Sunny Knight: a Pony's Tale

by TheothersideofSunny968

Full Plate

"I don't want to tell her!" Midnight Blossom snapped as Cloud Skipper. "She likes you more! You tell her!"

"Alister is our comrade, ally, and good friend" Cloud Skipper continued his speech. "And as such, his well being is the responsibility of both of us."

The two Canterlot royal guards continued the long walk down the hallway to the Canterlot castle war room where Princess Luna had been spending most of her time these last couple of days. Cloud Skipper and Midnight Blossom had been away on a mission, but could tell as soon as they returned to the barracks that something was wrong. It didn't take long for them to hear of the capture of Al Ca'pony, the chaos it's brought to the underworld of organized crime in Equeatria, but there was something more to it that bothered them. Although they would love to rest, the two guards knew they had to report in and see where they could go. Their hesitation, although, came from a matter that hit closer to home. One nether of the two guards wished to report.

Once outside the Canterlot war room, the Cloud Skipper and Midnight Blossom both were greeted by a pair of saluting guards stationed just outside the war room. After returning a salute, the two walked inside and quickly made their way over to Princess Luna, who was attempting to remain in control during these troubling times.

"Send a dozen more guards to be stationed outside the Crystal Empire's boarders!" The princess barked the order to a white pegusus guard, who saluted and flew off as quickly as his wings could carry him.

Princess Luna then turned to a bat pony mare, one who was in charge of the night guard in Cantwrlot. "We want you to double the guards stationed for night watch for the next month or so until the crime spree quiets down."

The mare saluted and flew off to replete her orders to the bat pony night guards back at the nocturnal barracks.

Turning her attention to a grey, unicorn day guard, Luna took in another breath before giving him orders. "Bring us the best dragon negotiators at our disposal! We need somepony to calm the dragons down at once! Go! Now!"

The unicorn guard saluted then dashed out of the room as fast as he could, leaving the lunar princess to finally take a breath. She held that breath for but a moment before an elderly earth pony stallion approached her. He wore a very formal jacket and vest, with a pair of reading glasses hanging on the very edge of his muzzle that he kept high in the air. He presented princess Luna with a cup of tea, to which, she waited several moments after exhaling her heald breath before looking at.

"Thank you, Kibitz" Princess Luna said as she wrapped her magical aura around the cup's handle and levitated it up to her muzzle before blowing on it and taking a small sip.

"My pleasure, your highness" the older stallion said. "I find that tea always settles the nerves."

"It helps, but We can't stop thinking that our sister would be better equipped for such trifling times" Luna admitted.

"Will you send word for her then?" Kibitz asked, concern heavily in his voice.

"Perhapse, but not until after the scheduled solar eclipse" princess Luna said, her eyes venturing over to the calendar. "What could go wrong in a week that we couldn't clean up?"

"Oh, war with the dragons, an uprise in organized crime, changeling invasion, a third uprising from King Sombra..." Kibitz began listing off all the things he thought could go wrong in that time, almost unaware that princess Luna was shooting him

The coldest and hardest glare she had ever given anypony. A moment after he realized she was doing so, the elderly advisor smiled awkwardly and chucked lightly. "Ugh... I mean, nothing! Nothing can go wrong that we can't fix, your majesty! No, certainly nothing at all."

"Pardon the intrusion, Princess Luna" Cloud Skipper stepped forward. "We have some troubling news to report."

This caused another heavy and troubling sigh from the princess of the night. "What is it, Cloud Skipper?"

Both the white pegasus guard and the bat pony night guard stepped forward and saluted the princess and held their hooves in place while looking strait forward. "Your majesty! We have received word that lieutenant Alister has yet to report back from the Iron Lock Maximum Security Prison!"

"What?!" Luna seemed panicked. "Was he not ordered to take a vacation?! Why is he at Iron Lock?!"

"He was on vacation, your majesty " Midnight Blossom now answered. "But part way into his scheduled vacation, the crime boss, Al Ca'pony, was captured. It was Alister's wish to personally oversee his transport to the prison."

"He disobeyed orders?!" Princess Luna's nostrils began to flair up. "We gave him a direct order to take some time off!"

"We didn't see the harm, your highness" Cloud Skipper took over. "It was more or less him tagging along for the ride. A whole team of heavily armed and well trained guards would be with him. And he had been reporting in for therapy and his meditation classes, as scheduled, since... Since the incident."

"Where was his last reported location? Has anypony been keeping an eye on him?" Princess Luna's voice was cold and harsh, fueled by her worry.

"He selected Ponyville to be his location for his vacation" Midnight Blossom answered. "Other then the guards stationed there, we didn't think to increase the security. Especially since he appeared to be in contact with Princess Twilight and her friends. Reports even said he was lodging with one."

"But he decided to cut his vacation early..." Princess Luna said as she began to take a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "... Has there been any contact with the Iron Lock prison?"

"None, your highness" Cloud Skipper answered. "There was a team of transport guards who came back not long after Alister's departure, and they said the weather was getting rough. It might be a while before we can get a message through."

"Alright" Princess Luna decided on a course of action. "It would be too dangerous to send anypony up the mountain. We have no choice but to wait until the storms clear. In the meantime, you two will travel to the hit of the shaman of the Everfree Forest, Zecora. She his the alicorn amulet the last time it arose. Find it and bring it back here for safe keeping."

Both Cloud Skipper and Midnight Blossom saluted the princess of the night before flying out of the war room. They had no time to rest, they needed to get down to the Wild Everfree Forest as soon as possible, and get their hooves on the amulet before somethings bad happens... Again.

After the two guards were out of sight, Princess Luna slumped down in a chair, levitating her tea over to her, and just stared into the dark liquid for a moment.

Kibitz approached her with a scroll. "Your majesty, with all due respects, maybe it it time to call your older sister?"

Luna's fury had died down to a mere simmer as she looked at the elderly earth pony. "You are one of the few who know of Prince Soleggiato Cavaliere, and like the others, are sworn to secrecy. But tell us, if you were in my sister's position, could you think clearly? Could you be so cold as to feel nothing, and push forward with such matters burning in the back of your mind?"

"It's what her highness does best, princess Luna" the stallion said as he pushed his glasses back into place. "She has dealt with much worse."

"No, no she hasn't...." Luna said with a heavy heart, her was hanging low. "Our past mistakes left our sister alone for 1000 years. She went 1000 years without family, without anypony to seek comfort in, all becouse she had to hold her head up high and be the image of perfection everypony thinks she is... But she is just a pony..."

The elderly stallion felt a tear come to his eye from the mere thought of what princess Celestia had gone through. He did always see her as perfect. But maybe, just maybe, she is just a pony, with feelings like anypony else, and a heart that can break just like anypony's can.

Author's Note:

for those of you who don't read the comics, Kibitz is actually Princess Celestia's royal assistant. I love incorporating comic concepts into my fic. hey! that reminds me! Flash Sentry is afraid of possums!

Note to self; use that