//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: The Silent Tale // by Flutterkiin //------------------------------// Silent was hard at work on a current work-order given to him by a local pony who had crashed into her cart by accident during a crazy night on the town. He couldn't believe the damage that this one pony had done, especially considering she was relatively untouched when she came to drop it by the shop yesterday afternoon. Silent heard a knock on the door, followed by Caramel's voice calling for Silent. He walked to the front door and was given a letter by a grey pegasus who then proceeded to fly away and bump into the sign at the front of his shop, causing it to crumble. Silent groaned and walked back to his workshop to read the letter. To Silent, Commander of the Lunar Task Force. Greetings. It has come to Our attention that our eastern borders have been crossed by three unlikely travelers. According to the Canterlot Records, adult dragons have not been in Equestria outside of the great Dragon Migration, which is not scheduled for another year. This can only mean that they mean to sleep in their choice of caves that litter the Equestrian landscape. We have secured the locations of two of these dragons, and Celestia has seen fit to assign you to one of them. Do not worry, the other is being taken care of by “highly qualified” ponies, according to Celestia. You must report to Canterlot as soon as you get this message. We await your arrival. Signed, Princess Luna Silent looked at the letter briefly before he called out to Caramel, who was in the kitchen eating lunch. “Hey Caramel, I need to go to Canterlot for official business. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. If anypony asks, I’m in Trottingham for supplies. Don’t get too busy while I’m gone.” Silent heard a confirming mumble and rushed outside to call for a taxi. Princess Luna was waiting for Silent outside the castle gates along with a host of guards. She gestured the guards to hold their position and nodded to Silent to follow her. Silent followed her to the statue gardens. When Luna stopped in front of a dragon sculpture, Silent looked at her quizzically. “A thousand and five hundred years ago, soon after We had returned from dealing with Genesis, We had found that a hostile takeover had occurred. Equestria was in chaos and We had to use the ancient magic of the Elements. After he had been defeated and encased in stone, We found a dragon’s egg that had been hidden in Our Castle in what is now Everfree. Celestia was wary about taking it, but in the end, she allowed Us to raise it. At first, the dragon seemed very tame. However, like with all dragons, once it got to its adolescent years, it became violent. The once timid creature became one of the worst dragons that We have ever seen. It started to attack the Earth Pony villages, burning all the countryside and houses. Celestia ordered that it be eliminated, but when We took the task, We underestimated the dragon’s strength. When We took our task force with us, the dragon saw Us coming and absolutely destroyed the ponies around Us. We were able to injure its eye before it flew away. He never returned to Equestria, and Celestia has told us that the dragon had gone into a slumber when he heard of my banishment. Two of the known dragons have been spotted and identified, and one of the dragons is none other than Our old friend. We do not want to lose another task force in taking this dragon out, Silent. We must admit, We are worried.” “Princess, if I may speak freely, I would advise that you not worry. New advances by the Unicorns in flame-proof armor make us almost immune to dragon fire. Even if your old dragon is the most powerful dragon in the world, the advanced armor is tested using a super-heated volcano. Still, we have all run the simulations and know how to handle a dragon. We are different than your old task force. I believe we are capable of helping you.” Luna smiled at the reassurance and the two walked back to rejoin the guards. Silent looked back at the castle and noticed Celestia standing there, watching the company leave. She looked straight at Silent and he could feel her gaze staring into his mind. Do not leave her alone, Silent. She is still recuperating and is not as powerful as she was when she last faced her dragon. You must learn from her something that she may not be so willing to teach you. Ask her to teach you the spell known to scholars as the Wings of a Phoenix. Silent nodded at Celestia and the company headed out to face the dragon. Luna revealed to the group that the dragon’s location was somewhere deep within the Southern mountain range. Silent had been there before, due to the large amounts of rogue militias. Celestia’s guard, while having jurisdiction there, had no way of keeping peace with all the rugged terrain and terrible weather from the Pegasus militia. The company traveled for days before they arrived at the base of the mountains. Luna ordered the troops to set up camp as she had to prepare to raise the moon for the night. Silent raised his tent and walked up to the Princess, who was standing on the perimeter, waiting for her time. Silent watched in awe as the Princess of the Night began her ritual. As Luna rose into the sky, the moon followed shortly after, radiating the side of the mountains with a bright light. As she descended, Silent walked up to her. “Permission to speak, Princess?” “Granted, Silent. What’s on your mind?” “I talked with Princess Celestia before we left Canterlot. She told me to ask that you teach me the Wings of a Phoenix spell before this gets started.” Luna’s face grew to an almost angry frown as she looked at Silent. “Did she now? We guess that We will have to speak to her. Silent, We will tell you right now that We are not happy with the idea of teaching you that particular spell in this situation.” Luna walked off, leaving Silent without any words to say. Silent returned to his tent for the night as he saw the first guard walking to their spots. Greetings, Silent. It is Luna again. We have spoken with Celestia, and she has convinced Us to teach you the Wings of a Phoenix spell. This spell is designed for emergency situations, when a pony needs to be evacuated from the scene. The spell will make the teleportation tunnel lock on to the safest place it can find. It was designed by Celestia during the first Great War for getting Ponies off the front lines in times of need. We know the purpose of Celestia wanting Us to teach you this spell, and although We will not need it, We will teach this to you. It is a useful spell for you to know. Silent could feel the similar aura surrounding him. He could feel the energy flowing into him as he saw the magic required to make the spell happen. He watched as the magic tunnel formed for him and he saw his home, with his mother and father sitting by the fire. When the tunnel was connected, Silent saw a bright flash and Luna was gone. The next morning, Silent walked out of the tent to a pair of guards running up to him. He could see that there was a worried look in one of them, while the other had the typical stoic expression. “Sir, our patrols have spotted a militia scouting group on the other side of this mountain. They will come from the West within the hour. They seem to be members of a Pegasus group, numbering 10 total. What would you have us do?” “Have they spotted us?” The guard shook his head. “Then we must pack up quickly and avoid them. If they are coming from the West, then we take the Eastern road. Give the order.” The guards nodded and began to run throughout the camp calling out the order to pack up. The company got ready quickly and began their trek along the Eastern road. Silent could quickly see why the militia had used the Western road. Before his eyes, he could see steep and narrow paths that twisted up the mountain, paired with large cliffs and jagged overhangs that seemed unstable even from their current position. He could see parts of the path that had fallen and landed at the base of the mountain. Their trek was long and drawn out, lasting half the day of constant climbing with no breaks. The pegasi fared fine, as they simply flew alongside the unicorn guard, but the unicorn guard would occasionally lose their footing, causing some to stumble. Over the course of the hike, nearly a quarter of the unicorns had lost their balance and needed their fellow guards to carry them to their next campsite. As the group got to a good resting point halfway up the mountain, Silent looked behind to see their old campsite being investigated by the militia. There weren’t many of them, so Silent assumed that it was just a scout group, sent ahead and the rest of the militia would soon arrive. He could see one of the pegasi pause and begin to fly toward the mountain, leading Silent to believe that they had been spotted. Silent quickly called to the pegasi of the group to give them orders. “Silent, sir,” the Pegasus captain said as he flew down to Silent, “you asked to see me?” “Indeed I did, Thunder Light. It has come to my attention that the militia we had been avoiding are now aware of our presence. When the militia finds us, I would like us to be somewhat ready to fight, and the injured need rest. You must gather your pegasi and escort the Princess to our planned camp outside the dragon’s lair. If I may suggest it, use the Cloud Roost tactic for concealing the Princess from unwanted eyes. I will stay behind with the unicorn guard and defend the injured while they heal. Send a scout tomorrow evening to tell us if everything is okay, or if things go south, to confirm our body count. I trust you, Thunder Light. I know you can keep our Princess safe. Now go.” Thunder Light nodded and called to the pegasi to begin preparations for the flight. Silent looked over at the Princess of the Night, who had been watching the conversation. “You seem to be preparing for something, Silent. Tell Us, what is on your mind?” Silent looked at the sky, the sun more than halfway through the sky and the clouds swirling high above, higher than normal. Silent thought this strange, but disregarded it to answer his Princess’s question. “The militia that we have been trying to avoid has come across our campsite at the base of this mountain. They will probably be here by nightfall, and our unicorn guard can go no further until they get some rest. I have spoken with Thunder Light, and he has agreed to escort you to our planned campsite near the dragon’s lair. I trust Thunder Light completely, and you will be safe with the pegasi, your Highness.” Silent looked straight into Luna’s eyes, which were staring at Silent emotionlessly. “I strongly suggest that you go with my plan, and I apologize for not consulting you first.” “Very well, Silent. We will do as you say. However, We must inform you that We are not entirely powerless. We will, however, go with Thunder Light to the campsite and await your arrival with the rest of the troupe.” Luna turned to follow Thunder Lane, who had approached while she was talking. Silent watched the pegasi and his Princess as they took off and soon disappeared. Silent walked past the medical tent, where the medics were hard at work mending the wounds that the unicorns had received. He could see one unicorn already trying to stand up, swearing that he was better and wanting to help. Silent shook his head as he continued to the ledge overlooking where they had come from. He could see the rest of the militia forming down at their old campsite. Silent sat down and began his watch, knowing that this would be the first night in a while that wasn’t welcomed.