Hearts and Ashes

by brony114

Chapter 3: Past Hopes

(present day Canterlot.)

Celestia reclined a little in her throne as Twilight took control of the conversation. Ash politely answered the many questions Twilight had to ask and many of her questions pertained to his personal life such as how he had received his cutie mark. Ash was glad that he managed to avoid talk of his foal hood crush among other topics ant that she wasn't too interested in his past deployments. Twilight felt the meeting was going swimmingly ant that any doubts she had at first were dashed away as getting to know him better had proven to show him in a better light. He, dispite his appearance, was polite, light hearted and had a sense of humor.

Celestia was very pleased with how the meeting was going as she knew it would go well. Twilight seemed to be more and more comfortable with Ash and he seemed to be more trusting of her. It was pretty much settled, any doubts anypony had of this arrangement were now gone. Celestia also thought is was nice to see Ash again. He was a promising leader and Celestia had for a time followed his career. However, he seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth and out of relevance after certain events. This was something she needed to address. Celestia sat up and spoke,

" So Ash, what plans do you have for hearts and hooves day?" Her voice was as cheerful as it had been the whole meeting, but there was a certain importance to the question that both Twilight and Ash had picked up on. Thinking upon the question, Ash’s smile seemed to lose it’s luster.

" Well, I have to meet up with somepony." Ash's demeanor changed to a more solemn one. His answer made Twilight look at him with confusion. Noticing her change, Ash added with a more chipper tone,

" ...You know, to let them know I'll be leaving soon!"
Celestia and Twilight smiled at him. Celestia seemed to be relived.

“ Maybe things are different now.” she thought to herself.

" Oh I see..." Twilight said, but trailed off. She only realised now that she was taking Ash and moving him to ponyville without taking into consideration any of his current friendships. Before she could ask him about this Celestia spoke up,

" Well now, it was nice getting to talk with you Captain and we’ll be talking again soon. As for now both I and Twilight have Royal duties to attend to. Make sure to stop by the Armory to be fitted for your new armor." Twilight half raised her hoof as to say something but then she lowered it. She was mulling over whether or not to ask Ash if this arrangement was going to uproot his friendships. She then decided to wait.

" Yes Your Highness and thank you Princess for this opportunity, I will not let you down!" Ash flashed Twilight a very convincing smile. For her, it kind of answered her question already.

" You're welcome and Thank you as well!" Twilight smiled back. Outside in the courtyard, Rainbow dash continued to hover at the window. The whole meeting was incredibly boring for her and she slowly lost interest more and more as it dragged on, but her ears perked when Ash said he was going to meet up with somepony else.

" Who is this pony he has to meet I wonder?" she thought to herself.
Rainbow dash flew to the ground and landed next to Rarity and Pinkie pie.
Pinkie was still in her perpetual state of bounciness while Rarity was staring at Rainbow for any news on the meeting. Rainbow didn’t waste anytime in divulging that info.

" Ok so the meeting’s over, Twilight seemed pretty happy, but the 'Captain' is on his way to meet 'somepony'." Rainbow said wiggling her fore hooves to mimic quotation marks.

" He's on his way to meet somepony? Today? Oohh this is exciting! That’s too bad though, i was hoping to get to know him a little better myself." Rarity chimed. Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

" Yeah...right...So here's the plan, I sent Spike to steal El Capitano's house key and we’re going to go see what his house looks like. If anything reflects a ponies character, it's his house!" Rainbow said with excitement for her plan. Rarity shot a surprised look at Rainbow.

" Rainbow Dash, How could you consider doing something so socially degenerate! You're a Wonderbolt now, you ought to be more ladylike!" Rarity exclaimed. Rainbow then scoffed,

" Rarity, for starters, Wonderbolts are not Lady or gentle colt like, they are awesome like! Secondly, We are here to protect Twilight from recruiting a less than perfect guard to protect her. I'm only going to allow the very best and I'm not sold on this guy!" Rainbow thrusted her hoof in the direction of the audience hall.

" Well Duh! We haven't even thrown a welcome party for him yet...no wait is it a congratulation part...or no no no no no, maybe a happy promotion day party!" Pinkie enthusiastically petitioned. Rainbow raised her eyebrow, she then asked,

" Pinkie, how is a party going to help me see if he's worthy?"

" Because that's where you get to know him silly!" Pinkie said as a matter of fact. Rainbow scrunched her nose in thought and then replied,

" OK, fine pinkie you can throw a...whatever party for him, but only after we find out more about him." Rainbow conceded. Pinkie hopped in jubilation.

" Whoo hoo!"

" Ugh... fine if you insist on breaking and entering, I suppose I could go along as a look out, just to make sure you don’t get in trouble." Rarity said with little enthusiasm. Deep down, Rarity wanted to sneak in to Ash's house very much so. Curiosity was one of her weaknesses. Spike's feet pit patted through the courtyard as he ran to meet the girls.

" Rainbow! I have it!" he said triumphantly holding up a brass key.

" Ah, nice work Spike! What took you so long?" Rainbow asked. Spike was pretty dirty with soil smudged on his face. He replied,

" Well he hides his spare key under a boulder and it's bigger than me!" Not focusing on his answer too much Rainbow moved on,

" Ok well then we should get going! Pinkie I want you to go follow Captain Ash to where ever he is going. I want to know what he is up to and who he is meeting!" Pinkie held her hoof up in a salute.

" You can count on me!" she replied and then she changed into spy gear. Rarity and Rainbow Dash set off to Ash's house with spike riding on Rarities back.

(4:00 am Southern Equestria, Bridle Town,three year before Twilight's coronation)

Lieutenant Ash and his RAC squad were racing through the streets of Bridletowne. Intelligence they had come across the day befor indicated a rebel leader named Indigo Runner, was located in the town hall with members of his command. Their source was an informant who said that Indigo was after something of immense power.

A rebellion movement started in the mining towns of southern equestria, their animosity stemmed from a financial crisis affecting the towns. The rebel leaders say the corruption and mismanagement of Canterlot was to blame. Their propaganda created a hatred for Canterlot and its high society.

According to their informant, Bridle Town was rumored to be built over an old vault and the town hall hid the entrance. Ash's informant was cooperating in exchange for his freedom and said Indigo was planning something horrific.

A Pegasus in black and steel armor flew down from the sky and matched Ash's speed. The pegasus was blue and had a dark brown mane and tale. All around Ash, his squad galloped or flew.

" Boss, the town’s clear but it looks like somepony’s in the belfry of the town hall!" Said the corporal Blue Star. Ash made a quick glance at him but continued to gallop forward.

" Blue star, you and Star Tail engage those in the belfry! Sage Dust and Palomino, take the back entrance. The rest of you follow me!" With those orders the three groups split and each one went to their respective entrance to the town hall.
The two pegasi engaged the belfry with arrows from afar as they circled around, Sage Dust ( a green and blue unicorn ) and Palomino (a brown and white earth pony) circled around the back and broke down the door as Ash took the rest of his team through the front.
With the exception of those who were in the belfry, there was no one else to fight. The teams cleared the building and made their way into the basement to find a hole dug through the base boards.

Ash and his team followed the hole down deep into the earth where they came across a large door that was partially open. Ash took point, making his way through the door first with his horn glowing. When the squad pushed the door open, dust blew all around the them as they rushed into the vault.

The Vault was dark, dusty, and large. The squads voices echoed throughout the large subterranean room allowing them to get a feel for how much bigger the room was beyond their field of vision. After shining their lanterns and horns everywhere, they discovered that the vault was not just a room but a complete library. The precious treasures that were held in it were shelves and shelves of books that appeared to be Ancient. Sage was the first to speak,

" This... This place is huge! Who would hide a library so extensive?" Sage said in his Canterlot accent as he shined his horn , casting light all around the room.

" How far does this thing go?" Palomino said with a draw. Ash turned to his squad and said to them,

" Focus guys, we still have a job to do and a vault to clear! Sage, you, Blue Star and Star Tail should clear out the vault. Palomino,stay with me and look through these books! We need to find out what Indigo was looking for! The rest of you, guard the entrance, we don't need any surprises!" As Ash gave them their orders, each team saluted Ash and went to do their respective jobs. The other ponies, regular army ponies who were conscripted for this mission, headed up to the surface to provide security.

As the squad went about completing their orders, Ash started looking through books that had been brought to a large wooden table in the middle of the room. Palomino found an old metal bound book that had dark designs on it. Sage finished clearing out the vault with his team and made his way back to Ash. As the did this they lit candles all around the library.

“The vault’s clear. Doesn’t look like much was moved around.” Sage reported to Ash who was meticulously reading through each tomb.

" Hey Boss, check this book out, I think I've found something!" Palomino exclaimed with excitement. Ash trotted over to Palomino to see the book, but instead he stopped in his tracks. He noticed that it was left on the ground in the center of the room; neatly. The title of the book read " Pandora."

" Have you touched this yet?” Ash asked Palomino.

“ Not yet.” Palomino replied as he went to scoop up the tomb in his mouth. Ash put a hoof in front of Palomino to stop him.

“ We need to be careful.” Ash ordered. Palomino looked at him confused.

“ Why, is it a trap?” he asked. Just then there was a clatter of hooves coming down the hole. Ponies were shouting and one was definitely screaming in pain.

“ Whats going on? REPORT!” Ash shouted. Two pegasi pushed into the room dragging a unicorn who had an arrow sticking out of his right flank. With each tug, he screamed in pain.
“ L.T. , We’re under attack! There’s too many of them up there!” one of the pegasi shouted. Ash started galloping towards them and shouted,

“ Close that door and barricade it!” his horn was glowing as he was levitating a book shelf to help keep it shut. The other ponies moved in to close the door and Ash jammed the book shelf against the doors hard. Suddenly they could hear other ponies on the other side of the door and they started banging on its wooden exterior. Ash pushed with his magic hard to keep them out. Suddenly an incoming shot of magic burst through the door leaving a softball size hole through it. The shot went just past Ash’s head so he retaliated with a shot from his own horn. It seemed to hit somepony on the other side as a shriek of pain was made audible. Then the ponies on the other side backed off from the door, dragging their own casualty away.

“ Is everypony ok?” Ash asked as he looked around at his squad who were mostly huddling close to the doors. One at a time every pony started replying by saying

“ I’m good.”

The shot that almost hit Ash went past him and nearly hit Palomino who hopped back to evade its trajectory. Palomino was in the middle of counting his blessings when he said,

“ I’m good.” Unfortunately, when he took a step forward, his right hind hoof kicked something hard. Then there was a loud pop and a hiss. Everypony looked in his direction to see that he kicked the old tomb over, setting off a fuse for an explosive device. Thinking quickly, Sage took the device in his magic hold and cast a spell on it. He Slowed down time for the bomb, making time go by at four times the amount. Ash let out a sigh of relief as he was expecting the thing to go off and kill Palomino.

“That was close, but it won't stay that way for long!” Sage said to everyone.

“ Boss We’re trapped here and this is the only way out!” one of the regulars said. He was holding his friends hoof who was still moaning in great pain. His flank was drenched in blood.

“ We can’t stay here with that thing either.” Sage reminded him. Palomino was backing off from the device which was floating in a field of magic aura. Ash looked at the bomb, and then the doors. He then thought quietly for a moment. It wasn’t his first time dealing with the stresses of combat since he had arrived in Southern Equestria. No pony expected things to be as bad as they were, but the rebels had raised an army and were now well equipped. The second RAC squad had recently lost their squad leader to their first engagement with the rebels. Ash was forced to take over and had to learn everything on the job. It was a shaky start but those who were under his command learned to trust him. His determination to care for his squad carried them through the 7 months that they operated.

“ Boss, maybe we can push up out of the hole as a team.” Sage petitioned. Ash looked at him and said,

“ No, That's too risky, we don't know how many are up there.” Ash calmly replied.

“ What do we do?” Asked another regular. Ash looked at Sage and then said,

“ I have an idea, maybe I can try teleporting the bomb out into the hole. You know give it back to them?” Ash was dead serious about his plan.

“ You… learned how to teleport objects by themselves?” Sage asked confused.

“ No, i can still only teleport myself and and a couple of objects.” Ash’s ears splayed and he gave Sage a nervous look.

“ No… you can barely teleport yourself and that with a lot of concentration! Once you pull that device out of the magic field, you’ll have only a couple seconds at best before it goes off!” Sage protested.

“ You’re point being?” Ash asked.

“ Can you really pull off a chain Teleportation spell for the first time in less than two seconds?” Sage asked rhetorically.

“ Maybe… besides, if I screw up, it’s just me at stake.” Ash replied somberly. Then he look Sage in his eyes, “ I’m going for it!” he said with determination.

“ Boss….” Sage replied.

The Rebels were now carrying out another assault on the door, pounding it harder with a combined effort. Sage used his magic to pile another shelf up against the doors. Palomino looked at Ash.

“ Boss, I'm sorry!” Pal said. Ash didn’t reply, instead he concentrated on mustering up as much courage as he could. Teleportation was one of those things that separated a normal unicorn from the magically gifted. Very few ponies, even in Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns, could cast that spell even once in their lives. Ash had been working on casting the spell when he started training for the RAC Squads. Only after he had become the squad leader or the the 125th’s 2nd RAC squad did he achieve just a single teleportation. He was nervous to say the least.

“ Ok, here I go!” Ash said. He trotted over to the bomb and began concentrating on building up his magic in his horn as he needed a lot of it.

“ Remember to build up enough for the return trip!” Sage added. All Ash could do was nod as he was building up his energy for an attempt at two teleportations. The Doors kept banging rhythmically with the squad pushing up against the shelves. Ash could barely hold the magic under control in his horn when he started concentrating on visualising the hold outside the door. Suddenly the ball of energy that encapsulated Ash’s horn burst and Ash disappeared with the bomb.

Twelve ponies in crude armor were working on busting down the large wooden vault doors with a tree fashioned into a battering ram. Most of them were earth ponies but a couple were pegasi and once was a unicorn. The unicorn was pushing the ram from behind with his magic as the rest were physically holding on to it. Suddenly there was a bright light that shined next to them. One earth pony got pushed back as a figure materialised in his spot. Ash fumbled the bomb which bounced off one ponies helmet and landed on the other side of the battering ram. Losing focus, Ash lost his remaining magic. The rebels were now stepping over each other trying to get away from the hissing device, unfortunately for them it only had 3 seconds of fuse left. Ash could only hide behind the battering ram for protection when it went off.

The squad had watched Ash disappear in a flash of light and a moment later they could hear a large muffled boom on the other side of the door. Unfortunately Ash didn’t appear on their side before the explosion happened. It took a while for the rumbling outside to stop. It was clear that the tunnel collapsed just outside.

“ Boss!” Palomino screamed as he went for the door; bucking the shelves away. Sage grabbed him in with his magic and stopped him from pulling the doors open.

“ Pal! Don’t, the dirt might push in here if we open that door!” Sage tried to reason with him.

“ But what about Ash!” Palomino protested. Then there was a knocking at the door. A rhythmic hoof nock that begged for the occupants to open it. A Muffled voice from outside said,

“ I screwed up!” Which was followed by several coughs.

After a while of opening the door slowly and pulling Ash out of the dirt, the squad resumed their mission.

“ Here it is boss.” Palomino said after scooping the old metalic book up with his hooves.

“ Here let me see it.” Sage said as he pulled the book from Palomino’s grim with his magic.

“ Can you translate it?” Ash asked Sage.

" I'll take a look boss!" Sage said with determination. The book was written in latin, wich was a dead language to Equestria. However, Sage Dust was able to use a spell that instantly translated any written language into a language that he could read. It was an ability he developed during his studies in Canterlot. His horn glowed and soon the text rearranged itself into Equestrian. Sage read to himself. After reading a few pages his eyes widened.

" Dear Celestia, This...This is …..a Catalog of the contents of Pandora's box!" Sage, shakely exclaimed.

" What would Indigo want with this?" Ash asked. His dirt covered face was in a scowl. Sage replied,
" I don't know, but this has a detailed account of a disaster where the box had been opened four millennia ago. It has several references to a ….thing called the dark wrath!" Palomino was looking at the back of the book when he noticed it was thicker than the cover. He then said,

" Hey turn to the back! I think I see something!" Ash levitated the book and opened it to the back. There was another broken lock and a chamber for a key. it was missing.

" Hey... there's supposed to be a key their right? Where's the key, where the Hay it that key?" Palomino asked with rising tones of fear.

" I don't know Pal... We need to search the vault! Look for it!" Ash ordered his squad.Every pony searched the volt to its entire volume. The Key was gone.

Soon after Ash and his squad searched the Vault, the 125th battalion was there going through its contents. The attackers who were left had vanished into the surrounding woods. It was unlikely they’d press another attack. Ash had taken the time to go through a few books. He found several of them to be of use and one in particular had information on how to perform more advanced spells. He ended up taking it along with the old metal bound book.

After getting back to camp, his team was getting their rest and cleaning up after their 56 hour mission. Ash was completing a report on the missing key when a pegasus trotted over to him.

Captain Pale Moon was a pegasus who had a tall stature. His commision started seven years ago. He took command of the 125 battalions RAC unit that consists of three squads of five to eight ponies. His coat was a light grey, his mane and tail were short and white and his eyes were a silver. The Captain was known for being charismatic and generally cared for the wellbeing of his subordinates as much as the well being of a mission.

" Lieutenant." Pale moon called to Ash.

" Sir!" Ash stood up from the rock he was sitting on, stood at attention and saluted.

"At ease Lieutenant, how goes the search? I heard you stumbled on something scary." The Captain looked very calm but Ash looked serious as he spoke.

" Well I believe the rebels have a key to Pandora's box and intend to open it.” Ash said in a hushed voice. Pale moon hummed as he contemplated on what Ash was implying.

" I can only imagine what they would want to do that. Try to have that report in ASAP. General Glory is still tooting his horn about calling marshal law on this whole region."

" I'm almost done sir, I'll have it in by 0700." Ash assured.

" Outstanding! Oh and how are your folks back home?" Pale Moon made it his business to know about every pony's home life. With the conflict escalating, home was a concept that was becoming more abstract for the ponies of the 125th. Reminding them that there is a world outside of their situation was an invaluable tool for keeping their morale up. Although it was just as much a tool or good as it was a stumbling block that fostered homesickness. Only reminding them of the importance of their work managed a delicate balance.

" Good sir, They're on vacation in Manehattan!" Ash said happily.

" That's good!" Replied with a smile. " Good job today, we still have a lot of work to do though!" Pale Moon reminded Ash.

" Yes sir!" Ash replied with a somber tone. The two ponies saluted and the Captain was on his way to the Command Post. Ash finished his report and made his way to the command post where the General was going to hold a staff meeting.
Ash was saluted by two pegasi posted outside the tent that was the command center. Ash saluted back and trotted past them into the tent. The tent was bustling with action, Many different ponies were in and out of the tent. There also were many desks with ponies typing away on typewriters relaying messages. Ash was barely inside when he trotted into somepony.
" Hey watch it Army Mule!...Oh Well if it isn't Lieutenant Freak!" said an awfully familiar voice. Ash blinked his weary eyes and focused on the royal guard who was in his way.

" Nice to see you too Blitz!" Ash said sarcastically as he was dusting himself off.

" That's Captain Blitz to you! maybe you ought to show me some respect!" Blitz hissed.

" Yes Sir Captain!" Ash said as he saluted in a haphazardly way. Blitz felt the need to squash Ash into the ground, but he knew better than to stop Ash from seeing the general. Despite his hatred for Ash, Blitz knew that he was important.

" Good,now get out of my way!" Blitz pushed past Ash and went out of the tent. Ash was pretty irritated but he figured he had better, more important things to do. He also wondered why There were "Royal Pains" at the camp. Ash made his way to the center of the large overly sized tent when his name was called by a booming and almost cheerful Voice.

Ah there you are Lieutenant! Do you have my report?" General Glory was an old War pony who had been serving in the Army for many decades. His Coat was a light brown and his Main, tail and eyes were black.

" Yes General, Sorry if I'm late!" Ash was saluting and so the General saluted back.

" Oh Nonsense son, you're right on time! Now how would you feel about attending the meeting? Princess Celestia and the Captain of the Royal Guard will be there."

" I would be honored sir, But if you don't mind me asking sir, why do you want me to be there?" Glory smirked and trotted up to Ash, putting his left fore hoof around his shoulders.

" Ash my boy, it was your team that stumbled upon that book and discovered the Rebels horrible plans. Our Graceful Princess, in all her wisdom wishes for me to 'not be too hasty with enacting martial law upon the region' and I would agree with her if it weren't for the imminent threat posed by the rebels and that key. I need you to testify so that we can take the proper precautions! Do you Agree?" Glory asked expectantly.

" Sir its not my place to question you, so I'll hold my tongue either way." Ash replied wearily. He understood that sometimes there were politics involved at the higher echelons of the military. He also understood that he needed to stay away from it as much as possible; especially now during the this conflict. The General scowled with a look of disappointment.

" Well, at any rate, here we go! Just tell the truth as you know it!" Glory said with a push. Ash felt himself being thrusted into the tent.

" Yes General!" Ash replied.

The General lead Ash to the meeting area Where many of the General's officers were already seated. Many Royal guards ponies were seated around and some were posted outside the tent. They all waited for the Princess herself. It wasn't long before she made her appearance. One guard pony bellowed out her arrival,

" Ladies and Gentlecolts of the Equestrian Army and Royal canterlot Guard, I present to you her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia!" At that moment Princess Celestia garbed in royal armor was escorted into the tent by several of her personal guard and Captain Shining Armor. He led her to the Seating area of honor and waited for her to sit down. Everypony was standing at attention or bowing their heads. Then the meeting was started. General Glory bowed and welcomed the Princess to his base camp and begun to conduct the meeting. Several topics were discussed before the General was on the topic of the rebels.

" Your highness I would like to bring forth one of my subordinates to testify to you what he witnessed today this morning at 03:00." Glory said with a grand gentlecolt like tone.
Princess celestia, who hadn’t smiled the entire meeting, nodded her head and said,

" You may proceed General!" Celestia maintained her calm demeanor throughout the meeting.

Glory looked at Ash and nodded his head. Ash stood up and walked to the center of the meeting. Ash was being started at by everypony, he hadn't had a chance to clean up or rest so he was disheveled.

" Your highness, I present to you our hero of the day, Lieutenant Ash of the 125th battalion second RAC squad! His team was the first to act upon intelligence leading his team to this town. Here, he discovered the rebels devious plan to steal the key to Pandora's box.” Glory paused. Ash trotted up to the center and bowed his head. he could feel the tension in the tent as everypony was quiet. Then he addressed her highness,

" Your highness, it's an honor to address you, may I proceed with my testimony?”

" You may Lieutenant and the pleasure is all mine." Celestia’s stone fae seemed to waiver for just a moment.

" Thank you Princess." Ash said with a bow. After a moment of silence where he colected his thoughts, he spoke,

" Yesterday My team and I came across a rebel who informed us about the whereabouts of the rebel leader Indigo Runner, a Miner From Goldhoof. He claimed that Indigo was in Bridletowne searching for something of great power. We acted on this intel and made our way to Bridle town at 03:00, The informant also stated that Indigo discovered a vault rumored to be hidden under the town hall. We were met with little resistance resistance at first and Indigo was nowhere to be found. What we did find was a hole in the basement of the town hall that lead to a vault door. Inside the vault was an ancient library. One of my subordinates found this book..." Ash levitated his report and the metal bound book his team discovered in the vault to the Princess. Shining armor took it in his ethereal hold and inspected it and gave it to the Princess. "...and in the back of the book it contains an empty chamber where a key should have been. The book is written in latin and my immediate subordinate translated the books meanings!" Ash paused to give the book to Celestia. Shining Armor took the book out of Ashes magic and inspected the book himself, before handing it over to Celestia.

Celestia looked over the contents of the book, reading it to herself as she knew how to read latin. She then closed the book and looked over the report. She did not looked very happy,

" This is most troubling, The last time Pandora's box was opened happened before I was even born, but the tails I've heard were horrifying, and this Reference to " The Dark Wrath" is most terrible. If this book really did contained the key to Pandora's box, and the rebels have it in their possession, then we must act. General." Celestia’s turned to General Glory.

" Yes your majesty!" The General replied.

" What requests do you have? What can I do to assist you in dealing with this problem?" She asked.

" Your highness, I have two requests. One; I need to contain the rebels as much as possible to stop them from moving freely throughout the region so therefore I am requesting your blessings in enacting Marshal Law. Second; I need the help of the your Royal Guards to relive my troops from their security duties so that I may have a sufficient number of troops to go after Indigo Runner and his organization!" Many of the Ponies began chattering amongst themselves, discussing what they thought of the situation.

Captain Shining Armor looked at Celestia with concern. If the princess allowed use of the Royal Guard, many of his own guards ponies would be stationed in southern Equestria. Celestia spoke with Shinning armor in whispers and they both came to an agreement. Celestia turned to face The general and spoke to him.

" General Glory, It is with caution and reluctance that I permit you both the use of royal guards and the enactment of Martial Law on the Province of Southern Equestria." Gasps and cheers sounded throughout the tent. Ash was still in the center of the tent. He maintained his composure but he felt his heart sink. It was as if his testimony moved or even forced the Princess into making a decision. The implications of further escalating the conflict didn’t make him feel good either.

" Thank you your highness!" he bowed his head and Ash caught a glance of the general smiling. The commotion in the meeting refused to die down.

" Lieutenant Ash!" Celestia shouted over the other ponies. Ash snapped out of his thoughts and sounded off.

" Yes Your Highness!" Ash’s eyes fixed With Celestia’s and the room went quiet.

" May I speak with you in private shortly?" She asked.

" Of course your Highness!" He replied with a bow.

After the meeting Ash made his way to the Royal Tent that was guarded by dozens of Royal Guards. He was then led inside by Shining Armor. Shining Armor left the tent and Ash was alone with the Princess who was laying on her bed where she was studying a tomb.

" Lieutenant Ash reporting as summoned your Highness!" Ash reported as he stood at attention at her bedside.

" At ease Lieutenant, I want this meeting to be Casual." She spoke wearily. Her calm and collected demeanor in the meeting was nothing more than an act which masked her fatigue from lack of sleep.

" Uhm.. yes Princess, of course!" Ash replied after easing up and relaxing his muscles. Celestia continued to read over the book before she set it down on her bed.

" I need your opinion Ash, I've had my reservations about taking more action in this region, but today my hoofs have been forced. It seems like No matter what I try I'm unable to understand or reason with my people here in this part of my kingdom."
Celestia stretched her wings and stood up.

" I've read about your work, and I'm rather impressed with how you conduct yourself. Tell me Lieutenant, What is your opinion of the rebels and their agenda?" Celestia towered over Ash. Ash craned his head up to meet her gaze.

" Your Highness, I've been serving under General Glory for one year now, In all the missions I've completed with my team, I've seen poverty, hunger, disease, violence and cruelty. These ponies have something to gripe about and they need our help."

" Indeed Lieutenant." Celestia noded.

" ...but with lunatics like Indigo going around spreading propaganda and decent, We can't help those in need and now that Indigo has a key to Pandora's box, we don't have a choice but to put an end to him!" Ash stopped to compose himself as he was starting to become emotional. Seven months of fighting and not sleeping were getting to him.
" What would you propose lieutenant?" Celestia posed to him.

" Our number one priority in that regard, is to find Pandora's box and secure it before Indigo does. We can't let him have the chance to use it for anything!" Ash replied. Celestia smiled at Ash's Remark. She was afraid the conflict was beginning to change her little ponies from the peaceful subjects they were to something more aggressive. If Ash’s answer was to go after Indigo more aggressively, she would have know that things were bad. However, his answer to go after the box instead, was giving her hope.

" Very good Lieutenant, then I must ask you, to use whatever means necessary to find it's location and stop Indigo." Celestia calmly demanded.

" I will your highness!" Ash said with determination. After smiling at him, she added,

" Very well Lieutenant, That is all. " Celestia began to lower herself down on her bed. Her wings fluttered a bit. Ash stayed silent for a bit to contemplate how he was going to say what he wanted to say. This was the first time he had actually talked to her in person. After a while, he spoke,

" Your highness, I just wanted to thank you..."

"For what Lieutenant?" She asked lifting her head to meet his at eye level.

" Your letter, your letter of approval allowing me into the RAC squads." Ash replied hesitantly. Celestia smiled again and replied,

" I'm glad I wrote it, you have filled the role very well. You are Welcome."

" Have a good morning Your highness!" Ash bowed his head, performed an about face and left the tent. Celestia watched him leave the tent, eyeing him like a proud parent. Many ponies throughout the years have garnered her attention and have gone on to do great things for the kingdom. Many have stood in the face of adversity and held steadfast in its wake. Ash was somepony just like that. He had no idea what would come his way, but he always seemed to do right by every pony. His destiny was something that Celestia thought would be interesting. It was too bad that she felt something ominous about him and his role to play in the current state of affairs in Southern Equestria.

Ash made it back to his side of the camp and wearily entered his tent. All of his Squad was asleep in their own tents so Ash was free to just walk into his without being bothered.
He lifted the flap and trotted in. He levitated his helmet off his head and let it drop on the ground. He's weary body wanted to collapse on the spot. He hadn’t felt this fatigued since the graduation test for the army academy. He wondered if he could have been better prepared.

Then, in the corner of his eye, he noticed somepony had entered his tent behind him. Ash turned around and with great surprise he saw the silhouette of a Royal guard. Ash was about to say something until the Guard rushed him and her lips met his. Ash fell on his back and the mare fell on top of him. Ash was very much confused by what was happening. The mare’s helmet slipped down and covered her face. Ash levitated the helmet off her and his eyes met her’s. She was Blue Ember.

" Em? What are you doing here?" he whispered, half happy to see her, and half worried she was there at all.

" I missed you." She whispered back. Then she nuzzled him.

" I missed you too beautiful!" he said as he nuzzled her back. Ember was lost in Ash's embrace and cuddled him tightly. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“ How are you here?” He asked.

“ When I heard the Princess was making a visit, I Volunteered to go, I just had to see you!” She said on the verge of sobbing.

" How are Things back at home?" Ash asked wiping a tear from her face.

" Wonderful, Dad was talking about renting the Canterlot gardens!" Ember said excitedly.

" for what?"Ash asked confused.

" For our reception stupid!" She began to giggle. She then lifted the blue diamond necklace Ash gave her the day he proposed. "remember you asked me a certain question?" She swung the necklace back and forth like a hypnotist's pendulum. Ash wearily smiled back at her and replied,

" Of course."

Blue Ember and Ash cuddled together, reassuring their love and reinforcing their bond until Ash fell asleep. Neither of them made it to his cot.

Comments

[Thunder-Bolt]

Nice chapter. Though, I'm still catching a lot of errors.

[StarzGecko]

There are a few problems I have with the story. I love it! Just Its tough to read and here's why.

1. There isn't balance in the chapters

It's chapter 3, and I felt like I just read 5 chapters in one, which in this chapter is going all over the place. Like for example, there are stories here, were one chapter is focused on the event for the story. You have it were the focus on the chapter keeps going with out rest and takes away a lot more for you to be creative to build a story.

As well I had problems with the rushing at the present...

2. Past & present

Ok.... Jumping between past & present isn't that really great at all. It would have been better for the past to be its own chapter. (To add more to story). The editing is mix with it, which causes it to mess up as well. There is an opportunity for characters, world building etc, in both of the subjects.

3. Characters & world building.
Like with I said in 1&2. The characters felt empty... Why? Well when reading it, there seems to be that you miss the opportunity to add more dialogue and development for the characters. Their expressions are good! Just I see that you have the opportunity to add more. (The part of the 3 girls spying should be clean up, it's a mix bag with them)

Your doing great with world building, just there's opportunity for more to use. As well the OC characters are really great, just could add them more into the stories past for your main character to grow.

4. I think you need a editor.

It's not all bad, just needs someone to help clean things here & there.

Overall the story is really great, I do wish that it could had been more pace out? I really want to love this like with a few other Royal Gaurd stories but with the problems it's hard to like, even I like it.

[brony114]

7396649
Thanks, I really appreciate you taking to time to critique my story as thoroughly as you did. To be honest, this is an old fic that I've been trying to rewrite for fimfiction, but this whole fic is a mess. I wish i knew where to start when trying to get someone else to edit my story.

[brony114]

7396527

bad things tend to happen to good ponies, thats all I'll say about the plot.

[StarzGecko]

7404842 Have you ever read Semper Pie? I think it we'll help you a lot with the story.

How it is balanced between past & present is really great.