that things were going well with your first day with your new recruits.”

Elias smoothly slid the day’s reports from his satchel and leafed through them.

“I believe things have gotten off to a fantastic start. My officers are exceeding my expectations for this early stage of training, and I don’t see discipline within their ranks being an issue." He flipped a page and frowned. "Additionally, I am happy to report that the costs for my legions armor and weapons can already be decreased from my early estimates. It is my intention to speak with Anyon tonight to see about beginning the initial armor fittings, and to see if he has any further improvements on my designs.”

Elias calmly passed the reports to Celestia, who gave them a cursory glance before setting them off to the side. Elias clasped his hands behind his back and stared at her with emotionless eyes.

“Overall, I think the first day went spectacularly, and I eagerly anticipate tomorrow when the real training starts.”

Celestia shifted in Elias’ chair again, and this time Elias didn’t bother keeping the smirk from his face.

“Princess, would you like to sit somewhere else? You seem uncomfortable.”

Luna knew what he was doing, he could see it in her eyes. Her eyes seemed halfway between warning him not to provoke the larger alicorn, and pleading with him not to. Tough. They wanted to make him a king, he was going to control his little kingdom. That started with reclaiming his throne.

Celestia sighed and rose from Elias’ chair.

“I think I shall stand General.”

Elias nodded and waited silently as she moved around the desk. As she faced him and opened her mouth to speak, Elias went around the other side, setting his helmet down with the facial slit facing toward the door. He then calmly sat straight-backed in his chair, and rested his elbows on his desk. Celestia blinked owlishly at him for a moment, no doubt trying to process why he had thrown a minor offence her way, but Elias quite simply didn’t care. He wasn’t going to play posturing games, and he wasn’t going to listen to their complaints about the weak, cowering pony before him. Elias’ usurping of the room’s metaphorical throne had made the stallion shiver as he looked back and forth between Luna and Celestia. When he finally worked up the balls to look at Elias, he flinched when he found the human’s eyes boring into him.

Elias continued to stare the unicorn down for a moment, then looked to Celestia with a professional smile.

“So Princess, I again ask, what can I do to help you?”

Celestia blinked at him again, then seemed to regain her composure.

“I… have heard some concerning reports, and I wished to hear your side of things before passing judgement. This fine young stallion here tells me you have been beating your recruits?”

Elias smiled at her for a moment, then his eyes flicked to the unicorn, who flinched visibly.

“Does he now? And what tale about my legendary cruelty has he woven?”

The stallion whimpered, and sank low in his chair. Luna, no doubt tired of the game they were playing, sighed and moved to the front of Elias’ desk.

“General, Wild Strikes tells us that you singled him out, humiliated him in front of his fellow recruits, and then beat him before throwing him from the training grounds. Is this true?”

Elias stared at her for a moment, then sighed and scratched at his head.

“The simple answer is no, and unlike Wild Coward here, I have proof. You both know what one of my beatings looks like, and this idiot lacks the markings of such a thing. What you will find, however, is ten welts. He was whipped, by the light lash no less, because he decided to speak out while in formation. He received a briefing packet that said such a thing was punishable by whipping, and he made a decision to insult my training techniques in front of all the other recruits. I can not be made to look weak, so I had one of my centurions whip him, and he was then escorted out with the other failures.”

Elias shrugged.

“He wanted to quit, but decided to be a big tough guy about it. Too bad he didn’t read his paperwork properly.”

Elias looked to the pony, who flinched again.

“You failed on the first day because you wanted to run your big mouth instead of listening. I can’t imagine this is your first failure caused by talking too much. You then decided you couldn’t live with your failure, so you went to the princesses? For what gain coward? It wasn’t going to make you un-whipped.”

The pony opened his mouth to respond, but Elias merely held up his hand.

“I don’t want to hear you speak. In fact, I made it very clear that I never wanted to so much as see you again. Wait outside while the princesses and I talk. If I find you spying, you will receive twenty-five lashes with the actual whip. Then maybe you can go and whine to somebody.”

The stallion looked to Celestia. The alicorn glanced at Elias out of the corner of her eye, then looked back to the stallion.

“Go wait outside Wild Strikes. We’ll be just a minute.”

The stallion gave another fearful glance to Elias, then slipped out of his seat and quickly trotted to the door, closing it behind him as he left. Elias stared at the closed door for a moment, then looked to Celestia, who was staring at him intently. Elias stared back.

“General, I must express my concern on this matter, I….”

Elias held up his hand, and she fell silent, but irritation quickly entered her eyes. Elias stared at her for a moment more, then took a deep breath and looked to Luna.

“Princess, what was my number one term when I took this position?”

Luna sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hoof.

“You would have complete control of your legion, with no outside interference.”

Elias nodded and looked to Celestia.

“That’s correct. No outside interference. Yet, here we are, not one full day into training, and you’re already sticking your nose into my legion’s business. That coward was escorted out because he wanted to be special and couldn’t take the pressure of being another faceless soldier. He was weak, and he was left behind, just like the rest of them. If he wasn’t so showy, he wouldn’t have gotten whipped at all. Either way, it doesn’t matter why I had him whipped, if it was for a good reason, or if it was just because I felt like it, this is my legion, my rule. If you don’t like that…”

Elias slid open the drawer directly to his right, quickly drawing out a thick packet of papers. Without looking at it, he dropped it on the desk in front of Celestia.

“There is my resignation. It was the second set of papers I filled out, only because I couldn’t write a resignation without signing my acceptance forms. If you don’t like how I’m running my legion, then there’s your out.”

Elias leaned back in his chair, scratching at his nose with one hand as he stared at the white alicorn.

“I don’t know what posturing, backstabbing, lying morons you usually deal with, but when I say words, they mean something. I don’t want this job, I don’t want to build a legion, I don’t want to lead. End of story. The only reason I am doing it is because she,” he said, jabbing a finger at Luna, “asked me to, and I couldn’t let her down. She’s been far too kind to me, and I would be an awful friend if I turned around and spit on that.”

Elias spread his hands.

“But I won’t stand being second guessed. I will play nice this once because you did it in private, but I promise you that if you come to me with some new coward who weeps alligator tears to get me in trouble, I’m done. I will silently give you that packet and leave. It’s all or nothing. I don’t take middle grounds.”

Celestia stared at him, but whether it was shock in her eyes or something else, Elias couldn’t tell. He could tell that this was not a normal occurrence for the unquestioned ruler, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to skirt the truth. He was taking an immense personal risk doing their bidding, and he was going to do as much as possible to reduce that risk. If they didn’t like that, he didn’t care.

Elias subconsciously ran his thumb down his breastplate, miming the motions he would make to rub at Luna’s feather. He was still wearing it of course, but as per her request, he kept it hidden after heat week, telling nobody where he got it. It had made many ponies look at him strangely, but when Elias put his foot down, the ponies stopped asking. Still, he took comfort in the soft feeling of feather, the one allowed weakness he had in his life. It gave him the confidence to keep pushing forward, to press as hard as he could. He was either going to make a legion that would survive, or he was going to be driven out of his position.

“I…” Celestia started, then stopped.

She stared at his desktop for a moment, and for a brief second, her hoof raised toward his resignation forms. It just as quickly dropped and the white alicorn met Elias’ gaze.

“I suppose you have kept your end of our agreement. You did not maim or kill Wild Strikes. While I do not like your definition of appropriate punishment, we agreed that you would have unquestioned authority.”

She looked to Luna, who nodded as she continued.

“We shall not bring an issue such as this to you again, but rest assured, we are watching, and if you cross a line, we will intervene.”

Elias motioned to the resignation form.

“Your intervention is right there. Say the word, and I’m gone. I’m not some power-hungry nut, I’m just a fighter. This,” he said, gesturing around his office, “is not my end goal. Nor is anything above it.”

“And what is your end goal?” Luna asked with a hint of a smile.

Elias looked to her, cocking his head slightly at the playful look in her eye. He didn’t know what had provoked her sudden change in mood, but he didn’t have time to deal with it. He simply shrugged his shoulders at the alicorn.

“Right now? It’s the same plan I’ve always had; survive. Unfortunately for me, I have to take care of others now, so my job just gets harder every day.”

Elias slipped his watch from his belt and clicked it open. Glancing at the time, he looked back to the alicorns.

“Now, if we’re done here, I have paperwork to fill out.”

It was clearly a dismissal, but Luna didn’t seem to take it as such. She merely turned around and trotted away in a weird manner with her flanks swaying, while Celestia stared at Elias for a moment more before following suit, albeit in a normal trot, closing the frosted glass door behind them. Elias let out a long sigh when the door jamb slipped closed, and he sank in his chair, enjoying the custom feeling. It wasn’t going to be the last time he and Celestia butted heads, and though Luna was on his side for the time, he knew that that too would change as his training got more intense and more dropouts started complaining. That was for later, however. Elias sat in his lazy manner for a few minutes, then his mind seemed to snap back into focus. Elias quickly snatched his resignation form from his desk, sliding it back into its drawer. He then grabbed a quill and got to work.

Chapter 37: Endurance

Elias scowled in the early morning sun as he conducted his inspection of the recruits. As per the usual, they were lined up by cohort, their backs straight and their chins held high. Elias gave them no praise, and instead searched each one closely, looking for the slightest of mistakes. Unfortunately for him, many of the recruits were becoming quite good at meeting his seemingly impossible standards, and at least one row passed the inspection without comment. Out of the corner of his eye, Elias caught more than one recruit smile as the human walked by without saying anything. The pony quickly realized their mistake and their face resumed its serious mask, so Elias let the mistake slide. It was good for the ponies to feel proud when they succeeded, that feeling of success, of having his silent approval was what he wanted. He needed them to strive for his praise, so that every action would be taken with the utmost precision, and fearlessness.

Elias frowned as he made his way to the next row, quickly noticing a very blatant mistake. Ice Blossom, upon seeing his displeasure, was at his side in an instant. She blanched when she saw the very obvious gap in the line. The ponies to either side of the empty space seemed to quiver with fear-filled anticipation, and Elias noticed more than a few nervous glances in his direction. Elias walked slowly between the lines of recruits until he was standing before the space. He tried to mentally picture who was usually standing in it, but even he couldn’t memorize the names and faces of five thousand different ponies. Not in only a month at least.

Elias looked to the recruit to the left of the hole.

“Recruit, who is supposed to be in this space?”

The unicorn mare snapped a salute and answered quickly and forcefully.

“Star Orchid, General.”

The name was familiar. Though it took him a moment, Elias mentally snapped as it clicked. He looked around the training grounds.

“Who else was guarding the standard last night?”

Nobody answered. Elias looked to Book Binder, who checked her journal.

“I have… Recruit Thunderstorm. He and Recruit Orchid were on guard duty for the standard.”

Ice Blossom cursed under her breath, and without a word to Elias, she broke into an enraged sprint toward the recruit barracks. The sound of the pegasus slamming through the door seemed to echo around the training grounds, and the sound of yelling soon followed. Content that his centurion would get the pair of failures before him in a timely manner, he continued his inspection.

A few minutes later, Ice Blossom shoved a pair of ponies; a pegasus and an earth pony, out of the barracks, then barked for them to sprint toward the front of the formation. They both did so, and Elias watched them both from the corner of his eye. Feigning like he was finishing his inspection, Elias let the pair sweat for a moment as he decided on their punishment. It had to be something substantial, it was the first night the recruits had guarded the standard after all, and they had immediately failed to report to inspection the following morning.

Elias frowned at that, and he stopped. He had no idea when specifically they had left their post. That would be the measure of punishment. He just needed to identify where the point of failure was. He stopped mid-row and turned on his heel. Quickly leaving the formation, Elias made his way toward the front of the training grounds. Both recruits stood at attention as he approached. Hands clasped behind his back and with a stern expression on his face, Elias stared at the pair of ponies. Both looked exhausted, but while the stallion seemed nervous, the mare just seemed pissed. She blinked at Elias as he stared at her, and her eyes seemed to hold a dare, as if begging for him to try punishing her. He was nothing if not up to the challenge.

Elias turned on his heel and began pacing before them.

“Recruits, I must say that I am extremely disappointed. You have shamed yourselves, and your cohort by choosing to skip inspection. Before I let you make your case, answer me this; when did you leave your post?”

The mare took a step forward and gave an angry salute. Her eyes carried heat as she glared at him.

“We left our posts at precisely five a.m General, just like we were ordered to. When we received no further orders, we went to bed with an alarm set for ten a.m, the beginning of formation training. I-“

Elias held up his hand, and the mare’s jaw snapped shut. Elias stared at her for a moment, then continued pacing.

“Thank you for your long, and overly-descriptive answer Recruit Orchid, but you seem to have misheard me. I didn’t ask for the reason why you weren’t at formation, I asked for the time you left your post guarding the standard. By giving me more information than I asked for, you are wasting the legion’s time, a punishable offense on a normal day, but you have already wasted the legion’s time this morning, so I suggest you stop glaring at my back and fall in beside Recruit Thunderstorm, who is currently the only pony before me showing any shred of common sense.”

Elias could almost hear Star Orchid grinding her teeth as he looked to Thunderstorm.

“So Recruit, what was the reason you two were not at inspection?”

The pegasus glanced at his compatriot for a brief moment.

“W-Well it’s like Orchid said; we finished our guard duty over the standard, and then we went back to the barracks. Nopony gave us further orders, so we assumed that it would be alright to get some sleep, then be rested enough for today's training.”

Elias nodded and looked to Orchid.

“And at any point did you think to ask for orders? At what point did I give anyone the idea that my orders can just be assumed?”

Orchid huffed.

“General, we tried to find Centurion Ice Blossom, but she wasn’t in the barracks yet. I didn’t want to put words in your mouth, and I thought it best that we be rested for the most important part of training! I’m sorry we weren’t here for inspection, but we didn’t know better!”

“But you did know better,” Elias snapped. “I provided you with a schedule for the week, and nowhere on it does it say that the legion remains in inspection block while General Bright dismisses two failed recruits. If you have a question, you ask. If you cannot find someone to ask, you search until you do. You have wasted far too much time by not putting in simple effort. You have been briefed about the location of my office, and there are no less than three other ponies you could have gone to besides Centurion Ice Blossom. Now leave your helmet in the line and get out. If you can’t put enough thought into finding someone with authority to answer your question, then I don’t want you. Out. Now.”

Orchid looked on the verge of exploding with anger. Her fur puffed out, and her eyes burned from beneath her recruit helmet. Her lips curled in a snarl, but she didn’t speak. She instead huffed and grabbed Thunderstorm by the collar of his armor, dragging him toward the castle doors. Elias turned away from the pair, staring out over his blocks of recruits as he waited for the ding of the bell. When it never came, Elias cast an eye back in time to catch the castle doors slamming closed. A scowl spread across his face, but he didn’t order anyone to retrieve the disobedient recruits. They had pissed away enough time already.

Elias turned his gaze back to the recruits.

“Let this be a lesson to you all. If you have any doubt about your orders, you ask. Doing so will make the difference between living and dying. You must have utmost certainty on the battlefield that everybody is doing their job. If one pony is not in line, if a pair of ponies are not on guard duty, then it could mean an early death for all of us as the enemy slips into our camp and slits our throats. Consider it a new standing order. Ask questions.”

Elias let his hands fall to his sides as he moved toward his gear.

“Now fall into formation and let’s get running.”

*****

Elias trotted beside the blocks of exhausted recruits, scanning them for signs of failure. They had started the morning run without a hitch, but Elias had added an additional challenge to it. If anyone fell out of formation, the entire legion of recruits would do another lap of the city. They had nearly done the first lap perfectly, a sight that had surprised Elias, but within two hundred feet of the training field gate, a pony had decided that they didn’t want to run anymore, and they had quit, trotting out of formation and to the bell. A few groans managed to pierce the air, so Elias had called to his officers, and the legion had turned on its heel and started another lap. Things had gone downhill from there, and quickly.

It had started with one pony dropping from the effort; a failure of body, not mind. Elias quickly had the unicorn dragged away to the healing ward by two of his fellows, and then they had started another lap. This time, two dropped, and so they too were dragged away just as the other two returned. Elias had them pause for two minutes to get water, and then he had set the legion to running again. As the sun began rising, the legion slogged through lap after lap. More ponies dropped as the air grew warmer, but Elias kept them running. After the tenth lap, with no end in sight, four more ponies quit, and Elias halted the legion to ensure that the bell was rung four times. Once it had been, Elias had made the ponies tighten formation to fill in the gaps, then they were off again.

Elias spit off to the side to rid his mouth of the excess saliva, then shot a glare over the heads of his recruits.

“Keep those fucking feet moving! You do not stop unless you are told to, and I swear to the princesses that if I see one more recruit dragging their feet, we will run laps until the sun goes down! This ends when you want it to! Now keep moving!”

The ponies near him shot him nasty glares, but their steps became more focused. Elias took deep breaths as he picked up his pace to get near the beginning of the formation. Ponies were out and about, something that wasn’t an issue during their normal running time, but now that it was approaching noon, the streets were filling, and so a few ponies had to run ahead of the formation to make sure the path was clear for the five thousand and change recruits.

As he moved past the formations, Elias spotted an issue immediately. One of the earth pony recruits didn’t have his training vest strapped on correctly, and the weights were sliding toward his front, making him lean into each step. It was only serving to tire him out faster, and each step became dangerous. Before Elias could move to correct the issue however, the inevitable happened, and the exhausted stallion’s hoof tripped on a lose brick of the road. Weighed down by his equipment, and with his momentum still trying to carry him forward, the stallion’s foreleg snapped with an ungodly crack. The pony let out a sharp cry and sprawled into the dirt. The recruits around him flinched and ground to a natural halt, but unfortunately for them, the rest of the legion was set to trample over them.

“Legion halt!” Elias bellowed as he raced forward.

A healer met him at the fallen stallion, quickly cradling the broken leg as she began taking the needed supplies from her saddlebags. Elias spared the former Solar Guard only a glance before he cradled the stallion’s head, positioning himself so that his shadow fell over the earth pony, giving him a measure of respite from the sun’s heat.

The stallion sighed in relief for just a moment, then his eyes snapped open, and they locked onto Elias with pure panic.

“G-General! I- I’m not quitting, I swear! I- I just fell! I can keep going, I’ll even do another lap! P-please, I didn’t quit. You’ve gotta believe me General, I didn’t quit!”

Elias reached out to remove the stallion’s helmet, but the earth pony whimpered loudly and tried to reach for it with his good foreleg.

“No! Please General! I don’t want to quit! I can’t! This is all I have!”

Elias blinked in surprise at the stallion, and he quickly shifted from the hard drill sergeant, to the calm, charismatic general; ever the winning politician. Elias put on his best smile.

“Relax recruit, I’m getting your helmet off so you don’t overheat, and so that the healer can make sure you didn’t hit anything.”

The stallion didn’t seem convinced, and it almost concerned Elias that the earth pony was so easily ignoring his broken leg. The healer didn’t lose focus however, and she controlled the broken limb with ease as she set it with a pair of splints and a long length of white cloth. She growled in mild frustration as she wrapped the leg with her hooves, but even the healers were restricted, and a dampening ring was fastened firmly around her horn. She used her teeth to pull the leg tight, then tied it off quickly.

As soon as she did so, the stallion tried to stand.

“Woah big guy, no more walking on that for you,” she said quickly, pushing the earth pony back down. “We’re going to get somepony to carry you back so you can heal up.”

The stallion whimpered and looked to Elias.

“B-but the General is right here! I can’t let anyone down! It’s only the fourth day! I have to get up!”

He whimpered softly and sniffled.

“I don’t want to be thrown out.”

“Why?” Elias asked simply, his curiosity more than piqued. “This can’t be out of blind loyalty to me or the legion, you haven’t been here long enough. Why do you care so much about staying? An injury like this is a shameless ticket home. I would discharge you; not disown you.”

The stallion looked at him with desperate eyes.

“Please General, don’t send me home. This is my last chance to do things right.”

He sniffled again and looked at the pavement in shame.

“I’ve never been good at anything, and my cutie mark isn’t something you can just find a job in. Who’s going to pay for a butcher in Equestria? I tried to help out on the family farm, but we raise pigs! When I get inspired I just… do what I’m good at. I cost my family hundreds of bits, nobody in town will even talk with me, and… I got into trouble when I got desperate. I did some bad things, stole from ponies, sold illegal stuff. My family managed to grab me off the streets and force me into a rehabilitation center. Then they gave me an ultimatum. I can’t go back General; I haven’t done anything good yet! I haven’t even made it a week in training!”

He tried to scoot forward to latch onto Elias’ armor as he pleaded with tear filled eyes.

“Please, I think I have a real chance to do something here, to be someone! I think I can be a legionnaire; I just need one more chance! I’ll even finish the march! A broken foreleg isn’t so bad for an earth pony!”

He immediately tried to stand, but the healer pushed him down, and looked to Elias.

“General, he cannot walk on this leg. He does that, he’s crippled for life.”

“I can do it!” the stallion growled. “I am not getting thrown out over a silly injury!”

“It’s not a silly injury you walnut,” the healer shot back. “You broke a leg! You need to have it healed! To do that, it needs to remain set.”

“I can walk fine!” the stallion shouted back. “I can do anything for the legion! I-…”

Elias raised his left hand and both ponies fell immediately silent. Elias rubbed at his bare face for a moment, then looked to the stallion. He had no intention of throwing the earth pony out for an accidental injury, but it was clear that the stallion didn’t want to be given his place; he wanted to earn it. It was exactly the mentality that Elias needed to cultivate. The strong were rewarded, even in their moments of weakness.

“You want to stay in my legion do you?”

“More than anything General,” the stallion replied. “This is something special, I can feel it. I know my place is here.”

“You know?” Elias replied. “Interesting. Since you know, stand up. I will decide your punishment for delaying my legion.”

The stallion nodded and a flicker of a smile passed over his face as he struggled up on three legs. The healer looked at Elias with a disgusted expression.

“General, he cannot finish this run! It will ruin his ability to walk for the rest of his life!”

Elias looked at her with an even stare.

“Noted Healer, now remain quiet until I ask for your opinion.”

The pony looked like she wanted to yell at him, but her jaw clenched shut and her eyes shifted to the stallion, who had managed to stand, though it was clearly an immense effort for him. The crippling pain he had been able to ignore while on the ground likely lanced through his leg as he stood, but he did his best attempt at an attention.

Elias nodded, admiring the pony’s attempt at posture, then smirked at the earth pony, making sure to meet his eyes.

“Very good Recruit. Here is how I will decide if you deserve to be in my legion. I will carry you, but I will not hold you on my back. If you can stay on for the rest of the run, with your full gear mind you, you will still have a place here once your leg has been mended. If you fall however…”

“I won’t fail you General!” the stallion said with a grin.

Before he could trot forward, the healer moved behind him, quickly unclasping his saddlebags and tearing them free. When the stallion began to protest, the healer growled at him.

“Do you really think that you’re going to be able to hold on with one leg, while being bottom heavy? No, I’ll carry your bags, and then when we get back, you and I are going to the infirmary, immediately.”

The stallion looked to Elias, who crossed his arms and shrugged.

“You heard the healer. What she says, goes, unless I say otherwise.”

The earth pony sighed, and nodded, then limped over to Elias. The human crouched as low as he could, allowing the stallion plenty of time to get a comfortable grip on his back. Despite his words, Elias did slip a hand under the stallion’s rump, ensuring that he wouldn’t fall and injure himself further. Whatever his past, the earth pony was the ideal recruit. He had the drive to succeed and push himself past his breaking points, while also knowing who was on top. He was perfect, and Elias wouldn’t let him slip away. Perhaps later he would talk to the stallion in private and find out more information about his previous mistakes. He could use them as a motivation factor if nothing else.

Once the stallion stopped shifting, Elias got to his feet. The healer was at his side, watching the stallion carefully, and Elias gave no orders to contradict her out of formation behavior. In time, the healers would know when to push and when to respect his wishes, but for now, he would concede her the ability to be concerned for the stallion on his back. The rubble laden saddlebags sat on her flanks, resting uncomfortably over her medical bags. The healer shifted slightly as she got used to the weight, but she didn’t complain, and as she found some modicum of comfort, she stared straight ahead, waiting for Elias’ order.

The rest of the recruits watched him with a mixture of expressions, but Elias ignored their stares and resumed his normal commanding state, and his voice carried high through the stone streets.

“Stand at attention recruits! We still have a run to finish, and if anyone drops out, they will run another lap!”

With his centurions working quickly, the formations began moving again, with the slightly rested ponies moving in time so that their torturous morning run would finally come to an end. The earth pony on Elias’ shoulders let out a grunt as the man started running, but the pony didn’t complain, and his three good legs remained tight around Elias’ chest. Some part of Elias wanted to look back and grin at the earth pony, but Elias brutalized that portion of his mind. He would not make friends with the pony. This was a test, another trial to make the earth pony into a stronger soldier. Elias mentally cursed the ponies for making him soft before requesting he form a legion. On one hand, it made sure they could actually convince him to do it, but on the other, it made him far too soft, and if anything, made him more like a pony than a human. He felt a need to make a friendship with the stallion on his back, and that made Elias angry.

Said anger filled his legs with energy, and despite the fact that his calves were screaming as they made their way back to the training grounds, Elias felt like he could do another lap, pony on his back or no. The recruits, however, were not in such a state.

Elias continued carrying the earth pony as he conducted his inspection of his recruits. Without a sound, seven more made their way to the bell, with the rings carrying loud and clear through the grounds. Elias gave them no notice, instead carrying the stallion toward the stage, where a pair of Royal Guards were waiting with a stretcher, no doubt a result of a message sent silently by Book Binder. The pair of black-clad guards gave Elias an odd look as he carried the stallion over, but the stallion couldn’t have smiled wider as Elias finally gave him permission to get down. He did so stiffly, and he nearly collapsed as he balanced on three legs, but he grinned broadly at Elias as he limped to the stretcher. With an off-kilter salute, the earth pony flopped onto the stretcher, and the Royal Guards carried him off to the infirmary. Elias made a mental note to check with Book Binder for the stallion’s application and background forms, then turned his focus back to the legion as a whole.

Walking past the newly begun row of training helmets, Elias began calmly inspecting his recruits. He did his best to ignore the sweat pooling under his helmet, and it took strength of will to ignore scratching at his armored spine, where the sweat was running down in rivulets. The noon sun was beating down hot on the shade-less training grounds, and despite his mental fortitude, Elias was feeling it. He cut his inspection short and walked to the center of the formation, ensuring that his voice could be heard easily.

“Congratulations recruits! You have just successfully passed the first phase of your endurance training! It is important that your mind be able to push your body onward, even when you feel on the brink of physical failure. For those of you that have decided to quit, you are already gone, so these words are wasted. You have earned a small break before the next stage of your endurance training, so take a two-hour lunch and report back here in full gear. Centurions, make sure everything is shining and is being worn properly.”

Elias picked one of his officers out at random, and he got in Gray Granite’s face, glaring hard at the earth pony.

“I should have your forelegs broken for the time you have cost me, and for the time you have wasted on one of my recruits. He will spend the next few days in the infirmary, and I should hold you personally responsible for his failures.”

Granite didn’t move, though he did gulp nervously. Elias moved away from him, letting his voice rise again.

“You have had a rough morning however, and an injury was bound to happen sometime. Better that it happens early to somepony that has the common sense to try and get back up, rather than on the battlefield, where the enemy won’t give you the chance.”

Elias rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the weight of his pack. He needed to get himself into better shape if he was going to yell at others on a long march. The afternoon would provide that chance however.

“Today, after your lunch, we will be marching to Ponyville. I expect you to be in performing shape, and if you so much as step out of line, you will be sent home. This is not some exercise around Canterlot where the ponies are looking down their noses at you anyway, this is the Equestrian heartland, and you will represent my legion proudly, or so help me I will beat you to within an inch of your life before I throw you out and onto the street. If you do not think you are up to task, the bell waits to collect its toll. For those of you who are strong enough to succeed, fall out, rest up. I will see you all in two hours.”

*****

Elias was extremely disappointed with the results of their march. Not with the recruits themselves, they had performed admirably given their minimal training. Nor was he disappointed with his officers, who controlled the recruits with the utmost focus, so quick to respond to failure that Elias found that punishment was being meted out as he noticed the issue. It was a good sign of cohesion, and Elias should have been pleased with the result of their first march.

The Equestrian citizenry, however, had let him down in every regard. Perhaps it was because the recruit armor was dull and grey, and they had not yet been given their distinctive weapons and equipment, but as they marched, the recruits only received passing glances from their fellow ponies. While Elias had expected nothing from the ponies of Canterlot, he had at least expected some shock and awe from the more isolated town of Ponyville; it was why the turnaround point for the march was the town center after all. He had planned it as an exercise to show the recruits who they were fighting for, to show them that their fellow ponies would support them fully in their venture, yet nobody showed any interest in the ragged lines of recruits. The civilians instead went about their days like Elias hadn’t marched a recruit army of thousands into their city.

From the looks on the faces of his recruits, he wasn’t the only one who was disappointed. More than a few of the recruits were Ponyville locals, and yet their townsponies flat out ignored them as they broke formation to call out and wave. Elias had waved punishment as he tried to catch the eyes of the Ponyvillians, to try to see why they wouldn’t look upon a group of honestly brave volunteers. Elias would weed out the weak, but volunteering gave them a bit of credit in his eyes, and surviving several grueling days of training? Elias was beginning to learn the names of the best recruits. So why did their countrymen ignore them?

Elias got his answer when they made for the edge of town on the return trip. With all he had seen of Equestria, he had never expected to see something straight out of a human history book. It wasn’t by any means a large crowd, but it was enough to make a racket. Elias glanced at the hastily made signs the ponies in the crowd had made, and his bad eye twitched as a mild wave of slander struck out at his recruits. It was pitiful to Elias, but he could tell that the words were venomous to his recruits, especially those born of Ponyville. A vaguely familiar yellow pegasus seemed to lead the crowd, and though her voice was soft, it carried the distance to the formations easily, aided by the much louder voices of her followers.

“Equestria has no place for war!” the pegasus called out. “We don’t need soldiers! Go home and do something helpful!”

Elias paused for a moment, and beside him, the ponies hesitated, causing the formation to bunch up. Gray Granite sprang into action to administer punishment, but Elias raised a hand, stopping the earth pony.

“Keep them marching, I caused them to falter. Get First Centurion Flash and Adiutor Binder to me. I’m going to go see what stirred up this little hornet’s nest.”

Gray Granite gave the crowd of ponies a nervous look, but nodded and began shouting orders for the recruits to keep moving. Elias took one of the pilla from his shield and walked forward. It took a moment for the crowd of ponies to notice his approach, but when they did, their shouts seemed to dip in volume and fervor. Many eyes flicked to the weapon in his hand, but Elias had no intention of using the javelin on anyone. A few dozen paces away from the crowd, Elias stabbed the weighted end into the ground. The pilum waved in the breeze as Elias took off his helmet and placed it atop the spear point. He slid his shield from his arm and balanced it against the pilum shaft, then slipped his bag from his shoulders and sat it down carefully in the dirt.

By the time he had made himself as non-intimidating as he could be, Night Flash and Book Binder appeared at his side. Both looked nervously at the crowd of the ponies, who stared nervously back. Elias felt no traces of nervousness as he clasped his hands behind his back and walked forward, choosing to leave his bad eye exposed. No need for soldiers? Please. An almost successful changeling invasion wanted a word with these dullards.

Elias stopped a few feet away from the yellow pegasus. At a glance, she seemed to shy away from him, but as Elias looked her up and down he saw… something around her. Like she was trying to deceive him. A similar distortion seemed to hang in the air around the crowd, but it centered on the yellow pegasus. She was clearly the ringleader, and Elias stared her down as he let his voice ring clearly through the air.

“Is there any particular reason you are here harassing my recruits today, or do you just not have anything better to do?”

The ponies seemed aghast at the fact that he could speak; at least most of them did. The yellow one faked shock at his words, but the ripples of distortion seemed to increase around the pony, while the distortion around the crowd lessened. Elias had to wrinkle his nose to force his bad eye not to twitch.

“W-well,” the yellow pegasus started, “w-we don’t like soldiers! They’re mean, and they hurt things! Nothing good comes of violence!”

Elias raised an eyebrow at the mare.

“I disagree. A good deal can be gained from violence, especially when it is for a good cause. The princesses believe that they have need to cause present violence to prevent an even greater future violence. A worthy goal, and so here are a group of ponies that have volunteered to give their very lives for you all, yet you would reject them? That seems shameful in my eyes.”

Most of the ponies began looking at the ground in shame, while others looked at their signs in confusion. The ripples of distortion vanished from around them as the signs hit the ground, and the ponies blinked, looking around in bewilderment, as if they had just woken up. Elias’ eyes narrowed as he watched them. The yellow pegasus cast a glance back at the crowd and chuckled nervously.

“W-well, that’s their choice! We didn’t ask them to become soldiers, and we don’t want them to be soldiers! We have a right to protest you marching into Ponyville without permission!”

Elias shook his head at the pony.

“I’m a General of Equestria, I have the permission of the princesses to do whatever I deem necessary to prepare my troops for combat, including a leisurely walk into what I thought would be a kind, supportive city of their loved ones. I must say, I don’t believe Ponyville has earned its reputation for friendliness. Even the Canterlot nobles weren’t as cold as some of the ponies I’ve seen today.”

The crowd of ponies flinched at his words, and the distortion around them seemed to lessen further. One mare, a pink and green earth pony shook her head and whimpered lightly. She closed her eyes and clutched her forehead.

“I… My marefriend waved and I just ignored her. Why would I do that? She… she looked so hurt when I didn’t even look at her.”

Her head snapped up toward the rapidly retreating group of recruits.

“I have to go see her!” the mare cried out as she bolted away.

“Go after her,” Elias ordered Night Flash. “Make sure the recruit in question isn’t punished.”

The pegasus nodded without a word and took to the sky like a shot, flapping hard toward the formation of recruits. Elias watched him go for a moment, then looked back to the crowd to find it beginning to disperse. A few ponies looked toward the recruits with regret in their eyes, and a few followed the pink mare, while others turned back toward Ponyville with their heads down. The yellow pegasus, however, was glaring daggers at Elias. Distortion bled off the pony, and her eyes almost seemed to flicker as she took a step back.

Elias cocked his head and shifted his hands so that one rested on his gladius hilt.

“Now that everyone seems to be thinking clearly again, I’d like to ask you a few questions miss, starting with your name.”

The pegasus looked around for help, but she quickly found herself alone as her crowd of protesters dispersed. She smiled at Elias sheepishly and took a step back.

“Oh, well. My name is Fluttershy, and I think I’ll go home now. My, um, bunny is no doubt worried sick about me.”

The pegasus eeped as she bumped into Book Binder, who had managed to subtly slip behind her while Elias held the pegasus’ attention. Her head whipped toward both of them, unsure of who to look at as she became boxed in.

“Remain calm Ms. Fluttershy,” Elias said. “If you answer my questions, you can go home without issue, but I need information from you. We were in sight of Ponyville for less than half an hour, yet you managed to gather a crowd of dozens, with coordinated signs no less, to protest our march. I need to know how you knew we were coming, and I will have my answer now, or you will be making the long march back with us to Canterlot so that one of the princesses can get the answer from you.”

Fluttershy flinched, and she looked back to Book Binder desperately.

“P-please, I didn’t mean it! I- I just don’t want to see anypony hurt, and imagine all the little animals! I- Please, I won’t do it again, I promise! I- I…”

The distortion became nauseating around the pegasus, and Elias’ hand drifted to the hilt of his gladius. The mare seemed genuine, but at the same time malicious. Something was happening here, and he didn’t like it at all. Before he could rip the gladius from her sheathe and strike out, a quartet of voices called out from the direction of Ponyville proper. Elias’ eyes flicked to four ponies, mares by the look of the them, sprinting toward his confrontation with Fluttershy. The yellow mare let out a sigh of relief, then shrank to the ground, hiding her face in her hooves as she let out a low whimper.

Elias quickly recognized the mares, especially Twilight. He moved quickly, whipping his enchanted glasses from their pouch and sliding them on. He felt the illusion magic take hold of his scar and bad eye, rending both from visible existence. For some reason, the distortions lessened as well, as if they were being viewed through smudged glass. Elias ignored that for the moment, and instead focused his mind on the potential situation he found himself in. The purple unicorn and her friends stopped a few feet away from where Fluttershy had begun crying. Twilight cocked her head at Elias with a nervous expression on her face.

“H- hello Elias. It’s been awhile. I- is something wrong with Fluttershy?”

Elias cast an eye down at the yellow pegasus, who peaked out of her hooves for a moment before yelping and hiding again. He felt his bad eye twitch as he looked back to Twilight and her friends.

“Not that I can tell, but perhaps your friend had better keep her nose out of guard business. She gathered a crowd of ponies to verbally harass my recruits on our daily march, and when I confronted her to find out why, she refused to answer my questions.”

His eyes flicked down again.

“In fact, I still have yet to get an answer as to how you knew we were coming.”

The rainbow-maned pegasus flapping next to Twilight snarled and set down on the ground, striding with purpose toward Elias.

“Personally, I don’t give a buck. Nopony gets to treat Fluttershy like this, especially when I’m not around.”

Book Binder was in front of her in an instant, glaring the pegasus down.

“That’s quite enough Ms. Dash. General Bright was doing his job and protecting his ponies from what we have been told were friendly ponies. Ms. Fluttershy could have been home by now if she just answered his questions.”

Dash got closer to Book Binder and growled.

“I don’t give a buck why that monkey thing did what he did. What I care about is that my friend is currently crying in the dirt. Now move outta my way before somepony gets hurt.”

Book Binder snarled and butted heads with the blue pegasus. The rest of the mares tensed up, as if preparing to fight the unicorn, but Elias cut everyone off with a shrill whistle. The ponies recoiled at the high pitch, no doubt a result of their much more sensitive ears, but it brought their attention back to him quite nicely. Elias cast another glance down at Fluttershy, then snorted dismissively.

“We will be marching here again tomorrow, and the next day, and every day after that for the next six months. I suggest you do not gather anymore crowds." He looked to Book Binder. "Adiutor, gather their signs and burn them, then let’s go. The recruits are getting too far ahead, and I can feel that Night Flash isn’t pushing them hard enough. I’ve wasted enough legion time on this.”

Elias looked to Twilight as he turned away from Fluttershy and walked toward his pilum.

“I’d advise you keep a close watch on your friend. Her actions have consequences, even if she’s too selfish to see that. Keep her in check, or next time, I will.”

Twilight nodded silently, but Elias could tell that his words caused her some measure of discomfort. She and Dash moved toward the still crying Fluttershy while Book Binder gathered the protest materials into a pile and set them alight. The signs were a cheery blaze by the time Elias slipped his shield onto his arm once more.

Elias didn’t give the mares another glance as he and Book Binder turned away, falling into a jog so that they could catch up with the recruits. As they ran, Elias glanced down toward Book Binder.

“Adiutor, did you notice anything… odd about Fluttershy?”

The unicorn shook her head.

“Not particularly General, though ponies like that drive me up the wall. Here we are, on the princesses wishes, protecting Equestria, but because we might kill something else, we’re suddenly the bad guys. They take no regard for the fact that its either our enemies, or our friends and families that will pay the price. I understand they have the right to say what they want, but they could at least keep it out of our sight, you know?”

Elias nodded in silent agreement, but let the subject drop. She hadn’t seen anything around the yellow pegasus, hadn’t noticed the distortions. He briefly wondered why only he had noticed something. Maybe… maybe he had been seeing things? It wasn’t the first time he had had hallucinations, and with the onset of training, he had begun having daily migraines. Perhaps seeing the crowd of protesters had snapped a piece of his brain and had caused his eyes to see things that weren’t there.

He would investigate further in the future. Elias hadn’t noticed signs of distortion from any of the other ponies, not even Fluttershy’s friends. It made him curious as to what the distortion was. Was it simply an effect the yellow pegasus had on other ponies, or something more malicious? Her association with Twilight implied that she was somebody special, but did that extend to some sort of additional magical effect that most pegasi didn’t have?

Elias scowled as he and Book Binder rejoined the rear of the formation, catching the recruits just as they filed back into their formations. Their former harassers waved goodbye with wide, happy smiles, and as soon as they fell back in, the recruits were set upon by their officers. The shouting ponies made sure the recruits continued moving as a group, leaving Elias to think. He had a few options when it came to Fluttershy’s actions. It could have been nothing more than a pacifist seeking to shame her fellows into quitting, and she might have had some odd ability that assisted her in gathering strength to her cause. Might. That important distinction between speculation and fact put Elias on edge. He had done more than a little research on changelings, and he knew that mind-manipulation was within their skill set. He couldn’t just act on an Element without evidence, however.

Elias felt his bad eye twitch. He squinted and stared out over his recruits, immediately picking out several distortions among them. They had made no attempts to manipulate their fellows, so did the distortions detect something else? Elias didn’t know, and he couldn’t act if he lacked knowledge. He glanced over to Book Binder.

“Adiutor, when we return to Canterlot, schedule me an appointment with Doctor Scalpel.”

The unicorn nodded and pulled out a scroll, quickly writing a note on it. IT then vanished back into her saddlebags, and she squinted as she looked up to him.

“Is something wrong General? Do I need to make arrangements for somepony to stand-in for training exercises?”

Elias almost smiled at her clever attempt to disguise her concern. Making it about training was a good trick, but fortunately, he was wise enough to see through it.

“Nothing wrong Adiutor, and I will make sure I keep to my schedule.”

He gave her nothing more than that, and given the way the mare glanced at him, he could tell she didn’t like it. Elias didn’t let what she thought bother him…. much.

Chapter 38: Fight Like a Man

Elias walked along the line of ponies, tapping the shield wall with the tip of his gladius as he did so. The measure was designed to seek out weak points so that he could show the recruits where they were wrong. As he poked and prodded, Elias spoke.

“As you all should know, the scutum is one of your most powerful tools. It is a heavy shield designed to weather any blow the enemy can throw at you. While useful on its own, the true strength of the scutum comes from its use in formations, formations that you will know by heart and that you can form to perfection in your sleep.”

One of the crimson shields pushed back under the weight of his gladius, and Elias stopped before it, sheathing his gladius.

“You have all been briefed and you should have been studying your handbooks for all the formations you will learn, for today will be our first day practicing these formations. Without the strength of your formations, you will be dead weights, doomed to fall to some lucky arrow or sloppily thrown spear. To fight as a mob is to admit defeat, and I refuse to lose and let additional ponies die.”

Elias threw his full weight against the weak shield, and the pony behind the scutum fell back instantly. Elias lashed out with his fists, hitting ponies to either side of the breach. He expected them to react and push him back, but instead the shield wall around him disintegrated as the ponies yelped and tried to escape his fists. Elias stopped his assault, sighed loudly and then took a step back, massaging his knuckles as Gray Granite sprinted into his field of view.

“Centurion, get to work with your cohort. They either didn’t study like I ordered, or they haven’t been paying attention today. I will let you decide which is worse and give them an appropriate punishment.”

The earth pony nodded silently and turned on his recruits, bellowing out orders for them to assemble into running blocks. Elias clicked his tongue as the recruits abandoned their shields in the dirt, but he knew with a glance toward Granite that the earth pony would not let the action slide. He screamed them into motion, and Elias watched calmly as five hundred ponies sprinted from the training grounds. Elias waited until they were gone to continue his inspection, re-drawing Feather as he continued to speak.

“I am aware that the position is not suited to ponies. You are not bipedal creatures, therefore it is more difficult. I can assure you, however, that even if I wasn't modifying the formations to better suit ponies, and even if I was not commissioning custom armor like First Centurion Flash’s, you would still be able to fight with these shields! It is simply a matter of trying, training, and succeeding!”

Elias picked a pony at random and crashed into their shield with his shoulder. The earth pony gritted her teeth for a moment, then, with the support of those behind her, they pushed him back lightly. If he had been actually attacking them, they would have likely died, but it was a start. Elias slammed into the shield again, bracing his legs so that he could continue applying more pressure as he stared the mare down.

“Do you think me dull? Do you think that I wouldn’t have the forward thinking to plan for pony combat? Do I look like an idiot to you?”

The mare snarled wordlessly as she shoved him back again, but this time Elias didn’t budge, and he braced his arms against her scutum, pushing back harder. Four ponies filled in behind her to hold the human back, but just before they could set their hooves to brace, Elias released all of the tension in his legs and pulled back, letting them all fall on their faces. Elias offered his hand to the earth pony mare as he continued speaking.

“Think back to your first three weeks of training. Have you stopped and wondered why you have spent so much time walking and running in full packs? It is not simply because you need to learn to march, though that is very important.”

The earth pony took his hand, and Elias easily pulled the pony to her feet. The mare huffed as she fell back into position, re-bracing her shield in the wall. The look in her eyes dared Elias to throw himself at the shield again, but that wouldn’t serve his point. He ignored her glares and paced onward.

“These past weeks have been to strengthen two things, your resolve; the will to press on in the heat of exhaustion, and your hind legs. We will continue pressing these areas until you could hold a shield wall against a horde of Ursa’s until your grandchildren are grey in the hair and wrinkled in the face!”

The bravest ponies let out a few low chuckles; chuckles that went unpunished. Many of the recruits still had no idea when to read Elias’ body language enough to know when to relax slightly and when not to, but those that did were quickly catching Elias’ eye. Though he had focused on physical training, he had managed to schedule a few short afternoons of weapons training, and though the best fighters were primarily from other guard groups, more than a few were fresh recruits. It took a second glance at their recruitment forms to spot why, but Elias quickly noticed a trend of either former-convicts or ponies with “frowned upon” cutie marks, mostly consisting of ponies who were experts in handling meat. Why the princesses hadn’t jumped on a pony with archery as his cutie mark, Elias didn’t know, but he put the pony to use, ensuring that a note was put in his file to make him an auxiliary.

As for the ex-convicts, Elias had talked with more than a few of them, including the stallion who had snapped his leg like a twig, and had investigated why they wanted to be legionaries. While the talk of some kind of redemption was unsurprising, Elias was relatively surprised that he had become an idol for many ponies with frowned upon cutie marks. His reputation for fighting guard captains had spread as far and wide as his tales of “heroism” from the invasion, and that had earned him a crowd of silent admirers who saw his actions as hope. Though they had tried to phrase it nicely, Elias knew that they viewed him as the successful black sheep of the guard, and that gave them hope for an actual future that didn’t involve waiting tables, petty crime, or roaming about for odd-jobs. Not one had dropped out yet, and Elias hoped that none would. They were quickly becoming the backbone of the legion, and Elias knew that in time, he could prod them to step up and lead their weaker fellows.

Elias clasped his hands behind his back as Gray Granite led his cohort back into the training grounds. The ponies were panting and dripping with sweat, and one mare, a bright purple pegasus, tore off her helmet and limped over to the bell. Elias didn’t give her a second glance as she rang it. He instead addressed the rest of the recruits while Granite’s cohort fell back in line.

“Today you will spend much of your time being taught drill by your centurions. The shields you hold now belong to you, and like the rest of your equipment, they will be cleaned and made pristine. Each morning they will be inspected for disrepair, and like your other gear, you will be punished if you come up lacking.”

Elias paused for a moment, listening for any groans or sighs. When none became immediately evident, he continued.

“With that out of the way; split off into your cohorts. Your centurions will teach you the first, and most important formation; the testudo.”

*****

Elias pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head as he watched the ponies fumble about on the training grounds. He had offered them the small reward of an early lunch if they managed to march a clean testudo across the grounds, but so far, none of the cohorts had managed the feat. Despite clear instruction, and even tips from the ponies that had already begun practicing carrying the shields, the recruits simply couldn’t stay together, with many flagging behind the formation, or worse, stumbling at the front, throwing all of those behind them off balance. Elias let the centurions do the yelling, and he instead remained atop the small observation tower he had ordered built. Anyon stood to one side, muttering and making notes as he watched the ponies stumble about, while Book Binder stood to Elias’ left, wincing whenever the formations would collapse into massive piles of fur and gear.

She looked up to Elias after a particularly nasty spill.

“General, pardon me if I’m out of place, but wouldn’t it be better for the recruits to have the full capability of their armor? From what Ni- First Centurion Flash has told me, the build in handle is invaluable for holding the scutum.”

Anyon scratched his head with a claw.

“Design ain’t perfect yet, ah can do better.”

“That,” Elias agreed, “and they need to know how to keep a formation without their armor on. What happens when we get attacked at night and the only things they have time to grab are their shield and a weapon? Do they fight, or do they do this,” He gestured at the drifting formation, “and hope the enemy laughs themselves to death? They need to know how to fight without the handicaps Anyon is making for them. They’ll get it in time. I’ll only start punishing their failure the day after tomorrow.”

The human glanced over to Anyon.

“But that brings about a question, what can be done to make sure they remain mobile enough to adjust formations, while also allowing them to brace fully? For a human its easy, but how can we get those kinds of benefits for a pony?”

Anyon scowled and brushed at the scroll he was working on.

“Ah think ah have somethin’, really just an upgrade to what ah made for Flash, but ah think it will do a bit better if we add deployable braces to their rear legs.”

Anyon pointed to a folding bracer of armor on his draft sheet.

“See here? Ya get a pony to give a small buck and it drops, then when ya want to move, ya buck again and it retracts. Ah could also put a strap or somethin’ to tie it up for when ya ain’t fighting, jus’ so it doesn’t come lose and trip somepony up while yer doin’ all that walkin’.”

Elias frowned at the design.

“Could you get a prototype done by this week? It sounds like it could work on paper, but I worry about its use in practice.”

His eyes drifted back out to the recruits.

“Though if I’m being honest, I’d much rather the shield slot be the only addition to their armor. They need to know how to fight like this without extra equipment, otherwise this exercise is pointless. They might as well receive the same training the other guard forces do and learn to fight like individuals.”

Elias stared at a small cluster of ponies that had managed to stay together, though their shield position was slightly off. As he watched, the quartet pressed tight enough that they were quiet literally should to shoulder, and their shields overlapped to the point that the edge of one was touching the central boss of another. They moved as a unit however, and when Granite decided to test the formation with a charge, he leapt at the clustered ponies. The earth pony bounced off their shields as they held and braced, and Elias couldn’t help but grin as the earth pony tumbled to the dirt. He pointed at the cluster.

“Adiutor, single those ponies out, write down as much as you can about their adaptation of the testudo, and schedule an interview with the lot of them. I want to have their input on formation adjustment.”

Book Binder followed his finger to the braced ponies, who were staring at the downed Granite with surprise, and her horn flashed as a second quill joined the first. Her notebook quickly became filled with rough sketches and labels as the unicorn studied the formation.

Satisfied that he would be able to work with the material later, Elias turned his attention back to the testudo exercise. Though they had managed to stop the earth pony’s charge, Granite’s cohort had fallen apart completely when they began to move forward again, and he pushed them off the training grounds for another lecture. Ice Blossom’s cohort was up next, and their start looked promising. The light blue pegasus was at the center of the line, leading the formation by example. Her shield remained steady as they advanced, and her voice called out each step, something Elias hadn’t begun teaching the recruits, yet here she was. The formation moved haltingly, with Blossom keeping things simple by advancing the recruits a step at a time.

“One step!” Ice Blossom bellowed.

The sound of steel scraping on stone seemed to echo through the training area, and Elias watched carefully as the lines wavered, then fell into place. Without glancing toward Book Binder, he said;

“Adiutor, take notes here t-“

“Already on it General,” she replied quickly.

Elias let the interruption slide. Getting accurate notes was far more important than the minor act of interuption. He let the matter drop from his mind as he continued watching Blossom.

“One step!”

A semi-unified grunt seemed to come from the recruits as the scraped their shields forward.

“Again!”

The shields scraped again, and again a grunt came forth from the recruits. This time, the formation actually moved together, surprising Elias. Blossom continued calling out the steps, and the testudo continued inching forward, with each step including a louder grunt. Elias moved with lightning speed down the observation tower and made for the field, stopping only long enough to snatch up his scutum.

Blossom stopped advancing the formation and stared at Elias as he stood before the center of the formation. Elias gauged the height of their shields at a glance, then moved into the middle.

“Make a hole!”

The shields parted wide enough for Elias to slip in, and though he had to crouch to stay in line with the ponies, Elias’ calves were muscled enough to take the strain. He settled himself beside Blossom, doing his best not to grin. All of the sounds he had stopped hearing well over a year ago were there. The heavy breathing, the shuffling as his recruits made sure they stayed in position. The pony holding a scutum above Elias’ head panted hot breath in his ear, and it only made Elias happier as he began to sweat. The testudo was boiling hot, exactly as it should have been in the early summer heat.

Elias kept his voice below a shout as he glanced at the ponies behind him.

“Centurion Blossom has been doing an excellent job leading you today, and you all had the right idea with your chant, but now I will teach you how you will sound when you move with each step. Follow my lead.”

He looked toward Ice Blossom.

“Centurion, carry on, this is your show.”

The pegasus suppressed a grin and nodded. Her voice was loud in his ear as she shouted.

“One step!” she called.

“ONE!” Elias bellowed, matching the volume of her voice easily with his own as he advanced his shield in time with her.

The ponies around him jolted for a moment, and the formation seemed to slip. Elias bit his lip as he waited for the recruits to either succeed or fall apart. They managed to hold together, and when another shout came from Ice Blossom, more voices joined Elias as he shouted and moved his shield forward.

“One step!” Ice Blossom called.

“ONE!” Elias, and the ponies around him responded.

They began inching forward. Slowly but surely, the end of the training grounds approached between the cracks of the shields. Throughout, Ice Blossom continued calling the steps, and the recruits began responding as one, their voices loud enough that Elias fell silent, content to just inch along with them until they found success.

It took them far longer than it should have, but the testudo reached the end of the training grounds, and with an order from Elias, they fell out and into a standard shield wall. Elias wiped the sweat from his brow, using the motion to wipe the smile from his face. They had months left of training, yet the ponies were already learning. It was a good sign, and it meant he could push them harder, hold them to a higher standard.

Once he had sufficiently erased any traces of pride, Elias turned to look at the formation. The ponies looked tired, but they also looked proud of their accomplishment. Elias scowled for a moment, trying to think how best to make sure they didn’t become content with their small leap, without crushing their sense of accomplishment.

Elias took a deep breath, then drew himself up tall.

“Acceptable work this morning recruits. Tomorrow, I expect you to use the knowledge you have gained to great effect, and for all of those who were watching from the sidelines, I recommend that you practice using the commands in your free time.”

Elias pulled out his watch and clicked it open, taking a glance at it.

“For now, it is time for lunch. You have an hour to eat, and prepare your gear for the afternoon march. See your centurions for information about properly carrying your scutums. Dismissed.”

A few ponies grinned widely and slapped their neighbors’ shoulder as they turned and walked away, chattering excitedly. Elias spotted more than one that looked shocked at Elias’ lack of definitive praise, but as he mentally repeated his words, he was confident that he had found the balance. When he had developed a list of every mistake he had made with his human legion, an overwhelming amount of praise for the smallest successes had stuck out like a sore thumb in his eyes. While he knew that he couldn’t just withhold all praise, Elias also knew that he would have to dangle the smallest of carrots to the ponies, to make them yearn for the words “good work” with no attachments.

That would only come with time however, and Elias suspected that more of the five thousand remaining recruits would be long gone before it happened.

Elias let out a long sigh as he closed his eyes and looked to the sky, taking a rare moment to breathe and mentally relax. He remained like that for a few precious moments, then straightened, opened his eyes, and began walking toward the castle doors, setting his borrowed scutum back on the equipment rack as he went.

His steps carried him toward the infirmary. While he walked, Elias kept his mind blank, using the short time to let his brain relax from its usual stressed state. What he had thought were temporary migraines had become a regular occurrence, and even though he had started regularly visiting Scalpel for checkups, Elias had a nagging feeling that the migraines were just something he would have to live with until after the march. Whether it was from the advanced lack of sleep, the stress inducing paperwork and recruit management, or just the operation as a whole, Elias didn’t know, but for once he wouldn’t have minded one of Luna’s obnoxious cuddle piles. He had received a few letters from the participants, asking where he had disappeared to. Evidently the ponies missed their warm human base, and they made sure he knew his presence was missed. After replying with his situation, more than a few ponies had sent him small gifts of pillows and blankets, as well as promises to talk to him again after the march. He appreciated all of it, and he made use of every gift, making his bed a patchwork of colors and different sized pillows. It helped him sleep slightly longer, and even those few precious undisturbed minutes were blissful. Elias desperately wished he could go sleep.

Elias rubbed his forehead at the thought and sighed.

‘Damnit, can’t stop for even a minute,’ he thought to himself as he shoved the infirmary doors open.

Scarlet was out of his bed like a shot, and he saluted Elias crisply, keeping his face stern as the human approached. Elias’ face twitched downward into his trademarked scowl. It was his best strategy to keep from smiling. Elias stopped before the pegasus and looked him up and down.

“Has Doctor Scalpel given you a clean bill of health yet?”

Scarlet's happy posture drooped slightly.

“Not fully. He still wants to wait a week to make sure the venom’s passed, but I know it has! I’ve been keeping down my meals, I’ve been doing small laps of the infirmary, I’ve been studying like crazy!”

Scarlet groaned and shook his head.

“I’m ready General! I need to start training with the other recruits or I’m going to get too far behind! I saw them running formation drills today, how am I going to catch up on something as in depth and personal as that!”

Elias glanced at the pegasus’ bed, noticing the tall stack of notebooks.

“Don’t worry Scarlet, you will. Your most important job for me will be thinking, however. Where are you at in your studies?”

Scarlet sighed and trotted toward his bed.

“I just finished my second read through of The Art of War and was about to start on my fourth reading of your roman military formation and strategy guide. I was just brushing up on my notes about castra building when you came in.”

“And why do we build a castra, rather than march farther in a day?” Elias asked.

“The building of the castra serves two-fold reasons,” Scalpel replied; “first, it acts as a fortified, defendable camp that is harder to infiltrate or sabotage. The second is that it works different muscles than marching does, giving the legion an equal exercise routine to balance out their daily strain. Finally, it is theorized that sleeping in a castra allows the legion to get more effective sleep, better preparing them for the next day’s march.”

Elias nodded silently, scooping up one notebook. He thumbed through the notes while he spoke.

“Good. Have you begun working on a more efficient castra build for the full guard forces?”

Scalpel perked up slightly as he nodded and picked up a different notebook.

“Yep! My initial design was a bit rough, but over the last couple of days I managed to come up with this.”

Scalpel flipped the notebook onto the bed, and spread out the pages, unfolding a wide map of stitched together pages. Elias did his best to hold back a grin at the pegasus’ effort. From a glance, Elias knew that the work was solid, and with more time it would become perfect. He made a mental note to include Book Binder on the project; she could help Scarlet more accurately define his ideas. The pegasus’ hoof-writing was legible enough however, and Elias leaned forward as Scarlet explained the map in detail.

“I initially went the route of simply expanding on the original design of a castra, but then I decided it would be better to modify it so that things were better organized.”

He jabbed a hoof at a colored block in the middle of the castra.

“This is where one of three things can be. My first thought is to have the princesses sleep here, or the generals.”

Scarlet tilted his head and nibbled on the inside of his cheek.

“Or, this could be where all the planning meetings are held. If we are worried about spies and such, we don’t want the command tent where somepony can slip in to listen. We want it where it is easy to find for all the guards, and hard to get to for the enemy.”

Scarlet scratched his head as he looked out over the rest of the castra.

“The rest is kind of simple. Each corner is a guard force, with the Royal Guard concentrated near the center tent. There are still four avenues in the walls. Of note though, I put the medical tent near the edge of our side of the camp. I figure that most creatures won’t attack wounded ponies out the gate, and when they try, we might as well have the best on stand-by.”

Elias nodded his agreement, then on a spur of the moment, he clapped Scarlet on the shoulder.

“Good job Chief Strategist. You won’t begin today, but have Scalpel give you an all clear, then report to Adiutor Binder.”

Scarlet grinned widely, and his rump wiggled with barely controlled excitement. Elias put out a hand to stop him, however.

“None of that Scarlet, you know better. The only pony with that kind of permission is Scalpel, and he’s smart enough to hold back. Now, relax today, make sure you’re really ready. If you so much as get a cough, you’re coming back here and staying until Scalpel says your free, got it?”

Scarlet nodded and hopped down from the bed, saluting Elias sharply again.

“Of course General, I won’t let you down.”

Elias nodded and straightened.

“See that you don’t. Keep up your studies and planning exercises. After a week or two of training, I’m going to start bringing you and Adiutor Binder to the planning sessions, and if you are not completely prepared, you’re done, got it?”

Scarlet nodded.

“Yes General. What time should I report tomorrow?”

Elias turned away from the pegasus and made toward the infirmary doors.

“Schedule it with Adiutor Binder. She will assign your cohort and centurion, and give you your training gear. Now rest up. I expect great things Scarlet, don’t disappoint.”

*****

Elias rubbed his knuckles as he stared at the blanket he sat on. Luna sat across from him with what was apparently her favorite board game. Not checkers, or chess, or even a game similar to Risk. No, as Elias watched Luna tap her chin with the small yellow checker, he did his best not to groan with frustration at the Connect Four board. While she claimed that she enjoyed more strategic games like chess and checkers, she had chosen Connect Four for the night, claiming it as the “ultimate game for strategic minds”. Elias knew better. It was all about who went first, and he was fairly certain the alicorn was using a weighted coin to get the opportunity to move first each round.

His eyes focused back to the board. There were three ways the alicorn could set a trap for him so that she could win, yet her green eyes seemed intent on a completely different part of the board. Her tongue poked out of her muzzle in an adorable manner as she thought hard. Only her facial expressions kept Elias even vaguely interested in the game, and he made his lack of interest known by trying to point out a solution that would bring about the game’s end.

“Luna you can just put it-…”

The alicorn reached over the board and slapped his hand, then went immediately back to thinking with her tongue poking out.

“I can figure out my strategy just fine Elias, I am simply deciding how total I would like my victory.”

Elias rolled his eyes and pointed his finger at a trio of her pieces. One piece to their left would set her up for complete success, with the potential for four of a diagonal or a line. He could only block one.

“Just put it there Luna, it’s fine, I can see that I-…”

She swatted at his hand again, and her shining green eye darted up from the board as she scowled at him.

“I do not need your help in this matter Elias, you are meant to be my competitor. It is not a sporting game if you are actively letting me win.”

Elias blinked slowly at her.

“Luna, it’s not a sporting game at all. If you wanted to have a sporting game, that weird looking chess set would have been sporting. I’m sure the green cloud over it makes something interesting happen.”

Luna scoffed at him and refocused on the board.

“That is not just some “weird looking chess set”. It is a cursed board I made myself in an attempt to entrap my sister in the four winds. Unfortunately, I never figured out how to properly create the curse, so all it does is make the loser incredibly flatulent.”

The blue alicorn sighed and shook her head.

“The poor guard I tested it on had to wear a diaper for the rest of his days. Luckily he was due for retirement anyway, but that poor stallion… Suffice to say the maids were not pleased with me, and I never found use for the board again.”

Elias snorted in disbelief.

“Alright, first, why is something like that just laying out in the open where anyone can see and or use it, and second; you couldn’t just remove the curse? That seems like something that would be easy to fix.”

“Then you don’t have a complete education on pony biology,” Luna replied. “All ponies have a magical… essence in their DNA. A curse affects our very being and is incredibly difficult to remove, no matter the severity. It is why some ponies who are dissatisfied with certain physical aspects will seek out witch doctors to get curses to change things like eye color or muscle mass.”

Luna sighed again.

“They usually do so little research and never realize that a curse is never as simple as a minor change. There is always some kind of cost.”

She frowned at the ground for a moment, then shook her head as if to clear it. Her eyes shot back up to meet Elias’ and she jabbed an accusatory hoof in his direction.

“You are trying to distract me so that you can secure the victory! I see your game Bright!”

Elias groaned and threw his head back.

“Luna just put the damn piece in! We both know you won, so let’s be done with it!”

The alicorn glared at him for a moment, then sighed and seemed to admit defeat as she secured her victory on the Connect Four board. Elias slid one of his pieces in at random, not even bothering to block off one of the routes she had set up. Without much effort, Luna slid another piece into the board, and then upon pointing out the four in a row, cleared the board. She sighed again and slumped lower onto the blanket.

“You are released then General. I had hoped to continue the game for some time, but clearly you wish to be elsewhere. I shall not keep you.”

Elias cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.

“Says who? Maybe I don’t want to play this cheap piece of plastic, but that doesn’t mean I’m done with our session. Why don’t we relax in another way; taking a walk perhaps?”

Luna snorted dismissively, but Elias noticed her perk up slightly at his wish to continue their session.

“And what is relaxing about a walk? This is supposed to be a rest period for you, and walking, by definition of being physically exerting, is not resting.”

Elias rolled his eyes and got to his feet, moving around the Connect Four board to offer his hand to Luna. The alicorn turned her face away from him for a moment, looking oddly abashed, but she accepted his hand and he pulled her to her hooves. With no destination in mind, Elias set the direction, walking deeper into the gardens with an ambling pace. Luna walked beside him, throwing the occasional glance his way. When she said nothing however, Elias made the first move.

“You seem like you want to say something, what is it?” Elias asked bluntly.

Luna sputtered and shook her head. She seemed to flush with embarrassment as her mouth flapped and she tried to say something. Elias didn’t understand a word of it, and he stopped walking as the alicorn sputtered onward. When her nonsensical speech came to its inevitable end, she sighed and stared at the ground.

“It is a rather personal question, and given our current agreement, I am not so sure that I should ask it. I rather like being the exception to your rule, and I do not wish to sabotage that.”

Elias shrugged and the pair began walking forward again.

“Ask away Luna, just don’t press should I decide not to answer.”

The alicorn frowned, and her eyes remained on the ground for a moment, before she sighed again and shook her head. She straightened and stared ahead.

“How goes things with your legion? I know we agreed not to speak of work, but I wished to see things at a more personal level; through your eyes so to speak.”

Elias frowned at her for a moment, gauging whether he should play along with her diversion or if he should press her previous concern. He decided on the former as he clasped his hands behind his back.

“Well, I believe we are off to a solid start. We have already lost almost five hundred recruits, which I see as an absolute positive. If they can’t take a bit of training, I don’t need them charging into combat. The more I send home, the less that die.”

Elias tilted his head.

“But otherwise, it is simply going. It’s hard work, but the base of the legion is forming, and the recruits are growing strong. I think in a month or so we can start on the advanced level courses. Hopefully we’ll have all the weaklings weeded out by then, but we’ll see. Last night was the first real test.”

“Oh?” Luna replied. “And what purpose did this test serve?”

“Merely one to test their devotion to the legion,” Elias said. “A pair of the recruits stood, or at least were supposed to stand guard for the first time over the legion standard and eagle. The first pair failed the task, but I think tonight we shall have our first success. Hopefully, they will quickly become used to their new duty.”

They both fell silent as they walked into a break in the trees. The gardens spilled out onto the marble terrace that in turn dangled over the cliff that was Canterlot mountain. Elias made his way to the railing and leaned upon it, looking around with lazy eyes. The moon sat high in the sky, surrounded by a small sea of stars. Elias took a deep breath of the cooling night air, and glanced at Luna. The alicorn stared up with a neutral expression on her face. The light of the moon seemed to accent her face perfectly, outlining the curve her chin with its white light. Her fur looked positively pristine, and Elias almost wished he could reach out and run his fingers through it, just to get the feeling. Elias felt a small grin creep across his face as he stared at the pretty alicorn. Then, his eyes were staring down, looking for anything else to look at.

What the fuck was wrong with him? Why was he thinking of Luna like that? Yes, she was an attractive mare, and he had more than come to terms with the fact that he could, and did find mares attractive, but he shouldn’t be thinking about that! Not with her at least! On top of that point, he was staring at her! What would have happened if she had caught him?

Elias felt anger well up in his mind as he stared down and did a thorough search through his thoughts, looking for the source of the strange feelings he was getting. It was like his fight or flight response was ramping up and cooling down at the same time. His stomach did a small flip as he felt a hoof brush his shoulder, and he looked up to find Luna extremely close. Her green eyes seemed to bore into his as she tilted her head and stared at him with a look of concern.

“Elias? Is something amiss?”

He shook his head and stared back out over the railing.

“Nothing at all," he said quickly. "Just thinking. Why?”

Luna frowned and her hoof dropped. Elias had no idea why, but he took that as a sign that he might have done something wrong.

“I had asked you if there was anything else you would like to do this evening. We have been standing here for some time, and you have not spoken a word to me. Have I done something wrong?”

Elias shook his head.

“No, I’m just… tired, I guess. Stressed maybe. I don’t know.”

An awkward silence fell over the pair. Elias could feel Luna’s eyes on him, as if trying pressure, him into speaking his mind, but what was there to say? He didn’t know what he was thinking, let alone convey that with sensical speech that wouldn’t ruin their existing relationship. The silence seemed worse though, because Luna sighed and turned away.

“Very well then General. I believe I shall go finalize some paperwork and take an early rest. Have a good night.”

She dropped from the railing and began walking away, and before Elias could think his words through, he spat them out.

“I like spending time with you Luna,” Elias blurted.

He flushed crimson as the alicorn cast an eye back, as if trying to determine if he had actually spoken the words he had. Her silence did nothing to ease the feeling of embarrassment Elias felt welling in his chest, so he did his best not to panic and sputter as he explained himself.

“I mean… All of this? It’s been… nice. I enjoy relaxing with you, even if I may not say it, or show it, and even when I’m a bit antagonistic, and it’s only going to get worse in the coming months and…”

Elias stopped as he felt a fuzzy blanket wrap itself around his body. He blinked and realized quickly that he was staring into a wall of that wonderful blue fur as Luna gave him a light, yet firm hug. It didn’t last long, and as Luna pulled away, she smiled and winked.

“Thank you for your kind words Elias, I too enjoy our time together.”

She looked to the sky again.

“I know you have trouble expressing the softer side of your personality, and with your position, you have been actively suppressing it, with good reason of course," she added, "even I can admit that, but you need not fear it.” She sighed, and turned toward him, causing more heat to rise to his face as her beautiful eyes seemed to stare into his soul. “Promise me this Elias; when we have finished with this march business, follow your heart. Whatever it tells you, wherever it takes you, or whoever it takes you to, follow it.”

Her hoof raised for a second, then settled itself on the ground again as she stared with longing eyes at his chest. She sighed again and met his gaze with another smile.

“Do what you must Elias, but when this ends, set yourself free. That is all I ask. Do not be afraid to be a softer man. I promise that you won’t change at all, yet you will be completely different in every significant meaning of the word.”

Elias nodded dumbly.

“I’ll… think about it. I can’t promise anything yet.”

Luna sighed and her smile dimmed slightly, but she nodded anyway.

“I understand. Have a good night General, and though I know it might not mean much; have sweet dreams.”

Elias watched the blue alicorn turn and walk away. His eyes followed her until she vanished in the dark of the garden. Then he turned to the dark of the night sky, and he simply stared, his mind aflame with thoughts of preservation, relationships, and what came after.

Chapter 39: Lenois Noctem

Elias ripped his helmet free from his sweat covered head as he shouldered his way through the castle doors. The Solar Guards to either side flinched visibly at the aggression of his motion, and why shouldn’t they? Elias was a force to be reckoned with on a good day, but it was slowly becoming a not good day. It wasn’t bad, yet, but the fact that he had been questioned in front of his recruits, during their afternoon march, was unbelievable, and if anyone decided to cop an attitude with him, he was going to give them a massive piece of his mind, before quitting in the most human fashion he could imagine; a big middle finger and a fuck you as he walked away without looking back. They were simply lucky that his outstanding officers had been able to fill in for him on the afternoon march. The legion was slated to return any minute, and Elias intended to be with them for the rest of the day, princesses be damned.

The Royal Guards at the entrance of the throne room stared at Elias as soon as he came around the corner, though unlike their Solar lessers they did not flinch as he stalked his way toward the throne room doors. They also didn’t bother opening the doors, and instead seemed intent to let him work out more of his anger. Elias did so with gusto.

The throne room doors were easily three times his height, yet Elias shoved them open with enough force for them to slam against the walls. The petitioner Celestia was speaking with jumped and immediately cowered as he spotted Elias’ chitinous facial scar. The white alicorn shot a glare at Elias.

“General, I am with one of my subjects, please wait outside until we are finished.”

Elias stopped before her throne and snorted in disbelief.

“I don’t think so Princess. You don’t get to send me a messenger, interrupting my training, and then tell me to wait. You will see me now, or you won’t see me at all.”

Elias crossed his arms and looked to the earth pony.

“Besides, what world ending threat are you here for? Someone steal your cupcakes?”

The pony shook his head, never taking his eyes away from the left half of Elias’ face.

“N-no. I w-wanted to ask Princess Celestia for her help improving crop yields.”

Elias nodded.

“Improving crop yields. Fair petition I suppose, but tell me, has anyone starved in Equestria this year?”

The pony shook his head.

“N-no.”

“Last year then?” Elias asked. “Perhaps the year before that?”

The pony shook his head no again. Elias snorted.

“Has anyone in Equestria starved in the last five years, or even the last ten? Has there been a hunger crisis, ever in your life?”

The pony whimpered and looked to Celestia for support, but Elias didn’t let the white alicorn speak up.

“If the answer to all of that is no, then crop yields are just fine,” Elias snapped. “Get out and quit wasting everyone’s valuable time.”

The pony turned on his heel and fled. The doors slammed closed as Elias turned back to Celestia with a frown on his face. The alicorn glared daggers back.

“You had no authority to dismiss that pony.”

“And you have no authority to interrupt my training,” Elias shot back. “Yet here we are. Are we going to stop wasting each other’s time, or are you going to get around to what you want from me?”

He could tell that he was pressing her buttons, but Elias could not have cared in the slightest. She had no idea what anger looked like, and if she wanted to avoid finding out, she would leave him well enough alone. The pair glared at each other for awhile, neither budging or blinking. Elias just waited with cool, calm anger. He wasn’t some soft pony, and he wouldn’t blink, no matter what enemy decided to challenge him. He had far too much to protect to be cowed.

Celestia sighed and looked down.

“Very well General, let us get this done so that you may return to your training. I assume things have been going well?”

Elias let his glare soften into a normal stare.

“Well enough. The recruits have started formation training, and will soon begin with weapons. I have high hopes, but only they can have the will to succeed.”

Celestia nodded, then looked toward her assistant. The white unicorn sent off a letter, and within moments the side doors of the throne room opened. Elias felt his face return to a frown as a line of ponies in gray training armor trotted through. A few of them gave him smug looks, while others seemed to cower away. Elias didn’t remember a single one of them, other than the fact that they had willingly walked away and quit. Well, save for the last two.

Orchid glared daggers at Elias as she and Thunderstorm stalked by, setting themselves away from the rest of the failures. Elias followed them with his eyes, unflinching. This was clearly some sort of play to force him to let the ponies back into his legion, but Elias wouldn’t budge, and he would make sure they all knew that. Luna entered after the last recruit and climbed the throne to stand beside her sister. A small frown decorated her face, but she looked more concerned than angry. Elias didn’t want her to get the wrong ideas about who his anger was directed to, so he shifted his glare back to Celestia.

“And what is this supposed to be? Who are these ponies and why are they here?”

“You do not recognize the recruits you so recently had in your service?” Celestia asked leadingly.

“I do not recognize this batch of failures, no,” Elias replied. “The recruits are soon to be on the training grounds, doing the days drills. The very same training fields that I should be at, and the very same drills that I should be overseeing. Let’s skip this idiotic posturing and get to the point. What do you want?”

Celestia’s nostrils flared, but Luna moved first. Her eyes were pleading as she stared down at him.

“General, you have been accused of cruelty and unfair treatment, and these ponies have built a case against you that could see you imprisoned. This is not a trivial matter.”

Elias’ eyes flicked down to the line of ponies before him as a snarl built on his face. He walked slowly down the line recruits, glaring at each one, daring them to meet his eyes.

“Is that so? And just who is brave enough to say such charges to my face, instead of hiding behind the princesses like the pack of worthless cowards they are?”

The ponies before him shied away from the intensity of his glare, but one on the end, a unicorn, stepped forward and scoffed.

“We’re not scared of you Bright. You’re a bully, and if nopony else will, I will make sure that you can’t abuse anyone else. When we’re done with you, you’ll wish that-…”

Orchid stepped forward.

“Shut up you stupid failure. You dropped out day one because you couldn’t keep up with the endurance training. Get back in line while the real ponies do the talking.”

The unicorn glared at her, but with a light growl from Orchid, he backed down, muttering something under his breath. Orchid then looked to Elias, and gave him a sharp salute.

“General, I apologize for this pony’s slander, and for associating with him, but it was the only way that Thunderstorm and I could push this matter higher. Unlike this lot, we did not quit. We have our helmets, and we want to keep training with the legion. Maybe we should have done more to find out our orders, and maybe we failed, but I’ll take a hundred lashes before I quit. Punish me how you like General, but I’m seeing this through no matter what.”

She then stepped back and stood at a rigid attention. Elias stared at her for a moment, then looked to Thunderstorm.

“And what of you? Are you ready to take a hundred lashes for your failure?”

The pegasus met his eyes.

“Two hundred if that’s what it takes General. I’ll admit failure, but Recruit Orchid is right; we might have failed, but we didn’t quit. Punish us all you want, but we aren’t finished yet.”

The stallion shot a glance to the mare beside him.

“Besides, where Orchid is, I’ll always follow. Give me three hundred lashes, four hundred even! I can take it. For her, for you, for Equestria. I’ll take any punishment.”

Elias noticed a faint blush on Orchid’s face, but disregarded it. Prior romantic relationships didn’t matter to him save for their use as a motivating force. If he was going to keep one of them, the other would stay. It was simple, and more than mildly irritating. Still, credit where credit was due he supposed, they at least had the balls to stand up to him in the appropriate manner when they thought he was wrong.

“Fine, you two want to be in my legion so badly? You’re going to prove it.”

Elias pulled out his watch and clicked it open.

“It is currently six forty-five. I expect you two to have all of your equipment, and the new equipment from the last three days of training, ready and willing to march in six minutes. You’ve missed far too much work, and I have no doubt in my mind that you’ve been sitting on your lazy asses while you “pushed this higher”.”

Elias sneered as he quoted Orchid, but the pony showed no emotion as he got in her face. That was good, very good. She was a strong one, perhaps she was right. She couldn’t know that, he had to appear perfect in mind and sound in decision, but still, Elias could admit his mistakes to himself. Only once his legionaries had full confidence in him would he admit to being wrong. Then it would be a matter of teaching them to think for themselves, but they needed to act first. Thinking came later.

“After you get back,” Elias said, switching his glare to Thunderstorm, “you two will stand guard, again, and this time you will be in formation with your armor shining for inspection. Failure at any point will mean five hundred lashes, then as many laps around Canterlot as it takes for you to quit or die. Am I clear?”

Both ponies snapped into sharp salutes.

“Yes General!”

“Then go.”

Both sprinted from the throne room without another word. Elias shot another glare toward Celestia as he waited for the doors to close. She had adopted her normal, regal posture, and was doing a phenomenal job trying not to look absolutely enraged. Luna on the other hand looked quite pleased that Elias hadn’t publicly beaten the recruits for challenging his decision. He hoped she would forgive him for what he knew was going to come next.

He looked toward the much longer line of failures, and scowled.

“As for the rest of you, I gave no orders for you to quit, yet you did so anyway. You failed because you wanted to fail, that is no fault of mine. If you take issue with that, then I suggest growing a backbone and toughening up, because Legio I Equus has no place for the weak.”

The unicorn from before stepped forward again with a sneer on his face.

“Say what you like about us Bright, but you are in the wrong here, and the princesses know it. I care not for what you, or those other two weirdos think, your little farce as a “leader” ends now.”

“Is that so?” Elias replied calmly.

He took a few steps forward, and suppressed a smile as the stallion flinched.

“And who’s going to enforce that ultimatum of yours, you?”

The stallion snorted.

“Of course not, the princesses will-…”

“Do nothing,” Elias finished as he took another step. “I don’t know why ponies seem to have such short memories, but it appears as if everyone has forgotten who the fuck I am.”

Nobody was fast enough to stop Elias from grabbing the pony’s armor and yanking him forward, slamming the unicorn’s muzzle into his forehead. A satisfying crunch caused most of the ponies in the throne room to flinch, while Elias just smiled the pain away. The stallion yelped and clutched at his bloody, broken nose, then stared at Elias with fear as the human got in his face.

“You remind me of a piece of shit named White Shine. I beat his face in, and nobody stopped me then, who’s going to stop me now?”

The stallion gaped and his mouth flapped without a sensical answer, so Elias shook him.

“Nobody,” Elias growled. “The only regret I have with White Shine is that I did not keep enough control to beat him half to death in private. Trust me when I saw that I no longer have such control issues.”

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Celestia bellowed.

The pony in Elias’ hand whimpered as the human’s eyes flicked up, his anger not dimming in the slightest as he glared hatefully at the white alicorn. She matched his furious gaze with her own, and Elias swore he saw sparks as her mane flickered.

“Put him down,” Celestia said with a low growl. “Now.”

Elias snorted dismissively.

“Or what?” he spat.

He raised the unicorn off the ground, then dropped him, making sure the motion was visible to all. The stallion yelped and scooted back toward the throne, and away from Elias. The human and the solar princess continued glaring at each other for a moment, before Elias sneered and turned his back on her.

“You won’t do a damn thing to me Princess, because you’re at fault for all of this. You put me in this position, and if you don’t like how I run things, I already showed you where I keep my resignation letter.”

He put on his helmet as he walked away.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have actual work to do to ensure this march of yours succeeds.”

Elias slammed out of the throne room doors and began walking toward his office. He would need his equipment if he was going to lead the two recruits on their night march. He mentally sighed. It was going to be another very long night. Longer still given the sound of heavy hoofsteps approaching his rear.

Elias paused his long strides and half turned to find Luna racing after him. She looked irritated, but not angry, so that was likely a good sign. Elias rested his hands on his sword belt as he waited for the blue alicorn to catch up. As she did so, he began walking at a slower pace, an easy one that matched her stride. They walked in silence for a moment, then Luna sighed.

“Elias… I must ask, why did you try to provoke my sister like that? And for that matter, what about the charges those ponies brought against you? It will not simply go away because you attacked one of them and decided to ignore it.”

Elias shrugged.

“Sure it will, because their claims are valueless; simple as that. I can recognize that, you can recognize that, and I should hope that your sister is intelligent enough to recognize that. If she can’t, that is her problem, not mine.”

Luna whirled about in front of him, forcing him to stop as she shot a mild glare at him.

“It is your problem Elias! Cruelty is a punishable offence in Equestria, what do you have to say to defend yourself from that charge?”

Elias took a step toward her and spread his hands.

“I agree completely; I am cruel, but that’s the point.”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as she continued glaring at him.

“Princess, please do not belittle your own intelligence like this, think! Is the enemy going to be kind when they are calling for the blood of your subjects? Is the enemy going to be kind when they are ripping ponies in half? Is the enemy going to find it anywhere in their hearts to be anything but cruel as they butcher your ponies by the hundred?”

Luna flinched at his words, and her eyes flicked down as her irritation vanished. Elias sighed again. He didn’t want to push her away, but she had to understand.

“The simple answer is no, they aren’t. They don’t care about ponies, but guess what? I do. I care enough to inflict as many torments as my ponies can stand so that they can take a look at a truly cruel enemy and not waver. I am not making cuddle buddies; I am not making friendship. I am making soldiers, and I am preparing for war. For death. The crueler I am now, the less potential there is that ponies die later. That’s the game I am playing, and if I’m the only one who understands that, then we are doomed to fail.”

Elias shook his head and walked around the alicorn, more than ready to leave her to her thoughts.

“Now, I have work to do Princess, I hope you’ll excuse me.”

He stalked away from her without looking back. He had no doubt she would protect him, would make the accusations of cruelty disappear, but he almost wished she wouldn’t. He didn’t need anyone watching his back, he was his own man, and if his actions met with consequences, he would tackle them head on.

He made only one stop, ducking into his office to grab his ruck, then he made his way to the training yard. As he walked into the yard, he regarded the setting sun with a scowl. Their normal route took them through the Everfree, and while he hadn’t encountered anything dangerous during his night in the woods, he imagined that the myths surrounding the place had more truth to them than most imagined, and he had a gut instinct that their night march would be interesting.

Elias’ eyes drifted down from the setting sun to rest on the two returning recruits, or rather, the small group surrounding them. Elias’ face fell into a scowl as he walked toward them, making note of the group of ponies that were decked out in their full marching equipment. Ice Blossom cast a glance over her shoulder as he approached.

“Evening General, just making sure my recruits are all squared away for their makeup march.”

She tightened a strap on Thunderstorm’s back, cinching his scutum in place. The pegasus shuffled slightly under the extra weight, but he settled quickly, letting Ice Blossom give him another once over. Elias outwardly kept a frown on his face, but he was glad Ice Blossom was taking the initiative in seeing necessary work done without orders. No doubt, as soon as she had heard his intentions for the two would-be recruits, she had snapped to work to make sure they were squared away.

His eyes, drifted, however, to the other members of the cluster of ponies. Night Flash and Anyon were busy giving Scarlet Shield a once over as the gryphon ensured that his legionnaire armor was properly fitted. His outward frown became complete as he walked toward the red pegasus.

“Scarlet Shield, I don’t recall giving you orders to gear up.”

The pony snapped to attention, and Elias could tell that he was barely suppressing a grin.

“Apologies General! I had just submitted my medical release form with Adiutor Binder, and I overheard Centurion Ice Blossom discussing a make-up march. I thought that since I have been resting for so long, a trot through the woods would do my body some good. Warm myself up for the real training, so to speak.”

Elias hated when the ponies were thinking ahead of him, yet he couldn’t help but feel cautiously happy. They were thinking, pushing themselves without being asked. Maybe it could work. Maybe.

He didn’t let anyone know they were right, and instead remained short with Scarlet.

“Make sure you keep up then Chief Strategist. I will be setting a brutal pace,” his eyes flicked to the pair of would be recruits, “and anyone found lacking will no longer be a part of my legion.”

All three nodded silently and fell into a line. Elias looked to Night Flash.

“First Centurion, you will also accompany this march; keep the recruits in marching order, and educate them on as much as possible. All three have missed out on important training, and all three will be brought up to par by the end of tonight, am I clear?”

The pegasus saluted and nodded.

“Of course General. What should the rest of the recruits do this evening?”

Elias looked to Ice Blossom.

“Inform Adiutor Binder that you and Granite shall be running formation drills until lights out. Binder shall observe and make corrections as necessary.”

He jabbed a finger at her.

“Don’t let them slack off. Just because I’m not watching, does not mean the standard slips. I will be checking personally for progress when I get back.”

Ice Blossom and departed swiftly toward the barracks. With a nod to Anyon, Elias waved his little marching party toward the training yard gates. As they departed, the sun slipped below the horizon, casting a shadow over Canterlot.

*****

Elias squinted hard as he tried to stare into the darkness of the Everfree. On his orders, he had made the small group travel without torches, and with no unicorns, they had no other means for light. The sun was long gone, not only had night fallen, but a thick cloud layer had formed as they had moved toward Ponyville. The trio of pegasi and the solitary earth pony walked behind him in a block of four, keeping a close formation. So far, none had complained despite his brutal pace. His long legs already made them trot, but with his fast tempo, the ponies were essentially forced to jog to keep up. They were sweating hard despite the cool night air, and while he could silently commend them for their effort, things were about to get worse in an unplanned way.

He hadn’t bothered checking the weather schedule before leaving Canterlot, and even if he had, it wouldn’t have mattered. Ponyville was on a completely different weather schedule, and if the earthy smell in the air was any indicator, it was going to be a torrential downpour any minute. Still, he hesitated to push the ponies any harder. Night Flash had already done a day’s worth of training, yet here he was on the same hike, pushing himself at a much more difficult pace. Scarlet wasn’t faring much better, whether from his lack of activity due to his time in the infirmary, or the residual exhaustion of his time in the changeling pod, the pegasus was sweating hard, and his breaths were becoming shorter. Thunderstorm fared the best of the three pegasi, though he too was sweating hard under the weight of his new shield. That left Orchid, who seemed non-plussed about the situation. She was by far the most alert of the ponies, and the least exhausted. No doubt a result of her earth pony physiology. She matched Elias’ pace with focused ease, with only the occasional shrug as a sign of discomfort.

Elias dropped to one knee and held a hand in the air. The ponies stopped and crouched behind him, their eyes focusing outward as they caught their breath. Night Flash broke from the formation and saddled up next to Elias’ right ear.

“What is it General?” he asked breathlessly.

Elias shook his head in reply, tuning all of his senses outward. He had seen something with his bad eye, a hint of movement. The creature was a master of stealth, clinging to the darkest of shadows with ease. Had it not been from the strange abilities of his bad eye, Elias imagined he wouldn’t have noticed a thing. His hand inched toward his shield, grasping a pilum. As he withdrew it with painful slowness, he whispered to Night Flash.

“Take the recruits back up the road fifty feet. Wait until I signal an all clear. Should I come under attack, escort them to safety first, then return to aid me, am I clear?”

Elias could practically feel Night Flash’s need to protest, so he cast a glance over his shoulder, glaring at the pegasus in the darkness.

“Am I clear First Centurion?” he growled, leaving no question that his words were to be followed to the letter.

Night Flash sighed, but nodded silently and he withdrew. Elias remained still as the pegasus crept back to the recruits. He listened as Night Flash whispered his commands, then he listened to the ponies creep away. Then he waited in dead quiet. Wind began to whistle through the trees, and gusts of wind set the branches alive with activity. Like an orchestra of toneless noise, the leaves blocked out all sound, leaving Elias to rely on sight alone to seek out their potential ambusher.

Too bad he was looking the wrong way.

Elias heard Night Flash cry out as a heavy mass of a creature attacked him from behind. He suppressed a cry of pain as sharp claws tore at his spine. Though his armor largely protected him, the sheer force of the blow sent him rolling forward. Elias gritted his teeth as he skated through a briar patch, then he was on his feet and staring down the manticore that dared think him prey.

The scorpion tailed beast growled as it glared at him with shining green eyes. It hesitated a moment as Elias set his feet. It almost seemed surprised that its “prey” wasn’t running for the hills. Elias adjusted his grip on his pilum, ready to throw it straight into the beast’s eye. An eye that flicked to Elias’ right; toward the ponies.

Elias roared as the manticore tried to turn toward smaller prey. He raced forward, forgoing throwing his pilum. Instead, he tried to jab it into the beast’s flank. The steel tip pierced its thick hide quite easily, but before he could truly drive it home, the beast whirled on him, lashing out with its tail. Elias sacrificed his pilum to save his shield, clutching on for dear life as the beast tried to swat it away. Elias spun with the force of the hit. He faced the beast and made to draw his gladius, but for a creature of its size, it moved far too quickly.

The beast was on Elias just as his gladius came free from of its sheathe, and it drove him to the ground, batting both Feather, and his scutum away. Elias shouted in its face and punched at its muzzle. The manticore answered his roar with its own, momentarily deafening him. Before he could register the spittle on his face, or the smell of death emanating from the beast’s mouth, Elias found himself begin shaken like a rag doll. The manticore’s teeth bit at his cuirass, doing little damage, but finding plenty of grip to toss him about like a ragdoll. It lifted him into the air with ease, quickly slamming back into the dirt.

Elias couldn’t get air in his lungs as it dragged him through the dirt, slamming him into the ground over and over again. He did his best to fight back, attacking its face with his fists, trying to kick its legs out, but the beast ignored his attempts. Its iron neck muzzles wrenched the human through the air, and slammed him into the ground once more, giving him a moment to breath as it reared back with its tail.

Elias rolled away from the strike, acting before his mind could even get a full grasp on the situation. His helmet was long gone, and as he rolled from a second strike, Elias noticed blood in his mouth. That likely wasn’t good. He rolled away from a third strike, finally managing to get his feet under him. Elias reached behind his back for his dagger, only to find nothing. He blinked stupidly as the manticore pounced toward him.

Instinct took over again, and Elias threw himself to the left, rolling just barely out of the reach of the manticore’s claws. Where the fuck was his dagger?!? He had used it on the changelings during the invasion, and then he had…

Elias gritted his teeth as his mind clicked. His dagger was gone, and he couldn’t see any of his pilla, nor his gladius. He needed to kill the fucking beast attacking him before it got its damn teeth near his throat again. It was pure luck that it had decided to seize his armor, but Elias knew his luck wouldn't hold. The manticore growled as it turned around again, and it wiggled its hips. He had less than a second.

As the beast leapt into the air, Elias felt his toe catch on a large stone. He managed to grab it as he dodged again. This time however, he did not jump free of the beast, and its claws bit deep into his arm. Elias cried out in pain as his grip on the stone failed for a moment, nearly letting it fall free. As the beast slammed him into the ground however, Elias solidified his grasp, and as the beast reared back to claw him, he slammed the stone across its face. He felt cartilage crumble under the stone, and the manticore reared back, wailing in pain. Elias took the moment of weakness to scramble backward.

He didn’t make it far. The manticore was on him in an instant, and this time its claws found plenty of purchase, tearing at any bit of exposed flesh the human had. Elias swung the stone again with all his might, but the manticore ignored the pain of its shattered muzzle in its anger. A paw knocked the stone from his hand, then another slashed across his face. Elias cried out in pain, and though he tried to fight back, he could tell he was losing. He just hoped Night Flash was smart enough to move the recruits away.

*****

Night Flash watched in horror as the manticore tore apart his friend. He, and Scarlet Shield stood side by side, watching the scene unfold in silence. Despite being dropped on, Elias seemed to initially have the situation well in hand. He had even got in a solid attack against the manticore’s flank as it tried to turn on the ponies. After that though, things had gone rapidly downhill, and it was clear to everyone that the human was outmatched by the seven-foot-tall wall of muscle and fur. Night Flash glanced at Scarlet nervously. Both of them were twitching, unsure if they needed to honor Elias’ orders, or dive in and save their friend. Flash gulped as the manticore tore the stone from Elias’ grasp, and as another scream of pain split the air, Flash made his decision.

“Recruits!” Night Flash called out, pointing his hoof at the wild beast. “Spread out and distract the manticore, Chief Strategist Shield and I will attack it!”

Scarlet shook his head.

“Flash, we don’t have weapons. What are we going to do to that thing? What can we do?”

Night Flash growled and grabbed the pegasus’ wing forcefully, drawing a sharp yelp from the pony. He then manually extended Scarlet’s feathers with his hoof, and shifted them so that their hidden wing blades would deploy. Scarlet stared at the glistening blades in awe as Night Flash spoke harshly at him.

“Even if we didn’t have our wing blades built in, we would still fight for Elias. Either pony up or go home Scarlet, because I’m not leaving him to die here, and nopony in the legion should even consider doing so.”

Without another word, Night Flash raced forward, scanning the ground for pitfalls as he ran. While he spotted no potholes, Night Flash did catch a glint of steel, and he altered his path toward Elias’ fallen sword.

“General! Sword!” Night Flash called as he kicked the blade.

Elias’s hand fumbled about for the blade hilt as it skittered over, but as soon as he grasped it, the blade went to work, plunging into the manticore’s mane again and again. Night Flash couldn’t tell if the sword was actually doing damage, but he didn’t care. His wing blades lashed out like lightning, biting deep into the manticore’s flank. The beast roared, and its rage shifted focus. A paw lashed out toward Night Flash, but the pegasus dipped back with ease.

The manticore growled, and before Night Flash could even move to stop it, its tail lashed down, stabbing deep into Elias’ thigh. The man gasped wetly, but his gladius came across with frightening speed. The stinger came free with a spurt of goo, and the manticore let out a pained howl as it staggered back from the human. Night Flash pursued the beast, lashing out with his wing blades. Long scores of blood appeared on the beast’s body, and it continued to roar in agony as it tried to drive the pegasus away. Between swipes, Night Flash looked back to Elias to find the human being helped to his feet by the recruits. The man said nothing about their flagrant disobeying of his orders, and instead he wordlessly pointed at the manticore with the tip of his sword.

Night Flash saw stars as he flew backward. He had looked back for too long, and the manticore did not let the moment escape him. Night Flash felt blood roll down his face as he was launched back by that massive paw, and he heard Elias roar in rage. Night Flash slammed into a tree, knocking the wind from his lungs, but he immediately found Elias with his eyes. The human was up close with the manticore again, stabbing away as he screamed at it. The human’s gladius plunged into the beast’s chest as Scarlet sprinted up to Night Flash.

“Are you alright?” the red pegasus asked.

Night Flash grunted as Scarlet helped him to his feet.

“That’s “Are you alright First Centurion,” Night Flash said. “If General Bright catches you not using rank, you’ll get the whip. Don’t make me warn you again Chief Strategist.”

Scarlet stared at him in shock, then nodded slowly. Both pegasi looked to Elias as the man let out a loud shout, followed swiftly by the manticore collapsing atop him, burying the man. They both stared with wide eyes for a moment, and Night Flash felt a tinge of fear. Had Elias won? The manticore wasn’t moving, but was the human alive?

Night Flash and Scarlet moved at the same time, sprinting to the massive corpse. They pushed with all their might, but the manticore barely moved. Night Flash shot a glare over his shoulder at the pair of recruits, who had yet to do anything useful.

“Will you stop standing around and do something useful you useless fucks?” he bellowed.

Orchid and Thunderstorm snapped into action, and they joined the pair of pegasi in shoving the manticore from atop Elias. As it inched forward, they all began to hear a low tone, one that built in volume as the human’s head came free of the wall of meat and fur. Elias was chuckling lightly, and as his eyes opened to behold the group of ponies, it elevated to loud laughter.

Night Flash glanced at the recruits, who looked bewildered beyond comprehension. He knew they had never seen the man so much as smile, let alone laugh, yet here he was, cackling like a mad man as the ponies paused in their effort to catch their breaths. Night Flash looked back to Elias and chuckled nervously.

“I- Is everything alright General?”

The man looked to the pegasus and chuckled.

“Y-you said… f.. fuck.”

The admittance set the man to laughing again.

“I- I can’t believe! Of all the ponies, coming from Night Flash, it was…”

His words choked off as his laughter reached a fevered pitch. Night Flash blushed and looked away in mild embarrassment as his fellow ponies grinned at him, but before they could join their general in his laughter, the human began to choke. A wet sound came from deep in Elias’ chest, and with a loud series of coughs, blood sprayed from his mouth. Elias began to convulse. A white foam formed around the edges of his mouth as his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

This time there was no hesitation from the ponies. The manticore corpse was pushed away with all speed. Night Flash rifled through his saddlebags, searching for the emergency bandages Elias made them all carry. Orchid moved faster however, and she pulled a long bundle of rope from her saddlebags. She quickly tied it around Elias’ leg above the sting and began to pull it tight.

“What are you doing Recruit?” Night Flash asked nervously.

“Something my dad taught me for snake bites,” came the short reply. “A manticore sting is the same idea, and it’ll be better he loses a leg than his life, right?”

The earth pony gripped the rope in her teeth a yanked, drawing a groan from Elias. Night Flash took the sound as a good sign, and he moved quickly to cut off the excess rope. Pointing to Orchid, he ordered;

“Get him on your back. We’re closer to Ponyville than to Canterlot, and there’s got to be somepony in town that can help him.”

Scarlet stiffened for a moment, then shook his head.

“No,” he said firmly.

Night Flash opened his mouth to bark his orders again, but Scarlet met his eyes with surprising steel.

“We have to make it back to Canterlot. It’s the only place guaranteed to have manticore anti-venom.”

Night Flash narrowed his eyes.

“And how do you know that? With Ponyville being right next to the Everfree, I’m sure that their hospital will have something.”

Scarlet stomped his hoof.

“First Centurion, we don’t know that. The infirmary in the castle has anti-venom, I know that for a fact.”

He helped Thunderstorm lift Elias onto Orchid’s back, taking some of the remaining rope to tie the human down.

“Let me remind you that I was stuck in there with Scalpel for two months, I know what he keeps on stock, and we can’t take the chance that Ponyville General doesn’t have anti-venom. We’re wasting precious time making this decision, so let’s make a choice, now.”

Night Flash scowled as Scarlet scooped up Orchid’s saddle bags, then looked to Thunderstorm.

“Recruit, remove all of your equipment, then fly as fast as you can to Canterlot. See if you can’t get somepony to meet us en-route.”

Thunderstorm was out of his wing binders in an instant, and his helmet and saddle bags quickly followed. Then the pegasus was gone, flapping hard into the sky in the direction of Canterlot. Night Flash quickly scooped up the fallen equipment, making a mental note to have it cleaned before the next inspection. There would be one, and if Elias found out that it had been thrown into the dirt on his orders, the human would be furious.

Night Flash settled the extra set of saddlebags on his back, then looked to his fellow ponies.

“Alright, let’s move as quickly as possible. Stay close, and if anything attacks, run. I will buy time, then fly away, clear?”

Both nodded, and without another word, the ponies began their race toward Canterlot.

Chapter 41: Training Continues

Elias scowled as he limped along the line, doing his best to ignore the traces of pain left in his thigh. Even after almost a week of staying off it as much as possible, the limb still ached after even mild use. The manticore’s sting had gone deep, and even advanced medical spells couldn’t permanently mend the wound, couldn’t permanently make the pain go away. Only time would ease both issues, something that grated on Elias' nerves. It had forced him to make Night Flash to lead the runs, something that infuriated the human to no end. Sure, he knew the stallion was capable, and he trusted him fully, but damnit, that was his job! Elias knew his place was at the front, not sitting in some chair under a tree, waiting alone for the recruits to get back. It was aggravating, and if any of his recruits had been dumb enough to make a comment about his “resting”, Elias imagined he would have exploded.

Elias’ scowl deepened as he continued watching his recruits throwing their pilla at the long row of straw, pony-shaped targets before them. Even after two solid weeks of half-day long practices, some of the javelins were still falling short of their marks. The ponies had an incredibly difficult time standing up on their hind legs to get in position to throw the pilla. After a lesson from Night Flash and Ice Blossom about balancing on their shields, a second problem for the ponies had come in the form of actually holding the damn spears.

Their hooves, while uniquely maneuverable in a way that shouldn’t have been physically possible, just simply weren’t suitable replacements for hands. Clenching and unclenching the frog of their hooves to properly grasp the pilla had taken them hours to figure out, and even still some of the ponies weren’t able to get it right one hundred percent of the time. It would have only been a minor inconvenience if Elias didn’t need every single one of them to do it. Each and every legionnaire would be required to carry and throw two pilla, and if they couldn’t figure out how to properly throw the javelins, one of the distinct new advantages of his legion was moot. Formations were important, but with their shaky progress in solid shield walls, Elias needed to be able to crack an enemy charge before it hit the line with full force. That meant throwing pilla, and so far, the ponies were disappointing him heavily. He didn’t have enough unicorns to make them all auxiliaries, and even if he did, it wouldn’t have the same effect as the entire legion launching javelins at their enemies.

Elias mentally sighed as he continued along the line. They were getting close; he could feel it. They were down to a little over three thousand ponies, with fewer abandoning the training with each passing day, they just needed to learn a few key things. Elias had even begun commissioning the formal armor from Anyon, much to the gryphon’s relief. The old bird had been making plenty of noise about Elias going outside the castle to furnish the recruits with equipment, and with how long Elias had waited to provide the quantity for the armor he wanted, the gryphon had been worried that he was going to do so again. The first thousand sets of armor had set the bird into an excited frenzy of work, shooing Elias out of the workshop so that he could finally progress on the job.

One sound seemed to stand out above the struggling sounds of pilum throwing, and as Elias’ eyes scanned along the line, he found an unfortunate sight that brought about another sigh, though this one was aloud. Cracking his neck to ease the tension that was slowly building up in his bones, Elias limped forward, quickly drawing up behind a pegasus who was expertly standing on his hind legs. His wings were still bound to his sides, yet his stance was perfect, and he showed no signs of balance issues. The only issue Elias found about the pony was the weapon in his hooves. The arrow left the pegasus' bow like a shot, smacking into the center of the target. The pegasus was masterful at making it look effortless, and on any other occasion, Elias would likely have commended his marksmanship. Not today, however.

Elias stared with narrowed eyes as the pegasus dropped to all four hooves and glanced at Elias with clear shame written all over his body posture. Elias said nothing as the pony waited in silence. He instead looked to the target, with the arrow embedded firmly in the center.

“Recruit,” Elias started, “you already know what I’m going to say.”

The pegasus sighed and nodded.

“Yes General, I know.” He huffed and scuffed the ground with his hoof. “I just…”

The pegasus paused and continued shifting the dirt around. Elias glanced down at the pony, then snorted and looked back to the target.

“Speak freely Recruit; the whipping is coming either way.”

The pegasus sighed again.

“I just don’t get it General.” The pegasus looked up and caught Elias’ eyes. “I’m amazing when I’m using my bow and arrow, and I know for a fact that you picked me out because of cutie mark and my potential for dedication, I just…”

The pegasus shook his head.

“This is the first change anypony has given me the chance to really use my special talent. The regular guard kept pushing me out for whatever reason, and while everypony says their “proud” of my archery trophies, none of them really mean it. I certainly don’t care about those stupid lumps of gold.”

The pegasus looked to the target with his arrow resting dead center.

“But this? This is a real chance to use my talent for something good, something helpful, and I have to use something else?”

He stomped a hoof and looked up to Elias again.

“Frankly General, it makes me mad. I want to do the best I can for the legion, for your legion, but my best is with a bow, not a pilum.”

He sighed for a third time.

“It just isn’t. I know you said that we’re not special, but for me, this is a special chance, and my talent is wasted on a pilum.”

Elias nodded silently, staring back out over the targets. He then glanced to his left, finding that ever present, comforting unicorn in his life.

“Adiutor Binder, what is your special talent?”

Without looking up, she replied:

“Preserving scrolls and books General.”

Elias nodded silently, then took a step back and found Gray Granite further down the line.

“And you Centurion?” he called. “What is your special talent?”

Granite shrugged as he corrected the stance of a recruit.

“Breaking rocks General. It’s how I got so strong.”

Elias nodded again, and looked to the pegasus as he spread his hands.

“And I have no magical talent Recruit. This whole exercise has nothing to do with what makes you special, it’s about what you chose to be good at.”

Elias motioned to the weapon stand full of pilla.

“I wasn’t born good at slinging pilla, but with a mountain load of practice and more than a little experience, I became quite good at it.”

Elias then motioned to the bow resting by the pony’s hooves.

“But you ponies are quite lucky. Once you have figured out what it is, you have one thing in your life that you will always be naturally pretty good at. This though,” he said, sweeping his arm at the wider training field, “this all takes practice. Hours upon hours of practice. There’s a reason we start at dawn and don’t stop until well after dark. You are not good with a pilum because you refuse to practice.”

Elias shrugged.

“Besides Recruit, you already know what my intentions are for you. You will primarily use your bow in combat, but you must be able to throw pilla as well. It's important within the formations you've learned. That means practice, something you seem to avoid. It’s unacceptable.”

The pegasus drooped.

“I know General, it just frustrates me to no end. The motions are almost exactly the same, but it’s just that; almost. That little bit of difference makes me terrible at it, and I can’t help but feel like I’m letting everyone down.”

The pegasus shook his head and sighed.

“I’m a weak link, and I know how you feel about weak links. I…”

He turned toward the whipping post with his head still facing the ground and his tail dragging behind him.

“I think I might leave. I’m sorry General, but maybe I just got caught up too much in what could be, rather than what fate seems to be telling me. I guess trophies is all I’m good for.”

Elias watched the pegasus as he slowly walked himself toward the whipping post. He watched as the pony braced himself against the post, waiting for someone to distribute punishment. Gray Granite trotted up beside Elias and frowned.

“What would you like done General? Does this count as speaking out of turn?”

Elias matched the pony’s frown and shook his head.

“This does not," he said quietly, "it constitutes genuine concern; not like that posturing bullshit the noble kids always seem to pull.”

In a loud voice, he continued;

“Centurion, bring the recruit back to me. I don’t remember telling him he could leave.”

Granite nodded and moved quickly, trotting over to the whipping post and grabbing the confused pegasus by the scruff. The pony yelped as Granite lifted him up and carried him back over to be dropped at Elias’ feet. The human waited as the pegasus got back to his hooves, staring up nervously. Elias bit his cheek as he stared the pony down for a moment. Then he spoke.

“Recruit, that’s twenty lashes. You never walk away from me while we are speaking unless its to drop your helmet and ring the bell. Am I clear?”

The pegasus cringed and nodded. Elias matched his nod.

“Good. Now, let’s continue where we left off. We were talking about your status as a special auxiliary. You have read your manual yes? Know how valued someone of your talents is to the legion?”

The pegasus nodded.

“Yes General, I just…”

Elias held his hand up, and the pony’s jaw snapped shut.

“Then you know why this is all important. Your primary weapon will be the bow, and you will have the chance, in the future, to use your special talent to great effect. Until that day however, you will learn how to use the pilum and shield, so that you can function with your fellow soon-to-be legionaries. Is that clear Recruit?”

The pegasus nodded silently. Elias crouched down in front of the pony and laid a hand on his shoulder. Elias could tell that he was almost getting through, but toughness would only go so far. He needed to show that glimpse of compassion that would win him absolute loyalty.

“I know it’s not what you thought it would be,” Elias said softly, making sure he held the pegasus’ eyes, “but this is only going to work if we do it together. This is so important to get right, and if you want to succeed as an archer, you need to first succeed as an auxiliary. That means the pilum and the scutum, alright? Is it so unfair to ask of you what I’m asking of everyone else?”

The pegasus shook his head desperately.

“N-no General! I- I just…”

He took a deep breath, and straightened.

“General, I apologize for my misplaced assumptions.”

Elias shrugged the apology away.

“I don’t care about apologies; I care about action. Are you going to quit on me? Are you going to throw away this opportunity?”

The pegasus shook his head firmly.

“No General. I… I let my mind get the better of me. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

Elias grunted.

“It had better be the last time, because that kind of talk will be punished by a lot more than a whipping in the future.”

He got to his feet and looked toward Granite.

“Centurion, give the recruit thirty lashes to ensure that this self-doubting behavior doesn’t get encouraged.”

Elias cast an eye back to the pegasus as he clasped his hands behind his back and began continuing along the line.

“Recruit, I expect improvement by the end of the day. Do what it takes to win.”

The pegasus nodded, and as Elias turned fully away, he caught a glimpse of a tiny smile and a bit of a tail wag as Granite led him to the whipping post. Elias rolled his eyes, letting his eyes drift toward the next pony in line.

‘Enough softness,’ he thought.

“I expect perfect bullseyes by the end of the week you useless shits!” Elias bellowed at a green earth pony. “Now start throwing those pilla like you don’t want to die in five months!”

The mare immediately braced on her shield and threw her pilla, with the javelin smacking into the target just below the "pony's" neck. Elias gave the mare a pat on the shoulder and continued without a word. Further down the line, Elias caught a peculiar, nervous look from a mare with bright red fur. Her mane was an orange and yellow mess under her helmet, but her eyes were what really drew his attention. She seemed afraid, and while that wasn’t uncommon for ponies that stared at him, especially at his bad eye, she didn’t seem to be scared of him. Yet she was still starring him down like he was about to kill her favorite dog.

Her eyes flicked up to his face, and as soon as she realized that he was watching, she snapped back to the target, tearing a pilum from the rack beside her and sending it spiraling toward the target. Elias followed the trajectory with his eyes. It was by no means a bullseye, but it hit, and that was good enough for the time being.

Elias cleared his mind of the odd staring and went back to focusing on the task at hand. Clearly the mare was already capable enough at slinging pilla, she didn’t require his direct attention. The unicorn beside her however…

“Recruit!” Elias shouted as he stalked forward. “How the fuck are you gripping the wrong end?”

*****

Elias looked up as a knock came from his door. It was late at night, and even Book Binder had gone home with Night Flash. The only reason he was still up instead of trying to fight off his night terrors to get a few precious hours of sleep was because he had spent much of the early evening with Anyon finalizing the designs and numbers for the legionnaire armor, and that had put him behind on all of his other forms. The other generals, mostly the Solar ones, seemed to lack enough unique thought to perform any of the work needed for the march without the signatures of everyone else, so Elias was forced to review each and every request for equipment, supplies, and scheduled stops within Equestria.

The stops were inane and valueless in a military sense, and Elias had the mind to push extra miles out of the army while in safe territory, but after broaching the issue with Celestia, the white alicorn had told him about the morale value of the march for the ponies of Equestria. It wasn’t that much different in principle from what Elias did with his afternoon marches. Each city they stopped at would have a massive parade, followed by a temporary leave for the entire army; designed to expose the civilians to the newly updated military forces, while also showing them that just because the princesses had a war machine, it didn’t mean that the soldiers weren’t regular ponies. After having the value of the action explained, Elias had withdrawn his dissenting opinion and had added the delay accordingly to his preliminary marching plan.

The knock came again, a bit louder than the first time. It jolted Elias out of his thoughts, and he straightened in his seat, shuffling his paperwork to the side. His desk was in a state of organized disarray, but in truth, Elias didn’t care about its appearance. The piles of papers just showed that he actually worked at it.

He cleared his throat and clasped his hands in his lap.

“Come in,” he called.

The door opened and Elias was mildly surprised to see a recruit stick her head inside his office. He had expected Luna, but then again, the alicorn rarely knocked. He didn’t mind of course, and in fact, he took her sudden interruptions in an almost happy stride. She certainly took his mind off of the ridiculous paperwork he had to go through daily.

“Yes Recruit?” Elias asked, staring the unicorn mare down.

She flinched under his gaze, but slipped fully into his office, closing the door behind her.

“General, can I… talk to you about something?”

Elias blinked at her.

“That depends on what that something is Recruit.”

His answer seemed to make her more nervous, and her rump thudded against the door as she took an involuntary step back. Elias tapped on his arm rest and stared at her as she seemed to shiver in fear. His frown deepened.

“Come,” he said, gesturing to the space in front of his desk. “Pull up Adiutor Binder’s seat and talk. It must be something important if you’re risking pissing yourself in my office.”

The pony stared at him for a moment like he had grown a third head. That turned Elias’ frown into a scowl.

“Today Recruit,” he said sharply.

The mare scrambled into action, quickly snatching Book Binder’s chair from behind her desk. It scraped across the bare wood floor and as soon as it stopped, the unicorn was in it, sitting as tall as possible, no doubt in an attempt to hide her nervousness. She failed miserably.

Elias stared at her in silent for a few moments, and when she didn’t speak, he waved her on.

“Well come on Recruit, what is this something you wanted to talk to me about? You should be in bed.”

She chuckled.

“Yeah, and so should you General. Guess we’re both breaking the curfew…”

She trailed off and grew pale as she seemed to remember who she was talking to. Elias watched her progress toward a nervous breakdown with a raised eyebrow. The mare sank in her seat, quivering with fear.

“G-General, I am so sorry. I- I didn’t mean to…”

Elias held up a hand to stop her as he rose from his seat. She seemed to grow more fearful as he moved around his desk, but though she flinched back as he walked by her and moved to a file cabinet on the wall. He rifled through the files as the pony calmed down, taking long deep breaths as she no doubt stared at his back. Elias quickly found the file he was looking for and pulled it free. He closed the file cabinet as he flipped the folder open, taking a quick glance at the contents. He walked back to his chair and plopped down, then closed the file and tossed it before the unicorn.

“So Recruit Firelight, I assume you want to tell me all about how you aren’t supposed to be here?”

The unicorn blinked owlishly at him, then looked down to the file before her. On the front, in bold red letters it said;

DO NOT RECRUIT! BANNED FROM SERVICE UNDER MAGICAL LIMITATIONS SECTION 8!

The mare looked up to Elias, who waited silently for her to speak. He slouched back in his chair while he watched her think. The comfort provided by the chair simultaneously put everything in sharper focus, while at the same time making him want to doze off. He loved the chair so very much, and he knew that once the march was over, he would need to thank Luna with something special. Maybe she would appreciate a hike? Elias mentally frowned. No, that wouldn’t work, it wasn’t enough. Maybe if he arranged for a picnic at the end, maybe a cuddle coupon of some kind?

Elias mentally swore at himself for getting distracted with thoughts of Luna’s blue fuzziness. Damnit, he had work to do! His eyes flicked up to Firelight, and the mare nervously met his gaze.

“Well Recruit?” Elias asked. “What do you have to say?”

Firelight looked back to the file for a moment, then sighed.

“I… I did want to talk to you about this. I wanted to inform you that I had lied on my application…”

She sniffled and looked up to him with tear filled eyes.

“Please General, it was for a good reason! Almost everypony in my family has served the princesses, it’s tradition!”

The mare stared hard at his desk.

“My brothers though, I love them to death, but neither have any interest in this kind of work. One just loves painting, while the other has his heart set on being a bartender. I can’t blame them that, it’s their special talents after all, but me? I live for this stuff, and my parents have prepped me from day one to become a guard.”

She stomped a hoof in her seat.

“But then I read that stupid book, and got that stupid spell stuck in my head.”

“What spell?” Elias asked. “I’m not exactly knowledgeable on magic, and even researching what Section 8 of the Magical Limitations clause for the guard didn’t help. What’s so awful about this spell that you can’t fight with a guard force?”

Firelight sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.

“It’s… hard to explain to a non-unicorn."

"Dumb it down for me," Elias replied.

Firelight took a deep breath, then stared at his desk as she spoke.

"When I was in magic kindergarten, we went on a field trip to the Royal Canterlot Library and I got lost.”

She snorted softly.

“I was just so happy to be in such a big library that I kept running around the shelves, looking for books related to fire. I had only gotten my cutie mark the week before, and I was looking for fireball spells so that I could get a fast track into the Solar Guard. Suffice to say, I found myself where I shouldn’t have been and managed to get a book that little fillies should never be within a mile of, let alone reading.”

She sighed again and looked up to meet Elias’ eyes.

“I didn’t understand most of the book, but I was drawn to a page near the middle. I learned later that there was a small curse on the book, nothing particularly bad, but it could target a unicorn’s special talent and “help” them learn a powerful spell.”

“Help?” Elias echoed.

Firelight nodded.

“Help is a liberal use of the word. I was magically forced to learn the spell, and believe me, I tried to stop. I closed my eyes, cried out for help, tried to run away, but it was way too late. That day, I learned something called a “Destroyer Spell”.”

She stopped, checking if Elias needed more information. The human motioned for her to explain.

“A destroyer spell is something only the best magic users can perform, ponies like the princesses, or the Element of Magic bearer, Twilight Sparkle. It requires massive amounts of skill and energy to perform, and they are extremely destructive.”

She drooped again.

“And the one I learned has the power to level Canterlot. It’s a really big fireball essentially, and because of my special talent in working with fire, I could do it as easy as you can throw a pilla. Boom, thousands gone in a firestorm.”

She motioned toward the file.

“The book luckily also had a security spell on it. I got to meet Princess Celestia face to face that day, and luckily, she’s a really great pony. She comforted me as I freaked out, and she didn’t get mad about what I had done. She helped me find my class, then kept me behind. She talked with me about kid stuff until my parents got to the castle, and for a few short hours, I completely forgot what had happened.”

Firelight chuckled.

“I was just so stoked that the princess knew my name.”

She then sighed.

“But, once she started telling my parents what happened, I remembered the book, and the first thing that came to my mind was the spell. I didn’t even notice I was beginning to cast it until Princess Celestia put an inhibitor ring over my horn. I initially panicked, being cut off from magic your first time is definitely a shock, but she got me to calm down, then told my parents about my new “situation”.”

She sighed again.

“And that was that. It took months of training with a pair of tutors to get control of my magic again, and even then, I can’t serve in the guard, or really anything that might involve stressful situations. It’s why I’ve been working at a bakery, lighting ovens for the past two years. My parents, bless their hearts, try to see it as a positive, but they are just so disappointed that our generation is the one that breaks our family’s line of guard service.”

“My brothers have been talking about doing short contracts,” she continued, “but all they’re going to do is get themselves hurt. I’m the pony with the skills, and the desire to be a guard. I can do this, my magic is in control! I just… I need a chance. All the other forces know me by name, and I knew you wouldn’t, so… I lied. I lied to get in.”

Firelight looked up to Elias with tired eyes.

“I just wanted to apologize General; apologize and throw myself on your mercy. I could be executed for this, I know that, but I just needed to take that shot. When I saw you dressing down Swift Wing earlier, I realized that lying to you wasn’t the way to succeed.”

She bowed her head.

“I leave my fate to you General Bright. I just wanted you to know the truth.”

Elias frowned at the pony for a moment.

“Is there a way to magically forget the spell?” he asked. “I would think it’s within the realm of possibility to remove memories magically.”

Firelight smiled faintly.

“There is such a spell, and I even made contact with the pony that can cast it. I have the bits to fund it too, but…”

“But?” Elias asked.

Firelight frowned.

“But, it’s also a destroyer spell, and casting it is highly illegal. The pony who knows it is a great pony; heck, he teaches cooking classes for a living, but if somepony with just a hair less of a conscience had it, they could brainwash half of Equestria. They’re called destroyer spells for good reason.”

“On top of that,” she continued, “the memory doesn’t just disappear, especially since it’s a cursed spell. He told me all of the little magical details, but I’d have a gem on my hooves that contained the raw power of the spell. If I held onto it, the curse would just make me relearn the spell, and I’d be back at square one.” She tilted her head. “But I can’t give it to anypony else either. I tried to talk to Princess Celestia into taking the gem, but she forbade me from even trying the procedure because of the risk of complete brain drain.”

She clicked her tongue.

“I can’t really blame her for not wanting to potentially turn me into a vegetable, but it’s my risk. I just wish she had taken it, the curse couldn’t overwhelm her, especially since she already knows the spell.”

“And you explained to her that you understood the risk and wanted to go through with it?” Elias asked.

Firelight nodded.

“Yep, but she still said no. I’m just lucky she didn’t put guards on my contact. I still talk to him about it every once in a while, but nothing has come of it.”

Elias tapped his fingers along his desk in thought. Without looking up, he asked;

“What about family? You said your parents were guards, or at least former guards. Would they have the mental fortitude to put the gem away somewhere safe?

Firelight shook her head.

“No. Mom and Dad were always a bit zealous about protecting Equestria, so they run the risk of seeing an imaginary threat and blowing it up. My brothers aren’t mentally sound enough to resist the magic of the spell, and I really don't know the rest of my family. I refuse to pass it off to somepony I don’t trust completely. That leaves me with the spell, and unable to do the one thing I want out of life.”

She shrugged.

“Well, besides have a family and all that normal stuff.”

Elias nodded silently and leaned back in his chair, trying to think of a solution. Clearly she was yet another perfect recruit, she just had one key issue that could get her in a lot of trouble if anyone else found out.

“And you have complete control of the spell now?” Elias asked absently as he stared at the ceiling.

Firelight nodded.

“I do. I’ll get the occasional whisper when I light my horn, but I keep an inhibitor ring on hoof if it ever gets to be too loud, and these past few weeks I’ve been wearing a ring anyway, so I’ve felt nothing. I’ve never had a scare since I was a filly.”

Elias nodded silently again. He stared at the ceiling for a moment more, then grabbed an unlit candle from a drawer. He pointed it toward Firelight.

“Light,” he said simply.

He instantly felt a small wash of heat, and a glance found the candle alight. He looked past it to Firelight, who waited for him to speak anxiously.

“Good command reflexes,” Elias commented.

Firelight blushed and looked down.

“Thanks. Mom was always a good drill sergeant.”

Elias didn’t reply, and instead reached for Firelight’s file. He dropped it into his wastepaper bin and sat up, rolling the candle in his fingers. He made sure to hold Firelight’s eyes as he spoke softly.

“Tell you what; I’ve never been wholly right in the head either. If you’ve got it under control, and I believe you do, then I’ll let you stay. I have conditions for you to meet however.”

Firelight perked up in her seat.

“Anything General. Anything at all.”

Elias grabbed a blank recruitment form and placed it before her.

“Your name isn’t Firelight anymore. Only your parents can know where you are, and even then, keep it short until we’re done with the march. This could burn both of us in the ass if we get caught. How many recruits know you by name?”

Firelight shrugged.

“One? It’s my best pal from school, Steel Heart. She’s the one who vouched for me when I signed up the first time.”

“Then you can inform her too, because she needs to back up the lie we’re going to tell,” Elias replied.

Firelight stared at the recruitment form for a moment, then looked back to Elias.

“What should I put down?” she asked.

Elias shrugged.

“For most of it, it doesn’t matter. What does is the reason you lied, which I will explain to the legion publicly tomorrow morning. You will receive fifty lashes for your “lie”, but I will let you stay.”

Firelight sighed.

“That’s fair punishment, I guess. Could be a lot worse.”

“It is,” Elias replied, “because I’m also going to tell them that you’re a murderer.”

Firelight stopped filling in the form and stared at him with open mouthed shock.

“What?” she squeaked.

Elias stopped rolling the candle.

“From now until the end of the march, your name is Pyrelight, and you’re a murderer. Killed seven minotaurs in a barfight in Bordertown. You got pardoned however, no doubt a result of family connections, and now after extensive rehabilitation, you’re trying to get your life on track. You joined up so that you could do good, and when I learned of your lie, I decided that despite lying to my face, I could use a good minotaur killer, especially since we’re going to be trespassing in their territory.”

Elias spread his hands and stared into the candle flame.

“That’s the lie we’ll tell, and the lie everyone will believe. I’ve done some reading, and Bordertown is only a part of Equestria by name. It’s practically its own micro-nation, and nobody is going to do the research necessary to prove us wrong.”

“B-But what about the pardon?” Firelight sputtered.

Elias shrugged.

“I’ll call in a favor to modify the archives and face the heat if I get caught. Don’t worry about the pardon, worry more about how everyone will treat you when they learn that you’re a killer, Recruit Pyrelight,” Elias said pointedly. “I sure hope you and Recruit Steel Heart are very good friends, because you, and then she, will likely face no small amount of harassment. I’ll inform Adiutor Binder and First Centurion Night Flash of your situation, and I’ll ensure they keep an eye out, but they can’t be everywhere. Watch your back.”

Firelight nodded numbly, then silently went back to filling in her form. Elias waited as she wrote in her information, looking toward her only when he stopped hearing the sound of the quill moving. He glanced over to find the pony staring hard at him.

“General… does this mean I’m in? Not just as a recruit, but…”

“As a legionnaire?” Elias finished. “No, I’m thinking the auxiliary core for you. But does it mean you have a set place in the legion? I’m leaning toward a strong maybe. Let that go to your head, or let that information slip, and I’ll cut your horn off and throw you out to the wolves.”

Firelight nodded, but Elias caught a trace of a smile pass her lips as she looked down to continue writing. He rolled the candle in his fingers for a moment more, then tossed it into his wastepaper bin. It quickly caught Firelight’s file, and he watched it burn, looking away only long enough to open the window behind him.

*****

“Recruit Pyrelight is a cold blooded killer!” Elias shouted as the whip cracked against her back again. “She kills people for looking at her funny, and I must say, that puts a touch of fear into even my bones! I kill because I must, she kills because it’s fun!”

The recruits had eyes only for the mare strapped to the whipping post, ignoring Elias completely as he walked through their ranks. He had decided to double the whipping without telling “Pyrelight”, and the mare was close to passing out as Ice Blossom rolled her jaw after strike eighty-three. Pyrelight’s back oozed red, and she would no doubt spend the rest of the day in the infirmary under Scalpel’s care, but the unicorn knew to keep quiet.

“I offer these words of warning to the rest of you,” Elias said loudly. “Recruit Pyrelight will be staying with us, because there is nothing I want more than a minotaur killer. I do hope those nice ponies at her rehabilitation did a shit job, because when I’m done, she will be hurling bright orange death and annihilating minotaurs by the hundred! Take my advice though, and don’t go drinking with her. I don’t want to have to deal with the paperwork.”

He heard a few low chuckles, but they quickly stopped as Ice Blossom went to work again. The whip snapped against Pyrelight’s back, and she cried out in pain. Elias turned on his heel, making sure to try and catch her eye as he walked in front of the post to get to the next row of recruits. Pyrelight noticed, and she smiled faintly as Ice Blossom drew back for another hit. Elias gave her a small nod and a wink as the whip descended, and Pyrelight cried out in pain again.

Chapter 42: Making Plans

Elias kept his usual frown on his face as the Solar Guards opened the doors to the war room. He needed to make a good first impression for the first “official” meeting they would undertake for the march. All of the other planning meetings had ended up being fairly worthless, at least for the other generals. Each had dealt with their little gripes, but did little in terms of helping them, save for the ones that Elias already knew on a personal basis. With the conflict of schedules related to training, and the day to day hectic-ness of Canterlot castle, they hadn’t actually met as a unified group, and if what he had hear was true, Princess Cadence still wouldn’t join preparations for another few weeks.

Still, the meeting would involve all of the generals, and both of the important princesses. It would be the first meeting where everyone gave their status updates, and it would be the first time where they could start laying the groundwork for the march as a whole. Excited wasn’t quite the word Elias was feeling, perhaps energetic. He was ready to lay out his plans, and get approval from everyone so that they could begin gathering the resources and start training in a group.

His mismatched eyes quickly took stock of the table, locating a trio of empty seats right next to Luna and Nightshade. The latter focused on a stack of paperwork before her, and ignored his entrance, but Luna smiled brightly at him and patted the seat next to her. Elias gave her a respectful nod and moved across the room with long strides. As he slid into the seat, it didn’t escape his notice that the chair was designed for a human user, and he faintly wondered what would have happened if he had chosen a different seat. After a moment of consideration, Elias decided it didn’t matter, and he was more than glad to be close to Luna. They had skipped their weekly session to prepare for the meeting, and Elias had found his migraines grew worse when he didn’t have a bit of free time to spend with the princess. His current headache eased just slightly as the alicorn leaned in to give him a friendly nudged.

He gave her the smallest of grins while hiding the expression behind his information packet. He noticed a faint blush as the alicorn smiled and looked away. Elias straightened in his seat and suppressed his urge to match her smile. Damn did it feel good to see one of his only friends. He didn’t know why Luna inspired butterflies in his stomach though. Maybe he was just hungry? He had skipped breakfast…

As if on que to his thoughts, Celestia entered the war room with Chaser in tow and a broad smile on her face.

“Ah, good, everypony is already here. Since it is still early, I thought it a nice treat to provide breakfast for everypony. Please, take your fill.”

As she and Chaser sat down, a swarm of servants flooded the room, and Elias quickly swiped his prepared materials from the table. He passed them to Book Binder to keep safe, then the servants were upon them. Placemats were followed quickly by plates. In the center of the table, a buffet of different platters were unveiled, all filled to the brim with steaming piles of food. Elias felt his stomach growl at the sight of a small pile of bacon, and he reached for the entire plate, knowing full well that the meat was destined for his plate.

Only for the pile of meat to fly away in a purple glow as his hand got close. Elias blinked and sat back as he watched the stack of bacon set down on Luna’s plate. The blue alicorn smiled at the unicorn beside her.

“Thank you, Silver Shine, I think I can gather the rest myself.”

The unicorn nodded and departed without a word, and Elias found himself staring at the pile of meat sitting on Luna’s plate. She noticed his staring and smiled.

“What’s the matter General? It is not orthodox for ponies to eat meat, but bacon used to be a staple for the Equestrian diet. I still quiet enjoy partaking in its greasy goodness.”

“A mare after my own heart,” Elias muttered under his breath as Celestia made a face of distaste at Luna, who had eyes only for Elias.

“I really wish you wouldn’t sister," Celestia said. "There has been a great deal of research over the years to indicate that eating meat is extremely unhealthy for ponies.”

Luna scoffed and picked up a piece of bacon. Elias felt his eye twitch as he caught an additional whiff of the meat. Jealous didn’t describe the wave of emotion he felt as Luna bit the meat in two.

“I am a nigh immortal alicorn, I can eat as I wish,” Luna replied.

Her eyes flicked toward Elias, and he noticed a playful glint in the beautiful green orbs.

“Although, bacon is best eaten when shared.”

Elias’ momentary hope was squashed as she made a servant levitate the plate toward Nightshade.

“General, would you care for some bacon? It is as fresh as it can be.”

The thestral curled her muzzle.

“Thank you for the offer Princess, but I haven’t tried meat in years. It makes me fat. Mangos on the other hoof…”

The bacon levitated away as the thestral reached into the middle of the table and snatched up the fruit basket. Elias’ eyes traced the meat as it made its way around the table, stopping at everyone, including his two subordinates, before setting back down before Luna. The alicorn sighed and picked up another piece.

“Ah well, tis a shame. I do so enjoy sharing bacon, but alas, none here wish to join me.”

Elias desperately wanted to snatch up the plate, but he could tell that Luna was trying to tease him. He refused to rise to the bait, and he instead took an apple from the fruit bowl that Nightshade was ripping apart. With the everything else being hay based, he was stuck with fruit or the out of reach bacon. Elias suppressed a sigh as he bit into the apple and leaned back in his chair, leaving his plate empty.

It took until the fourth bite for Luna to let out a sigh of her own.

“Well played General, calling my bluff. Here, the bacon is actually yours. I have no taste for meat.”

She passed the entire plate to Elias, who felt himself flush red as the entire table watched the exchange. He blinked owlishly as he stared at the still steaming stack of meat, then looked to Luna.

“Then what did you eat?” he asked taking the plate from her hoof.

Luna winked and began serving herself some haycakes.

“Vegetarian version; hay based of course. I had the chefs label them subtly so that I could tell at a glance, but you didn’t rise to my bait.”

Elias smiled lightly and reached a hand out to rub the space between her wings. Her soft fur parted easily for his fingers, and he scratched softly right at the base of her wings, massaging her back with a gentle touch that eased her tense muscles. The mare melted in his fingers as he spoke.

“Ah, you underestimated my silence on personal issues. You should know me by now Princess, I don’t talk about anything.”

She shuddered as he scratched at the base of her wings, and she smiled brightly at him.

“In-indeed General. Please, eat. We ordered the bacon just for you.”

Elias smiled at her again, then blinked as he realized that they were not in private. A glance to his greater surroundings found that the table was staring at them in silence. Elias flushed red and his hand dropped from behind her back. Elias sat up in his chair, then hunched over his food, trying desperately to find his composure.

“It’s very good,” he commented softly as he bit into the first piece.

“I am glad,” Luna replied, equally flushed.

Elias noticed the deafening silence continue for a few moments after he began eating, but gradually the other generals set about talking about social nothings; though Elias received a wink from Nightshade, and a glare from Chaser and Celestia. Elias recognized quickly that he made some kind of pony cultural mistake, so he looked over to Luna to apologize, only to find her smiling brightly at him. Elias cocked an eyebrow.

“Are you alright Princess?”

She nodded.

“Better with you beside me General,” she responded. “I know you are busy, but could you have your Adiutor schedule our next friendship appointment? I quite missed our conversation this week.”

Elias nodded, and he glanced to his left to find Book Binder already writing the note down in her notebook. His eyes flicked back to Luna, and he smiled.

“I’ll make sure you’re informed when I have free time.”

Luna nodded and her head lowered as she focused on her breakfast. Elias smiled inwardly and he went back at his bacon and apple breakfast, his mind settled with the knowledge that he hadn’t managed to drive away the mare who was becoming his best friend.

With the knowledge that all was well in his personal life, Elias resumed his normal stoicism and began looking around the table, analyzing everyone around it.

*****

Night Flash’s mind was on fire. He knew what rubbing between the wings meant, and he was fairly sure that everypony at the table knew. To do something so romantic in public was unheard of for Elias, and Night Flash couldn’t have been prouder of his boy. Attempting courtship with a princess was a bold move, and from the looks Luna was giving him, Night Flash could tell that the feeling was mutual. Night Flash pulled out a small piece of paper and a pencil from beneath his armor, and he scribbled a quick note between bites of his haycakes. He smoothly passed it to Book Binder under the table.

He managed to finish another bite before the note was returned, and Night Flash felt even happier as he gazed at his soon-to-be wife. She hadn’t even looked at the note as she wrote it, yet it was in perfect hoofwriting as he unfolded it.

I think you’re right that Elias loves Luna, but he doesn’t know that that was a sign of romantic affection. Don’t tell him, let him figure it out. He’ll get too nervous if we start pointing out every little thing about ponies he gets wrong.

Night Flash frowned at that, but he understood the logic. Another glance up to Elias found the human staring at Luna again, but this time, there was no bacon to draw his eyes. Night Flash knew that look, it was the same one he and Book Binder shared, and if the blush on Luna’s cheeks was any indication, she felt Elias’ loving gaze on her.

Night Flash sighed and scribbled another reply on the note.

Stupid march. I can’t wait for it to be over; we are going to have so much fun!

Night Flash passed the note back to Book Binder, then settled into his food. Eat now, talk about Elias’ love life later.

*****

Nightshade grinned at Luna from across the table. She could tell the alicorn knew she had eyes on her, but she refused to meet Nightshade’s gaze, and that only made the thestral grin wider. Chaser leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“What are you staring at ‘shade?” he asked quietly. “Is it the moves Bright was pulling on Princess Luna.”

Nightshade heard a touch of anger in his voice, so she kicked the pegasus under the table.

“Don’t mess it up,” she hissed in reply. “Princess Luna’s personal relationship with Elias is none of your bucking business, so leave it be. You don’t even get to talk about it unless you support her.”

Chaser blinked stupidly at her.

“What do you mean support her?” he whispered. “Bright’s the one making moves.”

Nightshade gave him a forced smile.

“Yeah, and you’re not gonna say a thing, because Princess Luna’s been making moves too. This is the most public either of them have been, so you let them be. She wants him, he clearly wants her, so you have no part in it; got it?”

Chaser frowned, then looked toward Luna to find her staring longingly at Elias. The human was working away at his plate of meat, but Luna was watching him like he was singing her favorite song. Chaser could see the absolute love in her eyes, and he could see frequent glances her way that indicated he was thinking in a similar vein. Bright really did…

Chaser sighed and started picking at his food again.

“Fine, I won’t do anything. He just better not buck it up.”

Nightshade matched his sigh.

“I think we both know them well enough to know that the only thing that’s going to happen is that they’re going to buck it up.”

*****

Celestia felt something going on, but for the life of her, she couldn’t tell what it was. The issue was Elias; the human was positively unreadable. The physical signs on his body told a tale of exhaustion and sleep deprivation, and understandable occurrence given the health reports that Steel Scalpel had on the man, but his body posture; the man looked energized. Was it the interaction he had with Luna? That had certainly drawn the attention of everyone else at the table.

Celestia frowned as she glanced at her sister, who was watching Elias eat. She had mentioned that they had skipped their usual friendship session, perhaps Luna just missed her friend? She still hadn’t formed a very large friend group, and Elias had become one of her closest confidants; perhaps that was it. Luna missed one of her best friends, and with the opportunity to interact, they were behaving as friends did. A minor prank, some smiling, some friendly physical gestures. Elias likely had no significance of the between the wing gesture, and he was just imitating behavior he saw others performing.

Celestia sat up in her seat and smiled softly at her meal. That was good news then. Elias was slowly becoming enveloped by pony culture, and in time, she saw him losing his past traumas as the power of friendship cured his ailments. If Luna gained a close friend in the process, who was she to interfere? It was a minor social faux pas, and one that Luna would no doubt notify Elias of when they were in private. Celestia resisted the urge to clap her hooves together in giddy excitement. Now she knew what Twilight felt when she solved a friendship problem, it was exhilarating, and it was all happening before her! A few more months, and all would be well, she could feel it.

*****

Everfree greatly enjoyed the haycakes. They were in fact is favorite part of any breakfast, and he ate them as he had been taught; with dignity and grace. In truth however, he could have likely just chowed down like he wanted to and nopony would have been the wiser. Though they were hiding it, he could tell that all eyes were on General Bright and Princess Luna. Rubbing between the wings was something only mates did, and while he knew the human was uneducated on pony cultures, he had to know there was some significance to his action. Everfree glanced up at Luna, looking for any signs of distress.

He found none, and if he was reading her royal mask correctly, she was quite pleased. Everfree shifted in his seat and focused back on his haycakes. Good for her. It wasn’t an ideal match up, but General Bright was of some station, and he had more than sacrificed life and limb for the sake of his princess, but in truth, Everfree believed the pair would do well together. Some of the nobles, likely some at the very table he was eating at, would take issue with the unlikely matchup, but Luna was princess, and General Bright seemed a stern sort. They could weather any criticism that came their way with ease. With the knowledge that all was well between the pair, Everfree reached out and snagged the bottle syrup, ready to drown his delicious haycakes in sweet goodness.

*****

Lionheart was seething behind his immaculate, controlled facial expressions. Years of rejection for his proposals from both princesses, and yet some deformed monkey gets the pleasure? Initially, he had taken rejection with stride; many before him had been rejected after all, and they were of higher station! The princesses required the best in all of Equestria, and if they believed he didn’t meet their noble, godly marks, then who was he to contest their will? But Lionheart had seen Celestia’s offer for what it was; an offer for marriage through higher station. They had given him the ability to gain greater prestige on a silver platter, so that they may be wed.

Lionheart had been ecstatic at the news, and when he had received the list of who is co-generals were, Lionheart had been confident that he had been picked for the very reason of wedding. In particular, he had his eyes on the younger of the princesses, Luna. She had very clearly opened the door for such entreaties by having two female generals, one of whom was already involved with General Chaser. That eliminated all the notable competition. Shattered Shield and Dragon-Eye were fine fighters, but they lacked any substantial noble history. Their fathers were great warriors and had earned the title “Duke” for their families, leaving them only a generation into their noble history. Everfree was looking to the zebra lands for a political marriage, and with that, Lionheart was free to open courting with Luna. The blue alicorn was beautiful, powerful, and incredibly wealthy. Marrying her would make him a prince, and he would no longer have any equals, not even the rat Shining Armor.

Lionheart snorted into his greens. What a waste of a good princess. Sure, Cadenza was a weaker, younger princess, but she was still the highest form of royalty! Her title meant something, and yet she had been given to some lowly captain of the guard? What sort of cruel joke had they subjected the small princess to? The Sparkle family was so low on the noble ladder that it was a miracle they owned property in Canterlot, let alone married into royalty. It had been outrageous when their daughter had been taken on by Celestia as her personal student, though Lionheart could admit that that decision had been fair. Celestia had played a long game, raising the foal from her squalid backgrounds, and now the news couldn’t get enough of her heroics. Twilight Sparkle at least had merit at her back, unlike her lazy, worthless brother. He should have been executed for allowing the changelings to invade, but no. Instead the princesses had given him a second wedding and a princess as a wife. Unbelievable.

Now there was the human. Brilliant or something. Lionheart didn’t care. He was a nothing ruffian at best, and a mad animal at worst. How such a creature dared to sit at the same table as two princesses, let alone touch one was barbaric, and Lionheart had half a mind to call in his troops to capture the beast to throw into a cell to rot out his miserable life. That would cost him respect in the eyes of the princesses though. Celestia had given him the position of general, and while it was an offence to life itself, Lionheart had to respect it. What he didn’t have to respect was the monkey’s pawing of his future bride. The dumb animal no doubt thought he was petting a cat, didn’t understand the subtle intricacies of pony courting culture. He could see twinkles of irritation in Luna’s eyes, could see that the princess was only holding a smile to prevent the animal from assaulting her further.

Lionheart snorted as he looked away from the grotesque human. He mentally commended the princesses for turning him into a capable meat shield, but he had no place at the dining table, and he certainly had no place sitting beside a princess. He just had no idea how to remove the beast without disrespecting the princesses. His brow furrowed as he turned away from his greens to munch on his imported fruit salad. Doing anything in Canterlot would be nigh impossible, there were simply too many eyes and ears. Even doing anything while in Equestria’s borders was out of the question, and his actions for the princess could be misconstrued as treason. Once they were in minotaur lands however…

Lionheart sighed and looked to Luna, hoping to catch her eye so that he could convey his sympathy for her plight.

‘Fear not my princess,’ he thought. ‘I shall save you as soon as possible. Remain strong.’

*****

Elias didn’t like the way Lionheart was staring at Luna. The stallion looked like he was halfway between a heart attack and actually getting up to attack the alicorn. It put Elias on edge, and he scooted a bit closer to Luna. The motion brought Lionheart’s eyes to him, and Elias quickly recognized the emotion on the unicorn’s face. Hate. Hate was something that Elias was intimately familiar with, and he could see pure hate written on the unicorn’s face.

‘Don’t like our friendship, do you?’ Elias wanted to say aloud. ‘Well tough shit pony boy.’

Elias let his face settle into a scowl, and he glared unblinkingly back at the pony as he finished eating. Though he tried to put on a tough face, Lionheart blinked first, and his face fell to his plate, leaving Elias the victor. Elias mentally grinned and focused on his food.

After a few more minutes of eating and simple conversation, everyone finished with breakfast, and another swarm of servants descended on the table. They removed all the plates, and then cleaned and polished the table before Elias’ eyes. One servant grunted at the lack of space between him and Luna, but the alicorn subtly waved the pony away, and Elias caught glimpse of a smile in his direction. It was a good sign, if she was smiling, he wasn’t messing their friendship up. That made him happy, and Elias had to fight to keep his own smile from breaking out. The time to work was fast approaching as Celestia sat up perfectly straight in her seat.

“I hope everyone is filled to contentment?”

She received silent nods. Celestia smiled.

“Then let us begin. We have much to discuss today, and I shall start.”

She cleared her throat and motioned to Luna.

“From this point onward, you will begin to notice physical changes in my sister and I. As we trap the remainder of our unicorn magic, the solar and lunar winds will stop affecting our manes, and in time, they shall return to their natural color. Additionally,” she continued, “we shall begin to diminish in size until we are approximately what we were before we became alicorns. It shouldn’t be noticeable for another month or so, but we thought it best to give you this information before it occurred.”

She chuckled.

“It wouldn’t do for you to think us ill or dying. It will already be enough of an effort to keep the public from panicking.”

“And how will we be handling that announcement?” Shattered Shield asked. “We have kept the Equestrian populace completely in the dark on this, and while some may suspect something is changing due to General Bright’s efforts, they have no idea that it involves you two.”

Celestia bowed her head at the unicorn.

“A good question General. Luna and I shall make the announcement of our journey to Saddle Arabia in one month’s time. Their dignitaries have been asking when aid would be sent for some time now, and we have had to remain silent to them as well. This should provide us with much needed diplomatic relief, and by the time we announce our journey, our forces should be largely prepared.”

She looked to Elias.

“Though I suppose that brings up a question for you General Bright. You have conducted the largest amount of training, yet your troops have still not been issued their formal armor. May I ask when they will receive their full equipment? When we make our announcement, I would like to show off our new military body.”

Elias frowned and rested his elbows on the table.

“Well, I’m afraid they won’t receive their full equipment for another few months. Weapons will take the longest, and I have given Anyon my tall order of pilla. We need thousands of javelins, and on top of commissioning the armor, swords, shields, and replacement materials… it’s going to take some time.”

He tilted his head.

“Although, I am pleased to tell you that we are concluding the first stage of the legion’s training, and their full armor should be ready and distributed by next week. I will be pushing my recruits hard these next few days, and should they pass the trials, they will be legionaries.”

He shrugged as he met Celestia’s eyes again.

“I realize the benefit it could have, but I don’t want to present the legion before it’s ready, and unfortunately, a month is too short notice. The recruits are only now getting the hang of throwing pilla, and their formations are still sloppy. It will be two months at least before their ready for anything.”

Celestia frowned.

“I must say General, that concerns me. I have seen their training, and it looks rather vigorous. Is there some issue with your ponies?”

Elias shook his head.

“None at all, they’re progressing exceptionally. They just need more time is all. You gave me seven months, and they will be ready by that deadline, not before.”

Book Binder passed him his folder under the table, and Elias set it on the polished wood carefully before flipping it open.

“What I would like to discuss is how my legion will be coordinating with the other three guard branches. We haven’t had any discussions about marching order, battle formations, camping arrangements, really anything important, as a group.”

Elias thumbed through the pages until he counted out the packets he had made. He removed them and passed the stack to his right.

“If everyone would take a packet, I would like to discuss some of the option I have drawn up. I think this meeting is the opportunity we need to sit down and truly discuss what still needs to be done, because believe me, we are drastically underprepared to undertake this march as we currently stand and while public opinion is important, it pales in importance when considered to the lives of the ponies under our command.”

Elias watched outrage play out on the faces of more than a few ponies in the room, namely the Solar generals, but the one’s he actually cared about nodded in agreement, namely Nightshade and Everfree. Chaser had a hard frown on his face, though that was likely because he had dethroned Celestia as the conversation leader, and his frown was matched by the white diarch. Still, his words were strong, and more importantly, right, so Celestia bowed her head.

“Very well then General, if all are in agreement, we shall direct our discussion as you recommend.”

She took a packet and passed the stack along to Chaser. Elias waited in silent as the stack made its way around the table, and he watched the ponies go through the plans he and Scarlet had worked for days on. The stallion was coming into his own as a strategist, and even though he was still a bit of a weak fighter, he had made noticeable improvements with Ice Blossom continually riding his ass during drills. Unfortunately, Elias had only obtained permission to bring two ponies with him to the formal meeting, and with his lack of physical prowess, Elias thought it better that Scarlet not miss drill.

Elias waited until everyone had at least made it past the summary page before he spoke again.

“I know that everyone has recommendations on how the march should operate, these are just my personal recommendations on how things should be organized.”

He looked toward the alicorns to his right, both of whom met his eyes. Though he should have been arguing his point to Celestia, especially given that their relationship could best be described as stand-offish, but he couldn’t keep his gaze away from Luna. Her eyes told him that she was genuinely interested in his words, and barring the fact that he cared about the mare, he always worked better with an attentive audience.

“I’ve largely based my efforts on adapting Roman style military doctrine to function within Equestrian military doctrine. For this task, I had my strategist, Scarlet Shield study all of the materials I had, and together we drafted these plans. I firmly believe that what we came up with is the safest and most efficient way to get the army through the minotaur lands safely, and with as few casualties as possible.”

Elias forced himself to look away from Luna’s captivating eyes to look at the rest of the table.

“We haven’t crunched numbers yet, but the packets before you have the equations needed to tell us everything; supplies needed, days needed, economic cost, it’s all there, and I am more than willing to explain anything and everything before you.”

Dragon-eye frowned at his packet.

“What are these signatures at the bottom? They look to be from General Nightshade and General Chaser.”

Elias nodded.

“They are. I sent an early draft of my plans to everyone here, and Generals Nightshade and Chaser were the only ones to give feedback. The plans were modified on suggestions they made, and they signed off on sections they had time to re-read.”

His eyes flicked to the thestral and the pegasus for a moment before looking back to the unicorn before him.

“We haven’t solidified everything, but the three of us have agreed how certain aspects of the march shall function.”

Lionheart looked up from his packet and scowled.

“So you think just because you talked with General Chaser and General Nightshade in advance that you can bully us into accepting your plans? What a ridiculous notion.”

Elias’ neutral face shifted to a frown, but Nightshade was the one who spoke first.

“What he expects from you is nothing, ‘cause that’s what he got,” Nightshade spat. “But to answer the actual question, yes, we do, because unlike you, Chase and I read over the plans General Bright gave us and we found some merit to his ideas, worked with him to strengthen the weak areas, and then submitted it for this meeting. If you wanted to be a part of that, maybe you should actually read our communications, rather than hoofing them off on your assistants.”

Lionheart glared daggers at the thestral, but Celestia was quick to intervene.

“Please gentleponies, there is no need for this. General Nightshade, perhaps the rough draft got lost in the mail, and General Lionheart never got a chance to look it over.”

Elias glanced toward Book Binder, who scowled at the accusation. He well knew that the unicorn had personally delivered all of the packets, and that each and every one had gotten to their destinations intact. Still, he said nothing as Celestia dispelled the anger already spilling into the air. She looked toward Lionheart.

“And General, please do not dismiss some ideas out of hoof, simply because they are new an experimental to us. General Bright’s people were much more accustomed to war, and as such, he is the resident expert on how to conduct a longer campaign. Even at a glance I can see that many of his suggestions bear merit, so please, keep an open mind. We shall go over everything in detail, signatures or no.”

She sent a look his way that he imagined was supposed to express her disappointment at trying to circumvent the other generals. Elias shrugged it off. He knew he was right, and with Chaser and Nightshade’s votes, they could easily outnumber the Solar generals, especially since Nightshade could promise Starry Skies’ vote. Everfree had also sent his recommendations, but he hadn’t had enough time to review the packet in detail, so he had asked Elias to simply give him an edited copy with everyone else. That left three in opposition, and frankly, Elias didn’t see anything coming from the ponies. They would trumpet and make a fuss, but they wouldn’t actually go against him in a way that mattered.

Celestia smiled again as Lionheart looked at the table, sufficiently chastised. The white alicorn’s eyes shifted to Elias, and she nodded toward him.

“I shall let you lead the discussion for now General, please, explain these plans to us.”

Shattered Shield scowled.

“Start with what a “castra” is.”

Elias sighed and nodded. It was going to be a long day.

Chapter 43: A Canterlot Wedding; Part 1

Elias held his head, shaking it back and forth slowly as Night Flash pleaded with him. The pony had been doing so for the better part of an hour, and while the day’s training hadn’t been particularly exhausting, the conversation was wearing Elias’ nerves down to nothing. He cut off the pegasus’ next sentence with a wave of his hand.

“First Centurion, I understand where you are coming from, I truly do, but the answer is no. It will always be no; it has to always be no.”

Night Flash’s puppy dog eyes made an appearance as the pegasus scooted forward in his seat, getting as close as possible to Elias without actually touching his desk.

“General, I beg you to please just consider it,” Night Flash pleaded. “Shooting Star would be a perfect fit for a scout position. He’s fast, he’s smart, he already knows how to fight a little! I’ve taught him myself, he’s just what we need!”

Elias closed his eyes and rubbed at his forehead. He should have seen it coming. He should have known that Night Flash would take the opportunity.

While initially planning the layout of his legion, Elias had assumed that the other forces would supply the army with enough scouts to screen the march, letting him focus entirely on making a core infantry group that could protect against any and all threats. What he had learned as training and the planning sessions progressed, however, was that the other generals, save for Nightshade, intended to keep him out of their information loop; at least until they decided to let him in on the scouting reports. While furious, Elias didn’t feel like putting in another complaint form about his “fellows”, so he instead worked with Book Binder and Anyon to design equipment for a small scouting attachment, which he would only recruit from outside the legion. He had already put far too much work into arranging the cohorts and auxiliary groups, and he wasn’t about to change that plan so close to issuing the ponies their official uniforms. So, he set out on a new recruitment campaign, specifically targeting ponies that prided themselves on speed.

That had led him to multiple issues. The first had come from Celestia, who once again interfered in his application process. She gave him a list of ponies that she considered “non-applicable”. Elias had responded by throwing the list back in her face, leaving no doubt that he would choose to exclude from his recruitment. Before the two could come to words over the issue, Luna had calmed him down and had helped them reach a compromise. Elias would again wave certain recruits from Ponyville, but at the same time, Celestia was forced to allow him to accept the application of a few lesser known Wonderbolts. The action had to be done under secrecy however, not only because the white alicorn was forcing him to do so, but because Elias knew how some of the pegasi would react if they knew actual Wonderbolts were nearby. He was going to have enough of a time corralling Night Flash.

Thinking of the devil; the second issue had come in the form of the pegasus seated before him. Though it had been an open secret, Elias had, with Book Binder’s help, tried to keep Night Flash away from the recruitment posters. Elias had made the pegasus work from dawn till dusk, pushing him harder than anyone else, praying that he would be so tired that all he would think about was sleep. Yet, Night Flash found time after the morning training to get an out-of-castle lunch with his fiancé, and had seen a poster asking for scouts. Book Binder reported that the pegasus didn’t say anything; he merely grabbed the poster and bolted. Less than a day later, Night Flash had trapped Elias in his office with a filled-out application in his hoof and a wide smile on his face. He was happy, energetic, and ready to make his case.

Too bad that he had to argue to a stone wall.

“Shooting Star is too young,” Elias replied, “and more importantly; he’s your brother. You know the rules First Centurion, you helped write them.”

He lightly pushed the application form back toward Night Flash.

“No family. No exceptions. He’s going to receive a rejection letter.”

Elias scanned Night Flash’s eyes for signs of defeat, but damn the pegasus was determined. His hoof rose and pushed the form back toward Elias’ hands.

“General, I can make sure nothing happens to him,” he said firmly. “I’ll train Shooting Star twice as hard as everypony else; please just give him this one chance.”

Elias sighed and turned off the compassionate area of his brain. He couldn’t shut down Night Flash with even the slightest trace of empathy in his mind. He had to be rock solid, and brutal. Elias’ eyes hardened into a glare, aimed wholly at the pegasus sitting across from him.

“You’ve just given me the exact reason why I won’t give Shooting Star any chances, First Centurion,” Elias snapped. “You would rather focus on your brother instead of your job; which is the safety and preparedness of this legion. It is decidedly not to care for the safety of a single member. The answer is no Flash, I will not let him die under my banner.”

“That won’t happen General!” Night Flash countered adamantly. “I promise, you just need to…”

“Can you see the future?” Elias cut in.

Damn was he tired. It just never seemed to end. Planning and arguments, and more planning, followed by training and arguments about training. So much damn arguing. It was all just so… exhausting. His migraines had only grown worse, and despite talking with Scalpel, he had no real relief from them. He could almost feel the stress ripping his brain apart, but he would power through. He always did. Elias just wished for the moment that he could go to bed; night terrors be damned. Even they would be a welcome return to some semblance of normalcy. At least in his night terrors the people were already dead, and he didn’t have to worry about driving them away.

Night Flash frowned and shook his head.

“No General.”

Elias spread his hands.

“Then how do you know what will happen? What magical force lets you know who’s going to live and die?”

Night Flash’s frown deepened, and he drooped slightly in his seat.

“I don’t General, I… I just…”

“Ah ah ah!” Elias cut in again, waving his finger back and forth. “The answer is you don’t. That’s what’s important here; you don’t know.”

Elias sighed and sat back in his chair.

“The problem is that I don’t know either. All I can do is work and plan and try to push everything to work out perfectly, but I’ll let you in on a secret Night Flash; plans don’t mean shit in the face of battle. They fall apart.”

He waved his hand through the air.

“A plan in battle is exactly like a sheet of paper in water; fragile and easy to rend apart. It’s messy, it doesn’t rip cleanly. Plans are soft and flimsy, and I am already planning for the absolute worst. I am already writing the speech that I will have to deliver to your mother if you die,” Elias said, jabbing a finger at Night Flash. “I am writing a speech for each and every mother and father in Equestria, so don’t you dare come into my office and ask me to write two for your family. Bring this up again, and Shooting Star won’t be the only one receiving a letter of rejection.”

Elias’s arm snapped out and he snatched a large rubber stamp from beside his pens. After a quick splash in ink, he slammed it down on Shooting Star’s application. The ugly red mark left no doubt about the status of the application; throwing it into the rejection pile was only a formality. The motion sapped all of the energy Elias had left however, and he slumped in his seat as he dropped the stamp back onto its hook. He didn’t meet Night Flash’s eyes as he spoke.

“Dismissed First Centurion. I’ll see you tomorrow morning for training.”

Elias could feel the heat of the pegasus’ anger as he snatched up his helmet and trotted from the room without another word. It cut at Elias’ heart. He had never seen Night Flash angry, and to have that turned on him? It was like a knife plunged into his ribs. Elias knew that he had done damage to their relationship, perhaps irreparable damage, but he had to not care. If he managed to drive Night Flash away, then he might quit, and if he quit, he would be safe. The justification didn’t sit well with him, but…

Elias sat slumped in his chair for a while, meditating on the pain he felt at the pegasus leaving him. His only comfort came from the blue feather around his neck. His hand drifted up and stroked it softly. Its fur like quality still hadn’t dulled or faded, and it was every bit as soft as the day Luna had given it to him. It acted as a reminder that he still had one friend; even as he slowly alienated the rest.

Elias glanced up as Book Binder pushed back from her desk. Despite the cruel way he had dismissed her fiancé, she still regarded him with a motherly smile as she stood up and stretched. Her horn lit up, and Shooting Star’s application levitated onto her desk. She made a quick edit to the form, then drew an envelope from her desk and placed the form inside. That went into her saddlebags as she draped them over her flanks.

“What did you change?” Elias asked wearily.

Book Binder smiled sweetly at him.

“Merely added the reason why he was rejected, as I do with all of the files. The stamp makes things faster, but it is a bit… blunt. Ponies often take rejection personally, so I try to listen to your process and add what I can to soften the blow. It’s a small thing, but I like to think it helps.”

Elias snorted and looked back to the featureless wood of his desk.

“More work that I should be doing instead of you.”

Book Binder sighed, but her smile never dropped.

“No, General. You do your job to perfection.”

Elias motioned to the empty doorway.

“Others would disagree with that assessment Adiutor.”

“Night Flash isn’t angry with you General,” Book Binder replied. “Or at least, he’s not angry with Elias. He understands why you have to say no, but even with all of this work, he still cares about you, and he believes you feel the same. It frustrates him that we can’t act like a family, can’t do favors for each other like a family would.”

She tidied up her desk, shifting little things around to make it more organized.

“In his perfect world, we would all work together; train together, that kind of thing. He misses when we were guards, and he wishes that he could get us back to that life, with Shooting Star included of course.”

Book Binder looked back to Elias.

“He just wants to train his brother General, that’s all. He’s not angry with you, he’s just disappointed with the situation we’re in.”

Elias spread his hands.

“But what can I do? I can’t let Shooting Star in, you know that.”

He shook his head and looked toward one of the blank walls of his office. He needed to decorate, put something up. Maybe a copy of the legion banner?

“I’m already acting like an idiot,” he continued, “by letting my friends in. If I had a smart bone in my body, I would force you out, but here I am, a big stupid human stumbling his way through life, as usual.”

Book Binder sighed again.

“Please don’t talk about yourself like that General; it makes me want to break my promise and snuggle the life out of you. You’re not stupid, you’re just normal. You’re acting like any other pony would in your situation; you want those you care about close.”

Elias closed his eyes and let his chin hit his chest.

“But I’m not a pony,” he said softly. “The reason this is supposed to work is because I’m not a pony. I can’t be a pony, not now, not…”

Elias felt a hoof on his shoulder, and he looked up to find Book Binder close, her eyes shining as she locked down his eyesight.

“Don’t say not ever Elias, because that day will come.”

Her horn lit up and a schedule book floated from her saddlebags, opening to the tenth page. Book Binder tapped a day at the end of the month circled in red.

“Four months, twenty-eight days. You’re going to be a pony in the eyes of the law, and in the eyes of the ponies you love, who love you back a million times more. Each day is a step closer, and if I have to remind you a thousand times, I will do so.”

Elias’ eyes narrowed, and despite the comfort he took in her words, he needed to shift the subject away.

“Did you have my birthday circled? How do you even know that?”

Book Binder smiled and the book disappeared back into her saddlebags.

“A mare never tattles on her source, and before you say anything, it isn’t anything big. A small gift, nothing more. Training as usual.”

She straightened and her motherly smile disappeared, replaced by her usual kind smile.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me General, I’m going to go have a talk with Flash, and then head home for the night. Don’t work too hard.”

Elias exhaled and slouched in his chair again as his eyes drifted toward the mountain of paperwork on the right side of his desk.

“No promises. I’ll see you in the morning Adiutor.”

He got no reply, and for a moment, he thought he had made her angry with him too, but as he looked up to the sound of her fast, retreating hoofsteps, his eyes caught a glimpse of a bright spot of color. It was a small letter with glowing pink writing on the front. The writing read;

For my baby boy; Elias

He sighed deeply. He knew what it was, had expected it a bit sooner if he was being honest with himself. He just wished it hadn’t come on such a bad day. Elias sat up and reached for the letter slowly. Best to read it before he said no.

*****

Luna trotted swiftly through the long corridors of the castle. She had wanted to speak with Elias hours ago, perhaps persuade the man to take a lunch break with her, but she had gotten caught up talking with noble after noble. Each and every one brought forth inane laws, without a single good idea among them. They complained and droned on for hours, talking about this triviality, or that social grievance some “uncultured” pony offended them with. It was a complete and utter waste of her time. Agreeing to be awake for the afternoon was easily one of the worst mistakes she had ever made, and Luna knew that as soon as she had her full magic back, she would become a nighttime only princess again.

Luna sighed her headache away. The only way she had escaped the prissy nobles was by snapping and ordering her guards to escort them from the castle, something the black armored ponies did with vigor. Even they could only take so much, and they had not been gentle as they pushed the still complaining nobles from her throne room. After that, Luna had taken off like a shot, more than ready to take a lengthy break.

As she turned a corner, Luna nearly plowed into Book Binder, who was also trotting along briskly. The unicorn yelped as she dove to the side. The effort only slightly helped. Both ponies tripped and fell to the ground, though luckily, they didn’t fall on top of each other. Luna hated when that happened; her wings always seemed to get tangled up, making standing to get untangled impossible.

Both mares scrambled to their hooves and brushed themselves off, with Book Binder looking the more sheepish of the two.

“Sorry Princess, I was just trying to catch up to Night Flash and I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Luna smiled at her.

“It is no issue fair Book Binder, I should have been more mindful myself, I was merely brooding on the inanity of the so called “noble” class of Canterlot,”

She finished straightening her regalia, then looked to Book Binder again.

“So, is there some issue between you and Guardspony Flash? I would hope that with your engagement everything would be going swimmingly.”

Book Binder sighed.

“Between us, everything is fine, it’s between Flash and Elias that is the issue. General Bright won’t let Flash’s little brother apply for the legion; part of the no families rule we made. He’s right of course, but you know Elias.”

Luna snorted and nodded.

“Indeed, he can be quite blunt. If my guess is correct, I would assume he phrased it in a manner that said, “my way or the high way”?”

“Essentially,” Book Binder replied. “so, Night Flash is mad, but I think things will be fine in the end. It’s just a spat the two are going through, their first if I remember correctly.”

Luna frowned.

“Are you sure they will be alright? Night Flash can best be described as Elias’ first and greatest friend in Equestria, at least officially. Those two never get mad at each other.”

Book Binder waved her hoof.

“Like I said Princess, it’s just a spat. Once we get through the march, Shooting Star will be free to join up, and he can train with Night Flash all day long. If anything, this is going to make my mother in law happy, so at least somepony will get a bit of benefit from the affair.”

Luna watched as Book Binder’s eyes lit up. The unicorn gasped softly and quickly removed her saddlebags, drawing forth a small white envelope, which she quickly offered to Luna with a wide smile.

“Here you go Princess!” she said cheerfully. “Your invitation to our wedding!”

Luna blinked in surprise as she gently took the letter in her hoof. Sure enough, in pink lettering across the front said;

For Princess Luna, my future daughter in law

Luna flushed red and looked up to Book Binder to find the mare smiling widely at her. Luna looked back to the invitation as her cheeks became a deeper shade of crimson. How could the unicorn before her be so bold? Had Elias told Book Binder something, made plans that ran parallel to her own? Her tail flicked with nervous energy as she decided to momentarily ignore the text on the letter.

“You wish for me to attend?” she asked hesitantly.

Book Binder nodded.

“Of course we do Princess! I think you more than qualify as “friends and family”.”

She saddled up closer to Luna and gently nudged her chest with her elbow.

“Especially with you courting my baby boy,” she whispered in Luna’s ear.

Luna felt even more heat rise to her cheeks as the unicorn took a step back. Keepers, she was acting like a filly caught in the act!

‘Maintain your composure!’ Luna’s inner voice screamed. ‘You are a Princess! Act like it, even to your future mother in law!’

That admittance made her even more nervous, especially given that the letter in her hooves was basically permission to continue her advances on Elias. Still, she had to play things cool, she had to prove to Elias’ mother that she could be a calm, fitting match for her soon-to-be adopted son. Luna cleared her throat softly.

“Ah, you, uh, noticed that?” she asked meekly.

Book Binder snorted and smiled.

“Princess, I would be a fool not to notice, you’ve been so obvious! The only reason Elias doesn’t notice is because he isn’t a pony and has a tendency to make assumptions and not ask if he doesn’t believe it “matters”.”

Luna’s nerves momentarily drooped as her heart sank slightly.

“He… he doesn’t think I matter?” she whispered.

Book Binder’s eyes widened.

“No no no!” she replied adamantly. “That’s not what I meant Princess, of course he cares about you! It’s…”

She waved a hoof in the air as she tried to figure out the right words. Luna felt her breath hang tight in her chest as the unicorn spoke.

“It’s Elias!” Book Binder blurted. “He believes that matters of his heart come second to everything else in life. With the whole legion thing, it’s coming in third or fourth. It isn’t that he doesn’t care, it’s that he won’t let himself care. He’s trying so hard to stay strong and focus on training and such, and he sees things like friendship and love as a distraction.”

She tilted her head.

“I want to say he’s wrong, but honestly, with what that man does in a day, I can’t say I completely disagree. He just doesn’t have a lot of time to focus on that kind of thing these days. It’s why I always say, “soon”. Soon, so much is going to happen, and we will be able to watch in real time as his heart expands to absorb as much love as possible.”

She shrugged and met Luna’s eyes.

“But only soon. Every show of affection until we’re done has to be subtle, save for a plan or two I’m cooking up.”

Luna frowned and looked to the carpet, tracing small circles with her hoof in the red plush.

“So, he does care about me?”

Book Binder smiled sweetly.

“Princess, I can’t say for certain, only Elias knows his heart, but I have a strong feeling that he won’t disappoint you, he’s just busy.”

She leaned in close and gave Luna a gentle hug.

“And if it makes you feel any better, I absolutely approve, and will do everything in my power to bring you two together. I will not let that young man have a princess slip through his fingers.”

Luna felt Book Binder’s grip around her tighten, and she felt her nerves return as the pony whispered in her ear.

“That being said, if you manipulate my son and try to make him something he’s not, or if you break his beautiful human heart, I will make your banishment look like a thousand-year vacation, am I clear Luna?”

The lunar princess felt a genuine tinge of fear. She had no doubts in her mind that if she was at full power the protective Book Binder could inflict some pain, but with all of her magic being slowly locked away? Book Binder’s threat was very real.

Luna swallowed nervously. She had thought the letter was bold, but no. Book Binder used her name, publicly! That meant she was incredibly serious, and more than determined to protect Elias with a fierceness that sent a small shudder up Luna’s spine. Adoptive mother indeed. But Luna was no pushover, and while she understood the genuineness of the threat, she steeled her resolve and returned Book Binder’s hug with full force.

“I would never do such a thing to Elias,” Luna whispered in reply, “and I think you know that. I only want the best for him, even if that is not me. Should we both be wrong, and he lusts for somepony else, I will do everything in my power to see him happy with them. In that, you have my word.”

Book Binder nuzzled her neck.

“Good,” she said softly. “He’ll surprise you though, he’s always had a soft spot for you, and I have no doubts the he does love you. Give him time to come to terms with it, then make your big moves, alright?”

Luna nodded as she pulled back from Book Binder. The unicorn smiled right back, then looked pointedly to the letter in Luna’s hooves.

“So Princess,” Book Binder asked leadingly, “are you coming to the wedding?”

“I… wish to,” Luna replied honestly, “but a princess will draw unwanted attention. I do not wish for your family to be harassed by the paparazzi on my account.”

Book Binder nodded to the still sealed envelope.

“Strike one Princess, check your invitation and try again.”

Luna gave her a curious look, but opened the invitation. As she turned it upside down in her hooves to wiggle the card out, a small ring fell out. Book Binder caught it with her magic, and it expanded into a modest, silver hoof ring. She then levitated the ring onto one of Luna’s hooves, and Luna blinked in surprise as she felt magic wash over her body. She looked toward Book Binder to find that she no longer towered over the unicorn, but matched her in height. Luna also noticed an absence in her upper peripheral, and she looked up to find her horn missing. A flash of panic went through her body, and she focused inward, checking to ensure that her magic was still charging.

She let out a sigh of relief when she felt her pool untouched, still forming at the base of her non-existent horn. She looked to Book Binder, who smiled widely back.

“It’s an illusion spell Princess,” Book Binder said. “It set us back a few bits, but that ring will make you look like a regular old pegasus, save for your cutie mark of course.”

Luna looked toward her flank, and was pleased to find that her cutie mark was still in the same place. She opened her mouth to ask Book Binder how she looked, only to find a blue version of the mare staring back. Luna stared at her reflection, turning this way and that to get a good look at herself. Book Binder poked her head above the mirror and giggled as Luna spun in a circle.

“Not a bad illusion either I might say. A bit of styling, and you could pass for my twin sister.”

Book Binder sighed as Luna frowned at her flanks.

“Unfortunately, my more attractive twin, good for Elias though.”

Luna blushed and turned back around, sliding into her saddlebags.

“You think he will approve?” she asked.

“Of course he will Princess,” Book Binder replied as she collapsed the mirror and put it back in her saddlebags. “The spell may diminish your size a bit, but you’re every bit as pretty as always. I imagine you’ll be the talk of the reception.”

Luna smiled and slid the ring from her hoof, tucking it into her saddlebags. Returned to her full size, she once more towered over Book Binder, but for some reason, Luna felt smaller than the mare.

“I thank you fair Book Binder, and I think that I shall indeed attend, even if only for a short while. Do I need to bring anything?”

Book Binder tapped her chin like she was thinking, but Luna could tell from the look in her eyes that she already knew what she wanted.

“Well… I could use a fancy, Princess level gift, or….”

“Or?” Luna asked.

“Or you could bring Elias as your unofficial date!” Book Binder blurted.

“I… don’t think that would work,” Luna said, shuffling her hooves on the carpet. “Elias likely won’t want to go, certainly not with me.”

Book Binder snorted and waved her hoof.

“You aren’t the issue here Princess, the wedding itself is. He’ll say something silly about how he’s too busy, or we don’t actually love or want him. I’m the mare helping maintain his schedules, and everything is on track to succeed on time. He will have an afternoon off to get a tux fitted, and an evening to go to the wedding. It’s going to be your job to get him that tux, get yourself a lovely dress, and then drag that boy to my wedding.”

She smiled sweetly at Luna.

“Like I said before, he’s a bit blind when it comes to pony culture, but Momma Binder wants to see you two together just as much as you want him, so she’s going to conspire to get things moving along. I can’t well outright tell him all of the faux pas he’s made without stressing him out further, so we do this in a roundabout fashion. He won’t mind when he has a beautiful blue alicorn on his wing after it’s all over.”

Luna matched her smile, then scooped the pony up in a bone crushing hug. Even without her alicorn strength, Luna could tell that she was making breathing difficult for Book Binder, but she needed to express her utter joy at having the mare’s approval and aid.

“Thank you, fair Book Binder. It may take time, but I shall do everything I can to make a good marefriend for Elias.”

“So, are you bringing Elias to my wedding?” Book Binder asked. A small squeak tinged her voice, but ultimately, the unicorn kept her composure despite being crushed.

Luna snorted into her neck fur and nodded.

“Indeed, I shall do my best to get him there. Do you have any recommendations to get him to accept the idea on his own? I want him to choose to come with me. We shall argue I’m sure, but I don’t want to force him too hard.”

Book Binder shrugged as she pulled away from the hug.

“The secret is you Princess, he likes you. The only information I know, is that his biggest argument against going will be work, and that he’s in his office right now. Maybe get a stand in for the time off? As long as somepony is running some kind of drill, I think Elias can be coerced into an evening off.”

Luna nodded, her mind already racing at the news that Elias was alone. Wedding aside, she could likely get him to take a small break with her. She needed to stop by the kitchen before she dropped by his office. A hot steak would do wonders to improve what was likely a blue mood.

To Book Binder, she said;

“I shall do my best to convince him then. Have you invited General Nightshade or General Chaser?”

Book Binder frowned and rifled through her saddlebags.

“I think I have one for Nightshade, but I didn’t really count Midnight Chaser as friends or family. Should I invite him? Ice Blossom is his sister after all, and we invited her…”

Luna shook her head.

“No, leave him to me. A Royal Guardspony will be able to do much for me in getting Elias to the wedding.”

She looked down the hall in the direction of Elias’ office.

“If there is nothing else, I wish to go brighten Elias’ mood.”

Book Binder giggled.

“Pun intended I hope.”

Luna blinked into the empty air before she cast a deadpan look over her shoulder at Book Binder. The mare giggled and trotted the opposite direction.

“See you soon Princess! Hopefully with my darling human on your wing!”

*****

“Enter,” Elias said, glancing up from his paperwork.

Supply forms were a bitch and a half, but lucky for him, Luna came through his door, carrying with her the wonderful aroma of freshly cooked meat. The mare grinned as she trotted in on three hooves, balancing a sizeable steak on a plate on the fourth.

“Good evening General; a birdy told me that you were still hard at work and that you didn’t take a dinner break. I thought I would remedy that.”

Elias tried to hide his smile as he put his quill back in its well.

“I can’t say that you’re unwelcome Princess. Please, pull up a chair.”

Luna’s tail waggled slightly as she set the steak on his desk, then pulled Book Binder’s chair around her desk. She positively beamed as she watched him sit up. Elias’ eyes flicked up from the steak, but Luna waved him on.

“Go on General, you need to keep your strength up. I know how much you work, and this is more than deserved. We can talk a bit once you’ve finished.”

Luna looked him up and down as he ate. While he did look a might bit paler than usual, her eyes quickly caught on the spot of blue on his red tunic, and the sight of her primary being shown off so publicly sent her heart racing. Any confidence she had walking into the room vanished as she watched him eat. Her wide-eyed staring unfortunately caused the human to take notice, and despite only eating half the steak, he set down his silverware and looked at her with a curious expression.

“Are you alright Princess?”

Luna detected a bit of concern in his voice, and that made her chest tighten even further.

“I… I, uh…”

‘Think Luna!’ she cried internally. ‘Think damn you!’

“You are still wearing my primary?” she asked, her voice meek.

Elias blinked, then looked down to the blue feather draped over his chest.

“O-oh. My apologies Princess, I… I can take it off if you’d li-….”

“No!” Luna shouted, scooting to the edge of her seat.

Elias stared at her with wide eyed shock, and Luna quickly noticed that she had blown him back an inch with the power of her voice. She flushed red and looked at his desk.

“I- I mean I was just curious as to why. Heat week has long been over, and I was wondering why you were still wearing it. Just curiosity.”

Elias relaxed back in his chair and shrugged. He grabbed the feather gently between his thumb and forefinger. Luna felt her heart melt further as he began rubbing it affectionately.

“I don’t know why, if I’m being honest. I just like having it, you know? It’s soft, nice, and for some reason it always feels like it’s a bit warm, like you just plucked it.”

He shrugged again as he twirled the feather around.

“It smells like you too, and that makes me think of you; the smell of lavender is so wonderful, and I can’t help but think that… wow I just made that really weird,” Elias said as he sat up. “Princess, I apologize, let me take your primary off and-…”

Luna scoffed and waved her hoof, doing her best to hide the heavy blush that spread covered her face.

“Nonsense Elias, I am pleased that you know how to fully appreciate my gift. Some ponies would discard something like that once it served its purpose, but you show me that you are a true friend by keeping it.”

She snorted.

“Besides, I think it’s pretty, and it matches your eyes.”

Elias gave her a deadpan look, but Luna was happy to note that he made no further moves to remove the necklace.

“Which one?” he asked, tilting his head so that she got a good look at both eyes.

Luna giggled, then blinked and stopped, giving him a mild glare.

“Har har Elias, but that wasn’t funny.”

Elias smirked.

“Made you laugh, didn’t I?”

Luna rolled her eyes as he went back at his steak. It was honestly impressive watching him eat. She had long ago gotten over the queasiness she felt when she watched others eat meat, what with watching a host of carnivore diplomats eat, but it was the way he devoured the meat. Other species seemed designed to rip and tear. Diamond dogs had sharp canines that jutted out of their mouth and sharp claws to tear the meat apart as they chewed. Dragons usually ate whatever they were provided whole, so there was little to watch. Finally, the gryphon diplomats like to fight their meals, and they often asked for the meat to be as raw as possible. Only the combined refusal from all three of Equestria’s princesses had ensured that a law passed prohibiting the slaughter of live animals in Canterlot, and if anyone wanted something fresher than two-day old imports, they had to make do. Still, all the carnivores she had eaten with used their natural features to eat, forgoing any offers for dining ware, usually including a plate.

Elias on the other hand, went about eating meat in such a civilized manner. His nails were blunt, kept trimmed and rounded, no doubt to prevent cracking. They didn’t even factor into the equation, as he used a fork and knife like any other pony. He quickly sawed away bite sized pieces, which went into his mouth. He chewed with his mouth closed, keeping the rest of the process hidden from the world. Little sound escaped after that, no growling, or tearing sounds, just the normal chewing that any being experienced. It was easily covered up with light music or conversation. So wonderful, so palatable. It had taken an evening on her throne brooding to come to terms with the fact that her ideal lover was an omnivore, but with the way he ate, she didn’t imagine she would have any long term issues with eating by his side. Especially not with how enjoyable watching his jaw work was. Such a strong, handsome mouth.

Elias swallowed the last bite of his steak and set down his silverware as Luna daydreamed about planting a kiss on his clean-shaven face. He smiled at her, sending a fresh flight of butterflies through her stomach.

“So Princess, while I appreciate the hand delivered meal, as well as an opportunity to enjoy your company, I’m sure this was for a reason. Nobody drops by my office unless they want something from me.”

“That is partially your fault,” Luna replied smoothly. “Your friends would drop by frequently were it not for your rule system, myself included. Still, we have all respected your wishes and kept to the rules you laid out as best we could. Until now that is.”

Elias’ brow furrowed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Luna glanced to her right to a torn open pink and white letter.

“Is that your wedding invitation?”

Elias side-eyed the letter and sighed. He leaned back in his chair and swiped a packet off his stack of paperwork, then began absently thumbing through it.

“It is, though I will not be attending. Night Flash is livid with me because I denied his brother’s application. I know Book Binder thinks it’ll be fine, but his mother is already against me. With this, I’ve crushed Shooting Star’s dreams, and those of Night Flash to train his brother, so the odds of everything being “fine” between us by…”

He glanced over at the invitation.

“A week from this Friday, is little to none. I won’t ruin what’s supposed to be a special day for them.”

Elias picked up his quill and set to writing.

“Besides, I burned the bridge of being either family or friends. The invitation is very specific.”

Luna scowled at the human. Unfortunately for her, his argument did have some soundness to it, and by countering his point of his friendly status with both Night Flash and Book Binder, she admitted that he wasn’t keeping to the rules he had established. It was a devious trap, but Luna had negotiated treaties with dragons in ages past; she could win over the stubborn human before her.

Luna cleared her throat, forcing Elias to look at her.

“A sound point Elias, but I have been invited, and Book Binder has tasked me with bringing a plus one. I would quite enjoy it if that plus one would be you.”

It was blunt, and it risked her secret affections, but Luna kept her cool as Elias stared at her in silence. His lack of an answer put her on edge, but Luna was fairly confident she could be calm if he told her-…

“No,” Elias replied, causing Luna’s heart to wither.

‘That hurt far more than I would have liked,’ Luna thought.

“And may I ask why not?” Luna asked aloud.

Elias sighed, and his quill stopped moving.

“Princess, it’s not your fault, I just need to be here. I’m already giving two of my most trusted subordinates almost a week off of training so that they can prepare for their special day. I need to ensure, personally, that the readiness quality of the legion doesn’t diminish with their absence. I apologize if I disappointed you with my answer, but it must be a no. I’m distracted enough from my job as it is.”

Luna’s mind worked quickly. Alright, the reason wasn’t because he didn’t like her, that was a positive. She could focus on getting him there easier if she didn’t believe he looked at her with distaste. She shuffled herself as she regained her complete calm.

“What if I was able to find temporary stand ins? Training could continue as you specify, and you would have the opportunity to go to Book Binder and Night Flash’s wedding.”

Elias shook his head without looking up.

“Nobody is educated enough to lead my training. Even if there was somebody, they wouldn’t hold the recruits to the same standards I hold them, and they wouldn’t punish them properly when they failed.”

Luna grabbed her saddlebags and set them before her, quickly drawing out her candle and notepad. She quickly sent a hastily written letter, and within moments, General Chaser, Bloody Bandage, and Captain Lucky Swing were inside Elias’ office, saluting sharply.

“At your service Princess,” Chaser said.

Luna smiled at Elias.

“What if I could convince Royal Guardspony Chaser to lead training? He is a skilled combatant who has experience pushing ponies to their breaking points, unless, of course, you think Royal Guard training is less intensive than yours.”

Elias frowned at her.

“No, but it is different. Do recall that I was studying to be a Royal Guard for a short time before the invasion. General Chaser will make the mistake of asking the recruits to think, which I have not taught them to do yet. His style of training, while decent, is not similar enough to mine. He won’t do the job right alone, and he can’t be everywhere by himself. I’d need more than one pony to run training.”

Chaser stepped forward.

“Well, what if I asked General Everfree to assist me? I could use my subordinates in place of yours, and the general and I could manage the larger level stuff together.”

The pegasus shrugged and looked to Luna.

“If you don’t mind Princess, General Everfree and I could shadow General Bright and his legion for the next week or so, get a feel for how they work. Then, General Bright can educate us on the standards we need to meet. By the time of the wedding, we’ll be capable enough to hold down the fort for a day, and he can get things right back where they should be the next morning.”

Chaser looked back to Elias, who scowled in reply. The real problem was that the solution was competent. Elias actually respected Everfree and Chaser, and if he had to pass control to anyone, it would be one of them. The pair of stallions and Nightshade were the only generals he trusted in any sort of capacity, and if they were willing to shadow his training, he could probably get away with missing one or two afternoons for a wedding. All he needed to do was make sure the pair of stand-ins were up to date on his training, as well as ensure that Granite had the autonomy he needed to ensure proper disciplinary measures were used. It could work. Then he could go see Book Binder and Night Flash get married, as well as make Luna a bit happier by taking her out on a date.

Elias hid his blush at the thought of a date with Luna by glaring at Chaser. He opened his mouth to accept, when the thought occurred that he was slacking. He was letting down his legion, accepting compromise at every turn it presented itself. He was being weak. Again. Anger welled up in his mind, and he shook his head and snarled.

“No. I will be leading training the evening of the wedding. I will be down four officers already; I do not need a fifth to be elsewhere when training needs done.”

Luna had started to smile as she saw acceptance on his face, but that smile turned to a soft frown at his rejection of the offer.

“But Elias, why? I can tell you want to go, and this solution works! You know General Chaser; he is quite the capable pony. I’m more than sure he can lead your training for an evening. He will have your instructions; it is a sound plan!”

Elias shook his head and stared at his desk.

“It doesn’t matter if he would be capable, because he doesn’t need to be capable. I will perform my duties as usual, and that’s final. I cannot afford to budge on this.”

Luna tapped her hoof on her seat in mild irritation.

“But why? If you want to see your parents get married, then…”

“Because it is a distraction!” Elias bellowed, slamming his fists down on his desk.

The sound caused the ponies to jump, and Elias caught the flash of steel as Chaser drew his wingblades. Elias stared the pegasus down, daring him to act. Then his mind caught up and he took several deep breaths, trying to cool his anger. He let his eyes rest on the paperwork beneath his fists as he spoke.

“Princess, you of all ponies should know why I can’t afford to be distracted. Book Binder and Night Flash’s wedding is just another event in a series of never-ending distractions, and it will get people killed. I can’t keep compromising on this. I just…”

He sat back down and sighed.

“I can’t. I’ll tell them I’m sorry, and send them a gift of some kind, but I can’t. I’d rather they be alive and disappointed in me then dead and happy I saw them get married.”

Luna watched the man visibly deflate as his anger fled. He looked so painfully tired, and far too old for one so young. She subtly motioned for the Royal Guards to leave as she rose from her seat. She moved around Elias’ desk and before he could protest, she climbed up in his lap. Luna felt a small blush rise to her cheeks as she wrapped her hooves around his chest, but was pleased to note a tinge of red on Elias’ face as well. She pulled him close in a firm hug.

“Elias, I understand your concerns, but things are already different from the last time you did this. You have spent months with your recruits, are they soft? Are they underprepared?”

The man snorted.

“Some of them still struggle with basic tasks, but… I do feel like they’re more focused, less arrogant. I wouldn’t say they’re anywhere close to ready though.”

She leaned back and smiled.

“Precisely, you have changed as well. You won’t casually run into battle, you think things through, considering even the tiniest details. And you aren’t alone. Thousands upon thousands of ponies are at your back, more than prepared to aid and assist you. You may think they are beneath you, but there are more than a few competent ponies in the other guard forces, General Chaser included.”

“I know,” Elias said with a sigh, “but trust… it’s still hard to trust for me. I trusted you Princess, yet you turned on me. Sure, it worked out but… it still hurt. You didn’t trust me enough to tell me about all this before you presented it to everyone else.”

He shook his head and stared down, a difficult task with her fluff so close, but Luna didn’t take advantage of his close proximity. His words were far too important to even consider ignoring, even for the case of snuggles.

“I just wished you talked to me then, and I wish you would stop hiding whatever it is you’re hiding from me now.”

Luna felt her heart drop. By the Keepers, he knew. Her silent effort was for naught, and now the pressure of a romantic relationship was weighing on his mind. She didn’t want to burden him like that! It was all falling apart, she had failed him at every turn! Luna felt tears creep into her eyes as her heart sank lower and lower. She was a failure. She hadn’t managed to maintain her most important friendship, hadn’t managed to be strong enough to keep her feelings hidden until they wouldn’t burden Elias, and now he was going to hate her for it, and drive her away and…

Luna sniffled and opened her eyes as she felt a thumb run across her cheek. Her gaze was met instantly with a mis-matched pair of eyes that bled concern.

“Luna… is this secret really that important?” Elias asked softly. “I didn’t mean… look, I don’t know everything, I just need you to know that I’m not an idiot, that I can tell when you aren’t telling me the whole truth.”

Luna sniffled again and nodded.

“I know Elias, and please, never believe yourself an idiot. You are easily one of the most intelligent creatures I have ever known. I just… I have asked so much of you Elias, so very much. My secret is one that would only ask more of you.”

“I want to tell you!” she said earnestly, trying to make him see the necessity. “I want to tell everypony, I want to take you and scream my secret from the rooftops!”

She drooped slightly.

“But I can’t. Not without burdening you further. It’s not that I won’t tell you, it’s just I can’t tell you. Not yet. After. After we’re done with this march business, I want to sit down with you, and tell you everything, start to finish, no secrets. But I can’t until then. Not unless you want to see us both hurt.”

Elias sighed and Luna felt a bit of a blush return as he braced her rump with his hand.

“I guess… I can accept that. Especially since I’m a hypocrite, demanding full transparency from you without revealing my whole story.”

Luna laid a hoof over his heart. Oh, that powerful thumping, so strong and stable. She wished she could lay her ear against his rib cage to listen.

“And you never need to Elias. That story is yours alone, do not share it because you feel like you are keeping secrets, share it because you want to.”

Elias sighed again.

“Maybe. I don’t know. Luna… I’ll go. To the wedding I mean.”

“As my plus one?” she asked hopefully.

He blushed and nodded.

“Yes, as your plus one. You’ll need to arrange everything however, and whatever tailor you’re getting for the suit needs to be fast. They can use one of my lunch breaks for the fitting.”

Luna smiled, and she wiped her tears away as she hugged him hard.

“It shall be done then Elias. I will take care of everything.”

She sat back, and fluttered her wings to escape, but Elias’ bracing hand didn’t budge, and Luna quickly realized that the human had no intention of letting her go anywhere. She looked up to his face to find a smile there, something that made her blush further. Keepers, if he kept smiling at her like that, she wouldn’t be able to get anything done.

“I-is everything alright Elias?” she asked.

The man nodded and sat up, keeping Luna pressed to his chest.

“Yep, but breaking my rules again is going to cost you. I need Chaser and Everfree at the training grounds by six tomorrow; they need to learn how to sweat for real.”

Luna nodded wordlessly, and she stared pointedly at her saddlebags until Elias reached out to grab them. She began to pull out her candle, but Elias’ hand stopped her.

“Yes?” she asked nervously.

His grin widened.

“The price, my princess, is that you’re going to be my new assistant; starting right now.”

Luna eyed the tall stack of papers on his desk and groaned.

“Elias, please not this! I… I always have to do paperwork.”

He rested his chin in her mane and chuckled.

“Cost of war Princess, everybody has to make sacrifices. Chaser! Get back in here!”

The pegasus stuck his head inside Elias’ office.

“Yes?”

“I will allow you to stand in during training,” Elias said. “Please inform General Everfree.”

Chaser nodded, then winked at Luna as he dipped back out. She fluttered nervously. She should have complained about Elias taking a very dominant role in their friendship, if she could even call it that anymore. Was it a sign that he was going to begin making moves on her? Did he know more than he was letting on? She didn’t know, but at the same time, she didn’t care. If he knew, then so much the better. She could be bolder in her moves, and perhaps in private she could start giving him a basic rundown on pony romance culture. If nothing else, it would let him relax and learn something completely unrelated to his current profession. A small break for the man.

To resist the urge to purr and snuggle against Elias, Luna sat up and motioned toward the tall stack of papers. If paperwork was the punishment she had to suffer for Elias’ happiness, then by the Keepers she would not be found wanting. Elias grabbed her a page, and as they set about working, they also set about engaging in small talk, something that brought out Elias’ wonderful smile. Luna wouldn’t have had it any other way.

*****

Elias loved Luna. What was he going to do? Should he ask her about her feelings for him? Was he misinterpreting everything she had done for him of late? Was he an idiot for even considering that an alicorn, an almost godly being, the ruler of her nation, and the pinnacle of beauty would even want to be with a blood soaked, scarred, and battered monkey like himself? What the hell was he going to do? What should he do?

He glanced at her as she clicked her tongue and asked him about a potential recruit from Manehattan. He loved her muzzle, her beautiful face, the blue of her fur. He had thought his favorite color was red, but god was it blue now. He loved the elegant, perfect blue of her fur so much. The texture was unspeakably wonderful, and her wings? Big, puffy, fluffy, perfect. She was perfect. The perfect pony. The most perfect pony. Nobody could compare, would ever compare.

But what should he do? Should he talk to her? Try to work it out like the adult he pretended he was?

Elias snapped his gaze away from Luna and focused on the page before him, filling in his early estimate for tents needed. No, talk to her about it was not the first thing he would do. Not with how he had treated her. Yes, she had betrayed his trust, but she had worked so hard to fix that, and he was more than ready to fully forgive her, but only moments ago he had brought it up yet again. His brain just wouldn’t let it go.

‘Nice Elias,’ he thought to himself, ‘torture the mare you’ve fallen in love with. That’s a great plan to get her to like you. Let every bad thing she’s done to you dangle over her head. Yup, great plan. Another guaranteed winner.’

Elias let out a small sigh as he filed the form to the side and dragged down the next one. His arm was still wrapped around her, and while he didn’t know much about pony culture, his hand on her butt was a signal in any culture. He just hoped she didn’t think him creepy for being so forward. He prayed desperately that she reciprocated his feelings.

Elias winced mentally, and slowly he withdrew his hand. No, that was wrong. He was taking advantage of his ignorance. The ponies knew he was uneducated, and she was probably just being nice, letting him cop a feel in exchange for him not flying off the handle. No doubt she still thought him a raging dumb animal who was only good for-…

Luna scooted closer and glanced at his hand.

“Please Elias, return your hand to its bracing position. I may slide away if you do not hold me.”

Or maybe she did reciprocate some measure of his feelings. Elias swallowed roughly as he let his hand drift back down, settling back on the same warm spot on her rump. Luna sighed softly and leaned against his chest.

“Excellent,” she whispered, no doubt trying to keep the words unheard. Still, they brought a small measure of comfort to Elias’ mind, and he settled back as he let his thoughts drift away from the paperwork before him.

Talking to her may… no. Still out of the question for the time, perhaps in a month or two. He would try to hint at something, perhaps ask one of his friends for their opinion. If any of them would even speak to him.

Elias sighed again and decided that it was not a wandering kind of night. He focused his mind on the paperwork before him, letting it numb his riled-up brain.

Chapter 44: The End of the Recruits

Elias kept an even pace as he led the half dozen ponies down the castle halls to the training grounds. It had been a few more grueling days of training, and he had drank himself through a sleepless night or two to finish combing through applications for the scouts, but he had gotten it all done. The ponies behind him was a mixture of his new scout recruits, his usual subordinates, and Everfree and Chaser. The pair of stallions had shadowed three days’ worth of training, and though he could clearly see that they would go soft on his recruits, Elias could tell that they wouldn’t be too soft. For their different reasons, both stallions were strict teachers, and while they didn’t reward failure with a beating, they still gave punishment, with Chaser momentarily forgetting his place and threatening to run the recruits until the sun rose if they didn’t get their formations right. Elias let it slide, and when he received questioning glances from the recruits, he had backed up Chaser’s threat. It took them two more tries to get their testudo right.

Although he believed they still needed more work, the first phase of training was over. They had gone over a week without any further rings from the bell, and if the ponies were in their proper inspection formation, they would notice the lack of the bell; replaced by a sculpture made of the helmets of the failures. Energy already charged the air, and he wasn’t even at the training grounds yet. Anyon had been flapping about in excitement when he stopped by the smithy, and for once, the gryphon wasn’t the only one in the workshop. A dozen ponies were working like mad to assemble the massive stack of crates the gryphon needed, and each breath of air brought another string of curses as Anyon went wild, making sure everything was ready. The old buzzard was as excited about what the day would bring as Elias was.

Still, nobody but Anyon knew what was about to happen; Elias had even managed to keep it hidden from Book Binder, a process that had involved sealing his invoices to the blacksmith, while also not-so-threatening the unicorn with changing his mind about her wedding day if she violated his trust. Though he knew it would be an exciting occasion, he made it seem like something deadly serious had occurred. The recruits had been roused from their slumber three hours after they had gone to bed, and they were thrown into formation. He had threatened both of his centurions with punishment if he found so much as a scuff on their armor. His acting made the rest fall into place. His commands had gotten harsher as the previous evening progressed, and as he stalked down the hall, he had his face in a stern scowl. His helmet was under his arm, and his shield sat on his back. He was ready.

Elias hit the doors to the training grounds with enough force to make them slam into the wall. He had to hide a small grin as he saw a pony hop in place, and for a moment, he was fairly sure it was Granite. The earth pony disguised his surprise well though, and he saluted Elias sharply as the human came stalking up.

“The recruits are in order and top form this morning General,” Granite said. “I’ve checked personally, their uniforms are in perfect shape.”

Elias scowled at the earth pony.

“Well then Centurion, I guess you can accept the whippings for every mistake I find, since you checked it so personally.”

Granite blinked in shock at Elias' sharp tone, but his hoof dropped, and he stood stock still as Elias continued on his fake warpath. Oh, it was going to be a beautiful day. None of the recruits dared meet his eyes as Elias prowled along their line, looking for signs of weakness. Though they were tense at his aggressiveness against them, and no doubt because they had been standing in formation for hours, they were still strong. They stood at ready, and though they feared punishment for some minor transgression, they weren’t truly afraid. They didn’t want to be punished, sure, but they weren’t really scared of it. More often than not, he found confusion in the eyes of the ponies as he walked past. They had no idea why he had suddenly become stricter, angrier with his subordinates. More than a few look concerned. Elias found that a bit odd, but he supposed the time for the acting was done. Mostly.

Elias scowled as he made his way back toward the stage.

“First Centurion Flash, Centurion’s Ice Blossom and Gray Granite, front and center,” he barked, his voice ringing through the training grounds. “Now!”

The trio of ponies quickly formed a line before him, and Elias glared hard at them all.

“Are you trying to make me look like an idiot?” Elias asked quietly, keeping his voice just loud enough for it to still carry.

Night Flash frowned and glanced toward Elias with an inquisitive look, but Granite was the one who spoke first.

“Of course not General, we followed your orders to the letter.”

Elias stepped to the right so that he was directly in front of the earth pony.

“Oh, so it’s my fault that MY ENTIRE LEGION IS OUT OF UNIFORM!”

Granite winced at Elias’ spike in volume. The human stood up straight and ran a hand through his hair, faking a deep sigh as he began to pace.

“I cannot believe the sheer lack of discipline here today. I specifically asked in my letter that my legionaries be at formation in fully polished armor, and yet all I see here today is a bunch of fucking recruits!”

Elias took a breath to continue, but in the space of his inhale, Anyon’s rough voice carried across the training grounds.

“Hurry up ya rat-eating bastards! Ya missed our cue!”

Elias couldn’t keep his false anger going any longer as the gryphon strutted into view with a puffed-out chest and a wide grin. Elias shook his head and smiled as a large team of ponies yanked a tall stack of crates forward, grunting and groaning as the heavy boxes weighed down their carts so much that the wheels struggled to turn. Still, the collection of mares and stallions Anyon had drafted into assisting him quickly rolled out the massive stock of equipment, and Anyon led the charge, smiling brightly as he stood before Elias.

“Here’s yer gear General! Got it all ready, jus’ to yer specifications!”

Elias chuckled and shook his head.

“Anyon… your cue was when I began commenting on how low quality the recruit armor looked, and how it made them look shameful. You came out early.”

Anyon’s one eye drifted down, then to the recruits. It then shifted back to the tired and angry looking workers, before finally settling back on a grinning Elias. The gryphon drooped slightly.

“Ah shit.”

Elias laughed aloud and looked back to his centurions.

“Fall back in, my little prank is over. You can thank Anyon that it didn’t go on longer.”

The gryphon muttered something under his breath and kicked at the dirt as Elias turned to address his extremely confused legion of recruits.

“Recruits!” Elias called out, “Today is a good day, a proud day. You may have noticed that the bell is no longer here for your use, and has instead been replaced with a statue.”

Elias motioned to the horse shaped statue of helmets. It had taken him a bit of searching, but the pony he had commissioned it for had been grateful to work with the odd specifications had set before her. It had taken her a few hours, but he thought the statue looked good. It certainly gleamed in the morning light.

“This is a symbol of failure, and I want each and every one of you to burn an image of this statue into your mind, because you can now congratulate yourselves, because you are not failures. Not anymore.”

“No,” Elias continued, bracing one hand on his gladius hilt. Damn, the air was so crisp, so clean. It put additional energy into his bones, made his blood run just a tad faster. “Today each and every one of you have earned the right to call yourselves something more than recruits. You have earned the right to call yourselves legionaries.”

A host of whispers immediately rose, something Elias silenced with a raise of his hand.

“Now, I must offer one thing before we begin distributing your official legion armor. You have done a great thing by surviving through training thus far, but in truth, that was your tryout. What follows in these next few months will be grueling, and back breaking, but I promise by the end that nobody, not in Equestria, nor outside its borders will be able to stop you.”

Elias bowed his head slightly.

“But I can understand those who feel tired, who are exhausted at this point and who feel the need to end their time with us. I cannot fault you that, this has been an exhausting experience. So I offer this one final chance to you;”

Elias motioned to the statue.

“You have shown everyone here that you are not quitters, are not failures, but should you feel in your heart that this is the end of your journey in my legion, please step forward and place your helmet at the base of the statue of failures. Walk free of this place with your head held high, and with pride in your step as you walk out with the knowledge that you made it this far.”

“There is no shame in leaving now,” Elias said. “But, if you choose to leave after you receive your legionnaire armor, you will not be able to walk away.”

Elias reached behind his back and withdrew a small scroll. He held it high in the air.

“This, is signed permission from Princess Luna to hold, try, and punish any deserters from my command. Know that if you take your legion armor and then try to walk away later, I will find you, and imprison you until the end of the march, after which you will be tried for cowardice.”

Elias looked out over the recruits, looking for fear. He found none.

“I don’t think I need to remind anyone here that my punishment for cowardice; is death.”

Still nothing. The ponies under his command stood firm, though Elias did notice a frown on Chaser’s face. Elias continued anyway.

“Now is the time to make your choice recruits; if you leave, you do so with no shame, but you will receive no glory. If you stay, you stay until the end, whether it comes at the end of the enemy’s sword, or mine.”

He motioned to the statue again.

“So, here is your chance. Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

The training grounds were dead silent. For once, Elias felt slightly intimidated by the mass of ponies before him. His eyes searched for that one spot of meekness or nerves that would indicate doubt, but for once, he could find nothing. He began moving forward, and as he searched different sections of the legion, he found that nothing changed. Their eyes all held the same expression, and they watched him with cool confidence. Had they not been a rainbow of colors, he would have believed he was looking at clones of a single, determined pony. It was terrifying. It made Elias smile. He made his way to the front of the formation, waiting silently for anyone to stand out from the mass of ponies. He made it to the front before somebody stepped out of formation, and a small gasp went up from the recruits as the purple thestral saluted. Elias stopped his pacing to stare at her with a small frown.

She faced him, standing at a rigid attention.

“Permission to speak General?”

Elias nodded.

“Granted Recruit.”

The thestral’s fangs glistened as she grinned.

“I don’t think I’m the only one here who knows they’re in it for the long haul. We haven’t quit yet, and we aren’t quitting now. Sorry to say General, but you are stuck with us.”

Elias snorted, then smiled.

“Well said, Legionary Steel Heart” he said loudly.

His eyes flicked away from the thestral as she stepped back into formation. To the recruits he said;

“Adiutor Book Binder has your new positions sorted out, line up by cohort to begin distribution of your equipment. I will speak to you again when you look like legionaries.”

*****

Elias felt his heart swell as the ponies fell back into place. The sun was just beginning to rise, and as its golden light spilled into the training grounds, it sparkled off of the shining silver of his legion. As they fell in, Elias looked over them in detail. He had inspected samples from Anyon, but he wanted to see the uniformity of the uniforms over the three thousand strong mass of ponies. The legionary armor looked exactly like those his officers wore, save for the fact that their helmets lacked the distinct plume that all guard ponies had. Elias had been adamant about his break from pony tradition, and his former recruits didn’t seem to mind much. They had been taught why they lacked plumes, spotting officers in a sea of plumes was difficult after all, but still, the traditional roman legionary helmet looked perfect on the heads of the ponies, and they knew it. Anyon had brought tall mirrors with him, and the legionaries ooed and awed at themselves, showing their equipment off to their fellows. They also knew that they were distinct from the other guards, and soon the world would be able to tell the difference from a legionary, and a guard.

The auxiliaries were every bit as enthusiastic, despite the lack of flash in their equipment. The helmet was the only thing that they shared with their legionary comrades. Their armor was primarily made of dragon leather, colored brown and then overlaid with silver chainmail, primarily around their core areas and their joints. Elias had made sure to keep the armor lighter so that they could be more maneuverable, and so that they could carry more ammunition. Enchanted sheathes lined their bodies, designed to allow them to easily balance massive loads of pilla and arrows, as well as medical supplies for the healers scattered among the auxiliary core.

The third group to receive armor were his freshest recruits, but with the rush to fill in scouting roles, Elias had to also rush the scouting armor. It was modified auxiliary armor, unfortunately made with a weaker material; wild cow hide. Elias had made Anyon compensate by enchanting the leather with additional speed and armor spells, but only so much could be done to strengthen the softer material, and Elias knew that his scouts would be particularly vulnerable, especially given that they wouldn’t receive helmets. The pegasi had agreed as a group that wearing anything on their heads would impede their ability to spot and move about quickly, so Elias had agreed to waive helmets. He just hoped being high in the sky would prevent them from getting killed. With as short notice as he had received, Elias had to cut corners as he developed training regimens for the ponies, so all of them were pegasi. That had come with a healthy mix of benefits and drawbacks. A benefit had been that he had talked with Luna to bring in some pegasus specific trainers, a group of whom were supposed to arrive within hours to drill the scouts and bring them up to their peak physical capacity. A drawback had been that Lionheart had immediately gotten word of Elias’ exclusive scouting detachment and had cried foul to Celestia about discrimination. Elias had responded by pointing out the unicorn’s refusal to include him on scouting reports, and after a heated “debate” in which Elias had almost thrown the pony out a window, the charges had been dropped on Celestia's order.

Overall, however, all of the groups of the legion held one thing in common; the red of their underclothes. The cloth was heavy, bolstered with a bit of padded armor as an extra measure of protection, but more importantly, it made them look like real legionaries. No longer would they have to wear their armor constantly. Instead, they would wear the simple red tunic, using it as a clear label that they were in Legio I Equus. It would be yet another note of pride for the ponies, and it threatened to put a wide smile on Elias’ face. It hadn’t been easy to establish the myriad of legion traditions from nothing, and it especially hadn’t been easy to get the ponies to adopt them all, but he was getting there, slowly. The armor was another step, and from the looks of things, it had been a successful step forward.

Elias took a deep breath to settle his chest. With all of the excited energy in the air, he couldn’t help but get caught up in it, and his face broke out in a smile as the last few ponies collected their gear and rushed back into formation so that their fellows could help them put it on. It was a good day that was only going to get better, and Elias was in a bad spot. Things were going well, the ponies looked genuinely happy and proud in their armor, and that just made him overwhelmingly happy. So happy, in fact, that he couldn’t put on his usual frown, and he was forced to stay away in case anyone noticed. He couldn’t help it though; it was just like when he had seen Night Flash in his armor for the first time. It just made Elias so incredibly happy to see things coming to life again, but this time the right way.

Elias rubbed at his face to try and hide his smile as Book Binder trotted up the stage to stand beside him.

“It’s something else, huh General?” she asked.

Elias nodded.

“That it is Adiutor. I’m concerned that I won’t be able to hold it together when I make them tour their new bunks, and this afternoon’s march?” he scoffed. “I’m going to be a damned mess.”

Book Binder gave him a look of fake shock.

“General Bright genuinely happy? The stars will plummet, and the world will end! Woe is me; I can’t believe my eyes!”

Elias managed to find his scowl as the unicorn nudged his leg and grinned.

“I can have you court martialed, you know that right?” he grumbled.

Book Binder chuckled and looked back to the legionaries.

“You could, but I don’t think you will. I’ve made myself too valuable to your operation. It would take a dozen ponies to replace me.”

“Nobody could replace you,” Elias mumbled as he looked away.

Book Binder’s ears flicked, but she seemed to pretend not to hear him. Instead, they both watched silently as the last few ponies fell into formation, turning the training grounds into a sea of glistening sea of silver. The sight brought up a lot of things in Elias; memories, both good and bad. His bad eye twitched slightly as he stared at the legion, formed up in shining silver. An image of his human legion coated in blood flashed by momentarily, but with a blink the sight was gone. It had already turned his stomach however, and it helped bring Elias down from his excited high.

He rolled his shoulders slowly as he tried to find his calm place. Taking a step forward, Elias clasped his hands behind his back and cleared his throat, trying his best to erase all signs of nerves.

“Congratulations! You are no longer recruits, but legionaries! I expect you to act like it. Review your legion manuals if you believe you might be doing something stupid, but for now…” Elias couldn’t help himself as he gave out another compliment. “You all look good; almost like real soldiers. Form up in your sections and clear out the bunkhouses. Gather all of your belongings, because you will not be returning. It’s about time to show you to your real quarters.”

*****

To say the legionaries were excited about the drastic upgrade to their living spaces was an understatement. As soon as they had cleared out all of their belongings, Elias had ordered the old barracks demolished to make room for additional drill space; then he had led the legion through the garden “wall” of the training yard to their new bunkhouses. The new bunkhouses blended in smoothly with the greenery, and despite their attempts at discipline, the ponies squealed as they saw the elegant buildings. The sound threatened to bring another smile to Elias’ face, and why shouldn’t it? The buildings had been expensive, and difficult to design. Elias hoped it would be a suitable reward for the hell he had put the ponies through, as well as for what they had yet to endure.

The outside of the new buildings was done up in stone, unlike the thin wooden walls of the previous barracks. A small waist-high wall surrounded each building, with wrought-iron gates allowing for access to the barracks. The pillars on either side of the gates held copies of the legion standard, along with cohort designations. It took no prodding for the ponies to separate into their sections, and though Elias warned them about moving too quickly, he began hearing shrieks of excitement as the ponies bolted into their new quarters. He sighed and shook his head in exasperation, then gave the order for the ponies to go wild. In an instant the outside was empty, and the barracks were filled to the brim with ponies, all of whom were admiring and celebrating their superior quarters.

Elias didn’t follow them inside, had in fact already done several inspections to ensure that his troops weren’t being cheated. It wasn’t too lavish, but it was designed with the intention to be practical, as to suit all their training needs, as well as comfortable, to help them relax after. Each bunkhouse was outfitted with small smithies for armor repair, expansive bathroom facilities, as well as a laundry facility for those who didn’t want to deal with the castle’s inane cleaning staff. The maid staff were asinine, and had he not been working with General Lionheart, they would have been his single greatest source of complaints. Another addition to the bunkhouses was superior beds with actual bedding, rather than the cheap stuff Elias had stocked the recruit houses with. Finally, he had several magical storage areas installed so that the ponies wouldn’t be crowded by the gear they had yet to receive.

Book Binder danced on her hooftips as she looked back and forth between Elias, and the entrance to the nearest bunkhouse, that of the 2nd Cohort Auxiliaries. Night Flash also looked mildly curious, but for once, Book Binder was the more excitable of the pair. A small whine escaped the mare’s mouth as some legionary within the bunkhouse began shrieking about how soft the carpets were, so Elias decided to throw the dedicated mare beside him a bone.

“Adiutor, would you like to see the interior of the legion bunkhouse?”

The unicorn looked up at him with her massive pleading puppy dog eyes.

“Please General, not knowing will be the death of me. Night Flash and I go home every night, if we don’t go in now, when will we?”

Elias rolled his eyes.

“Fine,” he said as he motioned toward the open door. “But make it fast, and make sure they’re getting settled in there. We still have training to do.”

Elias had no idea why he bothered to finish the sentence. Book Binder had bolted through the door as soon as he said “fine”. Night Flash chuckled and shook his head.

“Sorry about that General, but Book Binder loves looking at home interiors. She’s the one who found and bought the home we’ll be moving into after our wedding.”

Elias glanced down at the pegasus.

“And are you excited about that? Getting your own place?”

Night Flash looked up and nodded.

“Yes General, I am. It’s got a lot of space for our expanding family, and we can finally feel like we’re not just hanging on her parents. We’ve been staying in their house for a little over a year now, and they say we’re fine, but…”

“You still feel like a burden,” Elias finished. He looked back to the barracks, noticing a flash of mint green as Book Binder bolted by a window. “Now you know how I feel most of the time.”

Night Flash shrugged.

“Maybe a little, but I think what you experience is different, probably a bit more serious. Either way, you can ease that feeling of burden with every day of training.”

“And why’s that?” Elias asked as he saw a flash of green magic levitating what looked to be one of the entryway rugs.

Night Flash gestured around them.

“All of this? Frankly General, you’re earning everything you’ve got coming to you. Not counting what you’re earning while a general, your retirement package will be substantial, so much so that you could live comfortably off of it for the rest of your days.”

“Ignoring the fact that I’m already an independently wealthy individual,” Elias commented as he saw a red-violet tail whip by. A cry of joy pierced the air, followed quickly by over a dozen. The noise disconcerted him.

Night Flash nodded in agreement with his words.

“But that’s just the money side. Imagine General, you have so much you can do after the march! Whether you want it or not, you’re going to earn prestige, so keeping your current job would be no trouble. If you decided to quit though, there are still so many avenues open! You could write training manuals, act as an instructor, do foreign mercenary work, anything military related really.”

Night Flash smiled as the red-violet tail flashed through the windows, followed swiftly by a dozen flashes of silver.

“But say you didn’t want to do something related to war; you could write books on human cultures and other stuff, teach classes maybe. You always seem interested about history, and if you’re bored of your cultures, you could study any number of Equestrian cultures. It’s all in the air, and no matter what, you’re going to have friends at your back to support you.”

Night Flash caught Elias’ eye and smiled.

“Your future is bright General.”

Elias sighed and rolled his eyes.

“I do hope that pun was intentional First Centurion. As for my future, I’m surprised you didn’t say my “family” and friends will be at my back.”

Night Flash shrugged again.

“You know me General; I love you to death. If I get to call you son, Elias, or General, I’m just happy to be by your side. Everypony seems to be making plans for you, but for me? I want you to make your plan; just so long as I get to join you for the ride, I'm happy with whatever it is.”

That hit Elias hard. He had no words to describe how absolutely grateful he was to hear such words, and it took everything in him to not scoop up the pegasus beside him and crush him in a hug. He did need to get rid of the pony so that he could collect himself, however.

“First Centurion,” Elias said softly, trying to hide the stutter in his voice, “please go retrieve Adiutor Binder before she explodes.”

Night Flash grinned and saluted.

“Right away General.”

The pegasus was off like a shot, and Elias quickly heard the sound of shrieks rise in the barracks. A flash of red violet was pursued hotly by a flash of dark blue as the pair ran amok in the bunkhouse. The sight put a small smile on Elias’ face, and he crossed his arms, letting happy tears stream down his face as his parents made fools of themselves before the legionaries.

*****

“Oh, but the carpets were just so soft and pretty!” Book Binder gushed as they marched down the road to Ponyville. “And the color schemes! General, you are a visual genius, who cares about the guard, you should be an interior designer! The crystal chandeliers were so beautiful, and so bright! They lit up the room perfectly, and then the bunks were perfectly spaced out for ponies, and then the sheets matched the carpets, oh it was just so wonderful!”

Elias didn’t have it within his heart to stop the unicorn from blabbering on as she talked his and Night Flash’s ears off. The only reason everything within the bunkhouses matched was because Elias had ensure that they were the same red as the rest of the uniform, meaning that everything matched perfectly. The grey stone of the building worked well with the brilliant red, and the rest was simply tailored to match. Book Binder couldn’t have gotten enough it, however, and she had begun talking about his “brilliant interior designing skills” since Night Flash had dragged her from the building by her tail. The auxiliaries had followed the pair out, smiling widely. Elias would have punished them for laughing at a superior’s expense, but since they were already in their marching packs, he let it slide, especially when Book Binder saddled up to him and began singing his praises.

Elias tuned out her compliments as he focused on the tasks ahead. For the short term; they were supposed to begin training on the quick construction of the castra they would be using. Despite the protests he had received, Elias had managed to get Celestia on his side for once, and the march would use the fortified camp he and Scarlet had designed. While the rest of the army wouldn’t be informed of their jobs for another month or two, Elias needed to ensure that his legionaries would be able to do their part. Since he could trust them to do what he said, Elias had taken the hardest job; that of gathering materials and constructing the castra walls. The job was made easier with things like magic, but the ponies in his command still needed to be able to properly gauge what was appropriate and what wasn’t. If the wall had even a single weak spot and they came under attack, they would be in a bad spot.

As for the long term; there was still so much to do. The castra was only a part of it. The legionaries still needed to be taught their advanced formations, still needed further combat training, and needed to get used to their full rucks. Elias still hadn’t give the ponies their full ammunition loads, let alone their tents, food, and water for the trek. Despite the fact that they were taking supply wagons, Elias intended for each member of his legion to carry at least two days of food and water on their backs in case of an emergency. If his estimates were right, each pony would be carrying their body weight between their armor and their rucks. It was going to be brutal going, but Elias had an instinct that they would need every bit of their equipment.

None of that compared to what he still had to get done. Elias knew there would be many more coordination meetings with his fellow generals in the future, and while the fact irritated him to no end, he knew it was necessary. They still needed to decide on the appropriate amount of supplies, the marching order, battle formations, the stopping points along their route, everything. Even the small details weren’t allowed to escape him, and Elias imagined that his stress-induced migraines would only grow worse as the march grew closer. The only comfort he gave himself was that each and every moment of pain he suffered made the army as a whole better prepared, so he pushed on.

The formation in front of Elias ground to a halt, and before Elias could open his mouth, a bright blue pony with a green and white mane landed in front of him. The pegasus mare saluted sharply. Elias scowled at her in return.

“Report; why have we stopped?”

The pony dropped her hoof.

“Obstruction in the road General; a broken-down wagon. It’s smack in the middle, so we’re going to need to either move it, or march around it.”

Elias nodded silently.

“Lead me to it then. First Centurion keep everyone on their feet. We don’t rest until we’re done. Adiutor, follow me.”

Elias set off at a trot, moving easily in his heavy armor. Unlike the enchanted versions the ponies wore, his armor was as heavy as ever. It was a silly thing, but it made him feel safer, more protected. From what, he didn’t know, but when he slid into the silvery steel of his cuirass, everything was just a bit better.

As he trotted past his rows of stopped legionaries, the edge of a shouting match began to reach his ears. The scout cast a nervous glance back at Elias, but she continued moving forward, leading him toward the pair of arguing ponies in the middle of the road.

“Mac, ah’m tellin’ you, we gotta get the axle fixed! I know we’re holdin’ up these ponies, but if we put the cart in that there ditch it ain’t never comin’ out!”

The yelling pony was an orange mare wearing some kind of cowboy hat. She was dwarfed by a stallion that was only a few inches shorter than Elias was, and he was fairly sure he had undergone another growth spurt recently. His alicorn reference for height had changed, and he was closer in height to Celestia now. Yet, the red stallion with the green apple stood tall against the smaller mare. He chewed a piece of hay in his teeth as he spoke; slow and low.

“Applejack, ain’t nothin’ we can do ta fix it here. Ah realize it ain’t the best, but we’re holdin’ up ponies. It ain’t right.”

The orange mare, Applejack, stomped her hoof.

“Dangit Bic Mac! Yer not even trying to be reasonable with me!”

Bic Mac shook his head and looked toward Elias as the human slowed his jog to a walk.

“Nope. Ah’m right. Now ya gotta talk to ‘im.”

Applejack whirled with her jaw set in hard line. For some reason however, her eyes seemed to skip past Elias, and instead focused on Book Binder.

“Listen here missy, ah know ya’ll got places to be, but so do I! We’ve been tryin’ to get into town all day, but this darn cart ain’t what she used to be. Now unless yer fixin’ to help, I’m gonna need ya’ll to just wait while I run back to the farm to get the spare axle.”

Elias tuned out her words as Book Binder tried to act as a mediator. Instead, he looked toward the cart itself. At a glance he could tell that the cart was loaded far past its capacity. Apples were stacked tall upon it, and he could see the entire thing sagging in the dirt. His eyes flicked down to the rear axle to find it snapped cleanly in two. It was all wood, and while it had likely been excellent craftsmanship once upon a time, that time was far past. Book Binder tried to speak, only for Applejack to begin arguing with her instead of Bic Mac. Elias let his unicorn assistant distract the mare as a long-forgotten hobby rose in his mind. He had tried his hand at woodworking, and though he had never been particularly good at it, he was more than sure he could figure out a way to mend the axel with a pilum shaft. It would certainly be faster than trying to calm down the orange farm pony that was agitating his assistant.

He pulled his helmet off as Book Binder got in Applejack’s face, and a second loud voice began tearing through the air. Elias shrugged his ruck off and set it on the side of the wagon, then laid down and slid underneath the cart. He realized instantly that if the cart so much as slipped to the side, he would die from its weight. He looked to the front row of legionaries, who were watching Book Binder and Applejack go at it. Elias whistled, grabbing their attention away from the catfight.

“Come earn your paychecks and brace this damn thing. I will not have “crushed by an apple cart” on my tombstone.”

The legionaries smiled faintly, and three passed of their equipment to brace the wagon. Confident that it wouldn’t move while he worked, Elias scooted himself forward so that the broken axle sat inches from his face. Elias frowned, eyeballing the diameter of the shaft, then reached a handout.

“Pilum.”

One of the legionaries passed him their javelin, and Elias held it up beside the axle shaft. They were just about the same, but he would need help to properly attach the spear in place of the axle. He laid his head back and stared at Book Binder upside down until she stopped yelling at Applejack long enough to meet his gaze.

“Yes General?” she asked with a huff, shooting a glare at the orange farm pony that told him that she wasn’t finished arguing.

“We have a carpenter, yes?” Elias asked. “A… Wood Shop I believe? 3rd Cohort?”

Book Binder reached into her saddlebags and withdrew her troop list. She flipped through the pages for a moment, then nodded slowly.

“Yes, Legionnaire Wood Chop. We’ve been considering her for an additional centurion position.”

Elias pointed to the scout.

“Go fetch her. Tell her to move fast; I want us moving in the next ten minutes.”

The mare nodded and took off, quickly spiraling back along the line of ponies. With a helper near at hand Elias set to work removing the heads from both ends of the pilum shaft. He stopped after a moment when he realized that all was quiet. Elias’ eyes flicked back toward Book Binder to find Applejack staring at him.

“What?” he asked.

The farm pony winced, and after another silent blink, Elias realized what was likely keeping the pony quiet. After so many mornings waking up to see the black mar on his face, he had just gotten used to it.

“Relax, I got it killing changelings. Do you really think the princesses would make me a general if I was fighting for the bad guys?”

Elias didn’t wait for an answer, and instead focused on the pilum in his hands. Anyon had done a thorough job in putting the screws on, and despite his dexterous fingers and his experience removing spear heads, he had a devil of a time getting the primary javelin head off. Wood Chop came trotting up just as he got the secondary head off, sliding it in the dirt to one of the legionaries. He looked to the brown earth pony.

“You’re Wood Chop?”

The pony nodded.

“Yes General. Legionnaire Wood Chop, reporting for duty.”

Her hoof snapped up to her forehead, causing Elias to scowl.

“Quit saluting me and get down here. I need to make sure I’m doing this right.”

The earth pony blinked at him stupidly for a moment, then shrugged off her gear and wiggled her way under the cart, turning over so that her head rested right next to Elias’. He held up the pilum shaft where the axle was supposed to go.

“What do you think?” he asked. “I’m thinking it will at least do to get this cart moving out of the way.”

Applejack seemed to find her voice again.

“I ain’t pushin’ mah cart into no ditch!” she barked.

“Applejack hush!” Big Mac snapped, stepping up to the orange mare. “The strange looking pony is tryin’ ta help! Ah thought you and yer friends solved this stubbornness of yours!”

Elias tuned them out again as the pair began to squabble. He didn’t know why he had the effect of making so many ponies angry at him, but in truth, he once again didn’t care. He had all the ponies he needed, who cared if some apple farmer didn’t like him? Wood Chop frowned at the pilum shaft in his hands.

“I… think it’ll work,” she said slowly. “But hoof it here. The pilum is a bit shorter than the other axle, and lucky for us, I can fix that.”

Elias passed the earth pony the pilum, and she curled her hooves around it, whispering softly into the wood. Elias watched as slowly but surely; the wood lengthened. Wood Chop motioned with a free hoof toward the broken axle.

“We need to have these removed before we can replace them with the pilum shaft.”

Elias nodded, and he motioned for the legionaries to lift the cart. A trio of ponies pealed off from the formation, and with a pair bracing one end, the rest lifted the wooden cart into the air. Elias sat up, and scooted out from beneath the cart. He pulled one wheel free, while Ice Blossom went to the other. Out of the corner of his eye, Elias noticed Granite inching toward the pair of arguing of apple farmers, clearly waiting to see if the argument would get uglier.

Elias braced the inside of the wheel shaft and pulled the piece of axle free. Ice Blossom quickly did the same, then the pair re-aligned the wheels to their wells and held them steady as Wood Chop slid the pilum shaft into place. It slid easily into the center of the wheel, and Elias again watched as the wood grew and expanded to fit perfectly within the wheel. A cap even formed, making sure that the new axle stayed perfectly in place. He looked to Wood Chop, who smiled at her work.

“And that’s that General. Should work good as new now. With the way Anyon’s been making these pilum shafts, it should be good to run for years.”

“Good,” Elias replied. “Get out from under there so we can get going again.”

Wood Chop nodded, and she rolled over, then crawled out from underneath the wagon. On a three count, the rest of the ponies set the wagon back down, then moved quickly to fall back into their positions. Elias dusted himself off as best he could, then scooped up his helmet and ruck, sliding them both on quickly.

Geared up once again, Elias looked toward Big Mac and Applejack. The stallion looked rather happy, and he stepped forward quickly, with his low southern drawl leading the way.

“Ah thank ya. This wagon has been a bother for years now. Ah’ll move as fast as ah can to get out of your way.”

Elias gave him a small nod.

“Excellent. It may have been a minor delay, but as long as we get under way quickly, I’m sure we can make up lost time.”

Elias glanced to Ice Blossom, who nodded and turned on the legionaries.

“You hear that? We’re double timing it to Ponyville! No more breaks for you lot!”

Elias adjusted his ruck straps, then paused as he felt his bad eye twitch. His eyes flicked up to Applejack, who was fixing him with a mean glare. Far more alarming was the massive spike of waves around her head. Elias frowned and met the mare’s eyes.

“Something wrong miss?”

Applejack growled.

“Ah didn’t ask for your help! Didn’t need it neither! Mac and I coulda takin’ care of the cart all on our own!”

Big Mac scowled at his sister

“Applejack, that is enough! We weren’t movin’ for nothin’. Leave the stallion be and let’s get movin’.”

Applejack shook her head, and she kneaded at the ground with a foreleg.

“No! Ah heard of this feller before, this is the one that near attacked Fluttershy! Ain’t nopony that can get away with attacking mah friends!”

Book Binder placed herself between Elias and Applejack.

“Ms. Applejack, I suggest you step away,” the unicorn said with a snarl. “You must have misheard things, because your friend decided to harass our march! General Bright merely stopped her and made sure her little “protest” didn’t impact our training.”

Elias ignored the pair of mares as they set to arguing again. His eyes were much more focused on the waves. He could see a faint hint of a line trailing away from Applejack and into the formation of legionaries. Elias’ eyes narrowed as he tried to pick out where the waves were originating from, and what it could mean. He had an idea, but he needed to be sure before he acted.

Night Flash appeared at his side and tapped his leg gently.

“General, what should we do? Adiutor Binder is about to rip the Element of Honesty in half.”

Elias blinked and returned to the real world to find Book Binder and Applejack at each other’s throats. Bic Mac was trying to pull his sister back by her tail, but the mare was planted like a tree. Elias frowned. He had let the farce go on for far too long.

“Adiutor!” he shouted, “that’s enough! Return to your position in formation.”

Book Binder stopped growling at Applejack to stare at him in mild disbelief.

“General, you can’t be taking her side! She’s insulting you!”

Elias walked forward so that his shadow fell over both mares.

“That may be Adiutor, but if I am so weak as to be taken down by insults, I shouldn’t have become a soldier. Back to your position. I won’t tell you again.”

Book Binder stared for a moment more, then huffed and turned away, growling dark words under her breath as she trotted toward the center of the column. Elias took comfort in the fact that she wasn’t glaring at him, but instead at Applejack.

A small realization popped into his mind. Anger. Each encounter they had with an Element bearer made his soldiers angry at them. They were forming resentment toward their nation’s heroes. That was one of the ways the spy was starting to divide the ponies. Spreading anger and resentment. Elias’ eyes flicked out among the legionaries again, but the waves were beginning to die down, and the line he had seen vanished. Applejack, while still angry, seemed mildly confused as Elias looked toward her.

“As for you, Ms. Applejack, I suggest you move along. I didn’t have to help you, and I could have just as well ordered your wagon upturned and your apples stomped into the dirt. Why don’t you take after your sensible brother and get going?”

She glared at him for a moment, but the unnatural source of her anger toward him was gone, and Bic Mac had more than enough strength to drag her toward the wagon. He tossed the orange mare into the back of the apple cart, gave Elias a silent nod of thanks, then strapped himself in and took off at a brisk pace. Elias watched them go for a ten-count, then looked toward his legionaries. One of them, if not more, was a spy. A changeling spy if his guess was right. He’d have to take measures to weed the rat out and eliminate them. For now, however, he just had to get the legion done with the days training.

“Alright!” Elias called out. “Enough resting! Let’s get moving and get to Ponyville! We need as much time as possible practicing fast tent set up! Step lively!”

Chapter 45: Traitors in the Ranks

Elias stared at the pair of ponies before him, tapping his fingers along his knuckles. Their disguises were impeccable, and because Elias didn’t know either of the ponies they were pretending to be beforehand, he had no idea what little twitches to look for to tell if they were truly changelings or not. No, the only things he had were suspicion, days’ worth of research on the buggy bastards, and his bad eye, which saw small waves climb from the foreheads of both of them. Neither were unicorns however, and they had nothing magical on their bodies, he had made sure of that. They sat before him in their plain red tunics, with all of their armor removed before they had entered his office. It was the only way he could think to ensure that he wasn’t simply misinterpreting the waves his bad eye saw as magic. If he was wrong, a host of things were going to turn sour, but Elias trusted his instincts. While a bit violent in nature, they had never led him astray before.

The ponies exchanged a nervous glance, then shifted in their seats as Elias continued to stare them down. Book Binder stood near the door, staring at their backs. Scarlet and Night Flash waited outside, along with a Royal Guard who was keeping a silence spell around the room. No matter what happened, it would stay quiet, if nothing else.

The pony on Elias’ left, a pegasus, cleared her throat loudly, drawing the full focus of his gaze.

“Ah, General?” she asked meekly. “Shouldn’t we be getting back to training?”

Elias’ eyes narrowed at the pony and she gulped nervously in reply. Elias scanned her up and down, looking for a flicker of an illusion spell, a flash of green in her eyes, anything that would tell him that she was a changeling. He had spent three days watching each and every legionnaire, looking for the source of the waves. He was the only one who could see them, and it was clear that the illusion removal spells that had been put over the castle after the invasion were no longer working. Something was wrong, he just knew it. When the legion went to sleep, he stayed up, spending endless hours in the library researching changelings with Neat Shelf, looking for something that would allow them to bypass the illusion rune. While the mare kept him relaxed with her constant deliveries of coffee and hot chocolate, as well as her subtle requests for belly rubs, Elias had forgone sleep in the hope of finding something useful, but he had found little more than a footnote theory that changeling illusions weren’t magically based, but rather a hybrid of magic and biology. The pony who had added it to the creature guide he was reading went on to talk about the possibility of mixing changeling parts with other creatures so that they could use changeling magic, but while interesting, it told him nothing on how to weed the bugs out.

So, Elias went about it the old-fashioned way, applying psychological pressure, exhausting the legionaries until things slipped up. He had watched up close, from a distance, and everywhere in between, and the two ponies before him were the only sources of the waves. The one on his left seemed to be involved in a host of minor disputes, while the one on his right, an earth pony, seemed to always act as a mediator. The drastic difference of their behavior was strange, but he had to know for certain if they were truly spies.

Elias continued to stare down the pegasus for a moment more, then looked to Book Binder. He gave the mare the smallest of nods, and she locked his office door. Her sword slid from its sheathe, and she stood ready in front of the door with a scowl on her face. Elias stood slowly and drew his gladius. The blade seemed to glisten in the light of his lamp, and both of the ponies before him gulped again as they stared at the blade.

“I have spent the past few days looking over and meeting with every pony in my legion,” Elias said, keeping his voice low. “You two have been the only ones with distortions around you.” He tapped his scar. “The eye may be new, but I assure you, I trust it far more than I trust you two.”

Elias glared at the earth pony, who withered under his stare.

“I expect you to tell me why I’m seeing waves around your heads, or I’m going to execute you right here and now as spies. Give me answers before I collect your heads.”

The earth pony shrank further in his seat, while the pegasus chuckled.

“General, if you think that we’re changeling’s, I can assure you that we aren’t.”

The word smacked around Elias’ head with such force that he momentarily forgot about his daily migraines. He grit his teeth and glared hate at the pegasus as she smiled sweetly back.

“I mean, come on! You’re so smart, I think even you would be able to notice that we don’t have horns. How could we be-“

Elias silenced her with a cut across her throat. Or at least he thought he just cut her throat. The waves around her head had spiked until they had touched the ceiling, and a wave of nausea had threatened to consume him completely. As a result, he put a bit too much power into his swing, and Feather had managed to decapitate the pegasus. Her body slumped from its seat as the changeling’s head plopped to the floor. Elias resisted the urge to vomit on his desk as his eyes flicked to the earth pony.

The tip of his gladius touched the ponies throat just as he threw his hooves into the air.

“I’m not a changeling!” the pony cried. “Please General, I’m not a changeling!”

Elias saw a minor spike in the waves above the pony’s head, and he pressed Feather forward.

“Then I suggest you stop whatever magic bullshit you’re trying to pull before I remove your head like I did to your friend here.”

The earth pony frowned slightly.

“She’s not my friend. I’m not a changeling.”

Book Binder pressed her gladius to the back of the pony’s neck.

“I suggest you tell us what you are then, because I don’t appreciate dealing with the same bugs that almost took my son and my fiancé away from me.”

Her eyes flicked to Elias, but he had eyes only for the earth pony in front of him. The pony sighed.

“I… Look, I need to remove the inhibitor ring I have and ask what I can tell you. Please believe me, the “waves” you are seeing around me is just chatter. Promise, I won’t try to influence you like she did.”

He looked toward the corpse of the changeling with mild distaste, then looked back to Elias.

“Please General, just give me one chance to make this right.”

Elias snarled.

“If you make a single move I don’t like, I’ll end you. Now do what you have to before I stop being so patient.”

The earth pony sighed, and his hoof raised to his forehead. Elias caught a flash of a white horn, but it quickly vanished as the earth pony placed an inhibitor ring on Elias’ desk. The waves around the earth pony’s head spiked lightly, but Elias felt nothing as the earth pony raised his hooves again.

“I’m going to contact my queen now to ask her what I can tell you. It’s been an honor working with you General,” the pony said, sounding vaguely genuine, “and I’ve already spent too long breaking your trust. I understand your anger toward me, but all I can offer you is my apologies.”

“Words mean nothing,” Elias snapped. “Actions are what matter to me.”

The earth pony sighed again, and he straightened. Closing his eyes, the pony became completely still for a few moments, then he began to lightly chitter. Elias tensed his arm, ready to strike in a heartbeat. His eyes flicked to Book Binder, who looked much the same. She had inched closer, and while her sword was still pressed against the earth pony’s neck, her horn was also pointed directly at the back of his head, sparkling with magic.

The chittering intensified for a moment, then stopped completely as the earth pony sighed and opened his eyes. He slumped in his chair and stared at Elias.

“My queen has given me permission to reveal myself on one condition.”

Elias pressed Feather a bit deeper into the earth pony’s neck.

“You, nor she, is in any position to give terms. You are a spy in my legion, and in case you forgot, that is punishable by immediate execution. I am well within my rights to kill you without so much as an excuse.”

The earth pony nodded.

“I know General, and if you decide to kill me, I can promise that my queen will not seek retribution. This is all just… a misunderstanding. It shouldn’t happen, but it has, and I really want things to go back to normal. I want to stay here, in your legion, and if I can tell you anything, then there is a chance, however small, that I can stay.”

Elias’ eyes narrowed.

“And what makes you think that I want you here? I don’t need somebody reporting my movements to anyone, especially someone I haven’t met. Centurion Blossom is just about the only spy I’ll tolerate, and she’s doing it for Celestia and Chaser, ponies I’ve met. Frankly, I don’t know a damn thing about you or your queen. Is Snowball even really your name?”

The earth pony nodded vigorously.

“It is! My hivemates always call me Snowball because I’ve got the whitest fur! Here, look!”

Snowball vanished in a flash of blue light, and true to his word, he was replaced by a snow-white changeling. The creature blinked, then smiled at Elias, and he immediately began noticing differences between the living changeling before him and the one that was soaking the floor with its goo.

For starters, the eyes were different. They were colored a bright purple, rather than a blue. The creature before him also appeared to retain his pony fuzz, and in truth, besides the presence of his bug-like wings and eyes, as well as the curved horn on his head, he might have been able to pass for a normal pony. Snowball lacked the distinctive holes the changelings had, and his smile seemed honest and genuine, not like the sadistic fanged grimaces of his black shelled counterparts.

Elias scowled at the white changeling as he lowered Feather.

“Talk fast and well, because I will kill you if I hear anything I don’t like.”

Snowball nodded.

“Of course General. My queen has given me permission to reveal many things, as long as I can stay in your service after I’m done.”

“Fine,” Elias said. “Get on with it. Start with telling me how you’re not a changeling.”

Snowball smiled.

“That’s simple; I am a loveling. We’re similar to the changelings, such as our need to feed on love, our innate ability to transform and disguise ourselves, and our hive mind and queen, but unlike the changelings, we are a… kinder people.”

The loveling scratched at one of his ears, and Elias couldn’t help but draw the comparison between it and Nightshade’s ears. They were both long, a bit floppy, and extremely fuzzy. The ear flicked as Snowball continued.

“It’s kind of hard to explain everything without going into centuries of history and mythos, but suffice to say we are ruled by benevolent queens, while the changelings have a storied history of malicious and evil queens. They have the same potential to be independent and produce their own love like we do, but their queens choose to enslave and steal rather than to earn.”

Snowball sighed.

“We try our best, but our bad land cousins really don’t like change, as ironic as that is. Either way, lovelings and changelings are not the same, and I have no relation with this fellow here.”

Elias didn’t look toward the dead changeling.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re here, spying on my legion.”

Snowball sighed again and looked down in shame.

“I know, and just… I was sent here to gather information on you, and by extension, your legion. News about the “Hero of Canterlot” extends outside of Equestria, and by putting you in command of a small army, the princesses have made everyone nervous. Nobody knows anything about you, and with your successes in the field of combat, it’s a bit intimidating.”

The loveling waved a hoof in the air.

“I mean, just think about it! In less than a year, you drop into Equestria, become a guard, help the underdog team win the RAT exercise, singlehandedly protect a princess from a changeling assassination attempt, and then become a general of your own guard force! That’s a threat if you’re looking from the outside!”

Elias crossed his arms, tapping Feather’s hilt with his fingers. When the bug put it like that, he supposed there was some merit to fear. It didn’t excuse sending in spies, however.

“There was nothing “singlehanded” about protecting Princess Luna, but that’s beside the point. Gather intel, that’s it? Then why were using mind magic on my ponies?”

Snowball glanced to his right.

“Her. I noticed her faster than you, but I didn’t know how to get rid of her without alerting you of my presence, so I resolved the issues she caused. Word began to spread that I was good at keeping ponies calm, so everyone asked me to mediate.”

He shrugged and looked back to Elias.

“I was just trying to help General. I used my magic to make ponies calm faster whenever they were being a bit too stubborn. Just little nudges in the right direction, I swear.”

Elias scowled at the loveling for a moment longer, then sighed and sheathed his gladius.

“I suppose that isn’t an executable offense. This queen of yours, what have you told her?”

“Just what we’ve been doing,” Snowball replied. “I let her see through my eyes occasionally, especially when it comes to how you punish ponies for slacking, but mostly it’s just the stuff you let everypony see. Formations, training exercises, simple stuff.”

He shrugged again.

“There hasn’t really been much to report. Queen Flos sent me to make sure you weren’t influencing the princesses with your otherworldly powers, but the only thing otherworldly about you is the fact that you won’t bow just because someone has power.”

Snowball smiled.

“It’s actually been quite refreshing. You said that you were equally as worthless as everyone else, and you act like it. Yeah, you have power and you wield it, but you never order something you wouldn’t do. Even my queen can’t say that.”

He tilted his head to the side.

“Though to be honest, she’s a lot more important than you are. She has to produce eggs for the hive, and make sure the hivemind doesn’t become too muddled, and make sure we’re all safe and getting fed, and…”

“Enough,” Elias cut in. “Clearly I’m important enough that she had to send a spy to keep tabs on me. Adiutor, grab Flash and Scarlet, escort the spy to Princess Celestia. She’ll decide what to do with him, but he isn’t staying here.”

Snowball blinked in shock, while Book Binder sheathed her gladius and pulled out a pair of hoof-cuffs.

“B-but you said I could stay if I told you! My queen only gave me permission to talk if I could stay!”

“That’s not my problem,” Elias snapped. “If she won’t put trust in me, then I won’t do her the same courtesy. Tell her that the next spy she sends will be returned in pieces. Adiutor, get him out of my office.”

Snowball continued to voice his protests as Book Binder fitted him with the cuffs and an inhibitor ring. She opened the door to Elias’ office, and Night Flash and Scarlet quickly seized the loveling, dragging him toward the throne room. Elias remained standing for a few moments as he listened to the loveling’s fading protests. With a long sigh, he sat back in his chair as Book Binder trotted back into his office.

He glanced up as she made her way to her desk.

“So, think I handled that like I should have?”

Book Binder shrugged.

“That depends General. You’ve been attacked by changelings, had one of your few pony friends replaced by a spy, and even before Equestria you dealt with betrayal. Ponies take a pretty hard stance on spies, and if he honestly wanted to be in the legion, he should have revealed himself before he was found out.”

She frowned as she shuffled a few papers into her desk drawer.

“I can’t say I would have lied to get the information out of him, but then again, I can’t offer a better solution. It’s in the princess’s hooves now though, so I wouldn’t worry too much on it.”

Elias sighed.

“A fair assessment, but I think I’ll worry anyway. It’s my way. Before you and Flash go on leave, send a letter to Celestia. I’d like to know what she does with our little loveling spy.”

Book Binder nodded and penned a quick note before sending it off in a flash of magic. She then took off her helmet and smiled at him.

“If that is all General, I have a wedding to finish preparing for. I shall see you Friday.”

Elias nodded silently, then looked toward the clock.

“Damn, is it already three? Luna’s going to kill me if I’m late.”

Book Binder chuckled.

“Oh? Big date with the princess? Looks like General Bright is moving up in the world.”

Elias glanced at her and cocked his head.

“He sure is. Almost too far up to go to a certain wedding if his assistant keeps mouthing off.”

Book Binder smiled at him, but when Elias didn’t match the smile, she chuckled nervously.

“Sorry General, habit. I’m… going to get Night Flash. I’ll see you on Friday.”

Elias nodded, and continued to stare at her unblinkingly.

“I will see you Friday Adiutor.”

Book Binder had a worried look in her eyes as she trotted from his office, but Elias did his best not to dwell on it. His search for the spies had helped him to get a reality check, as minute as it might have been. He was being far too easy to push around. Not a single friend of his was any farther away, not really. He kept letting things slide, kept letting weakness in. He needed to tighten his fist again, needed to be far stricter. He could play games later, now was time for work.

Or rather, now was time for his suit fitting with Luna. She had seen him naked no less than twice, yet Elias felt nervous to go anywhere with the mare now. Every time he so much as saw the color blue, he felt butterflies and became distracted. It was yet another reason that he had to become emotionless again. She was far too close for the amount of danger she was going to be in. He had already noticed dramatic changes in her physical state. A month ago she was energetic still, and at her full height, but with each day her energy diminished. Her mane was starting to blow slower, and her tail was beginning to change into a plain blue, rather than a flowing starscape. Elias still thought her beautiful, but the changes were obvious to anyone who was looking, and he had no doubts that the changeling that was seeping into his floor wasn’t the only spy. They could see the rulers of Equestria growing weaker, and he had no doubts that they were planning another invasion to take advantage of the weakness of the alicorns.

Elias scowled and quickly grabbed a scrap of parchment to scribble out a note on. He needed to inform the other generals of his spy issue, they were no doubt dealing with the same issue and they didn’t even know it. Hopefully having Snowball brought to Celestia’s attention would make them increase security, but Elias couldn’t rely on his fellows to think for themselves. He had enough time to briefly outline his strategy to weed out further infiltrators before Luna appeared like a wraith in his doorway. Elias held up his left hand as he continued to scribble.

“Just a minute Princess, I had to deal with spies, and I have a good plan for purging the castle of them. It could be a good plan to use routinely, maybe once a month, to clear out enemy agents. I just need a few more minutes…”

Luna scowled and four Royal Guards dipped past her and into his office.

“You have until the count of five General. I had your word that you would be available, and my sister has already put the castle on high alert. Illusion removal spells are being cast on each and every pony as we speak. You can finish your permanent plan later. The situation is well in hoof. You and I have an appointment to keep.”

Elias frowned as he scribbled faster.

“Just… a minute… more…”

Luna sighed.

“Seize him. Don’t spill that ink, or he’ll have your heads.”

Elias managed to ward off the pair of guards that came at his left with his foot, and with the free hand, he managed to slap away the one that came at his right. The one that abandoned subtly and went over his desk however, managed to wrap her hooves around his chest, and she dragged him to the floor, where her fellows managed to pin his limbs. Elias huffed as they flipped him over and began binding his hands and feet.

“I hardly think tying me up is necessary.”

Luna smiled as the guards carried him around his desk.

“Perhaps not, but this is the first true break you’ve had in months. Think of it like this, this allows for us to move faster, which allows you to get back to work faster. The more you cooperate, the sooner you can get back to executing changelings and running your ponies half to death.”

Elias glanced back at the corpse in his office.

“Speaking of, I do need a free hand to send a note to Centurion Blossom. I want that corpse gone.”

Luna snorted and with a flick of her wing, one of the guards peeled away, sprinting down the corridor in the direction of the training field.

“Taken care of Elias. I have also arranged a runner to keep us informed of the spy situation as it develops. Rest assured, that despite how it may seem, we are still keeping Equestria safe, even while taking a small break.”

Elias sighed as he shifted to try and find a comfortable position as the guards carried him toward his appointment with Luna’s tailor.

*****

Elias couldn’t help but smile as Luna tried to sneak off of the podium that she had been standing on for two hours. His tuxedo had taken him just over fifteen minutes, and while the tailor had made comments about how odd his body was, pants were pants, a shirt was a shirt, and a jacket and tie were fairly easy to make. Luna had seemed disappointed that he had gotten done so quickly, but Elias didn’t particularly like seeing the mare pout, so he agreed to wait out the full appointment. What he didn’t know at the time was the show he was going to get for his patience.

As soon as Luna had stepped up to the podium, extra ponies seemed to crawl out of the dress racks, and fairly soon, a small horde of tailors and assistants were combing over her, asking hundreds of questions to ensure that her dress was perfect. She did her best to answer them all and keep a smile on throughout, but Elias could tell that she was flustered from the amount of rabid attention.

It also meant Luna was stuck in place as they measured every inch of the alicorn, questioning her thoroughly about how much she would shrink by the time of the wedding. She had tried to escape by claiming she would need to retrieve something from the castle so that they could get the proper measurements, but the army of tailors had quickly seized one of the Royal Guards and dis-armored her. They set her beside Luna, and then set upon the pair. The Royal Guard kept her normal frown on as the tailors shifted through a number of dresses, all while comparing them to Luna’s fur and mane color. The alicorn looked desperate to be away from the situation, but she was more than stuck, so she simply did her best to play along as the tailors played their game.

Elias watched it all with crossed arms and a smile. Luna pouted when she caught him grinning at her.

“This is not meant to be amusing for your General,” she said as one of the tailors tied up her tail in a pink bow.

Elias snorted and glanced toward the shop entrance as the bell rang.

“I imagine not. I do believe I was supposed to be the one being poked and prodded while you sat and laughed. I just got the better of the situation because I’m easy. Black tie is black tie. There’s nothing to really shake up with a tuxedo.”

Luna huffed and looked away. A black-feathered head popped into the dressing room, and Anyon tried to motion stealthily to Elias.

“Pst, youngblood, ah brought that stuff ya ordered. Come on out and see.”

Elias waved him in.

“Don’t worry Anyon, Princess Luna is far too pre-occupied to get mad at us. Bring it in here so that I can make sure the belt matches.”

Luna scowled at Anyon as the gryphon crept into the room with a bundle under his arm and a sheepish grin on his beak. Her eyes shot to Elias, who smiled back.

“And just what is Anyon doing here? I thought his interests ended at blacksmithing.”

Elias nodded.

“They do, but in trying to adhere to Book Binder’s rules for the wedding, I needed something special to slip in unnoticed. I commissioned Anyon here to build me a little something from the old days that would fit perfectly under a suit jacket.”

Elias motioned for one of the tailors who had fitted his tux as Anyon unrolled the bundle. Luna’s scowl deepened.

“Elias Bright, you are not bringing knives and a hand axe to your mother’s wedding.”

Elias scoffed and waved her away.

“Maybe, maybe not, we’ll see. No weapons is a stupid rule anyway.”

He picked up the hand axe and twirled it in his hand. The shaft was a bit shorter than his forearm, and the head wasn’t overly large, but it was perfect if things got close and personal. Elias ran a thumb along the sharp blade and looked to Anyon.

“And this’ll shrink down?”

Anyon nodded and pulled out a black leather belt. The tailor set upon it immediately, clicking his tongue and muttering as Anyon tried to demonstrate its properties.

“It’ll keep everything nice and-,” Anyon yanked the belt away from the pony and swatted at him. “Hey, that ain’t fer you!”

The unicorn hissed in return and seized the belt in his magic. With a cruel yank, he pulled it away from Anyon and bolted deeper into the store. The gryphon scowled after the pony.

“Well, when that little bugger brings it back, it’ll hold everything ya see here. Got shrinkin’ spells on each holster, just pull it out, give it a second, and its full size. Acts the same in reverse.”

Elias nodded as he set the axe down and began inspecting the knives. There were seven in total. Six of the knives were simple throwing knives, while the seventh was meant to be paired with the axe. All in all, it was a suitable hidden arsenal that he could put to great effect in an emergency. As Anyon began talking to him about the finer points of the knives, a different tailor came back with his nose in the air. He levitated the belt near Anyon, who snatched it away and sat down to begin looking it over, while the tailor looked to Elias.

“Sir, I believe I can modify the… garish creation of this gryphon-,”

“It ain’t meant to be pretty, it’s meant to be useful!” Anyon squawked.

The unicorn fixed him with a look.

“Quite.”

The pony looked back to Elias.

“Regardless, a simply illusion spell stored in a crystal in the buckle should make it appropriate to wear with your suit. Should it be your wish, I could outfit it immediately. It should be ready by the time Princess Luna had finished her fitting.”

Elias nodded and smiled.

“Excellent. Anyon, give him the belt. Let’s get this done now so I don’t have to worry about getting it back here.”

The gryphon scoffed and his grip on the belt tightened slightly.

“Gimme another minute youngblood, gotta make sure this fancy pants pony ain’t gonna ruin ma work.”

The tailor scoffed.

“Your enchantments shall remain intact. Our enchantress is clean and careful.”

Anyon hopped to his feet and bumped heads with the pony.

“And yer sayin’ ah ain’t? Ah make the best weapons in this kingdom and the next. Ain’t nobody better’n me.”

The pony snorted and snatched the belt away again.

“Being the best is not an excuse for poor hygiene. You have red head feathers, yet they are stained black with soot. It is unbecoming from a gryphon who should be legendary amongst the outfitters of Equestria.”

Elias cocked an eyebrow as the unicorn smiled and looked past him to Luna.

“Princess, if I may be so bold, we do offer a cleaning service. While normally for dresses, I’m sure we can make accommodations for the castle blacksmith, free of charge of course.”

Luna grinned at Anyon sadistically.

“Then we shall take the opportunity. It has been a good month or two since I have seen Anyon bathe.”

The gryphon squawked indignantly in protest, but his words were lost as he vanished in a pop of magic. The tailor bowed and smiled.

“He shall also be returned by the end of your fitting, no worse for wear, you have my word.”

“I would never doubt you Fancy Pants,” Luna replied. “You are a most trusted friend.” She giggled. “Make sure to clean his tail especially, he hates it when his tail is clean.”

She then looked to Elias.

“And pull another little stunt like that, and you’ll join him. This was meant to be a private fitting.”

Elias grinned at her as he carefully re-set his new weapons and began re-rolling the bundle.

“This is the only break I’m taking today. If I didn’t do it now, then when was I supposed to do it?”

Luna rolled her eyes and stood still again as one of the ponies around her tied a bright red bow in her mane. Elias tucked the bundle under his arm and took his seat once more. Elias watched Luna get spun around and around by the troupe of tailors as they tutted and fretted over what colors her dress should be. Though he could faintly hear squawks of indignation from another room, Elias quickly found himself bored. He had made the mistake of not bringing any work with him, and so he was left with nothing to do but watch. Elias wasn’t a watching sort of person.

When Luna turned her back, Elias slipped from his seat, leaving the bundle of weapons behind as he snuck into the dress room. Technically he wasn’t supposed to be in the dress shop’s back room, but with all of the ponies struggling to make Luna’s “perfect” dress, nobody was watching for human intruders. Elias silently perused the dresses, occasionally pulling them out to get a better look at it. Most of them were nothing special, he had seen many gowns while scavenging that looked miles better, but as he made his way to the back of the rack, he found a dress that he thought looked quite pretty. He could actually see Luna wearing it. It was a softer blue color that would go perfectly with her mane, and it even had holes so that her wings could poke out, something the host of tailors seemed to be ignoring as they measured her. Coupled with the thin, nigh invisible streaks of silver flowing down the skirt, Elias imagined Luna would like it.

With nobody around to ask to pull the dress down for Luna to try, Elias decided to do it himself. He made sure not to disturb the rack, and he made a mental note of where it belonged before he walked back to the dressing room. His entrance to the room was immediately met with a scowl.

“And just where have you been?” Luna snapped. “I wanted to ask your opinion on this gown, and yet you vanished without a word.”

Elias looked her up and down calmly, then snickered. The dress was utterly ridiculous. He could tell what the tailors were trying to do, but thick streamers across the gown did nothing but make Luna look silly. The pink bow still tied in her tail certainly didn’t help.

“Well,” Elias said. “I have two opinions, I can be half-truthful and nice, or fully truthful, which will be blunt. Which do you prefer Princess?”

Luna huffed.

“Blunt. You’re always blunt, this occasion shouldn’t be any different.”

Elias smiled at her as she continued to scowl back.

“Honestly, as beautiful as you are, that dress makes you look like you’re attending a circus as the main act. If I shined a flashlight on you right now, I would blind myself and everyone else in a three-mile radius permanently.”

Elias glanced pointedly toward her tail.

“And pink is not your color. I’m no designer, but even I can tell that pink and blue don’t mix.”

Luna, surprisingly, dropped her angry demeanor in exchange for a blush. She stared at the ground and smiled.

“You think I’m beautiful?” she whispered.

Elias felt his own cheeks redden, but he did his best to suppress it as he brought his choice from behind his back.

“Not in that dress you’re not. Here, try this. I think it’ll go quite nicely with your mane.”

The tailors immediately began to protest, but Luna silenced them with a flick of her tail. Elias offered the hanger to the alicorn, and she gently took it in her teeth. She passed it quickly to one of the tailors, who, with a glare toward Elias, turned about and set it on one of the dressing room racks. The rest of the tailors also shot Elias glares as he sat back down and watched as they began undressing Luna. The pink bow vanished, and the silver and black dress quickly followed. As one of the tailor’s opened Elias’ pick, Luna raised a hoof to stop them from pulling it out.

“Gentleponies, I think I shall put this one on myself. I shall call you all back in once I am finished so that you may make it a proper fitting.”

The tailors looked amongst themselves and began muttering. One of them, a blue pegasus, piped up.

“Are you sure Princess? I promise, despite the General’s input,” she shot a glare at Elias, “pink does look quite lovely on you.”

Luna smiled at the mare.

“I am sure. I just need a moment to breathe and reflect on what I am truly looking for in a dress. Please, wait outside. I shall call you all in shortly.”

The tailors droop and dragged their feet as they all slowly walked from the room. Elias got to his feet to leave as well, but Luna fixed him with a look.

“Not you Elias. You shall be helping me into the gown you picked out. As punishment for attempting to sneak weapons into a wedding.”

Elias snorted.

“Two things, first;” he lifted a finger, “There will be no trying, I’m bringing my weapons. Second,” he grinned broadly. “who says helping a princess is a punishment?”

Luna blushed as the door closed behind the Royal Guards. She motioned for Elias to step closer, and when he did so, she slapped him in the head with a wing.

“Quiet you. You’ll start rumors.”

Elias rolled his eyes.

“Who cares what other ponies say? The only one I care about is you.”

Elias immediately flushed crimson and looked away as the sides of his mind began a shrieking match of pure panic. Why the fuck had he said something so absolutely stupid? Was he trying to let her know his feelings? Could he have been even more obvious?

Luna cleared her throat, drawing Elias’ eyes back. She smiled sweetly at him.

“I’m glad to hear that Elias. I know you have been stressed these past few months, as have we all, but to hear you say something like that… it just reminds me how good a friend you truly are.”

Elias swallowed roughly. Was that her way of trying to let him save face, or was that her way of subtly rejecting him? Elias couldn’t tell, and he did his best to recover his normal stoic mask.

Behind Luna’s calm outward demeanor, the little lovestruck filly in her mind was doing backflips. The little pony cheered and shouted at Elias’ words. He loved her! He really did! He was just hiding his affection! Luna noticed his face fall slightly at her diplomatic words, words she hoped he would take the right way. Friends couldn’t begin to describe what they were becoming, and she couldn’t have been happier. She just hoped they could dance around the word love until after the march. She really didn’t want to add strain to their relationship.

She motioned to the dress. It was a good distraction.

“Well come on Elias, pull your choice out for me. I expect a full presentation of the colors and how they go with my mane.”

Elias snorted, but he did as she asked. He unzipped the garment bag and withdrew the dress on its hanger. Luna gave a small gasp as she looked the dress up and down.

“Oh my, that is quite beautiful Elias, you have impeccable taste. Where did you find this?”

Elias shrugged and motioned to the back room.

“It was on one of the racks. I just thought it would look nice on you.”

The man blushed again, and Luna smiled.

“Well thank you Elias. We shall see, now won’t we?”

She directed him on how to properly unzip the gown, and then motioned for him to help her put it on. Elias struggled to keep a blush from his face as he did so.

“Shouldn’t one of the tailors be doing this?” he grumbled.

Luna looked back and winked.

“Maybe, but I much prefer your gentle touch.”

She chuckled.

“And it’s a rare opportunity these days to feel those fingers of yours.”

Elias rolled his eyes, and let one hand drift toward her ears. Luna closed her eyes and hummed lightly as he scratched at the base of her scalp.

“Mhm, simply wonderful. Remind me to pay you extra. You deserve it.”

Elias rolled his eyes.

“You’re just lucky your fur is so soft. I wish I had a pillow as soft as you are.”

Luna smiled again as he finished zipping up her dress.

“Perhaps in the future you can have a fuzzy pony pillow of your own. I have no doubts that you will be very good at wooing whatever mare you choose.”

Elias sighed and dropped his hand from her ears.

“Well, I just hope whoever she is, she likes ear scratches.”

‘Oh you have no idea,’ Luna thought.

She opened her eyes and looked to the full-length mirrors around her. What she saw was absolutely perfect. The dress fit her body perfectly. It appeared to cling to her form, but in truth, Luna had plenty of moving room, perfect for walking and dancing. She imagined that if she tied her mane and tail with silver ribbon, she would look quite fetching. The dress shined with streaks of silver that scattered the blue, making the dress look almost like a star shower. She looked to Elias with a sly grin and struck a pose.

“So General, tell me, does this dress make my flank look fat?”

Elias successfully held a blush from his face as he crossed his arms.

“Do you want an honest answer? Because you are beginning to look like your sister after cake night”

Luna clicked her tongue and flicked his nose with her tail.

“Hush, that kind of slander isn’t allowed in public. Only in private where I can laugh aloud.”

Elias chuckled.

“No, you’re right, we just need to publish it in a newspaper. With pictures.”

Luna turned and grinned sadistically at him.

“Take thine words back savage, or I shall be required to defend my sister’s honor!”

She crouched lower and wiggled her hips.

“I am more than eager to see just what this dress can handle.”

Elias uncrossed his arms and crouched as well.

“Yeah? You couldn’t catch a butterfly if it flew to your hoof. All you’re going to do is make a fool of yourself.”

Luna giggled and pounced.

“En garde fiend! I shall not have such words said against my name!”

Elias dipped to the side and hopped off the fitting stage, remaining out of reach of her hooves. The human winked at her and smiled. Keepers she loved that smile.

“You’re going to have to be faster than that Moony. Maybe the dress does make your flanks look fat.”

Luna let out a fake gasp.

“Rascal! You impugn my honor!”

She held a hoof to her breast and turned her nose up.

“I declare that I, Princess Luna of Equestria, shall not rest until yon beast has recanted his statement!”

Elias grinned.

“Only one way that’s going to happen Princess Fat Flanks.”

Luna giggled again and let out a false war cry. She charged down the fitting stage and tried to use her wings to increase her speed. Elias dodged away again, teasing her the whole while. Luna was ecstatic. It was the playfulness she had so missed. She saw genuine happiness in his eyes, so unmarred by the day to day workload he sustained. To prolong the game, she let him slip by a few times, but Luna began to hear whispers from outside, and one voice began raising a fuss above the others. Time to end their little conflict. Luna wiggled her hips as she cornered Elias.

“Come now General, your run has finished. Tell me how my flanks look, or I shall punish you.”

Elias held up his hands in mock defense.

“Sorry Princess, but I’ve only spoken the truth. You’ve gotten smaller, but your flanks have not.”

Luna grinned.

“So be it scoundrel.”

She let out another gleeful cry and leapt at Elias. He had nowhere to run, she had him…

Elias dipped to the side, and Luna quickly remembered that she had indeed gotten smaller. With her body fully committed to the leap and no human shield to catch her, Luna slammed face first into the wall. She fell to the ground, hearing a sharp gasp from Elias as she rolled over. She winced as she felt his hands on her muzzle.

“Princess, I am so sorry, just give me a second.”

Luna cracked open her eyes to find him cupping her muzzle. A small puddle of blood formed in his palm as his other hand searched his belt for something to staunch the bleeding. Luna smiled as best she could.

“Very nice General,” she mumbled through his hand. “Assaulting a princess is an executable offense you know.”

Elias grinned at her.

“Technically, you assaulted the wall and the wall won. I just didn’t stop it from happening.”

He pulled a small white cloth free of a pouch and gingerly held it to her nostrils. Elias’ smile lessened as Luna flinched at the sharp stings of pain.

“Sorry, it’s going to hurt a little. You hit yourself pretty hard.”

Luna snorted, sending a small spray of blood onto his face.

“Tis your fault. I shall have you arrested for this.”

Elias snorted and shook his head in exasperation, continuing to dab at her muzzle as he did so. Luna heard a shout from outside the dressing room, then the door slammed open, revealing Lionheart. The unicorn glared hate at Elias.

“You see!” he shouted. “The human is assaulting the princess on your watch! He has injured her you dolts!”

Elias shot a glare at the unicorn as Luna’s guards slipped back into the room. She sent them a look that told them she was fine, and though they still looked tense, no doubt at the sight of their princess bleeding, they didn’t immediately jump Elias.

“Relax Lionheart,” the human spat. “We were just messing around and Luna hit the wall. She got a nosebleed is all.”

“A likely story,” the unicorn snarled in reply. “I think we shall hear it from Princess Luna herself once you get your filthy hands off of her muzzle.”

Luna saw anger flash in Elias’ eyes, but she rested a hoof on his back, and pulled him a bit closer. The action forced him to focus entirely on her, and as she stared into his mis-matched eyes, she saw calm filter through. She looked past the human to Lionheart with as calm an expression as she could create.

“It is alright General Lionheart; General Bright speaks the truth. We were simply enjoying a simple stress relieving exercise my physician recommended and it got out of hoof.”

Lionheart snorted dismissively.

“Fear not Princess, I can hear the dishonesty in your words. This beast holds your tongue, forcing you to cower in fear, but I shall end your plight!”

Luna felt a flash of anger at the unicorn’s declaration. How dare he? She was the Princess of the Night, magic or no, she was more than capable of fending off who she wished! She opened her mouth to protest in earnest, when the unicorn did something incredibly stupid.

“Bright, I challenge you to an honor duel. You have committed assault against a princess of this great nation, and you are even now holding her hostage. Your transgressions are abhorrent, and I will see them stopped.”

Elias snorted and began dabbing at Luna’s nose again.

“Kindly, Lionheart, fuck off. You have no idea what you’re talking about, or what you’re getting yourself into. The last thing you want to do is fight me.”

Luna looked to Elias nervously.

“Elias… you can’t refuse,” she whispered. “an honor duel is more than just a simple fight. Lionheart can order your arrest if you refuse. It is the law.”

Elias met her eyes.

“Luna, that’s dumb, and he’s asking for a duel on a misunderstanding. I won’t kill him over his own stupidity, and none of your guards are stupid enough to think they can arrest me without your say so.”

Louder, he said;

“I’ll say this one time Lionheart; this is a private fitting, in which you don’t belong. Get out before I throw you out. I won’t warn you twice.”

Lionheart stomped his hoof.

“Will you accept the duel or not? Guards, prepare to arrest this beast.”

Elias sighed and grabbed one of Luna’s hooves. He pressed her hoof against the cloth, and he smiled at her.

“Hold it for at least a minute. I’ll try to get you some ice when I come back.”

He got to his feet, emptying his blood-filled hand on the floor, then walked across the fitting room in two steps. He grabbed Lionheart by the collar of his armor, and despite the stallion’s protests, he carried him out of the fitting room. One of the tailors followed Elias as he left the room, while the rest swarmed Luna again. Her guards didn’t help, and in fact they also began asking her a myriad of questions. Luna felt far more concerned about Elias than she was about herself, and her patience quickly ran thin.

“ENOUGH!” she bellowed.

The ponies around her fell into silence as Luna got to her feet. She took a long deep breath through her mouth, then looked to the tailors.

“I desire this dress. I like the fit, and am told it looks quite lovely. Is that the case?”

The tailors all nodded and offered quick compliments. Luna stopped them with a raised hoof.

“Good. I shall return for a second fitting in two days. I would like the appropriate accessories to review at that time as well. A tie as well for General Bright. Make sure it matches my dress.”

The tailors mumbled their thanks, and they quickly helped Luna disrobe. The alicorn let one of her guards look at her nose, then after confirming that the nosebleed had ceased, they gathered Elias’ belongings and left the fitting room. They met Elias halfway through the shop. Luna looked past him, looking for Lionheart.

“Have you and General Lionheart peaceably resolved your differences?” she asked hopefully.

Elias snorted.

“If by peaceably, you mean I threw him into the dirt, then yes. Otherwise, no. He ran back to the castle spouting his intent for revenge.”

Luna bit her lip. That wasn’t good. Honor duels were not a little thing. Maybe she could catch Lionheart before he reached her sister. Maybe. Luna sighed and met Elias’ eyes as he collected his things from her guards. He smiled at her.

“Are you alright? I know it is kind of my fault you slammed into that wall.”

Luna sighed and smiled in return.

“Indeed it is, but you can make it up to me with a favor, perhaps dinner tonight?”

Elias shook his head.

“Sorry, Princess, I can’t do tonight-…”

Luna drooped slightly, and the human quickly amended his statement.

“But, if you could talk to Chaser, maybe we can start our wedding preparations early, maybe with breakfast? We could spend the whole day together, rather than a few hours.”

Luna’s smile returned in full force.

“That, General Bright, sounds like an excellent idea. Consider it a date.”

The word date brought another blush to Elias’ face, but his teeth shined with a smile as they moved back toward the castle. Anyon met them outside the shop, glaring hard at Fancy Pants. The unicorn levitated a small bag to Elias.

“Here is your belt good sir, outfitted and tested. It should look quite dashing with your suit.”

Elias gave him a small nod.

“Thank you.”

Elias then looked to Anyon, who refused to meet anyone’s eyes. The human chuckled as he looked the immaculate looking gryphon up and down.

“I gotta say though Anyon, you should do clean more often. Red’s a good color for you, and is your fur fuzzier?”

“If ya got any sense yer gonna stay away!” the gryphon squawked. “Don’t need nopony cuddlin’ me!”

Luna clicked her tongue and smiled as they walked toward the castle.

“Not even your marefriend? I believe Split Tip will quite enjoy a clean and cuddly Anyon. I mean just look at how those wings shine!”

Anyon blushed, but he stopped grumbling as they teased him all the way back to the castle.

Chapter 46: Infiltrators

Elias sighed and held his forehead. It had been a normal morning so far, just another run and the beginnings of drill. He had scheduled for his unicorn auxiliaries to begin practicing formation drills while casting spells, but he had just one small problem.

“Auxiliary Centurion Pyrelight,” Elias said slowly as he tried to ward away a migraine, “do you care to explain to me why your troops are unable to throw spells?”

The orange mare frowned as she stared at the block of ponies. After a moment of silence, she sighed and glanced to Elias.

“I… can’t tell you General. We’ve been doing fine with pilla, but now…”

Elias looked at each and every one of the unicorns before him, then looked back to Pyrelight.

“Are you sure you can’t figure this out Centurion? You can’t find anything at all wrong with them?”

Pyrelight searched desperately through her section, but she bit her lip and shook her head as she cringed back from Elias.

“N-no General.”

“THEY’RE ALL WEARING INHIBITOR RINGS!” Elias bellowed. “OF COURSE THEY CAN’T USE FUCKING MAGIC!”

Pyrelight blinked at him stupidly, causing Elias to groan and facepalm.

“Centurion, I gave you this promotion because I thought you would be more attentive. Not every pony has the capacity to level a city,”

He took a long breath and shook his head.

“Make them take the rings off and run firepower training. If this happens again, I’m giving you fifty lashes and demoting you. Go.”

Pyrelight gave him a short salute, then began barking orders to her section. Elias let out another long sigh as he made his way back toward the edge of the training grounds. Scarlet Shield continued writing in his strategy notebook as he approached. Elias stood beside the pegasus and crossed his arms as he watched the lines form up again.

“Did I make a mistake in keeping her?” Elias asked. “I mean come on, how does a unicorn not notice that they can’t feel their magic? I imagined it would feel like losing a hand.”

Scarlet shrugged and squinted as he watched the formation advance across the training grounds.

“I think it’s because we’ve been using the rings so much in training. Everypony just kind of got used to the restrictions. If you’ve noticed, us pegasi have been walking a lot more as well.”

Elias sighed and nodded.

“Make another note for Book Binder. Put down that I want all restrictions removed before we enter August. They won’t be wearing this stuff when we march, and they need to get re-used to casually using their magic.”

Scarlet pulled out a separate, smaller notebook and quickly scribbled down Elias’ note. The pegasus had been acting as his stand-in assistant while Book Binder and Night Flash were preparing for their wedding. Elias had let them take the entire week, and considering they had helped him deal with a portion of their spy issue, he saw the small break as a fair reward. It unfortunately left him without his number one subordinate, and Elias largely had to make do alone. Neither Ice Blossom, nor Gray Granite had the stomach for paperwork, so Scarlet was the logical choice. The problem was, alone time between Elias and Scarlet usually devolved into the two acting like a pair of kids, talking about all of their favorite historical facts and occurrences. While their conversations did wonders for reducing his stress in the short term, Elias quickly found out that they got nothing done, and so he sent the red pegasus to sleep with the rest of the legion. It had taken him less than a day to find himself alone.

That meant Elias spent most of the night chipping away at a never ending stack of paperwork, and he was even more exhausted and stressed than usual. The fact that some of his legionaries had started putting on their idiot hats made an already bad situation worse. Elias sighed as the auxiliaries reformed to run their drill again. The only reason Elias hadn’t blown up completely was the promise of lunch with Luna. He just had to make it a few more hours, and then he could sit across from his alicorn crush. Maybe he could let himself be weak for a few minutes, and they could snuggle, just for a few minutes. He needed something to go right.

Elias rubbed his forehead again and raised his other hand.

“Enough,” he called. “Switch to formation two. Make sure you are watching the other line carefully! If the box doesn’t close all the way, the enemy can turn the trap on its head. Get to it.”

Scarlet slid away his smaller notebook and went back to writing in his normal one. He stuck his tongue out, and Elias caught a grin as he watched the auxiliaries form up.

“General,” the pegasus started. “I just wanted to say…”

Scarlet paused, then frowned slightly.

“Well spit it out Tactician Shield,” Elias said as he crossed his arms and continued watching the ponies before him.

They began a quick march while Scarlet bit his lip, but the pegasus spoke up again before the auxiliaries could fall fully into position.

“I wanted to say thank you. I don’t know if anypony else feels this way, but there is nowhere else in Equestria I’d rather be.”

The stallion smiled again as the lines formed up, then charged toward one another, quickly meeting to turn and form a coherent wall of shields and javelins.

“I mean, just the sheer amount of stuff I’m learning about warfare, it’s amazing!”

Scarlet got to his hooves and flipped his notebook to show Elias.

“Look at all of this! Equestria has been militarily stagnant for hundreds of years, but you’ve shaken up everything in less than one!”

The pegasus sat back down in a quick move and set to writing.

“I mean, when I was starting out as a guard, everypony trained as a group, always. The only time it was different was if you needed specific help, like I did, or once you actually graduated.”

Scarlet gestured around the training grounds.

“But look at all of this! We have four separate training exercises going on, all teaching different things! Camp set up, formations, the whole nine yards! You made all of this possible!”

Scarlet grinned again as he doodled out what looked like a rough version of the formation the auxiliaries were practicing.

“And don’t get me started on the strategies again. I know you say you’re just copying what you’ve read about, but General, you’re a genius to me. It’s all just so… wonderful.”

Scarlet pointed at his chest.

“And I’m a part of it all. I know I probably shouldn’t be, especially given what you’ve warned us about, but I’m just so excited to see how it works for real.”

The momentary uplift the pegasus’ words had caused plummeted, and Elias scowled at Scarlet.

“I suggest you stop speaking Strategist. I can understand enthusiasm for history, and even training, but never tell me you’re excited for combat again, am I clear?”

Scarlet flinched away from Elias’ harsh tone, and his hoof stopped moving as he looked up with nervous eyes.

“I-I’m sorry General, I just thought….”

“No,” Elias snapped. “You didn’t think. I clearly haven’t been drilling it into your skull hard enough, so take another note. I will begin issuing weekly lectures about the horrors of battle, because I can promise you that there is nothing exciting about going into war, especially not when your friends’ lives are on the line.”

Scarlet whimpered slightly, and the noise brought Elias back through the haze of red that had come from nowhere. While he had spoken, he had gotten closer to the pony, so much so that spit was beginning to land in Scarlet’s fur. The auxiliaries had stopped practicing, no doubt to watch Elias’ anger toward the red pegasus.

Elias closed his eyes and straightened. He took a deep breath and clasped his arms behind his back.

“Make sure the lectures are focused toward maintaining battlefield cohesion in the face of blood. I want some of the healers involved as well, so that we can teach everyone basic battlefield medicine, as well as triage.”

Elias’ eyes flicked down to the pony.

“Did you get all of that?”

Scarlet sniffled and nodded.

“Yes General,” he replied softly.

Elias looked back to the formation, and he let his guilt at crushing Scarlet’s enthusiasm turn into anger.

“What the fuck are you looking at?” Elias shouted. “Unless you intended for the minotaurs to sweep around your flank and kill half your section, I suggest you form up and run it again!”

Pyrelight called out commands as the auxiliaries scrambled to do their jobs right. Elias watched them with an angry eye for a moment, but the heat quickly faded as he heard Scarlet sniffle again. The man sighed and glanced down at the teary eyed pegasus.

“Scarlet… you need to know better. I know that sounds harsh, but this isn’t something played out on paper, it’s real. You weren’t there for the invasion,” Scarlet flinched, so Elias quickly added; “through no fault of your own, but you simply didn’t see the things that happened. Things went really well, and ponies still died. Just because it wasn’t anybody we knew, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

Elias looked back to the auxiliaries as they charged toward one another again.

“We won’t be so lucky again, and even more ponies are going to die. I’d rather you understood that now, rather then when they begin to fall. I’m trying to get you ready, to make sure you know what all of these plans and formations are for. I apologize if I haven’t been properly conveying the risk we’re all taking, but I’ll change that in whatever way I can.”

“It’s because I care so much,” Elias said softly. “The last thing I want for you Scarlet, is for you to become another me. I was right where you are at some point, and it may be horrible to say it, but I’d rather you died in the first wave than live through the things I’ve seen.”

He could tell he was making a bastardization of what was supposed to be an uplifting speech, but Elias couldn’t help himself. He was having one of his melancholic spells, and all he could think about was if it was all enough or not. He glanced down to see Scarlet watching him carefully with tear filled eyes. Elias sighed again and shook his head.

“It’s going to be rough Scarlet. I’ll talk with you about ancient cultures and battle strategy until the sun dies, but never say you’re excited about seeing combat. It’s not right, and you’ll regret your words for the rest of your life. That I can promise.”

Scarlet remained silent for a moment, then slowly sat up, staring at the formation as they formed into their box.

“You’ve said that before, haven’t you Elias?” he asked softly.

Elias crossed his arms, then nodded slowly.

“Just days before I lost everything. In my perfect world, I’d never see battle again. It’s much better relegated to history.”

He shrugged and tilted his head.

“And yet some part of me can’t wait to kill again. I’m sure I’ll sprint head long toward death once I get the opportunity, but that’s a fate for killers like me,”

Elias glanced back at Scarlet.

“Not for good ponies like you.”

Elias’ eyes flicked back up, and the pair sat in silence. They listened as steel shifted and commands were shouted. Scarlet sniffled one final time before he began writing in his notebook again.

“For what it’s worth General, I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Elias replied.

Scarlet shrugged, his eyes never moving from his book.

“Everything I guess. I… I’m just sorry. You're a good pony, no matter what you think about yourself." He rubbed at his nose. "I wish things worked out better sometimes.”

Elias shrugged again.

“Wishing has never done me any good, work has. Make sure you take the note about the lecture, I want to start those by the end of next week.”

Elias rolled his shoulders.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go show these idiots what a box looks like.”

*****

Elias sprinted headlong toward the royal dining room. He was more than four hours late for he and Luna’s lunch, and he had been a complete idiot and had forgotten to send a messenger. A bad rainstorm had been scheduled for Ponyville, and the roads had turned to mud before they had even begun their afternoon march. Had he known, Elias would have postponed their trial run with the legion baggage train, but he hadn’t, and he had pushed his ponies through the quagmire of mud. The result had been a disaster. Most of the wagons, leaden with stones to simulate weight, sank in the thick mud, and it had taken them hours to get them free. Book Binder usually kept his dragonfire candle, so he couldn’t send a letter ahead to Luna, and his scouts were needed to ensure that nobody got struck by lightning. The steel armor of the legion acted as perfect lightning rods in the empty fields outside Ponyville, and there were far too many close calls before they got properly moving again. A second storm had then blown in from the Everfree on the return trip, and it had chased them all the way back to Canterlot. Pouring rain, loud thunder, and lightning strikes had been rampant, and only once they reached the limits of the Canterlot weather patrol did they find relief as the pegasi chased away the black storm clouds.

The end result was three thousand exhausted, mud covered ponies, completely off of their schedule. Elias could see that they were far too tired to even consider trying to play catch up, so he had given them the night off to rest and scrub their gear clean, then had rushed off to try and save his friendship with Luna. His armor was covered in thick, black mud, and his sandals left a trail through the castle hallways, but he moved as fast as he could, ignoring the angry mutters of the maid staff.

Elias entered the final corridor to find the dining room doors unguarded. A bad sign. He increased his pace and shoved the tall doors open, quickly finding the room dark. The only sound in the long room was the sound of his panting, and Elias felt keenly aware how absolutely quiet it was. He blinked for a moment, and he closed his good eye, letting the bad one do all of his seeing. It was much better at picking up low light, and the moon filtering in through the windows at the rear of the dining room was more than enough to see by. Elias could see two places set, each with a covered tray. A solitary candle sat unlit between them. Elias winced.

He couldn’t tell if he felt bad about missing what was clearly supposed to be a very personal dinner, or if he was nervous about what that implied. He hadn’t exactly been subtle when it came to his feelings about Luna, but he hadn’t thought he was throwing everything in the open. After further reflection, her line about close friends in the tailor shop had made him think that she was playing along the same lines he was; stay beneath the radar with any romantic gestures until they were both at a better point in their lives.

Elias decided on the former as he stalked forward and felt the food in front of Luna’s dining spot. It was cold. She had clearly put in some effort to make the dinner nice, a large steak with a side of garlic bread sat under his tray. The steak was normal for his meals, but the garlic bread was something he had only told her about in passing. It was a childhood favorite of his, one of the few good things he could remember about the time. His mother was the best at making the stuff, and every time he so much as smelled garlic, he thought back to the hot loaves of happiness that came from the oven. It was the smell of a better time, and it was here, cold as it was. It was also a sign that he had royally fucked up.

Elias’ eyes flicked up, and he began scanning, much more carefully this time. Something wasn’t right. His bad eye twitched, and a small migraine began forming in the front of Elias’ mind. Luna would have waited him out to make a point and to make him feel guilty, as was her right. She wouldn’t have left everything as it was. The lack of guards was also an issue. He had never received word that the spy issue was fixed, and the hallways should have been lined with guards, princess or no. He moved to the window, looking for someone, anyone moving around. Thousands of ponies didn’t just vanish.

A glint of torchlight caught his eye, but the source was covered by a large tree that covered the lower half of the window. Elias looked down onto the castle gardens, then worked backward to the torches, using the context to figure out where the light was coming from. It took him a few moment of staring, but Elias could tell that the torches were on the standard guard training grounds.

He moved at a jog, keeping an eye out for any ponies. He only saw the occasional maid, but even they began to vanish, no doubt going home for the night. Elias tried to think back to his time on the night shift, but for some reason the memories seemed a bit hazy. He growled and pushed on toward the training grounds. If he could find someone who knew what had happened in his absence, he could figure out everything else.

Elias pushed open the doors to the training grounds, looking hard for ponies. He was rewarded in spades, and his suspicious mood vanished as he groaned at the sight before him. A ring of Royal Guards ponies had been set up, with Celestia and Luna sitting on makeshift thrones halfway around the circle. Opposite of Elias, Lionheart paced back and forth, a look of murder in his eyes. He was decked out in more armor than Elias had ever seen the prissy stallion wear, and while he wore a pair of swords on his flanks, Lionheart also swung a long spear back and forth as he paced.

Elias looked to Luna to find the alicorn staring straight ahead, her mouth tied shut and her eyes hazy. Elias blinked in surprise at that, and he opened his mouth to ask her what was going on with the incredibly wrong situation before him, but Celestia cut in.

“It is about time you arrived Bright. Are you always so flagrant with your disobedience with my sister?”

Elias’ eyes flicked to her, and he tilted his head.

“No, but then again, I’ve never tied Luna’s mouth shut. What the hell happened here?”

Celestia snorted.

“Of course you have no idea. You blatantly disregard our traditions, abuse any power given to you, and you refuse to learn or change. You are an ignorant savage.” She shook her head in disgust. “Not that I expected any less from a mangled beast like you.”

Elias bit his tongue to prevent himself from verbally tearing the white alicorn a new one. He took a deep breath and spoke in a calm voice.

“You didn’t answer my question Princess. Why is Luna’s mouth tied shut, and what the hell is this?”

He motioned toward Lionheart.

“You can’t honestly expect this tool to fight me. You and I both know he’ll die if that ever happens.”

Celestia growled and stomped her hoof.

“You know nothing Bright, you merely stamp through life like any beast, but because I am a more civilized creature, I shall inform you of your plight anyway.”

Elias scowled at the alicorn. She was unnaturally hostile. Somebody had to be pulling her strings. He was fairly positive she disliked him, but not this much. This was new, stronger. Celestia’s eyes flashed with an emotion Elias recognized; hate. She hated him, but it was… off. Amplified perhaps. Elias continued watching her eyes as she spoke, looking for a flash of green that told him of a changeling's magical touch.

“You struck my sister Bright,” Celestia spat. “An executable offense on a good day. Had it not been for General Lionheart, I would have never found out of your grievous offense against my kingdom. He does not have such a colored past as yours.”

Elias stared at her in disbelief, and it felt like the rational center of his brain flicked off. Anger flashed in his mind, and he motioned toward the unicorn as he spoke.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You believe this pompous dickhead over your own sister? Are you brain dead?”

Elias motioned toward Luna.

“Maybe if she wasn’t tied up and…”

He stared at the blue alicorn for a moment. He hadn’t noticed it initially, but she seemed to sway slightly in her seat, and her eyes held no sign of awareness. Elias recoiled in disgust.

“D-did you drug her?”

“Of course not!” Celestia snapped. “She is in a witness trance. Her opinion regarding these proceedings is biased, and as any pony would know, that means she cannot voice her opinion.”

Celestia stomped a hoof.

“She can not be allowed to color justice, and her fondness for your “friendship” is well known.”

Celestia snorted in disgust.

“Friendship,” she looked to Lionheart. “The more I see of this human, the more I believe you General. He no doubt held a knife to my kind sister’s throat just to make her seem happy.”

Her eyes flicked back to Elias.

“But I have had enough. You have hurt far too many, and I have been a fool and given you the freedom to hurt too many more. It ends, tonight. This is an honor duel, as Lionheart demanded. It will be to the…”

“Are you an idiot?” Elias snapped, interrupting her. “Because you have to be to not see the damn writing on the wall.”

Elias motioned toward Lionheart.

“This moron is a liar, and shouldn’t hold the title of dishwasher, let alone General. All that talk about “hurting ponies” is going to look pretty damn stupid when I beat his worthless ass to a pulp.”

Celestia growled and rose from her throne.

“Be quiet Bright. You are not as strong as your bloated ego tells you. Lionheart is a capable fighter, and I will quite enjoy watching him cut you down to size.” She snorted. “I have let Luna intervene on your behalf far too many times. She has become enraptured with your insanity, and once Lionheart has disposed justice, I shall purge you from her mind. It is a corruption I have let fester for too long.”

Elias’ good eye twitched. He had felt anger many a time, it was one of his biggest constants, but now he was seeing red. How dare she disrespect Luna like that. How dare she threaten to pull them apart. She had no right, and it put a new definition on furious in his eyes. Elias imagined if he wasn’t surrounded by Royal Guards, he would have already thrown himself at the weakened alicorn. He knew exactly where to cut to stain her pretty white coat a lovely shade of crimson.

Elias blinked, and the spell seemed to snap around him. His anger vanished into thin air, and his sense seemed to fully return. He saw massive waves in the air, particularly around Celestia’s head, but in truth, they were around everyone. The guards, while not nearly as openly hateful as Celestia, were glaring at him as waves spun around their heads. He imagined that he would see them around his own head if he could look. Elias looked around the ring, looking for un-familiar ponies. There had to be another infiltrator. He had trusted Luna when she had said the Royal Guard was handling it, but they had clearly missed something. They were close, they were trying to start a fight, not between him and Lionheart, but him and Celestia. The changeling no doubt knew of the alicorn’s weakened state, and with his history of combat… she wouldn’t stand a chance. It would only take a swing. He had no doubt that with her magic slowly being stored away, her mental defenses weren’t particularly up to snuff either. She was as influenceable as anyone, and that was dangerous.

Elias couldn’t find the damn bug. The waves gave no path to trace. Whoever the spy way, they were good at covering their tracks. He needed the changeling to play further into their hand, to expose themselves. He knew of no better way to force that than to play along with the creature’s stupid game. He sneered at Celestia, trying his best to sound genuine to fool the changeling into believing he was still under their spell. It wasn’t too difficult.

“Fine then Princess, I’ll play this idiotic little game of yours. Don’t blame me when Lionheart is lying in a pile of his teeth.”

Elias’ eyes flicked to the unicorn in question, who straightened and snorted dismissively. It didn’t really surprise Elias to find only a small number of waves around the unicorn’s head. Lionheart his head back and forth and kneaded the ground with a foreleg.

“I do not fear you human, and unlike you, I have a sense of honor. Prepare yourself properly for battle. I shall wait.”

Elias rolled his eyes and then rolled his shoulders.

“Save the theatrics. I can beat you with nothing, but to make you feel better,” Elias drew his gladius, then flipped the blade into an underhanded grip in his left hand. “There, at least you can say I was armed when I kicked your ass.”

Lionheart growled, then looked to Celestia. The alicorn shot another glare at Elias, but his eyes were elsewhere. The waves weren’t slowing down. The changeling was actively influencing everyone, but where? They were clearly close, they had to be if they were affecting the alicorn so strongly. Elias’ eyes narrowed as one of the guards close to Celestia lit their horn.

“This is an honor duel,” the alicorn said. “The combatants shall fight on the terms of surrender; do both parties agree?”

Lionheart saluted with his spear.

“Of course Princess! I fight for the good of Equestria!”

Celestia’ looked to Elias, who ignored her completely as he scanned the guards making up the circle. He needed a few more seconds, the waves had to be originating from one of the Royal Guards. He heard another derisive snort from Celestia as she spoke.

“Begin then, and may the more honorable be victorious.”

Elias’ looked toward Lionheart as the guard near Celestia shot a flare into the air. The unicorn’s horn lit up, and surprisingly, he didn’t start with the usual unicorn strategy of levitation. Instead, he leapt forward with a war cry, swinging hard for Elias’ head. There was clearly some effort behind the blow, but it was still far too slow and weak. Elias turned and caught the spear shaft, then ripped it from Lionheart’s magical grasp. With a quick spin to build force, Elias shattered it against the pony’s head, sending Lionheart to the ground with a cry of pain. Elias shook his head and looked to the pair of alicorns. Luna’s eyes held a trace of awareness, and she looked unsurprised at the result of the “fight”, but Celestia looked less irritated than she had been when they were speaking. He sighed in exasperation as Lionheart struggled to get back on his feet. Elias dropped the shattered spear to continue his search. The waves were lessening, probably because Celestia’ didn’t need to be agitated to watch a fight. Elias decided to fix that.

He walked calmly toward Lionheart. The unicorn managed to draw a single sword before Elias backhanded him. It wasn’t that hard of a hit, but with the way Lionheart collapsed, one would think that Elias had the strength to level mountains. The pony cried out as he collapsed, and for a moment, Elias desperately wished that the unicorn was the changeling. Fate was not that kind however. The unicorn was just a prideful idiot. No more waves circled his head after being driven to the ground, but in truth, it didn’t matter. Elias intended to kick his ass anyway.

Celestia stood up and shouted at Elias as he grabbed the unicorn’s armor and punched him in the jaw, snapping his head back.

“Bright, that is enough! The duel is over!”

Her voice sounded more confused than angry. Though he didn’t like her, Elias mentally cheered for the alicorn, praying that she would break free of the changeling’s influence. She still needed more pushing however, so Elias shook his head and sheathed his gladius as he straddled Lionheart.

“Nope. Lionrat has to surrender first. It goes until he stops fighting me.”

Elias slapped the pony again, then a third time. Though he made it seem like he was staring down at Lionheart, his eyes were up, searching for the waves. They spiked high around Celestia, and for once, Elias could see a trail spiraling lazily in the air, leading him slowly back to their source. He squinted hard as he tracked the near see-through glow through the air.

“I said enough!” Celestia bellowed. “Unhand that pony at once before I order your execution!”

Most of the guards tensed, and Elias saw weapons slide out of sheathes, but one of Royal Guards was staring hard at the princess, and Elias caught the slightest trace of green in her eyes as her non-existent horn flared with magic. The waves in the air reached a peak as Elias grinned at Celestia.

“Come now Princess, you know I wouldn’t attack someone unless I had an agenda. There’s another rat here that needs punishing.” He sighed and looked down at the cowering Lionheart. “And unfortunately, this idiot isn’t it.”

Elias lurched to his feet, and he grabbed Lionheart by the collar, throwing him at the disguised changeling. The bug shrieked as the unicorn missile slammed into her. Elias quickly followed with his sword drawn, and as she pushed Lionheart away and got to her feet, he was on her. With her visible wings as a factor, Elias decided to try wrestling the pony to the ground. He tackled her, grabbing her in a bear hug before slamming her to the ground. The changeling shrieked and squirmed as Elias solidified his pin with his knees.

He heard a few shouts and saw a multitude of black and red moving in his peripherals. He needed to finish her fast. Unfortunately for everyone around him, that meant he would be messy. Elias slammed a fist into the changeling’s jaw, and her head snapped back, exposing her neck. Elias didn’t think, he just attacked. His gladius rose and fell, biting deep into the meat of her exposed throat. A spray of green answered the blade’s call, and the changeling’s disguise flickered. It was almost unnoticeable in the dim torchlight, and Elias knew that he had been the only one to see it. He swung again, then again. He hacked and cut away with fast, brutal strikes, mangling whatever functioned as the bug’s spine. As the first guards began to attack his exposed back, Elias ripped the changeling’s head free of her body and stood, holding it out like a shield.

The ponies recoiled in disgust, and only after staring at the gore-stained head did they realize the purpose of his actions. The waves vanished all at once as the changeling’s brain died, and anybody who had gotten close enough to attack him staggered away, more than surprised by the side of the dismembered head before them. Combined with the absence of outside influence, most of the Royal Guards reeled, ambling about aimlessly.

Elias’ chest heaved and he panted hard. It had been mere seconds, but he had easily burned through all of his energy to destroy the spy. His throat burned with dryness as he stood fully, then began stalking forward, the head still outstretched. Celestia seemed to rock back and forth in a daze, and only as he walked into the center of the conjured torchlight did she understand what Elias was holding out. She recoiled in fear and disgust, and it took Elias a moment to realize what he looked like. Green merged with mud from his afternoon march, mixing together and painting the silver of his armor like a grotesque canvas. He could feel warm goo streaming down his face, could even taste it on his lips. His gladius was still in his hand, dripping even more gore onto the flagstones. With how heavy his breathing was, Elias imagined his eyes were wide with apparent madness and anger.

While the former was untrue, the latter definitely wasn’t. Elias was enraged, and as Luna shook herself from her trance, she could tell. She slipped the string off of her muzzle and walked down from her makeshift throne, trotting up to him slowly.

“Elias…” she said softly, making sure to catch his eyes with her own. “Please. It’s alright. Everything is fine now. We have a lot to talk about, and so much to apologize for, but please, let’s be calm about this. Let’s get you cleaned up before anything. It will be best to make sure everyone is prepared to address this… mess.”

Elias stared at her for a moment, then nodded slowly after seeing genuine concern in her eyes. She moved quickly as his energy fled. His post-battle depression was swift and vengeful, and his sleepless nights caught up to him as he wavered on his feet. Pain filtered into his brain from his arms, and Elias blinked, noticing a series of bites the changeling had no doubt gotten in during their struggle. His arm holding the head dropped to his side, and he began to lose his balance. Luna was at his side in an instant, and with a gentle nudge, she braced him fully. Elias was in little state to protest as Luna began guiding him toward the doors to the training yard, but after a moment of dazed thinking, Elias stopped and looked toward Celestia. He tossed the changeling head toward the foot of her throne. It splattered to a stop right at the base of the throne, with its odd, green eyes staring up.

“Maybe next time you think with your head instead of your human hating heart, huh?”

She stared at him, and for a moment, Elias thought he saw genuine regret and sorrow in her eyes. Then her face fell into her normal princess mask and she stared into the air before her.

“Perhaps you are correct General. Please, rest and clean up. We shall have plenty of time to discuss the repercussions of this evening when you are well rested.”

Elias snorted dismissively, then looked away, letting Luna escort him back to his room.

*****

Scalpel clicked his tongue as he wrapped Elias’ arms in bandages.

“One of these days Elias, you’re going to need to find out how to be the big hero without getting yourself beat up.”

Elias grunted in response, still feeling a bit dazed. Luna had confirmed that it was an after effect of the emotional manipulation the changeling had enacted on them all, and that it would pass with a good night’s sleep. Something Elias wasn’t likely to get. Training started up again in only nine hours, and Elias needed to stay awake for all of them. The initial reports from the Royal Guards were coming in, and they were incredibly alarming. The changeling was unique, and though they didn’t know much about it, they did know that the bug was particularly strong in the areas of mind and emotional manipulation. It was how she had slipped by the illusion screenings, and it was how she had gotten so very close to turning Elias and Celestia against one another.

Elias stared at his hands. It had been far too easy for the creature to get in his head, and he hadn’t even been aware of it. There was no way of telling how many more changelings existed like the one he had killed, and there was no way of flushing them out. Not without risking another brawl between him and Celestia at least. Elias flexed his right hand. He curled and uncurled his fingers, staring at each and every callus. His physical strength had served him well over the years, and his mind had always been sharp enough to stay a step ahead, most of the time at least. How could he fight an enemy that he couldn’t always see? He had gotten used to the almost black and white morality of the world. On earth, it was the strong and the weak, and in Equestria it was the good and the bad. It was almost comical how obvious the difference between right and wrong was, but it was beginning to gray, and evil people were getting smarter.

Was that his fault? Elias couldn’t help but think back to the loveling’s words about how much of a threat he was. Elias had instituted many reforms to the Equestrian military, and though the guard at large hadn’t taken to many of them, they would fall in line when they saw how his strategies worked. A nation with a capable war machine was a threat that needed addressing, no matter how well respected and peaceable its leaders were. The changelings especially were poking and prodding, searching for more weaknesses. They were adapting as fast as Elias was, but they had a magical edge that he couldn’t match. Not by himself at least.

Elias’ eyes flicked to the door of his room as an idea came to mind. Luna came trotting out of his bathroom with a bucket in her teeth, but she quickly set it down when she saw the intensity of his gaze.

“What is it Elias?” she asked quietly.

She had been speaking quietly, and moving slowly ever since Elias had destroyed the changeling. He could tell that she was doing it in an effort to make him feel calmer and more relaxed as she helped get him clean, but it was starting to grind on him. She wasn’t his enemy, so why the hell would he snap at her? She was at no more risk than anyone else, and the fact that Elias kept getting treated like some sort of raging animal irritated him further.

Elias took a deep breath to cool his mind. The real issue was that she was right to try and keep him calm. The fact that he had been so easily manipulated agitated him to no end, and his anger was on a hair trigger. He needed something to do, and as Scalpel finished bandaging his arms, Elias pushed to his feet. He heard Luna sigh as he snagged his sword belt from his bed, quickly putting it on.

“Elias, where are you going?” she asked. “It is late, and you need rest, especially after the night you’ve had.”

Elias sat back down to slide on his sandals.

“You want to come get something to eat with me?” he replied. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and I found our dinner in the dining room.”

Luna blinked at him, then smiled.

“Well… if you wish for me to join you, I certainly won’t say no.”

Elias stood and walked toward the door.

“Great,” he said shortly. “We need to make one stop on the way. I have another spy to deal with.”

He heard a squeak of protest from Luna, but she didn’t voice it any further as they began making their way toward the dungeon.

*****

Elias shoved the dungeon door opened, and slammed into the wall, jolting Snowball awake. The cell looked a lot nicer than when he had been staying in it. Snowball had a comfortable looking bed, a sink, a nightstand with a lamp and what looked to be his choice of novels. Elias spotted a Daring Doo in there, and his mind briefly flashed back to images of being snuggled against Book Binder as she read to him. He missed those days. They were… easier.

Elias’ mouth curled into a snarl as he drove the memories from his brain. Now wasn’t the time. He crouched in front of the cell bars, waiting silently as Snowball rubbed his eyes and sat up, pulling his covers back. The loveling blinked at Elias for a moment, then looked past him to where Luna waited silently near the door. His purple eyes flickered back to Elias, and he turned his hooves out of bed, facing Elias fully.

“Good evening General, I must express my surprise. What brings you to my humble cell?”

Elias ran his tongue across his teeth as he thought long and hard about what he was about to do. He needed a spy catcher, but he couldn’t altogether trust the creature before him. He hadn’t had time to do any research into lovelings, so he had no idea if he should be expecting treachery, or if Snowball could be trusted. He exhaled through his nose. He had made deals with the devil before, this was no different.

“I have an offer to make you, and your queen, should she be interested,” Elias started slowly. “I realize you’ll need to come out of that cell to communicate with her, but you’re going to hear out my offer first, and make your personal decision regarding it, before you ever speak a word of it to her, is that clear?”

Snowball nodded.

“May I ask why?”

“Your loyalty, and your life,” Elias said, “belong to me. I have decided to keep the promise I gave to you, but I will not have a traitor standing beside me. You’re either my soldier, or you’re your queens’ soldier. You cannot be both.”

Snowball frowned.

“That… General, I have to communicate with my hive and my queen. I will still need to act as an informant for her. It is the job I was assigned, and even if it wasn’t, I can’t just cut them all off.”

He shuddered.

“Even with the cell muting them, I still get whispers. It’s a loveling’s worst nightmare to be without his hive. I can’t understand how ponies, and gryphons, and all the rest live alone in their heads. It’s so quiet.”

Elias snorted.

“I wish,” he muttered.

He looked back to Snowball.

“But, it doesn’t matter. I’m not asking you to cut yourself off, and I’m not saying that you can’t tell your queen what happens in my legion. What I will not tolerate is questioning of my orders or interference when things get... darker. You can talk to her all you like, but you will have a job to do, and I expect you to carry it out without hesitation.”

Elias noticed a glimmer of hope in the loveling’s eyes, and the bug pony shifted slightly closer to the cell bars.

“I… am interested,” Snowball said slowly, “but I’d need to know what my job is to be before I make a decision.”

Elias nodded.

“Fair enough. Tonight, a changeling spy got close enough to Celestia to manipulate her, and she tried to have me killed via General Lionheart.”

Elias snorted and glanced back Luna.

“Though I am very curious as to why that was her first idea. She knows how capable I am in a fight, anyone short of Chaser would have a hard time, but really? Lionheart?”

Luna shrugged.

“You may not believe it, but he has gotten to his position by more than his noble title. His father was a respected guard captain, and he trained his son well.”

She tilted her head.

“That being said, Lionheart is as pompus and arrogant as they come, and I truly wish ‘Tia would replace him, but even with tonight’s events that is unlikely.”

Elias sighed and looked back to Snowball.

“It would make my life too easy if I didn’t have some idiotic adversity I suppose.”

He focused on the loveling as he continued.

“Your job however, is this; I need a spy catcher, one who can sniff out other shapeshifters.”

He tapped the scar below his bad eye.

“This helps me see when ponies are being influenced, but I can’t rely on it. Sometimes its hazy, and other times I get false flags, particularly around my old friend group. I need something or someone I can count on to find changelings, and I believe that’s you.”

Snowball cocked his head at Elias words, then hopped off his bed. He motioned to Elias’ bad eye.

“If you don’t mind General, I could take a look at it. Changeling biology is nearly identical to loveling biology, and I have a bit of a hobby studying how our magic impacts other creatures.”

He gave Elias a fanged grin.

“And you, General, you’re a special study. I mean, you are just filled to the bursting with love, but I can’t detect any magic on you! It’s so exciting!”

Elias snorted.

“If you agree to the terms I set out, I’ll make sure you have time to take a crack at it. Agreed?”

The loveling nodded.

“Good,” Elias said. “Starting tomorrow, you will serve at my side as my second Adiutor, beneath Book Binder, is that clear?”

Snowball frowned.

“But wouldn’t it be better if I stayed among the normal legionaries? How am I going to sniff out more infiltrators if I’m above everypony?”

“Because being my assistant is a front,” Elias responded. “Snowball the Loveling will be like a legion mascot, out and about in bright white and silver for all to see, while Snowball the spy goes sniffing around while I send him on “errands”.”

Snowball flinched.

“Y-you mean everypony is going to know what I am? I won’t wear a disguise?”

“Not when you’re in your legion armor, no,” Elias replied. “But until we actually begin the march, you will be spending very little time in the legion silver and red. Instead, you will be infiltrating each and every guard force you can, starting with the Lunar and Royal Guards.”

“And how do you expect General Chaser and General Nightshade to react?” Luna asked. “I can’t imagine they will put any trust in Snowball here. An ally his queen may be, but she still sent a spy into our kingdom. ‘Tia and I have yet to come up with an appropriate response to his transgression.”

Elias shrugged, not looking back.

“They’ll do whatever you tell them, but in honesty, I’m hoping to not be caught. It’s why I said “infiltrate”.”

Snowball winced.

“I… the Royal Guards are really good though! The Lunar guard I might be able to pull off, even after getting caught, but the Royal Guards? That’s a death wish.”

“It’s the way you’re getting out of that cell alive,” Elias replied calmly. “I still have the authority to execute you, no questions ask, and after what I just dealt with tonight, I am more than justified.”

Snowball frowned at him, and his ears twitched lightly as he looked past Elias to Luna.

“Princess, will you allow this? I am… seriously considering General Bright’s offer, but I cannot well infiltrate a guard service if a princess of Equestria is against me.”

Elias glanced back as well, watching her carefully. He could tell from the flickering of her eyes that she was thinking at a mile a minute. From her body language, he believed she would back him, though she would no doubt question him relentlessly about his intentions. It irritated him that he would have to lie to her, but he needed an agent. He would brief Snowball about his secondary purpose when they were alone, and only when they were truly alone. A loveling spy would be a good boost to his tiny, but efficient spy network, and since he could detect changelings, he was invaluable.

Luna sighed and shook her head, glancing at Elias for a moment before looking to Snowball.

“I cannot say I completely approve of his methods, but I will always hold trust for General Bright. He has proven time and time again that his actions are all done with purpose, and even this has good reason no doubt.”

She bowed her head slightly.

“I will not hamper your efforts, but I will not aid them either. I must apologize Elias, but if Snowball is caught and traced to you, you must deal with the consequences alone. Even a princess has her limits in the law, and this constitutes high treason.”

Elias nodded toward the door.

“I understand Princess. I recommend you leave before you become an accomplice.”

Luna sighed, but nodded in agreement.

“Very well. I shall see you Friday for breakfast?”

Elias winked and let a small grin peak out.

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

Luna’s wings fluttered lightly, but her face remained impassive as she opened the dungeon door and exited. Elias counted to a hundred before he looked back to Snowball. The loveling was watching him with wide eyes, and Elias had no doubt it was related to his ability to detect emotion. Elias caught his eyes, carefully drawing them down to the knife that he drew from behind his back.

“Speak a word of what happens here, and you won’t need to worry about being hanged as a traitor, I’ll kill you myself, clear?”

Snowball gulped, but he nodded. Elias stared him down for a moment more before he spoke again.

“What Princess Luna doesn’t know is that you’re going to be doing more than searching for changelings,” Elias said. “I need up to date information on everyone. Nightshade and Chaser are just a courtesy to make sure they aren’t lying, but Lionheart, Shattered Shield and Dragon-Eye have been stonewalling me from the beginning. I want to know everything they know, and I want it to surprise them how much I really know.”

Snowball sat in silent thought for a moment, then looked up to Elias again.

“What can I tell my queen about? I am technically still a spy, so this… modification to my job isn’t too bad, if I can keep her informed.”

Elias tapped his fingers on his knee, staring hard at the loveling.

“Tell her nothing about the Lunar, or Royal Guard,” he replied. “Infiltrating them is just in case, and I’d rather not be responsible for Equestria’s downfall.”

Snowball’s face curled in disgust.

“I would never reveal the information I learn. Not even if I was tortured.”

Elias smirked.

“You have no idea how many people have said that to me and then talked anyway.” He reached his hand through the cell bars. “Do we have a deal?”

Snowball stared at his hand for a moment, then nodded and shook it.

“We do. Thank you General. You don’t know how happy it makes me to still be a part of the legion.”

Elias stood and grabbed the keys from the wall. He flicked through the keys until he found the right one, then stuck it in the lock and turned it.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Elias said as he pulled open the cell door. “If you make one slip up-“

Snowball slammed into his ribs, and it took a moment for Elias to realize that the loving wasn’t trying to drag him to the ground, he was just giving him a bone crushing hug. The loveling nuzzled his stomach.

“Thank you General. You’re the best.”

Elias stood awkwardly as the bug continued nuzzling his stomach, then it was like a switch was turned off. He blinked in surprise, then looked up to who he was hugging. Elias heard a low whimper escape Snowball’s mouth, so he decided to show a hint of compassion. Hopefully it would help his spy stay loyal.

Elias lightly scratched the bug-pony between his ears, and Snowball relaxed, sighing softly as he leaned against Elias’ chest fully. Elias continued scratching as he whispered to the loveling.

“A word of this to anyone, and I’ll kill you so quickly, your queen won’t notice you’re gone. Don’t expect it again either.”

Snowball burped softly.

“N-no need General. I’m gonna be fed for a month just on the love in the air.”

The loveling smiled up at him.

“Don’t worry, I know who you feel that way for, but I won’t tell. Not even my queen.”

He burped again, and Elias noticed his purple eyes beginning to slip closed. He sighed and scooped the bug-pony up. Snowball cooed and curled into a fuzzy ball as Elias hugged him close, walking from the dungeon. Elias glanced down at the loveling as the gears in his head started turning.

“On second though, I might have another job for you,” Elias said softly. “One that will be mutually beneficial to us.”

Chapter 47: How much a human?

Elias glared daggers at the black ceiling of his room. He had gotten into bed over an hour ago, yet he was still painfully awake. Dawn was less than three hours away, and Elias was always up before dawn. If he didn’t sleep soon, he wouldn’t sleep at all. Again. For the third night in a row.

The human rubbed his face with his hands, letting out a long sigh as he slipped his legs from beneath his covers. He curled his toes in the lush carpet of his bedroom floor, then pushed to his feet, moving into his bathroom. He flicked the light one and moved to the sink, quickly turning on the hot water. Perhaps a warm towel would help him relax. He had read about it in some book, he forgot what about. Just another coverless image that sat in his library of knowledge. So much of it utterly worthless.

He had skills ponies had never even heard of, and even if he laid them out perfectly, they wouldn’t understand. Some were relatively benign; cleaning and repairing a dozen types of machines, particularly cars. He had quite enjoyed messing around with cars. He also knew more than a few skills that would impress children, but nobody else. He knew origami, or at least enough to make a swan out of a napkin. He knew how to make a few simple balloon animals, back when he still used balloons for enjoyment instead of weapons. He knew how to tie a million types of knots, though that too took a darker path. He could tie a noose in his sleep, if he could just close his eyes and rest. The list went on, a million skills that he either couldn’t think of a use for, or had bastardized them into violent shadows of themselves. Simple carpentry turned into knowledge on how to make booby traps. Fishing turned into laying traps for people, not animals. On and on his skills spiraled, all horrifyingly violent in some form or fashion. All of which would make the ponies throw him out if they heard even half of what he knew. It put his mind on a spin, driving the nail of his continuing lies deeper into his brain. He wanted to love ponies, and wanted that love returned, but how could he do that if they couldn’t trust him? For all his talk about lying and spies, he was the biggest hypocrite he knew of. The very persona all the ponies knew was a carefully crafted lie designed to keep them innocent and unaware. It was despicable, and it was just another in a long list of sins that made him no better than the beast Celestia thought he was.

Elias let out a deep breath, blinking his eyes open. He stared into his mirror to find it fogged, and glancing down found the sink overflowing. The water hadn’t quite reached the carpet though, so he gave it little more thought than turning off the water and throwing a spare towel at the puddle on the floor. Elias took a washcloth and dipped it into the steamy water filling his sink, then wrung it out and walked back to his bed, laying it across the back of his neck. With a long sigh he flopped onto his bed, staring at the ceiling, while doing his best impression of Lionheart. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make his brain empty enough.

Elias snorted at himself. It was sad that he had to create insults about some idiot that wasn’t even in the castle. That was the human in his mind he supposed. Antagonistic, derogatory, cruel and ever heartless. It was a sign that he hadn’t changed too much.

Elias sighed again and rolled onto his side, tossing the washcloth away. It had done nothing to relax him, and now he was merely damp, and restless. He stared at the wall, as his mind drifted back. What had changed? Not just his environment, that was obvious, but what had truly changed with him? He identified that he was still as cruel and angry as he had ever been, so why did it feel different? This wasn’t being woken up by night terrors, this was, in his mind, far worse. He couldn’t get to sleep at all, and every single thought he had turned inward, no much how he tried to focus it elsewhere. Only times of stress let him focus on other tasks during the night. It was like the sun rising drove away his inner demons in time to act like the big strong human his ponies needed him to be. But when the sun went down and he returned to his room…

“Am I really that dull?”

Elias blinked, then sat up, scanning his dark room. The voice had sounded almost like Other-Elias, but almost… heavier, almost like his voice was deeper. He couldn’t see anything in the dark, but throwing on a light without being absolutely prepared would put him at a disadvantage. Elias slipped a finger under his mattress and slowly pulled forth a spare knife. Before he could draw it forth however, the lights flicked on, forcing Elias to spring into action.

He rolled from his bed, and blinked rapidly to adjust to the light change. Knife in hand, he prepared to catch his attacker. He raised his arm to protect his throat and eyes, only for nothing to happen. He peaked out from behind his arm to glance around the room, and his eyes quickly locked onto the red unicorn sitting in his desk chair. The pony waited patiently for Elias to lower his guard, spinning a small knife of his own in a crimson aura of magic. Elias squinted at the pony as he shifted toward his armor stand.

“Who the hell are you?” Elias asked, buying time.

The pony would no doubt lie, and Elias suspected that he wasn’t a pony at all. It was just yet another infiltrator that he would have to deal with, no doubt trying to manipulate his mind one on one like Chrysalis had done with Shining Armor. Elias made sure to keep an eye on the pony as he inched closer to his armor stand, without meeting the pony’s eyes. He just had to grab a pilum. The long javelin would be invaluable in the close quarters. The pony huffed and shuffled in his seat.

“Elias, just listen. This isn’t a trick or a trap, and I think you already know that. Just calm down, stop going for a pilum, and sit.”

Shit. Was he telegraphing his movements that obviously? He had to be more cautious, perhaps lure the pony into a false sense of calm by going for his sword belt, which was sitting on his sandals at the end of his bed. It would be risky, especially with how close the pony was, but getting his gladius would definitely put things in his fa-…

“Elias, please stop,” the pony said with a sigh. “Going for you gladius won’t help either, because I’m not here to attack you. I just need to talk. That’s all. Just talk.”

Elias’s eyes narrowed. The pony was reading his thoughts. He hadn’t stopped moving toward the armor stand, yet the pony knew he was going for his gladius? The damned changeling already had its hooks in his mind. He had to act, and fast. The unicorn growled and stomped his hoof.

“I’m not a fucking changeling!”

Elias darted to his armor stand, snatching up a pilum and throwing it in one smooth motion. The pony groaned, and his horn lit up. The pilum stopped midair, held by a red aura of magic. The unicorn hopped out of his seat, then dragged the javelin closer. Elias watched as the pony ran his hoof across the javelin head, then held it out for Elias to see.

“There, I’m bleeding red, see? I’m not a changeling. We both know they only bleed green.”

Elias felt his bad eye twitch.

“It could be an illusion. A new changeling snuck in only a day or two again. They’re adapting, and fast.”

The red unicorn sighed and tossed Elias’ pilum to him.

“Come on Elias, just fucking sit down. I think you’re dragging this out because you know exactly what I am, but you don’t want to admit it.”

The unicorn tossed his black and grey mane out of his eyes and turned his back to Elias.

“Or just get it done with and kill me. You’ll just prove them right, and then we’re stuck. Really stuck.”

“Stuck?” Elias echoed.

The unicorn motioned to the bed.

“I’m not talking unless you’re sitting. Either talk to me or kill me. I’ll wait quietly for either.”

Elias eye the unicorn up and down as he sat at the desk again. The pony waited silently, blinking quietly with his brilliant blue eyes. Those eyes looked awfully familiar, but Elias couldn’t quite place where he had seen them before. Probably nowhere, he had never seen the pony before him before after all. He was a threat, kill him.

“Well?” the pony asked quietly.

Elias let out a long sigh and moved around the bed. He scooped up his sword belt, drawing Feather free. The blade flicked back and forth dangerously for a moment, then Elias sat down on his bed, pulling out a cleaning rag. He let his eyes drop to his sword as he began to clean the blade.

“Speak. I’ll decide if I’ll kill you when I’m done.”

The stallion sighed and smiled.

“That’s my kind of answer. You had me scared for a second Elias, I didn’t think being around ponies would make you into a worse person. Hell, if it had, I wouldn’t exist.”

Elias’ mismatched eyes flicked up to the pony, who grinned back. Elias snorted dismissively as he went back to his gladius. His mind seemed to work at a snail’s pace, but he was putting the pieces together.

“So what are you, some kind of manifestation of what Luna is trying to turn me into? Some kind of soft pony stooge?”

The unicorn snorted.

“More or less, just without the stooge part. Besides, you act like you haven’t already made progress into being a pony.”

“You’d better pray I haven’t,” Elias responded without looking up. “Because whatever you are, I have a feeling you can die quite easily, and cutting away the ponies I have allowed to stay close is easy. Cutting butter is more difficult.”

“Is that why you’re going to Book Binder and Night Flash’s wedding with Luna?”

Elias’ eyes flicked up again, and he had to resist the urge to not cut the smug pony’s throat. His hand twitched, and a voice in his head urged him to strike. He let out a long breath as he focused on his sword.

“Accuse me of weakness again, and I’ll walk to Luna’s room right now and tell her we’re through. I need to be a general first; a human general. It’s what these soft ponies need.”

The red unicorn winced and shuffled in his seat. Elias could feel alarm emanating from the pony as he frowned.

“That’s… I think we started wrong. Let’s just…”

The pony took a few deep breaths, then seemed to mutter to himself for a moment. Elias felt an itch on the inside of his ear, like someone was whispering in it, but he couldn’t hear a damn thing. The pony’s ears flicked, and he took one long breath before sticking his hoof out.

“Hi Elias, I’m Red, your pony manifestation.”

Elias stared at the pony blankly for a moment, then snorted, ignoring the outstretched hoof.

“And just how did I come to be a pony?” Elias replied.

Red held his hoof up for a moment more, then sighed and let it drop.

“That’s… a complex question. Technically I don’t exist anywhere but your, or rather, our mind, but, I am pleased to tell you that we can become a pony at any time if we so choose.”

Elias snorted again and looked up to Red.

“First, no. I already said I need to be a human general, and if you had even a shred of intelligence in that stupid pony body, you’d know that. Second, the answer is definitely no, because you’re weak. I need to be a strong, battle hardened leader, and you aren’t it. You pouted when I didn’t shake your hoof.”

Elias regarded the pony with disgust, inspecting him from top to bottom.

“On top of that, you have no muscle mass to speak of. Do you even know how to swing a sword?”

Red growled.

“I can fight just fine. I’m the same as I ever was, I’ve just been offered more. It’s an opportunity I recommend you take.”

Elias waved Feather through the air, checking each side of the blade to ensure that it was clean and sharp.

“And just who is offering this magical transformation of yours? The tooth fairy?”

“The Keepers of Harmony,” Red replied smartly.

Elias looked to the pony in disbelief.

“The gods of Equestria are offering me, via a piece of my own brain that I have never encountered before right now, the “opportunity” to become a pony, a few months before what is bound to be one of the most violent and bloody marches in Equestrian history. Am I getting that right?”

Red huffed.

“It’s more than that if you’d just let me talk for a fucking second. I haven’t gotten even a piece of my explanation in without you being a cynical jackass.”

The pony snorted and crossed his hooves.

“It’s no reason we find it so hard to make friends.”

Elias ran his tongue across his teeth, then chuckled and shook his head. He spun his legs around the side of the bed, and faced the unicorn directly.

“Alright then “Red”,” Elias said. “Make your little sales pitch, let’s hear what literal gods have to offer me.” Elias tapped his chest with his gladius. “I won’t say a damn thing until you’re done, but I want everything. Start with what you are, how you came to be, then move to what I’m being “offered”.”

Red smiled and shuffled in his seat again. Elias watched his movements closely, though for what reason, he didn’t know.

“That works for me,” Red said. “Just keep an open mind Elias, I promise that nothing but good can come from this, if we just listen and think it all the way through.”

Elias spread his hands.

“Then speak, because I am all ears.”

“Let’s start with what I am. Again, my name is Red, and I am currently a part of your mind that has accepted life in Equestria, as a pony. With all the cuddling, snuggling, and friendship that entails.”

The unicorn paused, clearly expecting Elias to interrupt, but the human said nothing, merely rested his hands in his lap as he sat cross legged on the bed. Red’s tail twitched with excitement as he continued.

“As for your second question, I came to be over a long process, though if I had to pick a single moment that I… existed, I would say that it was Hearth’s Warming Eve. Remember when we were all snuggled up against Luna?”

The unicorn shuddered and closed his eyes as a happy sigh left his lungs.

“Oh, it was so warm, and snuggly and just… great.”

‘You and I remember things differently,’ Elias thought. ‘I distinctly remember feeling the loneliest I’ve ever been, followed by near death, then letting my heart bleed out.’

Red nodded enthusiastically.

“Exactly! We started Hearth’s Warming completely at our lowest, but by opening our heart to Luna, and then allowing Book Binder and Night Flash back in, we took a step toward being a pony! It’s when I really began to manifest!”

Elias had forgotten that the pony could read his thoughts. He needed to figure out how to… His brow furrowed as he tried to think without thinking. Red gave him an odd look as he continued speaking.

“Finally, the opportunity we are being given is simple to explain. You see, the Keepers have been keeping a close eye on us sense we came to Equestria, but they like to take a hooves off approach, so they merely watched and waited, analyzing every little thing about us, including how our brain worked.”

The unicorn grinned and sat up, puffing his fuzzy chest out.

“Did you know that ponies and humans share a ninety percent compatibility ratio? It takes next to no time or magical effort to switch a pony to a human and back again!”

Red shook his head, blinking rapidly before focusing on Elias again.

“Sorry, the Keepers mixed a bit of the Element of Magic in my personality to bring me to life. That won’t happen if you chose to become a pony, promise.”

Elias stared at the pony silently, waiting for him to continue. Red chuckled nervously, then spoke.

“Anyway, The Keepers have been keeping a close watch on us, making sure we weren’t some big danger they needed the princesses to take care of. It was them, on Hearth’s Warming, who filled us with harmonious song, and it was them who helped connect Luna to our song to get her to save us. Without their help, we would have died there and then.”

“Why did they help us?” Elias asked

He needed to keep the pony occupied. Red didn’t seem to notice the stray thought as he grinned, no doubt thinking that Elias was hanging onto his every word.

“They saw an opportunity! You see, alicorns were basically created as Equestria’s primary defense. The Keepers choose ponies who are exceptionally good, grant them enhanced abilities, and then prolong their lives for a “contract”, something like ten thousand years or some such.”

Red waved his hoof.

“The numbers aren’t super important. What is, is the fact that Luna used her powers and went rouge. The Keepers have been looking for a good way to make sure she doesn’t turn again, and they believe that we are that method. That brings me to the last point, their offer. If we accept, not only do we have their permission to marry Luna,”

Elias’ widened with shock.

“Woah now, that’s a bit forward. We haven’t even done anything together, let alone start talk of-…”

Red snorted dismissively.

“Save it for everypony else Elias, I’m you, I know our feelings. Sure, you haven’t figured them out all the way, but marriage is down the line somewhere. This just speeds things up and makes them simpler!”

The unicorn hadn’t noticed his movements. Why was he doing this? Good.

“Anyway,” Red continued, “we’ll get permission to marry Luna, we’ll be granted an extended life, so that she doesn’t outlive us, and we get changed into a unicorn, specifically me. If we do good; you know staying loyal, helping out, the like, we even get a free pass to th-“

Elias made his move in an instant, and his dagger plunged without mercy into the pony’s ribs. Red gasped softly, meeting Elias’ snarl with a look of pain and shock. Elias blinked in surprise when he realized that the pony looked incredibly sad. Disappointed even. Then he felt a prickle in his ribs, and Elias choked. Blood spilled out of his lips and down his chin, and Elias quickly found that it was hard to breathe.

He collapsed on his side, and to his surprise, Red didn’t. With a small gasp of pain, the pony pulled out the knife and sighed as he inspected the blood on it. His eyes flicked down to Elias’ for a moment, then back to the knife.

“I just want to know why,” the pony whispered. “It’s a good deal, and I know we hate who we are now, so why? Why try to kill this part of yourself?”

Elias felt fear and confusion flash through his mind, and he stared up at the pony as he struggled to speak.

“I… don’t know,” he managed to gasp out.

Blackness began swamping his vision, and Elias felt himself slipping away as the pony growled.

“Don’t worry Elias, it’s not your fault. I figured it out.”

The pony hopped out of his seat and rubbed Elias’ leg.

“Go to sleep, I’ll deal with this bully for now. You need a good snuggle break.”

The pony growled as somebody cackled out of Elias’ view. The human continued to choke and his vision continued to diminish as the sound of spell discharges filled the air.

Elias shot up with a gasp, panting hard as a pony shape squealed in the darkness beside him. The pony flopped off the bed and thudded to floor, but Elias didn’t care about the intruder. He scrambled as he ripped his tunic in two, feeling his ribs. His fingers scanned everywhere, even going so far as to touch the chitin on his hip to confirm that he hadn’t been stabbed. He panted desperately, trying to collect himself as he felt tears streak down his cheeks. He… It had felt so real. The choking, the knife. It all hurt so damned much.

Elias wanted to wrap his arms around himself and cry his way to sleep, but the thought of being alone, of having another nightmare like that…

The pony popped his head back up, and Elias managed to retain enough of his sanity to recognize Snowball. The loveling’s floppy ears flattened against his head as he stared at Elias.

“G-General? Are you alright? I… I was coming by to get some love, like we had talked about? B- but you were so distressed, so I let myself in and…”

Elias reached over the side of the bed, snatching up the loveling into a tight hug. Elias felt the floodgates break under the combined pressure of months of lonely stress and his lifelike nightmare. He cried hard as he hugged the bug-pony close to his chest. Burying his face in Snowball’s fur, he cried without shame, just desperate for any kind of comfort.

The emotivore was kind enough to return Elias’ hug after he overcame his shock. Elias felt the loveling rub small circles on his back, and he heard small shushing noises come from the loveling’s mouth. The bug-pony embraced him fully, and Elias couldn’t help but feel his heart warm. It felt good to just hug a pony. He hadn’t realized just how much he had missed it, and it felt like a physical ache in his heart was eased by the loveling he was clinging so desperately to.

Elias felt a light tug on his chest, and his tears eased enough for him to regain enough sense to momentarily pull away. Snowball took a deep breath and smiled, then opened his eyes. They positively shined at Elias as the bug-pony snuggled against his chest.

“You have all the makings of an excellent love-sponsor,” Snowball said quietly. “I took more than enough to feed me for the week, yet you’re positively swelling with gratitude and love.”

Elias felt his grip on the loveling loosen, but before he could truly let go, Snowball tightened his grip, and he nuzzled Elias’ cheek until the human met his eyes. Snowball smiled lightly.

“It is no insult General. Love-sponsors are some of the most valued members of any hive, and I meant it in the best way possible. You are a very caring individual, and anypony who knows you knows that.”

He nuzzled Elias’ neck.

“And I think it makes you an even better leader. Everypony can see that you care.”

Elias felt the loveling lock his grip around Elias’ chest, and he felt Snowball smile as he rested his chin on Elias’ neck.

“Now General, it is time to let somepony care for you. Let’s start with your nightmare, hm?”

“I… I can still imprison you for this,” Elias threatened weakly.

Snowball nuzzled his neck.

“But it won’t make you feel any better. You’re hurting General, and I swear to you right now that nobody, not even my queen will hear of this. This is just between us. Speak, please. I need to know what’s on your mind so that I can give you appropriate comforting.”

Elias shook his head. That was too far, he shouldn’t have ever made a deal with the loveling, should have driven him far away. The nightmare had gotten him too shaken up, had gotten him running scared. But he also needed this. What had Red told him to do.

Take a cuddle break, Red’s voice whispered in his mind.

Elias sighed and laid back, keeping his arms around Snowball. The loveling took it as a good sign, and he nuzzled Elias’ chest before settling, his purple eyes staring expectantly up. Elias let out a long sigh.

“I… you swear you won’t say a word of this to anyone?”

Snowball smiled.

“Not a word, I promise. This is all for your benefit General, just let it out.”

Elias flinched at the word general. It bore so much pressure, was the central reason for so many of his problems. His legs subconsciously tucked closer to his chest, stopping only when he felt Snowball’s legs. He fell silent, just absorbing the feeling of having somebody, anybody next to him. The warm feeling of another warm body was simply relaxing, and it set Elias’ mind alight on what he should do to ensure that he always had the sensation. On one hand, he had a small army of friends who would jump at the opportunity to snuggle every night, but on the other, he still needed to stay strong. A part of his mind ensured him that the best way to do that was to remain aloof and alone, but he was beginning to doubt the voice, and it made Elias paranoid. If he couldn’t trust his own instincts, what could he do? IT was terrifying to think he couldn’t rely on himself, and Elias felt a shiver pass through his body. Snowball rubbed the small of his back.

“Just tell me what’s wrong General. I know we haven’t really known each other for long, but I can feel your pain, and I am here for you. Let it out, you’ll feel better.”

“You can start by never calling me General in private again,” Elias snapped. “I hate that fucking title, I always have!”

Snowball frowned, never stopping his gentle rubbing.

“I… My apologies General, but I thought you loved your job. You always seem so energetic, so ready to work.”

“Think again,” Elias replied, curling tighter into himself. “I hate being a General, and I hate leading ponies.”

He was pathetically weak, spilling all of his emotions all over the place. To a spy no less. No doubt the loveling would teach him a lesson and report his every word back to his queen. It would be a suitable punishment Elias supposed as he continued speaking.

“I hate teaching ponies to fight, to kill.”

He shook his head.

“Ponies are by and large too kind, and they shouldn’t have to deal with ugly realities that humans have to deal with. They don’t deserve war and death, and I’m tired of showing them what both look like.”

Elias rolled over. He didn’t want Snowball to watch him cry like the pathetic fool he was.

“Do you even know how old I am?” Elias said with a sniffle.

The air sat in silence for a moment, then Elias felt Snowball shake his head.

“I’m afraid not,” the loveling said. “I never thought it important to go looking through your medical records. With your advanced knowledge and leadership ability, I always put you in your mid-forties.”

Elias chuckled bitterly.

“Mid-forties, that’s cute.” He stared daggers at the dark wall. “I’m nineteen. Barely an adult by human standards, and not even close to being an adult by pony standards. I shouldn’t be dealing in death, shouldn’t be teaching others how to kill, yet here I am. The “Hero of Canterlot”, a trained killer training up more killers.”

Elias closed his eyes and sniffled.

“I’m just so tired, and so very alone. I didn’t want to lead an army, didn’t want any of this power or responsibility. I didn’t want any of this.”

A sob wracked his chest. Elias tried to stay quiet, but as soon as Snowball tried to comfort him further, the floodgates opened again, and Elias began to cry loudly. Snowball shushed him softly, and continued rubbing his back.

“Shhh, it’s alright…” the loveling paused, then took a risk, “Elias. Just tell me what you do want to do. What would you rather be doing, if not being a good, outstanding general?”

Elias could tell that Snowball was trying to play up how Elias acted, but he knew it was a lie. He was cruel, vicious. He regularly had his soldiers whipped, was liberal in his use of punishment, especially for failure. He was positively heartless, but he also had no idea how to do it any other way. Not one that would work at least. Elias curled tighter in on himself.

“I don’t know,” he whispered. “This is all I’m good for. I can’t offer anything else, and everybody knows that. The princesses wouldn’t have even kept me around if I wasn’t such a good killer.”

He felt Snowball smile.

“Hey now, that isn’t true. I’m sure you know all kinds of stuff, it’s just about finding what you enjoy. You find that, then share it with all your friends.”

“I enjoy killing,” Elias spat bitterly. “I enjoy the feeling of fighting somebody, coming out on top, and then erasing an enemy from existence. It’s a special talent of mine.”

He snorted.

“It wouldn’t matter if I could find something else anyway. I don’t have friends, not anymore. I pushed them all away.”

Snowball let out a long sigh.

“I know you think that. I can feel your pain every time you try to push them farther, but Elias, they’re still there for you. They can help you move past this… rut you find yourself in. Though you didn’t know about my deception until recently, I’ve been watching you for months. I know you’re more than a killer, more than this self-hating person before me. You feel genuine joy when something goes right, and though it’s sparse, your praise is filled with pure happiness. I can feel it because I’m an emotivore, but Elias, all of the legionaries can tell when you’re happy. The rarity of your praise makes it more valuable than gold, and ponies strive each day to earn just a small “good job”. It’s not quite love yet, but Elias, you’re close. Your ponies look up to you, you’re their idol.”

“And if they knew I was this broken?” Elias asked. “What would the ponies think then? Would they laugh at their frail, emotional commander? Would they lose all trust in decisions and training? Would they wonder why they tried to rely on the stupid human at all?”

Elias shook his head and closed his eyes. He wished he could just sleep. So many things would look better if he could just sleep. No night terrors, or nightmares, just blissful, empty sleep. He felt Snowball nuzzle his neck.

“Elias, the only thing that would happen if your friends found out about your feelings is that they would try to help,” the loveling said. “They care, they really do, I can feel it. Princess Luna especially. If you’d bring these doubts your having to her, she would no doubt-“

“Do nothing,” Elias snapped. “If anyone isn’t allowed to find out about this it’s her. She can’t know. She’s put so much trust into me, and I refuse to let her down.”

He left unsaid the reason why he valued her trust so much, but Elias had a feeling the loveling behind him knew anyway. Snowball remained silent for a moment, then slowly began rubbing Elias’ back again.

“Have you considered reversing your isolation?” the loveling asked. “To tell everypony, not about your doubts, but about your immense love for them? If you believe yourself cold and distant, it is a solution that I believe could benefit you. With your emotional burden lightened, then you could push forward until the end of the march, destroying your doubts.”

Elias sighed.

“But then I’d worry I wasn’t pushing hard enough. I’ve done things the soft way before, I let my family stay close, and it cost them their lives.” He frowned. “It all stems from the fact I should be strong enough to withstand all the stress and suffering in the world for the sake of people I care about. I have been before, why not now? Why do I suddenly care so much that it physically hurts to be away from my friends and family? What’s changed?”

Snowball seemed to ponder the question for a moment, then said;

“Elias, if I’m reading your emotions right, I think you already know the answer to that question. I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

Elias sighed again, staring blankly at the wall before him.

“I had a nightmare tonight,” he started, “and while that alone isn’t abnormal, this one was different.” He rubbed at his ribs where the knife wound had appeared. “I talked to a pony version of myself. I… see other versions of myself when I’m at my worst. This was different though. When I see another me, it’s usually so I can talk out a problem, but this… pony.”

Elias took a deep breath.

“It was different. He talked like he wasn’t me, while at the same time, was a part of me. He talked about an offer he was given by the Keepers-“

“Of Harmony?” Snowball asked. “And this other you, you had no knowledge of him before tonight?”

“No,” Elias responded. “I didn’t know he existed before tonight. Yet he comes from nowhere with an offer from the gods of Equestria. It should have been easily dismissible…”

“But you feel like there was something genuine about the offer,” Snowball finished.

Elias sighed, then sat up and nodded. Snowball shifted so that his head rest against Elias’, and the pair stared through the dark toward the bedroom door.

“It felt too real,” Elias said. “But the “offer” was something I couldn’t take, probably ever, but especially not now.”

He stopped, and Snowball glanced at him from the corner of his eye before giving Elias’ chest a small prod.

“What was the offer?” he asked softly.

Elias let out a long exhale before answering.

“He… said they offered to change me into a pony. A unicorn, like him. He explained this whole plan the Keepers had about me helping to prevent another Nightmare Moon, or something stupid. They also seem to believe I’m some kind of world ending threat, because they believe being a pony will put me under control.”

Snowball snorted.

“I doubt even being a pony will mellow you out. You seem like the kind of pony to spite the princesses for fun, except Princess Luna. You love her far too much to spite her for fun’s sake.”

Elias glared down at the loveling.

“And what does that mean?” Elias asked.

Snowball chuckled weakly.

“It’s not a bad thing, I swear, it’s just… Elias, I can feel your love for her. I don’t believe you would go out of your way to hurt her is all. You try to appease her as much as possible because you value you her.”

“I’m not saying you never go against her!” Snowball added as Elias’ frown shifted into a scowl. “You just tend to try and get her on your side, as opposed to Princess Celestia or any of the Solar generals, whose opinions you don’t value. For them, you fight tooth and nail to get your way, but with Princess Luna, you talk, and convince. It’s a softer method, but no less effective.”

Snowball smiled.

“I could count on one hoof the numbers of times you didn’t end up getting your way since I infiltrated your legion. You are extremely charismatic when you need to be, and stubborn every other time.” The loveling nuzzled Elias’ neck. “What I’m trying to say is that you are, from what I can tell, preparing everypony to the best of your ability, and I think you can afford to have some emotional wiggle room. I’m not suggesting abandoning your isolation, but start letting certain ponies back in, like your doing with Princess Luna.”

Elias sighed loudly. Of course she was the center of everything. It couldn’t have been somebody easier.

“Luna. I think I’ve let her affect me too much. She’s made me soft.”

Snowball frowned.

“I disagree. I think she’s made you social, and because you are used to isolation, you are fighting to return to what you view as your norm. The truth is, being social is your norm now. I don’t know anything about humans, but you are a social creature, and contact is needed.”

Snowball tilted his head.

“Though I suppose you have already made a small step into re-socializing by allowing me to draw love from you. I personally have quite enjoyed this cuddling session, even if the talk has been a bit heavy. If you want my opinion, I think you should rest on this small progress for a week or two, then perhaps approach somebody else to include them. Take things slow, and show your love to any who want it.”

“Or I should cut everyone off permanently, including Luna,” Elias replied. He glanced down at the loveling, “and including you. Perhaps I made a mistake allowing you to stay, and that you are the source of my emotional weakness.”

Snowball sighed.

“If that is what you believe, I will not fault you Elias, but I think we both know that it is not something you want to do. You need somepony, and if it isn’t me, it’s somepony else.”

Elias sat in silence, thinking hard about the loveling’s words. They had done a great deal of talking, but he felt no closer to a resolution. The real issue didn’t stem from his relationship with his normal friends; it stemmed from his relationship with Luna. “Red” hadn’t even mentioned Book Binder and Night Flash, almost like the pony persona was okay with keeping them at arm’s length temporarily. No, the offer was about Luna, and Elias felt himself flush at the thought of marriage. Red hadn’t been subtle; he had said it straight. The Keepers of Harmony were essentially offering him Luna’s hoof in marriage, and while incredibly tempting, he had to think of a bigger picture. He had responsibilities to uphold, and he wouldn’t be able to separate his work life from his romantic life. He had to be the rock Snowball said he was. He had to be stubborn, and if he was married, he would have to be stubborn to his wife. That wouldn’t do, the last thing Elias wanted to do was hurt Luna. He just needed to keep her away, but wouldn’t that hurt her too? They were going on a date in a matter of days, and that was no little thing. It was a turning point, and Elias realized that he wasn’t meant to answer Red, at least not yet. His opportunity came at the wedding. He could either try to get closer to Luna, to firm up their relationship and to become more open about it, or… Elias frowned at the ceiling. He had to remain strong. Uncompromised. Stubborn. He couldn’t have everything.

Snowball jarred Elias from his thoughts as he tried to wiggle free of his arms. Elias blinked and reflexively tightened his grip.

“You’re leaving?” Elias asked, unable to keep a hint of panic from his voice.

Snowball’s eyes seemed to glow in the dark as they stared up at Elias.

“I thought we were done. You’ve been quiet for some time now.”

Elias rolled onto his side, taking the loveling with him.

“I was trying to sleep, but my pillow started wiggling,” Elias lied.

Snowball giggled, and wiggled upward to nuzzle Elias’ hair.

“If I may be so bold then General, is this a permanent sleeping arrangement? Because if it is, I would like to properly nest.”

Elias glared at the loveling.

“Call me general again, and I’ll throw you to the wolves.”

Snowball grinned.

“Noted. Otherwise…?”

Elias snorted and genuinely closed his eyes, resting his head on the loveling’s feather soft belly.

“You’re not my friend you dirty spy. I just needed to work out my thoughts, and now I need a good pillow. Nothing more.”

Snowball chuckled again.

“Of course Elias, nothing more. Good night.”

“Good night,” Elias grumbled in reply.

Snowball hummed softly as he waited for Elias to drift off to sleep. It didn’t take the human long, and Snowball shifted as soon as he heard snores. He wasn’t lying when he said he wanted to properly nest, and while he couldn’t do much in Elias’ bedroom, he could make the beginning of a proper nest. Snowball’s horn lit up, levitating a few spare blankets over to the bed. He gently lifted Elias’ head, then slipped the stack of blankets under it. Snowball stomped them into an appropriate nest, then settled into it, before setting Elias’ head back on his stomach. Elias snorted into his belly fur, and Snowball giggled as he felt a small burst of love from the human as he buried his face in fluff. Snowball snuggled his cheek.

“You’re going to make somepony very happy one day General,” he whispered.

Before Snowball could close his eyes to join the human in sleep, he felt a buzz on his horn. Snowball sat up as best he could without disturbing Elias and closed his eyes. His mind quickly traveled along the thin thread of the hivemind, and within a moment he was no longer sharing a bed with his general, but his Queen. The gray loveling smiled down lovingly at him, and her blue eyes shined as she smiled.

“Hello, my son. Is there anything to report from Equestria?”

Snowball felt a small palpitation in his heart as he gazed up at his mother. What nobody knew was that he wasn’t some ordinary loveling, he was a prince, and his mission to spy on General Bright, had been his first venture out of the hive. His mother had been a heartbeat away from threatening war just to see him returned safe and sound, but Snowball had played the situation right, and now he had so much valuable information.

He opened his mouth to answer, then paused as he thought about the human that was snuggling his body, freely giving a bounty of love that could feed the hive for weeks. Snowball knew so much; despite the words he had spoken, Snowball had gained General Bright’s trust and friendship. General Bright was a cracked, breaking man with dozens of exploitable emotional weaknesses that could be used against him by anyone, changeling, loveling, or otherwise. General Bright also held severe doubts about his capabilities to command, and he was incredibly young and over-stressed. Finally, General Bright was isolated from his friends, and that made every other problem exponentially worse.

Snowball frowned up at his mother, who waited patiently for him to speak. He took a deep breath, weighing the decisions quickly in his mind. Though the mantle would likely pass to one of his sisters, there was always a chance, no matter how small, that he would one day become queen. He needed to make smart decisions. Even if it meant telling half-truths to his mother. Snowball sighed and smiled up at Queen Flos.

“I have good news my Queen.” His smiled widened, and his tail swished in their nest. “I made a new friend this evening!”

Flos smiled and nuzzled his back, drawing a purr from the smaller loveling.

“That is always excellent news Nix. Just who is this friend?”

Snowball’s mood dimmed slightly. General Bright hadn’t made a good first impression, and his mother would no doubt feel a bit angry. Still he had to be strong. General Bright was relying on him!

“General Bright,” Snowball said.

Flos’ mood quickly shifted, and her muzzle curled in a hard frown.

“Nix, I don’t think it is wise to grow close to the human. He is dangerous.”

Snowball nodded and did his best to sit up.

“I know my Queen, but he is also kind, and very loving. Please, take a small taste.”

Snowball let some of General Bright’s excess love filter through his mind and into the air. Flos looked doubtful, but her horn lit up with shining blue magic, and she reached out to collect the human love. She immediately gasped and recoiled. Snowball felt a moment of alarm, and he began to rise, but Flos quickly calmed and she nuzzled his back again.

“My apologies Nix, I was just surprised by the power of it. He is… quite giving.”

Snowball smiled.

“Yup! I have been debating whether or not to invite him as a love sponsor! I know things seem bad, especially with how he treated me when he found me out…”

“He threatened to execute you,” Flos spat.

Snowball nuzzled his mother’s chest.

“I know, but with good reason. Canterlot Castle has a changeling problem, and I have been tasked with helping destroy it. It is one of my new duties.”

Flos raised an eyebrow.

“By saying it is “one” of your new duties, it implies more. What else does the human have you doing? Something degrading no doubt.”

Snowball shook his head.

“Nope! I’m his snuggle therapy pony, and tonight we made big progress!”

He blushed as he let his voice drop from his shout, and he stared down as he smiled.

“I apologize my Queen, I can’t say everything, or really anything. I have earned his trust, and I can’t violate it.”

Snowball thought he heard a chuckle as she leaned over and nuzzled him again.

“Not ever for your dear mother?” Flos asked.

Snowball bit his lip and shook his head.

“Sorry?” he offered weakly.

Flos chuckled, louder this time, and nuzzled the top of his head.

“Don’t be. You do the hive well by being so loyal. I hope your good will rubs off on the human.”

Snowball beamed up at Flos.

“I don’t need to my Queen. General Bright is great, you’ll see. He’s just having a rough time right now, but once everything is done, he’ll be the nicest, most loving pony you could ever meet!”

Flos shook her head and snorted but Snowball caught a smile on her face.

“I shall take your word for it little one. If there is nothing else then, you should rest. We shall speak again soon.”

She gave him one last nuzzle.

“Loving dreams my son.”

He returned her nuzzle, then offered her a small kiss on the cheek.

“And you my queen. Give the hive my love.”

He closed his eyes, and within an instant, he was alone again. Snowball blinked as he felt a hand grab his stomach, and then with a small yelp, Elias flipped him over, hugging him tight into his chest. Snowball looked up for any signs of distress on the human’s face, but found none. If anything, he looked almost content. Snowball smiled and gave the human a nuzzle as well.

“And goodnight to you Elias. I pray to the Keepers that you have loving dreams.”

The loveling settled in, making sure the blankets were pulled up before he let sleep take him.

Author's Note

Nix: the latin word for snow.

Chapter 48: At the end of war

Elias sighed and rubbed at his forehead. He thought he knew what stress was, but he was working double time to ensure that everything was prepared for Friday. He wanted to make sure he spent no time thinking about work during his date with Luna, and that meant spending every minute of the days leading up to the wedding planning and working. All of his meetings had been squeezed in before Book Binder had left, and Scarlet and Snowball were beside him as they moved quickly to the first meeting of the day; an inventory meeting with Lionheart. The Solar General had been given a minor slap on the wrist for his part in the duel, with Celestia writing it off as the stallion being under the influence of the changeling. Elias knew it was a lie, but he didn’t care. Both Celestia and Lionheart were stepping lightly around him, giving him plenty of space to work. They knew they had fucked up, and they were doing everything they could to keep Elias on board with the plan. It meant they were bowing to his every whim, and more often than not, he barely even had to raise his voice to get what he wanted. He just needed to push through a few more things before the wedding, then he was set.

Elias took a deep breath and hoped his migraine would lessen as the morning went on. As he pushed open the throne room doors, he had a feeling that such a boon would not come to pass.

*****

Cadence practically skipped alongside Twilight and her friends. Even with her magic being slowly packed away, she felt as light as a feather. She and her new husband had the best extended honeymoon a pair of newlyweds could have. As soon as she returned, she had made plenty of space in her schedule to make up for lost time with her favorite sister in-law, all culminating in the most enjoyable, relaxing months of her life. Even the morning they were all coming back from; a simple trip to Doughnut Joe’s followed by a walk in one of Canterlot’s many parks, had been simply wonderful, and Cadence couldn’t keep a wide smile from her face as she listened to Twilight chatter with her friends. The Elements were all wonderful ponies, and Cadence hoped everything went well with their meeting with Celestia. She had been advised to bring as few retainers as possible, but if she had Twilight and her friends, the march might just be enjoyable.

The golden clad guards opened the throne room doors without a word. Cadence continued listening to Twilight as she and Rarity talked about how they wanted this year’s gala to go, and as they entered the throne room, her aunt looked up and smiled.

“Welcome all, I am happy to see you, and extend my warmest welcome.”

Twilight charged ahead, prompting Celestia to rise so that the mentor and student could share an affectionate nuzzle. It also gave Cadence a brief moment to study her aunt. Though it wouldn’t be noticeable to most ponies yet, she could clearly see that her aunt was much shorter, and her mane was beginning to lose its multi-colored glow. The solar winds that made it move were also blowing slower, so much so that only the tip of her mane shifted.

After they finished with their more intimate greeting, Twilight trotted down from the throne with a light blush on her face, while Celestia resumed her seat and smiled.

“A warm welcome to all of you. I hope that it was not too difficult to get past our increased security?”

Rainbow Dash snorted and waved a hoof.

“Please, the guards couldn’t stop us if they wanted to.”

She leaned over and nudged Twilight.

“’specially when Twi’s brother is a captain, and doing the dirt with-“

The pegasus hissed as Applejack swatted at her with her stetson. The farm pony jabbed a hoof at the blue pegasus.

“Ain’t no need for bein’ crude while there’s princesses present.”

She turned to Celestia with a bashful smile as she put her hat back on.

“Beggin’ yer pardon for ma friend Princess.”

Celestia snorted lightly and glanced to Cadence.

“I don’t think it is private knowledge what Captain Armor and Princess Cadence got up to on their extended honeymoon, though I appreciate the sentiment Applejack.”

Cadence giggled as Applejack gave Celestia another bow before whirling on Rainbow Dash. The pair quickly set to quietly bickering, while the rest of their friends looked on with a range of facial expressions, mostly exasperation. Twilight sighed and looked to Celestia with a ‘Please help me’ look. Cadence decided that she could get the ball rolling easily enough, though for some reason she felt her ear twitch.

“So, Auntie, we received your letter, what would you like for us to help with today?”

Celestia gave her a near invisible wink and grin, before smiling at Twilight.

“It is not so much something you can do, but rather somebody I’d like you to-…”

“I’m telling you that we absolutely must have the extra wagons!” a golden clad pony shouted, drawing everyone’s attention. “We simply need to carry more water!”

Cadence had no idea how she had missed the table that sat in the back corner of the throne room. A swarm of ponies dressed in silver and red ran about pell mell around a large table that seemed to be so covered in papers that the tabletop wasn’t visible. Standing at the center of the madness was a tall, pale creature, also dressed in silver and red. The “human” she had heard about seemed like a giant when compared to the ponies around him, and it took Cadence a moment to realize that he was more than likely taller than her aunt was at her diminished size. The human didn’t look up as he wrote something down on a sheet of paper before passing it to a white pegasus that sat beside him. The pegasus in turn passed the human a small note, which he gave only a passing glance at before handing it back.

“Tell General Nightshade she can bring some of her guardsponies on our afternoon march, only if they can keep up. We slow our pace for nobody.”

The pegasus passed the note to one of the other silver clad ponies, who sprinted away immediately. The human then looked to the golden armored unicorn and Cadence winced as his words seemed to punch into the air.

“And I’m telling you that we don’t,” the human snarled. “I’m tired of arguing this. We planned to march near a river for a reason. We will get our water from there.”

The pony tossed his purple mane and groaned.

“We should not have to drink filthy river water! It is unsanitary.”

The human went back to writing on the paper before him.

“General, I don’t know how I am the only one who seems to remember this, but you have magic. We will use sanitation and filtering spells to ensure that the water is clean and drinkable. If we have to haul water with us, we’ll need to protect at least forty more wagons, something we do not have the troop strength to do. We need to be doing everything in our power to reduce the number of wagons we bring, not add an inane number of worthless wagons.”

Cadence heard Rarity snort and the white unicorn leaned over to Fluttershy.

“How garish, look how stifling those uniforms are. Those poor ponies must be suffering!”

Fluttershy whispered back a reply that Cadence didn’t catch. The pony Cadence was fairly certain was Duke Shattered Shield, tossed a hoof into the air.

“Fine then, why don’t we just throw away all of our wagons? Why not just take a single barrel, or better yet, since we’re so interested in saving space, why take any? Let’s just take a single canteen, and share it all, like animals!”

The human didn’t glance up from his work.

“General, stop acting like a child. You act like I’m threatening your well-being. We are taking empty barrels to store and transport water on the march, I believe that we should take two hundred, with half-filled at all times. What do you think we should take?”

Shattered Shield slumped and glared at the table.

“Make it three hundred, that way we have spares in case some of the barrels get ruined.”

The human nodded silently in agreement and wrote the number down on a separate slip of paper. The white pegasus at his side quickly snatched the slip away and began recording the number into a large notebook.

“Snowball, make sure those are made and ready by the end of today. I want to be conducting advanced practice marches by the end of the week.”

“Yes General,” the pegasus replied without looking up.

The table fell into a relative silence, and Celestia seemed to sense and opportunity to regain verbal control of the throne room. She cleared her throat softly, and Shattered Shield’s eyes shot up from the table. He saluted instantly, and Cadence could have sworn she saw sweat beading on his forehead as he spoke quickly.

“My apologies Princess, General Bright and I were merely involved in very detailed discussion. Was there something you needed?”

Celestia smiled warmly in return.

“No General Shield, I was merely hoping your planning session could wait for a moment while I spoke with General Bright.”

Shattered Shield bowed.

“Of course Princess, I will be out of your way then.”

The unicorn bowed again and moved away from the table, casting nervous glances at the hunched over human. Everyone waited quietly as the human continued to work, occasionally mumbling to himself. As a minute ticked by, even the silver clad ponies around the human began to show signs of nervousness, but none of them said anything. They instead continued carrying out their jobs, thought they were slowly grinding to a nervous halt.

An angry itch began in Cadence’s ear as the second minute passed by with nothing from the human. Celestia looked as calm as ever as she cleared her throat again.

“General Bright, I would like a moment to speak with you.”

Cadence’s ear flicked. That wasn’t the language her aunt had taught her to use with subordinates; that kind of speaking was reserved for foreign dignitaries, and then only the important ones. A princess of Equestria certainly didn’t have to ask one of their employees for time to speak. It just wasn’t how things worked.

The human stuck a finger in the air.

“Just a second Princess, I am almost finished.”

Cadence noticed a small tail flick from her aunt, but the elder alicorn’s face was still calm.

“Can it not wait? I promise that this will take only a-…”

“It can’t wait,” the human replied rudely.

Cadence saw a slight frown break through her aunt’s professional mask, and she saw looks of horror on the faces of Twilight and her friends. None of it matched the emotion she felt; rage. How dare he disrespect Celestia like that? How dare he treat anypony like that? Her muzzle curled in a snarl and she stomped a hoof. The noise carried easily through the throne room, and it acted as a precursor to her voice.

“General,” she snapped. “You will stand at attention and address your Princess properly. Now!”

Elias stopped writing mid-sentence, and the room fell into a silence that seemed almost unnatural. A glance upward in his peripherals found his legionaries waiting with bated breath for his response, but if they were expecting him to explode in reply, they would be disappointed. He slowly finished writing the rest of the sentence he had been working on, then set his quill back in its well. Taking a deep breath, Elias straightened, glancing at Snowball.

“Have the troops finish their drills and move onto formation practice in the next fifteen minutes,” he said softly. “I will be out shortly to inspect their progress. Dismissed.”

His legionaries scrambled into action, efficiently gathering up all the paperwork into neat, and orderly stacks as they raced through the rear entrance of the throne room. Snowball was the last one out, waiting for the ink to dry on the supply sheet Elias had been working on. With his troops out of the way, Elias glanced toward Shattered Shield, keeping his voice low as he spoke.

“General, I think it best we pick this up later, don’t you agree?”

The pony looked like he was about to soil himself, but he kept his composure and nodded quickly.

“Indeed I do. I will set it up with your assistant.”

Elias gave him a nod, motioning slightly toward the exit through which his legionaries had left. Shattered Shield beat a hasty retreat, and Elias had to suppress a smirk as the doors slammed behind him. At least there was some shred of intelligence amongst the Solar generals. Behind him, the alicorn he was certain was Cadence snorted.

“Well General? I am waiting.”

Elias stared hard at the table before him for a moment, then decided he would play the pink alicorn’s game. He slowly straightened to his full height, and Elias swore he heard a small gulp behind him. Resting his hand on his gladius, Elias spun on his heel and walked toward the group of assembled ponies. All except Cadence were vaguely familiar, and Elias quickly remembered the faces of the Elements from their various meetings. They all used different strategies to try and seem unintimidated. Rainbow Dash and Applejack tried to buck up, but the latter withered back slightly when Elias’ eyes flicked to her. Twilight and Rarity seemed the most collected, but he caught nervous twitches from both of them. Fluttershy hid behind the pair of unicorns, while the pink one Elias had only seen once, Pinky Pie, seemed to bounce in place. She had an odd look on her face; an unnaturally cheery smile, accompanied by a strange twitching. Looking at her made Elias feel a trace of nervousness race up his spine, but he ignored her. Strange as she was, his reports indicated that she wasn’t a threat. That left Cadence.

The pink alicorn was doing her best to look calm, but perhaps her experience with being taller than almost everyone around her made her less confidant when the person she was trying to reprimand was a good foot or two taller than she was. She did a good job keeping a passive expression on her face though, at least until Elias removed his glasses. The illusion peeled away, exposing his bad eye and his long black scar for the world to see. He was pleased to note a flinch out of Cadence as he came to a stop, clasping his hands behind his back as he glanced to Celestia.

“Princess, what can I do for you and Princess Cadenza today?”

He kept his voice short and low, making each word forceful. Though he was at most mildly irritated about being treated like some kind of lap dog, he knew what anger sounded like, and so pretending to be a step away from furious was easy. Cadence glanced toward Celestia, who smiled calmly.

“General, we were merely hoping for your opinion on a matter concerning the march. It shouldn’t take much time at all.”

Elias gave her a small nod.

“Of course; should Ms. Sparkle and her friends be dismissed?”

“Hey!” Dash protested. “We have names you know. What makes you so special that you can just ignore a princess?”

Elias fixed her with a glare, saying nothing. The flapping pegasus crossed her hooves and glared back.

“The Elements are more than welcome General,” Celestia intervened. She looked to Dash with a smile. “As to your question Rainbow Dash, General Bright is the guard that escorted my sister to safety the day of the royal wedding. His scars are a result of that staunch defense.”

“Oh,” Dash squeaked, setting all four hooves on the ground. “Yeah, that’s pretty special.”

Elias felt his bad eye twitch as a hint of real anger broke through, but he quickly suppressed it and looked to Celestia as she spoke.

“General, I asked the Elements here today because you have the final say in a matter concerning them. I have already taken the liberty of discussing it with everyone else individually, and we have come to agreement.”

Elias noticed the word individually. No doubt she had talked any dissenters into whatever plan she had one on one, and now hoped to bully him into acceptance with the presence of a second princess, as well as the ponies he would no doubt reject. Apparently, her memory about his experiences with public pressure hadn’t stuck. Elias grinned internally. He would make sure this time she remembered good and well.

“Regardless,” Celestia continued, “I wished for you opinion before making the final decision, since your honesty threatens to rival that of fair Applejack.”

“Aw shucks Princess,” the orange farm pony said, tipping her hat, “it jus’ don’t feel right sayin’ nothin’ but the truth.”

Elias never let his face change from a soft frown.

“And what is the matter in question?” he asked.

Celestia seemed to take his question as a positive sign, because she straightened in her seat, and her smile didn’t waver as she spoke.

“As you well know, the Elements of Harmony are a powerful tool that we have found great use for in the past few years. It is my belief that they can do even more good again. It is my wish that Twilight, and the other Elements join us on the march to Saddle Arabia.”

Silence fell like a shroud on the room as Elias stared at the alicorn. She stared back, waiting for a response, no doubt expecting a quick, ‘yes!’.

‘Probably expects me to bow and say “how do you do?”’ Elias thought.

“And Luna okayed this?” he said aloud.

Celestia nodded instantly.

“Of course. It took a bit of convincing, but she and Twilight are close friends, and with their minds working together, they could no doubt offer further assistance in planning out the logistics of the march.”

‘Just say you don’t trust my judgement,’ Elias thought.

Instead of giving a verbal answer however, he looked to the Elements, looking over them with an appraising eye. Several of them puffed out their chests with pride, as sure of his response as Celestia was. Elias loved crushing their misplaced pride into the dirt. He looked back to Celestia and shook his head.

“I hate to disappoint,” he said diplomatically, “but my answer must be a firm no.”

Celestia’s smile fell, and though it was slight, her posture did as well.

“May I ask why not?” she replied.

Elias nodded and looked back to the Elements.

“Simply put, they’re a safety risk. I see maybe two fighters in the whole bunch, and that is only with substantial training. Training they will not receive in time for us to leave.”

He glanced back at Celestia and shrugged.

“Princess, maybe if this had been your plan from the beginning, we could have thrown them in with my legion and we could have gotten them up to fighting strength, but with only four months left? I’m not going to be responsible for leading the Elements of Harmony to their deaths.”

“Now hold your horses!” Applejack protested, drawing another glare from Elias. She ignored it as she spoke. “We may not be fancy guardsponies, but we know how to hold our own!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash said. “We were at the wedding too!” She flapped into the air and began jabbing with her hooves. “We kicked mad changeling!”

“You were captured,” Elias replied bluntly. “I read the reports, and had it not been for Princess Cadenza and Captain Armor, you would have been imprisoned or enslaved by changelings, at best.”

Elias spread his hands.

“On another note, did you actually kill any changelings? Any at all?”

The group of ponies looked amongst themselves, then shook their heads collectively. Elias nodded.

“Right, that’s what I thought. This is not as simple as you may believe. We intend to go through the lands of a warrior species, and while you may hesitate to kill them, the minotaurs will not hold the same reservations toward you. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t.”

Elias snorted and looked back to Celestia.

“A definite no. They’ll only get themselves killed, leaving Equestria without one of its defenses. I highly advise against bringing them.”

Cadence moved into Elias’ line of sight, sitting at the steps of Celestia’s throne. She seemed to have recovered from his grim appearance, and was instead trying to act as calm and collected as the elder alicorn. She wasn’t bad at it, if Elias was being honest. She met his eyes evenly before she spoke.

“Could we not just bring more guards? We could train the Elements quite a bit in the next few months, and what knowledge or skill in battle they lack could be compensated by assigning them each a group of bodyguards.”

Elias frowned and shook his head.

“I’m afraid that won’t work Princess. We are already taking just about everyone with us. Captain Armor will only be left with about five hundred guards, ten of which are veterans. The rest are fresh recruits that he’ll be training while we’re gone. There is simply nobody to spare.”

He straightened slightly.

“If you want my honest opinion, I would leave the Elements in Canterlot as an additional safe guard. If they are as good a defense as you think they are, then they should be able to help Captain Armor immensely, especially given the situation we’re leaving Equestria in.”

“What situation?” Twilight asked, piping up.

Elias glanced back to the unicorn.

“I’m a historian Ms. Sparkle, and I’ve done my homework. World ending threats have a nasty tendency to occur when a princess is distracted.” He glanced toward Celestia. “And this march will put all three out of commission. That’s dangerous. I think we should leave the Elements here to help Captain Armor protect Canterlot.”

He spread his hands.

“If you don’t want that for them, then I’d recommend not involving them at all.”

Celestia frowned.

“General, I had hoped you’d be more agreeable on this matter.”

Elias snorted in reply.

“I didn’t accept this position to be agreeable. I accepted to make sure the job was done right. I’d recommend you trust my judgement.”

“And just where is this judgement coming from?” Cadence asked.

Elias’ eyes flicked to the pink alicorn, who stared back evenly.

“Who really are you?” she continued. “I’ve heard quite a few stories about the human called Elias Bright, but what authority do you have here that wasn’t given to you on a silver platter? Where does all of your so called “knowledge” on military affairs come from?”

Elias felt anger spread through his mind even as a smile appeared on his face.

“It’s quite simple Princess,” Elias replied calmly. “I have seen more war and bloodshed in my nineteen years of life than Equestria has since its inception.”

He looked to Celestia and tilted his head.

“Permission to speak freely Princess.”

The white alicorn bit her lip for a moment in thought, then spoke.

“I… would like to hear your qualifications as well General. I trust in your judgement, but perhaps a bit of history would alleviate all our worries. You said yourself that you are a historian, perhaps you could enlighten us on what makes you so experienced at such a young age?”

Elias chuckled.

“Fair enough.”

He cracked his neck and straightened.

“Let’s start with a simple resume then. My name is Elias William James Bright, also known as “Rubrum Aquilae”, or the Red Eagle.” His grin widened slightly. “That title was earned from my choice method of execution for traitors.”

He clasped his hands behind his back and began to pace back and forth.

“As for my qualifications; I have spent hundreds of hours researching Graeco-Roman culture, specifically their methods for making war. I used this knowledge to recruit, construct, and train one human legion, and now, one Equestrian one. My human legion, Legion I Americana, won seventeen engagements before its total destruction.”

His smile dipped slightly.

“Unfortunately, I made a bad call, and my troops were exhausted. The battle was pitched, and there was a chance for victory, but a traitor gave the enemy firearms, and my troops were slaughtered.”

His bad eye twitched as the smell of gunpowder seemed to fill the air. Elias did his best to press on quickly, hoping the smell would dissipate.

“I blood-eagled the traitor for his actions.”

Elias fell silent for a moment, then straightened, looking back to Cadence. He could see traces of horror in her eyes, but she was still keeping her face in a tight mask; a stark contrast to the Elements, who were beginning to stare at him in horror. They had no idea what was coming.

“I suppose that brings me to qualifications in killing,” Elias continued. “I have seven thousand three hundred and ninety-eight confirmed human kills. Two thousand and forty-six of which are by firearm, one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine of which are from stabbing, eight hundred and three of which are by explosive.”

Elias looked toward the ceiling as he continued his tally.

“Something like nine hundred were from booby traps, and about a five hundred more were from fires.” He tilted his head and shrugged. “The rest were from miscellaneous means, save for eighty-seven, which were blood eagles.”

“M-miscellaneous means?” Twilight asked quietly.

Elias glanced toward the unicorn to find her writing his words down on a scroll. Evidently her scholarly nature outweighed her horror. He nodded to her question.

“Drownings, beatings, a few more… creative methods. I believe I also hanged a few people for thievery.”

Elias shrugged and looked back to Cadence.

“I can’t remember them all sometimes. The faces of the earlier ones blur a little. I was at a dark, dangerous crossroads in my life, but suffice to say I got better, and now I only kill the right people. Changelings, as it were.”

He stopped his pacing for a moment, then looked up to Celestia. She was staring at him with regret in her eyes, but he knew she wouldn’t act against him. She knew what he spoke was true, that he had changed substantially, even since he had nearly beaten White Shine to death. He had a great deal of restraint, and while their already terrible relationship would take another hit, she would still trust him to do his job, because he was the only one who had the experience. But that was just it, what did they know about his experiences? What did they know about what he was still experiencing? His scars ran deep, and he was a battle-hardened human that had spilled so much blood that the sight of it didn’t even concern him. Ponies on the other hand, ponies would feel killing on a deeper level than him, even if it was less intense. That was the point he needed to make to get them to understand, and luckily, he had a great example.

Elias ran a hand across his mouth.

“Princess, allow me to convince you why the Elements should stay here by using a hypothetical.”

Celestia’s eyes held a trace of nervousness, and her wings fluttered lightly, but she nodded.

“I said you were free to speak General, and if this helps us to reach the right decision, I shall endure.”

“Let’s say we bring these ponies on the march to Saddle Arabia,” Elias started. “And let’s pretend that they can perform at the level of your average guard. They stand tall in the face of the enemy, doing their duty to protect those around them.” He raised a finger. “And let’s also pretend that they all manage to survive without so much as a scratch.”

He smiled a motioned to his bad eye.

“No ugly scars for them, no physical agony from taking a sword to the guts, or from losing a limb to some lucky sweep of any axe. Nope. Not a damn scratch.”

He clasped his hands behind his back, swaying in place. He felt energy rising in his body. This was going to work; he could feel it. He would finally get somebody, anybody to understand what they were walking into, would get them to understand why he pushed so hard, why he made the sacrifices he did. He just had to ask that all important question that he struggled with every time he saw his friends in legion uniforms.

“Are you prepared to deal with what will follow them home after the killing is done? Are you prepared for them to do that absolute worst thing you can do in a war?”

“Which is?” Celestia asked quietly.

He had her. She could tell, and she likely already knew what he was going to say, but Elias didn’t care. He was going to make himself very clear. He stood stark still as he asked;

“Are you prepared for them to survive?”

The throne room fell into a chilling silence. Elias listened to it with pure joy. War was all fun and games on paper, but when talking about living and dying? That was where understanding came in. Nobody wanted to die, not unless they understood. Elias understood better than anyone, and he was already doing his best to prepare for the increase of his burden. He would survive of course, nothing he would do could stop it. He just had to do his best to make sure as many of his friend survived as well. The more that lived, the less damage they would face after.

One of the Elements broke the silence.

“Well,” Rarity started, no doubt trying to find her nerve, “I simply don’t understand in what world that living could be worse than death.”

Elias grinned widely as he glanced back at the white unicorn, so much so that he imagined he looked a bit mad. He was just so unbelievably happy that she had asked such a perfect question.

“Then allow me to explain,” he answered. “You see, us humans, we are quite good at war. So good in fact, that we managed to kill our planet and just about everyone on it.”

That alone put her in her place. Rarity cringed back, scooting closer to Twilight, who was still taking note with a look of horrified fascination in her eyes.

“But,” Elias continued, “even human minds aren’t designed for war. We have a dozen names for it; post traumatic stress disorder, shellshock, combat fatigue,” he shrugged. “Take you pick. The name doesn’t matter. It’s simply what those who have lived through war would become afflicted with after they got back.”

Elias spread his hands and began pacing again.

“Now, everyone reacts differently of course. Some only see minor symptoms, but those who aren’t mentally prepared for the horrors of war? Those who lose all of their close, personal friends?” He smiled. “Let me paint you all a picture.”

“It starts with mild paranoia,” Elias said. “Your body is so used to being on guard, that you can never truly relax, even when you’re in a completely safe, and comfortable environment. It’s understandable given what you’ve been through, you’ve fought in battles after all, killed other living creatures.”

He tilted his head.

“You may jump at a loud noise or two, flinch a bit when things go bump in the night, or when somebody calls your name, but in truth, it isn’t anything out of the ordinary. Everybody gets scared and surprised occasionally. It’s not an issue, really.”

Elias turned on his heal and paced the other way, glancing up to find all eyes watching his every movement intently. The ponies were hanging on his every word.

“Then you start becoming a bit more irritable. When someone asks you questions about what happened while you were “away”, you do your best to shut it down, change the subject. It’s better, you think, to try and forget. So you dodge and avoid and keep moving forward. You attribute everything to the nasty dreams you’ve been having, but those will go away eventually, right?”

Elias shook his head and continued.

“But the problem is, they do care, and they notice these little changes. They press and press and press, until one day you snap under the pressure. Anger and hate fill you very soul as you unleash a tirade that sets those nosey friends in their place. You want to make them never bring it up again, you want to make them understand, but the problem is, words are often not enough, and you have no idea how they can truly “get it”.”

“And that just makes you angrier,” Elias said. “you drive them away for a time, and after you calm down, you realize that you might need some help. You might need at least one person to come to terms with everything that’s happened to you.”

His mind flashed to Luna. What would she think of him if he showed her his journals in their full, ugly glory? He had lied to the ponies; he remembered every single person he killed. He had written down a very accurate logbook, and if she ever saw them… He shuddered and kept pacing. That wasn’t going to happen, at least not for a long time. He just had to keep lying to her until they were in a better spot.

“But you shove that notion away,” Elias continued. “You don’t want to be a burden to anyone. It’s better to suffer a little on the inside than to let anyone else share your pain. They can’t take the pain you hold in your heart, so you keep holding, and you stay as quiet as possible. You’re quicker to anger, but it isn’t anything overly concerning yet.”

“Until you start having the real nightmares,” he said bluntly. “Until you start hearing the screams, tasting the blood in your mouth, having your lungs filled with the stench of death. It’s all flashes, violence, blood. Dreams made of death and destruction that make you avoid sleep like you would the plague.”

He stared at Cadence as he turned around on his heel again.

“Now you’re waking up in the middle of night, and you can’t go back to sleep because the nightmares are waiting. As you get more and more exhausted you realize that the shadows all around you are growing deeper now, so deep that they can now hide your enemies, so now you’re getting more paranoid.”

Elias took a deep breath before shifting his eyes to stare at the floor. Talking about it was making his own symptoms flare up, but he had to continue. He pressed forward.

“So you keep pretending you’re fine, and you push on,” he said. “It will all fade with time, you think. There’s no reason for anyone to know about what you’re suffering through. Besides, it’s just sleep. You’ll catch up later.”

Elias shrugged.

“But now you’re quicker to anger, even getting mad at the little things. It’s just a lack of sleep you say to yourself, but now your enemies are out in the daylight. You seem them around every corner and in every piece of shade. Even worse, some of your friends are starting to look at you strangely. Your paranoia just gets worse and worse, and most nights you don’t sleep at all.” He snorted. “Not like you were getting sleep anyway.”

“But now you’re tired, angry, and always paranoid,” he continued, counting the symptoms off on his fingers. “And by now, your friends have started to notice for real. They ask you if you’re alright, if you need any help. “Of course I’m alright”, you answer.” He tapped his nose and smiled at the Elements. “Don’t want to be a burden now, do you?”

“But they keep asking, and asking, and you get angrier and more isolated, because despite your best efforts, they treat you like the ticking time bomb you are.”

His voice took on a harsher tone, but Elias knew he was far too gone to consider stopping.

“You push them away,” he spat. “It’s a lie, some claim about how you need space, time to think. Well they listen, and when you’re alone, you hear the first whispers. Your friends, when they do see you, are concerned. They tell you that you don’t act the same, that you aren’t like you used to be. They tell you that you haven’t so much as smiled in days. You can’t help it this time and you snap again.”

“Another stream of hate and anger, sprinkled with a taste of fear comes from you,” Elias said. “They still don’t get it, and now you know for a fact that they never will. But that makes you think; maybe these aren’t you friends. Maybe your friends are gone, replaced by spies and enemies. All of their so-called concern is designed to make you weak, and complacent.”

Elias took a breath.

“Everyone is out to get you, and you can’t tell how wrong you are. You’re not sleep at night after all, and you’re ever paranoid. You only have two choices now; trust in what your “friends” are telling you and accept their help, or go with your gut and isolate yourself for safety. Can’t do the former, so you fake it, try to act “better”. The shadows are everywhere now, and the enemy is multiplying before your eyes.”

He tapped his chest.

“And the real problem is that the enemy has always been inside. You try to protect the world from yourself while trying to protect yourself from those around you. You don’t sleep, you don’t eat. You can’t turn to your friends, because you drove them all away. Whose left to turn to? Your hate turns inward, and suddenly, taking a walk off a pier with a set of concrete shoes doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. At least then the nightmares would stop.”

Elias felt his bad eye twitch as he stopped pacing to stare at the pair of alicorns, who stared with horror back. Celestia’s eyes held complete understanding, and though he intended to state it outright, she knew exactly who he was talking about. She understood, just a little, and the nightmares his little speech would cause would be worth it.

“At the end of the road you find yourself on, you are alone, and dead inside. Your very soul is hollow, and the idea of death stops becoming something you’re afraid of, simply because you have nothing left to lose. With that acceptance comes the death of your fear, and as long as you can keep pushing, you can do great things. Until you break. Then it ends.”

He looked to Twilight, who had tears in her eyes.

“That’s what you bring back. That’s why survival is worse than death, because at least the dead know the end of war.”

He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, then straightened his posture and clasped his hands behind his back. He looked to Celestia and sighed.

“Ultimately, the decision is yours. I am but one voice among many, and despite my wealth of personal experience, I am not perfect. I could be wrong, but I highly doubt it. Either way, it’s on you.”

Elias raised a finger.

“But before you make the decision, I offer you a challenge.”

He pointed to the Elements.

“I want you to look into their eyes and tell them you don’t care if they die. I want you to get off that throne, take off that crown, walk down to your student’s level, and tell her that you don’t care if she risks losing her soul. That’s what killing is. That’ what war is. When you kill, or bear witness to killing, a piece of your soul is torn out. You die just a little inside, and when you’ve seen what I’ve seen, done the things I’ve done, you start to wonder if you ever had a soul at all.”

He let his arm fall to his side.

“Because I task you, Princess, with saying that you hold no value over their lives. I think you well know who I’m talking about when I talk about PTSD, and I want you to know that I hold no value over my own life as it currently is. If I die tomorrow, I do so with a smile on my face. The simple truth is that if I can sacrifice myself to save one of my legionaries, I’ll take the opportunity in a heartbeat.”

“That’s what you want for them,” he finished, jabbing a finger at the Elements one final time. “That is what will happen if they come on the march. No value in their lives. That’s the cost. Take all the time you wish, talk to who you want to, it’s not my choice. If you want my advice though? Keep them well away. They’re safer that way.”

Elias gave her a slight bow.

“If that is all however, I have drills to conduct.”

Celestia gave him a small nod in return, but she made no sound. Nobody did. Elias held no satisfaction at their silence. He just prayed that they would understand and make the right decision. Without another word, he walked toward the rear throne room entrance, quickly shoving the doors open.

He made it halfway to the training yard before he heard the sound of someone running after him. Elias stopped and turned, expecting to find a messenger of some kind, but instead found the hallway empty. He frowned slightly and his hand drifted toward his gladius hilt. He knew he had heard something, but… Elias took a deep breath to calm himself. It was just his paranoia spiking up. Talking about it always made it worse. He just needed to get to his legion and run drills. They were excellent for keeping his mind occupied.

It took every ounce of his willpower not to draw his sword and cut the pink pony’s head off when he looked forward to find her sitting before him. Feather made it halfway out of her sheathe before Elias realized who was before him. His heart pounded as he took several calming breaths, doing his best to recover his composure. When he did so, he glared hard at the pink earth pony.

“Ms. Pie, I don’t think startling an experienced killer is such a good idea.”

She smiled.

“Don’t worry Red, I knew you wouldn’t hurt me! You’re super strong and smart!”

She extended her hooves, offering him a small box covered in bright green wrapping paper. Elias eyed it nervously, but he did reach out to take hold of it.

“What’s this?” he asked.

Pinkie Pie giggled.

“It’s your birthday present silly! When I first saw you, my Pinkie Sense told me that somepony had had a bad birthday recently, and now it’s telling me that your birthday is in three weeks, two days, and three hours!”

‘That’s eerie,’ Elias thought.

She had gotten his birthday down accurately, but he had no idea if the hourly time was right. He hadn’t been old enough to care when his parents had died.

“And how do you know that?” he asked aloud.

Pinkie giggled again.

“There’s an itch on the inside of my hoof, followed by three right blinks and two left ones! That means birthday approaching!”

Her demeanor changed in an instant, and she looked at him with one of the most genuine expressions he had ever seen as she reached out to touch his hand.

“And Red?” she said quietly, “I’m really sorry. I know it doesn’t mean much, especially since we really don’t know each other yet, but I am really sorry for everything you’ve had to go through. I promise that things will get better eventually, you just have to keep going, no matter how things get.”

“How bad things get?” Elias asked. “What does that mean?”

Her demeanor shifted in an instant again, and she bounced around him and back toward the throne room.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about Redsy! See you in a few years!”

She bounced around the corner, leaving Elias standing in a stunned silence, holding a gift-wrapped box. To try and get himself moving again, he looked at the tag to find it addressed to him, along with a note that said;

“Don’t open until your birthday!”

Elias grunted at the note, then looked back up the empty hallway. He had no idea what to think about the encounter, and eventually he managed to get his mind back on track. He walked down the hallway toward the training yard, stopping long enough in his office to drop to present off.

Author's Note

Fun fact, the framework for this chapter was written before 90% of the cast had names! Characters that didn't exist (by name at least) include;
Night Flash and Book Binder
Midnight Chaser
Scarlet Shield
Snowball
and Elias himself.
I only called him "the centurion" in early drafts, with this chapter included! This thing has been sitting on the back burner for awhile.

Chapter 49: A Canterlot Wedding; Part 2