PROLOGUE
It was late at night, I was at the Fillydelphia train station, waiting for the train to arrive along with a bodyguard my wife, Cadence had insisted on supplying me that would escort me personally to the Crystal Palace. The last few nights had been so awkward, taking a boat all the way from the Griffon Kingdoms, being the only pony on that boat, with the only meals being fish from the sea after all the wheat rations were gone. I could still feel the sardines from the previous night sloshing in my stomach, I could only hope that I wouldn’t spend the entire train ride with my head out the window. It had been a good two hours of tiring standing until suddenly, I heard a loud horn. I turned my head and saw the train in the distance.
‘Finally.’ I thought. It was such a relief seeing it at last, I couldn’t wait there any longer. Considering that I had wait on that boat taking me from the Griffon kingdoms just so I could get into royal territory. The only reason I couldn’t just take a chariot from there to take me directly to the Crystal Empire, was because I was assigned to travel across the lands of Equestria alone, and in some level of secrecy. Some of those regions don’t take very kindly to the royal guard. And while I would eventually show myself to their leaders, the objective was to stay discreet out of trouble and mainly unnoticed to everypony else, if the commoners knew that the prince of the Crystal Empire himself was there waltzing around, whether it was buying food or finding a place to sleep, it would only cause them to be afraid, stir up rumors, or maybe even plan an assassination on me. So I absolutely had to be discreet.
But on my last trip in the Griffon Kingdoms - a nice place, they offered their hospitality in taking me on one of their chariots to just take me all the way back themselves. But I already had my train ticket with me, and it would be a waste of bits and work Cadence had to go through to find a bodyguard for me. So I had to refuse, being more hard for me to do so than it was for them to cancel the ride they set up, which they usually do for such occasions.
The train came to a stop and its doors opened, many ponies coming out flooding the already crowded station. I scanned the crowd to see if I could find the bodyguard, mainly searching for shining crystal armor. I waited a good minute or so looking in the masses of ponies until the entering group began to move inside that I started to worry. I couldn’t find him and it was time to head in. It was then that I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I looked to my right to see a tall colt in steel armor that matched his coat, almost making it invisible. His helmet covered most of his mane, but I could see strands of black going out of the sides a little bit. This was him I guess, not wearing the shiny stuff you see back at home I guess, but everything about his posture, shape and stare just screamed guard. He didn’t say anything, he just stared at me like he was awaiting instructions. I almost said hello before I caught notice that his eyes were each an odd different shade of green, something about it was familiar. ‘I know this pony from somewhere.’ I thought. I scanned him further, but before I recognized who he was, but he pointed to the train that was filled, with only us left outside, then we made our way in the train quickly.
We made our way past the swarm of ponies finding their seats until we found an empty table near the window looking out the the station. I sat down first, he sat across from me. I began to stare at him, he just stared back, he smirked, but then I noticed it was getting a little awkward. None of us had even said anything yet. I figured he was just too bored, so I decided to break the silence.
“So um… it’s good to see you soldier, I know this must be tiring for you sitting in this train all day, but I guess Cadence is just worried and wants to make sure I’m safe after being away for so long. You understand.” I told him.
His smirk turned into a smile, and he just nodded. That was reassuring, I suppose.
“So are the drinks here any good?” I asked.
He lifted a glass of tea and tilted his head toward it, then nodded.
‘Okay, I’m not getting anything out of this guy.’ I thought.
Then it hit me. Now I knew who he was. I remember many years back during a visit in Canterlot Castle, he was just a colt, and I saw him take on a trainer in the courtyard. It took Celestia to pull him off as hard as she could with her magic to stop him. And from what I heard, the trainer had to be in the hospital for weeks and lost a chunk of his teeth. And if Celestia told me correctly, it started over anger that accumulated over days over... a teddy bear? I think his name is Night Wing, or Crow Feather, or something. What is he even still doing here? As a guard? Cadence trusted him with me? Who knows. I just said nothing and looked out the window, avoiding eye contact a little bit.
My stomach churned again, and I began to feel light headed. ‘Oh no.’ I thought. The train had begun to enter the tunnel, the darkness giving me a brief moment to calm down and cool my head. Before I knew it, the light hit me like the train I was on, and that spiked my nausea. I felt my esophagus tingle, and I knew it was coming. I reached for the window, but before I could open it, the bodyguard slided me the glass of tea he had earlier, and pointed to it. I think he knew what was up. There wasn't enough time to open the window now, so I had no choice. I grabbed the tea and gulped it down as fast as I could without any hesitation. My stomach began to settle, my head started to cool, and I felt better.
“Thank you.” I said. The guard just nodded and smiled.