Hey guys, here's the first chapter! Also, if you're reading this and you haven't read the first one yet, go to my profile and read it! OR the story won't make much sense... well it might, just go read the first one if you haven't
Enjoy!
It has been fives months since Jeffry died. Everyone who wasn't there to see his death were broken at the fact that he had died. Even though most of the ponies of Ponyville fell victim to him, they still saw him as a friend, even after his death. They saw him no less than who he was, but more. They saw him as a hero, a savior, a friend. He gave his life to end the uprising of a tyrant who planned to destroy all of Equestria and rebuilt it in his own image. Thanks to his sacrifice, the ponies of Equestria are now able to live in peace. But four months ago, there have been reports of activity within the Everfree Forest, it wasn't Jeffry's remaining skeleton soldiers though. Those were still alive, but they left everyone alone. They wander the forest, doing nothing but standing and poking around at the plantlife. The reports stated that creatures known as Changelings have been spotted.
I had no idea what these things were, but Celestia explained what they were. The Changelings weren't doing anything, but they were scaring the citizens of Ponyville though. The very knowledge of there being these things, Changelings, lerking within the forest had caused them to panic. They were okay with the skeleton soldiers being there though, since they stayed in the forest and posed no threat to their well being. Instead, they stood as a reminder for Jeffry's great deed. I sighed as I crossed my arms across my chest.
"Come on you sissies! I want 15 more laps!" I ordered to the Guards.
"Sir, yes Sir!" They shouted as they pushed themselves harder.
These guys are totally crap. Princess Celestia had asked me to train the Royal Guard to prepare them for any sudden attacks from the Changelings. I, of course agreed, but this... THIS! This was just sad, once they reached 70 laps, a lot of them began to slack off. Sure it was 70, but I wanted to push them. I wanted there to be a fighting force for Equestria, I had swore to myself that I would take up Jeffry's part of the work, the part of protecting everyone. To protect the citizens, to protect the Princess, the girls, Applejack and Applebloom, and... Twilight. I made sure that over the past few months that nopony came towards her with ill intentions. I sighed as I began to think about Twilight, the day after Jeffry's death, she completely shut herself inside the library. The only times she would come out of her room was to either eat, which she only did so every week or so, or to go into the hedge maze.
The reason being was to visit Jeffry's monument. Jeffry's monument was just a statue of himself, made of stone. Yeah, putting his monument in the spot where Discord was, it's weird. But this was to show that he had defeated him, to show that Discord no longer had a place in this world anymore. We had placed Jeffry's armor on the stone statue of himself. The only ones who were allowed to touch the armor was us and Twilight herself. She would visit it every few days. She would spend hours upon hours, just staring at the armor, hopping that Jeffry would just magically reappear before her, but that of course would never happen. Speaking of her visiting the statue, I might as well pay Jeffry's armor a visit, haven't done so in a long time.
"John!" I heard a voice call out to me.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash", I said, waving at her.
She was wearing a Wonderbolts uniform. Rainbow Dash had given in her application as accepted into the Wonderbolts, her life long dream had been fulfilled, all thanks to Jeffry. And over the past few months, she put his gift into full use. She pushed herself harder and harder each day, for the past few months. Today, she had been promoted to second in command of the Wonderbolts. Jeffry would have been proud to see her like this. Even though it was her dream to be a Wonderbolt, she didn't cheer when she got the promotion. She cried instead, in fact, she cried at every single promotion that she received. She would get down on her knees and start crying, thanking Jeffry for the gift of being able to live her dream.
"General John, I will be taking your position for you today. Seeing as you have your scheduled visit for General Jeffry's monument", Rainbow Dash said as she landed by by side, folding her wings into their resting position.
"Rainbow Dash, for the last time. We're friends, you don't need to address me like that", I sighed as I shook my head.
"Come on... Jeffry wouldn't mind if I said that to him, right?" Rainbow Dash smiled sadly, looking down at the ground as a single tear beaded down her cheek.
"Yeah... he might have liked it... Thanks, I'll go check up on Twilight if she isn't at the statue", I said as I picked up my sword and fastened it to my waist.
"I doubt that, she's there nearly everyday now", she laughed a little.
"Really? Guess I haven't been going there a lot", I sighed as I formed my wings.
Just as I as about to take off, she placed her hoof on my shoulder.
"Put this at Jeffry's monument for me, will you?" Rainbow Dash asked, taking out a bundle of flowers out of no where.
"Will do..., reminds me of Shining Armor and that Princess he's dating", I chuckled as I took the flowers from her.
"Yeah, he even proposed last month", Rainbow Dash giggled.
"Really? I didn't hear about that. Maybe you should get yourself a decent guy", I chuckled as I took off before she could start shouting at me.
I clapped my hands together, teleporting the flowers into my bedroom at the mansion, to prevent them from getting ruined from the force of the wind as I flew through the air. Looking down, I saw that the maze was just below where I was. The training camp wasn't too far from the maze or Canterlot, so of course it would be only a fair bit of traveling to reach either location. I slowly dropped down, falling towards the maze. Giving my wings a light flap, I softened my landing as I entered the center of the maze, in front of Jeffry's monument. Jeffry's armor seemed to have cleared out all of the bad vibes within the maze once I had placed his armor on top of his statue. It was as if Jeffry was still protecting us from beyond this world. And there she was, Twilight.
"Hey there, Twilight", I said softly.
The purple unicorns ears twitched as she raised her head. Turning to look at me, I could see that her eyes were filled with tears, as usual per visit.
"Hey...", she said as she turned back towards Jeffry's statue.
I sighed as I walked up to the statue. Twilight had stopped eating, stopped speaking as much, she wasn't in any real shape to do anything. She still looked like she did a few months ago, but she was visibly tired and in pain. The lose of Jeffry put a great deal of pain and sorrow on her, his death had the most impact on her. I squatted down and clapped my hands together, the flowers appeared at the base of his statue.
"Thank you, John...", she said as she smiled slightly, her mane covering her face as she looked down.
"You should thank, Rainbow Dash for these... I see you're still looking at that book he made for you", I said as I looked down at the ground.
She was indeed looking at the memory book that Jeffry had made for Twilight, before his... death. She would bring the book with her whenever she came to visit the statue. Sometimes I would come a little after she did and stopped by one of the entrances. She would open the book to the very first page and begin to talk to Jeffry's statue, as if he was there with her. I hurt me and the girls to just see her like this, we tried everything to try and cheer her up. Even Pinkie Pie and her randomness failed to put a real smile on her face.
"How you holding up?" I asked.
"...", she said nothing as she gently touched the pendent Jeffry had made for her.
"Twilight... come on. I'll take you home", I said as I got up.
She didn't say anything, but nodded. Closing the book with her hoof, she picked it up with her magic and placed it on her back, using her magic to keep it in place. She held the book in place, as if she was holding onto a piece of bread in a crowd of hungry sea gulls. She wouldn't let anyone touch the book, even myself and the girls. Twilight followed me as I walked out of the maze. We walked alongside one another as we walked down the path that led to a cross section further up ahead. The cross section branched off to Canterlot and Ponyville, and to other towns with ridiculous names. I looked down at her, my heart sank as I saw my best friends girlfriend in such ah condition. As we walked by the forest, I saw some flashes of green zip through the forest. Changelings, they've been getting closer and closer to the town as the days went by. They're planning something, I could feel it.
'John? John, I need you back in Canterlot', I heard Celestia call to me with her magic.
'Okay, I'll be there soon', I said as I severed the connection.
"Twilight, I need to get back to Canterlot. Get home safe, okay?" I said.
She said nothing, but nodded to show that she was listening. I turned around, looking back at the terribly sad unicorn. Sighing, I teleported away from her, into Canterlot. I reappeared on the balcony of Celestia's room. Pushing the doors, I stepped inside. The room housed only Shining Armor, Princess Celestia, and her sister.
"What's the problem?" I asked, quickly getting serious.
"General John, we've received reports and confirmation that the Changelings had kidnapped several citizens from Ponyville", Shining Armor said.
"I knew they were up to something... how many have been taken?" I asked, clenching my fist at the news.
"It number isn't exact, we think that several more have been kidnapped before the report was written up. But if we were to guess, I would say about... 50, maybe more?" Shining said.
"... what do we do?" I asked, placing my hands on the edge of the table.
"I have decided to organize and send out several squads on a rescue mission, led by Caption Shining Armor and yourself. We've also received several reports of camps being sighted. We believe that they're Changeling camps. The citizens might be in there", Celestia said.
"Okay, when do we start?" I asked.
"The operation has yet to be prepared. I have yet to start the makings of the squads", Celestia said.
"Well make them already! I want to take these things down!" I shouted, crushing the wood as I clenched my fists.
They didn't flinch at my behaviour, ever since Jeffry's death, my anger has gotten more and more out of hand when it came to the safety of the people and my friends. I sighed.
"Sorry", I said.
"It's okay, we understand", Shining said.
"I'll begin with the making of the squads now. Feel free to suggest anypony to be in the squads", Celestia said as she picked up a quail.
"How about the Wonderbolts?" I suggested.
"The Wonderbolts have been included already, they will make up their own squads of five, they will take up one of the ten squads that will be deployed under thy command", Luna said.
"Okay, what else is there to do?" I asked.
"Nothing, we just have the work we have now", Shining said.
"Okay, I'll help you with the squads", I said to Celestia, who in turn nodded.
"Hey, just wondering. Where have the kidnappings based on?" I asked.
"The main area of Ponyville that has been hit was near here", Shining said as he trotted over to me with a rolled up map.
Unrolling the map, he pointed at a spot on the map of Ponyville... it was just four houses from Twilight's library!
"When have the kidnappings been happening?" I asked frantically as sweat began to pour from my forehead.
"At around night time. Why?" He asked.
"Nothing", I said.
'Good, Twilight and the girls should be safe for now. I'll go back to Ponyville before it turns to night. I want to set up a barrier around Ponyville, don't want anypony else being taken', I thought as I wiped my brow.
We all began to work on the tasks at hand. Luna and Shining Armor were working on choosing where would be ideal places to set up camps in the Everfree Forest. We wanted to set up a command post for the operation, we weren't going to just go in and hit camp after camp. We were going to stay in the forest for a few days, maybe weeks. From our sources, it would mostly likely be that the kidnapped citizens wouldn't be all in one camp. We were going to have to strike several Changeling camps in order to rescue all of the citizens that were taken from Ponyville. Some might not even be in camps, they could have been moved into their hive, or worse... dead.
"Hey, Shining. Why are the Changelings kidnapping ponies for anyways?" I asked, just realizing that I had no idea on why they would do this.
"Well, Changelings feed off of love. It's their main food", he replied.
Okay, this world was weirder than I thought it would be. After an hour or so, we had all of the things ready. Squads were made, locations for camps have been set up. All that was left to do was to gather up the Guards that were selected for the operation and to have others gather the supplies needed to set up these camps.
"Shining, I would like you to go and ready the gear. My sister and I will handle the gathering of the Guards for the operation", Celestia said as she lifted the list up.
"What about me?" I asked.
"I will contact you when everything is in place", she said.
"Okay, I'm going to go to Applejack", I said.
"Understood, please be ready for deployment", Celestia said.
"Will do", I replied, clapping my hands together.
I teleported out of the room and onto the apple family's farm. I heard giggling and banging sounds coming from the barn. Wondering what was going on in there, I walked over to the barn and opened one of the doors and stepped inside. Suddenly, a bucket of water fell on my head, my vision was blocked by the rim of the bucket. I heard louder giggles coming from above where I stood.
"Aw, it wasn't Big Mac", I heard Applebloom giggle.
"Applebloom, girls. Down, now", I ordered.
I swear I could hear Applebloom and her two friends gulp. I listened as I heard them come down the ladder and slowly walk over to where I was. Once they were close enough, I quickly scooped them up and gave them a tight hug.
"Time for some payback", I grinned as I lifted them into the air with my magic.
I formed three feathers with my magic and began to tickle their bellies. They all began to laugh madly as I continued to tickle them over and over.
"*Giggle* 'Top it, Jeffry. That tickles!" Applebloom giggled as he squirmed in my hold.
I ignored their begging for me to stop and continued with my tickle torture. After a few seconds later, I stopped with the tickling and placed them on the straw covered floor. Their chests moving up and down quickly as they struggled to catch their breath. I grinned as I took off the bucket and placed it on the ground.
"Hey, John. What'cha doin' here?" Applebloom asked, once she regained her breathe.
"Couldn't I just come here to spend some time with you and your sister?" I asked, squatting down and rubbing her mane.
"Sure ya' can. Sis is in tha house", Applebloom said as she got to her tiny little hooves.
"Okay, I'll go see her now. Also, I won't be seeing you guys that much in a few hours, or tomorrow", I said.
"Aw, whay's that, John?" Applebloom asked.
"Princess Celestia gave me a job to do. I'll come and play with you when I'm done, okay?" I asked, hiding the information that I was going to go do something dangerous.
"Okay. Come on girls, we gots lots more to trah out!" Applebloom exclaimed as she dashed out of the barn, her friends following behind her.
I smiled as I got up. Walking out of the barn, I closed the front doors and walked towards the house. I reached for the door, but the door swung inwards as somepony opened the door. It was Applejack, he had a toolbox balanced on her back. I smiled at her as we saw each other.
"Hey, Applejack. Just came to visit for a while before I head off to do some work for the Princess", I said.
"Well, that's mighty kind of ya'", Applejack said as she smiled back at me.
I leaned in as she did too, our lips touched as we kissed. After the several months, Applejack and I had gotten more and more close to each other. We even went of several dates, but none of them were really enjoyable since the feelings of sadness hung at our hearts and the thought that Jeffry had died. But none the less, we were getting closer.
"So, what are you doing?" I asked as I followed her towards the barn, closing the house door behind her.
"Well, Ah was about to head into the barn and fix one of them faulty beams. Barns startin' teh fall apart now", Applejack said.
"Oh, need some help? I have some time to spare before I get called back to Canterlot", I offered.
"Ah'd love that John", she said as we entered the barn.
And we've finished with Chapter 1 of the sequel! Hope you guys liked it. I feel as if I rushed the events though, of well. I wanted to make this more of a relaxed story at first, but skipped out on it since I couldn't think of anything that would fit with the death of Jeffry.
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