//------------------------------// // 52. Unlocking Memories // Story: Trials of a Royal Guard // by Anzel //------------------------------// Princess Celestia’s office looked nearly identical to the way it had looked for the years I’d been associated with palace. The rug was still plush, the pillows stuffed, the wood pristine, and the desks disorderly. Looked was the key word, as the room now felt completely different. The alicorn I knew was different now. Her mane was pink and flat, her eyes tired and worn, and her tail hung like anypony else’s. Princess Celestia had given up so much so that I could live and a few days of rest had done nothing for her. Now she sat on her oversized pillow, looking across at me as I prepared her and her sister for our next move. We were at war again. Not with a kingdom, but with a concept. This was the kind of stakes I never saw myself playing for. Territory is one thing, but the lives of alicorns that rule over all ponies was another. Much like in the war with Sudramoar, I would not be alone. I had companions to help me and other ponies to support the operation. Sunny Day, Dream Pop, Miley Hooves, and Ferrel sat at my side of the table. Tranquil Dusk was likely to Haven now, searching for the memory crystal and the notes on the particular enchantment Nocturna had mentioned. A solo pegasus could make the journey fairly quickly, but not without rest periods. She was not alone, though. Unfortunately for this trip, she was pulling a chariot with her grandmother. A unicorn walking would have taken days. “My memory of the here-after seems to be completely gone. I can visualize some of it in my head, but I can’t articulate it. Ferrel tried to review my memories, but during the time I was… well… dead, I have none. Apparently, it is just empty space.” Exemplar Ferrel nodded. “This is so.” “At the same time, much of the specifics that Nocturna outlined for me have remained strong in my mind,” I explained. Dream Pop tapped her hooves together. “An after-life self-defense! If everypony knew what was there, we might act differently. How neat! Frustrating, but neat! Ruining the scientific opportunity of our generation, but neat!” Miley Hooves shook her head. “It isn’t neat! It is annoying. What if the afterlife is bad or scary?” “It isn’t,” Ferrel said softly. Miley’s tongue poked out. “You can’t know!” Exemplar Ferrel shook her head. “No, I cannot, but I trust in the ancient alicorns. We may not know of what happened, but we know that Silent Knight met Nocturna and spoke to her. She helped us. How could such a place where such a thing is possible be bad?” That was a hard point to argue with. Miley didn’t try and instead decided to settle back down onto her pillow with a grumpy little huff. Princess Luna looked to me. “Silent Knight, do you have any idea where the Virtues may be or how to get them?” That was something I’d given a lot of thought from the moment I’d returned. It had consumed me in a way. My brush with death had left me feeling warm, happy, and difficult to upset. Negativity just seemed to roll right off my back. It was great for critical thinking. It also seemed to be doing harm to Crystal and Winterspear. Neither of them could understand my lackadaisical attitude about the fact that I had been killed. In truth, I suspected it was the very fact that I had died that kept me from being all that concerned about it. I was alive now. That was what counted. My thoughts turned back to the mission at hoof. “As far as the question of how, I think I know the best course to pursue. Nocturna said the Virtues were protected by a close ally of hers that I've met. She wouldn’t have very many left alive at this point which makes the list extremely short.” “From what you’ve told us in the past, I suspect that it is Ragnhild, the dragon you removed from Alicorn Spire, correct?” Princess Celestia chimed in from her pillow. I nodded. It seems I wasn’t the only pony connecting dots. “Yes, Princess. I suspect she will know where they are. If not, I can’t think of any other allies, but Ragnhild might. Then there is the other possibility that part of her plan was for us to remove the memory enchantment from the two of you to gather that information.” Princess Luna took a deep breath and held it a minute. “This level of manipulation is becoming tedious.” Her attention then turned to the door where Midnight Snow was lingering. “Lieutenant, I grow impatient even though I shouldn’t. Send Nova after Tranquil Dusk. She’s the fastest flyer you have, correct?” “Yes, ma’am. I’m on it. She’ll find her,” Midnight replied before trotting out to execute that order. “You’ll be leaving for Midnight’s Peak soon, then?” Princess Celestia asked before laying her chin on the pillow. Sunny shifted over to the Princess’s side and softly stroked through her mane, concern clear on her face. I shook my head. “To be honest, I’m not sure. I suspect I would not be successful alone in this particular mission. Twilight Sparkle—” Sunny snorted. “Twilight Sparkle did not accomplish anything on her own in regards to the Elements of Harmony. When I look at that and add in our experience in the conservatory it—” “It took all six of us!” Dream Pop squealed in delight. “We’re the rightful bearers of the Virtues of Harmony!” All heads turned to the excited mare before looking back at me for confirmation. I shrugged. “We won’t know for sure until we find them, but I suspect she’s correct. I think we’re meant to either wield or secure them. They were originally destined to be in the hooves of alicorns, but so were the Elements, and we’re four alicorns short.” Princess Luna idly tapped her hoof on one of the low desks. “It may have been good that I was not trained by Nocturna. She is frustrating. So we must rely on ponies to do our work?” “Indeed, but we’ve done so for a while now, Luna,” Princess Celestia said. “I trust in our ponies. You should do the same. Silent Knight, you have as good a plan as any. I’d like you and the others to start your preparations.” “Yes, Princess,” I replied before turning to Sunny. “Alright, let’s get our gear together and start packing. We’ll leave as soon as Tranquil arrives.” “Slow your roll, Mr. Assumes He is the Boss. I don’t take orders from you and I’m not leaving my girl like this!” Sunny spat. That was not the response I’d been anticipating. Princess Celestia reached out to softly poke at the golden mare. “I’m tired, Sunny, not dying.” Sunny fearlessly poked the alicorn right back. “You don’t know that.” The princess smiled. “I do so. I received at least enough education to know that when an alicorn expends so much energy, they can recover it. You’d know that too if you had ever paid attention to me in class. We work similarly to unicorns.” Sunny’s rump found the carpet and she peered at Princess Celestia with skepticism. “Alright, smarty pants. How long is it going to take you to recover?” After a pause, the princess cleared her throat. “A few decades… probably.” “Decades! Probably?!” Sunny yelled loud enough for her voice to reverberate inside the room. I had the same reaction, but managed to keep it inside. Princess Luna’s horn lit, wrapping the mare in a bubble. “Hush, you loud-mouthed filly! We don’t want ponies knowing that their senior princess has burnt herself out.” Sunny was still yelling. From the way her lips were moving, I could tell most of it was profanity. Thankfully none of the sound was escaping Luna’s bubble. Princess Celestia actually started giggling as she looked up at Sunny ranting and raving in her temporary prison. The alicorn idly pushed the bubble with her hoof. “Impressive, Luna. All of your work with Moonlit Star has been quite fruitful. And, as far as senior princess goes, that is a discussion you and I need to take up soon. I feel like your turn has arrived.” The color drained from Princess Luna’s face and the bubble suddenly popped, dumping Sunny unceremoniously onto the floor. “Crabapples!” Sunny shouted before Princess Celestia could get a one hoof around her another over her mouth. She wiggled and flailed a bit before finally calming down. Ferrel cleared her throat. “If I may interject?” Princess Luna’s shock was still apparent, but she managed a nod. “I believe Silent Knight to be correct. The door to the conservatory clearly did not open prior to the participation of all six of us. It was also clear that certain ponies were related to certain stones. It would be wise for the six of us to journey together, regardless of our personal feelings.” Ferrel was an extremely levelheaded pony when she was here in the present. It was like getting to know her again. A part of me missed the old version of her, though. Not for the powers, just… it was hard to explain. She was just different now. Miley swished her tail. “Sign me up, I’m tired of sitting on the bench!” Dream Pop threw her hooves around Miley. “Me too! We’re the earth ponies! We’re going to be like Applejack and Pinkie Pie. So let’s get movin’!” That might have been a stretch. At least in my mind. I held up a hoof. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’ll need Tranquil to return before we go, but we can start preparing for the trip. We’ll need a chariot to carry the four of you that can’t fly, and supplies, of course.” “And black cloaks!” Dream Pop chimed in. “No!” Miley and I replied in unison. Dream Pop pouted. “It only went wrong one time. Where is your spirit of adventure?” Princess Luna finally found her voice. “I think skulking about in the roost of obsidian dragons dressed in the costumes of thieves from a fantasy game is unwise. No, for this we’ll need to act carefully. Silent Knight, you are in command. Consider us your new unit.” “Hey! Why does he get to be in command?” Sunny groaned. Princess Celestia poked the golden mare. “He still outranks you.” “Maybe in the Royal Guard, but this isn’t Guard business. This is some sort of personal alicorn business. When it comes to that, I have seniority! He was just a bumbling stallion when I started.” Bumbling? “Now he’s a broody stallion that always gets to be in charge. Maybe it is time for a beautiful, wise, shimmering, and skilled mare to lead the way,” Sunny continued, sticking her nose in the air. Broody? Ferrel looked over and bobbed her head. “I am flattered, Sunny Day, but I agree with Princess Luna. I think Silent Knight is the best suited for this command. I yield to him.” Miley Hooves burst out in laughter. As did everypony else. It was infectious and even captured some chuckles from me. Sunny practically steamed. At least until Princess Celestia set a hoof on her back and lightly stroked. “Come now, Sunny, you’ve always liked working with Silent Knight before. Why do you question his leadership now?” “I don’t! It’s just… look at him.” What did that mean? I thought I looked great. My body was in perfect shape. It was like being a recruit again. All of the unhappy emotions were gone, too. Life was great! Sunny went on, “He died. He jumped in front of Princess Luna and died. He’s been alive for a few days and we’re already loading him up again. Are we just going to keep putting everything on his back and let him take the brunt of all this insanity? “Aren’t you all starting to feel some guilt? What about for Crystal? All I’m saying is that we have other smart ponies. Perhaps it is time we put broody-pants into a supporting role.” The laughter faded rather quickly. That really soured the mood. Not mine, of course, but everypony else’s. Objectively, I saw what she meant. Princess Luna took a soft breath and reached over to set a hoof on my back. “Thank you, Sunny. I can’t deny your point and yes, I do feel guilty. Silent Knight has done more than his share, but it seems a large part of that was out of our control. Nocturna, Harmony, fate, or whatever force exists beyond us has picked him. “At the same time, it has also picked you and Ferrel, Miley,Dream Pop, and Tranquil Dusk. Silent Knight is not going to walk into this alone. He is not going to carry it all on his back. The load will be spread across all six of you…” Princess Celestia looked over at Sunny. “Unless you intend to sit here and mother me?” Sunny’s eyes narrowed and she stood tall. “No, I’m going to go with Silent Knight as his co-commander. Non-negotiable. And, in the time I’m gone, I’ll just hope that I’ve trained my guards well enough to keep you safe in this condition.” “That sounds nice,” I said with mild amusement. Co-commanders weren’t a thing. Somepony always had to make the final choice and carry the burden of responsibility. An old phrase was ‘the bit stops here.’ Still, the load was going to be heavy regardless and if Sunny wanted to shoulder more of it that was fine by me. “Non-negotiable!” Sunny demanded. “Agreed,” I put in before reflecting inward again. The gears were already turning in my head about our next steps even after we found the Virtues of Harmony. There was something Nocturna had said that was bothering me, though. …you must be clever and bold. You must outplay your opponent. Maristella will not clumsily reveal herself like some arrogant villain. To draw her out, the prize must be worthwhile. Thus far, the goal seemed to have been to assassinate Princess Luna and take over the House of the Night. It might also include the death of Princess Celestia. We could not use Luna as a prize. She was too important to be bait. I motioned at Miley and Dream Pop, “Why don’t you two go prepare for our journey? Dream Pop can be quartermaster, providing we don’t end up with all of the items out of an Ogres and Oubliettes starting adventurers’ package.” Dream Pop’s ears wiggled. “Oh, come now, Silent Knight, O&O does far more good than harm! Besides, are you sure you don’t want the starter kit for a knight?” “I’m pretty sure I have that covered,” I replied while contemplating what a starter kit looked like in real life. If somepony could fine one, it would be Dream Pop. It might be costume but she’d find it. Dream Pop paused, then shrugged. “That’s super okay.” The way she said it made me think it wasn’t. “I’ll get Sunny a paladin kit, Ferrel a cleric kit, Tranquil a scout kit, and Miley a…” The mare fell quiet, tilting her head and looking at the short brown mare. “Berserker kit. Yes…” Miley’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not sure if I should be pleased or insulted. We can discuss it on the way, come on!” The two headed out, leaving the rest of us to handle other important aspects of this. “Ferrel, any chance you have your power back? Even a little hint of a vision?” “I do not. I am as anypony else,” she replied. Sunny held out one hoof and started counting on it with the opposite one. “Other than being really wise, ancient, super powerful in healing and protection magic, oh and, you know, kind of hot.” Princess Celestia sighed and set her hoof on Sunny’s head, pushing the mare over. “I’m going to have the best doctors in Equestria evaluate you when this is over. You swing wildly between serious and frivolous. It makes me think that perhaps your mind is the one we should worry about, not Silent Knight’s.” “This is how I cope! I joke. It’s what I do. You don’t seem to be taking this super seriously,” Sunny groused from where she was settled. Ferrel shook her head. “I take no offense. Silent Knight, what else may we do to prepare?” My ears flicked a bit. In truth, the burden of command didn’t bother me all that much. Nothing seemed to other than when Crystal was really sad. “We should prepare some sort of gift for Ragnhild. We are, after all, coming to ask her for help. I may need to trade again. Assuming my co-commander agrees?” Sunny waved a hoof flippantly. “Yes, sure, gift for a dragon.” “Please do not offer her any other pony cities,” Princess Luna said pointedly. “Abandoned or otherwise.” I raised a hoof to point at Sunny. “Technically, that was Sunny’s fault. She was in command and she told me to get rid of the dragons without any further instructions.” Princess Luna then turned to Sunny. “Oh, yes, I had forgotten, that is what happened the last time you were in command. That, and all of those harassment claims. We may need to rethink co-commander.” “Alleged harassment claims, I was cleared of all charges!” Sunny shouted. “Be that as it may, you should—” The princess was cut off by Nova’s sudden arrival. My head tilted. “Nova? I thought Midnight Snow was dispatching you to Haven to find Tranquil.” Nova replied, “Yes, sir. She did. I found Tranquil passed out on a cloud not far from the city. She was exhausted. I gave her some basic attention and carried her back.” Two of Princess Luna’s guards came through the door carrying a stretcher between them. Tranquil was laid out on it, huffing and puffing. She had a bottle of water in one hoof and a scroll case clenched in the other. “She’s not wounded,” Nova continued. “It looks like exhaustion brought on from extreme overexertion. She hasn’t said a word since I brought her back.” Tranquil’s somewhat glazed eyes scanned the room. When she spotted Princess Luna, she thrust the scroll case out at her. “Found it,” she wheezed before settling back onto the stretcher. “Easy there,” Nova coaxed before moving to the nox pony’s side to give her another check. I accepted the scroll case for the princess and opened it. Several pieces of parchment slide free. Wrapped in the middle of them was a memory crystal. “Is this everything?” I asked. “Yes,” Tranquil gasped. “Found it and left immediately.” Princess Luna’s horn lit, magic encircling the documents and crystal that I held. I released them, letting them float gently over to her. “You did very well. Did you fly straight here?” Princess Luna asked. Tranquil just nodded before taking small sips from the water. That was an incredibly risky thing to do. Haven was not close to Canterlot by any stretch of the imagination. An unburdened, solo flyer could make the journey relatively quickly, but a non-stop flight was just an impressive feat. It was good we’d sent Nova out to find her. Ferrel trotted over to Nova. “Allow me to assist you.” Her horn lit and she set a hoof on Tranquil’s forehead. Princess Luna brought the scrolls closer to herself, seemingly content that Tranquil was in the best of hooves. She nestled next to Princess Celestia and set the parchments out in front of them. Sunny peered over, which resulted in a raised brow from Princess Celestia. “And what are you hoping to accomplish?” “I know magic!” Sunny said. Both princesses lightly snorted before turning their eyes back to the parchment. Idly, Princess Luna asked, “Tranquil, did your grandmother view the crystal?” Tranquil, who was starting to look like her usual self, replied, “No, ma’am. She tried, but said it was locked.” Locked? “Is that even possible?” I asked, turning my attention to Exemplar Ferrel. Ferrel shrugged. “To my knowledge, no, but then I am not an alicorn powerful enough to make all living ponies forget another alicorn. I do not believe the usual rules apply in this case.” That resulted in a chuckle from Princess Celestia. “I like her better now that she’ll interact more.” Princess Luna turned the crystal slowly in her magic, looking at it with a mixture of interest and trepidation. “I suppose that means it was made with me or another Student in mind. Perhaps I should have a peek?” “If anypony can get past the lock, it should be you, Princess,” I said. Should I be suspicious of this? Probably not. We were on the side of Nocturna at this point. She hadn’t tried to kill the princess. Maristella had. Princess Celestia nudged her sister. “Why not? In the worst case, you become Nightmare Moon and I have to call Tw—” Sunny stuffed a hoof over the princess’s mouth. “Don’t say it!” “Captain, your familiarity with your MVP is starting to concern me,” I said as the princess removed the golden hoof from her mouth. “Shove off, Silent!” Sunny snapped back. “As fun a notion as becoming Nightmare Moon is, let us hope this is not one more trap in a series of traps,” Princess Luna said before her horn started to illuminate. When she finished the spell, her body ceased its natural movements and her eyes began to glow. It was subtle at first, but the intensity built until it looked like there was nothing but white. “Uh… do we normally look like that when we use a memory crystal?” Sunny asked, concern creeping into her voice. “No,” Ferrel said flatly as she trotted over. “Luna? Luna?” Princess Celestia said, shaking her sister with a hoof. “Luna, come back to us.” “She cannot until the memory is done,” Ferrel replied. “We must have faith that she will soon.” That did not seem to give any comfort to the princess. She just kept gently shaking her sister. “Luna, is everything okay?” I trotted over and set a hoof on Princess Luna. Pressing in close, I whispered in her ear, “It’s Silent Knight, come back, please. This doesn’t seem right.” None of our actions had any noticeable impact on the princess. For minutes she remained motionless, her glowing white eyes staring out vacantly. Just as I was certain I couldn’t stand it anymore, she blinked and her regular look was back. As she did so, the memory crystal began to crumble to dust. When it was gone, the princess looked to us all and smiled. “I remember.”