Leo

Leo

The details of his existence are obscure, his life is shrouded in mystery and tragedy. Though he may just want us to think that.

All he is, is a lonely Griffon that longs for purpose. Let’s start at the beginning, before his life was changed by the sealing of Luna.

Leo appeared seemingly out of nowhere with nothing but an oversized scarf, all he could do was live on the streets, like mentioned above, he was a mystery to most. He soon became a shadow, living off scraps he scavenged and sleeping in a small nest of his own.

Leo was a typical Griffon, ordinary in all aspects as an individual, as a military presence he was a King and a foe worthy of the decorations he had received. As a chick he wasn’t like the others, he was very quiet, very observant of the other chicks, usually labeled even by the adults, as a loner. He knew what they thought of him and as he grew up to become the towering and terrifying creature he is now; he turned the gifts he considered a curse, into a powerful tool.

He was easily mistaken as a local amongst crowds due to his dull grey plumage, the only things that mildly set him apart was his general size.

As he learned and grew as an individual, he eventually made it to a private military school, solely meant for young Griffon enrolling into the armed forces of the Kingdom, he moved to the capital of Clawdor, upon finishing his training, he began his service as a Lieutenant.

His first few years consisted of many promotions, eight promotions to the rank of Colonel. Due to the lack of many fights considering all the neighboring Kingdom’s were close and very long-term allies, he used most of his free time to train himself. Dubbing him the title ‘Leo the Saint’ because of his innate habit of using the sun to his advantage when sparring with fellow Griffon.

His title got him fame amongst the Griffon Kingdom, especially in the capital where he was stationed. The fame he obtained was unwanted, he usually flew to most places to avoid crowds on the ground but even then, he was flocked. His avoidance of attention continued to label him as a loner even amongst his fan bases.

The following few years were the toughest in terms of military influence. His promotions came in slower but after years and years of tedious hard work, he obtained the rank of Lieutenant General. His fame grew along with his success in the military, yet he still wondered about his purpose in the world.

Due to the aging process of the Griffon race, he was still considered a very young Griffon, a few decades shy of what could be considered his prime. At this point in his life, he decided to stop his pursuit up the ranking ladder of the military and focused on solely bettering himself physically and mentally.

A few more decades passed, he had gained a friend by the name of Jax, a young Griffon with an enthusiastic personality, the opposite of Leo but welcomed, nonetheless. They usually sparred together, occasionally ate together, and at one point even took a trip together. Though that story is for another day.

Another decade or so later and Leo was in his prime, though this is where his life as a military power and a symbol among his people take a turn. The day came where he was called by his superiors to take on a task. A task the warranted the sealing of a certain Celestial.

Before I get to that part, lets get some more backstory in. Jax would take Leo out to various places in the Griffon lands to try and get his friend to socialize, though usually it was in vain. One day, Leo saw a figure flying up in the clouds that caught his eye, observant as he was curious, he told Jax to remain where he was while he checked something out.

Leo flapped his wings and bolted up into the air at bone rattling speeds, his curiosity obviously getting the best of him. As he quickly reached the figure, he noticed that she wasn’t a Griffon, but an Alicorn, and the most gorgeous creature he had seen.

His awkwardness and clumsiness around the mystical creatures that everyone seems to call ‘females’ is what broke the ice the most. She was just hovering in the sky, majestically stargazing, how someone could look majestic while just awkwardly hovering, he had no idea. After a brief introduction, he came to know her as the Celestial Luna.

Their conversation was short, but enjoyable, they agreed on a meeting place on the outskirts of the Griffon Kingdom and before Leo or Luna knew it, they were meeting almost every week. As far as the flight for either party was, how they made time for such meetings is another mystery on its own.

This continued for several years and both came to seek each other out no matter where they were or what they were doing. This of course annoyed Leo’s superiors but they took the option of overlooking the matter, believing that maybe Leo finally had something worth pursuing other than his rank.

Rumors flew around both lands faster than should be possible, questions were being asked of Leo, things like ‘Where is he going for days at a time?’ Or ‘Isn’t he slacking off? Shouldn’t he be focusing more on his duties?’ Leo of course understood the worries that the countries Symbol was becoming less and less a Symbol but more and more just another soldier.

One day comes that Leo and Luna met once again, and he explains to her what has him worried, at the time he saw it more as a practicality that they spend time apart to pursue the wants of their kingdoms, but Luna didn’t see it as so. She saw it more as a changing of priority, him putting his rank over her. She left without so much as a word, not a week later and Leo was called to his Superiors over the matter of sealing a certain Celestial gone rogue.

When he heard news of this, Leo’s heart dropped into his stomach, he knew what had happened and he knew whose fault it was. On the flight to the site, Leo went over many scenarios in his head, though the one that comes to pass is none of them. They arrive, his heart still weighing him down, his guilt an anchor on his conscience.

Upon arrival he realizes that all he was, was the trigger to her transformation into the ever-infamous Nightmare Moon. Her bitterness had been growing and growing over the years, yet she had never told a soul. As he coordinated with the Regal of Equestria, Celestia. Celestia came to notice his fondness for her younger sister, though she regrettably said nothing. Even through all his training, Leo was still useless at hiding his own emotions under circumstances such as these.

As their plans were set in motion, Celestia had reluctantly gathered the Elements of harmony to use in her sealing spell. Though just as the spell was to be set in motion, Leo jumped to try and save Luna, to him, she was nothing but a misunderstood young mare and his goal was to save her. Though all he did was get himself sealed into the moon as well.

Nobody knows but back in the Griffon lands, they say the dark side of the moon is where Leo lies, out of sight and forever observant of the passing universe, just how he liked it. Leo’s story might sound like it ends here but fear not. His time will come once again, on the Thousandth year of the longest night.

This prophecy does come to pass, but nobody expected Leo to be spit out along with Luna during the Summer Sun Celebration. Celestia had feared that she had sealed him as well and her fear came to be true. As when Leo was returned to his normal state of being, he was unmistakably imbued with the power of the moon and the Elements of Harmony. His usual grey plumage was turned into a dark Navy Blue and the tips of his wings were highlighted in bright orange, his least favorite color. The only thing that remained the same was his scarf, the scarf that never left his side.

For decades, Celestia kept him a secret, events came and went, and he was kept imprisoned in the castle, secluded from the rest of the world. Not even Luna knew of his existence until his eventual release when he was deemed harmless. Even though his strength was a hundred times that of a regular Griffon and his aging was slowed to that of a snail’s pace, Celestia came to trust him as an advisor and a worthy sparring partner, most days going toe to toe. Luna though, had no memories of him, as if they had never met.

Celestia eventually found out about Leo’s ordeal with her younger sister and she understood why he did what he did, of course as secretive as Leo is strict, it took him some time and building of trust along with it, to tell Celestia his secret.

Once she had heard his story, Celestia began playing matchmaker and assigned Leo as Luna’s personal Guard, though his protests were loud and clear, Celestia cared naught for disobedience. She forced the position on him, with a stern command, though a bit motherly in some way.

Many more decades passed before Leo fully unlocked those memories hidden within Luna’s mind, even without the need of said triggers, she grew to like him more and more once again. Him being her personal guard becoming less and less of a duty and turned into almost a sort of daily date. They eventually became lovers, but only after decades upon decades of ‘guard duty.’

Once he had unlocked all her memories, Luna came to love Leo, and he her. Though it would be almost another two millennia before they would officially marry.

Celestia was proud of the pair, and even a bit jealous in some ways, she found it jokingly awkward that Leo was a bit larger than Celestia, and that he was more than double the size of Luna. She joked to the two about how Luna could easily ride on Leo’s back.

Leo never really figured out his true purpose in life but had grown confident in Luna’s advice and most often took it.

Leo eventually returned to the Griffon lands but only after about three centuries had passed, he was welcomed, reluctantly, but still welcomed. His people eventually accepted him fully back into their society, though he had doubled in size and much more than doubled in strength he was back home. Though he didn’t really consider it much of a home, to him it was more like a place of origin. His rank was restored, and he was even given his own home.

Leo found it hard to adjust to the new technology and innovation of the new age he was thrown into, but he acclimated over time.

He found his heart aching for Luna, and her no doubt for him. He reluctantly relinquished his military status and returned to Equestria, Luna greeting him to his proper home with open arms.

He told Celestia, which had turned into more of a mother figure for him, about his issue in the Griffon kingdom. He wasn’t exactly power hungry but Celestia understood why he wanted a ranking; she eventually caved and gave him his own elite Squadron which he would train and command. Just to get him to stop pestering her.

This Squadron consisted of two Pegasi, and three Unicorns. All very skilled in their trades of choice and all very strict on their beliefs. Though Leo was stricter in his teachings, his Squad would eventually acclimate to that as well.

Like in the past, the need for combat was not necessary since peace had reigned for centuries already. Most of the military power was stagnant, pooled into police forces and guards. Leo’s squad was one of the last remaining true military forces in Equestria.

Peace remained undisturbed throughout the lands, eventually as his squad grew old and Leo grew seemingly ever younger, it was disbanded. Leo visited his old squad mates very often as they grew older, having grown fond of them, and them of him, not as Superior and underlings but as friends. He knew the inevitable day would come where he would see them off into the realms beyond, but he refused to think of the future, and lived his life day by day. Once again, this is a tale for another time.

How the other two Celestials handled all the losses over their thousands of years of life, was a mystery, not just to the population of the world but to Leo as well.

As time seemed to slow for Leo, he took to stargazing with Luna, their days were calm, usually not very eventful considering his beloved was indeed the Queen of Night. The quiet of a clear starry sky was his company when Luna was busy, though he enjoyed it more when she would accompany him on the towers of the castle. Her magic was truly mesmerizing, she would make constellations with the stars when the two were together and they would laugh and joke about the funny ones.

Soon they even convinced Celestia to have Movie nights with the pair, figuring Celestia would get lonely during the days that she’d be alone. Even though Leo would keep her company most days. Along with his slow aging, his metabolism seemed to have slowed as well, letting him stay up for weeks at a time before having to sleep.

To him, a nice routine was the life, peaceful, quiet, and not lonely. He was at ease with the current state of his life. It seemed Luna was just as content with the slow and relaxed routine that they had made themselves.

Of course, their lives still consisted of many royal duties and Leo still being her Personal guard, he accompanied her everywhere she went. Often escorting her through busy streets, with not one incident to date, he assumed it was his intimidating stature that scared most ponies out of their wits.

When the slowness got too tedious, they’d go about their days busying themselves with things to do, never was there a lack of things to do in a castle as large as Celestia’s.

Sometimes the days felt like years and the years felt like days but that was just his mind playing tricks on him. After living so long, life seemed to pass by so fast, and Luna felt it too. Celestia seemed unfazed but it was obvious she was feeling the effects of a long life. Her eyes told a lie that only Luna and Leo could see.

Their future was filled with uncertainty but Leo being Celestia’s trusty advisor and Luna’s lover, they were certain that they could defeat any evil to come. Though that’s only foreshadowing on my part.

Our main character will have a tale to match his stature in due time.

Thank you for reading

The End

…For Now