As the doorbell rang for the hundredth time, I pinched the bridge of my nose, wiping the sleep and other gunk from my eyes as Ghost and I walked down the stairs. Walter, fast as ever, was already at and opening the door, surprisingly revealing two individuals I hadn't seen in a while, even before I was zapped away. Blossomforth and Thunderlane stood at the entrance to my abode, the latter opening his mouth to speak to the Head Butler before they both noticed me descending the stairs, eyes wide, whether from the lack of several limbs or the lack of a shirt, I wasn't sure.

"Good morning, Sir!" Blossom saluted, snapping her heels together and straightening her back and shoulders.

"Sir," Thunderlane nodded, his energy much more subdued—ever the casual professional.

"Long time you two. At ease, I'm not on duty today," I said, approaching the door as Walter stood aside. "Thank you, Walter."

"Of course, Sir," He said with a graceful nod.

"So," I started, looking back to the pair as they awkwardly tried not to look at my arm and leg. "What can I help you two with?"

"We wished to welcome you back, Sir," Blossomforth said, glancing at Thunderlane nervously. "It's been a tough couple of weeks without you, Sir."

"It's only been two weeks?" I repeated quietly, the words having a bittersweet taste to them.

"Yes, Sir," Blossom nodded, gaining a slight look of concern. "How long was it for you?"

"Doesn't matter," I said quickly, waving my hand dismissively. "Anyway, you were saying?"

"I wanted to personally thank you for once again saving the town. The Guards put up a decent fight against the demons, but when Discord showed up, we didn't stand a chance. Getting rid of us was one of the first things he did," Furrowing her brow, she shook her head, gathering her thoughts. "He put us in a...different space to everything else. You couldn't see us, but we saw everything. You saved the town when we couldn't. Thank you, Sir."

"Just doing my job, Blossom," I said with a soft nod. "And like I told you before, you don't need to call me Sir, especially off-duty. At least try to get the tension out from your shoulders. You're really harshing my vibe."

"Of course," She said, relaxing her posture a tad but still remaining professional.

"So, that's why you came," I said, turning my attention to the man beside her. "But why are you here?"

Thunderlane grinned. "Glad to see you're as sharp as ever."

"I've been around a while, I know what to look for," I shrugged. "So why're you here then?"

"I wished to discuss your fight with Discord," He said.

Confirming my suspicion, I nod and step to the side, offering for them to enter as Walter swiftly moved to close the door behind them. "Walter, we'll be in my office. If anyone comes to the door, send for me."

"Of course," He nodded, walking off to one of the other rooms, his hands behind his back.

Making our way upstairs, I ran the mansion's layout through my head and Ghost and I led the pair to the second story of one of the many living rooms. Looking over the lavish room, Ghost opened the doors and stepped aside, letting us in first, closing the double doors behind us once we had entered the circular room fully. Ghost stood behind me and I eased myself down onto the large swivel chair, sinking slightly into its comfortable cushions as Blossom and Thunderlane took their seats in front of me.

"So what did you want to discuss?"

"Just a few simple questions, but might I go on a bit of a tangent?" He replied almost hesitantly.

I leaned back into my chair. "Tangent away."

"Thank you, Sir," He nodded. "It may not be well known, at least not immediately, that you played a rather crucial role in defeating Discord. Many won't know the full extent of your role but for those in the Gaurd, primarily those put into our own little plane such as ourselves, word is already beginning to spread," He said, catching his breath briefly. "Blossom and I saw your fight. It was incredible. Truly extraordinary and showed many of us how you were so easily able to best our top military Officers," He continued. "We have also had a hand in spreading word of your fight, but in doing so, some of the more inquisitive of us have had similar thoughts."

"And what would that be?" I asked slowly.

Thunderlane smirked as he looked at me while Blossomforth seemed to fidget nervously. "The Princesses fought against Discord in the past, having to band together and use the Elements of Harmony to defeat him, then again recently without the aid of the Elements, ultimately losing. But the thing is, you were able to defeat Discord single-handedly, pardon the wording. With ease. Seemingly coming out of a separate battle, if the exhausted look and the blood stains were anything to go by," Thunderlane stated.

"See, the Princesses are regarded as Goddesses. Beings of such high magic they can move the very stars themselves, their reign nearly uncontested for over a thousand years. And yet you succeeded where they struggled and failed. Which has made many of us wonder how powerful you are exactly," Thunderlane said, seemingly asking me an indirect question. My silence prompted him to continue. "If the Princesses are considered Goddesses, then what are you? If you are as strong as more than a few of us suspect you are, why would someone so powerful work under someone weaker?"

"That is a very dangerous line of thought to go down, Lieutenant. One I'm sure the Princesses would appreciate not gaining traction," I said, my tone low and steady. "What exactly do you hope to gain from questions like the ones you ask?"

"Nothing really. Just feeding a small curiosity," Thunderlane said evenly, momentarily holding his hands up placatingly. "I will be the first to admit my attitude has garnered me a bit of a reputation and while many would be right in saying I don't deserve my position, there is a reason I have it," He continued. "The Princess wanted someone with a keen eye and sharp instincts to be next to the Everfree forest after you're disappearance and I, along with your recommendation, thank you for the vote of confidence by the way, Sir, just so happened to fit the description. Call it a morbid curiosity I have as to why someone as strong as you would serve the Princesses."

I furrowed my brow slightly, leaning further into my chair, I ran my fingers through my hair, digging the tips into my scalp with a deep sigh. "There are many reasons I would, many very heavy, complex and complicated reasons. So for the sake of brevity, I'll give you the easiest," Sitting up, I straightened my back. "I had always had an innate desire to protect, whether it be those I loved or complete strangers. Even when at the lowest point in my life, when I would outwardly say otherwise, I still felt the pull to protect. Think of me serving them as the easiest, most direct way I can fulfil that need. Plus..." Glancing down at the prosthetic securely attached to the stump of my right leg, the rubber sole of the curved peg leg thunking on the ground softly as I moved it. My nose twitched slightly as I sniffed. "...I promised some very important people that I would."

"That's good enough for me, Sir," Thunderlane nodded.

"So what was your other question?" I said, looking to quickly move on. "You mentioned you had a few?"

"Yeah, I wasn't sure how to bring it up, so that saves me the hassle," He replied, idly coughing into his hand. "I was a part of the contingent moved to Ponyville along with a few others from the Las Almas mission, with Blossom requesting personally to stay despite being offered a different placement in Cloudsdale," He continued. "Although they were a massive boon to us and allowed us to sustain zero casualties, having past experience, I feel despite that, we would have suffered many losses had Discord not shown up when he did."

"In your opinion, and I want you to be completely honest, how useful will the guards be in the coming war? Do you think we stand a chance?" Thunderlane asked, his tone deathly serious.

Leaning forward, I placed my hand on my desk, leaning my weight into it causing my shoulders to go lopsided slightly. "Did the Princesses send you?"

"No," he replied evenly. "Me and Blossomforth are both here of our own choice."

"Then what I have to say may be difficult to hear," I said after a moment. Thunderlane nodded firmly as Blossom looked at me semi-hesitantly before nodding as well. "Against the common horde, the Guard would be invaluable but should any of the leaders rear their ugly heads...you'd be wiped from the chess board like nothing. Officers included."

Thunderlane seemed unsurprised, nodding quietly to himself but Blossom didn't seem to believe my words. "B-but wait! Sir, how can you be so sure?" Blossom stuttered.

"Relax Sergeant, this isn't exactly a new revelation," Ghost spoke up from behind me.

Running my hand over the stubble on my face, a suspicion crossed my mind. "What's the most powerful known demon?" I asked.

"Starting with the weakest, that would go to the Flyga, the insectoid with the bulbous head. Next would be the Rakkniv, the ones with the blades protruding from the palm. Next is the Black-fur and its variants. Next would be the Goliaths and then lastly the Nuckelavees," Blossom recounted, seemingly done some research on the matter.

Hanging my head, all three soldiers looked at me curiously as I sighed heavily. My suspicions were confirmed. Much like many aspects of history, it would seem the existence of more powerful demons had been scrubbed from the annuls. "While they are strong in their own right...they're nothing but common foot soldiers," I said as both Officer's eyes widened. "Tell me, have either of you heard of Devils or Ancient Demons before? Primevals?"

They shook their heads. "Yeah, that's what I was afraid of."

"What are you saying, Sir?" Blossom asked.

"I'm saying that there are stronger, more powerful demons than the ones you faced yesterday," I said, keeping my tone smooth and even despite the heavy worry behind them.

"How do you know this, if I may, Sir?" Thunderlane asked.

"You said it was only two weeks that I disappeared, right?" The nodded. "Well for me, it was a hell of a lot longer."

"How long, Sir?" Blossom asked quietly.

Noting my silence, Thunderlane moved on. "Why wouldn't there be any indication of such powerful demons?" He asked. "Surely if they're strong enough to apparently cause you worry, why isn't there any documentation of their existence?"

From his questions, a few of my own were all but confirmed. At the very least, my hope was that Devils had been wiped out since my last interaction with them. Were that the case, the most likely scenario was that Celestia and Luna removed any mention of their existence from the history books if they thought they didn't exist anymore. That or they simply went into hiding, along with what remained of the demonic hordes. It might even be possible that they were ordered to. But the point of the matter remains that time has forgotten a very dangerous enemy.

"Ghost," I said, gaining the attention of the man behind me. "Who writes history?"

"The victors, Sir," He said.

"The victors," I repeated with a nod. "The winners write what is the truth and what should be remembered. See, the Devils, for example, have a remarkable ability to adapt and blend into any given environment, hiding in plain sight among the populace. If the Royal Family didn't want such enemies to be known then I would assume there is a reason." I stated. "It's more than likely that the Princesses didn't want suspicion to grow among their subjects, thus they hid away any information concerning such threats. Especially if none had revealed themselves in hundreds of years. Why bother concerning the public with enemies that are long gone?"

"And what about you, Sir?" Thunderlane asked. "Do you believe they're long gone?"

"No," I answered quickly. "I think they're waiting for the right time to properly strike. Perhaps they're being ordered to. I think the last few attacks have been no more than tests. Poking and prodding to test us."

"Sir, if they're as powerful as you say, how can we sit here and do nothing?" Blossom asked.

"And what would you do then?" I ask.

"Fight back, of course!" She replied instantly.

"And die trying," Ghost shot back as Blossom looked at him offended.

"He's right," I said before she could give a retort. "Very few could fight a Devil and live to tell about it. Fewer still could fight one and kill it. Some Devils could easily rival the Princesses in power while some could even surpass them," I said. "Couple that with the fact each has special transformations with abilities unique to them, it's easy to see why they would want such information hidden."

"How do you know all of this, Sir?" Thunderlane asked. "If the Princesses had this kind of information erased from history, how is it you know so much?"

"Demons have existed long before the Princesses were born and well before even my earliest encounter with them," I said, rubbing my chin.

"But then...that would make you..." Blossom trailed off.

"What about Ancient Demons? Primevals?" Thunderlane asked.

"Stronger than Devils and a menace even within their hierarchy. They can, though with some difficulty, create artificial Devils, though the distinction is nearly impossible to tell," I replied. "And Primevals are just some of the oldest of the Ancient Demons."

They glanced at each other, sharing a highly disturbed expression.

"As you two have probably realized, we are sorely outmatched and even my training, as valuable as it is, won't be able to help the guard improve enough to make that much of a difference. Not against the higher-ups anyway," I stated, standing as I began pacing in the living room.

"So what will you have us do? Play defence until we lose!?" Blossom said, slamming her hands on my desk.

"Wind your neck in, Sargeant," Ghost warned.

Thunderlane put a hand on her shoulder as she sat back down. "Do you have a plan?" He asked.

"The Princesses seem to be more focused on defence and I believe they are right in doing so," I said, still pacing behind my desk. "That being said, it would be far too dangerous for either of them to take a more offensive strategy, especially how uncertain everything is. However, I have some ideas."

"Will they help us win?" Thunderlane asked.

I sighed and shook my head. "I don't know. I only thought of them recently, so they're still in their infancy and putting them into practice will take....a while. But they will at the very least increase our odds. Sometimes tipping the scale is all it takes," I said. "It will take time to make the appropriate arrangements, so hopefully I can make them in time. Ancient Demons and the Primevals will easily be our biggest threat."

"If I can signal one out for one-on-one combat, I'll be more likely to defeat them and increase our odds," I said quietly, going on a small tangent of my own. "But they could be hiding anywhere in the world and Terra isn't exactly small, so doing so will prove to be more than difficult."

"Is there anything we can do to help in assisting you, Sir?"

"Anything at all Sir! If you have a plan that will save Equestria, I want to help!" Blossomforth exclaimed.

I stop my pacing and ease myself back down onto the chair, causing it to creak slightly. "I want you two to plan and set up an evacuation plan. The demons infiltrated Ponyville and twice at that. If they come back in force, we won't be able to hold them off. And if you can, see to it that you call for more Guards to be stationed here," I tell them. "Understood?"

"Yes Sir!" They both say.

"It'll be difficult to secure more Guards, Sir, with the Elements of Harmony here," Thunderlane said.

"And why would that affect anything?" I quirk a brow.

"They're considered Equestria's most powerful weapon," Blossom replied.

My hand immediately found itself slapping against my face as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Are you fucking serious?" I groan, standing and once again pacing. "The Elements were never designed to be a weapon! They're a shield! A fucking defence! If nothing else, they're a contingency plan! Who the fuck said they were a weapon!?" Standing still, I close my eyes, getting my breathing under control before looking back at the two sitting in front of my desk.

"Make sure to figure out that evacuation plan and tell no one of what was discussed here. Not even the princesses." I tell them, my tone even but commanding. "I'm putting my trust into you two."

Blossom cringed slightly, surprised at my tone, but Thunderlane looked completely unaffected. Almost as though he was expecting it.

"Yes Sir," They both say again.

"Good," I nod. "Walter!"

In an instant, the Head Butler opened the door, hands behind his back as usual as he looked at me. "Yes Sir?"

"Please escort Sargeant Blossomforth and Lieutenant Thunderlane out" I request. "Our discussion is done for the day."

"At once Sir," Stepping to the side slightly, he held his arm out and away from the office as he looked at the two. "If you would?"

Standing, the two give me and Ghost a crisp salute before following Walter out of the office and to the front door, leaving me and my confidant alone. Stepping towards the curved window overlooking Ponyvile, I lean my weight against the small wooden outcropping that spanned half the room.

"They're certainly an interestin' bunch, ain't they?" Ghost said, joining me in looking out the window. "Especially that Lieutenant. The Sargeant is a bit emotional, but I can't deny her passion."

"That you can't," I agreed with a small smirk. "They're good eggs."

"What happened while you were gone, Sir?" He asked suddenly, his tone surprisingly soft.

I look at him for a moment before breathing heavily, my shoulders drooping while my eyes become heavy. I look at the stump of an arm. "...I wouldn't know where to start."

"Start where you want," He replied, putting his hand on my shoulder. "If it helps ease the burden, I will always listen."

Looking at him, I offer a faint smile. "It'll be a lot to take in."

"I was approached to be your protector and over time, you have proven time and time again that you're a great man. A man I would lay my life down for," Ghost said, softly but firmly. "I am your protector, of both physical and mental threats. Whatever this burden is, I will happily share it. We're brothers in arms, aren't we?"

Hearing his words, a small hitch formed in my throat. Clearing it, I smile warmly and nod at the man. "Well, you better grab some seat," I tell him. "We're gonna be here a while."

Author's Note

Bit of a small info dump for new revelations Percy made while on his little impromptu vacay, but don't worry, all will be made clear

Please point out any mistakes I may have made
Constructive criticism is always appreciated
Until next time, TTFN!