Chapter 1: Secrets in the Dark
"Out of the Darkness, I bring the Light...
Blaze sighed as he lifted the final piece of his Royal Guard regalia above his head - the shining polished helmet. The gilded head guard sat comfortably on his poll as his two grey ears poked upwards through the carefully allocated holes in the armour. Tightening the strap beneath his chin, the grey unicorn stallion looked at himself in the mirror. Despite being in the Royal Guard for just over five years now, Blaze still felt a small measure of pride when he looked at his reflection. The golden armour fitted his athletic form well, and almost seemed to emphasise his tight muscles.
His long horn crested his head through the helmet, behind which a feathery white plume crowned the unicorn soldier. A purple star shaped badge held the two halves of his breastplate together, the colour signifying Blaze as a member of the Unicorn Guard. The badge was blue for the pegasi, and red for the few earth ponies who were part of the Princess' private military.
"A new day, same damn horseshitting duties..." came a disgruntled voice from the unicorn's left, "I mean, what the buck do we even do nowadays? Nothing ever eventful happens in this crappy little job". Blaze rolled his eyes. The annoyed rant was coming from his best friend, a white pegasus pony named High Flyer. The other stallion was struggling to fit his right wing through the slightly-to-small gap in the armour plating. "Goddess dammit, just fit through you bu- DAMMIT!" He had finally squeezed his feathery limb through, but had pulled a muscle in doing so by the sounds of it.
"Mornin'" said Blaze, a slight smile tugging a the corners of his mouth. "Ya know, you're supposed to put the wing through first, and then close the plating - not, well...whatever the hell you managed to do" the unicorn chuckled. High Flyer gave him a sarcastic looking glance before smirking himself.
"Somepony took my armour yesterday after drilling by mistake from the store lockers. This piece of half rusted crap is from the spare equipment cupboard. The wing holes are to bucking small and the breastplate feels like its gonna suffocate me", the pegasus shook his head, his blue mane waving about his face, "so anyway, what exciting duty do you have today? This time, I've moved from the empty room that overlooks the gardens to the other empty room that overlooks the same garden, only from a different perspective" he said in a voice of painful false excitement.
Blaze chuckled. "I got the Library Wing - some of the guards there were found drunk last night. Sergeant Skyfire isn't too pleased"
"Ha, they had the right idea - probably agonisingly boring for them as well. I didn't join the Royal Guard to stand in silence in empty rooms or occasionally walk in between two empty rooms. I wanted action, ya know? Everypony goes on about how the Royal Guard are the greatest and most elite of the Equestrian Military, but we don't do anything!"
Blaze looked down at the stone floor briefly. "I know what ya mean, in all honesty its not what I expected. But I've been here five years and I'm kinda used to it now"
That was a lie. Blaze despised the tedious standing and formation marching. The constant and unneeded drills that always left him drained. The pay wasn't even that good. The only thing that Blaze found remotely satisfying about his duties as a Royal Guard was the elaborate gilded armour, and even that was a pain the plot sometimes. Each and every guard was expected to take care of their own armour, which included polishing, tempering, repairing and cleaning.
"Well, I'm gonna go to breakfast, I've got a long day of standing ahead of me" High Flyer muttered as he finished tightening the strap of his slightly tight borrowed helmet, the blue plumage matching his mane and tail. The unicorn followed his friend as they made their way towards the Great Hall of the Barracks.
The Barracks itself was a large crucible shaped structure built onto the side of the West Wing of the Royal Palace. While it shared architectural similarities with the rest of Canterlot, the military quarter of the Palace was spartan in comparison to the vibrant golds, whites and deep violets of the city's other districts. Each point of the cross shaped building faced a compass point, connected at the centre by the huge circular Great Hall, where the Royal Guards ate their daily meals, practised indoor drills, and would go to relax in the evenings when not on duty.
Blaze paid the grand gilded towers of the Barracks no heed as he trotted beside High Flyer as they made their way towards the imposing domed keep at the centre of the military wing. A dozen other ponies from various other dormitories soon joined them, all holding their heads high with pride as they strutted past the complaining pegasus and quiet unicorn.
"Why they so happy? Bet they got the same dull day that he have" mumbled High Flyer as he fiddled with the blue star shaped badge on his chest.
"That's Captain Shining Armour's regiment. They've got some special assignment with the Princess for the rest of the week whilst she's doing talks around Equestria. I think they've got trip to Baltimare later today" Blaze answered, watching with envy as the elite of the Royal Guard walked past them with high glittering helms and tall proud plumes cresting them. They were the highest of the high, the best guards in the entire order. The Dawn Shields.
"Ha! They gotta walk all the way to Baltimare? I mean, nice city, but its over three days flight from here, and I could be wrong, but unicorns and earth ponies don't fly..." said the white coated pegasus, smirking at column of armoured stallions as they entered the thick double doors to the Great Hall.
"Actually I heard that the Princess is gonna just teleport them all there, save the trip"
"Who d'you hear this from?"
"Glider, you know, the one in Sergeant Skyfire's regiment. the one with the double coloured wings"
High Flyer groaned. Glider was the almighty knower of all facts and rumours in the Barracks. He was never wrong.
"Whoopee, the buckin' Dawn Shields get a day in Baltimare with the Princess whilst we stay in this dingy little slum"
Breakfast was the same as usual - bland tasting oat meal with a slightly sickly green colour to it, served with a single piece of something which may have passed for broccoli and a glass of water.
"Wonderful" Blaze muttered as he ate - no, slurped up the green slimy vegetables beside his untouched bowl of oatmeal. "This truly is the height of Canterlot fine dining. Won't get this anywhere else". High Flyer gazed at the brown paste in his bowl before prodding it with his spoon.
"Can't imagine why..." replied the pegasus as he slowly swallowed the oat meal, wincing as he did so. Blaze couldn't help but sympathise with his friend. The breakfast truly was at an all time low today. At least last week you could taste oats in the oatmeal. Now it was shredded cardboard.
The dining tables for the guards were set out in massive circles with ponies sitting on both sides of each ring. The higher ranking guards such as the Dawn Shields were seated in the centre of the rings whilst more lowly ponies were forced to the edges near the walls. Blaze and High Flyer were seated in the second ring of eight. For over five years of dedicated service to their monarch, the two stallions hadn't gained a rank above Corporal. Blaze thought it was almost depressing.
"Goddess-dammit, why are we stuck in this crappy little job?" High Flyer suddenly blurted out, a little too loudly, drawing glances from the higher ranking officers. "I mean, we just do nothing for weeks on end, train and drill our flanks into oblivion, and then repeat the same thing over and over again. Sometimes I wonder if I should resign".
It wasn't the first time that the pegasus had said as much. Blaze had also seriously been considering to do the same. The life of a Royal Guard was tough, dull, and for the most part consisted of being a glorified statue.
"And the Princess does absolutely nothing at all..."
Now this did cause Blaze to turn sharply to his friend. "What? How can you say that? She raises the sun, the very thing that gives us light and life. I'd hardly call that nothing. And she's ruled Equestria since time began, and helped make it the land it is now"
"A land that has a military power rivalled by rabbits and parasprites. Do you not remember what happened during the Royal Wedding?"
Blaze opened his mouth to retort back before he stopped. He had no answer. The Royal Guard and the Canterlot City Watch had failed dismally in the Changeling assault. Nopony could deny that, even the beloved Princess Celestia herself was defeated by the Queen. High Flyer did have a point, but Blaze doubted that it was worth yelling out over Great Hall, especially while the guard captain's own personal regiment were sitting six rows away from them.
"We were just...unprepared" was the only reply that the grey unicorn could answer back with. High Flyer let out an amused chuckle before returning to his paste.
"We never are"
After the great bell tolled thrice, heralding the beginning of the morning patrols, Blaze made his way first to the Armoury. It was an average size building attached to the North Wing of the Barracks. The roof was gilded in white gold like the rest of Canterlot, and had three high chimneys cresting the rear of the building. The grey unicorn walked and scanned the long racks of arms and armour that ran down the single rectangular room. The building had once been the old blacksmith, hence the chimneys, but that had been moved to the West Wing before Blaze had enlisted in the Guard. Taking a well crafted spear from a rack, Blaze cantered to his first destination of his rounds: The Court of the Sun and Moon.
As much as he hated being stuck on guard duty like a gilded living statue, Blaze never really minded that much when he was posted in the grand courtyard that led to the main entrance of the Palace. The massive semicircular plaza was paved with white stone set around a large fountain crafted in the likeness of all three races of pony dancing together in perfect harmony
But by far the most impressive features of the courtyard were the colossal, one hundred hoof tall marble statues of the twin Goddesses. The two alicorns were crafted in the pose of rearing high and proud, their regal visages gazing out onto the shining city of Canterlot. Their amazingly carved wings were spread wide, almost as if they were shielding anypony who walked beneath their shadows from the troubles of the outside world. Celestia's horn was gilded with white gold, and Luna's with glittering silver. Blaze smiled. Here, standing beneath the comforting shadow of his Princess and ruler, he almost felt as if the tedious standing around and repetitive drills were worth it.
His next post however was not so glamorous. While the Royal Kitchens were held within the high vaulted walls of the Palace, they shared none of the regal flare that the rest of the royal abode possessed. They were always crowded, with cook ponies and multiple chefs (never a good idea) running around in a chaotic dance of boiling, frying, roasting, chopping, dicing and baking. Luckily, the unicorn and his watch partner were placed outside of the hectic and frankly terrifying room. The heat blasting from the stoves and ovens caused Blaze to start sweating - not a good thing when wearing multiple layers of gilded plate.
The hours past, and the sun was gently resting on the western horizon, cradled by the mountains that marked Equestria's border with the Griffin Kingdoms. The dinner bell tolled above the domed Great Hall, summoning the guards for their final meal of the day.
"So, was the empty room above the gardens more interesting than the last?" Blaze asked High Flyer as he sat his haunches down on the wooden bench, plate of vegetables in tow.
"Oh, compared to the other one, this one was like the Grand Ballroom. It had pillars!" the pegasus said sarcastically as he glanced at the dish of greens and carrots before him. "Hmmm, this looks almost edible" he mumbled before munching on a piece of celery.
"I had the Court today" Blaze said smugly. He couldn't help it, he knew High Flyer found the grand entrance to the Palace just as beautiful as he did.
"Lucky bucker" said his friend with a smile, "I've still got the Sanctum of the Moon to do before I turn in. I swear to Celestia that that room is haunted. Everypony I've talked to keeps saying that they can sometimes hear the essence of Nightmare Moon laughing when you pass the exact spot where Princess Luna turned". The grey unicorn chuckled.
"Its the Library for me" he stated with a small smirk.
"Whoo, you'll have the ghosts of Aegis the Defender and Starswirl the Bearded to keep you company all night, not to mention the Foal Catcher"
"At least you get to sleep, I gotta cover the entire shift of the Librarian Guards. That's over eight hours of walking through the creepy aisles of books"
High Flyer looked at Blaze as if her was an idiot. "Use your horn to make light? Or better still, turn on the main chandelier. Its not actually lit by candle ya know, there is a switch". Blaze shook his head as he swallowed a piece of carrot.
"Sergeant Skyfire said that too much light can damage some of the older scrolls. I can't have the lights on".
The white pegasus frowned for a second before asking, "I? Its just you patrolling the Library, alone?" Blaze nodded dully. High Flyer chuckled before putting a forehoof on Blaze's shoulder. "I feel for ya colt, I really do"
The bell toll came all to quickly for Blaze's liking. As the stallions filed away either to their dormitories or their duty points, High Flyer called to Blaze as he trotted towards the Library.
"See ya tomorrow I guess"
"G'night"
"Enjoy the books!"
Blaze rolled his deep violet eyes and smirked as he walked off into the darkening Palace grounds.
The Royal Canterlot Library was the largest in Equestria, rivalled only in size by the Great Trottingham Library. The grey unicorn was fairly tall of somepony of his race, but he felt completely insignificant and minuscule next to the tall, mighty bookcases of beautifully varnished pale oak. Rows upon rows of these shelves stood like soldiers through the staggeringly massive room. A long line of high arched windows ran against the far wall of the Library, the golden glow of twilight currently streaming through them.
The floor was made from bleached wooden panels rather than the polished white marble of the rest of the Palace, and intricately woven rugs the colour of forests lay around the high vaulted room in various places. Far, far to his left, Blaze could make out the elegantly curved sofas and loungers than were set beneath a painted dome. The painting portrayed Celestia and Luna opposing each other in a circle, the sun and moon before their respected Goddesses. The pattern reminded Blaze of the 'Yin Yang' symbol of the ponies of Neighpon and Shang-Hoof used to adorn their buildings and clothing.
With a tired sigh, the unicorn began to pace through the intimidating aisles of knowledge and tales. The unicorn starting ticking off the titles of books he recognised in his head to keep himself occupied.
"The Ballard Sky and Sea, The Founding of Equestria, The Lay of Canterlot, Origins of Unicorn Magic, An Anatomy of Pegasi - Volume Three...".
The list went on, until the sun finally fell beneath the western mountains and bathed the Library in dreary darkness. Unable to continue his musings without straining his eyes, Blaze decided to plod over to the seating area beneath the dome. No pony was going to check up on him, so why not rest a bit? Leaning his spear against a marble pillar, the unicorn guard fell into a recliner decorated with golden leaves.
As he sighed, Blaze looked up at the painted ceiling above him. The twin Goddesses stood before him, frozen in their dance of harmony. The artist had captured Celestia's mane beautifully, getting the vibrant bright colours of the aurora coloured hairs perfect. Luna's billowing mane of pure night was done to equal measure. The pony who painted it even put in real constellations in the dark blue cloud that crested Luna's head.
The hours passed, and Blaze woke up suddenly, cursing himself for dozing off in the soft cushioned recliner. The tall pointed windows let in silvery moonlight now, giving the darkened Library an enchanted look. Thinking that the best way to stay awake was to move, Blaze stood up and picked up his spear. As he once again trotted quietly through the vaulted room, something caught the unicorn's sharp eyes.
At the other end of the long Library, opposite to the painted dome, the room opened out into a circular alcove, decorated with three tall arches. Blaze had only been to the library a few times before, but he had never come across this area before.
There was a similar dome above the alcove to the one at the other end, but painted on this one were three things: a golden fiery sun, a silvery blue crescent moon, and a deep green and golden leaf. As Blaze walked over to the design, gazing at it intently, he didn't look as to where his hoof landed.
He jumped back in surprise as the wooden panel sank into the floor briefly before rising back up to its original position. The panel had a vague image of a sun identical to the one on the dome carved upon its surface. As Blaze studied the image, he was caught completely unawares as a loud scraping sound came from his left. One of the arches was rising!
Spear at the ready and a spell already prepared in his mind, Blaze watched as the arch disappeared into the vaulted ceiling. What it revealed was something strangely beautiful and very mysterious. In place of a stone arch now stood a tall stained glass window.
The design was hard to make out at first, but as Blaze stood back he gasped silently as he saw a fragmented image of Princess Celestia, rearing high and proud, much like her statue in the Court of the Sun and Moon. It was a distorted image compared to the painted dome, but it was strangely beautiful at the same time. It was then that Blaze saw an inscription below the picture of his monarch, written in dark letters on a stained glass scroll.
"Dea Solis..." Blaze muttered out loud as he read the fragmented letters. As Blaze leaned in, his hoof brushed against something else that he didn't previously see.
Before him was a thick leather bound book, decorated heavily with images of golden clouds and glimmering flames. In the centre was emblazoned a beautiful sun made from gold and orange topaz studs. Four words were etched in the centre of the fiery disc, which Blaze read aloud again.
"Salvatoris Nostri, Nostra Reginae"
Curious, the grey unicorn carefully took the book over to a shaft of silver moonlight next to the nearest window. He could make out the elegance and intricacy of the decorations more clearly now, and he marvelled at the work of the artisans who must have forged it. Although it heavily deviated from his duties as a Royal Guard, curiosity demanded that Blaze open the book. His heart and mind both screamed at him to do so. Taking one last glance around the Library, the unicorn guard opened the tome with trembling hooves...