*Thud*

"That will teach you to not give us the money when we ask for it," one of the thugs said. As they walked away, the young teen they had been assailing got up and limped home.

This was the situation in Equestria that had started when the Changeling Wars had ended. Nobles, who had ran the country while the King and Queen were out fighting, had passed many laws while they were away that allowed them to do what they wished. They even passed laws that limited the Royal Family's power.

When King Solaris returned, he was barely even a figurehead now. The nobles were running the country and many of the citizens were made to suffer. Some even tried to rebel, but they were put to the sword, no mercy given to the families of those involved.

Soon the land was engulfed in a civil war, with one faction being led by Discord and Princess Celestia, who had fled when the nobles planned to marry her off to a perverted prince in the southern part of the kingdom. King Solaris was forced to declare her daughter a traitor, knowing that she was right to do so. This just left their youngest daughter to be a target for the nobles.

What the nobles didn't count on were her two guards, whom she had picked from the Royal Army, to protect her and if she commanded, to throw out all suitors that arrived. Luna was determined to find a way to save her home, but she needed help; help that only Discord and his rebels could provide.

At the moment, Luna had recently thrown out another would-be suitor and was resting when her main guard, Rose, saw one of Luna's outfits and went over to it.

"Where did you get this one?" she asked. Rose always had an eye for fashion, one of the few things that her and Luna could bond over, but Rose always took it to the extreme. Luna had told her many times that it was OK to love fashion, but as a guard, she couldn't let it get out of hand.

"Just some new dress that my mother bought me," Luna replied, not really interested in the dress. She was looking out her window at the town, watching the people suffer at the hands of the thugs.

"Just some dress!" Rose exclaimed. Luna rolled her eyes, knowing what was about to happen. "This is the newest dress from the western part of the kingdom! People would cut off their own arms for this dress!"

Just as Luna predicted, Rose was getting into one of her fashion rants. Rose turned around and continued to rant, not seeing a spark flash in Luna's eyes. Luna began to walk out of her room and opened up the secret passage that was near her room. Picking up the front of her dress, she descended the steps, making it to the back door. Her other guard, Stone Edge, was there at the exit, fast asleep. As Luna was tip-toeing out the door, Stone began to mumble.

"I love my little teddy bear," he said. "Don't take him from me, Mommy."

Luna held a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle and walked outside, composing herself before walking towards town.

Unknown to Luna, one of the nobles was watching her. He watched her walk away with his dark red eyes, a sinister smile slowly appearing on his face.

"You will be mine, Luna," he said. "One way or another, you will be mine."

Luna made it to the edge of town just as the shops were opening up for the day. She passed by the first shop which just so happened to be the bakery. She walked in, just as the smell of fresh bread hit her in the face. The sweet aroma made her stomach growl, as she had not had anything to eat yet. She walked up to the counter just as the owners noticed that they had a customer. As soon as they saw who it was, they immediately bowed.

"Princess Luna," The man said as he bowed. His wife went back into the kitchen to get ready in case the royal family came to visit. "I was not aware that the Royal Family was coming to visit."

"They're not," Luna replied. "I'm actually just trying to walk through town and see what life is like."

She looked at the baker, hoping that he wouldn't call the guards so that she could finally get to see what life is like.

"Of course," he replied. "Let us get you something to eat though before you walk into town." He escorted her to a nearby table and sat her down as his wife came out with a few pastries.

"Thank you," Luna said. "I'm just curious, but what are your names?"

"My name is Ginger Doodle,' he replied. "My wife's name is Sapphire. We have two others that help out around here once and awhile."

"Who might those two be?" Luna asked.

"Double Diamond and Sugar Belle," The baker answered. "I'll let you get back to your pastries."

The couple walked away as Luna began to eat some of the food that was brought to her. As soon as she took her first bite, she felt as if she was in heaven. This was most likely the best pastry she had ever had in her life. She smiled as she began to enjoy her food, glad to have peace away from the castle.

As Luna was enjoying her food, that same noble that had watched her leave walked to his quarters in the castle. When he opened the door, he found his personal bodyguard standing there, ready for his orders.

"Princess Luna has left the castle," he began. "I want you to take some soldiers and find her. While you're down there, give a few of the citizens a scare and squeeze more taxes out of them while you can."

"Right away, Sombra," the guard said, leaving to do his duties. As he left, Sombra just smiled.

"Now for the next phase of my plan," Sombra said to himself.

Luna had entered the streets and was walking down to market place, eying everything that people were selling. The sweet aroma of the flowers hit her nose, making a smile appear on her face. Many of these flowers she had never seen before, as these had come from Discord's side of Equestria.

Despite the Civil War, merchants were still allowed full access, as many of them were just trying to run their business, not fight a war. Many of them met up in lands that were neutral and traded, allowing them to return home with new goods, keeping their businesses open.

As she neared the next stand, she suddenly tripped. Just as she was about to hit the ground, someone grabbed her.

"You alright there, Miss?" the voice asked. Luna nodded as the person helped her to her feet. "It's my fault. I should've made sure all my items were on the cart."

"It's fine," Luna replied, checking herself to make sure nothing was wrong. "I should've watched where I was going…" Luna stopped as she turned to face the person that helped her.

The man that helped her was about seven feet tall, with crimson hair and mustache. What Luna really caught onto was his eyes. His eyes, green as the forest, held much emotion in them as he made sure she wasn't hurt. He reached down and picked up his items and placed them back on his cart before turning to Luna with one of the items.

"Here," he said. "Free of charge."

It was a gold chain necklace with a bright red ruby. Luna reached out her hand as the man placed it in her palm.

"Thank you," Luna said. "You didn't need to, uh …?"

"Crimson," the man answered. "Crimson Crown. I did it because the whole problem was my fault to begin with." Crimson soon turned around and began gathering up his remaining goods when two guards walked over and shoved him to the ground.

"Watch where you're going," one guard said, as the other one turned the cart over. As they walked away, Luna went over to Crimson and helped him to his feet. The smile that had once been on his face was replaced with a frown.

"I really don't like those two," he mumbled to himself. As soon as he was on his feet, he turned to Luna. When he noticed who she was, he immediately bowed.

"Your Highness," Crimson said. "I'm very sorry i didn't recognize you." If he had felt bad earlier for causing her to trip, he felt even worse now that he knew who it was.

"Please stand," Luna commanded. Crimson stood up, but kept his eyes to the ground. "Look at me."

Crimson faced Luna, unsure of her reaction. As she was about to say something, another guard came over and was about to attack Crimson.

Seeing Luna's facial expression change, Crimson turned around, just in time to grab the hand that was holding the weapon that was about to strike him. The guard was shocked that a peasant was able to block him, only to be knocked unconscious with a right hook. One of the thugs was about to go for Luna, only for Crimson to move his foot, causing the thug to trip onto his face.

"Princess Luna!" They turned to see White Rose and Stone Edge running over. When they arrived, Stone pointed his weapon at Crimson.

"Lower your weapon, Stone," Luna said. Stone did as she commanded, but kept his eye on Crimson. Luna ignored Stone and walked over to Crimson.

"Thank you for stopping that one thug," Luna said. "I do apologize for what those guards did though."

"It's alright," Crimson replied. "To be fair, we all know that not all the guards are like that. It's just those few that cause the problems."

"Still," Luna began. "Allow us to help you gather your stuff before you leave."

Crimson smiled as the four got to work and picked up everything that was knocked over. White Rose grabbed what appeared to be a picture frame, only for Crimson to swipe it from her hands.

"Don't touch that," he said, placing it in his pocket.

"What is it?" White asked, reaching for Crimson's pocket. As Crimson tried to keep White at bay, Stone snuck up behind and took it, brining it to Luna.

"Is this your family?" Luna asked, curiosity sounding in her voice.

Crimson just sighed, fighting back the tears.

"Yes," Crimson replied. "This was taken a few years ago. Just around the time of the Changeling Wars. My wife, Terra Shield, was heading home from visiting some family when the Changelings attacked her. After that, I wanted to join up and fight them, but I couldn't due to the fact that I still had to watch over my son. He moved out just a month before the Civil War. Him and his wife currently live in Discord's relm."

"Wait," Stone began. "So that's your backstory?"

"Just some of the major details," Crimson replied, picking up a crate of tools and placing them on the front of the cart. "Was actually about to leave for Discord's relm when this whole thing started. Before I could, some guards that work for someone called Sombra stopped me and threatened to throw me in the dungeon if I attempted to leave. Another poor bloke that was with me ignored him and was arrested on the spot."

"I know the feeling," Luna input. "I haven't seen Celestia in years."

"I actually did hear something recently," Crimson mentioned. "She attempted to help some refugees cross the border. They got all but three out of this land. Those three were killed on the spot is what I heard, but Celestia was about to help the majority of them."

As they continued talking, Crimson found himself struggling to lift the final crate.

"I forgot what I even put in this," Crimson said to himself, opening the box. "Oh, now I remember."

He closed the box and tried to lift in one more time, only this time, Stone went over and helped Crimson lift in on the cart.

"That should do it," Stone said, wiping his brow from the last box.

"Thank you," Crimson said, grabbing the handles of the cart. "I better get this stuff home. Harvest season is almost upon us and I need to get all the tools I can before I start collecting."

"Won't you need help with this stuff?" Rose asked.

"I'd appreciate it," Crimson answered. With that, they began to move to the gates, Crimson pulling the cart while Stone pushed. As soon as they made it to the gate, another person came over.

"Ready, Crimson?" the man asked. This man was six inches taller than Crimson with darker skin and black hair.

"Ready, Guardian." Crimson turned to the others. "Thanks for the help. We'll be able to get this stuff to our farms from here."

With that, they two walked off, Rose and Stone watching for any tricks while Luna gripped the necklace that she had been given.

'I hope they can make it safe,' she thought to herself.

"We best be off," White Rose said. "Let's go."

Luna led them back to the castle, a million thoughts going through her head. All she knew was that she was glad that she left the castle for the day, seeing what life was like for her people and now ready to help them.

'First,' she thought to herself. 'I need to get rid of the problem. Only then will I be able to help others.' With that in mind, she looked back, ready to face her destiny.