"Contubernium, alta stare!"

Four squads of eight stallions snapped to attention, eyes locked forward, as four veteran Praetorians took to the training grounds just inside Canterlot Castle's high walls. A gust of cold air sent a rippling shiver through their ranks, but not one of them dared to move. Cloaks of varying colors rustled over their backs and hung down to their left sides as marching boots crunched through the snow and frozen earth, stopping just in front of them. The tall figure considered them in silence.

"Listen up, recruits, for I will say this only once, and I will become most displeased if I am forced to repeat myself! Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" they answered as one.

"We'll see. Now drop! Get into position!" The gathered soldiers quickly spread their legs out so that their stomachs were mere inches from the ground, an agonizing stance that was known far and wide throughout the Equestrian military as a 'corrective' punishment. It could only get worse from there. "I am Centurion Tercio Krosus, acting Imperator-Apprentice of the 105th Praetorian Guard and your Milites-Eruditorum for the first stage of your training. No doubt some of you have heard of me, so allow me to clear the air right here and now: I am what you call a 'human'. Yes, there is a reason I am here. No, I will not tell it to you now. Though I may be physically different, I am a soldier through and through, and if any of you should question my orders you will find out why I am known as a slayer of Equestria's enemies."

He could still hear Stonewall calling him a 'grotesque monkey' all those months ago, even if it was in jest. He had to take it from a commanding officer, but he'd be damned if any new recruit mouthed off to him.

"To my left and right are some of the finest stallions you scum dogs will ever have the privilege of serving with...should you be so lucky." Grunts of exertion were already sounding from the formation. "This is Centurion Polaris."

"Forward!" Polaris shouted, prompting the recruits to sag their backs and raise their heads as they swung their bodies off the ground. "Back!" They groaned in pain as they resumed their positions. "Stop your whining! You're supposed to be veteran soldiers! Act like it!"

Tercio wanted to crack a smile at the theatrics he and the others were putting on. If only he'd known how much of a show it all was when he was in their position -- not that it would have made things any easier, or less painful. "This is Decanus Thunderburst."

"Arch your backs! Forward!" Thunderburst hovered just in front of the formation, prodding the ground with his wooden foreleg that met the mangled stump of his knee. "You will learn our voices, and you will respond to them when called upon! You will do this without hesitation, or you will be sent back to whatever shit hole you called your old unit! Back!"

"And this is Decanus-Aquilifer Rimeberry."

"Sag your backs! Now arch them! Sag! Arch! Hurry up!" Usually, Rimeberry was the quietest of the group, hardly raising his voice for any reason. Today, however, he was the sound and fury of the Praetorian Guard. He stood before them confidently, tall and strong, with a commanding voice. When one of the recruits began to tire, he rushed over and stopped mere inches from his face. "I don't remember telling you to fucking stop, meat! Don't you dare quit on me already, or Celestia help me I will feed you to the nearest manticore piece by piece!" He looked around for anyone else who might be giving less than their full effort, then returned to Tercio's side.

"While you are here," Tercio continued, "you will refer to anyone with a purple cloak as 'sir'. Only once you've earned your own may you address us by our names. Until then, your old cloak may as well be a tarp for your inevitable deaths by stupidity. Stand up!" A collective sigh of relief went out from the stallions, many struggling to remain upright again. "As part of the 105th Praetorian you are under the direct control and supervision of Imperator Stonewall. You will meet him soon enough -- and if you think I'm a hard-ass, I assure you, you have seen nothing. There is only one pony above Stonewall that you need to be concerned with: the princess herself. If and when you prove yourselves to have some purpose aside from fodder for the deer, you will eventually meet her. Do try to keep your jaws -- and your pricks -- off the ground when you do so. Princess Celestia's word is absolute, and it is your duty to serve and protect her until your dying breath, as many of our brethren have since the start of this war. Their sacrifices have ensured Equestria remains free." He pressed his fist to his chest. "Honor to the princess! Honor to the fallen!"

The others followed his lead, and he nodded in approval.

"I am sure you've all heard the news by now, but if not, then allow me to be the first to tell you: Equestria is now at war with the Cervidaen Hegemony. The redtail empress has seen fit to claim the Whitetail capital of Evinwiir as her own, under the guise of 'peace and protection', but she is fooling no one. Her excuses for war are without substance. They are outright lies, in fact. Her manipulation of Whitetail, of those who followed the one we believed to be Nightmare Moon, and of our own military speaks to a cunning and ruthlessness that cannot be overstated. This is not the cocksure Whitetail army that was decimated at Whitetail Wood, nor is it the inept defenders of Evinwiir itself. Cervidae's military is strong, well-disciplined and led by a ruthless pair of siblings who will stop at nothing to see their goals through to the end.

"That is why you are here. Now more than ever we need good stallions, good Praetorians, to protect not just the princess but Equestria as a whole. Your training will not be easy, but it will prepare you to fight as one, and one day soon, perhaps, I may just be proud to call you my battle brothers...but you have to earn it, first. Don't let me down."

As it turned out, training new recruits was an exhausting, sometimes frustrating job. The Equestrian Guard and the Royal Guard had their own ways of operating, and if you wanted to reshape someone into a Praetorian you first had to break them down and forcibly remove their old, bad habits. Such a thing was easier said than done.

"Feels like it was just yesterday that we were in their place." Tercio turned to see Rimeberry sit down beside him at the table, a bowl of mixed vegetables and some kind of pasta mixture wrapped in steamed grape leaves set before him. He removed his crested helm, the scars of battle still etched into its steel and gold plate. "When Stonewall asked if I wanted to take a more active role in the shaping of the new recruits, I didn't think he meant acting as an instructor. But you know what? I kinda enjoy it, actually." Somewhere in the distance, Thunderburst was yelling out orders to a marching formation. "I've got those stallions convinced I'm from the nine hells themselves," he laughed. "How about you? This Imperator thing to your liking?"

"Too early to say," Tercio answered as Rimeberry tucked into his meal. "I've a newfound respect for Stonewall after today, I can tell you that. He's been doing this for so long that it's become second nature. I just feel like I'm making it up as I go along, even with the outline he gave me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying it overall, though. It's difficult, but if the end result is more Praetorians to watch our backs then it will have been worth it. Gods know we're going to need them once Cervidae unleashes its armies on us."

"Ain't that the damned truth," Rimeberry said with a mouthful of greens.

"And here I thought were on the precipice of ending this war. Fucking redtail."

By now, word of the impending conflict had spread far and wide, especially among the military ranks. If there was any good news to be had, it was that Whitetail had no standing army to speak of after its war with Equestria, meaning it would be of little to not threat on its own, and the Nightmare Moon followers had all but vanished in the wake of Elinwynn's purge of her one-time pawns.

Those things paled in comparison to the mass of soldiers the Cervidaen Hegemony could throw at Equestria, and everyone knew it. Tercio had heard his fair share of desperate ideas tossed around by the others -- calling out to Skytalon to bring the griffons in, sending caravans to Saddle Arabia in the hopes that help may arrive in the coming months. Some even suggested unleashing the demigod of chaos from his stone tomb. He doubted anyone truly thought such a thing would be viable, but desperation was a powerful drug that could cloud the mind if one let it.

"We'll get through this, Rime," he reassured his friend. "We always have. Everyone thought we were weak before we stomped the whitetail into the mud."

"Yeah, but now we've got an army of fresh redtail just chomping at the bit to burn their way through us. Cervidae is a big place, you know? If anyone has experience conquering its neighbors, it's them."

"We'll find a way."

"I hope so. I don't fancy the idea of being a slave to a bunch of prick-headed deer."

Tercio returned to his duty scrolls as he picked through a plate of fruit. The new recruits were on an accelerated training program, expected to be combat ready in three weeks instead of six. It would be the same all across Equestria, with the call for volunteers going out like never before. Conscription wasn't out of the question, though Celestia had been hesitant to take that step just yet. Equestria hadn't faced a full-on conscription in hundreds of years, and doing so would be a last resort. For now, rapidly training new soldiers would be the norm.

"So, uh, Tercio," Rimeberry asked after looking around.

"Yes?" Tercio replied, still flipping through his planner. After the mid-day meal there would be a short lesson on the history of the Praetorian Guard, followed by sparring in the combat ring and a primer on small-unit movement. The latter would be especially important, as it focused entirely on forming a protective barrier between the princess and anyone who might attack her. He made a mental note to be extra unforgiving to the poor bastards for that one. They'd probably hate him for it, but they'd learn.

"I was wondering what you've been up to lately. Haven't seen you around the barracks much. You didn't go and get married or something, did you? I know how much you like those pegasus mares down on Sore Saddle, heh heh."

Tercio chuckled at the thought. "No, nothing like that. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea, though. At least then I could move into an actual home instead of sharing a room with the likes of you lot. Especially you, Rime. I swear, you snore like you're cutting through an entire forest."

"Hey, at least I get my rest."

"To the detriment of everyone else."

"That just means I'll be taking the Imperator spot from you all the sooner. Been my plan all along. But seriously, Tercio, some of the others are getting a little...uh, how do I say this...a little concerned that you're getting preferential treatment from Celestia lately. Winter Wind thinks you've worked out some sort of deal with her to keep that chamber guard position for so many nights a week." Now he had Tercio's attention. "I mean, I'm not one to spread that kind of bullshit around, but we hardly ever see you anymore. Something up?"

Tercio had to be very careful with what he said. At the same time he tried to hide his surprise, lest he make it obvious that he didn't like where this particular line of questioning was going.

"You think guarding a door while the rest of Equestria is asleep is some sort of privilege? Let me tell you something, Rimeberry: despite being chosen to be a glorified hall watcher, I still have to carry out my duties as an Imperator-in-training. That means very little in the way of sleep on most nights, and if you think such a thing is easy then you are more than welcome to try it for yourself. Believe me when I say I would prefer to go back to the regular day shift. Such a thing is not up to me to decide, however, and as a faithful servant of the princess I will do as she asks. You can tell the others that I appreciate their concern, but I am quite alright."

He hoped it sounded convincing. It was true that he'd been gone several nights in the last week, and he supposed it was only a matter of time until someone brought it up. Thankfully it was Rimeberry who had done so, rather than one of the more aggressive members of the barracks.

"If you say so. Don't mean to pry or anything, just gotta make sure we're all on the same page here. Can't have any doubts if shit takes a turn for the worse again."

"I'll be fine. You should be concerned about the new recruits, not me." He placed the stack of scrolls into a satchel and tossed it over his shoulder. "Do me a favor and help Thunderburst keep them occupied until their meal time. I need to deliver these reports, else Stonewall will have my head."

"Afternoon, Tercio. Busy day?" Decanus-Signifier Straesius rendered a crisp salute, a formality that was only followed due to their differences in service. Straesius was one of the Royal Guard ponies that had been chosen to perform what was normally the job of the Praetorians: protecting the entrance to the palace's royal quarters. Nearly all of the Praetorians were busy with an intensive three-day training regimen, which included most of Tercio's barracks. The remaining few, like himself, were looking after the new hopefuls.

"To say the least," Tercio answered, tucking his bag under his arm as he returned the salute. "We've having to expedite training for the recruits, and we're sort of making it up as we go along. I don't think anyone expected us to have to gather ourselves so quickly. Cervidae has made a complete mess of things before they've even attacked us." He patted the satchel full of scrolls. "Delivery for the princess. Is she with anyone at the moment?"

"Not that I know of. Go on through." Straesius stepped to the side to allow Tercio to pass.

Tercio's hobnailed marching sandals clicked on the marble floor as he carried on down the hallway, stopping in front of the sun-emblazoned doors. He knocked thrice, then waited.

"Just a moment," came Celestia's muffled voice. She opened the door with a practiced smile, which turned genuine as she saw him standing before her. "Ah, Centurion Tercio. What brings you by my chambers?"

"Delivery for you, Princess," he answered in his most professional tone, presenting the satchel. "I believe you were expecting these?"

"That I was, thank you. Please, come in."

The door closed behind him, and he relaxed once more as the crackling fireplace warmed his cold legs. "You know," he said, placing his arms around her, "you're far too good at that. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were expecting me to show up. Am I that predictable?"

"Perhaps..." she teased. Their lips met in a passionate kiss as Tercio tossed the satchel onto the table with one arm and he backed her into the wall, delighting her with a string of kisses down her neck. She giggled quietly and pulled away. "It seems I simply can't be rid of you, my love. And here I thought it would be yet another day of quiet contemplation and boredom."

"We can still keep it quiet, I'll simply have to not be as rigorous as I usually am..."

"That's one way to describe it, I suppose. I doubt anyone could fault you for your...stamina. One of the perks of being a soldier?" Celestia leaned in for one more kiss, then returned to the pile of pillows at the opposite end of the room, making a show of swaying her hind quarters as she did. "Keep that motivation for later, hmm?"

Tercio took a deep breath to calm himself, then followed to sit opposite her at a low table. "You do not make it easy sometimes, Celestia. It's a wonder I can focus on training these new recruits at all." A pair of cups floated over, and were promptly filled with steaming tea. "Though I must say, of all the problems to have, that's quite the good one."

Powdery flakes drifted past the colored glass of the balcony doors, the first signs of snow in nearly a week. From the warmth and comfort of Celestia's room, it was easy to forget that there were thousands of Equestria's finest freezing in their tents, awaiting the inevitable war with Cervidae.

His was a place of privilege in more ways than one, something he sometimes regretted being a part of. Some ponies in the Guard called him a hero for slaying the assassin that nearly took Celestia's life, yet it was Victus who had to put himself at risk every moment of the day. It was never a bad idea to take a moment and remind himself that things could be far worse.

"So, Imperator-in-training, how are you finding the Praetorian hopefuls?" Celestia's voice brought him back, and he sipped his tea as he gathered his thoughts. This was his station in life, and he was sure many of the rank and file would have given anything to be in his position. He had earned his place at Celestia's side, after all.

"Equal parts eager and terrified, I think," he answered. "Strange to think I was in their position not too long ago. Overall I'm impressed with the caliber of recruits we've managed to pull from the Equestrian and Royal Guard ranks. Many of them are combat veterans in their own right. A pegasus from the 34th Lances -- Milites Skyfall -- has thus far shown himself to be utterly committed to his tasks. I'm considering making him the leader of his contubernium to see how he handles a leadership role. Thunderburst says he reminds him of himself. Take that as you will."

"Oh dear," Celestia laughed to herself. "As long as he isn't quite so spirited in his objections as Thunderburst used to be, I think he could be a good fit. I leave it to you to decide his place."

"As you wish. Whenever Stonewall returns from town he may just be surprised. I don't think we had as many exceptional recruits when I was going through training. Must be the war with Whitetail that's pushed so many good stallions to the top.

"Speaking of unfortunate things, have you any news of possible allies in the coming war? Surely the other nations must see that her demands are impossible to meet, nevermind that they are based entirely upon lies."

"Nothing definitive, I'm afraid." Celestia tilted her head toward a stack of scrolls bound with ribbon and stamped with the royal seal. "This will be the third round of pleas to our neighbors in as many days. The Griffon Empire isn't convinced that Elinwynn will actually carry through on her threats; they believe her to be bluffing to buy a better position at the negotiation table. Zevran has been silent thus far, but they've never been ones to act quickly. Not really in their nature. There is some hope that Saddle Arabia could help us, but even our fastest flyers take three days to get there. If we do hear back from them, it won't be until just before the war with Cervidae starts, and sadly I've no real reason to believe they would help anyway."

"So we're alone in this fight?"

"Not entirely. Over the last several months we've had defectors from Whitetail trickle into our captivity. They were disenfranchised with their government to begin with, but now that Elinwynn has taken control of Evinwiir, and thus Whitetail, they are asking to fight alongside us to reclaim their homes."

Tercio raised an eyebrow. "So our only allies are the deer who have been trying to kill us?"

"I know how it sounds, but most of them wanted no part of the war to begin with. The senator who turned himself over to the Legion, Senator Praxilus, I think, has been instrumental in convincing those deserters to side with Equestria. Between the whitetail soldiers and the volunteers from the civilians who escaped from Evinwiir, we're looking at an additional force of nearly five hundred. It is a small number in the grand scheme of things, but every little bit helps."

"We're going to need a lot more than that if we're to defeat the redtail. If rumors of their numbers are true..." An uneasy silence hung in the air. No one wanted this war, least of all the battle-weary soldiers who had been fighting tooth and nail for the better part of a year.

"So, I thought you might want to be aware of something," he said, changing the subject. "It's Rimeberry. He's becoming suspicious of our time together."

"Is he now?" Celestia asked. There was no real surprise in her voice, something Tercio found strangely alarming. "What makes you say that?"

"Just before I came here he said that some of the others think I'm getting 'preferential treatment' from you. The way he said it, it was obvious he had the same idea. Normally I'd just ignore such a thing, but with many of us working together to train these recruits I don't want there to be any mistrust. Yet at the same time, well...I don't want to stop seeing you as frequently as I have been. You are the high point of my day, the motivation that keeps me going in the roughest of times. There has to be some way to balance the two."

Celestia placed her cup down and adjusted her position on the pillows. When she spoke, it was plainly and to the point. "Tercio, my love, I think it's about time we stop hiding our feelings for one another from the rest of Equestria." Tercio began to speak, and she stuck out a hoof to stop him. "Ah-ah! Now, please understand, I say this knowing full well what your objections will be: you are worried that your friends and compatriots in the Praetorian Guard will turn their backs on you for 'betraying' the almost religious reverence that the Praetorians as a whole have for their duty to me. You are worried that no one will look up to you as a leader if they think you are getting some sort of leniency from your relationship. And you are worried that your being with me will somehow lessen my authority in some way.

"I've thought about this for many an hour as we share our moments together, or when you are asleep beside me, and in that time I have come to one simple truth: it does not matter what anyone else thinks. I am the sovereign of Equestria, a pony who has ruled for hundreds of years and will continue to rule for thousands more, fates willing. It is my tireless devotion to Equestria that has kept us prosperous and safe for so long, and without Luna at my side I am tasked with twice as much as I used to be. To be quite honest with you, I have earned my right to be happy. I love you, Tercio, and if a few ponies wish to despise me for wanting to live something resembling a normal life, then so be it."

Tercio sat in shocked silence. He hadn't expected her to be so...blunt. For all of the objections he might have had, he could find no fault in her logic. She wasn't some demigoddess from on high, like he'd viewed her for nearly the entirety of his life; she was a mare who laughed and angered, loved and wept, just like anyone else.

"It will not be so easy to explain to the others," he said at last. "I don't have a way with words quite the same as you do."

"Then don't," Celestia said with conviction. "It is, simply put, none of their business. Stonewall has known about us for some time, yet he still believed you to be a good candidate for Imperator training. Similarly, you have earned your place among your fellow Praetorians through your actions, both as a soldier and as a friend. I do not believe them to be so petty as to throw away everything they've learned simply because you and I share something special. They do not know you as I do. They do not truly know me. It is time we stopped pretending."

Alone on her balcony, far above the silent streets of Evinwiir, Empress Elinwynn sipped at her mulled wine with a contented sigh. Countless stars twinkled above her in the clear, moonless night sky, and she recounted the constellations that had been taught to her by her beloved mother so many years ago: Arindale, the Farmer. Bel'ethraes, the Lover. Talawyyn, the Warrior Doe of the Great Tundra. Dozens in total. They were as familiar to her now as they were when she was but a child. From south to north they painted the story of Cerivdae's most storied lives, fittingly ending with Gylld'oris, the Champion, just above the horizon. His mighty blade pointed downward to the great gash that had been torn into Evinwiir's facade by Corvalix's cunning misdirection. The roaring, emerald flames had taken weeks to die down, leaving a ruined hollow that had slowly begun to fill with rubble and a slurry of frozen snowfall.

Light winds rustled the banners of Cervidae and Whitetail that now flew from the top of the crystal and marble spire at the heart of the city. For the first time in centuries, the two nations were one again in all but name. Once divided by hatred and animosity, deerkind could now begin to heal its old wounds and take its rightful place as the leaders of this world, and they had her to thank for it, even if some of them did not know it yet. There were some who resisted, of course -- change never came easily, and there would always be those who fear it -- but the decisive sweep of the city by her brother's loyal soldiers had seen to that particular bit of unpleasantness. With Evinwiir firmly within her control, the rest of Whitetail would follow suit in short order. She would bring proper civilization to the whitetail, even if she had to drag them into it kicking and screaming.

It would have been difficult to convey her pride, her utter exultation, at what she'd accomplished in such a short time. She swirled the drink in her crystal chalice. Vindication. That was how she'd describe it. Vindication for all of the wrongs committed against her people; the centuries of struggle, the constant battle to keep Cervidae's head above the water lest it slip beneath the tide of war and corruption that had so plagued its neighbors. For nearly a dozen generations her homeland had been the victim of the status quo, ruled with an iron hoof by empresses who had never sacrificed a single moment of their lives to the consideration of their subjects. That had all come crashing down once her mother took control.

Melanynn, the Illustrious Reformer. It was a title that brought a smile to Elinwynn's face every time she thought about it. Her mother had always scoffed at the title, calling it too grandiose, but if you had asked any of her subjects they would have told you the same thing: she had earned it. It had taken Empress Melanynn mere decades to unite the fractured territories of the Cervidaen Hegemony, a task so monumental that previous rulers had called it a near impossibility. Through sheer determination and skill of negotiation she had made Cervidae stronger than ever, and those that could not be reasoned with had been put to the blade to the very last. For the first time in ages, the redtail had a common purpose.

Unfortunately, the fates did not remain kind to her. Stricken by disease when Elinwynn was but a young adult, the great Empress Melanynn had passed away on a cold winter's night, leaving the throne to her two children, with a trusted uncle as an advisor. By a small miracle Cervidae remained stable, but as time marched onward it became clear to Elinwynn and Corvalix that their uncle was a jealous, petty stag who looked upon the throne with envious eyes.

And so Elinwynn had him murdered on a forest outing, a paid assassin slitting his throat while he slept. It was the first time she'd ordered the taking of a life, but it would not be the last.

Elinwynn wondered how she would be remembered, what soaring titles and honorifics would proceed her name. The unification of Cervidae had garnered great respect for her mother, but the ultimate goal of bringing the whitetail back into the fold had eluded even her. Now, as she looked down upon the slumbering whitetail below, Elinwynn hoped her mother would have been proud. Lives had been lost, certainly, and the process would have been viewed as unscrupulous to much of the known world, but the ends justified the means. Whitetail and redtail were reunited, soon to be under one nation, and with it, centuries of bad blood would simply vanish into the annals of history.

Only one more obstacle staood between the greater Cervidaen Hegemony and its rightful place as the supreme power in the land: Equestria. The damnable ponies had been steadfast in their resistance to Cervidae's expansion since the two peoples had first met, even as they hypocritically pushed their own nation's borders eastward through the untamed wilds and down to the Sea of Lights. Their long-lived rulers were worshiped as living deities by some, but every deer who had held a place of power knew them as self-righteous and egotistical.

Celestia was no different. Hundreds of years had given her the practiced facade of an all-knowing, all-merciful ruler, but without Luna at her side she was a barely held-together mess of false modesty and feigned innocence, willfully ignorant of her own role in the continued destabilization of the deer.

No longer. Her time would come, and only once Celestia submitted to her will would the injustices of history be righted at last.