//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Trials of a Royal Guard // by Anzel //------------------------------// The hallway was completely silent beyond the sounds of our black robes swishing across the stone floor. When we paused, there was no ambient noise to speak of. Not a drip of water, a breath of wind, or even a small scurrying creature. On some instinctual level, it seemed like living things knew to stay far away from this place. We continued to make our way down the sloped passage, led on by the line of white flames that burned in the wall sconces. As my companion and I drew near to them, the color of the fire shifted to a shade of gray and dimmed until we were past. Then, as quickly as it had turned, it burned pure white again. These were disharmony detectors. An invention of Twilight Sparkle and Midnight Snow with the assistance of Sunny Day. Equestria’s clever magical minds had figured out a way to turn Sunny’s talent into a spell. Creatures that were touched by disharmony would change the flames color from white to various shades of grey, and eventually to black. For us, the grey was on the lighter side. At least now, anyway. In the distance, I could see the silver vault doors looming. A sentinel stood in front of each one, their armor gleaming brilliantly in the white light cast by the nearby detectors. When we approached, they drew their swords and fell into combat stances. “All are forbidden from this place by order of the Sovereign of the Night and the High Marshal. Turn back now,” the one on the left ordered from behind his winged helmet’s visor. My companion stopped. I took three more steps forwards, keeping myself outside of striking distance. Reaching up, I pulled my hood back to reveal my face. The sentinels visibly relaxed but they did not withdraw. “Good evening, High Marshal Knight. Is it inspection time again?” the same pony asked. I shook my head. “Not tonight. We will be going inside.” The armored figure’s stance tensed again and he shook his head. “I’m sorry, sir. That is not allowed without both you and the sovereign’s order. Please turn back.” “Consider such an order given,” Princess Luna said from behind me, pulling her hood back to reveal herself. Both sentinels immediately sheathed their swords and bowed low. They then set to work in carefully removing the wards, unlocking the silver doors, and pulling them open. It was a slow process. The doors were a foreleg’s length thick and hard to move even for strong ponies. They’d been made from celestial steel and then coated in silver. It took a few minutes of work but, once the way was clear, we trotted across the threshold into the small chamber beyond. I looked back at the sentinels and nodded. They shut us inside. It was disconcerting to hear the locks falling into place. There would be no way out without their assistance. “Are you ready?” I asked, looking up at Princess Luna. “Indeed; are you?” That I was. I shifted and tossed my cloak aside, exposing the gleaming lion’s head pauldron that was affixed to my right shoulder. The Virtue of Courage would protect me, as would my training. “Yes, Princess.” Together we crossed the opposite side of the room and set our hooves on a set of doors that were the exact duplicates of the pair we’d come through. They briefly flashed as the wards came down. Princess Luna took a few steps back while I unlocked and then pulled the doors open, revealing a glowing presence in the chamber beyond. In the center of a stone circle, bound by silver chains, was a crystal as black as a starless night sky. It bobbed in the air, a seemingly mundane object that was extremely dangerous. This was the crystal that Maristella’s disharmony had been banished to and sealed within. The one Midnight Snow had carried into our final battle. You cannot hold me here forever. Even now, I can feel these bonds straining and crumbling. One day they will falter and, when they do, I will swoop down upon your little ponies and ruin all you hold dear. The voice, though not spoken, rumbled through the cavernous room like an oncoming thunderstorm. It battered our ears but I felt no fear as its dark tendrils tried to pry into my mind. Its promises were false. What it offered came with too high a price. What once wormed its way into my mind was now easily ignored. Princess Luna smiled smugly back at the dark vessel. “On the first point, we agree. We cannot hold you forever. The fact is, we never intended to. You see, we’ve learned that we can let little bits of you free at a time whether you want us to or not. “Little by little, bit by bit, you’ll drain back out into the world in a carefully measured way. We’ll spread the whole of you over many, many beings so you have an insignificant influence. More importantly, those parts separated from you won’t hold the same malicious imprint of Maristella that you do. “No, my friend, by the time your bonds break we suspect you’ll not even be half as strong as you are today.” Lies and bravado! The voice was louder this time. The crack of thunder before a lightning strike. Anger and anguish oozed from it and it strained all the harder against our defenses. The princess shook her head in pity. “Lash out all you like. It just makes it easier for you to seep out in small bits. As you sit there, entombed and angry, I also want you to think about one more thing. “While you may view the ages that will pass as short, it gives the ponies you look to ruin a great deal of time to study and prepare. In fact, much as half your power will be gone, I’ve set into motion a plan to ensure that my High Marshal here will have created a vast order of knights trained specifically to combat disharmony. Isn’t that right, High Marshal?” I pivoted to the princess and bowed low. “Yes, my liege. Above this very prison, we’ve established our newest bastion, and soon the latest adepts will begin their training there.” Wisps of dark purple energy rose from the peak of the crystal, cast off as it trembled in the grasp of the chains around it. Traitors! Usurpers! Cease this torture and see me free! Princess Luna took two steps towards the black crystal. For the first time since coming in, fear rose within me. We were not meant to get so close. Her voice lowered. “And, by the time these bonds fail, I will have found a way to restore the alicorns, train them to use the Elements, and you will barely be a threat worth our attention. Come, High Marshal, we have more important matters to attend.” With a sweep of her cloak, Princess Luna pirouetted and marched through the heavy silver doors while the crystal seethed with rage. Curses upon you and yours, Nocturna! Without fear or hesitation, I turned and followed after the alicorn, looking back only a moment before I pushed the door closed and locked it. We then sealed it together. I went to retrieve my cloak while the princess stood by. “So much anger. Even with the underlying pony long gone, the energy alone is furious.” “It is the greatest concentration of disharmony in existence. A tempest waiting to break free and restore the balance,” I said as I pulled my cloak over myself. “Yes… and in time, it shall. We’ll be ready, though. For now, we must keep it away from Asvoria,” the princess whispered before moving to the opposite doors. We stood together by the disharmony detectors. They dimmed to gray. Once more we moved together, setting our hooves on the door. There was a long pause. I held my breath a moment. This was my least favorite part. Finally, we heard the workings of the locks from the other side. We’d passed the test. We wouldn’t be trapped in here for the rest of our lives. The doors opened and the sentinels let us free. We waited for them to secure them again before making our way back up in silence until we reached the narrow spiral staircase that led up into the keep. We emerged into a small room at the back of the keep that Nocturna had built ages ago in Midnight’s Peak. We removed our robes and returned them to the silver-coated chest. That ensured no wisps of disharmony snuck out without our knowing. I assisted the princess in putting her royal accouterments on before dressing in my armor. It was a new suit. Another gift from the crowns. It was, without a doubt, based on those worn by Princess Luna’s House Guard. After all, how could Silent Knight wear a suit of golden armor? “Ready, Princess?” I asked. “That I am,” she replied before straightening up to her full height and stepping in front of what appeared to be a stone wall. I pulled my helmet on and stepped beside her. The princess’s magic briefly illuminated and the wall slowly slid to the left, revealing the office of the High Marshall of the Knights of the Moon. We walked in together and she activated the spell to return the stone wall to its position. Then we went out the main door into the training area. Everypony inside stopped and bowed in our direction before going back to their duties. This was the headquarters of the Knights of the Moon. This was where I trained ponies to face disharmony, evil, and magical creatures. After all, Equestria couldn’t rely only on Twilight Sparkle and her friends. An aide I didn’t recognize was lingering near the door, looking very pensive and nervous. Canterlot ponies rarely came to Midnight’s Peak. Most of them struggled with the dark confines. That, and the dragons. “Princess, I knocked, but you didn’t answer. Your meeting with the High Marshal ran long. We’re going to be late for your audience with the Matron,” the aide said softly. Princess Luna patted the pony with a hoof. “She’ll understand.” She then turned to me and smiled. It was a smile I happily returned before asking, “Will there be anything else, Princess?” She set her hoof on my chestplate. “No, I think we covered enough in our meeting to last a while. Go home, Silent Knight. Go home to your wife and daughter. Know that they sleep in peace and safety and will do so for as long as I live.” With a deep bow, I replied, “Thank you, Princess,” before taking my leave and heading out the front gate. Ragnhild shifted from where she laid across the steps. Her eyes met mine and she nodded in greeting. One that I respectfully returned before I left the barren city and set a course for Canterlot. The trip was not as long as it had once been. Though I was older, I’d grown faster. A result of harder training and the gift Princess Celestia had given me in my restoration. I reached my neighborhood and home before the sun had crested the horizon. I removed my armor and crept to the bedroom, not wanting to alert the household to my return. As a father, one of the things I enjoyed the most was watching my daughter sleep. The very definition of peaceful innocence. Coral Knight was nestled in the center of our bed with Crystal curled protectively around her. The most beautiful filly in the world, sleeping deeply and without a care, just as Princess Luna had promised. She was the most important pony in my life. A cute little lavender unicorn foal that heavily favored her mother, other than the light blue mane that looked very much like her great-grandfather’s. Everything I did and would ever do from then on would be for these two. I slipped into the bed and nestled against Crystal’s back, extending my wing to cover her and our child. “Sleep soundly my princesses, sleep soundly tonight. An alicorn watches over you, and so does her knight.”