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Chapter 15

“Princess Luna, may I ask you a question?” Sunrise Surprise questioned in her usual nasal lisp as she looked at the blue alicorn.

“You just did,” Princess Luna replied, a wide grinning spreading over her face. “But go ahead, ask your question, I like your questions Sunrise.”

Her new wings twitching, Sunrise took a deep breath. “Why did you go along with your sister when she did such awful things? By all accounts, you were never particularly evil. Sombra even liked you… there were times he had you as his guest. Your sister even hurt you. So why did you stay so loyal to her?”

Luna’s smile never wavered. “She’s my sister.”

“And that makes everything okay?” Sunrise asked, looking painfully confused.

“Well no, but I have forgiven her. She is my sister and I love her. She’s done wrong, she’s admitted to having done wrong, and I have also done wrong. I did plenty of bad things on my own without my sister bullying me into doing them,” Princess Luna answered, still smiling, her eyes twinkling like stars. The alicorn leaned down and came eye to eye with Sunrise. “Your friends are going to make mistakes. You are going to make mistakes. Be patient if you can, walk with them through their mistakes, and everything will be okay in the end.”

“How can you know this?” Sunrise inquired, looking even more confused. The smaller chubby alicorn looked up at the larger, her face full of hurt and doubt.

Laughing softly, Princess Luna bumped snoots with Sunrise Surprise. “Because… I have my sister and she has been redeemed. We both have. It all worked out for the best.” Suddenly turning serious, Princess Luna gazed into Sunrise Surprise’s eyes. “You have very good friends. You are going to need them. The stars have started to speak to me once more after being silent for so long.”

“What do they say?” Sunrise questioned, looking at Princess Luna suspiciously.

“They say a sunny yellow alicorn is going to make a lot of mistakes as she learns to rule, but it will be her friends that see her through,” Princess Luna replied, her smile returning.

“Your stars are silly,” Sunrise Surprise stated.

“But they are always right,” Princess Luna replied, now laughing.

Muttering under her breath, Fogwalker folded in her wings and entered into the infirmary wing of the palace. Some of the Rangers and Guardians in there looked at her, some with angry looks, others with expressions of respect. The past few days had been trying, difficult even, and she had endured some very ugly slurs because of her now all too well known love of an earth pony. If this kept up, she might face her own court martial. Her anger was rapidly approaching a boiling point.

Garlic was now being kept under guard after several threats had been made to kill the ‘filthy dirt farming upstart’ and put an end to this nonsense.

Love between tribes, while rare, did happen, but nothing had ever appeared in the public eye quite like this had. This was tearing apart the Foreverfree County. This was making neighbors fight with one another. Old blood feuds between the pegasi clans had once again reared their ugly heads. Enclaves of unicorns began to bicker and debate with one another.

And Fogwalker was trapped in the middle of it all because she loved an earth pony.

The pegasus rounded the corner and made her way down the short hall to Garlic’s room. She stood at the door, waited for a moment, took a deep breath, smoothed out her feathers, and then she entered.

“Foggy.”

“Stinky.”

The earth pony smiled a sad weak smile. “They are going to release me today. The bad news is, they don’t know where to put me.”

Slumping, her spine drooping, Fogwalker didn’t know what to say. She stared at Garlic with wide sad eyes. She stood there in front of the door, silent, feeling troubled and unsure about everything.

“Any word?” asked Garlic in a soft voice.

“I think it is going to be a court martial and a discharge from service. The other penalties are not going to be implemented. They’re keeping your plated barding, but I was able to get your greaves and your helmet from the armorer. He wanted a bribe, I offered to walk away with the gear we salvaged and leave his neck unbroken. He said it was suitable payment,” Fogwalker answered, a wry smile escaping and showing itself on her lips.

“So what do we do about us?” Garlic questioned as he closed his eyes and lay back on his bed. He took a deep breath. “I’ve caused so much trouble.”

“I’ve decided to maybe forgive you for the awful things you said. In a few years if you’ve been sweet to me, I’ll stop nagging you about it on a daily basis and go to a weekly basis instead. And as compensation for all of the trouble and the hurt you’ve caused, I want to be married,” Fogwalker said to the earth pony in the bed.

“WHAT?” Garlic asked, his eyes flying open. “Wait, can’t we just be friends?”

“NO!” Fogwalker shouted, spitting out the words and some saliva to go with them.

“Ooh hoo hoo Foggy you sound angry,” Garlic whimpered.

“I AM!” Fogwalker hollered.

“This kind of lecturing does not sell me on the idea of marriage,” grumbled Garlic.

Her mouth dropping open in shock, Fogwalker glowered at the earth pony. Her nasal bridge wrinkled as her face contorted with extreme irritation. “I don’t know why I love you sometimes Stinky.”

“There is the fact that I am hung like a horse,” Garlic said, closing his eyes and looking just a tiny bit smug as he spoke.

“There is that,” Fogwalker admitted, blinking a few times as she gave serious thought to Garlic’s words. “Garlic, when we, uh, get around to that, be gentle… that’s an awful lot for any mare to take in all at once.” She watched as Garlic turned a previously unknown colour that exists between red and purple and couldn’t help but to giggle just a tiny bit. “A mare could get her eye poked out by that… from the inside.”

The previously unknown colour that exists between red and purple darkened. A bead of sweat trickled down from Garlic’s autumn coloured mane as he stared wide eyed at Fogwalker. “I’ll be real careful,” he promised in a nervous high pitched squeak.

Drawing back the string, Chert took careful aim with the bow he had been given. He didn’t know where it had came from, and he didn’t ask, he was just grateful for a weapon that he knew well and understood. He exhaled and then let fly his arrow.

-THWIP!-

The arrow hit its mark with a satisfying sound of impact. Several of the watching pegasi nodded in approval. Chert ignored them, there was only one opinion he really cared about, and she was a short distance away speaking with some big blue horse wizard that was very much like she was.

Knocking another arrow, Chert pulled back and took aim. Closing his eyes, he turned himself around in a circle, lifted his bow, exhaled softly, and loosed his arrow. He opened his eyes. The second arrow was sticking out of the straw bale just a few inches away from the first one. He frowned. He was out of practice. This much of an error might cause him to miss a shot, which was unthinkable. The forest folk did not miss.

The pegasi that were standing around and milling about were now staring opened mouthed at Chert, realising the half equine, who looked rather fragile, was actually quite dangerous, even with his eyes closed.

As Chert prepared to draw another arrow, he noticed an older unicorn approaching him, something floating along side of him in the odd faint purple glow of magic. He slung his bow over his shoulder and folded his arms over his chest, watching as the unicorn approached.

“I have something for you. Princess Celestia had me dig it out of storage. I believe you could get some use of this. It is a handaxe. I believe it once belonged to a minotaur mercenary if I recall. It is small, not much of a weapon, but terribly practical in more common situations for creatures like you that have hands,” the unicorn said, offering the handaxe to Chert.

“Thank you,” Chert said, taking the axe gratefully.

“I have been informed that you are Princess Sunrise Surprise’s personal bodyguard. If there is anything you need, let somepony know. We will do what we can to outfit you,” the unicorn said in a polite cultured voice as he studied the centaur.

“My friends would be nice. I can’t do this all alone. I need help if I am to keep her safe,” Chert said, being blunt with his request.

“I am not supposed to say anything, but much is being done to make sure that the pony known as Garlic Van der Grease will continue to escort and protect Princess Sunrise Surprise,” the unicorn responded in a low voice. “He has proven himself trustworthy.”

“Thank you,” Chert said, bowing his head slightly.

The two alicorns watched the centaur practiced his archery as they paced around the training yard. As Sunrise walked, she kept pushing her glasses up as they slipped down her nasal bridge. Luna, watching as the young alicorn adjusted her glasses, wondered why Sunrise did not use her magic to simply hold them in place.

“I still don’t understand how they hid my wings,” Sunrise Surprise said as she walked by Princess Luna’s side, looking troubled.

“I don’t fully understand the process myself,” Princess Luna admitted. “Powerful alteration magic. Discord was involved. It is a shame that you found his bones in Canterlot.”

“There is another hero that needs rescue,” Sunrise Surprise stated, her head held low as she trotted by Princess Luna’s side. She shook her head sadly and began to blink back tears. “Garlic is a good pony.”

“I agree. Sunrise, I promise you we are doing all that we can to remedy his situation. He will get back everything he has lost. At least now he has Fogwalker. Chrysalis insists that our kingdom needs their love… and I find myself agreeing with her. We face many threats. Griffons amass in the south. They’ve invaded Saddle Arabia and are conquering the various empires of the south. Dragons prowl the north. The western coast of Equestria is all but broken away. Each winter keeps getting colder than the last. Things have gone horribly wrong since our world was nearly ripped apart and destroyed,” Princess Luna said, explaining the peril that Equestria was in. She reached out and gently patted Sunrise with her wing.

“Princess Luna, I was curious, why did they send you to talk to me?” Sunrise Surprise questioned, a curious expression upon her face as she looked at the much larger mare. Much to Sunrise’s surprise, Princess Luna threw back her head and laughed. “What’s so funny?”

Chucking for several moments before she had regained herself enough to speak, Princess Luna wiped her eyes with her wings. She continued to titter and chortle, having a good laugh about what Sunrise had said. Finally, she looked down at the smaller alicorn and smiled. “I have plenty of experience being ignored. Of not being taken seriously. Of being the princess that nopony listens to or cares about. Being the princess whose opinions do not matter. I have had to fight tooth and hoof to even gain a modicum of respect. I have always lived in my sister’s shadow. I have always been ignored by the various councils. Nopony values my input very much at all. So one might say that I have a lot of wisdom to share. Derpy certainly seems to think so. So does Trixie… because I’ve been humiliated all my life.”

Sunrise Surprise gulped loudly as her legs froze. She stood there, unmoving, suddenly realising her position and how little her wings mattered. Alicorn princess? Yes. Respected monarch? No. The chubby little alicorn took a deep breath and felt a tear slip down her cheek as the weight of the world settled upon her shoulders.

Author's Note:

Garlic: ???

Fogwalker: Scout, level 3.

Sunrise Surprise: Alicorn Princess, level 5.

Chert the Knapper: Archer level 1.

Lemme know if I missed any typos.

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