Broadsword is the captain of Luna's royal guard, but after a battle with Discord he is left with no memory, no cutie mark and wings that can no longer allow him the fly. with his only order to run and never return to Canterlot, who will Broadsword find to help him rebuild his life?
The day was bright and warm and Equestria was at peace, much the same as it had been since before the return of Nightmare Moon. In the halls of the palace Princess Luna paced back and forth till she finally decided to glance out across the courtyard, outside her sister was speaking to her favourite student Twilight Sparkle undoubtedly leaving her most recent lesson.
“Oh we wish we could have friends like Celestia does, we know that we have our guard but it’s just not the same!” the dark blue alicorn stated as her Canterlot voice boomed through the chambers and halls around her. Upon hearing the commotion in the royal chambers her most trusted guard rushed through the large wooden doors that separated her chambers from the rest of the palace. “My princess what is it that troubles you so?” The dark brown Pegasus stallion asked as he took off his helmet to reveal a long and thick black mane. “Ah! Broadsword our faithful captain, tis nothing that would concern you… We are just ….. Lonely” Luna sighed, tired from being awake all day.
The brown stallion trotted closer and bowed his head “My princess you always have me, your sister and your servants.” Broadsword smiled and noticed that Luna was beginning to fall asleep. “My princess please rest, tonight I will try to find a way in which you can visit your subjects.” He stated raising his head and helped Luna to her bed. Luna lifted her head and looked at the Pegasus “Broadsword, we appreciate your efforts and your princess will hold you to your words…” her voice trailed off as she drifted off to sleep. Her companion smiled and tugged a cover over the dark blue princess, as he raised his head he glanced briefly out of her balcony but instead of clear skies he saw something not quit right. On the horizon were pink clouds of cotton candy which were thundering down chocolate rain, Broadsword suddenly felt a chill up his spine he knew what this was. He knew that it had broken free… The greater beast of chaos and disharmony; Discord had returned and was now wreaking havoc across Equestria.
“Guards to arms!!” Broadsword yelled charging towards the barracks. His orders rang through the halls as he put his helmet back on and prepared to fight the beast. Outside, the guards had formed up in three ranks and full battle dress as Broadsword strode through the doors to the courtyard. At that moment a malicious laugh echoed around the pegasi and manifested itself as a mixed up creature made of several animals. “Discord!” Broadsword spat the word in his disgust. “Why hello there captain, are you enjoying my chaos?” the draconicus asked smugly and materialised a literal half glass of chocolate milk. “Oh! How rude of me I should entertain you captain, here dance with your friends.” He chuckled as he grew several arms and poked each guard quickly turning them grey, their eyes were now cold and evil. “Guards!? Don’t let him taint you!” he ordered while drawing his sword. The guards that he trusted laughed psychotically and surrounded the brown stallion, their auras now filled with nothing but bloodlust and malice. Broadsword felt suffocated, the blank stares of the soldiers piercing him like daggers. Taking a step back he adopted a defensive stance and warned the guards not to advance but they continued to lurch forward until they dove upon him biting and slashing at their former commander. The attacks of his soldiers rained down upon him shattering his wings and scarring his right eye, the pain was intense like he was being torn asunder by the talons of a dragon but he had to fight back. Throwing a mighty blow Broadsword swung his blade and rent open the chest of his former lieutenant before following through and burying the sword deep into another’s neck.
The fighting continued for some time and Discord grew annoyed and rather bored “I think I’ll go play with the princess while you all play out here.” He stated and began casually walking to Luna’s chambers. As Broadsword slew the last of his warriors it hit him and he stood battered, bruised and bloodied. His breathing was laboured due to the deep wounds all over his frame but he had no time to rest, no time to lament over what he’d just done; he had to stop Discord from reaching the princess.
***
The blood from his eye trailed down his mussel, his wings burned from the pain and hung by a thread but he had to keep running the princess was in danger. Today was like a nightmare that wouldn’t cease, he just wanted to put the battle from his mind but with each step he left a bloody hoof print behind like a sick reminder of what he’d done to his fellow ponies. Although it had been mere minutes since he had unsheathed his sword it felt to him like hours but In truth he no longer cared how much time had passed all that was on his mind right now was getting to Luna’s side. The clatter of hooves echoed throughout the halls of the palace as he galloped at full speed to beat the being of chaos to the princess. Each step drew him closer to her chamber, the halls seemed like they went on forever. He ran through the seemingly endless halls, until there it was; standing as stern as ever the heavy door to the princess’s chambers.
***
The heavy door creaked open but what lay on the other side was not the horror he thought it would be, instead it was peaceful and there sleeping soundly was the dark blue princess of the night. Once again a malicious and maniacal laugh echoed through the room and there he stood once again, giggling like a child Discord pointed outside at the courtyard. “Oh my little captain how ruthless of you, killing them so heartlessly and I thought I was the bad guy here.” The draconicus taunted as he danced around the Pegasus captain before disappearing in a cloud of smoke and reappearing next to Luna. “Now I wonder…” he smiled devilishly as he stared at the sleeping princess. “If I turn her would you do the same as you did outside? Hmmm… decisions and debates maybe I should do it just to check hmmm?” “Discord!! Leave her alone!” Broadsword yelled with a fury burning in his voice. “Ooh so fierce and predictably boring of you. You disappoint me captain.” Discord displayed his boredom by strolling around the sleeping princess before stopping abruptly to face Broadsword. “Discord! I swear by Celestia if you touch her I’ll kill you where you stand!” Broadsword brandished his weapon as a threat. “That sounds like a challenge captain, alright I guess I’ll play along” Discord materialised a bull’s-eye over his chest “Please strike the coup de gracé, punish my evil deeds” he said sarcastically and poked Luna to provoke Broadsword into attacking.
The angered Pegasus lunged with his blade but found it turn into a feather as it connected with the draconicus’s chest, leaving the chaotic tormentor laughing at the very idea of Broadsword trying to fight his powers. “What’s wrong captain? Sword gone to the birds? Maybe it was chicken?” the smug beast taunted. “Alright, alright for real this time.” He said and spread his arms like he was offering to be killed. Broadsword knew it was another trick but he decided to try again nonetheless, this time as he lunged forward his hooves became stuck on the ground causing him to fall on his face. Giving an annoyed grunt he threw the blade at discord but it was to no avail, the chaotic tormentor magically turned the blade into a boomerang and laughed as Broadsword ducked to avoid the projectile now hurling toward him. As the blade clattered on the ground Discord giggled to see the bulk of the pegasus’s tail now falling to the floor. “Well captain that was a close shave” Discord joked as he looked at the serious Pegasus.
“Fiiiiiiiiiiine!” Discord groaned no genuinely bored by the seriousness of the captain. “I’ll leave her alone, there are more interesting ponies to play with. One of which I actually find rather funny.” And with that he skated out on the floor which he decided was better turned to soap but as he passed Broadsword he decided to poke his head before vanishing in a cloud of cotton candy. “Princess!!” Broadsword slipped on the soap at first, then within seconds of Discord leaving the soap vanished leaving the captain feeling rather stupid.
***
Dark blue eyelids flickered and opened as Luna awoke to see the horribly injured captain now resting his unconscious head on Luna’s edge of her bed. Luna was shocked at first but she quickly calmed herself and she pressed her horn to his head to start the mind reading spell. She wanted answers and reading his memory was the best way to get them. After a few moments she found her answers and what she saw in his mind made her eyes well up with sadness but those memories were best left buried. The thought that struck her most was the pain the captain was in and she worked quickly to heal him with her magic. The healing magic was incredibly draining and took its toll on the princess but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t heal his wings, from now until he dies they were broken and he would never fly again. Broadsword woke to see the exhausted princess still trying to heal his wounds, she looked up at the brown Pegasus her eyes tired and filled with tears. The princess felt guilty that she couldn’t heal the captain’s wings, she felt like she had failed her most loyal of friends.
“Princess please, you’ve done enough. You need to rest and get your strength back.” The brown Pegasus begged, but the royal alicorn shook her head and kept trying to heal him. “Captain Broadsword, I saw your memory and I know what you had to do, but I fear my sister will act rashly and will not accept that you used such force. So I have used my magic to remove your cutie mark…” the princess said her voice now weak with fatigue. Her next words were cut short by the concerned outburst of the Pegasus captain. “Princess what are you saying?!”
“Broadsword my faithful guard and close friend I am hiding your identity so you can live freely and safely outside of my sister’s wrath. Because… because I fear she will enforce a severe punishment for your actions. That’s why I’m going to lock away your memories except for your name, I am so very sorry.” Luna stifled her tears as her magic took its inevitable effect. “Princess… princess…….. Who? Who are you?” the injured Pegasus stood confused while looking at the saddened alicorn, his coat was stained with blood still, but he no longer knew why.
“Why am I covered in blood? Why do my wings hurt?” he was beginning to panic as she remained silent. “Please… What am I doing here?” he pleaded.
“We… I am nopony, nopony at all, but a friend asked me to give this to you. She said it was for your birthday.” She said smiling weakly and wrapping a dark blue cloak around the injured Pegasus. “She told me that you had to run, run very far from here and never return” she said clipping the cloak around his neck. “Miss can I ask your name?” Broadsword asked growing more confused. “You may… We, I am Crescent Moon, now please hurry and leave for your safety. You can get to the forest through this door. Now go!” the saddened princess ordered as she opened the passage.
“Oh! She gave me one last message… she said thank you.” This was the last he saw of the beautiful alicorn princess before she closed the heavy door behind him.
Night had fallen and the moon shone brightly through the tree thicket. The only sounds that could be heard were the lonesome hoofsteps of the injured and lost Pegasus. Broadsword didn’t know where he was nor where he was heading, but he knew that for whatever reason he had to get as far from where Crescent Moon was as possible. Thoughts of the dark blue mare ran through his mind, why did she want him to run? Why was she so sad? Who was the friend that said thank you? These questions circled his head, but trying to remember anything from before the moment he met her was painful.
Deciding to take a break the Pegasus stallion took a seat next to a fallen tree, as he leant back against and let his back rest against the tree’s trunk he noticed something strange… Why wasn’t he tired? It had been several hours since he’d begun running and yet he felt fine almost like it was early in the afternoon. “Maybe I’m nocturnal” He thought aloud, but his thoughts were a lot more focused on trying to remember his past. Nonetheless this little snippet of information was something he could hold onto; at least he now knew more than just his name, still this was little comfort to him.
Moments passed he sat there thinking what he should do next until a commotion from the bushes caught his attention something was coming and whatever it was it was big! The stallion struggled to his hooves knowing that he was in no shape to brave whatever was on its way; the noises grew louder as the creature approached and taking the only safe path Broadsword ducked down a near embankment. He staggered down the slope like a foal learning to walk with every patch of mud causing him to lose balance and slip. With the beast drawing ever nearer Broadsword had no choice but to try to hide in the bramble thicket, he knew it would hurt but it was better than facing whatever was stalking him.
Broadsword felt his heart race when the beast came into sight; its snarling fangs and sharp claws were unmistakable as being those of the feared chimera. The monster thundered through the trees smashing any that blocked it to splinters, it could smell the dried blood on Broadsword’s coat and easily found him in the thick patch of brambles. Broadsword tried to evade the beast but it was too close and with a mighty blow it swatted the Pegasus and threw him like a rag doll into a thick oak tree. As the Pegasus pony tried to stand he found himself quickly smashed back down, the pain from each hit causing him to cry out. As the beast rose its claw for another blow Broadsword instinctively flicked a small pebble into the chimera’s eye, the beast recoiled in pain giving Broadsword an opening to make his escape. He rolled out of the way of the chimera’s clumsy steps and quickly staggered to his hooves, using the last strength in his legs he fled to the edge of the forest which stood atop a steep cliff. With the beast recovered and time running short the brown Pegasus decided to take a leap of faith to try to land in the river below.
He hit the water with his full weight causing him to scream out in pain and swallow a lot of water, but at least he was out of the chimera’s reach however this moment of respite was cut short when he noticed the waterfall that was mere feet away. All he could do was brace for the fall and hope that the water below wasn’t hiding any rocks, as the current dragged him over the edge the last thing he saw was the moonlight peering over the dark silhouette of the forest.
***
Trixie awoke to the sound of a loud cry coming from the water fall near where she had chosen to camp out, she didn’t know what it was, but she had to investigate it. Grapping her cape the azure mare galloped out of her caravan and headed to the edge of the river, an anxious feeling grew in her heart as she watched the silhouetted figure fall from the peak of the falls. Trixie made haste and ran as fast as she could to try to catch the rapidly falling figure with her magic; the lavender glow from her horn caught the figure as they hit the water, the strain on her power was immense but she dug deep and managed to pull the figure to the shore.
After she had placed the figure on the bank of the river Trixie moved closer to inspect what had fallen from the cliff above, but on examination she discovered that the figure that she’d saved was a large Pegasus stallion. He looked badly hurt and worse it looked like he’d swallowed a lot of water, the light blue mare’s heart raced what if he had drowned? What if he was dead? These thoughts had to be pushed from her mind, there were more important things to do than wonder on what ifs; she knew what she had to do. She had to try muzzle to muzzle it was the only way to clear the water from his lungs, but… she had never kissed anypony before and this was just like that, the very thought of pressing her lips against somepony else’s made her blush. Still, there was no time to worry about that somepony’s life hung in the balance.
The young mare drew closer as her heart beat grew more rapid, it felt like it would burst from her chest; she took a deep breath and leaned in to the other pony until at last their lips touched. Her breath filled the other pony’s lungs and she leant back to take another deep breath before repeating the act. After a few attempts the stallion coughed up the water and started breathing rapidly, he was alive but still not in the best of states; she didn’t want to but she had to take him to ponyville to see a doctor.
Trixie leant her head down using her teeth to grip the cloak around his neck and begun dragging him to her caravan, but his body was very heavy which caused the small pale blue mare to slip several times before she finally managed to put him in the mobile home. After fixing the harness to her back she headed towards the town that brought her so many bad memories. The azure mare wasn’t very popular in ponyville due to her less than truthful boasts, but she wasn’t a bad pony she was just a performer why couldn’t the other ponies have understood that? Her thoughts drifted to the fateful night she when she was humiliated by the one mare she never wanted to see again; Twilight Sparkle. As she grew ever more anxious about going to ponyville, her stallion cargo had begun fading in and out of consciousness.
***
With a groan Broadsword opened his eyes to catch brief glimpses out of the window at the front of the caravan, it was still very dark and the moonlight wasn’t as prominent as it was when he had fallen, but that however didn’t stop it shining off of the silver mane and tail that was pulling the trailer. The mere sight of the azure unicorn with the silver mane was breath taking to say the least and he found himself staring at her almost entranced by her beauty, but each glimpse was just that has his consciousness faded and drifted off into sleep again.
***
Hours had passed since Trixie had saved the stallion with her magic, but no matter how fast she walked she was no closer to the hospital on the other side of town; the silver maned unicorn was exhausted and her cargo wasn’t doing much better. If she couldn’t find help soon the stallion in her trailer could die, but fate is a strange force and as luck would have it at that moment a yellow Pegasus came racing across Trixie’s path chasing after her pet bunny. The Pegasus tried to slow herself, but to no avail and the two mares collided sending each other flying in the process. It was at this moment Trixie realised that she could ask the Pegasus mare for help and she leapt over to pin the other pony beneath her.
“The great and powerful Trixie requires your aid, there’s a stallion in my wagon that needs immediate treatment.” she said in her usual habit of speaking in the thirdpony.
“Um…” the confused yellow mare squeaked before turning he head to see in the window of the caravan. “Oh my gosh what happened?”
“The great and powerful Trixie found him falling from a cliff and saved him, but… he seems hurt. Please I beg you help me.” The pale blue mare stared into the pink eyes of the yellow pony, her eyes filled with concern at Trixie’s statement and she felt compelled to help; if not for Trixie’s sake then for the stallion’s at least.
“O…ok I’ll help, please help me take him to my cottage… it’ll be um… easier to check his wounds, if you don’t mind” the yellow pony was still fighting her shyness as she went with Trixie to her cottage.
“I…I…Um I’m Fluttershy” she stated in a softened tone while hooking her forelegs under the brown Pegasus’s front legs, Trixie did the same for his hind legs and the two mares carried him in to Fluttershy’s cottage.
Fluttershy worked deep into the earliest hours of the morning to bandage the injured stallion’s wounds with her faithful (if rather rude) pet bunny named angel playing the role of assistant. Trixie paced back and forth, true she didn’t know the Pegasus but nopony wants to see another pony hurt or at least she didn’t want that. Hours passed and Trixie began biting her hoof in anxiety, a habit that she hadn’t done since she was a filly; the azure mare found herself trying to sneak into the ‘operating room’ but whenever she got close thoughts of things she didn’t want to see entered her mind and discouraged her from entering.
After many hours of treatment, Fluttershy finally exited her room looking exhausted; her hooves were covered in blood from the wounds the stallion had all over his body but at least he was fixed up now.
“Miss Fluttershy, the great and powerful Trixie wishes to know how he is” Trixie was concerned but her attitude didn’t change at all, she still spoke in the thirdpony and she still spoke as if she were royalty; but Fluttershy could tell she was genuinely worried so she ignored the façade.
“Uh um yes.. well.. he’s fine but… his err cutie mark is..” The yellow mare was cut short by Trixie who blurted out her question “what of his wings?! And what of his cutie mark?”
“His wings are… um bad, but they will heal… um.. he won’t … erm… fly again.” She said sadly “and his cutie mark isn’t there… I mean he um …doesn’t have one.” Fluttershy announced in a bit of disbelief herself.
“What do you mean he doesn’t have a cutie mark?” Trixie demanded and stepped towards the room where Fluttershy had left the brown Pegasus to rest.
“wait… but… erm..” she squeaked being ignored by the unicorn mare, who was getting closer to the door. “WAAAAAAAAAAIITT!” The yellow mare cried out to the sudden surprise of the azure unicorn.
“You have to let him rest … um… I mean please.” she said sheepishly, Trixie turned to face the shy mare but no matter how she thought about it she couldn’t make an argument to justify her waking the stallion up. “Fine, the great and powerful Trixie will wait.” And with that she sat down on Fluttershy’s sofa.
“Um… Trixie? Are you not going to your trailer? I… I... mean if you don’t mind.” Fluttershy timidly asked as she sat down next to Trixie.
“The great and powerful Trixie will stay here and grace you with her presence while she waits.” The unicorn mare boldly stated, to which her yellow host could only reply. “…okay…” ***
The sun rose high above and it was getting close to noon, Broadsword felt the warmth of the sunlight hit his muzzle and stirred from his slumber.
“ugh!” the stallion grunted as he turned on his side and put pressure on his wing, the pain wasn’t nearly as bad as it was last night now it was just uncomfortable. Broadsword quickly realised that there was something wrong, where was he? This was a bed not the rocks beneath a waterfall and his wounds were now bandaged, but most curious of all were the voices outside the room where he lay.
“Fluttershy what’s Trixie doing here?”
“Hello Twilight how are you feeling since yesterday?”
“The great and powerful Trixie is waiting if you must know.”
”Erm.. she brought.. the…”
“what do you mean you’re waiting?”
“Trixie is waiting that is all you should know.”
“Um… she brought… him with her”
“Did you say he was an adult blank flank? Oh goodie goodie goodie I’ve never seen one before, maybe he’ll wanna be friends and we can go have a super special ultra mega get your cutie mark party.”
“Er.. I don’t think that’s a good… erm… idea…”
“Seriously? He’s an adult blank flank that is so lame! He should have found his talent by now.”
“Ohohohohohoho!!! Maybe is super special talent is doing nothing or maybe it’s an invisible cutie mark can you get those?” “Pinkie do you even hear what you’re saying?”
“Well duh of course I hear what I’m saying Dashie otherwise that would be weird, oh what if I can only hear what I say after I say it or before or maybe…”
It seemed that the conversation (or rather conversations) outside the room was largely dominated by the subject of a stallion without a cutie mark, but who was it? And still how did he get here? there was no mention of him. Just as those thoughts crossed his mind he realised, where was his cloak? The cloak that Crescent Moon had given him was nowhere to be seen, maybe it was lost in the waters; either way he needed to explore what was going on. Broadsword struggled to climb down from the bed, but after a few moments of discomfort he finally had his hooves on the ground.
His wings were still very sore and his muscles weren’t much better, but at least he was alive; whoever had helped him deserved his thanks and it was only fair that he try to pay them back for their kindness. Broadsword stepped closer to the door, but as he drew closer it swung open and in rushed a pink pony riding a cannon that was firing confetti. Strangely this didn’t seem to shock the other ponies but the sudden surprise of the door bursting open and being face to face with a cannon had caused Broadsword dive backwards and flatten himself against the wall.
As the pink pony was pushed aside by the others and a purple unicorn stepped closer to the now panicked Pegasus. “Hello, I’m Twilight…”
“Make way for the great and powerful Trixie” The purple mare was cut off abruptly by the obnoxious azure unicorn forcing her way through.
“Look upon me, your saviour in gratitude” she stated in the usual manner and moved closer to the Pegasus.
“Now can I talk Trixie?”
“You may.”
The two unicorn mares stared at each other like dogs about to fight over a piece of meat, but then the purple mare turned to face Broadsword again.
“Ahem! As I was saying I’m Twilight Sparkle, what’s your name?”
“Erm… My name is Broadsword, who are all of you?” he asked, finally getting himself calmed down enough to get his thoughts in order.
“Oh, that’s right! Where are my manners?” the purple mare thought aloud. “the mares in here with us are, Fluttershy” “oh um.. hello” the yellow mare said shyly and hid behind pinkie who then blurted out her introduction.
“Hi I’m Pinkie Pie nice to meet you! Oh I need to get you a party ready *gasp!* that reminds me I have my welcome wagon and cake cannon ready outside, why wouldn’t you let me bring them in Twilight?” she rambled on to herself for some time after but the others payed her no attention so they could finish their own introductions.
“If you were wondering who the awesome mare you see before you is, her name is the fantastic Rainbow Dash!!” the blue mare with the rainbow coloured mane said almost boasting as much as the azure mare that followed.
“And I am the great and powerful Trixie! I am the one who saved you from that horrific fall and single hoofedly brought you here, you may now look upon me with awe.”
“and.. um I… bandaged you…” Fluttershy interjected as she revealed herself again.
This odd gathering of mares made Broadsword uncomfortable not because they themselves were odd but because he felt so out of place.
“well miss Trixie and miss Fluttershy, thank you for your kindness and erm… if its not much trouble could you tell me where my cape is?” the stallion asked feeling a little naked without the garment . “Oh of course, Fluttershy can you go get it and girls please wait in the lounge we’ll be out soon. I just have a few questions that I need to ask him. ” Twilight said gesturing to the other ponies to leave the room, but Trixie paid no attention to the purple mare and stood looking at Broadsword with a great deal of concern secretly hidden in her eyes.
“You too Trixie.” Twilight commanded, still Trixie ignored the order and simply made a statement of her own.
“The great and powerful Trixie wishes to stay and look after the stallion who owes his life to her.” And with that the azure mare sat next to Broadsword.
“Okay?” Twilight was kind of confused by the sudden change in Trixie’s attitude; in fact she found it a little unnerving in a way.
“Alright. So, Broadsword where did you come from? And what we’re all more interested in is why don’t you have your cutie mark?” the purple unicorn asked while preparing to take notes on the peculiar Pegasus’s answers.
“I’m not so sure where I came from but I do know that… wait? My cutie mark?!” he looked down at his own flank. “what? Where is it?!” he panicked as he patted the area it was supposed to be, clearly he didn’t know he was a blank flank and this was all knew to him.
“So you didn’t know? This is fascinating. Do you even remember what it was? Or have you ever had one?” Twilight inquired further.
The questions were causing Broadsword’s head to hurt and he cried out in pain. “Aahh I don’t remember! Leave me alone!”
The purple mare stood astounded by his outburst. “I…I…I…I’m…” she stammered, she’d never seen anypony do that to a few simple questions. Broadsword clutched his head and tried to calm the pain, but it was no use the stabbing pains wouldn’t subside. The sight of him in such a state forced Trixie to step up.
“Twilight Sparkle you’ve done enough! All you’ve done is cause him more anguish, just leave Twilight before you hurt him some more!” Trixie’s attitude really had changed it was a side that Twilight, neigh, nopony had seen before and if she was honest Twilight felt that Trixie was right, she had pushed too far with her questions.
“Alright Trixie, I’ll go wait with the others and Broadsword? I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry.” Twilight said and quietly left the room.
Trixie turned back and put her front leg around the stallion, this was a lot for him to take in and the last thing he needed was a barrage of questions.
“Its okay, I wont ask you anything. Trixie will just wait with you till the pain stops. ” Her voice had softened and her usual cocky demeanour was dropped. Now, there with the injured stallion sat the true Trixie, a kind and very compassionate pony who knew exactly what he was going through because there was still a lot of pain from her past that was too painful to remember. ..
After an hour or so the pair finally left the room, now however it seemed Broadsword was ready to answer the questions that caused him so much pain.
“I… I’m sorry for my outburst earlier but I’m feeling better. Miss Twilight I’m sorry but I sincerely don’t remember anything but my name, and that I had to get away from where I was although I don’t know why I had to.” One of the mares in the room decided to bounce in with a question of her own. “oh oh oh what happened to your cutie mark? Did you just lose it? Oh what if it washed off can that happen?” Pinkie pie once again tangled her train of thought up in knots and sat talking to herself as she tried to work it out again.
“So you don’t remember anything? Nothing at all?” Twilight asked seeming genuinely disappointed by the stallion’s lack of answers.
Broadsword turned to face Fluttershy as she brought his bark blue cloak into the room and smiled sheepishly before hovering next to the other mares. Now not feeling as naked the Pegasus stallion decided to stretch his legs, something he hadn’t had chance to do since that night in the forest; he also tried to flex his wings forgetting that they were in such a bad state.
“Gahh ahh!!” He grunted as his wings twitched as he tried to move them, but to no avail as the pain was far too great to even attempt to move them.
“Are you ok Broadsword?” Trixie once again dropped her overconfident façade to run to the Pegasus’s side.
“Yes, I’m sorry for worrying you so much Miss Trixie.” He said regaining his composure before preparing to answer the question that Twilight had raised.
“I do remember a few things from before I fell and some after, but only a few things.” The stallion took a deep breath and tried to gather his thoughts before continuing. “All I remember from before my fall is a mare named Crescent Moon who gave me this cloak and being told by her that I needed to run far away.” “I see but that’s a rather unusual name what did the mare look like? If it’s not too painful to remember.” Twilight asked again while taking notes.
“She… was … blue, I remember she had a horn but... AAAH!” his head throbbed as he tried to remember what went on before he left for the forest, and once again Trixie tried to help him using her magic to soothe the pain.
“Miss Trixie, thank you. I’m sorry to be such a burden.” He said as he once again he recovered; it seemed that only some memories triggered the pain, because he remembered to forest he fell from vividly.
“I also remember the forest where I was attacked by a giant beast that was part lion with goat horns and a snake as a tail.”
“A CHIMERA!?” All the mares in the room gasped as they heard that he not only was attacked, but also that he survived a fight with the beast.
“But chimera’s only live in the Everfree forest, what were you doing there? I guess that explains why you’re so badly wounded. ” Fluttershy stepped in before quietly retreating to where she was hovering.
“In truth I’m not sure where I was, but it’s certainly not a place I want to ever go to again.” Broadsword continued, and then recounted another memory; this memory however was a lot more favourable to the brown stallion.
“And the last thing I remember is a beautiful shine of silver reflecting off of a mare’s mane as she pulled me through the streets in the darkness.” Then he turned back to face all the mare’s in the room at once. “I have to admit that is my favourite of the few memories I have.” Broadsword smiled and closed his eyes as he thought of the beautiful shine of silver again, but unbeknownst to him the azure pony’s cheeks were now turning a deep red as she blushed furiously.
“hmmm… is that all you remember?” Twilight quickly changed the subject as she and the other ponies were becoming a little flustered by the almost romantic statement, but no matter how much she tried to shake it off Trixie just couldn’t lose the crimson that now covered her face.
Rainbow Dash notice Trixie’s red face and decided to have some fun with her. “sooo what you’re saying is that the mare you saw that night stole your heart?” the rainbow maned mare flew over and nudged Trixie several times to provoke a reaction from her.
“To be honest it was so hazy it might have just been a beautiful dream…” he said seeming rather oblivious to the hints being thrown at him.
“oh oh oh you said you have no memory right? So you don’t know what night it is? Girls, can we take him to the festival? Please please please?” the party pony begged the other mares to let her take the brown stallion the celebration that was happening later that night.
The Pegasus stallion looked at the pink pony slightly puzzled by her ramblings, then turning to face the others he grew more puzzled. As he tried hard to think if he could remember anything Fluttershy stepped forward. “um... tonight’s… nightmare night.” She squeaked and looked away remembering how terrified she was of the whole thing. Then, as if taking it in turns to explain Twilight started speaking. “Nightmare night is where everypony dresses up in costume and has fun telling spooky stories about Nightmare Moon; it’s all in my copy of celebrations and cultures of Equestria.”
The stallion was still confused, but not by the celebration but more by the fact that he recognised this name. Who is Nightmare Moon? This question would plague him for a long time and he sensed that the answer he’d get from asking wouldn’t be the one he needed, still he found himself asking that very question. “Who is this Nightmare Moon?”
“She’s this wicked scary mare who was banished to the moon but every year she comes down to look for ponies to eat!!” Rainbow answered then began cackling like a mad mare causing Fluttershy to run and lock herself in her bedroom.
“RAINBOW!!” Twilight scalded the rainbow maned mare and continued to reprimand her for a few moments before turning to face Broadsword again. “Anyway if you’d want to come see it we’ll be happy to take you.”
“The great and powerful Trixie will escort him to the festival; you all will not be needed!” the azure mare boasted as she trotted next to the stallion.
“I guess that settles it, we’ll see you later tonight; hope you have fun.” Twilight ended the conversation and ushered the others out of Fluttershy’s cottage.
*** The palace seemed so lonely as the princess wondered through its halls, the new guard that had been posted were not talkative nor did they appreciate what the princess had to say; They were just guards being payed to protect her. Luna was just about to head to the library for another boring and lonesome night by herself when her older sister came galloping in to her room with a devilish grin plastered on her face.
“Sister, take a look at this! My dear student Twilight has sent me a letter which reminded me that there was a celebration being held in your honour. Why don’t you go to visit your subjects and take the night off?” the larger white alicorn handed Luna the letter to read for herself. As Luna read through the letter her eyes lit up and she could no longer contain her excitement.
“HUZZAH!!! TIS TRULY A WONDEREOUS NIGHT INDEED!” The royal mare’s Canterlot voice once again echoing through the palace halls and almost threw her sister and guards off balance. Luna hugged her older sister in her elation before readying her new guards to depart.
While watching her sister happily bounding through the halls Celestia had to wonder was Luna really happy? Or was the disappearance of her closest friend taking a greater toll than she was letting on? Either way Luna was smiling for the moment and for now that was enough.
***
Trixie had taken Broadsword to her caravan to find him a suitable costume for Nightmare Night, but after what felt like hours the azure mare decided that she neither had a costume in his size nor a costume for a stallion for that matter. Still his usual attire of a battered cloak and bandages still looked like a costume, perhaps she could just scavenge parts from an old outfit to add to his; as Trixie thought on Broadsword looked out of her window to see all the foals getting ready for Nightmare Night and he wondered was he like that once? Did he ever make memories like that?
That thought sadden him slightly as he also wondered if such memories would remain lost forever, but these thoughts were soon dispelled when he saw Trixie wondering around with some items from her closet. He was just about to ask what she was planning, but before he had even drawn breath for such a question she’d already started equipping the items to him. First she fitted him with a shoulder guard, then a helmet and finally a prop sword she had used for the stabbing a pony in a box trick when she had first started to be a performer.
Truth be told it didn’t look half bad considering it was such a mismatch of items, but what the hay it was only for fun and Trixie thought it looked good therefore that’s all that mattered to her. Broadsword could see Trixie smiling at the costume she’d put together and smiled back, this smile however caused the unicorn to blush slightly; being a performer she was used to attention from crowds and admirers, but not from a stallion. Trixie’s face had grown a rather pretty red by the time she noticed it and she swiftly found herself a mask of a sorts to hide her blush, but that forced her to make a costume for herself otherwise the handkerchief she was using as a mask would look odd; and so back to the closet she went. The pile of spare costumes grew larger with each minute until finally Trixie had settled on one she liked, but she felt shy dressing up in front of somepony else and even more so with Broadsword. So she took the only option available to her and with a swift push Broadsword was now stood outside looking puzzled.
“Um… Miss Trixie why did you push me outside?”
“The great and powerful Trixie is getting dressed; it’s rude to watch a lady change.”
“But Miss Trixie we don’t wear clothes normally there’s no reason to be embarrassed.”
“Quiet! Trixie’s reasons are her own!!” This back and forth continued for some time, until Trixie finally exited the trailer. As the mare took her first step out of her caravan the outfit she had chosen was finally revealed; her mane was styled in a bun and she wore a black cape with bat wings attached, she’d even gone to the trouble of putting in fangs for the occasion, but what the brown stallion notice the most was the socks she wore. They were black and red and they stretched to the top of her legs, on any other night this would have been incredibly riskey but there were lots of other mares that wore similar attire so Trixie fitted in nicely. Still, Broadsword had to admit she looked absolutely stunning; Trixie noticed that the stallion was staring and decided to offer her hoof ready to be escorted to the festivities.
*** The celebrations of the night were in full swing, there were foals trick or treating in the streets, ponies were dancing in the town square and at the edge of Ponyville in Sweet Apple Acres the Apple family were hosting their annual Nightmare Night fair. The atmosphere was truly jovial and Broadsword was so enchanted by the lights, candies and music that he found himself acting like a foal; but when he looked back at Trixie all she did was giggle at his behaviour. “I’m sorry for my foalishness, it’s just all so new to me.”
“It’s alright, Trixie is treating you to this so you must enjoy yourself or you will have to make it up to her.”
Trixie once again slipped into her usual self, but she noticed that around this stallion she really didn’t need to be that way; in fact she felt bad even speaking like this but it was a hard habit to break. Her thoughts turned inwards and she began remembering when she was a filly, she had so few friends and was the last of her whole school to get her cutie mark; she remembered how they’d make her feel so low that she had to speak as if she was the only pony that mattered. She knew that this cocky attitude was her defence, it was the only way that she felt safe and comfy with herself and now she wanted to let that part of her go…
After a few moments of thinking Trixie looked up, but the brown Pegasus was nowhere to be seen; somehow in her moment of contemplation he’d gotten distracted and wandered away in the crowd. This night had turned from a date into a game of hide and seek, which Trixie was losing.
*** Luna had left Canterlot and was nearing Ponyville, she wondered how her subjects would react to her presence after a thousand years; but if she was honest she didn’t care as long as she got to see the ponies that would normally be asleep by the time she was awake. The princess also wondered if she would make many friends tonight, maybe she’d get to see Twilight Sparkle and her friends or maybe perhaps the citizens of Ponyville would love her as much as they loved her sister; whatever the case she couldn’t wait till her chariot landed.
Luna made her grand entrance to the terrified ponies of the town, but she found no happiness they were all too scared to approach her and so Twilight took it upon herself to make the royal mare feel welcome. As the dark blue princess approached the Apple family’s home on Sweet Apple Acres she saw a rather familiar blue cloak among the crowds, it almost looked like Broadsword but that was impossible he’d run far away or had he? It was a possibility that in his memoryless state he decided to make his new life here. Luna grew excited at the thought of seeing her old friend again, but she quickly disheartened upon realising that he wouldn’t remember her.
*** Broadsword stood in the crowd that was gathered in the Apple’s east field when the dark blue princess strode towards Applejack, the princess was very familiar to the brown Pegasus but he still wasn’t sure so he ducked through the crowd to get closer. The royal mare that stood with Twilight and Applejack was the alicorn he’d come to know as Crescent Moon. As Broadsword got closer he was pushed back by a stampede of ponies that were now running from the spiders that the princess had brought to life, but this didn’t weaken the pegasus’s resolve and he forced his way through the panicked townsponies until he was swarmed by the spiders that dragged him away by his cloak.
The spiders dragged the stallion to the outskirts of the farm where they had formed a giant web within minutes of their coming to life. Broadsword struggled free, but it was too late he was in the den of a giant spider that the smaller ones were now serving; his eyes grew large at the sight of the colossal queen spider. Taking a step back Broadsword took a battle stance, he was shocked at this action as it seemed almost instinctive and not only that it felt as natural as breathing to the Pegasus; but the question of why would have to be answered later, right now he had to escape the spider queen in front of him.
*** Trixie searched high and low, no matter how hard she looked she could see no sign of Broadsword; the azure pony was about to give up and wait for him to return when she was swept up in a stampeding crowd of scared ponies fleeing from the farm up ahead. She quickly resolved to go check it out, who knows maybe he was the cause of the panic although it was unlikely.
As Trixie approached the farm she spotted the area where something was dragged and on further inspection she spotted torn parts of the cloak that the brown stallion was wearing, this was it: This was where he’d gone. The azure mare galloped along the trail of dislodged earth and grass until she saw the stallion stood in the middle of the spider swarm, she didn’t know how to react to the sight of the giant spider or even the sight of the stallion fending off the creature. The mare was shocked to see how well he fought the monster, but even with his apparent skill he was losing ground; his fight was made harder by the smaller spiders who were throwing themselves under his hooves to trip him.
Eventually one of the spiders proved successful and the Pegasus stallion fell, his wings were crushed beneath his collapsed form causing him to cry out in agony as the spider forced its leg down and further crushed the stallion and his wings. Trixie knew she had to act but she had no idea what to do, and worse she was so scared that she couldn’t move. With mere moments left in Broadsword, she forced her foreleg to take a step forward and again until she found herself running toward the fray.
Broadsword coughed as his lungs were crushed under the spider’s weight, he tried pushing it off but to no avail he wasn’t strong enough. If only he had a weapon he thought, suddenly he saw a branch that was lying nearby and used all his strength to pick it up and swing it at the knee joint of the spider causing it to release him briefly, creating a window of opportunity which he took happily.
“Broadsword!!” Trixie yelled as she approached the scene of the battle.
“Miss Trixie?! What are you doing here?” he dodged out from under the spider, once again striking it with the branch but it wasn’t causing any damage; in fact it wasn’t even strong enough to stun the spider any longer. The spider turned and hit the brown stallion with the force of a train smashing him into the trees around him. Trixie knew she had to help but she didn’t know what to do, just then she noticed the branch that the stallion was holding in his hooves; she could enchant it she thought, but her magic wasn’t very strong and the enchantment flickered and failed before he could even swing the weapon.
Trixie was growing desperate and so was Broadsword, but how could she help him? The panicking mare summoned all her power to try enchanting the weapon again, but this time the spell stuck and even took on a tangible form turning the weak branch that he clutched into a shining mythril sword. The enchanted blade of the weapon shone a pale blue shifting into a brilliant white that blinded the spider and forced it to retreat a few paces as Broadsword stood up once again. Now, it seemed the tables had turned and the Pegasus was ready to make sure they were still in his favour; he readied for another strike at the arachnid and lunged into its abdomen with the shining blade held aloft.
The piercing white glow from the blade shone through the spiders core before bursting forth, felling it in one devastating blow.
*** After the queen spider had fallen the smaller ones dispersed leaving the stallion somewhat out of breath and badly fatigued. He looked around and noticed that Trixie was now lying unconscious on the ground; it seemed that the spell she used was too much for her and had drained her of her strength causing her to pass out. Broadsword was happy to see that she wasn’t hurt, but he still had to get her somewhere safe and so hefting the mare over his back he began trotting towards her caravan.
Just as he was leaving the farm he was stopped by a tall dark blue mare with wings and a horn, she stood silhouetted against the moonlit sky. “It is good to see you again Broadsword, I have missed our chats.” The alicorn stated, her voice was softer than the first time they had met but the mare stood before the stallion was easily recognisable; she was the mare he knew as Crescent Moon.
Wind whistled through the trees breaking the silence of the night that surrounded the ponies that stood in the orchard. The alicorn towered over the brown Pegasus, using her magic to lift and gently place his unconscious companion on the ground next to him before trotting closer; the mare of the night suddenly laid her forehooves around his neck and embraced him as a mother would her foal.
“I have missed you my friend.” She said gently breaking the hug and looking at the armoured pony before her.
“Miss Crescent Moon, I don’t understand.” The stallion looked up at the mare in confusion, and then turned to look at the light blue unicorn next to him.
“I have to get her home, before she catches a cold.”
The look in his eyes told a different story to the princess, his eyes looked upon the azure mare not with a friendly concern but with a deeper emotion. The way he looked at the unicorn tugged at Luna’s heart, could it be that she felt more for him than she thought? Could the look he had given the small mare be… love? The idea of him loving any mare other than Luna stabbed at her heart like daggers, was she jealous of the unicorn that lay sleeping at his side?
The princess shook her head trying to dispel the thoughts that taunted her, but no matter how she tried she couldn’t stop thinking about his gaze upon the mare and so without her choice she let slip the question that burned in her mind. “Is that mare your lover?”
Her ears dropped, she didn’t believe that such a thought had escaped and became audible but it was too late to retract, all she could do now was hope the answer was not what she feared.
“No… She’s… The pony that I owe my life to and a friend that I hold dear.” The stallion said and once more glanced down at the mare.
“I see, if she saved your life then I too owe her my thanks.” The royal alicorn turned away to face into Ponyville, then glancing over her shoulder to once again look upon the stallion she spoke. “Seeing you in that costume reminds me, I have something to give you. It’s very valuable so keep it safe ok?”
With that a sword materialised before her and she gently grasped it with her forehoof. Then turning to face Broadsword once more she held out the weapon offering it to the Pegasus; this act was hard for her as the sword was the only item of his she had left and now she was losing it, but the weapon was his and it had to be returned to the former captain.
“A sword?” he asked looking rather puzzled by the gesture, but as if by magic he began reaching for it. “It is yours now, and it my last gift to you. May it serve you well as it has me.”
Taking a last look at the stallion Luna noticed that the cloak he wore was the very one she had given him two days before, she felt joy at this realisation; perhaps it was because she felt as though some of the old captain had remained she dared to wonder as the stallion took the sword in his hooves. With that, the princess flapped her wings and took off into the sky leaving the stallion looking on in awe and wondering if he would ever get to soar like that.
***
The palace was filled with darkness by the time Luna had returned, Celestia and her guard had all retired for the night and only Luna and her remaining servants and guards were up and around. The princess trotted soberly to her chambers; the events of the night had been jovial, but no matter how happy she had been she couldn’t shake the thoughts of jealousy from her mind and it was true that she had no claim to the stallion she had spoken to, but the truth was he was her guard first. This thought made her chuckle a little, the princess had never acted like a jealous filly before and now here she was making herself depressed, it almost seemed like a great cosmic joke.
The princess was now facing out of her balcony and looking across the fields and forests that stood between Canterlot and Ponyville, her eyes weren’t focused on anything in particular she was just gazing out into space. To anyone observing her she looked like she was deeply lost in her thoughts but that wasn’t the case, far from it in fact; she was trying to forget the stallion and mare she had left in Ponyville but no matter how hard she tried the royal mare couldn’t shake the memory. Luna turned around, deciding to amuse herself she wandered to the former captain’s quarters.
Luna’s eyes widened, she was rather shocked at the sight of Broadsword’s former room; it was a total pigsty…
“Oh captain, how did you sleep in this mess?” the princess wondered as she stepped into the room, her eyes wandered around the mess that was his floor until she noticed a box poking out from his cupboard. Of course it was wrong to snoop through somepony else’s property, but if that pony is no longer that pony it must be alright, right? Luna dismissed her conscience with this thought and continued to look inside the box; it was filled with little scraps of hobbies that the captain had indulged in, but the most interesting thing was the folded up piece of paper at the bottom of the box.
The princess unfolded the curious note; written upon it were a few dates and names the most prominent of which was a festival called Nightmare Night. The princess’s eyes grew at the sight of the celebration she had just attended and it was then she realised that Broadsword had already found out about tonight and was making plans to take her to it… it seemed so sad that everything had turned out this way, heaving a sigh Luna stepped out into the hallway and trotted off sombrely towards her room.
***
The sun rose up from behind the mountains that formed the backdrop of Ponyville, forcing the light to break through the windows of the small trailer that was parked in the centre of the town. Blue eyelids gently prized themselves open as the warm beam of light lit up her face, Trixie awoke; surprised to find that she was now lying in her bed. The mare looked around confused, she was certain that she’d passed out in the apple orchards after the spider incident and so she tried to piece the whole night together but to no aid. In fact the mare even began to flirt with the idea that it was all a dream, but dismissed it when she noticed that she was still in costume; just then her door opened and a black mane poked through the gap.
“Miss Trixie are you awake?” the black maned stallion asked as he entered the trailer.
“Oh, Broadsword. Errm… yes the great and powerful Trixie is awake, what is it you want?” She stated trying to hide how glad she was that somepony was visiting her.
“I was wondering if you want breakfast? I was making some you see and…” the stallion was cut off when the azure unicorn suddenly launched herself forward to hug him. “Miss Trixie!? What’s the matter?”
The unicorn mare’s blue cheeks turned crimson as she grew embarrassed by her forward and rather brash behaviour “I’m sorry, it’s just you don’t need to call me Miss Trixie just Trixie is fine.”
“Alright.” Broadsword smiled and asked again “Would you like some breakfast? I’m making toasted apple bread with raspberry jam.” This time Trixie’s response was less over the top, replying only with a smile and a small nod before letting the stallion go.
After Broadsword had exited the room Trixie fell back on her bed and lay thinking about what she’d just done, what did it mean? She’d never acted like that before, after a few moments of wondering she dismissed her thoughts and tried to get rid of the blush from her cheeks. “maybe I’m sick?” she thought aloud and finally decided to get changed into her normal clothes.
Minutes passed and Broadsword returned with a plate of apple bread toast, but his return was met with an embarrassed and now semi naked Trixie. The mare swiftly ushered the brown stallion out of the room using her magic, Broadsword still found this behaviour strange as she like all other ponies didn’t wear any clothing aside from her cape. Nonetheless the brown stallion complied (not that he had much choice) and stood outside of the room while she put her cape and hat on.
“The great and powerful Trixie is now ready, you may now re-enter.” Her usual boastful demeanour had returned and the vulnerable mare that she had been had once again hidden itself behind her overconfident shield.
Broadsword smiled, he knew this was all an act especially after the way she’d been last night; now she couldn’t hide her true self. Still, it was cute to see this façade and he just let her go on with the act as he sat the plate in front of her. The toast smelled delicious and tasted even better, but as Trixie ate she noticed the brown Pegasus smiling at her; her cheeks turned red once more and she tried to look away but kept finding herself making eye contact with the stallion.
“What!? You’re embarrassing the great and powerful Trixie.” She said still trying to look away from Broadsword’s gaze.
“You have crumbs on your cheeks.” The stallion smiled more as he leaned closer to the blushing mare.
“What are you doing?” the azure cheeks of the mare were now blushing furiously as she leant back shyly.
Broadsword lifted his hooves and gently turned Trixie’s muzzle to face him, using his hoof to lightly brush away the crumbs from her now burning crimson cheeks before sitting back down. The stallion’s sudden retreat had left Trixie confused and if truth be told unsatisfied, she was almost hoping that something would happen between them; hiding her disappointment she continued eating in hope that next time he may go further.
****
Hoof beats echoed through the streets of Ponyville; an orange mare with a blonde mane galloped towards the town’s library with a rainbow maned Pegasus in close pursuit, to an onlooker it appeared like the Pegasus was chasing the earth pony but in truth they were racing… again.
“A.J. how’d you get so fast?”
“Heh, what’sa mattah Dash ya’ll gettin’ slower? Maybe it all the cider you’ve been drinkin’!”
The two mares argued and raced through the town centre until the orange cowpony ran face first into a large dark brown Pegasus with bandaged wings.
“Darnit! Ah mean, Ah’m sorry sugarcube are ya’ll alright?” the mare asked and straightening out her hat. The mare looked up to see the stallion had offered his hoof to help her up, after helping her up the Pegasus introduced himself.
“I’m ok, are you miss?”
“Applejack, but folks call me A.J. and sure Ah’m ok nothin’ Ah ain’t done before.”
“I’m glad to hear that, I’m Broadsword by the…” Broadsword was cut when he noticed the blue Pegasus with the rainbow mane land near by. “Oh hello Miss Rainbow”
“Oh heya Broadsword wasn’t it? AJ! What the buck? I thought we were racing, not trying to hit on stallions!”
“What’d ya’ll say Rainbow Ah ain’t doin’ nothin’ like that!”
“Suuuure ‘ya ain’t’ wait till I tell big mac and granny smith what you’ve been doing.” The blue Pegasus teased, in truth she knew that Applejack’s barn door didn’t swing that way but still she found tormenting her farmpony friend too much fun to stop.
“Rainbow Ah said that’s enough, anyway sugar cube ya look like ya’ll are new in town so is there anythin’ ya need help with?” the orange cowpony asked turning once again to look at the brown Pegasus.
“Well actually Miss Trixie said she needed money so I wanted to know if there was anywhere I could get a job?” In actuality Trixie had off hoofedly said that she was going to perform her act later to get some money, but Broadsword decided that he would earn his fair share too and so he set out to look for a job which led him to this encounter.
“Trixie?! That no good show boatin’…”
“AJ! Err… can we talk for a sec?” the rainbow maned mare interjected and swept Applejack to the side. After a few seconds of hushed whispers the two mares turned to face Broadsword again.
“Well now that Dash here told me what’s goin’ on, sure. Ah got a job fer ya, Mah family needs somepony to help plough the fields for an extension to the north orchard and Ah’m sure Big Mac could use an extra set of hooves for the job. ”
“That would be great Miss Applejack, I won’t let you down.” Broadsword was elated to hear that there was a job he could do, not only would he be doing something useful but he would also be repaying Trixie’s kindness.
“Hey AJ after you show him to the farm are you up for drinking some cider and having a little competition?” Rainbow teased Applejack once again; knowing that the cowpony was growing more embarrassed by her taunts, but Applejack just ignored the blue mare and decided to tell the stallion what his job would be as they trotted away.
***
The fields of the north orchard were vast and stretched all the way to the horizon, to the far left of the field Broadsword could see trees from an adjacent orchard poking over a small fence. Applejack lead the stallion over to a decrepit old tool shed where a large red stallion with a half apple cutie mark was sorting through the ploughs and carts; the blonde mare snuck up behind the huge stallion and gave him a kick with her forehoof, but the stallion didn’t yelp in pain nor did he jump at the surprise of somepony sneaking up behind him, he just turned to face the orange cowpony and spoke.
“Eeyup.”
“Hey Mac Ah’ve got a fella here who wants ta help with the orchard, his name’s Broadsword and he’s willin’ ta work real hard. So what d’ya say?”
The large farm pony looked at Broadsword then turned to Applejack once again.
“Eeyup.”
“Now that that’s settled Ah’ll let ya get ta work.” And with that Applejack left the two stallions to do their job while she and Rainbow went to get their cider.
***
“Eeyup, Ah reckon that’s enough fer today. Here’s ya pay sixty bits like we agreed and if ya’ll want more work ya can come by again tomorrow, Ah could definitely use ya help; ‘specially with AJ keep runnin’ off ta play with her friends. ” the red stallion passed Broadsword the money and turned to head into the main house leaving the Pegasus stallion to get his stuff together.
“Hmmm… I guess I should head back before it gets da…?” the stallion found his thoughts cut off when he noticed three fillies stood in front of him, all three were stood wearing red capes with a coat of arms sewn on. The leader of this group had a red mane tied in a pink bow, she looked a lot like the other apple family members that broadsword had met; alongside her were two others a small white unicorn with a well groomed mane and an orange Pegasus with a scruffy purple mane.
The three fillies stood looking at the large Pegasus stallion for a few moments which was starting to make him rather uncomfortable.
“Uh…” the stallion looked away and tried to walk around the filly trio, but once again he was blocked by the group.
“Hey mister, where’s ya cutie mark?” the yellow filly quizzed as she looked at him, it was just then that Broadsword realised that he’d forgotten to put his cloak back on and that his blank flank was completely on show.
“Uh… I’m not…” the stallion was at a loss for words and with the group of curious fillies now circling him like a pack of sharks he had to think of an explanation.
“I…” yet again he was cut off but this time it was by the orange Pegasus filly who had climbed up on his back and was inspecting his wings.
“Hey how do you fly with these?! It’s so unfair!!” she said and began tugging at the bandaged messes that were formally his wings.
“OUCH! Hey stop that!! They don’t work ok, just leave them alone! ” Broadsword scolded as he tried to put up with the pain, still this answer was followed by yet more questions from the trio; these questions he quickly answered to get them to go away. The last question they asked threw him off guard as it was simply so out of the blue.
“So mister d’ya wanna join our club?” the yellow filly asked looking at the stallion full of hope.
“Wait… what club?” he was still trying to avoid the trio as he asked this question, but no matter where he stepped they were there.
“The Cutie Mark Crusaders of course! Because ya don’t have a cutie mark and it’s strange that a fully grown pony doesn’t have one don’tcha think?” the yellow filly was right, he didn’t have a cutie mark and worse he didn’t know why, now of course he wasn’t going to rely on this foals club to get his answers. Nonetheless he figured it wouldn’t hurt to just say yes, it’s not like he’ll actually go to the meetings or anything.
“Sure, why not?” the stallion sighed, he still couldn’t believe that they had got him to finally give in.
“Really? That’s fantastic, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo why don’t you get him sworn in while I go make him a fabulous new cape. I’m sure Rarity has some more gold fabric I could borrow.” And with that the small white unicorn hopped away leaving the others to introduce the rather unwilling stallion to their club.
***
After the fillies had introduced themselves and sworn him in, he got his very own crusader patch which would have been a cape but Sweetie Bell couldn’t ‘borrow’ enough gold fabric from her sister. He finally managed to get away, but not before the sun had gone down and the street lamps had turned on. The streets were very peaceful when there weren’t any other ponies galloping or otherwise wrecking the serene atmosphere that the town had, in fact the only noise tonight was coming from the market square where Trixie’s trailer was parked. It was lucky that Broadsword was heading that direction anyway otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten to see what was going on.
As the dark brown stallion drew closer he could see fireworks and hear the clopping of hooves on the ground, in the centre of this commotion stood Trixie’s trailer which had been dropped down into a stage and on that stage stood the azure mare herself. Broadsword watched in awe as the beautiful unicorn performed her various sorceries and illusions, but no matter how hard she tried the crowd kept dispersing until only a few parents and their foals were still stood watching her act. A few card and slight of hoof tricks later and it was time for the final act of the night; this was a trick that she had not yet perfected but she was relying on it to get the few remaining members of the audience to pay for the show.
The trick itself was fairly straight forward, all she had to do was get it right and it was then she noticed that Broadsword was stood in the very centre of the front row; this for some reason caused her to blush furiously but she knew the show had to go on. The showmare wafted her cape in her typical showboating fashion and prepared for her big finally, the pyrotechnics on the stage exploded in a flurry of light and sound. Finally Trixie began her trick, placing her hat on the floor she makes it rise to show there’s nothing hidden underneath; then taking some lighter fluid she dowses herself from head to hoof and finally she removes her cape before setting herself ablaze. The sight of a burning pony shocked the audience into silence and terror until her cape fell from above smothering the blaze, but instead of laying over the unicorn’s shape it fell flat to the ground and the burning figure was nowhere to be seen; the stage fell into darkness until the hat on the ground began to rise revealing the azure mare that was now wearing it and remarkably her coat and mane weren’t even charred.
The crowd cheered as the mare picked up her cape, but the pony cheering the loudest was the large brown stallion in the centre of the front row. It seemed that he had enjoyed the show much more than the foals that were also there.
***
After the stage was packed away Trixie collected her payment and Broadsword approached her from the crowd still smiling in amazement from the show.
“Miss Trixie that was absolutely astounding, how did you do it?” The stallion asked as he helped her carry the last of her props into the trailer.
“A magician never reveals her tricks Broadsword, you should know that.” She retorted smiling playfully.
“Well it was still the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen; I’d love to see it again.” The stallion smiled before remembering that he had something to show her, reaching into his saddle bag he fetched out his pay packet. “Miss Trixie I want you to have this as thanks for letting me stay with you. It’s only sixty bits though.”
“S…sixty bits? Where did you get all that?” The mare stood looking at the stallion puzzled by the large amount of cash sat before her.
“I got a job so this is for you as thanks.” He said smiling, totally unaware of the shock that plastered Trixie’s face.
“You’re just full of surprises aren’t you?” With that Trixie just sighed and smiled before deciding to retire for the night.
The sun soared high above Equestria as the ponies of the world galloped about their business; in the north orchard of Sweet Apple Acres two large stallions were hard at work pulling ploughs and removing old fallen tree trunks. They’d been hard at work since before Celestia had raised her sun, but it seemed like they were getting nowhere; no matter how many rotten trees and fallen trunks they cleared there were always more. Finally Big Mac decided he’d had enough of this uphill struggle and told Broadsword that he’d need to send a letter to his cousins for help.
“It’ll be a few days till mah cousins get here from Appleoosa, so if ya help me chop up this here wood ya can have the rest of the day off. Ah’ll still need ya back tomorrow as normal fer th’ other chores.” The larger red stallion stated before picking up an old but still very sharp axe.
Broadsword simply nodded and began chopping in response. The minutes passed and after an hour or so the pair had finally cleared the large stack of logs, reducing them to an equally large but neatly stacked pile of fire wood.
*** After helping move the wood stack Broadsword took his leave and headed back towards the town, barely making it to the gates before he was once again accosted by the trio of fillies that had drafted him into their club a few days earlier.
“Hey there Mister Broadsword! It’s time fer a club meetin’!” The yellow filly stated looking up at the tall stallion who was clearly trying to avoid eye contact with the group.
“Err… I’m busy so I can’t make it…” He lied, horribly. Still, this didn’t dampen the spirits of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and they pressed onward with their plans.
As they turned away from the stallion the filly called Scootaloo began talking to the other crusaders. “This trip to the Everfree forest is definitely gonna get us our cutiemarks!”
Upon hearing what the filly trio had planned Broadsword just couldn’t let them go alone, after all the Everfree forest is where he was chased by the chimera and where he fell from a waterfall; who knows what else was lurking deep in the dark woods of the Everfree. No, he had to try to talk them out of it and he had to start trying quickly before they went through with the silly endeavour.
“Girls wait!” He caught the attention of the fillies who then turned to face him. “What’s th’ matter mister?” Apple Bloom asked looking at him in confusion.
“You can’t go into the Everfree forest, it’s dangerous in there. I won’t allow it.”
“Awww” the three whined in unison and looked at their hooves. “but what if ya’ll come with us? Then it won’t be so dangerous!” Apple Bloom concluded, but still Broadsword kept to his lie.
“I… I’m busy, so i…”
“Please, please, please??” the young trio surrounded the large brown stallion and lookup up at him with wide eyes.
“Stop it, stop looking at me like that!” the stallion was clearly being worn down by their pleas, all it needed now was a final push.
“Come on girls he won’t go, so we’ll just go alone.” Scootaloo said slyly and turned away from the stallion to walk away.
“Wait… Ok if I can’t stop you from going, then I’ll have to go with you.”
Broadsword had finally given in to the relentless pleas of the three fillies and was now heading against his will into the Everfree forest.
*** The four ponies ventured deep into the heart of the forest; it was eerily quiet and a ghostly fog hid every direction. The fillies were becoming scared and were beginning to regret their decision to try exploring the depths of the unnatural Everfree forest; Sweetie Belle was the first to panic when the fog covered up every trail and passage including the one they had just come from.
“Girls, I think we should go home now. I don’t think this is how we’ll get our cutiemarks.” Sweetie Belle suggested in hopes that the others would have the same idea, but there was no reply. The white filly felt her heart beating faster; she had somehow wondered away from the others and now had no idea where they were.
“Help! Girls? Mister Broadsword? Anypony help meeee!” she cried out and started to break down in tears.
The other crusaders weren’t fairing any better, like Sweetie Belle the others had all somehow lost each other in the thick fog and were now calling out for somepony to find them. Broadsword looked around for the three fillies, but to no avail they were nowhere to be found; in the thick fog he could hear the calls of the girls but they were very faint. After following the closest cries Broadsword found himself closing in on the silhouette of a sobbing unicorn.
“Sweetie Belle! Is that you?” the stallion yelled as he galloped closer, the sobs of the filly were growing louder; it was clear that if nothing else she was still alright. Breaking through the thick mists of the forest Broadsword found the crying white filly curled up in a ball and hiding in a hollowed out tree stump.
“Rarity I promise I’ll be a better sister if I get out of here, I’ll never head into the Everfree forest ever again.” Sweetie Belle sobbed to herself and tried to hide deeper in the makeshift bunker.
“Sweetie Belle! Sweetie Belle where are you?”
“Mister Broadswooord!!”
Before he knew it Broadsword was hugged by the terrified filly who spent the next several minutes crying into his cloak as she rode on his back while he searched for the others. Soon the two ponies were calling out for their missing friends; it was an hour or so before they started to hear the cries from one of the remaining fillies, but the noise that the girls were making had started to attract very unwanted attention and Broadsword didn’t want to find out what was now heading towards them.
“Apple Bloom can you hear me?!” the stallion called out as the thundering stomps of what ever monstrosity was heading their way.
“Mister Broadsword? Where’re Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo?”
“I’m here!” Sweetie called out as Broadsword galloped through the thick underbrush, ducking and weaving with each step.
“Apple Bloom head towards Sweetie’s voice!” the Pegasus stallion commanded, his voice growing louder and every step drawing closer to where the yellow filly was stood. Taking a moment to turn to Sweetie Belle, Broadsword asked her to sing so that her friend could hear them.
“We…we are the cutie mark crusaders…” she began, the chorus of their theme song echoed through the darkened woods until once again Broadsword found himself being hugged by a small and rather frightened filly.
“Where’s Scootaloo?” the yellow filly asked looking at her two rescuers.
“She’s still out here, so we’ve got to find her quickly before something bad happens.” The large stallion stated and then let the other filly climb up on his back before once again setting off to search for the last missing crusader.
*** It was almost sunset and there was still no sign of Scootaloo causing Broadsword to fear the worst; the fillies on his back were still singing the crusader theme song while trying not to worry that something had happened to their friend. The thunderous steps that once pursued them had disappeared and were replaced by an eerie, nerve wracking silence.
Each silent step he took was almost heart stopping, with each second that passed hope of finding the filly decreased and Broadsword became desperate. His pace increased until he was galloping at full speed, his lungs burned as did the rest of his body but his fatigue would have to be ignored for now because in the darkness of the forest there was a friend who needed him.
*** The sun had gone down and the darkness of the Everfree forest became darker, the orange filly tried to find her way back to the others but it was useless; the night had reduced the world around her to a pitch black wall with the only light being the odd silver moon beams that broke through the canopy of trees. Scootaloo panicked and started to hyperventilate, her eyes flickering with every slight twitch in the underbrush.
“Girls? Girls where are you? Ha ha ok it’s not funny now, come out come out wherever you are!”
The orange filly’s eyes finally adjusted to the poor light of the forest and it was then she noticed several glowing red orbs just yards away from where she stood, the orbs began to move closer and an unearthly howl echoed through the darkened thicket. Scootaloo turned and ran as fast as she could, the orbs gaining more ground with each time she turned her head. Suddenly, she felt a rock under her hoof and she tripped landing face first in the undergrowth with the unknown beasts in close pursuit.
“HEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP!!”
Scootaloo cried out for somepony to save her and as if by magic she was scooped up by the muzzle of a large Pegasus stallion who flung her over his head to land on his back, but this was no time to celebrate. The unknown beast that was hot on the tail of Scootaloo was in fact a flesh hungry pack of timber wolves and they were fast, faster than Broadsword could believe and he was losing ground.
Finally, the group had run out of room and were now cornered near a cave with the timber wolves circled around them ready to pounce.
“Girls get behind me!” The stallion commanded and backed up to the stone walls near the cave. Acting almost on instinct he looked for a weapon, but all he could find were a few rocks which were too small to even distract the growling timber wolves that drew ever closer.
“Girls stay calm, I’ll keep them back.” Broadsword lied, he knew as well as any other pony in Equestria that you can’t beat a full pack of timber wolves on your own and especially without a weapon; all he could do is hope that the wolves would be satisfied with his carcass long enough for the fillies to get away. The stench of the snarling wooden beasts lingered as they waited for their alpha to strike. Suddenly, out from amidst the trees and fog came the thunderous roar of an adult manticore that towered a full twenty hooves above the wolves and ponies alike. The timber wolves turned to face the larger monster; they pounced on it biting and clawing at the manticore in an attempt to try and injure it; of course these were mere flea bites against the gargantuan beast who swatted the entire howlpack aside in a single devastating blow. It was during this confusion that Broadsword saw his chance and quickly ushered the three fillies away.
They had been galloping at an intense pace so much so that he had to resort to once again carrying the trio on his back, but after what felt like forever in the darkness the four ponies broke through the pitch black wall of the forest and found themselves in an open field overlooking Fluttershy’s cottage. The whole ordeal had left the fillies shaking and terrified but otherwise unharmed. The events of the day had also given Broadsword a lot to think about, why was he so inponily fit and why when he encountered such beasts was he not shaking? The memories of Nightmare Night unearthed themselves once again as did the encounter with the chimera. Why was it that he knew no fear? Why did he not break down and freeze up like the fillies had?
There were too many questions and no where near enough answers, it seemed that the only one who knew anything about him was Crescent Moon, but she was as mysterious as the answers that eluded him. Nonetheless it had grown late and no doubt the parents of these girls were probably worried sick, not to mention he was supposed to go shopping for Trixie and so without further delay he began walking them home.
*** After returning Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to their hysterical older sisters and watching the scolding that took place afterwards, in which he was both the responsible adult and the naughty child; in fairness to the sisters he deserved it for not stopping the fillies from going. However after each scolding he received, the younger sister would explain the whole story and he would get an apology and even a hug from the elder sister who was very thankful that he got them all home safely.
The last girl he had to return home was Scootaloo, but no matter how many times he asked her she wouldn’t tell him where she lived; he thought that she was just afraid of getting told off. The truth behind her denial was in fact a lot more tragic; finally he’d managed to get her to tell him, but it wasn’t what he expected. The truth of the matter was that she was an orphan; she was abandoned at birth and didn’t have a family to return to so she never wanted to go back to the orphanage because nopony there even worried about her.
The orange filly’s story tugged at the large stallion’s heart; he’d always thought that she was just a show off, but now here she was a sad and lonely foal who never got the love of a parent… He began to wonder, did he ever have a family? Maybe Scootaloo’s tale wasn’t so different from his own. It was then he noticed the filly starting to cry over the memories that had been dragged up, lifting up his closest hoof and laying it over the filly’s shoulder he pulled her closer and hugged her.
“It’ll be ok Scootaloo; you already have a great family.”
“R... really?” She asked, her greyish purple eyes looking up through tears at the Pegasus stallion who was now hugging her.
“Of course, you have all your friends, me, Rainbow Dash and her friends and even Miss Trixie. So don’t feel sad, because you have so many friends and they’re just as good as a family.”
“Mister Broadsword?”
“Hey Scootaloo, do you want to come and get some dinner with me and Miss Trixie? I always make too much and it’s never as good when it’s been warmed up a second time.” The stallion asked in an attempt to cheer the filly up.
“Sure.” The filly smiled as they walked to Trixie’s trailer.
*** After the two got back to Trixie’s home Broadsword was scolded by the azure mare for being out so late and making her worry, of course she’d never admit the last part in fact the way she put it was: that he was in trouble for being home late and not making her a delicious dinner like she was used to. Nonetheless the silver maned unicorn still shook head to hide her eyes which had welled up with tears and embraced Broadsword in a tight hug. As Trixie hugged Broadsword she noticed that there was a filly there watching them.
“Ahem, Broadsword? Why is there a foal in the great and powerful Trixie’s trailer?”
“Oh yes, Miss Trixie this is Scootaloo I invited her over for dinner.” He looked at Trixie with eyes that were almost pleading for her to just go with it.
Trixie took the hint and donned her usual confident demeanour. “Very well, welcome to the great and powerful Trixie’s abode.”
*** After dinner Scootaloo fell asleep on Trixie’s small throw pillow and Broadsword had gone to wash the dishes, it was in this peaceful moment that Broadsword finally got chance to explain why Scootaloo was there for dinner. At first Trixie was mad that he’d just brought the filly over without saying so first but after hearing Scootaloo’s tale of woe she just smiled and hugged the large stallion.
“Err… Trixie is going to go and read in her room, when Scootaloo wakes tell her she is welcome at anytime.”
“Thank you Miss Trixie.” The stallion said as he continued washing the dishes and watched as Trixie pulled a blanket over the sleeping filly.
*** The next morning Trixie awoke to breakfast in bed which was a treat she had enjoyed since she’d invited Broadsword to live with her; however this morning the breakfast was a little different, not in flavour it still tasted the same but rather it was amateurishly prepared. In the kitchen Broadsword and Scootaloo were busy cooking up their own breakfast, but the end results were as poorly presented as Trixie’s meal was, nonetheless Broadsword happily ate every bite and Scootaloo did the same.
Once the noise in the kitchen had died down Trixie emerged to see the two other ponies sat at her fold out table and memories of her own family flooded back into her mind, suddenly she was happy; her gaze softened and she helped them clean up. As soon as they’d cleared the table and washed up Trixie tasked Broadsword with getting the groceries that he’d ‘forgotten’ to get last night, like normal he agreed happily and told her he would pick them up after helping at the farm. With that Broadsword left for work, leaving Trixie and Scootaloo to go about their business.
*** Broadsword arrived at Sweet Apple Acres a little later than usual, but Big Mac understood especially after the events of last night. Without wasting time the two stallions began work first milking the cows, then bucking the apples of the east field; it had taken them several hours to clear half of the trees in the field but the cider that the apples made was worth the work and as a bonus for his hard work Broadsword was gifted with a barrel of Apple family cider, which he tried to refuse out of courtesy but they insisted.
*** At the end of the work day Broadsword walked through the market buying everything that Trixie had listed, until he was stopped by the owner of the local curiosity shop.
The well dressed, brown unicorn stallion was out of breath, whatever he wanted it was clearly very urgent.
“Captain Broadsword what are you doing in Ponyville?”
An abrupt silence fell between the two ponies as Broadsword stood looking at the unicorn in shock.
The tension between the two stallions grew heavy and cold, the Pegasus stallion grew wide eyed as he stood staring at the other pony. The silence was unbearable which prompted the unicorn to repeat his question.
“Captain Broadsword, what are you doing in Ponyville?”
“Captain? Who are you?” Broadsword looked at the unicorn stallion with suspicion and adopted a defensive stance out of instinct.
“What you don’t remember me? I suppose being captain of the guard leaves you no time to remember your old friends.” The other stallion said sounding a little disappointed by Broadsword’s response.
“I demand to know, Who are you? What do you know of my past?!” Broadsword became angry; somepony knew the answers to his questions and he wasn’t going to waste this chance. He pushed the stallion against the wall of his shop, pinning him down with his hoof. “Again who are you?!” Broadsword’s eyes pierced through the unicorn stallion as he slipped into an almost berserker rage.
“Bright… my name is Bright Ideas, please let me down.” the unicorn tried to reason with Broadsword but to no avail, he was focused on only one thing; answers.
“Bright Ideas? Tell me what you know!”
“Me? I know lots of stuff like Spike the dragon has a crush on Rarity the boutique owner and Big Mac has a doll that he has tea parties with using Apple Bloom’s tea set and Lyra Heartstrings is secretly studying the mythical beasts called humans!”
“No! What do you know about me?!” Bright Ideas’ rambling only served to invoke the larger stallion’s ire, but still he let him down. “Tell me!”
“Glad you decided to let me down. Can we go into my shop? I’ll feel more comfortable talking in there.” Bright Ideas Reasoned and lead the larger, more aggressive stallion into his curiosity shop.
*** The interior of Bright Ideas’ shop was filled with strange items from all over Equestria including herbs from the Everfree forest and even amulets from Far East Neighsia; at any other time Broadsword would have been like a foal in a sweet store, but right now he couldn’t have cared less about the items that surrounded him. All he wanted was information.
“Ok, so all I know is: that you are the captain of Princess Luna’s guard or rather you were and I first met you when I was tasked with helping you and the other captain’s creating the new Canterlot shield.”
“So I was captain of a princess’ guard, so what happened to me? Why don’t I remember?” Broadsword inquired, his temper slowly subsiding as he talked to the odd unicorn.
“I don’t know; we were friends when I worked with you in Canterlot last year, but we lost touch a few months ago. I just thought you were busy, but it seems like there was something else going on.” Bright stated as he began making a drink for his companion.
“But I only remember the last week. The oldest memory I have is… is…” He struggled to remember. “Talking to a tall blue mare called Crescent Moon. Do you know anypony that can help me?” Broadsword asked as he stepped closer to the other stallion.
“Actually, I do. The former captain of your squad or so I gathered; his name’s Shining Spear he lives just outside of Ponyville in a small cottage. I’ll take you to him; it’s not a long trip. ”
With that they set off from Bright Ideas’ shop.
*** As the two passed through the market place Broadsword dropped off at Trixie’s home to give her the groceries; at first she greeted him with a smile, but his gaze was cold and she knew that whatever he was thinking about was tugging at his already strained psyche.
“Broadsword what’s wrong? The great and powerful Trixie wishes to know what’s troubling you.” She tried to mask her concern with a feigned command, but her eyes betrayed her and it became obvious to the stallion that she was worried about him.
“It’s nothing to worry about Miss Trixie, I’m just tired.” He was a terrible liar and Trixie knew that whatever he was doing was causing him pain. The azure mare stepped closer to her companion and hugged him.
“Whatever you’re doing, Trixie will be here when you want to talk about it.”
The hug lingered for several minutes before Broadsword broke the azure mare’s embrace and stepped out of the trailer, but before he began walking away he turned to the worried unicorn mare and smiled.
“Don’t worry Miss Trixie, I’ll tell you all about it when I get home… I promise.” With that he turned away from the friend he held so dear and turned to face towards his past. As Broadsword began walking away Trixie felt a great pain in her heart, like this was the last time she’d ever see him; it was a horrible feeling that sunk to the deepest pits of her heart and soul…
*** It had taken the two stallions roughly an hour to reach Shining Spear’s cottage; it was decrepit and run down with creeping vines covering most of the walls, to anypony that didn’t know the area it could have easily been mistaken for abandoned. The garden didn’t look much better, it was overgrown and unkempt; it really didn’t seem like a place anypony would ever live.
“Are you sure this is what you want captain? It looks to me like you have a good life here with Trixie, why don’t you just forget this quest and go back to her?” Bright Ideas asked as they approached the run down old cottage’s front door.
“I just have to know who I am; I can’t explain how it feels to not know anything about your own past and worse what if I have a family out there?” The Pegasus stated and knocked on the door of the former captain’s home.
The wait was intense; each second that passed started to drive Broadsword insane as he stood staring at the old wooden door, finally after what felt like forever the door creaked open and a tall white stallion with a handle bar moustache and a dark grey mane stood at the opening. He wasn’t what Broadsword was expecting; the old warhorse was well groomed and well dressed, in truth he didn’t look anything like a pony that would live here. After explaining his situation to the white earth pony, the two stallions were invited in.
“So you’re my successor and you’ve lost all memory of everything before the start of this week, is that right?” Shining Spear inquired as he sat two cups of nettle tea in front of the stallions, of course nettle tea was an acquired taste and neither Bright Ideas nor Broadsword could stomach the taste which made the older stallion smile.
“I do recognise you now that I’ve put my spectacles on; in fact yes… yes… you were the young colt that was hoof picked by the princess herself.”
The older stallion chuckled as Broadsword tried to sip the exceptionally bitter tea. “You don’t have to drink it lads.” Shining Spear commented as the two brown stallions looked at their cups.
“I remember the day very clearly; oh yes, I had just received my honourable dismissal and the princess had asked me to gather all my potential successors in the courtyard. They were some of the finest soldiers I’d ever commanded and you stood out above all the others.”
Broadsword’s eyes widened like a young foal listening to a ponytale; he was finally going to get an answer, but suddenly a sharp pain shot through his mind and he fell from his seat. His head ached and throbbed, His body lay limp on the cottage floor and he slipped deep into unconsciousness as the other stallions tried desperately to rouse him.
*** Trixie trotted hastily through the streets of Ponyville looking for the two stallions; she didn’t know why, but she felt that Broadsword was in trouble and she had to get to him. Her perfectly groomed mane now reduced to a mess of tangled hair as she began to gallop to all the places Broadsword knew in the town, but no matter how fast she ran, no matter how far she travelled there was no sign of the stallion. “Where are you?” She sighed as she frantically searched every alley and shop in the town, Trixie became desperate and decided to turn to the other ponies for help; going so far as trying to recruit Twilight in her effort to find the injured stallion.
Trixie had felt these urges before; first with the spider and again when Broadsword was lost in the Everfree forest, but this was infinitely stronger. Again she knocked on the library’s door and again until her hooves ached from hitting it; finally the door opened and a baby dragon stood at the door.
“Trixie? What are you doing here? If you’re still sore about the Ursa then…”
Trixie pushed past him, ignoring the baby dragon entirely and began calling out for the purple unicorn that was studying inside.
“Twilight! Where are you?”
“Spike what’s all the noise…” It was then that the unicorn in question emerged from her room at the top of the stairs. “Trixie what’s the matter?” seeing that the azure mare was hysterical she immediately asked her to sit down and explain everything.
“So you can sense when he’s in danger? That’s amazing Trixie! How did you learn such an advanced magical bonding spell?” the purple mare had completely missed the point in her excitement over the spell and Trixie was becoming both increasingly distressed and agitated. Again she explained why she needed Twilight’s help, this time it stuck and Twilight began searching for a location spell in her piles of books.
Pulling book after book from the stacks the two mares hunted for the location spells, until finally Trixie looked up and saw that the last book on Twilight’s shelves was the one they were looking for.
*** The stallions had managed to move Broadsword to Shining Spear’s sofa, but no matter how hard they tried they couldn’t wake him, it seemed like he’d gone into a comatose state. Except this was different, he was hyperventilating and even talking although none of his ramblings made any sense.
*** Broadsword looked up into the pitch darkness that surrounded him, but this darkness wasn’t like any he’d been in before; it felt empty like he was floating in nothingness or oblivion. He started to wonder if he had died in that cottage somehow and if this was the afterlife; it certainly felt like it. Suddenly, he was surrounded by white stone corridors, pillars of gold and stained glass windows. He’d been here before only once though… or was it only once he thought. The surreal white surroundings were familiar, they felt comforting almost like…. Home?
Once again the pain in his skull stabbed deeper making itself audible as he broke out in a blood curdling scream and clutched his head between his hooves, it was agony like he’d never felt before; the sudden overload of information with each new memory was becoming to great to bear. None the less he pushed on and trying to dig further into his hidden memories.
*** Screams echoed and thundered through the cottage as Broadsword’s unconscious body writhed and bucked around on the sofa until the other stallions came and held him in place as he screamed louder and thrashed around more violently. Then; as suddenly as he’d started, he stopped and once again fell limp on the cushions of Shining Spear’s sofa.
Bright Ideas had never seen anything like it and neither had Shining Spear, the furious thrashing and the mentally shattering screams were like no others; the two stallions decided to call for nurse Redheart, but the idea fell through when they realised that it took both of them and if truth be told maybe the strength of another to even stop him from falling off the sofa each time he began bucking. So the old stallion and the unicorn stallion decided to stay there until he’d calmed down.
*** The pain had subsided and Broadsword once again forced himself to his hooves, this time when he stood he was dressed in full armour with weapon and his surrounding had changed. He was now stood in the centre of what appeared to be a bedroom and his wings were working; he was flapping them, hovering above the silhouette of another pegasus. No, it had a horn as well; an alicorn? Again his mind screamed and tried to block his memories, but he forced through the pain and continued on his journey.
The tall alicorn; he knew he’d seen her before. It was Crescent Moon… No; that wasn’t her name! Her name eluded Broadsword and his mind began shrieking, almost like it was begging him to stop searching; like it didn’t want to remember, like it was a secret he wasn’t supposed to know.
Nonetheless he passed through the pain that wracked throughout his mind and strengthened his resolve, if he was to die for his memories then he would at least see them…
Again his setting changed, but this was strange it was nothing like the others; it was Trixie’s trailer. It felt warm and inviting, but this was different; this time he could see an ethereal version of the other night. He was washing the dishes and Trixie was hugging him. Broadsword smiled; maybe he didn’t need to continue his quest for his lost memories. This almost felt like a trick of his own tortured mind to make him give up and accept his new life, but no matter how wonderful his life was now; he still had to know who he was.
“It’s a beautiful scene, isn’t it?” A soft female voice came from behind him, turning swiftly Broadsword faced the unknown speaker. As he turned he was met by a tall dark blue mare with wings and a horn, the speaker was Crescent moon. No; he knew her name. “Princess Luna…”
*** Trixie and Twilight had finally gotten the spell to work, but only one could go. The spell took too much power to cast and if Twilight passed through the portal it would close and Trixie wouldn’t be able to open it again. In truth it was too much for Twilight’s magic to sustain as it was and Trixie knew that it was her only window of opportunity. Trixie passed through the portal and landed in the room next to where the unconscious Broadsword lay.
The two stallions that were in the room holding him down during his outbursts looked at the confused and panicked azure pony, simply asking in unison “errrm… how did you get here?”
“The great and power….. Broadsword!! What are you doing to him? What happened?!” Trixie asked becoming more hysterical as she looked at the unconscious stallion and tried to rouse him from his slumber. “You!” she said pointing at Bright Ideas. “What did you do to him?”
Bright Ideas looked almost offended by her outburst, but considering the state she was in he brushed it off. “He blacked out and began screaming, so we held him down so he wouldn’t hurt himself.” Bright tried to reason, but the azure mare was having none of it.
“Trixie demands that you go get a doctor quick! He could be in serious trouble!!” She commanded as she did her best to take the other unicorn’s place at the beginning of yet another fit.
With that Bright took his leave and ran towards Ponyville general hospital.
*** “Ah I see you broke through the memory block. You always were persistent captain.”
Luna stepped forward and looked at the scene playing out like a play on a stage. “It looks like a nice life you have in Ponyville; I’m glad.” The princess smiled at the captain who turned to face her. “Why did you hide my memories princess? Why did you send me away for doing my job?”
He asked almost begging for her to justify throwing him away.
“If you really want to know what happened I will show you…”
Suddenly the image changed from the happy scene in Trixie’s home to a more gruesome one; a large brown Pegasus stallion in full armour fighting his fellow guards as a mixed up creature of chaos laughs in the background.
“He turned them against me…. He made them into heartless killers, I had to stop them!” the stallion began explaining, but the royal mare shook her head and revealed more.
“No, it was you who was turned.” The scene played out from the beginning, but this time it was different.
Captain Broadsword charged down the hall way, drawing his sword and holding it aloft as he called out to his troops to stand to arms; the warriors gathered in their shining armour with gleaming weapons as the stallion galloped through the doors to the courtyard. Here is where the memory changed instead of the guards circling him with intent to attack, he was the aggressor.
The captain used to be kind, friendly and merciful; never taking a life even when monsters and enemies of Equestria had been defeated, he always allowed them to live. However in this scene he was the opposite; ruthless, cruel and merciless, he was the ultimate killer.
It seemed that when Discord had changed him he’d brought all those traits to the surface and he was killing indiscriminately. The captain that was so respected was now a mad dog that Discord had to stop through fear that he would actually manage to kill him and so he dispelled his own curse as Broadsword rushed through to the princess’ chambers.
Broadsword was disgusted at what he’d done and could watch no more.
“I… I… can’t believe…” he said as he turned to look at the floor with a pain in his heart like none he’d felt before… it was indescribable.
“I’m sorry I sent you away, but I had to. What you did that day; even under the influences of Discord was still murder and Celestia would have had to punish you. So, I erased the memory and sent you away because if you ever knew the truth of what you’d done, you would have insisted on being executed for your crimes. You were always the type to fall on your sword, captain.” The royal mare explained, her eyes welling up with tears as she confessed what she had to do. “I wanted to give you a clean slate and a new life, one where you could have the happiness you deserved and so I erased everything you were even your cutie mark, I’m sorry.”
“Princess…”
Broadsword was cut off by the sobbing princess as she explained further.
“It wasn’t only because I knew you had no control over yourself… I didn’t want to lose you, it was selfish and I stole your memories, but I couldn’t have borne for you to die! Not you! Not my friend!” The princess broke down in front of the stallion and immediately felt his embrace around her as he hugged her tight.
“Princess… thank you for everything, you’ve done more for me in the last week than I could have done for you in a life time because if you hadn’t have done what you did I wouldn’t have the life I have now. So, as my last request as captain I’d like to resign from my post.” Broadsword smiled and hugged the princess one last time. The princess smiled back and began to break down the dream, leaving the two sat in the pitch darkness again.
“Broadsword I have one last question for you….” Luna asked breaking the hug and looking at the stallion in front of her.
“What’s that?”
“Do you love her?” she asked with a faint smile crossing her lips
“W... What?” Broadsword was taken aback by the forwardness of the question, but still the princess persisted and leant forward putting weight on her forelegs.
“Captain, the blue unicorn; do you love her?” She giggled; in truth she was still jealous of Trixie and she already knew what his answer would be, but she had to hear him say it for herself. Just having that closure would be enough for her to try to move on and so she persisted again.
“Broadsword, do you love her?”
“Yes, I love her.”
Luna smiled softly and lifted herself into the air with her mighty wings, then began waking him from his unconscious state.
“Then, my last command to you Captain is to love her until the day you die and let her know each and every day what she means to you… because after all she did beat a princess for your affections.”
“What?” He asked clearly confused by the statement as he stood looking at the vanishing princess…
*** The brown Pegasus stallion had stopped convulsing and was now lying limp on the sofa, Trixie had held him down throughout every spasm since she’d arrived at the cottage which left her badly fatigued and looking like she hadn’t slept in days, but she refused to rest.
It’d been several hours since Bright Ideas had left for the hospital and he still wasn’t back; to make matters worse Broadsword was now running a high fever. Laying her head on Broadsword’s chest Trixie thought about the time they’d shared since she saved him that fateful night. The memories swam through her mind with each one invading almost in sequence with the others like a beautiful film playing over and over; she remembered the first time he’d ever cooked for her, it didn’t look very appetising but it was the first thing anyone had ever made for her… nopony had ever cared enough to do it before.
Trixie’s mind began to wander once again. This time thoughts of her magic show flashed through her mind; she remembered it all so vividly, the smell of the fireworks, the smiles of each pony in the crowd, but most of all she remembered him. His smile and his eyes; the way he gazed on in astonishment as each trick unfolded and how nervous she felt just knowing that he was watching her. Her azure cheeks became a light pink as she thought about how much he loved her magic show and how he went on and on about it the next day, no matter how much of a lie she thought it was at the time it still made her smile.
Trixie closed her tired eyes as she rested her head on the large stallion’s chest. The sound of his heart beat became a rhythmic lullaby as the gentle rise and fall of each breath soothed her fatigued mind, her blue eyes fluttered and she started to slip into the comfort of her memories once again.
“Broadsword, do you remember the night we met?” The azure unicorn whispered as she rested her sore and tired eyes.
“It was a lot like tonight, the moon was full and stars were shining especially bright. You know I wasn’t supposed to be by the river that night, but on a whim I decided to sleep in the woods.” She giggled lightly at the thought that her whimsy had led her to be his saviour.
“Its strange how fate works isn’t it? How you think you don’t need anypony, but then suddenly you meet the one pony that you can’t imagine being without.” Her mind drifted back to last night; it had been a long time since she’d had anything that even came close to a family and having one, even for a night was something she treasured more than she’d ever let on.
Finally her fatigue caught up with her and the beautiful azure mare drifted off in to sleep she lay with her head rested on Broadsword’s chest.
*** Soon after Trixie had fallen asleep Bright Ideas returned followed closely by nurse Redheart; they had been galloping for quite some time and they were out of breath, but such tiredness never stopped the white medical mare and she quickly set to her job. She stepped closer to the azure unicorn that was resting her head on the brown pegasus’ chest and nudged her shoulder; Trixie felt the hooves pushing her and awoke to see the white mare asking her to stand back while she checked Broadsword over.
Each second that passed was agony for the unicorn mare as nurse Redheart examined Broadsword; Trixie felt so anxious that she began pacing back and forth with each step echoing throughout Shining Spear’s house that had fallen deafly silent as the white nurse worked. Minutes turned to hours and soon the sun had risen, streams of warming light pierced through the dirty windows of the old cottage and shone over Trixie’s muzzle as she stood gazing out of what clean areas of window there were; it was all she could do to stop herself becoming sick with worry.
Soon the white mare emerged from the living room with her head hung low from fatigue; to the other ponies her expression could have been mistaken for bad news, but this wasn’t the case. She turned to the threes ponies that were looking on expectedly.
“I need to speak with his next of kin in private.” The medical pony stated while looking upon the three ponies, but Broadsword hadn’t declared anything like a next of kin and so Trixie decided to take the role for herself. She was led into a separate room by the white mare explained his condition.
“I’m not going to lie to you, he’s been through a lot of physical trauma; in fact it’s a miracle that he’s still standing, but he’ll be fine… well at least physically. As for his current state, well… he doesn’t seem to be in much trouble, but from what I was told by the stallion who came to fetch me he may have some serious psychological damage; has he suffered a traumatic event in his past?”
This was a question to which Trixie didn’t have an answer, she knew he had no memories, but maybe he’d suffered an event so bad that he lost all his memories because of it. This thought burned in her mind for a moment as she contemplated what could have happened to him, but her train of thought was derailed when she looked at the other mare that stood before her.
“I’m sorry but I don’t know… he never mentions his past or anything like that, but will he be alright? I mean will he even wake up?” Trixie felt her overcompensating demeanour returning as concern for the stallion grew, but the white mare simply put her hoof on Trixie’s shoulder.
“I know it’s hard when a loved one is in trouble like this, but you have to be strong for him and wait. I’m sorry…” She stated and gave Trixie a reassuring smile.
Trixie looked down at her hooves as she quietly welled up with tears; her silver mane obscuring her eyes and her drooped as she stood silently begging Celestia to help Broadsword, but such requests were rarely answered. Nonetheless she let slip the question that longed to be asked.
“Can I see him?” This question was met by a small smile and a slight nod before the medical mare led Trixie into the room where the large stallion lay.
Grey clouds hung heavy in the skies over Ponyville allowing only small glimpses of the sun the peer past the thick canopy of rain clouds it looked like the weather patrol had arranged for an all day downpour, but in truth Trixie felt the atmosphere was only fitting considering the circumstances. She had been led to the living room where Broadsword lay, but now she was finding herself growing evermore reluctant to enter. She took a deep breath, then another until she’d gathered enough courage to open the door. Finally pushing the door open she entered the room, but as she stepped in her eyes were met with the sight of a large silhouette leaning against the windowsill.
“B… Broadsword?!” the azure mare stood in disbelief as she looked upon the brown stallion.
He’d spent the last few moments trying to compose himself before getting to his hooves, however despite his best attempts to get up from where he lay he still had almost no control over his balance and quickly fell to the floor.
“Miss Trixie? Erm… this is kind of embarrassing, but if you wouldn’t mind.” He gestured for her to turn around, but the magician mare refused to just let him struggle and rushed eagerly to his side. After sliding her head under one of his forelegs Trixie helped the larger pony stand, allowing him to use her as a temporary prop while he regained his balance.
“What are you doing? You should rest!” Trixie scolded through concern, secretly very thankful that he even awoke at all.
“I… felt like stretching my legs… heh…” The large stallion lied horribly, even with his memories returned he was still a bad liar; this time however Trixie refused to humour his lie and pushed the question further.
“Broadsword, Trixie is worried about you and she demands to know.” Her defensive third pony speech pattern returned as her concern grew.
Broadsword looked at the small mare who was currently gazing up at him expectantly, as his eyes met hers he knew he just couldn’t lie to her and so he heaved a sigh before resting his muzzle on hers.
“I have to go to Canterlot… you see, during my unconscious state my memories returned and one of them was a task I left unfinished. I’ll tell you all…” his words were cut short as he felt the soft lips of her muzzle press against his own, the kiss lasted for only a few brief moments but it left it’s desired mark as the two ponies stood blushing; their lips still locked in a sweet embrace. Trixie eventually broke the kiss and looked at the large stallion with eyes that told everything at a glance, she had something she desperately needed to get off of her chest.
“I’ll go with you, I don’t know what you intend to do but I want to be there with you through everything.” The azure mare stated shyly, her cheeks now a rich crimson. It was in that moment that Broadsword saw a new side of the unicorn mare and found he was falling more in love with her as each second passed.
“Miss Trixie… I…” once again his words were cut off, but this time instead of a kiss his muzzle was met with the light press of a hoof. The magician mare’s eyes softened as she stared at the large Pegasus, smiling she slipped out from under his foreleg to allow him to get his balance properly.
“Shush, you can tell Trixie… I mean me when we get back from Canterlot. So please rest and I’ll be ready whenever you want to go.” With that she turned and left the room, leaving Broadsword still blushing and confused. ***
It had taken the rest of that day and most of the night before Broadsword was in any state to travel, even then Nurse Redheart had advised against it. Nonetheless Broadsword had to do what he’d set out to and so he and Trixie left the very next morning.
The path to Canterlot’s main gate was exceptionally long with almost no rest stops which made the trip more arduous than it already was, but no matter how far they had to travel the pair weren’t swayed. After many hours of walking the two ponies finally arrived at the tall gold edged white gates that separated the high white stone walls that surrounded the capital city. The city on the mountainside was a magnificent and majestic sight to behold; the streets were paved with white stone, the tall spires and buildings serving to frame the most magnificent sight in the city: the royal palace. This was the first time Trixie had ever been to Canterlot and even she found herself being daunted by the sheer size of everything, it was very different to rural Ponyville so much so that her eyes were wide and her mouth was left hanging open as she looked at every tower she and Broadsword passed. ***
The pair finally reached the palace gates where they were immediately surrounded by several white Pegasus stallions clad in golden armour and brandishing spears.
“Halt! What business do you have here?” the squad sergeant asked in a commanding tone as he stepped forward. Upon seeing the sword on the brown stallion’s back he gestured for the other guards to be ready for trouble. “Answer! Who are you and what business do you have here?!”
Broadsword stood unshaken by the weapons being waved at him, however the same couldn’t be said for his unicorn companion who retreated and tried to hide behind the larger pony.
“I am former captain Broadsword of the first Night Guard Company and I have come to speak with her Royal Highness Princess Luna.” The Brown Pegasus stallion stated in an equally commanding tone. Trixie’s eyes grew large as she heard him state his rank and reason; she didn’t know that he was a soldier although when she thought back on it the evidence had been there and what’s more he was a captain? This was completely unexpected, worst of all though was that he wasn’t acting like himself; he was distant and cold, nothing like the stallion he was before.
Once again the white stallion spoke up, this time however he sounded more sceptical. “Alright ‘Captain’ leave your weapon with my squad, I’ll take the both of you to captain Shining Armour who’ll confirm whether your story is true or not.”
Broadsword complied with the sergeant’s command then he and Trixie were led towards the barracks where more guards were training under the watchful eyes of a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane. As the pair led by the sergeant approached the training ground, the white Pegasus strode towards the unicorn who was training the recruits.
“Captain Shining Armour! Sir, these two seek an audience with princess Luna, one of them claims to be the missing captain of the first Night Guard company.”
“Captain Iron Broadsword? Sergeant Phalanx this had better not be a joke. Let me see them.” With that he was led to meet the duo, the moment he saw the Brown stallion he immediately pushed the sergeant out of the way. “Broadsword! What happened to you? Where have you been?”
“Armour, can I explain later? I need to see the princess.” Broadsword stated as he spoke with the other soldier; Trixie just watched and became saddened as the stallion she had fallen in love with disappeared beneath the personality that he’d recovered. It took mere moments before they were being escorted down the solid white corridors of the palace. ***
Hoof steps echoed through the empty halls and corridors of the palace, each step sounding infinitely louder than it should have been; as the two captains strode forward in silence Trixie fell in the rear quietly thinking to herself.
‘Why is he being so distant? He’s acting completely different from the way he was a few days ago, maybe this is what he was like before the accident… but I don’t want him to be like this, I want my Broadsword; what if he never returns? Would he leave me?’ these thoughts plagued the azure mare causing her to well up with sadness as she felt the stallion slipping away from her emotionally.
“Don’t go…” the fear of being alone finally overflowed and became a very quiet plea. “Don’t go…” again the thoughts burst out from Trixie and became audible; finally she stopped in her hesitant steps and came to a halt. “Don’t Go!” she cried out causing both stallions to stop dead and turn to face her.
“Miss Trixie?” Broadsword quizzed as her moved towards her.
“The great and powerful Trixie demands that you don’t go…” the blue mare managed to say through her tears as all her anxiety boiled over the surface and she felt increasingly more alone. She was afraid of losing the only pony she’d cared for since her parents had died and all that fear manifested itself as she shook and cried in the corridors.
“Broadsword don’t leave Trixie…” as she felt these words leave her lips she felt two forelegs wrap around her and hold her tight; she looked up at the large brown stallion that embraced her with eyes filled with stifled tears, but they weren’t held back for long and she quickly began to cry once again.
“Miss Trixie, I’ll never leave you… I promise that as soon as I finish my task here we can go home; to our home… I mean if that’s what you want?” the brown stallion whispered as he held her tight and wiped her tears; all the azure mare could muster was a small nod before burying her muzzle in the course brown fur of her companion.
The white unicorn captain cleared his throat as he looked at the pair. “Ahem, if we could keep moving please. I do have a lot of new soldiers to train.” The two ponies quickly regained their composure and looked at the armoured stallion in embarrassment.
“Sorry Armour, let’s keep going.” Broadsword said as he helped Trixie stand properly smiling as he did. ***
The long corridors finally drew to an end as the three ponies stood before the overly large and extravagant door to the Princess of the night’s chambers. The former captain took a deep breath and turned to salute the other captain before he left. Broadsword hadn’t been expecting to return to the palace so soon, but his conscience was driving him insane and he had to set things right.
“Broadsword? Are you alright?” Trixie asked looking at the Pegasus with softened and worried eyes.
“Yes… it’s time I face my demons…” he said and opened the door to Luna’s chambers. ***
The interior of the royal mare’s room was just as ornate as the halls that had led up to it, as Broadsword entered a familiar sensation flowed through him. The smell of the finest perfume filled is nostrils and his eyes adjusted to the dimmed light that the princess of the night preferred; a soft operatic music enveloped the dark room creating the perfect atmosphere for Luna to relax in.
“What is it guard? We are trying to sleep…” Luna snapped as she lay in a darkened corner of her chambers, it was clear that she hadn’t taken the time to learn her new soldier’s names in an attempt to not grow attached to them. Since the incident she’d resolved to isolate herself to avoid getting hurt when they will eventually leave her. She sighed and turned to face the door as she sat up.
“What is so urgent tha…” her words evaporated along with her irritation upon seeing the Pegasus stallion that stood silhouetted against the light in the hall way. She didn’t think or hesitate, her body moved of its own accord and she leapt from beneath her covers to embrace the cloaked stallion. He barely had time to brace himself before the beautiful royal blue mare landed on him and grasped him so tight that the breath was squeezed from his lungs.
“Broadsword?! What are you doing here?” she asked with a softened tone while embracing the Pegasus; she knew why he’d returned, she had always known that as soon as he found out what he’d done he would return to face his crimes. Still, that didn’t matter for the moment; all that mattered to the princess right now was seeing the stallion she loved.
“Luna… I mean prin…”
He was immediately silenced by Luna. “We told you before, there’s no need for titles…” she smiled before looking up as she remembered the other pony that accompanied the stallion. “We apologise, you must be Trixie.”
Trixie was taken aback, first by the way she pounced on Broadsword and second by thy the fact that a princess knew who she was; she convinced herself that it must be because she was so famous but she knew deep down that that wasn’t the case.
“Yes… yes I am the great and power…” Trixie found herself cut off by the stallion who stopped her show boating.
“Trixie you don’t have to do that, Luna doesn’t like titles…” he said rising to his hooves before turning to face the princess who was blushing lightly as she faced Trixie. “Luna, I came to face my demons and pay for what I’ve done…”
Luna and Trixie felt their hearts sink as the words left his mouth; although to the princess it was inevitable, to the magician mare it was a total shock to her system to think that the kind and brave stallion she’d fallen for was also a criminal. She’d sooner believe that gravity was a myth. Silence fell over the trio like an ominous fog, it was almost suffocating.
“I just wanted to thank you for all you’ve done for me and… I wanted to apologise for disobeying your orders and returning.” He sighed deeply. “Please look after Trixie while I speak with Celestia…” before they could answer he left the room and trotted towards the audience hall where the sun princess spent most of her day. ***
Celestia sat silently on her throne in the audience hall, her brow furrowed in thought as she stared at the cross word she was working on while she waited for her next visitor, finally she raised both front hooves to her mane and scratched in frustration at the clue it had given her. Suddenly, the large wooden doors creaked and she instinctively hid the puzzle and tidied her mane in an attempt to look serious about her boring chores. Again the large doors creaked finally opening to allow a rather beaten up looking Pegasus in a dark blue cloak to enter the hall. At first the princess was surprised by the visitor’s appearance as he didn’t look at all like her usual council or guards; instead he was a dark figure with chocolate brown fur and a matt black mane, his clothing was equally dull forming a harsh contrast with the blinding white stone that surrounded him. Celestia found her eyes being drawn to his wings, they were ruined, wrapped in filthy bandages and badly contorted they truly were an appalling sight to behold.
“Your highness.” He began and looked up at the sun princess. “I have come to pay for my crimes; I’m Broadsword the former captain of…”
“Captain Broadsword of the first night guard, what crimes do you speak of?” she cut him off with a question of her own, her face in a quizzical expression.
“Your highness… I am responsible for the death of my company. While under the influence of Discord’s magic I turned my sword upon my own soldiers and slew them. I claim no defence for my actions, however I do have a request if you would please hear me out?”
“Go on captain.” Celestia said in an emotionless tone, in truth she wasn’t completely sure that she understood the situation and several questions mulled themselves over in her mind as she listened to the captain. He took a deep breath and began “I would like to personally visit and make amends to the families of the stallions I killed before I am tried and punished…”
“WAAAAAIT!” Suddenly, the doors burst open and Luna accompanied by Trixie entered the room, rushing to take a defensive position in front of the brown stallion.
“Sister, you cannot execute him or banish him to the moon. It wasn’t his fault! That fiend Discord was…”
“I am fully aware of that.” Celestia interrupted her younger sister’s protest much to her surprise then looked at the small azure unicorn that also stood in defence of the captain. “You there, my loyal subject why do you defend the captain?”
Trixie stood taken aback for a moment by the princess’s rather obvious question, still, she found herself answering anyway. “The great and powerf...” she was cut off by the large royal mare before she could finish. “There’s no need for bravado here, just tell me why you protect him.” Celestia had seen through her boastful attitude and put the question to her as bluntly as possible.
“Because, he owes Trixie his life.” Trixie stated, her third pony speech pattern returning through intimidation.
“Is that so?” the royal mare thought silently for a moment and finally she pointed at Trixie. “Everypony except her leave, I wish to speak in private.” At first Luna protested, but found herself obeying her elder sister’s command. Broadsword was equally hesitant only leaving at Trixie’s request and even then he stalled.
After the others had left Celestia descended from her throne and stood before the azure mare, her eyes focused only on the small unicorn making her cower as she moved closer.
“What are you doing?” she asked as the large white alicorn bent her neck and laid her horn on her head; suddenly, she was an open book. Celestia could see every memory as clear as the moment it happened; the night she’d saved his life, his pain over his lost memories, nightmare night and even when he brought Scootaloo home for the night. Each memory surged with emotions from happiness to anger; each feeling was overwhelming, even for a mare as ancient as Celestia.
Finally, the royal mare withdrew and gazed upon her subject. “I see, he’s too valuable for you to lose…” She trailed off and looked at one of the stained glass windows. “You love him don’t you?”
“What? What are you saying? Trixie doesn’t…” She felt the golden plate of Celestia’s horse shoe press against her lips, its cold touch silencing her in an instant.
“Shhh… your secret’s safe with me.” She chuckled before letting herself continue. “Although… maybe a kiss isn’t the best way to hide your feelings.” She said with a wink and re-ascended to her throne.
“Your highness, what are you going to do with him?” Trixie asked as she watched Celestia sit back in her seat.
“If I punished him in the manner I am expected to I would be harming both you and my younger sister, but if I don’t punish him he will never be free of the guilt that weighs so heavily on his shoulders…” She took several moments to think before looking back at the magician mare. “What do think?”
The sudden question took Trixie aback. “What… what do I think?”
“Yes, my little pony what do you think I should do?”
“I don’t know…” She stated and looked at the floor.
The princess stared at the unicorn, no matter what she decided on it would end in pain for somepony. Finally she called Luna and Broadsword back into the hall for her final judgement. The pair entered the white stone room and sat before her; the stallion looked at Trixie and smiled as she came closer to him, her eyes were still filled with concern.
“Upon speaking with this mare…” Celestia began. “I have decided that you shall not face punishment as you have already repaid your debt to society.”
“Your highness, I don’t understand what do you mean?” the large Stallion asked in shock.
“Trixie has told me in great detail of how you saved those fillies and how you selflessly took in an orphan when she had no where to go…” she paused to look at the stallion once more.
“Your highness I don’t…” Broadsword began only to be cut off by the princess.
“And after all the good you have done, you still felt the need to repent to the families of those stallions, going so far as to forfeit your own life if necessary. Now I ask you; do you still feel you need punishment for actions you had no control over?” again she paused, letting silence fill the room as the stallion thought about what she’d said.
“Princess…” Trixie broke the silence. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that he is free to go… but as requested he is to visit the family of each stallion formerly in his command. After that you may return to your normal life in Ponyville captain.” The royal mare stated as the trio looked on in awe.
“Thank you your highness.” He said finally, the dark brown stallion stepped towards the golden throne and smiled at the sun princess; he felt some of the weight of his guilt lifted slightly although it would never be fully gone at least he had the chance to make amends to the families who lost their loved ones at his hoofs. With a bow he turned to Luna and Trixie who were smiling back at him. Then just as the trio started to leave Celestia asked the azure mare to stay back much to Trixie’s confusion.
“Trixie I would like you to send me a letter each week telling me how the captain is doing.”
“Why your majesty?” Trixie asked tilting her head to the side in confusion.
“The captain was a dear friend to my sister and it would mean a lot for her to know that he is safe and well.” Celestia continued.
Trixie simply nodded in response then turned and ran to catch up to the others as the white alicorn sat thinking about the events that she’d seen in the azure unicorn’s memory. ‘Even with those broken wings you still managed to soar didn’t you captain.’ Celestia chuckled to herself. ***
After Broadsword had visited each family to make amends he thought about their reactions, some were so angry at him that they slapped him and slammed the door in his face, others were just glad they had some closure at last. The reaction of each family he visited left a permanent scar on his emotions until he reached the last house. It was the home of his youngest soldier a stallion by the name of Gladius; he’d only been with the captain’s company for three months before the incident with Discord and it pained Broadsword to think that he’d cut the young stallion down in the prime of his life. Of all the homes he’d been to so far this was the one he dreaded the most. Finally, he took a breath and knocked on the door expecting the worst; it creaked open to reveal an earth pony mare roughly the same age as Trixie with a blue mane and a pink coat.
“Hello?” She said sounding confused as she stared at the injured Pegasus in front of her.
“Hello, I’m here about Gladius I assume he was your brother.” He stated as he handed her the stallion’s helmet as an offering.
At the sight of the helmet the mare choked up. “What happened?”
“He was killed defending the princess last week, I’m very sorry for your loss and if it’s any consolation he fell as a hero.” The stallion explained as he watched the young mare at the door who was hugging the helmet tightly.
“And who are you?” she asked with tears welling in her eyes.
“I’m his former captain and I understand if there’s anything you need to ask me.” He began and looked at the ground in respect.
She took a deep breath to calm herself and asked him inside to explain everything. After hearing the tale of her brother’s death she slapped Broadsword several times and he took each blow without resistance; he felt he deserved more than he received, but she broke down in tears after the first few strikes. Broadsword comforted the pink coated mare for several hours until she’d calmed herself down. The two shared memories of the stallion and eventually she forgave him understanding that it wasn’t totally his fault. ***
When Broadsword finally left the mare’s home it had turned dark, the street lamps had all been lit and the normally busy streets of Canterlot were almost deserted. Despite being forgiven by the young mare Broadsword still felt low; it would take more than being forgiven to lift the guilt that weighed so heavily on his shoulders. Still, visiting the families was all he could do.
The clock tower struck seven, it was later than he thought and he really needed to get back to Trixie who was currently staying in one of Canterlot’s luxurious hotels courtesy of princess Luna. She had told him to hurry back so that they could eat together, it was a ritual she had enjoyed since she’d invited him to live with her and there was no way she wanted to miss it. With the thought of Trixie waiting for him in his mind he began trotting to the hotel guided only by the halo of street lamps as he passed beneath them. ***
Trixie sat at the table looking at the meal that room service had delivered just over an hour ago, it had long since gone cold but she wouldn’t mind as long as she got to eat it with him. She looked outside at the darkness and thought about everything she’d been through since she’d met the stallion; as always the good memories over shadowed the bad, the meals they shared, the night with Scootaloo and of course the first kiss. She paused on that memory for a few moments and touched her hoof to her lips; it was almost like she could still feel his muzzle pressed against hers, the surprising softness and sweetness of his lips, it was like a dream to the azure mare. She could feel her cheeks burning as they became a light shade of crimson.
‘Will he kiss me tonight?’ She thought as she returned her gaze to the table where she sat. She could see it all now; the candle in the centre of the table providing only small flickers of light as they shared their meal, he would offer her a sip of wine and some would ‘accidently’ escape her lips then he would say. “Here let me clean that for you…” He would move closer and gently lick the few drops she deliberately let slip then he would run his hoof through her mane as she gently whimpered and closed her eyes; finally he’d inch closer and closer until…
She squealed in excitement and pressed her hooves against her cheeks to cover her blush. “I hope he gets here soon.” She wished as she tried to hide her red cheeks.
Thirty minutes passed, then finally the door opened and Broadsword stepped in; his eyes instantly finding the beautiful blue of Trixie’s own eyes. Suddenly, the depression that had smothered him since he’d spoken to the young mare earlier melted away and he lost himself in the azure mare’s smile; it was a truly welcome sight for his sore eyes.
“I’m sorry I’m so late.” He said as he sat at the table next to Trixie.
“It’s alright, I had room service bring our meal up, but it’s probably gone cold now.” She said lifting the lid off of the platter.
“It doesn’t matter, as long as I get to eat it with you.” He smiled as he offered her the first bite.
The couple enjoyed the meal despite it being cold and sat with a single glass of wine as they snuggled close on the hotel’s sofa. He brought the glass to her lips and she couldn’t help but let some slip out in an attempt to make her fantasy come true. Of course he saw through the act as soon as he noticed her blushing cheeks in the candle light; he knew what she wanted and he was happy to give it. Bringing himself closer he gently licked the few drops that escaped her lips and moved closer until at last their lips met.
Although neither actually said it they both knew exactly what the other wanted to say. “I love you…”
