A Light in the Grim Darkness

Ian awoke to knocking on his door. He looked over to the clock on

his nightstand and rolled his eyes. It was eight A.M. meaning he

had unintentionally slept in. The young inquisitor sat up in bed and

cleared his throat.

“Come in.” he said groggily. The door swung open to reveal

Applejack standing calmly in the hall.

“Morning AJ.” said Ian.

“Mornin’ Ian.” replied Applejack.

“Sorry I slept in, I’m normally up two hours ago.” said Ian.

“Not a problem, but ya might wanna get up and dressed; some

royal guards showed up with a carriage and are waitin’ for ya.”

said Applejack.

“What’s going on?” asked Ian.

“Apparently somepony found somthin’ at a dig site in Canterlot, the

princess wants ya there; along with me, Twi, Dash, Pinkie, Shy, and

Rarity.” replied Applejack.

“What did they find?” asked Ian.

“Don’t know, but the guards had a file with them.” replied Applejack.

“Alright, let me get up and dressed. I am going to bring Dread Bane along;

I don’t want it used as a sledgehammer.” said Ian swinging out of the bed as

Applejack handed him his crutch.

“Here” said Applejack.

“Thank you AJ.” said Ian.

“Don’t mention it sugar cube.” she said with a smile.

*****************************************************************************

Upon arriving back at Canterlot, Ian stepped out of the train in his uniform and

witch hunter hat with Dread Bane slung across his back over his great coat,

pistol holstered at one side and knife at the other, and flanked by a small

contingent of royal guards, who took him and Applejack to the dig site where

they were met by Princess Celestia and the other element bearers.

“Ian, I did not expect to see you so armed.” said Celestia.

“Apologies marm, but I did not want my hammer used for demolition purposes.”

said Ian with an exasperated look on his face.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders?” asked Twilight.

“Yes: I even put a trigger lock on the shotgun before I left and sealed it in

an encoded case.” said Ian.

“A very prudent idea with those three.” said Twilight.

“Shall we?” asked Celestia pointing a hoof.

******************************************************************

Ian looked at the massive door before he reached into his satchel and

pulled out a small device with a probe and turned it on.

“What’s that thing?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“It is a miniature computer and scanner that I am hoping will find me a

hidden terminal that will allow me to get an idea of what this thing is.

Anything could be behind that door; could be an armory or an old

munitions factory. The possibilities are really quite endless.” answered

Ian.

A series of beeps drew every one’s attention; the small detector had

found the hidden terminal which Ian was able to get open. Unsurprisingly,

the ancient terminal was not working.

“Well, I cannot get this open.” said Ian

“I would very much like to know what is on the other side.” replied

Celestia with concern.

“I know your majesty, but my computer will not even connect with this one.

This may be a pre-heresy design, which would mean it is over 10,000 years

old, and besides, I would need a member of the Adeptus Mechanicus to get

it back up and running.” said Ian showing Celestia the plugs.

“So this door cannot be opened then?” asked Twilight.

“Oh it can but not by me. I will need to get back to Sweet Apple Acres. I just

need to get my comms equipment so I can call someone who can open this

thing. Also, we need this kept quiet, we do not know what is behind here, and

the last thing we need is curious ponies sniffing around.” replied Ian.

**********************************************************************

Ian and Twilight popped into existence in Ian’s room at Sweet Apple Acres.

The young inquisitor found the box he was looking for in his closet and the

pair of them quickly teleported back. While some humans and some ponies

would have gotten sick from teleportation, Ian was an exception. He had

taken part in his fair share of teleport deep strike missions and was pretty

used to it. The element Bearers and the Princesses followed Ian outside

where he opened the box an set up a small satellite dish like antenna and

turned the device within on; Ian then began turning dials and pressing buttons.

“What are you doing?” asked a confused Rarity.

“I am scanning for any available Imperial vessel in the area.” replied Ian.

“How do you plan on doing that? Didn’t your ship leave?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Yes the Tannenburg left, but knowing my master; he has probably sent a fleet

into the area to extract me once my mission is complete. replied Ian; not telling

the entire truth. The fleet would have also been there if he needed back up in a

situation where the locals attempted anything stupid or a Xenos or Chaos fleet

presented itself, the Imperial Navy could hopefully repel this problem. Ian just

wanted to avoid scaring his equine friends.

“Wouldn’t we have seen them with a telescope?” asked Celestia.

“Most likely not; they are probably a good distance off, and would probably

only appear as stars.” said Ian widening the range. The device suddenly

beeped, and Ian smiled.

“What does that mean?” asked Pinkie suddenly popping up right next to Ian

and nearly making him jump.

“That means that I have found the signal of an Imperial vessel.” said Ian.

Everyone listened closely as Ian hailed the ship.

“Imperial vessel please come in, over.” said Ian. Static hissed through the

speakers. Then, a voice responded back over the vox.

“This is Admiral Korsnetzov of the Imperial Navy warship Aurora; identify

yourself.” ordered the admiral.

“This is Inquisitor Ian Ludones of the Emperor’s Holy Inquisition; requesting

assistance; code word Dervish, over.” said Ian calmly.

“Authenticating…” said a voice. After about two minutes of silence, the

admiral’s voice sounded over the vox channel.

“We read you loud and clear Inquisitor Ludones. How may we be of

assistance?” asked the admiral.

“I need the skills of a particular techpriest down here on my current location;

and was wondering if you could possibly find his location or in failing that find

one that specializes in ancient technology?” asked Ian.

“What is this techpriest’s name?” asked the admiral.

“Jakob Makuroe.” replied Ian. Several seconds passed before Ian

got a reply.

“Well how about that. We have him right here on the Aurora; I will notify him

immediately and we will have him on the planet’s surface as soon as possible.”

asked Korsnetzov.

“That would be much appreciated; I am going to send you landing co ordinance

for the shuttle now.” replied Ian. A smile came to the young Inquisitor’s face; he

knew that his retinue was loyal, especially Makuroe. That tech priest was one

of his most dependable companions.   “Also; do you have any troops on board;

I may need some muscle.” said Ian.

“Affirmative; we have a full company of Inquisitorial storm troopers; Lord

Coteaz’s compliments.” replied the admiral.

“Perfect, I need two full squads please.” said Ian.

“Noted, we will send them down with Techpriest Makuroe.” said Korsnetzov.

“Roger, Over and out.” said Ian.

“Over and out.” finished Korsnetzov.Ian turned to the Element Bearers and

the princesses with an optimistic smile on his face.

"Well, the door may be opened sooner than I thought."

************************************************************************

While Princess Celestia was not pleased about Ian’s request for highly trained

storm troopers, Ian explained to her that he had no idea what was behind that

door and thus wanted men who were well prepared to handle the possibility of

an Imperial security system rather than some poor royal guards ponies who

could be killed quickly due to lack of experience in encountering Imperial

technology. Nonetheless, it would take the troops about a day to arrive.

In the mean time, Ian sat and spoke with his equine friends.

“So Ian I heard you and Applejack received an unexpected visit from my

sister the other night.” said Celestia with a happy smile, earning a subtle

nudge and glare from Luna. Ian picked up on this and smirked internally.

He knew that the others did not know of Luna and Macintosh’s relationship

and that the Moon Princess wanted it kept quiet as possible. This would be

perfect payback for the rather embarrassing situation a few nights back until

he saw Luna looking at him with pleading eyes; as if begging him to keep

things quiet. Ian knew what he had to do.

“Aye, your sister was kind enough to come and check up on me and make

sure I was getting settled in alright. For that I thank you your majesty.”

said Ian.

“Oh it was nothing.” said Luna with a relieved look on her face. She knew

that her sister was happy for her, but she still wanted her relationship

with Macintosh kept quiet for the time being.

“You owe me one for that.” said Ian’s voice in Luna’s mind.

“I know; I will up your stipend.” replied Luna telepathically.

“Excellent. That will be sufficient.” finished Ian.

“So Ian, while we are waiting for the detachment to arrive, I have some

folks in Canterlot who are eager to meet you.” said Celestia.

“More pompous nobles I presume?” asked Ian raising an eyebrow.

“No, just the representatives of the other powers that be on Equis

Prime.” replied Celestia.

“Well, it may be my mission to concentrate on Equestria, but the

Imperium will eventually want to learn about the others as well;

never hurts to start early.” said Ian.

***************************************************************************

The meeting hall was alive with conversation. Representatives from all

over Equis Prime were present. Ambassador Honoris and Shining

armor were present representing the Holy Griffon Empire and Crystal

Empire respectively. They introduced him to diplomats from Germaneigh,

Saddle Arabia, the Hippogryph Clans, Gildedale, the Diamond Dog

Kingdom, Minotaur States, and the massive Changelling Empire.

Most of the ambassadors were friendly and had plenty of questions

about the Imperium and its culture, and were more than happy to

answer his questions about their cultures. The Minotaur ambassador

was very impressed by Dread Bane and jokingly asked if it was used

to knock down houses.

The Diamond Dog and Changelling ambassadors however were less

than friendly. The Diamond Dog ambassador, Count Arric De Woof

acted with an air of superiority that annoyed Ian to no end. He talked

about the ponies as if they were an inferior race, which made Ian

chuckle to himself. If the Emperor had favored the ponies; they were

anything but inferior to the other factions of this world. To his credit,

Ian kept his cool and mingled with the other representatives. The

Changelling ambassador was rather aggressive and not at all polite,

even going so far as to call Ian a monkey. Despite all of the insults

and Ian picturing Dread Bane’s massive head smashing the

insectoid’s head to a bloody pulp; the young inquisitor kept his

temper in check.

He decided to mingle with the friendlier ambassadors, and record as

much knowledge as he could on his data slate and wrote down the

Diamond Dog and Changelling ambassadors as “having a misplaced

superiority complex”  for his final report. Each culture was very

interesting to Ian. The Changellings, Minotaurs, Diamond Dogs,

Griffons and Hippogryphs were rather militaristic, while Germaneigh,

Gildedale, and the Crystal Empire were all more or less client states

of Equestria and Saddle Arabia relied upon its wealth in trade and

banking to keep its lofty place in the world. Ian knew that Equestria;

despite being peaceful in its philosophy believed in peace through

superior might.

He had reviewed the Equestrian Royal Army a few months ago,

and the discipline of its soldiers and officers was strong as iron; they

were so well disciplined that Ian believed that a Mordian general would

have even nodded his approval, and after seeing how many militaristic

nations surrounded Equestria and her allies; he could tell why they had

to be ready at all times. The army was new however; instituted after the

Changelling attack on the royal wedding in Canterlot. Shining Armor

had explained to him that before this, Equestria had relied on her Royal

Guards to act as a defensive military force; but a drop in recruitment had

left the guard under manned; and coupled with the shape shifting abilities

of the Changellings it had been a recipe for disaster. It had also shown

Celestia and Luna that Equestria needed a disciplined and strong military,

and Celestia had put her sister in charge of that task. Ian realized he had

gotten lost in his thoughts when he got a hearty and friendly slap on the

back from the Minotaur ambassador; who wanted to share some war

stories.

*****************************************************************************

Applejack was walking through the halls of Canterlot Palace. It was

morning, but black shades were over the windows. When she brushed

one of the shades aside and looked out, she noticed that the royal flags

around the city were at half mast; and there was no one in the streets. It

was as if someone important had died. The farmer moved down the hall

until she came to the chapel, where she saw the sight of a long wooden

box on the altar. Standing on the dais upon which the altar was set, were

four human soldiers. They wore forest green uniforms with peaked caps

on their heads and shiny black boots on their feet. In their hands, with

bayonets fixed were rifles of some sort, what they were Applejack could

not tell. As she got closer, she noticed that the box was a casket.

“Who died?” she asked one of the troopers, who looked at her sadly.

“The Inquisitor.” replied the soldier. Applejack’s jaw dropped and she

approached the coffin. Laying within, encased in his armor was Ian, his

unmoving body lying in repose.

*****************************************************************************

Applejack awoke with a sharp gasp and her eyes wide. It had only been

a nightmare, but a bad one at that. Ian had gotten in earlier and spoken

with her about the meeting and both of them had turned in early. It was

after a minute that Applejack felt sick. The thought of losing a friend was

unbearable to her, even if it was just a dream. She got up and walked out

to the living room of the suite to see Ian sitting on the couch in his PJs.

“Can’t sleep?” he asked her.

“Nope.” said Applejack.

“Come on over and have a seat.” said Ian.

The two sat together, and she told Ian about her nightmare. Ian could tell by

her expression that the dream had greatly disturbed her.

“As I have said, I am not planning on croaking any time soon AJ and it was

just a dream. If I worried about my nightmares all the time, I would have lost

my sanity long ago. Dreams can show us what we love or fear most, while

sometimes they are premonitions, these are rare; or so I have found. One

should not concern them self with the future: fate is what we make it, and

what the God-Emperor wills. Flashbacks on the other hand; those are an

entirely different story.” he said with a sigh.

“Ya had the nightmare again didn’t ya?” she asked him.

“Yes. Not as severe as last time, but still nothing easy to relive.” said Ian.

“Do ya wanna talk about it?” she asked.

“Emperor no; I’m trying to forget it; but thank you for asking.” replied Ian with

a ghost of a smile.

“No problem sugar cube. Thank you fer talkin’ with me.” said Applejack.

“We’d best hit the hay, it will be an early morning, and I want to get as much

sleep as I can with Makuroe arriving tomorrow.” said Ian getting to his foot

and grabbing his crutch. “Maybe a quick prayer will help?” he asked.

“Uh, sure.” said Applejack a bit unsure. While she was strong in her faith,

she worshipped Celestia and Luna, but if Ian’s God-Emperor was their creator,

then he deserved at least some veneration in her eyes. Ian and Applejack

closed their eyes and bowed his heads and Ian began to pray.

“Mighty God-Emperor, we come to you in our time of unrest and worry to beg

your mercy. Grant us peace from troublesome dreams; let us not worry what

may come to pass or has already been; let us put our faith in you that we may

rest easy and thus be ready to start a new day tomorrow for your glory. In your

name this we pray: amen.” prayed Ian.

With the prayer done, the two friends went to bed and waited for morning.

*****************************************************************************

The Next morning, Ian arose at eight in the morning and brewed some coffee.

Applejack joined him and the two chatted for a bit before proceeding to the dig

\site where the door was located. Once there, they were joined by the other

element bearers, Soarin and the two princesses. No sooner had everyone

arrived than the high pitched whine of the engines of a pair of Valkyrie gunships

clad in black and red paint and bearing the signs of the inquisition were heard

as they made a low pass over Canterlot before returning and hovering over the

landing spot that Ian had indicated. The side doors opened as ropes dropped

over the sides and the storm troopers repelled down with perfect coordination

and set up a beach head of sorts. As soon as all twenty of the troopers were

on the ground, the Valkyries then dropped the ropes and shot skyward. Once

the area was determined to be secured, a trooper with a vox caster clicked the

speaker on his helmet.

“Area secure, bring ‘em in.” said the trooper. Within minutes, an Aquilla Lander

escorted by a pair of Imperial Thunderbolt fighters flew out of the clouds and

towards the landing point. While the shuttle landed, the two fighters accelerated

their speed and flew a patrol above the city. Ian was just thankful that Celestia

and Luna had briefed the guards about the flying machines. The news had also

been given information about the arrival of more humans, but had been

told that it was to set up an embassy rather than because of an old human site

that had suddenly been discovered.

“Awesome!” said Rainbow Dash watching the fighters bank and turn at high

speeds while Soarin was watching them in awe.

The shuttle’s ramp was dropped, revealing a group of ten figures. Five of them

wore the garb and armor of Techpriest Enginseers of the Adeptus Mechanicus,

easily identified by their sand red robes, power axes and servo arms: Makuroe

was front and center. The old Techpriest was a head taller than the other five and

had a bionic monocle in place of his right eye with his nose down to his chin

covered by a rebreather. Ian knew however that the old Techpriest was probably

grinning under the mask.  The other five were faces that Ian knew well. Emil and

Vrens stood with broad grins on their faces, while Sister Irina stood calmly taking

in the scenery, her robes blowing elegantly over her slender body. Ian could tell by

the look on the sister Hospitaller’s delicate, porcelain white face that she felt out of

her element. Also present were Malcolm Hobbes, Ian’s calculus logi, who was

already jotting down notes on a data slate with his dark, gaunt face twisted in

concentration; and father Ivan Potalov, Ian’s confessor, and the only member of his

retinue who was from Laureus IX, and who was currently taking in the situation with

a discriminating eye. Ian knew that the wiry old priest was going to give him an ear

full next confession. Makuroe stepped forward with a large, elongated box in his hand

and spoke to Ian.

“It is good to see you Ian, Lord Coteaz says hello, and sends you an early birthday

gift.” said the Techpriest handing Ian the case.

“It is good to see you too old friend.” replied Ian taking the case with a smile. Ian could

tell by the weight of the case that it was a weapon. He also noticed the other members

of his retinue and waved them over and introduced them one by one to the princesses

and the Element bearers. Irina, Vrens, Emil, Makuroe, and Malcolm he could tell would

get along with the ponies, but Father Potalov on the other hand remained very quiet

and gave Ian a look that felt like it could set him ablaze right on the spot. He had

protested vehemently when Ian had requested aid from the Eldar during the battle for

Laureus IX, and he could only imagine how thrilled the old priest was to be in the

presence of what to him were probably Xenos. Luckily for Ian, the crusty old cleric had

left his eviscerator aboard the Aurora.

“Are you going to open your gift Inquisitor?” asked Corporal Vrens shifting his melta

gun in his arms.

“Sure, why not.” said Ian with a grin and removing the bow and sticking it on the

Kasrkin’s strong, shaved head; which drew quite a few laughs. When Ian

opened the box his chin almost hit the floor. He reached into the box and pulled

out a gorgeous melta-bolter combi weapon; which had gold writing in High Gothic

on one side and a purity seal stamped on its other side. Ian could tell from the

beautiful detail in the High Gothic writing on the side that Makuroe himself had

probably built the weapon.

“Thank you, Jakob; as usual you have outdone yourself.” said Ian.

“Only the best for you milord.” replied the Techpriest.

****************************************************************************

Upon inspecting the door, Makuroe and his Techpriests went to work. Ian had

guessed right; the door was a pre-heresy blast door and the techpriests went to

work on reviving the systems. Makuroe guessed that it would take anywhere

from a few days to a few weeks to get things up and running and was left to his

work. In the mean time, Ian decided to take a personal day, leaving Emil in

charge of the defense of the dig site. The only ponies to have access to the site

were Luna and Celestia; anyone else was to be told to leave by the storm

troopers. Corporal Vrens would keep Ian updated on any developments with his

vox caster. Everyone else was about to head for the train station to get back to

Ponyville, when Ian had an idea. Luna and Celestia took their leaves and

returned to the palace while Ian got Corporal Vrens’ attention.

“How about we get back to Ponyville in a fraction of the time it takes by train or

sky chariot?” asked Ian turning to his friends.

“I can’t teleport this many ponies and you.” said Twilight motioning with her hoof.

“Not what I meant, Corporal Vrens, would you be as kind as to call us a ride?”

asked Ian.

“Of course inquisitor.” replied Vrens clicking on his vox caster with a grin.

“Aurora, this is base camp, request taxi, over.”

“A taxi? Won’t that be a lot of money to go from Canterlot to Ponyville?! asked

Pinkie pulling a calculator out of thin air, earning her a smoldering glare from

Father Potalov. Within minutes of the request going through, another Valkyrie

gunship arrived and landed.

“Hop on in everypony.” said Ian getting in.

“A-a-are you sure this is safe?” asked Fluttershy nervously.

“I have flown in these many times Fluttershy, I am pretty sure they are safe.”

said Ian with a smile. Applejack and Rainbow Dash hopped on right behind him,

followed by Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and lastly Fluttershy and Soarin, who

despite being impressed by the machine was not all too enthused about hopping

in until Dash gave him some encouragement.

“Everyone in?” asked the pilot.

“Affirmative, proceed to the following coordinates.” said Ian handing the pilot

a piece of paper.

“Roger, proceeding to coordinates.” replied the pilot. The ponies all shared

awed looks as they felt the Valkyrie lift off the ground and take to the air. The

gunship’s engines whined as they propelled it through the air towards Ponyville.

****************************************************************************

The residents of Ponyville had stared in awe at the Valkyrie when it landed in

the center of town. A few had run and hidden behind whatever they could find,

but for the most part, the amazing machine had incited more curiosity than fear.

Twilight and her friends had found themselves being asked lots of questions

about their ride after the gunship had left. While the Element Bearers answered

questions, Ian slipped away to Sweet Apple Acres. He had decided to spend

the rest of the day relaxing on the hill side. He sat writing in his journal and

taking some much needed down time. He also looked over the new weapon

that his master had commissioned Makuroe to build: it was a work of art. The

body was blued and protected by a glossy coat of varnish, while the muzzle of

the meltagun was a darker steel color.  Applejack found him shortly after she

had escaped the crowd. She had brought a picnic basket with her with enough

food for two, and had also brought something that Ian had not expected: hard

cider.

“So Ian; Ah brought us somthin’ a little bit stronger ta drink.” she said holding

up the bottle with a smile.

“Go ahead if you want, but I must respectfully refuse your offer AJ.” said Ian

shaking his head.

“Why?” she asked with some disappointment.

“I have a rather bad history with alcohol.” said Ian with some shame.

“What do ya mean?” she asked.

“It began shortly after I gave the order to destroy my home. I got very depressed,

and turned to alcohol to try and drown the memory of what I had done. It got bad;

very bad. Til one day I got to my apartment on Formosa to find the door ripped

off its hinges and all of my hooch piled in the fire place. There sitting in one of my

chairs was my master; and boy if looks could kill I would not be standing here today.

He was livid; I have seen him show more mercy to heretics than he did to me that

day.  He gave me one hell of a pep talk, and told me to take my sorrows to the

Emperor rather than drown them with liquor.” said Ian.

“Ya mean ya didn’t have any whine at the party? Ah thought ya did.” said

Applejack.

“No, no I did not. I had some ginger ale and orange juice. I have to be careful

as drinking was a hard habit for me to break. Once you stop; you want to keep

as far from the stuff as possible; because if I start drinking again, Emperor only

knows if I will be able to stop again.” said Ian sadly.

“Ah see yer point.” Applejack said feeling a bit awkward and setting the booze

down behind her and grabbing a small bottle of regular apple cider from the

picnic basket and handing it to him.

“That’s better. I apologize if I offended you; I just do not want to go down

that road again.” said Ian.

“Eh, it aint any trouble at all.” replied Applejack with a smile.

“Sun’s getting low, we should be getting home.” said Ian.

“It was nice meetin’ yer friends, most of ‘em seemed friendly enough, but ah

couldn’t tell with yer metal pal in the red robes, but the feller in the black

robes seemed kinda grumpy.” said Applejack.

“Techpriest Makuroe is friendly enough, but be careful; if you get him talking

about certain things, it is like listening to Princess Twilight explain Magical

Theory: I may be a highly educated inquisitor, but I am still a simple farmer

at heart” said Ian making Applejack laugh a little, she knew exactly what he

was talking about. “As for Father Potalov, well, he is rather rough around

the edges. He is one of those who believes that anything that is not human

needs to be destroyed.” said Ian with a sigh.

“Then why do ya keep him in yer uh… what did ya call it?”

“Retinue.” stated Ian.

“Retinue?” finished Applejack.

“Well, he was my family’s priest on Laureus IX, and has served as my

confessor since I was about yea high” he said holding his hand to his hip.

“plus he is extremely loyal and I guess guilt.” finished Ian.

“Guilt?” asked Applejack.

“Yes. He was born on Laureus IX and spent his entire childhood and

most of his adult life there. It was his home long before I was born.

God-Emperor how I wish I had died that day.” said Ian sadly. He

suddenly felt a sharp pain in his good leg as Applejack smacked

him rather hard in the knee.

“Ouch! What the frag was that for?!” asked Ian with surprise, before

Applejack gave him a sudden, and nearly bone crushing hug, which

surprised him even more.

“Don’t ya dare say that! There are people and ponies that care about

ya. It hurts us ta hear ya say things like that Ian. Its one thing ta be

fearless in the face of death but ta actually wish fer it aint healthy.

Ya can’t change the past; ya just gotta keep soldiering on and use

the sadness and anger to make ya strong; aint that  what you said

some of you inquisitors do to get rid of the guilt wasn’t it?” she asked

with a stern look. Ian sighed audibly. He knew she was right and that

while death would have been preferable to his failure to the Emperor,

the past was unchangeable and the Emperor had obviously wanted him

to live. The best he could do was continuing soldiering on and tell himself

that in the future he would not fail.

“You make an excellent point, had the Emperor desired my death, I would

not be standing here today. I’m sorry I said that AJ.” said Ian returning

the embrace and mentally kicking himself. He knew that the dream she

had had the other night had bothered her greatly and still most likely was,

and that this had probably bothered her as well.

“It’s ok Ian, sorry fer kickin’ yer good leg.” replied Applejack.

“Eh, it was needed. I was being a dip shit” replied Ian with a smile and

causing Applejack to laugh. The two of them let go and continued

towards home, earning her a rather loud cry of protest from a not

too far off bush.

"AW COME ON!” yelled a small white unicorn filly popping out of one of

the bushes behind them before a small orange pegasus filly grabbed her

and stuffed her back in to the bush, and leaving Ian with a rather confused

look on his face.

“Really?” asked Applejack with a slightly annoyed look.

“What in the name of the Emperor was that?” asked Ian chuckling at the

little ones’ antics.

“Mah lil sis and her friends; apparently they’ve been trying’ ta set me up

with a special somepony fer hearts and hooves day since she heard

about mah break-up with Caramel, and apparently they think that it

would be amazing ta have me hooked up with the alien visitor.”

replied Applejack with a sour look on her face. Ian continued

chuckling at this new development.

“What, I’m not good enough for you miss high class?” asked Ian jokingly

and giving a hearty laugh as he used the same line Applejack had when

she had explained her ground rules to him nearly three months ago

when they had first meant and shared the massive suite in Canterlot.

Applejack blushed a very deep red at the memory before turning around

and shouting towards the Crusaders’ hiding place.

“Y’all better skedaddle on outta here before ya end up tryin’ out Cutie

Mark Crusaders Armor Polishers again!”  The three fillies ran as fast

as they could out of the bushes back towards their club house. Ian

just laughed harder. He may have laughed less had he known the

way that Applejack truly felt about him. In all reality, she would give

her front left hoof for a chance with Ian; He was honorable, kind,

and dedicated and she found him very handsome: but she knew

that it would not work. Ian had made that very clear those three

months ago.

“Applejack, are you alright?” asked Ian. She hadn’t even noticed

that she had a sad look on her face.

“Yeah, Ahm ok; it’s just that Ah do feel kinda lonely without having

him around.” she said hoping that Ian would buy it. As honesty was

her element, she was a horrible liar; but she could lie when she

absolutely needed to and pull it off.

“Applejack, you should be relieved to be rid of that two timing

sleaze ball. He would have only given you heartache.” replied Ian

with a stern look on his face.

“Don’t get me wrong, Ah wouldn’t go back ta him if he were the

last stallion on earth, Ah just feel a bit empty is all.” said Applejack.

“Well, why don’t we just hang out that day, that way you will not be

lonely. I enjoy our talks, and I do need to learn more about this

Hearts and Hooves Day as you call it.” said Ian.

“Really? You’d do that just so ah don’t feel alone?” asked Applejack.

“Yes, isn’t that what friends do when one of them is sad?” asked Ian

rhetorically with a kind smile.

“Ah- Ah don’t know what ta say; thank ya!” she said.

“It is no problem AJ; but one more thing: I ask that you do not

embrace me around my fellow humans. While I do not mind it,

some of them may find it…taboo.” said Ian. Applejack felt her

heart drop in her chest. “You can still give me a hug here and

there if need be, just be careful is all I’m asking. I am not sure

how Father Potalov or someone with a similar mindset would

react; and I would be unable to sleep at night if something

happened to you. You are a good friend Applejack; and in my

culture, those can be very difficult to come by: many of us do

not live long enough to create lasting friendships.” said Ian

sadly. This made Applejack feel somewhat sad for the

people of the Imperium, but also a little better that she was

a valuable friend to Ian and made her smile. As the sun

sank in the sky and the moon began to rise; the two made

their way home.

************************************************************************

Upon returning to the house, Ian and Applejack were greeted

by the smiling faces of Big Macintosh and Princess Luna.

“Well good evening, you two seem very happy.” said

Applejack with smile.

“Yes indeed.” said Luna; the princess was about to say more

when everyone was distracted by a sudden beeping.

“Pardon me that will be Jakob updating me on his progress.”

said Ian. He and Jakob spoke in High Gothic over the vox.

The chatter became very excited before Ian turned around

with a look of purpose in his eyes and made for the stairs

with Applejack and Luna after him.

“What has happened Inquisitor?” asked Luna.

“The door is back online and ready to be opened. He just

needs a few more minutes to hack in and shut down the

security systems. I need to suit up and get back to

Canterlot. They have sent a Valkyrie; it will be here within

twenty minutes.” said Ian.

“I must be present with you, I am the commander of

Equestria’s military and defense forces.” said Luna.

“Very well, I will be ready soon” replied Ian.

“Alright, we shall see you in Canterlot then.” said Luna

before going back downstairs.Ian suited up in his armor

in record time, just as the Valkyrie gunship arrived, he

had activated his armor and mag locked his new combi

weapon to his hip and slung Dread Bane over his back.

Ian boarded the gunship after saying a quick goodbye.

Luna had simply teleported home, so Ian would have to

just take the  gunship.Ian hopped in, and the Valkyrie

lifted off the ground and took to the sky; its engines

whining as it accelerated towards the distant spires

of Canterlot.