"Steel...Steel wake up," whispered a soft, angelic voice.

I opened my eyes to see Celly awake and smiling at me. Where normally I would be groggy from sleeping in such an awkward position, I leapt out of the chair next to the hospital bed and hugged the beautiful alicorn as gently as I could, while still making sure she knew I missed her.

"Celly...we missed you so much." I said softly, so as not to hurt her wakening sense of hearing. I then made contact with the girls in the waiting room. “Girls, the princess is awake! Come and see her!”

A minute later, eight ponies rushed in to see the princess - the Elements plus Luna and Shining Armor. They all burst into bright smiles upon seeing their friend and princess awake and well, and a few even had tears in their eyes. It was a heartfelt reunion for the ages, and Twilight and Luna were happier than I'd ever seen them.

After a quick sign out, we all headed back to the palace. Celly used the excuse that her legs were stiff so that she could lean on and nuzzle me the whole time, which I didn't mind in the slightest. We talked quite a bit about what had transpired since she had been out, and Celly just listened quietly with a smile on her face...one I had missed more than I realized.

After my little stint with Luna a week and a half ago, I was happy to bring the princess of the sun home.

We arrived back at the palace at around noon, and we all giggled when Celly's stomach didn't growl, but roared. We all couldn't help but laugh at her body's hunger. That being the case, we all headed to the banquet hall to get some lunch. The alabaster alicorn princess would keep stealing looks at me when she thought I didn't notice, and I could tell she wanted to say something.

"Celly, I know something's on your mind. Talk to me." I whispered in her ear softly.

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I dreamt nearly the entire time I was unconscious."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What about?"

She bit her lip and looked away. "...you..."

I was suddenly interested, for obvious reasons. "Really now? About anything in particular?"

"Everything..." she said simply.

I was confused. "I don't follow, Celly."

She sighed again and replied in a low voice, "I mean everything, Steel. I saw everything from now until the end of time..."

"Wow...really? You do know you were only out for two weeks, right?" I said with a smirk.

She ignored my remark. "Steel, I saw our foals..."

"I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that...at all..." I said with a now blank faced stare. This conversation was quickly getting a lot deeper than I would have liked for a simple walk home...

Things had went pretty smoothly these past two weeks, other than whispers of gryphon movement along Equestria's northern border. Luckily I had ordered a regiment of some of the guards I trained to keep watch, and things had quieted down since then. I knew full well that panic would be the enemy right now, so I was more than happy that Celestia had returned. The ponies needed their princess to reassure them.

We finally made our way to the banquet hall, and by now my mouth was watering. I hadn't eaten since the day before, much to the dismay of my stomach. I sat down and was served a salad with tofu and mushrooms, so I dug in with earnest.

I stared at him, forcing a smile. He seemed so happy nowadays, but inside I was just a hurricane of different emotions. Jelousy that he seemed to spend more time with Celestia the past week than anypony else. Suspicion that he was hiding something. Anger at myself for questioning him...

But nopony's that perfect.

He had to be hiding something. He said it himself that it's okay to be sad, or mad, or scared...but all he ever seems to be is happy. I didn't get it. I thought about asking my friends for help, but I didn't want to do that unless I was sure. 'I guess I'm on my own...again.' I started feeling seething anger at my friends, but I brushed it aside. It wasn't their fault...they trusted him too much. I planned to ask him about everything that night.

The day went pretty quickly, since I spent most of my time with Dashie. It had been a long time since her and I could just be alone together, and I could honestly say I missed it. It was almost like when she first came to Ponyville...when it was just me and her. Even when Fluttershy was around, it was still great. I loved Fluttershy, she was one of my bestest friends ever. She was so nice and sweet, and she was a great friend. I missed this a lot now...but Dashie told me it would be okay. She was right. She always made time for me. We played like foals in the snow for the longest time before getting tired, and before we knew it the sun was starting to set. I waved goodbye to my friend and walked back to the palace.
It took awhile even with how fast I was, but I got to the palace right before the sun set. I saw Steel walking down the hallway towards me, and I smiled as best as I could.

"Hi Pinkie! By Celestia, I've missed you." He said before wrapping me in a big hug. 'Oh...this is gonna be hard now.'

I looked up at him trying to keep a straight face. "Steelie? Can we talk?"

Just by how his face changed, I could tell he knew something was wrong. "Uh, sure Pinkie. What's going on?"

Now I started to feel bad. This was going to be harder than I thought. "Um...I'm really sorry Steel..."

Now he was nervous. "Pinkie, what are you sorry for? Did you do something?" he said in a tone that reminded me of my mommy.

I composed myself as fast as I could and sighed to keep from crying. "Steel, I have to ask you something...and I'm really sorry if it sounds bad. I'm just so confused..."

"Confused about what, Pinkie?" I asked, now feeling equally confused.

She shifted nervously and let a tear slip down her face. She looked up at me with those beautiful blue eyes. "Steelie...why are you so happy all the time? I mean, it doesn't make sense."

'Ugh...this again...'

"Pinkie I thought I already explained this to you girls. I get sad and mad just like any other pony, remember?" I said softly.

She shook her head. "Well if you do, you never show it. Why? What are you so afraid of?"

That struck a nerve for some reason, and I instantly changed from calm to frustrated. "Who said I'm afraid of anything at all? I'm not!" I instantly felt bad when the Pink mare cowered on the ground in fear. "Oh no, Pinkie I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to yell."

She jumped up off the ground and glared at me. Now I was on the defensive. "Then tell me why you're so afraid to show how you're really feeling! Are you afraid of being weak or something?" she yelled back, gritting her teeth.

I took a step back and was about to reply, when I realized I had nothing to reply with. She was right...

I was afraid.

I was afraid to show weakness, because I knew I couldn't afford to be weak in any way...not if I was going to save my friends. I realized that the very idea was stupid, because that didn't make what I perceived as weakness disappear.

I looked at the little earth pony before me and dropped my eyes from her gaze. "You're right, Pinkie...I am scared. I'm scared of being weak."

She gasped and actually sat down in shock. "Steelie, why are you afraid?"

I wanted to look her in the eye, but my neck wouldn't respond. I was too ashamed at myself...

"Because Pinkie, I can't afford to have weaknesses. Our enemy is plotting against us right now for the upcoming war that could start at any time. My weakness could mean your death or capture. I am not going to let that happen...ever." I explained sternly.

"You don't have to do this alone, Steel. You can't do this alone." said a soft voice from behind me.

I turned to see Celestia and Luna with somber expressions. The didn't say any more...all three of the mares walked up and hugged me. It was too much to handle, and I collapsed in tears.

It had only been a few hours since I had been awake, and already Steel was brought to tears. He seemed to take so much responsibility upon himself that it was quite literally breaking his mind. I was at first unsure of whether it was simply his personality or the Element he harbored, but it was destroying him from the inside out. I had heard stories of the past bearers of the Elements of War. Assassin and Berserker killed each other...and Guardian suffered from insanity. I was now very worried about the effect the Element was having on him. Though an alicorn, it was times like this that reminded Luna and I of how young he was, no matter how rare these occurrences may be.

'All power has its price...'

While he was still weeping openly (prompting questioning looks from the guards), we made our way down the hallways to his room. He lay down on the bed and curled into a ball. I looked at Luna with a face of understanding and she nodded.

"I will return later, dear sister. Please watch over him." she said with a small smile.

I nodded and smiled back. "I will Luna. Go to court...I have this covered, I promise."

She nodded and left the room, leaving just Pinkie Pie and I to tend to Steel. I began softly stroking his mane when I noticed his horn was glowing softly. I wondered what spell he was casting, but then I noticed his coat began to darken. His mane also became darker, larger...and more menacing. The process took only a few seconds to complete, and he was now no longer his bright and shiny silver...he was a dark, ruddy color more akin to blackened rusted iron.

"Steel," I said as softly as I could, "you might want to take a look at yourself."

He looked down at his hooves and barely reacted at all. "What happened to me?"

I didn't immediately have an answer, but thought of something that might make sense. "Steel, what kind of clothing did you wear on Earth?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Depended on how I was feeling that particular day, I guess."
Now I understood perfectly. "Steel, I believe your subconscious has altered your appearance to match your mood."

"Great...so my subconscious has turned me into a mood ring. That's just awesome." he said with no small amount of sarcasm.

I suppressed the urge to giggle and instead crawled over him, laying down where he could see me. I placed a kiss on his nose and smiled. "Steel I can't pretend to know what you're going through, because in all honesty I don't. I will let you know that I will never leave your side, especially when you need me." With that said, I hugged him tightly. I felt him relax against me, and his hooves snaked around my waist.

"Thank you, Celly. That...that means a lot to me." He then looked at the Pink mare who had been silent the whole time. "C'mere Pinkie, I want you here too." She smiled and jumped onto his chest, giggling.

The young pony did have a way of cheering him up, and while he wasn't as lively as usual, he pulled her into a hug and kissed her softly. He then turned to me and did the same, and I felt the love in it. He may have not been the happiest stallion at the moment, but I could tell it was not because of us...and that made me feel somewhat better.

Some time had passed and somewhere during that time, I had fallen asleep. I knew this because the next thing I knew, I felt feathers caressing my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Luna draping her wing over the four of us and Steel was still wide awake, a look of deep thought gracing his face.

"Steel?" I whispered softly.

He turned to me and smiled, albeit a bit sadly. "Yes beautiful?"

I couldn't help but blush. Even when he himself is not feeling at his best, he always gives to others, trying to spread happiness...even when he has none for himself.

"Do you think we will come back from this war?" I said carefully. In all honesty, the war had been on my mind a lot. I had never ruled during war-time, let alone fought in one. That and my father was taken by a war. I felt an emotion that seemed foolish for what my subjects saw as a wise and benevolent ruler - fear. I was afraid for myself, and for those I cared about. I feared for my land, and for my subjects. I began to understand just how easily fear could drive a pony mad. I was dragged from my worries by Steel pulling me close to him.

"I will make sure you come back from this alive and well. All of you. Your sister, all our friends...everyone. That much I can promise you. No, I Pinkie promise...and no one ever breaks a Pinkie promise." he said with a genuine smile.

I began to see some of the color to his coat restore, and he looked just a little brighter. It seemed that while his Element put a great deal of strain on him, it also offered him a confidence and strength that he should not normally have. I still did not know if this was him or the Element speaking to me, however. All the same, I felt safer and less fearful with his words.

I felt so broken...so vulnerable. I hated the feeling, but I didn't know how to purge it from my mind. Being with my girls or my friends made it better, which is why I hated being alone. When I was alone, I couldn't escape my thoughts. There was nothing to distract me, and nothing to save me from myself. It felt like being in a deep hole with no way out unless I had help. So long as I had my loved ones, it all worked out fine. The very thought of losing them because I couldn't be strong enough was tearing me up, though.

The enemy was strong...stronger than I had first realized. The enemy was smart, and well versed in the art of war. It was at that moment that I started to realize something...something I had tried to avoid at all costs for both my sake and the sake of those I cared about.

I might not be coming back from this war.