EchoWing

“I can’t believe it.” Twilight slumped, more than a little stunned at what she had been told. She wasn’t sure that anything could’ve topped finding out that her coltfriend had encountered a changeling prior to the invasion, but now… “A colonel in the Royal Guard? Committing acts of treason?” “Don’t forget him being a pegasus supremacist.” Quiver dourly noted. “That too. I mean, I know ponies like that exist, but being willing to commit crimes against the crown…” The young alicorn sighed. “What prompts a pony to go that far?” “That’s a question we might never know the answer to, and it’s probably better that we don’t.” Sunrunner frowned. “Still, as much as we like to ignore it, despite how far we’ve come, there’s still a subtle undercurrent of tension between the tribes.” “And it wouldn’t take much to tear us apart.” Flash’s expression was as dour as his fellow Guardspony. “I hope we never see something like that in our lifetime.” “Still, how does a pony like

“Sweet Celestia.” Quiver regarded the two Guardsponies with some surprise. “Now I get why you wanted a cone of silence. An assassination attempt.” The thought of such a thing got his inquisitiveness going, and the obvious questions leapt to mind. “Alright then, how did they know about the diplomatic visit? And who was the target, Princess Horaia or Prince Blueblood? If it was the former, then it had to be some sort of conspiracy, but the latter, well, it could go either way.” The princess showed some concern at her friend’s attitude. “You’re not taking Rarity’s account of him that seriously, are you?” He shook his head. “Not completely. Rarity told me about what happened that night once, and asked me if I had any thoughts. I suggested that it might not have just been him being a ponce and a twit.” At the expressions of Sunrunner and Flash Sentry, he explained, “Rarity went to the Grand Galloping Gala with the express hope of finding her Prince Charming and wooing him, based

Vignette #12 – Princess Luna Micro-Comic / The Day Shift Princess Luna found herself…perturbed. Things had started off well enough. She had just finished her duties for the evening, which thanks to the guidelines set in place by the treaty with the Nyx had recently been streamlined in regards to her dreamwalking. Thus, the evening had been spent on patrols with the Night Guard warding off dangerous creatures in one corner of Equestria or another, and she hardly found herself exhausted come the morning. How much of that was due to the coffee she’d consumed remained a question for another time. Still, when she had reunited with Celestia to transition from the Court of the Night to that of the Day, her elder sibling had started going on about bureaucracy and meetings and delegates. Such challenges were, of course, trivial compared to fending off owlbears and bugbears and lumber bears and assorted other ursine derivatives, and Luna had declared she would handle them. She

The stadium at Wing Point was filled with spectators, family and friends and even a few younger students in attendance as the newest class of cadets stepped onto the field and took their positions for graduation. Flash had some mixed feelings about this, having long gotten used to academy uniforms and routine but all too glad to put it behind him and get out into the field. And that ignored inevitably having to say goodbye to the ponies he’d gotten to know and the friends that he’d made. Yes, this was to be expected, and there was a fair chance he would see them again at some point, but still, parting was a sweet sorrow that he didn’t look forward to. At last, the bell sounded, and the nearly thousand gathered cadets joined together to sing the school song. As that came to an end, the commandant stood before them. As commanded, the cadets raised their right forelimb and recited the Oath of Office. Flash doubted that he would ever forget his next words. “I, Flash Sentry