"Have you ever seen something like that?" Moore heard from out in the crowd of ponies who were staring. He looked down and tried to avoid any kind of eye contact with them. "Mommy, is he going to hurt us too?" He heard a young, fearful voice ask. "I don't know Freedom... I don't know." He heard in response. "Staff Sergeant?" Looking down, he saw Twilight stare up at him. Her eyes contained concern and worry. "Are you okay?" "Uh... Yeah... I'm uh... I'm fine." He looked away, not wanting her to see the obvious proof he was lying, his eyes. He heard a sigh, and continued to look down.
"And this is Sugar Cube Corner. It used to be the best sweets shop in town, but now it serves as a makeshift hospital. Since there are so many injuries, we need as many as we can get. Even if it means sacrificing something we all like." Pinkie said as she pointed at a building, seemingly made of gingerbread and candy. It would be a lot more cheery if plaques carrying names of the dead weren't on the front of the door.
"You. Creature." A low, deep voice said. Moore turned. Before him was a white pegasus, almost as tall as him, covered in golden armor. "What are you doing here?" He said as he eyed the man, distrust in his eyes. Moore just stared at him, not in wonder, but just a plain, blank stare. Being in a line up had taught him how to do that. "Answer me, beast." The pegasus said with a serious, hostile tone. By now, the six others had noticed what was going on. Moore cleared his throat. "I was escorting these ponies home. The purple one and the orange one." He said. The stallion (were pegasus males still called stallions?) squinted at him. "Well, they are home now. Be gone." He said sternly. "Now wait just a minute there! This feller here..." Applejack began, but the pegasus interrupted her. "This is not a matter for your say, this thing must leave. I do not trust these instruments it carries."
"Those are instruments? Do they sound like trumpets?" Pinkie asked as she eyed them. Moore stood his ground. "I saved their lives. You have no reason to make me leave." He said. The stallion whistled, and was instantly joined by ten more pegasai, each with their own golden armor. "We are the defenders of these ponies. Not you. Now be gone." "You call this defending them? Look at those plaques!" Moore shouted back. The stallion stepped forward, but was called off by a authoritative, calm, and still somehow gentle voice. "Commander, stand down." It said. The stallion backed away as a giant, full grown horse, with pegasus wings and a unicorn horn descended from the sky landing a few feet from the Staff Sergeant.
"Princess!" Rarity said with respect as she fell to the ground, bowing. Twilight walked over to her, and Celestia smiled. "Twilight my faithful student, I am glad to see that you are alright." Twilight smiled back and stood by her side. "Princess, I didn't know you were going to stop by." Celestia put a hoof on her student's shoulder. "I am checking in on the remaining villages to check on them. I wanted to help heal anypony I could." The princess looked at the creature, and whispered to her apprentice. "I see you have brought a visitor?" She asked. Twilight nodded and looked at him. "Are you this "Princess Celestia" that these six were talking about?" It asked. It had a masculine voice, even deeper than the commander's. She nodded. "You pig! Show the princess respect!" The commander shouted. "Commander." The princess said sternly. He backed down.
"An honor, I meant no disrespect." The creature said as it god down on one knee and bowed his head. Celestia walked closer him, and said, "At ease." He rose and tried to look away. The princess moved her head so he saw her anyway. "Yesterday, Twilight and Applejack went missing after they tried to discover the source of a mysterious light in the Everfree forest." She walked closer. "Did you help them get home?" She asked. "He did more that that your majesty." Twilight said as she walked back to her side. The Princess continued to smile, raising an eyebrow. "Oh?" "We got attacked by a group of Chaos Bringers, and he fought them off so we could escape. One almost killed me, but he ripped it off and took an injury to himself." She said as she smiled upon the creature.
Princess Celestia walked closer to him, making Moore back up a little. "What are you?" She asked with authority in her voice. Moore stared at the ground, then back to the princess. "I'm uh... a human." "What is your name?" She asked. Moore looked at the dog tags around his neck, and back to the mane of the strange, goddess like pony. How was it blowing without a breeze? He cleared his throat, and spoke as clearly as he could. "I'm John Moore. Staff Sergeant in the US Army Rangers." The princess nodded and backed away slightly. "I thank you Staff Sergeant Moore. So you are a soldier?" Moore looked away. "Are you unsure?" The unicorn/pegasus asked. Alicorn... he thought... that's what these things were called, right? He looked at the Alicorn and pondered what could be going through her mind. "Yes... I'm a soldier." He replied.
The Princess called for Twilight, who instantly responded. "How large was this horde of Chaos Bringers?" She asked. Twilight thought for a minute, she hadn't really thought about how large it had been. "I can't really say, but here had to be at least fifty. He killed a lot of them." The Princess nodded. Twilight wondered what she was thinking. "Staff Sergeant Moore, I thank you again for saving my little ponies. Allow me to ask a question. Would you give your life for anypony here? Even the commander?" She asked.
Moore looked at the stallion, who was still staring at him with distrust. He thought for a moment. Would he give his life for him? He was a lot like his captain back home, and if it meant the mission was a success, he gladly lay down his life for his cranky old captain. He sighed. "If it meant innocent lives could be saved, in a heartbeat." He said. The stallion was taken back by this, seemingly unsure of how to respond. The princess however, let out a satisfactory sigh, pleased. "That's all I needed to know." She said. Turning back to Twilight, she whispered something into her ear, causing Twilight to smile. "Of course." She said while nodding. The princess placed a hoof on Moore's shoulder. "John Moore, of the US Army Rangers, I would like you to be an official guardian for Ponyville, and the rest of Equestria." Moore stared in disbelief. The Alicorn backed away. Observing him carefully, he looked behind him, the other five ponies. They all stood there in shock.
"Well?" The Princess asked, waiting for her answer. The human looked up determination and fire in his eyes. With a solid voice, he replied; "It would be my honor." The commander growled as Twilight, Pinkie, and Applejack cheered, while the other three smiled. The Princess nodded. "Twilight will allow you to take shelter in her home, there is a guest room there that you can set up in. Welcome to Equestria Staff Sergeant." She said as she turned to the commander, motioning toward the sky. He gave a quick bow, and took off taking the others with him. The Princess smiled one last time, and disappeared into the sky. Twilight walked over and motioned to the Staff Sergeant. "Come on. We'll show you to where you're staying." She said with a smile on her face. Moore nodded and told her to lead the way.