"STOP! All of you! STOP!"

The brown cloud of dust from the combat ring fell back down to the ground, revealing a group of four, unarmored unicorn stallions, all carrying blunt combat staffs with their magic. However, one of them was on the ground with his hoof reaching toward his fallen weapon. The top of his torso was ornate with purple bruise marks and red lines of blood. One of the other stallions was standing over him with his staff hovering over his head, ready to strike again, but stopped short.

Then, an orange, armored unicorn stallion walked into the ring in a fast, abrupt pace. His face was written all over with major disapproval. His jaw clenched tighter as he neared the four stallions.

"Ten-HUT!" he barked as he marched.

They all hopped to--.

"Not you! You stay down there!" he barked again, shooting a commanding glare at the fallen unicorn.

Correction, the three stallions hopped to their hooves, upright as perfectly perpendicular nails in a wooden board. The orange stallion immediately stopped in the middle of the group, slowly turning his body around to scan his surroundings.

Three stallions still standing...

One on the ground...

Two teams of two...

"Private Iron Clad!" he barked, shooting a glare at one of the stallions who were still standing.

"Sir!" the grey stallion responded.

The armored stallion marched directly up to him, staring directly into his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he snarled.

"Sparring, sir!"

"I said, what are you doing?!"

"Fighting my opponent, sir!"

"No, you're not, Private Clad!!"

"I don't understand, sir!?"

"You're not fighting your opponent, Private! Could I not be any clearer? You are not fighting your opponent! Not by yourself!" With that, he pointed a firm foreleg at the fallen unicorn. "You're just fighting away while your comrade is getting the living daylights beaten out of him by your opponent's teammate! You can't beat both of them, Private! Do you think you're some hotshot?! Do you think you've got the guts to take on two of them at a time?! Do you think you have the balls?!"

"No, sir!"

"No, you do not!! Listen well, Private! Listen well, everypony!" he shouted, turning to all of the stallions that were watching as they were standing near the combat ring. "What keeps our nation proud and strong against our opposers is the nation's army, the Royal Guard! And an army is a collection of the nation's finest fighters, willing to risk his or her life for the sake of keeping our nation standing! A collection! One pony is not a collection! You will not be one-pony-army and take on everything all by yourself! You need your comrades to help you fight the fight. And, that's another thing!"

He snatched the staff out of Iron Clad's magical grip, not taking his eyes off of him as he resumed to glare into his soul.

"When your teammate has fallen into the grasp of another..."

CRACK!! The orange unicorn whipped around and swung the staff mightily against the hind stallion's head, which sent him twisting and turning in the air and landing roughly on his side. The platoon of stallions outside the ring flinched in surprise. The fallen stallion could only stare in amazement as he saw his opponent roll on the ground, groaning in pain.

"Avenge him!" the stallion resumed. "You will not allow your teammate to be humiliated by anypony! His or her dignity is important as well as his or her importance to keep you alive! If you don't defend your comrade's honor, then yours will diminish just as quickly. As long as you are in the Royal Guard, your honor will be steadfast..."

He turned to the platoon. "Do I make myself clear?!"

"Yes, Lieutenant Hellfire, sir!" they all confirmed.

"Now..." he said, returning the staff to its original owner. "Resume sparring! As you were!"

He turned and marched out of the ring, but not before he helped the downed stallion up to his feet. He left the one he just struck on the ground, so the platoon would soak in the information.

Hellfire stood at a distance, watching his platoon resume their sparring.

"You didn't have to do that..." said a voice behind him.

"There is nothing else that would enhance my point further," he said without looking back.

"Just don't hurt my soldiers. They get injured enough through conditioning."

"As you command, Captain Shining Armor..."

The white, blue maned unicorn walked up further next to him, watching the platoon of stallions spar. His eye crept to look at Hellfire, who was intently focusing on the activity in the sparring ring.

"Still, other than that little show of violence, I thought your speech was quite inspirational," the captain spoke, breaking the silence.

"They have to learn. Dignity is vital. If we didn't have any dignity, then we would only make all of Equestria look undignified, as well as Princess Celestia. However, I'm not just talking about that; I'm talking about my comrades. They have still yet to learn, yet I am damn proud of them. I won't allow myself to see them humiliated by the hooves or claws or paws of another. They have much more worth than that."

He felt the weight of a buff forearm lie on top of his back. He turned to see the grinning face of Shining Armor looking at him.

"This is why you are one of the finest Lieutenants in the Royal Guard, as well as my friend," he smiled. "You have a lot of devotion and heart to the things you love."

"I would fight to the death for them," the orange stallion grinned nobly.

"Hay, you even got into the Royal Guard faster than I did because of that devotion. It was your dream. It would take me a long time to become a Lieutenant like you."

"How come I'm not a captain already, though?"

The white stallion sighed uneasily through his nostrils. "Well, to be honest, friend-to-friend, you do have a tendency to jump ahead more than you could think. Leaping before thinking. That is the leading cause of ruin, you realize. You don't want to be ruined don't you?"

"Of course not. I want to be the best," Hellfire grinned, though hurt by Shining Armor's honesty.

"Good! As your Captain, I personally command you to think before you leap. I don't want to lose one of the Royal Guard's best soldiers. I don't want to lose my friend, either."

The orange unicorn returned a grateful smile.

"Excuse me, Captain," he said, gently pushing the white unicorn's foreleg off of his back. "I've got to get back to my platoon. Training is nearly over."

"Of course," the captain nodded. "And when you get back home, tell Golden Dune I said, 'hello'. It's been a while since we've last met."

"Will do, sir."

The silence that resided in the vast chamber filled Hellfire ears to the brim, except for the metal clanking of his locker and the unzipping of his duffelbag. His orange fur coat stood out in the dull blue and purple colors of the lockers.

An orange aura of magic emerged from the polished surface of his purple and brass helmet. The helmet lifted off from his head, revealing a mass of long, black, straight hair that fell onto his back and shoulders. A few damp, sweaty strands stuck onto his slender and piercing face with stone cut cheek bones. His eyes were an ethereal blue, but not distracting enough to drive one's eyes away from the rest of his features.

TUNG!

As he turned to place his helmet neatly down on the bench, he felt a violent and sudden vibration beat against his side. Surprised, his head zipped around toward the culprit of the surprise.

"Pfft!" he chortled through his closed lips. He leaned his head toward the other side of his body and unbuckled it with his magic. However, he did not let it drop onto the ground. This item was too precious to him. He lifted the object up to his face, gazing closely at its features.

It was a scabbard with its sword sheathed into it. The scabbard's surface was black, tough leather. So tough, a Minotaur would have trouble trying to rip it apart.

The handle of the sword grew bright with his magic, causing it to be slowly drawn out from its protective case. When the tip of the blade seperated from the lips of the sheath, the chromatic, lustrous blade sung like sparrows. He whirled it around, careful not to cut himself. The ends of the brass and chrome sword handle vanished to sharp, fine points. The grip was ornate with navy, patterned rubber, with sewn strings of gold twirling down the shaft like a whirlpool. He pointed the tip into the lip of the sheath.

ShhhhhCHANK! With the support of gravity, he let the sword slide back into its sheath.

Then, he loosened the belt strap of his torso armor. He allowed the armor to slowly slide off of his body and down his legs. The armor softly landed on the ground with a metallic "clunk!". He removed the leg pieces from his legs and placed them into the locker as well as his torso armor. He glanced into the mirror to look at his bare self. His chest was buff, but not overwhelmed with vast muscles. His black hooves peeked from behind his unshorn fetlocks. He shifted his flank to one direction so it could be seen in the reflection. There, his cutie mark shone like a burning fire, of course, that was what was on his flank: an image of a burning fire. His eyes shifted up to his face.

Then, to his body...

Then, to his cutie mark...

Repeat...

He raised an eyebrow in approval as a small grin cracked in his lips. He knew was not that bad looking. He was very stone cut and charming. It was his own style of attractiveness. He did not desire to be like those supermodel stallions, all bleached, shiny, flawless, and... plastic.

He shuddered at the latter thought.

Suddenly, he heard a door open, and a Royal Guard marched in. This Royal Guard was carrying a large banner with the image of Celestia's Sun and Luna's Moon. A pair of brass wings spread out from his helmet. He tapped the banner firmly onto the ground.

"Lieutenant Hellfire. Princess Celestia has requested your presence in the Throne Hall. Come as you are."

"Am I in trouble?" the orange stallion coolly asked.

"No. She only wishes to speak with you. Come as soon as you can."

Without another word, the Royal Guard stallion turned and left, leaving Hellfire alone in the chamber once again.

He turned to leave, but he stopped himself in his tracks. He turned to see his helmet subconsciously stare at him.

He chuckled in his breath.

His horn glowed, and the orange aura engulfed the helmet once again. He lifted it into the air and into his duffelbag.

He zipped it closed, shut his locker, and went out the door.

"She's going to love this," he murmured.

An orange pony knelt on top of the red rollout carpet in front of a golden throne.

"Princess Celestia," he said. "You have requested my presence?"

"Lieutenant Hellfire," the white alicorn stated happily, yet regally. "Yes, I did. Thank you for coming."

"One of your guards told me that you wished to speak with me?"

"Yes. I was talking to Shining Armor earlier."

"What did he say?" he subtly raised an eyebrow, not looking up.

"Oh, he was just enamoring over your speech about unity and brotherhood and sisterhood. He found it intriguing and inspirational."

"Thank you, Shining Armor..." he said in his breath, grinning.

Her expression suddenly faltered into seriousness. "And then, he mentioned about the hit you laid on one of your soldiers."

"Damn it, Shining Armor..."

"I believe that might have been over-the-top."

"With all due respect, Princess, I thought it was necessary to get my point across."

"There are other ways, Lieutenant," she stated sternly. "You can't go striking your own platoon just to get your facts straight. They would be able to learn without having to be struck."

Hellfire frowned deeper in disgust. It was his own platoon. Aside from her being the ruler of Equestria, since when did she have the authority to tell him how to run his own platoon? The willpower and strength of a platoon depicts the stallion leading it. Whether she liked it or not, he wanted his platoon to be relentless, intimidating, unfazed, but most of all, the best out of many.

He suddenly saw a shadow creep on top of him. He lifted his head to see the princess stand directly in front of him. Her eyes and smile were calm and gentle. She lowered her head to speak to him while he was still kneeling.

"I understand that you wish the best for your platoon... For yourself... But the best comes from being patient and level-headed, regardless of the situation. You have talent, Hellfire, but you don't have control over your emotions."

Hellfire sighed through his nostrils, reluctantly admitting his fault.

"You are one of the best soldiers here, Hellfire. You're valuable to us just like every other one. We can't lose you," she said in console.

He sighed again, but this time with content. It was an honor to be called the best by a great and loving ruler. He appreciated her for noticing his elite abilities.

"So, just do me one favor," the white alicorn said with a gentle grin. "Keep yourself level, regardless of situations. Corruption is not an option."

"Yes, Princess..." he replied.

The regal alicorn grinned, pleased with his loyalty. "You may leave now. Have a wonderful day."

"You as well, Princess, have a nice day."

Hellfire stood up slowly, keeping his loyal and polite stature in front of his deity. He smoothly turned himself around to face the tall doors leading out of the throne room. His hoofbeats were muffled by the velvet carpet.

He took a quick look behind himself to glance at the smiling Princess Celestia.

Such a kind and wonderful pony, but her nosiness made his brow cringe in disapproval. She had no business to tell him how to lead his platoon, nonetheless. However, he did not feel like getting a dishonorable discharge because of disobedience. Being a Royal Guard was his lifetime goal. There was no way he was going to be stripped of it.

He heaved a heavy sigh through his nose.

It should not be a problem to keep a level head. He believed he was capable, just like he was capable of being a Lieutenant at a fast rate.

No problem...

No problem...

"I'm coming home, my love..." he muttered to himself.

"Mommy! Daddy's home! Daddy's home!"

A little sand-colored unicorn filly with black and grey short hair was hopping in a beeline toward the front door. Her black-colored eyes were twinkling with excitement and longing to see her father return home. As soon as she turned the corner, her eyes widened in joy to see the orange stallion standing in the doorway.

"Daddyyyyyyyyy!" she cheered as charged at him like a bull.

"Heyyyy, Obsidiaaaaa!" Hellfire exclaimed with a goofy smile on his face. He squatted low and opened his foreleg widely to catch his little daughter. He snatched her into a warm hug as soon as she bumped into his firm chest.

"Rararararararrrrhh!" he playfully growled as he nuzzled her small neck. The little filly shrieked in laughter.

"Welcome home, daddy!" she said.

"How's my sweet little girl doing? Hmm?" he said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"She did a speech about you in her class today," said a voice coming from the hallway in front of the door. He looked up to see a sand-colored earth pony with golden-blonde, wavy hair that fell gracefully over one side of her head. Her golden-yellow eyes gazed warmly at him.

"Oh, did she?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes! It was about why you're the best daddy in the world!" Obsidia exclaimed.

"That's so sweet!" he smiled, flattered. "Oh! I almost forgot. I got you something, baby."

"Whatwhatwhat?" she asked, barely containing her excitement.

Hellfire's horn glowed orange, and the zipper of his duffel bag opened. His gleaming helmet erupted from behind the teeth of the zipper.

"Whoaaah!" she exclaimed as her eyes grew wide with utter amazement. "This is your helmet?!"

"Mm-hmm," he nodded smugly.

"It's soooo cooooolll!" she gawked, stroking her little hooves over the glossy, smooth, multicolored brass surface. "Can I wear it? Can I?"

"Oh? Are you sure you want to?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" she squeaked, barely containing her excitement.

The orange stallion raised a teasing eyebrow.

"Are you really sure? You think you can handle it?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"It's pretty heavy."

"That's nothing! C'mon, daddy! I wanna wear iiiiiiit!" she groaned, getting increasingly desperate to wear her father's helmet.

"A little frail filly like you? You'd have to be pretty strong and tough to wear this," Hellfire cheekily smiled.

Obsidia stomped a firm hoof on the ground. "Look at me! I'm strong! I'm tough! I can handle it! C'mon, Daddy, pleeeeeeeze?!"

"Oh, I dunnooooo," he grinned coyly. "I'm not convinced."

"Hellfire," the mare from the end of the hallway said pleadingly, but sternly. "Don't... Not right now..."

What a killjoy, he moped in his mind. He turned back to his daughter, who was hopping in her spot. "Okay, you can wear it."

"Yay!" the little filly cheered. She hopped firmly onto her hooves, bracing her legs, ready for her father's headpiece.

He slowly lowered it onto her head. As soon as he released it from his magic, the helmet's full weight weighed down on top of the little filly's head, causing her to slouch and sway left and right.

"(Oof!) Wow, it is heavy!"

"Told you so," he chortled.

She sniffed the warm air inside it. "It smells sour in here..."

"Ooh, guess I forgot to wash it," the orange unicorn shrugged.

An exasperated sigh expelled from the sand-colored mare at the end of the hallway. "Hellfire..." she groaned. The last thing she wanted was a smelly helmet.

"No, Mommy! It's okay! It's fine," Obsidia raised a hoof before she nearly tumbled over. "I can deal with it. A true Royal Guard can deal with anything!"

She trudged up to the nearest mirror she could find. What she saw in the reflection was a small head engulfed by a large shell of armor. It was like looking at a church bell with a body of a small pony. However, Obsidia did not care about the size. The overall, cutting edge design was all the mattered to her.

"Whoaaaa!" she gasped in amazement. "Look at me! I look sooo cool! This is definitely much better than the cardboard helmet I made in class today."

"You made a helmet in class today? That's cool!" Hellfire exclaimed. "Where is it? I would like to see it."

"Later, Daddy... It's up in my room. Right now, I just want to wear this for something," she said as she walked toward the living room with a cardboard shield, a wooden sword, and a stuffed dragon lying on the floor.

The stallion smiled, understanding her motive. "Okay, baby. You have fun. Make sure you give it back before I go to work tomorrow."

"Oh! Are you going to go on a mission??" she whipped around in excitement, causing the helmet to spin slowly on top of her scalp.

"No, it's just training."

"Aww..." she pouted sadly before her ears perked up in hope. "Oh! When you do have a mission, can you take me with you?"

"Oh, uhhhh..." Hellfire hummed, shifting his eyes uneasily to and fro.

"Pleeeaaaase? Do you promise? Cross your heart?" she asked.

Hellfire believed it was a foolish idea to bring a small filly to a mission. Who knows if the mission was going to be extremely dangerous, or flirtatious with death? He could not risk losing his little daughter. The little filly was fatally precious to him. He would not live another minute without her.

However, the little filly's eyes were glaring, strong and full of determination. She did not want to hear a "no".

The orange stallion sighed, chuckling at her determination. "I promise," he answered.

"Yyyes! Thank you, Daddy! Well, I'm going to go play now," she said, resuming her way to her toys.

"Have fun, baby!" he said.

He turned to notice the sand-colored mare looking at him from the end of the hallway. Her quizzical eyes were staring into his soul, reminding him of what he just promised her.

Hellfire chortled and rolled his eyes. "You know I'm bluffing, darling," he said quietly.

The mare smiled, even though she did not appreciate the fact that he was playing with her daughter's mind. She just wanted her safe from danger, nonetheless.

The orange stallion walked slowly up to her, eyeing her lovingly.

"Hello, darling," he said before warmly kissing her.

"Hello, Hellfire," she cooed. "How was training today?"

"Same old, same old. However,today, I had to enlighten them with a lesson about unity and dignity."

"What happened?" she asked, showing concern.

"I just cannot tolerate the thought of soldiers believing he or she is a one-pony army. That's not what an army is."

"No. No, it isn't. You're certainly right about that. You..." she paused before looking into his eyes again. "You didn't have to hit somepony, right?"

Hellfire sighed. His wife was so keen.

"I can't lie. I did," he said, looking away in guilt.

"Darling!" she exclaimed in hurt, backing away a little bit. "You can't do that!"

You, too?? he thought before he spoke. "I had to get the message through to them faster. What I just said to you is fatally important, darling. They had to realize the vast importance of unity and dignity. Besides, it's my platoon, Dune. I shall lead them how I want."

"I know that, Hellfire, but if you even get a little lick out of that, then you would become drunk with power and lose yourself! You would lose your soldiers, too! They wouldn't want to be lead by a leader who abuses them. Would we want to be lead by Princess Celestia if she abuses us?"

The orange stallion stared into his wife's eye before he nodded his head toward the ground. His eyebrows lowered as he sighed through his nostrils, feeling hurt after having the word "abuse" thrown toward him.

"No... No, we wouldn't," he replied simply as he shook his head.

Noticing his somber expression, Golden Dune walked up to him, slung her forelegs around his neck and pressed her forehead onto his. She tilted her head upward, causing her husband's head to tilt up as well to look at her.

"I love you, Hellfire, with all of my heart. That is why I'm saying all of this to you. I'm helping you. We work together, so we could live the best. Look at her."

She turned her head to look at the little filly, swinging her wooden sword at the stuffed dragon with her magic. However, the weight of Hellfire's helmet on top of her head made her lose balance, causing her to lurch forward and land flat on her front. Her wooden sword fell on top of the helmet, causing it to ring like a bell.

"Our daughter..." Golden Dune began. "She's beautiful. She's still a sapling, though, and it's up to us to help her bloom into a beautiful flower. We both make mistakes, but we can't allow them to affect how our little girl is growing up."

"Most certainly not," the orange stallion responded. "It would be disastrous..."

Golden Dune's eyebrows bunched sadly together. She nodded, confirming the fact of what kind of worst possible things that would happen if they let their mistakes linger.

Hellfire's lips tightened in determination as he nodded. "All right, darling... I'll remember next time. I'll do my best to keep my composure and not flirt with blind power. I'll do it for you..."

The graceful earth pony smiled before kissing him gently on the lips. "Thank you, dear..."

She slid her forelegs slowly off around his neck, still gazing lovingly into his eyes. She turned around, walking toward the kitchen. Hellfire could not help but be enchanted by the hypnotizing swaying of her hips as she walked. Whether she was doing it on purpose or not, he was deeply enjoying it. His eyes trailed up from her hips and up to her head full of blonde hair. Each thick, bountiful, wavy strand of hair curtained over each other into a ocean of golden gorgeousness that fell seductively along the curves of her body. The best part about her hair, there were no black roots. It was all natural, yet it had looked as if it were dressed by the most experienced and talented hairstylist in all of Equestria. The most popular of all supermodel ponies would kill to have hair like Golden Dune's.

A content smile stretched across his face as he gazed upon his lovely wife.

Hellfire sniffed the air that was slithering out from the kitchen. It filled his nose with warm, buttery saltiness.

"What's cooking?"

"Carrot soup with garlic bits and basil leaves. You might want to get seated. It's almost ready."

"Ooh!" he exclaimed. "My favorite. Don't mind if I do."

"Ten-HUT!"

Hellfire stopped in his tracks. His ear perked to his side, picking up the sound. He turned to see a closed door leading into Obsidia's room.

He slowly placed his ear against the wood of the door. He breathed silently.

"At easssezzz..." he heard her voice again, sounding crisper, yet sleepier than before. He heard snoring escape from a small pair of nostrils.

He bit his lip, barely containing his laughing grin as he slowly turned the doorknob with his magic. He pushed the door open slowly, careful not to make it creak loudly. His nose poked into the crack, and the rest of his head followed. His ear turned toward the sleeping filly from around the edge of the door.

"Yuh...Ya call that a push-up, Private? My guh... Grandmother could do better than thuh...That! Oyy..."

A stifled snicker wriggled out of Hellfire's nose, which caused the little filly to stir. The orange stallion's hoof slapped over his muzzle, praying to Celestia that she would not wake up.

"More coffee, Mr. Squirrel?" the little filly slowly said before her little voice was lost in snores.

The stallion's throat muscled tensed up from the urge to laugh along with the urge to coo from the overwhelming adorableness of the filly's sleep-talking. Her little, smooth voice...

Obsidia moaned as her little foreleg pawed around her head to reel in her plush rabbit. As soon as her hoof felt the brush of cotton, she immediately grabbed a hold of it. A long, stretched moan of content rung in her throat as she hugged it tightly against her cheek.

He briskly closed the door, still being careful not to wake her up. His cheeks were burning painfully from the huge grin that grew on his face.

He chuckled to himself as if an invisible cherub pony had given him a huge hug.

"Good night, Obsidia," he whispered.

He resumed his way down the hallway, walking closer to a plain, white door with a spectral, warm orange light leaking out from the bottom crack.

Just before his magic engulfed the door handle, he heard a loud hiss of smooth breathing coming from a pair of feminine lungs. He turned the handle slowly and pushed the door slowly open. The ethereal orange-ish yellow light spilled onto his face and chest, as the door revealed a lean and slender body lying on its side facing away from him. The cream colored sheets covered it from the apex of its wide, supple hips and below. He sneaked further inside to look past the head post to see a head full of golden-blonde hair scattering gracefully over the pillow like a silk curtain.

A warm wave of enchanting pleasure tickled up his spine and up into his cranium as he saw the beautiful earth pony recline in the vast, cream-colored, king-sized bed.

He raised his a hind leg up onto the mattress and slithered it underneath the sheets.

Soon, he was fully in bed, all without waking up his sleeping wife. A scent slithered into his nose.

Ah, the warm scent of a lovely presence with just a hint of lilac perfume. Hellfire's eyes slowly shifted to look at Golden Dune. A patch of her smooth, swan-like neck peeked out from between the strands of her hair draping over her back.

He smirked in thought...

Maybe just for a little while...

He rolled over to his side until he was in a spooning position with her. He carefully placed his hoof over her abdomen while using his other to gently push the strands away from his target. A stronger, lilac-scented breeze filled his nostrils, which drove him wild with content and pleasure. He breathed gently as his lips drew closer to his wife's neck until they made contact. Half-open, he brushed them up and down along her swan-like neck, throwing in a kiss at random spots.

"Getting frisky, aren't we?" her voice purred.

Hellfire froze in his place. "Oh... I-I didn't mean to wake you..."

"I was never asleep," she replied with a smile that he could not see from behind.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Hellfire rolled over back onto his back, blushing as he stared at the ceiling.

"I never said to stop, darling," she purred.

"Gladly," he replied, his spirits perking back up. He rolled back over and resumed what he was doing. This time, he was met with hums of relaxation and pleasure.

"Mmm, Hellfire," Golden Dune cooed. "You really know how to make a mare feel loved."

"I'm just really glad that I finally have you," he replied in between kisses. "Ever since I laid my eyes on you..."

"It was during Pferdegarten, right?"

"Yes, yes it was. You were beautiful even as a little filly."

The blonde mare giggled in response.

"Come to think of it, I believe I still remember that very day."

"Hellfire? Hellfire? What're you looking at?"

"There! Over there! You see, Shining Armor? See?? Right there!"

The little, white unicorn colt turned to look toward the direction of young Hellfire's pointing hoof. He saw a small filly with blonde hair with a small, pink bow fastened at the end, a sand-colored coat, and yellow eyes playing in a sand box. Her little hoof tapped at the bottom of the bucket before she lifted it up, revealing a polygonal mountain of sand.

"Who? Her? Golden Dune, the new filly?" he asked with a raise of an eyebrow.

"Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm!" the orange unicorn nodded, not taking his eyes off of her.

Shining Armor's head slowly turned back around to face his friend, skeptical over what was actually happening.

"Wwwwwhat about her?" he asked slowly.

"She pretty..." the young Hellfire sighed.

His friend shot a quizzical look at him.

"I mean, she's prettyyyyy good... at making sand castles," the orange colt corrected himself.

"Well, this is new."

"What?" Hellfire asked, pretending to be oblivious.

"You're hitting on a filly?"

"N...No," he blushed.

"You, the one who goes around, saying that fillies are disgusting, prissy, and annoying?"

"I still do! Ugh, fillies... Bleah!" he shakily argued.

"Yeah, suuurrre!" Shining Armor coyly smirked.

"Stop that!" barked the orange colt. "I do not like fillies! They're just so... Girly!"

"Hellfire and Golden Dune, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" the white colt sang.

"Shut uuup!" the orange colt shot back on brink of whining.

"You were quite the rascal, Hellfire, yet you were so chivalrous," she smiled.

"Yes, something really flickered inside of me that day... Something I had never expected."

The blonde filly used her teeth to grab the handle of the bucket and scoop more sand into it.

"Juscht one more, and thisch schand caschtle isch done!"

Poof! A tubby, navy blue hoof crushed her sand castle to oblivion, causing her heart to flinch in shock. Then, it sank in defeat.

"Heyyyy!" she groaned, looking up to a tubby, navy blue unicorn colt with orange hair. "You crushed my sand castle!"

"Oops," he said before purposely twisting his hoof on top of it. "What do you think you're doing here, kid? This is my sandbox! See? My name is scratched on it."

"It is not!" she argued. "This sandbox is meant to be for everypony!"

"Yeah. It was, but not anymore! It's mine! Now, get lost, non-unicorn!"

"Hey! What's wrong with me not being a unicorn?"

"You're in Canterlot, dumb blonde! Only unicorns can come to this school, and you aren't. So, beat it! You can't be here! Unicorns only!"

"I'm not moving," Sandy Dune said, stomping her little hoof into the sand.

"Well, if you aren't going to move," he said, cracking a menacing grin. "Then I'll make you!"

With that, he snatched the full bucket with his magic and poured sand on top of her.

"Hey!" she squealed, rubbing her eyes. "Don't do that!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I ruin your pwetty hair?" the tubby jerk jeered.

"It hurts my eyes!" she yelped. "I can't see anything!"

"Oh, can't you? Well, I bet you can't see me doing this!"

Pah-TOOEY! He spat a huge ball of saliva onto her sand-speckled hair. The little filly shrieked in disgust after realizing what he did.

"Heyyy!" she moaned sadly, tearing up.

"Ha-ha! Non-unicorn's all dirty! Eww! Get away from me!" he laughed in jest.

"Stop it!" she squeaked, choking up. "Stop being so mean!"

She sank to the ground, quivering in pent-up humiliation and tears. She looked nothing more than a lamb being towered over by a lion.

That was, until an orange blur knocked the tub of lard down to the ground.

"Ow! What th--?" the blue colt stammered, looking up to see a snarling, orange, raven-haired colt standing three feet away from him. "What do you want, Matchstick?"

"For you to apologize! To her, Lard-Flank!!"

The navy blue colt stood up. "Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, you're going to get a free trip to the dentist's office!" Hellfire barked.

"Oooh! Look everypony! Little Matchstick is acting all high and mighty! I'm soooo scared!" he said with a response of foals laughing with him.

In the distance, Shining Armor could only stare in amazement at the act of chivalry the young Hellfire was displaying. A small, scrawny, orange colt facing a tubby, heavy, navy blue colt? Suddenly, the white unicorn thought the world was turning upside down.

"Wait... Are you actually defending her?? Haw! Check it out, everypony! Little Matchstick loves Dumb-Blonde! Haw, haw, haw!"

"THAT'S FINE BY ME!!!" Hellfire hollered as he pounced, enraged at the nickname the tub of lard gave the sand-covered filly.

To the navy blue colt's surprise, he suddenly found himself on the ground, having his face being pelted mercilessly by Hellfire's hooves, which did not seem so small and feeble anymore. The young Golden Dune wiped the tears and sand from her eyes until she saw the orange colt in clear sight. Her eyes shot wide open, not believing what she was seeing.

She did nothing but stare until the schoolteacher had separated the two fighting colts.

"I had never forgotten that day," the blonde mare smiled. "You were so brave and just."

"I still had to go to principle's office, though," sighed Hellfire. "He was the one who was causing trouble, yet I still had to pay for it... Oh, well. Doesn't matter now. That was years ago. Oh! And you transferred to another school just when we hit middle school."

"Yes, I did," she sighed. "My father had lost his job. He found a new one in Manehatten, so we had to move... again. Poor father."

"Then, we met again at high school," Hellfire remembered. "I know that ponies have been saying that ponies change over the years, but with you, you were the same as before... Beautiful and stunning. Come to think of it, you were even a little more than that. I was a mumbling, nervous wreck whenever I was around you."

"But you still protected me dearly. Because of you, Bench Press never dared to bother me again with his rude forwardness."

"I'm glad. I hated him."

"Who wouldn't?"

A brief silence loomed in the entire room before Hellfire spoke again.

"Do you remember that night. At the prom?" he slyly asked, caressing his wife's neck with his lips.

"Mmmm... Oh, yes. It was so magical..." she replied with a flutter of her dreamy eyes (even though Hellfire did not see it, because they were still spooning).

"We danced for hours, hardly ever stopping for a break. I was afraid somepony would snatch you from me."

"Darling, that's silly."

"No, I 'm serious! Every male eye was on you that night. I never wanted any of them to steal our dance. You were very precious to me, and you still are now."

Golden Dune smiled. "And I think the same for you. You weren't like any of those other stallions. The ones I had encountered were rude and shameless. Only a few were kind and caring. Still, out of those few, they never compared to you."

She lifted her bedside hoof up and placed it warmly on top of Hellfire's hoof.

"And now... You are mine," she smiled brightly.

Hellfire began to kiss deeper into her neck. "I am so blessed to be wed to you, my love. For the first time in my life, I have never felt happier. I had finally made as an officer for the Royal Guard, married the most beautiful mare in the world, and am the father of a beautiful daughter."

Golden Dune hummed and giggled in glee as her husband lovingly gnawed and kissed her neck.

Suddenly, Hellfire stopped. His wife squeaked in disappointment from being suddenly stripped of her pleasure.

"Hey," he exclaimed silently. "I've never seen that before."

"Seen what? Is... Is it a mole??" her tone rose in worry.

The orange stallion laughed. "No, no, no, darling. The necklace you're wearing right now. I have never seen this kind of chain before."

"Oh... Oh, yes! I made a new one because my old one broke. While Obsidia was playing with the Pen family foals next door, I took the time to craft a new chain. It's own style and structure."

"It looks beautiful," he said, giving her a kiss directly on the back of her neck directly underneath her scalp. "The finest work by the finest gold-crafter."

"Thank you, darling," he said, shivering in bliss from his kiss.

He craned his neck, so he could caress her on the side, until he saw a unusual pendant hang on the front. It was shaped like a football, and it had a silver disk in the direct middle. A decorative prong stuck out from the two angular sides and underneath the silver disc.

"And what's that?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, this?" she replied as she held it up with her hoof. "This is kind of a tradition we had in my family. More like an heirloom. It is called "Fate's Eye."

"Does anything happen when you wear it?"

"It's said that if one wears it, then you are wearing a piece of Fate's eye. It watches you and everything around you, guiding you to a good, bountiful, fortunate life ahead."

Hellfire's eyebrows rose on his forehead. "Hmmm... I guess it worked after all."

"That's right, my love," she said as she twisted herself around to face him. "It did. For both of us."

"Praise the sisters," he said. "I am the luckiest pony ever."

"It's about to get even better. Even from here," said the sand-colored mare with her face inching closer to his.

"I can't wait..." Hellfire smiled back.

The orange stallion leaned his head toward her and kissed her gently on the lips.

They separated, but kissed again, only a little longer than the first one. Each new kiss they made, it became deeper, longer, and more passionate until their tongues were gliding over each other in long, steady, lustful strokes. When they separated once again, their breaths became deeper. Their half-open eyes stared into each other, shimmering with lust.

"Obsidia's bedroom door is closed, isn't it?" asked the glittery-eyed wife.

"Yes... Yes, it is."

"Good. I don't want to wake her up. Especially at this time of night. Shall we get started?" she asked, stroking his muscular, yet lean chest.

"Gladly," he panted from his rising need for intimacy.

Their lips met again, sliding further onto each other until their tongues were fully in each other's mouths, stroking deeply, not missing a single inch of flesh. Moans of pleasure and longing erupted from their throats, which felt very relieving to let out after keeping them in for so long.

The rising and sinking mountains of bedsheets...

The symphony of pleasuring moans...

The rising heat in the air...

It was a night neither of them would ever forget.

Celestia's sun poured in through the cracks of Hellfire's eyelids when he felt something soft and moist press against his lips. His eyes opened to find a pair of large, closed eyes directly in front of his at a slight tilt. He could feel silky strands of silky hair tickle his cheeks. He felt her lips separate from his, but her half-open eyes was all he could see in front of the sun.

"Good morning, my love..." Golden Dune said soothingly, looking deeply into her husband's awakening eyes.

"Good morning," he said with a sleepy smile.

Her face descended upon his, kissing him again. "Last night was incredible. I never felt so alive."

"I should say the same for you," he said, returning the kiss.

"You're too kind, Hellfire," the mare giggled, stroking her husband's cheek.

"Mommy? Daddy?" said a small voice next to their bed.

"Obsidia! Good morning! How did you sleep, baby?" she exclaimed.

"I slept okay," the little filly said, rubbing her eyes. "But last night, I heard something."

"You did? What did you hear?" asked the orange stallion.

"I don't know," she yawned. "All I know is that it sounded like, 'Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thu--!"

"Rodents... Big rodents. Ugh, you've gotta be kidding me... Guess we'll have to, uh... Call the Pest Control."

"I could do it! I could clear them out! I will guard this house with my life!" the filly said, snatching her wooden sword from her bedroom with her magic.

"Nnnnnnno, honey," Golden Dune shook her head, blushing nervously. "We'll take care of it."

"Aww..." Obsidia moped. "Well, I gotta get to school soon. I'm hungry, too."

The blonde mare smiled. "Of course, dear. Let's get you a nice breakfast."

"Ooh! Ooh! Can we have hay bacon??"

"Of course!"

"Yesss!"

"Oh, darling," she said, turning to Hellfire. "Do you want some, too?"

"Yes, but I'll have to leave soon as well. I don't want to be late for training."

After the entire family had eaten their breakfast, they all made their way to the front door.

"Just in time!" Golden Dune exclaimed. "The school carriage is here. What good timing."

"I'll say," said her husband.

"Bye, Mommy! Bye, Daddy!" Obsidia called as she lively galloped up to the carriage. "See you after school!"

"Oh! Honey?" Hellfire called over to her. "Where did you put my helmet?"

"In the living room!"

"Oh, okay! Thank you! Have a nice day, baby!"

With that, the little filly disappeared behind the door that lead inside the carriage. However, that did not stop her from running up to a window and wave to her parents as the carriage rolled away. When the carriage was fully out of sight, Hellfire turned around to head back inside. Golden Dune remained where she was standing.

She sniffed the clean, morning air that loomed around the regal house, made of white bricks and golden flourishes. Directly next to the door was a small banner with an image of a regal, swaying pony head underneath an image of Princess Celestia's crown, which resembled the Royal Guard. Enclosing the banner was a royal purple border with silver lining.

She heard hooves going down the stairs. She turned to meet her husband, who had just placed his helmet in his duffel bag. As he neared her, his smile grew until he was close enough to kiss her.

"Goodbye, darling," Hellfire said as he nuzzled her. "I'll see you tonight."

"Tonight," she nuzzled him back, smiling warmly.

The orange stallion slowly descended the stairs, up to a special military taxi cab that coincidentally rolled up in front of the house.

"Good morning, sir," saluted one of the ponies pulling the carriage.

"Good morning," he breathed back before hoisting himself and his bag into the carriage.

The last thing he saw was his shrinking wife as the carriage rolled away back to the military base.

"Ten-HUT!"

"SIR, YES, SIR!" shouted the platoon, standing at attention and fighting their excessive panting and wheezing from trotting laps.

"At ease. Gather around, stallions. Just want to say a few words before you are dismissed from training today," Hellfire stated.

The panting soldiers trotted up to their leader, forming a half-circled cluster just in front of him.

"Take a knee," he stated again. "I just want to say 'Good work' with today's training. There are still many crucial things we need to improve on, though. We cannot afford to give only an average effort when it comes to battle. War shows no mercy to the average. Survival of the fittest, as they say. That is why there is no tolerance in being average. I expect each and every one of you to push yourselves even further. So far, that you would puke. (Speaking of which, only two of you puked during training. That's a new record.) The more you push yourself, the more you will survive..."

He paused, staring into the eyes of his platoon.

"I want every one of you to survive. You're a damn good platoon. The best platoon a stallion could ask for..."

...

"Prove to me that you are..."

He could see their jaw muscles tense in determination.

"That is all I have to say. Dismissed, gentlecolts. Now, hit the showers. You all smell worse than Tar Pit's farts."

They all exchanged laughs. Even Tar Pit did before he broke wind again.

SNAP!

"Agh!" Hellfire yelped in pain.

His exposed flank felt like a drop of lava splashed onto it.

"Wh--?! Who--?!" he sputtered in anger.

"Looks like you got rat-tailed, Lieutenant," said a familiar, cool voice behind a mischievous smile. Flying over the voice's head was a damp towel that was twirled into a rope.

"Dammit, Shining Armor! That's not funny. That hurt..."

"Oh, come on, Hellfire! It's all in good fun!" the captain said in a pal-like tone.

"Not much fun for the one being hurt," the orange stallion snapped back with a disapproving glare in his eyes. "Get that towel away from me..."

The white unicorn shrugged, turning back to his locker (which was directly across from Hellfire's).

"Okay, fine. If you're not going to find a sense of humor, then you might as well--."

SNAP!

"AGH! Son of a mule! Wh--?"

"Now, it's funny..." the raven-haired stallion grinned cheekily, holding his twirled towel up with his magic.

"Touché..." the captain mumbled.

They both returned to their lockers, squinting through the steam skulking out from the showers as it coated their muscular bodies in its warmness. The walls echoed with masculine voices and laughs along with clangs and snaps of other flanks being whipped by rat-tails.

Hellfire's ear perked up at the sound of a peculiar, long-winded sigh escape a pair of nostrils. His head turned toward Shining Armor, who was staring at the inside of his locker door with a picture of a beautiful pink alicorn with long, maroon, lemon-yellow, and violet hair. Her half-open eyes combined with that alluring smile was enough to catch Hellfire's attention.

"So," he spoke. "How's Cadence holding up?"

His captain snapped out of his romantic trance. "Oh! Oh, she's doing great."

A chortle escaped the lieutenant's nose. "So, you finally did it, huh?"

"Yes..."

Hellfire turned his head fully around like an owl. "And...? How was it?"

"She said, 'yes,' of course," he said with a happy exhale of breath.

The next thing the white stallion felt was a firm punch on the side by a smiling unicorn.

"Excellent!" Hellfire laughed in bliss. "You're finally riding the marriage carriage!"

"Yes, I am!" Shining Armor smiled.

"I am really happy for you! Hey, everypony!" his voice echoed throughout the entire chamber. "Our Captain, Shining Armor is getting hitched!"

In less than a millisecond, the entire chamber was filled with clapping and shouts of applause from fellow officers.

"Whoooo!!"

"Yeaaahhh!!"

"Awww, yeaaaaahh, Captain!!"

"You feelin' lucky tonight!!"

"Ow!"

"Congratulations, Captain!"

The white groom-to-be smiled as he blushed in his place.

"Congratulations, Shining!" Hellfire exclaimed, slinging his foreleg behind his friend's back. "When are you going to get married?"

"I don't know yet," he replied. "But, I'm kind of hoping it would be around April or May."

"Just when the flowers blossom... I like it!"

Just when the cheering died down, the orange unicorn bowed his head toward the captain's, reeling him in closer.

"As a wedded pony myself," he began. "Let me give you some tips and advice about marriage."

"Go right ahead," the white pony nodded, confirming that he was listening.

"First of all, you'd better have a pocket chock-full of bits, because arranging weddings are expensive."

"Mm-hmm, I've been told that before."

"Good. Second, you've got to stay loyal to her. Being tempted by another mare is bad news. That's why, in my opinion, stag parties involving strippers are extremely risky and should be avoided. It would be bad to have her realize that you have been fooling around with a lower-than-dirt mare."

"That'll be no problem, Hellfire," the white unicorn smiled. "Cadence is so beautiful, that it would be impossible for me to be tempted by any other mare."

"Excellent. Third... I know I this might have been emphasized many times, but always be there for her. Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice! Protect her at all costs. She is your life, and you must keep her up and alive."

"Okay, Hellfire! Easy!" Shining Armor exclaimed. "It's going to be fine. Cadence and I are really tight. We understand and know each other perfectly. We are both willing to face the risks head on and fight through them."

"All right. Just making sure... It's just... Marriage is crucial," the orange stallion said with a slight bow of his head. "One cannot afford to make any mistakes during a marriage. I know I have made mine, but Golden Dune was always there to help me through them. Because of that, she is precious to me. I can't let her go. I can't let anything happen to her. You must do the same with Cadence, like I did with Golden Dune."

"I will. For you, Hellfire."

"Thank you, friend," he said before eyeing the orange sun shining through the window. "Whoa, I'd better get home. She's waiting for me."

"All right. I'll see you later," the captain nodded.

"Hellfire placed all of his gear into his duffel bag, slammed his locker shut, headed toward the exit. However, he did not leave before he had one final thing to say.

"Shining Armor..."

"Yes?"

"In short, be the best damn husband a mare could ever have."

"The damn best," he grinned in determination.

To be continued...