Dash raced around Ponyville, desperately searching for the obsidian stallion below. She checked his house first, but the cabin was empty. She searched his perch on the mountain top, the market, the park, the library, even Sweet Apple Acres, but he was nowhere to be found.

She ascended to a cloud, alighting on top of it as despair set in. The doctor said he was alright, but she needed to see him, to see him awake and breathing and alive. She kicked off from the cloud almost immediately after landing, unable to find it within her to stop searching.

She flew over the mountains to check his house and his lookout spot a second time, but to no avail. She began to make her way back into town, desperately thinking of where else he could be, when she saw something in the foothills below her.

Clyde was sitting amidst the aspens, lost in thought and enjoying the beauty of the afternoon sun in rolling hills. The air was cool and calm as he tracked a dandelion puff floating by on the gentle breeze.

Suddenly, he felt something hit his side, hard. The world turned as he rolled, wincing in pain. Finally coming to a halt on his back, he looked up at his attacker; straddling him was Rainbow Dash, her eyes moist yet stern, and her jawline quivering.

He looked back to her with concern, but before he could ask what was wrong, she shouted at him.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again!”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought… I thought you were dead,” she said, her voice losing its strength.

As Clyde struggled to find the words to say, Dash looked at his chest. Three long rows of stitches ran at an angle from his shoulder to the base of his sternum. He had a smaller row of thread through the skin on his flank, but the discoloration from the poison was still prominent.

“I thought you were gone, Clyde. I was scared.”

“Why were you scared?” he asked gently.

He already knew the answer, but he needed to hear it.

“I’m your friend Clyde; we’re all your friends, and we thought we lost you,” she looked away, trying to hide something.

It wasn’t like her to get emotional, but her feelings ignored that tendency now. The stallion saw through the gap in her tough shell, knowing immediately that she had been faced by one of her fears; loss. Clyde gingerly placed a hoof beneath her chin; the same hooves that could battle monsters and invaders and yet could somehow be gentle and caring enough to dry tears. He turned her head towards him.

“Look, I know we haven’t known each other for very long,” he breathed, “but I want you to know that I’ll always be there for you. It’s my duty, and I’ll gladly keep it.”

She looked up at him, trying to swallow her sadness and hide her tears from the soldier, emerald meeting magenta. He tried to console her, but he could see the elusive tears of the pegasus materializing.

“I promise,” he continued, “that I will never leave you; that I’ll protect you from anything, and I’ll always be there when you need me.”

He stood up, towering above her, but he lowered his head even with hers, and continued.

“And never forget, even if you can’t see me, I’ll always be watching over you.”

He smiled, the same smile she recognized from the market place, and she felt her fears leave. Suddenly, as much to her own surprise as to Clyde’s, she hugged him.

She threw her forelimbs around his neck, squeezing tightly, but then quickly pulled away again, awkwardly rubbing one of her shins. Clyde could feel wet spots on his chest from where her moist cheeks had touched his skin.

“Come on,” he said, still smiling warmly, “There’s something I want to show you.”

Dash followed Clyde through the clear sky, ascending at a shallow angle. She stayed just off his wing as they glided over the curving earth below. Clyde led slowly, flying methodically, strolling through the thin air. Dash knew by the size of the muscles in his wings that he could probably rival her, but not best her, in speed.

Suddenly, the stallion rolled and banked, descending to the sierras with Dash just off his wing. As they lost altitude, the land became familiar, and she realized where they were going.

Clyde alighted on the high rocky precipice, just outside the pine grove. Dash came down next to him, touching down softly. She looked around, confirming their whereabouts; this was where she saw him for the first time. Unlike their first encounter though, this time it felt less scary and more… right.

The air was cool, and the light of dusk added a slight tint of gold to all beneath the shifting sky. Clyde walked to the edge of the cliff, sitting on his flanks and facing the valley. Dash sat next to him, looking at the warrior’s relaxed face. He faced forward, gazing at the basin below, so Dash did the same.

She took in the majesty before her, the green and gold of the trees, grass, and wheat blending to make a beautiful masterpiece on the canvas of the earth. The glint of the sun lit up the face of every object its rays touched, casting long shadows towards the eastern horizon.

Dash looked towards Ponyville, a collection of miniscule buildings in the distance, with the lush rolling hills surrounding the town receding towards the horizon. She could see all the landmarks familiar to her; Everfree Forrest, Sweet Apple Acres, a tall building she knew to be Carousel Boutique, even the outskirts of Cloudsdale. The few ponies she could see still milling around below in the dying day looked to be the size of ants. It was as if she was on top of the world.

Clyde’s deep, smooth voice floated to her ears.

“Gorgeous, isn’t it?”

She turned to face him, but he was still staring out over the land below. The sun created a glow over him, his short, sea blue mane seeming to sparkle in the glimmering sunset. The light illuminated his chiseled face, casting dark shadows over his cheeks and eyes, creating a beautiful relationship between brightness and obscurity.

“The others were right. He is handsome,” she thought to herself.

But, recalling her friend’s comments, she began to notice his scars again. They ran all over his body, creating images of gruesome wounds that in time had healed. He would have a few new ones soon, once his stitches came out. The marks permeated his skin, and Dash both admired and pitied him. He had endured pain beyond belief, that much was obvious, but why did he continue to do so?

Dash needed to ask; there had to be something she was missing, something about him that could explain why he kept going, kept endangering himself to protect the ponies of Equestria, most of them he didn’t even know.
Clyde could practically feel her eyes moving up and down his body, but paid no heed. Eventually, he stepped back from the edge, and turned to face the winged mare.

He looked down at her, his eyes still sparkling in the low light, and Dash couldn’t help but feel drawn to him.

“Clyde, there’s something I need to ask you,” she started, looking down slightly and rubbing her forelimb as he raised an eyebrow.

She hadn’t quite thought of what to say yet, but she started anyway.

"Well, it’s just….um, well…..ya see, I kinda…”

“What is it?”

"I, umm… I was wondering, well… Why do you do it?”

He tilted his head slightly, asking, “Do what?”

“Why do you, ya know, keep being a soldier. You’ve done your part; you’ve fought your battles. Why don’t you just quit?”

The stallion turned away from her, but Dash quickly flew in front of him, hovering eye to eye.

“You could live here with us in Ponyville, forever if you wanted. But instead you keep fighting; you keep getting hurt over and over again.”

He looked away again, but Dash adjusted her position to float just off the edge of his broad muzzle.

“What if you die?”

He turned back to the cliff face, sitting on its rim and closing his eyes, his head held high. Dash flew to his side, aggravated, and practically shouted in his ear.

“If you keep fighting, one of these wounds won’t heal Clyde! That manticore could have killed you, and it almost did. Why would you do it? Why would you keep going, when you can stop right now? You already have medals, the honor, the glory! What more do you want to earn?! What more can you earn?!”

She lowered her voice, checking herself, realizing she was out of place.

“Look, it’s just that we all really like you. It doesn’t feel like I’ve only known you for a few days; it’s almost like we’ve been friends all along, and when you were in the hospital; I’ve never felt that sad before. I don’t want you to go, and I was scared that you were dead. I want you to stick around; I wanna be your friend.”

Without moving his head, Clyde quietly spoke.

“Do you have dreams, Dash? Dreams of what you want to be, what you want to have, what you aspire to?”

“Well, yeah.” She said, descending back to the ground, her hooves gently hitting the rough sandstone of the cliff, “I’ve always wanted to be a Wonderbolt.”

She looked to the painted sky, imagining herself in that blue uniform, a lightning bolt running down its side, shooting across the sky in perfect formation and leaving a trail of colorful smoke in her wake.

“It’d be awesome! I’d perform around the world, dazzling crowds. Everypony would love me; colts and fillies would want me to sign posters and get their picture taken with me. I’d go to parties and hang out with all the celebrities. There’s nothing I want more than that.”

She pictured the life she yearned for, but her brief fantasy eventually ended and she returned to the cliff face. She could feel the warmth in her cheeks accompanying a smile. She turned to her friend; Clyde was looking down at her. Her eyes held wonder and joy, and they sparkled in the low light.

“Right there,” he said, extending a hoof to just in front of her snout, “That’s why I keep doing it, right there.”

“What?”

“Hope,” he replied softly, “You still have hope in your eyes.”

Dash was taken aback as the Guardian turned back to the valley below. She sat beside him and listened at tentatively.

“That’s why you fly the way you do; nothing held back, all out all the time, like the way you were the afternoon we met.”

Yet another fact he knew just from watching.

“Most ponies here still cling to hope, because they still have dreams. They still have things they want to do, want to see, want to learn, and I want to make sure they get the chance to make those dreams come true.”

His voice lowered, and lost some of its sweetness.

“I’ve seen young stallions killed before they got the chance to realize their dreams. I’ve seen hope destroyed by a horn, or a sword, or a burst of magic. I’ve seen the hope in the eyes of ponies crushed by the evil of the world, and I want to try and protect the hope that’s left.”

“But don’t you have dreams too?” Dash asked, her voice cracking slightly.

“I did. My dream was to be remembered.” He paused momentarily before continuing, “I grew up in an orphanage in Canterbury. My whole life I thought I didn’t matter, that the world didn’t care about me, that I would be forgotten.”
He turned his head to face her.

“So, I decided to do something great, something to immortalize my name. I couldn’t think of anything but the military. I believed all the ads, ‘Be All You Can Be.’ So I signed up, thinking I’d be some kind of hero, that I’d have parades thrown for me, that everypony would know my name; but war crushed those dreams.”

“Sometimes I look back on it all, and still dream of being remembered, but my only dream now is to keep the dreams of others alive. My dreams are all but gone, but it isn’t that way for everypony. That’s why I stay a soldier.”

“Believe me, I’d like to live here forever, but I still have to fight for the only dream I have left; for others to keep dreaming. If I’m remembered for that, well and good, but if not, I’d still do it. And until the day comes when no evil can cut the dreams of ponies short, I’ll continue to fight. I’ll fight for everypony who can’t fight for themselves, and I’ll fight alongside those who can, until my dream comes true, and the dreams of all can continue to live.”

An elongated silence followed his explanation, his words’ wisdom sinking into the thick skull of the mare.

“Hey Clyde,” Dash said cheerfully as she floated up to his eye level, “If it makes you feel better, I promise I’ll remember you.”

Clyde laughed a bit, extending a wing around her and pulling her into his side. He knew she was trying to cheer him up.

“Thanks Dash,” he said, “and I promise to be your friend.”

The two sat together on the precipice until the sun fell behind the horizon, Clyde’s wing still around Dash’s shoulder. The sunset was breathtaking, painting a watercolor sky with vibrant purples and reds. Eventually the beauty gave way to darkness, and the two shifted their gaze upward from the horizon to the twinkling stars.

“I swear, if you tell the others any of what I said to you earlier, I’ll pound you; I don’t care how tough you are,” she threatened, but Clyde just laughed and agreed to keep it a secret.

Clyde sat staring for hours in silence. Eventually, he turned to Dash to ask her if she wanted him to take her home, but she was already asleep, her head resting gently against his side. He smiled to himself, and was lying down beside her when a shadow danced across the ground.

He snapped his head to the sky, seeing the dark outline of an alicorn against the pale face of the moon. The silhouette approached quickly, and as it drew nearer, Clyde recognized it was Princess Luna.

The dark alicorn, her splendid starlight mane flowing behind her, descended silently to the cliff face, landing like a ghost in the darkness. Clyde rose from the ground without waking his dormant friend and approached the princess. His head lowered in a gesture of respect when he reached her, addressing her as ‘your highness.’

“You need not be so formal with me, Captain Sterling,” she said.

Clyde stood erect, looking down to her. Though the stallion was much taller than she, the princess held herself with the upmost confidence and composure, her dark eyes showing no presence of intimidation or discomfort around him.

Looking where the Guardian had just come from and noticing the young mare curled up on the ground fast asleep, she asked, “Getting friendly with the local populous, I see?”

“Yes, err, no, no ma’am,” Clyde said, realizing the implications of ‘getting friendly’, “She’s just a friend. She fell asleep while accompanying me.”

“Good. It’s most definitely better that she doesn’t hear this anyway.”

“Hear what?” asked the stallion, growing anxious, “This isn’t a dream, is it princess?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” the regal mare replied, “Rather, I’ve been forced to delay my duty of monitoring the dreams of Equestrians for the night to come to you in the flesh. I bring an urgent warning,” Luna took a step closer to him, and her voice took on a new tone; it was stern, yet still calm and composed, and Clyde knew what she had to say was of grave importance.

“I’ve noticed a shift in the dreams of the citizens of Equestria as of late. The nights are now filled with nightmares instead of pleasantries.”

“Why haven’t I noticed?”

“Your powers of observation with the gift of sight are limited to the physical world; mine extend into the realm of thought and beyond.”

The princess continued, the stallion seeming to accept her explanation.

“Captain, the only thing that could trigger one such thing so suddenly is the presence of great evil.”

“So then, what do I need to kill?” he asked stoically, his demeanor hardening to ice.

“Nothing at the moment; right now, all we can do is to be ready. We don’t know of any definite threats yet; only the presence of evil. In three days’ time, after the Military Ball, my sister and I will begin actively searching the kingdom for anything that could be the source of the presence. If and when we find it, we will respond with military action, but all you need to worry about now is safeguarding your region.”

Suddenly, the sound of a light sigh floated through the crisp night air. The two silhouetted against moon’s heads snapped towards the source. Rainbow Dash had awoken, and was looking through half-shut eyelids at the two. Luna, fearing Dash had heard their conversation, lowered her voice to a whisper.

“Watch over this place, Captain.”

“I will.”

“I know,” the princess said, a rare smile materializing on her lips.

The stallion bowed and whispered, “Until next time, your majesty.”

With that, the Princess of the Night took to the darkened skies.

“What was that all about?” asked Rainbow Dash, suppressing a yawn.

“Nothing,” Clyde said, feigning a smile. “Come on, it’s time you got back home.”

He helped his tired friend off the hard ground, and half carried, half accompanied her back to her puffy white home above Ponyville.

After he dropped her off, Clyde returned to his perch, Luna’s warning still fresh in his mind. He blinked, closing his eyes and reopening them ablaze with white light.

Author's Notes:

Hey guys! I've pretty much said the same thing in all my notes so just leave your opinion of the story below. Thanks!