//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: Speech // Story: Bolt of Love // by Silentpegasus //------------------------------// Chapter 13 Speech The white stallion opened his eyes to see Celestia’s sun breaking through the window. Lance got to his hooves and yawned. The stallion smelt something cooking and made his way down stairs to see the white Unicorn mare at the stove. Sweetie was munching on a piece of toast and smiled at the stallion. “Hey Lance.” She chimed. “Morning Sweetie.” He smiled. “You too Rarity.” “Morning darling.” Rarity chimed as she served him and herself a plate of fresh eggs. “How’s your head?” He asked as he sipped his coffee. “Much better. I guess I had a bit too much to drink last night.” “You know you shouldn’t drink too much sis.” Sweetie teased. Rarity pouted. The three Unicorns were then interrupted as a familiar red Phoenix swooped in and perched itself on Lance’s head. “What’s that?” Sweetie asked as she pointed at the bird. “This is Philomena. She’s Princess Celestia’s pet phoenix and acts as my personal messenger from time to time.” Lance said as the bird got off him and cawed. “What is it girl?” The Phoenix opened it’s beak and a red flame escaped her mouth. The flame swirled and turned into a scroll. Lance levitated it in front of himself and unrolled it. His green yes went over the parchment and he groaned. “Tell her I’ll be there.” The stallion then summoned an orange and tossed it towards the bird. Philomena caught the fruit in her beak and flew out the window that she came in. “What was that about?” Rarity asked. “Celestia needs me in Canterlot for the day.” He grumbled. “Are you gonna stay there?” Sweetie asked. “No, I just have to give a speech to some new recruits. The guard always has some officer do it every year and since Armor is busy I’m the next choice.” He said as he stood up and he summoned his saddle bags. “I should be back by tomorrow at the latest.” “Have fun and I’ll tell the girls that you’ll be away.” Rarity smiled. “Thanks Rarity.” The stallion trotted towards the door. “See you all later.” He said with a wave. The stallion trotted out of the boutique and into the busy town. As he neared the train station Lance spied a familiar lavender mare and purple scaled dragon. “Hey Twilight.” The mare turned around and saw the white stallion. “Oh hello Lance. What are you doing here?” The mare asked as she looked at his saddle bags. “I got a message from Celestia and I have to give a speech to the trainees.” The stallion grumbled. The stallion then noticed the mare’s bags. “What about you?” “Celestia and I are going to have lunch.” “So a tea party?” He asked as the two picked up their tickets. “Sort of. We’re going to be talking about my next few lessons.” “Still a student of hers? I remember the day Shining told me that his little sister became Celestia’s pupil.” He chuckled. “So you two are tight?” Spike asked. “Well, we’re close. In terms of actual tightness I can only speak for myself.” Twilight shivered in disgust. “Oh lighten up Sparkle.” The stallion said as he ruffled her mane with his hoof. “Hey!” Twilight frowned as she straightened her mane again. “Sorry, force of habit. I always did that to my sisters when they’d get too serious.” The stallion chuckled. The trio took a train booth and sat down across from one another. “So how did things go with Rarity last night?” As the words left the mare’s lips the baby dragon perked up. “Things went all right. Up until your brother and Cadence showed up.” He groaned. “Why?” “Cadence retold not one our best moments.” He said with a small blush on his face. “Hopefully Rarity will forget that part.” The stallion shivered. Lance leaned his head back and decided to catch a few Z’s. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It had been a month since the two stallions endured Cadence’s punishment and things seemed to get back to abnormal. The white stallion and his two friends were sitting in their room idly chatting with one another. Lance had to admit that things had become...awkward with Midnight. Often times he’d find himself alone with her and the two just held an awkward silence between them, until either Shining or another pony would join in on their conversation. The ponies stopped when they heard a knock on their door. Lance opened it up to see a tan earth pony stallion with a messenger bag. “Hello, I’m looking for Splintered Lance.” “You’re looking at him.” The stallion gave him a letter and Lance threw him a bit. The stallion sat on his bed and opened the letter. His eyes scanned over it and the other ponies saw fright in his eyes and a gulp come from him. “You okay?” Shining asked. “Uh....yeah. I just gotta see Bronze about something.” The stallion said as he quickly made his way out of the room. “What was that about?” Midnight asked. Shining gave a shrug and returned to his reading. Lance hastily made his way towards the General’s office. He gave a hard knock and waited. “Come in.” A familiar voice said. Lance walked inside and saw the black stallion neck deep in paperwork with an aggravated look on his face. “I tell you boy, when you get to be my age, never get assigned to be an administrative-” The dark stallion then noticed that Lance had a grim look on his face. “What’s wrong?” The stallion levitated the letter over to the dark stallion. Bronze’s golden eyes ran across the page and the stallion’s eyes shrank. “Lance I’m-” The white stallion held up a hoof. “Mind if I take two weeks off?” “Take three. Celestia knows you’ll need it.” The dark stallion pulled out a form and quickly scribbled a few things on a piece of paper. “I’ll send this form in and you can leave this afternoon.” Lance gave a salute. “Thank you sir.” “I told you to knock that sir shit off.” Bronze said in a flat tone. Lance made his way towards the door. “Are you okay?” “No,” He said as he opened the door. “but thanks for asking.” Lance left the office and made his way back to his room. He cracked open the door and saw that Midnight and Shining were out. Probably doing rounds. Lance grabbed a duffle bag and started packing his things. The white stallion quietly made his way out of his room and towards the train station. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lance stirred as he felt the train pull to a stop. He opened his eyes to see Twilight putting a book away and stretching her hooves in the air. The stallion cracked his neck and yawned. Lance got to his hooves and followed the mare towards the castle. Lance made his way towards the barracks and waved back towards Twilight who continued onward towards the main castle. “So what happened between him and Rarity?” Spike asked as he looked at the mare. Twilight gulped as she tried to think of how to word it. The mare knew about the tiny drake’s crush on the dress maker and nervously scratched her chin. “Rarity thought that it would be a good idea to take Lance out for dinner as a thank you for all he’s done since he arrived in Ponyville.” “Just what has he done?” He said as he folded his arms. “Spike!” The mare said as she glared at the dragon. “Lance saved the entire town from an Ursa Major and Rarity from a manticore. He deserved a little thank you.” The mare narrowed her eyes at the drake who sighed. “Whatever.” He said as the two made their way into the main hall. Twilight smiled as she saw her mentor sitting on her throne with a long scroll in front of her. “Twilight Sparkle, my prize pupil.” She said with a smile. Twilight quickly made her way up to the Alicorn and smiled. “A pleasure to see you as well Spike.” The dragon gave a small nod. Celestia raised an eyebrow and looked at Twilight who shook her head. “Let me just finish these last few reports up and then we’ll get to it.” “Not a problem Princess.” Twilight smiled and waited for the Princess to finish the last few pages. The Alicorn sighed and quickly sat up and cracked her neck. “The downsides of being a Princess.” She chuckled. “Now let’s get out of here and find a more relaxing place to chat.” The Alicorn smiled and led the two visitors out of the main hall. Twilight perked up when she saw a dark Unicorn stallion with a faded yellow mane. The stallion had a few wrinkles and looked like he was in his mid to late forties. Beside him was a white guard in gold plated armor. “Ah General, how did the meeting go?” Celestia asked. “Bout as well as you might expect.” He sighed. The stallion looked at Twilight and smiled. “This must be Twilight Sparkle.” “That’s right.” Celestia said with a grin. “Twilight, this is General Bronze Star.” Twilight’s eyes shrank as she recognized the name. “It’s an honor to meet you sir.” Twilight said with a small bow. The dark stallion face hoofed. “Ugh, I hate that sir crap. Just call me Bronze.” The stallion then tapped him on the shoulder. “General, the Colonel will be speaking any moment.” The General gave a nod and looked back at the Princess. “Sorry your highness, duty calls.” Twilight perked up. “Colonel? You mean Lance?” Bronze froze and looked back at the lavender mare. “How do you know him?” “He’s been stationed in Ponyville for a little over a month now.” Bronze bit his lip and slowly casted a dark glance at the Princess. “Interesting. Well, if either of you want to watch, its free and let me tell you that his speeches are.....entertaining to say the least.” The dark stallion turned and continued down the hall. “Lance mentioned that he’d give a speech.” Twilight said as she thought. “Do you wish to watch?” Celestia asked. “Sure.” Twilight said as they went after the dark stallion. The trio found themselves over looking the courtyard and a few rows of ponies standing in line. Each had the word ‘Trainee’ on their uniforms. “Twiley!” The lavender mare looked to her right to see her older brother trotting over to her. “Hey Shining. Here to watch Lance?” “Yup, this year he drew the short straw.” He chuckled. The group quieted down and saw Lance coming out with a normal gold armor set on. Twilight raised an eyebrow at the normalcy of the attire. “Cadets Attention!” The drill instructor yelled. The ponies all became rigid as statues. Twilight then noticed a table with four picture frames on it. “You all wanna know how big my balls are? My balls are bigger than two of your heads duck taped together.” Lance walked in front of the first row with a stern look on his face. “I have been in the middle of shit that would make you all piss yourselves right now. Equestria, Griffonia, Shadow lands. But you don’t see any medals on my chest ass holes. Cause I ain’t no hero, I’m a soldier.” The group all gulped. “We’re not in the business of making heroes, we’re in the business of discovering cowards and that’s what you are if you can’t take the heat. There ain’t no room for cowards in the Canterlot Royal Guard.” A brown Pegasus stallion looked back at the stallion behind him and chuckled. When he turned around he saw the emerald eyes of death glaring at him. “What are you laughing at hot shot?” The Pegasus felt his blood run cold. “Huh? What’s so Celestia-damn funny?” “I-” “Shut up!” The officer bellowed. “Speak when spoken to.” The stallion shut his mouth and stood still. “You whelps better pray that you never get put under my command because I have seen it all.” Lance walked up to the table and stood next to the framed photos. “I knew sixty guards that gave their lives in the Changeling attack.” The stallion cracked the vertebrae in his neck. “Sixty. Four of them, were part of my old squad.” He pointed to the first picture. A bright red unicorn mare with a purple mane. “Comet Shooter. Found her almost whole.” The next was light green Unicorn with a bright yellow mane and tail. “Ivy Wintergreen. Found her almost whole, hugging a civilian foal.” The third picture was of a teal Pegasus mare with a dark blue mane. “Misty Breeze. Found her head.” The group all held their heads low. The final picture had a grey Pegasus stallion with an electric blue mane. “Sky Shooter. Wanna know what I found of him? What I was able to bring back to his wife and parents?” The group was on edge hoping for something. “A feather. That’s all. A feather.” The recruits felt their heart sink and Twilight felt a tear form in her eyes. “These four were better ponies and guards then any of you will ever be! Their names are forever engraved in greatness and now the guard has you. The fresh meat.” Lance said as he bit his lip. “It brings me to shame to see that you all are going to try to replace them. So if you think that you can then prove it! Work hard and maybe, just maybe you’ll be half of what these ponies were.” Lance stepped down from the stand. “Say thank you recruits!” “Thank you Colonel Splintered Lance.” The white stallion rolled his eyes and continued to make his way towards the exit. The lavender mare gulped and looked at the guard Captain who had a grim look on his face. “D-did all that stuff really happen?” Twilight asked. “Afraid so.” The white stallion sighed. “Lance told me after you all had left to go back to Ponyville.” Shining hung his head. “I went through the academy with a lot of those guys.” Twilight put a hoof on her brother’s shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known what would happen.” “No pony saw it coming.” Celestia said. “Trust me son,” The ponies looked to see the dark stallion walking up to them. “in all my years in the guard, I’ve never seen anything like what happened.” The stallion sighed. “Believe me missy,” Bronze said as he looked at the mare. “no pony knows that better than Lance.” “Sounds like you know him well.” Twilight said. “I should. I taught him everything he knows.” Twilight looked at the stallion in shock. “Now if you need me, I’ll return to my paper work.” He grumbled. “See you later Armor.” “Sir.” Shining said with a salute. “I told you I hate that sir crap!” He said as he walked away from the group. “Sorry Twiley, but I gotta go.” Shining said before he teleported away from her. Twilight looked up at her mentor and felt a silence come between them before celestia smiled. “Well, now that that’s out of the way, how about that tea?” “I’d love some.” Twilight then accompanied her mentor back towards the main part of the castle. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shining and Midnight made their way down the marble hallway leading towards Bronze’s office. When they had gotten back from their shift they found that their roommate’s stuff was gone and he was nowhere on the base. It had been three days since then and after asking the sarge countless times they decided to go straight for the throat. Shining gave a hard knock on the door and the two waited. “I’ll be just a minute.” Midnight snarled and opted for the direct approach. She kicked the door down and looked to see the dark stallion with a blank look on his face. “Okay.” He rolled his eyes and folded his hooves over one another. “So how can I help you two today?” He asked in a cheery tone. “Sir, we’re wondering where Lance is.” Shining said as he fixed the door with his magic. “We came back from our rounds and the idiot is nowhere to be found? The LT said he was last seen with you.” The bat mare said as she glared at the stallion. Bronze blinked twice in surprise at the words. “You mean he didn’t tell you?” “Tell us what?” The dark stallion sighed and sat back. “Lance received a letter the other day from his mother. His father passed away.” Both ponies felt their blood run cold. “The stallion had a heart attack and he didn’t make it. Lance is down with his family for the funeral and a bit after to make sure his family will manage.” “Holy Celestia.” Shining said with a sigh. “Is he okay?” “Bout as well as you might think.” Shining bit his lip. “I gave him three weeks leave, hopefully he comes back.” “What are you talking about?” Midnight asked. “I’ve seen this before. Father dies, so the pony leaves for the funeral. Ends up staying to help the family. Doesn’t come back.” “Couldn’t he get in trouble for that?” Shining asked. “Oh yeah. Big time.” Bronze said. “If he ain’t back here in three weeks then I’ll be forced to tell Celestia and he’ll be arrested for desertion.” The privates looked at him in shock. “Hey I don’t want to do it anymore than you do. He’s a good stallion and a hell of a guard and I’d hate to lock him up.” The two looked at one another and sighed. Midnight bit her lip and looked at the stallion. “What if someone makes sure he comes back?” The two stallions looked at her in confusion. “Look, if he doesn’t want to come back then you’re gonna have to send somepony down there anyway.” Shining had a smug grin on his face. “Look, we don’t want him to leave,” The bat mare said as she pointed to herself and Shining. “and you don’t want him gone. So what if you send somepony-” “And when she say’s somepony she means-” The mare discretely slugged him in the ribs. Midnight gave him the ‘talk and I’ll kill you' look. Bronze bit his lip and shrugged. “Makes sense. But who to send?” He said in an innocent tone. “I’ve taught Lance a lot of things. He knows how to get out of a bad situation if he feels threatened. We need to send somepony he trusts and knows him.” “Sorry, I’ve got officer training coming up.” He said as he glanced at Midnight. “Right, I think Lance was thrown in that too. So that leaves you.” He said as he looked at the bat mare. Midnight felt her face blush. “Me?” “Well, he has been your roommate for over two years. Granted I’ve also seen you kick his ass.” The group chuckled. Midnight was hiding behind her white mane. “Well, if you won’t go then I’ll send-” “No, I’ll go, but how are we going to explain it?” “The brass owes me a few favors.” He grinned. “Go pack your stuff. I’ll find the address.” “Thanks Bronze.” She said with a salute. The bat mare quickly ran out the door. “See? She gets it.” Bronze said as he sat back in his chair. “She likes him doesn’t she?” “Oh yeah.” Shining grinned. A little while later the bat mare took her armor and a saddle bag before boarding the train to Missourneigh. The mare looked out the window and gazed at the changing scenery before nodding off to sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight and Spike sat across from Celestia and the three started to chat about recent events. “So Twilight, how has Lance been doing in Ponyville?” She asked with a smile. “Well, he’s done a very good job.” Twilight said with a smile. “He saved one of our local spa owners from her crazy ex and the Ursa incident.” She then scratched her chin. “His methods are a bit...extreme to say the least, but he means well.” The two then saw the door opened to reveal the yellow maned General. “Afternoon Princess.” He said with a nod. “You too Ms. Sparkle.” “Hello general.” Twilight said with a smile. “Please call me Bronze.” He said as he walked over to them. “We were just talking about Lance.” Celestia said. “I figured. That’s why I’m here.” The general sat down and sighed. “What in the name of the moon were you thinking sending him to some back water town to play babysitter?” He said in a rough tone. Twilight was taken back by the stallion’s words. “If he stays there then all that anxiety is going to collect and explode!” “Why do you think I sent him there? I sent him to heal.” Celestia said. “Come now Tia, do you honestly think that sending him to a quiet peaceful town is going to make him feel any better?” He said as he looked at Twilight. “No offense to Ms. Sparkle, but sending him to play bodyguard is possibly the worst idea ever, of all time.” Celestia frowned. “We both know what he’s capable of or have you forgotten when he came back from-” He stopped when he remembered Twilight was in the room. “You mean when he went AWOL.” The two looked at the scholar in surprise. “Lance told us that he went against orders to rescue some hostages that were taken by the Changelings during the attack.” “Yes, he did.” Celestia stated. “Why didn’t you send anypony to go get him?” Twilight asked. Bronze sighed and bit his lip. “During his escape he grabbed a few ‘sensitive documents’ and held them for ransom.” “He blackmailed you?” Spike said in shock. “I taught him too well.” Bronze said with a shrug. “But upon his return he gave them back and he didn’t tell anypony anything.” “How can you be sure?” Twilight asked. Bronze leaned in with a blank look on his face. “If he had then we’d be neck deep in a war with the Griffins.” Twilight gulped at the words. “Sorry Princess, but I’ve still got mountains of paperwork to sift through.” The stallion groaned. As the dark stallion left Celestia looked at her still stunned student. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Midnight awoke as the train came to a stop and yawned. She looked out the window to see a small town with a lot of open land around them. As she stepped off the platform she immediately felt eyes on her. She ignored them and made her way through the small town. Her spliced eyes winced in the sunlight and she made her way into the a saloon. The bat mare made her way through the swinging doors and the entire room was filled with ponies chatting with one another. They all fell silent as they saw Midnight enter and approach the bar. Some looked at her in fear and others in shock. She sat herself on the stool and got the bartender’s attention. “Hey barkeep.” She said as the stallion grunted. “Got a question for ya.” “Why should I answer it?” He asked. “Cause if you don’t then I’ll jam you into that glass you’re pretending to clean.” She said in a rough tone. The stallion put the glass down and glared into her unwavering eyes. “You got some nerve. You come into my bar and demand information?” He chuckled as a few stallion’s stood up and got behind the mare. “I think you need to learn some manners.” One of the stallion’s charged and the bat mare’s ears twitched. Midnight dodged the blow and grabbed the stallion’s mane and smashed his head into the bar before kicking him back. The other one was bigger and looked a lot stronger. Midnight dodged his blow and delivered a powerful punch to the stallion’s snout. She then wrapped her tail around his back hoof and pulled his leg out from under him. The third managed to get the bat mare in a headlock and started to apply pressure. The bat mare slammed her back hoof into the stallion’s gut and he grunted in pain, but still held onto her. Leaving no other option Midnight opened her mouth and bit down hard on the stallion’s arm. She tasted blood in her mouth and heard the stallion scream in pain as he let go. Midnight grabbed his hoof and flipped him over her back and into a nearby table. As a few other stallion’s get up she takes out a gem that looked like a spliced eye. She pressed it on her chest and bits of purple armor sprouted out and ensnared her body. “I am Private Midnight Star of the Equestrian Royal Guard.” The crowd gulped. “If you all want to go to prison you’re welcome to take another swing.” She said in a menacing tone. The bartender gulped and the other stallions sat back down. “Now I’ve got a question for all you dumb hicks and I’m only gonna say it once!” The mare’s eyes scanned the crowd. “I’m looking for Splintered Lance, white Unicorn stallion, red-” “We know him.” The bartender said. “They’re pa passed away a few days ago. Good stallion.”
 “I’m well aware.” She sighed. “Now where is their farm?” The bartender fell silent. Midnight rolled her eyes and rolled her eyes. “We can do this the easy way,” The mare raised her right armored hoof and two large claws came out of the armor and a few sparks arced between the claws. “or the hard way.” The bartender sighed and pointed towards the door. “Make a right, end of the road you’ll see the sign. Can’t miss it.” Midnight nodded and stepped over the knocked out stallions. “Sorry about the mess.” She said as she pressed the jewel and the armor retracted back into the gem. The bat mare cracked her neck and took flight. The mare felt the warm air blow her white mane as her eyes scanned the area. She found the sign and a long dirt road stretching up to a barn house surrounded by orange trees. The mare touched down and walked up the wooden porch and knocked on the screen door. The door opened to show a green mare. “Florida right?” “Y-yeah, Midnight Star right?” Midnight nodded. “Um what are you doing here?” “Looking for Lance.” She said in a blank tone. Corset then came from the kitchen and looked at Midnight. A look of worry came over her face. “Please, he said that he had weeks and-” “I’m not here to take Lance back,” The two let out a sigh of relief. “yet. He still has two weeks and I need him back then.” The two mare’s raised an eyebrow at the words. Midnight blushed when she realized what she said. “The guard needs him back or he could face serious charges.” The two gulped. “I’m just here to accompany him or drag him back.” “I see.” Corset said. “He’s out in the South field. Been working non-stop since the funeral.” She sighed. “I heard. I’m sorry for your loss.” Midnight said with a sigh. “I’m not just here to take Lance back when his time is up. I’m here to make sure he’s doing okay.” The bat mare stated. “How are you going to drag him back?” Florida asked. “I’m not doubting your abilities of a guard. I’m just saying that Lance is strong.” The group heard the door that lead out back open and hoof steps against the tile floor. Midnight put a hoof to her lips and walked out of the doorway and hid on the outside of the house. The white stallion walked into the room and saw his mother and sister. “Who’s at the-” The door burst open and a grey and white blur tackled the stallion with a rope. After a quick scuffle, the bat mare came out on top and had successfully hogtied the stallion, taped his mouth shut and put an anti magic ring on his horn. Florida was on the ground in laughter and was holding her sides. Even Corset gave a giggle. “That answer your question?” Midnight said as the stallion muffled something. “Oh this is too perfect!” Florida laughed. “You just got your flank kicked by a mare!” Midnight trotted over to Lance and ripped the tape off him. “Ow!” Lance said as he licked his lips. “What in the name of Celestia are you doing here Midnight?” He asked as he glared at the bat mare. “What I can’t drop by and say hi?” She said in a sweet tone. “I hate you.” “No you don’t.” “Mind getting me out of this?” “Wait a second.” Florida said as she grabbed a camera and took a few pictures of her tied up brother. “Just for when you get smart with me again, I’ll have something to use.” She giggled. Lance growled at his sister as Midnight took the ring off his horn and undid the rope. Lance rubbed his wrists and cracked his neck. “You’re a peach Flori.” He then turned his attention to the bat mare. The other two mares quickly made themselves scarce. “Now why are you really here Midnight?” Midnight let her ears flop down. “I-I heard about your dad.” Lance sighed. “Sorry to hear, he seemed like a cool guy.” “Yeah well, what’s done is done. He went peacefully.” The white stallion said with a shrug. “Just staying so that my family has something to live off of for a while.” The stallion said as he looked at the mare. Corset then poked her head out of the kitchen doorway. “Will you be staying for dinner Midnight?” “Nah I’m sure I could grab something in to-” The bat mare then remembered the group of stallions she beat up. “I don’t want o be a burden and-” “Oh hush now. It’s no trouble at all. Any friend of Lance’s is welcome here.” Midnight smiled at the warm words. “Thanks. Let me just wash up first.” The bat mare then looked at Lance. “Wheres the bathroom?” “Upstairs end of the hall.” He said as he pointed towards the staircase leading to the upper level. Midnight nodded and made her way down the hall. Lance took a seat at the dinner table and saw Pomegranate walk through the door. “Hey sis, what’s up?” “You didn’t hear? Some crazy pony came into town and beat up the three stallions that work on the railroad.” “Crazy pony?” Lance said as he squinted and thought for a moment. “Did they say who it was?” “Nope, but they said it was some weird monster.” “Would it look like a bat?” The red mare’s eyes shrank. “Yeah! Thats what Whiskey said.” Lance face hoofed and sighed. “How’d you know?” “Call it a hunch.” He said as Midnight trotted into the room. The red mare squeaked in surprise and put the pieces together. “Nighty, did you cream three stallions on your way over here?” The mare blushed in embarrassment and sat down next to him. “Maybe.” The stallion groaned. “Hey, they started it. All I wanted was to find out where this place was and I asked nicely.” “Wouldn’t it have made more sense to spot this place from a cloud?” Lance suggested. Midnight opened her mouth but found no argument and crossed her front hooves. The group sat down to eat and started to chat with one another. Midnight grinned and told them about when she and Cadence caught them outside her home. Lance put his front hooves over his head as the group roared in laughter. After dinner had ended Lance made his way up to his room and sighed. He looked up at the ceiling and started to doze off when he heard a knock on his door. The stallion used his magic to open it and he saw the bat mare with a cot and a pillow. “Need something Midnight?” “Just getting ready to go to bed.” “Why in here?” Lance asked. “I’m pretty sure that I’d give your sister’s a heart attack if they saw a bat pony sleeping in their room if they woke up in the middle of the night.” She said as she put the cot down and threw the pillow on top before crashing. “Goodnight.” “Night.” The stallion said as he turned off the light with his magic. A n hour later the stallion stirred and looked around the room. A soft snore got his attention. The stallion looked down and his mind froze. Midnight was happily using his chest for a pillow and had her wing wrapped over him along with her hooves. At first the stallion wanted to nudge her awake, but then remembered what happened the last time he woke up the bat mare in the middle of the night. He still had the scars. Lance sighed and felt the mare snuggle closer so her muzzle was close to his chest. Lance hesitantly put a hoof around her and fell asleep as he heard the bat mare’s steady breaths. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight trotted towards the train station and saw the familiar white Unicorn waiting for the next train. “Hey Twilight.” Lance said with a nod. “How did the tea party go?” “Good.” She said with a gulp. “Nice to hear that you don’t think I’m so bad after all.” Twilight and Spike looked at him in surprise. “I suppose you’re both wondering how I know?” The two gave him a nod. The stallion put his hoof in Twilight’s mane and started to dig around. “Hey!” Twilight said in an annoyed tone. “Hold still I’ve almost got it.” He said as he continued digging. “Gotcha!” He said as he withdrew his hoof and pulled out a small gem. “What’s that?” Spike asked. “It’s a bug.” “Then kill it!” Twilight said as she cringed back. Lance face hoofed. “Not that type of bug purple smart.” Twilight’s face flushed at the nick name. “The kind you use to listen in on ponies. When you told me that you were meeting with Celestia I figured that I’d be brought up eventually.” He shrugged as he made the gem vanish. “You bugged me?” She yelled. Lance rolled his eyes as the train pulled into station. “Oh calm down. Anything that doesn’t concern me I don’t care about. I know that sounds bad, but its how I do things. I’m sure that Bronze knew anyway. He could see something like this coming from a mile away.” “What did you hear?” Twilight asked. “Only the stuff you, the Princess and Bronze talked about over lunch.” Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “Why?” “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t listening in on anything else.” She said as she scoffed boarded the train. Lance followed behind her and sighed. “Look I’m sorry okay. What do you want from me?” He sighed. Twilight raised an eyebrow and looked at the stallion. “Why did you go so far to get back some hostages?” Lance looked at her in surprise. “I know that it’s your job to do stuff like that, but to go against Shining who’s your best friend? To go that far means that the pony was very important.” Lance bit his lip and let the silence bake between them for Celestia knows how long. It seemed like an eternity before Lance got up and broke the silence. “If your wife was taken by Changelings wouldn’t you do everything in your power to get her back?” Twilight’s blank expression faltered and looked at the stallion. To the untrained eye, Lance’s expression would just be like normal, but for someone who’s seen him every day for weeks, Twilight could see that for the first time Lance was hurting inside. “Lance I didn’t-” “No, you didn’t.” The stallion said as he went to find another seat. Twilight sighed and hung her head in shame. She rested her head against the window and let the rocking train car lull her to sleep.