My armor clad hooves once more clacked against the polished stone of Unicornia. My cloak once more in its usual place, and all of my swords within easy reach.

My mind felt refreshingly normal, yet still vaguely fuzzy at the edges.

I resolved to not talk to Meadowbrook again outside the presence of fresh air.

Stars above... How high was her tolerance if she hadn't even noticed?!

I sighed, looking down at the square stone of the Unicornian Palace.

Ponies were truly strange.

It was actually the day after I had woken up in that strange mare's temporary lair. Grey sunlight beamed down onto the floor, cast by a dismally cloudy sky. Autumn was well on it's way.

Tia had better get a move on if she wanted to move South before Winter.

I passed a servant, too busy with her duties to pay me any mind.

I sighed again.

Who was I kidding? I had to do my job before Tia could do hers... I was going to be extremely busy this coming Moon...

Outside the stained glass window, I saw the forms of soldiers passing by.

Good. They were still mustering. I'm not late yet.

I continued my walk down the corridor, which was practically abandoned. Coming to a door, I sighed again.

A feeling of apprehension welled in my chest.

It had been my foalhood dream to go on an honest to goodness monster hunt, a desire that had been driven by tales of ghosts ghouls and gremlins. But that was before Casúrdomhain, Pegasopolis, and Unicornia. Before Ùllahdmaiden.

Before the Hydra even.

I had slain monsters yes, but now I had the blood of Ponies on my hooves as well.

As a filly, everything was so simple. Ponies good, monsters bad.

But now I knew better.

Ponies were not automatically 'good'. No, they could be evil to their core, as exemplified by that son of a bitch Hoarfrost and his niece Emerald.

Was it not therefor, possible that not all monsters were bad?

If I were to step into the claws of a humble Timberwolf for a moment, at the end of the day all I would be trying to do was survive. To find my next meal however I could. And as distasteful was it was to think about, that could mean grabbing something that struck back with spear and spellfire.

In a way... I had more in common with a Timberwolf than I did with the nobility.

At the end of the day, I'd be a snarling, murdering mess too if I was pushed to it.

All in the name of survival.

I took a deep breath, my hoof resting on the door, ready to push it open.

Survival... It was such a simple thing... There wasn't a living thing alive that didn't know what it was and desired it greatly. But that survival came at a cost. You couldn't not kill something to eat. Even the grass...

I pushed the door open and marched forward.

But regardless of my feelings, I had to pit myself against the monsters, despite our similarities.

I had to make sure Ponies survived.

I had Ponies to protect.

Ranks of waiting soldiers stood in the pale morning light, weapons of all sorts hanging at their sides, or resting easily in their hooves. Armor of all makes, freshly polished and refurbished made the whole procession look motely. Unicornian gold, Pegasoplian grey, and bright Earthbreaker steel.

Off to the side, being loaded and tended to by more soldiers, were a plethora of carts. The tell-tale look of a mobile camping equipment within easy reach for when we decided to make camp. The only siege weapons in sight however were the disassembled parts of several ballistae, packed away and mostly unneeded.

They would only be used for the bigger monsters, like a Hydra or, stars forbid, an actual Dragon.

Several of my more combat talented Captains stood ready, saluting at my approach.

Flash Magnus, Rock Garden, and Bright Shine.

The likes of Short List, while trusted, were more able keeping the books than actually leading and fighting.

To my surprise however, there stood the forms of Smart Cookie, Clover, and Starswirl, each with their traveling gear.

"What are you all doing here?" I asked when I came close.

"Can't rightly let ye go and have all the fun. Besides, gotta have somepony to keep track of yer head." Cookie winked.

"But I thought you were-"

"Getting the Nobility ready?" Starswirl interjected. "Hardly. Your sister has that well handled, and I'd like to take the time to procure alchemical ingredients while I can. Besides, you may need a master wizard if anything too strange crops up."

I blinked at the stallion.

"Are you sure? Surely you can get ingredients in the Sou-"

"No I'm afraid not." Starswirl shook his head. "While yes, I suspect you are correct, I would have to experiment to find their properties. And there's no guarantee they would have some of the more... Potent properties I require. No, I endeavor to gather what I can, and perhaps harvest some seeds or spores to propagate artificially."

"I understand." I nodded. "You're free to come. All of you." I said, looking at the odd trio. "But why are you coming Clover? I thought you were recovering?"

The whole mess with Emerald had indeed caused an uproar. Clover had been taken to the Palace ward to recover, but I hadn't known she had been released.

"I was." Clover nodded. "But I with- What happened the other day... I want to get out of the castle as soon as I can. Maybe gather my own supply of reagents and learn a few of the more nuanced methods of alchemy from Master Starswirl while we're out."

"Hm yes." Starswirl nodded. "I believe there are a few more tricks I can teach you."

"Thank you Master." Clover bowed slightly.

"Well..." I said, interjecting myself. "If you're feeling up to it, I'll be glad to have all of you... But if you'll excuse me, I have to make sure we're ready." I nodded at them all, moving on as I did so.

They nodded respectfully, and turned towards each other, continuing the conversation without me.

Behind me, my three Captains followed on my heels.

"Any complications?" I asked, looking over the ranks but addressing them.

"No General." Bright Shine replied stoically. "Everything is proceeding as planned."

"Excellent. How long until we can leave?"

"Just a few more barrels I think." Flash informed. "After that I think we're good."

"Not quite." Said a familiar voice from behind us.

I turned to see Tia, her wings spread majestically.

The ranks of Ponies were bowing as one.

"I've come to wish you luck." Tia smiled.

"Thank you Ti-" I started to say formally, but suddenly found myself smothered by white fur.

"Good luck Lu. I'll miss you." she murmured.

"I'll miss you too." I replied, returning her hug.

We held our pose for a few seconds before Tia pulled away, her eyes watering.

"Why are you crying?" I asked. "It's not like I'm not coming back."

"Lu, you're the one who keeps bringing up accidents and mortality."

"I suppose..." I nodded. "Then guess I'll do my best to bring myself, and everypony back. Will that work?"

"It'll have to do." she nodded, before turning towards the once again upright soldiers. "Ponies!" she called out. "We are far from home! But we have one more fight before us! To get everypony South, we have to clear the way for the Ponies of this city to join us! Go forth and protect our new brothers and sisters by hunting the monsters that would threaten them!" she flapped her wings, getting a few hooves off the ground.

I suddenly realized she may not know how to fly yet.

Hehehehe...

But a contrary part of me asked the forbidden question again, dousing my mirth like a fire.

Tia landed back on the ground, and turned, marching back towards the castle.

She disappeared inside, but a suspiciously white blob appeared in a nearby window.

I turned towards my Captains.

"Anything else?" I asked.

They all shook their heads.

"Then get ready to march as soon as we're loaded. We've got a job to do and I'd rather get it done before Winter."

"Yes General." they said in unison, before splitting up to their own units and started barking orders.

The organized chaos that ensued made me slightly dizzy trying to keep track of it all, as the ranks of soldiers maneuvered onto the pathway, deftly keeping the carts between blocks of the formation. As they did that, somepony in the gatehouse saw fit to start the slow process of opening the gate itself.

Soon, a Pegasus flew over to Flash, said a few words I couldn't hear, and nodded. Flash dismissed the stallion and waved to get my attention.

He nodded.

I looked over to Rock Garden and Bright Shine, whom both stood by the open gate.

They were both waiting patiently.

As soon as they saw me looking they both nodded.

We were ready.

"Forward march!" I shouted, clear enough for everypony to hear.

The whole formation lurched forward, steadily leaving out of the front gate that just days ago had been trying to keep them out.

I glanced back towards the window, where the white blob still stood.

I smiled and waved.

"I will return Tia. But you may not recognize me." I whispered under my breath, too quietly for anypony else to hear in the tumult of clattering plates of metal.

The blob waved back, and was gone.

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