The bright Equestrian sun had begun its descent for the night, dipping below the distant mountains and painting the lake outside of Ponyville a bright golden orange hue. Sounds of water gently flowing as well as the occasional chirp of birds in the nearby trees added even more ambiance to the already tranquil scene. The light from the slowly falling orb played off the waters surface, causing small reflections to be thrown here and there, each one without necessity for rhyme or reason. Occasionally, a small wave would break over the flowing surface, causing a tiny swell that would bring the water up to the nearby sandy shore, only for it to retreat backwards from where it came. All around, the serenity of nature was in full effect, laying out a scene that would make even the coldest heart warm at such a fantastic sight.

Vinyl sat on the small knoll near the shoreline, her gaze fixated on the glistening body before her as she silently agonized over her rampant thoughts. This place had once been one of comfort for the distraught mare, a place she and Josh would often venture to should they ever feel the need to get away for a short time. Here, they would laugh, joke and just enjoy the company of one another, occasionally resorting to a silent, but altogether loving contest of staring into one another's eyes as the sun would dip below the horizon for the night. She recalled all the times they'd spent here, from their first "unofficial" date to a few days before she and Josh had left for Las Pegasus as part of their tour. Even then, the mood of this place had never changed, always being one of comfort and happiness for the two star-crossed lovers.

Now, however, it held a much different sense about it, one of longing and silent sadness. The young mare was solitary here for the first time in a very long time, without her usual human companion by her side, his long arms wrapped around her in a warm and affectionate embrace, occasionally stroking her shaggy blue mane and placing a tiny kiss on top of her head as he felt was necessary. As her mind fell back to thoughts of days long past here, she could practically feel his heartbeat against her head, the small rise and fall of his chest as he breathed with her draped across his torso. She knew the memory should have offered a sense of happiness, and to a certain degree, it did. However, it mainly served as a harsh reminder that she was indeed lost and alone now. Or at least, she had once thought that she was completely alone, before the attempt to take her own life that landed her in the hospital and revealed to her that she was carrying the child of her displaced lover.

This revelation was far from what she could have possibly expected at the time, and it still was a fact she hadn't completely managed to come to terms with yet. While her friends had either chose to congratulate her upon finding out or merely remaining silent, Vinyl had rather contradictory feelings about everything, feelings she'd kept shut away to herself the entire time. She was extremely happy that, at last, she would be having a child, a wish she'd hoped for years would be granted at some point. However, she also felt a heavy sadness weigh on her heart as she realized that this child she would bear may never know their father, would never truly understand just how incredible he was and what he meant to those he called his friends.

As these thoughts rushed through her head, Vinyl gently placed a hoof over her stomach, imagining the possible future of the tiny foal developing within her body. Her pondering was interrupted by a surging feeling of dread that filled her as she glanced down towards her abdomen and immediately took notice of the large scar on her fetlock underneath her almost glowing fur. It had begun to fade a little from the treatments by several unicorn doctors and nurses to heal up both her wounds, but Vinyl could still make it out. Her memory of actually inflicting the damage on herself that had almost killed her was spotty at best, but she could still remember the feeling of the cold glass breaking past her flesh, digging deep into her and causing blood to stream from the cut like a macabre fountain. The thought brought hot, stinging tears to her eyes as her mind forced her to recall what little she
could from that horrific evening.

The cream colored mare began to silently weep as she thought about how close she'd come to snuffing out her own flame and, inadvertently, the flame of her unborn child. The thought that she almost robbed the life of an innocent through her own selfish and brash actions weighed on her heart almost as heavily as losing Josh. It had been something she couldn't stop thinking about from the time she'd been told that she was pregnant, and with each passing day, she found herself focusing on it more and more, despite her best efforts to move on. Even Octavia and her friends reminding her that everything was alright and that she and the child were safe wasn't enough to ease her fears at what could have been on that horrific night.

Vinyl's silent turmoil was cut short as she heard a loud snap behind her and bolted back upright, wheeling around in the direction of the sound. She found herself staring into a leading edge of the Everfree Forest which, despite the glow of the setting sun filling the area, was still bathed in darkness. Her frightful eyes darted all around, watching intently for whatever could be making its way out of the dark wood and heading for her on the knoll nearby. She feared that it was possibly a timberwolf or some other monstrous creature that had some sort of ill intent for her. After several seconds of intense, silent staring into the darkness beyond, Vinyl heard the sound of soft hoofsteps and glanced the sight of a tall pony making their way towards her.

Princess Luna stepped out from the darkness and out into the clearing beyond the trees, her gaze fixed intently on Vinyl. She halted upon reaching the outer edge of the forest, her iridescent mane and tail sparkling and continuing to flow in their usual nonexistent breeze. Her large, teal eyes were full of concern as she stared across at the unicorn before her, clearly awaiting some sort of reaction before proceeding any further. Vinyl's fear was soon replaced by a disbelieving anger as she locked eyes with the princess of the night, one of the very deities who took Josh away from her in that courtroom. The unicorn shot Luna a heavy glare before turning back around and plopping back down onto the ground, hoping that her actions would convince the princess to leave her alone.

Her wish was in vain, however, as she began to hear the sound of hoofsteps behind her, quickly followed by the soft breathing by the indigo mare. Vinyl continued her staunch silence as she felt Luna's presence directly behind her, now practically screaming in her head for the princess to go away. The two mares remained silent for a time, with one clearly unsure of what to say, and the other having nothing to say at all.

"Hello there, Vinyl." Luna said after some time, gesturing to a patch of grass next to the unicorn, "May I join you? I was told by somepony once that this is an absolutely fantastic spot to watch the sunset, and I figured I should to come and experience it for myself."

Vinyl remained quiet, her already high level of anger rising as she identified the princess' clear attempt at forced, amiable conversation. The only sort of response she gave was to turn her head and body away from the goddess even more in defiance. However, Luna seemed undeterred by Vinyl's behavior and took her place beside the cream colored mare, plopping down right next to her and fixing her gaze upon the sky above.

The birds in the trees had since quieted down, leaving the only sound as the gentle sloshing of the lake as it continued to gently flow back and forth. The brilliant golden glow that once filled the clearing had now faded as the sun dipped behind the distant mountains, dropping the temperature and bringing about the beginnings of the night. Together, the two ponies sat, silence being their only communication as they were focusing on their own thoughts and ideas.

"The sun is falling a lot faster now than before, it seems." Luna piped up after what seemed like an eternity, her voice causing another surge of annoyance and anger to rise up in Vinyl as she spoke, "My sister must be feeling better then. Not many ponies actually know that when Tia's not feeling well, she tends to prolong the day a little more than usual. You could see how this affects my job, with raising the stars and the moon. Then again, her sunsets are always more spectacular when they go slowly, or at least..."

Luna continued to ramble on, each word she spoke serving no other purpose than to continue to anger Vinyl, who was rapidly reaching her breaking point. Here, in this place that had already begun to lose its relaxing and happy atmosphere, Vinyl was forced to sit next to a pony who had been instrumental in her losing Josh that day. All the unicorn could think about as she heard Luna ramble on and on was how she'd merely stood by idly as Filthy Rich continued his hateful campaign and then merely watched as her supposedly benevolent sister transported him away with relative ease. And yet, the princess of the night made no effort to acknowledge this or showed any hesitation at all as she openly attempted some sort of idle banter that was supposed to liven an already broken mood. Vinyl felt her body begin to shake with rage as Luna continued her futile efforts, and it took every ounce of her self control to remain even remotely calm now.

"... though, I suppose I could just put the stars up earlier and wait to raise the moon. But, I don't want to confuse anypony-"

"What, Luna?!" Vinyl finally shouted, springing to her hooves and wheeling around to face the Princess of the Night, "What the fuck do you want from me?! I know for a fact that you aren't here just to babble on about some random bullshit you cooked up as a way of being cordial, so just tell me what it is that you want!"

All of Vinyl's pent up feelings, all the frustration and sadness she'd done her absolute to suppress over the last few weeks were bubbling up and spilling over into a deluge of raw, unchecked emotion. Luna stared into the unicorn's face, seeing the sudden fire in her eyes with an expression of shock painting her own regal features.

"I... I-" Luna stammered, clearly taken aback by the sudden shift in Vinyl's mood since she'd sat down next to her.

"Are you so deluded that you think trying to chat me up will all of a sudden make me forget what happened, what you and your sister did?" Vinyl hissed, leering at the night princess, her gaze piercing right into the immortal pony, "You two took from me the greatest thing to ever come into my life, just kicked him right the fuck out because you were too scared to try and defend him in front of your own subjects! That's not exactly some shit you forget, Luna."

Luna was too shocked to do much more than open and close her mouth rapidly in an attempt to say something, anything to the enraged mare who continued to advance towards her. The whole time, Vinyl kept her fiery eyes trained on the night princess, boring into her with each passing moment.

"And you." Vinyl continued, emphatically pointing her hoof towards Luna, who jumped backwards in shock at the sudden gesture, "You always hated him, didn't you? Just like that greedy bastard Filthy Rich you couldn't stand the idea of somepony like Josh being here in Equestria. Who are you to judge anypony else? You tried to plunge our entire world into an eternal night, just because your sister was getting a little more glory than you!"

"I never hated him!" Luna squeaked in desperation, tears beginning to well up in her large, teal eyes as she continued to stare up towards Vinyl, "I... I judged him too harshly because of what I saw him doing on Earth! I never wished ill upon him while he was here! I swear!"

"And yet when your sister was throwing him out of here, you didn't to a single fucking thing to stop her!" Vinyl shouted, her crimson magenta eyes locked on her target as she directed every single bit of her ire towards Luna, "You just stood there, like a toad, and let yourselves get bullied by a fucking maniac! Since when do the princesses of Equestria give into demands that came from the mouth of a total tyrant?! You're supposed to be our protectors, the ponies who are there to uphold your own values that you claim this kingdom is established upon! Where did those values go, Luna, because they sure as shit aren't here anymore!"

Luna now had all but given up on trying to talk Vinyl down and was merely shrinking back even more, hoping beyond hope that the unicorn before her wouldn't try anything drastic in her enraged state.

"He just kept telling me, over and over again that everything was gonna be alright." Vinyl said, her voice beginning to waver as another deluge of sadness threatened to overwhelm her, "'It'll all be okay soon, baby.' That's what he'd always say to me, 'Before you know it, things'll be back to normal.' But... but how can things ever be normal again if he's not here?"

Luna seemingly abandoned her fearful retreat upon hearing Vinyl's suddenly shaky speech, glancing into the unicorn's large, crimson-magenta eyes and watching as large tears began to well up in them. Vinyl attempted to maintain her defiant stance, but could feel her resolve beginning to break fast. As she blinked, large teardrops released themselves from her eyes and began to make their way down her cream colored face, matting her fur all along the way. Her body began to tremble violently as she held back her sadness. Then, without warning, she heaved, her lower body collapsing to the ground as hot tears began to stream from her eyes, falling down to the ground below as she lowered her head and began to sob openly before the princess of the night.

Every angry emotion she'd felt while unleashing her tirade on Luna had seemingly vanished, only to be replaced by the familiar heartache she'd come to know so well. The scene played again in her head once more, forcing her to relive the moment when her one, true love had been torn from her on that fateful day. She could still see his bright blue eyes peering at her through the golden ball of light that enveloped his body, a silent disbelief contained within them at the sudden occurrence that would take him away from his adopted home. Her own screams played over the top of everything as she shouted his name over and over again in a vain hope that maybe Celestia and Luna might release him at the last second so he could return to his mare. Finally, she witnessed the bright light dissipating, and her heart sunk upon seeing the empty place where Josh once stood.

That day, the world seemed to have been turned on its head, and every day since then had been nothing more than an affirmation of that feeling. Josh always lingered in every single facet of her mind, and the thoughts and memories of him that came to her every day since he'd left offered a bittersweet reminder of what she'd lost. He was more than just her lover. He was her friend, one of her most reliable companions, somepony who always had her back when it seemed nopony else did. He was her sun, moon, and stars, the very thing that helped her to wake in the morning, and the last thing she saw before drifting to sleep each night. Truly they had their ups and downs as any couple would, but that never once kept them from relishing the bright future and the possibilities that lay before them, a future that now seemed as dark and uncertain as the Everfree Forest.

Her agonized recollection was suddenly interrupted as she felt a gentle weight descend upon her neck. She opened her eyes and slowly glanced upwards towards where Luna had once been standing. The princess of the night had draped her own long neck across Vinyl's in a loving manner, carefully laying across her much like a mother does to her distraught foal in an effort to calm her. Vinyl sat in stunned silence for a moment, unsure of what to do or think at this sudden attention.

"My child," Luna said softly, tears streaming from her own teal eyes and settling onto Vinyl's shoulder, "You... You're right. We were weak, foolish. We never thought things would get as bad as they did in the end... I... We should have done more for you, for both of you. I'm so sorry... We didn't mean for anything of this sort to ever happen to either of you... Please, forgive us of our failures…”

Vinyl felt a heavy pang of guilt hit her as she felt the warm embrace of the princess carefully and affectionately draped across her neck. Only mere moments ago, she'd been placing all the blame for her breaking heart on this alicorn, treating her no better than Filthy Rich had treated Josh. She had done nothing whatsoever to be deserving of this sort of loving attention, but Luna was embracing her all the same, conveying a quiet sense of forgiveness to the distraught mare, and in return asking the same. The unicorn hadn't known a sensation like this since that night in the jail cell with Josh, the very night in which she'd conceived the child within her. Her anger all but gone at this point, Vinyl felt more hot, stinging tears make their way from her crimson-magenta eyes, and she soon had her face buried in the deep indigo mass before her, her forelegs wrapped around the night princess as she continued to release her frustrations and sadness.

For a time, the two ponies sat on the knoll, neither one saying a single word as they both were lost in their respective thoughts. Luna held Vinyl close as the mare continued to wail into her chest, occasionally stroking her back so as to do her best to comfort the poor unicorn. After several minutes, Vinyl eventually surfaced from Luna's fur, her sobbing reduced to only intermittent sniffles and rather erratic breathing as she did everything in her power to regain what little composure she still had. Luna, in turn, relinquished her grip on the cream colored pony and stepped back a short way so as to let her rest for a moment.

"Feeling any better?" Luna asked when Vinyl seemed to be at her most calm.

"I g-guess." Vinyl responded meekly, her voice still trembling as she glanced back upwards towards Luna.

The Princess of the Night gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile as Vinyl locked eyes with her, only to see the unicorn pin her ears back and glance back downwards in apparent shame.

"What you said to me," Luna asked gently upon seeing the mare's reaction, "did you believe all that? Did you believe that we abandoned you?"

Vinyl didn't respond, clearly too scared and ashamed to do so, instead choosing to shrink down as Luna had been doing so before.

"You can answer me honestly." Luna said, placing a hoof on Vinyl's shoulder and drawing her attention back towards her soft face, "I can't be angry at you for speaking your mind, and especially not when you've been through so much."

"Y-yes, I did." Vinyl finally responded, her eyes clearly beginning to plead with Luna for some type of mercy, "It's just... we were dealing with so much, and... and we were all on our own... Nopony else could help us, and since you and your sister are the princesses, we thought... we thought..."

"You thought we'd eventually come down and sort all this out?"

Vinyl nodded meekly, prompting Luna to feel her own pang of guilt.

"I suggested to my sister multiple times when all this started that we should at least make an appearance, if nothing else to scare Filthy Rich and whatever followers he might have gained at the time enough to make them abandon their cause." Luna said, her own ears pinned back as she began to speak, "She just kept telling me that the way to rule was not through fear and that before we knew it, this whole thing would all blow over. I had no choice but to trust her judgement in this matter, so I let it go for awhile, thinking that she might be right. It wasn't until Josh was in jail that I brought it up to her again, and at the time, she was all for going down and trying to straighten the whole thing out upon hearing the truth of the situation from Twilight. However, her letter had clearly stated that Josh did not want us to show up for fear that we would be in jeopardy of persecution ourselves for bringing him here.”

“My sister was confident that nopony in Equestria knew the truth besides Josh, his friends, you, and ourselves, but still chose to heed his wishes until such a time as she thought we ought to act. By the time we received another letter from Twilight saying she needed us in Ponyville the next day, it was already too late, apparently."

"But why did you two send him away then?" Vinyl asked, now looking back into Luna's face as she finished her explanation, "Couldn't you have just sent him somewhere else in Equestria, let him lay low till things could be resolved?"

"My sister... she said she did it to protect him, to keep this from happening again." Luna replied, her sister's words from that next morning returning to her thoughts, "She said that he would be safer on earth, that even if she were to cast some sort of protection spell on him that it would do no good. I wanted to argue against that, to make her see that we should bring him back, but she was so downtrodden after everything that happened... I couldn't bring myself to say anything to her about it..."

"Well can't you bring him back now?" Vinyl asked, her eyes growing wide as a solution occurred to her, "I've seen Celestia do it, and you probably can too, right? You just have to find him and teleport him back here!"

Luna bit her lip nervously and her ears pressed flat against her skull at the suggestion.

"I... I tried that already." Luna said nervously, "After I received word that he was indeed gone, I was able to locate him, and I intended to bring him back and have him stay at the castle till we could sort everything out here, but..."

"But what?" Vinyl asked, her voice becoming high and desperate as Luna hesitated.

"I couldn't transport myself away from here, nor could I grab him and bring him back." Luna replied solemnly, her head falling low in defeat, "There's some sort of... barrier up, one that prohibits me from leaving Equestria or bringing anypony else in. I can't break past it, no matter how hard I try. I... I'm sorry, Vinyl..."

Vinyl felt her heart sink back down as the princess's words settled in her mind. The possibility of his return had always been in the back of her head, whether he were to be scooped up by the princess again, or through some random happenstance he found his way through to Equestria. Now, however, after Luna revealing the former as a complication and she had to admit the latter as an impossibility, Vinyl was once again forced to reconcile the truth in her mind: that neither she nor anypony else would ever see Josh again. She lowered her head and shut her eyes tightly as tears began to make their way from her large, crimson-magenta eyes again, each one falling softly onto the earth below. The sadness she been so accustomed to feeling threatened to take her over once more as she stood before Luna, who, upon seeing Vinyl's head fall, wrapped her up in a tight, comforting embrace, draping her soft wings around the distraught mare.

"Please don't cry, Vinyl." Luna said gently, glancing down at the unicorn who stared back up with puffy eyes, "I know it's hard to go through all this, but you must be strong, for your own sake and for the sake of your child."

"Be strong?!" Vinyl asked, rather aggressively, actually glaring back at the night princess as she forced herself away from her embrace, "How am I supposed to do that, Luna?! It's not like I can just wake up tomorrow and everything's gonna be okay! He's gone, and... a-and I'm never going to see him again... I... I c-can't do this on my own!"

With that, Vinyl collapsed to the ground, her body trembling heavily as wave after wave of sadness and anguish washed over her, forcing her to drown in absolute sorrow. Luna knelt down next to the wailing unicorn and draped a wing across her back, pulling her in close again and holding her at her side, feeling Vinyl's trembling body next to her own.

"Vinyl, I understand that it's never easy to lose somepony you care for." Luna began, slowly stroking Vinyl's cream colored back as she wept beside her, "Believe me, immortality is a hard burden to bear sometimes, and even more so when you're forced to watch those you love pass on while you age no further from year to year. Between the two of us, we've experienced more loss and heartbreak in our lifetimes than anypony could stand in several of their own."

Luna placed a hoof carefully under Vinyl's chin and lifted the unicorn's gaze towards her own, staring deep into her eyes.

"But, we need to be strong ourselves and move on, for we have a kingdom to run and other duties far beyond what you all may see. That doesn't mean the pain goes away, but we don't allow it to control us, to hinder our forward progress. You don't have a kingdom to run, of course, but that child inside of you will need you more than anypony else, and you can't allow your pain and sorrow to get in the way of their future."

Vinyl didn't respond right away, instead keeping her eyes locked on Luna's as the night princess gave her a loving, but firm look.

"I... I know." she finally said after a moment's hesitation, wiping away the excess tears with a free hoof, "It's just... I... I don't know what to do. I mean, I can't raise a baby on my own, certainly not his. And, before the baby even gets here, how am I supposed to keep other ponies around town from knowing I'm pregnant? I can't just hide away for a year."

"You don't have to do this on your own, my child." Luna said, smiling sweetly down at the unicorn she held close by her side, "As long as your friends are here for you, you're never alone. You should know that by now. As they say, it takes a village to raise a child."

Vinyl smiled slightly at those words, remembering the old adage her mother would spout when she was younger. Then, her mind turned towards her friends, towards Twilight and Octavia and Rarity and Applejack and all the others who'd been there for her through the course of the last few weeks. Not once had they abandoned her in all the insanity, and Vinyl couldn't reason why they'd hang her out to dry now. If she had to be honest with herself, she felt a little ashamed that she'd so easily forgotten them and everything they'd done for her as of late.

"And as for your protection, you leave that up to us." Luna said firmly, drawing Vinyl's drifting attention back towards herself, "Your friends and myself will see to it that you are taken care of completely until the baby arrives. You have my word on that."

"Th-thank you, Luna." Vinyl responded, her smile spreading across her cream colored face as a slight warm sensation began to build in her chest at the night princess's words, "It means a lot."

"I'm glad I could help you, Vinyl." Luna said, embracing the mare once more.

A companionable silence fell between the two as they sat there, each wrapped up in her own thoughts and the gratitude that had stemmed from their conversation. Both felt sensations of absolute relief flood their minds for the first time in weeks, pushing out some of the nagging uncertainties that had plagued them both. For the first time in what seemed like forever, the two mares seemed at peace, both with one another and with themselves.

After some time of silent reflection, they broke apart and both stood up, Luna glancing around and smiling at the now dark surroundings.

"My my, it certainly did get dark quickly, didn't it?" Luna noted, "I hadn't even realized the sun was down till just now."

"I guess you might need to get to work raising the moon and stars then, huh?" Vinyl asked.

"And you might need to be heading home." Luna replied, "Would you like me to escort you back to Ponyville?"

"No, I think I'm alright." Vinyl responded, "It might do me some good to walk home alone. Give me time to think about what my next move is gonna be."

"And what exactly would that be?"

"I don't really know." Vinyl said, shrugging slightly, "But, whatever it is, it's gonna be something he'd want me to do, something that'll make him proud."

"I wish you the best of luck, Vinyl." Luna said softly, beaming at the unicorn, "I'll see you some other time, alright?"

Vinyl nodded and gave Luna a small wave before turning and making her way back towards the narrow dirt road leading to Ponyville. When she'd arrived at the lake that evening, the only feelings she'd known were pain and sorrow and uncertainty for the future. She still wasn't sure of what the future would hold now, and the pain was far from gone, but hope had returned to her, filling her with a type of confidence she'd not known since before Josh was incarcerated. She didn't know how or even when, but she had to admit at last that Josh was finally right. Everything was going to be alright.

Luna stared up into vast expanse of the night sky, smiling at the result of her work she'd begun once Vinyl made her way back to Ponyville. Where once there had been nothing but blackness, bright stars now filled the sky, their distant twinkling adding even more beauty to the already picturesque scene. Among the spread of tiny lights sat the moon, glowing brightly in its place, painting the surroundings below with a pale, silver hue. A calm silence was all that could be heard now, quite the contrast to what had occurred here earlier between Luna and Vinyl.

"Well," said a voice behind the night alicorn, "that went about as well as expected."

Luna spun around towards the origin of the voice and saw a bright, yellow light piercing through the nearby shadows amongst the greenery which blocked the moon's silvery glow. A small smile spread across her face as a brown unicorn stallion soon came into view, dimming the light from his horn as he approached the night alicorn.

"How is she?" Luna asked as Warden stopped just short and plopped down in front of her.

"She definitely seems to be doing a little better now." Warden replied, "She actually managed to eat something, and she and Octavia sat and talked for awhile."

"Do you know what about?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Warden said, shrugging slightly before going on, "When I left, she'd just gone to sleep. Looked like it's probably the most peaceful sleep she's had in awhile."

Luna nodded and let out a sigh of relief before turning her gaze back up towards the sky, glancing once more at the stars she'd just placed in the sky as her mind wandered towards Vinyl. She knew full well that the path of healing would be a long and hard one, full of plenty of trials and tribulations, and Vinyl had only just begun down it. But, she was also confident that, at least now, things finally seemed like they would be getting better for the young mare.

"You handled yourself rather well with her." Warden suddenly said, forcing Luna's attention back towards him as he addressed her, a slight smirk on his face, "To be honest, if somepony were yelling at me like that, I can't say that I'd be able to remain so calm."

"As a princess, I'm no stranger to criticism, especially when you take my past into account." Luna remarked, "I can't blame her for being upset with my sister and I. After all, we... didn't really do much to help either her or Josh when this was all going on..."

"I honestly don't think there was much more you could do, Princess."

"Wasn't there, though?" Luna asked incredulously, "If we'd been here sooner, if we'd taken action against Filthy Rich, surely we would have been able to stop this whole thing before it got out of hoof."

"Perhaps you could have stalled him, but I doubt you would have stopped anything." Warden replied, "Filthy can be relentless when he wants something, and you or your sister showing up would have been nothing more than a slight hiccup in his plans. He still would have done what he'd done, and more than likely would have escalated it even quicker than he already had."

"How in all of Equestria did the ponies of this town side with him in all this?" Luna said sternly, "I just can't wrap my mind around all this... It doesn't seem possible!"

Luna shouted the last words and stomped her hoof into the ground in frustration, causing a few birds in a nearby tree to quickly fly from it's branches in fright from the sudden loud noise. The princess of the night glanced back down towards Warden, seeing him looking back up at her with an eyebrow raised. She let out a large sigh and slumped a little, her ears falling as she tried to calm herself down, realizing that shouting at the pony before her would get her nowhere.

"Believe me, Princess, I'd love to know the answer to that as well." Warden remarked solemnly, "After it was all said and done, I couldn't find a single, credible reason for what happened, and I still can't. The only thing I can think of that is even remotely close to a plausible explanation is that all the reservations anypony ever had about him, whether they were strong feelings or not, were exacerbated by Filthy Rich until he could completely convince ponies that they truly did hate and fear Josh, despite the fact that he'd never done anything harmful to any of them."

"How... how could somepony be so... so... vile?" Luna hissed, gritting her teeth as she glared back down towards Warden, "And how in Celestia's name can you so easily work for him still, after everything he's done?"

Warden's ears flattened against his head and a heavy scowl took over his face upon hearing the night princess's question.

"As the chief of the Ponyville police department, it's my job to serve the political figure of the day, whether that's Mayor Mare, or Filthy." he explained through gritted teeth, his eyes beginning to burn with an internal rage as he spoke, "Plus, Filthy knows about my... previous line of work and how unsavory it would be to my family, and he's more than willing to extort me with it. I don't want to risk my family and the life I've managed to build up since leaving the service of the Royal Guard, so I have no choice but to do what he wants me to. I despise him with every fiber of my being, Princess, but it's either I serve him, or I lose everything."

As Warden finished his explanation, Luna features immediately softened and she felt a pang of regret at lashing out at the stallion moments before.

"I'm sorry, Warden." she replied softly, her own ears falling as she addressed him in a much softer tone, "I didn't know..."

"It's... not your fault, Princess." Warden sighed, his entire body slumping down as he allowed the sudden rage that had overtaken him dissipate, "Besides, it's not all bad."

"How so?" Luna asked, her head cocked in curiosity.

"Filthy thinks he's sent out a spy to keep an eye on Vinyl for his own insane political agenda, but all he's done is given her a bodyguard and an entire police force who'll help protect her each and every day." Warden answered, a smirk overtaking his face as he glanced back up at Luna.

The princess of the night smiled back down at Warden, a warm feeling spreading through her body as she gazed into his bright blue eyes filled with a deep determination. With everything that had gone on over the course of the last few weeks, all the heartache and destruction that had been wrought, it was a relief to finally find something to feel good about again. They say time heals all wounds the princess thought quietly to herself with any luck, we can prove that old adage true.

"Well, I need to get back to my post for the night, I'm afraid." Warden said after a brief silence, standing up and stretching his forelegs out, yawning as he did so, "And I'm sure you have business of your own to attend to."

"That I do." Luna replied, rising herself and turning towards Warden, her soft smile still intact as she gazed down at the stallion before her, "Do try to get some sleep eventually though Warden. It's not good for you to lose too many hours."

"I'll be sure to do that, Princess." Warden replied, a slight smirk on his face.

Warden bowed low to the princess of the night before turning and making his way back towards town, undoubtedly heading back for Octavia's home so as to continue his vigilant watch over Vinyl. Luna was once again left alone on the small hill, the soft sounds of the water breaking nearby continuing to add its ambiance to the already serene setting. She gazed back up at the bright silver moon above, smiling and letting out a small sigh of relief as she reminisced on the events of that night. This situation was still far from being resolved in any way, and there was a distinct possibility that it might never be resolved, but at least they'd begun to move in the right direction. And, with any luck and just enough hope, maybe everything could one day be alright again.