The Wandering Star

Chapters

An Ancestors Promise (Zecora)
Diary of a Rose of Luck (Roseluck)
Memories of a Princess in Pain (Princess Luna)
When Bolts Cross (Spitfire)
Under Your Muzzle (Shining Armor)
My Hero's Hero (Gilda)
Legacy of the Rich (Filthy Rich)

An Ancestors Promise (Zecora)

All the zebra gathered for this year’s Placement Trial. Each year all the young zebras who have yet to find their place in the tribe will gather for a ritual that places each one in a set of tests. Here they will find their inner most talents and earn their place amongst the tribe, not to mention their placement marks which will appear on their flank as soon as their talents are discovered. This day was the very day that the young Zecora had been waiting for her entire life. Every day she has counted down waiting for her chance to show her skills in magic, something that very few zebra of the northern tribe ever get to do.

As the young zebra finished lining up, the Zebra chief trotted up to the podium and announced, “Brothers! Sisters! Both young and old! Today we are gathered here for a very special ritual that will determine the talent and skills of the tribes young ones. And now, The Elder is here to pass her blessing and allow the luck of the ancestors to smile upon our youth.”
As the tribe chief stepped down, a very old zebra stepped forward and announced. “Today be a very important time for these foals. This rite of passage will determine the fate of each, and it will also give hope to those who step forward for next year’s placement Trial. May luck smile upon you all!”

Just then one of the ritual guides stepped toward the foals, “Will the young ones who wish to become warriors please step forward.”
Most of the colts took very confident steps forward and followed their guide to an arena where they would test their skills in becoming a warrior. The next guide stepped forward, “If magic be, the choice you see, then come forth and follow me.”
Zecora couldn’t believe it, there was another that spoke like her, Zecora stepped forward and replied, “Magic you teach? I'll volunteer, I'm prepared for this, I have no fear.”
The mage smiled and replied, “I see your talent, I see it well. I feel you only need to complete one spell.”
The zebra mage lead Zecora to a hut on the edge of the village, once they entered the scent of many different potions in the air only made Zecora cringe. The zebra lead her to a bubbling cauldron that sat in the middle of the hut.

When Zecora held her nose, the teacher got irritated, “You know not the value of all the scents, it can tell you the potion, what it represents. Inhale the brew, the smoke it plays, you can tell its been here for almost three days, within the time five minutes to be strait, add the ingredient, it mustn’t be late.”
Zecora was confused, “But how must I tell, what complete the spell?”
“You must use the smell, this will foretell. but time it right or it won’t end well.”
Zecora uncovered her nose and started thinking about the smell of the boiling brew. All of a sudden she knew what the brew needed next, she didn’t understand it but it was as if the name of the ingredient needed was handed to her on a piece of paper.

Zecora looked at the table with all the ingredients then she picked up what was needed, the hairs of a sunflower. As she looked at the flask, she started smelling the scent of the brew once again. Just like before the time to add the ingredient started to appear in her mind as if she was watching a timer. She waited for the precise moment to add the ingredient then she poured every hair into the brew all at once. At first, it didn’t seem to work, but then the grey murky potion started to glow, then its color started to change. First to a darken red, slowly changing to a light red, orange, then finely the colors stopped changing when the brew turned Yellow. The Mage smiled and continued, “Good job young one, but your time is not done. One more thing before you can rest, one final ingredient to pass the test.”

Zecora looked at the mage and replied, “One more you say, a different tune you play? but what you say is entirely true, I need one more ingredient to finish this brew. When I add this feather to the brew right now, it should change the weather, though I don’t know how.”
Zecora picked up a phoenix feather from the table of ingredients and dropped it into the cauldron. As soon as it hit the potion, the feather turned to ash and mixed amongst the ingredients. Almost immediately the cauldron made one big puff of yellow smoke that hung overhead like a cloud, then it started to shape itself into an emblem that looked like a spiral sun pictograph. As this pictograph hung, overhead it started to turn gray then it started to drop snow.

Zecora couldn’t believe her eyes, the cloud that was in that shape of a sun, was dropping snow inside the hut. She could only smile at the marvel she had just created. This was one of her very first spells and it was bringing all sorts of joy and wonder to her young heart. The mage smiled and spoke, “Congratulations young one, I'm proud of your task. You earned your place, in the tribe at last. But it’s not here you should stay though it’s only the start, you must meet your fate, for you have a part.”
Zecora was confused, but before she could ask about what the mage meant by fate, the village elder entered the hut and spoke, “Young one. I have waited many decades to see this day, though I thought it would happen long after my death. Please come with me, we have much to discuss.”

Zecora was now even more confused, but as she turned around, she noticed that her placement mark had appeared on her flank, it looked exactly like the sun that the cloud from the potion created at the top of the hut. This means that her true place among the tribe was a medicine mare. The elder zebra lead Zecora out of the hut and to another part of the village, this part was much older than the rest and this ground was considered sacred so very few zebra were allowed in this area. The village elder lead Zecora to the most sacred hut of all. This place was said to hold a treasure of the four tribes, though it was unknown what this rare treasure was. Any zebra who was bold enough to step onto this sacred ground was severely punished then exiled and never allowed entry into any of the four major tribes. Therefore, it was expected that Zecora hesitated when the elder asked her to enter the hut.

Inside the sacred hut, there were a large number of pillows and cushions all over the floor, and at the far end of the hut was a lone spear with phoenix feathers just below the blade. Something was telling Zecora that this spear held an unbelievable value to not only the four tribes, but all of Zebrica. The elder looked at Zecora and spoke, “I'm sure you know the story of this sacred spear, and its wielder?”
Zecora shook her head, “This spear holds value, of this I agree but what does all this, have to do with me?”

The elder smiled, sat on one of the cushions and spoke, “Centuries ago, before the peacetime, and before the unity of the nation, we the four tribes of the north, south, east and west were at war. it is still unknown as to who started this war, how it came about, or even why we fought it. but all four tribes brought death to one another. The Northern Tribes like today fought with great warriors, whose skills could never be matched. The east fought with advanced weapons, from which none could be reproduced. The south fought with superior tactics for none could be out done. While the west fought with superior magic and medicine, for which none could compete. However, with each tribe at its own advantage, they remained equally matched making victory for any individual tribe impossible.”

Zecora listened with great interest, “An equal match for an equal strive, but how could peace ever survive?”
The elder continued, “One day a stallion rose up from the western tribe and gathered the tribes chiefs for a meeting. He spoke of peace and unity among the tribes; he brought the idea that if we decided not to fight one another and establish trade, then rather than bringing death to our tribes, we could bring life instead. The stallion’s wisdom spread to all the borders of Zebrica, and brought peace to the entire nation. This great stallion’s name was Chief Jumb Rafi… but even though Zebrica was at peace, he still knew the rest of the world was still at war, so he took a small number of troops and set off on a quest to unify the world. He gathered friends from many nations, until one day he stumbled upon a messenger pony from the faraway kingdom of Equestria.”

“I know not of this place, or where it may be, so it must be a distance, too far to see.”
The elder nodded her head, “The messenger was in a great war this war would decide the fate of the land and its ponies.”
Zecora was confused, she didn’t understand, what exactly is a pony. Nevertheless, she didn’t want to interrupt again so she just paid attention to the rest of the story. “When the messenger asked for support for their war, Jumb Rafi decided to take roll in this war in hopes of creating an ally from the side he was to assist. While he was there, he met a great stallion who held a very special but powerful gift. However rather than using this power to attain riches of greed, he only used it to support his soldiers and his officers for whom he cared dearly for. However, for such a leader, fate favored his enemy. On the last battle of the war, his army and his heart fell into ruin when the mare he loved died in his arms. Upon his departure Jumb Rafi made a vow to his honored friend, that one day he would pay back their friendship, despite the declined offer to unify their nations. Chief Jumb Rafi only wanted to give his friend a chance at a new life. And soon that debt will be passed to you… however it is unknown when the chance to pay such a debt will arise.”

Zecora was now even more confused, “A debt to me? But how can this be?”
The elder smiled, “Haven’t you noticed out of the entire crossing out there, you were the only zebra to ask for magic as your place. Nevertheless, there is good reason for that. You are not of this tribe. On the days of Jumb Rafi’s end, he was faced with a terrible foe who wished to take the lives of his entire tribe. However, his wife and foal fled their village and took refuge in the Northern Tribe, where they were accepted as honored guests. Shortly after, one of his grandsons returned to rebuild the Western Tribes. His other grandson chose to stay here with the Northern Tribe and continue his life in happiness. The reason you are the only one who knows magic, is because you are really a zebra of the Western Tribes.”

Zecora was surprised that she just discovered this after believing she was from the Northern Tribes all along, “The Western tribes… it’s hard to believe, it’s as if my mind was utterly deceived.”
The elder looked at Zecora and spoke seriously, “You have a debt to pay, to a friend of your great ancestor. But I don’t know how… or when.”
“But how must I pay a debt on the very day, that is shrouded in mystery and left astray.”
The elder smiled, “You must meditate here at least once a day, and eventually your ancestor will give you the answer. Nevertheless, you must be prepared, for the day you leave. There is a chance that you may travel to a faraway land and have to survive on your own.”
Zecora didn’t like the idea of meditating everyday until her answer was received but she was still young and she knew that the responsibility that was being placed on her was too advanced for her to understand, so she replied, “I understand the challenge that’s planed, if we can help Chief Rafi, then we can fulfill my destiny?”

The elder nodded her head, “I wish I could tell you more… but even I don’t know the entirety of your quest. But I know that someday you will make us all proud and you will find your true happiness as your reward.”
Zecora thought about what this true happiness could be… could it be riches… knowledge… or could it be something to increase the power of her magic, she didn’t know ,but she did know that if this was her fate then she must follow its path. Zecora smiled and replied to the elder, my fate is clear though long it may be… I will do what my ancestor asks of me. Thank you elder, you are wise and I'll do, all that I can to help you.”
The elder nodded her head and replied, “No, you will be helping a legend… one that deserves to fulfill his long lost promise.”

Zecora tried to ask, “A promise be made? But what cou…”
“Quiet foal, its time you begin your first day of meditation. I'll be back when your time is up.”
As the elder left the tent Zecora looked back at the spear, “Could this really be… my destiny?”
Then Zecora balanced herself on one hoof and began clearing her mind for meditation. This action was repeated every day in hopes that the vision she needed to see would eventually come. Although this cycle repeated itself every day, it wasn’t a waste. Through her countless hours of meditation, Zecora found perfect balance in not only her spirituality, but her abilities in her magic.

Slowly the days continued to turn… first to weeks, then to months, and on into years. The young zebra foal turned slowly into a mare, who’s countless hours of meditation slowly built her mind into a force of wisdom that even outmatched the village elder. However, one day, in the final days of winter, the vision she was seeking finally came. The day seemed like any other, Zecora was approaching the sacred hut as the elder greeted her, “Good morning Zecora, I hope you are doing well.”
Zecora replied with a smile, “I'm doing fine this morning, and it’s nice I must say, to receive your greeting on this beautiful day.”
The village elder smiled, “You may enter the hut, and begin todays meditation, as for me I have duties to attend to, a blessed gift was born in the village so I must welcome the new foal to the world. I'll come for you when I'm finished.”

As the elder left, Zecora did the same thing she did for the past few years, she approached the spear and found position of balance,
this time on her head, then she closed her eyes and started to clear her mind. All of a sudden, there was a bright flash in front of her, when she opened her eyes she was no longer balanced on her head, but she was standing on her hooves at an unknown location. She looked around but all she could see was an endless abyss of white. The sky… the ground… everything was paper white. She looked at the ground she was standing on and scraped her hoof against it. it started to make a scrapping sound as if she was standing on white marble. Zecora wasn’t afraid of where she was nor was she concerned with how she would get home, the only thing that filled her mind was curiosity. She decided to take a step forward, all of a sudden she could hear cracking. She lifted her hoof to look at the ground she just stepped on, in its place the white floor had cracked revealing what looked like a wooden floor underneath.

Zecora swept away the broken floor to get better look at the wood under it then she stepped forward once again to see if the next step would react the same as the first. It did, only this time the crumbling floor started to float into the air and spread further than just where her hoof was planted. As the white floor started to crumble and turn to dust that floated in the air, it slowly revealed a wooden floor, which soon turned to the deck of a ship. After the railing of the ship was identifiable, the white on the ground outside the ship began to sink into an ocean as the horizon and sky also started to appear amongst the crumbling white scenery.

As the last bit of white started to vanish revealing the moon above, Zecora could identify her surroundings clearly now. She was standing on a ship just off the coast of some far away land. The sky above was night but something was strange about it. The appearance of the alicorn that was usually on the moon wasn’t there. Zecora started looking around the top deck of this ship. It seemed very different from what she usually saw in naval vessels but when she looked around she saw a large number of Zebrican Warriors, all wearing an insignia of the Western Tribes. Then she saw something that caught her complete attention, she spotted a Zebra who carried the same spear as the one she had meditated by for years. This spears appearance was practically branded into her mind, so there was no doubt about it. This Zebra was Chief Jumb Rafi.

Zecora was very nervous, she didn’t know if she should approach him or wait to be approached, but before she made up her mind she saw something shoot into the sky in the distance. It was a pink fireball, she couldn’t tell where it came from but she could tell where it was going. The fireball flew until it colligated with the moon engulfing it into a red hue that scattered across the surface leaving scorchmarks in it that revealed the very alicorn that she was so used to seeing on it. After seeing that she looked back at Chief Rafi as a soldier spoke to him, “Brother, what was that?”
Chief Rafi Replied, “I don’t entirely know… but I think that this war is finally ove…”
“Brother, Look!”

Zecora looked in the direction that the Zebrican soldier was pointing and saw another pink fireball. This time it was slightly smaller but it flew just as fast and vanished into the dark depths of the night sky. Chief Rafi smiled and spoke, “The Star flies high, in flames of fear, but
it’s not over, not now nor here. I will help you in days, far off from now, though I don’t know when, or even how. Be at peace my friend, until one day soon, when we see the real end, of Nightmare Moon.”
Zecora was surprised to hear Chief Rafi say those words, this wasn’t the first time she heard them but it was entirely unknown where she heard them prior to this moment.

Chief Rafi looked over at Zecora and spoke, “It’s been centuries since I last said these words. But this promise was made so that you may help my dearest friend. And now Zecora, I pass this task onto you.”
Zecora replied, “Why to me, I must protest. I'm not worthy of such a quest.”
Chief Rafi smiled and replied, “Ah but you are worthy, my blood flows through your veins. It is the blood of one who wants nothing more than to help those in need. That same blood fought in a great war between the sun and moon, and even though we lost such a war… it was because I was deemed unworthy to fight under a leader like the great Commander Star Bolt. So now, I want you to go help him.”

Zecora was concerned, “Centuries have passed, and time took what’s told, but how can I help one who’s centuries old?”
Chief Rafi Replied, “Young Zecora, my dear friend is still alive and well, but he has been imprisoned for his actions as a leader, now he watches the world from the very stars he values so. However, he never looks down here anymore. He continues to watch over the Kingdom of Equestria, this is the place I want you to go. Travel by ship, across the great sea until you reach a land filled with stripe less Zebra, some with a horn, some with wings, some with neither, but all without stripes. These creatures are called ponies, though they seem odd they will help you if you ask for it. Seek out the tree of lightning in the forest of the Everfree. It is here, that you will eventually find him or a sign of his return. However, I feel he will be in great danger when he returns so please keep your eye open for anything out of the ordinary. He will return on the night before the summer solstice. So you must make haste. Luckily, this task will not go unrewarded. Upon completing this task, you will find true happiness, though it will be disguised at first, happiness will slowly make itself known.”

Zecora wanted to know more, “But Chief Rafi, still you must show, how I can help this pony, I need to know.”
Chief Rafi smiled and placed his hoof on her chest, “Use this and it will show you what you must do.”
Then with the smile still on his face, Chief Rafi gently pushed against Zecora. Though this push was gentle, for some strange reason Zecora completely lost her balance and fell to the ground. When she looked around, she was back in the sacred tent, lying on the ground as if she had lost her balance while meditating. Zecora picked herself off the ground and looked at the spear that sat at the back of the hut. As she admired the detail placed in preserving such a weapon when compared to what she saw in her vision, the elder entered the hut behind her, “Oh! You are finished already? It’s not like you to cut your time short, did something happen?”

Zecora nodded her head, “Chief Jumb Rafi, appeared to me. “
The elder smiled, “And did he reveal your quest?”
“That he did though I must make haste, I must go to Equestria, I’ve no time to waste.”
The elder nodded her head, “Then go home and prepare for your journey, tomorrow morning I'll have a guide to lead you to the port near the Western Tribes, from there you will board a ship to Equestria, but once you arrive, I cannot provide anymore help. I can only warn you, that the pony you will seek is well known as a traitor so you mustn’t tell anyzebra, or pony about your quest, or at least who your searching for.”
The elder escorted Zecora to her home in the village. The next morning, Zecora met with her guide and from there she was guided to the docks where she met the first pony she had ever seen.

The Earth pony looked at the curious Zebra and spoke, “I hear ye be on ya way to Equestria? Don’t worry bout a thing, She may be old, but Annabelle here has traveled all the seas, and nothing be faster nor safer than her. Not to mention ye be traveling with Captain Sail, and so long as ye don’t be making fun of me name, then we be getting along now won't we.”
Zecora hesitated at the strange earth pony before she smiled and answered, “Thank you captain what a fine ship this is. I believe in sailing you are a whiz. You have my trust there will be no trouble from me. I will follow your rules to this I will agree.”
The Captain looked at her and shook his head, “Wow, ye zebra seem to be talking funnier every time I meet ya. Well so long as ye be following the rules, than we have no problems.”
Zecora couldn’t help but smile at the comment about talking funny, but she nodded her head and boarded the ship.

For many days and nights, the ship traveled in the same direction, but even though the captain assured that they were making great time, Zecora couldn’t help but feel worried that she wouldn’t make it to Equestria on time. However the ship made it at least a month before the summer solstice so Zecora had plenty of time. as she stepped off the Annabelle, Captain Sail yelled to her, “It be a pleasure transportin ya across the sea little missy, now don’t be sad if the ponies don’t treat ya very friendly. Not many zebra ever come trottin through this kingdom. By the way, I don’t think ya mentioned where exactly ye be headin.”
Zecora turned and replied, “That reminds me, do you know of a tree? Its shrouded in lightning in the Forest Everfree.”

The old sea captain thought to himself for a second, “Hm… a lightning tree in the forest Everfree? Well I know of the Everfree forest but I don’t recollect any lightning trees? But I hear tale of a crater deep in the Everfree forest with a zap apple tree. Maybe that be what ya lookin fer. First ye need to travel north until ya reach a town called Ponyville, then after that ye will come across the Everfree forest. The tree will be a lot easier to find at night because it has a gloomy glow that scares the barnacles off an old sea dog like meself. But ye seem brave enough I'll be whishin ya luck on your journey little missy.”

Zecora smiled, “Thank you Captain, though my voyage is done, my journey still remains so I must move on.”
Zecora started traveling through the coastal city of New Foalreins, as she continued she couldn’t help but notice that the captain’s words were true. Almost everypony who saw her either ran and hide themselves or kept their distance from her. Because of this she decided to try her best at hiding herself. She went to the only store in the city that wouldn’t lock its doors and bought a cloak with a hood so she could hid her face while she finished her travels. Luckily, the elder gave her a number of gems to trade while she was in this unknown land. Shortly after she left New Foalreins she started traveling north until finally she reached Ponyville. As soon as she stepped into the city, an excitable Pink pony approached her, “AAAAHHH!!! A New Pony! You know what that means, A NEW FRIEND! HELLO FRIEND! AND WELCOME TO PONYV…”

After receiving such a warm welcome, Zecora put down the hood on her cloak, but as soon as the pony saw her face, she froze. The pink pony turned and vanished in a pink flash that bolted into the small country town. Zecora was very confused at the immediate change in the pony’s actions, but she knew that it was her appearance that scared the pink pony away. Zecora Put her hood back up and continued through the town. Nevertheless, word of her arrival had already reached the ears of all the ponies in town, so no matter where she went, the town seemed completely deserted. Zecora was hoping somepony would have the courage to greet her or at least trot the streets while she was there. Zecora tried to give them a chance to approach her by standing in place and scratching her hoof against the ground a few times, but when nopony came out of their homes, she decided to leave and continue north to the Everfree Forest.

As Zecora continued her journey, she couldn’t help but feel bad about where she was. So far, Equestria was a terrible place. The ponies wanted nothing to do with her and it only made her feel like she was unwanted in their kingdom. Zecora mumbled to herself, “The ponies all hide, no matter where I roam, I'll complete my quest then I'll return home. If all they see, is a creature they’ll condemn, then I'll leave once I'm done… I don’t need them.”
Once Zecora reached the Everfree forest she decided to find a place to take refuge until the night, according to the captain, the Tree of Lighting could only be seen at night.

It took he a number of hours but she finally found a large hollowed out tree that was secluded and dry enough to convert into a home… though it wasn’t as comfortable as her old hut in Zebrica, it was still better than sleeping outside. She spent the rest of the day fixing up her new home, but after the sun went down, she went out to search for the Tree of lightning. Sadly enough she didn’t find the tree on the first night, nor the second or the third. During the day she would gather ingredients form the forest to practice her magic, but at night she would effortlessly search high and low for the Tree of lightning, but each and every night she came up with no sign of it, and with the summer solstice less than a week away, she was running out of time.

After the usual time she would put away to get some sleep, she decided to meditate hoping that she would receive a vision to help her in her journey. She spent the entire day and most of the night in deep meditation even depriving herself of food until finally as the sun rose the next morning, her vision came to her. This time she was standing in the ruins of an old castle. As Zecora looked around, she recognized this castle; she had passed it numerous times while searching for the tree of lighting. As she continued trotting through the ruins, they slowly started turning back into the pristine castle that it once was. Zecora looked around then she heard a great commotion in the other room.

Zecora raced into the throne room just as a small portion of the roof collapsed, then she heard a pony call out “COMMANDER STAR BOLT!”
In the middle of the room where two ponies who had both wings and a horn. Who were battling each other. As Zecora watched, the pony with the dark blue mane, who was shrouded in darkness was hit in the back by a pink beam that incased her in a magical barrier, then the pony with the rainbow mane started talking to the other. Zecora couldn’t hear what they were talking about but from what she could understand, The pony with the dark blue mane and the pony with the rainbow mane where both sisters. One called Nightmare Moon, and the other called Princess Celestia.

Then another pony climbed out of the rubble and joined in the ensuing events, this pony was called Commander Star Bolt, he was the commander of Nightmare Moons army… and the very pony that she was supposed to help. Zecora continued to watch the events until Nightmare Moon was turned into a ball of fire then sent to the moon to be imprisoned… followed closely by Commander Star Bolt who was imprisoned in the light of the stars. Then the images slowly disappeared as Chief Rafi trotted up behind Zecora, “This was the event that took place almost one thousand years ago. This was the pony who I once called brother, and this is the pony I want you to help.”

Zecora looked at Chief Rafi and spoke, “I cannot help for you see, I cannot locate the lightning tree.”
Chief Rafi replied, “From these ruins travel east and continue until you see the glow from the grounds. However, I also want to warn you, when you help him you need to bring some potions to heal wounds, and also when he asks for help tell him that nightmare moon will be here at this old castle. He will probably want to see the events that will unfold here. It could also lead to a choice that will decide the rest of his life. But never the less this castle holds the Elements of Harmony that imprisoned him, so this is where Nightmare Moon will go once she returns and discovers this knowledge.”
“But ancestor I wouldn’t presume, why would I need potions to heal a wound.”
Chief Rafi nodded his head, “Star Bolt is a great warrior and a fearless fighter, even knowing that his task is impossible, he will push himself forward with no regard for his own life. Therefore, I only want to make certain he survives his final fight against his true enemy. Please young Zecora, all you need to do, is save his life once then I can rest in peace.”

With that said Zecora opened her eyes and once again fell to the ground by losing her balance. Since she had meditated for the entire day, she decided to get some sleep before continuing her search for the tree she has sought since her journey began. On the next night, she traveled to the ruins of the old castle and explored them, she couldn’t believe that these old ruins used to be a pristine castle that once held the fate of the sunrise in its walls. After venturing through the castle she stated traveling east as she was instructed until finally she started to see a bluish glow in the forest. As she traveled closer and closer to her destination, she started to notice that the air started to feel like a static charge. It was as if she was standing on a place that was recently struck by lightning, but it got stronger and stronger as she continued. Finally she reached the great tree that she searched all this time for. When she saw this tree it was sitting in the center of a crater with arcs of electricity jumping every few seconds to its branches.

Out of curiosity, Zecora put her hood down and trotted around this tree numerous times examining every part of it and the crater around it, but never once did she step into this crater. She knew that the ground was charged and anyzebra wouldn’t survive long in the center of this bluish gape of electrified land. After analyzing the area for a bit, she closed her eyes and mumbled some sacred words that were usually said by her culture to honor fallen warriors. But while she said these words, she couldn’t help but feel that somepony was watching her. So looked up in the direction that she felt she was being watched from… but all she saw were stars in the sky. Then she remembered that Chief Rafi had told her that Commander Bolt was imprisoned in those very stars, so she just assumed that he was watching her. Therefore, she smiled, put her hood back on and returned to her home to get some rest, with the summer solstice just twenty-four hours away, she thought it would be best to have her potion ready, and plenty of rest.

The next night as the sun went down Zecora left to wait at the tree for any signs; she didn’t want to fail her ancestor, not to mention she was curious, about both what she would encounter, and the true happiness that would follow. Therefore, she went to the tree and waited; she waited and waited and waited until finally her waiting paid off. As Zecora looked at the moon, she saw four stars make contact with it and vanish into thin air. Along with the image of the alicorn. Shortly after though it was very faint and hard to see, she saw two black fireballs fall from the sky and land on the outside of the forest. Zecora knew that this was the sign she was waiting on and she had to reach it before it was too late. Zecora galloped as fast as she could through the forest until finally she reached the tree line.

As Zecora looked into the field, she saw Both Nightmare Moon and Commander Star Bolt in the clearing. Nightmare Moon had him by his throat with a spear pointed at his head and even though they were a good distance from her, she could hear his words plain as day, “Nightmare Moon. I want you to kill me... right here and right now. I don’t care if it’s slow and painful or quick and painless; I only want you to kill me.”
Nightmare Moon replied, “Is that your decision then? To die here and now instead of serving me?”
“Yes, I have caused the pain and suffering that was the Nightmare Crusade. So it is only fair that I pay the ultimate price for the actions I'm responsible for.”
Nightmare Moon sighed, “Very well if you want to die than I have no choice but to answer your plea”

Zecora tried to quickly think of a way to save him but she couldn’t, “He wishes to die, this cannot be so, But how can I save him… I wish to know.”
As Zecora watched, she could tell very easily that Nightmare Moon didn’t want to kill him… that something inside of her was stopping her from committing this act. Nightmare Moon flew up into the air carrying Commander Bolt and the spear, and then she tossed him through the air into the forest. Zecora tried as hard as she could to keep up with the airborne pony but she finally lost track of where he landed, all she could do was wander in his direction until she found him.

After about ten minutes of searching, she finally found him lying on the ground beneath a large tree. When she saw the spear stuck through both his shoulder and shield, she galloped as fast as she could to his side. As the wounded pony looked at her, she spoke calmly to him as she reached into her saddlebag, “Hold on my friend this isn’t you fate, I won’t let you die, I'm not too late, My name is Zecora, I'm a friend and that’s true. Now lay back, relax, I'm here to help you.”
Commander Star Bolt looked back at her and replied, “B-but how did you f-find me… there is n-no… way you coul…”
Then Commander Bolt fainted under his blood loss.

Zecora knew that she needed to do more than just give him the potion she had with her. Moving as fast as she could, she poured the potion both in his mouth and on the wound, then she pulled the spear from his shoulder and covered the wound with the bandaged she had with her. Then she used the strap on his shield to sling it over her shoulder then picked him up and tried to carry him back to her home so she could stitch his wounds. Even though the potion had stopped most of the bleeding, blood still began to run down her back as she carried him. Zecora had never witnessed such an act of brutality before in her life, she found it hard to believe that this was a mere stepping stone compared to the mountain that the soldier on her back had faced more than a thousand years ago.

After she had gotten him back to her home she laid him on the table, removed his armor, and started to stich up his wounds what he spoke in his sleep, “Gem… Luna… Gem… I'm... I'm… Sorry…”
Zecora continued stitching his wound despite her amazement, it’s been more than a thousand years and still he carries his regret on him like the scar he had on his ear. As she finished stitching him up, Commander Bolt finally woke up and looked over at her, “Your name is Zecora, right?”
Zecora smiled and nodded her head, “It’s nice to meet a warrior, so strong and so bold, you faced many foes, or so I was told, you don’t know me nor I know you, but an ancestors words, ring loud and true. for one hour I worked, I did all I could, to save your life, as my ancestor would. you’ve been sleeping for half the time that I had, but you need your rest, your wounds were quite bad.”

Star Bolt smiled and sat up, “Thank you Zecora, but I feel fine now. Do you know where you put my armor and shield? I would like to check the damage.”
Zecora pointed to the set of armor and the shield that she had placed on a chair in the corner of the room. Ignoring his pain Commander Bolt stood up and trotted over to the chair and examined his belongings. All the while Zecora couldn’t believe this pony’s actions. He was walking and talking as if nothing had happened but a few hours ago he was not only nearing death… but he was asking for it. While looking through his things he pulled a pink bandanna out and held it close to his chest while mumbling to himself. Zecora knew that it belonged to the love he had loss so she turned away to give him some privacy before he put his hoof on her shoulder and spoke, “Zecora I thank you for your kindness, but I have to go, I must find Nightmare Moon and stop her from repeating history. I can’t let her start a second war.”

It seemed like every action this stallion made only shocked her more and more. this soldier was putting aside his health, his life, and everything he had left to stop Nightmare moon, so rather than talk him out of it, she just lowered her head and replied, “If that’s your goal, then I'll help all I can, to stop Nightmare Moon, and her evil plan. She’ll be at the ruins that hold harmony, the old dark castle, deep in the Everfree. You know of this place, when you felt betrayed, the dark old castle where your judgment was made. But warn you I must, for I will not deny, if you fight, with your wounds… you will die.”

Star Bolt picked up his shield, slung it and started trotting towards the door leaving his armor behind. Zecora followed closely behind him, but then was caught off guard when he all of a sudden turned around and hugged her, “Thank you… not only have you saved my life, but you pointed me in the right direction. It has been a long time since I had a friend, and even though you were only fulfilling your ancestors wish, I still owe you my life. As your ancestor Chief Rafi would say, I hope good fortune will smile upon you.”

Zecora couldn’t believe what he was doing, all she did was help him when she found him dying in the forest and here he was treating her like they were foal hood friends. She could only blush as she replied, “A friend… to you? I'm embarrassed to say, you’re my first friend in many a day, now go and be safe for this night will soon, be the last night we hear from Nightmare Moon.”
Star Bolt smiled as he trotted out the door then flew into the sky, Zecora trotted to the door and spoke as he vanished into the night, “Good luck my friend, for this is your night, to change your past and make everything right. You have one more choice, to lead strong and proud, or to exile yourself, and blend in with a crowd. So I leave you now, to decide your task, will you run away… or end it, at last.”

Now that her journey was fulfilled Zecora knew that she had no more reason to stay in Equestria, but when she looked over at the armor that still sat on the chair, she mumbled to herself, “A friend… that soldier… it’s funny no less, that being his friend has given me happiness. True happiness I know, it’s funny but no lie, that he could befriend one ,as different as I. maybe this kingdom might not be so hard, if I can make many friends rather than discard. I'll give it a chance, and set things right. Because I know things will change, after tonight.”
About an hour after the sun rose, Star Bolt returned and knocked on her door, Zecora answered it and spoke, “Star Bolt my friend, I see the deed is done. I'm glad you lived to see the morning sun.”

Star Bolt nodded his head and replied, “It would seem that this world has no more place for Commander Bolt, but Luna is back and everything is better now. But can I ask one more thing from you? I would like you to help me melt down my armor and turn it into a sword. I don’t know if you can but I'll do everything I can to help. All I ask is that you help me make it and put some designs on it, you know to remind me of the ponies I used to fight beside. Also I would ask that you lend me your cloak, I know I don’t have much to offer in return, but I swear I'll do everything in my power to pay you back.”
Zecora smiled and replied, “For my first Equestrian friend, I'll do all I can to help in the end, but you know I can’t offer it for free, though I'll patiently wait for you to pay me.”

Therefore, Star Bolt spent the next few days helping Zecora fulfill his request; in return, he spent most of his time out gathering ingredients for her potions, while telling her about life in Equestria a thousand years ago and about the tree of lightning that was actually called the Thunder Grounds. And even after all was said and done, Star Bolt sheathed his sword and left to wander Equestria so that when word of his return had reached Canterlot, he wouldn’t put Zecora at any risk. Now she rarely sees him anymore though she has made many friends amongst the residents of Ponyville. Nevertheless, she continues to keep his return secret from anypony who asks. He returns to her home from time to time to visit her, it’s this reason that she decided to stay in Equestria… because his stories has given her strength to continue, and the friendship that he and the residents of Ponyville have shown, have given her true happiness.

It’s this happiness, that is its own reward.

Diary of a Rose of Luck (Roseluck)

Dear Diary

Sorry I didn’t write last night I spent all night in the Everfree Forest with “him”.
I don’t know his name or anything about him but ever since I last saw him, I have had a feeling of ~~yearning~~, wanting and wishing that is in my heart. I don’t know what it is, but I think it’s “Love”.

It all started the day before yesterday, Carrot Top had a crazy idea to look for some kind of magic zap apple tree in the forbidden sector of the Everfree forest. Naturally Lily, Daisy, and I where skeptic about such a strange thing. I honestly didn’t know what to believe, Lily asked, “Well what makes this tree magic?”
Carrot top replied, “This tree was different because regular zap apple trees like the ones at Sweet Apple Acres, grow apples only once a year, but this specific tree grew apples once a month.”
She believed that she could get one of these apples and plant her own zap apple tree that could grow once a month.

The first thing that needed to be done was to get a guide through the forest. We tried to find Twilight Sparkle but she and her friends were in Canterlot for some kind of Sweets contest so they couldn’t help. Next we tried asking Granny Smith since she herself found the tree a long time ago when she was a little filly. But Granny Smith refused, saying that the place that that tree sat on was cursed, and that anypony who set foot in the ditch that the tree grew in would feel the power of the pony who planted that tree more than a thousand years ago.

After hearing this, I wanted to give up on this plan immediately but Carrot Top insisted that it was the rants of an elderly pony with no grasp on reality. So we continued our search for a guide. This time we went to Zecora. I can’t remember how she said it but basically she told us that the grounds where protected by “the spirit of a fallen star” so she didn’t want to go, and she also said that it would be a bad omen if we were to go. I don’t know what she meant, but whatever it was, It made me want to give up all the more. But both Carrot Top and Daisy where too curious to pass up an adventure like this. So Lily and I decided to go so they won’t be alone in the forest.

In the end with no luck on finding a pony to guide us, we decided to go at it alone. I don’t know how long we trotted through the forest but as soon as we entered the forbidden sector, we immediately knew it. The trees where thicker, the mud was deeper, and the sound of dangerous animals surrounded us. Naturally, we all were terrified and I continued trying to convince Carrot Top that we should head back, but she was too stubborn, saying they we were almost there. After trotting for a little while longer, we started to hear growling coming from the trees in front of us. When we looked up in the tree we could see a timber wolf hiding in the tree, making itself look like branches.

Lily was the first of us to panic, immediately yelling, “RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!”
We all turned around and ran but I was running at the back of the group and while we ran, a timberwolf jumped between me and the rest of the ponies. Without knowing that I was separated from them, Carrot Top, Lily, and Daisy ran back the way we came and vanished into the forest. While all I could do, was run off the trail and into the brush. I galloped as fast as I could but I didn’t know where I was going, how to get away from the Timberwolves that were chasing me, or even how many were chasing me.

As I ran, I continued jumping through the bushes until I jumped into one that lead me to a small clearing. As soon as I made it into the open, I saw it, the magic zap apple tree that was sitting in what looked to be either a ditch or crater. While looking at the tree the timberwolves quickly surrounded me. I had no way of getting out. As I stepped closer to the crater, a spark of lighting jumped out and hit my hoof. As soon as I felt that I knew there was nowhere for me to run. As I stared at the timberwolf closest to me, I already assumed that this was the end. That I would never see Ponyville ever again.

Then I heard a combination of sounds. It sounded like a flag blowing in the wind and a piece of metal scraping against another piece of metal. Before I knew it a pegasus wearing a cloak, fell from the sky and dug a sword into the timberwolves head. The Stallion turned his head and looked past me at the timberwolf behind me. Though he wasn’t looking at me, the look in his eyes terrified me, never in my life have I seen such anger and darkness in another’s eyes before. Even the look in Nightmare Moons eyes at the Summer Sun Celebration didn’t have that much evil in them. The stallion charged past me with his sword in his hoof missing me by only a few inches. When he reached the other timberwolf, he quickly cut the wolf down without even trying. The stallion then stood up and looked at me, “Stay back!”

Now with the stallion here to protect me, the Timberwolves focused all their attention on him. slowly the wolves circled the stallion each one waiting for something to happen. Finally one jumped at him, when he raised his sword to block another wolf charged him from the side and hit him as hard as it could, throwing him into the crater with the zap apple tree. As soon as he hit the ground a bunch of electric arcs jumped from every corner of the crater and made contact with his body. After seeing that, both the timberwolves and I assumed him to be dead. When the timberwolves turned to face me all I could do was get myself ready to run. But before I had the chance the timberwolf would quickly turned its attention back at the crater. When I looked, all I could see was the stallion casually trotting out of the crater with electricity arcing off him.

When I saw this, I immediately knew that this was the spirit that Zecora spoke of. Nopony I knew could possibly survive trotting through electricity like that completely unscathed. Seeing this most of the timberwolves started to back off, but the one closest to me charged at him and tried to jump at him. The stallion raised his sword and tried to block the timberwolf but before he could, an arc of electricity jumped off his body and hit the wolf causing it to hit the ground and start yelping in pain. the stallion lowered his sword and continued trotting away from the tree. Three timberwolves charged at him at once he dodged the first, and stabbed the second but the third one landed on his back and bit him on the back of his neck.

The pony screamed in anger than jumped up in the air slamming his back against the ground as hard as he could. The timberwolf let go of him and ran into the forest followed by the rest who weren’t already dead. When they were all gone, the stallion struggled to pick himself off the ground then sheathed his sword. First, he looked at the direction the Timberwolves ran, and then he looked over at me. I felt terrified at first, but something in his eyes made me feel safe. There was a gentle protective look in them, completely different from the murderous stare I saw in them a few seconds ago. He held himself up and spoke to me with a calming gentle voice, “Are… are you ok?”
His eyes… I couldn’t reply because his eyes truly captivated me. so I nodded my head yes, to which he replied, “That’s good… I'm glad.”
Then he fell to the ground unconscious.

I didn’t know what to do, I rushed over to him and looked at the wound on his back, there was a deep cut left from when the timberwolf bit him. I didn’t know how deep it was but he was still breathing and it didn’t seem to be too serious. Either way I looked through my settle bag but I couldn’t find anything to help him with, other than some food. I know it was wrong of me but I decided to look through his saddlebag to see if he had some medical supplies. Luckily, he did amongst a bunch of other things. Food, water, bandages, a sewing kit, (probably for stiches), a sharpening stone, a newspaper announcing Princess Luna’s return, and a small pouch filled with a few bits. I used the water to clean his wound before bandaging it up, then I used the cloak he was wearing to make a small tent-like shelter for him to lay under.

Something about this pony I just couldn’t understand, for one was his cutie mark, it was a black star with a gray and white cloud in the center and lightning stretching to the stars points. I’ve seen cutie marks for stargazers, and lightning makers but I have never seen a cutie mark quite like this one before. It was very strange but maybe it had something to do with the tree and the fact that the electricity had no effect on him. Also there was a scar on his ear that seemed strange to me, I’ve seen ponies who clip their ear as a fashion statement but his wasn’t clipped, it was ripped in that shape as if something had brutally cut that portion of his ear off. but that’s not all I couldn’t understand, when he first appeared he killed the first Timberwolves with no form of emotion, and that look he gave when he looked past me… that look of evil and rage, it was like he was possessed by some kind of demand, one that I never hope to face, it gave me chills. but then after the fighting was over his eyes held a gentle quality that made him seem like a completely different pony I… I just couldn’t understand what type of pony he was, good or bad.

I decided since his wound was bandaged up and he was still unconscious, that I should take a look at the tree. I circled the crater over and over but it seemed like there was no clear way to get to the zap apples on the tree. I took a step toward the crater but before I could even reach for the tree, a small spark jumped out and shocked me. I yelled “Ouch” because it hurt then I heard laughing, when I looked over at the stallion, he was sitting up laughing at me. “You’re not going to reach those apples like that.”
I replied to him, “Well… how would you get to them?”
The cocky pegasus smiled and opened his wings while he sarcastically replied, “Not a clue.”

With him joking like that, I couldn’t help but smile at his sense of humor, “You have some nerve making fun of me when it was me who saved your life.”
he replied while looking at his bandages, “I’d call us even, if I hadn’t shown up those Timberwolves would be chewing on you instead of me. Besides, these bandages are mine anyway. I knew because I always buy the cheap kind.”
it was confu completely amazing, one minute he seemed like an evil monster, then a gentle protector, and now a funny joker. There was so much about this pony I didn’t know, but I wanted to know everything I could, he seemed so interesting, and not only that, he saved my life, and nothing I could ever do would ever be enough to make up for it.

After we laughed about his comment I trotted over and sat next to him, I wanted to ask his name… but I didn’t want to just straight out and ask him… ~~I guess I'm just a little shy.~~ He continued, “Why exactly, were you and your friends out here?”
I had almost forgotten about the others, “Oh no, are they ok?”
He replied, “They are fine, when the group they are going after is too big, timberwolves like to break the group then go for the weakest target all at once, so none of the timberwolves went after them. They just circled around and cornered you.”
I felt a little confused so I asked, “How did you know I was traveling with my friends?”
He replied, “I’ve been watching you and your group since you entered this area of the forest… Rose Luck. I meant you no harm, but I knew that you ponies could easily get yourselves hurt traveling out here without a guide.”
I lowered my head ~~in nervousness~~, “Um… Mr. Spirit? Could you help me get one of those zap apples?”
He looked at me confused, “Spirit?”
So I explained, “Zecora told us about a spirit that protected this tree, but we didn’t listen and came out here anyway. In addition, since you trotted through the crater without feeling any pain from the electricity, I can only assume you’re the spirit that protects this tree. We wanted to get one of the apples so we could plant our own zap apple tree that blooms every month instead of once a year.”

He smiled back at me and explained, “The reason this tree grows once a month is because of the amount of electricity in the soil. Sadly, all zap apple trees that grow anywhere else, won’t grow the same way as this one. This is rather… the mother of the rest of the zap apple trees, growing both in and out of the forest. Even if you had a seed directly from this tree, it will never grow the same as this one.”
He didn’t deny anything so I asked to be sure, “And… are you the spirit? The one who created this tree?”
The stallion smiled and shook his head, “No, the legend around this tree goes deeper than just its existence. There is a story of how this tree became a symbol of happiness and love.”

Then he went on to tell a story about a commander who created the crater, by using a legendary ability. He spoke of how this pony lost his memory and was raised to be a royal guard. Then how he fell in love with Princess Luna. I have to admit, this story was in many ways romantic. But then when Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon, the love struck stallion fought his way through countless battlefields only to fall in love with another, then loose her in the great battle of Canterlot. The story seemed sad but he told it with so much detail that I could swear he was there. but the only way that could be possible was if he really was the spirit, or dead since this story took place one thousand years ago. The funny thing is when I asked whatever happened to the commander he only replied, “He died, his heart was torn into so many pieces that he couldn’t live the life he once had, so he threw it all away.”
I don’t know if that was a metaphor for committing suicide or not, but as he said that, his eyes held so much pain I really felt bad for him, and the commander.

The conversation jumped around to many subjects as the hours passed. He talked about how he was a wanderer and how he travelled all over Equestria, but I was shocked when he told me that he had never been to Ponyville before. Therefore, I told him about that, all my friends, my family, everything that made it a wonderful place to live. After a while, he made a campfire then he actually let me us his cloak to keep warm. This stallion wasn’t like any other stallion I ever met before. Strong, brave, kind, funny, charming, smart, many different things made him better than the rest. But despite the long conversations we had, I never got his name, not even once. Nevertheless, during one of the storied of his travels in the Griffon Kingdom, he just froze, and stared at me with an unusual stare, “Somepony is here.”
Then he reached into his saddlebag strapped his sword and sheath on him, then poured the canteen over the fire to make it darker.

After he did this, a small number of Royal Guards emerged from the forest, “Well, well, well, look who we found, in this of all places. Do you know how long we have been looking for you commander? And look, you now have an accomplice. Now why would you drag a poor helpless mare into your troubles.”
The stallion stood in front of me as they backed us closer to the zap apple tree, “She has nothing to do with me, she was lost and I'm guiding her through the forest.”
The guard smiled, “It doesn’t matter, I'm taking you both in anyway, the princess would love to see you in her dungeon… again.”
I looked around and realized that they cornered us against the crater. But when I looked at the stallions face, it seemed like he was thinking of a safe way out of this, finally he spoke to me, “I could fly away but I'm not leaving you behind, so there is only one thing we can do… but I gota ask, Do you trust me?”
I was confusing at first “What?”
He turned to look at me, “Do you trust me?”
Looking into his eyes, I saw the same protector that I saw earlier, so there was no way a could answer no. I replied, by smiling and nodding my head. So he continued, “Stand straight up and stare at the tree, and no matter what you see or hear, don’t look at me or the guards.”

I didn’t know how to reply to a request like that, so I just nodded my head and did what he said. As I looked at the tree some electric arcs started to jump from the crater and fly over my head, I closed my eyes in fear hoping that they will stay over my head and not touch me. I could hear the guards yell, “Get him he’s about to use the lightni…”
just then even with my eyes closed I saw a bright flash out the corner of my eyelids, this light was extremely bright, luckily it was behind me, otherwise it would have easily blinded me. then all of a sudden I felt him leaned against my side, open his wing between my front and back hooves, and picked me up off the ground and onto his back using both wings to hold me in place. Then he did something even I couldn’t believe, he started sprinting through the crater with me on his back. The electricity jumped off the ground and started shocking every inch of my body, everything felt a strange combination of a tingling pain and numbness that was almost unbearable, but I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling. His hooves where touching the ground that the electricity was arcing from.

After we made it to the other side of the creator, he continued sprinting into the forest. While he ran, I felt completely exhausted from the pain I felt. It was as if I was the one doing the carrying while we ran for our lives. As he ran, I tried to speak to him, “I… I feel…”
He quickly turned his head back to me and spoke softly, “Stay with me, we are almost there just a little further Ge… uh… I mean just try to stay awake Rose.”
As he ran, I noticed a tear rolling down his face, I think it was because of the wound on his back, but it seemed like something else was causing him pain. I gripped him tighter and replied, “I'll… I'll try… but can I at least get your name first…”
I wish I could remember his reply, oh how I wish I could remember. But the strong heartbeat I felt while lying on his back made me even more tired than I already was so I can’t remember much after that moment. I remember he did reply to that question… but I can’t remember what he said.

The next thing I knew I woke up in Zecora’s hut. Like usual, she spoke to me in rhyme but I still can’t remember what it is she said, other than something about Timberwolves attacking me and I passed out because I was so afraid, and she chased them off before they could hurt me though. Then she said something that I could remember perfectly, “The Thunder Ground Spirit is how you survived, without his blessing you would have died.”
Basically, she was saying that I was dreaming and the spirit was giving me luck, but I feel completely skeptic about that story. He seemed so real, there was no way it was a dream. When I got back home, after chewing out Carrot top and the rest for leaving me behind. I checked my saddlebag and found a zap apple in it. I actually started to tear up, after all that, he still got a zap apple for me from that tree. He had to be real. How else could that zap apple get in my bag?

That was all the proof I needed, I even looked up the legend of the Thunder Grounds and found out, it was the same story that he told me himself. It wasn’t a dream, it couldn’t be and there is no way I'll ever believe it was. I know that stallion is still out there, probably wondering and traveling all over Equestria. I still wonder why the royal guards where chasing him and what he did to them when I saw that bright light. But no matter what they say, I know he is a good pony and I hope that he is thinking about me as much as I'm thinking about him. I also hope I'll see him again someday ~~to tell him how I feel~~. I still have to find out his name, so far the only clues I have, is that the guard called him commander, and he favored the history of the Thunder Grounds. ~~Could he be the commander he told me about in hi...~~ never mind that last part.

Roseluck

Memories of a Princess in Pain (Princess Luna)

As the sun reaches the horizon to mark the evening, I made my way towards the balcony where I meet my sister to begin the night. It has been months since I returned from the darkness of the moon, and even though so much time has passed, I can only feel sadness for what I once was. A monster, a demon, a creature who didn’t want to be part of a cycle, but to control the cycle and bring misery to all the ponies of Equestria… this is what he saw. This is the reason he held his blade toward me, and this is why I killed him, “Sister? Are you ok?”
I looked at Tia and replied, “My apologies sister, my mind isn’t with me today.”

Celestia smiled, “You work too hard dear sister, you need to get more rest during the day.”
I know my sister, only wished to see me well, but it’s hard to think about being well when I feel like I can’t escape form my past. But I still don’t want her to worry, so I just give her a fake smile and reply, “Thank you Tia, I’ll try.”
I approached the balcony and began the spell I use to raise the moon. After the moon was in the sky, I start bringing out the stars to finish the transformation from day to night. After the stars become visible, I watched them as they started to flicker and glow like little lighting bugs in the sky. I start to wonder, less than a year ago he would watch Equestria from them… now I wonder, is he still? Can he see me? And if so… will he ever forgive me? Will he ever lo… “Princess Luna!”

I quickly looked at Tia and the night commander as if nothing was wrong, “Yes?”
Tia placed her hoof on my shoulder, “Luna why don’t you let your commander take over the duties for the night. Go out, get some fresh air, ease your mind sister. You don’t have to play dumb. I know who you’re thinking about. But it’s been almost a year since his death and if you continue to space out like this than it can put Equestria at risk. Please sister, find something to occupy your thoughts and help you through this. It pains me to see you punish yourself like this; you need to stop blaming yourself for Nightmare Moon's actions. She is gone, and the sister that I love remains, that’s all that matters now.”
Tia’s kind words are soothing, but they only numb the pain for a split second. The fact that I am responsible for Star Bolts death remains. And no matter what, I can never bring back the stallion I cared for. the stallion... I loved.

I gave the night commander his orders, and decided to take a walk through the garden. It didn’t help me one bit. It’s been more than a thousand years since I trotted next to him here but my mind replays the last conversation we had here, over and over. I can’t help but wonder, what his words would have been when he was about to tell me how he felt. I wonder what would happen if we only had a little more time together that night. As I trot here… alone… I… I actually start saying what I said back then, as if I were rehearsing for some kind of play. I even start to cry as I spoke, “Nopony likes my nights, they all don’t love me! I’ve been patient, thinking that maybe it’s just my imagination, but it seems like nopony appreciates what I do. I know that the moon can’t grow food or warm the land like the sun, but I can’t do anything else, I can’t do what my sister can, I can’t fill the world with light. So, ponies shun my night… and me. I'm a bad ruler aren’t I?”

I said everything I said back then in that garden, word for word as if it was spoken yesterday. Then I could swear I heard a voice next to me, “Luna, you’re not a bad ruler…”
I quickly looked next to me… but… there was nothing there. I looked around me… but I was all alone. Nopony was here except for me. My mind… my mind made those words, it made them sound like him. I… I can’t be here… I can’t stay here right now! I took off into the sky and flew as far from the garden as I could, I flew over the gate and out of Canterlot. I had to get help, I had to find somepony who could help me forget, I had to find somepony to get him and his death out of my mind… I can’t stand it anymore. If it continues, then I'm sure to lose my sanity.

I flew into Ponyville to the home of Twilight Sparkle. She is my sister’s student and one of the most knowledgeable ponies I know, surely, she could help me. When I landed at her home, I knocked on the door and waited. It felt like an eternity before her little dragon assistant finally opened the door, “Uh… Princess Luna? Why are you here at this time of night?”
“Little dragon I need Twilight Sparkle’s help, I need to find out if there is a way to forget one’s past.”
Then Twilight Sparkle came to the door, “Oh? Princess Luna what are you…”
“I need to forget my past… is there a way to do that? Please Twilight Sparkle I require your help in this matter.”

Twilight thought to herself for a few seconds, “I don’t know of any spells that involve erasing somepony’s memories, and even if I did, spells like that can be very dangerous unless performed by somepony with experience. Are you sure you want to do this princess?”
I lowered my head, “I'll be forever in your dept. please I must forget.”
Twilight replied, “I don’t know anypony who is capable of such magic, but I might know somezebra who is.”
“Come again?”
She replied, “Just follow me.”

Twilight leads me out of Ponyville and into the Everfree Forest. As we traveled, she looked back at me and spoke, “So, what is it that you want to forget princess?”
“About a year ago we… that is, Nightmare Moon and I did something terrible.”
Twilight laughed, “Oh Princess Luna, we know and we forgive you for trying to bring an eternal night… there is no need to forget it. All is well and there is no shame i…”
“I killed the pony I loved…”
Twilight replied in worry “What?”
“We… I… killed the pony I was in love with… his blood stains my hooves, and I must forget my sin.”
Twilight tried to reply, “Why did you…”
“I don’t want to talk about it… I must forget him… I… I… must forget about Commander Bolt."

Twilight and I continue on our path with little conversation until we reached small shamble of a shack way out in the middle of the forest, and it’s here that I was to find the zebra who could help me. After I knocked on the door the zebra who spoke of my legend during Nightmare Night answered, “My good friend Twilight, its late but I'm glad, to see you and the princess. But why are you sad?”
I guess this zebra was noticing the dried tears on my face so I wiped them away, “Please enchantress can you help me erase my memory. There is somepony very dear to me that I killed about a year ago and I want to forget the terrible deed. I want to forget that I ever met him.”
When I told her that her eyes lit up as if she knew who I was talking about… but I knew that was impossible. So I only listened as she replied, “To forget this pony it must first be clarified, the pony you speak of, and how he had died.”
“The pony was named Commander Bolt, he led my armies and fought for me when i was Nightmare Moon.”

The Zebra nodded her head, then she went over to one of her cabinets and pulled out a strange book and a vial with an unusual yellow liquid in it. She spoke as she opened the book and handed me the vial, “Memories can’t be forgotten, but hidden instead, but if strong enough they’ll return, but with vengeance I dread. I can help you princess, of this I have no doubt, but I must warn you of the danger, which may be driven out.”
I had no idea what this zebra was talking about, but luckily Twilight was there to clarify it for me, as she was reading the book she explained, “She means that if this Commander Bolt was truly a valuable pony to you… then trying to hide his memory could result in a relapse. Meaning it could bring back not only good memories of him… but bad memories that also came with it, memories that had not only been forgotten but that cause painful emotions. Do you want to risk that?”
I knew there would be a catch, but I didn’t care. I had to forget my sorrow, and my pain. It was too much to bear; I had to do what I could to forget about him. “Do it! If my memories can’t be removed then try to hide them. I must rid myself of this sorrow.”

Zecora nodded her head, “As you wish dear princess, hide them I shall, first sit back relax and tell me now.
Tell me his memories the good and the bad, I must know them, to hide them, both happy and sad.”
I laid down on the bed and drank the contents of the vial that Zecora gave me, then I started to tell her about his memory from the very beginning, “It all started when I found him in the Thunder Grounds; he was an adorable colt just as innocent as could be. But he had no memories of his life. I can still remember the clueless face he gave when I asked for his name, and I felt flattered when Tia, told me that he thought I was pretty. Then…”
Slowly I started to forget about that memory; it even got to a point that I couldn’t remember what happened next, “What? I… I can’t remember that anymore?”
Twilight spoke, “Zecora’s potion just hid that memory from your mind. Just remember the next moment you had with him.”

I continued, “Well it was about a year later, we invited both Commander Mist and his student to dinner, he was worn out, I could tell that the commander was putting him through some intense training, but the young colt kept his manners, especially when he spoke to me… I remember him saying that he felt better at night, knowing that he could look at the stars after training… then… he… I can’t remember that now.”
Twilight replied “What next?”
“Next was the day before the Royal Guard Exam, this was when I started to have feelings for him. He was still young but he was confident and his heart was in the right place. We both sat at the Thunder Grounds I have to admit it was adorable watching him react to the flirting and teasing I was laying on him… but at the same time I just wanted him to tell me how he felt, I only wa… uh… that one is gone now…”

I could tell that Twilight Sparkle was starting to have interest in him now, as she urged me to remember more, “What happened next princess?”
“Next was the start of the Griffon Civil War, we are in a conference room and he and Commander Mist are arguing about his complaint in getting involved in the war. If it weren’t for my suggestion then he wouldn’t have been able to voice his opinion during that meeting. He continued to complain about how the griffon king was just a cub… then… uh… that one is gone now. The next memory was when he returned, it seemed like he was an entirely new pony, so confident, wise, and his ego seemed to understand his limits more, but it seemed that something had happened that made him less social, I don’t know what but he was never the same after that war. When I… um… well… now that’s gone too. This potion seems to work very well.”

Twilight spoke again, “This Commander Bolt seems to be very interesting, I'll have to look him up later, but first tell me your next memory.”
“It was the day of his promotion ceremony, he was being promoted to commander, after making a fool of himself during the ceremony he and Commander Mist where called back to Tia’s room where he was so mischievously placed as the night commander by my sister… I knew her game, I was in a way happy about it, but it was embarrassing that she was trying to hook us up like that. Then… I… uh… I can’t remember more from that, but I do remember us taking a walk through the garden numerous times, and throughout that, I remember all the conversations we had. We would laugh, joked, sing our favorite songs, it was the happiest time of my life, until one night I told him about how everypony neglected my nights, he even tried to comfort me, then he was going to tell me… uh… he was going to say… uh…”
Twilight sat in suspense, “Yes… what was he going to tell you.”
“I’m sorry Twilight Sparkle, that memory is now gone.”

Both Zecora and Twilight sat back in their chairs and pouted, they wanted to know what happened next, but with that forgotten, even I didn’t know. I started to remember my next memory, “I… I see a dark cloud… this cloud, its Nightmare Moon… she… she has taken hold of me… now… I can’t move. But I can see what’s going on. My next memory is arguing with Tia, she is saying that what I'm doing is insane, that I'm not thinking about the wellbeing of my subjects and that I'm being completely selfish. So she steps onto the baloney and decides to raise the sun, even with the moon still in the sky. I looked down at Star Bolt who stood beside me as a noble commander would, then to show that I was serious, I moved the moon in front of the sun and created an eclipse. It’s with this action that Tia tried to calm me down with what I described as a pathetic attempt to keep me below her. So both Commander Bolt and I dove off the balcony and flew to the Castle of the Royal Alicorn Sisters. After that, I told him to go and ga… um… now that one is gone. The next I remember Commander Bolt is standing in front of his army watching at they start to ready themselves for an attack on the castle. All his soldiers were new but he placed a lot of confidence in his newest recruit who was still just a cadet. An archer named… uh… that memory is now gone…”

As I went through these memories, my feelings for him only became stronger, but I paid no mind to it… soon I would forget about him and then I could be at peace, “Next I appeared behind him when he was depressed for killing his teacher Commander Mist. I couldn’t believe myself when I told him that that pitiful fool didn’t stand a chance. Then later that night I went to the Thunder Grounds where I was every other night, and I found him there, I decided to play dumb because I couldn’t let him think that Nightmare Moon the mare of darkness herself was going soft, it was… um… uh… that one is gone now. The next memory I have is when I delivered new soldiers to Star Bolt and Tia of all ponies was waiting to speak to me. She explained that what I was doing was further hurting Commander Bolt’s soul and slowly driving him away, and she begged and pleaded me to stop this war before I drove him away for good. This enraged me to a point of making me use magic to gather a storm above but I couldn’t show myself as the weak link I had to… uh… that one is gone now…”

Zecora spoke, “You must keep going, with the potion I agree; it is removing the emotion, the painful memory. I'm disappointed though I didn’t think it was true, that this pony meant a great deal to you.”
Twilight looked at Zecora, “You talk as if you knew this pony.”
Zecora didn’t reply so I ignored the comment and continued with the next memory, “Next I remember luring him onto an empty battlefield the night after a battle. I wanted to talk with him like we used to in Canterlot. He seemed hesitant but he spoke to me just like he did a year prior… it felt good to seem like we were equals again… but when he tried to tell me how he felt… I couldn’t let him. I wasn’t myself anymore, I didn’t want him to fall for the monster I became, but I did want to be with him despite the creature I was… so… I… another memory gone.”

Twilight spoke, “It’s so sad, knowing that a stallion you love is just beyond your reach.”
I started to tear up as I continued, “Next I arrived after receiving word that he met with neighboring countries who were willing to support the Nightmare Legion. When I arrived he was in the middle of a life or death duel, with a griffon.”
“A GRIFFON!?!”
“Yes, Commander Allfarin Orem, of the Griffon Kingdoms.”
Twilight spoke up, “Wasn’t he the griffon who was announced as both a hero and a traitor of the Griffon Kingdoms?”
“One and the same, it was Commander Bolt who was responsible for the loss of his eye, during that same duel.”

Both Twilight and Zecora both looked at each other in amazement, then Twilight spoke, “I thought it was a great hero who took his eye from him, to show him the error in his life.”
I smiled and continued, “That’s what Commander Orem called Commander Bolt after the war. He always wanted to fight beside a hero, and with the reputation Commander Bolt had, he got his wish. The duel ended in a failure on Commander Orem’s part, but Commander Bolt showed mercy and let him live after removing his eye. I stepped in and was going to finish the job, but Commander Bolt told me that its best to let him continue commanding his griffon… I think he wanted to let Orem live because of his merciful side. But I knew that… I… uh… um… that one is gone now.”

The potion was working better than I thought. as I started to forget about the memories, I also started to forget what he looked like at this point I wasn’t sure if the his mane was black and yellow or gray and yellow, so I just continued, “Next I remember receiving a letter of his injury from which he was unconscious for over a day.”
Twilight spoke up, “A DAY! Was he alright?”
I lowered my head in shame, “I… I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Didn’t you go and see him?”
Once again, I replied with my head lowered, “No… I chose not to… I should have and I feel terrible for ignoring it but I decided to just let him be, since he was alive. Then I went to see him after the battle near Cloudsdale. When I arrived there, the battle had just ended and I saw that the Celestial Commander was still alive. By this time, I admit I was skeptic as to whether or not Commander Bolt was still loyal to me so I tried to test him. I wanted to see his reaction to me killing the Celestial Commander, so there, with him pleading to me to show mercy I broke the Celestial Commanders neck.”

Zecora and Twilight both nervously took a step back away from me, so I explained, “I did this to show that the Nightmare Legion wasn’t going to be merciful all the time. It was to make Commander Bolt look more like a frightening leader.”
Twilight asked, “Did it?”
“No… Commander Bolt was devastated at what I did, then I went on to make him use his power to dispose of the body… this was one of the moments that I wish with all my might that I could control my own body. But that darkness had a hold that came and went, most of the time I could do something about my actions... but not this time.”
“What happened next?”
“… The rest of that memory… is now gone what’s next... is...”
I started to feel dizzy and I also started to get a massive headache. Twilight Sparkle asked, “Princess? Are you ok?”
I ignored the headache and continued but now I could only remember small parts of the memories, they were now less descriptive, “Next was the battle of Canterlot. He… he formed a great plan to attack the city. It was a thing of brilliants, but it was also a risky maneuver… I… I think it involved an arrow… and gun powder… no wait they were grenades made by that griffon’s army. Then… then… he saved me… I remember that specifically. A rain of arrows was falling down around me but he used the Lightning Orb… to save me… me, the pony who destroyed his hope, and treated him with such disrespect. I… I didn’t deserve his sympathy or his… he has fallen…”

Twilight felt confused, “Fallen? But I thought you just said he just saved you.”
My mind wasn’t following a lengthen trail anymore. Not it was continuing my memories but in a broken chain, skipping weak links, “He has fallen. The blue arrow went up… I have no choice but to retreat our forced without him, now comma… he… he’s back… but he returned with sister… why is he with sister, and why is he here at the Palace of the Alicorn Sisters, when he was defeated in Canterlot? Did he betray me?... Is he trying to overthrow me? I thought he loved me… I know I love him so why… everything is dark now. As punishment for my actions, I am doomed to stay imprisoned in the moon, for how long… I do not know, but Commander Bolt is now in the light of the stars… he will be with me now… he will be a part of this existence with me…”
Twilight felt concerned, “Zecora what’s going on? She isn’t making sense anymore. Is she alright?”
“The potions effect is strange but right, she relives her memories, on this very night. As they fade away she will soon know not, the painful memories that stallion has brought. But I worry still will they stay hidden away, or will her memories return and lead her astray. If so it could be bad the magic will last, then bring back the darkness from a weary past.”

I understood what it was that Zecora was saying but it seemed that my mind couldn’t stay focused on what was really happening around me, instead it was focusing on my memories, all the way up to my return, “Finally, I'm free. I back in Equestria to claim my rightful place as ruler of this land… and with my loyal commander by my… what, why are you trying to strike me down… why are you trying to hurt me commander? Don’t… don’t you know that I love you? don’t you know that I care for you?... maybe a kiss will… no… you still look at me with regret, but no longer in me… but yourself… why are you blaming yourself for my actions, why are you… you want me to… kill you? You want me to take your life… but… I… I can’t… I can’t possibly take the life of the one I love… but… you insist… those eyes… please don’t look at me with those eye’s…”
Twilight could see the tears running down my face, “Princess Luna! Snap out of it!”
But all I could see was those eyes, all I could feel was the pain of that moment, the moment I was asked, no, begged to take his life… I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t, “No… I… I can’t… I…”
The last image I saw of him, was him laying at the base of that tree, the spear in his chest… the blood starting making a puddle under him, “What have I done… I… I killed him… I murdered the pony I loved… I killed the only pony who cared for me anymore… I… I can’t take it! I… I JUST CAN’T!!!... I CAN’T!!! I!!!......... Twilight Sparkle? What’s going on here?”

Both Twilight and Zecora approached me, “Princess, your mind, it should now be ok, now that the memories are hidden away.”
Twilight asked me, “Princess Luna? How do you feel? Do you feel… unhappy?”
I sat and tried to think of why I would possibly feel unhappy, but there wasn’t anything that could give me that kind of feeling so I replied, “Um… No. Why, should I feel, unhappy?”
Twilight only smiled and replied, “No princess you shouldn’t, in fact now you should feel happier than ever.”
Twilight’s attitude seemed strange to me, but whatever it was I'm certain that she just saved me from something bad so I smiled and thanked them both.

When we went outside the night seemed beautiful as ever, I'm not one to brag but it was an exceptional night if I had to say so. When Twilight came out with me, I had to ask, “Um… Twilight, what exactly happened in there?”
She shrugged “Oh Zecora was helping you with something that was troubling you, but now that its all said and done we can get back to our lives.”
As I smiled, I started looking at the stars above… I started to wonder, why do they seem to relax me?... then I started to get a massive headache. It was so intense that I had to stop trotting and hold still for a few seconds. Twilight Sparkle stopped and looked back at me, “Princess? Are you ok?”
I knew that I wasn’t ok, but I felt very dizzy my mind and my head started to spin. Then I saw a shadow approaching me. This shadow seemed very familiar, like it was a part of me. Like it was my past. As shadow approached me a cloud of purple and black winds started to spiral around me, I don’t know what it was but slowly I started to remember this… I started to remember this… was a bad thing.

Zecora rushed over to the edge of the tornado and spoke, “They are returning too fast, the memories back there, they are returning the darkness, the moon’s nightmare!”
Suddenly I remembered, I remembered who I once was, the mare of darkness, the nightmare of Equestria, Nightmare Moon. I looked at my hoof as it started changing from its night-shaded blue to a dead night Black, “NO!!! I CANT BE CHANGING BACK, I CANT BECOME NIGHTMARE MOON AGAIN!!! I DON’T REMEMBER WHAT, BUT I DID SOMETHING TERRIBLE THE LAST TIME I WAS NIGHTMARE MOON!!! HELP ME! SOMEPONY HELP!!!”
It was no use, Twilight Sparkle and Zecora couldn’t see me anymore, the spiraling haze was now too thick to see anything around me. Slowly I started to remember the terrible deed that I did when I was Nightmare Moon. First I understood I did it to a stallion… then I could see his eyes… afterwards I understood it was somepony special to me… somepony I loved.

As the haze got thicker around me, I could feel myself becoming more and more like Nightmare Moon. Now all my hooves had changed color. I had to stop this… I had to remember how I stopped this last time… I had to find a way to prevent myself from
becoming that monster again… then I started to remember the face of the pony I cared about… then when I opened my eyes, I saw him… plain as day. I saw the pony that Nightmare Moon did something terrible to. He gently put his hooves around me and held me close. “Luna… you’re not that monster anymore, you’re not the mare I despised more than a thousand years ago… you’re better than her… you’re everything she could never be. You just have to remember that no matter what. There are ponies who love your beautiful nights… trust me, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t admire them, their grace, their calmness, the shades that only the moon and stars can reveal, the cool relaxing wind that brings a calming smile to anypony’s face… you must remember them… you must stay, Luna!”

Just hearing him say my name brought back his name back to my memories, “Star Bolt?”
Just then his eyes started to literally light up, and a dark cloud appeared above his head, I recognized the cloud a little bit, and I understood that I should be afraid of it, but with him holding me like he was. I couldn’t feel safer… then I remembered something crucial, something that made this moment completely and utterly impossible, “Star?... you’re dead…”
After I said that there was a bright flash of lightning from the cloud above me the electricity started to surround my body and causing my hooves to change back to the normal color. The shadow that I felt around me started to fade as did the thickness of the tornado. Then there was another bright flash… then everything went dark. I don’t know what happened but whatever it was, I felt content, I don’t know if he was a figment of my imagination or not. But Star Bolt was holding me, he was keeping me safe like he did more than a thousand years ago. He was with me, and I with him, and that made me happier than anypony alive.

I awoke later in the small clearing just outside the Thunder Grounds. I don’t know how I got here… but I was now alone As I looked at the tree I couldn’t help but start to cry, I cried just like the night I told him about my troubles in the Canterlot Garden, I cried like I had never cried before, I just couldn’t help it, this sadness, it was too much to bear. Then Twilight Sparkle and Zecora came galloping out of the forest, “Princess Luna! Are you ok?”
It was hard to speak through all the tears, but I did my best, “I’m… I'm fine Twilight Sparkle… do… do you know what happened to…to me?”
Twilight explained, “When the tornado appeared I did everything I could to free you, but every spell I tried did nothing to it. Then I saw a dark shadow charge into the tornado. I had no idea what it was, but the tornado flew into the sky then vanished. Shortly after, it came back down in another part of the forest. Then a large cloud formed in the center of it and started tearing it apart from the middle out with lightning. What confused me the most was that the tornado was magic, dark magic but it was still magic. But when the cloud formed, that wasn’t. That was a real cloud with real lighting that only a pegasus could create. As soon as both the cloud and the tornado dispersed, Zecora and I rushed over here as fast as we could. Are you ok? Why are you crying so much?”

I couldn’t stop myself from crying, I know it wasn’t proper for a princess to do, but the tears just continued to come as I tried to reply, “I… I… remember him. I remember his… his smile, his eyes, I remember his kindness, his bravery. I remember how he would do anything to impress me when he was young, and how he would follow any t-terrible order I gave when he was my commander. I… I remember his talent, his touch, and our only kiss. I remember Commander Bolt, and I'm more happy now that I remember him, than anything else in the world. And no matter what I… I feel or how much regret I have for his death… I will never try to… to forget him for as long as… as I live.”

And so that’s what happened to me tonight sister, I know it seems like I'm making up some kind of excuse for being late for the sunrise, but that’s the honest truth. Princess Celestia smiled at her sister and replied, “Well this is the first time you were late so I'll overlook it for now, but I must say, this will make an interesting letter from Twilight Sparkle about the important of friendship, and a valuable lesson on helping your friends in their time of need. Not only that, I'm happy to see that your spirits are high again.”
Princess Luna replied, “Don’t get me wrong, sister, I still feel terrible about what I did and who I was, but I know now that the memories I have of Star Bolt and our time together are great treasures that i should never part with.”
Princess Celestia nodded her head, “That too is a valuable lesson, but for now I think its best that you get your rest.”
Luna yawned and replied, “You’re right, it’s been a long night, until the evening then, I wish you a good morning sister.”

Princess Celestia smiled pleasantly and replied, “And a good morning to you too, Luna.”
After Princess Luna left the room and was out of sight, Princess Celestia changed her expression to a serious one and spoke to Shining Armor, “Gather a small group of soldiers and have them search the Everfree Forest. If he was there last night, then he must surely still be there now.”
Shining armor replied, “Yes your majesty, but what about Twily and the zebra?”
Princess Celestia replied, “Both Twilight Sparkle and the zebra Zecora are middle mares in all this, they wouldn’t know any more about his whereabouts than we would, so it’s best to just leave them be. My only priority is to find Star Bolt. Though I must thank him for easing sister’s pain, I haven’t seen Luna in a happy mood in over a millennium.”

When Bolts Cross (Spitfire)

The Sea Of Clarity, a simple gulf filled with dangerous cliffs, hoodoos, meniscal plateaus and water that is so clear, you can see almost ten feet below its surface. Star Bolt didn’t know why he decided to go this way to New Foalreins, but it was too late to turn back now. The only good thing about it was that he was traveling by land; though he still had to fly over the gulf, otherwise he would have to add a day to his traveling. He didn’t know if he had the supplies for another day in the wilderness, so as he stood on the Cliffside, looking into the gulf, he removed his cloak and put it in his saddlebag so it wouldn’t get in his wing’s path while flying. Then he jumped into the sky and flew offer the sea, just high enough so he was clear of the cliffs and hoodoos.

As he flew for the other side of the gulf, an unknown pegasus came out of sky above and clipped his right wing, causing him to lose his control and almost sending him into a cliff face. Luckily, Star Bolt was able to regain his control and land safely on the cliff rather than colligating with it. after landing Star Bolt looked around trying to find that pegasus who clipped him, but it seemed that the unknown pegasus disappeared among the rocks and cliffs below. Star Bolt looked around in the sky and saw that the sky had a number of clouds in it but nothing else was visible. But this didn’t ease his mind, Star Bolt could remember a few battles that started with Princess Celestia hiding troops behind cloud cover.

Star Bolt decided to continue on his flight so he turned and flew into the direction he was traveling in before his little distraction took place. After flying for a few more minutes, the Pegasus from before flew up from below, and tried to do the same thing he did before, only this time Star Bolt was expecting it. Star Bolt rolled around so the pegasus would miss his wing, then as he was rolling Star Bolt grabbed the attacker’s tail and slammed him against a nearby cliff. Almost immediately, the attacker’s body went limp so while still holding onto his tail, Star Bolt flew to the closest plateau and dropped the unconscious pegasus so he wouldn’t fall into the ocean below.

After Star Bolt landed next to his attacker, Star Bolt realized that he was wearing some kind of jumpsuit that seemed very familiar. “HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!! GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!”
Star Bolt took a few steps back from his attacker as a large number of pegasi flew down from behind the clouds and landed on the plateaus and cliffs around him. With each one wearing the same uniform, Star Bolt finally figured out where he had seen it before, then his theories were confirmed, when a mare flew down from the clouds above and landed in front of him. Star Bolt could only smile and speak, “So if I'm not mistaken you’re Spitfire from the Wonderbolts, right?”

Spitfire Replied, “It’s not surprising that you know who I am, but I'm afraid your journey ends here. By order of Princess Celestia, we the Wonderbolts are placing you under arrest.”
Star Bolt smiled, “And what prey tell is my crime?”
Star Bolt could tell by Spitfire’s expression that she didn’t know, “Oh… uh… I… It doesn’t matter what your crime is. Princess Celestia asked me personally to have you brought to her alive, so that’s what we are going to do. so how are we going to do this… the easy way? or the hard way?”

Star Bolt smiled, “Easy way… hard way… The difference between easy and hard is merely an opinion put down by those who have never been able to understand the two. Explain which is which… then I'll choose.”
Star Bolt’s attempt to stall and annoy Spitfire was working better than he expected. She sneered as she replied, “The easy way… you will come with us quietly and without any trouble. Or the hard way… we will drag you to her in chains. It’s your choice, Commander Bolt!”
Star Bolt nodded his head then replied, “Ok since you’re apparently trying to arrest me for no reason… I guess this should answer your question then.”

Star Bolt lowered his head and scraped the ground below him as if he was going to charge. However, as Spitfire readied herself for the attack, Star Bolt reared up on his hind legs and fell backward off the edge of the cliff behind him. As he fell, Star Bolt rolled around, and opened his wings bringing himself into a glide mere feet from the water below. Spitfire immediately yelled to the rest of the Wonderbolts as she dove off the cliff after him, “ATTACK PATTERN BRAVO!!! GO! GO! GO!”
Most of the Wonderbolts chased Star Bolt right behind Spitfire but a few others flew into a different direction.

Star Bolt flew at a very low altitude crisscrossing between the rocks and hoodoos in the gulf, trying to lose his pursuers. As Star Bolt looked back, he noticed that his quick maneuvers weren’t helping as much as he hoped. Then he looked back, he turned a corner and was caught off guard when he saw a ship sailing through the crevices. Star Bolt tried all he could to stop but he still hit the railing right in front of the helm stopping him immediately. As he shook it off the captain of the ship yelled, “YA DERN FOOL! Annabelle don’t take kindly to stowaways! Get off me ship! Don’t make Captain Sail get physical on ye plot!!!”

Star Bolt quickly reached into his saddlebag and put a hoof full of bits on the deck as he replied, “This should cover it Captain!”
Captain Sail was confused, “Cover what!?!”
Without replaying Star Bolt jumped into the air, drew his sword and cut one of the ropes that held the sail boom in place. When the boom swung into their path, Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts tried to dodge it, but most of the pegasus colligated with it causing them to fall into either the ship or the water below. However, Spitfire and a small number did manage to dodge it and continue chasing Star Bolt trough the gulf.

Star Bolt looked back as he continued and noticed that Spitfire and the others were catching up to him. He could only think to himself, “This mare is just as good as I expected… but she is still isn’t the best I’ve seen.”
When Star Bolt looked in front of him, he notices a long straightaway in the cliffs with a ninety-degree turn at the end. So he continued increasing his speed as fast as he could go with Spitfire and the others close behind. While looking at the same cliff, he saw something under the surface of the water that could help too, but he decided to wait until later to use it. As Star Bolt approached the turn, he had to close one wing while he turned the other down just to get enough drag on his side while he attempted to make the sharp turn at the alarming speed. He was going so fast in fact that he had to put his hooves out and run along the cliffs in the turn, just so he wouldn’t hit the wall on the other side of the dangerously sharp turn.

After making the turn and leveling himself, he looked behind him. He watched in awe as Spitfire and one other Pegasus completed the same stunt exactly as he did. However, the rest of the pegasi either stopped, being too afraid to attempt it, or they failed to make the turn, hit the cliff, and fell to the water below. Star Bolt smiled at the skill that Spitfire was demonstrating in keeping up with him, but as he turned to look in front of him he didn’t notice that the pegasi that didn’t follow him into the canyon have set up a net in his path.

As he approached the net, Star Bolt drew his sword, closed his wings, and cut a small slit in the net, just big enough for him to fly through with his wings closed, after making it through Star Bolt opened his wings and continued his flight. Star Bolt looked back to see how Spitfire and the other pegasus did with their obstacle. Spitfire successfully mimicked his stunt and made it through the net. However, the other pegasus wasn’t so lucky; he hit the net getting his wing tangled and taking him out of the chase, now it was just between Spitfire and Star Bolt.

Spitfire called to Star Bolt, as she got close enough to grab his tail, “Face it commander! You can’t outrun the Wonderbolts!”
As soon as he felt Spitfire grab his tail Star Bolt replied, “No, but I can out smart them!”
With that said, Star Bolt used the same wing maneuver he used to make the ninety-degree turn and fling Spitfire off his tail with the first try. When Spitfire regained control, she caught up to Star Bolt quickly, only this time, her anger was controlling her actions… not her ability. While choosing his direction carefully as he flew, Star Bolt made a complete U-turn to the area where the ninety-degree turn was. As he got into the straightaway he increased his speed and slowly increased his altitude, Spitfire called to him, “This again? You need to learn some new tricks if you want to get away from me!”
As soon as Star Bolt approached the turn for the second time, he called back, “Ok how’s this?”

Star Bolt continued his speed but immediately went straight down diving into the water right in front of the cliff. Shortly after hitting the water, Star Bolt used his wings to swim through a cave entrance that could be seen just below the surface. After making his way through the entrance, Star Bolt emerged from the water to find himself in an underground aquifer inside the cliff. He climbed out onto a small portion of dry land and shook himself off, “Well… I think that did it.”
When Star Bolt looked back into the crystal clear water, he saw an orange and yellowish figure hit the water and make it through the cave entrance.

Star Bolt could only think to himself as he drew his sword, “Great… looks like I'll have to deal with her after all.”
As he stood there with his sword out at the ready, he noticed something strange. The yellowish figure was kicking and moving… but it wasn’t surfacing. It was only holding its position underwater. Star Bolt continued holding his sword at the ready until the figure stopped moving… then the bubbles that were reaching the surface stopped, “Oh, No…”
Star Bolt immediately stuck his sword in the ground, took his saddlebag off and dove into the water to save her.

After diving in, Star Bolt franticly looked around for Spitfire until he saw her slowly sinking to the bottom. Like before, Star Bolt used his wings and hooves to swim through the water, grab Spitfire, then pull her to the surface. As he carried her onto the dry ground, he laid her down and listened to her chest. She wasn’t breathing so Star Bolt knew what he had to do… but he didn’t like it… and he knew she wouldn’t like it either. Star Bolt started pushing against her chest to try to get her lungs to start breathing again. when the first few times failed, he held her nose and preformed mouth-to-mouth, pushing air into her lungs from his own. then he listened to her lungs, pressed against her chest again, and repeated his first few actions.

After a few minutes just as Star Bolt was about to give up, Spitfire woke up and started coughing up the water that was in her lungs. Star Bolt backed up and sat against the side of the cave so she could get some air while she rolled to her side and finished coughing up the remaining water in her lungs. Star Bolt started looking through the supplied in his saddlebag for any damage as Spitfire caught her breath then started looking around the cave. As soon as she saw Star Bolt, she sneered at him, “Are… you ready to… surrender yet?”
Star Bolt could only smile and reply, “I admire your determination, even when returning from the half-way point of the river Styx, you still put your princesses orders before your own life… back then, I would have called it loyal devotion… now I call it foolish.”

Spitfire was confused, “What are you talking about, I wasn’t near death… you’re the one being foolish.”
Star Bolt continued looking through his things as he replied, “Think about what just happened to you for a few second.”
Spitfire started to think, after a few second she started to realize what happened, “Well I dove in after you then I… then you…”
All of a sudden her face turned beat red as she looked at Star Bolt in complete shock, “DID… DID YOU JUST… AND THEN YOU…”
Star Bolt smiled, “You’re welcome.”

Spitfire continued her tantrum, “I can’t believe you actually… and then…”
Star Bolt replied, “If it makes ya feel any better I didn’t enjoy a second of it… no offence sweetie, but you’re not necessarily my type.”
Spitfire commented back, “Oh I'm sorry I forgot your type is the dark gloomy kind who want to bring eternal night.”
Star Bolt gave her a serious look, “Watch it…”
Spitfire continued, “I'm sorry I can’t raise the moon and bring forth an eternal night like you would want, mab…”

Before Spitfire could finish her sentence, Star Bolt had charged her and pinned her against the cave wall with his sword against her throat, “Say one more word about her… and I'll throw you back into that water… and this time I won’t do anything, when the bubbles stop. Then for you, it will be an eternal night. Understand?”
Spitfire’s confidence was completely drained all at once by that one split second, she couldn’t even reply. All she could do was nod her head in agreement to his command. Star Bolt slowly lowered his sword, turned around, sheathed it, and speak, “Sorry… as you can tell… I don’t like to talk about what’s passed. The best thing for you to do now is get some rest and catch your breath. I'll decide when you’re ready to get out of here.”
Spitfire felt embarrassed at the fear she showed moments ago, so she lowered her head and replied, “What do you mean by, You’ll decide when I’m ready to get out of here.”

Star Bolt trotted back to his saddlebag that was sitting at the side of the cave. Then he sat down as he replied, “Look around, there are no openings, cracks, or passages leading in or out of this cave, other than the one we went through. So if you’re going to get out of here you’ll need my help, seeing is that you can’t swim and all. I have some supplies that survived the water, I hope you like apples.”
Spitfire felt a little uneasy taking food from the pony she was supposed to arrest. However, he did save her life, so she could assume that poisoning her would be a waste of time. So she trotted over to him, and sat down beside him as she replied, “Um… yes I do like apples.”

Star Bolt pulled a very large red apple from his bag and tossed it to her, “How do you like them apples?”
Spitfire couldn’t help but smile at the corny joke, as she looked at the large apple, “Wow this is pretty impressive. Where did you get apples this big?”
Star Bolt replied, “When I was passing through a small town called Saddle Ridge there were a number of ponies there who worked orchards of all kinds. I offered my services in exchange for some apples and a small number of bits to help me in my travels.”

As Spitfire took a bit off the apple she asked, “So why didn’t you stay there?”
Star Bolt replied, “A young filly saw my picture in a history book and started calling me Commander Bolt. At first I joked about it and let her it since she wanted to, and the other workers saw it as an innocent nickname from a young friendly foal… but soon the rest of the villagers started asking about my past, so one night after I received my payment for the previous week’s work… I left.
before that, I was in another town called Equestrian Springs, that was a beautiful town… but soon the royal guard started snooping around that town so I had to leave. Before that, I was in Cloudsdale, that’s where I saw one of your shows, but I found a statue of myself in the local museum so to prevent anypony from pointing it out. I left there too. One by one… I left anyplace where the ponies started to figure out who I was, or if the royal guard came looking for me.”

Spitfire lowered her head, “Ok, ok, I get it… it’s hard for somepony in your horse shoes to get a moment of peace. But why are you on your way to New Foalreins?”
Star Bolt replied, “I hear they discovered silver there, I'm going to see if anypony there wants to hire a stallion to work in the mines.”
“Work the mines? I didn’t know you had talent as a miner.”
Star Bolt smiled, “I don’t.”
“You don’t?”
“Nope, I just wanted to take a shot at it… besides I may be a wanderer but I still need food just like anypony else, so the only way to do that is to get a job from place to place. If they start to discover who I am or if the royal guard starts looking for me there then I'll move on just like the last one.”

Spitfire finished her apple then she spoke seriously, “What are you doing?”
Star Bolt replied, “I'm trying to make a living… what’s it look like?”
“No, I mean… what is it that you’re planning? Princess Celestia wants you arrested, I know a little about your past but I hardly think the princess wants to see you for any reason that isn’t crucial, so what is it you’re doing?”
Star Bolt smiled and casually spoke, “I'm building an army to attack and destroy Canterlot.”
“WHAT?”
Star Bolt laughed, “I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I actually plan to destroy Canterlot alone.”
Spitfire started to get annoyed, “This is serious Comman…”
“Star.”
“What?”
“My name is Star Bolt, I’d appreciate it if you would call me by my name, I'm not a commander anymore.”
“Fine then Star why can’t you be serious about this?”

Star Bolt replied, “Because I'm done. Celestia, Canterlot, the royal guards, the lighting orb, and the lifestyle I once had… all done. If they were to fall of the face of the planet, it wouldn’t make any difference to me. I only want to leave that life behind.”
Spitfire continued, “And… Luna? you didn’t mention her in that list. Do you want her to fall off the world too?”
Star Bolt lowered his head, “I just want her to be happy… that’s all. And I’ve never seen her happier than when she is with her sister… without me.”
Spitfire nodded her head, “I see… so you’re not planning anything to harm the Princesses in anyway right?”

Star Bolt replied, “Don’t get me wrong, if Princess Celestia needed my help in any way I would probably turn it down. But I'm not out to get them. The way I see it, if they leave me alone, then they won’t have to worry about ever seeing my face again. I don’t ever plan to return to Canterlot.”
Spitfire could tell that the subject wasn’t something that Star Bolt wanted to talk about so she changed the subject, “You’re a very skilled flyer, where did you learn to fly like that?”
“War… I learned all of that, while fighting in wars.”
“… Is war really that terrible?... I mean… did you really have to fly like that to survive?”

Star Bolt gave Spitfire an unamused look while he ignored the question and changed the subject, “Why are a group of acrobats chasing down a lowlife anyway?”
Spitfire felt like she had said something wrong so rather than going back to the previous subject she just answered the question, “Apart from entertaining and encouraging young pegasi, we are all sworn to protect Princess Celestia and Princess Luna from any threat.”
“So… you’re royal guards.”
Spitfire didn’t know how to explain it, “Well… Yes and no… you see we will fight in a war if needed but we act as a sort of third party. Meaning Princess Celestia can give the order, but in the end I decide if we should carry it out.”

Spitfire jumped in surprise when she unexpectedly felt water touch her hoof, she looked at the cave entrance and spoke, “Uh… Star?”
Star Bolt looked at the water and realizes it was rising, “We better get going, the tide is coming in. How long can you hold your breath?”
Spitfire felt a little unsure from where the question was leading, “Wait… what are you talking about?”
“We got to get out of here now, otherwise we will drown in here, so unless you want a repeat from earlier, you might want to hold onto me while I swim us both out of here.”
After thinking about what happened earlier, Spitfire blushed as she shook her head, “No, no, no, we will get out, your way.”
Star Bolt put his saddlebag back on and readied himself, “Grab onto my neck and hold your breath.”

Spitfire put her hooves around Star Bolt’s neck, then she gave him a nod just as he started sprinting towards the water, and dove in with her on his back. After Star Bolt dove into the water, he found the cave entrance, and attempted to swim through it, but with the water rushing into the aquifer, the current was too strong. Star Bolt surfaced so that both their heads where above the water, then he spoke, “Spitfire, the current is to strong, so I'm going to need you help to get out, when we are underwater flap your wings behind you, that will help us get through the current.”
Spitfire nodded her head, “Sure, I'll give it a try.”

After letting her take another breath, Star Bolt dove underwater, and using both of their wing power, they were able to push through the current and make it through the cave entrance, and outside the aquifer. Then Spitfire and Star Bolt were able to fly up to the lowest platform that was still about ten feet above the surface. Shortly after shaking the water off herself Spitfire spoke, “Thanks Star the last thing I wanted to do was drown in a place like that.”

When Spitfire looked at Star Bolt she realized that he had already flown to another plateau where he was standing watching her, “What now Spitfire!?!”
Spitfire didn’t know how to answer, as the other Wonderbolts landed around her, “There you are Captain, we’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Spitfire looked at the pegasus who spoke and replied, “Good to see you woke up Soarin, how did that cliff taste?”
Soarin replied, “Yea… sorry bout that. I didn’t expect him to slam me into a cliff by my tail. As we can see he couldn’t out fly you could he?”
Spitfire looked at her companions, then she looked back at Star Bolt as she mumbled to herself, “no… but he did outsmart me…”
Soarin replied, “What was that?”
Spitfire turned to the rest of the Wonderbolts and spoke so they all could hear, “This Pony isn’t Commander Bolt. His name is Star Bolt and I found out that he is no threat to Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, or Equestria in anyway. Because of this… we will no longer pursue him.”

Soarin spoke up, “But captain? Princess Celestia said…”
“The Princess isn’t in charge of the Wonderbolts… I am… and I say that if it wasn’t for the fact that he has his own life to live. I would offer him a position here with us. I’d say he is Wonderbolt material.”
As the rest of the Wonderbolts looked at each other in confusion, Spitfire looked back at Star Bolt. Star Bolt could only smile as he spoke, “Thanks Spitfire… and I would just have to say that… maybe you are my type after all.”

Spitfires Face turned red as she replied, “WHAT!!!”
With that said, Star Bolt dove off the plateau and flew away laughing as he called back, “Just kidding!”
Spitfire watched angrily as Star Bolt flew away then Soarin asked, “Uh… Spitfire? What did he mean by…”
“GET BACK TO THE ACADEMY!!!”
All the Wonderbolts immediately reacted by Jumping to attention, “YES MA’AM!!!”
Then they all flew into the sky and into the direction the academy was in, as Spitfire liked back at them and sighed, “I wonder what the princess will say when she hears about this. I guess I'll just say it to her straight. I don’t know why she would turn to a group of acrobats to catch a former commander anyway. I can’t help but wonder… why is this stallion so important?”

Under Your Muzzle (Shining Armor)

I rushed as fast as I could to the location that the witness spoke of. The whole time I galloped, I was thinking to myself, “We finally got him! We finally caught Commander Bolt!”
As I rush up to the sight I could already see a few of my soldiers waiting for me, so I asked, “Where is he? Did you get him?”
They both shook their heads as one spoke, “Captain Armor… the neighbors say he left this morning, they said he was on his way into the Griffin Kingdoms from here. If this is true then he’s probably crossed the border by now.”
Once again, I was just plain ticked off. Princess Celestia ordered me to bring him to her weeks ago… but so far, I haven’t even seen his face yet. All I have are rumors and witness descriptions of him.

One pony from Trottingham says he is a tall buff alicorn… one from the Everfree Forest says he is a spirit who watches over the Kingdom. A few of my guards claimed he is a demon who shoots lightning from his eyes. When I asked Princess Luna what he looked like, she said he was a sweet strong pegasus, Princess Celestia says he is a confident yet untrusting stallion, and the list goes on and on. So far all I can say is this. He is near impossible to catch. But now he is in the Griffin Kingdom so I know I can’t just send soldiers there to look for him… nowadays the griffins will find any excuse they can to start a war. I looked at my soldiers and gave them an order, “Increase Security on the borders between the Griffin Kingdoms and Equestria, he will be back. This is his home after all.”
The same solder replied, “What about the griffins sir?”
“If they ask, a fugitive has crossed their borders and will return soon. That’s all they need to know.”
The soldier nodded his head and replied, “Yes Sir, we will do that right away.”

After another long day of chasing around a rumor I decided to clear my thought and get some cider at the local pub, it’s been a while since I was able to get that stallion off my mind. After a few minutes of searching, I found a quaint little hole in the wall place to get a drink so I went inside and sat beside another stallion at the bar. As soon as I sat down I started to take a good look at this stallion, I wanted to see if he fit the descriptions, but then I stopped myself and put my hoof on my head, and mumbled to myself, “Oh… Shining Armor… you really need to give it a rest.”
The stallion seemed normal enough; he was a strong looking pony wearing a cloak. At first sight, I would mistake him for a traveling merchant, but his saddlebag seemed too small, perhaps he was a delivery pony. The stallion looked over at me and spoke, “Rough day?…”
I looked at him and replied, “Is it that easy to see?”

The stallion took a sip of his drink and replied, “Yep… but don’t worry about it… you know what the best thing about a rough day is? There’s another one coming tomorrow.”
The stallion smiled at his joke while I couldn’t help but laugh as I commented, “Too true. Meanwhile I spend my days searching for some kind of alicorn, spirit, and demon. Who is sweet, and untrusting… sheesh, sometimes I wish I could just say let him run free. You know?”
The stallion shook his head, “Freedom comes in many shapes and forms, what some would consider freedom, may seem like a prison to others. I mean look at me, I’ve seen many things in my travels, I’ve faced snowstorms, dangerous mountains, blistering hot deserts and still have the strength to find work whenever I can… but sometimes I just want to settle down and enjoy the feel of the surroundings you know?”

While he spoke I ordered my drink, this pony seemed to know a lot, so I had to ask, “Are you a traveler?”
The stallion replied, “Yep… Been one for a while now, though I prefer the term wanderer.”
“Really? Why?”
The egotistical pony replied, “It appeals to the mares more… don’t you think?”
We both laughed at his joke then I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Have you ever heard of a pony named Commander Bolt?”
The stallion nodded his head, “I’ve heard the name before… but I'm afraid I haven’t seen him, rumors say that he died a number of weeks ago.”
I was disappointed to hear his answer but I decided it was probably for the best, “That’s what was said, do you happen to know what he looks like?”
The stallion thought to himself, “According to the stories he is a fearless leader who kills without mercy and can use an ability known as the Lightning Orb. but that’s all the stories have told me.”
Once again I was disappointed to have no new leads to capturing him so I sighed, “Oh well… it was worth a shot to ask anyway.”

The stallion tapped his mug signaling the bartender for another drink while he spoke, “Why is this stallion so important anyway?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well did he commit some crime?”
I replied, “Well… yes… and no…”
The stallion gave me an annoyed stare, “That’s not an answer.”
I nervously replied, “Well… it’s complicated.”
The stallion continued as the bartender gave me my drink and gave him a new one, “Complicated? How can it be complicated for the captain of the royal guards to not even know why he is trying to capture this stallion in the first place?”
I continued, “Well… he did commit a crime, Treason, An attempt at a Coup-de-tat, I guess property damage and mass murder if you decide to claim that he wasn’t a real commander… but he served his sentence for that.”

The stallion seemed to tighten his grip on his mug as he replied with a slightly more tense voice, “And… What was his punishment?…”
Trying to ignore the obvious tension in the stallion’s voice I replied, “Well Princess Celestia sentenced him to an eternity imprisonment in the stars… but somehow he escaped along with Nightmare Moon after only one thousand years.”
The stallion continued, “So… one thousand years imprisonment huh… must have been terrible…”
“I'm sure, but it’s not like he missed anything. He could still see the world.. However, he couldn’t interact with it… I bet it was interesting to see how the world would change in one thousand years.”
The stallion mumbled to himself, “It must be terrible to not be able to interact with it though, to see lives begin and end with no form of contact with them.”

I knew what he said, but I didn’t know if I was supposed to, so I asked, “What was that?”
The stallion shook his head, “Oh… it’s nothing. So you don’t think one thousand years in a prison isn’t a bad enough punishment for his crime?”
I knew what to say to that… but I felt like I was saying the wrong thing as I answered, “actually… I think it was a suitable punishment for him… but princess Celestia continues to have me search for him… I honestly don’t know why.”
“And what does her sister, Princess Luna, think of this plan?”
I lowered my head as I replied, “Princess Luna… the poor pony… she knows nothing about this plan… in fact she thinks that Commander Bolt is dead… I think that is for the best... But the connection those two ponies shared went beyond that of a simple guard and his ruler… it went much deeper.”

As I finished my drink, the stallion replied, “Beyond a simple connection? hmm so… were they in love or something like that?”
I honestly couldn’t answer that question with a proper answer so I just replied, “Rumors say they were… buy I can’t trust rumors in this case, so I'm not sure. But what I do know is this… Princess Celestia believes Commander Bolt is alive but for Luna’s sake, she wants her to believe he is dead. I think it’s because she is worried that Commander Bolt will hurt her in some way. She feels that it’s best that for now he is dead.”
The stallion looked at his drink, swished it around and spoke, “Do you think there is a reason why he hasn’t returned? Maybe he wants Princess Luna to believe he is dead.”

I started thinking to myself about his question then replied as I tapped my mug for another drink, “To be honest, I never thought about it that way. Maybe he is ashamed to fail nightmare moon in such a way that he doesn’t want to admit he lost a war when the only battle he lost was his last.”
The stallion mumbled to himself again… I think he said “Close but wrong.”
I ignored his previous comment as he spoke up, “Or… maybe he is ashamed to look at Lu… the Princess again.”
“Really, how so?”
“Think of it like this, are you in love?”

I thought that was kind of a personal question but out of curiosity I decided to answer, “Yes, in fact we will be married soon.”
The stallion smiled, “Well congratulations.”
“Thanks”
“Anyway, you’re in love, but say you wanted nothing more than to make her happy, but she starts making decisions that are a bit rash, but to make her happy you complete them anyway right?”
I was curious of where this was leading to so I replied, “right, every stallion wants to please the one he loves.”

The wanderer continued, “But one day, she looks back on her decisions and feels ashamed for what she lets you do, and starts to feel disgusted with her decisions and your actions. What would you do about those?”
I thought to myself then replied, “I’d simply forget about them and refuse to talk about them from that moment on.”
“And what if she can’t even look at you without thinking about those decisions… what would you do to make her happy?”
Finally, I saw what he was talking about so I answered, “I’d find ways for her to forget about them, but removing myself from her sights would be too extreme, especially if she didn’t want to leave me.”

The stallion took a sip of his drink and continued, “So the only logical choice would be to remove yourself from her sights… but if she didn’t want to leave you, how could you keep her away?”
I knew the answer to this question… but I didn’t want to agree with Commander Bolt’s decision so I shrugged my shoulders as he replied, “You make it so that she wouldn’t search for you… in other words, make her believe you’re dead.”
I didn’t like the answer so I tried to argue, “But wouldn’t that hurt her even more?”
The stallion replied, “Princess Luna is immortal… unless she is killed by unnatural causes, she will live forever. In her lifetime, she has seen friends come, and go, and I wouldn’t doubt, with her beauty; she has seen many suitors come and go. In time, the heart will heal, and it will make her stronger. I… I mean I bet he, wanted her to just forget about him and her past so that she can continue her life happily… at least… without him.”

As much as I hated to admit it, the stallion had a point, as the saying goes, if you truly love something set it free. I looked down at my drink, swished it around a few times and sighed, “I see your point, but… okay… I guess I agree with his decision. Nevertheless, as a royal guard, it’s my duty to do what I have to until he is captured. As the princess orders it, I have to obey.”
The wanderer smiled, “Why?”
I couldn’t help but smile at the silly question, “What do you mean why? It’s my duty as a Ro…”
the stallion slammed his drink down after drinking it and interrupted me, “That’s not what I asked!… What I'm asking you, not Captain Armor the Royal Guard, but Shining Armor the unicorn, is why do you have to obey the princess?”

I didn’t like the tone he was using so I replied as I stood up, “Because I am loyal to her and I must obey her! It’s MY job and MY duty!”
The stallion smiled and replied, “Funny… I’d imagine Commander Bolt would have said the same thing about what he did for Nightmare Moon.”
I don’t know what it was that stopped me from drawing my sword and removing this stallions head, it could have been the look in his eye, the clarity in his logic, or the confident boldness of how he replied. Nevertheless, I had never felt so enraged before, yet I only sighed and sat back down. There was a small moment of silence that passed before I finally replied, “You’re right… you’re so right… but an order is an order. And I can’t fail my princess.”

The wise stallion replied, “Then complete your mission and find him. But I warn you, I don’t think he will go easy on you, so be careful.”
I finished off my drink, tapped my mug asking for another and replied, “You know, for a wanderer, you’re very wise.”
The stallion smiled, “Thanks, and for a guard, your loyalty is inspiring, but if you’re getting married soon you might have to start thinking for yourself.”
I smiled, “Don’t worry I plan to, once the wedding is over anyway, I will no longer be a guard.”

The stallion was curious, “Really? Are you quitting?”
I tried not to gloat, as I replied, “No, it’s just impossible for a prince to be a guard is all.”
The stallion was in the middle of his drink when my reply caught him off guard, he coughed as he sat his drink down then replied, “What?... Prince?... You mean… you’re marrying a princess?”
I bet I was blushing a little when I replied, “Yea… I am.”
The stallion wiped his mouth with a paper towel then replied, “Wow… way to set the bar.”
“Tell me about it.”
Then he looked a little nervous when he asked, “So… which one is it?”
“What?”
“You know… which princess?
“Oh… Princess Mi Amore Cadenza… or Cadence as we call her.”
The stallion looked relieved as he took a sip from his drink and replied, “Mi Amore Cadenza … My love Cadence… My love song. Very beautiful name, you must be very happy.”
I took a sip from my drink as I replied, “I am.”
The stallion smiled, “Commander Bolt would be envious.”
“Envious? Why would you say that?”
The stallion replied, “Think about it, if he truly was in love with Princess Luna, then I bet he was nervous of how other ponies would react to a guard marrying a princess. In fact, instead of you hunting him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he began hunting you.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought, I doubt he could beat me… but I do know that it would make my task so much easier. As the stallion smiled at his own comment, he took another sip of his drink, so I had to ask, “So what are you drinking?”
He replied, “Zap apple cider… good stuff, but earth ponies and unicorn can’t handle it too well.”
I was curious, “Really. Why is that?”
The stallion looked at me and replied, “The zap apples leave a sort of stinging sensation in the cider, its harmless enough… but pegasi are used to electric shocks so it has no real effect on us.”
Taking the remark as a challenge, I looked at the bartender and asked, “Could I get a small bit of zap apple cider?”

The bartender shrugged his shoulders as he replied, “Okay… but no refunds.”
When I got the small glass from the bartender I looked into the cider, it looked like regular apple cider, only every few seconds you could see a faint spark in it. The wanderer smiled and spoke, “like looking into a distant lightning storm right?”
I couldn’t help but agree, “Yep… and with no knowledge of how bad it will be either.”
The stallion nodded his head as he held up his drink, “To us! May we find whatever it is we seek, whenever and wherever it may be!”
“Here, Here!”

As I took a drink of the unusual drink, I immediately cringed at the taste. It started out like regular apple cider, only sweeter, and then came the zap. It was like placing your tongue against a battery terminal, only the feeling was all over your mouth, as if you were chewing on a battery. I immediately started coughing at the numbing feeling that followed, so he started patting me on the back, “I warned you didn’t I? Don’t worry I'll finish this one off for you and get you another drink.”
As he poured my drink into his mug I had to ask, “How is it that you can handle drinking that stuff without so much as tensing your jaw? Doesn’t that hurt you?”
The stallion replied, “When you deal with electricity as much as I have… the stinging is kind of soothing… it makes you forget everything else for a split second. It lets you know that you’re still alive and that you have to keep going.”

As the stallion looked at his drink, I wanted to ask about what it was he was trying to forget, but I knew it was his business and I didn’t want to open any old wounds, and with the way, he looked at his drink… I could tell that he had many old deep wounds in his past. As the stallion looked at the clock in the corner of the room, he finished off his drink, sat a few bits on the table and spoke, “Here is the money for your drink and a little extra for another one on me. As for me, I gotta get back on the road, the only way to afford drinks like this is to find work whenever and wherever I can.”
“So where are you headed?”
The stallion put the hood on his cloak over his head and replied, “Don’t know… I'll just get on the road and see where it takes me."
I nodded my head and replied, “Well good luck stranger, I hope you find what you’re looking for. If you ever find your way into Canterlot, look me up, we will share another drink… on me this time.”

The stallion smiled as he turned towards the door, “I might just hold you up to that.”
when he turned around saw what looked like a sword on his side as he turned but it didn’t surprise me, travelers need to protect themselves from bandits and monsters just like everypony else, but as he reached the door I had to stop him, “Wait a second! I never got your name!”
The stallion turned to me and replied, “You can call me… S.B.”
“S.B.? Wait, those are your initials right? You won’t give me your real name?”
The stallion smiled, “That is something you will have to figure out on your own.”

As the stallion left the pub, I turned back to my drink and thought to myself, “An odd but wise stallion. I hope I get to meet him again someday.”
As I took a drink, I started thinking to myself, “Hmm… S.B…, S… B…, S… Bolt?... S Bolt!?!... Star Bolt!?! … STAR BOLT!!!”
Realizing what just happened, I dropped my mug on the counter, pushed myself from the bar, and rushed outside as fast as I could, but by the time I got outside and into the street, the only ponies I could see were the normal citizens of the town. There was no sign of the stranger at all; it was as if he vanished into thin air. Feeling annoyed that he was right in front of me the whole time, I could only mumble to myself, “If you come for that drink, you better enjoy it Bolt, because it could be your last.”

My Hero's Hero (Gilda)

Frozen… everything is frozen… my paws, my talons, my wings, the land, everything I can see is covered in snow and ice… I wish I had chosen a better time to return to the Griffin Kingdoms, but I couldn’t stand being near Ponyville or any place where those loser ponies will be. This is all Stinky Pie’s fault! She kept trying to butt in on my and Dash’s fun, then she decides to put together a party and make me look like the dweeb in front of everypony. She’s the dweeb, if it wasn’t for her, then Dash would still be my friend… she was always the cool one. But now… she thinks I'm just a big jerk, while her and her pony friends laugh at me behind my back… making me look like the loser. Now here I am… too cold to fly and getting worse with each step, miles away from home, and if I don’t find shelter soon… I'll freeze to death out here.

As I continue through this frozen wasteland, I attempt to make it to the top of this hill I'm on, though the frozen ground, my numb paws, talons, and this stinging wind and sleet isn’t helping me in any way. By the time I made it to the top of the hill, I looked into the distance only to see nothing but white all around me. The blizzard is too thick to see anything past the base of this hill. And me without any form of clothing or any way to keep warm… I doubt I'm going to get out of here alive. I carefully started down the hill trying not to trip on the slick ground, but without feeling to the bottom of my paws, I tripped over something buried in the snow. I think it was a rock but I'm not sure. Whatever it was, it caused me to fall down and roll to the bottom of the hill. By the time I got to the bottom, I tried to pick myself up off the ground… but it was no use. My talons and paws are numb, my wings are numb, and I have been shivering for so long, my muscles are aching, it hurts just to be lying here. I knew that if I didn’t get up now… I was dead, but with every inch of my body in pain, I could barely move let alone stand. All I could do, is lay here in the snow… close my eyes… and accept my fate. First, I lost my best friend… now I will lose everything else.

As I lay there, at some point I must have lost consciousness, because the next thing I knew, I was lying on somepony’s back with a cloak wrapped around my body. When I looked at the pony who was carrying me, he was a stallion with a dark pelt, and a scar on his ear. I don’t know who he was or where he came from, but I was still grateful. Not many ponies have the strength to carry a griffin in the first place, and even fewer would help one who didn’t ask for it. However, this didn’t change my opinions of ponies; they are still losers and dweebs in my book. The pony carried me for a long time until finally we arrived at the face of a random cliff. As he laid me down, I continued to pretend I was asleep so I could figure out what he was trying to do.

The stallion started to pace up and down the cliff until he stopped and examined the wall. I didn’t know what the big deal was… it was just the side of a random mountain. Then he drew his sword and began taping the blade against certain parts of the stone. Finally he taped the blade against a part of the stone that so sounded a little different than the other parts so he jammed it into the wall causing it to crack up in that area. After shaking the sword around a few times, he picked up a rock and started bashing it against the crack that the sword had made until the crack grew large enough, that the wall in front of him collapsed revealing a cave entrance. The pony smiled as he sheathed his sword, picked me up by scooping his wing under my body, he began to move into the cave. The cave was deep and forked multiple times revealing many different tunnels, but he continued as if he knew exactly where he was going. Eventually, we made it into a small chamber where he laid me down, removed his saddlebag and sword, and started looking through his bag. The stallion then pulled some hay and flint out and started a fire in the center of the room.

After the fire was started, the pony sat down and started mumbling to himself, “A waste of good food… Oh well, either way I can’t believe after all these centuries, this cave is still here… I guess The Cutters knew how to choose hideouts. Oh… and how long do you plan on faking it miss griffin?”
Feeling a little embarrassed, I opened my eyes completely and sat up, “Fine… I guess I'll sit up if you’re going to cry about it.”
I know what I said was a little rude, but I already showed how weak I was by having him find me on the ground in the blizzard, but what else could I do?… This pony was cold despite how little he complained about it, and still he put his cloak around me and carried me all the way here, completely ignoring how cold he was. I would still like to think that I'm better than him, especially since I'm a strong proud griffin… while he is a lame pony.

With my hero in mind, I spoke, “So why did you help me anyway? Don’t you have anything better to do?”
The stallion smiled, “I do… but it doesn’t involve watching a griffin freeze to death. Nor does it involve the thought of leaving behind a poor defenseless griffin who needs he…”
“I DIDN’T NEED YOUR HELP!!! I was doing just fine before you showed up!”
The stallion stood up and started looking around the room as he replied, “Whatever… I didn’t expect any thanks from a griffin anyway; your species has never been the kind to be humble in any way. So… are you on your way to Kestrel?”
Watching the pony pace around the chamber, I replied, “As if it was any of your beeswax… I'm on my way to Gryphus.”

The stallion stopped pacing and spoke, “You were going the wrong way then… you were headed towards Kestrel to the east… Gryphus is on the northwest.”
I didn’t want to admit that I was turned around in the confusion of the storm so I lied, “I know that… I was… um… I decided to go the Kestrel to um… meet somegriffin first. Then I was going to continue to Gryphus.”
The stallion nodded his head and replied, “Oh… so that’s what you were doing then… well far be it for me to question your actions.”
This cocky stallion was getting on my last nerve, I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not so I tried to change the subject before I lost my patience, “So what’s a pony doing in the Griffin Kingdoms anyway?”

The pony replied, “Just travelling… it’s been a long time since I came through here last so I decided to take the time to see what’s changed.”
Then I started to remember what he had said earlier so I sarcastically replied, “Yea… sure… whatever, because it’s been centuries since you were here last right?... Whatever, you’re hiding something aren’t you? Whatever it is, it better not be threatening the Griffin Kingdoms in any way or I'll…”
“Calm down griffin, as I said before, I'm just travelling through. Besides I couldn’t give two bits about this kingdom or its king… so why would I want to change anything?”
“I HAVE A NAME YOU KNOW!!!”
The stallion replied, “Ok… well then what is it? Then I'll call you by it.”

I tried to calm down before I replied, “My name is Gilda.”
The stallion nodded his head, “Alright then Gilda, My name is Star Bolt.”
I couldn’t believe the nerve of this dweeb, first he talks to me like he’s hiding something bad. Then he goes and gives me a fake name. It seems like every chance this pony gets, he wants to make fun of me, so I replied, “If you’re going to make up a fake name, at least make it one that’s believable!”
“… Excuse me?...”
“You can’t even think up a fake name on your own! You have to steal one from old pony tails!”
The Stallion was looking at me in confusion as I explained, “Look, any griffin who is a fan of the great Commander Orem knows about Commander Star Bolt of Equestria! I knew him because that was my favorite story as a cub, and the thought that you would disrespect Commander Orem so easily by using that name is nothing more than insulting to the griffin race! Now tell me your real name!!!”

The stallion smiled as he approached me, “Ok if you want to know my real name then I'll tell you.”
He signaled me to lean in closer as he whispered to me, “My name… is… Star Bolt.”
The snobby pegasus turned around and smiled as he trotted away from me, so I just replied, “FINE! Be a poser! If it makes you thin, you’re cool or something then I don’t care… I know what you really are. You’re just a Loser! A Loser and a dweeb just like all the other ponies in this world!”
The dweeb continued trotting through the cave ignoring me as he replied, “If I had any concern of what anypony or anygriffin thought of me, then I would have gone crazy years ago… wait… here it is!”
the pony started chiseling at the ground in the other side of the cave, “What? What is it?”

He didn’t reply, he just continued chiseling until finally he pulled a large teardrop shaped piece of metal from the ground. As he tried dusting it off, I noticed that the old rust covered, item looked like it had been down here for many years. The stallion looked at his find and spoke, “I can’t believe this thing is still here. and it looks like this cave has kept it from rusting entirely away. Or was it the metal that made it?”
I couldn’t help but feel curious about the item, “Well? what is it?”
The pony replied, “This was my shield from the Griffin Civil War. I left it here when I escaped with the Cutters.”
“The Cutters?”

The pony sarcastically smiled, “Oh… that’s right… I'm not who I say I am. So how would I possibly know what this is… right?”
Just because I was curious, I decided to play along, “Okay Commander Star Bolt, what is this thing?”
The stallion smiled as he spoke, “Over a thousand years ago, a war broke out between the griffin king and a few unruly subjects. Well needless to say Equestria stepped in to help them fight the war, and this is the weapon I used way back then.”
I could only look at the rusty only piece of junk and laugh, “That piece of scrap was your weapon? it wouldn’t even pose as a paperweight.”

The pony sighed, “Wow your intellect seems to suit your species… that was a thousand years ago. Back then this piece of scrap could stop arrows and cut through all sorts of objects.”
“Sure… whatever… if you know so much about this then, can you explain how it got here in the first place?”
“After the war ended Commander Mist, the cutters and I hid here from the king’s soldiers.”
“The Cutters? Who are they supposed to be?”
“They are… were, a group of mercenaries who fought against the king at the time. They helped us escape when we needed them.”
I knew that other name, “Commander Mist? The Commander Chrome Mist?”
“Yea… what of it?”
“Commander Mist was one of the ponies that Commander Orem idolized… right after Co… well.”
The pony rolled his eyes, “Yea, yea, right after me… or Commander Bolt.”

Something about the pony’s story seemed fishy, “Why would Equestria try to help the Griffin Kingdoms?”
“Because the griffin king threatened us with war.”
“LIAR!!!”
The pony replied, “Call me what you want, I didn’t want to help you griffin, but I only came because I was ordered to.”
This dweeb was starting to get on my nerves, “What? You think you’re too good for us griffin? You think you’re better than us because we aren’t ponies like you?”
The pony replied, “No… I just don’t care to be around negative griffin who care only about themselves.”
“What did you say!?!”
“YOU HEARD ME!!!”

I tried to stand up but my muscles where still too sore so as I did I fell right back down, then replied, “Don’t think just because you claim to be a hero, means I'll let you say that without showing me proof first”
The pony replied, “Ok, you want proof? Tell me griffin, when’s the last time you helped anypony or griffin without being asked first?... or helped a friend in need… In fact, do you even have any friends?”
“Umm dah, I do!”
“Really can I get a name?”
“Psst… Yea her name is Rai…”
All of a sudden, I stopped myself… Rainbow Dash was my friend… but I don’t think I can claim her as one anymore. After the way she looked at me before leaving Ponyville, she will never consider me a friend again. I tried thinking about any other friends I had… but my mind drew a blank, and with the way, I felt after realizing I had no friends… I couldn’t even say a random fake name to defend myself.

The pony sighed, “I guess you did have a friend, but something happened… didn’t it? Don’t worry about it, I don’t think Commander Orem had any friends when I first met him either.”
I tried to hold in some tears as I replied, “Really? He… he didn’t?”
The pony replied, “Yep, the first thing he did when I met him was threaten me and my soldiers… He challenged me to a duel on day one.”
“Really? What happened?”
“He lost.. pretty badly too. He tried to burn me with gunpowder, but he didn’t expect me the blow it back into his face. That’s how he lost his eye. Back then, I hated his guts… but I still saw no reason to end his life. Nightmare Moon would have done it if I didn’t stop her.”
I still didn’t believe him… but the story seemed so believable since I did read that Commander Orem’s eye was taken from him in a duel, but could this pony be the real deal? “So… what kind of griffin was he?”
The pony smiled as he replied, “He was an egotistical, gung-ho, griffin with enough spirit to pass onto an army big enough to conquer the world. But I think he was one of very few griffins that I could trust. And to be honest, even though I felt awkward about him calling me a hero at the end of the war… it was quite flattering to hear it from such a worthy adversary.”
“Wait… I though you said you hated him at the start?”
the pony smiled, “I did… but as time went on I saw better value in him as a friend. The same goes for him… but I think it was my crazy attempt to take on a catapult head on, that won him over.”
“I HEARD OF THAT!... I mean… I read that he idolized you and claimed that you could deflect catapult boulders.”
The pony laughed, “Well I wouldn’t say that… the boulder didn’t hit me directly… but I did get a good taste of it, and not long afterwards, he helped me face a group of thugs in Cloudsdale, so we both saw no further reasons to be enemies.”

I thought to myself, this had to be him. I know more about Commander Orem than anypony or griffin in the world, he is my hero, and everything this pony was telling me was completely accurate with everything I read in the history book… all except one thing that wasn’t in the books, so I asked, “Say… commander?”
The pony smiled, “Oh… so you believe me now… well at least call me Star Bolt… I'm not a commander anymore.”
“I'm not saying I believe you… I'm… just… I need to call you something right? And if that’s the only name you will give me then that’s all I can use.”
I felt embarrassed, I knew I wasn’t fooling him for a second, but he still replied as if I were, “Alright then, I guess that sounds fair enough, what is it?”
“Well I’ve heard multiple stories about how he died… do you happen to know the real story? I heard that he created an uprising to overthrow the king, but I also heard he died in battle.”

The pony continued dusting off the piece of metal as he replied, “His ego got the better of him. He wanted to make a second attempt to take control of Equestria, so he could free me from my prison… but when the griffin king found out his plan… he branded him a traitor and executed him for treason.”
“Oh,… that stinks… I didn’t know that.”
The stallion finally cleaned off enough of the rust to reveal a small paint stain in the surface of the metal. As I looked at the stain closely, I realized the image on it, “Is… that… Your cutiemark?... it is! It’s your Cutiemark! YOU’RE REALLY HIM!!! YOU’RE REALLY STAR BOLT!!!”
Star Bolt sighed, “Yea… that’s what I’ve been saying”
I couldn’t believe it… I was in a cave with the pony that my idol called a hero. I couldn’t control myself as I broke out into a series of questions. “THIS IS AWESOME!!!! You Knew Commander Orem… Oh, this is so cool. What was he like? Did he really throw gunpowder? Was he taller than me? How was he in battle, was he strong?

I then realized that I was being a little over anxious so I calmed myself down by shutting my beak. Nevertheless, this clever commander didn’t miss a single beat, “Yes I knew Commander Orem. He was a little obnoxious but a good griffin once you got to know him. Yes, he did throw Gunpowder. Yes he was a little taller than you but that’s expected from a male griffin, and yes he was a very strong and skilled griffin in battle despite how overexcited he would get while fighting... anything else?”
I was a little embarrassed about how I acted but the thought that he not only ignored it, but he also answered my questions so casually, made me even more ecstatic about him being right in front of me, “… Cool, cool. So… you’re the real deal right?”
Star Bolt sighed, “You know I can write it down for you if you need me to…”

I know he just insulted me, but I couldn’t help it… I was just insulted by the pony who commanded Nightmare Moon’s armies and who beat my idol in a duel. “So… what was it like? You know fighting beside him?”
Star Bolt replied, “It was good to know that he was beside me. All the battles were tough but with my friends beside me… I thought we were invincible… only, I was wrong.”
I could see some pain in his eyes, and I knew it wasn’t the best idea… but I simply had to ask, “What happened… that day in Canterlot during the great battle. The only thing that was said in the history book was that Commander Orem was beaten by Princess Celestia, and couldn’t continue the war when Commander Bolt fell in Canterlot. But it didn’t say how you fell.”

Star Bolt lowered his head as he replied, “That day… that terrible day in Canterlot… I saw my friends fall one by one, while following the orders I gave them. These ponies, zebra, and griffin fell fighting under me. Some had to retreat, like Commander Orem, but others died in combat, to include my lead archer… the pony I loved. She… she died in my arms, with her blood literally on my hooves. Her… her last words… were…”
“How sentimental… I'll take that as a confession!”
The unknown voice caught both me and Star Bolt off guard as we looked at the entrance to the room to see a large group of griffin solders, and their leader, a griffin I didn’t want to see right now. “DAD!?! What are you doi…”
He replied, “It’s alright Gilly… when I heard you were on your way back from Ponyville I got worried. Are you alright?”

I was completely annoyed with him, “Dad! I told you a thousand times! DON’T CALL ME GILLY!!! Especially in front of your solders! It’s lame!”
Dad shrugged his shoulders and looked at Star Bolt, “So, you’re Commander Bolt? Funny, for a while now, I believed you were really dead.”
Star Bolt smiled, “let me guess… you’re the griffin commander right? And you’re here to capture the great Commander Bolt aren’t you?”
“Actually I'm a colonel, but this will be a very interesting story to tell both the king and Princess Celestia.”
Star Bolt smiled, “And I bet this story will have a very interesting ending.”
Dad shook his head, “Nah… not really. GET HIM!”

Star Bolt didn’t react as two of dad’s soldiers grabbed him, spun him around and pinned him against the wall. “Dad what are yo…”
“This doesn’t concern you Gilda! This is a matter that has to be settled by the King!”
While Star Bolt was pinned against the wall, He called to me, “Gilda, if you remember my stories, then listen closely! FLASH!!!”
At first, I didn’t understand him but at the last second, I realized what he meant and covered my eyes just in time before he used his legendary Lightning Orb. I did see the cloud appear above his head, but as I covered my eyes, there was a Bright flash that would have blinded me if I were still looking at the cloud.

As soon as the flash passed, I uncovered my eyes to see everything that Star Bolt did while dad and his soldiers where blinded by the bright flash. First Star Bolt jerked his hoof back and elbowed the griffin that pinned him against the wall. The soldier took a few steps back as Star Bolt quickly pushed himself off the wall and flew around the room, picking up his saddlebag and sword as he flew out the entrance and to the left down the tunnel. By the time he was out of sight, Dad and the rest of the soldiers regained their sight as dad asked, “What? Where did he go?!?”
I replied, “You losers lost him, he went out the entrance and to the right… but I don’t think you’ll catch him… You know how much of a legend he is!”
Dad looked at his soldiers and yelled, “Well… don’t stand there gawking at me like a couple of morons. GO GET HIM!!”
As dad made his way out the entrance, he looked me, “I'll deal with you later!”
With that said, dad and his soldiers left and ran down the tunnel in the wrong direction.

I stepped into the middle of the tunnel and looked down it, I could still hear dad barking orders at his peons, “… Dweebs…”
Then I heard a voice from behind me, “I didn’t expect to ever be helped by a griffin again… but then again, if you are a fan of Orem… then I should expect it. And you have my thanks.”
Knowing who was talking, I removed his cloak that was still around me and turned around, “No problem… you did save my life earlier.”
Star Bolt took his cloak from me and wrapped it around his body as he replied, “Well you have my thanks either way… I don’t know what you did to have your friends mad at you… but I hope you will accept my friendship.”

I was speechless; something like this to happen to me could only be toped if Commander Orem himself offered his friendship to me. I tried to act as cool as I could, as I replied, “That would be… Thanks Star Bolt it would be an honor to call you friend. But do I really deserve to have that tittle?”
Star Bolt smiled as he put his hoof on my shoulder, “You’re not a bad griffin... you only overlook your talents and your existence. Once you discover your path… everything will get better for you, I'm sure of it. Till then, remember that you still have one friend out there who believes in you.”
Star Bolt turned and started trotting away, as I called to him, “Will I ever see you again Star Bolt?”
He smiled as he kept trotting away, “I don’t know… but if you do find your place… there is a chance we will meet again.”

Star Bolt vanished into the tunnels, I bet he got away without being seen by even one of my dad’s soldiers. It wasn’t long till dad and his soldiers returned to the chamber where I was keeping myself warm while studying Star Bolts shield. When dad came in, I had to smile, “Didn’t find him did ya?”
Dad sighed, “Gilda this is a matter that is above you. If we capture him and hand him over to Princess Celestia, then relations between Equestria and the griffin Kingdoms will only get better.”
I had to laugh at that comment, “dad you know who he is, and you know that no matter what, he won’t be caught by the Griffin Royal Army. I don’t even think the king knows who he’s up against. You’re talking about The Commander Bolt, the same commander mentioned in that journal Grandpa left you.”

Dad sneered at me, but before he could reply, one of his solders stepped forward, “Colonel… We found tracks leading out another entrance to this cave… but the storm is getting worse, we could follow them but they will be covered within the hour, and I don’t think we will catch him before then.”
Dad sighed, “Soldiers! This didn’t happen! When we arrived here, we found nothing more than my daughter taking shelter from the blizzard! You can say what you want… but it’s your word against mine.”
Dad looked at me and shook his head as he turned towards the cave entrance and spoke, “Come Gilly your mother will be worried if we don’t get back before dawn.”
Knowing that my dad kinda helped Star Bolt made me smile so I ignored that he called me Gilly as I sarcastically replied, “Yes Colonel Orem, whatever you say!”

Author's Note

The next story of the series: The Price of Harmony

Legacy of the Rich (Filthy Rich)

Filthy Rich sat outside the master bedroom as the door opened and Nurse Red Heart stepped out, “Mr. Rich… He’s asking for you.”
Filthy stood up and slowly entered the bedroom where his grandfather Stinkin Rich was lying on his bed. Stinkin looked at his grandson and spoke, “I think, that my time in this world is almost over… so I must tell you about the family secret. Do you know how we got our fortune?”

Filthy smiled as he replied, “Of course I do grand-pappy, we received it through our many years of hard work and dedication in our business of fine retail.”
Stinkin smiled, “That’s right, we earned our fortune doing some of the most honest work that anypony could ever think of… but…”
“But?”
“We weren’t always trying to make it big in the world… there was a time long ago when our family was one of the richest ponies in Equestria. Nobility ran in our blood but though we were noble, we were dishonest. The family name wasn’t anything to be proud of… but that was a different name, so nopony knows the secret of that life."

Filthy Rich was confused, “I don’t understand grand-pappy, what do you mean by, different name?”
“Before we got our fortune in Ponyville, our family traveled the land trading goods to shops in every corner of Equestria, one shop would sell in item for dirt cheap, while another shop on the other side of the kingdom would pay out the hindquarters for the same item. I remember following my papa all over the place. But I also remember him telling me the story of the first pony in our family who started this life style. I also remember him telling me that this same pony was even richer than we are today, but he took his whole fortune and gave it away more than a thousand years ago.”

Filthy thought to himself for a few seconds, “So… this pony was the one who had a different name? Why would he give away his entire fortune?”
Stinkin smiled, “It was because of what he did when Nightmare Moon tried to bring her eternal night. You see, his name was Captain Frances Snow the Third. He was a skilled swords pony who valued his heritage above all else. He knew that years before our family were great soldiers when Equestria was first founded. But he let it go to his head. He sought power above all else. However, in pursuit of this power he only restricted himself from climbing higher in his perfusion. You see, he was a skilled soldier, but he refused to follow orders properly so it held him back. And with a leader like Commander Bolt he would never amount to anything if he continued down this path.”
Filthy thought to himself for a second, Both Bolt, and Snow sounded familiar to him but he still didn’t understand a few things, “Did Mr. Snow kill anypony important or did something else happen to make him give up his fortune.”

Stinkin replied, “Nopony, not even his own sons knew the real reason why he gave up everything he had…. well actually there are probably two ponies in all Equestria who know why, but you will only be able to ask one of them the real reason.”
“Really? Who?”
“Princess Celestia, I reckon she knows the real reason why, but I don’t think getting an audience with her is as easy as it sounds.”
Filthy asked, “Ok so who else could I ask, didn’t you say there was another pony who knew?”
Stinkin smiled, “Forget it, and chances are you will never meet that pony in your entire life. Especially if the rumors are true and he is dead.”
“Rumors? Exactly who is this pony?”

Stinkin shook his head, “This pony is the one who commanded the very soldier himself. He is Commander Bolt of the Nightmare Legion. The royal guards have been searching for him since Nightmare Moon returned but it is said that he is already dead, and if he isn’t than he is probably plotting his revenge on Equestria so it’s unlikely that you will ever meet him.”
Filthy Rich was shocked, “Commander Bolt? I heard the name before but I don’t reckon I know who he was or what it was he did.”
Stinkin got annoyed, “You and that daughter of yours are just alike. You don’t listen worth a sack of potatoes when you should. Commander Bolt was the leader of the Nightmare Legion. You know the old stories right. The pony who fought for Nightmare Moon, the one who nearly overran Canterlot with an army. The only pony to ever successfully use the Lightning Orb and survive since Commander Hurricane.”

Filthy answered, “So if I can’t ask anypony then how am I support to discover where the old fortune went. It’s impossible without guidance or at least a clue.”
Stinkin smiled, “Well there is one clue. And I waited all these years to pass it down to you as my grandfather did to me. Look under the bed.”
Filthy looked under the bed and pulled a long thin case. When he pulled, this case out, he noticed that on the outside of the case was a crescent moon. The same moon as on Princess Luna’s cutie mark… and the same as Nightmare Moon’s cutie mark too.

Filthy looked back at his grandfather who smiled, “Well… don’t just sit there gawkin at it… open it up.”
Filthy slowly unclipped the locks and opened the case to see a sheathed fencing sword. On the outside of the sheath, was another crescent moon and an emblem that resembled a war medal. Then Filthy pulled the sword from its sheath to reveal a pristine blade that was easy to tell that plenty of money went down in keeping this blade in its current condition. As Filthy admired the sword Stinkin spoke, “That sword belonged to Captain Snow himself. It was recovered on the streets of Canterlot after the last battle of the war. Then it was given to his children shortly after his death by Princess Celestia herself. Since then it has been passed down through our family for over one thousand years. So now I'll pass it onto you. Your father would have passed it down… but he died before he had the chance.”

Filthy continued looking at the blade, “I'll be sure to treasure it… but this doesn’t tell me anything about our past. Exactly how is this, a clue?”
Stinkin closed his eyes and replied, “That is what you must discover on your own.”
And with that said. Stinkin gave a deep breath and rolled his head to the side. Filthy nudged him, “Grand-pappy? Grand-pappy!”
Stinkin didn’t respond, he only lay there silently, so Filthy sheathed the sword, put it back in its case then left the room. Outside the room Filthy looked at Nurse Red Heart and spoke, “I think… his time has passed.”

Nurse Red Heart trotted back into the room and felt Stinkin’s pulse. After checking his pulse, she shook her head and sighed, then using the back of her hoof she popped him on his muzzle and spoke, “Ya can’t full me you old coot! Quit fakein it!”
Stinkin looked at the nurse and yelled, “Dag nabit mare! Can’t ya just let an old fool like me go in a dramatic effect!”
The nurse put her hoof on her forehead, “Not if it means telling somepony that you’re dead when you’re not! I got a reputation to keep you know!”

Filthy shook his head as he continued into his study with the case, “Grandpa Rich is just as crazy as ever… but I'm curious… could this old sword really hold some kind of secret to our family’s heritage?”
Filthy entered his study, opened the case and sat the sword down on his desk. Using a magnifying glass he studied every inch of the weapon, from the scuffs on the guard, to the repaired scratched on the blade all the way to the fading paint on the emblems, but his search came up with no results. He found out that the blade had been refurbished a number of times with its original blade, leather, and Bronze but there was nothing about any part of the weapon that gave any hint of any clue.

Finally, Filthy sat the sword on top of his desk and started looking through the books in his personal library. He was able to find historical references, along with old pony tales about Commander Bolt, the Nightmare Legion and the Nightmare Crusade. But there were very few mentioning of his soldiers except for an old painting that showed a large group of soldiers involved. In it, there were three pegasus, two stallions and a mare, one unicorn a mare. two earth ponies, one stallion and one mare, A male zebra and a male griffon. This painting took place next to a bonfire under Cloudsdale.

As Filthy schemed through the painting, he immediately recognized Commander Bolt and Commander Orem from other historic painting but of the rest, he could only recognize one, and the only reason for this was that this stallion has the very sword that was sitting in Filthy’s desk, strapped to his side. He knew that this had to be Captain Frances Snow the third; this was the stallion who gave his entire fortune away for some unknown reason, and the one who changed his name and became the first recorded Rich in their family. Filthy read the book from cover to cover but despite all the reading, it told him nothing about the stallion in the picture. Finally, after going through every book he had in his personal library he just gave up on the search. There was no lead, clues, or even hints about this stallion and his past. All he had was an ancient sword, its sheath, and a wooden case that carried it so Filthy started pacing back and forth thinking to himself.

While his mind cycled through the only clues he could find, being the sword and the picture, His daughter Diamond Tiara entered the room, “Daddy… Mrs. Cheerilee kicked me off the newspaper club… isn’t there something you can do to get me put back on it?”
Filthy was too focused on his goal to deal with his daughters concern so he just replied, “Not now Diamond Tiara, I'm trying to find out what it was that made this sword so special.”
Diamond Tiara trotted to the desk and sat down looking at the old sword, “Well for one it is shoddy workmanship. Second it looks like it had been used and isn’t new. and look at this, the fabric lining on the case is even fraying away. All in all, this is a hunk of junk.”

Filthy knew that Diamond Tiara couldn’t understand the true value of this sword and its heritage but that didn’t stop him from getting irritated that her attitude, “Now Diamond Tiara, I know that you’re young and you don’t know much about how things work, but this matter goes beyond the flaws of this sword or its ca…”
When Filthy looked at the fraying fabric on the swords case, he noticed that the fabric didn’t fray naturally, there was something hidden that the fabric was rubbing against. Upon searching the lining of the case he found a small clasp on the top of the inside lining where the swords guard rested against. When he unhooked the clasp, a small compartment opened up on the top of case. Inside was an empty bottle for anti-rust lubricant, an old rage, and an envelope.

Filthy grew excited as he slowly opened the envelope, inside where two photographs. One was the exact same photo that he found in the history book of Commander Bolt and his officers. But the second was a much later photo. This time Commander Bolt, the female pegasus, the zebra, the female earth pony and the griffon weren’t there. It was only Frances Snow, one of the pegasus, and the unicorn. Filthy tried all he could to make out the image in the background but the photo was so old and so worn that it was impossible to properly identify where they were. Then Filthy looked at the back of the photo and found a series of numbers, “N, 45, 56, 34.7545. E, 92, 60, 45.9878.”

Though it had been many years since Filthy used trading routes, he still knew longitude and latitude when he saw it. As Filthy rushed to his closest map in the study, Diamond Tiara looked at the photos and asked, “Daddy? Who are these ponies supposed to be?”
Filthy completely ignored Diamond Tiara, as he pulled out his map of Equestria, laid it on his Desk and began plotting the location the photograph had written on its back. After a few minutes, he finally located the place. It was an empty area next to Dragon Mountain. Filthy looked at his daughter and spoke. “Diamond Tiara, I'm going to take a business trip tomorrow so I'll expect you to be on you best behavior while I'm gone.”
With that said, Filthy left his study without waiting for a response, and spent the rest of his evening helping his butler pack him a saddlebag for his travels.

The next morning, Filthy Rich left on his journey, with the sword on his side, and a simple saddlebag of food, water, clothing, the envelope from the sword’s case, and a map. Though he rarely traveled anywhere without his servants, he felt it was better that he tackled this quest alone so that if he were to discover any lost family secrets he wouldn’t have anypony to pass the secret along and curse his name. As Filthy got closer and closer to his destination, he noticed that the condition of the road he was traveling got worse and worse until he was traveling on a small dirt trail through the forest that surrounded the mountain. Not long after that, he came across a small rusty metal fence with the old gate lying on the ground in rusty pieces.

Filthy continued down the trail until he found a small clearing with a large statue sitting in the middle. At first sight, this statue seemed as if it were some historic landmark. However, he quickly realized that the statue looked exactly like one of the mare’s in the earlier photo of his ancestor so this wasn’t just a statue… it was a tombstone. Filthy looked at the base of the statue and read the inscription, “Here lies, Captain Gem Stone, The last soldier to fall during the Nightmare Crusade at the Battle of Canterlot. She was born into a tragedy and lived in misery, but despite all she lived through, she still found reason to smile. She was proof that every Gem Stone shines its brightest, when it’s in the light of a Star. A good friend, a wonderful sister, and the love of her commander’s life. She, her arrows and her loyalty will shine forever, as her memory will never fade. The loyal, the beautiful, the strong, the Gem of the Nightmare Legion.”

Filthy couldn’t help but feel sorry for this mare after reading the touching inscription that placed everyponies feelings in the loss of this mare’s life. Filthy started trotting around the statue studying every part of it looking for some kind of clues to his families past but it seemed like a simple statue, nothing more. Filthy took a step back from the statue and thought to himself, “This has to be the place on the photo, but it doesn’t explain wh…”
“DON’T MOVE!!! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!!!”

Filthy quickly turned around as a large number of royal guards and pegasi rushed out of the woods and quickly surrounded him. the pike soldiers pointed their spears at Filthy while the archers all aimed their bows as one of the soldiers spoke to another, “Is this him? he doesn’t look like a skilled soldier to me?”
Another replied, “I heard he doesn’t look like a soldier, that’s why ponies underestimate him.”
A third soldier stepped in, “You idiots that can’t be him, Commander Bolt is a pegasus.”
“It could be one of his followers.”
All of a sudden, a royal guard who was a unicorn stepped out of the woods, and looked at Filthy carefully.

Finally after studying him for a second the unicorn spoke, “You don’t look like the old paintings, but I'm not taking any chances. Who are you? and don’t even think about trying anything funny. These archers aren’t as good a shot as yours was… but they don’t need to be at this range.”
Filthy spoke as respectfully as possible, “My, my, this seems like a little much for a simple sales pony like mysel…”
Before he could finish his sentence, three royal guards Pegasus flew in from behind him, tackled him the ground, and put his hooves in chains.

“What is the meaning of this? You have no right chaining me up like this.”
One of the pegasus started searching through his thing and pulled out the envelope with the old photographs, “Captain Armor, his sword bares the insignia of the Nightmare Legion, and this photo has nightmare soldiers in it.”
Shining Armor approached Filthy and spoke, “I don’t think you’re Commander Bolt, Who are you, and why are you here! are you expecting to pass on some items to Commander Bolt? Or is it just coincidence that you’re carrying such incriminating evidence?”

Filthy replied, “My name is Filthy Jebediah Rich! I'm the Owner of Rich’s Barnyard Bargains, I believe you have the wrong pony and you are making a terrible mistake!”
As the soldiers led Filthy onto a carriage that was pulled by pegasi, Shining Armor replied, “If this is a mistake than Princess Celestia will sort it out herself.”
Filthy was surprised with the mess he was literally dragged into but he knew that there was nothing he could do about it until he spoke with the princess so he just decided to wait until he was in front of the princess.

After about an hour of flying Filthy was escorted into Canterlot's conference room so he wouldn’t attract any attention from Canterlot’s residence or Princess Luna. Finally, Princess Celestia entered the room and spoke, “Shining Armor, this pony doesn’t need to be chained up here. besides I'm certain he has a reasonable reason for being where he was and why he was carrying a sword of the Nightmare Legion.”
As soon as the chains were taken off his hooves, Filthy bowed respectfully and replied, “Indeed I do your majesty. The sword belonged to my great ancestor, Captain Frances Snow the third, and I recently came upon those photographs you also took from me so I followed the clues that were left behind by my family to see how it was that one as rich as he was, came to give away his entire fortune. You wouldn’t happen to know yourself do you your majesty?”

Princess Celestia could help but laugh at the rich pony’s misfortunes before replaying, “Now I recognize you Mr. Rich, you were at the last grand galloping gala right? My apologies for the misunderstanding, I'll gladly tell you why your ancestor gave away his fortune and where it went. You see, your ancestor Frances Snow or Rich as he was known when he passed away. gave his fortune to his family.”
“Family? But our family was scarcely getting by until my grand-pappy gained his fortune through Rich’s Barnyard Bargains.”

Princess Celestia continued, “Not all family is through blood. Captain Snow fought in the Nightmare Legion with a number of Officers with whom he considered his family. But when his manor burned down during the Battle of Canterlot, he gave his remaining fortune to the surviving members of those he considered family. Leaving only enough to take care of himself before changing his name to Rich and beginning his life as Fencing teacher, then later becoming a merchant. But one by one the soldiers he fought with passed away leaving his fortune to be left in the managed hooves of one other pony.”
“One other pony? Who?”

Princess Celestia couldn’t help but smile at the irony, “Commander Bolt…”
“COMMANDER BOLT!!!”
“Yes,… it was left for two things alone, as requested in his will. The fortune will be placed in a savings account and be passed down to Commander Bolt upon his return. However, until he returns, the money will be used to preserve the statue of Captain Gem Stone, AKA The Gem of the Nightmare Legion.”
Filthy had to ask, “So there is no way it can be retrieved by my family… is there?”
Princess Celestia replied, “There is no money to retrieve. It has been more than one thousand years since that was stated in his will, and the continuous preservation of the statue took every bit of that money more than two hundred years ago. So there is nothing left.”

Filthy sighed, “Well I suppose it isn’t that big a deal anymore anyway, I never saw one bit of that money, so it would be as if it never existed. Still, I thank you for clearing it up for me your majesty, I guess that’s one family mystery that can be laid to rest with Frances Snow the third.”
“Family Mystery? I told your grandfather Stinkin Rich the same thing about forty years ago… then your father about twenty-five years ago. I thought one of them would tell you.”
Filthy put his hoof on his forehead, “Daddy is gone, rest his soul. But grand-pappy could have at least told me instead of sending me on this wild goose chase. Sometimes I think he needs to be put into the crazy stables.”

Princess Celestia smiled at the comment then replied, “Well since we are the reason you’re in Canterlot now, I'll be more than happy to have a carriage take you wherever you like. We can drop you back at Captain Stone’s statue or we can take you back to Ponyville. It’s the least we can do for putting you through this mess.”
Filthy bowed in respect, “Thank you your majesty, I would appreciate a lift home that is if I could retrieve my belongings… to include my family’s sword and those photographs.”
Princess Celestia smiled “Done, I hope you will have a relaxing ride home.”
Filthy nodded his head, “Thank you your majesty.”

As Filthy turned to leave the room, Princess Celestia stopped him, “One more thing, have you seen or heard anything that could lead me to the whereabouts of Commander Bolt?”
Filthy turned and replied, “No your majesty I haven’t… so… he really is alive?”
Princess Celestia replied, “That’s what I'm hoping to find out.”
“So why are you so determined to capture him your majesty?”
Princess Celestia lowered her head, “It’s a royal matter… there is something I must discuss with him.”
Filthy nodded his head, “A royal matter… I suppose it isn’t my place to get involved then. Thank you kindly your majesty I'll be on my way now.”

On the whole ride back to Ponyville, Filthy though about the stern talking to, that he was going to give his grandfather but as he climbed off the carriage at his manor, Nurse Red Hear approached him, “Mr. Rich… I have some troubling news. It seems that just a few hours ago, your grandfather passed away peacefully in his sleep. I'm sorry to give you such terrible news.”
Filthy was sad to hear that his grandfather was gone, but he couldn’t help but smile, “So the old coot got the last laugh after all. Well now he can be at peace… at least until I see him again.”