Chapter 66: Idle Chatter
Night Flash trotted forward with his muzzle buried in a thick packet of scrolls. They were top secret, covered in layers of spells designed to make the writing invisible to anypony but himself and his wife. They didn’t know if Elias would be able to see through the spells though, what with his strange eye and his lack of magic, so he still took every precaution with the scrolls, making sure they were stowed away safely in Book Binder’s enchanted saddlebags every time the human came close. He couldn’t know of the preparations they were making.
That being said; they were well on track, they just needed some things that were rumored to be at the Saddle Arabian market place, then everything would be perfect! That was, if certain plans weren’t going to come to fruition first…
He tucked his scrolls back into his saddle bags and stepped closer to Book Binder, who similarly had her adorable little muzzle buried in a different packet of scrolls. If there weren’t super important, thick sheets of paper in the way, there would be nothing stopping him from planting a kiss on that adorably scrunched nose. He did so love watching her while she was focused.
“How’s your ‘secret project’ going Bindey?” he asked, stepping closer and bumping butts with her. It wasn’t a nuzzle, but with all their armor, it was hard to do much else.
He felt a gentle nudge in reply, making it very clear that her heart wasn’t in the motion. Night Flash waited patiently, his smile still bright as he waited on his beautiful wife’s words. Book Binder sighed and rolled up her scrolls, her muzzle curling into a more frustrated scrunch as she put them away.
“It’s isn’t going to work Flashy,” she said. “I failed. I’m sorry.”
A wing extended immediately and dragged her close. Night Flash unclasped his helmet and pushed it up so that he could rub her face with his chin.
“Hey, none of that,” he comforted. “We knew it was a long shot, and we have plenty of plans still ready to go. I’m only a little disappointed that our baby boy won’t be able to fly with me, but that’s okay! Just talk me through what went wrong.”
Book Binder huffed and looked away.
“Why? Your part of the plan isn’t a failure.”
Night Flash chuckled and kissed her cheek.
“Bindey, don’t make this another macaroni art incident. Bottling up your frustration will only make it worse.”
“But there is no origin for macaroni art as a form of education, it just appeared one day in Equestrian curriculum!” Book Binder shouted. “I researched for seventeen months for nothing, nothing!”
“Well I liked your presentation anyway. You were very passionate.”
Book Binder huffed and shoved him. Night Flash grinned, knowing his little distraction had broken the first layer of her irritation, just like it always did.
“Talk to me Bindey, why won’t it work?”
Book Binder saddle up closer and leaned on him, absentmindedly fixing his helmet with her magic.
“Elias doesn’t have magic,” she said. “There are plenty of banned and forbidden spells that can make him a pony of his choice; heck, we could make him a gryphon if he wanted to keep his fingers, but all of the spells require the target to have a magical soul and Elias… just doesn’t have one. We can’t even use the butterfly-wing spell on him; they’d just vanish immediately. Even trying to the cast a transformation spell on him might kill him, and if it doesn’t do that, it may hurt him, or twist him into something horrible.”
Teary eyes met his.
“I’m sorry Flashie, but Elias isn’t ever going to be able to fly with you.”
Night Flash and kissed her nose, keeping a smile on his muzzle even if he didn’t wholly feel it.
“It’s fine Bindey, we’ll just have to compensate in other areas. Saddle Arabians are good inventors, maybe we can pay somepony to make human sized wings.” He gently brushed her back, wishing he could feel fur instead of armor. “No tears though. There’s no reason for tears.”
Book Binder giggled, wiping her eyes.
“I just hate disappointing you Flashie.” She paused, then said; “And there’s always your pouting.”
Night Flash frowned and back away a step.
“I don’t pout.”
Book Binder chuckled, her eyes growing slightly less teary.
“Flashie, you have the most pathetic pout I have ever seen. You nearly gave my dad a cuteness induced heart-attack when he criticized your science fair project in high school.”
Night Flash’s frown deepened, and his ears began to flick back.
“I don’t pout!” After a moment, he added; “And that project was brilliant! I proved definitively that pegasi have the best potential for flight! By comparing my feather quality with that of Professor Sharpclaw’s, I-”
“Elias said he doesn’t want to move in with us anymore.”
Night Flash’s rump hit the ground instantly, followed by a tear as his eyes began to overflow. It was the worst news he could imagine. Definitely something worth crying over. He sniffled and whimpered softly, staring at Book Binder. His ears pinned back as he spoke.
“N-no more midnight cuddles?”
Book Binder winced, quickly nudging him up to prevent him from getting trampled but the marching ponies behind them.
“That’s exactly the look I’m talking about,” she said, nudging him along next to the carriage.
Night Flash had no motivation to move, his weight dead as he pondered a life without a wonderful human to spoil with endless snuggles. Book Binder huffed and braced his rump with her head, pushing him along.
“Come on Flashie, Elias hasn’t said anything!”
Night Flash’s pout instantly vanished, and the mare let out a squeak as his brick-like momentum suddenly shifted. She fell on her face, sneezing in the dust. He brushed her out of the dirt with his wing and nudged her along until they were back in step beside the carriage. Once they were walking evenly again, she swatted the back of his head.
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You weaponize your pout so much that it hurts to even draw it out.” She brushed at her armor, mumbling under her breath. “I don’t want to even bring up the thought that he actually might decide to not come live with us anyway. There is a certain relationship he’s pursuing, even if he’s pretending not to.”
Night Flash scoffed.
“With Anyon’s enchantments, the bed frame should be able to hold up an alicorn too! It’s a bed made for snuggle piles.” He whipped out his planning scrolls again. “And if what your dad says is true, Saraj has some of the fluffiest pillows in the world! We’ll get a hundred of those for the snuggle pile, and then those thestral sheets from-”
“Enough!” Aabhavannan bellowed.
He immediately shrank as he faced down the glares of all the silver-clad ponies around them. Now, Night flash thought of himself as a reasonable sort of pony. He rarely disliked somepony, and it took a lot to get on his bad side. He loved giving out chances, just like he liked giving out friendship to ponies he could tell needed it. Something that immediately irritated him with Aabhavannan, however, was the angry look in the stallion’s eyes as he attempted to stare down Book Binder, apparently picking her out as somepony he could challenge. One of the few things that put ponies on Night Flash’s “bad” list was looking in any sort of negative way at his wife. Only White Shine had ever gotten away with that, and that was because he had connected parents. The rest who had tried… weren’t problems anymore.
Night Flash slowly rolled his scrolls back up and tucked them into his saddlebags. The movement caught Aabhavannan’s eyes, and he looked toward Night Flash, who stared him down, his eyes not leaving the tall stallion’s for a moment. The Saddle Arabian shrank a touch further, then coughed and looked away, pitifully rubbing at the bandages on his hooves.
“Apologies blue one, I merely cannot stand listening to all of this talk of hugging and cuddling when my people are under threat. That… creature you would so coddle has done nothing to help free my people, and I will not sit here and listen to you plan for a future that has nothing to do with lifting Saraj’s siege!”
Night Flash’s eyes narrowed further.
“You’re free to walk.”
He felt Book Binder’s tail slap his rump, even as the mare took a more diplomatic approach.
“General Bright has a plan Aablavan-.”
“It is Aabhavannan,” the stallion hissed.
“I’m sorry,” Book Binder soothed, lowering her voice just slightly. “Aabhavannan, General Bright has a plan, he’s just not big on sharing. Especially given… recent events.”
The Saddle Arabian stallion huffed, staring forward.
“I do not see any plan. We have been moving at the same slow pace for two days, and the sun already sets. We will stop soon, barely closer to Saraj. I thought a “hero” like your General Bright would be eager to become a liberator, but clearly he sees something to fear in arriving early to a battle.”
Night Flash’s jaw clenched as he bit his tongue. An effect of being around Red was being a touch quicker to anger. He saw it in most ponies these days, but especially himself. On the flip side though, Red was becoming a touch mellower, at least he thought so. It was like ponies were slowly drawing the anger out and spreading it amongst themselves. It would pass, he knew, but for the moment, he had to bite his tongue. He hated the implication that Red was a coward, but he knew that snapping would only make him look silly. It was just words from a pony who didn’t know better.
He’s just worried, he rationalized silently. I’d be the same way if my Red was in danger and nopony seemed to be doing anything.
“I understand you’re worried,” Book Binder said, mirroring his thoughts. “But General Bright is the best hope Saraj has for being freed. I’d go so far as to say that right now, he’s the only hope.”
Aabhavannan snorted dismissively, setting Night Flash’s teeth to grind again. Self-control was so hard sometimes.
“He is stronger than the princesses? Than the many ponies that surround him, acting as his shield?”
“Red didn’t get those scars from hiding in the back,” Night Flash finally spat at the stallion. “And I suggest you stop talking about him like he’s a coward while you’re near me, because if I hear one more bad word, you’re going to need c-.”
A bump from Book Binder made him glower at the dirt in silence while she again acted the diplomat.
“What he means to say is that General Bright is very brave, but any of us can be brave. Most of the ponies are trained guards after all, and the rest volunteered to be here. General Bright, though a very good fighter, is really the only pony who can keep us all together.” She shuddered. “And he is scary good at fighting.”
“But you trust him more than your princesses?” Aabhavannan again asked. “You would trust that strange creature more than she that ruled Equestria for millennia?”
Night Flash began to sputter in indignation. Strange creature? Strange creature? Red wasn’t some strange creature! He was a happy, wonderful stallion who was doing his duty, just so he could be buried in the biggest cuddle pile known to pony-kind!
Book Binder let out a sigh. “Aabhavannan, please do not speak of General Bright in such a way again, or First Centurion Night Flash will put you to work pulling a cart of wounded ponies by yourself. He is not a strange creature, he is just as much a pony as you or I. He may deny that, but we’ve all experienced his loving and gentle side, and something you should know about him is that no matter how much he tries to hide it, he cares. When he’s angry, it’s because he cares. If he seems irritated, or callous, or just outright crazy, it’s because he cares.”
She looked up at the stallion.
“And it is only with the help of one of our princesses that he’s started sleeping again. General Bright had already stopped after our last battle, taking on all of the stress of leading the entire army. Now he has to rush to get us to Saraj before the city starves.”
“But we aren’t rushing,” Aabhavannan hissed. “We are moving slowly when we should be running!”
Book Binder began to speak again, but the day’s hot, tiring march, combined with having his snuggle pile planning ruined with bad-mouthing his Red had left him on a short-string, and yet another implied insult was all he could bear.
“Centurion Granite!” Night Flash bellowed, over-powering his wife’s words.
The gray earth pony quickly trotted to Night Flash’s side, looking somewhat bewildered at the loud call from the blue pegasus. Night Flash gave a side-eyed glare to Aabhavannan as he spoke to the earth pony.
“Centurion, go waste some of General Bright’s precious time and tell him that we need to abandon all of our food, medicine, and wounded ponies. Furthermore, we won’t be stopping anymore for the night, we will instead be marching straight to Saraj with no stops, where we can then attack the minotaurs with harsh words because we’ll have nothing left. But at least it will be fast!”
The final word was said with him glaring directly at Aabhavannan, who scowled back in reply. The pair squinted at each other, their muzzles curling with the beginnings of snarls. Book Binder sighed and shook her head as a mildly confused looking Granite looked to her for guidance.
“Please ask General Bright when he’d like us to stop for the night,” she said. “And please ask if there is anyway to speed up our march, because Aabhavannan is concerned for his family inside of Saraj.”
Granite frowned, his eyes momentarily flicking up to the Saddle Arabian stallion.
“I really don’t think that General Bright needs a reminder.”
Book Binder put on a forced smile.
“Please just ask Centurion. Even if he just tells you that he has a plan, that will be enough. Please.”
The gray earth pony gave her, then Aabhavannan once last glance before he began his trot toward the rear of the column. As he walked away, Book Binder turned her false smile upward.
“There. Centurion Granite will get news from General Bright.”
Aabhavannan huffed and laid across the top of the royal carriage, looking away.
“Fine… and thank you for your concern. As you said, I am worried.”
Night Flash felt the tension leave his shoulder blades as Book Binder’s smile became more genuine.
“I know you are, but trust in General Bright. He’s gotten us through one battle, he’ll get us through another.”
*****
“So General, if you do not mind my asking-” Celestia started.
“I do mind,” Elias said. “But I’m sure that won’t stop the question.”
He glanced to his left, finding the white alicorn completely flabbergasted. The sight brought a smile to his face.
“I’m messing with you Princess.” As he looked back to the road, his feet fell in the same cadence they had for the last few hours, and the alicorn visibly relaxed, a somewhat nervous smile on her face.“What would you like to know Princess?” he asked. “I’m sure sitting in a supply cart instead of the royal carriage does get quite boring.”
“In some ways,” Celestia said. She glanced around at the columns of marching ponies, all of whom were clad in silver. “But I quite like being amongst my ponies, even for a short spell.” She sat up a touch straighter and smiled at him. “My question is simple; what is your plan to get us to Saraj in time? We seem to be moving no quicker, yesterday, nor today.”
“That would be because we aren’t moving quicker,” Elias said. “Saraj will keep until we get there on our normal schedule; in nine days.”
Celestia stared at him for a long moment, then finally said;
“You have a plan for feeding the city.”
“I have a plan for making sure the city doesn’t starve to death, yes.” He side-eyed her. “A plan I’d rather not speak about without silence spells. The trees have ears.”
Celestia’s smile again returned, and she turned around, rifling through her saddlebags. After a moment, she drew out a short golden rod with a purple crystal at it’s base. She settled it between her fore-hooves, then tapped the crystal. A small bubble of blue magic slowly expanded until it engulfed the wagon. The pair of legionaries pulling the wagon glanced up at the bubble, then back to Elias, who glanced at Celestia.
“Speak freely Elias, nopony can pierce Starswirl’s Silent Veil.” She tapped the rod. “This little artifact has frustrated Luna to no end, but it was perfect for when I needed a little nighttime snack without her interrupting.” She waved a hoof. “Talk freely my friend.”
Elias left unsaid how much she was assuming and spoke instead about his plan.
“You’ll notice that Adiutor Snowball and Elder Stone Hoof are no longer with us. I sent them ahead, and secured minor food aid from Queen Flos. Enough to keep the city from falling.”
“Flos violated her neutrality?” Celestia gasped. “How did you convince her to get involved?”
Elias glanced the alicorn’s way.
“I didn’t. I made a deal with her son, and in exchange he promised to ransom off Stone Horn to his elder son in exchange for allowing the lovelings in and around Saraj to bring in as much food as they can carry. Seeing as they can transform into something as large as a manticore, they should be able to haul in quite a bit.”
“Still, I could get no such commitment last time I spoke with her,” Celestia said, bobbing her head in an appreciative nod. “What did you offer Prince Nyx?”
Elias frowned.
*****
“He’s going to be my love donator, he really is!” Snowball crowed, bounding around Stone Horn. “Elias is going to be my love donator forever and ever! Designated too! All of that tasty love and wonderful cuddles will be mine, all mine! Sun Eyes said she’ll get my room all set up, oh, I’ll have to get more pillows in Saraj! The fluffy thestral ones! And books, my designated donator loves his books! I’ll clear out the entire Saddle Arabian library if I have to!”
He continued to cackle and bounce as an unnerved Stone Hoof tried to remain well clear of the giddy, rambling loveling.
*****
“Too much,” Elias said, his eyes narrowed and his cheeks flushing slightly. “But now I don’t have to modify our schedule any more than I was already going to. If this Gelsey of yours is any good a ruler, she’ll make the food last as best she can. We can have pegasi carry bundles of grass over whatever siege fortifications the minotaurs have built when we get there. That will keep the city fed well enough while we end the siege.”
Elias let out a deep breath.
“Have to say, wings make things a lot easier. There are a lot of things that can be solved with flying. Then again, I clearly need to avoid using it too often.”
“Why is that Elias? If what I hear about Night Flash is true, he wants you to be more in tune with the pegasi, not less.”
Elias focused on a point in the road.
“Reliance on your natural abilities made you lazy and complacent. I’m not arrogant enough to think the same wouldn’t happen to me. Best to stay innovative, even if it’s just in technique.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the white alicorn fluff up with indignation.
“Our gifts are what have kept us safe and ahead those who would wish us harm,” Celestia said. “I understand you might be a touch jealous-”
“No more than any earth pony,” Elias cut in. “How about it Hammered Steel, you jealous of pegasi? Want a pair of wings for your own?”
“No General,” one of the earth ponies pulling the wagon said. “Though I wouldn’t mind a horn. Never was a fan of burning the fur from hooves.”
The mare beside him scoffed and shoved him gently.
“Then you should wear your gloves doofus.”
“And around my muzzle when I have to use a shaping hammer? I only have fur on my muzzle because I haven’t been in a smithy in months!”
Before the two could set to bickering, Celestia cleared her throat, drawing their eyes backward.
“You two know each other?” the alicorn asked.
Hammered Steel glanced back and nodded.
“Applelosa, Princess, born and raised. I stayed behind for a long while making horseshoes.”
“Lost the accents when I moved to Canterlot to join the Solar Guard,” the mare said. “So most ponies don’t know.”
“Aw shucks sugarcube, but ya know we can get ‘em raight back if ya just embrace that burn in yer applebuckers!” Hammered Steel said with a laugh.
The mare shoved him again.
“Stop, yer gonna make me relapse. I worked hard to not sound like a hick!”
“Don’t be ashamed of yer hometown now missy,” Hammered Steel teased. “What would yer ma say if her darling Apple Leaf sounded like some Canterlot city slicker?”
“Ah’ll have ya’ll know that those city slickers ain’t half bad!” Apple Leaf snapped in full southern drawl. Her ears twitched, then she let out a dismayed squeal. “Dang it Steel, yer makin me look silly in front of th’ princess!”
The stallion chuckled and dropped the accent.
“It didn’t take long either. Ma will be happy that you’re still a country girl at heart.”
Apple Leaf huffed and rolled her eyes.
“Ah’m still not ready for foals, and that numbskull Acorn colt she tried to set me up can take his proposal and shove it straight up his-”
“I thought you sounded familiar Apple Leaf,” Celestia cut in. “In fact, I remember your first day with the Solar Guard.” She smiled and tapped her chin with a hoof. “I believe we were walking to the gardens, and one of the other new guards sent a teasing remark your way.” Her smile dropped a touch. “I had to punish him on his first day, he quit not soon after unfortunately, such wasted potential, but anyway-” she smiled at the mare “-I think what I said that day still applies.”
She wiggled forward, and Apple Leaf turned back just a touch more to look the alicorn in the eye as she continued.
“I think your accent is beautiful, and that you have nothing you need to hide,” Celestia said, leaning forward, and lowering her voice, as if she was trying to whisper conspiratorially in the mare’s ear. “Your accent is shared by your distant cousin Applejack, is it not?”
“We’re five times removed,” Apple Leaf muttered. “Barely even part of the Apple family.”
“I think as an Apple you know that isn’t true,” Celestia said. “And as brave as you are, I think our dear element bearer would be nothing but honest if she said she was proud to be related to you.”
Apple Leaf blushed and looked away.
“Oh shush Princess, Applejack probably doesn’t even know my name.”
“Regardless, she would be proud, and you should feel proud of your heritage, both of you should.” Celestia offered a smile and a nod to Hammered Steel. “I’m certainly proud to have a pair of brave Appleoosans protecting me. It always makes me smile when ponies don’t have to hide who they are.”
“But I can also understand a desire to fit in,” Celestia continued. “So if it makes you uncomfortable, by all means, don’t feel pressure from me to use your home accent, but perhaps once this march is over and you become guards once more, you can have throne room duty together, and you can talk in whatever accent you so choose, free from any worries.”
Elias’ eyes narrowed even as Hammered Steel and Apple Leaf blushed, silently appreciating such a thought. The shared glances with each other, but said no more, merely trotted along, their chests puffed out a little higher. Celestia beamed at the pair, then looked his way. She tilted her head when she met his frown.
“Is something wrong Elias?”
He stared at her for a long second, then spoke.
“Is that really the fate of my legion? All that effort, to just be absorbed back into the guard? Full offense, but my legionaries are a cut above any of the guard forces. They aren’t police, they’re soldiers.”
“Without a war to fight,” Celestia replied. “We can discuss this more later, and of course your legionaries will not be without their earned honors, but to answer your question; yes. Rejoining with the guard forces would do much to ease them back into a peacetime mindset.”
“And you think everyone on your borders is just going to let that happen?” Elias asked. “Princess, I produced the finest war machine your world has seen, and we let the minotaur survivors leave. They are going to talk, and word will spread.” He snorted and smirked, the motion melancholic with memory. “You don’t leave a battlefield that bloody without someone taking notice, and we’re marching to do it again.”
He coughed, then spat into the dirt, reaching for his canteen. His throat was dry.
“Cost of war Princess; big fish will take notice when you win. Happened to me, got my friends killed. It’s why I questioned this plan from the start, but well, we see how that turned out.”
A sigh escaped the white alicorn.
“Elias, I would prefer you do not hold that over me. I still support this march, and I support my initial recommendations for my generals. To do otherwise would dishonor those that have already fallen, no matter the… questionable nature of Lionheart’s actions.”
“Questionable is an understatement,” Elias spat. “He willingly tried to submit the battlefield to get his rivals killed. He nearly succeeded.”
“I am painfully aware Elias, but I will not let his foolish shortsightedness and jealousy color my judgment.”
Elias snorted, rolling his eyes.
“Your judgment doesn’t matter in this situation Princess. Lionheart and his stooges are going to be tried by a court of their peers, namely me, at least until Nightshade is back on her feet. Their guilt is obvious, so it really just comes down to how I want to punish them.” He tilted his head. “Which, until now, I haven’t had the time to give thought to. Really, deciding is just about creativity. Lionheart is definitely going to die, but how long will that take, and how humiliating should I make it?”
“Elias, I do not like this kind of-”
“Could have each of the Solar Guards hit him as hard as they can, he did directly betray them after all,” Elias continued, ignoring the white alicorn. “That’d take a long time though, and lots of ponies probably don’t have the stomach for all the whimpering there will be. Of course a gag could remedy that issue, but then we’d need a blindfold as well, so he can’t do those eyes you lot do…”
Celestia looked to the pair of legionaries.
“So, Appleloosa. Have you spoken to your families of late? How are they-”
“I have a long list of human options available, though a lot of them do require special equipment,” Elias said. “I’m not really of a mind to waste resources on a one use toy, so I’m thinking something a touch more traditional. Whipping could be a good opener, then hang him. Flaying is another option, again finished with a hanging. I would suggest drowning, but personally, that’s too terrible a way to die. It would be testing whatever gods you have here to drown someone else. My luck, that’s how I’d go, and I have got to say, I’d rather not.” He shivered. “Almost went that way a couple times. Makes me glad I know how to swim.”
Celestia hid her head in her hooves, doing her best to cover her ears.
“Elias, please stop.”
He briefly debated doing so, then decided that she didn’t look uncomfortable enough.
“Could burn him to death, but again, there’s a stomach issue there. A traitor’s death needs to be witnessed, to discourage others. Fire makes people scream in a way nothing else can.” He chewed on his lip for a moment, then shrugged. “Back pocket maybe. Of course, there is always my name sake, the blood-”
“ENOUGH!” Celestia bellowed, rocking the wagon as she shot to her hooves.
Elias grinned as he glanced at her; she was almost half her usual height. The reserving of magic had impacted her most of all. There was no blinding aura about her, no mighty wings that blocked out the sun and threatened envelopment. The way her pink mane fell, the way her legs quivered with exhaustion, it almost made her look like she was afraid.
Elias reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled a piece of jerky.
“You’re right, Princess. I don’t want to stain my new image by bringing something ugly like torture into it, but at the same time, Lionheart is going to suffer for what he did. You have my word on that.”
Celestia let out a long breath and resumed her seat.
“He will be punished severely, yes. On that we can agree Elias, but…” She closed her eyes and shuddered. “No more of this talk, please. Violence has it’s place, but to speak of it so flagrantly concerns me.”
Elias snorted and again looked forward to the road.
“You would not have liked me when I was younger then. Constant swearing and threats of violence. I thought it made me sound threatening, which, to some people, it was. To the really dangerous ones though, not so much. Got more than a few nasty scars from them.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a hoof reach out, but after a moment hanging in the space between them, it withdrew, and Celestia let out a sigh.
“I am truly sorry Elias, but your world sounds terrible. I wish when you arrived here we could have… given you something better.”
“You put me in a place where ponies used their natural fuzziness to prey on my vulnerabilities. I’ll leave unsaid how much I appreciate not fighting for every meal and scrap of shelter. How much more of a fresh start could you have given?”
“Magic is a powerful thing Elias,” Celestia said. “It might have taken some difficulty, given your apparent lack of a magical soul, but I think that perhaps Night Flash and Book Binder could have had a touch more realism to their…”
She looked to the ponies pulling the wagon. She cleared her throat, drawing their eyes back.
“Would you mind not sharing our discussion kind ponies? I do not wish to expose General Bright’s private affairs.”
“That’s an ill kept secret,” Elias grumbled. “And these two know better than to talk.” His eyes narrowed as he stared at the back of Hammered Steel’s head. “Legion doctrine states that I execute spies.”
The stallion glanced back and winked.
“Secret’s safe as it ever was General, though I think the sign up list is making it’s rounds of 2nd Cohort.” When Elias’ lips tightened into a frown, the stallion let out a nervous chuckle. “Not a word General. We’re not even here.”
“We’re finished regardless,” Celestia said smoothly. “What is past is past, and plans are already in motion which I will not disrupt.” She looked toward Elias and smiled. “I hope that when this march is finished, all of your rewards are worth what you have lost. I merely wished that all of this-” she waved a hoof at the column “-had not been necessary. Perhaps had I taken a different approach, had I known more about the nature of your former world, I would have done more to help. Perhaps without your unique skills on our side, this journey would never have begun.”
Elias closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Are you suggesting that all of those ponies died because I’m here?”
Silence reigned in the magical bubble for a long moment, then Celestia finally spoke, her voice low and filled with apology.
“I didn’t mean to suggest that Elias. You merely fight with a savage nature that isn’t natural to ponies, and you also inspire ponies. We were right to trust you to build a new guard force, and you have done an amazing job at that. I was merely stating that had we not had you, perhaps we would have tried another solution.”
Elias opened his eyes and stared hard at the horizon for a long moment. The sun was past it’s zenith; they would be stopping fairly soon. Then the hard work would begin, but at least it would keep him nice and busy.
“Drop your barrier Princess. I’m done talking for the day. Hammered Steel, Apple Leaf, a word of what you’ve heard today, and I’ll have you both executed and your heads sent to Appleloosa.”
“Yes General,” they both barked, focusing hard on the road in front of them.
He could feel Celestia’s eyes on him, even as she deactivated her magical rod. The bubble around them vanished. Still, her eyes didn’t leave him, until finally she asked;
“You mentioned your namesake, what did you mean? Does ‘Elias’ mean something, or is it perhaps the ‘Bright’?”
“You’ve seen the tattoo on my back.”
“Once in passing. It is the image of a red eagle embedded in the style of a minotaur tattoo, is it not?”
Elias nodded.
“That was supposed to change the meaning of the name I earned. My friend Bevin suggested it. Move me away from my violent past and all that.”
“But before?”
Elias’ eyes flicked toward the alicorn.
“I learned about one of the most vicious torture methods known to man and used it liberally. I’ll spare you further details. Stomach and all that.”
Celestia swallowed, and now Elias found that she did look somewhat afraid. Her wings tucked a little tighter around her body, and she shifted ever-so-slightly away from him. He looked forward to the road again, his eyes splashed with sights of glistening red, and his ears ringing with long silenced screams.
“Did you truly need to be so savage to survive on your world?” she asked, her voice at a whisper.
Elias’s gaze fell from the slowly setting sun, and he stared at the dirt beneath his sandals. He could almost hear Luna asking him to get along with her sister. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to stay in the white alicorn’s good graces with all the plans swirling around, at least one of which involved a certain blue alicorn.
“Do you know the definition of the word apocalypse, Princess?”
“Perhaps not by the textbook, but a general knowledge, yes. It is a word used to define the end of the world.”
“In certain religions,” Elias said. “But the textbook definition is; “an event involving destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale”. On a human scale, that means countless human lives, gone. People you know, plenty you don’t. Those that survive whatever initial horror are left to suffer a world that is… damaged.” He glanced her way, his bad eye glinting in the sunlight. “I lived through two of them; three if you count… certain events.” He scratched at his scarred cheek, noticing a touch of confusion in Celestia’s eyes. “But you don’t know about that little story, at least you shouldn’t. Regardless, do you have any idea what that does to a person? Especially a kid who loses his family, dysfunctional as it was? Every experience becomes the teacher your father couldn’t be, and believe me when I say that I learned savagelessons. Lessons that I put to use.”
“So then sending you to Twilight would have been the best decision,” Celestia murmured. “She could have taught you many lessons about the wonder that is friendship.”
Elias’ lip curled in disgust.
“Are you telling me the friends I have aren’t good enough?”
Celestia’s eyes flicked to meet his, and he found a brief pass of amusement in the magenta orbs.
“I’m glad to hear the rumors about those relationships are false. I had heard that you had purposely destroyed them as a form of self-protection.”
“That measure was only temporary, and that was for your march,” Elias said. He bit his tongue, trying to conjure happy thoughts so he didn’t start digging into the white alicorn. His friends were a vulnerable subject for him, and every little comment dug at him in a way that immediately brought out his worst. Luckily, Celestia was smart enough to know she was trying to tease about a sensitive subject. She bowed her head.
“Apologies General, I didn’t mean to devalue, nor belittle your friendships. They are beautiful things that I wish you only the best in. I was merely considering what could have happened had you went with Twilight to Ponyville.”
Scarlet might still be alive.
Elias did his best to ignore the intrusive thought.
“I probably would have run into the Everfree as soon as she turned her back,” he said. “Lived out a few days as a hermit until some lucky manticore decided to rip me in two.” He sighed. “Probably better that way.”
“You believe it better that you had died in the Everfree?”
By the tone of her voice, Elias thought Celestia sounded genuinely aghast at the idea of his untimely death.
“I believe it would have been better had this plan of yours not gone ahead,” Elias said, glancing at the alicorn, checking to see if the concern was at all genuine. “And the thought comes to mind that if I hadn’t been here for you to rely on, then maybe this plan wouldn’t have done so.”
Celestia’s concerned frown certainly looked real. Her eyes flicked up and down him in an analytical way, but the shape of her brow as she frowned at him almost reminded him of Luna’s frowns. Despite the obvious similarities, he had never really thought about how Celestia and Luna were alike, mostly because he saw very little of the elder sister. Idling on the thought, Elias found he liked life better that way. Dealing with an alicorn worried for his health and safety was more than enough, he didn’t need the judgmental half watching his every move as well.
“Elias, I cannot say that I like this… theory of yours,” Celestia said. “I like to think you could have built a wonderful life in Ponyville, full of light, and love-” a sly smile spread across her muzzle “-and one filled with plenty of pony cuddling no doubt.”
“And the ponies on this march?” Elias asked. “Am I to take comfort in the knowledge that in this alternate reality of yours, I didn’t know them when they died?”
Celestia let out a light sigh.
“In that regard… I cannot say, my friend. Perhaps your are right, perhaps without you here this march may have gone different. Lionheart’s treachery in particular seems… personally motivated. As for the minotaur tribes-”
“You scared them by expanding your army and giving it to a largely unknown creature who’s only well-known act was massacring changelings,” Elias said, finishing her thought. “I liked studying history Princess, I’m aware of the effects military expansion can have. Unfortunately, sometimes power acts as an attractant, not a deterrent and you lost the coin-toss.”
He glanced her way, seeing a touch of guilt in posture. She slumped just slightly, and her wings fluttered in a depressed sort of nervousness that drew out his soft side. He internally sighed in disgust before he spoke.
“Don’t beat yourself up too much,” he said, rolling his eyes forward so as to not let her see them. “The fact that the minotaurs had enough unity to form two armies is a sign that in all likelihood, they were going to attack something. You don’t build up manpower if you don’t intend to throw it at something.”
“But they could have gone south to fight in the zebra wars,” Celestia said. “Or we might have been able to hire the more peaceable among them to assist with some great, unifying construction project on our shared border. I…” She swallowed, then held her head up, staring forward. “I should have done more as Princess. I should have talked to the tribal chieftains, sent royal delegations to each tribe with gifts to-”
“Ah, the old bribe for peace, I’m actually surprised you didn’t try that,” Elias said. “Rich non-warrior societies usually go that route, but I guess I was enough to change your mind on that front.”
“Yes, you were,” Celestia mumbled. “Equestria is a place of peace, and happiness, but for ponies with ill-intent in their hearts, that makes us weak. You say you enjoy history, then I’m sure you’ve studied some of ours?”
“Some,” Elias said. “But some of it is lost on me; your historians are mostly unicorns, and they can’t help but write with their horns sometimes. Magic this, spell form that. There are ley lines that might have influenced Commander Hurricane’s morning nap, and for some reason that’s what won her the battle over the gryphons, not superior use of a numerically inferior force. It must be the magic that won the battle, not at all the grit and intelligence of the ponies fighting it.”
His hand clenched and unclenched as he tried to cool his irritation, but it was history, and a more innocent part of him couldn’t help but feel enraged at a mis-telling.
“And I’ll have you know that I will be writing this history book for this march. There will be no mention of ley lines, or how the stars aligned, or how a unicorn raking through a pile of rocks a thousand miles from here affected the rotation of the planet by a centimeter. It will be an accurate retelling of the brave, strong ponies who fought for a piece of ground and won it against a numerically superior force, and nobody will be allowed to dilute it with garbage about fucking magic.”
He drew in a breath, then let it out in a great huff. As his vision came back, he was surprised to find Celestia smiling at him. The alicorn positively beamed, sitting high in her seat. Elias glanced away from the alicorn, but found more eyes looking his way. The legionaries marching around him were walking a little taller, and those that weren’t hiding smiles were openly glancing his way, grins on their muzzles. He felt a touch of heat flood his cheeks, and he looked back to Celestia, who nodded enthusiastically.
“I will be very excited to see this journey from your eyes Elias,” she said. “And rest assured, yours shall be the primary account in the royal library, and should you wish it, I know some very good historical writers that would be happy to-”
She paused as Granite trotted up, offering Elias a sharp salute before falling in step with the human.
“Adiutor Book Binder wants to know when we’re stopping for the night, and also asks on behalf of Aabhavannan if there is any way we can pick up our pace, as he’s concerned we’re not moving fast enough.”
“I don’t care what his concerns are,” Elias snorted. “We’ll get to Saraj when we get to Saraj, and if he has a problem with that, he can either run ahead, or he can start pulling a wagon. He gets to complain about our speed when he helps us move faster, and frankly, I’m disappointed that you’re back here wasting my time with this when one of my officers should have told him that to his face.”
Granite shrank just slightly, but his tail wagged with hope as he added:
“First Centurion Night Flash said something similar, General, if that’s any consolation.”
“And did he tell Aabhavannan to get off his lazy ass and pull a-”
“Elias, that is inappropriate,” Celestia scolded. “Aabhavannan is merely worried for his family, and he has done something; he arrived here with his message after all, and he wore his hooves to nothing to do it.”
“And he took away valuable healing from the ponies who fought and died to keep you safe, and who even still march to fight a battle for his people.,” Elias said. “He could at least attempt to be grateful. He should trust your trust in me.”
He gave a sly grin the alicorn’s way.
“You do trust me, right?”
Again a hoof reached out, but this time it made nervous contact with his shoulder, applying the slightest bit of pressure in what he imagined was supposed to be a playful shove. The hoof shot away when Elias raised an eyebrow. Celestia coughed, blushing heavily and looking away.
“Of course I trust you Elias, you jest! Ha ha!”
Elias cocked his head slightly.
“Did you just pronounce a la-”
“Jokes are meant to be laughed at!” Celestia defended.
“With laughter,” Elias said. “Not whatever that was. You laugh worse than I do.”
“Oh do show us how much better your laughter is,” Celestia said, her awkward look quickly shifting into a grin. “I think I haven’t heard you laugh often enough of late.”
“One, that’s because I’m serious about my job,” Elias said. “Two, Now is neither the time or the place, and I only laugh when I want to, not when I’m pressured, and three-” he looked toward Gray Granite “-we can keep going a while longer. Go check on Nightshade. She came off her pain spells today and she’s been quiet. Check in with First Centurion Flash after and starting prepping to stop.”
The earth pony gave him a short silent nod, then trotted toward the rear of the column. Elias stared forward, focusing on his feet plodding forward, rather than the alicorn smiling at the side of his head.
He didn’t look her way as he said; “Stop staring at me.”
“I request a laugh Elias,” Celestia said. “Or at least a nice smile. A lovely smile from you would certainly brighten the morale of your legionaries, would it not?”
Her eyes drifted just slightly, as did Elias’. He glared at the back of Apple Leaf’s head, noticing an energetic waggle in her tail.
“And any legionaries found trying to goad out laughter will be suspended from a tree for an hour tonight.” The tail waggled again. “Upside down”
The tail finally stopped, but Celestia only giggled.
“Idle threats my friend,” she said. She then turned back to Elias. “Now come Elias, give us a smile. I have heard many speak fondly of it.”
“Smiles are earned Princess.”
“I can tickle you if you’d like. Or perhaps a joke? One of Twilight’s friends got me a rather large joke book for Hearth’s Warming, and I-”
Elias closed his eyes and sighed as the white alicorn began to rifle through her saddlebags.
******
Nightshade whimpered as the wagon hit another rock. She hated the road, hated how rough and uncaring it was. Couldn’t it see what had happened? Couldn’t it see what she had already suffered? Why couldn’t the ride just be smooth, and soft, and swaddled against a strong, fuzzy chest…
Nightshade sniffled and turned over wrapping a burlap covered bundle in her wings. It was cold, it was always cold, had it always been cold? Her head hurt, and her thoughts were… fuzzy. And not the good kind. Not the fluffy alicorn kind, or was it human? Were humans fuzzy? Elias had been naked that one time, and that had really got her…
Another bump jolted her thoughts, and she whimpered, clinging tighter to her burlap bundle. Her belly still hurt, and the bandages made it clear that her best fluff was largely gone. She still had her chest tuft, but all of that soft belly fur, how could she spoil her stallion without it?
But that isn’t a problem, is it? she asked herself. You don’t have a stallion, because you’re a weak, worthless little bat who couldn’t even keep your best friend safe.
A smell touched her nose, and Nightshade weakly sniffed after it. It was faint, but she detected hints of sweat and… She sighed softly, relaxing her grip.
“My stallion…” she mumbled.
But, her thoughts warned, her stallion wasn’t alive anymore. She had failed him, had let him die. He had been there, watching over her, then…
Nightshade hissed as hooves pressed against her belly, further staunching the hack bandage job Elias had done.
“I mean really, you’d figure with all of that training, he would have gotten better at bandaging up ponies!”
Midnight Chaser snorted, affectionately rubbing her mane with a hoof, his good side facing her. She had seen it briefly when he had been led in, but her stallion was hurt, badly. Nightshade already felt a deep burning anger in her belly, she had failed. She was an alpha mare, had left the life of being some house-bat, only to let her chosen mate suffer, and then she had to be scolded by one of her friends who was almost half her age! And he had the nerve to tell her to stay behind while he did the fighting!
Her ears flicked as shouts began to echo from outside the carriage. The sounds of fighting quickly began again, and all eyes turned outward, some nervously, some not so.
Bloody Bandage huffed and used her teeth to rip the bandage in half. She tucked it properly, then got to her feet, plopping on her helmet and grabbing her sword.
“Remember General Bright’s orders,” she told Chaser. “You’re in no state to fight, and you need to be here in-case you all need to make a run for it.” She looked up to Celestia. “Princess, it’s been an honor serving you.”
Celestia swallowed, then put on the fakest, yet somehow warmest smile Nightshade had ever seen.
“And it has been a pleasure to have you Royal Guardspony Bandage. I wish you well, and if we do not see each other again on this plane, then perhaps in the Verdant Fields.”
Bloody Bandage gave her another nod, then sprinted outside, slamming the makeshift door closed behind her. Nightshade winced as Chaser shifted behind her, wrapping her protectively with a wing. Despite the burning shame it made her feel at being the weaker of their pair, she couldn’t help but feel comforted in his warm embrace. His feathers were still wonderfully soft, and he was so warm.
She closed her eyes and leaned against him, doing her best to ignore the increasingly violent sounds coming from outside. Instead, she focused on nuzzling his chest, so fluffy and warm…
She let out a yelp of pain as something slammed into the carriage, throwing it’s occupants from side to side. The fluff at her back shifted away. Nightshade cracked her eyes open to see Midnight Chaser moving away, while Luna slid into his place. Nightshade cooed as softer feathers embraced her, but she had eyes only for her stallion as he limped toward the carriage door.
The sounds of fighting got louder as the grey pegasus cracked open the door, gazing outside with a frown.
“What was that?” Cadence whispered. “Are we winning?”
Chaser slowly shook his head.
“I can’t tell, but it’s not going well. Lots of minotaurs back here. General Bright is down.”
Nightshade felt a pressure in her chest, felt it mirrored in Luna’s voice.
“Down?”
“I think he’s what hit the carriage,” Chaser said. “Warchief Stone Horn is wiping the floor with some of Bright’s legionaries…” He winced as the loud sound of a crunch filled the carriage. “He’s going to die if I don’t do something.”
Celestia inched forward, feebly trying to paw the pegasus back into the carriage.
“General, come back and rest. You are injured, and I fully trust Elias to achieve victory. He has survived grievous wounds before, and he will do so again. He is strong in a way that we are not and we must trust that strength.”
Chaser shook off the alicorn, his good eye narrowing.
“Stone Horn just threw Bright’s last defender into the wind. Nopony else is watching this. He’s going to die.”
Nightshade felt another palpitation of pain at the stallion’s words, but she knew that look in his eye, and another part of her, perhaps a weaker part, drew a whimper from her throat.
“C-come back Chase,” she said. “E-Elias is strong. H-he can…”
She coughed, trying to seem as pitiful as possible to draw the stallion away from the door. If she could just break his sight line. Elias was strong, he had handled worse. He… he didn’t need to be protected right now. Chaser was hurt, he needed-
Nightshade cooed as Chaser nuzzled her cheek, and she smiled with hazy eyes up at him. He smiled back.
“Keep the princesses safe for me, alright snuggle-bat? Stay here and make sure everypony stays safe.”
Nightshade’s smile slowly dropped, and she pawed at his chest, even as he slipped away.
“D-don’t, Chase, you’re hurt! You can’t go back out there! I-” She grit her teeth and tried to push up, but a sharp, breath-stealing pain raced through her belly, and she collapsed against Luna, gasping for air. Still she said; “I’ll go. Stay here, I can…. I can….”
She panted as Luna stroked her chest. The blue alicorn looked to her sister, who rose to her feet, her eyes focused solely on Nightshade’s desperate gasps.
“No more of this,” she hissed. She looked to Midnight Chaser. “Remain here General. I will use but a touch of my stored power, and I will put an end to this fight in one swift blow. No more will die-”
Chaser flared his wings, snarling as he stomped forward, forcing the white alicorn to retreat.
“Those ponies aren’t dying out there for us to fail,” he snapped. “How long will the three of you be stuck in Saraj while waiting for a “touch” of power to come back?”
Celestia tried to stand tall, but quickly shrank when Chaser growled, wordlessly demanding an answer.
“Two to three months,” Celestia admitted. “The magic must be drawn in and stored evenly to make sure the portal remains equally stable throughout it’s lifetime. One misfire could shave thousands of years off it’s use.”
“I won’t let ponies die for a half-baked portal,” Chaser growled. “And I’m sure General Bright feels the same. You’re staying here, and I’m going out to help him.”
Nightshade looked up to Luna. She had been in the guard when the alicorn had returned, had been the only thestral at the time. She didn’t know why, but she just knew the lunar princess would return, and she had been on guard when the blue alicorn had been carried to her prepared chamber after the Elements had freed her of her age old hate. She had been there that first morning, had escorted Luna everywhere throughout the castle. She had helped with every little want and need, doing her best to honor her people by making sure the lunar goddess knew how loved she was.
It was only later that the goddess had shown herself to be just as much a pony as she was. It hadn’t been the first night where Nightshade had listened to the soft sounds of crying coming from the royal bedroom. She had spent weeks watching the alicorn realize how different everything was, and despite her best efforts, Luna had been so lonely, even as she hired new servants, and a tidal wave of new guards. That night though, that night she had lifted the beaked face-plate of her new, yet ancient helmet, and she had taken a daring step. She entered the princess’s room without invitation, and she had asked a simple question.
‘Do you want to talk?’
Nightshade was Luna’s oldest friend, had been since that day. They talked every night, and Nightshade went above and beyond making sure her princess was loved on a personal level. They had grown close. They remained close even after she had been promoted. She had served tirelessly, never asking for a single thing, always happy to just make her princess happy.
Today she pleaded, begged for only one thing.
“Stop him,” she whimpered. “Please, make him stay.”
Luna swallowed as she met her eyes, then she looked up.
“General Chaser, I am ordering you to-”
The door drifted open slightly in a fall breeze, and words from the battlefield drifted in.
““Not bad Bright,” a minotaur said. “Got a new scar or two, that’ll look good at tonight’s celebration. ‘specially when I have your head to go with ‘em.”
Chaser’s eyes flicked out, then back to Luna and Nightshade. He darted forward, planting a kiss on Nightshade’s cheek.
“Sorry snuggle-bat, but I already almost killed him once. I won’t let him die because I stood by and watched.”
Nightshade managed to wrap a hoof around his neck, but there was no strength behind the limb.
“Stay,” she whispered.
“Go to the Keepers now,” the minotaur said.
Chaser smiled, then nuzzled her cheek.
“I’ll see you soon snuggle-bat. Stay safe for me.”
Then he darted away, even as Luna cried out – “General don’t!”
Nightshade felt herself begin to fade as more talk came from outside, but she couldn’t really here it. She was so focused on the tingle her Chase had left on her cheek…
Nightshade jolted awake as a hoof touched her wing. She glanced toward the new light source to find a tall, gray stallion. Her heart leaped in her chest, and a wide grin spread on her muzzle.
“Chase!”
She leapt at the stallion, her eyes filled with tears of joy. She heard yelps of pain as they bounced off of somepony’s back, but didn’t care. Warmth filled her as she took in the stallions scent. She couldn’t feel his fluff, could only feel armor, but that was normal! On her heat nights, they had always started in armor, then slowly worked out of it to-
“Um, General?”
Nightshade blinked blearily in the late-afternoon sun. Some of the fog lifted from her head, and she glanced around to find lots of silver-clad ponies staring at her as they marched on by. A wagon had pulled off to the side of the road, and the quartet of ponies pulling it stared back at her with open concern. Nightshade a little twinge in her belly, realized she had likely just leapt clear from a wounded wagon. She blushed in embarrassment, but found that she didn’t care all that much. She might look a little stupid, but that was nothing compared to being with her…
She looked down to find a gray earth pony smiling nervously up at her. She stared at him for a long second, then leaned away, her brow furrowing in confusion. He… he smelled kind of like…
She looked around, her breaths coming quicker.
“C-Chase!” she called.
She knew instantly that the call would remain unanswered. She remembered what had happened, what she had taken to holding instead of her stallion. Pillows and blankets wrapped around tent poles, wrapped in a length of tarp. Chase was one wrapped body among hundreds. She had tried to find him so she could hold him a little longer…
Her eyes filled with tears, but she grit her teeth and shook them away. She was being a worthless sack of flour when she should be focusing on protecting her best friends. If only her nose would work right.
Nightshade felt a hoof on her forehead, and she opened her eyes to find the gray pony gently checking her temperature.
“Still a little warm,” he muttered. “I think you need some fresh air General, maybe another cooling spell. I think the fever is starting to fade, but I think Healer Kind Heart can make sure.”
Nightshade slapped his hoof away.
“I don’t need a nanny,” she snarled. “I need to be watching out for my stallion. Where’s Elias? Who’s watching his back right now? Is he walking? He should be in the royal carriage with his face buried in Luna’s-”
“General Bright is currently acting as escort to Princess Celestia, who wanted to sit in an open-air wagon for awhile,” the gray pony said. “And you need to rest, like he said to.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Are you trying to tell me how to do my job? I’m a General!”
“And I’m General Bright’s Centurion,” the gray pony said. “He’s in command, and he ordered you to rest until you were better. You don’t get to do anything until he says so.” His eyes narrowed. “And don’t think I won’t tie you down to enforce his order.”
Nightshade puffed herself up slightly, staring unflinchingly into his eyes. They were a lovely gray color, just like his fur. He was dirty, but clearly he was doing something to treat it, because he looked pretty fluffy. Not pegasus or thestral fluffy, but the attempt was there. Why though? So far as she knew, he didn’t have a…
Nightshade’s eyes widened with recognition, then she smiled.
“I remember you, you’re that quiet guard I interviewed, Gray Granite! I could barely get a word out of you, but you were friends with Elias! Didn’t I see you at the cuddle pile? Your fur is looking great.”
The gray earth pony blushed, but didn’t look away.
“I never got to the inner circle,” he grumbled. “But I was there. Been trying a new fur treatment to see if I could get closer next time…” He shook himself, blushing even heavier as his voice took a sharp turn. “That’s in the past, and General Bright has made it very clear-”
“I’m going to cuddle the buck out of him, and you will help,” Nightshade said. “He’s an idiot who needs all the help he can get to end up nice, cuddled, and safe. I’m going to find him right now to get him to stop for the night, because he’s too stupid to realize when he should be resting in fluff.” Her eyes narrowed. “Now are you going to stand in my way, or are you going to help me keep Elias safe?”
Granite stared at her for a long moment, then turned around.
“Get the supply wagon moving again. General Nightshade will be with me.”
The ponies pulling the wagon all nodded, then began their trek again, pulling the wagon back to the march with the rest of the column. The earthy pony then glanced back at her and nodded toward his back.
“Hop on. You can hop in with Princess Celestia once we get to that part of the column.”
Nightshade snorted, looking at the heavy-looking bag on his back. It was stacked with equipment, including a rather large shield and several spears.
“I can walk on my own. You look like you’re already carrying a pony’s worth of stuff.”
She snorted as his tail thwapped her nose. When she shot a glare at him, he merely raised an eyebrow.
“I wasn’t asking.”
Nightshade continued glaring at him for a long moment, then huffed and fluttered her wings.
“Great, Elias has a twin.”
She gave a flap, squeaking as her belly pulled lightly in pain, but she stuck the landing, sitting properly on the stallion’s back. He shifted slightly on his hooves, getting used to her weight, then he was off at a trot, passing the steady march of most ponies. Nightshade found herself surprised at how quick he could move, and she stuck her head down in front of his.
“Am I really that light?”
Granite shrugged in-step.
“I saw General Bright carry a full pack and a pony once. If he can do it without too much trouble, why can’t I?”
Nightshade snorted and rolled her eyes, settling back.
“Earth ponies. You and Elias need to stop focusing on strength and focus more on agility! You’ll never be able to fly if you’re so heavy.”
“And why would we want to do that?”
Nightshade’s smile brightened as that tall figure came into sight. She could see it, throwing him off a cliff with a glider. Could see his panic turning into joy at flight. Everybody wanted to fly, even if they didn’t have wings, and he would be no different, especially not if he sealed the deal with his alicorn mate. He’d fly with Luna alright, and she’d train him up, acting as his wing-mare the whole time. She wouldn’t let another one fall. She wouldn’t.
“Because everypony needs to fly at least once,” Nightshade said, relaxing as they drew closer and closer. She liked the steady hoof-falls of the earth pony beneath her, loved the faint scent of her human friend on the breeze. “It does them a lot of good. Even if they can’t see it.”
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The fact that NIghtshade just called Elias her stallion just makes me smile for his future with her and Luna by his side.
Perhaps if they turned him into a changeling first, they could put enough magic into his soul to transform him into something else
Happy belated birthday dude!
Great chapter as always.
I am curious how this, Elias-Luna-Nightshade sitiation is gonna turn out
11179203
For that, we would need to know if in this version of Equestria, poligamy (aka herds) are leagle. It certanly would do them all some good.
On a different note:
This is the best line I have ever read in a story.
Gentle
11179485
This was an excellent chapter, keep it up! Oh, and happy late Birthday!
Despite the heavy events, this was a cute chapter. You do such a good job of balancing the two ends of the spectrum.
dudes gonna need one wild break , before another war arc , he needs God knows he needs a huge rest . maybe the next arc will be him going out more in ponyville also happy late birthday!
Aww shizzle man, I started reading this a little over a week ago and I just haven't been able to stop reading since. One of the better stories I've read on here in a long time. Keep up the good work man!
Excited for new chapters.
11179398
true if it's not legal they couldn't make anything official/it be frowned upon... but nothings to say they can't come up with some sort of mutually beneficial arrangement. If Luna and Elias 'hang out' a lot, it wouldn't be weird for Luna's Guard Captain to be nearby..
I can see the whole Nightshade/Luna/Elias happening, but I also get some vibes of a Nightshade/Gray Granite.
"She looked down to find a gray earth pony smiling nervously up at her. She stared at him for a long second, then leaned away, her brow furrowing in confusion. He… he smelled kind of like…
She looked around, her breaths coming quicker.
“C-Chase!” she called.
I think this points to Gray smelling like chase, which could be a reason Nightshade is drawn to Gray later on(possible romance but could just mean they become only friends as well)
It also says:
"They were a lovely gray color, just like his fur."
So she at least finds some physical appeal to him. Not to mention Storm Chaser also had a gray mane(if i remember correctly)
And Gray Granite was blushing(not out romantic feelings or whatever but he still blushed!)
Pretty sure its supposed to be "and word will spread"
Should be hop instead of hope
Want to do that instead of want to that?
11182389
Fixed, fixed and fixed. Thank you for pointing those out
Man I was really starting to get into the story, but things took a weird turn when his friends suddenly turn into his parents. You have this lone badass who joined the guards and you could really do some fun stuff with that and instead you turned it into this? Even the ponies on the show aren't this lovey dovey BS.
11183970
Nobody said you had to read it. The author gets to decide every single detail in their story and if you don’t like it you’re welcome to try finding another, or even writing your own.
I’ll admit to having concerns over these mentions of ponification. It’s not a solution to anything, and would cause way more problems than it would solve. The constant mentions of it, as said, concern me, and I severely hope it’s not foreshadowing.
11183970
mate that was like 30 chapters ago why'd you stay if you don't like it?
11189947
Already have found better books and I have moved on. Too bad the story went the way it went .
11190517
I know it's hard to believe but not everyone has read up to the same chapter you have. I was 30 chapters behind you.
11191004
then why'd you come and comment on the latest chapter?
11191088
Why do you care?
11191112
because this is one of my favorite stories mainly.
11191252
If you comment on the main page,the comment appears in the comment section of the most recent chapter,instead of any given chapter you were in. Also,you shouldn't dismiss criticisms with "Don't like something don't read it". That's counter productive.
11189947
Not gonna lie,bad take bro,everyone can have their opinion. Don't like the comment? Don't read and reply. But ya did. That's what ya sound like uwu.
11223392
There's writing an opinion, and there's writing criticism. He chose the third option, which was being passive-aggressive to the author. That's why he got so much flak, and why I wrote my response.
I could take your comment and say it right back at you -_-
I've been spending the past few days just binge reading this story, and I absolutely love it, although I feel so bad for Elias with all the bullshit happening around him. Even if some people found it weird, I really like the idea of Book Binder and Night Flash becoming his parents, and I found it really sweet. I really hope that the march ends up as a success and that he can retire to be with Book Binder, Night Flash, and Luna. I really hope that he gets to have a good and happy life after this, with plenty of recovery from all of the terrible things he's been through. I also hope that Lionheart is punished and dealt with soon so that he can no longer be a threat to anyone.
I'm really looking forward to whenever the next chapter comes out though!
I hope the legion will not be torn off after the march. The effort put into it and the costs would be wasted. Plus, from the moment it was founded and Elias became its commander, that story moved from "good" to "very good". However, this is the author's decision and I simply express my opinion. I wish you continued great work.
PS: sorry for english but i use translator
I’d have thought he’d like crucifixion better