//------------------------------// // A Champion Rises // Story: Fighting Never Ends // by Tx Avenger 218 //------------------------------// It’s quiet.   Usually, Swift is practicing some sword techniques on some old mannequins, or demonstrating and evaluating some new equipment he found in or near the Everfree Forest. The newly placed guards in Ponyville only spar within their barracks and only then do they make a whole lot of noise. The town used to be vibrant with ponies and an occasional griffon very interested in seeing the town’s defender, but ever since word has spread that the town’s defender is now the commander of the Equestrian military, Canterlot has become the most popular city once again.   Most of Swift’s friends in and around Ponyville have gone about their daily lives as usual, but it’d be lying if anyone said they were alright. Even though he is just a few hours ride away from Ponyville, the Elements of Harmony are still saddened that he isn’t there as often.   It seems that out of all the residents in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle has been the most affected by this turn of events. The Elements of Harmony and Swift Wind are still really close friends, but Twilight and Swift are even closer. It’s no lie that these two have been through thick and thin since the beginning on that fateful day.   With Swift taking on a small pack of Timberwolves that were about to tear Twilight and Spike to pieces, Swift’s thin hair of a demise at the power of Twilight’s teacher, nearly becoming permanent arts of decoration that would make Discord smile from the Cockatrice, to the defeat of an almighty god that could somewhat compare to that of the world that Swift was from.   However, through all the obstacles that was thrown at the two…   Little did they know that today was about to become a big day for the nation of Equestria, and to Swift as well…   <<<>>>   “Thank you, Swift.” Twilight Sparkle says to herself as she slowly walks through town while holding a letter in her magic field. Her new commander friend was more than willing to take time out of his new schedule to reply to the worried unicorn about his situation. All seems well and he is making a real change to things there. Even though he isn’t here to laugh and hang out with her and all their friends, Twilight can’t help but smile at the success her friend is doing. “I’m glad to see things are doing well for you.” She continues to talk to herself. She places the letter back into her saddlebags and begins to walk over a bridge. “I should probably do something nice for him. No doubt Pinkie Pie is probably getting ready to throw him a ‘Congratulations on being the commander of Equestria’ or something party.”   She looks up from the base of the bridge at the former defender of Ponyville’s home. “I should probably keep your house clean and make sure nothing bad happens to all your stuff.” She teleports to the front door and lays a hoof on it. “Celestia knows you can’t buy this stuff at a flea market.” She chuckles to herself as she pushes the door open.   “Did somepony say my name?”   “AHHH!” At the sudden foreign voice, Twilight shrieks and jumps under a nearby coffee table. Poking her head out, her eyes widen to see who it is laying on the couch. “P-Princess Celestia!? Wh-what are you doing here?” the shocked mare quickly asks her mentor as she steps out from under the furniture.   “Ohhh I’ve come to see exactly how Swift has been living in Ponyville.” She answers and examines the M4 Carbine in her magic grip, “From what I’ve seen here so far, he was doing well even before he assumed his new role.”   That’s from Swift’s armory. “Yes well… after all the help he did for us, this house was a gift for him from us.”   “He has been a tremendous help to I and my sister as well. Especially with…” Celestia trails off from her words as she remembers her sister’s prank. She visibly shudders at how many baths and hair dyes she had to go through in order to wash off all that… pink.   “Princess? Are you alright?” Twilight asks her mentor.   “I’m fine, Twilight. Just… remembering something.” Even though Twilight respects the sun princess unconditionally, she probably wouldn’t let her live it down, especially if Pinkie Pie heard.   Twilight nods at her teacher’s assurance. She shakes her head of the thought and resumes to the matter at hoof. “What are you doing here anyway?”   “Two things: One, I wanted to check out Swift’s home and see how the guards he commissioned to come here were doing; secondly…” she stops and places the rifle down. Her face takes a deep stern look as she stands up on all four hooves. “Something very important has come up… and he is in the middle of it.”   Twilight doesn’t need to be the genius she is in order to know who he is. “He is?! Oh! What’s wrong?! What happened? Is he alright? What can I-“ before Twilight can continue her hysterical ranting, she’s silenced by the raised hoof of her teacher.   “In time, you must come to Canterlot, and so shall your friends.” Celestia calmly tells her student.   “My friends? What’s going on?” Twilight tries to ask her teacher for more information.   “Something is about to happen soon,” Celestia’s stern face turns to a smile, “And I think it would be best for Swift’s closest friends to be there for him when he needs it.”   “He needs it? Princess, please, what’s going on?” Twilight continues to try and get info out of her teacher.   Celestia shakes her head, “I am sorry my pupil, but I can’t stay much longer. I must return to my duties.” Her horn immediately begins to glow.   “Wait!” Twilight is too late as her teacher disappears in a bright flash of light before her. She blinks a few times as her brain tries to register any of the information she was just given, granted it was only just a couple bits of info, not enough to truly make something for the headstrong pony. He’s in the middle of it? What’s happened, or what will happen, and why didn’t she give me a straight answer? Thoughts run through Twilight’s brain as she imagines different types of reasons as for the mysteriousness of her teacher and situations for her dear friend.   She walks over to the mantle fireplace and looks at the only picture on there: A picture of Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy together around Swift, who is standing up in the middle of them all with a smile on his face and his arms crossed.   “Please be safe. You promised.”   <<<>>>   “Ow! Watch it.”   “Quit squirming.”   “Hold still so it’ll fit.”   “It’s too small! Arg!”   “Then we’ll make it fit.”   “Ah, fuck! Just stop it.”   “Alright, fine.”   This is a hell of a way to start the morning. Hanging out in the armory with the bat-pony known as Twinkle Drop of the Lunar Division as she tries to force a helmet on my head. She is what was stated, a bat-pony, wings that have the appearance of the bat, colored with a deep shade of violet. Her coat grey while her mane and tail are deep purple to compliment her wings. Being mainly the creature of the night and all, her eyes are the yellow cat-like slits. She finally stopped trying to force the matter, allowing me to grab the helmet on both sides and yank it off me. “Ow.” I rub the sore spots on the sides of my head and sore ears.   “Quit whining.” She huffs.   I give her an annoyed look, “Whining? You nearly ripped my ears!”   “Well I’m sorry if a standard Royal guard helmet is too small for you.” She mocks me. It’s funny because she’s not that far up in the ranking system and doesn’t drop down to bow to me or salute me at every turn. “Maybe you should have been born with those ears on top instead of on the side.”   “I can’t change genetic layouts. God knows my species has tried.” I lay back against a crate of crossbows. She chuckles and tosses the helmet onto a rack of others just like it. She had bet me that she could get a helmet of the royal guard onto my head no problem. The dimensions of the helmet would have allowed it to fit… except my ears were sort of in the way of that.   “Alright, so I don’t get blamed for deafening the advisor to the military, I submit. You won.” She nonchalantly announces her failure of the bet with a hint of annoyance behind it as well.   “Thank you.” I sigh.   “What was that? A hundred bits?” she begins fishing at the pockets inside her armor to grab the correct change.   I wave her off, “Nah. Forget it. I’m not really lacking in the currency department at the moment.”   “Aw come on. I’m a mare of my word.” She pushes and pulls out the correct amount of change. I sigh and take the Equestrian money and put it in my pockets, followed by a lengthy yawn. “You alright?”   “Yeah… yeah, I’m fine. Just not used to getting up this early.” I reply and look at my watch, seeing the indication of half an hour till 7 in the morning.   “Speak for yourself. I’m not used to staying up this late.” She counters. For being a soldier in the Lunar Division, the night is sort of her regiment’s domain. It stands to reason that while I’m sleepy as fuck for waking up too early, she’s sleepy as fuck for not going to sleep yet. We sit here in the armory doing nothing, just staring at each other as I occasionally shift my katana on my back to different positions and we take in the differences between our species.   “Why am I here again?” I bluntly ask.   “I was told to keep you busy in a secluded place until 7.”   “And you’re not going to tell me why?”   “Yep.”   “I could have you discharged from duty.”   “No you can’t.”   “Damn.” The one soldier that fully realizes my spot. I could have a soldier discharged if I want but I need to have a reason as to why, and set it as a vote to the ranking commanders of the military.   Well, if we’re going to be here for another half hour, might as well learn something new. “How are you that kind of pony?”   “What do you mean? Bat wings, vampire fangs, insatiable lust for blood, glowing yellow eyes, and the fog shaping power?” she gestures to all her features, even licking her lips and teeth at the mention of her fangs and blood, making me cringe a little.   “Yeah.” I wearily ask her.   “Weeeell… I suppose it would be alright.” She gets into a more comfortable position, “When Luna was first starting out to be Princess of the Night, it became a little troublesome with the different hours of the night and day and everypony changing their sleep schedule. Soon after though, a vampony revealed himself to the Princess and swore allegiance to her. Because of his… impressive fighting skills, leadership abilities, and the fact that he’s a vampony… you know a-“   “A creature that primarily resides in the night and if exposed to sunlight, it’s flesh will burn. Not to mention it feeds off of blood… right?” I try to remember my vampire attributes from my world.   “That’s… exactly right. You have vamponies back in your world?” Twinkle asks me.   “Not vamponies per say. Vampires. And we don’t have them in reality, only in myths.” I reply. From the look on her face, she probably has a few more questions for me. “You were saying?”   “Oh, right! Yeah, because of him being of the night and all, it was no surprise that Princess Luna made him head of the Dusk Watch. It’s what they called the Lunar Division back then. Some still call it that but still.” She takes a moment to catch her breath. “After awhile everything was going perfectly well for the Dusk Watch. But soon it became apparent that the vampony’s need for blood and weakness to the sun was going to be a problem. Princess Celestia and Luna began working on a solution for this problem. Luckily, the solution came in a form that seemed the most fun to all.” She finishes with a smile.   “What happened?” I ask, my curiosity peaked at this new level of info.   She leans in close to me, “A hot steamy night of fun between the vampony and a female pegasus guard.”   “…” Huh, wasn’t expecting that kind of answer. Then again, love can do a hell of a lot of things. I stare for a bit on that answer, “Soooo… half… vampony… hybrids of sorts?” I give my best guess on the matter.   “Yep. After the news of their… actions that night, the doctors did some tests on the foal and very unique traits associated with it.”   “Which are?”   “Increased strength, agility, minor healing abilities that mostly associate with most small stab wounds and cuts,” suddenly she disappears into a plume of smoke.   “What the?”   “The ability to turn into fog.” A cloud of purple mist with glowing yellows eyes says right next to me. It, or she, almost makes me fall to the ground; instead I just jump a little. She moves back and Twinkle appears right where she was before. Now that’s pretty badass.   “Anything to add?” I lean back a bit more.   “Let’s see.” She thinks, “Seeing in the dark, tripled life-span of the average pony, no longer being burned alive in the sun, and not requiring to have blood all the time.” She looks away annoyed, “However what does suck is that we lose most of those powers in the sunlight. We still look like half-vamponies, but all those awesome abilities I said go right out the window.”   “That sucks.” I say bluntly.   “Yeah, so we tend to prefer the night in consolation.”   Sun or not, a hell of a lot of superpony traits for a night of love between two species of ponies. “Dang, and all that from…” I trail off, hoping she gets the gist of what I say.   She does, “I know, it’s weird right? The doctors and scientists mentioned some type mutation or something between the two of them and that foal. I never really got into the whole technical sciency stuff behind it all, just the results of it.” She finishes up her tale.   It’s kinda romantic if you think about it. Two lovers bear the fruit of their labor that spans forth a new breed of ponies that changed the face of the Royal Night guards.   Still, another question bugs me. “So other vamponies began to join the guard or was it that one that started it all have a lot of… downtime, and a lot of kids.” I ask. The former would still be a little crappy due to the fact that the originals would still require blood and not bursting into flames from the sun. The latter would be fun but could be… sore, and have a bit of a headache attached to it.   “The second one.” Headache it is.   *Long whistle* “Damn! Ha ha… wait, so the Lunar Division is composed of-“   “That’s right!” she interrupts me with a jump and a triumphant hoof raised. “The entire Lunar Division is made entirely out of my brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins.” She states.   Fuck… me. An entire division of guards focused to the night made out entirely of family and blood relatives… hell.   “Wow, that’s pretty cool.”   “Yes, yes it is.”   “No doubt the bond of a family can do wonders in the middle of combat.”   “It has in the past,” she says with a smile, “And it will in the future.”   *Knock* *Knock*   A couple knocks tears us away from our conversation. We immediately turn towards the door to see it open and reveal a pegasus soldier from the Celestial Division. His mane and tail are a bright golden hue while his coat is as white as Rarity's and oddly enough over half the Royal guards in Canterlot. “Sir, it’s time to go.”   “Really?” I ask. I look at my watch to reveal it’s just five minutes till 7. “I guess it is.” I stand up.   “Hey, Sunny.” Twinkle says to Sunny apparently. “Long time no see.” She says to him in a casual tone.   “H-Hey, Twinkle. They d-didn’t mention you were guarding him?” Sunny stutters a bit to the opposite guard of him. Weird, he seemed fine to me but as soon as he saw Twinkle… She flashes a smile and saunters up to him.   “I don’t think they cared as long as somepony made sure he stayed here.” She says and playfully punches him in the shoulder. He doesn’t seem fazed but he rubs the spot she punched and smiles.   Okaaay… weird. “Uhhh… some introductions would be nice.” I interrupt.   Sunny perks up and walks up to me, “Right, sorry sir.” He holds his hoof out to me. “Sunny, Sunny Sentinel of the Celestial Division.”   I grab his hoof with my right hand and shake it firmly, “Swift Wind, defeater of Discord, guardian of Ponyville and advising commander of the Equestrian military.” We finish up our introductions.   “That’s great and all ladies,” I give her an annoyed look. Her only reply is a chuckle, “But I think we have something important to get to.” Twinkle finishes interrupting us.   “Crap, your right. Whatever it is that’s important, I don’t think it would be appropriate if I were to be late.” I comment. Sunny agrees with me.   “Well, come on then!” she shouts and gallops off right past us.   I start running towards the door, “Wait.” I stop just at the door and look back to Sunny. He slowly walks up to me and slowly closes the door till just a crack was left open. “Twinkle Drop, what do you think of her?”   His question catches me completely off guard. Nevertheless, I shake my head a bit and answer, “Twinkle? Well I haven’t seen her in action or anything yet but from this brief encounter… she’s pretty cool. Not like your typical guard whatsoever.”   “And the fact that she’s a half-vamp pony?”   “That… is pretty awesome. Everyone in the military back in my world was all nearly equal in almost every aspect. The fact that she’s… well… that, definitely makes her a hell of an asset.”   “So you were completely alright being so close to a pony like her?” he continues to press his questions.   I nod, “Not… completely. It was a little awkward being the only one in a room with an ‘optional’ blood sucking vampony right next to me.” I voice my version of the displeasure and emphasize the optional part. I know she’s still a pony and all, but the concept of blood sucking still doesn’t sit right with me… but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be a complete dumbass and turn down a friend. Especially one like her. He looks away but I continue, “But all in all, she seemed pretty good as a friend.”   “Oh,” he says a little surprised. “Thank you sir. That’s nice to hear.” He says. He didn’t say it to my face but it sounded like he mumbled ‘unlike me’. He walks past me.   “Hold it.” I stop him with a hand to his shoulder. He cranes his next to look up at me. “What’s your standpoint with her?”   “Well… we’ve been friends for six years now and I was just… curious to see what you thought of her.” Huh, a good friend eh? Different than the others and a friend willing to stick up for them… like me and Twilight.   “Well no need to worry about anything bad happening between us. As long as she doesn’t suck me dry, we’re cool.” I say with a smile. He returns the smile.   “Don’t worry, she won’t.” He says while looking forward. However the way he said it hinted at something underneath.   “Wait, what do you-“ Just as he goes out the door, I catch a glimpse of something on his neck. Now I’ve taken my share of injuries obviously, and that looked like a scar to me. “What the?”   “Hey!!”   “Ahhh!!” I yelp loudly and accidentally trip out the door. I roll onto my back and look up to see Sunny staring down at me. I give a weak smile and see who it is that nearly gave me a heart attack. As if I didn’t know, the purple mist with yellow eyes being a dead giveaway.   Twinkle Drop forms back into her old self and walks up to me. “What are you still doing here?! You’re gonna be late!” she shouts at me.   “Wha-“ I look at my watch to see it reads a couple minutes till 7. “Crap!” I roll back on my hands and jump onto my feet. “Let’s bolt.” She nods and all three of us take off. I move swiftly between different ponies trotting about while Sunny and Twinkle fly alongside me.   Before we know it, the doors to the royal throne room where we were properly congratulated on defeating Discord are in front of me.   As soon as my watch hits 7, I take a deep breath and firmly place them on the doors. Wonder what the princess has… Holy…   Once the doors are open, in front of me stands Princess Celestia and Princess Luna at the end of the carpet. My six friends, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack to Celestia’s right and Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy to Luna’s left, stand by the princesses with Spike holding something long and wrapped up behind them all. Many different ponies, ranging from those of the town I’ve been living in for over half a year now, to the various Canterlot elites.   Along the bright red carpet in front of me stands two long lines of Canterlot soldiers all holding spears that are leaned forward to cross with the soldiers opposite of them. On the left along Celestia is made up of soldiers from the Celestial Division, and the right along Luna are filled with her Lunar division.   “Swift Wind… please step forward.”   Celestia’s voice knocks me out of my bewilderment of the state of the room. Taking one step at a time, I slowly walk forward. With each step I take my heart feels like it’s going to bust out of my chest like a chest buster from Aliens with how tense I feel. With each set of soldiers I pass, they lift their spears to allow me to pass through.   My closest friends have happy smiles on all their faces as I continue to walk forward. Before I know it, I am now standing in front of one of the most powerful sentient creatures I have ever encountered, not here in Equestria, but my entire life. Probably all life.   “Swift Wind of Earth and Ponyville, are you willing to lay down your life for the friends you have made during your time here?”   All doubt, all uncertainty and discomfort I had up to this point… gone.   “I am.”   “For the citizens you have lived close to?”   “I am.”   “Against any and all individuals that wish upon harm towards I, my sister, the Elements of Harmony, and every pony from here to Tartarus itself?”   I clench my fist in determination. Slowly, I reach behind my back and make it so it is heard of the sound of my katana being revealed. I kneel down on one knee along with my swords tip on the ground.   An oath is what’s needed at this moment. Sure I agreed to the terms they mentioned right now… but I needed something a little more of a… personal connection for this to be right by me.   “In Darkest of Day’s, In Brightest of Nights.”   Good start…   “By Luna’s Grace, and Celestia’s might.”   Keep at it…   “Let no evil go unpunished.”   Nice…   “May my blade strike true, strike hard. Let no evil escape Swift Winds’s grasp.” It needed something else. Something to tie it together from what I just said. Quickly though, don’t wanna look like a dumbass just kneeling here. “Through honor and duty, Until my Princesses release me, or Death itself take me, will I remain.”   I need not to look up to know that Celestia is smiling at my oath right now. She takes my sword from my hands. Speaking in a voice reserved for those of knighthood in old times, she speaks: “We name thee Champion Swift Wind of Earth. May thee be blessed with Wisdom, strength, and victory forever more.” She motioned the sword onto each of my shoulders as she spoke.   Slowly the handle comes into view. I take it in one hand and stand. My friends are happy, the princesses are proud, and a crowning achievement has been placed on my shoulders today.   Celestia motions Spike forward from behind them all. He slowly walks forward, still clutching the clothed item in his claws. He kneels and presents the item to me in his outstretched claws. I sheathe my sword and proceed to kneel down where I gently take the item from his claws before standing.   “May this be a gift and symbol of your new position… Champion.” Luna humbly says with a smile.   I unwrap the gift from my friends. My eyes widen at the new katana sword lying on both my hands. The sheath is onyx black, the handle is made of some of the softest but toughest material I have ever felt. Underneath 6 gems and crystals line the handle, three on each side. The safeguard looks to be made of gold and the blade-   “Nn!” I’m slightly blinded as Celestia’s sun deflects from the blade at my eyes. Once I regain my focus, the blade, curved like the katana I have been using for so long, but made of the toughest steel, free of impurities but lined with pure silver. I examine the blade from all angles, trying to spot any nicks, tears or concaves I might find.   There is none.   “H-How?” I ask with astonishment lining every section of my voice. Never once had I revealed the secret as to the development of this type of weaponry, nor is it easy to make. Celestia points behind me with her hoof. I turn back to the crowd. That same merchant I met during my last visit to the market stands out in front of the audience. “You?”   “You did say I had to figure it out on my own.” He says with a smile, “15 failures later... She is born.” He motions to the weapon in my hand. I slowly turn back to the others while staring at the weapon with my mouth agape.   “But… the metal? And material?” She points in the opposite direction of me. On the other row, Steel Verrier smiles broadly.   “These bones may be old… but they still got a few good years left in them.” I turn back to the princesses.   Sheathing the sword, I look towards the sun princess. “Thank you. I accept this with my humblest of gratitude.” I bow to her. She copies the action back to me.   A smile is on both of our faces, a moment that neither of us should ever be ashamed of.   “Citizens of Equestria!” Princess Celestia shouts in the Royal Canterlot voice. Wow, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard her use that. “We present to you… Equestria’s New Champion!”   The entire room erupts into cheers as ponies clap their hooves together and stomp on the ground, coupled with the flashing lights of various photographers. I’ve never been one to actually like the photographers, but I’m just too damn happy right now to get mad.   My mind is somewhat blanked out at this moment. Next to the princesses, I’m now one of the most powerful and most influential soldiers ever to be graced in Equestria. My friends are cheering me on as well as the crowd in front of me going absolutely nuts, and the princesses having the proudest smiles I can tell on their faces. This is definitely something to be proud of. I smile a toothy grin.   “Meet me in my chambers after all this settles down.” Celestia whispers in my left ear. I nod my head back so she knows I understand. Huh, wonder what she needs?   I shake my head a bit and bask in the glow of my new achievement.   And with that achievement comes something else. My smile turns neutral. She wouldn’t have made me Equestria’s champion unless for a reason. Everything was going swimmingly while I was just an advisor… nooo. Something big is happening.   I wouldn’t be alive right now if I hadn’t listened to my sixth sense of sorts. For now, let’s just enjoy it…   <<<>>>   *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*   “Come in.”   “You wanted to see me Princess?”   “Yes I did, Swift.” The human walks in fully and closes the door and locks it. It’s night, just like the first time they met when he got to Canterlot, they take their spots at the fireplace once more.   “This isn’t gonna be one of those things where the princess falls for the gallant knight right?”   She looks at him quizzically, “Falling?”   “Nevermind.” That usually happens in some movies and novels regarding knights and kings and princesses… and queens. Swift thinks while looking away.   “Be that as it may,” she turns back to the fireplace. “There is something you should know.”   *Sigh* “This place feels like it’s going to be a bad habit of breaking important news with me involved.” He grunts.   She chuckles, “Maybe… however you don’t know what exactly it is I called you here for? For all intents and purposes, I could have just asked you here for a friendly little chat under the ruse of important news.” She coyly states with a smile.   He turns to her with a look of seriousness, “When is anything… little with you?” She stares at him for a few seconds, “Good point. Something important has come up.” They both turn their attention back to the roaring fireplace.   “What is it?”   “You remember that threat we received so long ago?”   “How can I forget? It’s the reason why I’ve introduced your soldiers with new technology and weapons.” He looks at her, “Why? Has there been a breakthrough?!” he quickly asks with hope lining his voice.   She slowly shakes her head, “I’m afraid not. Any and all leads we had thought were there have all been exhausted without a single clue as to who or what this threat is.”   *Smack* “Damnit.” Swift angrily curses with venom in his voice after he punches the mantle of the fireplace.   “Please.”   “Sorry.” He apologizes and retracts his hand, cringing a little as he sees the slight knuckle impression on the mantle.   “It is quite alright. I can understand your frustration on the matter. However I did recently come up with an idea.” He looks at her, obviously intrigued at the idea.   “You did? What is it?” Swift asks.   “I was thinking… if there are no viable threats to Equestria within Equestria itself… then maybe we need to go outside of here.”   Now that… caught my attention. He thinks and looks at her, “Outside?”   “Yes. There are various kingdoms, empires, tribes, clans, herds and countries around Equestria. I was thinking that maybe,  just maybe, the threat might have come from one of those places.” She casually explains.   Swift tenses up, “D-Do you mean a-“   “Not a war, hopefully. I was thinking more along the lines of some form of splinter or anti-pony group hidden under the leaders noses. After all, not many of the other species regard my citizens with as much… friendship as I’d like. Continuously calling us weak, pathetic and not worthy to live more often than not.”   “Ouch.”   “Yes, but it seems you are starting to prove them wrong in that department are you not?” she asks him with a smile. He nods yes. The royal guard, or the police force of sorts in Canterlot, along with the military divisions of Lunar and Celestial have become much better at fighting than most would expect. If they were to go to war, it would be pretty obvious that nopony would expect the introduction of new blackpowder weapons and explosives, plus their new fighting styles. They would be a force to be reckoned with. “I’m glad to hear that. What do you think?”   He calms down a bit at the thought. A full blown war is something that he clearly doesn’t wanna get in the middle of right now, but a renegade faction wouldn’t be as bad. Also, Equestria would probably get points with the other provinces on how good they are at weeding out those who threaten them. “That does sound a little logical. It’d be stupid to threaten an entire country within the country itself. But outside…?”   “Exactly.” Sounds like the two are in agreement on what exactly their course of action should be at this point. However, one other favor still remains for sun princess. “So you’ll do it?”   He raises his eyebrow in question, “… do what?”   “Be Equestria’s ambassador and find out who it is that threatened my - our - country?”   … Wow. Out of the blue why don’t you. Usually, when suddenly promoted like this, the one promoted tends to think: So the only reason as to why I’m given this great position is so I can become the most powerful… ambassador? “So basically… the only reason why you gave me this position is so I can travel to the surrounding countries and calmly ask them if they have any secret groups or organizations that hate pony guts with a passion that are willing to threaten you?”   “No, no no no nooo!” she immediately tries to push any negative thoughts from her Champion’s mind. “Out of everypony I have met in my time of being a princess for the thousands of years I have reined, you have been by far the greatest, most powerful, most compassionate, morally guided, and tactical creature I have ever met.” She looks at him closely, “You laughed in the face of danger more than once, you’ve suffered abuse beyond most… you tried to take on Discord just by yourself and defeated him in the end. This position isn’t given lightly.” She turns back to the fire, “I knew you were worthy of the title Champion for some time now, but I just needed one more thing to tip the scale in your favor.”   “The exhausted leads in Equestria…”   “Sparked the fact that those threats didn’t come from within, but outside. We needed somepony to go out with Equestria’s best interest at heart and do what they can to reveal the source of them. A pony would be obvious, but a human…?” she motions to me. “True, most of my kind wouldn’t exactly revere the ponies as a fighting force. Swift’s presence wouldn’t have as much attention on the matter. So with much hidden planning and resources, plus doing what we can to make sure you didn’t find out, we were finally able to finalize your coronation as Champion.” She finishes with a smile.   Damn, I didn’t really think about it like that. Even though I may not be of pony nature, she’s willing to place such a massive burden and honor upon my shoulders. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. The backlash of me failing as the advisor to Equestria’s military would have been bad. I guess now she’s willing to step it up a notch. Throughout all the torment, abuse, sacrifice and betrayal the human child has suffered through, here and back on earth, he has truly made him into a force to be reckoned with by all.   “You truly believe that don’t you?” he asks her quietly.   She nods, “I rarely make mistakes, Swift Wind.” She turns to him, “I am sure this isn’t one of them.” Her horn glows with her magic aura. She levitates a scroll sealed with her cutie mark symbol over to the Champion. She holds it in front of him. “I ask again, will you become Equestria’s ambassador, to travel as it’s voice and hoof to the different planes of civilizations around it, and ensure the protection of our country?” she asks with sincerity in her voice.   After everything that’s happened, it shouldn’t be a surprise as to what his next words are.   “What are my orders?” Celestia smiles and pushes the scroll slightly toward him. He takes it.   “But before you open it,” she halts him and her horn glows. “I feel I should give you your advanced paycheck to help prepare.”   “Oh princess, you don’t need-“   *Bam!*   … I swear I think I heard the floor crack.   <<<>>>   “Commander on deck!” Immediately every single military standing soldier and royal guard in the mess hall jumps to their hooves and salute me.   “At ease, everypony.” I calmly reply. They all go back to what they were doing as I scan the room. All these soldiers, all of them now under my full command. Man, I feel like the goddamn commander-in-chief of the USA.   “SWWIIIIFFFTTTT!!” Suddenly the most notable trait of this entire room comes in the form yet again as a bouncing pink ball of insurmountable fun I can never comprehend on the other side of the room. “OVER HEEEERRRRREEEE!!”   “Pinkie darling, calm down! No need to make everypony in the room deaf.” Rarity tries to calm down the energetic pony. I wave back to them and casually walk over to them. I have both of my swords crossing on my back with my hands behind me as well. Twilight, the rest of Element bearers, Spike, and Steel Verrier are at a table and conversing together. I smile at all their happy faces right now, because later on when we get home I’m pretty sure they’ll be saddened at the news that I’ll be leaving and not easily visited.   “Hello everypony.” I casually greet them.   “Hey Swift.” They reply.   “So Mr. Champion,” Rainbow starts, “What are your plans now? Exclusive lavish parties to celebrate the new perks? Oohh! Can you get me tickets to see the Wonderbolts in Manehattan next month?!” she hovers in front of my face really close at the last part. I chuckle in response.   “Get over here, pardner.” Applejack pulls her pegasus friend back down to her level with a bite and pull of her tail. “Stop smotherin’ him. He needs time to settle and relax… and maybe recommend the apple family business to someponies?” Just as soon as the farm pony pulls the excited pegasus from me, she gets excited.   “We’ll see girls.” I nonchalantly say as I sit down.   “Well, sir… I assume you’ll be needing a new wardrobe to truly signify your new position and authority?” Rarity says. She even hints to herself with a few twitches of her eyebrows. Wardrobe… yeah. Yeah, I’ll need something.   “And you’ll probably be sent to take on and defend hundreds of other pony folk who need help and defeat monsters who need to be defeated because they are big fat meanies who don’t know how to have fun and- Mmm mmf mamf!” Before I can get to it, Twilight pipes up the frantic earth pony with a magical zipper.   “What she means is you’ll probably be very busy, correct?” Steel Verrier asks. They all turn to me.   I sigh, “You don’t know the half of it. I’ve already got a new assignment that will require me to be precise and extremely careful.” I don’t reveal my true plan just yet. I don’t want them to make a fuss or a scene about it here, nor do I want Twilight to go to Celestia directly about it. She tends to be a bit protective.   “Oh my…”   “Sound like you’ll have your work cut out for you huh?” Twilight asks me. I nod as the pink pony struggles to pull the zipper on her mouth open.   “Eeyup. Until then I have to prepare.” I pull out both my swords and gently place them on the table. “You do good work, Steel.” I thank the elderly pony of the table. He smiles.   “Think nothing of it. When the Princess told me of her plan for you, and when I heard of that merchant working hard at trying to figure out the complexities of your sword,” he taps my old katana, “We both worked together and gave you this.” He taps my new katana. Seeing the differences between the two, maybe I should do something about that. A name would be awesome for that.   “Yeah…” I trail off and look at the two swords intently. My friends get confused. “Oh, sorry. I was just thinking…” I pick up both swords. “You think I should name these?” I look at both of them again. “Yeah, I think I should.”   “Oh that’s a perfect idea, Swift! What do you think of Beauty?” Rarity immediately agrees and recommends a name. Beauty and the Beast if you're implying… but hell no.   “How about Supreme?”   “Raven? Because your fast and all.”   “Greatness!”   “Mmm mmf!”   “Redeemer?”   “Uh… Courage?”   My friends continue to throw out different names for me to use on my weapons. I place them both down and look at them intently as my friends continue to ramble on. All the names seem good but I need something to really mean something to me. I need something to- Wait!   “I got it.” I grab my newest katana sword and hold it up. “I dub thee… Galaxy.” Next I pick up my old katana, “And I dub thee… Redemption.”   My friends stop and stare at me. “Why those?” Twilight asks.   I smile and pick up Galaxy. “Like the sun and moon, what are they apart of?” I ask.   “The Gala-… oh.”   “Yeah,” I slowly cut across the air in front of me above everypony else. “My authority now can be rivaled by any one of the princesses. Both would be needed in order to overrule my orders. I am still their citizen, the guardian and protector of the innocent lives of your kind my friends. The name just felt… fitting.” I explain.   “An interesting view on the name. Well done.” Verrier commends me on my choice.   “Thank you.” I sit back down and sheathe Galaxy.   “And wha’ ‘bout Redemption there?” Applejack points to it.   I pick it up and look at its side, “I never did a whole lot of good back in my world. I tried to, but it never really stuck. People were mostly scared of the fact that I just killed a person in front of them than the fact I just saved them.” I say sadly and gently glide my fingers along the side of the blade, “When I got this sword, I took more lives… in front of you all.” I motioned to my friends. They all look down sadly. It may have been a few months ago, but Equestria isn’t used to seeing lives taken like that. I still regret what I did that day. My friends never could look at me the same way again. All covered in blood, scratches… and cuts and…   I shake my head as the images begin to flood back. “After that day, I wasn’t shunned to get out of town or anything. You didn’t throw me out or hold that over my head all the time I’ve been here. No, you understood what I did.” My friends nod their heads a little. “And after I let those diamond dogs go, I felt better knowing I didn’t take any more lives.”   My voice begins to quiet down a little, “This sword, has done right by me plenty of times over. Since then, I’ve only fought in self-defense.” I hold Redeemer up. “I feel… redeemed… now. No longer have I the need to… kill out of it being the only option.” I smile. Killing was practically all my kind usually think of… for power, money, respect. I only did it to try and protect. It was after that Diamond Dog incident that I realized… killing is not always the best option. I have to be lenient from now on. I have to take in account that ponies aren’t used to killing… but if the threat is real, chances are they’ll probably need to get used to it.   “That’s an interesting way to see it, Swift.” Twilight tries to perk me up. I smile and sheathe Redeemer.   “Thank you, Twilight. *Sigh* Hopefully things won’t be as bad as I think it is with my new assignment and all.” I voice my concern.   “Let’s hope to that.” Rainbow Dash proposes as she holds up a mug of apple cider. Applejack pushes one in front of me. I look at the drink in front of me, then back to everypony else who all have mugs like me. Except Pinkie Pie who is still trying to open her zipper mouth.   I sigh and grab the mug, “I’ll drink to that. Cheers.”   “Cheers.” We all the mugs connect and we drink. In Equestria, Apple cider is sort of their light beer. I’m sure they still have other stronger alcohols, especially wines from all those fancy fru-fru events I had to attend. For now, I’ll just enjoy being with my friends like this.   But there’s still the matter of my equipment. Better get it over with.    I put the mug down and stand up from the chair.   *GAAASSSP* Pinkie Pie finally pulls the zipper open. “Oh! Finally got that off! Now-!”   “Pinkie, how’s about if you stay quiet for now, I will buy you 10,000 bits worth of the finest desserts anypony has ever made.” I propose.   Steel Verrier is the only one unfazed by the amount I just said right now, while everypony, and dragon, else all stare with mouths wide open, except Rainbow who spits her cider all over the fashionista pony. Oh hell, she’s gonna get it.   Pinkie slowly zips her mouth closed again.   “Now,” Since I know I won’t be interrupted, onto pressing matters. “Steel Verrier, you are about to come out of blacksmith retirement for one last order.” He nods. Looks like he’s been around long enough to not question the princesses authority, especially someone in my position.   “And Rarity… you are about to have the toughest order you have ever been commissioned to do.” I menacingly say.   A bead of sweat would probably roll down her face at the mention of that if she wasn’t covered in cider and looking completely mortified. My friends know that if I mean something like that, I mean it.   Let’s just hope she can pull through it…   ------------------------------- Feel really good on how quick I got this out. By the time this should be posted, I will have already been halfway done with the next chapter. These free times I have between classes are really paying off.   On a story, drastic changes eh? I felt I should… move away from the storyline. Like some of the other best authors I’ve seen recently, I came up with something else that I’m sure you all will find pretty interesting.   At this point, comment on what you think of this part so far. Remember, there’s still much to go on from this point.