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“It's cold. Why is it always cold?” I muttered to myself as I looked over the wall of the small base on the border of the Crystal Empire. I have been stationed here for three years; three years of cold, snow, and a runny nose. I turned away from the snow-laden lands before me and went for a quick walk around the base to try to warm myself up, hoping to stave off some of the cold winds that continued to hit my body with its icy touch. As I walked around I took in the sights that I've seen non-stop for the last few years I've been here. The mess hall was near the back of the base, covered in a layer of snow and ice. The doors have frozen closed a few times; thank Celestia for unicorn magic being able to melt it off at a moments notice. I passed by the barracks where I spend most of my free time taking a hot shower and sleeping, or writing letters to my family. I continued to make my circle around the Operating Base and passed the armory where all of our armor and equipment is kept. It’s fully stocked in case of an imminent attack or invasion of the Crystal Empire, should it happen again. I passed by the front of the base a few minutes later and looked at the massive Iron Gate that marks the entrance to the base. I don’t know how that thing isn't frozen or rusted beyond repair, but it still stands like new.

Life in the guard isn't so bad, once you leave Basic Training. After the recruits complete Basic Training, most of the recruits are stationed back in Canterlot while a select few of us are sent somewhere else. I was one of those "lucky" few, if I can call myself that. When the Crystal Ponies reemerged, it took all of us by surprise. I was here before they came back though and when the city just reappeared; I nearly had a heart attack. I always wondered why we had a base up here when nothing ever happened but after that, this place became quite the hub of activity. New guards ponies were running in and out in large convoys full of supplies and personnel. I had requests for leave that were pending when the Crystal Ponies reappeared and they were all either discarded or outright rejected. Unfortunately, this resulted in my being here for the absurd amount of time that I have been. The Princesses were on edge and the guard that was already up this far North had no clue as to what to do, but it all turned out for the better in the end for the Crystal Empire and us, I guess. But been stuck here; outside the warm barrier dressed to my nose in armor and a thin jacket freezing my flank off in an area that doesn't see any action at all.

I went back up to my post on the wall and once again looked out over the frozen wasteland that is the Equestrian North. The wind blew, pushing snowflakes and drops of ice in all directions, most of which pelted my face. I looked at the small, half-frozen, watch attached about an inch above hoof and saw that I still had about an hour in my shift left. I sighed and went back to watching the barren wastelands of the frozen north.

______2______

The commander had come and ordered the shift change and I went down to the barracks to change out of my armor and into my off duty uniform, which was a simple shirt and a light jacket, after my shift had ended. I went to the mess hall, after I had finished changing, hoping that they were serving something better than the usual soup or gruel. When I arrived I found that two friends I had made during my time here were all sitting at their normal table; exactly two tables from the front and two tables to the right. How they ended up there, I will never know but it's a comfortable spot to eat and chat. I got my bowl of vegetable soup and went to sit with them, putting my tray down and taking my seat.

"Blinky! Good of you to join us!" a large Earth Pony yelled.

"Hey, Hammer Hoof. How have you been?" I asked, happy to be talking to a friend instead of staring at white snow.

"Glad to be out of the snow and inside where it's warm!" he yelled again, waving his hoof in the air.

"I hear ya, Ham. I'd rather be in bed and asleep than be in that accursed stuff,” a unicorn said, shaking the spoon in the air with his magic.

I sat down and took a sip of the hot meal. "That's good,” I mumbled. I turned my attention over to the unicorn across from me. "So, Demo Mag, what's on the agenda for your time off?"

He put a hoof to his chin and thought. "I forgot that was coming up,” he said, placing his spoon inside the bowl with its handle sticking up. “First, I'm going home. It's about time I saw my family again. After all of this Crystal Empire business, I’m ready to have some time off.”

Hammer Hoof raised a glass to his lips and chugged the liquid down for a second before smashing the wooden cup back down on the table. “Aye! How's that boy of yours doing? You haven't said a word about him in months. That's got to be a new record."

Demo's eyes went down and frowned. "Ah, he's gotten himself into trouble," he said, his tone deflating. This caught both of our attention and we looked at him expectantly. "I had the same face when I received the news,” he told us, “He had gotten into some scuffle with a class mate, gave the poor kid a black eye and a broken nose.”

I just looked down at my soup, my own thoughts travelling back to my own family. Before I could get any deeper into my thoughts a loud noise shook me from my trance.

"AHAHAHA! Tell me to buy your son lunch one day. Father always said ‘What can't be solved by words, solve with your hooves.’ AHAHAHA!"

"You can't be serious?" I questioned, looking over to Hammer Hoof. "If my daughter ever got into a fight I'd have her hide for it."

"Bah, you know nothing of my homeland and how we lived,” Hammer Hoof grunted.

"Yeah, because I didn't grow up in the mountains were oxygen was scarce big guy,” I retorted. "I still have some brain cells left." I tapped my hoof to my head. We all burst into a big round of laughter, sharing in the little amount of enjoyment time that we had. "What about you Demo? How's your wife holding up?"

He took a drink from his cup and sighed loudly. "She's doing well. She's been begging me to retire so we can have a few more foals. But if I retired, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I'd go stir crazy." He looked at me and so did Hammer Hoof. "What about you Blink Wing? How's Lilly and Scoots doing?"

"Well. Scootaloo's eighth birthday is coming up and it looks like I'll have to send her another card this year. My requests for leave have all been rejected ever since the Crystal Empire’s return and Lilly's been holding up decently enough. She sends me the occasional letter asking when I’ll be back and gives short updates on Scootaloo and how she's been doing.” I took another sip from my soup and sighed heavily.

"Don't worry. I'm sure everything will work out."

"Thanks Hammer,” I said, unsure of whether or not things really would work out or if I would be stuck here longer.

We all got up from our chairs and set our trays by the dish area and left the mess hall. Before long we were back at the barracks changing out of our off duty attire and crawling into our bunks. I pulled the thin blanket over myself and placed my head on the pillow and closed my eyes for some much needed sleep.

______3______

I waited outside the office of my Commanding Officer, Commander Muscle Bound. How this monster of an Earth Pony got into this position is beyond me, but that's a story for another time. I raised a hoof and knocked.

"ENTER!" I heard come from the other side of the door. I opened it slowly and walked in. Sitting behind a large desk was Commander Muscle Bound. This behemoth of a pony could easily rival Princess Celestia for pure height and was easily more muscular than that weird pegasus who shouted "Yeargh" all the time.

"Sir!" I said, saluting.

He looked up from his papers and looked at me for a moment with a quizzical eye. "At ease.” he finally said. “What can I do for you Sergeant?"

"I would like to know the status of my request for leave, Sir."

"Name?"

"Blink Wing."

He shuffled through a pile of papers on his desk for a while until he pulled out a single piece of paper from the large stack. He looked it over quickly, while mumbling to himself. "Yes, your request for leave has been approved. It says here you are sorely overdue for some time off Sergeant and has granted you a three year leave period to match your time here as an apology from the higher ups. I will say that your specific case is highly unusual and is considered illegal, but with the sudden reemergence of the Crystal Empire, some of our usual rules got thrown out the window in the panic. I'll just need your signature to complete the form,” he told me while pushing it over to me. I eagerly took a pen and signed the paper, making my signature as legible as I could through my excitement. The Commander took it back and looked it over again. "Everything's in order. You can pack your bags tomorrow. A carriage will be here to take you to the rail station when you are ready to leave. I will see you when you return."

"Thank you sir!" I saluted again and left the office in a hurry. I couldn't wait to go home.

______4______

"That's great Blink Wing!" Demo said while we talked at dinner.

"I can't wait to see Lilly's face when I get home,” I exclaimed, thinking about what she'll say when I get there.

"Hey, you alright Blinky? You seem nervous," Hammer Hoof said, looking in my direction.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just, what about Scootaloo? How will she react when she sees me? What will I do? What will she do? I just don't know,” I told them, hoping that they would have some advice for me.

"I don't know what she'll do and I can’t' tell you what to do. All I can say is that you will just have to wait and see," Demo told me.

"I was afraid you were going to say that Demo," I groaned

"Bah, just do what feels natural. Hugs, kisses, ruffling her mane? Just do whatever comes to you," Hammer said, trying to use his softer tone of voice, which proved rather ineffective.

"So, Hammer does have brain cells after all,” I chided, to which he glared at me. "Alright fellas I'm going to pack. I've got an extended vacation coming up and a family to see."

I left the mess hall and went back to the barracks and grabbed my bag. I pulled things off of the shelves and off the floor, stuffing the seemingly random assortment of things into my bag. When I was done I laid myself down and picked up the picture of Scootaloo and Lilly. Lilly's magenta color shined in the light of the sun and Scootaloo’s orange coat was bright and her mane hung limply at her side. Her frame was still pretty small when we had the photo done in the park. I looked at the picture wondering how much she's grown in my time away, probably a lot. I put the picture back onto my small night stand and closed my eyes.

______5______

Morning came and I was boarding the train after the prearranged carriage dropped me off at the station. The brightly colored train sat still on the tracks billowing smoke from its coal fueled engine. I was still wearing my armor, which tends to be uncomfortable when sitting for long periods, but I didn't care. This was the train I was going home on; wearing my armor was a trivial matter in the grand scheme of things.

I went over to the 'entrance' line and waited to show the conductor my ticket. The line moved decently fast but I was in a rush. The world seemed to move very slowly around me while I still was left unaffected, making the wait seem unbearable. By the time I had gotten to the Conductor I was a little on edge after waiting for what, to me, seemed like a couple hours. I handed my ticket to the Conductor, who took it and smiled, ushering me aboard. I rushed into the train and was able to get a seat near the front of the car, making it easier for me to get off. I pulled out a book and started to read when this purple mare sat down next to me. I glanced over and watched her put her bags under the seat and shuffle around in her chair for bit until she came to a stop and stared at the wall.

"What are you reading?" She asked, a short time later. I wasn't in the mood to talk at the moment and this was going to be a bother.

I put on a neutral face and turned my head to face her. "Nothing special. It's How to Teach Your Foal How to Fly,” I replied, hoping to satisfy her curiosity.

"You have foals?"

"One. A filly," I said, becoming a little annoyed and I was still not in the mood to talk.

"I don't have any children. Tell me what's she like?"

I let out a large breath and turned to look at the mare next to me. Her coat was purple, so was her mane but it had a pink stripe in it. Her eyes were a deep purple, reminding me of Scoot’s favorite color. "Listen, I haven't been home in a very long time and I just want to try to relax before I get there, and who are you?" I asked; my agitation and impatience shining through clear as day. She looked a little downcast and turned away from me for a few seconds. I felt bad after seeing her look so miserable and she was still a young mare, not even out of her teens yet by her appearance. "Hey, I'm sorry I didn't mean to be rude. I'm just homesick,” I apologized. She turned back to me and looked me in the eye. I could tell that she was trying to judge the sincerity of my apology. Her gaze softened slightly and turned into a light smile.

"I forgive you." She told me, to my relief. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. Nice to meet you..."

"Blink Wing,” I said.

"Blink Wing. So, tell me how long have you been away from home?"

"Three very long years,” I told her, frowning.

"I knew the guard was tough but I never realized that they would do that to somepony,” she said, startled at my proclamation. "I'll have to have a talk with Shining Armour about that,” she grumbled.

"Captain Shining Armour?" I asked, thinking I had heard her wrong.

"Yes, he's my brother." She had a large smile on her face by now and it made me feel somewhat better about apologizing to the poor mare.

I froze with shock. Had she really just said that he was the sister of Captain Shining Armour? I could not doubt what she said but I continued to sit in silence with a dumb look on my face.

"Are you okay?" She asked me, cocking an eyebrow.

"I...Uh...Yes! Yes, I'm fine. I just didn't expect that the one pony I would be talking to on this trip would be the Captain’s sister,” I said nervously.

"I get that a lot unfortunately,” she said, still smiling.

“I bet. But, no, the guard does not usually do this. In fact, they aren't even supposed to for that matter. I was stationed where the border of the Crystal Empire had reappeared and had a couple requests for leave pending and when the Empire suddenly came back, all of the Royal Guard's usual regulations and rules were, apparently, undermined by the urgency that the return of the Empire brought with it. I had been there a year when the Empire came back and then I had spent the next two years, up until yesterday, helping with the reorganization and the securing of the Crystal Empire. When I would go in to request leave, the higher ups would tend to sweep it under the rug or just flat out say no to my request I learned after receiving the papers.” I looked over to Twilight and her face was turning red and was scrunched into a frown and she looked like she was going to burst into flames.

“Shining Armour is never going to hear the end of this. I’m going to have a nice long chat that big idiot before something like this happens again,” she fumed. “Was there anypony else that this happened to?”

I thought for a while, trying to come up with an answer. “There’s Hammer Hoof and Demo Mag. They are the only two I can think of, but they came in about three months after the Empire returned and Demo Mag has his vacation coming up next week. Hammer Hoof doesn't have a family of his own and has chosen to stay until the Guard makes him leave.”

Twilight was still fuming when I had finished telling her about Hammer and Demo. She remained that way for a while until she pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and had written down something before folding it back up and putting it back into her bag. “Well onto another subject.” She said after she had finished with the parchment. “What's your family like?"

"My wife's name is Lilly. She's has a beautiful magenta coat, a mane to match, and shining green eyes,” I told her, becoming lost in the image. She giggled some, breaking me from my trance. "What's so funny?"

"Your face. You were staring off into space, looking all dreamy eyed," she laughed.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat. "And my daughter's name is Scootaloo. She's an orange colored pegasus with a purple mane,” I said, looking at Twilight; who had a look on her face that made me uncomfortable.

"You're Scootaloo's father?" I nodded. "No wonder we would never see you around town. You were up in the Crystal Empire." I nodded again. "You must be excited to see her again."

"I’m more than excited to be able go home, Miss Sparkle. In fact, her birthday is tomorrow and I'm going to be there for it this time." I smiled widely and thought of holding her in my arms again.

The rest of the day was spent talking to Twilight Sparkle, who had told me many things about herself. Most of which surprised me to no end, like that she's the personal pupil of the Princess and so on. She continued with an apology for her brother’s supposed incompetence with my leave fiasco and that he would send his never ending apology to me and my family, to which I would simply nod and tell her that it was fine. She went on like this for a good two hours before I finally had managed to settle her down enough to move on to a more pleasant conversation.

It was dark by the time we had finished our conversation and we were both very tired. I said my farewell to her and went down to the train car that had the beds in it. I took the one at the bottom of the stack of three and drifted into sleep, thinking of home.

______6______

By the time we had reached the station in Ponyville, it was almost afternoon. Twilight and I talked some more about ourselves until she had to go and "take care of her books" is what she told me. I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder and left the train. The sun greeted me and I could feel the warmth I had missed for so long. I trotted off of the platform and walked along the streets of the town. Some of the ponies cast a few stares my way. They were probably wondering what a member of the Guard was doing here.

I stopped in front of a stand full of red flowers when a mare with an off-pink mane and a cream colored coat came up to me.

"Can I help you sir?" She asked with a friendly smile.

"How much for a bouquet?"

"For your special somepony?" She asked, grinning a little bit.

"My wife actually. I've been away for a very long time and want to give her something nice."

She nodded and quickly wrapped up the amount of roses necessary to complete the bouquet and gave them to me.

"How much?" I asked, pulling out my bits. She waved her hoof at me and shook her head.

"No charge.” I looked at her questioningly. "I don't charge members of the guard. Especially when they come home from duty." I nodded and thanked her, before leaving to find my house.

After I got the flowers I came up on a small house near the edge of town by Sweet Apple Acres. It was two story building, large enough for a family of four which fit my family of three perfectly. I knocked on the brown door and waited for Lilly to answer.

"Coming!" I heard a female voice shout. The door opened a short time later and a small framed magenta colored mare stood in the doorway. I held the bouquet of flowers over my face so she wouldn't see me right away. She looked at the flowers apprehensively. "Can I help you?" she asked, suspiciously. I could tell she was nervous at the display of flowers.

I moved them away from my face and smiled, tears started to roll from my eyes. "I'm home Lilly! I'm finally home,” I said, still crying. She looked at me shocked and then raised a hoof to her mouth for a moment.

"Blink Wing!" she shouted, lunging at me. She tackled me to the ground, making me drop her bouquet of flowers. She planted a kiss on my lips and held it there for a while, but I didn't care, I was back with my wife. She parted herself from my face and we both got back up. "I can't believe it. You're finally back home."

"Yes, and I'm here to stay for a while. I don't need to be back at the Crystal Empire for another three years. I can finally spend time with you and Scootaloo,” I cried, hugging Lilly close to me.

"That’s wonderful! I can’t believe it. After all this time away,” she cried into my chest. I continued to hold her close and stroked her mane with my hoof. We remained like this before I pulled away and looked at her.

“Where is Scootaloo?” I asked.

“She’s at school right now."

I nuzzled her neck and picked up the roses from the ground. I made my way for the door, with Lilly close behind. "Let me set these down in a vase and then... I'm going to school." As I went and put the flowers into the vase I had taken from the living room, Lilly tapped my shoulder and held out an envelope.

“What’s this?” I asked, taking the envelope from her hoof.

“Just arrived in a flash of light a second ago,” she replied.

Curious, I opened the envelope and pulled out the parchment from it. I opened it up and on the top was the seal of the Princess. My mouth dropped. “It… It’s from the Princess,” I stuttered.

“Then read it!” I read over the note immediately and my mouth would not close after I had finished. “What did it say?”

“ I've been honorably discharged from the Royal Guard,” I said, still in shock.

“What?” Lilly was on the verge of tears at my loss of a job. “Why?”

“It said that my situation was unacceptable and that the Princesses have discharged me form the Guard with full benefits and a pension.” I was still stunned and then remembered my train ride to Ponyville. “Twilight Sparkle you wonderful unicorn,” I mumbled. Lilly looked at me with a funny face. I knew what she was thinking and I quickly explained what had happened on the train to her. She nodded in understanding and let the news begin to sink in. “She actually did what she said she would.”

“And that would be?”

“She said she was going to have a long chat with her brother, who happens to be Captain Shining Armour, and she is the personal student of Princess Celestia! She must have had a hoof in this.” I was beyond excited now. I had been honorably discharged, had full benefits with a pension, and now I had all the time in the world to spend with my family. There was only one way this could get better, and that was seeing Scootaloo again. “Come on Lilly, I have a daughter to see.”

______7______

Lilly and I walked to the School House where I knew Scootaloo was waiting. I hadn't told either of them I was coming home and I knew that Scootaloo was in for a surprise when I walked in. We arrived at the red building and Lilly and I discussed what I was going to do to surprise her. By the time we had finished doing that, the school day was almost over.

I went up to the door and opened it, only peering in for a second, where the sight of desks, fillies, colts and a lone teacher greeted me. I opened the door fully and stepped inside.

"Can I help you sir?" the teacher asked. I could tell she was nervous at seeing a fully uniformed Royal Guard inside her School House by the way she was fidgeting in front of me.

"Yes. I am looking for a filly named Scootaloo,” I told her, doing my best to sound important.

"Has she done something wrong?" The teacher was fully nervous now, almost shaking.

"We have reason to believe she was involved in a rather serious incident,” I said, holding my tone. “It involved a Miss Gabbygums and the invasion of her highness' privacy. I need to speak with her immediately.” The mare nodded and ushered an orange pegasus with a purple mane to the front of the room. "Scootaloo?" I asked, barely holding my straight face. She nodded weakly. "Do you know who I am?" She nodded.

"You're a Royal Guard,” she said nervously.

"That's right. I am a Royal Guard,” my stern features began to falter ever so slightly at seeing her in front of me at arm’s length. “But, I'm also somepony else." Scootaloo looked up at me.

I couldn't take it anymore and the dam inside my eyes broke, releasing a flood of tears. I ripped off my helmet and threw it aside. "Sweetheart!" I called holding out my hooves.

Scootaloo's eyes widened and she too began to cry as well. She ran to me and jumped into my waiting arms and I held her to my chest. "Daddy," she whimpered.

"Scootaloo,” I cried as I stroked her mane and held her to me. My daughter. My little girl. For the first time in three years, I held my daughter; my most prized possession.

"You're back."

"That's right and this time I’m here to stay. Happy birthday Scootaloo."