Despite their forced retreat and heavy loss of troops, the rebel army was able to gain a foothold in the south and establish a base in the fortified town of Appleoosa. With the slave merchants gone, the town had seemed to return to its normal self.

Children were once again playing in the streets without any chains or rags while their families went about repairing the old clock tower and helping the rebel soldiers any way they could but none were more helpful than Big Macintosh whose great strength made it easy for the townsfolk to move the supplies and tools around. Even the vikings were impressed by the ammount of muscle this stallion was carrying.

"By odin! Does he ever get tired?" A viking asked as he watched Big Mac carry a pile of wooden planks on one shoulder.

"That's our big brother." Said little Applebloom with a smile. The filly had brought the men some hot cider from the tavern to warm their bodies against the cold weather.

"Weird. Shouldn't Rainbow Dash and the other pegasus have cleared the clouds by now?" She asked while looking up to the falling snow.

"They actually tried yesterday but there's so much cloud cover that the ones they get rid of just get replaced by the ones drifting in." The second viking answered before handing back the empty mug and resuming his work.

"Thanks for the drinks kid."

"Bye!"

As Applebloom went back to fetch more hot cider for the workers she heard the distinct sound of weapons clashing coming from around the next corner followed by the sounds of cheering.

"What's going on here?" She asked herself as she turned the corner to find Applejack and Wulfric sparring with one another but it appeared to be something more.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Wulfric asked as they began to circle each other when his mare replied in a smug manner.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle with ya."

The match started with Wulfric bringing his claymore down with a powerful swing while Applejack weaved to the side and began overwhelming her lover with a series of combo attacks from her twin axes. The weight of the sword made it difficult for Wulfric to counter at close range but with a single side step, he was able to weave past Applejack and deliver a smack to her rump using the flat edge of his blade.

"Did you just spank me?" She asked in a slightly annoyed tone while rubbing her flank.

"Not my fault you got a fine piece of tail." Wulfric replied with a sly grin before Applejack pelted his face with a snowball.

"Oh now you've done it!"

Applejack screamed for a moment as Wulfric began throwing back at her after dropping his sword and the couple soon found themselves in a little snowball fight that made Applebloom giggle.

"Gotcha!" The chieftain shouted after grabbing hold of Applejack who continued to laugh as her lover toppled over and into the snow. As the couple rolled around in the snow, Applebloom giggled to herself when she saw something unexpected. Her big sister was kissing the warborn chieftain on the lips and in a loving embrace.

After she first met Wulfric, Applebloom knew of his relationship with her big sisters and couldn't be more happy for the two of them despite him being a caribou. True, most of the caribou tribes she met were lust crazed monsters with no care for anyone other than themselves but there were some who were kind and caring.

"I think that's enough training." Said Applejack as she got up and wiped off the snow in her fur.

"Shame. I was winning." Wulfric replied with another grin while getting a playful nudge from his mare.

As the couple retrieved their weapons, Applejack noticed a little red bow sticking out of an alleyway and a mischievious grin crept upon her face. The mare quietly stepped closer before plucking her little sister out of the shadows with gleeful laughter.

"Gotcha!"

"AHH!!"

Applebloom squealed and laughed as her big sister tickled her sides and covered her face with little pecks and kisses while Wulfric chuckled and smiled to himself. He had no siblings of his own when his mother died and he spent most of his childhood training with his father, seeing the two siblings made him a bit envious but he was still happy that he could reunite Applejack with her family.

"Now what were you doing? Spying on us?" Applejack asked her little sister while nuzzling her.

"Sorry." The little filly responded before getting her mane ruffled.

"I'm gonna take Applebloom back to the tavern, it's getting late." Applejack said to Wulfric while giving him a peck on the cheek. As the sisters headed to the tavern, Applebloom noticed a squad of knights training in the town square and among them was the face of a certain pegasus she had not seen for some time.

"SCOOTALOO!!"

"APPLEBLOOM!!"

Scootaloo had joined up with the knights of the golden sun after she had made a full recovery and hoped that journeying with them would help her find her friends. So far, her plan seemed to work now that she found Applebloom at last.

The two fillies hugged each other tightly as they laughed with all eyes watching them. It was rare to see children so happy in these dark times and such a sight seemed to warm the hearts of the battle hardened knights.

"Squire!" Marshall shouted as the rest of the squad stood at attention.

"Ah! Sorry sir!" Replied a startled scootaloo as her commanding officer approached.

"Care to introduce your friend?" The warden inquired as Scootaloo gave the introductions.

"Yes. This is Applebloom. One of my best friends from Ponyville. Applebloom this is Marshall, the knight I was assigned to."

"By request." Marshall added as he ruffled her mane before dismissing the rest of the troops.

"I guess you two will want to catch up. But after you're done Scootaloo, I want you to polish your armor before bed."

"Yes sir!"

The fillies returned with Applejack to the tavern to have lunch and make up for lost time while Marshall went to the barracks to see how the plans for the march back to Canterlot were coming along. Upon his return, the warden received some urgent news from a fellow officer who was waiting to greet him at the entrance.

"There you are Marshall. Prince Shining Armor wants to see you. He said he hand an assignment for you."

"Really? I'll see him right away."

As Marshall made his way to the council room he passed by the medical wing where many of his fellow knights and other rebel soldiers laid injured or dying, it served as a reminder of how much a knight must be willing to sacrifice in times of war. It was hard to believe that he was just a common mercenary not too long ago.

"Marshall." Called the prince as the warden quietly entered the room.

"You summoned me sire?"

"Yes, we need you for a special assignment. Princess Luna is heading back to the fort near everfree forest and she'll need an escort so I've assigned you personally."

"Just me sire?" Marshall inquired when Luna explained the situation.

"A large armed force would attract too much attention plus we don't exactly have the manpower since most of the army is busy fortifying the town."

"Understood. I'll prepare my gear at once."

Just before Marshall left, a smirk crept upon the princesses face after she had gotten a good look at him. Despite the many scars covering his face, the stallion was handsome in his own right, well disciplined and loyal to a fault and could easily see why Shining Armor recruited this former mercenary into his army.

"Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me." The princess said as she left the room to prepare for her journey.

Marching down the hall in a full suit of armor reminded Princess Luna of the war against she and her sister fought against King Sombra in The Crystal Empire centuries ago but this time she was fighting a war to save her kingdom as well as Celestia.

"Sister..." Luna whispered to herself while pulling out a small locket and inside was a picture of her and Celestia eating cake at her last birthday party. That was the day before Dainn and his followers came.

"Please hold on."

That Night

Just as they planned, Luna and Marshall left under the cover of night riding two war bears through the frozen wastes as they headed back to the fortress. The skies were clear and their was a full moon shining bright on the lands below.

"If we keep up this pace, we should be there by dawn!" Luna shouted over the stamping paws of her mount when a bolt struck her down.

"PRINCESS!!" Marshall quickly halted his steed to help the princess after seeing the bolt lodged in her left shoulder, the impact of the fall had knocked her out cold and to make matters worse a band of brigands began appearing out of the shadows.

"Rogue knights..." Marshall whispered slightly after seeing their armor and weapons. From what he could tell, these men were disgraced soldiers who had been discharged and hired as mercenaries for the kings army.

"Well well well. Looky what we got here boys! A knight of the golden sun and Princess Luna herself!" Shouted a mercenary carrying a spear while the others got a good look at Princess Luna as her wound began to bleed.

"Why don't you let us take care of that for ya? We promise to treat her real nice~!"

The brigands began laughing among themselves as they began to imagine the princess withouth her armor and chained to a bed like a helpless slave. Their fantasy was cut short when the heard the warden unsheath his sword and clamp down his visor.

"You two, head back to the town and get help. I'll guard the princess." Marshall whispered to the bears behind him just before they raced back to town.

Under the full moon, Marshalls blade seemed to glow with an almost mystic light as he stood between the band of renegades and Princess Luna.

"You will not lay one hand on the princess..." He spoke in a low, threatening voice while readying his sword.

"You're a fool! There's at least fifty of us and only one of you!" Said one of the rogue knights trying to sound intimidating but as he looked into Marshalls eyes, his blood began to freeze. The eyes he were gazing into were not those of a knight but a highly trained killer.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to come at me?" The warden dared for his opponents to make the first move but all of them were frozen with an unnatural fear.

"Fine-I'LL COME TO YOU!!"

https://youtu.be/y0KyhRkgThc

With one stroke, Marshall had cleaved off three heads from the enemy standing before him and the battle was instantly underway. The brigands attacked from all sides, thinking their superior numbers would overwhelm the warden but his sword skills proved to be too great.

"You're all lacking in combat training! Disgraceful!!" Marshall shouted as he cleaved another of the brigands in two. One by one, the enemy fell beneath the wardens blade until they were reduced to half of their original number.

"Ready crossbows!!" A captain shouted as his men formed a firing squadron.

"FIRE!!"

Marshall ran towards the enemy while receiving three bolts in his breastplate but despite his injuries, the warden fought on with the fury of ten soldiers. By the time the moon was at its highest peak, the entire roadside was littered with the rotting corpses of the brigands and in the center stood Marshall.

Exhausted, wounded and covered in blood, the warden was finally able to lay down his sword just as the princess began to awake.

"Oh...my head..." The princess groaned just before she felt the sting of the bolt in her shoulder and started to remember what transpired after.

"That's right, I was knocked out...we were ambushed and-!! Marshal!"

It was after her recollection that Luna saw the bodies and an exhausted warden laying in the center with three bolts in his chest.

"Marshall!!"

Luna rushed over to Marshalls side and cradled his head in her lap after removing his helmet. The wardens complextion was pale from the loss of blood and his breathing had become shallow.

"Princess...you're safe." Marshall huffed as Luna gently placed a finger on his lips.

"Shh. Don't speak, save your strength."

The wardens eyes slowly began to close despite his efforts to stay awake and it seemed like this would be his end until the princess spotted a squad of her night guards racing down the road with torches and wagons.

"There they are!" One of them shouted after seeing the princess and Marshall amongst the field of corpses.

"Your majesty! You're hurt!" Said a medic who was first on the scene.

"I'm fine! Help him!!" Luna shouted to the medic who immediately ordered the soldiers to get Marshall onto a wagon.

"We have to get to the fort. It's his only chance!" Said the medic after checking Marshalls pulse. It had become very weak.

"Double time it! MOVE!!"

The party ran as fast as their mounts could carry them until they had reached the fortress. Marshall was instantly taken to the medical wing with little time to spare as the surgeons began to carefully remove the bolts before taking off his armor and cleaning the rest of his wounds.

"I'm surprised he's still alive." Said one surgeon who handed over the bloodied breastplate to his assistant.

"No joke. Two punctured lungs and a fractured rib followed by a gash in his torso? This is one tough bastard." Said another who had just finished washing his hands of blood from the surgery.

The moment the doctors stepped out, they were met by the princess who seemed very distressed after hours of waiting.

"How is Sir Marshall?" Luna asked while doing her best to stay calm.

"He'll pull through your majesty." One of the surgeons replied as the princess sighed with relief before ordering two of her guards to stand by Marshalls room in case anything happened.

"I must send word to Shining Armor and let him know what's happened."

The Next Morning

As the first rays of the sun peeked through the window, Marshall was slowly roused from his sleep and found himself in a soft bed and wrapped in bandages. His body was still weakened from the wounds he had sustained and his throat was a little dry.

"Water..." he wheezed while looking around for a drink.

At that moment, a nurse came in with a tray of food to see the injured knight holding his throat and quickly gave him a glass of cold water to drink while helping him to sit up.

"There ya go dearie." The nurse said before laying him down.

For a while, Marshall laid in his bed and enjoyed his meal when Shining Armor and Princess Luna came into the room with two guards.

"Your majesties!"

"At ease soldier." Said Shining Armor as the injured knight tried to stand.

"Princess Luna told me of the what happened last night. You've honored your legion."

"And such a deed demands merit." Princess Luna added before gesturing for the guard next to her to read a scroll loud enough for all to hear.

"Sir Marshall, Warden and Knight of The Golden Sun. For your service and heroism, Princess Luna of Canterlot has hereby granted you the title of Lumiere; Royal Knight of The Moonlight."

A small round of applause filled the room while Marshall just laid there in his bed completely dumbfounded when Shining Armor gave a friendly nudge to his shoulder.

"Try to look more excited!"

"Uh...thank you princess. You honor me." Marshall said to the princess who shook her head with a smile.

"The honor is mine Sir Marshall. Now rest and regain your strength, your part in this fight is far from over."

Luna and Shining Armor left to room soon afterwards to prepare for the journey back south but not before Shining Armor inquired something from the princess.

"Princess Luna, you haven't chosen a royal knight of the moon in a long time. Why him?"

At that moment, Luna stopped to think of an answer but only smiled as she replied.

"I'm not sure. Impulse I guess."

End.