Love and War

Chapter 5

“Tia, who was that?” Luna voiced, as Celestia walked over to her balcony and her horn began to glow.  Along the horizon of the mountaintops, the outline of sun could be seen peaking over the tallest of mountains.  Celestia sighed and walked back into her room, ready to face her sister.  There was an awkward silence between the two sisters before Luna took a step forward and stared at Celestia, their eyes locking.

“Sister, who was that I just saw in the same bed as you?” Luna asked again, this time sounding more forceful, which made Celestia take a step back.

“What, what do you mean Luna?” Celestia asked nervously.  Luna’s expression turned from one of persistence, to one of annoyance.

“Sister, you know good well what we are talking about.  Who was that stallion sharing the same bed as you?” Luna more forcefully demanded.

“Please Luna.  This is not the time or place for such a conversation,” Celestia proceeded to take a step forward by was blocked by Luna.

“Answer thy question sister.  Who was that stallion and was it the same stallion that I have seen you on occasion, sharing the same the bed with?”  Luna was somewhat yelling in her royal Canterlot voice.  Celestia was at a loss for words, but lowered her head.  She knew her sister would not stop pressing the issue.

“He... he is a member of the guard Luna.  And yes, I have shared the same bed with him on multiple occasions; but we haven’t done anything like that.  Well, not until last night at least,” Celestia murmured, just audible enough for Luna to hear.

“Thy sister has engaged in acts reserved for those of only the married status; and with a member of the royal guard none the less.  What were you thinking Tia?” Luna boomed in her royal Canterlot voice as Celestia stood her ground.

“You don’t understand Luna.  He isn’t like the rest of the ponies here.  He...?” she was cut off by Luna interrupting her.

“Sister.  You are a princess of high nobility and grace.  You cannot afford to be sleeping around with stallions in the guard.  It is against the rules and we cannot afford to show any signs of weakness or breaking with the war brewing.  You must tell him that you are no longer able to be associated with him, or there will be consequences.”

“But Luna, just please hear me out...”

“No.  Tia, you know the rules as well as I do.  If you do not do something about this, then I will.”

“Luna, you can't,” Celestia begged, a tear in her eye.

“I can and I will.  My mind is made up sister.  If you will not do something about this, then I will.”

“BUT I LOVE HIM!” Celestia shouted at Luna.  Luna was quite shocked at the sudden outburst from her sister.

“I love him Luna.  Everyday he is away from me; I find it hard to sleep.  I stay up during your nights, wondering and praying that this war will soon end, so he can come back to me.  You have no idea what it’s like to wait for the one you love to return to you.  All those sleepless nights and all those lonely days without him by my side.  I love him Luna, and I cannot change that.  If that makes me unfit to rule, then so be it.”  Celestia had a determined expression on her face, while Luna carried an expression of shock and guilt.

“Tia... I had no idea you felt this way about him,” She said, staring at the ground in shame.

“I do Luna.  And I hope you find it in your heart to look past the fact that he is a royal guard, and allow me to be happy.  Please Luna.  I love him with all my heart.  I would wait till the end of time, if only to get the chance to be with him one last time.”

“You, you really care about him, don’t you Tia?”  Luna asked and was met with a nod from Celestia.

“Very well.” Luna took a step closer to her sister and gave an affectionate nuzzle on the side of her face.

“If you really feel this strongly about him, then he will be allowed to stay on the guard, as well as... date you.  But there is one favor I would ask of you sister,” Luna requested as an idly sitting Celestia waited for the request.

“I would like to meet this guard you are dating, for a little talk.  If I deem him fit to date my older sister, then I will bestow upon him my blessing.  From there, we can go about making it known to the other members of the guard, and for him to not receive any special treatment.  That is my only request sister.”  Luna finished and Celestia continued to stare at the ground before giving a slow nod of her head.

“I will arrange for a meeting of you two for around seven tonight,” She said, as Luna bowed her head.

“Thank you sister.  I will be back shortly.  Until then, please send news of this meeting to him so that he may prepare himself.”  Luna gave her sister another affectionate nuzzle and smile.

“I am only trying to look out for you sister.  Please do not take any of my precautions as an offense.  I just want to make sure that you will be safe.  Know that I will always love you Tia.  You are my sister and I will always love you to my dying breath.”  Luna gave a quick hug to her sister before leaving Celestia alone with her thoughts about the new situation that has presented itself to her.

Canterlot Palace (On Patrol)

As I walked along the outskirts of the palace, I couldn’t help but feel an uneasiness dwelling inside of me.  I clutched my stomach and began to feel very nervous.  “What if I'm not allowed to see her anymore.  I mean, I know they have rules about a guard dating the princesses, but...” I slowly came to a halt as I thought about what I was going to say.

“But I love her.”  This last statement made my stomach churn and I could feel the nervousness start to overpower me.

“No, I can't let this happen.  If I have too, I will quit the guard to be with her.  I will just have to figure this out, but I know where I stand, and I will be with her.  Someway or another, I will find a way for us to be together,” I said, sounding more confident.  I continued my patrol, but shortly after was blinded by a small flash of light.

“What the hell?” I yelled, as it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the sudden change in light.  After being momentarily blinded, I regained my vision and saw a letter floating in front of me.  I looked around the area I was at, but I was the only pony there.  I looked back at them levitating letter and grabbed it in my hoof.  I unraveled the letter and began to read.

“Dear Thorn.  This is Princess Celestia and I want to inform you that my sister requests an audience with you.  This is due to the fact that she happened to stumble upon us this morning.  Do not be alarmed, for I have told her about us and she only wants to get acquainted with you.  She means no harm and is willing to look past the fact that you are a member of the guard.  You will meet Luna in her private study this evening at seven.  Please do not be late.  Just know that whatever happens, I will make sure nothing bad happens to you.  Love, Princess Celestia.”  As I finished reading the letter, I felt my legs begin to wobble.

“This was not supposed to happen.  We hid it so well, but yet we still got caught.”  I walked over to a large oak tree and banged my head against it a few times.

“How was I so stupid and careless.  So stupid, stupid, stupid.” I said, with a hit to the head with each word.  I turned around to where my back faced the tree and propped my body against its base.  I started to rub my head with a hoof and felt a large bruise and tenderness in the area I struck the tree with.

“Hurting myself will get me nowhere,” I said with a heavy sigh.  I was silent for a few minutes, thinking of all the scenarios that could possibly happen later that night.

“I just need to be calm and collective.  Celestia is counting on me to make a good impression with her sister.  I just need to be rational and control my emotions,” I said, slowly standing up from my moments rest.

“Tonight is going to be one long night,” I whispered aloud then started back on my patrol.

Luna’s Private Study (6:55pm)

As I slowly wondered my way towards Luna’s private study, I began to feel rather nervous again.  My stomach was churning and my legs began to feel a little wobbly.  It took me another few minutes to finally reach the study and compose myself.

“Alright Thorn, you can do this.  Celestia is counting on you,” I thought to myself before giving the door to Luna’s study a few hits with my hoof.  There was a moment of silence before I heard faint hoof steps growing louder.  Within a few seconds the door was open and I found myself staring at Princess Luna.  I quickly bowed and waited to be addressed.

“Come guard.  We have much to discuss,” She said with a stern voice.  The nervousness returned and I could feel my legs begin to wobble again.  I reluctantly walked inside of her study as the door made an eerie sound before it closed behind me.  I walked a few more feet from the door before I stood at attention and waited to be addressed.  Luna on the other hoof walked over to her fireplace and quietly sat in front of it; staring at the flames as they flickered and sparked with each passing moment.  She then turned to me and motioned for me sit next to her.  At first I didn’t move, but after a minute or so I slowly walked over and sat next to her and watched as the flames of the fireplace dance and spark in a soothing motion.

“What is your name?” Luna asked, not taking her eyes off the fireplace.  I looked at her and then back at the fireplace before responding.

“My name... my name is Thorn.” I said.

“I meant your real name.” Luna quietly asked.  I became nervous that she had asked such a question.  She looked at me and gave a small smile.

“Tia has told me a few things about you Thorn.  About how you are not from here and what it is like where you come from.  You do not have to tell me everything, all I ask though is that you don’t lie to me.”  I stared at the Princess for a few moments, not knowing how to respond before I slowly nodded my head.

“My real name... is Steven Anderson, thirty-first Battalion Army Rangers,” I said, causing Luna to look at me curiously.

“Army Rangers?” she asked.  I smiled as I began to explain.

“It is basically a part of the military, like your royal guard.  We join to serve and protect those around us that are put in danger.”

“I see.  And to what extent do you uphold your duty to protect?”  I looked at Luna and had an emotionless face.

“Till my dying breath.  I will protect those around me with every fiber of my being until I die.  Especially those I love.”  Luna smiled and gave a small nod.

“Good.  I can see that you will not let anything bad happen to my sister.  Now tell me Thorn, how did you manage to come to a place like this?”  I looked down at the ground remembering how I first came here.

“I... I didn’t come here by choice.  I was sent here because of an experiment.  Where I was from, there was a war.  It pinned all of the greatest powers against each other.  One of these great powers came from a group of people who called themselves Nazis.  These... Nazis were very cruel in every aspect you can think of.  They tortured their prisoners, performed experiments on them, and when they were finally done with them; they would kill them.  I remember this one instance of their cruelty.  There was a group of people known as Jews, who were the main target of the Nazi group.  They unloaded the group of prisoners from a van and forced them to the edge of the bridge.  In order to save money, they tied couples, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons together and leaned them up against the railing.  They would kill one of the people tied together and then push them over the bridge.  The weight of the other person tied to them would force the other person to drown.”  Luna had tears in her eyes by this time, but I continued.

“Well, I was a soldier before I came here, fighting in this war.  I had the displeasure of being captured.  They tortured me and used me for many of their experiments.  I can recall my friends... no, my brothers yelling in agonizing pain as they were tortured right in front of us.  One day, I was taken to an experimental testing ground.  I had no idea what was there, but I assumed they needed a test subject.  Of course, I was right and was strapped to this machine.  Apparently, this group of Nazis was practicing with the idea of teleportation.  As they started up the machine, I could feel a surge of electricity flow through my body.  I screamed in agonizing pain and could feel my body becoming distorted.  From the immense pain, I blacked out.  When I woke up, I was in some strange town.  As I got to my feet, I noticed that something was different.  Apparently my body adapted to the form of a pony.  At first I thought it was all a dream.  Soon I realized that it wasn’t; but I made the best of it.  After finding work, I saved most of money and came here to Canterlot.  I was soon asked to join the guard and here I am now.”  Luna had tears pouring from her eyes.  She knew what Celestia told her about the place I came from, but she could not fathom anything like that ever happening to anyone.  I was still staring at the fire as she continued to silently cry.  I turned to see that she had tears in her eyes.

“Princess, why are you crying?” I asked, as she wiped a few tears away from her eyes.

“Because you have been through so much.  I don’t know how you can even manage to deal with everything that has happened to you.”  I smiled slightly as she said this.

“Sometimes I wonder that myself.  But I have found something better than all of those terrible things that have happened to me.”  I turned to face Luna.

“Do you know what that one thing is?”  I asked her as she slowly nodded her head and wiped a few tears away from her face.

“It’s my sister, isn’t it?” I nodded my head as Luna wiped away the last of her tears.

“I can tell you really love her and I know she really loves.  You would die to protect her and she would give up ruling just to be with you.”  I looked at Luna with a shocked expression as she said this.  She giggled slightly before continuing.

“Yes.  My sister threatened to stop ruling Equestria, if that was the only way she could be with you.”  I smiled softly to myself and looked back towards Luna.  I was met with a smile on Luna’s face.

“She loves you Thorn.  She was willingly to give away her place as a Princess just to be with you.  I ask that you treat her with the utmost respect and love her in the same way she loves you.”  I nodded my head, agreeing with her.

“I promise I will.  I will love her till the day I die and protect her with my life.” I said.  Luna smiled and placed a hoof on my shoulder.

“Thank you.  I am only trying to look out for Tia.  She means so much to me and I would never want to do anything to hurt her,” Luna said.  I smiled and placed a hoof on her shoulder as well.

“You are being a wonderful sister Luna.  You are looking out for Celestia no matter what the cost.  You love your sister so much that you are willing to put her feelings towards you aside to protect her.”  Luna nodded her head, as she stood up from the fireplace and slowly strolled towards her large window with a balcony.  She opened the window and stared out towards Canterlot.  I slowly got up from my place and walked next to her.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” She said.  I stared out towards the brightly lit city with Luna.

“It is beautiful. It reminds me of what my life was like before the war.  When I used to stare out of my two-story house and admire the city with all its wondrous lights.”  I was nudged by Luna and quickly snapped out of my daydream.

“Sorry about that,” I said, as Luna gave a small giggle.

“How about you go get Tia.  I'm sure she will want to see you.  I think I made my point clear,” Luna said, walking towards the fireplace and sitting down in front of it.  I smiled as I walked towards the door.  I was about a foot or two from the door before I stopped and looked back towards Luna.  I trotted up to her and as she looked at me, wrapped my hooves around her in a hug.

“Thank you Luna.  You have no idea how much this means to Tia and me,” I said, as she smiled and returned the hug.

“Think nothing of it.  All I want is to see my sister happy and with you around, she seems to be much happier.  All that I ask is to not hurt her in any way.”  I smiled and released her from the hug.

“I promise I wont.” I said, releasing her from the hug and standing up.  “I'm sure I will see you again very soon Luna.  Until then.”  I gave a courteous bow as Luna stood up and faced me.

“No need to bow Thorn.  I do not care for all the official acknowledgements I receive.  In public is fine, but when it is amongst friends, I see no need,” She said, smiling at me as I unbowed.  As I raised my head, I noticed something standing on the open balcony.

“Luna, what is that?” I asked, as Luna turned around before I realized what it was.

“Luna!” I said, shoving her aside, an arrow piercing my chest slightly under the armor I was wearing.  I wobbled slightly as I saw the creature ready a second arrow.  Luna was so shocked; she did not know what to do.  Without any hesitation I leapt in front of Luna and took another arrow to the side of my body, which also pierced the armor I was wearing.  I fell to the ground with a loud thud.  Two guards came bursting through the door of Luna’s private study.  They saw myself on the ground and the creature standing on the balcony.  Both guards quickly rushed the creature.  The creature swiftly flew away from the balcony with a Pegasus guard in pursuit.  The other guard rushed over towards my semi-conscious body and looked at the wounds I had sustained.

“We need a doctor in here,” The guard yelled.  A moment or two later, six more guards burst into the study with swords drawn.  As they saw that the Princess was safe, they turned their focus towards me.

“Don’t worry Captain, you will be fine,” One of the guards said, as they carefully loaded me onto a stretcher.  I was becoming light headed and could see the two arrows that were protruding from my body.  My sight began to become hazy as I tried to focus on what was happening.  After a few moments of pain and blood loss, I blacked out.