The Centurion Project

by TheEighthDayofNight


Chapter 29: Shaken Resolve

Journal Entry

Day 2050

They shouldn’t be here. They shouldn’t care. I’m no better than an animal. They shouldn’t be taking care of me, shouldn’t be helping me at all. They’re going out of their way to make sure I get better, and I know better than to think they have the resources to do it. I keep trying to drive them away, but they won’t listen. They say I’m delirious, and I probably am, but they still need to leave. It isn’t safe out here. It’s never been safe out here. The village though… Well stocked, solid leadership, and plentiful numbers. Safety. As safe as you can get. Safer than some psycho with a broken leg, broken arm, broken ribs, broken collarbone…

They need to leave. It’s the only way they’ll survive. Damn them for their stubbornness, and damn me for my weakness, because I couldn’t bear to see them go.

Elias stared with dead eyes at the plate before him, the large steak decorating it looking entirely unappetizing despite his immense hunger. Three days had passed since the revelation that he had been scarred and now looked like some sort of monster, and they had been the longest three days he had experienced since he had come to Equestria.

Everyone he knew was gone. Scalpel, after finishing with the castle’s medical needs had quickly moved to Canterlot General, adding his talents to the pod freeing efforts there. It was there that they had found Scarlet Shield, but with such extended time in the cocoon, the pegasus was still in the recovery ward of the castle in an induced coma. He wasn’t supposed to wake up for another week, but Elias prayed that he would awaken earlier. As for all of his other guard friends, they were still out on changeling hunts, scouring Equestria for any more pockets of the nasty little bugs. From what little word he had gotten, at least three other cities had minor pockets of infiltrators, driving home the continued need for the guard forces to be out and about. All three forces were largely deployed, with only a few dozen guards left in Canterlot, primarily consisting of those freed from the pods, or those who had been injured like Elias had. The halls seemed empty, and far too quiet without the guards, and every day Elias spent endless hours wandering about, looking for a familiar face to talk too.

In the end, only Luna and Anyon had stayed behind. Anyon wasn’t available, as he was still working on the big secret order the princesses had given him. Said order was so important that Elias wasn’t even allowed to sit quietly in the smithy, something the human would have enjoyed, because then he could have at least been near somebody. As for Luna… Elias avoided her when he could. The more he looked at their “friendship” the more he realized that it wasn’t a friendship at all. She saw him as a project, something to fix, nothing more. Every conversation became a mission to get him to open up, and he found that he couldn’t talk with her. He just wanted to talk of nothing, or at the very least go back and forth, trading inner turmoil for something personal about the alicorn, but she never seemed willing, dismissing his concerns as extraneous as she tried to learn more about him. He couldn’t stand it, and so he did what he seemed to be doing a lot lately. He ran and hid, too much of a coward to stand up for himself.

As Elias stared at his full plate, he wished just one pony had stayed behind with him. He’d take anyone, even the quiet Gray Granite. The earth pony was usually a silent presence at their lunch table, and he was a big listener. Elias had shared barely a dozen sentences with the earth pony, yet his heart still ached to see him, even if it was just that silent smile he always seemed to have.

It physically hurt Elias to admit that he missed Book Binder and Night Flash especially. He missed the feeling of having them close, missed all of the motherly gestures that Book Binder showered on him. He wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed with the ponies at his side, acting as fuzzy pillows as they slept in a pile, content with each other’s presence. Most of all however, he was terrified of the pair. What would they think about him now? Every time a pony looked at his bad eye, they would gasp and try to scurry away, avoiding his gaze. Before Scalpel had left, he had set up Elias with an illusionist who specialized in covering up facial scars with enchanted pairs of glasses, but those wouldn’t be ready for at least another two weeks. Until then, he was stuck, and his mind shaken at the thought of his friends rejecting him on sight.

Elias ran a hand through his too long hair and pushed the bench back from the table. The noise was loud in the quiet cafeteria, but Elias didn’t care. He just needed to wander some more. Get his mind off of everything. As he got one stiff leg over the bench, the cafeteria doors slammed open and a very familiar and welcome blue form stared Elias down, his wings puffed out to the sides.

“Red!” Night Flash cried cheerfully as he sprinted at full tilt across the stone floor.

The pegasus barreled into Elias as he pinned the human to the bench, snuggling aggressively against his face. Though he sputtered loudly as fur got in his mouth, Elias made no real attempt to remove the hyper-affectionate pony, instead relishing the sudden burst of physical contact. It took a magical intervention by Book Binder for Elias to get an opportunity to breathe, and even then, Night Flash squirmed in the air as he tried to get back to attacking Elias. Book Binder rolled her eyes at the pegasus as she seated herself on the bench at Elias’ side as the human sat up. Only then did she set Night Flash on the ground. The pegasus pouted for a moment, then wiggled his rump as he scrambled up on Elias’ shoulders rubbing his cheek against Elias’ hair as he sighed happily. Elias shared the sentiment as he scooted close enough to Book Binder that he could feel her fur on his arm.

“You’re back I see,” Elias said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Yep!” Night Flash chirped, his hooves dangling around Elias’ neck. “Back to the normal guard shifts too! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna reduced the search to just the Royal Guardsponies, and even they won’t be out looking for changelings for much longer.”

“That’s good,” Elias said awkwardly.

The trio fell into a dead silence as they looked at each other. Elias didn’t know how to express how happy he was to seem them without seeming needy. He just wanted to pull them both close and never let go. Book Binder seemed catch on anyway, and she softly nuzzled his chest as she leaned against him.

“We missed you,” she said quietly.

It was more than enough to provoke a reaction from Elias. His arm snatched the unicorn up and he hugged her tightly to his chest while he rested his cheek in her mane. Book Binder giggled, and she nuzzled his face in reply. Night Flash chirped happily, and his wings splayed across them as he snuggled against Elias’ neck.

“I missed you too,” Elias said softly, his voice muffled further as his face was pressed into Book Binder’s fur.

Neither of the ponies replied, with Night Flash sighing happily while Book Binder just hummed, content to just be hugged. It didn’t take long for Elias to become uncomfortable with the extended physical contact, but it felt… different than usual, dulled almost. Regardless, he pulled back and smiled at Book Binder, who beamed back in reply.

It only took one glance at his face, one moment of shock and horror. Though it was gone in an instant, Elias noticed her expression anyway, and his heart crumbled. He turned away, staring at nothing to his left in shame. His face as quickly guided back as Book Binder smiled sadly at him, rubbing his scarred cheek with her hoof.

“I’m sorry Elias, it just startled me up close was all.”

Elias turned away again.

“It’s fine Book Binder. I… I get it.”

The unicorn sighed and rubbed herself against his chest, staring at his cold food.

“Were you just sitting down to eat?” she asked quietly, likely already knowing the answer.

Elias lied in reply anyway.

“Yes, would you two like to join me?”

She nodded silently, and Night Flash hopped down from Elias’ shoulders, trotting to the food line to grab them something to eat. Book Binder resumed humming, pressing softly against Elias’ tunic as they sat. Book Binder occasionally prodded him to eat. He did so for her benefit, and though it was cold, he couldn’t help but enjoy the meal. Night Flash returned quickly, sitting across from the pair as he set the trays down. He smiled widely at Elias, and the human took comfort in the fact that the pegasus didn’t flinch at all as he looked at his bad eye. It cracked through the cloud that had settled over Elias’ mind, and it let him breathe comfortably, lifting just a bit of the weight from his chest.

The ponies began to eat, staying quiet as they did so. Elias noticed a rapid influx of guard ponies in his peripherals, but he didn’t really care about them, nor their horrified stares. He just cared about the two ponies beside him. After he had finished the steak, Elias cleared his throat, looking between Flash and Binder.

“So,” Elias asked slowly, trying to think of anything to say, “are you two just stopping in, or are you back for good?”

Book Binder gave him a wry grin like she was about to mock him for his question, but the look in his eyes must have told her that it wasn’t the time, and it changed to a warm smile.

“The changeling search has been reduced,” Book Binder said, repeating what Night Flash had told him. “Flash and I will be back on normal duty with you as of today.”

Elias nodded silently and looked away, scratching his hair awkwardly as he struggled for something to say. The mood was depressed to say the least, and he could do a lot to fix that. Maybe changing the subject would work. His eyes flicked momentarily to Night Flash, where he noticed a silver colored ring around the pony’s neck. Idly, he gestured to it.

“What’s that Flash? I’ve never known you to wear jewelry.”

Book Binder choked momentarily as she painfully inhaled a piece of her salad, while Night Flash grinned stupidly at Elias. The unicorn flailed for her glass of water, downing half of it before she gasped for air and glared at Elias. She then smacked him upside the head as his face slowly broke out in a grin at her cute, angry expression. She looked like an angry puppy when she was mad.

“Don’t laugh at me young man!” she shouted as Night Flash continued smiling at Elias, who was now chuckling loudly. “I’ll have you know I could have died!”

That just made Elias laugh harder, and even Night Flash giggled, causing Book Binder to glare at the pegasus. He shrugged, then pointed at the laughing Elias, who was clutching at his still wounded gut. Book Binder huffed, but then smiled and rolled her eyes.

“Keep laughing it up Elias, I’ll make sure I get you back for this in spades.”

Elias snorted.

“I’m sure,” he said, his laughter winding down as he looked at the green pony.

Book Binder cocked an eyebrow with an “oh really?” expression on her face. She harrumphed, then looked to her food as she began to eat once more.

“You’re never going to see it coming baby boy. Momma Binder knows how to embarrass her little human, and this time I’m not going to hold anything back. You’ll see.”

Elias wanted to snort and wave his hand dismissively, but he quickly realized that she had been very restrained with him thus far, save for a notable incident or two. She could quite literally do anything at all, and as he was now, Elias was in no state to ward the pony away. If anything, he might just accept it, and that had the potential of making him… ugh, like her motherly behavior. More than he already did at least.

“Book Binder I’m sorry for laughing at you,” Elias said, trying to backpedal.

The tone of his voice, having a bit too much panic and fear in it, had the effect of depressing the mood once more, and Book Binder realized that quickly as his face fell. She sighed, but smiled at him.

“Don’t worry Elias, I’m not actually going to do anything too bad, just something that will surprise you. I promise, it’ll be something small, and I know that you’re going to love it.”

“Can you at least give me a hint?” he asked as he smiled weakly at her.

Book Binder clicked her tongue as she looked at his hair.

“I’m thinking maybe a surprise haircut. I think I can convince somepony to knock you out long enough so that we can do something with that nasty mess of hair you have. I mean really Elias, I understand that you keep it clean and tie it back, but it’s far too long! It just doesn’t seem to suit you.”

Elias took a moment to swallow his pride and his trepidation as he ran a thumb down his scar.

“That wouldn’t be… terrible,” he replied. “Did you have a particular barber in mind?”

Book Binder gasped softly, and her tail twitched with excitement.

“Really?” she asked, her eyes gleaming.

Elias scratched his scalp.

“Sure, why not. I could stand for something small.”

Book Binder gasped softly, and then she was on his shoulders, a brush in her magic as she ran it through his shoulder-length hair.

“Oh, there are so many things we could do! It definitely needs to be shorter, but have you considered putting a streak of color in it? Maybe something bright and flashy, like a blue! It would go with your eyes, and then we could shave off that nasty beard of yours, and…”

Elias groaned as he looked at Night Flash with exasperation. The pegasus grinned back.

“Why do I even speak?” Elias grumbled.

Night Flash shrugged.

“I don’t know, but you made Bindey happy, so take it as a silver lining.”

Elias grumbled something about ponies being too excitable over little things, then he brought his attention back to the ring around Night Flash’s neck.

“So, what’s the ring for?” Elias asked. “It seems important, but I haven’t got the faintest idea what for.”

Book Binder seemed to freeze momentarily, but her brushing quickly resumed, albeit with less excitement. Night Flash motioned for the unicorn to speak, so she did so slowly.

“Elias before we start, I just want to ask you to wait until we’re done talking before making any decisions, alright? Please?”

Elias’ eyes narrowed as he glanced back at the unicorn. Her words had put him instantly on guard, but Elias found that it took less of a mental effort than usual to trust her. The voices in his head were being unusually quiet. Elias mentally scowled and ignored their vacant presence. He didn’t need their help to make a good decision anyway. He nodded.

“Alright Book Binder, I’ll wait, just… don’t drop any bombshells on me.”

The unicorn let out a small breath as she relaxed.

“Let’s start with the question you asked then Elias,” she said, dispelling the brush as she hopped from his shoulders, retying his ponytail as she sat back on the bench. She fiddled with her hooves nervously as she looked up at Elias with a cautious smile, then she gestured toward her horn, where Elias noticed a very similar silver band.

“These, in pony culture, are rings that are typically exchanged when two ponies are engaged.”

Elias blinked at her stupidly, then looked to Night Flash with wide eyes. The pegasus seemed to match Book Binder’s nervousness, but his smile was still strong as he waited for Elias to piece everything together. It didn’t take him long, but the shocked expression didn’t leave his face as he looked between them.

“When…? I mean, I guess it was the logical conclusion, but when did you…?” Elias stuttered. He blinked as he tried to grab his frazzled thoughts from the empty space between his ears and connect them into coherence. “I, um… Congratulations?” he offered. “But, when did that happen? You’ve only been gone a couple of days.”

Book Binder sighed happily as she stared affectionately at Night Flash.

“It was positively romantic Elias,” she said, leaning against the human as she continued staring at her mate. “On the second night out, we were just coming back from patrol when Flashy popped the question, in front of everypony no less. The moon was out, it was just a bit chilly, and we were all sweaty and gross from running around all day, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing.”

“So of course I said yes,” Book Binder continued. “Then Flashy took me back to our tent and we had a romantic dinner followed by cuddling.” She snorted. “Well, as romantic as hay rations can be anyway.”

Elias looked to Night Flash, who still had a trace of nervousness in his eyes.

“What inspired you?” Elias asked. “It took you months to read the signals that Book Binder loved you. How did you know now was the time?”

Night Flash rubbed the back of his head.

“It was the wedding actually. It put things into perspective for me. When you got carried away by the medical ponies, I started searching for Book Binder, worried sick that I would find… something bad.”

Night Flash glanced at Book Binder with what looked like shame.

“I shouldn’t have been worried, she’s as a good a fighter as I am, but I just kept running through the what ifs? What if she had gotten hurt and I hadn’t still tied the knot with her? She’s a once in a lifetime mare, and I realized that I was being stupid about the whole thing.” He shrugged. “I already had the rings made, so I took them with us and proposed.”

“Well,” Elias said, “that’s great! I’m happy for the two of you. Did you already have an idea for when the wedding is going to be?”

It seemed like the right kind of question to ask, and both Book Binder and Night Flash perked up at the question.

“We were thinking about this summer or fall, maybe August?” Book Binder said. “It’s going to be a busy year. Our dream house is going to be available, and now we have a wedding to worry about, but I can’t wait for any of it!”

Elias felt his happiness for the ponies drain from his body at the mention of the house. That meant they wouldn’t be around as much. They especially wouldn’t be sleeping with him anymore. Sure, it hadn’t stopped the night terrors, but he had taken comfort in having somebody beside him afterward. Now that was going to vanish, and only in a few short months.

Book Binder sighed as she read his facial expression clearly. She rubbed his thigh lightly with her hoof as she encouraged him to look at her. When he met the unicorn’s eyes, she smiled.

“This is why I wanted you to hold your thoughts until we were finished Elias, because when I said our, I meant it. The house will be perfect for all three of us, and while I know it’s a really big step, I want to invite you to join us when we buy it.”

She sighed again as fear flashed across Elias’ eyes.

“But it’s just that Elias, an invitation. I learned my lesson on Hearth’s Warming, and I won’t push you on this. Just think about it, okay? We still have a bit of time before we can sign the deed, and we won’t be leaving your side until then.”

Elias swallowed roughly and nodded.

“Okay,” he said softly. “I’ll think about it.”

Book Binder nodded. She looked to Night Flash, then sighed a third time.

“Elias there’s… also something else.”

Elias matched her sigh, and motioned for her to continue as he rubbed at his brow to ward of the slowly approaching migraine. Taking a deep breath, Book Binder said it in one go.

“Elias, we are having a party today with our parents to celebrate our engagement, and we’d both really like if you came with us.”

Elias almost said yes immediately, if for no other reason than it would make the pony happy and potentially ward off the much more serious house discussion until he was in a better mental state. As his mouth opened however, his fingers ran across the thick band of chitin that ran down his face, and he sighed as his shoulders slumped.

“If you were willing to wait until my glasses came in to cover up this,” he said gesturing at his bad eye, “then I would say yes. As I am now though? No, I don’t want to start a panic. Not with the invasion so fresh on everypony’s minds.”

Book Binder clicked her tongue and sighed once more.

“That… is a good reason I’m afraid to admit. I’m sorry Elias, I didn’t even think about that, and I can’t imagine how it’s been for you these past couple days.”

The human tried to shrug it off.

“The staring isn’t anything new, it’s just changed a little. I’m coping like I always have.”

“That isn’t exactly comforting Elias,” Book Binder said, “but I understand completely. I’m going to leave a little early to go help my dad prepare dinner, but Night Flash won’t leave until later, so if you change your mind, he’ll take you to the party, okay?”

Elias nodded silently, and he wrapped his arm around the mare, pulling her close once more as he stared with dead eyes at the table.

“When are you leaving?” Elias asked quietly.

“In an hour or two,” Book Binder replied. “Did you have anything you wanted to do in the meantime? We’re completely free.”

Before he could answer, the cafeteria doors opened, and a Royal Guardspony made a beeline for their table. The mare flinched when she got close and was able to see the full extent of Elias’ bad eye. She recovered quickly however, and handed the human a letter.

“Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna request your presence in the throne room immediately Guardsman. It’s urgent.”

Elias only gave a cursory glance at the royal seal at the bottom of the letter, then he rolled it up and tucked it into his sword belt. He gave Book Binder a quick scratch behind the ears as he rose.

“See you later then?”

She nodded and smiled sadly.

“Tonight at the latest Elias. I’ll make sure to save you something to eat.”

He nodded and climbed around the bench, motioning for the guardspony to lead on. She did so silently, leading him away from the table. Elias gave Night Flash and Book Binder a wave as they walked through the cafeteria doors, and then they were on their way to the throne room. Elias quickly noticed that there were many more ponies in the halls. Tired looking guards staggered in the direction of the barracks, while the cleaning staff moved like a whirlwind around them, snatching up filthy pieces of armor that needed repair and cleaning. The more ponies they passed however, the more seemed to notice Elias and his bad eye. It surprised him when he noticed that while most of the ponies looked at him with the usual shock and horror, some gave him nods of respect and even admiration.

It was a small comfort at least, and as they walked, Elias felt a small portion of his self-confidence return. He’d been acting like a wimp for the last few days, moping about as he was, so Elias did the next best thing to resolving his issues, he began to fake it. Elias straightened as he walked, and his chest puffed out slightly. Instead of staring at the floor as he walked, Elias stared ahead, doing his best not to flinch as the occasional pony gasped loud enough for him to hear.

The doors to the throne room couldn’t come soon enough. His false front began to wither away as its maintenance sapped Elias’ energy. The doors were pulled swiftly open by a pair of Solar guards, and the Royal Guardspony motioned for Elias to enter. With only a moment’s hesitation, Elias did so, walking slowly as he took in the room.

The normally empty throne room was packed with ponies, most of whom were wearing guard armor. Elias spotted a few familiar faces, with Palisade briefly poking his head up to give Elias a silent wave, but the human made no attempts to join any of the conversations. They talked with each other in quiet circles, and as Elias strode forward, their eyes quickly fell on him. While most gave him the standard mix of horrified gasps with the occasional look of respect, several ponies in odd white armor gave him death glares. Elias met their glares evenly, showing no emotion as he let his bad eye do the work of intimidation for him. The effect was immediate as the ponies flinched and looked away. For a moment, Elias realized that the scar may have just been a blessing in disguise, a new tool in his arsenal to use as he saw fit.

He didn’t have long to ponder that thought however, because Celestia spotted the tall human from her throne and smiled widely as she raised her hooves to quiet the chatter in the room.

“Gentleponies, we are all accounted for. Please, let us begin.”

The clusters of ponies dissipated, forming into loose blocks. The white armored ponies pushed their way to the front, and Elias decided to remain near the side, leaning silently against a column as he tucked his thumbs into his sword belt. On the throne sat the two princesses, and as the room adjusted and fell silent, they cast about, with both pairs of eyes falling on him at the same time. Celestia smiled again.

“Come Elias, to the front. We have much to discuss, and you are a very important member of that discussion.”

All eyes turned toward the human, who could only blink dumbly back. He felt abnormally nervous, and it felt like everyone was judging his every action. Why that mattered to Elias, he didn’t know, but he did his best to shove the feeling aside as he pushed off the column, walking to the base of the throne. The ponies in white scowled at him as he fell in beside them, but they remained silent as Elias fell into a loose attention. He tried not to shuffle his feet nervously as he clasped his hands behind his back. He had a sour feeling in his gut, and from the looks that Luna was giving him, this meeting was not going to make his day any better. Celestia was all smiles however as she addressed the crowd of ponies.

“I thank you all for being here on such short notice, I understand that everypony has been working hard after the failed invasion attempt, but my sister and I thought that now would be ideal to begin implementing some changes now that we have fully repelled the changelings!”

A loud cheer went up from the ponies, making Elias flinch lightly. Why was he being so jumpy? His mind felt like it was teetering on the edge of an abyss, and he couldn’t figure out why. The feeling was sickening, and Elias had to blink rapidly to prevent the room from spinning. As the ponies quieted down, the sensation died down, but it didn’t go away. It stayed subtly at the center of his head, making him incredibly anxious. His only sense of relief came from the fact that nobody seemed to notice his sudden bout of paranoia. Celestia continued once the room was quiet once more.

“Now, I know that you are all eager to hear the results of the Royal Assessment Training Exercise, but we have an important matter to attend to before doing so.”

Elias felt his left eye twitch as she looked down at him with a wide smile. His eyes flicked over to Luna who was smiling as well, though her smile seemed a lot more comforting. She subtly motioned for him to remain calm as Celestia looked out to the crowd again.

“As you all know, Queen Chrysalis and her hordes were defeated by Princess Cadence and Prince Armor, but we cannot, in good conscience, discount the valorous efforts of one of our own. This guard was solely responsible for defending Princess Luna from an attempted assassination attempt by the changelings, and is also responsible for escorting her to a safe location during the invasion, battling through waves of attackers as he risked life and limb for the safety of his princess, and for the safety of Equestria.”

Elias took a deep breath as he resisted the urge to refute her words. There was nothing “sole” about it. Night Flash had been at his side the entire time, and if it weren’t for the efforts of several of the castle staff, they would have been swarmed in the hallways. However, Elias understood the need to make legends, and that would require a bit of embellishment. Though he doubted he fit the bill, a hero could inspire others to greatness, give them a goal to reach for, a role model to emulate. Elias was more than sure that Caesar had an army of advisors and confidants at his back, but nobody talked about them, just the man himself with all of his accomplishments. Elias just wished somebody else was in his position as Luna waved him forward.

The blue alicorn met him at the base of the throne, her smile bright as Captain Nightshade handed her a small blue and gold medal in the shape of a crescent moon. Luna took the medal in her hooves, leaning close as she pinned it to his tunic over his heart.

“I can tell by the look in your eyes that you think you do not deserve this Elias,” she whispered in his ear, intentionally fumbling the medal, giving her longer to speak. “I only ask that you wear it long enough to give it to Book Binder. She will take great pleasure in seeing your award, agreed?”

Elias sighed lightly, and his breath ruffled the fur on her neck.

“Fine Princess. I just did what I promised I would though, nothing more.”

Luna took a step back, beaming widely.

“Perhaps Guardsman, but I thank you regardless, and I apologize for what will come next. I had wanted this matter to remain private.”

Elias tilted his head as she made an official proclamation in his honor, causing the ponies to cheer and stomp their hooves as he stood in numb silence. What did that mean? What comes next? Were they going to cast him out? Was it the rage he had entered when fighting the changelings? No, that couldn’t be it. They would have secreted him away quietly, with nobody being the wiser. No, this was something else, and Elias had a sinking feeling that it was much worse than being made to disappear.

His eyes widened with realization as he looked around the room. It took him a second to make the connections, but it was there regardless. The ponies were largely made up of the prospective guard captains, most of whom who had acted as team captains during the RAT exercise. Though former Captain Armor was nowhere to be found, a glance to the left of the throne found Captain Chaser, and Captain Nightshade as she resumed her position furthest away from the steps. Both were watching Elias with carefully measured pride. The human blinked as he looked back to Luna, who would occasionally glance his direction, but would give him no further hints about what was to come.

‘They wouldn’t dare,' Elias thought, his mind beginning to panic. 'There’s no way in hell they could be that blind.'

Celestia cleared her throat and spread her wings as she motioned for the room to quiet once again. She smiled widely out at the ponies.

“On to business then. Unfortunately, while we appreciated the myriad of applications, as well as your stellar performance records, we could only select a few for the open captain positions. The rest of this meeting will be top secret, and only the highest level of our guards are beholden to the information we will discuss. As such, when your name is called, please make your way to the base of the throne. Once the reading has concluded, the rest of you are dismissed to continue your duties as usual.”

The ponies to his back stared at Celestia hopefully as a list was levitated before her by her assistant. Excitement crackled in the air, but all Elias could do was pray that his name wasn’t on that list. The universe spit in his eye instantly, as his name was the first read. A grumble of shock rolled through the room, and Elias instinctively fell back onto a harder part of his mind, letting his posture stiffen as his lips curled downward in a hard frown. Since he was already before the throne, he didn’t move, instead straightening his back as he waited for the alicorn to continue. Celestia did so quickly, rattling off name after name as a colorful assortment of ponies strode forth.

Though the list was only a dozen names, it seemed to take forever, with ponies glaring at him the whole while. Elias tuned them out, staring blankly at the wall behind Luna’s head. The blue alicorn refused to look at him, and that set his skin further on edge as time seemed to crawl by. Once Celestia finished, the list disappeared, and she smiled widely.

“I thank all of you for your submissions, and should more positions become available in the future, those who were not named shall be on the short list for consideration. You are dismissed for the afternoon, and I, as well as all of Equestria, thank you for your service.”

The ponies sharply saluted, then they began to filter out quietly, whispering and grumbling amongst themselves while the named ponies remained in place before the throne. Captain Nightshade and Captain Chaser fell in beside the ponies in white, and the doors closed, leaving the room suspended in complete, unnerving silence. Elias caught a quick glance that Luna gave him, and it drove a spike of fear in between his shoulder blades. Nothing good was going to come of this.

“Gentleponies, I thank you for being here today," Celestia said, "and I must offer my congratulations. You have been selected from amongst the finest guards that Equestria has to offer, and today all of your hard work and devotion shall be rewarded.”

All of the ponies seemed to straighten, any grimaces directed toward Elias forgotten as they perked up. Elias could only remain still, his mind paralyzed as his gut became weighed down by stones of fear. His poker face must have been excellent, because Celestia continued on without a second thought.

“Before we distribute your new ranks and titles, I think it best to tell you why we are so rapidly expanding our guard forces.”

Her assistant dragged a large chalkboard from behind the throne, on which was drawn a detailed map of Equestria, with areas as far west as Saddle Arabia. Elias hadn’t read much about the lands to the west save for the minotaurs, but he knew that the ponies of Saddle Arabia were fast allies of Equestria, and that they were in a near constant state of war or diplomacy to end war. It came with the territory of being the largest weapons manufacturer in the region, with three major cities at least that only produced machines of war. The rest of the state was largely agrarian like Equestria was, however, with much of the north of their nation purely consistent of farmers and simple tradesponies.

“As you may know, this road,” Celestia said, motioning to a white line that ran through the minotaur lands, “is one of only two routes that we have connecting our kingdom with Saddle Arabia. The Badlands and the Frozen Glaciers to our north are impassable, while the roads to the south through Zebrica are off limits due to a series of nasty conflicts engulfing their lands.”

The white alicorn sighed.

“While we have already succeeded in attaining non-aggression pacts with the majority of the zebra tribes, we have also offered to act as diplomatic intermediators. Unfortunately, they seek to resolve their differences internally, and we have been declined by all who we have offered our services to. They have declared that any pony found within their borders will be detained as a spy, and with our current plans, marching an army through their lands would be an outright declaration of war.”

“As such,” she continued, “we shall be conducting a march through the northern minotaur lands along the main tradeway. It is my hope that we will be unopposed, and if we are lucky, completely unnoticed. My sister has cautioned pragmatism however, and we will be expanding all of our guard forces in anticipation for the march.”

A brown mare to Elias’ left raised her hoof. Celestia inclined her head.

“Yes, Guardspony Twirl?”

“Respectfully Princess, but why? Why can’t we use our usual methods to get to Saddle Arabia? You and Princess Luna could be there and back in a flash with teleportation.”

Princess Celestia smiled.

“Indeed we could under normal circumstances Guardspony, but that brings me to the second portion of this briefing. This is not a simple diplomatic mission, but one of magical intent.”

She tapped the southern portion of the minotaur lands.

“Recently, the minotaur clans have become agitated, and as such, there have been an increased number of attacks on our trade caravans on the main tradeway. We have tried diplomacy, but the clan chiefs will not listen, claiming that “weak ponies” have no idea what it means to be diplomatic.”

Several of the ponies in white scoffed loudly, grumbling about “filthy brutes”, and “uneducated animals”. These grumbles went ignored as Celestia continued.

“Since they are unwilling to relent in their attacks, my sister and I have decided to simply remove the problem, and that is the road itself.”

She looked carefully down the row of ponies and the one human, meeting each of their eyes carefully.

“This information cannot leave this room, and if any of you so much as breathe a word of it, you will be imprisoned until after the march is completed. All of your rights will be suspended, and you will remain in the dungeons. Is that clear?”

Everyone nodded silently, their faces grim. Celestia took a deep breath.

“Though you may not admit it, and I will not ask you to do so, some of you likely wondered why I, and my sister were unable to truly assist in the defense of Canterlot during the wedding.”

That piqued Elias’ interest, and momentarily, the fear that had been hounding his mind vanished. He had been marred because of Luna’s inaction, and while he couldn’t find it within himself to blame the alicorn, he still wanted a reason why she hadn’t fought. They were supposed to be all-powerful beings after all.

“Luna and I, since the beginning of the new year, have been conserving our magic,” Celestia explained. “The purpose of this march will be to establish a permanent, always functioning portal between Saddle Arabia, our client state, and Canterlot. To accomplish this task, we had two options.”

She smiled grimly.

“The first was an abhorrent practice, and I think that you could all agree that sacrificing three hundred unicorns for their magic would be a poor choice.”

A weak chuckle passed through the ponies, but Elias could tell that some of them feared even the mention of such magic.

“The second choice is much safer, but requires a great deal of personal sacrifice on the part of all the alicorns of Equestria,” Celestia continued. “Myself, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadence have already gone through the first two stages of the magical conservation, limiting our earth pony magic, as well as our pegasus magic to nothing. This has shown itself in the lack of ability to fly, as well as physical weakness.”

That explained how he was so easily able to push Luna around when they had gotten to her hideaway. Elias caught a brief flash of anger from the blue alicorn as she looked at him, clearly thinking the same thing, but he could only shrug silently. His strategy had kept her safe and nobody had even died because of it. He wasn’t going to apologize for a bit of needed aggression.

“As of the beginning of March, we have begun the final stage, conserving our largest well of energy, our unicorn magic,” Celestia said. “Common methods of magical transportation, such as teleportation will disrupt the storage of magic, rendering our efforts moot. Furthermore, chariots and balloons can not make the journey fast enough, and will have to at some point land, in which case we would be helpless. The safest method is an organized force of protection, by way of a military march.”

She looked slightly ashamed as she continued.

“Unfortunately, my actions at the wedding nearly sabotaged the efforts of the last few months, and only when I had begun attacking Chrysalis did I realize that I needed to rely on others to fight the battle. I let her magic overpower my own, and tasked the Elements to defeat the changelings. Luckily, Princess Cadence was able to tap into the ambient love magic between herself and Prince Armor, and they drove away the invasion without destroying our efforts. She has my sincerest thanks for that, and I have given her the freedom to take an extended honeymoon. Otherwise she would be with us today.”

“At what point would you have stepped in?” Elias asked, his tone sharp.

The words cut like a knife through the room, and Celestia seemed startled that somebody had spoken up.

“I… am afraid I don’t understand,” Celestia said slowly, her shock clear in her tone.

That only brought Elias’ anger higher.

“Then allow me to clarify,” he said, his voice ringing with bitterness. “How many of your subjects, how many ponies had to end up dead in a ditch for you to step in and cast aside whatever this is.”

He waved his hand at the chalkboard.

“Because what I’m hearing is that you almost allowed an invasion in the heart of your kingdom, rather than sacrifice… what? A safer trade route?”

Elias stared at her with disbelief.

“I don’t know about you, but the stakes just don’t stack up in my eyes.” He raised his left hand. “In one hand you have the ponies that I imagine you love and care about.” He raised his right hand. “In the other you have a road that you don’t want to use anymore. Those don’t balance in my mind.”

“It’s a bit more complex than that Guardsman,” Chaser cut in, his voice a bit short, but not yet angry. “The main tradeway with Saddle Arabia is plagued with cases of kidnappings, raids, murders, and that’s just what we know about. The minotaurs use the merchants that travel the road for ransoms, plundering their cargos.”

The pegasus glanced toward Celestia, who nodded in agreement, motioning for the guard captain to continue.

“We also believe that it is where the changeling’s were able to build their army for the invasion,” Chaser said, “We’ve had dozens of missing pony cases along that road, and we believe that Chrysalis and her minions have been swiping small caravans for their love. Some of our scouts have found abandoned cargos with no trace of the ponies who had been carrying them. We want that to stop, and this portal solves the issue. The next invasion might not even happen even we can choke off their supply of love.”

Elias scowled, but silently relented the point. The logic was sound enough, if not the most effective method to solve the issue. He still wanted an answer about what point would have been enough for the princesses to jump in the fight. From the reports he had gotten his hands on, they had only survived by the skin of their teeth, accompanied by magical bullshit that shouldn’t have worked in the first place.

Elias felt his eye twitch as he returned the glares of the ponies around him. Besides the two alicorns that were looking between each other nervously, only three ponies weren’t shooting him death glares, and they were the only three whose names he knew. The rest, however, didn’t know him personally, and Elias used his reputation, as well as his tall, powerful posture to cow them into looking away. The ponies occasionally glanced his direction, but not one dared to speak up against him.

After she finished whispering with Luna, Celestia straightened, and she smiled widely.

“Let us get back on track. I understand your concerns Elias, but rest assured, my sister and I had contingencies in place, even if Princess Cadence and Prince Armor hadn’t intervened.”

Elias sighed, and shook his head, but motioned for her to continue. Words were meaningless, and until she showed him substantial evidence of a backup plan, he wouldn’t believe such a thing existed. No sense fighting about in public, however. Celestia sat up straight and continued as her assistant levitated a series of new, shining sets of armor, accompanied by a myriad of different plumes, in what Elias assumed were indicative of different ranks. The white-armored ponies made sure they were first in line, and while Elias couldn’t help but snort at their pettiness, he was surprised when even Nightshade and Chaser took armor from the racks. Promotions for everyone indeed, or at least, almost everyone. Elias let out a small breath of relief when he didn’t see anything human sized or shaped. Maybe he was just being included in this because he was a “hero”, though he suspected it was actually because he had value as a military advisor. Still, advisor he could do.

The assistant, along with a trio of guards helped distribute the armor out to the ponies, who began to excitedly chatter amongst themselves while Celestia watch with a smile.

“As of today, you have all been promoted, and you shall receive your permanent orders shortly. To make things simpler however, please stand in order by your branch.”

She looked to the now golden clad ponies first.

“Dukes Arrowheart, Shattered Shield, Lionheart, Dragon-eye, and Everfree, as well as Sir Orange Juice, you shall be the generals of the Solar Guard, and your captains shall be Brisk Day, and Solar Comet.”

The pair of unicorns saluted the six new generals crisply, and Elias couldn’t help but shake his head in exasperation. He had no idea what plan would benefit from having six separate commanders of one force, but Elias imagined that if he was going to be advising, the Solar Guard was going to be the worst going by a long shot. As the golden clad ponies fell in line, Celestia continued.

“General Chaser, I assume you have already selected your replacement, as well as your officers?” Celestia asked the black armored pony.

The pegasus had only replaced his helmet, and even then, he was still holding it carefully on his back. He nodded briskly.

“Indeed I have Princess. I will inform Royal Guardsponies Bloody Bandage and Ice Blossom of their promotions immediately following this meeting.”

Celestia smiled and nodded.

“Excellent. Luna?”

The blue alicorn inclined her head toward her sister, and looked down at the blue armored ponies.

“Nightshade, you and Starry Skies shall act as co-generals, and your captains shall be Palisade, Violet Blossom, Cinnamon Twirl, and Specter. I shall leave it to your discretion who is subordinate to whom.”

The ponies nodded and saluted sharply before falling into line, chattering excitedly amongst themselves, save for Nightshade, who was regarding Elias with concern written clearly on her face. That didn’t bode well.

Like any potentially hazardous situation, Elias regarded it all with a flat, almost bored stare. The emotion felt false, but maybe if he could broadcast enough confidence, he could get himself to believe it. As Luna turned to sit on her throne, Celestia regarded him with a smile.

“Now, to become used to our new routines and procedures, our new captains are dismissed to go about their regularly scheduled duties. The rest of this meeting shall be between myself, my sister, and the generals. Thank you for attending everypony, I look forward to what we will accomplish together.”

Elias bit his cheek as he resisted the urge to walk away with the captains. Despite her words, Celestia was still watching him, more than indicating he should stay in place. He didn’t like that at all, and he had to concentrate to avoid twitching in place. Energy was rising in his body as his mind started kicking into overdrive. Both voices returned, but only the one in the center was making sense. It wanted to run. It wanted to run, collect his gear, find Book Binder and Night Flash and make a break for it. The rear voice cautioned against that, but it couldn’t offer much else, as it was confused, desperately seeking out more information as Elias stood in place, doing his best not to panic.

Clearly Elias was not the only one uncomfortable with his continued presence, because a red and brown unicorn stepped forward, frowning at Elias as he asked;

“Princess if I may, why is the Guardsman still here? I understand completely awarding him for his valor, but will this not be a strategy meeting? Something beyond the Guardsman’s… capabilities?”

Normally Elias would have snapped at such an insult, but he desperately wished the ponies words would buy him a ticket out of the throne room. He needed to be somewhere else. The shoe was about to drop, he could feel it in the air. Celestia shook her head, however.

“Nay General Lionheart, Elias is exactly where he needs to be, especially given that what I have to say next involves him most crucially.”

‘Nononononono,’ Elias mentally whispered to himself.

“Starting tomorrow, we shall begin a new recruitment campaign,” Celestia said as her assistant flipped the chalkboard.

Elias felt his eye twitch as he saw the entry on the furthest right, under which his name sat. They hadn’t listened to a word that had come out of his mouth. Not a fucking word.

“It is our hope to have an army of over ten thousand strong for this march,” Celestia continued, ignorant of Elias’ internal conflict. “These new guards will of course be trained, outfitted, and subordinate to all of you, who will act as the coordinators and leaders, should we face combat.”

She continued speaking, and somewhere inside, Elias felt a part of his mind snap, crumbling away under the weight of the words he saw on that damned chalkboard. For a moment, rage climbed high in his mind, and his body shook with pent up aggression and hatred. His right hand reached for his sword belt.

Instead of grasping the hilt of Feather, the hand drifted higher, meeting his left as it undid the pin of the medal stuck in his tunic. Elias ignored the glances he got as he repined the medal to his sword belt, then removed the familiar weight from his waist. Celestia only stopped talking when the leather bundle landed with a loud thud at her feet, startling her as Elias turned around and walked away. Cold, calculating calm swept over his mind, and Elias felt confident as he strode away from the throne, breathing deeply to maintain the state. He needed to leave before something much worse happened.

He didn’t walk fast enough.

“Elias!” Celestia called. “Where are you going? You have not yet been told what you will be doing.”

What he would be doing. Funny phrasing that. Elias had a very good idea of “what he would be doing” very soon. He ignored the advice of both parts of his mind that insisted he keep walking on in silence. Elias half-turned as he stared at Celestia with his bad eye, a nasty twitch racing through his face as he smiled maniacally.

“Oh?” he asked. “Then tell me Princess, because maybe my eyesight might be poor, because that,” he said, jabbing his finger like a dagger at the chalkboard, “looks like you want to me to not only command an army, but to build one from nothing. Am I wrong?”

Celestia frowned and shook her head.

“No, you are correct in your assumptions, but Elias, I had been made to believe that you were growing more comfortable with your past, and that having something to work towards might further improve your mental stability. I must say that I am rather surprised you are not happier about this, is it not something you desire?”

Elias couldn’t help himself. He laughed. Madly. He turned away, covering his mouth as he tried to prevent it, but the low chuckle escaped anyway, and it quickly rose in volume as his chest was racked with sadistic laughter. He clutched his stomach, aching with the pain of his wounds as he tried to calm himself down. It didn’t work. The voices in his head provided no guidance. They were panicking as much as he was.

Still, his cackling had to wind down sometime, and Elias had to wipe a tear from his eye as he stared at Celestia shaking his head, a mad grin still on his face.

“I do hope that was a joke Princess, because if it was anything else, you are going to be very glad I gave you my sword.” He paused for a moment, then snorted and chuckled. “I’m going to leave now. I think that’s the smart thing to do. I think I’ll go somewhere quiet to cool off, and I suggest that nobody follow me.”

Luna decided not to listen to what Elias thought was a coherent, intelligent statement.

“Elias, please, let us explain-…”

“Shut up!” Elias snapped, the grin disappearing.

Luan flinched back, as did all of the ponies, save for Celestia, whose smile disappeared. She frowned heavily at Elias, but he couldn’t care less as he glared at Luna.

“You don’t get to speak my name anymore,” Elias snarled. “She,” he said, jabbing a finger at Celestia, “said that she was “made to believe” that I was getting better, that this farce was something that I wanted, and there are only a few people that I know that would be able to tell her something like that, a lie though it may be.”

“It isn’t a lie Elias,” Luna pleaded. “Please, have you not improved? Do you not feel like you were in a better place than before?”

“No!” Elias shouted back. “Because how much of it is true? Has this been your goal the entire time?”

Elias flinched under his own words, and his anger momentarily dissipated. Had this been her plan? Was it a lie? His mind flashed back through not only her actions, but those of everyone around him. His eye twitched as he tried to deny what was sitting before his eyes.

“Has it?” he asked her softly, praying that he was wrong.

Elias could tell from a glance that he was right. Luna had tears in her eyes, and she was shaking her head, but that wasn’t a no. It was just denial of the fact that he had exposed the truth. Elias felt a part of his heart die, and the voice at the back of his head vanished, beaten into a cage by the weight of the revelation. Still, Elias clung to a shred of hope. He needed to hear it.

“How much?” he asked, his voice rising. “How much of it was a lie to get me here?”

Nobody answered him, they only stared. Elias swallowed roughly and looked toward the stained-glass windows. He roughly ran his hand down his beard, trying to piece his words together through the wave of anger that was rising in his mind.

“If nobody else is going to do it, then I guess I have to,” Elias said. “Let’s start with the obvious I guess. The citizenship; that wasn’t supposed to “make me closer” with ponies, that was to appease some law so that I could hold the position of general, right?”

Luna opened her mouth, no doubt to deny his words, but Elias continued anyway, cutting her off.

“The exercise, Palisade was put in that position, not because you wanted him to learn something about being a leader, but to make me comfortable with the idea of leading, right?”

Elias’ fingernails bit in his palms as he struggled to keep his arms at his side. His body quivered with barely contained anger.

“How much more?” he asked, looking to Luna. “What else was a lie? Did you actually save my life? Or was that some sort of deception to make me feel indebted to you? Do I actually have any friends? Any family?” The accusation cut at his heart even as he made it. “Or were they all just agents, feeding me a steady stream of lies that made me comfortable with myself again, hm? HOW MUCH OF MY FUCKING LIFE, IS A GOD DAMNED LIE?!?”

His roar provoked a reaction. Luna whimpered and flinched away, hiding behind Celestia as the elder alicorn spread her wings wide. Chaser leapt in front of the throne, his wingblades extended, and after a moment of hesitation, Nightshade did as well. Elias imagined that if he was armed, they would fight, but he was lucky enough to have the foresight to get rid of his sword belt.

Either way, it didn’t matter. He was spent. His anger vanished into the air as Elias found that he was no longer able to sustain the level of rage he would need to keep going, not against the ponies at least. Their deception had been perfect, and he couldn’t find it within himself, no matter how angry he was, to raise a hand against them, not in serious combat. They made him weak, and so any fight he had left in his body vanished as he rocked in place, holding back the tears of pain that threatened to spill forth.

Elias took a shaky breath as he continued.

“I thought…” He snorted weakly and shook his head. “I don’t know what I thought, or maybe I didn’t think at all.” He looked up, finding Luna staring out at him with pain in her eyes. “I have to say, you did an excellent job. I really believed what you were telling me. I thought, just for a heartbeat, that I could be something more. That maybe, just maybe I had a chance to be something other than a fucking killer.”

Elias ran both of his hands through his hair as his eyes fell to the floor.

“But I guess not. It doesn’t matter though, so congratulations, because I won’t strike out against you. You did a damn good job of neutering me. Like a stray dog,” he finished his voice containing nothing.

He snorted once as he turned around, walking toward the doors.

“I’m leaving. Don’t expect me back, and don’t you dare follow me.”

Elias mustered enough anger to slam through the doors, and then he took off at a run, desperate for a place of sanctuary. He needed to be alone.

*****

Luna felt her heart shatter into pieces as the human left her throne room. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. She knew the words to say to reassure him, but his anger, it had caused her to freeze. His eyes had betrayed what he was hiding beneath that desperate façade that had fooled everyone else. He was terrified. He was terrified, and she had done nothing to ease his fears. She hadn’t put the pieces together, but when he explained it… He was right. It was all a set up. He had been pushed down a road that led him here, the last place he wanted to end up, and now he believed that every step along the way had been carefully orchestrated to make him a leader again.

Celestia sighed as she dropped her wings.

“Gentleponies, please excuse my sister and I, but we shall postpone this meeting until a later time. That… did not go as intended. Please, there is a reception awaiting all of you in the royal dining room. Enjoy your fill and the evening off, I shall send you letters when we require your presence once more. General Chaser, please stay for a moment.”

Luna sniffled, rubbing at her eyes as she tried to muster up her normal princess demeanor.

“And you as well General Nightshade.”

The two had matching frowns on their faces, though Nightshade would occasionally cast a glance behind her at the closed throne room doors. The other ponies filtered out, whispering amongst themselves, no doubt about what had just transpired. Luna reached out with her hoof, dragging Elias’ sword belt to rest before her. She had almost never seen the human without it, and the fact that he had given it away willingly chilled her to the core. It implied that he was done with her completely, and Luna found that she was terrified at that implication. She tucked the belt under her wing, pressing it tight against her chest as she mentally promised herself that by the end of the day, Elias would have the blade back.

Once the throne room was empty save for the four of them, Celestia shook her head.

“I do not understand, all of the signs seemed to indicate that Elias was growing more comfortable with his past, and yet his reaction seemed more akin to the way he was when we found him. Paranoid, angry, bitter. I cannot fathom what has been going on within that head of his.”

Luna sighed, briefly taking a moment to catch a bit of the human’s scent from his leather belt. It was a bit sweatier than his hair had been, but it was more than enough to brighten her mood.

“Nay sister, it is almost the opposite in fact. Elias had grown increasingly secretive, even with his friends, and I am afraid that we have just shattered whatever progress he made within an afternoon.”

She looked to Celestia, who was eyeing her with sympathy.

“Luna, I am sorry for the things he said. He might have been angry, but he had no right to accuse you like he did.”

Luna shrugged as she let her face become a mask.

“Perhaps not, sister, but as I think on his words, I find that I can understand where he is coming from. Is there any merit to the accusation that his citizenship was merely to make him qualify to be a general?”

Celestia nodded, and looked away in shame.

“It was, but I meant it when I said I wanted him to be closer with our ponies! It satisfied both needs in one fell swoop.”

Luna sighed.

“Perhaps, but that one grain of truth is enough to make the rest of his accusations seem true as well, untrue though they may be. The rest was simply… coincidence.” She frowned as she stood, taking her time climbing down the stairs of the throne. “I made Palisade team captain again in the hopes that he would learn the value of advisors, since that would be the role he would assume under General Nightshade. Elias made an excellent role model for this, and in truth, I am glad that the captains were dismissed before this fiasco. If we can comfort Elias, then Palisade’s role model will stand, and he will serve well.”

She motioned for Nightshade to follow her as she made for the throne room doors. Celestia’s voice stopped her, however.

“Luna, where are you going?

“To fix my mistakes ‘Tia,” Luna replied calmly. “I have been a fool to think he was ready for a burden such as this. I have watched him night and day, and I saw every sign that said he wouldn’t want this, would never want this. I have not discovered the whole story, but I know enough to know that giving him a family, giving him friends, only made this offer worse. He is terrified of losing everything, and the wedding made that a frightening reality.”

She scoffed and shook her head.

“And I am a doubly damned fool for springing this on him now. His adoptive parents only returned today, and he has had no time to take comfort in his emotional rocks. I have taken a cracked man and broken him. Elias is scared, angry, and if we do not help him now, he will run. I will not allow that. I…” She paused, a slip of the tongue away from making an irreversible confession. “He is my guard, and therefore my responsibility, and despite what he may believe, he is my friend. I will not leave Elias in his time of need.”

She didn’t wait for a reply as Nightshade opened the doors before her. Once through, they walked at a brisk trot, with Nightshade combing the hallways as they passed.

“What’s the plan Princess?” Nightshade asked. “Do we need to put an alert out for Elias?”

Luna shook her head.

“No, that will only make him run. You and I, and perhaps Doctor Scalpel shall search for him. Anypony else will not know how to handle Elias, especially not in the emotional state the human is in now.”

“What about Night Flash and Book Binder?” Nightshade pointed out. “They know Elias better than anyone.”

Luna sighed.

“I wish to involve them, but Elias believes he’s been living a lie. He may lash out at them, and they have already had an incident like that once. I would rather they not repeat it.”