The angry roar of the dragon thundered among the hills.  It’s claw smashing apart another home of the small village.  Deep red scales sparkled from the light of fires blazing.  The village ponies huddled together in fear in the town hall.  

A roar came from outside, however, this was different than before.  There was a note of pain.  Silver looked back outside.  Three Pegasi were flying distraction patterns and a bolder flew into the face of the dragon.  All the ponies he could see, pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies were in the same armor and looked nearly identical.  “It’s the Royal Guard!  Comet tail got to them!”

A blue pegasus with a light blue mane landed outside the town hall followed by one of the Royal guard flyers.  Together they entered the building the Royal guard spoke up.  “Listen Up every pony.  We got the dragon distracted.  It’s not safe here so I’m leading you away from the village for the duration of the emergency.”

Mayor Silver Spirit nodded “I was just about to give that very order.”

At the battle, Iron Hoof was doing his part.  Being an earth pony the pure raw power he can channel into his bucks was enough to send another boulder at the dragon.  “Scatter!” Came a command and years of training kicked in he bolted just as the ground he was standing on got blasted by dragon fire.

No matter what they did the old dragon was just too strong to take down with boulders.  It was up to the unicorns and even they wouldn’t have the spell power alone.  So they were off behind the dragon combining their magic into one grand spell.  It was the job of the pegasi and earth ponies to distract the beast long enough for them to charge it.

Looking over to the town hall he saw the last of the civilians flee into the forest.  All except...”Buck it!”  He ran for the town hall and a filly tripped then hide behind a cart.  He wasn’t the only one that saw the movement as the dragon’s head turn.  Hearing the dragon take a breath his mind flooded with horror he was going to witness.  “Nooo!”  A burst of speed he got to the filly thrusting her away behind the town hall building just as the dragon let go of the fire breath.  His world flashed in pain, the stench of burning flesh, and then darkness.

His eyes snapped open breath coming fast and heavy as he struggled with the dream, memory.  Rubbing his scarred face with his right hoof, he cleared his mind.  He noted the sweat on his brow even thought the Manehattan night was on the chilly side.  Two years ago... two years he saved a fillies life and his way of life ended.  Discharged from service in full honor, still a discharge.  His friends were all Royal Guard, all serving.  As a civilian, he didn’t have any friends, as a wounded veteran scarred and angry at the world he didn’t make any.  

What was worst was the pity he saw and the snubbing from the Canterlot elite.  He couldn’t stay in the capital, not and keep some of his pride.  Iron hoof did something he never thought he would do, he fled.  He looked around letting out a huff of air as his eyes take note of everything in the alleyway he fell asleep in.  Typical Manehattan alleyway narrow path behind the buildings for deliveries and other activities one don’t want seen by the masses.  He was beside a dumpster.  How far he has fallen from his time in the Royal Guard.

He got up on his three hoofs his left foreleg was now a stump of scarred tissue.  Once he tightens the straps on his prosthetic limb he shook his mane free from his face he yawned and heard talking from the alley entrance.  “Hey baby what you got there?”  Glancing from behind the dumpster he spotted two young stallions one a pegasus and the other a Unicorn and a unicorn mare.

The green coat and yellow mane mare were pulling a cart of boxes and bags.  Her blue eyes show not a hint of worry even as the two stallions came closer.  Sinister smiles on their face “I see a lot of packages in your cart.  I got a package for you, baby.”

“Sorry, I don’t do lightweight deliveries.  Try the bucking mail.”  She said with a smirk.

“Oh looks like you got some spirit in you.  I like a mare that fights back.”

“Let me go oh you regret it,”  She said eying the two thugs.

“Or what?  It’s you against us.”

“And me.  You heard her beat it.”  Iron Hoof said coming out from the alley.

The two thugs turned to look at him.  “This doesn’t concern your old timer.”  The other chimed in “Yeah go find a bottle to dro....” His words got cut off when a pair of rear hoofs smashed against the pegasi face.

The first thug turned at the attacker and seeing the Mare now unhooked to the cart.  “You bitch.  I’m going to make...”  His horn started to glow, that was when Iron hoof yelled a wordless war cry and charged.  Fighting a Unicorn comes down to get in close and hit fast.  Give them room and time and you be blasted by spells.  A stallion just out of school had no chance against a former Guard.

The prosthetic was a good one a final gift from his squad.  Still wasn’t good as a real foreleg, but for running and normal activities, it was good enough.  His right foreleg was strong before from training, now with it taking the brunt of his upper body weight the punch he delivered was enough to put the second thug down in one punch.

She stood there looking at the scarred stallion and a smirk came to her face “That one mighty right hook you got there.  Though I can handle myself.  These two weren’t the first to try something won’t be the last.”  as she spoke she hooked herself back up to the cart.

“Don’t matter if you could handle it yourself miss.  Against my nature to look away.”  He saw a flashed green on her eyes for a moment.  Then again it could have been a trick of the light.

“I haven’t seen you before, stranger.  What’s your name, I’m Sunny Meadow.”  She said as she started walking “And if you going to look my way might as well enjoy the walk with me.”

Did she flirt with him?  A homeless scarred Stallion.  Must be his imagination.  He shook his head getting that thought out of his head as he joined her.

He glanced to the dumpster where he had slept the night before.  “Diver... Dumpster Diver.”  The look he spotted on Sunny’s face told him she wasn’t buying it.  

“Diver you say?  Okay, I accept that.”  She walked with a smile on her face as she trotted down the road.  “I’m not sure what caught that two attention.  Either they think these supplies have something worth wild, or they finally got interested in mares.”

“My guess Ms. Meadow is they were just bored and stupid.  What are those packages for anyway?”

“Donations to the homeless shelter I work for.”

He made a misstep but quickly recovered.  “Are you trying to lure me to the shelter?”

“Nope, I’m trying to make a friend.  The shelter your choice one way or another.  I’m more interested in the friendship.  Not often I meet a former guard after all.”

He stopped dead in his tracks “How you know I was in the guard?”

She stopped and looked behind her “your fight style.  I was taught how to fight and recognized the move.  A running right hook adding speed, momentum, and body weight into the punch.  Most would try a tackle or headbutt with a charge like that.  All that force focused into a hoof punch makes for a very powerful attack.  Where the tackle and headbutt would dilute the force across a greater surface area.”

Walking again, the two headed down the street “That obvious was it?”  

A smile still on her lips “That and other clues.  Your prosthetic is high grade would cost a good deal.  At the same time, your saddle bags are more common.  If you were once wealthy why have something high price and one lower cost?  The leather straps for the prosthetic is newer.  Either you got a huge settlement and blew it, or someone else covers the cost of the leg.  That and your body is well built from hard training.  A farmer’s body even just as well developed has different muscle mass.  Muscles trained for fighting are different then muscles developed by hard work on a farm.”

“You know that’s kind of scary how you notice that,”  He said eying her.

“Med student I learned a lot from studying pony biology.  That same teaching got me to learn to look beyond scars and external appearances.  Once you see a body’s inside looks aren’t important.”

He took a look at her cutie mark it was the sun with two daisies blooming under it.  “Enjoying my flank diver?”

Blinking he averted his eyes “um no ... I mean it’s a nice flank but... um...I wasn’t looking at it like..”

A hearty laugh came from her as she turned to pull the cart into a parking area.  Beside it was a plain brick building with a sign Luna’s shelter.

“Luna’s Shelter huh?”  speaking as he read the sign.

“Yes, she grew tired of seeing ponies asleep in the allies and other places at night.  So she started a charity to provide shelter for them.  Celestia started the soup kitchens and food banks for the hungry.  I donate my time to both.  As well as retrieve donations.”  

She unhooked herself again and levitated a few boxes.  “This year been hard with Discord messing up everything.  So glad he was stopped before that chaos grew to far.”  Sighs “Still a lot of ponies lost jobs and homes.  Would you be a dear and help bring in that box of toys for the foals?”

Diver looked at the box seeing a bunch of toys some clearly been fixed.  He eyed her wondering what she was up to.  It was a challenge but he did get the box on his back and carried it into the shelter.  Flashing her a look as she passed she smiled and winked at him.  “The children going to enjoy those toys.”  

He took note they didn’t enter the main door.  They were in a back room “Oh there you are Sunny I was getting worried.”  A white coat and light pink mane pegasi mare said as she came into the back to see who entered.  “Oh.. hello there.  I’m Cloud Dancer, and you are?”  

“Hello, Cloud Dancer you can call me Dumpster Diver.  So how many ponies are here?”  He said as he bumped a counter with his rump causing the box to shift and slide onto the counter top.  

“Just call him Diver for short.  Dancer.” She smiled then looked at Diver “There are Seven families staying here.  Ten foals, Five Stallion, and six mares, only four couples.  So we have twenty-one ponies staying here, technically we are overloaded by one.”

“Dumpster Diver?  What happened was your mother in labor for a whole day or something?”  Cloud said.

Diver opened his mouth but Sunny spoke out first “It’s a code 47, Dancer.”  

“Oh, a 47 I got ya.  Well anyway, the oatmeal is almost ready so breakfast will be done soon,” she said as she turned and walked back to the kitchen.

Diver looked at sunny “Code 47?  Mind explaining that?”

“What, you think your the first Pony who didn’t want to give out their real name so came up with something on the fly?  Sorry Dumpster now you are stuck with it.”  She laughed and lifted the a bunch of blankets out of a box.  “We often get ponies who want to keep who they really are a secret.  Some for good reasons like some young mare who hiding from an abusive mate.  A stallion who got a criminal record.  We just roll with it.  Everyone needs love now and then.”

She carried the blankets to the doors leading to the shelter’s main room.  “You can stay back here if you like Diver.  Or you can see why I do enjoy this.”

He entered the main chamber and blinked at the design.  The outside of the building was plain but inside.  The chamber was made to seem to be a glade in a forest.  Support beams carved and molded to look like trees.  Morals on the walls between the branches show stories from legions and fairy tales.  “When Luna made this place it was with the goal of providing shelter to foals.  We focus on families and those who were thrown out of their homes at a young age.  There other shelters for single adult ponies.  But this one is for those with foals, a place where they can feel safe and loved.”  Sunny Meadows said with a hint of pride in her voice.  “There are days you can feel the love in the air.  All we ask of those here is they share the love.”

She looked at him “So I was telling the truth.  I wasn’t dragging you along to a shelter for your sake.  Just my enjoyment of having a personal guard walk by my side.”  

“I’m not a guard anymore.”

“Personal hero then,”  She said with a flick of her tail as she headed to some ponies sitting on a set of couches.  

“here you got Gumdrop fresh sheets and blankets for Lemon drop’s bed.”  The young mare smiled taking the sheets “Thanks, Sunny, I’m sorry lemon had... another accident.”  

“Don’t be sorry Gumdrop.  She’s young all colts and fillies have peed the bed from time to time.”  Sunny said trying to cheer the earth pony up.

“yeah... I just thought she grew out of it already.”

Diver cleared his throat “Sorry to intrude Mrs but sometimes growth spurt can cause relapses.  Her body growing faster then her bladder would cause her to need to potty more.”

He felt a jolt more like a spark of static electricity on the back of his head and then noted Sunny’s horn fading green glow.  Gumdrop voice was soft almost a whisper “Thank you, sir, I keep that in mind.”  

“Take care Gumdrop.”  Sunny turned and gave him a glare that spoke louder than words Follow me.  Once out of earshot for Gumdrop, she whispered “I told you there only four couples here.  Like many others, Gumdrop isn’t one of them.  Her family basically kicked her out after she came home pregnant.  The father of Lemon drop took off.  So it's not Mrs it's Miss.  Or to be on the safe side Ms around here, Mister.”

His ears flattened “Sorry I... I wasn’t thinking.”  

Sunny sighed and looked over at Gumdrop “poor dear nearly reeking with shame.  She doesn’t deserve this.  It’s worst for Lemon growing up in a shelter.  There are days I want to beat her father senseless.”

“Who’s Gumdrop’s or Lemon drop’s?”

“Both”  She took a deep breath.  “I got some reading to do for the foals.  A bit of story time.  You can stay, or go if you like.  After all, I just drafted you to help me.”

“it’s alright Sunny, I...  I would enjoy staying a bit more.”

“Good because after the story I’m so going to drag your scarred flank over to the shelter for Stallions so you can get a bed to sleep in.  With me there I’m sure they find room.”

He blinked dawning on him he was being roped into going to a shelter after all.  “I don’t want to go to a shelter.”

“Shove your pride away Diver.  You kind of lost when you told me your name was Dumpster Diver.  Is your pride so mighty that you can accept being called a dumpster but can’t sleep under a roof a Princess provides for you?”

Huffing he now knew it was going to be a long day and his pride still was too stubborn for him to loose face and argue.  What was it about this mare?