Old Wounds

Princess Luna's chariot, while not as extravagant as Celestia's, was very intimidating, with it's dim lanterns hanging on the back and an ornament at the front that resembled an eye. Consisting of four wheels and metal chains that were attached to the fliers, it was quiet small, only being able to fit Luna herself on the chariot. But what it lacked in size and beauty, it made up for it with it's lightness and speed. The chariot was also the same style as the two guard's armor, with it's gray and purple color scheme, even having fins on the back that resembled the guard's' bat wings.

After everything on the chariot was fully inspected and Far Side and Crater attached the chains to their armor, Princess Luna took her seat in the chariot.

"Not going with the black cape today, Princess?" asked Crater with an amused smile.

Luna responded with a chuckle. "No, I got rid of it. It would be best not to intimidate everypony like last time."

"Let's just get going," Far Side said. He wanted this night to be over with already, and was in a hurry to do so. "Best not let the Princess be late to wherever she's going."

Crater and Luna exchanged glances at each other. Crater shrugged and started to scrape his hooves against the moon surface. "All right then, let's ride!"

The two guards started to gallop, gaining speed until they flared their wings and took off. Once they gained a bit of altitude, they angled downward and began their descent towards Equestria.

As the chariot gained speed in its descent, Far Side felt an old familiar surge inside him. He was a pegasus pony before, often flying with his friends and even helped out with the weather team in his hometown. After his transformation though, he didn't fly as often as he use to, being ashamed of his newly acquired bat wings. But the rush he was experiencing now made him forget all about them, and the feeling of the wind whipping past his ears brought a smile to his face. He glanced over at Crater who was also smiling, almost laughing it seemed.

Crater was a pegasus pony before as well, but he was a much more avid flier than Far Side. He was more of a Cloudsdale pony, but lived in a village on Foal Mountain, due to his mother and brother being an earth pony. He was more accepting of the two for their new wings, stating that "It's better than not having wings at all." But his flying time was cut short, and only used during special training lessons that required flight.

As much as both didn't want to admit it though, the bat wings made flight much easier despite their horrendous look. While they had to gallop a distance to gain speed and altitude, unlike a regular pegasus who can take off like a rocket from the ground, in flight was much smoother and virtually silent in the air. This also reduced the need to flap their wings as much, and could easily increase their speed, which was exactly what both guards began to do.

"Be careful," cautioned Far Side, noticing their speedy descent. "If we hadn't veered off last minute on Nightmare Night, the Princess's return would have been marked by a crater. No pun intended."

Crater gave out a laugh. "Dude, that was really lame."

"Well I didn't mean to make a joke!" Far Side defended. He was about to think of a smart comeback before he remembered their passenger in the back.

He looked back to Princess Luna, expecting to see a face expressing annoyance, but was surprised to see Luna trying to suppress a chuckle. Maybe she has changed Far Side thought to himself, before looking back forward to avoid being caught looking. He instead focused on slowing down their decline until the wind subsided and the chariot flew quietly as the night around them.

"So Princess, where do you want to visit on this lovely night?" asked Crater.

"We shall visit Ponyville again," responded Luna.

"Oh, are they having another festival?" replied Crater amusingly.

Luna let out a smile. "Not tonight. I'm just paying a visit to somepony in particular."

Far Side and Crater exchanged glances but didn't want to push it. Instead they directed the chariot towards an approaching Ponyville.

Ponyville was one of the largest towns in the region. The only thing preventing it from being a city would be it's small population and lack of modern Canterlot technology. It reminded Far Side of his home before he was taken, with it's country atmosphere and numerous food stands in the market.

He was born and raised in Hoofington, and lived in a two story house, similar to ones that lined up in Ponyville. He slept on the top floor with a balcony attached to his room so he can gaze outside. During days, he would attend school and mess around, often getting negative comments from his teacher. He never really was into schooling, but took a big interest in stars and the moon. It always puzzled him what was up there in space, but he never got around to looking more into it. Little did he know that he would have a first hand experience.

It was early in the night, and most ponies had retired to their homes, so the chariot's arrival went unnoticed. This was also aided by the fact that large thunder clouds and lightning didn't announce their arrival as well.

"So where does this pony in particular live, your highness?" Far Side asked, taking the initiative for a change.

"He lives in a cottage on the outskirts of town," replied Luna, who was surveying the town beneath her. "near the Everfree Forest. Just continue in the direction in which we are going."

"And what has this pony done to deserve a visit from the Princess?" asked Crater. He looked back at Luna. "Has he committed a crime like tax evasion? Or maybe plotting against royalty perhaps? I'm sure Far Side and I can handle it."

Far Side rolled his eyes. Sure he and Crater were trained to be soldiers, but the training itself was quite mediocre
.

Nightmare Moon was an expert military tactician,she never herself trained soldiers before, relying on the Royal Guard to do so. Her drills were mainly them just flying around the moon a few times, or lifting heavy objects, more exercising than preparing for war. The only time their training took on a battle scenario, was when Luna turned some moon rocks into statues representing royal guards.

When Nightmare Moon presented these to the two guards, she had used her magic to make the figures move as if they were charging at them. Far Side and Crater didn't know any fighting techniques, so they just rammed into the statues head on, reducing them to piles of moon dust. The Mare in the Moon didn't look pleased with this, but not angry either. She never brought back the rock statues again.

"I'm sure he'll surrender once he gets a good look at us." said Far Side. He more or less meant it as a joke, but the warm atmosphere established earlier turned to ice.

Far Side noticed this, and turned to Crater, who just shook his head angrily and turned back to their flying. Far Side immediately felt guilty for his stupid comment, and angering Crater twice in one night. He didn't dare look back towards Luna.

Nice going there, genius Far Side thought to himself.