“RED STORM!” I was jerked out of my daze, half asleep. I stood in Whitewash’s apartment (she had officially bought the suite for an enormous price) and looked around. It appears I had fallen asleep again. I was at a table, with a scale diorama of Ponyville atop it, drool pooled around Fluttershy’s cottage. Whitewash stood at the other end of the table, frowning.

“Seriously, this is ridiculous. I have spent countless hours here making these preparations for you, and you have been falling asleep every two minutes. If you need to sleep, ok. But we do need to get this done. We are expecting your father here, y’know? It’s kinda important that we make some sort of plan for this.” Nodded, licking a spot of drool from my chin.

“Of course. I’m sorry. I haven’t had much sleep lately. Since your little visit, I haven’t been able to sleep hardly at all. Honestly, I think you can take care of the defenses yourself. I’m not entirely sure why I’m here. You were a Reaver Gua-” I felt an enormous force hit me upside the head, sending me sprawling. When I got to my feet, blood was dribbling from my crown onto my muzzle. I wiped it away with a hoof.

“What was that for?” Whitewash looked very pissed.

“Don’t call me that. Call me 'Captain' all you like. But I am NOT a… not anymore.” She sighed. It looks like the pressure was not just on me.

“I’m sorry. But, I am right. You are more than qualified to assemble a Defense yourself. Even a Militia. Why do you need me?” Whitewash looked like she was about to break down.

“This… this is too much. I faked my death for a reason. I never wanted to lead an army again.” A single tear ran down her cheek. “I… I don’t want this…” Suddenly, she perked up again, wiping the tear from her face. “However, I see your point. I’m going to get Glock with me on this. I will, of course, need help with a few things, but I will try to cover everything myself.” With her resolve renewed, she immediately turned back to the table and began jotting down notes and moving miniatures across the table. I was stunned.

“Whitewash… are you alright? You seem… sporadic.” She turned back to me, angrily.

“You wanted me to handle this myself, so I’m going to. Now, if you don’t mind, please get out. I need concentration. I need to figure out how to create a defensive line with just a platoon of Guards and two dozen ponies… We really need that support…” She drifted off as I did, her anger dissipating as quickly as it arrived. I quickly left the room, heading for the door.

‘She’s totally on heat. Has to be,’ A voice in my head said.

‘Shut it! Not funny! I do not want to think about that!’ Suddenly, from the next room over, I heard Whitewash cry out in frustration and then an explosion. Then Whitewash swearing about ruining her diorama. I made a hasty exit, and wondered what to do now that I had escaped her.

‘Now would be as good a time as any to talk to Ditzy about that double date, eh?’ The voice from earlier said. I paused, then nodded.

“Superb idea. I shall go home first, to make sure Fluttershy did not have anything planned.”

“Talking to the voices in your head, Red Storm?” a cheery voice asked next to me.

I jumped up in fright, and as expected, Pinkie Pie was right next to me. I gathered myself, and was about to shout, but realized something.

“Did… did you ask about ‘voices’?” She nodded, her pink mane bobbing up and down. “How did you know…”

“Well, silly, it’s pretty obvious that you have voices in your head too You’re always talking to yourself when nopony else is around and you sometimes shout at invisible ponies, so it makes sense that you are talking to somepony and I thought ‘Hey Maybe he hears voices like me’ Maybe not fun voices like mine that tell me to bake a cake or throw a party but because you yell at yours maybe they’re meanies or something that tell you to do bad things or maybe you just don’t like them anyway-” I shoved a hoof in Pinkie Pie’s mouth.

“Please. Just… stop. I get it. You have happy voices. I do not. While your cheerfulness is usually refreshing, it is more damaging than joyful right now. I… I would like to think for a few minutes, ok?” Pinkie Pie nodded, saying something through my hoof before bouncing off down the street, presumably to another pony to pester. I gotta say it, Pinkie Pie annoys me. She means well, but she is quite annoying.

I continued along my way, humming a tune to myself, trying to keep my mind occupied from the voices. It had become quite apparent to me that they had become louder than ever in the last month or so. It was almost like ponies were whispering directly into my ears now, instead of trying to from a distance. I was just another minute from the cottage, passing over the bridge when something caught my eye. I spotted a lone figure standing on the hillside just beyond the Everfree, gazing down upon the town. The figure was a dusty brown.

I immediately shot forward, knowing immediately who it was. I intended to get answers today. I flew right past the cottage, shaking the windows as I headed towards my target. In no time at all, I landed a few meters behind the mysterious dusty stallion. He turned to me, his face an expression of joy. Admittedly, I was happy to see him too, but I bore a look of ferocity.

“Sandsturm; what are you doing here? Where have you been? I…” As he had done in our previous encounter, he stepped forward, catching me in a deep kiss. Once again, my eyes rolled back, letting him capture me within himself. When he broke the embrace, I blinked a few times. He smiled and gestured towards the ledge. I moved silently, curious. I looked down at Ponyville, with the sun still rising in the east. I then returned my gaze to the gorgeous stallion next to me, his olive eyes reflecting the orange light wonderfully.

“Red Storm… I should tell you why I’m here, shouldn’t I?” he said, chuckling dully. “I’m here to keep you alive. I don’t doubt that you’ve been planning for your father, right? Well, you need to learn the layout of the town. And I don’t just mean by the ground. What we have here is a three-hundred and sixty-degree battle here. Hostile forces will be coming from all sides, all angles, and all planes; land, air, and everywhere between thanks to Stardust’s Mass Teleportation spell. You need to see for yourself. So see.” I did as I was told, looking out to the entire area surrounding Ponyville. There was the Everfree to the west of the town, the river to the south, the mountains to the east, and the hills to the north. Sandsturm continued:

“You see? Such potential for a battlefield strategy. Yes, the pegasi can attack from nearly any direction, but should they attack at anytime but night, their forms will be easily seen from miles around in the clear skies. Ground troops cannot attack from the south or west, due to the forest being extremely hostile and the river making them easy targets. The mountain passes are too narrow to move an army through, and we can easily create a defensive ambush there. There is so much potential here, it is absurd. Yet, I do not think your father expects you to be able to come up with a decent defense.”

“I was more of an offensive General than a defensive one,” I chuckled. “I was never one for planning things like this… but Whitewash was,” I added with a sly grin.

“You have Whitewash amongst your numbers? Good.” Sandsturm nodded. “You may be able to pull this defense off after all. Another thing… what will you do for soldiers? I doubt even you can shape up a proper militia in time, let alone one that can be effective in this scenario. Even then, what will you do for weapons? Even basic Sanguinary guards have access to armour that stops spears with ease. How do you hope to possibly defeat them?” I paused, before smiling.

“I’ll figure something out. I always do. You know that,” I said, looking longingly at Sandsturm. Sandsturm merely chuckled.

“Right. Of course. Leave it to the Prince to think of a game-winning plan.” Sandsturm sighed, before turning back to the rising sun.

“It truly is beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked, not looking at me. “You would never really appreciate it in the Kingdom, with all the anti-Celestia stuff. But here… It is refreshing. I like it.” I looked out to the rising sun, and let the light fill my mind. I inhaled deeply, letting Sandsturm’s sweet scent fill my nostrils. Then, my concentration was shattered when behind us I heard:

“Red Storm? Hello?”

I spun around just in time to see Fluttershy trot up through some bushes. She looked at me worried.
“Red Storm, what are you doing up here? I saw you fly by the cottage up to here, so I followed. What’s wrong?” I smiled and said:

“Nothing is wrong. I came up here to meet Sandsturm. We were discussing defense strategies.” Her look grew more worried.

“Oh my. Is the stress getting to you? I think you need to rest Red Storm. I think you may be ill.” I looked at her sideways.

“I don’t understand. What do you mean...!” I said, slowly turning back to Sandsturm. He was gone. There was no way for him to have disappeared like that. We were on the edge of a cliff. He was an earth pony, so he couldn’t fly or teleport… I tasted the air. I could no longer smell him.

“I… maybe you are right. I should come home. Pray tell, have you managed to make plans with miss Doo and the Doctor? We really should take them up on their offer for a double date… if you’re ok with it.” Fluttershy nodded.
“Ditzy had actually just come by. She and I talked for a while, and set up a date for tonight. That is, if you are well enough to go out.” I nodded, shaking off her worries.

“I am fine.” I paused. “Ok, not fine, but well enough. I am sure I can make it though a dinner date without losing it.” This did not help Fluttershy’s expression of worry. I moved to her side, and brought her into a hug.
“It’s ok. I will be fine. Let’s go home. I’m famished! And we also need to get ready, eh?” I started with Fluttershy down the winding path back home. “Where are we eating?”

Author's Notes:

Sorry for such distance between updates. I have decided that I should try for a chapter a week, starting today. Not only that, but I have been working on a few... side projects that I may unveil around Act V. Who knows. I have more than one fanfic in the works, so I guess we will see, huh?
Thanks for sticking around this long. I love you all.
Except for you, Richard, you dick.
...
Nah, just kiddin'. You're cool too.