Chapter Five
After Gaius and Princess Celestia had departed, Pinkie Pie decided to have the party expanded outside into the very courtyard that was next to Sugarcube Corner. She did this not only to accommodate the now enlarged crowd of ponies who were present, but to also include Avion into the fun because of how he was simply too big to fit inside Sugarcube Corner, much to his delight.
Though they no longer felt sad about it, Celosia and Cenobia were initially worried that their previous deaths in the Forbidden Lands would alienate their new friends. Thankfully the two brothers quickly learned that this new revelation instead actually solidified their friendship — bringing them closer than before. Thus, the group of friends spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening having fun at the party together.
By the time sunset came around, the party was coming to a close and everypony in attendance headed for home.
“Wow, that party sure was fun, wasn’t it?” asked Cenobia as he, Celosia, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Apple Bloom traveled down the road from Ponyville.
“It sure was, brother,” replied Celosia happily.
“Ah’ll say,” added in Apple Bloom. “Ah can’t remember the last time Ah ‘ad so much fun at one Pinkie Pie’s parties.”
“Too bad the same couldn’t be said for the giant pinata before I smashed him into ribbons,” said Celosia as they burst into gales of laughter. It shortly died down afterwards.
“Hey, boys,” said Applejack, gaining Celosia and Cenobia’s attention. “Would ya’ll like to come over to mah orchard tomorrow mornin’?”
“Sure thing, Applejack,” replied Cenobia as he turned to Fluttershy, who gave an approving nod.
“Glad to hear. I’ll come on over tomorrow morning and bring ya’ll ovah to mah farm.”
“And if ya’ll want to,” said Apple Bloom. “You boys can also hang out with me and mah friends when they come over tomorrow too.”
“Sure, that would be great too,” said Celosia happily as his brother nodded in agreement.
“Then Ah guess it’s all settled,” said Applejack. “See ya’ll tomorrow.” With that, the two Apple sisters, departed for Sweet Apple Acres while Fluttershy and the two brothers waved them off. That’s when Celosia’s eyes suddenly shrank to pupils in realization.
“Oh no, I just realized something,” he exclaimed. “I don’t even know where Applejack’s orchard is from your cottage, Fluttershy.” That’s when Fluttershy let out a giggle.
“Don’t you worry, Celosia,” she said with a comforting voice. “Applejack will help show you the way when she comes to get you and Cenobia tomorrow.”
“That’s a relief," said Cenobia.
“It certainly is, brother," replied Celosia. “Last one at the cottage is a rotten egg!" With that, the micro Colossus took off at a running pace to the cottage, with his brother and Fluttershy coming up behind him.
Meanwhile, Avion had already arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage, thanks to Rainbow Dash who guided him there after the party had ended. Fluttershy offered to let Avion stay at her cottage with Celosia and Cenobia; an offer that he graciously accepted, much to the trio's delight.
As he waited for Fluttershy and the two brothers to catch up, he reflected something that Rainbow Dash asked on their to the cottage.
“Hey, Avion, would you like to join me in some flight practice tomorrow afternoon?”
“Why of course," replied Avion. “I would be more than happy to join you on that tomorrow.”
“Alright!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she did a barrel roll. “I’ll be sure to meet you at Fluttershy's tomorrow so we can get started.”
It was after this exchange of words when the two of them arrived at Avion’s destination. Rainbow bid farewell to Avion and departed while he perched himself atop the cottage roof and began waiting patiently.
Avion honestly felt quite eager of doing some flight practice with the sky cyan pegasus mare, especially with how he’d done some maneuvers with Philomena earlier, which he very much enjoyed. He was suddenly shaken from his train of thought when heard shouts from down the path below.
“I’m gonna win for sure!"
“Not if I get ahead of you first, brother!”
Avion instantly recognized the voices which belonged to Celosia and Cenobia. His lithic body was filled with joy as he watch the two micro Colossi running down the path--Cenobia in front--crossing over the little bridge before finally stopping at the front door.
“Hurray!” shouted Cenobia triumphantly as hopped off the ground a couple of times. “I won!”
“Ah, geez," pouted Celosia sadly. “Beaten by my own brother.” As he spoke, Fluttershy, who was panting heavily, had managed to catch up with the two brothers. Avion additionally observed that the exhausted pale yellow pegasus looked like she was close collapse.
“Excuse me, boys," he said gaining the brothers attention. “It appears that miss Fluttershy looks quite taxed from all that running." The boys turned around and were surprised to find Fluttershy exhaling and trembling with fatigue.
“Don’t...worry...I’ll be...fine…just…give me...a moment…” After a short wait, Fluttershy manage to compose herself and regain some of her stamina.
“Gosh, we're sorry, Fluttershy," said Celosia apologetically. “Brother and I had no idea you would get so tired this quickly.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, Celosia," replied Fluttershy gently. “While I did feel a little winded, it felt good having a brisk trot with you both." She gazed up at Avion with a smile. “How are you feeling, Avion?”
“I feel fine, Miss Fluttershy," answered Avion. “Your friend, Rainbow Dash, had no trouble in leading me here to your cottage.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Indeed. Would you mind if I sleep on the roof? I will make certain that my talons will not damage it. I also do not think that any of the bird houses here are big enough for me." Both Fluttershy and the brothers responded with light chuckling for a moment.
“That’s perfectly alright with me, Avion," Fluttershy replied. “I don't mind one bit. But could you excuse us for a bit? The boys and I have to go inside and check on my animal friends to make sure they’re alright.”
“Of course, Miss Fluttershy. I am not going anywhere.”
“Okay then. Also, just call me Fluttershy. I’ll also make sure to come out and tell you ‘good night’ when we’re done.”
“That will do just fine with me, Fluttershy." Avion watched as the Celosia and Cenobia stepped aside, allowing Fluttershy to approach the door.
“Goodnight, Avion," said the two brothers at once as they followed Fluttershy inside.
“Goodnight,” replied Avion as he heard the door close shut. He lifted his head up to watch the orange glow of the sky ahead where the sun had already sank below the horizon.
Fluttershy, Celosia, and Cenobia spent several moments making sure that the pegasus mare’s animal friends were alright along ensuring that each and every one of them was properly fed their evening meals. The trio even joined in and had some dinner themselves. By the time they were done, night had already fallen outside. While the brothers head upstairs for bed, Fluttershy went outside for a moment to bid Avion “goodnight" like she had promised. Avion was quite grateful of Fluttershy for giving such a gesture and told her the same thing before she flew back into the cottage.
Upon entering the bedroom, Fluttershy observed that Celosia and Cenobia were already sitting on their sleeping mats before she quickly trotted over to her bed.
“Fluttershy?" said Celosia. Fluttershy had just climbed onto her bed when she immediately turned and looked in Celosia’s direction.
“Yes, Celosia?" she replied.
“There's something I need to confess. In fact, I just recently remembered something.”
“What did you remember?" There was a bit of long pause before Celosia spoke again.
“Well...one of my greatest fears...is...f-fire.” For a moment, Fluttershy had her mouth agape with surprise from hearing this from Celosia for the first time.
“Really? You're actually afraid of fire?”
“That’s right, Fluttershy,” said Cenobia sympathetically. “Cel’s been deathly afraid of fire for as long as we can remember. But it wasn’t until we returned from the party that we fully realized it.”
“He’s right," said Celosia sadly. “But earlier at the party, I felt slightly spooked each time Spike breathed fire whenever he was sending or receiving messages from Princess Celestia.”
“What about the candles on the cake?" asked Fluttershy.
“Are you kidding?" said Cenobia. “There’s no way my brother could be frightened by tiny flames like that. Right, Cel?”
“Yeah," chuckled Celosia. “That is true." He paused for a moment to regain a more serious expression. “I’m sorry that we didn’t tell you about it sooner, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy stepped off her bed and gave Celosia a gentle embrace.
“It's okay, Celosia," she said to him. “I’m just glad that you told me.” She released her grip on Celosia and softly gazed into his eyes. "I promise you, Celosia, that Spike would never use his fire breath on anypony, including you and your brother." Both brothers were deeply touched and relieved in hearing that.
“Thanks, Fluttershy," said the two brothers at once.
“Of course," she replied. “Now since we’re on the topic of fears, I have a fear that I would like to share with you both.”
“What is it?" asked Cenobia. Fluttershy, who now had a nervous look on her face, looked between the two felines for a moment.
“Dragons. I’m terribly afraid of dragons. Not baby dragons like Spike, but fully grown adult dragons who can easily swallow whole ponies in one bite." She shivered for a moment before resuming. “Believe me, I’m so terrified of them that I often become petrified if I ever come anywhere close to one.”
As they listened to Fluttershy’s confession, Celosia and Cenobia felt immensely sympathetic for her. Thus they both came to instinctual decision.
“Fluttershy,” said Celosia in a firm voice. “I promise that Cenobia and I will protect you from any and all dragons that try to harm or kill you." Fluttershy had a look of astonishment when she heard what Celosia told her.
“You...you mean that?" she asked timidly.
“Positively," said Cenobia optimistically. “Just like how we defended you from that wyvern some time ago." Fluttershy, now deeply touched with the two Colossi’s devotion, show a wide and joyous smile.
“Thank you, boys," she said, giving the two brothers a hug. “I appreciate it." The mare turned around, hopped onto her bed, and tucked herself under the sheets. “Goodnight, boys.”
“Goodnight, Fluttershy," replied both brothers.
Within moments, all three individuals quickly fell asleep.
Meanwhile, inside Golden Oaks Library, Spike was now heading for bed when en route he found Twilight Sparkle pacing within one of the library’s chambers. What's more, Spike observed that his friend had worried and anxious expressions on her feminine features, prompting him to suddenly stop his momentum.
“Um, Twilight,” he said. “Would you mind telling me what’s on your mind?” For a moment, Twilight didn’t answer but continued pacing in a circle within the room.
“I’m worried, Spike," she said while still pacing.
“About what? What could you possibly be so worried ab---" Spike suddenly froze for an instant, as if he utterly realized something. “Wait a minute. Is it about Princess Celestia permitting Gaius to join the Royal Guard in Canterlot?" Twilight suddenly stopped pacing when her assistant addressed the question to her. She turned and directed her gaze toward Spike, her expression unchanged.
“Yes, Spike...that’s what I’m worried about.”
“But why? You seemed fine with her choice about him joining the Royal Guard earlier. So why are so worried it now? Do you not approve of the Princess's decision?” The expressions on Twilight’s softened before she approached her young dragon assistant.
“Spike, it's not that I don't approve—in fact I do—I really do approve of Princess Celestia’s decision to let Gaius join the Royal Guard and I have her utmost trust on that as well.
“I also don't have any problems with Gaius becoming a Royal Guard, far from it, I’m genuinely happy of him for wanting to join. I'd be a terrible friend to Celosia, Cenobia, and Avion if I wasn’t happy for him. Not to mention that he’s noble, just, kind, loyal, polite, compassionate, strong---those are all qualities that make perfect Royal Guard material. And I definitely do not doubt his intentions for joining either, after all the main duty of a Royal Guard is to protect and serve everypony, which is exactly what Gaius wants to do.” She sighed for a moment as her expression went grim again.
“But at the same time, I’m still worried. I’m greatly worried about how everypony else in Canterlot will receive this, especially others within the Royal Guard. I mean some of them may not take very kindly to Gaius wanting to enroll in their ranks, especially since he’s technically not a pony. After all, only ponies or pony-like beings were usually permitted in becoming a Royal Guard, which causes some complications for Gaius. That could ultimately cause a huge uproar among so many ponies and who knows how they could react!"
“Um, Twilight, don’t you think you’re overreacting with this issue?" Twilight’s eyes widened with surprise when Spike asked her this question, but didn’t say anything as he continued. “Look, as co-rulers of Equestria, both Celestia and Luna could easily bypass and overrule any so-called ‘complications’ with Gaius joining the ranks of the Royal Guard. Not to mention that they could easily persuade all of Canterlot---maybe even all of Equestria---into giving Gaius a chance if any ponies had any second thoughts about the matter. Why I’d imagine that your brother, Shining Armor, probably wouldn’t mind letting Gaius join the Royal Guard if he was still their captain." In an instant, Twilight, who had been listening to Spike’s suggestions thoughtfully, brightened up as if a light bulb lit up over her head.
“Spike, that's it!" she proclaimed as she rushed over to a nearby desk.
“What's it?" replied Spike puzzlingly. But instead of getting an answer, three items---some paper, an inkwell, and and a pen---were levitated over to him by Twilight’s magic. “Twilight, what’s all this for?”
“Simple, Spike,” said Twilight as she approached her assistant once more. “I want you to write down a letter to my brother while I dictate it.”
“But you’ve already sent him a letter earlier about Celosia and Cenobia.”
“This is a different one: I want this next one to be about Gaius’ situation and I would like Shining Armor’s opinion about the matter.”
“Well, okay.”
“And once you’re done with that, I’d also like you to write and send a letter to Princess Celestia regarding Gaius.” Spike gave an exasperated groan, even though Twilight didn’t seem to notice. “Oh! Lastly, I’d like you to send this letter to my secret pen pal in Manehatten.” She instantly hovered a rolled-up scroll right next to her in a field of her magic, prompting Spike groan once more.
“Another one?”
“Oh come on, Spike. Pleeease?” Twilight gave Spike a pleading look, which included sparkles in her lovely purple eyes, prompting the latter to give a defeated sigh.
“Okay, I’ll do that too.” Twilight responded with a shout of sheer joy while Spike raised up his ink-dipped pen to write the first letter at the very moment she would start dictating. “Alright, Twilight, I’m ready when you are.”
In Canterlot, Gaius was standing outside the entrance of the Royal Guard barracks as previously ordered by Cobalt Shield, the current Captain of the Guard within the city. As he waited under a black, starlit sky, Gaius had been recalling previous events such as when he first got a glimpse of the Royal Guard barracks when Princess Luna first teleported him there, which also started off a short tour of the location. It was at the beginning of said tour, that Gaius was introduced to Cobalt Shield, who started showing him around the place. Though the tour was paused for Gaius’ visit to Ponyville, it was immediately resumed when Celestia brought him back. Throughout the tour, Gaius had learned a great deal about Royal Guard’s training exercises, standards of operations, and even became amicably acquainted with a several of their numbers.
All the while, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Cobalt Shield had a long discussion on how to properly test Gaius for his initiation into the Guard. The three ponies eventually came up with a solution for the test: Gaius would go through a simple night time patrol through the streets of Canterlot while being accompanied by three Guards who work the night shift. Throughout this same patrol, Gaius will be permitted in assisting the three guards with any situation, which includes handling criminal activities they encounter.
At the end of the tour, the three ponies presented the test to Gaius and he humbly and unquestionably accepted it. Thus both Princesses, feeling pleased with this, decided to bid farewell to Gaius (along with wishing him luck) and retired to their quarters while Cobalt Shield personally escorted him over to one of the barrack’s entrances. Along the way, Cobalt pinned attaches two large badges on Gaius’ stone chest plate: one white bearing Princess Celestia’s sun while the other had Princess Luna’s moon against a dark blue. Cobalt explained that with these badges, the citizens of Canterlot will recognize Gaius’ affiliation with both Princesses. Upon reaching the entrance, Cobalt ordered Gaius to wait on one side of it until the three Guards arrived, adding that he’ll recognize them when one of them asks for him and that they’ve been assigned to accompany him for his test. Cobalt sequentially returned to the barracks while Gaius proceeded to wait.
Thus, Gaius had remained near the entrance waiting patiently for quite a long while, which was about to pay off. For at last, Gaius watched as three Royal Guards---two pegasi and a unicorn---exited the barracks through the entrance and stopped right in front of him. What’s more, all three stallions were holding their gazes upwards at Gaius’ teal eyes who was staring back at them silently. Gaius also managed to notice the color differences between the three stallions: one pegasus had a dark blue coat with a black tail, the second pegasus had a grey coat and two-shaded purple tail, and the unicorn had a dark purple coat and sapphire blue tail.
“Um, hello up there, sir” said one of the pegasi, who had a dark blue coat under his armor. “Are you by any chance Gaius?”
“Indeed I am, sir,” replied Gaius with a slight nod.
“Very well. My name is Stormfire.”
“The name’s Night Shadow,” said the second pegasus.
“And I’m Moonlit Sapphire,” proclaimed the unicorn. “And I must say it's an unexpected pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise,” replied Gaius. “Are you the three Guards I am to accompany for a patrol route tonight?” he asked.
“Indeed we are,” confirmed Stormfire. “And as part of this patrol, it is important for you to work together with the three of us. Understood?”
“Understood, sir Stormfire.”
“Um, please. Just call me Stormfire or Storm for short. Same with my comrades here.”
“Of course. Do any of you know what direction our patrol route shall commence?”
“It is down that way, Gaius,” said Night Shadow, who with one fore hoof pointed down the street to the right of the barracks entrance. Gaius looked over that way for a moment before he stared back at his three pony escorts.
“Very well. Shall we be off?” The three stallions nodded to him before they proceeded down the street, to the right of the barracks entrance, as Gaius immediately walked up behind them. Yet when the giant bipedal positioned himself behind the trio, all three stallions suddenly looked to their right and noticed Gaius’ sword protruding forward alongside them. The three Guards instantly became nervous after noticing the short gap distance between them and it.
“Hey, Gaius,” said Night Shadow as he immediately turned around and walked backwards for a moment. “Could you please be careful with that sword of yours?”
“Of course, Night Shadow,” replied Gaius, who instantly understood what Night Shadow meant. “For I promise, by my knight’s honor, that I shall be most careful in not letting any of you come to harmed from my sword.” All three stallions felt relieved in hearing Gaius’ reassuring words. Thus began the group’s nightly patrol through Canterlot.
Meanwhile, Celosia suddenly woken up with a sharp gasp. But instead of waking up in Fluttershy’s bedroom, he had instead found himself standing in a sea of black darkness.
“H-hello?” he said aloud nervously as he looked around in all directions. “Fluttershy? Brother? Anyone there?! Hello?!” No one answered.
Suddenly, without warning, a ball of orange flame, the size of a mare’s head, appeared out of nowhere. Celosia instantly became filled with terror as his now fearful eyes watched the fire ball moving around in the darkness in one direction, then another, sometimes even spinning around in circles, until it finally stopped in front of him. But the very moment, it stopped, the blackness around it and Celosia instantly shifted to where he was back inside Fluttershy’s bedroom, only without Fluttershy or his brother Cenobia. But Celosia had other things to worry about. For the moment the bedroom appeared, the fireball made contact with the bed and the entire thing, mattress and all, burst into flames.
Celosia, horrified in noticing how the flames were quickly spreading outward and toward him, promptly dashed out of the room and ran down the stairs, screaming loudly. All the while, the flames from the bedroom pursuing him.
Yet the moment he reached the bottom and entered the living room, Celosia was shocked to find the entire house was now engulfed in a raging inferno, filling the room with a blend of orange and yellow light. But to make matters worse, the back door was blocked off by pillars of fire.
“No. NO!” shouted Celosia as swerved his body in every direction to find a way out of the burning building, but to no avail. He was trapped. Thus, Celosia went prostrate on the floor and covered his now clenched eyes with his paws.
“Someone...anyone, please...HELP!!!!!” Screamed Celosia desperately in his mind, as the flames on the floor edged closer to his prone form threatening to engulf him. But thankfully, just as Celosia felt that he was doomed, help came to him instantly.
“BEGONE, RAGING INFERNO!”
The loud shout of a silvery voice instincting prompted Celosia to uncover his eyes. Upon doing so, he immediately observed the ferocious inferno had all vanished, leaving the cottage interior unscathed, unsinged, and untouched. What’s more, as Celosia stood up, he found that the cottage interior was now moderately shrouded in a faint cerulean blue mist. As Celosia turned around he suddenly stopped when he noticed some of the mist parting to reveal Princess Luna slowly approaching him.
“Princess Luna?” he asked with amazement.
“In the flesh, Celosia,” replied Princess Luna, stopping a few feet from where Celosia stood, who immediately bows down to her respectfully for a moment.
“It’s an honor to meet you, your Highness.” The lines on Luna’s muzzle curved into a soft smile.
“On the contrary, it is I who am honored to meet you, Celosia.” Princess Luna suddenly observed that Celosia’s joyful expression was mixed with confusion.
“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing in my dreams? I mean, Twilight already told me about how you could enter a pony’s dreams while they’re asleep. So why come into mine?”
“Well, if you must know, earlier in the day, I wanted to accompany my sister and Gaius to personally meet you in Ponyville, but I regrettably couldn’t because I had to remain in Canterlot to help maintain order. That’s part of the responsibilities of a co-ruler after all. So, I decided to come meet you in your subconscious while you were asleep when I heard your screams and witnessed your nightmare. Thus I decided to quell it, as I do with all nightmares witnessed by our subjects.”
“Gee, thanks for your help, Princess. You have no idea how terrifying fire can be for me.”
“You are most welcome, Celosia. Anyway, the main reason I came to you in your dreamscape is because I also wanted inform you that you have my gratitude for saving Fluttershy from a wyvern, who has been quite a faithful subject to both me and my sister.”
“Oh, you’re welcome, Princess,” said Celosia. “But I couldn’t have saved Fluttershy without the help of my brother, Cenobia.”
“Oh, yes, I am indeed aware of that,” replied Princess Luna before she and Celosia diverted their gaze toward the sound of a door opening and closing before Cenobia emerged from the blue mists before them, much to the surprise of his brother.
“Hey, Cel,” he said happily. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Cen,” said Celosia jubilantly as he and his brother embraced each other for a moment. “I...I don’t understand. How is it that you are here in my dream?” Before Cenobia could answer that, Princess Luna cleared her throat to gain their attention.
“I believe I can explain that,” she said to them. “Simply put, I am able to merge the dreamscapes of two individuals together into one, whether they be a pony or Colossi.”
“Wow, that’s incredible,” exclaimed Cenobia.
“Indeed it is,” replied Princess Luna. “Now, while Twilight Sparkle has told me the about the both of you saving Fluttershy’s life through her letter, I would like to hear about it from your side, if you will.” The two brothers were very delighted to tell her.
Back in Canterlot, things have been going smoothly with Gaius and his three companions, even though they’ve just gone through between one-eighth and one-fourth of their nighttime patrol. Yet during that time, Gaius had managed to learn a few things about each of the three stallions.
Stormfire, for example, lived almost two hours away in the much larger city of Cloudsdale with his wife Blue Night and their daughter Skyfire. Despite being a highly respected member of the Zodiacs, for his family’s sake he almost exclusively patrolled within Cloudsdale’s city limits as part of the Cloudsdale Royal Guard, only finding himself in the hilly streets of Canterlot on certain occasions. In spite of this, he was great friends with Night Shadow and Moonlit Sapphire, and did enjoy his role in the Zodiacs, supervising new recruits trying to master the art of archery, a skill he had come to learn himself during the few years he served as part of the Marines.
Night Shadow, though a pegasus, was born possessing strange fangs on account of him being part bat pony (Gaius had already been informed of those by the Princesses). What’s more, before coming to Canterlot, Night Shadow was raised by family of bat ponies living near Vanhoover. And like Stormfire, Night was also a member of the Zodiacs, except that the latter served as the second-in-command.
Last of all, was Moonlit Sapphire, who born and raised by a family of jewel makers who are currently based and living in Canterlot. Moonlit had always wanted to protect his family’s business and thus became a nightwatch pony for said establishment by the time he grew into his late teens. After spending a few years of this occupation, he unexpectedly became noticed by Princess Celestia who having heard of his reputation in protecting his family’s jewelry business recruited him as a Royal Guard. Since that moment, Moonlit had been assigned as one of a select number of guards chosen to protect the Princesses’ crown jewels, both during the day and night. Moonlit had of course chosen the night shift.
As for Gaius, he in turn told the three stallions a bit about himself, even though most was what he told the Princesses earlier in the day. He even included the fact that three of his fellow Colossi are currently situated in Ponyville. The three guards were quite amazed with the things that Gaius said.
Currently, the four companions were engaging with some small talk as they continued patrolling through Canterlot’s lantern-lit streets.
“I must admit, Gaius,” said Moonlit casually. “When the commanding officer of the Royal Guard's Lunar Division had assigned me and my two compadres here to accompany a new recruit tonight, I never expected you to be a giant, bipedal, stone armored soldier.”
“Colossus,” corrected Night Shadow.
“Right, Colossus.”
“I apologize if you felt surprised over that, Moonlit,” said Gaius. “I also hope that neither of you three will have any objections to me joining your ranks in the Royal Guard.” He brings up his left arm over his stone-plated chest. “For I assure you, by my knight’s honor, that you have nothing to fear from me.” Gaius lowered his arm back down as he awaited a response from the three stallions, which came pretty swiftly.
“Well, I must thank you for that assurance, Gaius,” said Moonlit.
“Yeah, and don’t worry, Gaius,” said Stormfire. “If both Princess Celestia and Luna approve of you joining up with the Royal Guard, I won’t complain. Especially since you’re very polite and kind, exactly the kind of guard I like working with.”
“Agreed,” said Night Shadow with a warm smile. “I’m rather glad to have you as an addition to our ranks, Gaius.”
“Indeed,” said Moonlit. “Like Stormfire said: you have some qualities that would make you a fine Royal Guard, regardless if you are a pony or not.” Gaius’ mouth flexed into a smile in hearing these encouraging compliments from his companions, filling his being with warmth. He now felt more confident in serving as a Royal Guard.
“Say, speaking of quality,” added Night Shadow. “Have you, Moonlit, made any progress with Emerald lately?” This made Gaius very curious as he immediately noticed Moonlit bowing his head slightly and give a doleful sigh.
“No, Night, I haven’t,” he replied sadly.
“Begging your pardon,” said Gaius. “But who, pray tell, is this Emerald that you speak of?” All three stallions glanced up at him for a moment.
“Well, her full name is Emerald Soprano,” explained Stormfire. “And she is a emerald green unicorn mare who sings at a local nightclub in Canterlot known as the Sunset Horizon.”
“And Sapphire here has the hots for her,” added Night cheekily, motioning to his comrade with one forehoof, who was blushing wildly underneath his helmet. Of course, Gaius felt confused with what Night Shadow just said.
“He’s rather correct, Gaius,” Moonlit confessed a flustered. “I’m deeply in love with the lovely Emerald Soprano.” Gaius now fully understood the situation and nodded his head in confirmation.
“How long have you been in love with her?” asked Gaius.
“He’s been in love with her for a while, Gaius,” answered Stormfire. “Ever since the three of us started hanging out over at the Sunset Horizon a few months. And boy, you should have seen awestruck Moonlit felt when he first noticed Emerald Soprano on the stage.”
“Yeah,” Night answered. “And he’s been ogling her, flank and all, every occasion we would venture over to Sunset Horizon. Haven’t you, Sapphy?” Moonlit, who was still flushing under his helmet, said nothing but nodded in confirmation.
“Which now brings up an issue,” said Storm, before turning to Moonlit. “Why haven’t you spoken with Emerald since then?”
“Yeah, or even asked her out?” added Night Shadow.
“I tried several times, friends,” replied Moonlit sadly. “But every time, I end up getting tongue-tied.” This instantly earned loud, downcast groans from his two comrades.
“At this rate, you’ll be hesitating with over this until you’re an old stallion,” said Stormfire.
“He has struck a valid point,” said Gaius suddenly, surprising the three stallions as they abruptly stopped, turned around and noticed that the giant bipedal knight was standing motionless with his gaze on Moonlit.
“Moonlit Sapphire...if you truly love Emerald Soprano then I highly suggest that you act quickly in gaining her affections, otherwise someone else will claim that chance before you. For this is your lifetime opportunity in finding out if Emerald is your soulmate and I highly advise that you take it.” All three stallions watched and listened to Gaius’ words with awe and amazement. Thankfully, their effects were immediate: for Moonlit’s eyes and facial features--which were previously forlorn and sad--instantly shifted into strong expressions of confidence and determination.
“You’re absolutely right, Gaius,” he said boldly. “In fact, I swear that the next time I meet Emerald, I’ll ask her to go out with me without any hesitation!” Gaius, Stormfire, and Night Shadow all smiled in hearing Moonlit’s declaration and were filled with joy over his newfound devotion. Then suddenly without warning…
BOOM!
All four of individuals immediately shifted their attention down the cobblestone street to the sound of a tremendous explosion, which was instantly followed by an alarm going off a few miles down said street.
“What in the name of the blue heavens made that loud noise?” asked a bewildered Gaius.
“That is what’s called an explosion, Gaius,” replied Stormfire darkly. “And judging by the sound of that alarm, I’d say that’s most likely a bank robbery.”
“Then let’s head on over!” ordered Night Shadow before he charged down the street at a gallop with Storm and Moonlit following right behind him. At the same moment the three stallions burst into a gallop, Gaius also proceeded to follow them at running speed, which surprised him since he had never ran before in his existence as a Colossus. But to his slight dismay, Gaius’ running speed was slower than that of his three comrades’. Nevertheless he was determined to follow them in hopes of helping them quell the bank robbery-in-progress.
Meanwhile in one corner of the dreamscape, Celosia and Cenobia had just concluded regaling Princess Luna of how they saved Fluttershy from a wyvern. Princess Luna, who was reclining on her stomach, listened to their narrative with great interest and was most impressed with what they’ve told her.
“Very impressive,” she said. “And once again, you have my sincere gratitude for saving Fluttershy’s life. Not only that, but are both very fortunate to have fought against the very wyvern who nearly slaughtered her and lived. For not very many ponies have ever done so before, as you’ve no doubt heard.”
“You’re welcome, Princess Luna,” said both brothers in unison.
“Um, Princess Luna,” said Celosia out of the blue. “We heard Princess Celestia saying that Gaius would be taking some kind of test tonight in order to join the Royal Guard. Do you know what that test is?” Princess Luna smiled when asked this question.
“The test, young Celosia, involves Gaius taking a night patrol through Canterlot with three of our top Guards who usually work the night shift.”
“Wow, that’s so cool,” said Cenobia delightfully.
“Yeah, I hope he passes that test,” added Celosia jubilantly. Luna, touched by the brother’s optimism, smiled at them for a moment.
“Um, Princess Luna?” asked Cenobia suddenly. “Do you suppose that the other Colossi could also be somewhere in Equestria?” For a moment, Luna’s face shifted into a thoughtful expression.
“It’s quite possible,” she said at last. “Both Celestia and I have recently been thinking about that and I promise that we’ll be sure to look further into it in the future.” The boys were utterly delighted to hear about this, knowing that it would mean reuniting with more of their fellow Colossi. But their happy expressions fell when Princess Luna suddenly stood up on her hooves as if she was about to depart.
“Wait,” said Cenobia suddenly. “Before you go, I have a request for you.”
“A request?” asked Princess Luna curiously. “What, pray tell, is this request that you have, Cenobia?”
“It’s this: I want you do whatever possible to help Fluttershy to overcome her fear of dragons.” For a moment, the lunar Princess’s eyes widened with surprise, especially since Cenobia’s request was a rather challenging one since she had sometimes saved Fluttershy from nightmares involving dragons.
“Please, Princess,” pleaded Celosia. “I think it would be a good thing for Fluttershy if she were to get over her fear of dragons. I mean there might be other dragons in Equestria who are nice to ponies just like Spike.”
“Perhaps you’re right, Celosia,” replied Princess Luna. “I promise you both that I’ll do everything possible to help Fluttershy overcome her fear of dragons.” She immediately noticed the joyful and thankful looks in both brothers’ eyes; no words were needed to know what the two boys meant. She smiled at them once more. “Now, I must be off. There are other ponies who need my help tonight. Farewell to you.”
“Farewell, Princess Luna,” said both Celosia and Cenobia. With that, Princess Luna vanished from the dreamscape, which was followed by everything around the two Colossi slowly fading to blackness, which obviously meant that their conjoined dreamscapes were separating. As it did, Celosia and Cenobia smiled at each other confidently knowing that both of them would now be alright.
“Holy moon craters, Storm,” exclaimed Night Shadow. “You were right: it is a bank robbery.” All three nightly guards had managed to reach their destination, which happened to be a bank or more specifically, the prestigious Canter One Bank. What’s more, thick black smoke was billowing out of the bank’s entrance from a fire of an explosion. The three guards, who were standing outside the bank’s entrance, were about to approach and investigate the terrible incident when they suddenly realized that something was out of place.
“Hey, where’s Gaius?” asked Stormfire. They looked back to notice that Gaius was nowhere to be seen.
“By Luna’s glimmering star-spangled mane,” exclaimed Moonlit. “We must have outran him on our way to the bank robbery.”
“Moonlit, don’t swear by our boss’ name like that,” said Night Shadow.
“Sorry,” said Moonlit who was blushing with embarrassment under his helmet.
“Well, don’t worry, guys,” said Stormfire. “I’m sure that he’ll catch up with us pretty soon.”
“But in the meantime, let’s go head inside and confront the bank robbers,” said Night Shadow. But just as the threesome were about to do so, they saw five ponies--two unicorns, two pegasi, and a midget earth pony--running out the front entrance of Canter One with one of the unicorns holding an enormous sack filled with money, bonds, and ingots.
“Look, Bigtime, coppers,” exclaimed one the bank robbers, all of whom at that moment skidded to a halt a few hooves from the three Royal Guards, who were now poised for a confrontation.
“Those ain’t cops, Lookout,” said Bigtime, who was the diminutive earth pony. “Them’s Royal Guards!”
“Stop,” declared Night Shadow. “You are all under arrest! Surrender now and we won’t have any trouble.”
“Fat chance,” said Bigtime defiantly. “Lookout, Boomer, Hack Pick, you guys handle these sluggers while Heavy Lift and I make a break for it.” No sooner had he said this when three of the bank robbers charged the three Royal Guards and engaged them in combat. The two pegasi, Lookout and Boomer, fought against Stormfire and Night Shadow respectively while the other unicorn, Hack Pick, struck out at Moonlit Sapphire. Though these three bank robbers were tough and strong stallions, the Royal Guards they were fighting were well trained in combat and sturdy in physical prowess.
Yet, the moment three-on-three fight began, Bigtime and Heavy Lift (with their ill-gotten gains) immediately galloped around them and took off down the cobblestone street. Little did the two crooks realize that they were speeding along the same street Storm, Night, and Moonlit had transversed to reach the Canter One. The two of them soon managed to reach a point where they are away from the action and slowed down to a fast trot.
“Hey, boss,” said Heavy Lift loudly. “You thinks the others will be okay?”
“Course they will,” replied Bigtime. “They’re tough stallions. They can take handle a bunch of guards.”
“But what happens if they fail, boss?”
“You let me worry about that, Heavy Lift. First thing is to figure out where we’re gonna hide all our stolen loot once we’ve skipped town. Once we’ve done that, we’ll come back for the rest of our gang.”
“I guess that sounds good to me--”
“HALT!”
Both stallions suddenly skid to a screeching halt, for there standing before them was the tall and imposing figure of Gaius, who was staring down at them with his teal eyes. The terrified stallions watched as Gaius pointed his sword directly at and in front of them.
“In the names of the royal Princesses of Equestria, you are both under arrest for robbery and theft of Equestrian currency,” declared Gaius firmly. “Stand down and surrender peacefully or prepare to face the consequences.” The two mortified stallions said nothing but just stood there motionless with wide eyes, gaping mouths, and trembling legs before the enormity of Gaius. The giant was about to speak once more when the two crooks made an instinctive decision: they turned tail and bolted in opposite direction of Gaius (with their sack of loot enveloped in Heavy Lift’s magic).
“Run for it,” shouted Bigtime as he and Heavy Lift strained every muscle in their legs to distance themselves from Gaius.
“HALT!” shouted Gaius once more as he immediately went into a run to pursue them. But shortly after he began running, he soon skidded to a sudden stop on account what he saw next. For Bigtime and Heavy Lift had suddenly stopped after running into Gaius’ three escorts---Stormfire, Night Shadow, and Moonlit Sapphire---who were all a bit scuffed up and barring the two stallions from progressing any further. What’s more, the two robbers were practically shivering frightfully as the three guards gazed at them sternly with intentions on arresting them.
Now realizing that they were trapped between the four guards, there was ultimately one option left for Bigtime and Heavy Lift. Thus after dropping their loot, the two of them fell prostrate onto the cobblestone street with their arms splayed out.
“We surrender!" exclaimed the two thieves, much to the delight of Gaius and his escorts.
Within a trice, the five bank robbers were all rounded up, bound and cuffed, near the site of the Canter One bank. After which, Moonlit Sapphire teleported them, the bag of loot, and himself to the nearest jail, while his three companions waited at the bank. By the time the four of them returned, a small force of night-time weather ponies had already arrived with several clouds to put out the fires inside Canter One, a spectacle that greatly interested Gaius.
“You did pretty great with stopping the remaining bank robbers, Gaius," said Stormfire admirably, prompting Gaius to look down at him and Night Shadow.
“That’s right," said Night Shadow. “Otherwise they would have easily escaped with all the money and jewelry they stole. You were a big help!”
“Thank you, Night Shadow," replied Gaius. “I am glad that I helped in contributing to their capture.” He suddenly noticed that Stormfire had a curious look in his expression.
“If you don’t mind me asking, Gaius,” said the dark blue pegasus. “How come you didn’t catch up with the three of us all the way to the bank?” Thus Gaius began explaining and recalling his actions to his two comrades.
It happened sometime earlier when Gaius began following his escorts down the cobblestone street at his running speed toward Canter One. However shortly he started running, Gaius noticed that windows from passing buildings were suddenly lighting up meaning that the ponies living inside, who had been asleep, we're now awakened by the loudness and trembling of his footfalls. Gaius additionally observed that the few ponies who were out strolling nearby became startled with the slight tremors caused by his running.
Thus Gaius quickly decreased his pace to a fast walk to ensure that no other ponies would be further disturbed from their sleep. Furthermore, he kindly apologizes to those still outside for any disturbances he caused them adding that he was trying to catch up with his comrades. Thankfully, they all accepted his apology and awkwardly continued with their evenings.
Gaius eventually came to a stop when he heard Bigtime and Heavy Lift running (unwittingly) toward him further down the road before he saw them coming. For not only could Gaius see in the dark but he also had excellent hearing. Furthermore, Gaius heard the two bank robbers speaking about their three comrades left behind at the bank, making him immediately realize that they were involved with the robbery. All of these factors led up to the two crooks’ capture once they nearly ran into Gaius.
“...and that is what transpired during that time,” said Gaius finishing his explanation. “I humbly apologize for not arriving at this defaced establishment sooner to help you and Moonlit.” But instead of being angry, Gaius found to his surprise that Storm and Night look rather pleased with what he told them.
“Hey it's all good, Gaius,” said Stormfire. “In fact I think that was rather considerate of you to slow down like that. Otherwise, none of the populace in Canterlot be able to get any sound sleep from all of the loud stomping. That's part of a Royal Guard’s purpose in serving the ponies we’re sworn to protect.”
“I agree, Storm,” said Night Shadow. “Besides if you hadn't slowed down, Gaius, we’d probably be searching all night for those two remaining bank robbers.” Gaius gave out a sigh of relief in knowing that two of his comrades weren’t displeased with his actions. Shortly afterward, Moonlit reappeared in a flash next to his three comrades.
“Apologies for the wait, friends,” he said to them. “On the bright side, I’m happy to report that all five bank robbers are now under lock and key at a local police station and that the stolen money and jewelry has been deposited there for safekeeping.”
“Well done, Moonlit,” complemented Night Shadow.
“Yes, commendable job, my friend,” added Stormfire.
“Indeed,” said Gaius in agreement before gazing around all three of his comrades. “Shall we resume our patrol?”
“But of course, Gaius,” replied Moonlit. “There’s no need to worry about the Canter One anymore. I’ve already informed the police chief of situation and he said that a handful of officers would be sent to hold watch over the entrance.”
“Good to hear,” said Night Shadow. Thus the tetrad departed from Canter One and resumed their nighttime patrol through Canterlot. However the moment they resumed their patrol, Moonlit Sapphire had a curious expression on his face.
“So did I miss anything while I was away?” he asked his comrades.
“Not much,” replied Night Shadow. “Except you missed out on the details of how Gaius managed to catch the remainder of the bank robbers.”
“Wow, really?” Moonlit shifted his gaze up toward Gaius. “Could you please tell me all about it?” Gaius’ eyes glimmered with joy as he started repeating the details of how he caught Bigtime and Heavy Lift.
Well, here's the next chapter. I once again apologize for taking so long on this chapter.
Also, can any you guess which famous Disney cartoon show I'm referencing with that robber I named Bigtime?
Lastly, here's some links as to what Moonlit Sapphire (and Emerald Soprano) looks like:
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i wonder if the princesses will learn about dormin
7633754 Believe me, they will.
At first I read this as "Within a tree" and was laughing at the image of Gaius hanging the robbers from branches. Sadly my imagination was not what happened.
Big Time is one of the Beagle Boys from Ducktales. Wooohooo!
7644043 That would be pretty funny.
Also, well done on guessing that correctly. Sadly, I don't have any prizes for you.
7644043 Also, what did you think about Celosia's nightmare sequence?
7646399 It was good, but maybe before Luna left she could have added Fluttershy to the connection so she could go into mother mode???
7646487
I'll see if I can work that into the chapter.
Bigtime Beagle from Ducktales, no?
8703658
Correct!
Woohoo! I got it right!
8704587
Though sadly, I don't have a grand prize for you. Any suggestions would be nice though.
8704794
I've given it a lot of thought, and I think a Colossus Suggestion box is a nice prize in on itself. The idea being that someone reading can leave a suggestion for a piece of the story, for example, be it which colossus they want to see, and said suggestion can be used by you if you so choose.
8705632
I'll consider it.
Yo is this story dead?
10135745
No it's just in sleep mode. Unless I officially announce it, it's not really dead.
10136035
Ok thanks
10136148
You're most welcome!
10136245
Don't mind if I ask, but when will you get back to this story? It's been years since you last updated it, and it's looks uncertain when you will update it. I don't mean to be rude, I just feared that this great story was forgotten.
Aside from that, I look forward to seeing how the rest of the colossi interact with the ponies of Equestria.
10466608
I'm terribly sorry for not updating it. As to why I haven't updated it's a long story, but I'll do my best to resume it next year.
10466636
I hope it's not your job that's keeping you away from FiMFiction. I quickly began to enjoy this story shortly after discovering it, and that was 2 years ago. So far, only 4 of the colossi have been introduced to Equestria. I wonder how the rest will be handled.
10466688
Don't worry, they'll be handled properly.
Hey when do you think The next Chapter come out ??🤔
11501514
I'll get there, don't worry. Been having some emotional issues to deal with for a while though.