//------------------------------// // Fate // Story: Stripe's Corruption // by Fluttershy Phoenix //------------------------------// Taking a deep breath, Stripe looks out over the desert sands. His dark blue night guard armor is in tatters as the broken pieces of metal fall to his sides and into the soft sand. The two changeling amulets are clearly seen wrapped around his neck as he stairs off into the night sky. Twice he had failed to protect what was important to him. Shifting his weight, he throws the shield he had on his back aside before cursing Princess Celestia and the Elements of Harmony. A week earlier, Stripe is patrolling Canterlot and going about his normal civic duties. He had been happily living in Equestria for nearly seven years now and he had nothing but good things to say about where he lived. Stripe is a zebra. He has a very complicated and sordid past. He was married prior to his arrival in Equestria and he had hoped that his reason for traveling here had been under better circumstances. However, fate had had a different agenda. He had lost his previous wife because of a misjudgment made by those he had thought were his allies. He had been betrayed by his own kind. Now, here he was in Equestria and living amongst beings that seemed to be very friendly and overly eager to help whenever possible. Well, most seemed to fit that whereas the nobles here were slightly less so. Standing taller than most zebras, Stripe is about the size of Big Mac, perhaps a little smaller. Over the past few years with help from Luna and Celestia, he has managed to learn and make use of some of the changeling magic he had been given courtesy of his amulets. His traditional dress now is the form fitting night guard armor. The dark blue and lightweight armor looks sinister, but it is all about form and function. It is nowhere near as bulky as the armor of the royal guards of the day. His striped mane is kept neatly organized even when under his helmet. Walking towards his room, he heard his stomach rumble. It may have been midnight, but this was his lunchtime. Opening the nearby pantry, he pulled out some bread and then selected some roses from the counter. Making himself a sandwich, he ate through it quickly before levitating an apple over as his eyes glowed green. Levitation was one of the few magic skills he'd learned quickly, the others being teleportation and the use of changeling wings/walking on clouds. Exiting the room, he closed the door behind him. “Stripe, could you please come here for a minute.” The sound of Luna's voice was unmistakable, especially to Stripe. Heading for a nearby balcony of sorts, he stepped out onto it and saw the fairly heavyset form of Luna. Like his previous wife, Luna had decided to put on some weight for Stripe. The pair had only been married for seven months, but their love was strong. “You want something?” Luna's sullen look and the amount of silence suggested the topic was one she really did not wish to discuss despite the fact she knew she had to. She was no doubt going over the scenarios in her mind and choosing the best way to word it. The crunch of the apple snapped her out of her thoughts for a moment as she turned her head to see Stripe chewing on the apple. “I'm waiting,” he stated. “I know, dear husband. What I have to say is neither easy for me to say nor pleasant to talk about.” “When I finally spoke about my lost wife, it was very hard for me.” “The one I intend to talk about is still living.” Stripe looked at the balcony floor. Was it about him? She had never seemed unhappy and had put on the weight willingly. However, her glance was almost steadfast in a singular direction. The direction was not back towards him, but rather across the kingdom at something else. Stepping tentatively out, he looked out across the kingdom to try and get some idea of who she was thinking about. “I am starting to have thoughts about my sister.” Stripe looked towards his right where Luna stood. Near as he could tell, she and Celestia were very good to this country. They helped anypony that they could without worry. They had even helped him out quite a bit. They gave him a place to work, gave him purpose and Luna gave him a family. Sure, his mother Zecora was still in Ponyville, but that wasn't quite the family he had in mind. He wanted a wife and children. So far, he had only ever succeeded in getting a wife. First with Artemisia, and now with Luna. So, with that in mind, he was wondering just why Luna was having thoughts about her sister. Judging from her tone, he had half a mind she had some sort of distrust for the white alicorn. Of course, his only question was why. As she sighed again, it seemed he was about to get his answer. “I have noticed my sister's days getting longer. It is not summer, it is fall and fast approaching winter.” Stripe really didn't know what to say, but he was fairly certain she was mistaken. “Luna. The nights are longer now. My patrol last night never seemed to come to an end. It is nights like these that I learn to hate because they are so long. I love looking up at the beautiful night sky to see how your artistic touch is put to work, but the time spent away from you is almost unbearable. It isn't as bad as it was when I was in the Zebrafrican desert, but it is still not pleasant to be away from your loved ones for any amount of time.” “Are you overprotective of me?” “Luna, I am overprotective of all of my family. I failed to protect Mia, I will not fail you.” “Stripe, you could never fail me.” The dark blue alicorn returned her gaze to where her sister was currently sleeping. “Is there anything else you wish to discuss?” “I feel that my sister has been........overstepping some in how she rules. I also fear that she may not be helping when her help is actually warranted. Oftentimes, such disasters happen in the middle of the day when I am asleep. Yet my sister does nothing. She doesn't even wake me so that I may help.” “I am sure she has her reasons.” “Yes.” Sensing that perhaps Luna needed some time alone, Stripe excused himself to return to his patrol. As he walked along his predetermined mental path, he was looking every which way. Typically, he looked for whatever he could find that was illegal. In general, it was usually somepony ripping somepony else off. A lot of times he would simply step in and listen to both sides before making a decision on what to do. Typically, his role was more of a police officer than a soldier or guard. In truth he didn't really mind it, but it did seem a bit boring at times. The rest of the night went off without a hitch as he began to make his way back to his room as the sun began to rise into the sky while the moon set. Looking up, he spotted Celestia and waved to her. She waved back, but she seemed to be miffed about something. “Okay, what did I do to make her mad?” Shrugging his shoulders, he walked by one of the day guards. “The nighttime is a place for nothing but criminals.” Turning his head, Stripe cleared his throat, “Could you repeat that please!” “You heard me. And you cannot do anything. Night guards have no authority during the day.” The orange furred stallion gasped as he saw a sword blade inches from the tip of his nose. “I do not know what happened to make you act this way, but I will not tolerate it. I am Captain of the Guard regardless of what shift I have. My position was given to me by both princesses. If you do not like it, you can simply quit.” “I won't. Somepony has to stay here and keep you from corrupting Celestia too.” “I didn't corrupt anypony. You are gravely mistaken. Fortunately for you, ponies are not in the same vengeance mindset as zebras are, so I will spare your life.” As Stripe headed for his room, the guard simply snorted and growled before heading out onto his own patrol. As Stripe entered the tower and started to climb the stairs, he couldn't help but glance behind him. Why was that guard so hostile? Luna wasn't corrupted. Maybe Luna and Celestia had another argument that went overboard......again. Luna was seen laying on a nearby couch. Her large belly stretched out between her legs as it's softness did indeed look inviting. However, her look was solemn and full of irritation. “What was the argument about this time?” “My weight. Celestia thinks I am unfit to rule the night because I have gained weight.” Stripe was forced to look down before he cocked his head to the side. “I thought the ponies had gotten over such..........trivial prejudices.” “Hardly.” “I may have to have a word with her.” “She is already upset at you and will likely just get even more upset.” Sighing, Stripe resolved to try and find some way to settle or deal with it the following evening. He was currently too tired and needed some rest. So, he slid into bed after leaving himself a reminder to work on dealing with the prejudices that evening. Stripe did not have the most restful sleep as he was plagued by nightmares. Nightmares of losing Luna. Finally, he awoke with a start and looked about the room. It was late evening as evident by the sun's location. Luna was resting on the couch in much the same position she was that morning. Getting up, Stripe made himself a quick daisy sandwich before heading out. Most of the other night guards were out and many were at the bottom of the tower. The female pegasus that he had first been introduced to in the night guard, Star Light, approached. “Is it true? Is it true that Celestia thinks her sister unfit to rule the night? Celestia raised the moon herself.” “WHAT!?” Stripe glanced back up towards the tower before he looked towards Celestia's room. “Wake Luna.” The female pegasus mare nodded as she headed up the stairs. “I want the rest of you to listen up! I don't know what is going on, but I do not like it! I do not tolerate prejudice of any kind! We will stand up for Luna and show Celestia that one does not need to fit the modern standards to be a ruler! FOR LUNA!!!” Raising his mace and sword into the air, he saw all of the night guard follow suit before shouting, “FOR LUNA!!!” “What do we do?” Stripe turned towards the black furred male guard who asked, “We head to Luna's tower and fortify it. If Celestia wants to rule the night and put her sister in the dirt, then she can guard the night too.” Star Light and Luna exited the tower a moment later as Luna looked around at her guards. Stripe was standing nearby and looking more than a little irked. “Star Light told me what happened. I told you.” “Come, we'll go and take control of the night and maybe you can hold the sun hostage to show you still have the power and that your weight hasn't made you weak.” “No. I will simply ignore my sister. Come, let us leave the city.” Motioning the night guards, Stripe lead the way out. The ones along the walls all followed, leaving the city unguarded. Stripe was fiercely loyal to Luna and was showing it by being behind her the whole way. He had half a mind that Celestia should be taught a lesson, but believed it was Luna's choice. As a new day begun, Celestia found that there were no night guards returning to their bunks. In fact, the city seems to have been deserted by the very night guards that had sworn to protect it. Snorting, Celestia was more than upset at this. “That zebra has corrupted my sister and forced her to abandon her duties. First he turns her into a blimp and then this!! I never should have trusted him. He was tainted by changelings.” At Luna's own tower, Stripe sees the sun rise and scratches his chin. As the day carried on, nothing interesting happened. Still, he was wary all the same and kept a close watch. He was anticipating Celestia to do something. He only hoped she would stop being such a blind hypocrite. She had seemed so sweet and kind, at least till he discovered this nasty side. Maybe she got power hungry after that thousand years of being in charge all by herself. As the week progressed on, Stripe saw the occasional guard scouting the tower and he wondered if they were amassing forces. He did notice a gradual decline in the night guards as they began to leave. Some to go to their families, others believing that Celestia was right whereas others felt that such current actions were stupid. Eventually, all that remained was himself, Luna, and Star Light. The dark blue furred pegasus flapped her wings as her long white mane and tail moved about in the breeze. A lone royal guard was seen approaching at about midday. He was unarmed and bore a message. “Celestia wishes to converse with her sister. She wants Luna to stop this foolishness.” “Tell my sister I will see her if she finally decides to treat me with respect. It was my choice to gain weight. In fact, she encouraged me to eat more while saying zebras preferred heavier females and then she turns on me when I get big.” “She is sorry about that and wishes to make amends.” Luna looked down as Stripe stood nearby. Star Light looked to her former cadet turned commander. “Come on Stripe, let us see if my sister has decided to overlook some things.” Stripe followed his wife cautiously the whole way. Star Light followed them the whole way back to Canterlot. Upon arriving, Stripe stopped for a moment because Luna did. “Luna, you wanted to see your sister to make amends.” The dark blue alicorn nodded and continued on. As the trio approached the palace, Star Light stopped just outside. Princess Twilight and her friends were seen nearby. They looked hopeful and Stripe smiled, hoping that they hadn't given in to prejudice. “Luna, you're........big.” Twilight's comment wasn't nasty, but it was certainly one of surprise. To be honest, Stripe thought she had known. All the others seemed neutral except for Pinkie who was just bouncing like she normally did. “Luna, in here please. Twilight, whatever happens, Stripe does not enter this room. I want you and your friends to keep him out!” Twilight looked like she wanted to question her mentor, but just nodded. Stripe watched those doors close before casting a glare at the six mares. “Hey!! Don't look at us like that!” “Rainbow darling, he is just overprotective of his wife. It is a bit......nasty, but I understand it....I think.” Stripe said nothing as he stood and watched the door. Star Light was soon joined by several other members of the guard as she looked towards her commander. Inside the room, there was silence. However, arguing could soon be heard as it got loud. Applejack looked towards the door before looking towards her friends. “Maybe we should....” “No! The princess told us to keep him out. It must have been for a reason.” Stripe paid no attention to them as the shouting got louder followed by louder sounds. Charging towards the door, he found himself teleported away and outside the palace. Growling, he charged back in to find the doors open. He saw Luna's lifeless form on the floor in the room. Charging forth, he was caught in an aura of magic. It was Celestia. “You have corrupted my sister. I was forced to do what was necessary. Apparently, because of your previous affair with changelings, you were tainted and cannot be trusted. I therefore banish you to the desert land from whence you came. If you ever step hoof inside Equestria again, you will be thrown in the dungeon for the rest of your natural life.”