Pete Powell in Equestria

Two Months Later

“I think he's going to be hungry pretty soon, Lieutenant.” Pete looked at the griffon chained to the floor across from him. The dimly lit prison cast shadows across the human's face that moved with his expressions.

“I'm not gonna eat anything you bring me, I know the kinds of potions unicorns can whip up.”

Wisp chuckled and walked out of the room, a lock clicking into place before her hoofsteps faded down the hall. The moment they could no longer be heard Pete reached forward, grabbing the griffon by the head, and slamming him into the table between them. Reeling from the sudden attack, he tried to stand and get away only to be tripped by his binds and fall to the cold floor. The Captain stood and walked over to his captive, jerking him back up and driving his fist into the griffon's face.

“What are you doing?” he shouted, wings tugging against their restraints.

“Hungry is a code word for you're going to need a medic,” Pete growled with a smile, “In about two minutes my Lieutenant is going to walk back in here with a unicorn that's going to patch us up. I'll give her a couple of hours to get back to the clinic, and then we'll do this again, and again, and again, until you tell me what you know.”

“Us? What are you talking about, I haven't even touched you!”

Pete grabbed the griffon's claw and pressed it firmly into his own uncovered arm, raking it down until it drew blood. His smile never faded as he released the claw and delivered another hard punch.

“You attacked me, I got a little pissed off and hit you, Wisp stopped me and then went to get a doctor. It's a nice little cover story, isn't it?”

The griffon looked at the wound on the human and then down to the drops of his own blood on his chest.

“You're insane!”

With another growl Pete lifted the griffon up off the floor, to the limits of the chain that held him down. Maybe the griffon was right, but he was doing what he had to do. He slammed the lion bird down on the table, getting a surprised squawk from the prisoner, and held him there.

“You helped bring in two crates of sedatives that didn't go to any clinic or licensed practitioner. Sedatives most commonly used by a sex slave ring that's been trying real hard to get a leg up in Canterlot.” Another hard punch. “You're going to tell me where that shit went, because I have all night to do this, and the resources to make sure you can take anything I dish out.”

“Go to Tartarus!”

Without a word Pete drew his sword, its shape switching to the dagger, and he plunged it into the table next to the griffon's face. Slowly he drug it down the table and stopped around the middle. Right next to the furled up wing. His eyes stayed locked on the griffon as he pulled the blade over and let the edge kiss the bend of the wing. Struggling was useless but the griffon tried anyway, soft pleading escaping his beak.

“Do they plead, griffon?” Pete asked quietly but with harshness in his voice. “Do you see them, tied up like you are, branded, locked away, taken, begging for it to stop?” The knife drew a trickle of blood and the griffon shrieked.

“The stuff went to a griffon called Giro, he's a small time crime boss that's trying to get political influence. H-he's a complete amateur, barely even has a crew in town. He's been staying in some hotel in town. I'll tell you where he's at just please stop!”

Pete sighed, pulled his blade from the table, and let the griffon go in a single move. He sheathed his dagger, it reverting to a sword, and walked to the only door in or out of the room.

“Lieutenant Wisp will be in here to take your statement soon, as well as get you cleaned up. You'd better not be lying,” Pete stuck out his right arm and willed the sword into it's true form, darkness coating his arm and turning it into a claw that he dug into the stone of the room. Yanking a chunk out of the wall and tossing it onto the table for emphasis, he turned around. “If you are lying I'm coming back, and it won't ever stop.”

Horrified the griffon pulled back as far as he could on his chain, pressing up against he wall in fear as the human left the room, his arm returning to normal. He took a deep breath and sighed, leaning against the door to the interrogation room, collecting his thoughts. Gryphos, the empire of the griffons, were just as interested in stopping this slave ring as the ponies were. Mostly because of the might Celestia wielded, and the solidarity such an action would show. They needed leads that could be traced back to their homelands however, and this Giro sounded like the first break in the case.

Moments later Lieutenant Wisp came around the corner with the castle's physician, a unicorn with a roll of gauze on her flank. She sighed at the sight of Pete's arm and began healing him, her magic accelerating the speed at which the flesh regrew and pulled together to an almost awkward speed. It didn't hurt, but it was noticeable. He thanked her and filled Wisp in on what the griffon had told him. She gently tapped his knee with a hoof and smiled. Also she informed him of a report from Celestia that had been delivered to the barracks for his eyes only.

Obviously the report had to be about the clean up from the changeling mission he and the Elements had been sent on. Upon returning to Canterlot they had given separate reports to the princesses. Both were truthful and accurate as much as they could be. Pete confessed to Luna that he went berserk again after Chrysalis managed to temporarily dominate his mind. The princess wondered why he hadn't seen it coming, to which he replied he didn't know. Literally did not know. At that point the lack of training became apparent to both princesses. Anti mind control techniques were standard for magically inclined soldiers, both to help themselves and their comrades. Twilight had helped Pete because he didn't know how to help himself. This led to a period of suspension while Pete took a crash course in military magic. Two weeks of dedicated study, and exams, and he had been returned to his position much more knowledgeable in his own powers, something Luna apologized for overlooking.

It had taken the guard almost as long as Pete's suspension to clear out the rubble from the cave and a formal investigation had seemingly just now concluded, if the report on his desk was what Pete thought it was. Curiosity piqued he thanked the doctor for her care and headed to the barracks for the report, confident in his Lieutenant's ability to get the rest of the information from their suspect. He wasn't sure if it had to do with his now entirely nocturnal cycle or if perhaps the darkness he was now liberally using was affecting his mind, but he preferred the dark and cool castle basement to the brightly lit topside. Overall it would be less eye strain to go back and forth from the evening air to the dungeon than it would if he didn't have to first cross through the castle proper. He realized it was a necessary evil however, as the guards stationed outside the prison would look much more suspicious standing outside of the castle guarding some trapdoor on the ground, and it meant less exits if anyone ever managed to escape.

Pete nodded to the still guards as he left the dungeon, and made his way to the outside of the castle. Canterlot seemed different at night, with most of the lights in the city out and the usual chatter silenced. It was a remarkable difference from human cities that never slept, even though Canterlot was quite large and the center of Equestrian government. Few visited the castle at night despite the fact Luna had returned and regularly held her own court. Other than merchants getting drunk and blowing off steam in taverns, the city was asleep. Even the ambassadors in the castle regularly slept during the night. It made it incredibly easy to catch illegal activities. During the day nothing would happen without being seen by somepony, and during the night there were few reasons to justify being out of bed. You wouldn't be stopped simply for being out, but eyes were literally in the sky watching every road and side street in town.

Luna's barracks were positioned inside the castle walls and were easily identifiable by the banner that hung on either side of the main door that was emblazoned with her cutie mark. Perhaps for strategic purposes, the rest of the building matched any of the other buildings positioned inside the castle's walls, which were separate from the city walls. Pete didn't want to know what event had transpired that the princesses knew to have an individual wall for their own safety.

As Wisp had said, inside the barracks on the desk was a report from Celestia's guard. The folder was sealed with a mark that Pete had recently learned was equivalent to Top Secret back on Earth. Rather than simply being a deterrent though the mark was magical. It prevented anyone but those of the proper rank from reading the intelligence enclosed, unless they were powerful enough to break the enchantment themselves.

He placed his palm on the mark and it began to glow, recognizing his right to view the enclosed material, and the folder opened. Hundreds of changelings were caught in the collapse of the cave, few survived and had to be put down when encountered. A few guards were injured but nothing major. Tunnel system stretched for miles in every direction and it was fortunate Pete made the group split up like he did. None of the passages went anywhere in particular, not towards towns or across boarders. Only the one tunnel towards the Well of Souls led to anything. And the Well itself was seemingly destroyed in the collapse. Chrysalis was nowhere to be found.

Pete groaned and closed the folder. The queen had sacrificed quite a lot of her hive to escape, but a small spark of hope suddenly made the captain smile. It did mean he had another chance to take her down at a later time. She wasn't one to simply give up on her plans after all. Losing the Well of Souls was the worst news in the report. He didn't know what kind of effect that would have on Equestria as a whole. Magic certainly wasn't running out, yet, so things appeared to be fine. Twilight on the other hand was sure to be upset by the loss of such an artifact and whatever scientific or magical relevance it had. Despite his second loss of control during that time Pete felt like the mission went well. At least as well as they could go with his minimal training.

In the intervening months he had seriously buckled down on being the captain of a guard. He trained nightly, patrolled in a rotation with the others, and had even helped bring in several criminals. Most of them small time compared to the griffon he'd interrogated earlier but catches nonetheless. It was a compulsion in him to step up after he'd failed to kill Chrysalis, to make Equestria safer. One he threw himself into fully.

A clock on the wall chimed, informing him of the hour. Pete glanced at it and hmm'd to himself. It would be morning in a couple of hours and he didn't have any more patrols to go on, the paperwork was finished, and Wisp was dealing with the griffon they'd captured. On an average night he would stay in the barracks in case something happened, but following his interrogation and patrols he was feeling somewhat gross. His armor was heavy and smelled like metal. Despite always being cold when put on it quickly warmed up while inside and caused disturbing amounts of sweat. Even in the winter winds outside he often remained toasty unless his skin came into contact with the armor. All of these things came together into a single problem with a simple solution. He needed a bath.

Pete went to the armor storage for the barracks, removed his armor, fetched the file, and went to his room in the castle. Tossing the file on top of a stack of unread letters, he dug through his dresser to get a towel and a change of clothes. It was a rare moment where he moved at a lackadaisical pace. He'd gotten so used to practically marching everywhere, or using the dagger form for extra speed when he needed to move quickly, that simply walking to the bathroom felt slow.

What he appreciated was how easy it was to relax once he was in the bathroom. The wonderfully large hot bath was the perfect place to wind down. After rinsing, lathering, and rinsing again he simply sat. All was quiet. He was alone with just his thoughts. Specifically he wondered if he was doing any good in his job with the guard. Wisp was certainly more satisfied with how he acted, but he felt there had to be a reprimand coming from one of the princesses sooner or later. Beating suspects wasn't exactly protocol after all.

“Maybe I'm still not cut out for this after all,” he mused, leaning back and floating in the bath that took up nearly the whole room.

“And why would you think that?” Luna's voice echoed through the steam, causing Pete to quickly sit up and cover himself.

“Princess?” He looked around frantically.

Metal clinking against the floor, and then against metal, and finally the sound of hooves drew Pete's attention to the door. Luna walked in, her royal raiments removed and protective spell off. Her mane was dark and still, lacking the swirling lights that Pete now realized must be part of the spell, and in this state one could see her mane was naturally wavy. There was something about her casual look that brought a blush to the man's cheeks. Or perhaps it was the way she slowly walked into the tub with him, her tail and mane spreading out in the water.

“You look surprised to see me.”

“Yeah, a little.” Pete slowly moved backwards away from the princess, giving her more room than necessary. “I thought you had your own bath. I've been using this bathroom for months now and haven't seen you once.”

“That would be because I come in here before dawn, and usually you do not leave the barracks until dawn.” Luna chuckled and smiled at him.

He looked out of the window at the still dark sky and lamely replied, “Oh yeah.”

“Now, why do you still not think you are cut out for the guard?”

Pete exhaled awkwardly and averted his eyes from the bathing royal. “Well, I know I've been kind of rough lately. Overzealous one might say.”

“Criminals need a reason to be afraid of committing crimes,” Luna shrugged, “You are providing that reason, 'Dread Captain.'” She chuckled at the nickname Pete had gained in certain circles.

He wasn't too proud of it himself, but he admitted it had truth in it. His methods had become violent in a way most ponies never saw on their streets. All it took were a few hard take downs for ponies to start talking about the omnivore guard captain that could leap dozens of feet into the air and wasn't afraid to break bones, regardless of cuffs being on the criminal.

“I can't say I'm a fan of that title,” he admitted, leaning against the inside of the tub.

“I see nothing wrong with it. You strike fear into the hearts of criminals which I believe we should be doing.”

“You don't think it's too rough? I mean, I sort of beat a suspect tonight.”

Luna rolled her eyes, “And the Elements of Harmony blasted me with a magical energy beam. Unfortunately they cannot be around to blast every crook in Equestria, so we have to take other measures.” She looked at Pete seriously, “I used to be a villain, Pete. I know just how hard one has to push to get them to change.”

He nodded in response and moved awkwardly to conceal certain aspects of his naked form from Luna's sight. The princess simply grinned.

“There is another matter I think we need to address.”

“What's that? I mean, we can talk about it later, right? When we're not...” Pete couldn't bring himself to say naked.

“I have noticed it has been almost seven months since you arrived and from what I have heard you have yet to bring anypony to your bed.” There wasn't a hint of hesitation or discomfort in her statement.

“I-I, uh, what?”

“It has been my experience with guards in the past that 'blowing off some steam' generally keeps their spirits high, and yours have been particularly low as of late.”

Pete did not wait for the princess to finish explaining herself. Talking about mares in his bed and blowing off steam made it all to clear to him what would come next and no amount of shame about his exposed crotch would hold him back. He turned and pulled himself out of the bath, power walked to his towel, covered himself, and fled the bathroom as fast as possible.

Dressed in his own room, Pete flopped onto his bed and rolled over to face the wall. The sun began to rise and fill the room with light but he didn't budge. His mind was still trying to deal with Luna in the bath. There was a physical attraction he admitted but she was on a whole other level than him. Not just in terms of status but in power as well. He made it a point to not sleep with beings that could rival the power of gods. Break ups could be bad enough with regular girls, and he dreaded to think about what breaking up with a unicorn would be like let alone an alicorn. Besides all that, he didn't really know that much about Luna. There were things he had learned when they were all living in his apartment but there was more to know about someone than the few things he gleamed. After all, she had been awake at night while he was sleeping after dealing with the others all day. She was the one he had spoken with the least.

The sound of his door opening drew Pete's attention and he rolled over to chastise the Princess for following him to his room, as well as entering without knocking. What he saw however killed his words. Rainbow Dash floated in, slamming the door shut behind her, hooves placed like hands on her hips, and a very sour look on her face. Wordlessly, she floated over to his desk, knocking the report to the floor and looking at the unopened letters underneath. Her wing shot down, scooped, and then flipped back up, throwing the mail into Pete's face with enough force to make him flinch.

“Are you kidding me?” she shouted and floated closer. “You said that we should make an effort to communicate, I sat down and wrote like a dozen letters to your sorry butt, and you haven't even opened them?”

Pete tried to respond but he was completely stunned.

“Worse than that,” Rainbow continued, after Pete failed to speak, “you don't even try to write to me! Not write back but just make some effort. Effort you said we should put into this. This was your idea.”

“I'm … not sure I can be with anyone, Dash.” Finally the words came out. Bleak and hopeless words that gave shape to what he'd thought for months. “My outbursts, this sword, I need to do this to keep you safe, but that means I can't trust myself around you.”

“I'll be fine,” Rainbow scoffed.

“Would you?” he looked at her with concern. “If I suddenly went crazy like I did in that cave, snarling and ripping bits out of trees, what would you do?”

“I'd go get Twilight, or something! I'm not completely helpless here. You know that as well as anypony.”

“You don't get it. The things I've done as recently as tonight, it's not...” He sighed and rubbed his face. “I'm not something anyone should like.”

“That's stupid!” A second voice from outside shouted, the door to Pete's room being thrown open again and Stellar Glow walking in, livid. “If that's what you think about what you've been doing then stop doing it. It isn't hard.”

Both Pete and Rainbow stared at the small mare.

“It's not that sim-”

“Yes it is,” Stellar stamped her hoof and turned crimson. “I-if that's what you think about how you act with power then j-just give it up.”

“I want to help, I don't want to just move away and pretend things are all right.”

“You aren't the only guard and we were doing fine before you. We can do just fine without you too.” Stella climbed up onto the bed next to Pete and placed a forehoof on his shoulder. “You have to be happy too.”

Rainbow Dash blushed for a moment, then landed on the bed opposite of Stellar. She placed her own hoof inside of Pete's hand and sighed.

“I'm not good at this stuff, but... she's right. We want you to be happy, Pete. You don't seem happy. If trying to protect Equestria has you doing all this stupid darkness stuff, then forget it. Leave the protecting to us Elements and the guard.”

“I can't just do nothing,” he reiterated.

“You won't be doing nothing,” Rainbow looked at Stellar, and then to Pete. “You'll be making two mares very happy.”

Stellar Glow and Pete blinked and looked at each other, then to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus shook her head and raised an eyebrow.

“Are you kidding me? You two didn't see what was going on here?” RD gestured to the two of them. “Th-this is classic herding. I mean, like, old as Celestia classic. Not modern classic which is really fun,” she chuckled for a moment and then shook the thought from her head. “Point is, you probably should have told me you had somepony here. I might have, you know, worried less.”

Pete looked at the small batpony and thought about it. She had been there for him, they had become friends, but he'd never thought of her romantically before. Wasn't that sometimes a positive start to a relationship though? People on Earth always said it was best to marry someone you feel is like your best friend. Maybe the ease he had talking to her was a good sign. He certainly didn't know anything about herding traditions or anything.

After a minute the guardsmare leaned up and kissed the human full on the lips. Pete was taken aback, but his lips moved instinctively. Slowly the kiss broke and Stellar's face was a blushing bright red. A hoof tapped Pete on the shoulder and when he turned he got another, rougher, longer, kiss. He was panting by the time it ended and the three slowly looked at each other.

“So,” Rainbow broke the silence, “I think that settles that. We're a herd, Pete's quitting, all's well that ends well.”

“It's not that simple.” The two mares groaned and opened their mouths to respond before being cut off. “I'm gonna have to move out of the castle, and I have to deal with telling Luna I quit, and what the hell am I going to do for a job now?”

The mares looked at each other and then started laughing.

They had spent most of the day talking and having fun. Rainbow was surprised to find out Stella was older than she was, almost being as old as Pete. Around the late afternoon the need for her partners to sleep lulled Rainbow Dash to sleep too, something Pete realized was part of the “empathy link” Twilight had mentioned. When he was alone, working with the guard, it was like all of the good things in life were gone. Whether that was caused by the piece of Nightmare he carried or if it was simply his natural disposition, he didn't know. What he did know was that the moment Rainbow and Stella had sat on either side of him he could feel a warmth in his very soul. Their compassion, their love for him came through in a way that he knew wasn't possible on Earth. He could literally feel their emotions from that moment on. Herding was a deep, and kind of scary, thing that finally made him understand how it stood up against single marriage. Confident with his new relationships there was only one thing left to do in Canterlot.

Luna's room was as dark and mysterious as usual, and Pete took a moment to remember it. This was possibly the last time he would ever see the room after all. His badge and sword in hand he walked up to the desk the alicorn was working at, and silently set the two object down on it. She looked up from a piece of paper, confused.

“What is this?”

“This would be, uh, a resignation I guess.” Pete swallowed nervously.

“You're quitting?” Luna's eyebrows rose in a mix of surprise and question.

“I talked with Rainbow Dash and Stellar Glow today. Things got kind of serious.” He sighed and closed his eyes to compose himself. “They, we, agreed that if I keep doing this Night Guard stuff I'm going to end up just like I was back on Earth. Angry, alone, and mistrustful of everyone. I don't want to go back to that a third time.”

That was what he had been worried about all along. Under his confidence with Wisp congratulating him on being tougher, when he was alone. The doubts were all about that one simple fact. Pete didn't want to hate everything again. All the mares had shown him the good things in life, the positives of friendship, and more. Losing that scared him. He pushed away from Rainbow Dash and sunk into his work as a guard as an excuse. If he convinced himself he wanted it then it wouldn't be a loss. But it was and speaking with the two mares had made him realize that.

Seconds felt like minutes, but eventually Luna's magic glow enveloped the sword and badge and the two vanished from the room.

“I understand,” she said, slowly exhaling. “It is difficult for me too, but you have a choice. I respect that.” Luna smiled at Pete, a kind of smile he hadn't seen from her in a long time. It wasn't a smile of a princess to her captain, a royal to a subject, but a friendly smile.

Pete would be gone from Canterlot by the next day. Stellar Glow, regrettably, had duties to attend to as a Night Guard. She still loved the job after all, and the offer was open to come by Ponyville any time, once Pete found a place to live at least. Rainbow Dash snuggled close to the human as they rode the train back to Ponyville, to Pete's new home. Weight had been lifted from his shoulders in more ways than one but ahead of him laid new challenges. Mundane ones compared to what he'd seen in the guard, but still they were new and in a new land. He wasn't sure where to begin with anything. With Rainbow Dash by his side though, he couldn't imagine anything would be too daunting.

Princess Cadance nodded to the guards outside of Celestia's chamber, and entered on her own. She had packed light for a princess, only a couple of saddlebags. Her own lands needed tending to after all and Celestia had only asked for one thing. It had taken her months to track it down after Sombra's defeat.

Celestia's room was as immaculate as ever and the white alicorn barely acknowledged Cadance's entrance. She had just gotten word of Pete's departure from the Night Guard and was smiling at the report. Her sister wasn't always right when it came to those that gained dark powers. Sometimes they shied away when it was least expected. It didn't take long for her to sense it though. Another dark energy that pervaded the air. Silently, she turned to Cadance.

“Did you find it?”

The pink alicorn nodded and pulled a black leather book from her saddlebag and floated it over to Celestia. Eyes wide, the ruler of Equestria took the book in hoof and tried to open it. A magic held it tightly closed, but there was no magic she couldn't break.

“It was very well hidden. We found Sombra's own journals before that one.”

“I wouldn't have expected it to be easily found,” Celestia murmured, “He was a crafty stallion.”

“Nothing I did could break that binding spell,” Cadance admitted sheepishly. “I guess I'm not that strong even for being a princess.”

The much older alicorn chuckled, “And this seal is much older than you are. Do not doubt yourself yet, Cadance. It will take me time to get through this.”

“What is it?”

“The journal of a very old and powerful enemy. One who stood against Luna and I's ancestors.”