I stared up at the ceiling, studying the way the stone fit together and how the iron bars fit into the hardened rock. It’d been three days since Nightmare Moon’s banishment. An exhausted sigh escaped me and I turned to the small pegasus figurine I’d convinced the guards to let me keep.

“It feels like it’s been a lot longer than that, doesn’t it?” I asked my quiet companion sitting on the floor a short ways from me. It just sat there, as always. Minutes passed as the silent sentinel stared back at me.

The rattling of keys caused my ears to flick upright. I looked up to see a familiar flowing mane and white coat stepping through the door. She stood on the other side of the bars, looking in at me. There wasn't any judgement in her eyes. No anger nor disdain. She just….was.

“Good evening Princess.” I smiled and bowed my head. “Please forgive me not bowing properly, but,” I gestured loosely at my recovering body and broken legs. “I fear that particular activity is beyond my capability at the moment.”

She smiled softly at that. She looked tired. “If such a basic movement is too much for you, then I suppose that’s fine,” she unlocked the door to my cell and stepped inside, and sat beside my pile of hay. “So how are you doing, Captain Crescent?”

“Please, Princess, I’m not much of a Captain anymore.” I scoffed. “The Lunar forces have been disbanded by now I’m sure.” I scratched my chin. “Suppose that makes me just Waxing now.”

“Very well Waxing, how are you?”

I studied her eyes. I could faintly she some puffy redness around the edges. Didn't take me much of a guess to venture why. I think a lot of crying needed to be done these days lest we all go mad from grief.

“I’m as well as can be expected I guess. Largely thanks to you by the way.”

I couldn't recall how many hours she spent fixing all the damage to my perforated lungs and organs. The doctors and healers all took one look at me and gave up. Said that I was basically dead already. Though to be fair, they weren't far off the mark. After I had sat there for a day, in a far corner, in tremendous pain but still very much alive, until they had the brilliant idea that maybe it was best to fetch the princess after I failed to expire.

When she showed up, she asked about my condition. I might have found the shock on her face as they rattled off my many wounds and broken pieces funnier had circumstances been different. Then she asked me directly the crucial question. 'How I had arrived in my current condition?' For that, I politely asked that I be left alone with the Princess. After all, it was probably best if it was for her ears only. The guards of course disagreed, but after Celestia took one look at me, she sent them away. It was a little insulting when she said I couldn’t hurt a fly much less the embodiment of the sun, but my pride was far from the most wounded thing on the table, so I let it slide. I told her everything that had happened, minus meeting the Grim Reaper herself. I told her about the blast, how I watched my ponies die, Nightmare Moon's torture. How she skewered me, and changed me...somehow. I was no unicorn. I couldn't explain what she did anymore than from what she told me. Needless to say, she didn’t believe me, at least not until she did a sweep of my body with her horn. She grew a look of horror upon her face after that, but took care of my injuries that night anyway; guiding the broken bones where they belonged, magically knitted tissues together. I think it was fair to say that she now knew my in ways I didn't even know myself.

My ears flattened against my head. “Um, Princess, I, uh, I have a question about the whole…” I gestured vaguely at my body. Princess Celestia’s mouth pressed itself into a thin line.

“Immortality issue?” she ventured flatly. I nodded my head. She released a pent up sigh of frustration and weariness. “I have looked into what magic Nightmare may have wrought on you, but I’m afraid I’m no closer to the truth nor have any ideas on what it is or how to break it. Near as far as I can tell, she has tied your life to hers. In what fashion exactly, I can't say.

"There's no telling what secrets Luna learned in the dark." She looked me in the eyes. “As it current stands, you’re stuck like this. The magic involved here is beyond me. I’m sorry.”

My slumped back as I stared at the ceiling as I heard the news. I was hoping that if anypony could figure this out and set things right, it’d have been her. We sat there for a little while in silence as I mulled it over.

“Princess?” I asked quietly. “I suppose there are worse things to have forced on you than eternal life, but,” I sighed, exhausted, “how do you learn to deal with it?”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Hmm?”

“I mean, you know that you have all of eternity ahead of you.” I reached out a hoof into empty space, as if the distant future was something I could see and touch. “How do you begin to face that?” I turned to her so I could look her in the eye. “How do you know what to do, knowing that it won’t actually matter in the long run. Everything just seems so…..pointless spread out over so much time I guess.”

The Princess studied me a second. “Do you truly feel that immortality is so bad?”

“I…” I faltered. “I don’t know Princess.” I finished quietly. “Sure I’m alive, which is more than many ponies can say so...I guess it isn’t all bad.” I breathed deeply and closed my eyes. “But at the same time, I was almost gone. Just a second more and I’d been out of her control.” A small smiled graced my lips as I recalled the calm, relaxing feel of Death’s hooves comforting me. “I’d been at peace and it...it felt good. Like I had just finished a marathon and could finally relax knowing I had done my best.” I opened my eyes and looked at the Princess. “Then just as soon as I should cross the finish line, I’m suddenly told that there isn’t one. Now I just feel out of place Princess.” I snorted. “Hell, I am out of place.”

A gentle hoof rested itself on my shoulder, and silenced me. “Waxing, I’m not saying that it’s easy. When looking at the big picture, you’re right. What we do today doesn’t make much difference in the coming decades, or even centuries. However,” she smiled warmly at me. “since you asked how I weather the years, remember this. These ponies around us only have today and they make the best of it because it’s all they have. Because of that, I’ll do what I can to make it the best today for them that I possibly can since they have only so few of them to enjoy. Sometimes it’s nicer to mark the time passed by number of lives touched than number of years lived. To view the future as a challenge to make this world better, rather than an endless shuffle on towards infinity. Does that make sense?”

I mulled over her words, tossing my head side to side as I weighed her words. “Kind of I guess. It’s still a lot to get used to.”

She continued to beam warmly at me. “I understand.” A contemplative look overcame her features before she spoke again. “How’s this then? If you ever feel lost, confused or hurt, you come talk to me? Eternity is a long time, and it feels a lot longer if you don’t have a friend to share it with.”

A warm feeling spread through my chest as I realized what she just offered. “Princess, I’d be honored.”

“Please,” she halted me, “Celestia is just fine. After all, I get the feeling we will be seeing a lot of each other over the years.” She flashed me another smile. This one different than any I’d ever seen. Instead of the calm, benevolent one she adopted whenever in the public eye, this one was less perfect, but at the same time, a thousand times more real.

I couldn’t help but laugh softly. Being around her made me feel better. Now I had a little hope that things would be alright. A sobering thought of the future occurred to me though, quickly sapping the mirth from the moment.

“Prin-” I caught myself. “Celestia?” Even if she was extending a hoof of friendship my way and had given me permission to do away with her title, at least in private I imagined, it still felt weird to only call her by her name. “What is going to happen to the ponies that were under my command?”

The light mood that had once been present vanished at those words. She chewed her bottom lip a little. “Many ponies are upset. Farmers lost many of their crops due to the cold and lack of light. Damages from the battle between my sister and I have left the castle in bad shape. Bad enough to the point where we are evacuating it.”

“Evacuating it!? Why?” I was incredulous. Surely the Castle of the Two Sisters could be repaired with time.

“Yes.” She nodded her head sagely. “Even if it weren’t for the fact that there are too many memories here that I’d rather not be reminded of everyday, there’s still too much magic radiating from the surrounding area from the battle. Having two alicorns going all out against each other, with various powerful spells being cast with little regard to restraint tends to leave a lot of loose charge in the air and ground.” Her face grew a little sadder. “Basically, the our emotions and intents when releasing the spell are now permanently etched into the area. The wildlife is more agitated and aggressive. The flora itself in the past the days has grown more sinister and foreboding as it begins to encroach on the city.” She looked around the room suddenly, as if she expected to find roots and vines to come charging from inbetween the cracks of the stones and through the barred windows. Apparently satisfied that no such event was happening, she turned back to me. “Effectively, this land is now tainted with negative magic and emotion. Within the year, I doubt it’d be a suitable capital, much less a good place for ponies to grow and live without becoming affected themselves.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, much less that such a thing was possible. Then again, I was learning a lot more about powerful, seemingly impossible, magic lately. “So where is everypony going to go?”

Celestia rolled her neck, cracking it in several spots. “I’ve directed those able to move to head to a new settlement called Canterlot. There, we will rebuild.” She settled down on the ground more comfortably than her previous sitting position. “To answer your original question about your soldiers though, it’s a difficult one. Like I said, many ponies are angry and want to see them punished. Personally, I think there’s been enough blood spilled.” I nodded my head in agreement. Yes, we had technically committed treason against Celestia and the punishment for that was ordinarily exile.

“While I could decree their crimes forgiven, I fear that it may lead some ponies to take matters into their own hooves.” She cleared her throat softly. “I could also banish them or just have them settle somewhere else on their own, but I’m not sure if that’d work any better. The only places I could recommend banishing them to would be Zebrica or Saddle Arabia since they would potentially be more friendly as well as allow them to live in an equine society. Alternatively if your ponies create their own settlement, it might only serve to be a temporary solution. One that segregates a set of ponies from others, or groups all of them one area however, would make it easier for a radical to target them.” She sighed heavily and twitched her tail with annoyance.

I risked placing a hoof on her shoulder and smiled comfortingly. “I think you may be overthinking it. Trust your ponies. Tell them that it is better to show mercy rather than seek vengeance. Before the war, I was always told that Equestria was at harmony. Things have changed but, I feel that we can be again. It’ll take time, and it might be awkward or uneasy initially, but the wounds will heal. Besides, you’re the Princess. If you put your hoof down, and they will are fall in line.”

“You are more wise than you appear Waxing.” She smiled back at me and laughed. "or you are terribly naive"

I snorted and laughed. “Me? Wise? Nah. Princess Luna just trained me up well.” As soon as I said it, it hurt. I glanced to see Celestia’s ears droop a little too.

“Princes-” I caught myself. Old habits die hard. “Celestia, how are you holding up?” She gave me a cautious look and I returned it with a stern one of my own. “I’m not the only one that went through a life changing event that night.”

I watched her fight back the tears threatening to spring forth. I hung my head in shame. I couldn’t bear to look at her like this. Maybe I was pushing too far, but I needed to. I needed to be honest with her. “Celestia. Every one needs some one to lean on and talk to. It sounds strange to me too when I say this, but if you ever need somepony to just listen….I’m here and I-” I took a deep breath. “I miss her too.” She didn’t say anything. If it weren’t for the fact that I could still see her mane flowing out of the corner of my eye, I might have thought she’d left. I gulped as the rest of my nerve threatened to leave me. Maybe I had gone too far. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anythin-”

A golden shod hoof stopped by lips as I found myself in a warm, but still tender embrace. “Thank you.” Is all she whispered in my ear between a few soft sniffles. I moved my forelegs to return the embrace but froze.

“Can I? Am I taking advantage if I do? Technically, she did hug you first so it would be rude to not to hug her back, right? Ah, screw it.”

I gently returned the embrace and rubbed her back as best I could considering my smaller frame. Judging by the way she squeezed me a little bit harder, I figured I made the right decision and just relished the fact that I might be one of a small group of ponies to have ever hugged Celestia. That also made me feel a little sad if that was true.

Slowly, Celestia pulled away, and sniffled again softly.

“I honestly should probably get going. I unfortunately can not devote too much of my time in one place.”

I nodded. After all, she did have a nation of ponies to look over. There was just one thing though that lingered in the back of my mind.

“Celestia, one last thing, please.”

She nodded slowly.

“I need to find a certain little filly. Her name is Morning Breeze.” I put of a hoof to keep Celestia from jumping in. I could see the questions forming on her face already. “Her mother was an advisor on my staff.” I took a deep breath. My heart weighed heavily in my chest. “Point is, she was killed in action and the father died a few months back to a hydra attack.”

A flicker of recognition sparked in Celestia’s eyes. “Does she have any other family?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Lieutenant Star didn’t speak about her family much. If and when she did, I don’t recall those discussions being happy ones. And then on her father’s side, I don’t have a clue where to start.”

Celestia closed her eyes and pondered for a moment. “So effectively she’s orphaned, is what you’re saying.”

My heart raced and my breath ran short as the weight of what I was about to do hit me. I opened my mouth and shut it again quickly. My lips pursed as I inhaled a deep breath to steady my nerves. “No. No I’m not.”

“But you just said you don’t know her next of k-” I cut her off with a hoof again.

“I’ll adopt her.” I watched Celestia’s eyes grow a little wider at my announcement. “Her mother served me well and with distinction. And I watched her die. I watched her die afraid and scared. ” My eyes found the small pegasus figure from the war room. “That little filly hasn’t even finished her first year and now both her parents are gone. I don’t technically owe her mother anything, but…” I looked back to Celestia. My ears drooped as I realized I didn’t know what else to say.

For the second time that night, Celestia put a hoof on my shoulder. “It’s okay. I understand.” She smiled at me. This time though, I think I saw a hint of pride and I perked up just a little. “So what is it you need from me?”

“Well, first I suppose I need to find her. I don’t know where she is, or if she’s been evacuated already. Point is, I have no idea. So that’s the first problem.”

She scratched an area behind her ear with a hoof in thought. “I’ll start with looking around Canterlot. The guards has been thoroughly evacuating the city. Chances are, they’d have found her and put her on a wagon. In Canterlot, I had a tent setup up for misplaced ponies looking for the rest of their family. Chances are somepony will have hopefully taken her there.”

“Hopefully?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She smiled warmly, and rubbed my shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll find her.”

I eased up a little. If she said she’d find Morning Breeze, then I had no doubt she would.

“So what’s the second problem?” she asked.

A small wry laugh escaped me. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m the captured enemy leader of the Lunar Rebellion. Not to mention, some ponies aren’t too fond of us thestrals to begin with. That combined with my talents singularly revolving around stalking and flying at night, I’m not exactly employable. So I could use a little help on the job front if you have any ideas and suggestions.”

Celestia closed her eyes. “I don’t know of anything off the top of my head, but I’ll let you if I think of anything.” She opened her eyes and looked at me. “Waxing.” She said as she pulled me into a hug. “You are trying to do a good thing here so stop worrying. If you’re serious about this, then you’ll find a way to make it work.”

I nodded my head, her flowing mane tickling my face. A strange thing, her mane. It didn’t feel like hair, but more like a warm waterfall flowing against you, but dry. A waterfall that smelled slightly of roasted vanilla.

Celestia pulled away and gave me a fond nod. “Now I really must be going. Will you be alright?”

“Yeah.”

She left the cell and started to lock the door behind her before chuckling softly. “I don’t suppose you’d try to go anywhere would you?”

I threw her my best ‘try to stop me from trying’ look but ultimately we both knew that I was in need of as much rest as possible. I might not be dying, but broken bones and stitches weren’t something you strain too much.

“Could you send in Captain Iron Oak please?” I coughed. “If you can afford to let me borrow him for a little while.”

She nodded and a fond smile grew on her face just as she passed through the stairwell door. “Certainly.”

I laid back as I waited counting my blessings that Celestia and her forces had won out, strange as that may sound. My gut told me, and it knew from experience, that if Nightmare Moon had been victorious, those taken prisoner wouldn’t be subjected to kind talks, hugs and offers of friendship. Chances were more so that it'd be whippings, starvation and torture. My hoof gently rubbed my chest where Nightmare Moon pierced me. Kindness and mercy would have been in short supply around her.

I exhaled heavily. Thinking about things crushing me, the weight of potential adoptive fatherhood finally began to weigh down on me. Now that I had finally asked, it was real. It wasn’t just a thought or a nice notion anymore.

The sound of keys turning the lock on the door alerted me that somepony else coming in. Sure enough, a familiar stallion opened the heavy dungeon door and walked in and stared at me.

“Waxing,” he started. “I don’t know how you did it, but you must be one tenacious bastard to not be dead right now.” He put a hoof on my shoulder. “The doctors told me that they’d never seem somepony survive with injuries like yours.”

I shot him my most devil-may-care smile. “Yeah, must be or something like it.” Celestia and I had prior agreed that my most recent development should remain a secret. No sense in some ponies trying to seek immortality, especially for some sort of nefarious purpose.

“So tell me, how are……

“….you doing?” Iron Oak asked me as we stared out the door on my new home. It was a small lot, not much more than a single room cottage. But it was enough for me and my new daughter. I looked down at the small bundled filly in my hooves. I certain mixture of pride and sorrow washed over me, but stirred up underneath it all was a sort of excitement. I could only hope to give this foal the uprearing she deserved.

I looked back out at the rising moon, and enjoyed the soft warmth of a summer evening. “I’m doing alright, all things considered. Seriously though, Iron, thanks for everything you and your family have done for me.”

Initially, I couldn’t take care of little Morning Breeze since I was still bed bound for the first month in Canterlot. Fortunately, Iron Oak and his family helped take care of things. The biggest favor that took a lot of stress off me was his wife offering to feed Morning Breeze. That was one thing I wasn’t anatomically capable of taking care of. Fortunately, since she had a foal of her own, she said it wasn’t too much trouble to play wet nurse for me. Morning had stayed with them overnight in case she woke up crying for a midnight feeding. She probably would continue to until she stopped needing to suckle from a teat.

“Hey, it’s all good. What are friends for?” He chuckled. We sat there in silence for a minute or so before he leaned in conspiratorially. “So are the rumors true?”

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “What rumors?”

“Oh you know! The ones about you and Princess Celestia….” He made a lewd motion with his hooves pushing an imaginary mare into his thrusting hips.

“No!” I gave him a push with a hoof, careful not to disturb Breeze too much. “Nothing like that! Where’d you get an fool-brained idea like that?”

He gave me a cheeky smile. “Well, word gets around that you spend a lot of time in with the princess and a good chunk of it in her chambers.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I needed a job. Considering I only have experience as an officer and soldier, not to mention the fact that I led the Lunar forces, we both agreed that opportunities to use my talents would be far and few in between. So, taking advantage of my nocturnal nature and prior experience, I sit in her quarters and just keep an eye on the night. Investigate troublesome noises, disturbances and the like.”

The look in his eye told me he wasn’t done teasing my yet. “So you’re saying you do spend the night with Celestia..”

I just sat there shaking my head. “Sure Iron, whatever you say.”

He gave a soft, good-natured chuckle. “It’s good to see you can still retain some of those guard skills. Any word on whether you will rebuild the Night Guard?”

That brought the mood down a little. “No, and probably not anyway. Too much of a bad stigma attached to it right now. That isn’t to say we’ve disappeared entirely. Celestia earmarked a some part of the coffers for former Night Guards to rebuild their lives but many of them are using it as pay while they patrol the night in secret.” I laughed softly. “They told me that even if the service was dismantled, their oaths haven’t expired.”

“That sounds like your guards alright.” He rolled his neck, working a kink out. “Does the Princess know about their unsanctioned operations?”

I snorted. “Of course. We didn’t exactly keep it a secret from her either, and even if we did, ponies being dropped off in front of the stockade, bound up and gagged, wouldn’t exactly go unnoticed.”

“So….she doesn’t mind?”

My ear drooped and I rubbed the back of my neck. “I wouldn’t go as so far as to say that. Her biggest concern is how some ponies would react to them still acting as a force, especially so soon after being the former enemy.”

He nodded. “That’s understandable.”

“However, having them active, even discretely, means that she doesn’t have to assign as many of your guard to night duty.”

“I had wondered why she only asked for two guards to watch the stockades at night, but I guess that explains that.”

I smiled. “Yup.”

“So what happens if one of your guards gets caught?”

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes. “What guards?”

He turned his head to the side as he ear tilted in thought before suddenly bolting upright as he caught my implication.

I smiled mischievously.

“Seriously?” he asked.

I nodded once. “Not to say that we’d leave them hanging for long. We’d get them free and make them disappear from the public eye until things calmed down somehow.”

He shook his head. “You are sound more and more like a secret guild or cult.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “What makes you think the Nocturne herd isn’t already?”

It was his turn to roll his eyebrows. “Just keep them in line okay? You are a headache waiting to happen. You know that right?”

I laughed. “When haven’t I been?”

“True, true." He patted my back. "Well, I’m going to head in. Do you want me to take Morning with me?”

I shook my head. “I requested the night off. I’d like to spend a little time with my-” I looked down at the sleeping bundle, “-daughter.” The word still felt strange in my mouth, but it didn’t make it any less true.

“Understood.” He smiled at the sight of my gently rocking the filly. “For what it's worth, I think you’ll make a great father.”

“You say that.” I wasn’t too certain about that. Heck, fatherhood wasn’t something I had considered to be in my wheelhouse.

“Trust me, you’ll do fine. Don’t worry. And besides, I’ll keep you from screwing her up too much.” He shot me a smirk.

“Ah, shut up go home already. You’re ruining the moment!”

He laughed and headed across the street to his new home. “You have a good one, alright?”

“Good night!”

I watched him disappear inside his home and the night was quiet again aside from Breeze’s quiet breathing. I looked down at her small form as she stirred gently, her small little wings pushing faintly against the soft blanket and a soft warmth filled my heart. We’d be fine.

Author's Notes:

Again a huge thank you to stanku for editing and prereading! Seriously, go check him out.