Our old quarters were quiet and comfortable during the day. Nopony was around to interrupt my thinking, studying, and reading. If I had more free time in general, I’d have spent it here. In the near future, we’d be moving to our new house and I was certain I would start spending less time there, too. Such was the way things worked for me.
Me being home was all part of an elaborate plot I’d concocted. I’d told Crystal I was going to work, walked out the door, and flew up onto the roof. The part that really sold it was the fact I was in my armor. Everypony told me my wing couldn’t handle that kind of stress. In small bursts, they were wrong.
From my observation perch, I waited until she was gone and then I simply came back inside. She had a board meeting and some other appointments. My wife had had no reason to suspect that, when I was looking at her schedule book earlier in the week, I was snooping and scheming.
Now, as long as she didn’t deviate from her schedule too much, she’d be home around lunch time. That was when she’d find her husband was there, had made a beautiful lunch, bought sweets, and cleaned the whole place to exacting Royal Guard standards.
To my credit, I was still quite skilled at cleaning and organizing. I’d ended up with a few hours of free time, so I decided to lay on the couch and read more of Moonglaive’s book about the two houses. With all the memory crystals and other materials we’d collected, this book had gone relatively unnoticed in my saddlebag.
Kalinda and Lady Nocturna have always been close and, thus, so have the houses. This is how society was meant to be. Each half served a purpose and worked in harmony with the other. While my lady and Kalinda were both in power, our kingdom knew a great deal of prosperity.
Kalinda was an alicorn? One of Nocturna’s time? That went contrary to what Minister Sombra had told me. What he had said hadn’t seemed like a lie, and how would it benefit him to do so? That didn’t make any sense at all.
Then again, maybe this referenced a time prior to them being alicorns? That still wouldn’t make any difference to some of the facts. Minister Sombra had said ancient. The next time I saw him, I’d try to pry a little more. Perhaps there was just a misunderstanding.
Kalinda and Lady Nocturna have always been forward thinking. Lady Nocturna took to this to the extreme with an almost prophetic view of the future. I feel obligated to note that this should not be confused with the power of Kalinda’s oracles. My lady is simply so observant she often knowns what those around her are thinking by glance alone.
Kalinda’s oracles. Nimbus Knight had mentioned oracles in his message to me. He’d been associated with one, and now so was I. Had these two alicorns been planning this far in advance to go up against their enemy? How was I even sure they were on the right side of this conflict?
Lady Nocturna also has a way of encouraging ponies to make tough choices based on logic, reasoning, and anticipation. That has been a large part of her grooming of me. Instead of giving me orders, she gives me choices. I’m merely meant to figure out which one is correct or, as she says, most correct.
In contrast, the education of my peers in the House of the Day is far different. Those alicorns treat their vassals much like sisters instead of subordinates. Their familiarity is off-putting. Despite my misgivings, this strategy is, objectively, as effective as our own.
“Things sure don’t seem to change much in a thousand years,” I muttered to myself.
I should note, however, that many of the most difficult and challenging tasks are left up to our house. Kalinda has a saying: what is done in darkness is best left in darkness. It is her polite way of saying she doesn’t want to know all of our business. That is why I feel that my peers in her house have not truly been tested equally.
It is for that reason and a few others that I continue to struggle with the challenges of pairing three knights from each house into a cohesive unit. Despite my objections, there is no negotiating this with Lady Nocturna. She has made it clear that this was Kalinda’s last desire and part of the agreement to create the Virtues. My lady is many things, but an oath breaker is not one of them.
I too am many things but, most of all, I am an obedient soldier. As such, I will continue to train this misfit group of ponies within the conservatory, regardless of the fact that the challenge ever grows. While Nimbus Knight and his peers are wholly compliant, Augury and her sisters question everything. It isn’t enough for them to know they need a skill. They insist on knowing why. Why? Why! WHY! Always why.
Moonglaive’s script here was a bit more… angry? It was clear that he’d been pressing the quill harder into the page. The indention was obvious. If Augury was anything like Ferrel, I can’t say I blamed him.
There was a subtle rattling of the doorknob and I quickly tucked the book under our couch. That passage had been fascinating, but I’d already made an agreement with myself that today would belong to Crystal. Moonglaive has been waiting a thousand years for me. He could wait another day.
It was show time. I draped myself across the cushions and tossed a wing straight up. My beautiful wife would come in, see me, and nestle under it when she realized that I was home and waiting.
Crystal trotted through the door, levitating several grocery bags behind her. We briefly exchanged glances and she went to start putting her purchases away. That was an odd reaction. Had I lost my touch? Was she playing a game with me? Perhaps she was being diligent and wanted to make sure nothing was spoiled.
It only took her a few minutes to finish that chore before she started to trot towards our bedroom. So that was her game! Seduction by groceries. It wasn’t our normal thing, but I wouldn’t dare complain. I rolled off the couch and followed behind her. When I got to our bedroom door, I could see that she was looking in her vanity mirror and primping her mane.
“Well, hello there,” I said as smoothly as I could. It was a tone she always loved. She’d be—
Crystal screamed as if she were being chased in a haunted house before she threw a brush right into my chest. It didn’t do any damage, but it hurt! “Silent Knight! Why would you sneak up on me like that?” She gasped, her chest heaving.
“Sneak up on you?” I pointed a hoof back into the living room. “I was lying on the couch when you walked in. Our eyes met.”
She got up and came to hug me. In the embrace, I could feel her heart racing and she was shaking like a leaf. I looped a hoof around her and held on tight. “I’m sorry.”
Crystal shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t see you. I was thinking about work and didn’t expect you to be in the condo. What are you doing home so early?”
She’d been so deep inside her head that I was nothing more than a couch. I could forgive that easily and did so with a soft nuzzle to her mane. She smelled like roses. “I took the day off to spend it with you.”
“You did? Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, nestling closer.
“I was trying to surprise you and be spontaneous. Plus I didn’t want you to change your work plans. I know you have as much going on as I do with Ironhoof coming home.”
The mare softly laughed and cupped my cheek. “Well, your mission was successful. You surprised me.”
I chuckled and squeezed her. “Fair enough. Now, I made a lovely noodle salad and put it in the ice box. Do you want lunch, or do you want to skip to other activities?”
Crystal set her hoof on my nose. “As attractive as you are, please feed me. I’m exhausted already and it is barely noon.”
“Your wish is my command, Madame Wishes,” I replied before heading to the kitchen and starting to prepare the dish I’d made earlier.
She trailed along behind me and settled into a chair at the table. “Now that I have you, I did have something to ask. You’ve been so busy that I haven’t felt right pestering about it.”
My ear flicked. “Sure, what’s up?” She probably wanted to know when the house would be done.
“You’re working a lot lately.”
“That isn’t a question,” I replied, setting a plate in front of her and filling it with the chilled noodles and vegetables that had been coated in a tangy vinaigrette.
Crystal nodded. “No, I know. I just mean, you’re working a lot lately… like you used to. So, I wanted to know if you were working… like you used to.” She was being coy, but her tone conveyed all of the meaning. There was concern and fear in it.
I set a fork in front of her and kissed her cheek. “Yes, I’m working like I used to. This time, it is sanctioned and I’m not alone. Sunny, Miley, and Dream Pop are in on it.”
“This has to do with your last trip?” she asked casually as she started to eat.
Settling across from her, I nodded.
“What’s going on?”
“It is honestly better you not know. The fewer ponies that know, the better.”
Crystal sighed and set her fork down. “Are you going to disappear?”
“No, I don’t think there is any chance of that at all. I’ll still be coming home to you sweetie. This isn’t like before.”
My wife looked across the table at me. “I thought it would be over when the war ended.”
“Me, too, but believe me when I say that this is important. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t pursue it, but Princess Celestia and Luna are counting on me and my team. Most of the work is investigative, I promise.”
“Investigative?” Crystal repeated.
I held up a hoof. “Stallion’s honor.”
Her magic surrounded her fork again and she started eating. “If that changes, you’ll let me know? So I know how worried to be?”
“Of course,” I promised.
“Alright, then let me focus on the fact that my husband surprised me at home with lunch.”
“Lunch, strawberries, sweets, and himself.”
Crystal perked up. “Well, that is quite a surprise.”
She was pleased, so I was pleased. My wings ruffled. We’d navigated a difficult conversation and it had gone well. Not lying to her was far superior to the alternative. She didn’t need all of the details. Just enough to make a rational decision about how to feel. How had this been so hard for me before? Crystal would have understood. Crystal would have helped me. She was helping me.
“You’re smiling,” Crystal said softly.
“Am I?”
She nodded.
“I’m just considering myself lucky to be married to such an amazing mare. I’ve always been lucky. I’m just not sure I always knew how lucky before. Now I do, so I’m smiling.”
Crystal’s magic lifted her fork and wagged it at me. “Yes, yes you are. You just be sure you remember how lucky when you’re galloping around at night doing whatever it is you’re doing.”
I brought my good wing up in a crisp salute. “Aye, ma’am!”
She nodded resolutely. “Anything else I should know?”
Was there? What were all of those things Dream Pop had said? I cleared my throat. “I’m probably not going to have as much time to work on the house, and Dr. Kitty had me cleared for duty. Have you thought about hiring a professional contractor? I’d recommend her, but she’s going to be busy on this project.”
My wife’s ears stood tall in surprise. That usually indicated that she had thought about something. Telling little white social lies was a skill she had. Lying to her husband when she felt guilty was not.
Idly, Crystal poked at her noodles with the fork. “You two have been having such a good time working on it. You’ve really made it your own. Are you sure you’d be okay with doing that?”
“I think I put enough sweat equity into it. As long as you don’t go too crazy with changes, any contractor would just be finishing up what we started, and believe me, I realize that this remodel has gone on far too long. Aren’t you ready to move into our home?”
Crystal grinned. “Of course I am! Are you?”
“Yes, but you know me. I can sleep outside in a tent if necessary. You’re the fine, upstanding Canterlot lady. The rising star. The mare that runs it all.” I accented my point by waving a hoof like a meteorite streaking across the sky.
“Oh, hush! It isn’t like you’re not a household name, too.”
My wings ruffled again. “Yes, but at least your name is associated with something positive.” The words came out bitterly. Far more than I’d meant to. They’d just popped out.
My wife bit her lip. Whatever jovial feeling we’d been sharing, I’d just succeeded in sucking right out of the room.
I waved a hoof, trying to disperse the words into the ether. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t appropriate. To be honest, I’m not sure where that even came from. Listen, sweetheart, I’m just proud of what you do. It matters. It helps ponies. You’re a hero, Crystal.”
“Thank you, sweetie,” she replied before going back to her noodles. It wasn’t long before she’d eaten them all. There was no dainty Canterlot lady there. She was hungry and ate like she was. When we’d been dating, she’d never have allowed me to see her wolf down noodles. It was kind of cute.
Once she’d done that, she looked up at me slyly while gently wiping her mouth with a napkin. “Now that I’m fed, do you know what I want now?”
I sure hoped so, but it could have been the sweets. Crystal loves her sweets. Play it cool, Silent, make her work for it. “Why don’t you tell me?”
Crystal nodded and slipped around the table. She nuzzled my cheek and sent the hairs of my coat on end. “First, I’m going to go take a hot bath and get perfectly clean. I’m going to scrub everywhere, Silent.”
“Yeah?” I whispered, my wings fluffing up a bit.
“Yes. Then I’m going to strut right back out here and sprawl across the couch.”
That was quite a scene to imagine. Dangerous, too! What would the neighbors think? “Yeah?”
“Yes. And then…” She stroked her hoof along my tufted ear, sending shivers down my spine and causing my tail to twitch.
“Then?”
Her tone changed immediately to that of my normal wife. “I’d be eternally grateful if you’d rub my hooves. I had to stand all yesterday and today. Can you do that for me, stud?”
Tease! Magnificent tease! Looping my hooves around her, I nuzzled her cheek and whispered, “Until they’re as relaxed as marshmallows in cocoa.”
Crystal softly kissed my lips and then drew away from me. While she took a bath, I’d have plenty of time to clean up the kitchen, set the mood, and calm myself down. She was going to make me work for a living.
I shut the blinds, set out her favorite candles, and put a pillow at the head of the couch. If Crystal wanted to be pampered, she’d be pampered. She rarely asked for anything, and this wasn’t a big request.
“Oh, Silent, I’m ready…” Crystal purred from the door of our bedroom. She was wrapped in her thick pink robe, standing on her hindlegs, and stroking the doorjamb with her forehoof.
My hoof clenched. “Come along, my queen. Your humble stallion awaits your hooves.”
Crystal tiptrotted across the room and, as promised, sprawled out on the couch in the least ladylike pose imaginable, her hindhooves poking out.
I took the left one into my forehooves and started to massage it. That elicited a content sigh from my wife.
“Are you sure you want to have a career, Silent? You can be my pool colt, you know,” Crystal whispered.
“Mmm, are you sure you can pay me enough?” I teased as I continued to work on her hoof.
Crystal peered back at me. “Money-wise? Probably, but I know that isn’t a currency you care much about. No, Silent Knight prefers trade in kind and let me tell you, buster, I may be a lady, but I trade like an Arabian mare.”
My hooves fumbled with hers a moment before I caught myself. By the alicorns, mare! I pressed one hoof firmly into the center of hers and she gasped. That was enough of a response. She had all of the momentum in this battle, and it was time to turn the tide.
I kept working, generating small rumbles of approval from my wife. Focus on your adversary, Silent. Things had gotten off-track and Crystal was ahead. All of my attention went into those hooves. So much so that I was blissfully unaware of the sound of the lock jiggling.
Our door thumped open and Winterspear stomped in. “Crystal, you’re never going to be—oh! OH! Sorry!” My sister threw her hooves over her eyes.
Crystal squealed and pulled her hindhooves up under her robe. “Winterspear, hi!” Her cheeks were flushed bright red.
“Hi. Uh… I… I didn’t know Silent wouldn’t be at work. I see you two are… busy. I can just, you know, come back never. I mean later!”
I snorted and settled back against the front of the couch. Well, there goes that war. “It’s just hoofrubs. Don’t be so ridiculous. You seem upset, what’s going on?”
The mare pointed vaguely back out of the door with one hoof while the other covered her eyes. “It really isn’t that big of a deal. Crystal and I just vent to each other is all. Why don’t you two go back to hoofrubs, or whatever it is you call it.”
Crystal shook her head. “Don’t be silly. You’re upset. Come in and tell us all about it.”
Winterspear didn’t look fully convinced, but she decided to come in and actually look at us. “I’ll be out of your manes soon. I just flew over for a lunch complaining session. You remember a month ago when I said they had a new program for warrant officers?”
“Yes, the buddy system where you work with a warrant officer outside of your field to cross-train and grow your skill set?” Crystal put in.
“Exactly! I’m in medical, so they wanted me to work with somepony in pony relations. That way we’d have a good overlap.”
I folded my forehooves. Could this be going where I thought it was going? Statistically, it shouldn’t, but given how Canterlot worked, I’d have placed a week’s salary on the outcome I was suspecting.
“I’m following so far,” Crystal said.
“You’re never going to believe this. Of all the ponies in relations I could have received for my assignment! I was paired with—”
“Azurite,” I said.
Winterspear gasped. “Yes! How did you know? Has she already been here? She was super excited.”
I shrugged. “Who else would it be? If I’ve learned anything about our world, it is that it is full of whimsical silliness and cyclical occurrences. But what’s the big deal? Azurite is amazing, professionally.”
“Professionally crazy!”
Crystal waved a forehoof. “Just a little. It’s cute crazy. What has you so spun up? It really can’t just be you working together. You two have been acquaintances for a while now.”
Winterspear came over and plopped down beside me, covering her eyes with her hooves. This time out of frustration instead of embarrassment. “We have to do a project together. It is a nutrition guide for ponies in physical therapy. We’ve been brainstorming all morning and we haven’t gotten anywhere because all she does is name characters and come up with backstories for them.”
“Surely it isn’t that bad,” Crystal soothed.
“Oh yeah? It is a nutrition guide! Why are there characters? Why do these characters have backstories? We’re supposed to teach ponies to eat correctly so that they heal faster.”
I poked Winterspear. “Perhaps she thinks silly characters are fun, or she misunderstands the assignment?”
“Oh no, she understands it, and before you two think I’m being picky, let me tell you this. So far, she’s decided the good food is naval based and the main character is Captain Pancake of the TMS Sunny Side Up.
“His first mate is Mr. Haybacon, and they’re also secret lovers. Now how this helps recovering ponies eat appropriately for optimal healing, I’ll never know! We haven’t even really discussed whether or not pancakes and haybacon should even be on the list!”
I set my hoof on Witnerspear’s shoulder. “Invite Soarin to the next working session. I think he’ll be able to help you rein her in. Otherwise, try to enjoy it. That actually sounds cute. Maybe ponies would respond better to that sort of thing. You just need to find a way to make it useful.”
Crystal nodded. “I agree. Perhaps you could distract Azurite by having her draw pictures of her characters? She’s very creative. Have you seen her clock? He’s the best-dressed clock in Canterlot. Possibly Equestria.
“While she is doing that, you can gather all of the pertinent information. Then focus on how these characters work together to make a balanced breakfast?”
Winterspear groaned. “I’m not a writer! I’m a guard. I help ponies get physically fit again. How am I going to create a balanced breakfast story?”
My wife slipped off the couch and looped her hooves around my sister. They nestled their foreheads together. “You’re creative and smart. You can do this, and if you need help, I’m right here.”
Winterspear sighed and finally smiled. “Thank you. I really appreciate it, and that you let me get this off my chest. I’m going to go, though, since it was clear I interrupted something special.” She squeezed Crystal and then kissed my cheek. “You two are the best. See you later!”
And as fast as she’d arrived, Winterspear was gone. I’m glad we’d helped her, but that had truly interrupted the mood. When I settled back, getting ready to blow out the candles, Crystal thrust her hindhoof right out in front of me. “Nopony said you were done, cabana colt.”
Or perhaps not. War back on! I grinned and lightly took the offered hoof. “Yes, ma’am!” It was time for that momentum shift. I gripped her hoof tight and started tickling it. That would show her!