Crystal nuzzled my cheek on her way past me from the bathroom. She was still getting dressed, while I was almost done. There was only one thing missing.
“Ready for today, sweetie?” she asked.
“Yes, ready for it to be over,” I quipped with a wink. Preparing for today had been exhausting and I was tense about the whole thing.
The mare stopped and came over to stroke my mane. “It isn’t like you to say something like that. Even jokingly. Is everything alright?”
In general, yes. Everything was. I had no idea whether or not anything was going to happen. I’d also been emotional since Ironhoof had come back. Even more so today, given what I had to do. “Mostly. This is just something I need to finish. Once this is over, the war is over. My career from before is over. I won’t have a command or role.”
“Because you haven’t picked one,” my wife so skillfully pointed out.
She was right about that. In truth, that wasn’t the main reason for my trepidation. I was wearing my dragoon armor on Equestrian soil. That just felt wrong. It was a reminder I did not want to have. Especially after I’d spoken to Ironhoof. He was looking forwards. I was looking back.
“Yes, I know.” My thoughts jumped back to the picture Ironhoof had shown me and I blurted out, “Do you ever think about having foals?”
Crystal blinked and set her hoof on my forehead. “Okay, now I know you’re off.”
I pushed the hoof away and slipped one carefully around her. This armor was not conducive to hugging. It was conducive to cutting anyone that got too close. “Be serious. Do you?”
“Well… yes. I mean Velvet has Velour, Horsey has a brood, and my aunt who is basically my age has her own foals. You could say it crosses my mind often enough.”
I nosed her cheek. “Why not say anything?”
Crystal shivered and set her forehooves on my cheeks. “Because we’re young, Silent. We have years left to have foals. Years! A decade? More? You never said anything and I didn’t think you were ready… and I don’t mean that negatively. You haven’t even been out of the war for a year. Let’s just focus on us.”
“I told Minister Sombra that no matter what position I choose, I’m taking a vacation after today. You and me, alone. Glimmer World, Colton Head Island, and the back of that Hay Burger.”
My wife gasped and shoved both hooves over my mouth. “You swore you’d never speak of that!”
I laughed and gently pulled away from her. “I’m going to be late. I love you.”
Crystal idly swatted the side of my face with a hoof and replied, “You make it hard, but I love you, too.”
“Love is hard,” I teased before heading for the door. “See you at the banquet!”
“Yup!”
I trotted out of our condo and down to the street. I’d have rather flown, but I was in heavy armor and it was going to be a long day. My busted wing just wasn’t up for that challenge. I had enough challenges in front of me already. One very immediately.
Okay, Silent, it is time. It’s going to be fine. I pulled my dragoon helmet on, shielding my face from the light of the sun.
Hello, Silent.
It was just my imagination. That’s all. A helmet is just a helmet. That didn’t stop my heart from racing, though.
The best thing to do would be to get to Captain Brynja and the others. It took all of my effort not to gallop as fast as possible through the streets of Canterlot. That would be unsightly and unnerve the civilian ponies.
I marched at a quick pace, making my way to where the parade would begin and I’d find my dragoons. Ponies in the street stopped when they saw me coming. They stepped aside and stomped their hooves, cheered, or both. What Dread Knight had done was not worthy of such praise.
Of course it was; we destroyed our enemy so that others may live. Us or them, Silent Knight. We chose us. Do not despair in that. We will always do what is necessary to come home.
“That’s enough out of you,” I muttered. We… I was almost to the parade ground outside of the processing facility. That was where everypony was meeting. We’d march our way through the city and up to the castle where a few speeches would be given.
There would also be the show that Soarin had promised me. Once that was done, there would be a brief break for crews to set up and then a banquet would start. It would be hosted in the castle, the yard, and the streets immediately surrounding.
When I was close to our mustering point, another dragoon hurried over to be at my side. I’d have recognized her anywhere, armor or not. “Captain Brynja!”
“Well, hello, Major Knight.” She was speaking slow and deliberately.
“Well?” That was a distinct ’w’ sound.
“Yes. I, am, working, on my, pony accent,” she replied.
I extended a wing and set it on her back. “Is that something you really need to do? Has somepony made fun of your accent?”
Brynja shook her helmet-covered head. “No. I, just, want, to be, more, pony.”
“Alright, and how has living like a pony been working out for you?” It was nice to shift the focus off of myself. I hadn’t seen Brynja much. Crystal, Velvet, and I had attended one of her shows. It was amazing. After that things, went back to normal.
“It iz… is very nice. Poniez are nice,” she replied cheerfully.
“Good. If they weren’t, I’d be upset. How is your job with Dolly?”
Brynja gasped. “I love it, zir! All of ze mare ponies come to zee me dance. Then I zee the stallionz after.”
My ears twitched under my helmet. “And where do you find stallions?”
The gryphoness turned her head, bumping her visor into mine by accident. She muttered a gryphon curse and then whispered, “Oh, zir, they find me now.”
For that moment and only in that moment, I was glad to be under the helmet. There was little doubt my entire face had turned pink. “Okay… and we’ll leave it at that. Are you ready for today?”
“Yes, we, will, be free, of war,” she replied, going back to the slow, careful speech.
After that, we fell silent. It seemed like Brynja needed this as much as I did. We just walked together to the designated spot for our dragoons. There were a lot of them there already.
When they all stiffened to attention, Brynja gasped and pounced onto one of them. Everyone started chuckling and I hurried over to grab her shoulder. Had she lost it?
“It iz zee cute one!” Brynja squealed from her position on top of the dragoon. Sure enough, when I looked, it was Thunder Tumble.
“Ma’am,” he gasped, all four legs wiggling up at the sky.
I grabbed a forehoof and squeezed it. “Tumble!”
“Silent!” he replied, squeezing back.
Brynja and I helped him up after she had sufficiently mauled him and I said, “You came. I wasn’t sure you’d leave Ponyville.”
Tumble shook his head. “I can’t miss today. This is the finale. It all ends here. I also couldn’t imagine being anywhere else when the dragoons marched one final time.” He looked around at the company. “This is going to be good for us.”
“It is,” I replied before standing up straight. “Alright, everyone. We’re to follow along behind the brigade headquarters. I realize most of us haven’t marched in a while, so let’s fall in and get ready… I…”
So business-like, Silent. Lighten up. This isn’t a mission to just get through. You need to set an example. I took a deep breath and started again, “I’m really glad to see you all. Truly. It has been tough for me since we arrived home, but I managed to get myself together. I hope you’ve done the same.
“Today is going to be our last time in this armor. Our last time as dragoons and, to be honest, I’m glad for that. We had to take on some awful things, but we did it together. No one else will understand better than the pony or gryphon beside you.
“Now I want to put this all behind me, but not you. I would always be glad to call you friends and stand by your side. Fall in, please… and leave spots open for those who can’t be here today.”
Solemnly, my dragoons nodded their heads, expressionless visors looking back at me. They found their positions and left gaps for those that had been lost. The one I felt the most was Clement Knight. My company NCO, grandfather, and friend. I missed him.
“That was a beautiful speech, Major,” came a familiar voice from behind me. I turned to find Brigadier Hammer approaching in his immaculately polished armor.
He looked well… very well, actually. Even with the eye patch and scar. He wasn’t limping, either! The old prosthetic leg had been replaced with a far more advanced one.
“Attention!” I ordered sharply. An order my dragoons immediately obeyed.
Hammer waved a hoof. “None of that, now. Almost all of us are retired. I wanted to come see the Black Dragoons before we started. After all, you did the impossible for me repeatedly at great personal cost.”
“We did our part, sir,” I replied firmly.
The stallion shook his head. “No, you did more than your part. I relied on you too much and for that, I’m sorry. Many of you were wounded and killed because I started to believe you were invincible. Just like I thought Silent Knight was invincible.”
He sat a hoof on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Silent. I hope you can forgive me.”
I pushed my visor up so we could look eye to eye. “Lightning, there is nothing to forgive. We did what we had to do. You suffered, I suffered, we all did. It’s over now.”
Lightning Hammer took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, yes it is. We’ve put this horrible business in the past. There is only one thing left to do.”
“Welcome everypony home?” Tumble asked.
“Indeed. I’m going to take my place with the brigade headquarters, but I just wanted to see you all like this one more time. Thank you all for coming.”
Hammer and I bumped hooves and my dragoons returned his sentiment. As he walked away, the drums and horns began to play in the distance. That was the signal.
“Alright, dragoons! We have one more job to do. Let’s do it right and enjoy our retirement.”
The Black Dragoons and I marched out of our mustering spot in good order and made our way to the main avenue. Each unit was forming up there in the predefined order that we’d been given.
Civilian ponies lined the sidewalks, cheering, stomping, and waving Equestrian flags. It was somewhat unnerving to be cheered in such a way. They weren’t afraid of us or our armor. Why would they be? They didn’t understand the reality of the armor.
We took our positions and waited for the parade to begin. The unit was silent, as was the headquarters in front and infantry company behind us. It seemed like the quiet before the storm. Other than the crowd. They weren’t quiet in the least.
In the distance, a whistle blew. Then another followed. One by one they blew, growing closer and closer. The color sergeant in the brigade headquarters blew the whistle for us and the drums and horns swelled.
We all marched in place, stepping perfectly in time despite being rusty. Brigadier Hammer and his headquarters started moving forwards. Once there was enough space between us and them, I ordered, “Dragoons, march!”
For the first time in months, the Black Dragoons moved as one. We marched our way from the processing center down Mane Street and towards the palace complex. I was shocked at how many ponies had come out to see us. The city was packed full of ponies, far more than the local population. I had no doubt about that.
Mothers, wives, sisters, fathers, husbands, brothers, and more were there to cheer us on. Foals sat on backs, eying us with wonder. Young ponies bounced up and down the way I had when I first saw royal guards on parade. The whole thing just felt off. Honoring those that kill as a trade.
Everypony deals with things differently.
Now you give positive advice? Where was that before? What, no response? Then we’ll march in silence.
☾
The parade took roughly two hours from start to finish. The palace complex was now completely packed full of soldiers waiting for the Princesses and other dignitaries. The civilian populace was further away, packing every side road imaginable as they crowded in to hear.
Far above us, the balcony doors opened and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna walked out. General Ironhoof, Minister Sombra, and several other officials were with them.
Sunny Day, Midnight Snow, Gloam, and several hoof-picked guards were close by as well. It made me nervous not to be there myself but it would have never made sense. I just had to rely on other ponies to do the job.
“Soldiers of Equestria, I want to thank you all for being here today. This is the first time in recent memory that I have the honor of seeing you all together at home,” Princess Celestia started, her voice booming across the city.
We cheered and stomped, sharing our approval of the sentiment. The Army of Equestria was home.
“Before today, I have stood before the citizens of this kingdom and repeatedly reminded them of remembrance and of loss. Today will be different. Today is a day of celebration, hope, and focus on the future. My little ponies, allow us to welcome you home! Allow us to restore you to the lives you were meant to lead!”
The cheers surged once more through the city, the energy of it growing even within me. This time I felt different. Almost as if things finally were getting back to normal. Pride and warmth swelled in my chest. Everypony was home; we could put the dark days behind us.
Princess Luna stepped to her sister’s side and lifted her head. “Soldiers of Equestria, one and all, today you are invited to sit with your sisters and brothers and share a meal together. A simple gesture, but one that is so important. It is a reminder that we all have somepony in our corner. A reminder that somepony will always look out for us.”
The princess looked to the sky and said, “Now, in honor of your return, I am thrilled to announce a very special performance from the Wonderbolts. They wish to honor their peers with a show the likes of which we’ve never seen. Ladies and gentleponies, I present to you, all four Wonderbolt teams!”
On perfect cue, four flights of Wonderbolts came screaming across the sky from each cardinal direction. They were set for a four-way head-on collision, but at the last second they all pulled up, forming a perfect box.
There were gasps and cheers from the soldiers around me. I did not expect them to keep their composure as the greatest flyers in Equestria performed. I remained at attention. Examples had to be set.
In the distance, the teams reached a height far above the city before looping over and starting a dive. Each pony reached out their forehooves to link with the pony next to them. Four teams linked together in a perfect circle while they dove. The skill it took to do that with such precision blew my mind.
As they drew closer and closer to the castle, one pony came out of nowhere, shooting through the clouds and dead center of the circle. She blew past the rest of the formation, a rainbow building behind her. Right when she was about to collide into the roof, she pulled up and the sky crackled with a thunderous boom. A beautiful rainbow circle spread out across the sky, encircling the whole kingdom.
The other Wonderbolts flew right through it before separating out into their individual flights and starting routines of their own. The sky was full of acrobatics and color. It was truly the most amazing thing I’d ever seen them do.
We all stared in wonder, our eyes glued to the heavens as Navy flyers put together an uplifting demonstration of what could be achieved by working in harmony. As the show wound to an end, every member of the team landed on the castle roof in perfect formation before snapping to attention. The crowd roared its approval. Even I lost my composure to stomp.
Princess Luna happily stomped her hooves before waving them at us. “Now, go and remove your vestments of war and return here within the hour so that you may dine with those you have served. I welcome you to your home and mine. Please enjoy our hospitality.”
General Ironhoof cleared his throat and smiled. “Friends, you’ve heard the will of our princesses. It is my honor to dismiss you one last time. Return here as ponies, not soldiers, and break bread with us. Dismissed!”
We all stood to attention and saluted. The general did the same. Officers began to repeat the order to their units.
“Dragoons, you are dismissed. Fall out and be sure to come back for the banquet. You’ve earned it,” I ordered.
Today was a day of celebration. There were some memorials and remembrances scheduled for the following weeks but today was meant to be a joyous occasion and I was starting to feel it.
I trotted the opposite way of most of the others. I was due in the castle before the festivities started. My first stop was Princess Luna’s chambers, where Miley Hooves and two other house guards helped me out of my dragoon armor and into my dress uniform.
Miley was peering at my helmet. “This looks really scary.”
“That was the idea. Make the gryphons dread seeing it. To be honest, it scares me, too.”
“Well… what are you going to do with it now?”
I shrugged. “Lock it in a chest and hope that I never need it again.”
Miley nodded and hugged me. She pressed close and whispered in my ear, “We’re all ready. I’ve disguised most everypony as a house guard. Gloam is leading a group of nox ponies as well.”
“Thank you,” I whispered in reply, patting Miley on the back.
I left her there and went on to my second stop: Sunny Day’s office.
Our plan seemed to have hit a slight hiccup, because she wasn’t alone like she was meant to be. Azurite and Soarin were sitting on her couch, although he jumped up when I came in.
“Silent Knight! What did you think of the show?” Soarin asked before offering a hoof. It was covered in sweat. I didn’t care.
I bumped it fiercely in return. “I’ve never seen anything like it! Soarin, I can’t thank you enough. You promised the most amazing show and you did not disappoint.”
Sunny leaned across her desk. “He never does,” she said huskily.
Soarin turned bright red. “Sunny!”
“Come on, stud, I had to. Besides, you and little-bit there are keeping me from my duty. I have to scare you off somehow. Head down to the banquet, we’ll all go out for drinks afterwards, okay?”
Azurite hopped up off the couch, came over, and poked me with a hoof. “We had a deal. I kept up my end of the bargain, so I expect that shopping spree soon.”
Soarin’s head tilted. “What now?”
“Azurite demanded that I compensate her over and beyond the usual for doing her job,” I replied. “She wants to take me on an underwear shopping spree. I thought it was inappropriate but she bullied me into agreeing.”
Azurite sputtered, “What! Nuh-uh! That isn’t what we agreed to. We agreed to sweet pants! Sunridge socks! No!”
Soarin looped a foreleg around the mare and shook his head. “We’re going to have a serious talk about boundaries.”
“Nooo!” Azurite howled as Soarin drug her from the office.
I looked at Sunny. She was just grinning.
“It doesn’t bother you she’s kind of like your child?” I asked.
“Nah, I think it’s cute. She doesn’t act that way in the bedroom.”
My nose wrinkled and my tail stiffened. “I regret asking. Anything to report?”
“Nothing at all. Everypony on the list checked out in advance. So far, things are proceeding normally. We might get to enjoy a relatively quiet dinner… well… not me and you. Since we’ll be on duty and all. How did you swing that, by the way? You’re not on a security detail.”
“True, but I am still Minister Sombra’s aide. I’ll be at his side all night, which just happens to be right next to the princesses. Simple enough.”
Sunny nodded and smiled. “Good, try to have some fun, though. It can’t all be work. Just because you’d plan an assassination on a night like tonight doesn’t mean everypony would.”
“Fair enough. I’m going to go check on Snow and Gloam. You should get to your position.”
The mare grumbled, “Yes, yes. Will do, Major. Major pain in my flank. Major downer. Major…”
“Is bigger than you and would totally take you in a wrestling match?”
Sunny snorted and came out from behind her desk. She stomped right up and grabbed me by the neck so she could pull my head down. That way we were eye to eye. “I’d beat you in a wrestling match in two seconds.”
I snorted. “How do you figure that?”
“Easy.” Sunny leaned in close and whispered, “The moment you set your hooves on me, I’d moan so hard and loud you’d freeze up. Even if you knew I was going to do it, you’d freeze right up. Then I’d take you down. So you remember that, Major. All of that brawn is useless against the powers of a clever mare like me.”
Shocked. I was shocked, impressed, and exceedingly uncomfortable. She was right. I stood there blinking as Sunny let me go and walked by. On her way out, she slapped me on the flank. “That’s what I thought. See you down there!”
“She’s an evil genius. I’m glad she’s on my side,” I muttered before turning around. I’d better check on the others. They were easier to control. Ponies that followed orders. That was who I needed now. That would be a better thing to think about than how incredibly awkward it would be to grab Sunny and have her moan.
Forget freezing up. It would probably kill me.