I walked with Emerald towards her airship.

"You know I can stay." She said as we approached the gangplank.

"No, you need some R&R and you said it has been what? Over a year since you last saw your mom and even longer since she has really seen you as Emerald? You are going to see her. Make sure to give her the present I got for her as an apology for not being able to go with you." I said.

"I will. I'm just going to miss you." She said with a chuckle as she reached up to hug me. "Not even together for a month yet and I already can't stand to be away from you."

"Hey, like you said the other morning. I make you feel safe and loved. Given that you haven't had much luck with romance due to the shallowness of other ponies, I will never hold that against you. Plus, I haven't felt missed by anyone for a long time." I said as I returned the hug. "Besides, look at it this way. You get to miss out on the hours of cleaning and setting up that are ahead of me when I get to Ponyville." I added getting a chuckle out of the mare.

"Mmmmm, yes but cleaning up afterwards would be so nice~." She purred into my ear, send a pleasant shiver down my spine.

"Goddess, I have created a monster." I said with a teasing tone as I pulled back to look her in the eye.

Her mirthful eyes danced with humor.

"Have a safe trip love." I said.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return." She said quoting.

"Some one has been reading old poems in her spare time." I said with a chuckle.

Emerald laughed, a beautiful sound that I could never grow tired of hearing. "Yes well, for an incomplete one it is enthralling."

I nodded. "Not sure where the book came from, but Loveless is indeed very enthralling. But you need to get up that gangplank and go see your mom, love." I said as a whistle blew, signaling last call for boarding.

I leaned down and gave Emerald a kiss as she wrapped her arms around my neck and stood on the tips of her hooves, pulling herself into the kiss.

"See you soon. Thanks again for the bracelet." She said giving me one last peck before pulling back and tapping the silver band.

I smiled. "I saw it and thought of you. I know it is a bit early in our relationship for giving gifts, but hey, I wanted to get you something that would symbolize the new start for you." I said, tapping the phoenix design.

She smiled before giving me a hug with both her arms and wings. After a moment she let go and picked up her bag before hurrying up the gangplank. She gave a wave once she was on the deck of the airship.

I held onto my stetson as the engines spun up, and waved back to the pegasus.

Once the ship disappeared, I walked back to the terminal. Once I got inside, I headed to the front desk.

"Ranger. There you are. She get on the flight alright?" The stallion at the desk asked.

"Yeah she did. Got the case?" I asked.

"Right here sir." He said handing me a case about three feet long.

"Thanks." I said, giving the stallion a nod before I headed outside.

Walking through the streets of Canterlot, I was able to observe the ponies that lived there as they went about their daily routine.

In the district that I was currently in, most of them were a hard working type, not afraid to put in a honest day's work for an honest day's pay.

Soon enough I had hit the residential section of the city. Pulling out a note, I began looking for the address Luna had provided me.

After a few minutes of looking, I located the house I was looking for. Approaching the door, I knocked.

Soon the door opened to reveal a tall unicorn stallion.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes sir. My name is Talisman Stryke. I am looking for River Blossom." I replied.

"She is in her room. Come in please. I am her father, Comet Flash. If I recall my daughter correctly, you are the one who rescued her." Comet Flash said as he stepped aside so I could enter.

"That is correct sir. I do apologize that I wasn't able to prevent her getting injured and the deaths of her squadmates." I replied as he lead me to the living room.

He sighed. "From what I understand of the situation, if you had intervened then all of them would be dead. I feel for the families of her squadmates, but I am just happy that my little girl is alive."

I nodded. "I understand."

"Thank you. But why do I feel so horrible about it?" He asked.

"Because you still have your child and the other families don't." I replied. "It is what they would call on my world a 'There but for the grace of God, go I.' moments. Try not to dwell on it too much, you'll drive yourself round the twist if you do."

Just before Comer could reply, we heard the sound of hoof-falls and crutches coming down the hallway towards us.

"Dad are you guilt tripping again?" I heard the familiar voice of River Blossom call out.

"Now dear, you know your father worries about you." Another female voice called out from what was probably an office from the sound of typing.

"Mum, I know he worries, but I can take care of myself." River said as she entered the room.

"Howdy River." I said giving her a wave.

"Talisman! How the hay are you?" She said with a smile as she hobbled to the couch, flopping down with a sigh as she rubbed her underarms.

"Pretty good. Met this nice mare who really likes me and I like her. Got a good job, working directly for the Princesses. How have you been holding up since you got home?" I replied.

River sighed. "About as well as you would imagine. I got my discharge orders handed to me along with all my personal effects as soon as I stepped off of the transport." She said gloomily.

My jaw tightened at this disrespect to River. "Well, I have an offer for you." I said as I carefully placed the case I brought on the coffee table so that it would open towards River before pulling the case open.

River's eyes widened. "What is this?" She asked.

"A gift from myself and Princess Luna. Turns out she is a damn good blacksmith and with a few peeks into my dreams, she was able to craft you an auto-mail leg. It will act like your original leg by using you existing nerve endings to transmit the signals needed to move it. It won't be perfect, and there is the weight difference to deal with, but you should be moving around without those crutches soon." I explained.

"Why did you do this for me?" River asked, tearing her eyes away from the prosthesis.

"Because I see potential in you. A potential that was never going to have a chance to shine in the Guard unfortunately." I replied. " The prosthesis is yours whether you accept the offer or not." I added, noticing her expression change.

"What is the offer?" She asked.

I reached into a pocket on my duster and withdrew a badge before placing it on the table.

The badge, silver in color, was reminiscent of the badges used by the Texas and Arizona Rangers back on Earth. This badge however read "Equestria Ranger" along the edges.

River looked at me with wide eyes.

"Celestia and Luna have seen fit to re-establish the Rangers with me as the first and head of the new Corps. I want you to be the second." I said as she picked up the badge.

"What is the mission of the Rangers?" River inquired as she ran a finger over the words.

"Nominally, we will be the security detail for the Element Bearers. Day to day will consist of patrols through Ponyville and the surrounding areas since they are right smack on the edge of the Everfree Forest. We will also assist where we can when the residents need it." I explained.

River continued to look at the badge for a few moments before looking at me, determination burning in her eyes.

"I'll do it." She said firmly.


I had just entered my suite in the castle after leaving River's house after a long discussion on what our uniform would be and where we would be working out of when a knock sounded at the door.

Raising an eyebrow, I went to the door and opened it to find Celestia's aid Raven standing outside.

"Miss Raven, what can I do for you this evening?" I asked.

"The Princesses request your presence in the Royal Dining Room." She replied.

"Of course. Lead the way." I said as I stepped out of the room and shut the door.

We headed down the corridors to the Royal Dining Room.

"So any idea what they want to speak to me about?" I asked.

Raven shook her head. "I'm not sure. Probably something to do with the Ranger Corps." She said.

I nodded as we reached the dining room.

Raven nodded to me as she left to head off to her office while I stepped inside the room.

"Ranger Stryke. Please join us." Celestia said, gesturing to a chair.

As I sat down, Luna spoke up.

"How did your meeting with Corporal Blossom turn out?" She asked.

"She is wanting to do it. I gave her the details of the doctors that will attach the prosthesis and told her to reach out to you two when she has gotten used to it." I replied as I began to eat.

"Excellent. We have also taken the liberty of reviewing the records of our troops and have selected twenty for you to look at to see if they will be ponies that you can work with." Celestia added.

"Thank you. I will look them over tonight so I can interview them before I head to Ponyville." I replied. "Have you spoken to your armorers about crafting the weapons and armor I provided you plans for?"

"I have. They have already started production of the prototypes and the should be done with them in a few days." Celestia replied.

I nodded my acceptance.

The conversation soon turned to more mundane topics as we at dinner.