Night Guard
"So you tried to stop them from dis-arming the guard" asked Soarin as I leaned back against a very generic rock and talked upon such topics as "Why the Wonderbolt had joined with the Wonderbolts and how it was to fly in the air like a bird. He did the exact same questionnaire for me which was based less on what it was like to be able to soar through the sky whilst looking down over your homeland and based more on my work with the Guard.
"Yes well I had to draw the line somewhere, they'd taken the anti-siege catapults from the battlements over five months previous to the time that I fought over the removal of swords but I remember Princess Celestia specifically saying that there was no longer a threat or danger to any part of the Kingdom and that I had to loosen up despite being the head of security" I told Soarin making sure to emphasize how much I drew the line.
Soarin snickered slightly and said "Yeah I saw you draw the line, I believe you shouted "If you want my sword then take it!" before you threw it into a very expensive stained glass window and got discharged" he said, covering his mouth as he realised he'd once again said too much.
"It's ok…I wasn't discharged until after…until…after the incident anyway" I said with a smile that was obviously fake but was the only thing I could do to hide my pained face and the slight sting of past emotions which t=for the sake of everyone I was trying to bury. "Yeah…well I thought you did a great job" he said patting me on the shoulder.
I shrugged him off and laughed, saying "I didn't really do anything new, sure I stopped a fire or two and stopped numerous robbers but generally I was only a foot note in the history of all the previous Captains, some of which have commanded an almost army like force of guards at one point" I said but Soaring denied it saying "No but you genuinely sound like you want to help the Kingdom"?
I sighed and leaned further back on the rock. "Well I'm not so sure now, I mean Celestia means well but the swords were just one thing about the mess Equestria is in" I began to explain. "I mean sure the economy is flowing and trade is excellent but the living styles of the factory workers and the poor in the cities that remain hidden are so full that they might have to extend the city to keep them hidden" I said as I recalled some of the impoverished things I'd seen during my lovely two-year stay in Manehatten.
"Surely you can see something Soarin, you have all those images of those Observatory Ghosts in your head?" I asked pointing to my head. Soarin frowned and stared off into nothing as he tried to remember anything but he eventually came up with "I don't think it's something I can turn on and off and open like an encyclopaedia". "Of course not, if you remembered it all then your head would explode" chuckled Luna, joining our little conversation. "What for real?" asked Soarin looking suddenly very worried?
Luna just stared at him with an expression that read "Would you like to really know" and so Soaring remained silent. However Luna was still interested in out topic and asked "From what I've seen Equestria looks majorly peaceful, I mean Dodge was quaint and the train was magnificent indeed". "Yes well the rest is different, criminals like the current small army hunting us run the poor districts where the factory workers and servants of rich ponies live in squalor with barely any salary to feed their families and the threat of disappearing if they try to expose it" I said.
"But I don't understand, what do these criminals benefit from keeping them poor, if Tia knew then she would surely fix it?" exclaimed Luna but I shook my head saying "These ponies benefit from keeping the poor like this, they can live like kings some and get to beat and rob and kill anypony in the poor districts for just being graced by their presence, they are like the lords of the poor" I said in disgust, partly at myself since I'd gambled with a number of these so called lords.
"But surely somepony can do something" asked Luna and I nodded and encouraged "Yes Princess of course somepony can, once we've re-claimed your powers and you defeat Clearwater you can change Equestria for the better, open it all up and uncover the truth and I can tell you I'll stand by you every step of the way" I said giving a reflex salute. "Me too ma'am" said Soaring saluting. "You know somepony's are trying to sleep here" murmured Pick from where he was laying face down a few metres away from us.
"Pick we're moving in less than ten minutes can't you get up and show some enthusiasm for a quest which will likely be written in a book one day or maybe even a magazine!" I said walking over and lightly kicking him. "Yeah well after this quest I expect a knighthood and a pick of the Royal Treasury" he mumbled and tried to go back to sleep.
"Well guess what for that we're all going to move out immediately" I told him and the other whole heartily agreed, which prompted him to turn round and state "Sure take the side of the war veteran who save our hides from death yesterday by taking down a hundred soldiers". Everyone laughed but I could only do so half-heartedly, in fact even though I'd scrunched my bloody robes into a compartment in my saddlebags and tried to wipe off all the blood I still felt dirty.
My sword also felt lighter, as if I could swing it without having to bear the weight of guilt for killing somepony anymore and that really frightened me. Despite the fact that they had been murderers and bandits I felt sorry for them. Still I supposed they'd have shown me little to no kindness in the same situation so…
There was also the troubling matter of Soarin which I'd only discovered last night. I hadn't told him but ten years ago I might have met the kid in a fair In Las Pegasus and from what I remembered he'd taught me how to basically throw a knife for five bits before telling me to aim for an apple and win a gigantic teddy bear or something.
At the time I was with…my girlfriend who brought on bad memories so I stopped thinking about it and focused on what I'd remembered. The kid was good, could hit a bulls eye every time but that was back when he was a colt and now he was a young stallion but still I was sure that he could use those knives really lethally.
There was something else about the day I had tried to remember but as quick as it had come it left me again and I was left wondering confusedly what important thing had happened that day. I looked up and saw that the others were starting to move already and I began nodding my head and asking "Princess Luna, how long will it be from here until we reach this mountain of your"?
Luna looked to be thinking for a moment before saying "About a day, if we hurry then we could be at it by midnight in which we could take shelter inside the entrance way". "Well then let's get moving, I hate spending the nights outside with no fire and the threat of some more of those thugs stumbling on us" said Pick as he stretched and yawned loudly.
So we set off, all of us bearing weapons and enough food to last weeks. We had been way worse off and then again I had been way-way worse off than this but I still saw a glimmer of hope for the future. Dreams hadn't seemed to bother me for the past day but I still had a terrible sleep so eventually during last night I'd decided it was best to just stay up at night and watch over the others.
"Captain, you never told me the city you were born in?" asked Luna so suddenly that everyone began to take a liking to the new topic. "He's well organized and by the book so I'd say Fillydelphia" suggested Soarin. "Well I bet half my rations that he's from Stalliongrad, I mean look at him he'd gruff and an excellent fighter" pointed out Pick rather charmingly. "So what do you think then Luna?" I asked, actually glad that this was the far past we were talking about.
Luna considered for a few moments before giving her answer. "Canterlot…Canterlot is the city I'd say" she said "Although I don't really know the names and places of too many cities in the new map I'm trying to get adjusted to but I think Canterlot".
I chuckled and looked as everyone waited for me to give my answer. "Well Soarin, Pick and you are all wrong, in fact Luna is probably the closest one" I said and they all looked stunned, wondering where in Equestria I could have been born. After a minute of their incomprehension I sighed and explained "Ponyville…I was born in Ponyville".
This got everypony's attention except Luna's since Ponyville was actually quite a new little town. "But Ponies from Ponyville are kind, generous, optimistic and generally soft, you're like old and battle-worn" exclaimed Pick, not in the least attempting to spare my feelings.
"Yeah well when my parents visited Ponyville my mother happened to be heavily pregnant and after I was born in the local clinic they decided to spend the rest of their lives there" I said and Luna could help but smile and Soarin say "Sounds like they did alright then".
I looked at him and smiled but then explained "Sadly it wouldn't last, when I was ten my father disappeared to join the Royal Guard and eight years later I followed him since I wanted to see if the letters he'd been sending were really as amazing. Turns out he was actually a baker in a local Canterlot store with another family, so I joined the Royal Guard for nothing and left my mother alone, only being able to visit her once every few years and since…what happened two years ago she's never wanted to see o speak to me again so no I'm afraid I didn't really last forever but thanks for the sentiment Soarin" I finished bitterly.
"Pick looked at me and sighed and began his only story. "Well I never really new who my Pop was, mom said it was some kind of one night stand thing that went on for four months and after that he disappeared and I never knew anything except he had a black mane" he said. "Mom raised me by being the local bartender and for a long while I helped her until I started getting good at taking the tips from the pockets of ponies before they'd tipped me. Anyway I got caught and she lost her job and despite that still loved me, even when I got stuck in jail time after time she'd eat into the saving and bail me, well that was until last winter when she caught something bad and despite having Iron will she passed away in her sleep as the doctor's said" finished Pick with a small tear in his eye as he held his hand to his chest.
We carried on for a bit, all feeling a slight empathy for Pick and myself until Soarin came along and began his story. "Well my parents abandoned me, wasn't really much to begin with, at first the doctor's diagnosed my wings with some sort of condition so the circus told me they had dumped me with them and I was raised with the ringmaster's Pie Eating Champions" said Soarin and he suddenly looked up quizzically and mumbled "Actually it wasn't that bad" to which we all chuckled too. He continued however after ruffling his mane. "Well I did a bunch of things like walking the tightrope and throwing knives but when they found I could fly after I fell into the pony cannon and did some amazing trick they tried to keep me but I left and went to fulfil my dream as a Wonderbolt" he said finishing his only slightly happier story.
It seemed like an hour had passed and it was spent in complete silence as each one of us mulled over the other's childhood stories and eventually our own stories until Luna spoke up for the first time in two hours and much to our surprise she had her very own story to tell.
"I don't really remember much of my mother and father" she began. "I know that I had a very strong attachment to my father and my mother to my sister and I remember a few small details here and there like the colour of his eyes like galaxies and my mother's flaming mane but Tia might remember more since I was still quite a young filly when they…left" she said uneasily. "I do remember that they love me and my sister so very much and after they'd gone Tia looked after me and even promised "They'll be back". Since we were moving in a convoy I could tell Luna was getting emotional and I was really feeling sorry for her but she hadn't finished and continued "So me and my sister went on to rule in their place, destroying monsters and terrors that threatened the Kingdom whilst taking up the mantle of the Moon and the Sun, in fact during those times there was no time for a childhood so I got none and now here I am before thee, in the body of a mare I despise with memories I despise and a Kingdom which has moved on without me" she said as she began to cry.
We all moved forwards to comfort her but were stopped dead in our tracks when we heard the familiar and much hated voice of a certain deputy. "Oh please I've seen movies that had more detail than that pathetic little sob story"!
We all spun round to see a sky chariot pulled by two winged Royal Guards and what looked like ten other guards except all dressed in red tunics with a golden band over their chests al Pegasi. Deputy Thorn stepped off the chariot and looked at us with a grin. His eye was now covered with a black eye patch which matched his coat and he wore dark blue armour which looked a bit like Luna's.
"Oh you like the new gear?" he asked as he noticed us looking at his armour. "Yeah after my bravery in Dodge I was awarded the position of Captain in the newly formed Night Guard which I am now the Captain of and as you can see like the night itself and our glorious ruler Princess Luna she will never rest until you are brought to justice for the attempted murder of Celestia who is unfortunately in a coma thanks to that little assassination attempt.
Luna looked from me to Thorn Bush and asked two questions. "How is my sister in a coma and why is there a Night Guard"? Thorn seemed to process what Luna said for a moment before saying "It's true, you really are completely deluded into thinking that you…are Princess Luna…that's so very sad, and this Guard was set up to crackdown on terrorists like you so you can thank yourself for causing the mess you're in" he said grinning.
I now stepped into the conversation stating "Why would you work for Princess Luna, look at her she's supposedly been trapped as Nightmare Moon on the moon for a thousand years and tried to take over Equestria or something so why would you follow her" I asked and Thorn laughed saying "Water under the bridge, she's got her head screwed on and has even began to reach out to communities and small outskirt towns like Dodge and help building the places up, she's a fantastic leader and I am honoured to serve along with the Militia which I actually recruited from Dodge to help fight an evil menace" he finished staring at us.
"Get ready to fight but don't kill" I whispered to the other four as we now began a stand-off silence which Thorn Bush smiled all the way through. Luna's hoof raised slightly, ready to reach up and get her Crossbow on her back. Soarin's hoof also raised to get his throwing knives and Pick began to edge slightly away from the soon to be scene of the impending battle.
"Kill em" said Thorn Bush coolly, drawing his own black steel sword and jumping down from the chariot. The militia (which had weapons composed of swords and spears) charged at us in a dishevelled way with a rather terrifying battle cry of "Yahhhh".
I didn't draw my sword and instead grabbed a spear from the nearest Pony and used his charging momentum to throw him off. Next I broke the spear tip off and began using it like a light wooden club to whack oncoming ponies. Soarin threw two of his knives which lodged in the legs of two ponies which were then classed as out of the game and took to using his fast reactions and fists to fight another oncoming pony.
Luna was smarter and shot the sleeper dart in her Crossbow into a single file line of charging militia. The first on fell and the others toppled and before they could stand again Luna shot another dart into the one on top of the other, pinning him between the two fat mounds of flesh.
We had each taken on nine ponies in total and now Pick was struggling to stop a small dagger held by an old gambler type pony from going into his stomach so Luna went over to help. Soarin was busy tackling a young looking stallion he'd been in combat with since he'd taken out two others and I just cracked the third pony over the head and looked on at Thorn who was smiling and looking at me. "You know I will have fun plucking Luna's eyes from her head when I kill you and your friends" he chuckled.
My eyes widened as he said Luna and I exclaimed "You know the truth"! He laughed and yelled "What truth, that under the real Luna I'd just be some other Pony who was used to wash dishes and mend clothes, well Clearwater needs a pony like me who'll do the gritty stuff and guess what you're the gritty stuff so let me kill you and then avenge my rather missed eye" said Thorn as he charged at me sword up.
I had no time to draw my sword so blocked the sword with the wooden spear which was cleaved in two with one swipe. Already thinking the battle was won Thorn cried triumph and sliced at my neck with his sword, however I used the two shorts word sized pieces of wood to stab him in the stomach and then hit him in the right fore leg.
He cursed and dropped his sword which I lifted with my hoof and pointed directly at his chest. "Help me you foals" he shouted at the other two Pegasi who had been watching I awe at the very small skirmish from the chariot.
The first one leapt from the chariots pull section and drew his sword which clashed with my borrowed one. Thorn got back on the chariot and pointed to the other panicky Guard who was trying to unbuckle himself and help his friend. "You get me out of here now or you'll suffer my wrath.
He looked over at me and it distracted the guard I was fighting enough for me to disarm him and hit him in the head with the butt of my sword. He crumpled and the other Guard seeing this quickly spun round, building up speed he took off stressfully, pulling a lot of weight for him alone but not wanting to suffer the same fate as his friend.
Pick rolled to the side and knocked the pony to the ground, then Luna bucked him in the head and he slumped like a rag doll against a rock. Soaring punched his new friend right in the jaw which scared him enough after seeing his militia retreat to fly away as fast as possible.
The battle was over and by the looks of it we were no worse for wear. We'd used little ammunition and we had made some fair clear pointer to Thorn that we weren't to be messed with. "Ok can we break for lunch" asked Pick.
"You know what I totally agree with you on this one Pick" I said and Pick asked "Really"? I sighed, "No we need to get out of here before these ponies wake up" I said gesturing to the floor where many unconscious ponies obliviously rested.
"Don't worry, in five hours we'll be at the mountain if we hurry, then the interesting part begins" said Luna cheerfully despite just surviving a small scuffle. I admired her optimism but couldn't share it, being too exhausted I just wanted to sleep but I simply said "Let's get moving" and got up, throwing the black blade of Captain Thorn Bush of the Night Guard and wondering if Celestia really was in a coma.