Celestia scowled a little as she stomps a hoof on the ground in her war room, her mood had only gotten steadily worse when we found out about more and more races having separatists against the empire. The first gone had been a zealous group of griffons, their bodies had been twisted into mockeries of their old forms, they now called themselves harpies... And they were annoying as hell to kill, not due to strength, mind you, just that the bastards couldn't bother to sit still and die like good heretics. After that a good portion of the cliff wolves had left the empire, going by the new name of diamond dogs. It was Luna's request that we didn't just flush out their caves with fire spells. I think that the remainder of the cliff wolves had gone into hiding, leaving the gates of tartarus to just the Cerberi, which wasn't the best strategy. Yes, they were loyal, but good lord did they get on their own nerves a lot. The minotaurs had discovered that a portion of their population had turned into ridiculously tough ogres, nothing the marines couldn't handle mind you, and now they were causing us problems on the western side of the continent.

Celestia turned to me with a look, almost of desperation, “Is there any way we can find more of your kind? We need more help if we are to turn back the enemy, and we still have no idea who their leader is...” She sighed, “The only thing we've managed to find out is that he turned the foundation of the capital into chocolate and sank the city.” She looks almost on the verge of tears, Nick had been with her on the way to the city when it happened, if not for sheer luck Celestia and Nick would both have been taken down with the city. What arose from it only made our blood boil for revenge, minotaurs had been turned into grotesque ogres, griffons into harpies, cliff wolves into diamond dogs, and ponies into a twisted insect-like version of themselves. There were even rumors going around that these new ponies could shapeshift, and that set all the marines on edge. I mean seriously! There were only four of us, and the only way to clone the gene seed would be for one of us to die, or voluntarily sacrifice themselves to get our apothecary what he needed to clone the seed.

I could only grimace as I placed my hand on my helmet, “While we have bolts for our boltguns being made by Elyas, we have not received any new marines to help be anything other than your personal guard.” I wear a scowl as I look at the map, “I promise though, that should the enemy make it here, they'll find themselves in a whole new kind of hell.” I growl.

Celestia nodded, “The best we can do is pray that more help comes.” With another sigh she turned away and began her trot back to her room, while the enemy hadn't reached close enough to put too much pressure on the ponies, the pressure they were putting on the other races could still be felt here. I had to admit that even Celestia deserved some rest.

-{DW}-

I let a hand run through my mane as I walk through the castle gardens, it felt... good, to be able to just feel... I looked out over the forest as I got to a balcony and gave a sigh of sadness, knowing that innocent ponies were going to have to face the terrors of war. It only serves to stoke my own righteous anger, daring our enemies to come closer to us.

When I heard a noise behind me I spun around quickly, only to realize that Luna had cleared her throat to get my attention.

“Hello Brother Astelan... How fare thee this night?” She asks, I can't help it, she's just SO DAMN ADORABLE! Even if she comes up to my waist.

“I am well this night, the night sky is beyond beautiful, as always.” I say with a smile that gets her to do her cute little giggle.

“We are glad to hear that... Wouldst thee like to join us on a night-stroll?”

“I would love to.” I reply with a slight bow as I relinquish my position against the guard rail to follow the beautiful lunar diarch of the country I now serve.

We both walked in silence for a while, only the sounds of our hooves clicking against the floor could be heard, two pairs for her animal-like form, and a single pair for my human-like form. Only once had I been able to be graced with permission to touch her flowing mane before, and I could only compare it to the feel of silk sheets; it was cool and soft at the same time. I could have spent hours just petting her and not grow bored.

Call me fatalistic for the upcoming war, but all of a sudden I just seemed to notice more and more things that I never had before. It was a good feeling, and a scary one at the same time... not that I would admit to feeling fear, just that... mortality... seemed to be on my mind. I had no idea if I would be able to see this war to the end if the enemy's leader had killed an immortal.

“Astelan...” Her voice had taken me out of my thoughts and caused my head to look in her direction. “... Why does thou serve us? With all the strength that thou have... Why choose us? Our sister wants to end all wars, and We... I am shunned even by our subjects...” We had stopped in front of the library and I knelt in front of her, bringing her gaze to meet mine.

“Empress Luna...” I made sure to stress the Empress part, “... You are loved by your subjects... They feel safest at night.”

“No they do not... they fear the night...” I wipe away the tears at the edge of her eyes.

“Then why would they rest during the night? Why would the night be the time when they let their caution fall so that they can rest and recover? Even the most passionate acts of love are reserved for the night because they trust your night.”

She thinks about it for a minute before smiling at me, “Thank you Astelan... You are right...” I almost died of a heart attack because of how adorable she looked as she leaned forward to nuzzle my cheek. “This was a wonderful talk...” She says quietly in my ear, letting her breath wash over the sensitive organ. “...You are a most wonderful stallion... We shall see thee upon the morrow.” She finishes before standing straight again and trotting off, carrying herself with a bit more happiness in her step. I place a hand on my cheek as she trots away, feeling the warmth in my face as I think about how personal she had just been with me.

That night, I could hardly sleep.

Author's Notes:

Sorry about such a short chapter, little bit of backstory, and a call to arms for all Space marines! Anyone who wants to have a marine should check out my blog for details

The theme for the First Empire is from the story Drake's Empire by Pentel123, his story is wicked amazing and has the full details on the empire so you should all check it out because it's got all the awesome ingredients for an amazing story, and he needs just as much love for his story as any author does.

Everyone, leave a comment, I love talking to the people who love my story and talking to the people who want to help make the story better.