Author’s Notey-thing of Sorryness: I am very sorry for such a fiendish delay between chapters as of late. My chapters aren’t long, so there is no real excuse for being this late. All I can say is that I have been totally cracked out on the new Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies map pack “Buried”. SO. MANY. GIBBLETS… Never mind that. Read on, my wonderful brony (and pegasister) readers. Read on.

I sat down on the couch, still clutching the letter in my hoof. ‘One of my Honour Gaurdsponies? Impossible. She has to be joking… but she doesn’t joke about that type of thing…’ Just then, Fluttershy re-entered the house.

“Hello, Red Storm. I saw Ditzy flying away as I crossed the bridge. Did she pay a visit?” I nodded, and she moved to sit down next to me.

“She brought you a letter? That’s an awfully nice thing to do so early in the day.” I nodded again, and she noticed that I was being unusually quiet, behavior reserved for when I was either deep in thought or dreading something. Or both.

“What did it say? Is it from your father?” I shook my head, still trying to imagine who could have possibly have escaped my father’s clutches. Who?

“The letter was from Whitewash. Apparently, she has located an old associate of mine in Appleoosa. One of my honour guards, so she says. I can’t help but feel curious. She also said that they should be arriving tomorrow. I must admit, I am rather anxious. It would have been almost a year since I had seen any of my soldiers. While I must be wary of this meeting, it should be refreshing nonetheless. I was friends with several, after all. ‘Especially Sandsturm…'

“I’m sure it will be fun. I can’t wait.” My wife nuzzled me, and she got up, and moved towards the back of the house out into the garden.

I sat quietly for a few minutes before I realized I should go to work. Ever since Fluttershy and I wedded, we decided it would be best for me to work during the day, instead of having a night shift. I rose, and headed upstairs to the bedroom. I gathered up everything I needed and put them into a saddlebag, and then headed out. I walked down the lonely road to my place of work in the mountains. It was the only road I knew that took me to my destination, and I watched as my shadow hung by my side. The path led into the Everfree, and so I had to fly over the most dangerous areas, while trying to keep my eyes on the trail. One might wonder why I couldn’t just fly all the way there, and the reason for that is that the mine entrance was rather secluded in the center of the Everfree. Most ponies didn’t even know it existed even though one of Ponyville’s larger exports was iron. It was dangerous and dirty work, but somepony had to do it. And I preferred that pony to be me, because I knew I could handle it. Besides, I loved smashing boulders with a pickaxe. It really helped me blow off steam.

Then, something caught my eye. Movement. At first, I thought it was a wild animal of some sort. But then I caught a glimpse of a dusty-brown coat on what appeared to be a stallion. ‘Sandsturm.’ No. Bad schizophrenic brain. Sandsturm is dead. Then again, it wouldn’t hurt to check, eh?

I plunged down towards where I saw the odd memento. I landed on a dirt path, and ahead of me, I saw a pair of beautiful eyes peering at me through the underbrush. A pair of beautiful eyes connected to a dusty-brown body. ‘…Sandsturm…’ He ran off further into the forest.

“Sandsturm! Damn you! Come back here!” I charged in after him. I want answers. I chased his wake for sever minutes, zig-zagging through the forest as if he were trying keep himself out of sight, but not lose me. I tried my best to keep up, and if I could fly I could easily catch him; but even I wasn’t a good enough flier to fly in these thick woods. I might hit a tree or a baby bear or something.

We ran through the forest for several more minutes. Every time I thought I would be able to catch him, get some answers, he slipped just out of reach again. Then, the forest opened up and directly in front of us was a cavern. Sandsturm wasted no time in entering the cavern, and I hesitated before moving in after him. ‘Was Sandsturm leading me here? For what reason would he lead me to a cavern in the middle of the Everfree? I am gonna be SOO late for work.’

I entered the stone maw, and as I trotted further from the entrance, it became darker and darker. Then, just before it became too dark to see, Sandsturm appeared directly in front of me.

“Sandsturm! What is the meaning of-” Suddenly, he kissed me. My eyes rolled back in my head as his sweet taste filled my mouth. Then, he pulled back as suddenly as he came forward, and disappeared into the darkness again. I blinked a few times, trying to understand what just happened. Then, out of the darkness, I saw that crystals lining the ceiling began to illuminate. Deeper into the cavern I saw Sandsturm looking my way.

“Love will light your path, Red Storm. Do not wander in the dark alone,” was all he said before continuing. I hurriedly made my way to him, but he was still keeping a good distance from me. He made a sharp right turn into another cavern hollow, and I quickly followed. However, when I entered, he was not there. What was there was a large crystal altar, glowing with ancient magical power. Resting on top of it was a single red stone. As I moved closer, I quickly realized that what I was looking at was no stone, but a single, metal red horn. My heart stopped. ‘This… this is a piece of… War…’ I reached for the horn, but as my hoof touched the artifact, several specters burst from the altar and before I could react, encircled me, trapping me within the glowing room.

“… Who are you?” I questioned. They simply stared, studying me; inch by inch, as if they were trying to determine something of me. Then, one spoke.

“Pure of heart, but corrupt in mind.” The rest merely nodded. As I tried to understand what was going on around me, I noticed that the horn was now glowing a bright red. This caught the attention of the lead spirit.

“However, the Red One has chosen its champion. Only time may tell of the results.” ‘Red One? Does it mean…?’
Then, the horn burst into an inferno, and the whole room was consumed in fire. I thought I was to die, but it was not to be so. Out of the flames appeared Sandsturm once more.

“What is happening? I do not understand! Have I completely lost my mind?” The dusty stallion chuckled.

“No, Red Storm. You are fulfilling your destiny, one step at a time. Now, go. You are late for work.”
My vision was then completely engulfed in the brilliant hellfire.

I woke up in a crater in the middle of the forest.

“… Did I eat some peyote before I left? What in the name of Luna just happened?” As I tried to gather myself, something clinked against one of my hooves. I looked down, and there, on the ground next to me, was the Right Red Horn of War.

“…”

‘…You are so friggin’ late.’

I was flying home several hours later. Luckly, I hadn’t gotten fired for being late, because the iron mine owner was nice chap, and was always grateful to me for being the hardest worker, so naturally he wasn’t too upset about me being a few minutes late. I made sure to make up for it by working especially hard today anyway. I reached into my saddlebag and removed the Horn again, passing it from hoof to hoof. I wondered what this could mean. And why I had to have a drugtrip to find it. I re-placed it in my saddlebag before I dropped it. ‘I will look into this further when I return home for sure. If this is truly a lost piece of War’s Armour… then I hope nopony ever finds out about it. Especially not father.’

I landed softly on the ground in front of the cottage before proceeding in. Inside I found my wife cleaning the cottage with the help of all of her animal friends. She was wearing a nice, blue dress.

“What is going on? What are you doing?” Fluttershy turned to me smiling.

“I’m not sure what you mean. I’m getting the house ready for our guests tonight. You didn’t forget about Whitewash coming over, did you?” Tick. Tick. Click. ‘Shit.’

“Right! Of course! How could I forget! Do you need help with anything?” Fluttershy paused for a moment before shaking her head.

“Uhh… No. Not that I can think of. I have the birdies helping me clean and Angel is cooking dinner. I guess just get ready for company.” I nodded briefly before heading upstairs. I slipped into our bedroom and quickly removed a plank from the floorboards below our bed, carefully removing my personal lockbox. It was enchanted with a special spell so that only I could open it by pricking myself with the spike on the top, which drew my blood. The box would only open when my blood is drawn from my body. It wasn’t perfect, but as long as nopony killed me and used my body to open it, it was going to stay safe.

I stabbed my hoof on the spike before letting it seep in. I licked my hoof of the blood and let the wound close itself up. I knew my eyes had turned red once more, but I knew the effect would have worn off by the time I returned downstairs. One minute of red-eyes per milliliter of blood consumed.

The box popped open, and I quickly stowed the Horn within, among my gems and bits stored inside. There was enough money for me to move to Canterlot here, but at this point, I realized I did not need to. However, I kept it locked away under my bed because I didn’t trust banks. They are known to fail. My eye twitched spastically at the thought, but I quickly gathered myself again. I closed the lockbox and replaced it under the floorboards, making sure to keep everything exactly as it was. I then moved to my wardrobe. Because I no longer wear clothes, I do not need a dresser. However, I required a wardrobe to store my armour in, a wardrobe I made sure to purchase in my first two weeks of living here. I opened the doors and took my time removing the leather under suit before following it with the Mithril and finally the Adamant Plate. If one of my Honour Guard were to show up, then I needed to look professional. Tradition had up till now ruled my life, and I think it always will.
I stepped back downstairs in my armour, and surprised Fluttershy. However, she knew me well, and quickly understood my motives.

“Is everything ready, love? I do believe they should be arriving soon… I mean, Whitewash never really gave us a time, but she hasn’t arrived yet, and it is quite unlike her to arrive to anything after dark.”

At that moment, there were three knocks at the door.

“Speak of the devil…”

“And the devil will come,” Fluttershy finished. I moved to the door, and opened it for our guests. There was Whitewash, Glock, and two stallions. Whitewash was wearing her silverette plate armour, and Glock wore his Kevlar. One of the stallions I knew well. It was Tigerheart. He was the youngest of my Honour Guard. He was twelve when we went on that mission. Tells you how young Sanguinary ponies start training. Then, he was also a bit of a runt, being not only the youngest, but by far the smallest. Now, he was a fine-looking stallion. About my height. His zebra stripes were pretty hot too. He was wearing his armour as well. The stallion next to him however… I did not know him. He had a brown coat with a rusty mane. His eyes were sky blue and he looked exactly like me. He wore a ragged duster. He obviously was not in the wealthy department.

“Hello, visitors! Whitewash! Glock! Tigerheart! Doppelga- I mean, and you are?” The brown stallion nodded his head and spoke:

“Howdy. My name’s Cinnamon Gale. You must be Prince Red Storm. It’s an honour, your highness.” I gave Whitewash the evil eye. She blushed, but Cinnamon Gale continued:

“I know you because I too am from the Sanguine Kingdom. I was just a lowly farmer though.” I noticed he had wings. I also noticed everypony was still standing outside.

“I see… Oh, my! My manners! Come inside, come inside! Tigerheart! Cinnamon Gale! This is my wife, Fluttershy.” Both Sanguinary stallions bowed their heads and addressed her as “princess” before I intervened.

“Seriously, stop that. It’s really awkward.” Tigerheart rolled his eyes.

“Your father hasn’t disowned you yet. That makes your bride a princess.” I sighed.

“Perhaps. But do not call us that, ok?” I turned to Fluttershy. “Can you please prepare the table, dear?” She nodded, eyes fixed on Gale. I was obviously not the only one to notice the resemblance. As she scurried off, I returned my now much more stern gaze to Whitewash.

“Now, explain to me, Captain. Why the devil are Tigerheart and my Doppelganger here?