A Man and an Army

by Saffron

The First 'Official' Meeting (Edited)

----------------------------------The Brig----------------------------------

"Yeah you heard me. You don't look so tough." Rainbow Dash said.

"Hey, are you gonna take that from a talking horse?" Sergeant Astor asked.

"Well I don't want to hurt the little thing." Alex said.

"You wish, it looks like you couldn't harm a fly!" Rainbow Dash said smugly.

"Private your honor and pride is on the line, teach her not to mess with the marines." Astor said.

"Well if it's alright with you. I will kick her ass." Alex said taking a defensive stance.

"You can try." Rainbow Dash said.

The first step he took was the only thing Rainbow Dash saw. In three seconds she found herself pinned to the ground. She tried wiggling free from his grasp but couldn't.

"Surrender or suffer." Alex calmly said.

"Never." Rainbow said. With that she abruptly bucked him off.

After a few seconds of recovering Rainbow charged him using her wings to increase her speed. It took Alex a moment to find an opening, as she was about to strike he ducked and hit her in the stomach with as much force as he could without causing any permanent damage. As soon as the blow landed she fell out of the air and threw up the contents of her lunch.

"You should of backed down." Alex said with a sigh. "Are you alright?"

Rainbow dash got on her hooves shakily.

"I am... going to... Buck you into next week." Rainbow coughed out.

"Commander on deck!" Astor shouted out.

----------------------------------The Commanders pov----------------------------------

As I stepped in the room the two marines inside stood at attention. I also didn't fail to notice Rainbow Dash getting ready to charge the private.

"At ease. Tell me private, why are you fighting one of our guests?" I asked.

"My honor and pride was on the line, sir!" Alex stated.

"So, tell me, why is your guard down?"

With that Rainbow rushed him from behind. She quickly tackled Alex to the ground and was getting ready to throw a punch, but before she could he pushed her off and regained dominance by getting on top of her and pinning her front hooves.

"Sorry commander. It will not happen again." Alex said.

"Good, now release our guest and have the rest returned to their homes. Except for Twilight Sparkle." I said.

"Right away commander." Alex said.

With that the two marines left with Rainbow Dash following, muttering something.

"Well, now that they are gone let's go pay the princesses a visit." I said dryly. "It's better to get this over with now rather than later."

With only a thought I appeared in the ships hangar bay and began walking towards the craft that was being prepared for the meeting.

"The ship should be ready in a few minutes." Jane said.

----------------------------------Canterlot Castle Throne Room----------------------------------

"That was certainly interesting." Luna said tiredly.

"Yes, it was." Celestia said.

"Did you feel it as well?" Luna asked.

"Unfortunately, I did. He is unstable and has a vast amount of power. He could undo the peace we have kept for over a thousand years." Celestia said solemnly.

The two sisters just sat on their thrones digesting all that had happened. When a guard entered the throne room.

"Your highnesses, a messenger has arrived. It says it's from the commander." He said after bowing.

It? What did the guard mean by that. Celestia thought

"Already? We just got back." Luna said with a hint of annoyance that was missed.

"Send it in." Celestia said.

'I wonder what this could be' she thought.

What was sent in was unlike anything the two sisters had ever seen. Floating before them was a ball of blue light. It approached quickly and stopped about ten feet away from them.

"I was sent here on behalf of Jane. She would like to inform you of an incident that occurred with miss Twilight and her friends which putting the commander in danger." The orb said briefly pausing before continuing cutting Celestia off before she could say anything. "I was just informed that the commander is currently en route to explain things further. Have a nice day."

"Wait!" Celestia nearly shouted but it was too late. The orb had dissipated. Celestia was feeling a mix of emotions. She heard that Twilight and her friends may have harmed the commander. The things he could do to them...

----------------------------------The Commanders pov----------------------------------

"The ship is ready Commander." Jane said.

"Finally, we need to hurry the messenger probably already arrived."

"It did." Jane replied.

“Please tell me it went well.” I asked with a bit of apprehension

“It went well.” Jane said.

“Thank god. At least that went well.” I said relieved.

I got into the ship and started it up.

“Power nominal, shields online, all systems green. Ship is ready for takeoff.” Jane said.

“Ok Jane, take it from here.” I said.

“Very well, you were never very good at flying anyway.” Jane said.

“Oh, shots fired.” I said sarcastically. “Just get us there.”

With that the ship's engines engaged and we began to hover. Soon the ship sped off in the direction of Canterlot.

----------------------------------Canterlot Castle ----------------------------------

Celestia continued pacing, she was thinking, and planning. Most of her life she had control, her pawns would follow the path she laid for them. Now there was a new player in the game. She knew he was a variable that could ruin her plans or help accomplish them.

Her train of thought was disrupted when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

“Sister, may I come in?” Luna asked.

“Yes, you may enter.” Celestia replied reluctantly.

Luna walked in and immediately noticed the worried look on her sister's face. She walked up to her sister and draped a wing over her back.

“What's wrong?” Luna asked her sister in a comforting tone.

“It’s nothing.” Celestia said softly.

“Sister, tell me, please.” Luna insisted.

“The commander, what do you think of him?” Celestia asked.

Luna sat in silence for a few minutes gathering her thoughts. He seemed powerful, wise, unstable, and lonely even though he was surrounded by people. An unusual combination. She also felt that he could tip destiny and fate to meet his own goals, it was only a feeling.

“I think he is like how I was. Before I… Turned.” Luna said. “He hides it well, but I fear he could snap.”

“I fear that as well.” Celestia said.

“Maybe we could…” Before Luna could finish she was interrupted by a soft humming.

“What is that?” Celestia asked.

“I do not know.” Luna replied.

----------------------------------The Commanders POV----------------------------------

“We should arrive in a few seconds.” Jane said.

“Took you long enough.” I said sarcastically.

“I thought you would enjoy the scenic route.” She shot back.

“No need to get snarky.” I replied. “Did you find a suitable test site in case things do not turn out as planned?”

“I have, do you wish for me to deploy it before we land?” Jane asked.

“Yes, fire the missile.” I said.

“Firing.” Jane said.

With a soft click the missile soared off far beyond the everfree and disappeared.

“It is ready to detonate on command.” Jane said.

“Good. We ready to land?” I asked.

“Yes, taking us down now.” Jane said.

“Hmm… Strange.” I muttered.

“What? Is something wrong?” Jane asked.

“Nothing… It is nothing.” I shook my head and prepared to exit the ship.

The ship's engines slowly died down as it began its descent. It slowly touched down inside the castle garden and the rear cargo door opened revealing several royal guards clad in golden armor surrounding the ship.

“Hello everyone.” I said.

The circle of guards opened up letting a pony wearing what looked like formal military clothing through.

“Greetings commander, I am captain Golden Torch, I’m here to escort you to the throne room.” Torch said.

“An escort for me? Tell me captain, is this escort to protect me, what danger am I in?” I asked.

“This is just standard procedure.” Torch replied. He seemed arrogant and had an accent that sounded like he was, condescending.

“I understand.” I said.

“Now, do you have everything you need?” The captain asked with a hint of impatience.

“Oh, yes I did forget one thing. Thank you for reminding me.” I said before quickly retreating back into the ship. Quickly I found what I was looking for. A black briefcase with a laptop in it. After acquiring it I headed back to exit the ship.

“Yes, I do have everything I need. Now.” I said.

“Well, sir, we are going to need to check that.” Torch said.

“Go ahead, I have nothing to hide.” I replied.

A unicorn guard broke off from the circle and took my briefcase in a blue aura and left with it.

“I will get that back, right?” I asked.

“Yes, you will. We just need to thoroughly check it. It will be brought to you during your meeting.” Torch said.

“Be careful with it, and I suggest not trying to ‘study’ it either, you might break it.” I said.

“Very well, now if you will follow me, we should arrive shortly.” Torch said.

As I followed him four of the eight guards took positions around me. Two on the left and right. The other four took positions around my ship.

“So, what can you tell me about this city?” I asked Torch.

“Almost anything, I live here.” Torch replied.

“Let's start with the people… I mean ponies that live here.” I said.

“They are well mannered and more sophisticated than the commoners..” Torch said pridefully.

“Commoners?” I asked.

“You know, those of lower class.” He replied.

“Ah, I see.” I knew I wasn’t going to like him. “So, how did you get into the guard?” I asked.

“Well, I was actually given this position awhile ago, but that doesn’t really matter.” Torch said.

“If you were given this position you must know some people… I mean ponies.” I said.

“A few, but as i’ve said, it doesn’t matter.” He said a little more forcefully.

We continued up to two large wooden doors. The doors were opened by Torches magic.

“So, you are obviously the day guards, what are the night guards like?” I asked.

“Well, it depends. Some Solar guards do work the nights. As well as some Lunar guards work the day. The beasts however only work the nights.” Torch said.

I noticed a guard to my left, a mare with a purple mane and white fur scowl at what he said.

“The beasts?” I asked.

“The thestrals, monsters they are. Do you know they eat meat, that's horrific! Not only that, but those creepy disgusting wings they have. They are terribly frightful to look at.” Torch continued.

“They eat meat?” I asked.

The guard beside me answered this time.

“It isn’t meat, but merely a substitute.” The mare said annoyed.

“Well, I eat meat.” I said. That caused Torch to stumble, but he quickly recovered. “Yeah, my species was the apex predator on our planet. Of course, no other species was actually sentient so it was easy to claim that title.”

We continued down the hall in silence until we approached two large doors, one with a golden sun and the other with a crescent moon. Each beautifully crafted with wood, gold, and platinum. Fancy. The throne room was even more immaculate, stain glass windows on both sides depicting history from over a thousand years to present. Each designed with care and remarkable craftsmanship.

For the first time in three hundred years I was speechless. I always imagined what this place would look like, but I never thought I would see it, and it was more than I ever believed it could be.

The way the golden sun's rays shone through the glass, the white marble floors, and the two demigods that sat upon their thrones. I was taking it all in.

The guards that were escorting me broke off and took spots on both sides of the doors. Torch and I continued up to the two princesses. When we got to the staircase leading to the thrones he stopped, as did I.

“Hello, Luna, Celestia.” I said casually. I heard a few gasps and received a few glares for addressing them so loosely. “I wish I came here under better circumstances, but this was something unpredictable.”

“How is Twilight?” Celestia asked worriedly. I could see the mixed emotions in her eyes. Anger, fear, and uncertainty.

“She will be fine, we are currently extracting some memories from her. She somehow peeked into my mind accidentally with her magic. Twilight will be fine in a few days.” I said.

“That is good to hear.” Luna said. She looked over to Celestia who now had a small smile on her muzzle.

“I was wondering, your Lieutenant, Torch told me about some ‘beasts’ that are apart of the night guard.” I said. I saw a fiery anger behind Luna’s calm and collected expression, and I could almost hear shaking armor next to me, where Torch was standing. “I would like one Solar and Lunar guard as well as a doctor to accompany me back to my ship later. Of course I would like to send the doctor now, to keep an eye on Twilight.” I said.

“Of course, guard, take the castle doctor to the commander's ship.” Celestia said. One of the guards by the door took off and went to find the doctor.

“Now, let's get to more pressing issues.” I said.

Author's Note:

Took a bit longer than expected, but it is finally here!