Night’s Rook
By: Ardite
1
It was another beautiful night in Equestria. A nearly full moon hung in the sky just outside of Bastion’s window and he couldn't help but bask in his close friend’s artwork. As he lay in bed, leaning against the side of his wife, he thought about everything he had been through recently.
Roughly a month ago he lead an investigation into a cult of violent and mislead ponies looking to lash out against the rulers of Equestria. The so called Lorlein agents believed that Luna and Celestia were on the wrong side of an eternal war. Their deity, Lorleis, was supposedly one of pity and understanding, and yet was locked in an eternal struggle with the two princesses.
Two nights ago he stopped an attack on Canterlot and killed their leader,Chilser, along with half of his lieutenants. It wasn’t as clean as Bastion would have liked, but it had to be done.
Shortly after that both Celestia and Luna ordered him to take a one week vacation. During the month long investigation he had hardly gotten any sleep. It took a small toll on his personal life, but that was expected by now. He lost count of how many relationships were lost because of his work. He couldn't remember the number of wives that died before him while he still walked.
A month of hardship for one week of pure indulgence and care, and a free, safe Equestria. His daughter would especially be happy to see him every day when she returned from school.
Bastion let out a sigh of content at the thought of his filly beaming in his direction. She meant so much to him. That single thought drifted him into a peaceful slumber.
* * *
However something abruptly woke Bastion. His wife was stirring next to him.
“Honey what’s wrong?” he asked not even opening his eyes.
There was no response. She just kept moving.
“Hon--” his words were cut by a rough cough. Forcing himself to open his eyes, he saw what his lover was doing. Not moving, but convulsing. Poison.
He leaped from the bed and ran out the door into the hall way. It was too late to save Vega if she was already having seizures.
He rushed down the stairs breaking into a coughing fit, tasting blood in his mouth. He had to save his daughter. He had to save Crystal.
Bastion quickly broke down the door with one good shoulder. Hearing his daughter scream and cry didn’t even slow him down. Acting quickly and off of pure adrenaline, he picked up the cause of so much joy in his life and broke the nearest window inward using his magic, making sure there weren’t any broken pieces left on the window where they might cut his daughter. It was a small fall. But it was all he could do.
Carefully, Bastion lifted his filly through the window and dropped her into the bushes below. Fighting another fit of gags and coughs, Bastion slid against the wall. Not caring if he was cut by shards of glass. There he would rest. There he would wait.
“Vega,” he managed to say between blood filled gasps. “I’m sorry. I just hope she won’t suffer the same as you.”
Everything was getting out of focus. He was going numb, losing control of his body.
* * *
Bastion’s body lay in the castle morgue. Luna and Celestia both sat around it, simply staring. A loud gasp sharply and suddenly rang out through the empty room, followed by a terrible coughing.
“It at least didn’t take as long as the last time you were poisoned.”
Bastion sat upright and stared at the elder sister who had made an attempt at lightening the mood.
“Where’s my daughter? Where’s Crystal?” His voice was so rough the words could hardly be understood.
“Don’t worry. She’s safe,” Luna reassured.
“What day is it?” Bastion asked.
“July eighteenth,” Celestia stated. “It only took three days to recover from poisoning, instead of five.”
For several moments Bastion just sat on the examining table, allowing his breathing to return to normal. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. He could never just die. Every time he would wake up here. Most times he would walk back to his life. Today was different though. He didn’t die in combat, or even on a mission. He couldn't return home claiming that an assignment had just taken longer than expected.
Everypony he knew besides the princesses and a few others thought he was dead. Surely his neighbors had noticed something was wrong and called the guards. Everypony was probably watching as they dragged his and Vega’s corpses out of his home.
But even though the world thought he was dead, he had to see his daughter. He had to make sure she made it out of that house alive. He would reinvent himself later. Magically changing your appearance took time and was extremely painful. At the moment he just had to make sure Crystal was okay.
He slid off the cold table and started walking out the room.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Celestia said, hoping to stop him from doing anything foalish.
“I’m going to see my daughter Celestia,” Bastion stated flatly without even a second glance back. “And you’re not stopping me.”
“Do you even know where she is?”
“I have an idea. You of all ponies should know how good I am at putting the pieces together.” A thought struck him just as he reached the door. Turning to Celestia he asked, “You know where she is don’t you?”
“Bastion please--”
“Tell me where Crystal is Tia. Save us both precious time.” A long pause followed. One where Luna only sat observing.
“She’s with the Fiedleys,” Celestia finally said.
“Thank you.” With the information Bastion needed, he walked out the door, leaving the two sisters alone.
“He has every right to see his daughter one last time.” Luna said breaking the silence, and breaking Celestia’s sight off the door.
“I know sister. I just think he should wait until he at least finds a disguise.”
“It’s Bastion. He’s always careful.”
“Clearly not as careful as he should be,” Celestia stated calmly.
“Some things just can’t be avoided.”
“I know. I know Luna... He’ll want revenge, you know that don’t you?”
“Yes. But just because he wants it doesn't mean he has to get it through being unjust.”
“I just hope he doesn’t let it go to his head. We’ll let him know the details when he comes back.”
* * *
Bastion sat on the side of a street, covered in some stained and stinking rags he paid a homeless pony for. With a hat tilted at just the right angle it appeared he was sleeping, not looking onto the Fiedley residence.
Every now and then he could see movement through the windows. But it wasn’t what was happening inside that concerned him. It was the two girls playing with dolls in the small front yard. His daughter Crystal, and her friend Genie, lay just beyond a metal fence. And yet, he couldn’t talk to her. He couldn't let her know he was alive. It would raise too many questions. Too many ponies would notice.
By tomorrow he would look, sound, and even smell different. As much as it pained him to leave her like this, he had to. She was truly a beautiful filly. Radiant smile, bright eyes, flowing mane. She probably didn’t even understand what had happened yet.
She at least seemed happy here. She was with friends, trusted friends. Bastion wondered if he would ever be able to see her again. It would be safer if he didn’t. It might even be less painful for him. The Fiedleys would at least take care of her.
But this was his child. He brought her life into this world. He had a responsibility to make sure she remained safe. He had to at least keep a distant watch on her from time to time.
“Hey you, bum,” a gruff voice hit Bastion’s ears. Without reacting, Bastion knew exactly who it was, one of Celestia’s Royal Guards had come to either get him to move, or arrest him for vagrancy.
“I said hey bum!” He tried again, only this time adding a kick in to get Bastion’s attention. “Come with--” One freezing glance from Bastion shut him up mid-sentence.
“Commander?” his partner asked. Bastion said nothing. His glare told them they needed to leave and that was enough.
“Just move somewhere else bum. Don’t crowd the residential areas,” the first finally said, getting an idea of what was going on. With that they left Bastion where he was.
He took one last glance at his daughter. One last chance to commit every detail to his memory. Smooth white coat, golden mane, brilliant violet eyes. She definitely got her looks from her mother.
As Bastion got up to leave, he made a silent and very personal vow. He’d be back. He’d come back to check up on her every now and then, even if he couldn’t talk to her. Even if he couldn’t tell her she wasn’t alone, he’d be back. But he still had one stop to make.
Walking down the street and around the corner he could see his house. As he stepped ever closer a feeling of unease grew inside of him until he was at the doorstep. Using his magic, he picked the locks the Royal Guard had put there to prevent looting and walked into his home. It wreaked of cleaning chemicals.
Each room brought back memories, some pleasant, others less so. The kitchen reminded him of Crystal's first birthday. The living room of his moving in. Crystal’s bed room took him back to the night of his most recent hell. In place of the window he shattered was a plastic cover taped to the wall.
Walking up the stairs, his bedroom lay in shambles. The bed was still unmade, sheets scattered chaotically to match the violent seizures of his wife. He hadn’t even noticed he knocked the nightstand over in his rush to his daughter.
He couldn’t bare the sight any more. Closing his eyes painfully and turning back down the hall, he knew he had to honor his wife's death somehow. Taking a seat at the piano in the living room, his horn started to glow pale white.
A slow measure started playing out, deep, note by note descending then ascending and repeating. Another lead started two measures in, similar but higher and more complex, faster. As he started singing, the pain was evident in his voice. The sorrow played through the ping of the piano. When the song switched to the chorus, frustration filled the air with mashed and beaten keys, vocals of shame and self pity. The cycle of verse and chorus having been completed, a bridge came, chaotic, almost random. All Bastion could see was Vega twisting and contorting herself. The singing became more akin to screaming, and at the climax of it all, he broke down. Uncontrollably shaking as sobs wracked his body.
* * *
Bastion was always grateful to have a room reserved in the castle, a reprieve from reality whenever he needed it. It was close enough to the princesses’ rooms, he could rush there in seconds if need be, but just far enough to offer solitude.
This morning he sat in front of the mirror, alone. He always insisted Luna and Celestia not watch when he did this, so they always insisted on waiting in the hall. Magically changing his coat and mane color wasn’t bad. At worst there was a small burning sensation. It was the facial features that hurt. Having to deconstruct and reconstruct bone structure was just as painful as it sounded. Of course he could always just conjure an illusion around himself to change his appearance, but the magic would dissipate as soon as anypony touched him.
There were of course a few things he couldn’t change. His cutie-mark was the most prominent instance. A black rook piece from a chess board, rendered in detail, always lay on his flanks. His iris color was another thing. No matter when in his life he looked in the mirror, the same ice blue eyes stared back at him. There was also the obvious fact that he was a unicorn.
Now wasn’t a time for reminiscing though. Now was finally the time to leave behind yet another life. The only ponies that knew about his secret were, of course, Celestia and Luna, a few Royal Guards, and the rest of the Night’s Guard. He was their commander after all. It was a close enough group that all of them would figure it out eventually anyway. They all knew him. They were all loyal to him, second only to the princesses.
No one really understood how exactly Bastion kept reanimating, him included. There had been several select scientists to try and uncover the reasons behind it. All of whom agreed it had something to do with magic, and that was all. He tried not to think about it too much, but on days like this, he couldn't help it.
As he began to change his face a loud crunch reverberated throughout his room, only to be followed by an even louder shout. The sounds continued to torment his two closest friends for at least half an hour.
When Bastion finally emerged, panting and sweating from exertion and pain, Luna and Celestia didn’t recognize him. Had he walked up to a servant in the castle and asked for directions, they would never guess that he knew the layout of the palace better than anypony.
He now sported a charcoal gray coat with a short white mane and tail. He had a slightly larger build than before and his jaw was more pronounced.
“Are you ready to figure out who did this?” Celestia asked, getting straight to business, as always.
“If you have to ask, then you don’t know me as well as you should by now Celestia,” Bastion said, his voice slightly deeper and changed in tone.
As he glanced at Luna he could only discern two emotions from her gaze, curiosity and worry. She had always been the kind of pony to want to learn more about anything, including Bastion’s unnatural affinity for magic. She had also always been the kind to worry about him on long missions.
“Don’t worry Luna,” he assured her. “I’m fine. I know I scream a lot for that but, you know how quickly I heal. I’ll just be a little sore tomorrow.”
“I just don’t want to see this control you.” Luna’s reply cut deeply into Bastion. She wasn’t worried about his physical pain. She was worried about how he was going to react to the emotional trauma.
“Vega was a great mare. And I’ll miss her more than anypony will. But we need to find her murderer. If for nothing else, because I need some closure. Please, believe me when I say I won’t let this change me.”
“I do,” Luna said nodding and giving Bastion a wry smile. But there was still something in her eyes, something that said she wasn’t as sure as she sounded.
(Author's note: Feel free to comment on any errors you noticed or even just a suggestion you have. All I ask is that you not upload or recommend this to any other sites.
Here's the link to the original Google.doc:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LkJjHW9g1AXaPrNk9bC-qLiXnzfvKaTrogNmfY64VCs/edit?hl=en_US )