Several minutes passed with the only sound being that of Celestia's weeping. For Luna though, the revelations about her sister were coming thick and fast; especially since Gordon's arrival. Not only had she airbrushed history to portray humans in an entirely negative light, it now turns out her sister had a human lover eight hundred years ago.

And had him executed in a most cruel and painful manner.

"I had him executed Lulu," Celestia continued, still crying into Luna's shoulder, "An innocent who I called my lover."

A chill went up Luna's spine as she absorbed her sister's shocking words. Hearing the reality from her sister's own lips was almost too fantastic to believe. A few more moments of silence passed as Luna contemplated her next words.

"When did you discover his innocence?"

"Almost two centuries later, and only by accident."

"What happened?"

"It's.......complicated, and long."

"I have plenty of time."

A few seconds of silence lingered as Celestia contemplated telling her sister. On the one hand telling her would mean digging up old and very painful memories, but on the other it may allow her to clean up the colossal mess she has made over the years. With some degree of reluctance, Celestia relented, "Very well, I shall tell you. But can we go back to my chambers? Being here is..."

"Of course Tia," Luna replied, standing up and helping her sister up also.

As they stood up, Celestia took one more look around the torture chamber and memories of long ago began resurfacing in her mind. The sobs and cries of ponies and humans alike, screaming in agony as her soldiers of the time tortured what she saw as backstabbers and traitors to Equestria. Unicorns having their horns chiselled away, Pegasi having their wings bent to unnatural positions, earth ponies and humans having legs broken and hands cut off; and all beings subject to the various torture devices in the dungeons.

"PLEASE, I BEG YOU! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"MY WINGS! YOU CUT OFF MY WINGS!"

"MERCY!"

"I'M INNOCENT!"

"MY HANDS!"

"I LOVE YOU TIA!!"

"Sister!"

A tearful Celestia felt herself being gently shaken by her sister, "Let's go Lulu, I can't bear being in this room any longer."

The pair walked out of the torture chamber and were approaching the guards who were waiting outside. Stopping in front of Antonius, Celestia addressed the Sergeant.

"Sergeant Remus, please remove the rest of the skeletal remains, and the skull you found.....and move them to the morgue. Treat the remains with the utmost respect they deserve."

"Yes ma'am."

The respect they should have been given centuries ago.

Celestia continued walking, followed by Luna, through the hallways and staircases of the castle towards her bedroom. On the way, they came to a stop in one of the hallways with windows giving a panoramic view of Canterlot below. Celestia was gazing down at her hooves, her mind adrift as memories continued to plague her mind.

"Tia?"

"It will never make up for what I did, but I hope a burial...albeit long overdue, will at least make up for something."

Not much more was said as they walked to Celestia's bedroom. The castle was unusually quiet for the time of day, not that it bothered either of the princesses; ponies seeking their attention was the last thing they needed right now.

Soon enough, the royal sisters entered Celestia's bedroom and sat down on the sofa in front of an ornate fireplace. Once Luna sat down, Celestia poured some tea for herself and Luna that she always had on standby in her room, and began her story.

"How familiar are you with human history in Equestria?"

"Reasonably familiar," Luna replied, taking her tea in her hand, "But it is heavily against humans."

A deep sigh escaped Celestia's lips and she rubbed the temple of her forehead, "Due to me....how foolish I was back then."

"Sister?"

"Are you familiar with a battle known as the, 'Battle of Everfree'?"

"No."

"Well, basically it was a major battle between invading Changelings and humans. Ten thousand humans took on a Changeling Army of over sixty thousand."

"An easy victory for the Changelings," Luna assumed with confidence.

".......The humans won."

Luna did a double take, shock evident on her face, her eyes wide and open mouth. She checked her sister's facial expressions for signs of deception or her usual 'unique' sense of humour, but alas, could not find any.

"B-b-but how? How could they gain victory when they were outnumbered by so many?"

"The Changelings had no military training and had always used their superior numbers alone to win. They tried the same tactic with humanity, oblivious to the fact that many of the humans were very experienced soldiers who had fought numerous battles and campaigns previously."

"I would have thought you would have been grateful that humans prevented the Changelings from taking over Equestria."

"I was. That is why I had the injured surviving humans placed in the care of Star Swirl the Bearded."

"How is that possible? I thought Star Swirl died when we were fillies?"

"So did I, but according to him he fell through a portal and that took him forward in time to eight centuries ago. Naturally I was suspicious so I conducted many tests to ascertain if he was telling the truth; and to my shock, he was."

"You will have to tell me more about that sometime, but for now I would like to hear more about what happened to the humans who survived the battle."

"Very well. After the battle, many surviving humans required medical treatment and Star Swirl volunteered to undertake the task."

"I'm getting a horrible feeling that Star Swirl wasn't how history has portrayed him."

"I was lead to believe that he was giving the humans the treatment they deserved for their victory over the Changelings, but it was not until I received reports of his death that I discovered the truth."

"His death?" Luna replied, tilting her head in confusion.

"I gave him our old castle so he would have plenty of room and resources to help the humans, but rather than help them he instead used humans in sick and disgusting experiments so chilling and harrowing I had the records sealed and locked away."

"How did you not know what was happening?"

"I was too distracted with nobles trying to erode my own power and seize it for themselves; the nobility then had more power than it does now."

"So what happened?"

"Courtesy of a tip off from one of his own guards, ponies, griffons and civilian humans stormed our old castle to try and liberate the humans; but sadly, things did not go as planned."

"What happened?"

"Most of the would be liberators were killed in their attempts to free the victims. The surviving liberators were subsequently captured and used as experiments themselves, as was the guard who tipped them off. Star Swirl subsequently vented all of his hate and fury on his prisoners, particularly the humans."

"What happened afterwards?"

"What was happening somehow leaked out again, how I do not know; but this time it was your own Thestrals that made a rescue attempt."

"M-my Th-thestrals?!" Luna asked in surprise, and feeling a little bit of pride in her own kin's heroic actions.

"They launched a massive attack on the castle, killing Star Swirl's guards, freeing the prisoners and ultimately killed Star Swirl himself."

"What did you do afterwards? Surely you didn't blame humans for what happened?"

Celestia didn't immediately answer and instead looked away, avoiding her sister's look, "As I said Luna, the nobility back then was far more powerful than it is today. Most of the nobility hated humans and wanted them destroyed, and despite knowing what really happened they blamed humanity and lead their own crusade against them, successfully petitioning that all humans should be arrested for his death."

"Surely you didn't agree?"

Celestia looked away, her eyes deep with regret and sorrow, "I did."

"B-but how could you do that?!"

Celestia snapped back at Luna, "I didn't know then what I knew later! Back then I did not know what was really happening and I truly believed that humans had killed Star Swirl in a cowardly and ungrateful attack! It was not until much later that I discovered that the Thestrals were responsible, and of what Star Swirl did to humans."

"What did you do? When you thought humans had killed Star Swirl?"

"I sent a hundred of my most talented guards to arrest the humans, but they resisted and killed most of my guards whilst suffering losses themselves. So in response I lead my own army of two thousand of my Solar Guards and marched into Trottingham to arrest the last humans myself."

"I'm afraid to ask what happened."

"They resisted and fought back, but this time we were not fighting soldiers; but civilians with only pitchforks and rakes as weapons."

Luna looked at her sister in disbelief, "You lead your soldiers to kill untrained civilians in what is little more than a slaughter of innocents? How did you twist this to make humans look bad?"

"I made sure that Equestria was told that the humans killed had gone feral due to a disease and had to be killed to prevent its spread."

Luna was shaking her head in disbelief, aghast at the unremitting horror of these new revelations invented by her sister, "Does this ever end?"

"No."

Luna could only sink her head in her hands as yet more secrets and truths reared their ugly heads. Just how much was her sister hiding from her?

"You've told me a lot so far, you may as well finish," Luna said tiredly.

"Not long afterwards, a group of ponies attempted to depose me. They were uncovered and subsequently imprisoned for life, the youngest of which was only eighteen. The official story is that they were killed by humans when in fact they were imprisoned in the dungeons under the castle."

"And how does your lover connect to this?"

"I was told he was the ringleader behind the coup in an act of revenge for what I did to his fellow humans, and being in the state of mind I was back then, I believed it. I had him arrested and then tortured for information when he refused to answer our questions, but all he did was protest his innocence which only angered me further. Being unable to get information out of him and after a trial, he was sentenced to death for High Treason."

"And you had him put in the Brazen Bull?"

Celestia nodded as tears fell down her cheek, "I thought it would be poetic justice for the ponies who were executed in them by humans. I can remember his screams of pain and pleas of innocence clearly to this very day."

"How long was it before you realised the truth?"

"About two centuries later when the residents of Trottingham were building their museum. They had discovered an old book belonging to Bosphoramus Heartstrings which documented his investigations into corruption in the nobility. It completely vindicated my lover and humans, but by then the damage was done. Humans, despite no longer existing in Equestria, were deeply mistrusted and any attempt to reveal the truth would weaken my position against the nobles."

"So you continued the lies to stay in power?"

"Don't be like that Luna!" Celestia snapped, "You know as well as I do what the nobles are like! They would have bled the nation dry to fill their own coffers had they gained any more power, I had to play the part if I was to weaken their powers."

"If all that is true, then why the hostility to Gordon? If you know what really happened, then why have you continued telling the same lie for so long?"

"I suppose it was easier in keeping the nobles and citizens in line, and in keeping law and order. That, and I suppose seeing a human again just brought all of my emotions back to the surface, and Gordon just happened to bare the brunt of it."

"But what of now? How much longer will you keep lying?"

"I won't. I know it will take a long time, but I will reveal to Equestria the truth. The real truth."

"What now then, sister?"

"Now, I wish to plan how to make amends to the mess I have made."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"First, I'll invite the Mayor of Trottingham and the manager of the Human Museum to Canterlot, where we can discuss 'un-propagandarising' the museum, as they would probably put it."

"It's a start, but what about changing ponies mindsets? That won't be anywhere near as easy. And the manager of the Human Museum already has a very low opinion of you. As does a certain Trottingham Police officer, I believe."

"Ah yes, Inspector Bob Delta," Celestia replied with a frown, "I remember him clearly, and what he said to me."

"Do you?" queried Luna, "Your royal Sun Butt?"

Luna only just dodged the cup and saucer as it flew across the room and shattered into pieces as it struck the wall behind her.

"You bucking troll!"

Gordon continued to laugh, despite the pain it caused, as Rainbow glared at him with a look so fierce it could melt lead.

"Pretending to be asleep so I would nuzzle you!"

"You made the conscious decision to," Gordon replied, trying to get his laughing under control as the movements from it were causing pain to his wounds, "It's not like I knew you would do that."

"You better hope that no-pony saw it!"

"Why? On the the ferry over to Trottingham you announced to the entire food court that we had sex so a little nuzzle is nothing in comparison."

Rainbow thought back to their recent trip to Trottingham and their conversation in the food court, but what Gordon was talking about eluded her.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I remember talking about ships and that stallion who tried to fight you, but I don't remember telling everyone in the food court that we had sex."

"You said, 'Any sex we've had was completely consensual'."

"I said that?" Rainbow asked, her eyes slowly widening with increasing worry.

"Sure did," Gordon replied with a grin forming on his face, "I wasn't the only one with a red face."

Rainbow remained motionless as she examined Gordon's face for any sign of tomfoolery or any other indication he was having her on. Quickly though, she realised that he was being deadly serious and it was only just now hitting her what she had said.

"I told a room full of ponies that we had had sex?"

"Yep."

A rush of blood rushed to Rainbow's face as they went as red as tomatoes and her eyes the size of pinpricks.

"I wouldn't worry about it Dashiekins," Gordon said trying, but failing to hide a smirk, "I'm sure no-one paid any attention."

"Paid attention to what?"

Rainbow and Gordon looked over to the doorway and saw the girls return.

"You were quick," Gordon said.

"The doctor's office is just down the hall. He agreed to give you some co-codamol instead," Twilight replied, placing the box on the bedside cabinet, "You're to take one or two no less than four hours apart as and when needed, starting now if you want to."

"Thank you, I'll take a couple."

"Do you want any help?" asked Fluttershy, "You don't want to move too much."

"It would be appreciated Fluttershy, thank you."

Fluttershy grabbed the box and opened it, taking out two tablets from the blister packs and handing them to Gordon, followed by a glass of water. Taking the tablets, Gordon took a large gulp of water and set it back down on the bedside cabinet.

"They should kick in in time before I get to sleep."

"If you need any other help darling, just ask us."

"Sure thing. Anyway, what are you all doing now?"

"We've been invited to stay for tea with the princesses."

Gordon failed to prevent a groan, "Have fun with Princess Genocide, tell her I send my undying love and affection."

"You don't mean that, do you?" asked Twilight, looking unimpressed.

"No. I want the bitch to suffer. She deserves to after everything she's done."

Twilight looked at Gordon with pity. On the one hand, she could understand his hatred of her mentor, but like Celestia, his opinion of her is based on what has happened to him both directly and indirectly through her actions. The other girls remained silent also, instead only sharing a few concerned glances at one another. Because of recent events, any chance of Gordon and the Princess getting along had gone from very slim to virtually impossible.

"Are you coming Rainbow?" asked Fluttershy.

Rainbow didn't immediately answer and instead looked between the girls and Gordon, "Errrr, I don't know..."

"Go and have something to eat Dashie, I'll be fine here."

"You sure?"

Gordon nodded.

"OK then, so long as you're OK."

Rainbow leant over to Gordon and gave him another affectionate nuzzle and kiss on his cheek, drawing surprised looks from the girls who were still unaccustomed to seeing Rainbow display open demonstrations of affection. Except for her love of the Wonderbolts.

"See you later Gordon," she whispered into his ear.

"Bye Dashie, bye girls."

Rainbow got up and joined the girls, wishing Gordon farewell on their way out. Once the door closed, they began to make their way to the dining room.

"Like things weren't complicated enough," Twilight thought aloud.

"What's that darling?"

"I was just thinking about how even more complicated the situation with Gordon has become, I doubt he'll ever believe that Princess Celestia didn't give those orders."

"I can't blame him for thinking that though," Rarity replied, "From his perspective, it's easy to believe that she did order he be tortured."

"But Princess Celestia would never order such a thing!"

"We know that Twilight, but Gordon has only known Princess Celestia for little over a week; he doesn't know her as well as we do."

"And bearing in mind that the Princess has 'airbrushed' human history against them and how she acts towards him can you blame him for hating her?" Rainbow butted in with a tinge of anger in her voice, "I mean the very first time they met she smacked him across the face whilst he was restrained to a bed."

"As ah recall Rainbow Dash, you walloped him yerself whilst his back was turned."

"Yeees, but I apologised for that and for how I acted towards him afterwards but Princess Celestia carried on, and for the record I acted out of fear. It honestly makes me wonder if the times she was nice to him were just an act to lull him into revealing his 'true' human nature."

"And she deliberately tampered with his sugar rockets," Fluttershy added quietly, "It's like she wanted them to fail."

"But why does Princess Celestia hate scientific advancements so much?" asked Rainbow.

"I don't know," replied Twilight with a deflated sigh, "Maybe we could ask her."

"You sure about that?" quipped Rainbow, "She might throw you in a dungeon."

"Or banish you," Rarity added.

"Or throw you in a dungeon in the place she banished you to," finished Fluttershy, holding back giggles.

"Very funny girls," Twilight replied dryly, "Maybe you should all take up stand-up comedy in your spare time, I'm sure you'd be great at it."

Meanwhile in the dining room, Shining Armor was sat with Cadence and the two sisters, awaiting the arrival of the girls. The atmosphere around the table was noticeably tense, with the guards stationed around the room exchanging nervous glances. Whilst Luna was going through some paperwork relating to taxes, Celestia was looking down at the photo she held in her hands on her lap. The photo of herself and her human lover. Though she was oblivious to the chilling glare coming from Shining, Blueblood and Ambassador Fairfax.

Cadence, being the Princess of Love, could sense something was amiss with her auntie though.

It was there.

Extremely faint.

But there was no doubting it.

It was love.

Cadence could sense love in her auntie. But also guilt and regret.

But who for? she wondered.

Before she could inquire further, the doors to the dining room opened revealing Twilight and the others. Upon seeing Twilight, Cadence immediately got up and ran towards Twilight, quickly wrapping her in a hug which she returned.

"Hello again Twilight, how's Gordon?"

"He's OK, for the most part," she replied, casting a quick glance over to Celestia.

Though it was extremely brief before she turned away, Twilight saw a look of sadness and grief in her mentor's eyes; like she had been crying for hours. She also noticed Celestia holding something in her hand before she quickly hid it from view, putting it in one of the pockets of her dress.

"Princess?" Twilight said.

Celestia looked up and smiled slightly at the sight of her student, "Hello Twilight, and to your friends also."

Twilight and the girls sat down with Twilight sitting down next to Cadence and the others choosing random places, though Rarity noticeably sat down next to Blueblood; much to his and the other's surprise. Moments later the door with a passageway leading to the kitchen opened and in walked one of the castle maids. As per protocol, she first approached Celestia and bowed slightly.

"What would you like tonight, ma'am?"

"Tuna salad and my usual blend of tea."

"Of course ma'am," the maid replied before turning to Luna, "And yourself ma'am?"

"Steak and chips with a pint of smooth ale."

"Of course ma'am."

The maid then took the orders from the others before taking them to the kitchen, leaving the princesses and others alone once more. It was only then that Twilight, and the other girls, picked up on the piercing glares coming from Shining, Blueblood and Fairfax. Looking at one another and shrugging in confusion, Twilight took the initiative and decided to speak to her brother.

"Shining, I understand you went to see the ponies who harmed Gordon?"

"What of it?" he snapped.

"I...just wondered how it went?" Twilight replied, slightly confused at her brother's snappy tone.

"They're where they belong," he snapped again, causing Twilight to visibly flinch.

"Shining!" Cadence whispered harshly, "Don't talk like that to Twilight! She was just asking a question!"

Shining only grunted in response.

Twilight was about to scold her elder brother for being disrespectful but a subtle shake of the head from Cadence convinced her not to.

He was already in enough trouble.

"Lady Twilight," said Blueblood, "How fares your friend?"

"He's....OK, for the most part. He's still very rattled from what was done to him, but he was talking to us earlier."

"The doctor said he should be allowed to leave in a couple of days," Rainbow added, "He just wants to keep Gordon in for check-ups."

"I understand a zebra shaman has concocted an ointment to help heal his wounds?"

Rainbow nodded, "Yeah, the doctor said it can be applied when his bandages get changed again tomorrow."

"I would like to meet him, if you have no objections?"

Rainbow was stunned to say the least. Blueblood was asking for permission to visit Gordon. His behaviour since they met earlier was nothing like how Rarity had described him. This Blueblood was polite and well-mannered.

The Blueblood she was told of was a grade A arsehole.

Ah, screw it! she thought, I don't care if he's nice now or never was an arsehole, the only stallion I care about is Gordon.

As they were waiting for their food, the conversation Twilight had with her friends as they were on their way to the dining hall was going through her mind, in particular one question made itself known more than others. Given who was in attendance, now would be an ideal time to get an answer.

"Princess?"

"Yes Twilight?" Celestia replied tiredly.

"Why do you hate humanity so much?"

The tension in the room suddenly became far more tense. You could feel the unease the others were feeling and soon all eyes were on Celestia, eager to hear what her answer is.

Celestia wanted to avoid the question, but looking up and seeing several pairs of beady eyes looking back at her pressured her into relenting.

"I do not hate humans, as some believe; I am just fearful of what they can do to pony society."

"What do you mean?"

"When the humans first arrived, there were tens of thousands of them. At the time, Equestria was a peaceful nation, maybe not as much as today, but war and violence were still exceptionally rare. So try to imagine my concern and worry when over 30,000 humans suddenly turn up out of the blue, many of them armed with weapons and clearly ready for battle."

"Even so, assuming they have hostile intent is jumping to conclusion; just like us when we assumed Gordon was violent and hostile."

"I agree, but first contact wasn't so smooth and could have gone a lot better."

"What happened?"

"Solar Guards on a training exercise encountered them near where Trottingham is now. The guards, not knowing what they were encountering, approached. What happened next was...unfortunate."

"What happened?" asked Rainbow, "Did they fight?"

Celestia nodded, "Unfortunately. Some humans, startled by seeing pegasi land in front of them, attacked."

"Did ponies die?"

"And humans," Celestia replied, "A brief skirmish resulted in the deaths of approximately 100 ponies and humans. The skirmish only stopped upon my arrival."

"What did you do when you saw what had happened?" asked Twilight.

"I spoke to the ranking Solar officer on the scene who told me of what had transpired, I then approached the humans and asked to speak to their leader. The human I would later call my lover, Richard of Nottingham."

"Your lover?" queried Twilight.

Celestia nodded, "I spoke with him and realising he was not a violent war-monger but instead was a stallion of impeccable chivalry, we agreed to call a truce and consider what had happened to be an unfortunate incident."

"But what about all the violence that came?"

"Things started out well enough. I invited him to stay here in Canterlot Castle, along with a select group of his men and in return I would allow the remainder who came to set up camp where they appeared, along with their women and children. That is something that confused all of us."

"How so?" asked Luna.

"Richard and his men were on a crusade in the 'Holy Land' when they said they appeared in Equestria, but their women and children were back home in England, mostly their hometown of Nottingham and the surrounding villages."

"Why would they appear also?" asked Rainbow.

"We never did work out how or why, only that they did."

The conversation was halted when the doors opened to reveal a line of waiters bring in everyone's food, much to the delight of Luna and Rainbow who were almost salivating at the sight of their juicy steaks. Celestia meanwhile waited until everyone had their meals in front of them before continuing her story, feeling somewhat relieved to be able to get some of the burden off of her chest.

Once everyone had began their meals, Celestia continued.

"As I was saying, I invited Richard to the castle where we discussed various things such as where they were, what we are and who we are. One thing that surprised both of us was the fact we spoke the same language, OK there were some minor differences. The 'English' Richard spoke sounded less 'evolved' than modern day Equestrian, but we still understood each other."

"What else did you discuss?" asked Twilight.

"We discussed what was to be done. We agreed that they could set up camp and if no way back was found, they could set up a permanent settlement instead. As things turned out, that's what happened and how Trottingham came to be."

"How did things go from there?" Cadence asked, greatly intrigued.

"For the first few years, they went well. The humans, once been told there was no way they could go home, built their town and made what life they could in Equestria; forming trade guilds and establishing links with merchants in other towns. On the subject of faith and religion, I expected there to be violence from what Richard had told me of the crusades, but he informed me that most of his men believed that their God had sent them to Equestria on some sort of divine mission."

"And you believed it?" asked Shining, with a trace amount of venom not gone unnoticed by the others.

"It kept the peace. I allowed them to practice their own faith and in return most of them did not force their belief on ponies, much to the efforts and influence of Richard."

"But what of the few who didn't accept it so easily?" asked Twilight, making a mental note of everything being said.

"That is where some of the problems started."

"How so?"

"Many humans formed friendships with ponies, some had even formed relationships. Some humans feared of what may happen should offspring be born and took matters into their own hands."

"What did those humans do?"

"I shall tell you later after tea, what happened would cause you to lose your appetite. Suffice it to say, it is not for easy listening."

"I would like to hear this as well," Fairfax announced, taking a bite out of his beef steak, "It would be of great interest to my superiors."

*MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE*

"Progress?"

"It has been done."

"Excellent."

About half an hour later, tea was over and everyone was now in the large lounge in the main tower of the castle. The setting sun bathed the cloud filled in a warm orange glow, the beautiful sunset betraying the ugliness of events earlier. Deciding to waste no more time, Celestia walked away from the window and sat down in her armchair beside the fire which was now burning nicely thanks to some 'encouragement' from Luna.

"So, you would like to know what a small group of humans did that lead to their eventual destruction?"

The girls nodded.

"Very well," Celestia replied, "The small group of humans began kidnapping and forcibly converting ponies to their faith, sometimes inflicting torture upon them until they acquiesced. Those who refused were burnt at the stake, some even more sinister humans put ponies in Brazen Bull's."

"What did you do in response?" asked Twilight, visibly shaken from the morbid stories,"What did Richard do?"

"I increased patrols of guards in towns and cities and Richard had the main culprits behind the atrocities executed. I thought that that would be the end of it, but it was only the beginning. Some humans executed both humans and ponies alike for their 'sin' of being in a relationship."

The mares gasped in shock.

"Why would they do that?!" cried Fluttershy.

"They saw relationships between humans and ponies as sodomy, as humans were committing sexual acts with a non-human animal; a sin in their faith. Victims would be tortured into confessing, even innocents who had committed no crime, and then they would be tied to a stake and burned to death."

The harrowing stories sounded even worse coming from the Princess than reading about it in a book. Hearing it from the Princess herself made it sound more real, more close to home.

"What did you and Richard do?" asked Twilight.

"By then our relationship was becoming strained, and then the Changelings invaded. Equestria only had an army of 4,000 troops, and most of them acted mostly as peacekeepers in towns and villages. They had never seen fighting on the battlefield."

"But the humans had."

Celestia nodded, "Realising that Equestrian Guards were in no position to mobilise a defence, Richard organised an army of roughly 10,000 men and marched across Equestria to stop the Changelings. Have you been to the cemetery in Trottingham?"

The girls nodded.

"Then you know of what transpired. Deeply grateful for his and his men's heroic efforts, I bestowed a Knighthood upon Richard, and appointed him as Captain of the Solar Guard; his predecessor having resigned in shame for being unable to counter the Changeling threat."

Celestia lit her horn up and showed the girls the same picture she had shown Luna earlier.

"This is Sir Richard, after his Knighthood and new appointment as my Captain."

"When did you become lovers?" asked Rainbow.

"We already were, but it was around the time this picture was taken that it became serious."

Celestia couldn't help but giggle a little.

"Something amusing sister?"

"I was just thinking back to seeing the look on Richard's face when he first saw a camera. At the time where he came from, such technology wasn't event dreamt of."

"What did he think of it?"

"He was fascinated by photography and took a keen interest in it."

"Princess?"

"Yes Twilight?"

Twiddling her mane with her fingers, Twilight was going to get an answer to a question that eluded her.

A question that demanded an answer.

"You said that the skeleton found in the brazen bull was that of Sir Richard?"

"Yes."

"I was just wondering...if he was your lover..."

"Please ask your question Twilight," Celestia encouraged, noting her student's nervousness.

"Why did you leave his remains there even after you found out he was innocent?"

Author's Notes:

I have a Patreon account and it's been a big help. My Patreon Donors (very nice, generous people) are listed below:

Tankoncow
Allmightytoaster
AMG-guy63
Redfox335
Khadija WestAkarkouz
Camron Mouton
Daniel Tate
Moonlit Forest
kent

If you wish to become a donor as well you can become one by going here.

(The Short Fuse in this story isn't the same as the one in the episode 'The Washouts'. It's just a coincidence they have the same name).