//------------------------------// // 50. Nocturna // Story: Trials of a Royal Guard // by Anzel //------------------------------// The snow swirled around Nimbus Knight and me as we marched through the pine forest that had sprung out of the cloud prairie we’d been crossing. In the distance, it had seemed small. The closer we got, the larger it became. Now we were knee deep in powder, fighting our way through the underbrush to wherever our destination was. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded. The snow wasn’t cold or wet but otherwise felt the same. “We’re almost there, Silent Knight,” Nimbus said, pointing a hoof towards a light that cut through the maelstrom. “Where exactly is ‘there’ and why is it such an inhospitable place?” I called into the wind. “Hard to say. It is the place where I know Nocturna is, and she is winter. Can’t you feel it?” I pushed a branch out of my way and plodded a few more paces. Feel it? Feel what? I shrugged. “Not yet.” Nimbus’s path led us through several thickets before we broke from the dense underbrush and into a calm clearing. Pine trees formed a perfect ring around it, their branches reaching out and meshing into a canopy. At the heart of the area was a ring of tall stones thrust from the ground towards the heavens. A soft silver light pulsed from the spaces between them and obscured whatever was contained within. A single pony stood watch over a particularly large break between one stone and another. Even as a spirit, he wore the armor of a Knight of the Moon and seemed to loom. I knew him immediately. “High Marshal Moonglaive.” “Moonglaive is acceptable, as we all three share that title, Silent Knight. Welcome,” he replied before nodding at Nimbus. “And it is good to see you again. It has been a while.” Nimbus nodded. “Yes, I’ve been spending my days with the last few generations of Knights. They’re a rowdy bunch. A trait that I can only surmise was acquired over time through marriage to rowdy mares.” Moonglaive chuckled at that. “Such as the mare you married?” “I’m certain it had to start somewhere. My beloved was certainly rowdy enough.” I cleared my throat. I was a patient stallion, but listening to two ancient knights prattle on about wives was more than I could stand for. “Could I possibly interrupt a moment. You two did more than just laugh about mares in life, didn’t you?” “We never had time to laugh about our mares during our lives, so we do it now,” Moonglaive said. Nimbus shook his head. “He’s a bit impatient to see Lady Nocturna. Understandably so, but that is no reason to be rude, Silent.” My ears folded back. “I’m sorry. It’s just… you three have been sending me clues and messages from the past for years. Now I’m dead and I can ask you anything, but we’re laughing about my great-great-great-plus-grandmother.” Moonglaive cracked a smile. “Yes, that is because we have far fewer entanglements left. Now, here I am, so ask me what you like.” That was more like it. “Why were ponies up in arms against each other, especially since anypony that was around during that time doesn’t seem to know?” “Ah, yes. That is a fair question. The reason behind the animosity was due to a rather jealous pony pushing things too far. She just kept at it regardless of the consequences. Now, in time, it was decided that it might not be a good idea for everypony to remember what had been happening. Unfortunately, some… details were omitted.” My eyes narrowed. “That is about as cryptic as it gets.” Moonglaive nodded. “I understand. I do not wish to spoil my mistress’s reveal. You and I can discuss it more later. Perhaps you would like to see her before you and I speak?” “That would be good. I’m not sure how much more mystery I can stand, even as a spirit.” Nimbus and Moonglaive both started laughing at that. “What?” I asked. Moonglaive grinned. “You should know, before you go in, that alicorns do not experience the Near-To quite as we do. They retain far more of themselves.” “Alright… what are you trying to warn me of?” The nox pony set his hoof on my shoulder. “Even as a spirit, you may not like all that you hear and experience.” That was the kind of warning that summed up the last two years of my life. It didn’t phase me. Not because I was accustomed to it, which I was, but because that was the effect the Near-To had. Curiosity was all that I felt. “I’m thusly warned, then. We’ll speak later,” I called as I headed through the large gap between the stones. Nimbus waved a hoof. “See you later.” When I crossed the threshold and found myself within the stone ring, it quickly became clear that the silver light was from the moon itself. A massive moon that hung so close it seemed as if I could reach out and touch it. Somewhere in my mind, I registered that the sounds of the winter storm ceased but it was of no concern. My attention was focused on the glorious violet alicorn standing beneath the moon, watching me. Nocturna was all that I imagined and more. She was taller than Princess Celestia by at least a head and had the frame to go with it. Her mane swirled like the snow outside as flakes flew across the wispy hairs. As a spirit, her aura did not compel me to kneel, but I could feel it surround and wash over me. The power of it was indescribable. I’d only felt it once before when I’d been in Midnight’s Peak. I hesitated before moving closer to her. Could an alicorn so powerful be dangerous to a spirit? Surely I couldn’t die twice. “At last, we meet face to face, Silent Knight,” she said, her voice as smooth and clear as crystal, resonating around the ring. “Yes… yes, we do.” “And you have many questions,” Nocturna said, taking a great stride towards me and closing the distance. “Yes, I do.” “And I have many answers. Perhaps all of them, though I will be forthcoming in saying that I shall not give them.” Thus, Moonglaive’s warning. I might not like what I hear. My wings twitched in agitation. Was that possible? “Why not? What purpose does secrecy serve now?” “The greatest of purposes: harmony,” she replied before lowering her head to be eye level. She had beautiful eyes. They were pink and full of wisdom. It was hard to look back since it felt like she was looking into my very being. “I don’t understand,” I murmured, getting lost in her gaze. Nocturna shook her head, her mane jostling and the snow within it rushing towards her back. “Everypony carries disharmony inside her. Some more than others. Further, it waxes and wanes based on what is happening within a creature’s life. A little disharmony is expected, Silent Knight, but when there is too much, it impedes stable existence.” She broke the gaze and I blinked in confusion. “I still don’t understand.” The alicorn rose to her full height and stepped around me. As she did, I noticed the white owl resting on her flank. As she moved in a circle, its head turned, keeping its big eyes fixed on me. “When a pony is filled with disharmony, they’re open to suggestion. Suggestion to do things, suggestion to give up information. Disharmony knows their thoughts and memories. What Disharmony knows, Maristella knows, and I can’t have her knowing what I know. Now do you understand?” “No?” Nocturna reached out and set a large hoof on my back. “Do not jest, Silent Knight. I know your bloodline. You are clever.” “Maybe I am, but you’ve kept too much hidden. I didn’t find all the clues before I was killed. The ponies left in Equestria certainly don’t have enough to go on.” “On the second point, we surely agree, and thus why I must be vigilant.” Frustration was bubbling up within me. “Could you at least tell me what this is about? Surely Maristella knows that.” “Very well, I suppose you have spent enough time pursuing the clues. Allow me to tell you a tale. There was once a mare named Jaloux, and she was a baroness that ruled a small unicorn town. Her beauty was renowned across the land, but she was without substance.” Tell me a tale? She was really going to frame this like a story told to foals to entertain them? If a pony could be frustrated in the Near-To, it was going to be by this alicorn. This beautiful, perfect alicorn. “Jaloux had been selected by the mentor prior to myself to be the next student. That mentor was an alicorn of no real significance and had poor taste. Nevertheless, despite my, Kalinda’s, and her peer’s warning, she readily put Jaloux forth and, for reasons I still don’t quite understand, she was accepted.” We were finally getting somewhere. Actual answers. “What do you mean, accepted? Is there an alicorn committee?” Nocturna nodded. “After a fashion, yes. And so, Jaloux lived her life in ignorant bliss that one day she would be reborn. When that day came, Maristella was brought into being and began her tutoring under the watchful eye of her incompetent mistress while I ruled.” The contempt that slipped into Nocturna’s voice was surprising. In a way, I had expected her to be perfect. There was real emotion here. “She was a willful student, always forgetting her place and trying to impose upon Kalinda and I’s rule. In time, when her mentor felt she had done her job… and by that, I mean grew bored and tired, she moved on without warning or discussion.” “And you became the mentor,” I put in. “Indeed, and as such, Maristella became the ruler. It was far too soon for her to do so, and she did not see eye to eye with Kalinda at all. They often butted heads. In some cases, literally.” That was an interesting vision. It didn’t fully add up to what I had been told while alive, though. “Wait, wait a moment. Kalinda was an ancient alicorn from before these times. Your account is different from everything I’ve read or been told by the princesses.” Nocturna smiled and slowly swished her tail, disturbing the owl on her flank. “And who do you presume to know the truth? Listen to my tale and the truth shall become evident.” The tale again. Given our size and age differences, perhaps I was a foal, so I nodded and settled onto the ground. “I selected a student: Azuleka. Kalinda ruled a bit longer and then spoke to the mentor before her about ascension. An agreement was made and in time Kalinda joined me as my peer. “Solara donned the crown and Lumina ascended to become the next student. All the while, Maristella continued to rule foolishly. She wanted more than she was allotted and tried to assert herself over Solara. So much so that she started involving ponies in her schemes, manipulating them in inappropriate ways, and thus began the disharmony between our houses.” There it was, then. That explained the how and most of the why. It didn’t explain the lack of knowledge and understanding. “That is when it became clear to Kalinda and I that the safety of Equestria could not be entrusted to such a base alicorn. That, Silent Knight, is where your part actually begins.” I started to sort through all of the information I had gathered over my short life. This was helpful, but there were still too many missing pieces. One thing stuck out in my mind, though. The voice before I’d died had said usurper. “You sought to remove her?” Nocturna shook her head. “Remove her, no. No such thing has ever been done and would have been wholly inappropriate. Our strategy had to be far subtler. Kalinda and I each set ourselves to the task of restoring harmony to Equestria. “We began with the forging of the Virtues. Kalinda always had a talent as an artificer and achieved on her own what the ancient alicorns had worked in harmony to do. Unfortunately, the consequence of that action was to weaken her beyond recovery. She took her leave not long after.” We were off track again and it was starting to frustrate me. I threw up hoof up in air. “Wait, what do you mean? I feel as if you’re taking for granted that I was only alive for a couple of decades.” The ancient alicorn actually sighed at me. She sighed! “Kalinda forged six artifacts, the Virtues of Harmony, in the same way that the ancient alicorns formed the Elements of Harmony. Try to keep up, Silent Knight.” “Why? Why would she do that?” “Is that not obvious? As an alicorn, Maristella held one of the elements,” Nocturna said before snorting. “Loyalty of all things. To herself, perhaps.” My mind slipped back to a conversation I’d had with Princess Celestia about how the ponies that currently had the Elements of Harmony were too little to properly wield them. In the past, they’d been controlled by alicorns. Six elements, six alicorns. “And the elements work when all six are aligned,” I put in. “Exactly. Were she to call on the power of her own, that would have been quite a problem. That was not our only concern. Relying on Azuleka and Lumina to command their elements when they were so young would have been foolish.” I waved a hoof. “You said you weren’t going to remove her, though. Why would there be a need for the Elements or Virtues?” Nocturna’s wings idly twitched before spreading out. “We would not have removed her.” ”Now, now, Daughter. What you really mean is you would not have dethroned her. Removing her is exactly what you sought and precisely what you did.” The voice shot through my mind and rang in my ears. It was loud, crystal clear, and similar to the one I’d heard before I’d died. Similar, but disparate. Disparate and closer. A pony, of sorts, appeared at my side. Her body was not corporeal but instead made up of swirling white light that formed a ponyesque outline. An outline that shifted slowly. To start, she resembled a pegasus. Then her wings faded while a horn grew. Then neither and shortly after, both. Colors swirled within the white light, dancing around in the same way it does when sunshine hits a crystal. All of this in a pony that was no larger than Miley Hooves. Nocturna shifted to look directly at my new companion. “As you say, Mother. Maristella was the largest source of disharmony around and you know it. That is hardly alicorn-like. The Virtues were created in the event that she attacked us and needed to be reminded of her place.” ”I know this to be true, yes. I simply wish to correct your misstatement. It is not like you to be half truthful. Mute, yes; half truthful, no.” Even as a spirit, I couldn’t comprehend exactly what I was looking at. Without thinking, I reached out towards the light and put a hoof through it. The pony of light shifted again, her body growing more slender and elegant as the wings returned. She turned towards me with an amused look. All I could do is stare. “This is Silent Knight?” Nocturna stamped a hoof in irritation. “You know very well who he is, and you may stop with the address.” “Hi,” I stammered. “Hello, how do you do?” the light pony replied, her voice normal and spoken. In an awestruck stupor, the best I could respond with was: “Dead.” The light bobbed. “Indeed, else we’d not be speaking. Welcome. It seems my daughter has taken quite the interest in you.” Sister, sister please! Please just listen! I’m not ready for this yet. Fix this. Fix this, this one time. Please! Nocturna’s tail swished. “Silent Knight, may I present to you my mother, the mother of all alicorns: Harmony.” Thoughts swirled about in my head as I tried to fully grasp the concept of speaking to an idea given form. “How do I address you?” My hoof was still breaking the plane of her body so I pulled it out. That just seemed polite. “Harmony,” the light responded. “Yes, Harmony, in your case. Mother in mine. Now, Silent Knight, pay attention,” Nocturna said, slipping a hoof to my cheek and forcing me to look away from what I could only imagine was the deity of all ponies. “When Azuleka was prepared to rule, Maristella was eager to become a mentor and take on a student. We could not risk such a disharmonious pony starting a whole line of ponies like her. “That is why Solara and I had spirited ourselves away to Saddle Arabia in secret with our chosen students: the ponies that would become Celestia and Luna. It was there that we marked them for ascension without her knowledge.” At my side, Harmony make a judgmental “hmph” sound. That finally aligned with something Moonglaive had written. Maristella had never had the chance to mark her own student. Or had she? “When Maristella decided she had ruled long enough and surrendered the throne to Azuleka, I refused to abandon my position. I denied her the chance to be winter.” Harmony replied flatly, “And that was received poorly.” Nocturna glared before turning back to me. “Yes, Maristella took it poorly, but she accepted it and gave up her Element. She was still unaware that I had already selected a second student.” It shocked me that a supposedly selfish and self-serving alicorn would just stand aside and give up an artifact of power. Although, in the face of five other alicorns, what choice would she really have? Surrender the field that day and plan for another battle… a future battle… “I see,” I whispered. “And so you do. Now, you must understand, her abdication did not change the fact that there was still great strife between ponies. She’d turned many of the local nobles against each other and against Solara.” “Kalinda and I were quite impressed with what happened next,” Harmony said idly. “You could have helped!” Nocturna snorted, anger flaring into her voice. “That would be against the rules.” “Your own sister violates the rules constantly! Corrupting alicorns is expressly against the rules you so love. She has her own servants, yet you turn a blind eye while she schemes and subverts. Then you dare to lecture me,” Nocturna shouted before pausing, taking a deep breath, and seemingly settling down. “Daughter, what do you expect? She is Disharmony,” Harmony explained. “The rules exist for her to break. By cheating, she is performing her very function. These things happen.” A mother-daughter feud on a cosmic scale was an interesting thing to watch. It was also a situation in which I tried to look as small as possible. This made me feel insignificant in the grand scheme of things but, in the Near-To, that didn’t mean much. Nocturna sighed and returned her attention to me. “To the point, Maristella accepted her exile in seemingly good graces. I knew better than to rely on that and thus the final part of the plan was the most important. I had to make the world forget she ever existed.” That caught my attention. Make the world forget… “If Maristella had never existed, she couldn’t have followers. If she had no followers, there would be no disharmony or strife. Kalinda had made the virtues as her final contribution. For mine, I prepared a memory enchantment the likes of which had never been attempted,” Nocturna explained. Harmony’s head bobbled. “Such risky magic.” It is too risky, Luna. I know what he meant to you! Do you think I’d refuse you out of cruelty? We cannot do this. I have no clue what would happen. I’ve never done this! Nocturna’s lips drew tightly together. “Yes. Magic that was necessary. I enchanted the world and, other than a few selected ponies… and some outliers, everypony forgot that Maristella had ever existed. Unfortunately, there was a catch. Memories are one thing, feelings are another.” Finally putting the final pieces together, I pondered out loud, “You allowed Moonglaive to remember, but not Nimbus Knight. He, like the others, didn’t understand why they had enemies.” “Don’t blame yourself, Daughter. You could have hardly known that intense feelings of hatred and strife would continue to exist without the memories associated with the reasons why they came to be. You should take pride in the fact that you were even able to achieve what you did.” “Yes, but it still resulted in many actions that ran counter to my plan. I had to begin anew and without Kalinda’s aid. The spell had left me drained, but not so much that I could not recover. It was a feat that I wished to share with my student. All of the notes are in Haven still, along with some hidden inside a memory crystal that is masquerading as a unicorn lantern.” Nocturna really did not trust other ponies with knowledge! “Once I’d completed the spell, Silent Knight, I presumed Maristella would plot. In response, I schemed. Solara became my co-conspirator and we prepared for the worst. Now, listen closely, Silent Knight: this next part is the most important.” I perked up. The most important part? Would she give me answers that I could feel satisfied with? What bothered me was the fact I would likely have never come close to figuring this out on my own while alive. What was her strategy for that? Was there one? Harmony spoke up, “Don’t rush him, Nocturna. He is overcome and you’re filling him full of knowledge all at once. There is plenty of time. Endless days for you to walk with one of your knights and regale him with tales of old.” Nocturna shook her head. “That, dear Mother, is where you’re wrong. Forgive me, Silent Knight, but I couldn’t risk too many ponies knowing about my plan. Nor could I leave evidence that could easily be followed by Maristella’s agents. “This is a game of chess played over a very long time. As such, I had to create a set of circumstances that would likely end up with my agent being slain. You may even say it was integral to my own plans.” She’d wanted me or whichever pony was in my place dead? It didn’t make sense! I started to respond but Harmony jumped in first. “What do you mean, integral to your plan? He is dead, his part has been played.” The violet alicorn smiled vibrantly. “Come now, do you really think my scheme would be felled by something as trivial as death? Think about this as I do. “Poor Luna. She lived a mortal lifetime barren while her beloved sister had a dozen in her brood. All she ever wanted was to be a mom, not an aunt. Then she is reborn and banished young. When she returns, a single pony gives her unconditional love and attention.” This level of plotting and manipulation was frightening. I should have been furious that Nocturna had taken advantage of the princess like this! Taken advantage of me! I was to suffer death to make Princess Luna suffer? Why? Nocturna continued, seemingly unaware of the turmoil I was feeling, “This stallion is her only foal. The foal she was denied for an entire lifetime. Absolute love and hidden guilt will see this misdeed undone. I have faith in that.” Please, I’m begging you, Celestia. I’ll do anything, give anything. Please. I can’t lose him. I just can’t. “Quite the gamble, my daughter,” Harmony whispered. “The odds were always in my favor,” Nocturna replied. Absolute love and hidden guilt. I was struggling to see the final pieces of the plan. They weren’t fitting together. Nocturna’s hoof found my chin again, lifting it. “Now, Silent, Maristella has likely been consumed by Disharmony. That alicorn is long gone and something new is in her place. You did not face Nightmare Moon, but you know of her.” “She was not Princess Luna,” I said softly. Nocturna chuckled. “You see? Unconditional love. Misguided, in this case. That was Luna. Make no mistake. It wasn’t all her fault, and I am certain Maristella had a hoof in it, but it was her. There was still good inside of Luna, however, and that is how she was freed by the Elements of Harmony.” I didn’t like thinking of the princess as Nightmare Moon. We’d talked about it before… about how things were promised, whispered, offered if she would just give up a piece of herself. Eventually, the darkness took over. A pony had to give in to it. That was the pony’s choice. “Silent, look at me,” Nocturna said, pushing my head up so we made eye contact again. They were so mesmerizing. “It is not likely that there is anything good left in Maristella. It has been too long and she has no bonds of love or friendship. You need to understand that.” I set a hoof on hers. “You’re saying the Elements aren’t enough to stop her?” Nocturna shook her head. “I honestly do not know, but I suspect not. They’re not held by alicorns, and Maristella still may hold sway over Loyalty. It also seems unlikely that Celestia will take up all six again. That is why you’ll need the Virtues.” “No, this is silly,” I said, trying to brush her hoof aside. I failed. She was immovable. “You’re speaking as if I’m still a piece in this game. I’m dead.” Okay… okay. I can’t do this alone. Luna, Sunny, Midnight, Ferrel… Crystal Wishes. Come to me. Nocturna replied crisply, “You are, but you’re going back. I’m sorry. The trials you’ve faced prior to this moment are nothing compared to what you’re going to come up against, but I have faith in you.” “Ponies don’t come back from the dead,” I stated. “Not normally, no. It isn’t impossible, but it is exceedingly risky and I’ve staked my whole plan on my student and her sister taking that risk. Now, when you return, disharmony will go dormant in your mind as you’ll be flooded with harmony. “Make no mistake, that isn’t permanent. In time, all that is bad will return, but that is valuable to us. Use that to your advantage.” I blinked, “What?” “And the Virtues. A close ally of mine has them,” she said, her voice starting to pick up a hurried tone. “You’ve met her. Go with your friends as soon as you can to reclaim them. As I mentioned, what Disharmony knows, Maristella knows. Time is of the essence.” “You’re saying I’m going to be alive again? I’ll get to see my wife again?” Hope started to bubble up within me. That emotion was one the Near-To didn’t seem to have a problem with letting me feel. Nocturna set a hoof on my forehead. “Yes, but while that is great, you have to remember that time is of the essence. Disharmony will return. You need the Virtues. You need to prepare everypony.” “But… I get to see my wife again, right?” I asked. “Yes, for a little while… maybe a long while. I can’t say. We’re coming to the end here, Silent Knight, and I’m going to need you to focus on your plan,” Nocturna said, her hoof starting to rub at my mane, making me feel warm. “I don’t have a plan,” I replied, feeling a bit odd suddenly. “I didn’t have a plan for Celestia miraculously being able to command all six Elements of Harmony or for her to banish the Crystal Empire and Maristella when her minions killed us all. You just have to adapt and overcome. “Silent Knight, you must be clever and bold. You must outplay your opponent. Maristella will not clumsily reveal herself as some arrogant villain. To draw her out, the prize must be worthwhile.” It’s not working! The violet alicorn’s horn illuminated and magical energy swirled down her hoof and around my body. Harmony gasped. “Daughter, you’re blatantly violating the rules!” Nocturna’s head inclined slightly so she could look at us both. “Enough, Mother. Your sister has been cheating over and beyond what is expected. I’m just giving a little guidance to a student. It is clear Celestia knows the spell. We can’t have her accidentally killing herself and the rest, can we?” Harmony sighed. “Very well. I shall turn a blind eye this once.” She then literally turned her head. Nocturna settled onto her haunches and with her other hoof she lifted my right one, forcing me to hold it out. I did so, confusion filling me as I started to feel a tug at my very being. Once my hoof was out, she bumped it with the free one she had. Harmony turned immediately. “Nocturna! I saw that!” “Blame me not! That was Kalinda’s last wish before she left for the Far-From. If you take issue with that cheating, I suggest you speak to her.” “Convenient that she isn’t here for me to do so,” Harmony replied. “Convenient, indeed,” Nocturna quipped. The Near-To started to bend around me. My vision was going dark around the edges and I could hear voices all around me. “Silent, remember, what you know, she’ll know once she reawakens. You don’t have even a month to prepare,” Nocturna whispered before everything went white.