Jet Black had been standing at attention outside the doors to Luna’s chambers for some time. Beside her were two other guards, a unicorn mare and earth stallion, both dressed in night guard attire.

“So,” the earth stallion began. “You Thomas’ new guard, aye?”

Jet gave no overt reaction. “Word travels fast, I see.”

“I guess that means we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other,” the stallion continued.

“At least until she’s invited in with the rest,” the unicorn added, sounding somewhat resentful.

Jet allowed herself a convincing enough smile. “Are you implying fraternization with my charge?”

“Don’t act like you haven’t been thinking about it,” the stallion asserted. “I hear half the cadets in the academy are trying for assignments to concubines.” He shook his head with a smirk. “Dumbasses think they’ll actually get a shot with the Princesses that way.”

“Don’t act like we weren’t hoping for the same,” the unicorn countered. “We’ve all read those same cheesy love stories about guards falling for the nobles they’re supposed to watch. Even if the odds are a million to one, we all pretty much have some hope of the same happening for us.”

“Speak for yourself, Shiver,” the stallion dismissed. “I, for one, am here to do a job to serve my country,” he boasted.

A job that entails silence and discretion, you irreverent dolt, Jet mentally chided while maintaining her smile. “I don’t really know. I mean, if it happens it happens, but I’m not going to force anything.”

“See,” Shiver pointed. “She does hope.”

“But I have my doubts as well,” Jet added. “For one thing, I’m a little worried that I might have come off as a little harsh with,” she paused to double-check her word selection, “Thomas and Moonlight. I’m not too sure they like me too much.” As if that were relevant. “I mean, I get that my charge needs to trust me and all, but…”

“Don’t sweat it,” Shiver assured. “From what I’ve gathered, Thomas is a pretty easy going guy. I’m sure if you make the effort, you’ll get along just fine.”

So I keep hearing, Jet thought with a nod, only to look questioningly at the door. “But, does that mean I’ll have to break protocol and go with him everywhere?”

The stallion shrugged. “Who can say? Maybe you’ll actually do your job and keep it in your pants.”

“In my what?” Jet asked, feigning ignorance.

“Human phrase,” the stallion answered. “Heard it from a friend. Humans wear clothes all the time, so I think the ‘it’ refers to genitals. The way my friend said it, I’m pretty sure it means something about not having sex.”

They’re using his idioms. Jet restrained herself from balling her hand in a fist. That kind of body language would send the wrong message. Instead, she kept her posture as approachable as possible, inviting these irresponsible dullards to tell her everything they knew.

Sometime later, the doors opened and the guards snapped back to attention. Thomas was the first to exit, followed shortly by Moonlight. Jet read the orange mare’s body language as apprehensive. Possibly she was feeling self-conscious about walking out of formation in front of the mare who’d called her out on it. Moonlight glanced briefly Jet’s way, only to quickly avert her gaze when their eyes met. Jet interpreted this to mean that she was the cause of whatever was upsetting Moonlight. Jet then began to dread. Although she was much better at controlling her body language, she was far from delighted at what her job demanded she do next.

“Uh, hey,” Thomas greeted weakly as he stood before his new guard. The other guards tried not to look too conspicuous as they stole glances from their posts.

“Sir,” Jet said firmly as she further straightened her posture, if that were even possible. “What can I do for you, Sir?” She tried to soften her voice just a little, but it proved unexpectedly challenging.

“Alright. Rule one,” Thomas stated. “No more ‘Sir’. I don’t care for it. If there are strangers around we need to give a show to, fine. But if it’s just us,” he gestured between himself and Moonlight, “or any of our friends, you really don’t need to be so formal.”

Jet did not answer right away, looking as though her brain didn’t fully grasp what it was being told.

“Just call me Thomas.”

“Very well, Thomas,” Jet replied uncertainly.

“Well…” Thomas said when it became clear that Jet had nothing more to add.

“We were thinking about going out later this evening,” Moonlight interjected. “Since you’re coming along anyway, did you have any suggestions?”

“Somewhere public, but no crowds,” Jet said flatly. “We want somewhere open enough that the prospect of too many witnesses would be a deterrent, but not so crowded that somepony could slip unseen into the mob. Moonlight. You’ll stay with Thomas while I go in to examine the layout and check for traps. Although, it would probably be better if we sent an advanced team to-”

“Hey!” Thomas snapped, cutting her off. He shared a grimace with Moonlight. “I meant, like, a show or shopping or something.”

“Oh,” Jet replied abashed.

“Well?” Thomas asked, uncertain if Jet had any plans to answer.

“I am security. It is not my place to dictate your actions.”

Oh crap, Thomas and Moonlight thought together, fearing how much work this one was going to need breaking in.

Jet, however, smiled on the inside. She’d successfully lessened the hostility directed at her. Now she just needed to keep playing the part.

**********

“And sixteen,” Moonlight announced as Thomas worked the leg machine, pushing his knees together before letting the mechanisms pull them apart. “And seventeen. Keep going.”

“More weight?” Thomas asked with heavy breath.

Moonlight nodded. “You’ve been doing well, so I added an extra ten pounds. And that makes twenty.”

“A bit of warning next time,” Thomas gasped. They’d done three machines already and the human was starting to feel the burn.

“Agreed,” Jet announced from her spot standing directly in front of the human, making him feel a little uncomfortable each time he parted his legs before her intense glare. The days of accidental boners in nude company were long behind him, but the idea of one returning now would have been the worst possible thing. “Clear communication is necessary for spotting. Thomas could easily hurt himself if he is not properly prepared.”

Thomas resisted the urge to make a ‘told-ya-so’ expression as he made another rep. However, the look on Moonlight’s face suggested that such a remark would not have been welcomed.

“Sorry,” the unicorn sighed. “I guess I’m feeling a little off tonight.”

“You should engage in more memory exercises,” Jet stated more than suggested. “I’d recommend playing chess in your spare time, perhaps with a little reading or number puzzles.”

“You mean like a Sudoku?” Thomas asked.

“I’m afraid I have never heard of that,” Jet stated.

“Wait!” Moonlight held up her hand, silencing the conversation. “Is this some human game Equestria doesn’t have?”

Thomas smiled flatly as he realized his mistake. “Probably?”

Moonlight sighed. “Wait ‘til we get somewhere private and we’ll write it down.” At Thomas’ nod of agreement, the unicorn glanced over at the bat mare to gauge her reaction. It seemed Jet had properly read the situation and would not inquire further, at least in public.

The remainder of gym time was spent with relatively little conversation. Moonlight and Jet had done nothing, focusing all of their attention in either watching their charge or quietly bickering on the best ways to do so, meaning Thomas was the only one who needed a shower afterwards.

“Could you hold this?” From behind the shower stall, Thomas held out his loincloth, which Moonlight promptly swiped before Jet could. “Thanks.”

“Is there a problem, Private?” Jet asked after a moment’s silence. The two mares stood side by side, almost touching shoulders, and staring at the stall door as though it had kicked a puppy. A chattering group of ponies instantly quieted upon seeing the intense pair and decided they’d shower elsewhere.

“Problem?” Moonlight asked nonchalantly. “What problem? I don’t have a problem.”

“If you say so,” Jet said in acceptance. The silence resumed and Jet cursed her error.

Damn, Thomas thought as he faced up into the torrent of warm water, which he figured was much quieter than the mares thought it was. The mares weren’t getting along, which he hated, but he had no idea how he could resolve things or even if he should get involved. Were guys allowed into a spat between two mares? Well, maybe in a herd, he recalled from his lessons, but what about if they’re just coworkers? Then there’s the fact that they’re both soldiers. Was that even a factor? After much internal debate, the human decided that his inability to answer even that much told him all he needed to know. Just deal, he thought to himself in defeat.

Cooking with Luna was the next stop of the day, a reprieve from the night’s tension that Thomas simply couldn’t wait to enjoy.

“Evening, dearest,” Luna greeted warmly as she returned the human’s hug. “I heard that your new guard got a little antsy and started her duties early.” She spoke as though she hadn’t noticed the mare standing in the doorway, not even sparing her a glance.

A part of Thomas wanted to spill everything, to say things weren’t working out and that he didn’t like this mare, that if they needed a second guard they should get a replacement. When he didn’t, he told himself that it was a sign of growth, that he was just being considerate to everyone’s feelings by not dropping the mare after less than a day of service. However, he knew deep down that it was something else that made him put on a brave face for Luna. “Eh. Could be worse.”

Luna’s ear flicked, though she maintained her gentle smile as she looked to the guard mares. “Moonlight. Your new armor looks lovely.”

“Thanks,” Moonlight said in relief from the compliment as the mares shared a nuzzle.

Luna then stood before Jet, her height intimidatingly imposing despite her calm smile.

“Princess,” Jet greeted with a respectful bow. “It is an honor to serve you.”

Thomas and Moonlight blinked in surprise at Jet’s composure, both expecting her to start fan-girling over Luna like every other bat pony they’d met. She didn’t.

Luna nodded right back, seemingly unfazed. “And it is a pleasure to be served by such fine and dedicated ponies, such as yourself.” She then turned back to Thomas. “Shall we begin?”

“We shall,” Thomas agreed, only to hesitate after looking back at his other mare. “Wanna join us?”

Moonlight nodded excitedly and moved to join them in the kitchen, leaving Jet alone beside the door. She watched and listened in quiet vigilance. The cooks did their work at less than peak efficiency, frequently distracted by Princess Luna and her concubines, behavior that the head chef had to repeatedly correct. It was disgustingly undisciplined.

Things got better after a few minutes when the Princess and her concubines started getting into the swing of things. They were baking a chocolate cake. Princess Luna did most of the work while Sir Thomas and Private Moonlight mostly read from the directions while providing minimum direct assistance. All the while the three chatted idly with one another. Occasionally they glanced back in Jet’s direction and looked away uncomfortably when they were noticed. As Jet watched, she came to realize that the cooks were not distracted by the Princess’ mere presence, as civilians tended to be. Rather, they seemed wary of her, flinching each time she made a sudden movement or backing away whenever she reached for some new ingredient or tool.

At first Jet was angry, swallowing the myriad of virulent curses she’d have otherwise hurled at these ignorant dolts. Just because she wasn’t as overt in her reverence for Luna, that didn’t mean she wasn’t ready to lay the smack down on any who would dare hold a prejudice against her for her fall. However, as time went on, Jet remembered another detail from her briefing before her assignment. In particular, she recalled the odd happenings that seemed to follow the Princess of the Night whenever she entered the kitchen. Exploding dishes, bringing food to life, and the occasional projectile fork were just some of the incidents that had been reported. Sir Thomas and Private Moonlight seemed just as mindful of such incidents as they would frequently grab the Princess’ hands and guide her into different actions. The bat mare eventually conceded that the behavior of the cooks was not due to prejudice, but lived experience with improbable disasters that followed the Princess around. By far this was the more tolerable scenario.

While Jet also conceded that the concubines were behaving as dutiful servants in gently correcting their master’s faux pas, she still found their casual speech with the diarch of the land to be quite distasteful. She kept that to herself, of course. They were operating outside of her jurisdiction, following their own set of protocols, if Private Moonlight’s words were anything to go by. Jet knew she could not, should not pass judgement on their behavior. Besides, it comforted her to know that, since they answered directly to the Princess, it would be the Princess who would personally reprimand them the moment they overstepped their bounds.

Eventually the lesson came to an interlude with the cake placed in the oven. Princess Luna would be called back from her other nightly duties once the timer had run out, whereupon she would begin applying the icing. The concubines said their goodbyes to the Princess and went their separate ways, with Jet following close behind.

The next stop was the library. Entering quietly, Jet continued to stick close to Thomas as he thumbed through the shelves. Frequently he would glance back at her, looking very uncomfortable as Moonlight made a gesture of warning. Jet acknowledged this warning, placating the unicorn’s protective instincts.

“So, what do you like to read?” Thomas asked.

“History,” Jet answered plainly, but judged that more was expected. “I appreciate accounts of ancient and decisive battles that helped to shape pony history.”

“Not much of a genre,” Moonlight stated dryly as she too searched the shelves for some unstated target. “Most of Equestria’s history was shaped through diplomacy.”

“True,” Jet agreed impassively. “But that does not diminish the importance of the battles that were fought. Besides, pre-Equestrian history was much more tumultuous.”

“What kinds of battles were those?” Thomas asked.

Jet and Moonlight glared silently at one another until the latter acquiesced.

“Following the defeat of Discord, the Princesses sought to permanently unify the numerous city states of Equestria into a single nation,” Jet narrated. “Most agreed without incident. However, those nations along the outskirts of the land, griffons, minotaurs, and so on, who had not suffered the brunt of Discord’s tyranny, saw the weakened state of the inner cities as an opportunity to expand their influence. The ponies of old fought valiantly to hold off the invasions long enough for the Princesses and their forces to arrive and bolster their positions. These were the Unification Wars.”

Thomas nodded. “Sounds neat,” he offered, only to immediately regret the smallness of his words.

“Yes it does,” Jet agreed. She gave no comment about his inappropriate – bordering on disrespectful – word choice for one of the most harrowing times in her beloved nation’s history.

“I thought we were looking for some good romance books,” Moonlight reminded.

“We are,” Thomas affirmed as he hurriedly went back to searching. He and Moonlight had come to a bit of an impasse in writing their book and Thomas had suggested that they look up other popular romance stories for inspiration. “Still, never hurts to learn a little history.”

“I would have to respectfully disagree,” Jet said. “More than a few tomes have been destroyed or locked away over the years because their contents were deemed too dangerous for the unprepared to learn.”

“Destroying books means something else for humans,” Thomas offered. “We don’t have dangerous magic, but there’ve been quite a few groups who’ve tried destroying dangerous ideas, or at least ideas they said were dangerous.”

“What sort of ideas?” Moonlight asked.

“Equal treatment under the law regardless of status, how taxation without representation shouldn’t be tolerated, or just anything written by a demographic those in power have chosen to hate,” Thomas listed. “For us, book burning is basically synonymous with totalitarianism.”

Jet wished to inquire on how human civilization could exist without magic, but didn’t. Her superiors had briefed her on the matter, but it had been woefully inadequate in her eyes. They said that humans made up for their lack of magic with a vaguely described ingenuity, but had gone into no further detail. Ultimately it had boiled down to ‘We know that it is, but we don’t trust you enough inquire further on your own without blowing your cover.’ At least that had been what she’d read between the lines. A part of her hoped Moonlight might comment on the matter, on which groups were so despised and what human civilization was like before such tax reforms. If somepony else started the conversation, then she’d be free to press the issue while maintaining the plausible deniability of honest curiosity. That much, at least, would have been true.

Moonlight thought carefully before idly commenting on Thomas’ words, remembering who was in earshot. “Sounds like humans have had a pretty tumultuous history, too.”

Thomas gave a scoffing laugh. “You don’t know the half of it.”

Jet studied Thomas’ face carefully. He looked like he was about to say more, but didn’t. Had she misread his alien features? Possibly. Equally likely was that this was a moment of him saying something by saying nothing. The things he doesn’t say, she remembered.

It seemed to Jet as though Thomas hadn’t been briefed on the Unification Wars. In his ignorance, was he judging Equestrian history to be less dangerous than human history? Or, was he using everything he’d seen and heard of Equestria up to this point to make an educated guess? Neither option sat well with Jet.

“I think I’d like to know more about the Unification Wars,” Thomas eventually said. “History was always my favorite subject because it was like we were reading from a story. Maybe that’d give us some ideas for some backstory?”

Moonlight smiled. “I think I’d like that.” She navigated through the shelves to the history section. “My dame used to tell me some of those battles as bed time stories.”

“Really? So did mine,” Jet replied. Watered down foalish nonsense, but it still served its purpose. “I think my favorite was the Sunset of Baltimare.”

“Oh Luna, yes,” Moonlight gushed. “Commander Windsweep and the clerk Scrounge.”

“Don’t forget about the griffons. Many of their greatest warriors fought and died on those shores.”

Thomas’ gaze darted between the two mares. He was happy to see them finally finding common ground. He also made thoughtful humming sounds, trying to remind the mares that there was an ignorant human in their midst.

“Sorry,” Moonlight apologized, rubbing the back of her neck guiltily.

“Don’t worry,” Thomas assured. “Someday I might even forgive you.” His words startled a laugh out of Moonlight. “You can start by telling me about the ‘Sunset of Baltimare,’” he said, giving the name the extra dramatic flourish it probably deserved. “Sounds big.”

“Bigger than anypony expected it to be, anyway,” Moonlight agreed. She shared a quick look with Jet before moving closer to Thomas. She told the story of how Baltimare was a thriving fishing village that quickly grew into one of the biggest ports on the coast. When the wars began to escalate, a garrison had been established at the docks. The mare in charge was Commander Windsweep, a red pegasus who had often been disregarded as being lazy for how much she liked to fish. Although most company clerks rarely make it into the history books, the earth stallion Scrounge had bucked expectations.

At the time, most of the Equestrian navy was either docked at Manehatten or fighting further north. Most of the army was engaged in the Badlands further south. As a result, Baltimare was only equipped with a skeletal defense force, and prayers that none of Equestria’s enemies would be able to muster a force capable of taking the city.

The griffons, emboldened by recent victories, decided to send a small task force while the rest of their numbers were held up elsewhere. Rather than take the city, the mission was to do a little pillaging, dividing the already miniscule forces of the garrison before setting the city ablaze. It was a shock and awe tactic to demoralize, rather than begin a conquest with forces the Griffon Kingdom lacked at the time. Leading the charge was Captain Tiger Claw and her son, Tiger Fang.

Naturally, they’d gone under cover of darkness, where griffon eyes were superior to those of ponies. Moonlight went into meticulous detail describing the steps the griffons took to keep themselves hidden, really adding to the suspense of the story. Jet cut in only occasionally to describe a more controversial element of the story, telling of how the griffons had only breeched so deeply into pony territory thanks to Equestrian traitors. Moonlight argued that, at least in this case, those accusations had never been verified, which was why they rarely warranted mention in the more common histories. Eventually the argument was settled with Thomas’ comment that the treason added both drama and realism to the events, keeping the good guys from looking too perfect.

“And how is that relevant?” Jet asked.

“We’re looking for story inspiration, remember. I don’t know what was true or not, but making a backstory more dramatic makes things interesting.”

Jet nodded her acceptance, only slightly irked that her home land’s history was being exploited like this. Others had done far worse.

Moonlight resumed by recounting how Windsweep famously noticed when a griffon briefly broke from the cover of the clouds because she happened to be staring in that direction at the time. Not a minute later, Scrounge had rushed in with reports of odd happenings, such as unexplained sightings or missing items. None of the other officers took the diamond dog seriously, because he was a diamond dog, so he went straight to the Commander. Windsweep listened intently, supposedly never moving from her fishing spot.

“Cooking oil, barrels of alcohol, and other assorted flammables,” Moonlight listed in a gravelly imitation of the Commander’s voice. “And what about the sightings?”

Moonlight shifted to a more nasally voice. “Ponies see movement. No pony should be out but guards, but guards see creatures in dark. Always run when seen and disappear.”

Windsweep asked for a map of the city and demanded to know where each sighting had taken place. Scrounge obliged and they both reached the conclusion that most of the sightings had taken place near obvious targets of attack such as the granary, hospital, and other places of importance that lacked sufficient military patrols. Likewise, the disappearances had happened near the sewer entrances.

Not wanting to sound the alarms and risk spooking the enemy into preemptive action, Windsweep wrote several letters to the other officers and had Scrounge deliver them all. It took the dog quite a bit of effort to be taken seriously, even after showing them the Commander’s seal. Eventually all the letters were read and gave instructions for last minute changes to patrol routes without explaining why. True or not, the rumors of traitors in the ranks represented an unknown security risk and Windsweep wasn’t the sort who liked taking risks.

Windsweep added to the confusion by assigning out seemingly random tasks. Some patrols only had slight changes in their routes to move them along the city’s coastal outskirts instead of the streets. Others were reassigned to empty the library of its contents and move them to a nearby condemned store house that was so old that it wasn’t connected to the city’s sewers. Similar arrangements were made with some ponies houses being commandeered for storing grain and other valuables. Even more confusing was one patrol that was told to encircle the statue of the city’s founder and defend it from potential vandalizers. That the statue was in proximity to a sewer grate covering a rather important nexus in the city’s shitty underground maze wasn’t mentioned.

Meanwhile, Scrounge was given specific direction to take a team of guards Windsweep knew she could trust to the pumping station. Scrounge used to work there, managing the pressure levels to make sure toilets didn’t explode because the pipes got backed up. After years of performing such work, it was easy for the diamond dog to figure out how to do the exact opposite, fiddling with the pressure valves in precisely the wrong ways.

It was a fluke when an enemy griffon stumbled upon Scrounge’s team and caught them unawares. Most of the ponies were taken down before they even knew what was happening. Scrounge, being a runt, chose to hide while the larger creatures fought. But instead of just keeping to the shadows indefinitely, the brave little pup seized upon the griffon’s moment of distraction and bit his leg, cracking the bone. A runty diamond dog still had a diamond dog’s jaws. This afforded the others the chance to swarm and subdue him. That griffon, Tiger Fang, let out a final shill screech before his beak was bound. Scrounge put the finishing touches on his task before pulling the master lever, flushing the entire system.

As bad as it was in some household bathrooms, traumatizing many ponies into forever distrusting indoor toilets, the worst of it happened in the library, granary, and other non-military places of importance. Buildings were absolutely flooded with the putrid, viscous substance. A terrible odor flooded the air, driving many ponies from their beds to gag and relieve their stomachs in the poorly maintained cobble streets. Equally surprising to the Baltimarians was how their streets had been fowled as well as fouled. Griffons cried out in surprise and desperate pleas for mercy as the nightmarish substance had congealed into quite the adhesive. Few ponies dared approach, so offended were they by the wretched stench. Those griffons who did unstick themselves were too weighed down by the city’s weaponized excrement to take flight. Rather than fleeing, most were found in puddles of their own sick or fished out of the sea.

It wasn’t until morning that the extent of Windsweep’s actions was fully understood. Pegasi armed with nose plugs took to the skies and worked tirelessly to blow away the smell. Unicorns, after failing to pull the griffons free from the vomit-inducing goo, decided to heat the liquid feces until it dried, lessening the smell and making things overall easier to deal with. Enraged by the attack on their city, so many civilians volunteered to help in the guards’ actions that there wasn’t even a need for emergency conscription. It was said that Windsweep actually forewent any sort of breathing apparatus and was one of the first to approach the hardened excrement, chisel in hoof and ready to do her part. Scrounge, having the strongest nose of any of them, pragmatically wore nose plugs while coordinating everypony’s actions. Of the force of one hundred griffons, Captain Tiger was counted among the thirty casualties, of which included zero ponies. The surviving griffons were imprisoned and, given the somewhat socially backward laws so far from the reach of the Princesses, indentured them into cleaning up after Windsweep’s mess.

However, the stench never truly went away. Years later, after the fighting had subsided, the crowns paid reparations to the city to have those affected buildings torn down and replaced with structures that didn’t reek of chemical warfare of the most heinous sort. Some say the stench still lingers. Today, if an outsider were to ask, many locals will gladly go into the story of one of the city’s most harrowing battles, loudly proclaiming how the city wears its scars with pride.

When word reached Canterlot, Windsweep was summoned to the Princesses, whereupon she was said to have received such a vicious scolding that all decorative plants in the vicinity shriveled and died. Windsweep left the throne room wearing the bars of a Colonel and was reassigned to the Badlands where her strategies were pitted against dragons, although with thankfully far less shit. Scrounge was gifted a plot of land near Baltimare, along with the title of a minor lord. The brave diamond dog thanked the Princesses for their generosity, but volunteered to stay by Windsweep’s side until the end and collect his reward upon honorable discharge.

By story’s end, Thomas could do nothing but nod in awe. “Now that was a backstory.”

“Yeah. I think my dame tells it better, but I think I did the story justice,” Moonlight assessed.

Jet also nodded, but not out of agreement. She’d been carefully watching the human’s face throughout Moonlight’s telling, searching for any signs of judgement or disrespect. There’d been a few times he’d looked away and made some odd motions with his hands, but those reminded her more of involuntary thinking actions. His lack of ear movement made it frustratingly impossible to tell where exactly his focus was directed at any given moment, and any other expressions he might have shown were too alien for her to yet read. Overall, keeping her own biases in mind, she’d say that he was impressed by the story. Perhaps he only viewed it as a story and not a crucial moment in the country’s history, but she couldn’t exactly fault him on such a perception. It’s not like she’d react differently to a tale of human history, although she was willing to put that theory to the test.

The human continued. “I know we’ve got more of a western thing going on right now, but maybe there’s a way to squeeze in something like that. Maybe some of the characters are ex-military and we can work some of their experiences into the fights.”

“Oh, I like that. Perhaps old enemies can meet again on the field of battle.”

Jet quietly sighed and contented herself with watching. Nothing that was said seemed worth noting, so she mostly tuned them out while maintaining vigilance. There was a job that needed doing, and somepony had to do it while Moonlight was being lax.

Writing backstories is always fun, and doing so for a story within a story has its own peculiar charm. Ponies might prefer pacifism more than most, but that doesn’t mean they’ll just lie down and suffer in silence. They remember a history of suffering and carry the pride of their brave ancestors who endured it all so that they can know lives of peace. They are willing to do their part when an enemy rears its ugly head.

The less said about Jet, the better. I’m actually a little afraid I might be giving too much of her perspective. Her motivations should be clear enough, as should her threat. I’ll be exploring more on that in the future, but for now I suggest we follow her lead and just sit back, watch, and listen.

Also, this chapter was started back in 2017 and put on the backburner until I found a place to put it.

Tier 1: None at this time
Tier 2: Jake Nelson and Magetsu88
Tier 3: Drake565