Last Stop on the Mail Route

As I'm walking back towards Derpy (whose waiting while doing her best not to snoop, with her ears adorably folded down against her head), Tia's voice picks up from behind me, drawing both of our attentions.

"Before you go... would either of you be interested in the Royal Gardens?" Tia offers suddenly, smiling.

"Oh, Princess, you've already done so much for us..." Derpy tries to deflect out of politeness.

"Oh, nonsense. May I?" She asks softly, as a golden glow carefully hints itself around Dinky.

"If you'll forgive my vanity -- I'll never betray a chance to show it off. It's an unfortunate thing; viewing the Gardens is an act usually relegated to myself, my Sister, and the Gardeners. Most of the foreign delegation or nobles don't much care for it beyond taking our Gardeners ideas, and the guard want the hedges cut short so they can see over them." Celestia explains, gesturing with her wing as she walls slightly ahead of us. Dinky is slumped over on Tia's back, deep in the food-coma, little hooves kicking occasionally.

Derpy is trying to pay attention, but she looks more worried about if it's truly alright for her Daughter to be snoring, and potentially drooling, on the back of the Sun-Princess. That filly is in what I consider the safest spot in all of Equestria, tucked comfortably in that almost pure-white plumage.

"A-are you sure it's alright? I can take Dinky if you --" Derpy checks with the Princess, again.

"Of course it's alright, Miss Hooves. Dinky is a delight. It's been some time since young Twilight was... well, so young. I forget how adorable they are when they're this size." She coos, leaning to look back at Dinky, stifling a giggle when she pokes the fillies nose with a wingtip, watching Dinky scrunch her face.

The garden is real pretty. Take whatever local expectations you have for some nice looking greenery, and crank it to eleven. They've got a whole hedge-maze, all meticulously clipped and shaped. Numerous types of flowers, likely taken and replanted from all across Equestria, sit pretty in bright splashes of colorful display, designed to draw the eye against the green backdrop. They've even got a marble fountain, styled with an Alicorn atop it that doesn't look quite like either Celestia or Luna. Hard to capture their specifics without color, I suppose. A lot of the art in the castle had the habit of giving them the same body shape, when Luna was a good head under Tia at this point.

Two of the gold-clad guards trail us from a decent distance, marching slowly. It's hard to figure if I recognize one of them; when a ponies identifiers are its buttmark and colors, and you can only see their fur, they tend to blend pretty hard when you hide two of those factors under golden armor. Probably the point, helping melt their individuality.

My repeated glancing at them takes Tia's interest, as she pauses to turn and smile.
"They're not here for me, if you're wondering."

"I mean, I figured a powerhouse like you doesn't really need protection, but it must be peace of mind to have them patrolling in your stead." I comment.

"Well... I prefer not to label it so blatantly, and they certainly do their best, but there's a degree of truth to which you speak. They're more for Canterlot and the Castles protection than my own. But I refer to that I didn't request them here. I believe they're curious about you, Nonny." Tia adds.

"I thought it was standard to have the Guards accompany visitors?" Derpy asks, unsure. "Sorry, I don't know too much about how this kind of stuff works."

"You've no worries, Miss Hooves. It's a minority of Equestria who actually plays into these things. Most ponies are merely living life, as you are." Celestia explains, humming softly. "Truthfully, it's nice speaking to some who don't care for the pomp and procedure, if you don't mind me saying."

"Oh, not at all, Princess. Kind of a relief, if I'm honest." Derpy quickly adds.

Probably gets pretty stuffy around here, considering she's knee-deep in nobles half the time. If not most of the time.
"Is them following us about that Old-Guard thing?"

"Hmm? Where did you hear that?" Celestia asks, tilting her head.

"One of the guards delivering your invitation yesterday. Said something about... my eyes?" I explain, thinking back on yesterday.

"...Ah." Celestia nods. She seems... solemn, and weirdly understanding of the topic. She steps closer, leaning in to look at my face, scanning me. Our eyes lock for a quiet moment. Eventually, she pulls back, sighing softly.
"It's... well, as you know, Harmony is what Equestria strives for."

"Mmhm." I nod. Derpy bumps against my side, positioning herself to listen. She gets a hand resting on her withers for the effort, something she leans into.

"Is this about what you were explaining to me before, Anon? About what you did back on... Earth?" Derpy adds, her curiosity piqued.

"Oh?" Tia hums.

"I tried explaining my old career. I'm surprised the words don't seem to match."

"Being a Soldier? An unintended side-effect of years of Harmonic pursuit. The word still exists in other nations, especially those with standing armies... though a few have their own words for something similar." Celestia explains.
"And a few others hold different words for similar roles."

"So Equestria used to have 'soldiers'?" Derpy presses.

Celestia nods, staring distantly out at the garden.
"Might I show you something?" She asks, turning to walk deeper into the gardens. It didn't really feel worded like a question -- we're both quick to keep up, as the hedges grow taller, the trees older, and the foliage less delicately cared for.

A hefty canopy turns the comfortable sunny midday to a shaded, quiet trek. Even the guards that were following us pause, waiting where the shift begins. The castle is quickly growing distant, until all we can see is dense foliage that blocks out most.

Right when I'm about to ask what we're walking for, sharing a glance with Derpy, Celestia stands aside, watching both of us.

It's an overgrown glade in the middle of this back-of-the-garden forest. It seems like hardly anyone, even the gardeners, come back here with how overgrown everything looks. Thick grass grows up to near Derpy's chest, with numerous thick bushes and vines growing over and draping from the branches overhead.

Speckled among the grass in a series of rows, their tops just peering out from the grass... are headstones.

"Very few know how large the Royal Gardens boundary actually is." Tia starts to speak, slowly walking deeper into the forested opening. The grass trails along her fur, parting for her as she approaches the nearest headstone. Her tone is quiet, as a hoof gently rests atop the worn stone. The name has long since faded.
"The gardens are my apology. That I have let their names, their resting place, fade to the past, while their descendants live the bounty they sowed."

Derpy slowly looks over the glade, glancing up to me. I nod towards Tia, raking a few steps forward myself, Derpy following after me.

"A... secret cemetery?" Derpy asks softly, confusion on her lips.

"Every soul who rests here, gave their life to the pursuit of Harmony that we now live today. Soldiers. Warriors. Dating back hundreds of years. This clearing alone connects to several others, dating back even further." Celestia's words hold a sad note, even as she offers a weak smile to the fidgety filly upon her back, using her wings to adjust Dinky.
"The Old Guard... is a term among the younger of the Solar Guard, for the Veterans they share rank with. For even today, Harmony is not maintained without sacrifice."

Deepy seems confused, glancing to me.
"But... why are they hidden back here?"

My gaze is stuck on the numerous headstones, strewn about and forgotten, as vines and grass slowly bury them. I can't fault Celestia, for living so many years.
"It happened naturally over time, didn't it?" I speak up, looking to Tia. She matches my gaze, a sad look on her face.
"They just... stopped visiting. How many sons or daughters until you don't feel that connection with the forefather that laid their life for them?"

"It's one of my deepest regrets, and one I think of every time I look over the gardens." Celestia nods, lowering her hoof.

"I'm sorry, I'm... confused. These are all guards who gave their lives in the past? Soldiers?" Derpy presses, stepping forward.

"... The Old Guard is the current Veteran branch of the Solar Guard. They, thirty-six years ago, engaged the Griffonian Empire in a border skirmish that pressed on Equestria's north-eastern borders and islands." Celestia states simply.

She walks around a few of the graves, moving to the opposite section. Here, the grass is shorter, the carvings that dig into the erected stone more legible.
"Those who passed during the conflict are buried here. Those of the Old Guard who are to pass, will be buried here. Every time this cemetery grows... my heart grows heavier."

"More Ponies who weren't able to live their lives under Harmony?" I prompt, leaning to read one of the headstones. Derpy steps forward with me, but looks to me expectantly.

"...Brandished Brawn, Solar Guard Cadet. Valiantly laid to rest following a bold defense of the border-town of Hoofwood." I read aloud.

"They fought with the Griffons?" Derpy asks, quietly.

"Both sides lost lives during that conflict, until the Griffonian Empire receded it's attempted claims. I tried every avenue for peace, but... not every nation appreciates Harmony." Celestia states, walking between a few of the graves. She pauses besides a few, leaning her head low beside them.

"...So you did something similar, Anon? On Earth, you would fight for your people?" Derpy asks, turning to look up at me.

"Yeah." I state simply. "I was one of the lucky ones."

When I say that, Derpy looks over the entire cemetery. Its hard to read her expression, but I feel her nuzzle against my side.

When I finally get a look at her face, she seems... surprisingly collected for someone who just got a secret splash of Harmonic history and its bloodier side.
"I don't think you should feel regret for this place, Princess."

"What do you mean, Miss Hooves?" Celestia questions, turning to step closer.

"I've never lived for a thousand years, but... most ponies don't know about this kind of thing, at least as far as I know. And that's because of the few who chose this path. They... I think they'd rest easy, knowing their loved ones, their grandchildren, and so on, live in a world where places like this aren't needed." She explains, stepping in front of the Princess, looking up at her.

"And yet I let this place reach this state, afraid to reveal it and it's history to those same descendants." Celestia rebukes, shaking her head.

"You've done more than any single pony could ask, Princess Celestia. You've made choices few others could make, and you've kept them in your heart all this time. Your apology to them isn't just the garden, the pretty flowers or the graveyard, but the entire nation of Equestria and it's ponies that knows peace thanks to them -- thanks to you." Derpy refutes, surprisingly concise as she steps even closer to the Princess. This seems to take even Celestia off guard, whose ears press back.

"My daughter lives in a world where she won't know this kind of thing..." She smiles, leaning to brush Dinky's hair with a wing, before glancing back to me, smiling.
"The man I love can rest easy away from a world like that, so it won't hurt him again. That's all thanks to you, and them, Princess. Thank you."
Derpy extends her wings, wrapping them against the barrel of the Princess as she presses against her, hugging her.

For a long moment, Celestia doesn't move, staring down at the blonde-maned, grey-furred pony doing her best to wrap a pony near twice her size with her wings.

Then I hear a sniffle, as her chest starts to shake. Celestia's neck curls down to rest against Derpy's, their wings meeting as I watch tears well up in the corners of Tia's eyes.
"...I am glad, Miss Hooves." Celestia says quietly. "Thank you."

They pull apart, the Princess regaining her composure and wiping her face with her wing, sniffling. A small smile sits on her face, as she overlooks the grove with a renewed vision.
"...Still, it wouldn't hurt to clean this place up a little. Perhaps I'll do it myself." She comments.

"If we're in Canterlot again, I'm sure we'd both love to help." Derpy offers, looking to me.

"Oh, Miss Hooves, you don't need to..." Celestia trails off.

"Sure, could make a day of it." I butt in, smiling. Didn't really know when to jump in with the hug, since that caught me well off guard, but a little reassurance would probably go a long way right about now.

Celestia sighs softly, looking between us.
"You are both kind. Thank you. That does sound nice."

The next... hour, I'd say, we spent in that quiet, solemn little spot away from the rest of the castle, deep in the gardens. Celestia and Derpy are deep into conversation on a variety of topics, ranging from renovating the glade to the impact of her choices today. Derpy is acclimating surprisingly well, for someone who was so nervous about meeting the Princess just hours before, now deeply engaged in a back-and-forth conversation that has them both wandering between the headstones, even laughing. I can easily see that Tia is enjoying this -- having someone to talk to, that just... understands.

I participate here and there, but for the most part, this is their moment. Mine is handling this football shaped filly so they can focus. She's still out cold. I'd be concerned, but she gets very grumbly if I'm not holding her right. Even whacks me a few times in her sleep for nudging her too much. I think sturdiness, and a general leaning towards hitting things, runs in their genetics. It's a funny though, imagining great-grandma Hooves snoring like a brick and throwing hands -- or hooves, I guess.

I can still hear them chatting, a soft smile on both of their faces, as my own eyes wander to the closest grave that I'm sat beside. It's one of the more recent ones, only partially overgrown by vines and grass. The name is partially faded, dating their death to a few decades ago.

I know a few guys, resting in their own place like this. Not quite as overgrown, but not with too many left to visit them. The ones who weren't as lucky as I. Funny, to consider losing a leg lucky, out of the scale of what could have happened. Knew a guy who lived, like me; but lost a lot more. Wheelchair bound. He got tired of it pretty quickly.

I sigh, patting the jiggly belly of this flopped filly, who grumbles in retort. And now I'm dating a pastel, miniature horse, playing babysitter with her daughter.

Things stopped making sense after I saw magic was real. But that's alright, things don't need to. I'm... content. Honestly, I'm just glad I don't have to try and explain this to anyone.

"Hey, you." I hear softly beside me. "Ready to go?"

It's Derpy, stepping through the grass to stand beside me. We're about face-to-face with me sitting; something she's quick to take advantage of, pecking my cheek.

"Yeah, sure. This ones still out, though." I nod to Dinky, whose slumped across my lap. She's looking more and more like one of those rounded-out little potbelly pigs.

Derpy leans down, snout to snout with her daughter. Their noses touch, snouts scrunching, before Derpy chuffs in Dinky's face.

Dinky startles giggling, wriggling and covering her face with her hooves, twisting around on my legs.

"Little faker. I believe you've been duped into carrying her around, Anon." Derpy 'sighs', shaking her head at the elaborate ruse I've fallen prey to.

"Oh, what a fool I be." I grin, hoisting up the little wriggler.
"What about Tia?"

We both glance back towards the graves, where Celestia stands over them, silently looking between each headstone a short distance from us. She looks like she's in her own little world.
"She said we can leave whenever, and thanks for stopping by. Always welcome. She, uh... needs a few minutes."

"Sounds good." I nod, rotating the trickster so she's four hooves pointed down, before releasing her. She's shorter than most of the grass, so the moment I let go of her -- poof. Gone.

Derpy is pretty quick to wrangle here though, getting her with a wing as she leads her out.

I'd say goodbye to Tia, but... she looks a thousand miles away. I'll thank her in my next letter.

"You two got along pretty well." I comment as we slowly clear the forest, returning to the gardens. I can see the pair of guards that were trailing us up ahead, waiting idly.

"...We did, didn't we? I was so nervous, meeting the Princess. But she's so... normal." Derpy explains, Dinky happily trotting beside her. Someones got leagues of energy to burn.

"You took to a lot of that information pretty well, too." I add.

"Huh?" She asks, head tilting as she looks up. One of her ears flops over; it takes an incredible amount of resolve not to fix it. Resolve I don't have. I lean down and flick her ear back into place as she watches my hand.

"Might be the first pony in a long time to learn about that kind of stuff. Doesn't bother you?" I continue, watching her face.

She doesn't seem as conflicted as I expected her to, for a pony who just learned about war, soldiers, and the Princesses secret graveyard.

Dinky trots ahead a few feet, having locked in on a butterfly that was fluttering past.

"You didn't seem... surprised, when you saw it. I think that's what made me realize." Derpy says softly, nudging my leg.
"I know you come from somewhere where that kind of thing is a lot more common. And I know that Equestria isn't entirely spared from it. I remember talking to Dina about Griffonia... it sounds a lot harsher there than it does here. Princess Celestia does a lot, and has given up a lot, so we don't have to deal with that kind of a thing nearly as much. So... it'd be a little hypocritical of me to be weirded out by that kind of thing, you know. Since I'm with you. It wouldn't be fair to you." She says softly.

...She's just the sweetest thing, I sigh to myself, staring into those golden eyes. Wears her heart on her sleeve -- if she had a shirt.

Now I'm picturing her in an oversized t-shirt.

I might have a spare laying around to give her, because I like what I'm imagining.

I just smile at her.
"You ever figure the not-normal relationship would come with some not-normal friends?"

"You mean like being friends with the Princess? Wait, do you think she considers us friends?" She asks, eyes widening.

"I bet the amount of creatures alive today that know about that little place don't even reach double digits." I mention, nodding back to the slightly-less-somber place we'd just left behind.
"I think it's pretty safe to say she considers you a friend."

"That... yeah, okay. Wonderful. I'm the Princess' friend." Derpy slowly states; she's having trouble keeping the smile off her face.

"Think you sealed the deal with that hug of yours. I think she's been needing one of those." I point out, as Dinky darts between my legs. Nearly doesn't make it with her comically added weight, as she goes racing after the butterfly back the way we came.

"The hug. Right. Hugged the Princess." Derpy reminds herself. "But it felt like the right thing to do. Every time I looked at her she just looked... sad. Sorrowful, even. She's just a big pony, really. She still feels things like us. Because she is like us."

"Well said, Bubbles." I nod, pursing lips.

Derpy looks up at me like she's about to be irritated, but pauses, squinting ever so slightly.
"...Bubbles? Where's the Butt?"

"On you, last I checked." I snort.

"Huh? Oh, ha-ha. You stop it." She scolds, huffing.

"Want me to double check you've still got it?" I whisper playfully.

"Got what? That I've still got my Bubbles, or my Butt?" She asks, raising a brow.

"Want me to check both just to be safe?" I smile, my hand tracing between the base of her wings. They both flinch as she tsks at me.

"You just can't keep your hooves off me, can you?" Derpy reprimands me -- though she doesn't do anything about the hand, for the fingers trailing through her fur.

"Kind of your fault, honestly." I shrug, getting a scoff from the Pegasus. I don't bother to correct her.

"Really? And how do you figure that?"

"Just you being so damn amazing day after day. Really sweeping me off my foot here."

"You're ridiculous." She laughs softly, shaking her head. Our banter is cut short, as the two guards are a few feet ahead of us, looking at us expectantly while waiting beside the entryway back to the garden proper, the hedges and flowers visible behind them. Well, one of them is -- the other is trying to keep an eye on the filly that just raced between me and Derpy, and is now darting between his legs. He's got no idea what to do.

The distracted one has a soft-blue fur, the attentive one an almost cream color. Both look pretty young, likely on the newer side.

His gaze flits down to my leg, before his professionalism returns quickly, holding his head up. I'm half expecting a little explanation or for them to say... something, but I remember what Tia said. They're just kind of curious, which makes it a touch awkward. Let's fix that.

"You can touch it if you want." I offer, lifting my prosthetic leg out to him, wiggling it.

"N-no thank you, Sir. Just... here to escort you." He offers, clearing his throat.

Derpy gives me a look that says 'Quit messing with the poor guy', nudging me again. Fair enough.

"Would you mind leading us to the gates? I'm afraid I don't remember the way." Derpy asks, to which the guard quickly nods.

"Of course. Follow me." He answers quickly, turning in place -- stopping as Dinky bolts underneath him as well, startling him.

"Dinky!" Derpy calls after the speeding bullet, as she comes screeching to a stop.

"Yeah?" Dinky asks, tilting her head.

"With me, come on." She tuts, motioning beside herself with a wing. Firmly.

"Okaaaaay." Dinky groans, slowly dawdling back over.

The guard tries to regain his composure, straightening his stance as the pair take point.