The Order of the Celestial Sun

by Blade Trail

Brother Blaze, The Knight Errant

Amidst the rolling plains of the Western Equestrian frontier, a lone Earth Pony stallion stood facing the Eastern horizon. He was clad from head to hoof in full plate armor of white and gold, and a gilded gladius hung on his side. His name was Brother Blazing “Blaze” Hearth, Knight of the Order of the Celestial Sun, and he awaited the rise of his sovereign.

The sun peeked out over the horizon as Princess Celestia brought forth another day. Its rays pierced through the light morning mist and revealed the untamed beauty of the Equestrian landscape. As the world awoke around Blaze, he closed his eyes and knelt in prayer.

“Praise the sun, the one true light,” Blaze concluded. He took a long deep breath of the crisp morning air and let out a satisfied sigh. Today would be another glorious day, as all days in Her service were.

His morning ritual completed, Blaze turned towards the West and began to trot. He kept a steady pace, his polished armor clanking rhythmically as he went. Though the scent of the fresh grass around him and the sound of the small stream nearby were enticing, he did not stop to eat or drink. He had journeyed far on this mission, and now that he was so close to its completion, he would not delay a moment longer. His body yearned for sustenance, but he pressed on, confident that his faith would sustain him until his holy task was done.

Ignoring the complaints of his stomach, Blaze reviewed his mission. Word had reached the Order that a band of brigands was terrorizing travellers and settlements along the Western frontier. The bandits were too numerous for local law enforcement to handle, and with the rising tensions among the nations to the East, the already understaffed Equestrian military were stretched too thin to send a detachment to deal with the relatively small and distant threat. Thus, the bandits had been allowed to flourish under Celestia’s own sun, in Celestia’s own lands.

Blaze let out a disgusted snort. “No longer,” he said, picking up his pace as he neared his destination.

Blaze had already spotted the brigands’ encampment the previous night, but it was unfitting of one in Celestia’s service to strike from the darkness, so he had held back and watched from a distance until dawn. There were, by his count, roughly three score of the foe, and it appeared as though they still had some prisoners captured from prior raids. To meet such a threat, the Royal Army would need to send a platoon of soldiers, perhaps more, but Blaze marched on undeterred and unafraid. Despite appearances, he knew he was not alone. Celestia was with him, and she would guide his blade and shield his body, so long as his faith was strong. And he would prove that it was.

“Judgement comes,” he said as he crested the final hill.

In the center of the bandits’ encampment, three prisoners - two Earth Ponies and a Pegasus - slept in a large iron cage.

Clay Pot, a brown Earth Pony stallion with a cutie mark matching his name, was rudely awoken by the sound of shattering clay. He turned his head to the source of the sound to see that the bandit jailer had thrown a clay bowl filled with oats into the cage. The bowl had shattered upon hitting the ground, spilling its contents all over the floor.

Clay grimaced at the waste of perfectly good food and pottery. “What was that for?” he asked the jailer angrily.

“Breakfast,” the jailer replied curtly.

“Well you didn’t have to throw it on the ground! You broke the bowl!” Clay exclaimed. His loud voice woke his fellow prisoners.

“You’re a potter, ain’tcha? Fix it,” the jailer said with a cruel smile before walking away.

Clay made to move towards the bars, but was stopped by the other Earth Pony, an old grey mare with a cutie mark of a steaming bowl of soup named Willow Sticks.

“Don’t waste your breath, Clay. You’ll only make it worse,” she said as she stood. “At least they gave us food. Means we’re still worth keepin’ alive.”

Willow moved towards the scattered oats and lapped some up. “It ain’t rotten either,” she continued. “I’ve had worse slop down at Brick’s tavern.”

“Are you serious?” Night Flight, the young purple Pegasus mare prisoner with a cutie mark of a gust of wind blowing between three stars, asked.

“Oh, you’d be surprised what they’ll serve good payin’ ponies down at that trash heap, filly,” Willow said with a chuckle. “Why one time, I -”

“I wasn’t talking about that, as disgusting as it is,” Flight interjected. “I meant the first part - the part about us being worth keeping alive.”

“What about it?” Willow asked.

“Just that...we’re not particularly important, are we? I mean, I just transferred in as a junior weathermare, Clay’s just a potter, and you’re just some kooky old pony! None of us are rich or important or know lots of ponies. What’s the point in capturing us?” Flight asked, a hint of suppressed panic in her voice.

“If that jailer came back and told you to eat these oats off the ground, or he’d cut the kooky old pony’s hoof off, would you?” Willow countered.

“What? I - that’s horrible!” Flight stammered.

“Would you?” Willow asked again.

“Yes, of course I would! But why would you say something like that?” Flight asked.

Clay spoke up, “To get you to do something you normally wouldn’t. Something you can live with...to prevent something you can't.”

Willow nodded. “Nopony wants blood on their hooves, even if it is the blood of somepony they don’t know that well.”

Clay began picking through the oats looking for shards of the bowl that once carried it. “Somepony they know, but not well. Somepony they’ve met, but never got to know. Somepony worth worrying about, but not worth risking everything for,” he added dryly as he cradled the shattered pieces of the bowl like an injured child. He’d always gotten along better with pots than with ponies.

Willow gave a rueful laugh. “Somepony that could easily be replaced by somepony close to you, unless you do as you’re told.”

Flight’s heart sank. “You mean they took me because...I’m nopony?” she muttered. She sniffed as her eyes began to tear up.

“Oh, chin up, filly,” Willow said. “They took us because we’re noponies. They took a sweet young thing like you because you could be somepony. You just haven’t had your chance yet. It’s more tragic like that.”

Clay yelped as a broken shard cut into his foreleg, causing him to drop all the shards he had gathered. Anger flashed across his face. “Whoever leads this band is a sick pony,” he said.

“Aye, but a smart one. You have to give him that,” Willow commented. She turned back to Flight and asked, “Are you sure you don’t want any of these oats, filly? Clay’s been nice enough to get all the sharp bits out. If I was you, I’d take this chance to eat while the eating’s good. There’s no telling when they’ll feed us again. There’s alive and there’s well, and they only need us alive.”

Flight sniffed again and rubbed her eyes. “I...I guess so,” she said. She walked over to where the oats had spilled on the floor and hesitated. “Thanks -”

“HEATHENS!” Brother Blaze’s deep voice suddenly boomed from atop a nearby hill.

All throughout the camp, heads turned to face Blaze. The rising sun shone behind him and reflected brilliantly off of his polished white and gold armor, making it difficult to look directly at him.

“I am Brother Blaze, Knight of the Order of the Celestial Sun, and arbiter of your sins!” Blaze exclaimed.

The bandit jailer reappeared next to the prisoners’ cage. “Who the hell is this nutjob?” he asked aloud as he looked up at the literally shining knight.

“He just introduced himself, idiot,” Clay spat.

“Shut it, you,” the jailer spat back.

Atop the hill, Blaze continued his monologue. “The light of Celestia’s judgement shines this day, and has revealed the shadow within your souls. Following promises of power and riches, you have turned from Her light and embraced the Traitor’s darkness - spurning your sacred place amongst Celestia’s children. You are rightfully damned, but Our Lady’s compassion is nearly as boundless as Her power. As Her sworn servant, it is my honor and my duty to offer you the chance to purify yourselves and find peace in Her presence. Fall now upon your swords in penance and you may yet be allowed the mercy to burn forever for Her glory. Refuse, and you shall cast your lot with the damned in the darkest depths of Tartarus, where night reigns eternal and no light ever shines. The last light you shall ever see shall be the glint of my blade as it sends you to your chosen kin. This is your only warning!”

Blaze fell silent and looked down upon the bandits, allowing them time to make peace with Celestia, to turn from darkness and embrace the light. He saw several speaking amongst themselves. A few shuffled back to their bedrolls or makeshift tents. One drew a sword and looked at it, eyes wide in epiphany, until the bandit next to him smacked him upside the head.

An arrow pinged off of Blaze’s armor. There was scattered laughter from the bandits below.

“So be it,” Blaze said. “If thou shalt not take the offered flame in hoof, then thou shalt burn as it is thrust upon you!” He took his gladius into his mouth and charged down the hill.

A mocking cheer went up among the bandits at the sight of the lone pony charging down the hill into their encampment. To them, the sight was ridiculous. A single pony against sixty? It was comically mad.

Among the prisoners, the sentiment was much the same. Although they would like to see the knight succeed, Clay and Willow did not hold much hope for his chances. Flight, however, looked at the knight’s resplendent charge and dared to dream.

Celestia, please...if you really are watching over us, make it just like the stories, she prayed silently.

Several bandits trained their bows at the charging knight while their peers began placing bets on how many arrows it would take to bring Blaze down.

“Eight arrows!” the jailer called out, tossing a few bits into the growing pile.

Inside the cage, Willow decided take a guess as well. “His armor’s pretty thick, and these colts don’t have any of those fancy magic arrows, I’ll bet,” she said. “Probably fifteen arrows at least. Or one if the first shot’s lucky. How many arrows do you think, Clay? Flight?”

Clay just shook his head. “I’ll not watch this foolishness,” he said as the closed his eyes and looked away.

Flight, however, had her eyes locked on Blaze. “More than they have,” she whispered.

Willow heard the hope in Flight’s voice and fell silent.

Still so young, Willow thought to herself. Oh, child...try not to be too disappointed.

The bandit archers let fly their arrows, but they were untrained and undisciplined - the very opposite of their target. Most of the arrows went wide, and Blaze easily dodged the few that were on target. Frustrated curses broke out amongst the archers and the onlookers threw jeers at them for their poor aim.

The archers let fly a second volley. Many more shots landed closer to their target this time, but still Blaze was unscathed. The bandits were starting to feel the pressure, so they let loose a third and fourth volley in quick succession. This time Blaze was unable to dodge all the arrows and several managed to hit him. Most bounced uselessly off of his armor, but one lucky shot managed to hit a gap in the outer plates and punch through the chainmail into his back. Blaze did not even stagger. The bandits knew that Blaze was approaching too fast for them to safely fire a fifth volley.

There was another round of cursing as the bandits drew their melee weapons. They did not even have time to consider the gravity of their situation - a ragtag group of untrained and lightly armored brigands facing a highly trained and heavily armored knight in melee - before Blaze reached them.

Blaze veered left just before impacting with the first bandit, avoiding the bandit’s outstretched sword and letting his own gladius cut through the unfortunate pony as he passed by. He ended his charge with an armored headbutt against the skull of the next bandit he saw. As the bandit crumpled before him, he bit down hard on his gladius and pivoted on his hind legs, throwing the front half of his body hard to the right and ramming his gladius into a third bandit.

To Blaze’s left, a bandit let out a yell and charged with an axe held high in one hoof. Blaze switched his gladius from his mouth to his right forehoof and spun to face his attacker. He batted aside the bandit’s axe hoof with his armored left forehoof then thrust with his gladius. Blaze followed the axe bandit’s body down, evading a wild sword swing from another bandit. He then surged back up, hitting the bandit in the chin with his armored head and following through with an upward slash of his gladius.

Before Blaze could recover his balance, a knife-wielding bandit slammed into him, throwing them both to the ground. The bandit frantically stabbed at Blaze’s belly, but the dull blade could not pierce the knight’s armor. At the same time, Blaze repeatedly slammed the hilt of his gladius into the side of the bandit’s head to much greater effect. In moments, the bandit’s struggling ceased and Blaze threw aside his assailant and stood once more.

By now, the other bandits had backed away from Blaze, with some running towards the tents to call for help from their allies. Their expressions no longer held any mirth or mockery, only anger.

“Not good enough,” muttered Blaze. He picked out a group and charged again, yelling “You will fear the light!”

Willow watched silent and slack-jawed as Blaze fell upon another group of ten bandits. She could not believe what she was seeing. One pony should not be able to stand up to so many. It was impossible, and yet…

“Sweet Celestia, he’s doing it. I don’t know how, but he’s actually doing it,” Clay commented. He had looked away at first, but as the fighting had dragged on, his curiosity had gotten the better of him. Now, he couldn’t look away.

Flight had gone up to the bars and gripped them tight. She turned back to Clay, her eyes filled with desperate hope, “He’s a hero! A knight sent by Celestia Herself!” she said. She turned back to the fighting and shouted, “Save us, hero! Save us!”

Willow closed her mouth and tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry.

That don’t look like no hero, she thought to herself. Just a killer.

The whole camp was on alert now, and the bandit leader, a giant Earth Pony named Clyde, had stormed out of his tent and now watched in anger as his subordinates fell before the lone knight.

“What are you idiots doing?!” he bellowed. “He’s just one pony - an Earth Pony! A good number of you lot got wings and horns, so buckin’ use ‘em! Form up like I taught you, stay out of his reach, and tear him apart!”

At their leader’s command, the mob of bandits surrounding Blaze quickly backed off and reorganized. Earth Ponies gathered in front of the new formation while Unicorns moved back. Numerous weapons floated up in the space around Blaze while several Pegasi shot into the air, all wielding bows.

Blaze surveyed the situation. The bandits had been close to breaking, he had seen it in their eyes: the fear, the realization that their end was at hoof, that there would be a reckoning for their sins. With the appearance of their leader, that had changed. Their faces were now set in grim determination. There was still fear in their eyes, not the fear of Celestia’s judgement, but rather the silent fear of slaves in the presence of a cruel overseer. They feared Clyde more than they feared the Sol Invictus.

Blaze sheathed his gladius, and let out a low growl. This was absolutely unacceptable. His course of action was clear: the leader would die last. As long as their leader lived, the bandits would hold their ground. Blaze would use this to his advantage. He would show them the full terror of Celestia’s fury, let them know their leader’s powerlessness to save them from the light, and then send them to their damnation. None would escape. Not. One.

Clyde broke the tense silence. “Well, what are you waiting for? Kill him!”

Arrows rained down on Blaze from above as floating weapons began to swing in his general direction. Neither the Pegasi nor the Unicorns were skilled enough to accurately attack from a great distance or move about as they did, so a great many of them missed. While the Unicorns could do little to adjust their aim from where they were positioned behind the Earth Pony line, the Pegasi hovered closer to the ground to help them get a better shot.

Blaze ignored the arrows pelting his armor and grabbed hold of an axe that swung at him, breaking the telekinetic grip surrounding it. He rolled to evade the clunky swings of the other floating weapons and threw the axe at an archer hovering nearby. The archer dropped to the ground with a cry of pain, and Blaze rushed forward to retrieve the fallen bow and quiver.

Blaze nocked an arrow, took aim, and shot down another archer. He repeated this twice more in quick succession before the other Pegasi stopped firing to fly upward to where they hoped Blaze could not hit them. As they did, Blaze shifted his aim and shoot a Unicorn. Several floating weapons dropped as the Unicorns controlling them ducked for cover. A few arguments broke out as Unicorns tried to use Earth Ponies as living shields. The arguments turned to struggles as Blaze shot an Earth Pony followed by the Unicorn that had been hiding behind it.

The Pegasi began firing again. Blaze aimed upwards, but before he could return fire, a floating hammer slammed into the side of his head. The bandits saw Blaze stagger from the blow and redoubled their efforts. Blaze ducked his head as he was struck from all sides. His armor, now battered and riddled with arrows, could not stop all of the attacks, and several times he felt the sharp pain of an arrow piercing through his chainmail or an edged weapon slicing through a gap. A mace struck his hind leg and his knees buckled. Two hammers rocketed into his right side and he was thrown to the ground.

The bandits cheered as Blaze fell.

“And that’s how you do it, boys!” Clyde yelled. “Now somepony get over there and finish the job!”

There was a small scuffle as the bandits argued over who should finish the knight. Eventually, a scrawny Earth Pony armed with a knife was pushed forward. The Earth Pony looked over to Clyde, who gestured angrily at Blaze’s prone form.

“Get to it, Runt,” Clyde commanded.

In the prisoners’ cage, Flight began quivering as she watched Runt walk slowly towards Blaze’s prone form. “No…” she said weakly.

Willow put her hoof on Flight’s back. “I’m sorry, filly. He...he put up a good fight,” she said.

Flight shook her head violently. “No!” she exclaimed. “It isn’t over. He’s just...he...he’ll get back up! Heroes always do! He’ll get up and he’ll save us, right, Clay?”

Clay looked away, unable to meet Flight’s gaze.

“Flight…” Willow began.

“He’ll get up,” Flight insisted, pushing away Willow’s hoof and turning back to where Blaze lie. “He’ll get up, you’ll see. He has to. He’ll save me. He’ll save me...”

Willow sighed. “If you say so, filly. If you say so.”

The fight had taken its toll on Blaze. His helmet had been damaged during the assault and now obscured his vision. His armor had caved in from the last blow and now dug painfully into his barrel. He felt thirsty, and hungry, and tired. He felt a dull throbbing in his head emanating from where the hammer had struck. He felt countless aches and pains throughout his body as it complained of the abuse it had been made to take. But more than any of that, he felt the fury rising in his heart, the righteous indignation at having been brought so low. His skill was great, but it had failed him. His armor was the best, but it had broken.

Runt reached Blaze and crouched down. He could hear the knight breathing, but couldn’t see anywhere he could stick his knife to properly finish the job.

“Why does it always have to be me?” Runt muttered to himself.

Seeing no other option, Runt reached down and grasped Blaze’s helmet. He took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and pulled the helmet off. He expected Blaze to burst into motion and kill him then and there, but instead, Blaze’s head just hit the ground with a light thud.

Curious, Runt examined the injured knight’s features. Run had expected the face of somepony ruggedly handsome or obviously heroic underneath the helmet, perhaps with some wicked battle scar or something of the sort, but Blaze looked...ordinary. He wasn’t ugly or unpleasant, but he wasn’t anything special either. His coat was beige, his matted mane was reddish-brown, and besides the blood trickling down the side of his head, he didn’t seem to have any obvious battle scars. He had golden eyes, but instead of burning with fiery intensity, they seemed to be gazing off into the distance.

“Ain’t so special after all, now are you?” Runt said, his confidence rising.

“Oi!” Clyde called out. “Quit screwing around and kill him already!”

“Right. Good night, knight,” Runt said with a chuckle. He raised his knife to strike the killing blow.

The sun was in Blaze’s eyes.

The bright light hurt to look at, but he didn’t look away. Even here, even now, the sun shined undeterred. Celestia’s gift to all the world. The fire of life. The fire of passion. The fire of rage. He was not alone. Celestia was with him. His steps may falter, but Hers would not. He need not fight, only deliver Her judgement.

Celestia forgive your humble servant, he prayed silently. Deliver not your servant from the foe, but allow him the honor of delivering your justice. My body is weak, but my faith is strong. I shall not fail you, Lady. Not now, nor ever.

Runt’s knife came down, but Blaze jerked his head out of the way. The knight got to his hooves, the fire of his rage giving strength to his limbs and burning brightly through his eyes. Runt raised his knife, but he knew he was doomed.

“I was wrong,” Runt said in the calm voice of a pony that had accepted his fate. “That’s a hero’s look alright.”

Blaze drew his gladius and thrust it into Runt. Without bothering to withdraw the blade, he turned towards the center of the bandit line and charged.

“I am Celestia’s Earth Pony, Her most stalwart servant!” Blaze bellowed.

The Pegasi shot at him, but could not land any hits before he got too close to their allies. The Earth Ponies and Unicorns brought up their weapons, but Blaze did not slow down. As he reached the line of Earth Ponies, Blaze leaped into the air, sailing over their weapons. He crashed down among them, crushing one unfortunate bandit beneath him. He hopped off of his victim and bucked, taking out two Unicorns.

“I am the earth beneath Her hooves!” Blaze exclaimed.

Blaze sidestepped one bandit’s thrust and redirected him into another attacking bandit, bringing both down. He punched a bandit with a sword in it’s mouth and took the sword. Blaze slashed at a bandit to the left and to the right before thrusting the sword back to its owner, point-first.

“I am the fuel of Her eternal flame!” Blaze continued.

A floating axe swung at Blaze’s head. He ducked and the swing hit another bandit. Blaze picked up a fallen knife before coming back up and stabbing a bandit with it. He pulled the knife back out and ducked another swing from the axe. Again, the swing hit another bandit. Blaze came back up and threw the knife at a Unicorn with a glowing horn. Both the Unicorn and the axe dropped. Blaze caught the axe before it hit the ground and hurled it at a Pegasus archer aiming down at him. As the archer fell, his arrow flew and hit the bandit behind Blaze.

“With Her, I am unbreakable!” Blaze shouted.

With none of them being able to take a clear shot, the rest of the Pegasi turned to land and join the melee. The last Pegasus to land tried to dive at Blaze from above, dagger in hoof, but Blaze grabbed his outstretched hoof at the last moment and threw him into three other bandits. Without wasting a moment, Blaze leapt upon them and stomped down with his armored hooves.

“By Her, I am unrelenting!” Blaze cried.

Two Pegasi charged Blaze head-on while a Unicorn raised a mace behind him with magic from a distance. Blaze turned and yanked the mace out of the Unicorn’s magical grip, then bucked the charging Pegasi. Seeing a pair of Unicorns behind an Earth Pony, Blaze leapt forward and smashed the mace into the Earth Pony and then the first Unicorn. The second Unicorn managed to parry Blaze’s strike with a hammer held with both hooves and magic. Instead of pressing the attack, Blaze let the mace drop and punched the Unicorn’s horn, snapping it. As the Unicorn recoiled in pain, Blaze took up the hammer and swung it into the Unicorn’s jaw.

“Through Her, I am unstoppable!” Blaze yelled.

The remaining fourteen bandits backed away from the berserking Blaze. One Earth Pony turned and ran, and the last remaining Pegasus flew up and away. Both were shot with arrows before they could escape, but not by Blaze.

“Anyone else wanna run?” Clyde asked, nocking another arrow on his bow.

None of the bandits moved.

“Didn’t think so,” Clyde said.

Clyde locked eyes with Blaze and frowned. He aimed the bow at Blaze and fired two arrows in quick succession.

“Rush him!” he commanded.

Blaze deflected the first arrow away from his head with a swipe of his armored hoof, but the second punched into his left shoulder, staggering him. A bandit appeared before him, sword raised. Blaze grabbed hold of the bandit and dragged him down at an angle. The two rolled a short distance - the bandit losing his sword, several more bandits getting tripped up, and several of the arrows protruding from Blaze’s armor snapping in the process - then Blaze kicked the bandit away and rolled to his hooves. As the bandit tried to get up, Blaze finished him with a swift one-legged buck to the head.

The roll had broken the bandits’ charge. Blaze was about to counter charge when another arrow punched through a gap in his armor and slammed into his flank.

“How’s that feel, you bastard?” Clyde called out.

Blaze let out a frightening cry of rage as the bandits fell upon him again. He batted aside a sword and punched its wielder in the throat. He redirected an axe blow to the staggering bandit, then back-hoofed the axe wielder and took the axe. Thus armed, Blaze cut down the axe’s owner and proceeded to rampage through the remaining bandits.

Abandoning all finesse, Blaze brutally swung the axe again and again and again.

“This is the might of Celestia’s chosen!" he screamed as he attacked. “Witness Her power through me!"

Eight bandits fell, leaving only one left alive. The last bandit dropped his weapon and turned to flee. Blaze roared and tackled the bandit to the ground.

“I. Bring. Her. Justice!" Blaze said, punctuating each word with a heavy blow to the bandit’s head.

When Blaze had finished his beating, there were no bandits left alive, save Clyde. Blaze got to his hooves and began walking towards Clyde.

“You're insane, you know that?” Clyde commented.

“I serve the light,” Blaze replied. "You serve the dark. You need not understand. You need only burn.”

“Yeah, no,” Clyde said, nocking an arrow and aiming at Blaze.

Seeing this, Blaze stopped his advance and sat on his haunches. He began working the straps of dented chest armor.

Clyde kept his aim steady on Blaze, but did not fire. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Removing my armor,” Blaze replied.

There were a few moments of silence as Clyde tried and failed to see the logic behind Blaze’s actions. “Why?” he finally asked.

Blaze undid one final buckle and the last of the metal plates surrounding his barrel fell to the ground with a thud. “It is damaged and no longer necessary,” Blaze replied as he worked on removing the plates around his hooves.

Clyde considered shooting Blaze right then and there, but decided to wait. Blaze was still wearing his chainmail, and while Clyde was confident his bow was strong enough to pierce it, there was always a chance the Blaze might get lucky. If the knight really was crazy enough to remove all of his armor, then Clyde figured it could only work to his advantage.

“What makes you say that?” Clyde asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Blaze had finished removing all of his plate armor and now reached up to the arrow still sticking out of his shoulder. It was keeping him from removing his chainmail, so he snapped the shaft, leaving the arrow head still embedded in his shoulder.

“Because that -” Blaze pulled his chainmail off and let it fall to the ground “- is your last arrow.”

So he noticed, Clyde thought to himself. Then it dawned on him. “The armor was weighing you down. Now you can move faster and use the plates as a shield. Clever,” he said aloud. And I bucking let you do it, Clyde chided himself silently.

Blaze closed his eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the feel of the morning sun on his coat. He opened his eyes and met Clyde’s gaze. His expression was serene.

“So long as I bear the burden for Her sake, my strength has no limit, and I shall bear it with ease. So long as I stand against foes of Her grace, my faith is my shield, and I shall stand without fear,” Blaze stated. “Take your shot, heretic. You are already damned.”

In the face of such stubborn certainty, doubt blossomed within Clyde, and he hesitated.

What if…

He grit his teeth and cut off the thought. “Here’s what I think of your bloody superstition!” he said in a voice much louder than necessary right before he fired.

The arrow sailed towards Blaze. There was no gust of wind to turn it off course, or shining light to skew Clyde’s aim. No divine bolt fell from the heavens to strike the arrow down, and Blaze made no move to dodge or catch it.

The arrow flew past Blaze, passing within an inch of his face, and landed harmlessly on the ground behind him. For the first time that day, while aiming for the easiest target, Clyde had missed. It was a fairly good shot, and he had come close, but he had missed. Clyde stood frozen in shock, his mouth agape.

“Celestia protects,” Blaze said. He stood and resumed walking towards Clyde.

Clyde felt his pulse quicken. Beads of sweat formed on his brow. He could accept Blaze being able to overcome his entire band of outlaws. The bandits had been mostly half-starved incompetent idiots anyway. Clyde knew that, if pressed, he could have done the same thing. He had been responsible for more than sixty deaths in his life. But he was having trouble reconciling what had just happened with what he knew of the world. The world was a hard place. It was kill or be killed. Do or die. Ponies had to look out for themselves because no one else was going to do it for them. Miracles didn’t happen.

And yet the arrow missing Blaze by that margin was nothing short of miraculous. Was Celestia really looking out for Blaze?

All of Clyde’s instincts were screaming at him to run. But his pride would not allow it. Clyde was almost twice the size of Blaze. He was neither tired nor injured while Blaze was surely both. To flee now would be an act of supreme cowardice, and Clyde was no coward. Perhaps Blaze had been blessed with divine protection; perhaps not. It didn’t matter, Clyde would not run. Not when the odds were stacked so high in his favor. No, he could beat Blaze. He would beat Blaze. Celestia be damned.

He’d always liked the night sky better anyway.

Blaze stopped in front of Clyde. He looked up at the larger Earth Pony and asked, “Have you accepted your fate?”

In response, Clyde swung one muscled foreleg at Blaze’s head. Blaze ducked under the leg and made a swift uppercut at Clyde’s elbow, but Clyde didn’t seem to feel the blow.

Clyde reared up on his hind legs and tried to stomp Blaze, but Blaze moved back to evade. Clyde tried two more times with similar results. When he reared up the fourth time, Blaze darted forward, grabbed his hind legs, and pulled, causing Clyde to lose his balance and fall over.

Blaze attacked immediately after Clyde hit the ground, using his hind legs to deliver two swift bucks to Clyde’s belly. Clyde tried to kick Blaze away, but Blaze moved towards the larger pony’s head. Blaze tried to stomp down on Clyde’s head, but never got the chance. Clyde knocked Blaze back with a powerful sweep of his neck and got to his hooves.

“I’ll kill you!” Clyde bellowed. He rammed into Blaze and sent the smaller pony tumbling a short distance. Clyde charged forward, aiming to trample Blaze underhoof.

Blaze rolled out of the way and onto his hooves. Clyde’s momentum carried him forward further before he could stop. As Clyde tried to turn back around, Blaze leapt onto his back. Blaze grabbed Clyde’s mane with one forehoof, pulled Clyde’s head back, and then hammered a blow into Clyde’s eye. Blaze tried to repeat the maneuver three more times, but Clyde began struggling to throw him off, and Blaze only managed to hit Clyde’s ear, jaw, and muzzle.

Clyde managed to throw Blaze off of his back and onto the floor. Again he tried to stomp Blaze, and again Blaze managed to roll away.

“Stop squirming, you pest! Can’t Celestia protect you from my hooves?” Clyde taunted.

Anger flashed across Blaze’s face. “You are not worthy to speak Her name!” he cried, then launched himself into the air to strike at Clyde’s head. The attack was bold, and left him wide open.

Clyde reared up and used his superior reach to punch Blaze in mid-air. Blaze was sent flying head over hooves by the force of the blow, and crashed into the ground rolling. He came to a stop on top of the body of Runt, the scrawny Earth Pony that had been sent to finish him. Blaze tried to get to his hooves, but his legs gave out from under him.

Seeing this, Clyde let out a terrible battle cry and charged.

As Blaze willed himself to overcome the almost overwhelming pain all throughout his body, he noticed a glint of gold from beneath him. It was his gladius, still thrust into Runt’s body. He felt a surge of emotion as his faith was renewed.

“So long as I struggle against the darkness, Celestia lights my path,” he said softly.

The thunder of Clyde’s heavy hoofsteps grew louder as he approached. “It’s over!” Clyde exclaimed.

Just before Blaze was trampled underhoof, he surged upwards and thrust his gladius into Clyde’s neck. Clyde’s face contorted in shock and pain as his legs gave out mid-charge. The giant Earth Pony crashed into the ground, and Blaze was dragged down with him.

The camp was silent. Hours had passed since the end of the battle, and the midday sun burned bright in the cloudless sky, its light shining down on all of the fallen. In the iron cage, Clay Pot, Willow Sticks, and Night Flight still lived. Their jailers had been slain, but they were still trapped.

Flight had spent over an hour calling out to Brother Blaze, beseeching him to rise and set them free, but the knight still lay unmoving, pinned underneath Clyde’s body. She was now huddled up in one corner of the cage, her body quivering and her head hidden in her hooves.

Clay had paced the length of the cage for the entire morning, desperately seeking some way out of their predicament. Having found nothing, he now lay on floor and stared blankly into space.

Willow felt she should strike up some conversation, should say something, anything, to take their minds off of their hopeless situation, but words escaped her. She just kept replaying the battle over and over in her mind, trying to comprehend everything that had happened.

Blaze had done the impossible. He’d stood against the band of outlaws alone and struck them down with faith and fury. He’d kept his word and succeeded in delivering Celestia’s justice, but he himself had fallen in the process. He had died a hero’s death, but he had left the prisoners trapped in their prison. With nopony left alive to give them food or water, they were doomed.

Not a hero, then, Willow thought. Just a killer. Sometimes I hate being right.

Clay spoke, breaking the silence, “I almost believed him. About Celestia.”

Willow looked over at Clay, who still lay prone on the floor.

“All that talk of faith and protection. Just all talk in the end,” Clay said.

Silence followed as Clay trailed off. Willow agreed, but she couldn’t stand to just sit in silence again. “Celestia’s real, though,” she found herself saying in a flat tone.

“Doesn’t matter,” Clay replied. “She can’t do what he said. Protect and empower and all that. She just puts up a big light in the sky.”

Willow thought back to all the things she’d just seen Blaze do, and couldn’t help but wonder. If Blaze was right, Celestia had blessed him with the strength to do unbelievable things, but had abandoned them to die. If Blaze was wrong, then the Princess could not protect ponies from the evils of the world, and those like Clyde would continue to thrive unopposed. “There’s can’t and there’s won’t,” she said. “Honestly, I’m not sure which one scares me more.”

“I miss the days when Princess Luna was still around,” Night Flight suddenly said. “Back then, there wasn’t any reason to be afraid. We were protected. We were safe.”

“No more than now,” Clay said.

Willow shook her head and said, “No, she’s right. The Two Sisters together did so much. They overcame. With both of them around, there was no need for Protective Pony Platoons. Day and night were always watched. Even if it was just by reputation, they kept us safe. Now…”

Willow trailed off and silence filled the cage once more. Clay sat up and began idly poking the shattered pieces of a bowl. It took a moment for Willow to remember that it was the bowl their jailer had thrown into the cage just that morning. It seemed like so long ago now.

This time it was Flight that broke the silence. “Most ponies were scared of the dark, even back then,” she said. “They say it was why Princess Luna...well, you know. But my mom loved flying at night. That’s why she named me after it. She used to take me flying with her on weekends. We’d go out, feel the cool night breeze, and look up at all the stars in the empty sky. It was so...peaceful. We even met Princess Luna once.”

“A rare thing,” Willow commented. “She never was seen much. What was she like?”

Clay snorted. “Crazy, I’ll bet,” he said.

Flight shook her head. “She was...beautiful. The prettiest pony I’d ever seen. I’ve never laid eyes on her sister, but it’s hard to imagine anypony being more magnificent. When she spoke, she sounded so formal and aloof, but she was also very polite. She asked what we were doing and if we were alright or if there was trouble...things like that. She offered to fly with us for the night, but my mother said it was time for me to go to bed. Looking back, she seemed so...sad. I think she was lonely.”

Flight lay her head against the bars and sighed. “We should’ve flown with her. It was a Saturday, so I could’ve stayed up longer. Maybe if we had, she wouldn’t have…No, that’s stupid. Forget I said anything.”

“Flight...” Willow began, but she stopped speaking as Clay suddenly bolted to his hooves.

Clay’s squinted at something in the distance then his eyes went wide. He pointed and said, “Look!”

Among the fallen, Clyde’s body was shifting.

Blaze felt the heat of the sun on his face, and knew that his work was not yet complete. He opened his eyes and saw Her sun high in the sky above him, rousing him so that he may continue his service. And he would do so gladly.

Blaze pushed against Clyde’s massive body. Pain shot through him, and he stopped with a gasp. Now fully conscious, Blaze realized the condition his body was in. He was covered in cuts and bruises, several arrow heads were still buried in his flesh, and he could feel the all-too-familiar pain of broken bones in several places. It was only by Celestia’s mercy that he still lived. He knew that it was by Her intervention that none of his wounds had been fatal or permanently debilitating. He had acted as the instrument of Her will, and She had kept him whole.

His current state, however, left him feeling a burning shame greater than any pain. He was meant to be Her shining sword against the darkness, as swift and deadly as Her judgement, yet here he lay, battered and broken by mere bandits. How would he fare against the demons of the night? How could he serve the light if he must beg it for aid?

“Forgive me, Celestia, for I am weak,” Blaze said as he gathered his strength. “I swear by my honor that I will -” he forced his muscles to push “- be -” he lifted Clyde’s body up “- stronger!” he yelled as tossed Clyde’s body aside.

Blaze lay in the sun, panting from the exertion. After a few moments, he shakily rose to his hooves. He heard voices calling out to him and turned to see the three prisoners up against the bars of their cage, beckoning to him.

“Do you serve the light?” Blaze asked as he reached the cage.

For a moment, nopony responded, then Willow spoke, “Yes, my lord, we are faithful subjects of Celestia.”

Blaze nodded, satisfied with the answer. “Then we are the same, brothers and sisters in Celestia’s light. There is no need to call me lord. I am Brother Blaze, Knight of the Order of the Celestial Sun. As a fellow servant of the light, you may call me brother. How is it that you have come to be here?” he asked.

The other two prisoners looked to Willow, silently appointing her their spokespony. Willow sighed inwardly, then said, “We were taken from our village during the bandits’ last raid, uh, brother. We think they meant to use us as hostages, but we don’t know for sure. They never told us.”

“And now they never shall,” Blaze said. “Tell me, how may I free you?”

Willow pointed to the jailer’s corpse. “He was our jailer. He should have the keys.”

Blaze walked over to the body and began searching for the keys. In the cage, Flight had begun hovering in place, a beaming smile on her face.

“I told you!” she said excitedly. “I told you he would save us!”

“Quiet down, and show some respect, filly!” Willow snapped. “I’d rather not risk provoking him out of some slight.”

“Just let him free us and then let’s be on our way,” Clay agreed. “The less interaction, the better. There’s no telling what’ll set that mad pony off.”

Flight shook her head. “I can’t believe you two! Just look at what he did to save us!” she exclaimed.

“Yes, filly, look at what he did,” Willow said, gesturing to the field of dead.

“And something tells me it wasn’t specifically to save us,” Clay added.

Flight swallowed, but didn’t look at the fallen. “They...they were bad ponies,” she said flatly. “What happened to them was Celestia’s will.”

Clay snorted, but didn’t say anything. Willow just shook her head and sighed.

“Sure,” Willow said. Whatever helps you come to terms with it, she added mentally.

Blaze returned with the keys. As he opened the cage, he said, “You are free now. Go, return to your village, and share what you have witnessed here, so that they may know Celestia’s glory.”

“Yes, brother. We shall,” Willow said, stepping out of the cage.

Clay nodded to Blaze and followed Willow out. Flight flew over to Blaze and hugged him. Willow and Clay froze.

“Thank you, Sir Blaze,” Flight said, tears of joy in her eyes. “I’ll never forget what you did today.”

To Willow and Clay’s shock, Blaze returned the gesture, wrapping his hooves around Flight’s neck.

“Tell me, what is your name?” Blaze asked without breaking the hug.

“My name is Night Flight, Sir. I -” Flight’s words were cut off as Blaze snapped her neck.

Willow gasped in shock as the young mare’s body fell to the ground.

“What the - you - why?” Clay sputtered.

“We must be ever watchful, brother,” Blaze replied calmly. “For the servants of the night wear many guises. It seems this one was sent to hide among you.”

“She was just a weathermare!” Clay exclaimed.

“I understand your concern, brother. It is not easy to accept that there are those among us who would shun the light, especially those who seem so innocent. But think on this: how well did you know this Night Flight? Why does she bear the mark of the traitor’s stars upon her flank?”

“I...I…” Clay trailed off. He didn’t believe what Blaze was saying, but he knew his words could doom him too. He knew he should say something, do something, but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.

Blaze nodded and said, “Sometimes the truth is hard, my friends, but to live in the light is to accept no falsehoods, even the ones that would be sweeter to hear.”

Clay opened his mouth then closed it again. Not trusting himself to speak, he just closed his eyes and nodded slowly.

Willow laid a quivering hoof on Clay’s shoulder. “Will...will that be all, brother?” she asked Blaze, her voice shaky.

“Indeed, sister,” Blaze replied. He turned and surveyed the battlefield. “Go with the light. I shall not be joining you, for I have many offerings to burn.”

Without another word, Willow turned to leave, bringing the still speechless Clay with her. She cast one last glance at Flight’s body, and felt her heart break.

I am so sorry, filly, she thought. I am so so sorry.

Celestia stood from her desk and looked out the window and across Canterlot. She could still scarcely believe that the Canterlot royals had ceded their castle and their court to her. Though she suspected it had been more out of a desire to make their city, and by extension, themselves, more prestigious and important, it was still a grand gesture of generosity from the normally snobbish and aloof Canterlot ponies.

Still, the grandness of her new home did little to lift her spirits. She put on a brave face for her little ponies, of course. They tried so hard for her. She still remembered that wonderful show General Firefly had arranged on the anniversary of her “victory” over Nightmare Moon. She had smiled for them that day and every day since. Though the wounds in her heart still felt fresh, she knew that Equestria needed her now more than ever.

The ponies did not know how much Luna did for them, and how difficult it was for Celestia to take all that responsibility for herself. She was always tired now, and she suspected that wouldn’t change anytime soon.

Celestia turned back to the reports on her desk. Tensions in the East. The griffins were now contesting every treaty they could remember and arguing for renegotiations across the board. The dragons, like true predators, now looked at Equestria like weakened prey, and the Dragon Lord had been forced to close off his borders and forbid contact with Equestrians to prevent a conflict that would be disastrous for both sides. The Saddle Arabian Sultan was not so discerning. It seemed he was preparing to send a small army on a punitive expedition to test the weakened Equestrian state.

The rest of Equestria wasn’t faring much better either. Without the watchful eyes of Luna to keep them in check, monsters had begun terrorizing the villages near their lairs. The Everfree, once the seat of power in Equestria, had become an untamed wilderness too dangerous for normal ponies to traverse. An aura of fear had fallen upon Equestria, and ponies no longer felt as safe as they once did.

There were now stories spreading that blamed Nightmare Moon and her “servants of darkness” for the changing times. Celestia had also heard of some ponies turning to worship her as some form of goddess. Both claims were equally ridiculous, but they were starting to gain traction, and Celestia knew why. Ponies needed something to cling to in these troubled times. They needed somepony to blame and somepony to believe in, and her and Luna’s story just fit too well.

Celestia sighed. “Oh Luna, if you could see how much we need you now. How much we’ve always needed you,” she said sadly.

There was a knock on the door.

“Princess?” called a voice from the other side. “General Stone of the E.U.P. is here to see you.”

“Let him in,” Celestia said.

Grey Stone, Earth Pony general of the E.U.P. Guard, walked in, and the doors closed behind him. As always, the general was wearing his full suit of armor, and moved with the measured efficiency of a highly trained warrior. He removed his helmet and bowed deeply before Celestia.

“Good afternoon, Princess,” he said.

“Rise, Grey. There’s no need to be so formal now. We’re not at court,” Celestia said.

“Yes, Princess,” Grey said, then stood at attention.

Celestia groaned inwardly and suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She briefly wondered if there were any pranks she could play on Grey that would break his composure. Probably not. Celestia had never seen the stallion show any emotion in the fifteen years he had been in her service. At this point, she wasn’t even sure if he could.

“To what do I owe this visit?” Celestia asked.

“I am here to report that the bandits on the Western frontier have been dealt with,” Grey said.

“Already?” Celestia asked, surprised. The report of their activities had just been brought to her attention that morning. Her generals had assured her that the bandits posed only a minor localized threat, and would be dealt with in due time once resources were available to do so. She had demanded that they send a detachment to deal with the bandits at once. They had tried to argue at first, but when she threatened to fly out and resolve the situation herself, they had acquiesced. She had expected a swift response after that, but just a few hours? That was only a little more time than it took a swift pegasus to fly out that far and back.

“Yes, Princess,” Grey replied.

Celestia waited for the general to continue. When it became clear he would not, she asked, “How? I would like the full report, please.”

Grey somehow managed to stand even stiffer, though both his face and tone of voice remained unchanged. “Yes, Princess. My apologies. The Pegasi scouts reported a total decimation of the bandit forces, with no survivors, as carried out by a single Earth Pony. Said pony was on premises as they arrived, and was in the process of burning the bandits' remains and reducing their camp to, and I quote, ‘scorched earth and ash’ as an offering to the sun and to you.”

Celestia raised her eyebrows. If she remembered the report correctly, the bandits had been a relatively sizeable group, numbering around three score. Had anypony but Grey told her that they had been wiped out in less than a day by a single Earth Pony, she would have thought they were either joking or exaggerating. But she knew that Grey Stone did neither of those things.

“That seems...rather extreme. An offering to me, you say? Did I hear that right?” she asked.

“Yes, Princess. The pony introduced himself as Brother Blaze of the Order of the Celestial Sun. We have had our ponies look into this Order, and it appears that they are a relatively new militant religious sect that worship you as a goddess of the light and decry Princess Luna as a demon of the darkness. They are a small order with only a hoofful of members. We know of only five as of this moment, two Earth Ponies, two Pegasi, and a Unicorn. They do not appear to be actively recruiting new members, but they do appear to be interested in enforcing what they perceive to be your will. There have been scattered reports of vigilante work being carried out in areas with little to no local law enforcement that we have traced to this Order, but they have, up until now, been relatively minor incidents. That said, they have always ended in the death of the offender. These self-styled knights do not appear to be interested in taking prisoners,” Grey said.

Celestia took a moment to process this information. Even if there were only five members, this Order sounded like trouble. She did not underestimate the effect a small group of ponies could have on the rest of the world.

“You said this Brother Blaze killed all of the bandits; how dangerous does that make him? Does this reflect on the rest of the order?” Celestia asked.

“From what we can gather, Blaze was able to kill all sixty bandits as well as their leader, a dangerous wanted criminal known as Clyde the killer, in a single head-on engagement with no tactical advantage that we know of.  He did not walk away from the battle unscathed, but the fact that he was able to walk away at all speaks volumes. This is one incredibly dangerous pony, Princess, among the most dangerous that I know of. We have little in the way of reliable intelligence regarding his background or those of his colleagues at this time, but given their limited number, I believe we should assume that all of the members of the Order of the Celestial Sun are similarly skilled,” Grey said.

“That is troubling indeed,” Celestia said. “Grey, begin an in-depth investigation of every known member of this Order. I want to know who they are, where they come from, what they can do, what they are doing, and what drives them to do it. If worse comes to worst, I also need to know what it’ll take for us to stop them.”

“As you command, Princess, but, with your permission, I believe I can answer that final question. I know what it will take to stop them,” Grey said.

“Go on,” Celestia said.

“You, Princess,” Grey replied. “As dangerous as these zealots may be, they are, above all, subservient to the will of their goddess, and that goddess is you. This greatly minimizes the threat they pose to Equestria, and may, in fact, allow them to become an asset instead. Our forces, as you know, are not quite up to the tasks currently set before them. If you were to -”

“That’s enough of that, Grey,” Celestia interrupted. “I’ll not entertain the notion of manipulating the Order’s members for our own ends. No matter how potentially useful they may be in the right circumstances, their methods and their doctrine go against everything Equestria stands for. I’ll not have my little ponies looking to these killers for their salvation. Not as long as I can help it.”

“Forgive me, Princess, I spoke out of turn,” Grey said, bowing.

Celestia waved her hoof. “You are forgiven, Grey. Please rise,” she said. “Is there anything else you wish to add?”

Grey hesitated for a moment, then said, “I request permission to speak plainly, Princess.”

“Permission granted, Grey. As long as you don’t mean to suggest manipulating the Order again,” Celestia said.

“It you wish to stop the Order from influencing the ponies, then they must be stopped soon. The ponies of Equestria are afraid, Princess. The times are more uncertain than they have been since the defeat of Discord, and once the Saddle Arabians attack, things will only get worse. If they continue to escalate their activities, as I believe they will, the members of the Order will be seen as heroes, not just in spite of the harshness of their methods, but because of it. They will be seen as Celestia’s invincible knights, sent to destroy evil. It is the stuff of stories and legends, and the ponies will believe it because they will want to believe it,” Grey said.

“I know, Grey,” Celestia said. “The last thing Equestria needs right now is hope offered through the promise of death. And the last thing I want is for my sister to be reviled as a demon while I am built up as a goddess. But the question remains, what will it take to stop them?”

“I cannot answer that question yet, Princess. It is unlikely that five ponies, however skilled, could stand against the full might of the Equestrian military, but I can say with certainty that if we fight them, it will cost us. Perhaps more than we can afford right now,” Grey said.

“I am afraid you may be right,” Celestia said, sighing.

With another bow, Grey excused himself, placed his helmet on his head, and walked out of the room.

After Grey left, Celestia turned back to the window and watched as the ponies of Canterlot went about their business, blissfully unaware of the troubles facing their nation. Celestia knew that would not last for much longer. She looked up at her shining sun as it continued along the path across the sky that she had set for it, and knew that somewhere out there, somepony was burning bodies in her name.

A shiver ran down her spine.