“Alright everypony! You know the drill.” I said as I stretched out and stood up, “Any questions so far?”

A pony in the middle of the crowd raised her hoof. I pointed to her, giving her permission to ask.

“Why did you become a Bat Pony instead of a Pegasus? Did you get to choose?” she asked.

I shrugged, “I don’t really have an answer for that. It is suggested that, because I spent a good portion of my time under the light of Luna’s Moon, and found it more favorable to the Sun, that I took the form I would feel most comfortable as, reflecting my psychological profile.”

The pony raised her hoof again, and I nodded, “And Aurora didn’t have any problems with you being a Batpony?” she asked.

I tilted my head glancing upwards in thought, “She… was more curious than anything. Asked a lot of questions. You’ll see in a bit.” I told her.

Lemon Stand raised her hoof. The star pupil as always, she had an interesting question that put things into better perspective for all.

“If Aurora is Fray’s mother, and you’re his father, did he take on more of the yours or more of Aurora’s traits?”

I smiled a little, thinking back to Fray, “Well… Fray’s eyes changed, along with a few other things as he grew between us. Fray and Aurora became very close in a short time. It was rather remarkable.” I sighed, frowning a bit, remembering that part of my life was missing now, “We have time for one more question. Make it count, then everypony get some water, go for a run, whatever you want. Be back in fifteen after that.”

Buzzcut, a rather large Batpony, rose his hoof next. I nodded in his direction.

“What happened to Kain?” he asked, “Is he still out there, somewhere? Are we going to meet him?”

My voice got low as I remembered the events I’d experienced in his realm, “I pray that you never have to. If Kain comes to you, you’d best be ready, because he will NOT go easy on you. Kain is some… thing… that if you encounter, you will never be the same again afterwards. It might be an honor to meet one of the progenitors of our race, but trust me. You don’t want to be in his line of sight.”

With that, silence filled the space between the crowd and I. I looked to Spitfire, who nodded. By the look she was giving me, I knew she needed to speak with me again, most probably about the Lullabye golem and the Order forces which would probably soon accompany it.

“Understand!” I barked, stopping the crowd as they got up and headed off to do whatever they intended to do in their fifteen minutes of freedom, “You can NEVER tell anypony outside the ERNG or the Equestrian Day Guard about what I am telling you here. Doing so is punishable by banishment, or worse! Not even your parents, or lovers if you have them, can know! Be bac in fifteen! Dismissed!”

As the group walked away, some trotting, some dashing, I turned to Spitfire.

“Something’s on your mind.” I stated, “It’s the golems, isn’t it?”

Spitfire nodded, “It is. Raid, we can’t let them keep the village. I know you were given leave, but I have to ask again… will you help my squad take it back. I’ve said before that there’s no rush, but I’m getting a bad feeling.” she glanced at the ground, then back up at me and stomped her hoof, “We need to take it back sooner than later.”

I drew my lips to the side, unhappy with the idea. It was true, I’d been given leave by the Princesses themselves to take some time to go find Fray. He was essential to taking back territory from Order and combating the enemy. More important, Fray was my son. I hated the idea of waiting any longer more than anything in the world.

“Spitfire… I… I don’t know. Fray could be in a lot of trouble…”

My fire-maned superior put a hoof on my shoulder, “Listen… I know you need to find Fray, but you can’t forget your duties to the Equestrian people. I can’t give you an order, because your leave has already been approved, but… at least consider it.” she removed her hoof from my shoulder.

I could see the pleading in her eyes, well hidden, but there. She was right, I couldn’t abandon my people, even for Fray.

“How long will it take…?” I asked.

“Hm?”

“How long, estimated, will the mission take?”

“It’s a day’s flight west of here, and it should only be the one Lullabye Golem there. If we take it out now, it’ll be harder for the Order’s forces to concentrate and set up a foothold.”

I considered it for a moment. Based on the information given by Spitfire, it wouldn’t be too much of a detour… We’d be back before the end of the week, and I could get on with trying to find Fray.

“Who’s on point for the mission?” I asked, not really asking because I cared, but to give myself more time to think.

Spitfire raised an eyebrow, “You.” she said simply, “You have more experience with the Lullabye Golems than anypony else… it’s only natural that you lead the operation.”

I shook my head, “I’ve fought one. Just one! And that was with Fray’s powers at my side. I barely knew what I was doing then, and I know even less about how to combat them without my son’s help.” my gaze strayed up to the night sky, where I observed the stars for a moment before continuing, “I know I’ve been trained in the ancient combat arts from the Last Great War, but… I don’t know if it will be enough.”

Spitfire heaved a sigh, and shrugged a little, “It’s up to you. Like I said, I can’t order you to do it, but if you choose to… I’m sure everypony will be grateful. You’ll get to choose your team too, though, I’ve compiled a list of candidates that I think would be beneficial to the strike team.”

Time passed. Spitfire was giving me a chance to reconsider, to decide. A little bit of wind gusted by, lifting little clouds of dust from the rocky ground.

“What would Aurora think?” Spitfire asked, “If you went?”

“Careful, Spitfire…” I warned, “Superior or not, that’s not a subject I want to talk about…”

The yellow Pegasus nodded, closing her eyes and bowing a little in apology, “You’re right… It’s probably a little touchy a subject for you.” she agreed, then turned and walked towards the edge of the ‘flight cliff’ and spread her wings in the soft moonlight, and looked back with a challenging, but friendly glare.

If that makes sense.

“Before I go, Flight Admiral-” she addressed me by my rank with a warning tone that matched my own from moments before, “-understand that while I don’t have an official rank in the ERNG, I still, by pecking order, outrank you. If you had been anypony else, I would have eaten them alive. Don’t push your luck like you just did too often, okay?” she asked with a smile as the glare softened.

I nodded, “Thanks, Spitfire.” I returned, “And I’ll think about your offer… but won’t you stay for the rest of the story?”

Spitfire laughed, “Nah. I have business to take care of in Canterlot. I’ll be there for a few days. You know where to find me. Maybe you can tell me the rest of the story then, over some aged cider.”

Before I could say anything else, that special operations Pegasus flew off into the night, disappearing quickly against the blanket of stars that separated us from whatever lay beyond. I sighed, knowing that I had a lot of thinking to do, but as I turned around I found that the entire group had already returned, and was sitting expectantly in front of where I’d been sitting before.

“Alright!” I called out, “We’re almost at the end of the story. It’s going to be a little boring for a bit, everypony, but a lot of you were wondering about Aurora and I intend to give you romantics the full story.”

I glared down at Lightning Strike who cowered a little, remembering the last time he’d asked a ‘personally invading’ question.

“With some noted exceptions.” I added.