In Duty's Name

by Cloudhammer

04 - The First Night

Chapter 4 – The First Night

As the ponies made their way through the palace halls, their normally upbeat mood seemed to have vanished, replaced instead by a deafening silence as each pony tried to come to terms with all the information they had heard. Twilight and Rarity were worrying the most, since they depended on their magic to get by. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were trying to envision a future where they couldn’t fly, and Rainbow in particular was taking it very hard. Applejack would miss being able to help the apple trees reach their full potential within a few weeks, she was confident she could make do with old-fashioned sweat and tears. Pinkie Pie seemed the least concerned, bouncing down the hallway muttering to herself, doubtlessly planning to try and throw everypony a feel-better party or some such at first opportunity. Spike had stayed silent, though he looked as worried as Twilight was. Zecora kept silent, her expression downcast as her eyes doggedly followed a path only they could see.

Cloudhammer followed the group, externally maintaining the impassive demeanor that all the Royal Guards were known for, but inside he was just as conflicted as the others. His wife would worry of course, but deep down what really concerned him was his son. After their last fight, the boy had moved out, seeking to make his own living in Cloudsdale. If the anomalies began appearing there, the odds of a pegasus being able to spot the cloud were virtually zero, even with the unicorns Flare undoubtedly dispatched. He felt like the bottom had fallen out of his stomach as he had inevitably imagined his son flying along and suddenly entering the field of an anomaly, flapping his wings frantically as he fell… He jerked his head back and forth to rid himself of those thoughts, before looking up to see the group looking back at him with puzzled looks on their faces. “Miss Sparkle, do you think you can escort everypony to your old quarters? I have some things that need attending to.”

Twilight nodded. “Of course. When in the morning do you want to leave?”

“I’ll come by about an hour before dawn, do try to get some sleep, and stay out of trouble.” With a pointed glance at Rainbow, Cloudhammer flexed his wings and took off; angling towards one of Canterlot’s many residential districts. He didn’t even need to look back to know that the cyan pegasus had stuck her tongue out at him.

“I still think he’s a jerk.” Rainbow muttered as the gold and white figure looped around a building and out of sight.

“But that doesn’t excuse what you said to him this morning Rainbow. When he comes by tomorrow morning I expect you to apologize to him.” Twilight stated, her expression not one to tolerate ‘No’ for an answer.

“Ugh, fine, I’ll apologize already, get off my back.” Rainbow huffed, her expression still partially defiant.

“Good. Now, we do have a few hours before nightfall, what would you all want to do? There’s some lovely shops on the main street. ..”

Twilight was cut off as Spike waved an arm in the air. “Oh! I know! We could go to Pony Joe’s again, he’s right next to the main road too!”

The others all agreed, their stomachs growling as they realized they hadn’t had much of a chance to eat breakfast before getting picked up by the guardponies. With a collective laugh, the group decided to visit the restaurant first, and then go sightseeing before going to bed.

…

Cloudhammer flew along the city streets, relaxing slightly as the warm air flowed over his wings and caressed his sides. It’d been a long time since he had been able to enjoy a simple flight, soaring through the air as a pegasus should, not held down by jealous gravity. The beginnings of an actual smile began to crease the usually stern face before being buried under the recollection of just why he had this time off. Shaking himself free of his moment of relaxation, he swooped in to land in front of his home, his left wing thankfully not paining him anymore. Trotting up to the door, he pushed it open with his nose, entering his living room. Closing the door with a gentle kick from his rear hoof, he made his way to the low couch that sat in front of the fireplace, not even bothering to take his armor off as he laid down for a second.

“Welcome home dear, how was your day? I saw a lot of chariots leaving the palace today and the mood on the streets is just awful.” Morning Sun trotted out of the kitchen with her apron hanging from her neck, the smell of stewing vegetables wafting out with her, which set Cloudhammer’s mouth to watering. He sighed, knowing his wife would have to find out sooner or later, and sat up, motioning for her to join him on the couch. She did so, a worried expression overtaking her face as she recognized the look on her husband’s face.

“Last night, a unicorn collapsed in the street. It appears that he walked right into some kind of field that nullifies all magic, including the kind that permeates Equestria. He’s alright now, just had a panic attack, but Celestia is worried that the field could show up in other places without warning. She ordered up the entire Pegasus and Unicorn Guards to mobilize to help with keeping the peace.”

“Oh my stars! What should we do then? And what about Star Dancer? Will he be safe in Cloudsdale?” She began to fall into her usual panic mode, only for Cloudhammer to shush her gently.

“Don't worry, he’ll be perfectly safe, and so will we. I can’t tell you everything, but Celestia had the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony brought in this morning in order to work on a solution to solve the crisis. Now, I don’t want you to worry, but Celestia has asked them to travel outside Equestria’s borders to run down a possible solution…” Morning Sun’s eyes narrowed as she began to realize what her husband was implying.

“Cloudhammer, please tell me you didn’t volunteer yourself to go on another insane mission that will likely get you hurt or worse? You can’t keep lying to yourself just because Star Dancer refuses to follow the family tradition.” Morning Sun was becoming more and more frantic, tears beginning to well up in her deep green eyes.

Cloudhammer sighed and hooked a foreleg around his wife’s neck, drawing her in close and laying his head over hers. She cried softly into his chest, still muttering pleas for him not to go. “Look dear, you’re right. I’m not as young as I used to be. But my heart still tells me that I have to do this, that there’s no one else in the Pegasi Guards who can handle this. But I’ll make you a promise right now. When I come back, I’ll go speak to Celestia. I’m still going to hold out hope that Star Dancer will join the Guard before I hit the mandatory retirement age, but I suppose I can do the holding from a higher position than Captain.”

Morning Sun pushed away from her husband, a look of shock on her face. “You mean…?”

“I do, I’ll…” He took a breath, as if to steel himself. “I’ll accept that promotion I keep refusing.”

Morning Sun fell backwards, unable to believe what had just come out of her husband’s mouth. For ten years now she had been trying to convince him to accept the promotion, but he kept refusing, stating a multitude of reasons, from lack of desire for the paperwork to wanting to be the one who trained Star Dancer, as his father Stormhoof had him, to simply feeling his place was training new recruits. “Th… That’s great news dear, but what changed your mind?”

“To be honest, I’m not even sure myself, just something I’ve been thinking about for a long while now, and finally started deciding to do something about. I’d have to say the biggest motivators were the return of Nightmare Moon and Discord. If the Guards are going to be able to deal with threats like that in the future, we need somepony in charge who gets it, and who’ll actually invest the effort and bits into having the best equipment and best training regimen possible. But, let’s just focus on getting through dinner and this last mission first, hmmm? I haven’t eaten anything yet today and whatever’s boiling in the kitchen smells fantastic.”

“Yes, it’s your favor… wait, boiling? BOILING!?! OH CELESTIA, NOT ON THE FLOOR!” Morning Sun practically flew from the couch into the kitchen, managing to save the soup from boiling over. Cloudhammer shook his head as he followed her into the kitchen, laughing merrily at his wife’s antics.

…

Twilight and her friends made their way down the semi-deserted main street, the setting sun’s rays bathing the city spires in vibrant shades of red and orange. They had ended up not buying much, which meant each pony was carrying one small bag each, and Spike shuffled slowly along, carrying at least 4 bags in each hand, one balanced on his head and the last held firmly in his tail, while Rarity levitated the most important bag over her head. Zecora followed the group, not having bought anything and keeping to herself, her eyes still following some unseen trail on the cobblestones.

“Ah swear Rarity, do ya really need quite all of that? You do realize we’re gonna need ta be travelin hard and fast to find what all the zebras might know about those ritual lines?” Applejack asked, a bemused look on her face at her friend’s antics. She fell back a bit and took some of the bags from Spike, who tried his best not to look relieved, hoping to maintain his tough dragon image for Rarity.

“Just because we’re going on a long journey doesn’t mean one shouldn’t look their best my dear.” Rarity replied with a knowing smile.

“Just so long as ya don’t let it go to yer head and slow everypony down.” Applejack replied with a snort.

“Girls, please, let’s not start this up again. Otherwise we’re going to end up with a repeat of my first slumber party, remember how well that turned out?” Twilight said with a look of warning evident in her eyes. The farm pony and fashionista looked at each other and wisely decided to simply set aside their differences for the moment. The group continued chatting as they passed through the massive doors into the School for Gifted Unicorns. Professors going home from their duties nodded politely to Twilight, who had fond smiles for some, and more forced grins for others who had been the source of less enjoyable times during her stay. Eventually, they came to a door with a swirling design carved into its facing. Twilight nosed the door open, revealing a large open room with a kitchen unit against the far wall, some cushions and a couch next to a covered balcony overlooking a sweeping view of the city. A staircase set into the wall opposite the door lead to a second floor. Twilight trotted casually into the room, laying down her bags on a low table. “Well, this is it, make yourselves at home.” When no reply came, Twilight turned to see her friends all standing in the doorway, mouths agape. “Girls?” Twilight tilted her head, confused now.

“Ya mean to tell me this is yer room?” Applejack was flabbergasted, the room was nearly as big as the entire Apple house back in Ponyville.

“Why? Is there something wrong with it? It’s not clean enough, is it?” Spike, recognizing the warning signs of a Twilight Panic Attack, tugged on her mane and gave her a pointed look before trundling off to set his bags carefully against the wall. Twilight took a deep breath, smiling a little sheepishly at her assistant.

“What Applejack’s getting at is this room is huge! Do all the students here get rooms like this? Unicorns are so lucky.” Dash muttered, actually having room to float a decent height off the floor.

“Oh no, I only got this room for the later part of my studies with Celestia. The usual dorms for students are 2 ponies per room in a normal sized bedroom. I was in an accelerated studies program, since I’d mastered the general program after 2 years.” Twilight explained as she headed for the stairs. “Come on up, the largest floor space is up here in the library, we can lay out the cushions and have a nice view of the sunrise.” With that, a purple aura enveloped eight of the cushions and levitated them up the stairs behind her. The others all looked at each other and shrugged before setting their bags down near Rarity’s and followed Twilight up the stairs, where their jaws collectively hit the floor once more. The upstairs room was nearly twice the height of the first, with bookshelves stretching their way from the floor to the ceiling. Twilight was busy arranging the different cushions on the floor to ensure that nopony got more floor than anypony else. When she heard the hoofsteps stop, she looked up and sighed, bringing a hoof to her face at the expressions on her friend’s faces. “I hope this is the last time we go through this.” She muttered as she put the finishing touches on her arrangement.

…

Once everypony had gotten settled in, conversation slowly picked back up, from the usual rumors of upcoming events in Ponyville, to the newest imagined relationships, to how exactly Big Macintosh got his moniker. Applejack was tight-lipped on the subject, and despite the best wheedling Rarity could give, refused to speak on the subject. Eventually the conversation turned to the proverbial dragon in the corner, not including Spike, who had fallen asleep on his cushion and was snoring away merrily.

“So, um, what exactly do you think we’ll find in the zebra lands? I wonder what sort of animals there are…” Fluttershy said wistfully.

“I’m not sure, from what little I managed to find in the books back in Ponyville after our encounter with the poison joke,” everypony shuddered at those memories, “it seems that the zebra lands are a lot hotter and drier than it is here in Equestria. It also seems like the predators that live there co-exist with the zebras, rather than being confined to one location like the Everfree Forest. Is there anything you can add Zecora? Zecora?” Twilight looked over to the zebra, who had dragged her cushion close to the window and was looking up at the night sky. “Zecora, are you feeling alright? You’ve been quiet all day.”

The zebra twitched a bit before turning her head towards the group. “My apologies my friend, my head is full of noise. Perhaps we could have this discussion later, when my thoughts have more poise.” The zebra turned her gaze back to the stars again.

“Oh… ok, sure. No problem at all.” Twilight looked at the zebra for another moment, clearly worried about her, but eventually turned back to her friends. “Well, since it’s getting late, I suggest we all get some shut-eye, it’s going to be a busy day tomorrow, so we’ll need it.”

With that, everypony shuffled about on their cushions, forming their own little hollow into which they sighed softly and drifted off into sleep as Luna’s brilliant moon shone softly over the room and Equestria beyond it.

…

Twilight was dreaming, her leg muscles twitching as she ran. She looked around, seeing the world of Equestria passing her by, but then the dream changed. The world started passing by faster than normal, the grass flying under her hooves as she outraced the wind. The landscape started to change, becoming… different. She couldn’t put her hoof on it, all the basics were still there, trees and hills and grass and blue sky, but it just felt… off. She began to feel a pervasive dread fill her, and suddenly found herself running towards a ridge behind which a glow could be seen. She knew that if she could reach the top, that she would know the meaning of the dream and this nameless fear. Her hooves dug firmly into the hillside, and soon she was cresting the hill to a blinding brilliance that seared her vision and turned the world to white fire. She cried out for it to end, and a sudden sharp pain brought her crashing to wakefulness, a dull ache in her head her only memento of the dream. She blearily looked around, seeing that she had rolled off her cushion and had wacked her head into one of the support columns that held up the upper balcony next to the bookshelves. Sighing, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked at her friends, all still asleep. She was about to join them when a shadow caught her eye and she looked out the window, seeing a figure encased in gold armor, lined in silver from the light of the setting moon. Another second confirmed that it could only be Cloudhammer, and her innate curiosity got the better of her. Trotting quietly down the stairs, she crossed the lower room and sat down a little bit behind him on his right side. A few quiet moments went by, in which he continued to watch the moon silently descend, and Twilight tried to figure out exactly what had prompted her to come down.

The silence shattered as he spoke. “What do you want Miss Sparkle? I don’t even need to see you to know you have questions.”

She was startled by his sudden question, but managed to not fall over backwards. “Well, umm… I just figured since we’re going to be traveling together, I’d like to at least know a little about you. I admit that even with the time I spent here at the School, I didn’t learn all that much about the Royal Guard except by observation, and you guys are really good at keeping anypony from even gleaning that much from you.”

Cloudhammer snorted. “It’s not like it’s that hard, really. We just stand against the wall and ponies find it easy to put us out of sight. Ask then Miss Sparkle, but don’t expect me to tell you much. We may be traveling together, but I am not one to open myself up at first opportunity.”

Twilight tried to hide her irritation at his attitude, but pressed on. “Well, one thing that has always bugged me is how you all manage to look exactly alike. I mean, I know the odds of that many ponies having the exact same coat and eye color are so small it’s not even worth counting it as an actual percentage. But the last time I got a good look at a guard, I couldn’t feel any active enchantments.”

Cloudhammer looked back over his shoulder at her, his cold eyes seeming to be pondering something before coming to a decision. “Sorry, trade secret. Maybe when you’re older you’ll learn the truth.”

Twilight practically seethed. She HATED it when somepony knew something she wanted to know and wouldn’t tell her. She swore on the spot that she would find the answer soon enough. “Fine then. How long have you served in the Guard? I noticed that you and Princess Celestia seemed to know each other very well.”

He laughed roughly. “Oh, for a lot longer than you’ve been around kid. I’ve served the throne for fifty years, or will have in a few more weeks time.”

Twilight was taken aback. Given that the Guard’s minimum recruiting age was 17 years, that would put the Captain well past the recommended retirement age. “How come you’re still a captain? With your experience, you could easily lead the entire pegasus branch of the Guard!” She had more to say, but the breath caught in her throat as his eyes abruptly hardened.

“Some things Miss Sparkle, are more important than personal gain. Now, I suggest you wake your friends. Celestia is about to raise the sun, and I’d like to depart as close to dawn as possible.” With that he turned his head back to watch the moon finish setting below the lip of the wall, and the night beginning to lighten as the sun began its long climb into the sky.

Twilight, sensing that she had stepped on a sore spot, excused herself and quickly trotted upstairs, to find Applejack already up, giving her a look as she came up the last steps. “So, how is tha Cap’n this mornin? He seems a mite twitchy if ya ask me.”

“I’m not sure Applejack, I think there’s just some things that he doesn’t like to talk about. Now, let’s wake everypony up, we need to get moving if we’re going to cover any significant amount of ground today.” With that, Twilight trotted over to Rarity and nudged her gently with a hoof until the white unicorn’s eyes fluttered open and she yawned mightily, before abruptly realizing where she was and trying to cover it to maintain some semblance of dignity. With a chuckle, Twilight trotted over to Fluttershy, only having to nudge her once before the yellow pegasus opened her eyes and smiled at the dawn’s light streaming through the enormous windows. Applejack woke Rainbow by pulling her cushion out from under her, which rolled the pegasus into the bookshelf, bringing down a few books onto her.

Rainbow sat bolt upright, only for the last book to land square on her head. “OUCH! AJ, what the hay was that for?”

Applejack laughed uproariously. “Shoot, ‘twas worth it just to see the look on yer face.”

“Why you…” Rainbow looked ready to start a throwdown with the farm pony, but caught the sidelong glare from Twilight and thought better of it, fluttering into the air with a muttered “Lucky the egghead’s on your side for now Applesmack, I’ve got my eyes on you.”

The orange farm pony laughed as she tossed her saddlebags over her neck to settle perfectly onto her back. Fluttershy flitted nervously around, her bravado from yesterday having apparently decided to recede for the time being. As Twilight went to wake Pinkie, she was knocked flat on her back as a pink blur sat bolt upright, cracking Twilight right on her chin. Shaking the stars from her vision, she glared at the pink pony who was happily bouncing her way down the stairs, before pushing herself to her hooves and reaching out with her magic to levitate the cushions behind her as she headed after Pinkie.

Eventually after much fuss, mostly from Rarity trying to ensure her hair was just right, the six ponies, one zebra and one dragon were all assembled in the kitchen eating. Cloudhammer had even decided to have a little to eat, and found himself honestly enjoying the simple breakfast that Spike and Twilight had put together. Granted, he’d never had flame-seared vegetables before, but somehow the taste wasn’t at all bad like he’d expected it to be. Once breakfast was done, the group finished putting on their various bags and made their way to the door, opening it to reveal 2 figures waiting for them, more specifically Celestia and Luna, the two sisters looking every bit the rulers in the shine of the morning sun. Cloudhammer’s right eye barely twitched once, but he bowed all the same, along with the other ponies, zebra and dragon. “My princesses, a pleasure to see you this morning. We were just about to depart.”

Celestia smiled warmly, and Luna even managed a small smile, though the exhaustion from tending the night sky was obvious. “So I see, then I am indeed glad that we were able to catch you all before you depart. Please keep me informed of anything that develops while you’re away through Spike, and feel free to write me if you need to my dears. And one more thing, please be careful, all of you.” Celestia’s eyes seemed to shine for a moment before she smiled again. Her smile faded somewhat as Cloudhammer took a step forward.

“Princess, if I may beg one small favor?” Cloudhammer looked almost a completely different pegasus for a moment.

“Of course Cloudhammer, what is it?” Cloudhammer walked up to her and motioned for her to lower her head. Once her ear was close enough, he whispered something for a few moments, then took a few steps back as Celestia smiled softly, and almost sadly. “Of course Cloudhammer, you have my word.”

The pegasus bowed low and smiled a little. “Thank you Celestia.” With that, he turned towards the others. “Well, if any of you have something to say, say it quick, we’re burning sunlight.” Turning smartly, he trotted past the two alicorns and stopped at the top of the stairs.

Twilight frowned, both because she wanted to know just what he had said to Celestia, and his attitude was starting to annoy her. Putting such thoughts aside for another time, she trotted up to her mentor and the two shared a heartfelt nuzzle. “Don’t worry Princess, we’ll be back before you know it, you and Luna just be careful here, ok?”

Celestia laughed warmly and shared a look with her sister. “Don’t you worry either Twilight. Just remember, together you six can face any challenge, and if even you can’t, Cloudhammer will defend you all with everything he has. Just don’t let him overexert himself, he has ponies waiting for him to come home as much as you all do.”

Twilight and the others smiled at each other, remembering all the adventures they’d shared, and as one bowed to the Princesses. “Well, we best be going. We’ll keep in touch!” With that, the ponies, zebra, and dragon joined the pegasus and started heading down the stairs towards the main gate.

Celestia and Luna watched them go until they rounded a corner. Luna sighed softly, and turned to beg her sister’s leave when she froze, seeing something that she hadn’t seen since her return. A single tear was making its way down the white alicorn’s cheek, her ancient eyes incredibly sad as she recalled what Cloudhammer had said to her not a minute ago. “Celestia, if the worst should happen and I don’t return from this, inside my office at the Guard barracks is a safe. Inside this safe is a letter I would ask you to deliver to Star Dancer in Cloudsdale. He’ll understand what it means. And if you could stop in on my wife and make sure she doesn’t beat herself up over it, I’d truly appreciate it.” Luna finally found her voice and asked gently, “Sister, are you alright?” Celestia wiped the tear away with a hoof and turned away from her sibling. “I will be Luna, but it’s not myself I worry for.” With that she spread her wings and took flight, looping lazily over the city and out of sight. Luna watcher her go, before turning her teal eyes back to where the group had gone. “For her sake, you better bring your flank back here in one piece…” before taking flight herself, heading to her chambers to get some rest. With what lay in the future, sleep may become a treasured commodity after all.

Comments

[Rust]

Hmmmmm.... Another spectacular chapter! The captain's depth thickens once again. I can only assume the row he had with his son will be explained in later chapters, as well as Zecora's reluctance to venture back to her ancestral homeland...

My stars. Take them all.

[MLPFanForever]

So far I am really enjoying this! Outstanding job!

[Rainbow Sparkle]

Another great chapter...but one complaint. I've noticed that at times you'll have two speakers in the same paragraph...I've always been told to not do such, grammar reasons mostly. Is it just a style thing, or were you taught different writing from what I've gathered is the norm?

[Warwolf]

Okay I finally got through this up to chapter four.

One note, using '2 figures' and then using 'two sisters' seems a bit odd. Like you couldn't decide which way to go on that.

So far, doesn't look too bad. Though why Cloudhammer has such an issue with his son not wanting to be in the guard yet doesn't seem to have been explained. But at least I got some explanation about what the deal was with his son that was lacking in the first chapter.

[damnaion]

dam i love it