Chapter 16
A knock at the door awakens me. I look outside through the window, the sun hasn't even risen yet. I gingerly get out of bed so as not to wake Rarity. I place the Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring on my finger to silence the clinking of my armor and I walk over to the door in just my black chainmail. Solaire is standing there in his armor, helm under his arm. "Good morning." He says.
"It almost was." I reply.
"Oh, now that's no attitude to have on the day of the Gala!" He says, hushed. He walks to the window and waits for a moment.
"The Gala! That's right! It's tonight isn't it." I say, also hushed. "I should get my armor ready, then I won't have to later." I open the box and slip the Dragonslayer Armor out and lay it neatly on the floor. I then put on my plate armor that I took off before bed last night.
"It's tonight indeed." Solaire says as I lay Smough's Hammer and the Greatshield of Artorias just below the armor.
"Any signs of Joshua?"
"Who? Oh, afraid not." He informs me. I groan in frustration and he shushes me immediately.
"Right, thanks." I say. Suddenly a small sliver of sunlight breaks through the window and Solaire throws his arms up in praise.
"Praise the Sun!" He whispers.
"Praise the Sun!" I whisper as I stand up to do the gesture as well.
"What covenant are you in now? You aren't a Warrior of Sunlight anymore."
"No I am not," I tell him, "I am a Blade of the Darkmoon."
"Because of your brother?"
"Partially. His covenant as a whole. But...I've had my revenge, and the Darkwraiths are becoming less and less active, as are the Servants of the Gravelord. The Darkmoons are ceasing to have a purpose in the world. Which reminds me." Solaire turns toward me and away from the window. "Would you consider allowing me back into the covenant?" I ask sheepishly. A smile grows across his face upon hearing the request.
"Of course! Welcome back to the Warriors of Sunlight!" He says, holding out his hand. I grasp his forearm and he grasps mine in a knightly handshake. A bright light eminates from our grip. A light that signifies the changing of one's covenant affiliations. Praise the Sun!
It's midday now, only hours before the Gala. I rested at a fully kindled bonfire outside the palace recently, just in case anything goes sour at the Gala. We all are waiting anxiously at the train station for Joshua, this next train is from Ponyville, and may be the last train of the day coming from Ponyville. If Joshua isn't on this train...
Fluttershy is the most anxious to see Joshua. She has been waiting to see him again since he left and she was the first one of us at the station. The pony at the counter said that if another train does come from Ponyville it won't come until the Gala has started. The train arrives and the brakes hiss as the metal contraption comes to a halt. The doors open and ponies flood out onto the platform. We look at all of the cars but no sign of any undead. The last pony gets off the train and the doors shut. I look at Fluttershy, her lip quivering, tears forming in her eyes. She runs in the direction of the palace as tears roll down her cheeks and onto the ground.
"Fluttershy wait!" I call after her. No avail, she continues to run. "One thing is certain." I say, "Joshua had better have one damn good reason for not being here."
"Agroth, calm yourself," Arthur says. "The flow of time in Lordran is greatly distorted, remember?"
"I know...but still. I'm going to go calm Fluttershy down. You all should prepare for the Gala, it starts in a few hours." I say as I run towards the palace. I arrive at the palace and begin to make my way through the series of hallways that leads to our rooms. When I reach Fluttershy's door, I knock gently. No answer. I knock harder. Nothing. "Fluttershy please let me in. I have to talk to you." I can hear her sobbing, so she's definitely in there. "Please Fluttershy. I only wish to help you. Joshua isn't like this, the time in Lordran is immensly distorted, it's not his fault." I hear the door unlock after a while and I come in. She is lying face-down on the bed and clearly she's crying. I walk over and sit next to her. I take off my gauntlets and the chain underneath and softly pat her head.
"He won't make it now." She says between sobs. "Maybe I'll never see him again."
"Of course you will, he loves you very much and I'm sure he misses you just as much as you miss him." I say consolingly. She looks up at me and sniffs as she wipes some tears away with a forehoof.
"You really think so?" She asks.
"Of course."
"Then why isn't he here?"
"Time is very confusing in Lordran. A week there may be merely a day or so here, or vise versa."
"Why is it like that?" She asks, her voice still shaky.
"Nobody is quite sure. We just know that it's very corrupted and unreliable. Not even Logan could find out why the flow of time was like that and why it still is. Of course I never really spoke with him except when he told Arthur and I how to defeat Seath the Scaleless. But anyway, you will see Joshua again. You never know, he could be back in Ponyville trying to get a train to Canterlot right now." I tell her. She sighs.
"Maybe." I smile in an attempt to cheer her up further. She smiles back weakly and I stand.
"The Gala is in a couple hours you know, is your dress ready?"
"Yes." She responds. "Maybe he will make it to the Gala." She says.
"That's the spirit." I say. "Have fun tonight."
"Aren't you going?"
"Yes, but I have a dreadful feeling about this."
"Don't worry, nothing will happen. Do you know what your going to do?"
"No, do you?"
"Didn't you hear us sing about it in Ponyville?"
"Afraid not."
"I'm going to go to the gardens with all the animals and the exotic plants and flowers."
"Sounds fun, will the princess be at the Gala?"
"Celestia will, Luna might even be there."
"I think I'll go meet them then."
"I'm going to start getting ready."
"Alright, I'll be off then."
"Goodbye" she calls.
"Bye." I say as I shut the door. I walk back to me and Rarity's room. I open the door and look at my armor and shield. Instantly a wave of fear rushes over me. Where's my hammer?! "Rarity?" I ask loudly with a fearful tone.
"In here!" She says from a different room in our suite.
"Have you seen Smough's Hammer?"
"That giant thing that was with your armor?"
"Yes!" I shout.
"Calm down, I lugged it over here to polish it before the Gala, it was quite dirty. Perhaps I should have told you first." She says. I sigh, incredibly relieved.
"Please do next time, I was scared to undeath."
"Sorry, I just couldn't have you go to the Gala with a weapon so dirty. In fact I would prefer you go without a weapon at all but you insist on taking it. At least it goes well with the armor." I pick up the massive and now glistening hammer with ease.
"You didn't use any of the special shards in my box did you?"
"No, I respect your space and didn't go near your box."
"Thanks, you may look in there if you wish, just don't touch any of the rocks in there please."
"May I look now?"
"Sure." I permit. She squeals with glee and rushes over to the box. She gasps and pulls out the Helm of Ornstein.
"What's this?" She asks.
"It's the helmet for that armor." I say as I point to the armor on the floor.
"Why aren't you wearing it to the Gala?"
"So that everyone knows it's me in the armor and not the dead dragonslayer."
"Oh." She says as she puts the dog-faced helm back in the box "Is this a diamond you have in here?" She says excitedly without pulling anything out. I walk over to see what she's talking about. She points to a Twinkling Titanite.
"Oh, no." I chuckle. "It's a material for upgrading special types of armor and weapons. Joshua uses it for his robes, as does Arthur. And I use it for my armor and some of my weapons. It's very important."
"Oh, so it's not a diamond?"
"No, just a shiny hunk of rock." I tell her.
"I'm going to change into my dress for the Gala." She says as she walks into the bathroom with a dress.
"I'll change into my armor as well." I say as I begin to take the plates off my armor. I take the chainmail suit off and replace it with a gold-colored suit of chain mesh. When I get the plate leggings on, Rarity comes out in a brilliant pink dress with a shawl around her shoulders and a small tiara on her head.
"Well?" She asks. "What do you think?" I stand there wordless, my mouth agape. I search for words to describe how she looks.
"Great! Did you design it?"
"I made it, as well as the others' dresses." She giggles gleefully. "I'm glad you like it, finish putting your armor on so I can see." She says. I put the chestpiece on over the gold chainmail and slip the gauntlets on my hands. The layered armor and spiked collar is all either made of gold or just colored gold, I'm not even sure. She gasps with delight.
"I look well then?"
"Brilliant darling! Absolutely brilliant!" She says as I strap the greatshield and hammer to my back. She groans. "Must you bring the shield?" She asks.
"Of course, if we get attacked and I don't have a shield then I'm surely done for."
"If you insist, but it really clashes with the armor and weapon."
"But it also may save our lives." I say. Someone knocks at the door. I open it and Arthur is standing there, in the Moonlight Robes but without the Crown of the Dark Sun. Actually he is still wearing the Crown of Dusk.
"Are you ready? Twilight is going to be with the princess and I'd like to meet her. We're going to leave soon."
"I would like to meet her as well. Fluttershy will be in the gardens, I didn't ask Rarity what she will be doing. You are bringing Logan's Catalyst?" He pulls out a wooden staff with a crook at the end.
"Just in case, and the Moonlight Greatsword and the Darkmoon Bow."
"Brilliant, shield?"
"Not needed often for a sorcerer. But I'll bring the Crest Shield."
"Leave the bow, you're no good a shot anyway." I snicker.
"I know, and I'm not faithful enough to use its powers."
"It's quite alright. Perhaps I can teach you sometime. But we should go." Rarity checks the clock on the wall.
"Oh my! Yes we should, the Gala is about to start! We're already late!"
"Well let's go then!" I say and we all leave hurriedly to the front entrance to arrive on time.
Arthur and I running far ahead of the two unicorns, who don't want to arrive sweaty or with their dresses ruined, we can see the doors of the palace. We aren't worried about our armor getting ruined, it was built for battle and therefore is very durable. We arrive before there's a very long line. We walk up the stairs to be greeted by a pony with both wings and a horn, larger than anypony else as well. She greets us with a heartwarming smile. A guard approaches and whispers something in her ear. She turns to look at him while still welcoming us.
"Good evening, welcome to the Grand Galloping Gala, have a nice evening." She says without looking at us.
"Who are you?" I ask. She looks at us, surprised, then returns to the smile.
"Forgive me, I didn't realize you were undead. I am Princess Celestia, Princess of the Sun." She tells us.
"Princess?" Arthur says. We both drop to our right knee and place our right fist over our heart in praise.
"Oh, please, stand up." She says, blushing. "I'm used to being more casual with my subjects most of the time, and guests to this land are no exception. Welcome to the Gala, might I have a word with you afterward?"
"Of course." I say, not sure how I feel about speaking casually with royalty.
"Oh, do you know Knight Solaire by chance?"
"We know each other." Arthur says.
"Him and I are excellent friends and know each other quite well actually." I tell her.
"Well, I should get to the other guests." She says looking at the new line of ponies behind us. "It was a pleasure to meet you both."
"The pleasure is ours." I say. "One more thing though."
"Yes?"
"Is Luna here?"
"I believe so, she won't be attending the Gala but you're more than welcome to see her in her chambers if she allows it." She says with a smile. "She will be glad to have company."
"Excellent." I bow, "Thank you for your time, your majesty."
Arthur bows as well. "Thank you very much, your highness." She blushes again.
"Please, you two." She says with a smile. We both smile back, thank her again, and move on. I ask one of the guards for directions to Luna's room and he just leads me there himself. I end up at a rather large door with a goldclad guard on either side. I knock gently.
"Come in." Somepony says, almost tentative or surprised. I open the door and enter. "Solaire? You look different." I laugh lightly at the remark.
"Solaire? I'm not Solaire, though I am an undead like him."
"W-who are you then?"
"My name is Agroth, former Darkmoon Blade." She lights up when I say moon. But then she is confused.
"What is that?"
"You know of Solaire, he says he is a Warrior of Sunlight. That is the covenant he is in. Well my covenant was the Darkmoon Blades. The Warriors of Sunlight help people through Lordran and progress further through the land."
"And what do the Darkmoon Blades do?" She asks, intrigued.
"The Darkmoons take revenge on the Darkwraiths and Forest Hunters who kill innocent people every day. Yet the Darkwraiths have been less and less active as of late, so I decided to abandon the covenant."
"So, what are you now?" She says as she looks out the window, clearly saddened that someone she finally met who served the moon no longer does.
"I am now a Warrior of Sunlight, like Solaire." I see her slump further. "I still adore the moon and the night however, the covenant merely began to lack a purpose due to the great decrease in invasions of dark spirits." This seems to raise her spirits. "Why are you not at the Gala?"
"I must watch over the kingdom at night, it is my duty. I must ask you, is Lordran really that bad? Solaire speaks of it as though it is a horrible, lonely place." She looks me in the eye and I walk over to the large window next to her and sigh.
"It is horrible, it is lonely. Worst of all, it's hopeless. I just want to move on, death has an unending grip over my soul due to the Darksign. Lordran is a place no soul should ever have to suffer through. I was completely alone for a very long time. Ages. Eventually I met Solaire and other undead but I still was alone most of the time."
"Alone...you know what it's like to be truly alone don't you?"
"I believe I do, why do you ask."
"Have you read anything about Equestrian history?"
"No, I haven't."
"Read the tale of Nightmare Moon. I knew lonliness for a thousand years..." She says this and there is a roar of screams and shrieks in the main hall of the palace where many of the guests are. I run down to the main hall. I met Arthur on the way down, he draws his Moonlight Greatsword as I draw Smough's Hammer and the Greatshield. We arrive at the main hall to see three undead men. One wearing the full Black Knight armor set weilding the Black Knight Greataxe and the Greatshield of Artorias. Another wearing Logan's Sage Robes with his catalyst and the Crest Shield. He also wears the Crown of Dusk. The third, in the center, with the knight on his right and the the sorcerer on his left, wears the Dark Armor with no mask, and wields the Bloodshield with the Gravelord Sword. The Dark Silver Tracer is sheathed on his belt, opposite of an empty tracer sheath. He is a Dark Spirit, dark and glowing red. His phantoms are jet black, with red brightly glowing eyes, surrounded by an aura of crimson and glistening a bloodred color. A dark spirit and two black phantoms. The dark spirit raises his head to reveal a familiar, heavily scarred face.
"Hello again, Agroth." He says with a sinister smile that quickly twists into a face of pure rage.