//------------------------------//
// Act 1, Chapter 5 - I Promise 
// Story: Adventures in Magic 
// by Urist McWriter 
//------------------------------//

Shining Armor lets out a long, pained groan. He winces as his aches remind him he's alive. With heavy closed eyes, he wishes the bed under him wasn't hard as a rock.

'Well, I asked for stupid . . .' He thought. He wasn't a pushover, but those guards were something else. No one in his class was better, but he had barely started casting at the pair of earth ponies before he was on his plot, vision blackening. Who knew earth ponies could move like that? They quicker than anyone in his unicorn class for certain.

The sound of a lock clicking and a door swinging open convinces him that it is time to open his eyes. The ceiling was drab and grey, a magelight embedded behind a layer of glass and the walls a strong brickwork that are probably layered with half-a-hundred spells. Finally, his eyes reached the door, and even his hazy mind could identify the pony standing there.

'Oh buck me.'

Captain Steel Wind was lithe and taut, every muscle carefully maintained and defined for speed and power in equal measure. Dark, steely blue fur shone in the light, and his grey eyes were set in a hard, frowning face, seeming to bore into Shining.

Shining scrambled to his hooves, his mind reporting that the floor was wobbling as he tries to balance. He throws a hasty, wobbling salute, overshot into his head. The Captain's hard gaze remained unchanging in the face of his efforts, he can feel a sweat start to come on in the following moments, his efforts to remain upright growing more and more difficult. Then, the Captain's quiet, smooth voice carries through the room, "Walk with me."

The gaze finally left him as the Captain turns and stalks out of the room, allowing Shining a moment of respite, his saluting hoof returning to the ground to help keep him steady against the earth's sudden wobbling. It's a bit of a struggle to get moving, hooves unsteady before he gets his gait and exits the cell, rushing to catch up to the Captain. When he finally does fall into line just next to and behind his superior the pegasus doesn't even acknowledge him, empty cells with heavy metal doors passing by in the silence, the only sound being their hooves on the ground.

Before Shining's thoughts could run off on their own, the Captain comes to a sudden stop in front of a thick steel door. One of his wings unfurls and reaches out, running along a rune on the frame, and the door shimmers, turning transparent. Shining's feels a weight of dread settle in his stomach, and he swallows heavily. On the other side of the door, sat on a bed much like the one Shining was on, is Deep Thought. He doesn't look worse for wear, but his head is hung low, and his blank stare is stuck to the wall.

"You know who this is?" The Captain's steel eyes turn back to him. Shining nods mutely. The Captain continues, voice deathly quiet as he orders, "Tell me why he is here."

"Because I asked him to tell me about what happened to my sister, and -"

"No. Shining Armor," not raising his voice an inch, "he is here because he chose to disclose classified information to you. You are here because you assaulted the Princess' Royal Guards at the front gates. You are a fool, a treatable condition."

"Sir, I-"

"He is a traitor." Silence. As if for good measure, "Do you know the punishment for treason, recruit?"

Shining numbly nods, his eyes locked on Deep's empty stare. Shining remembers the scratchy, hazy audio recording they had been made to listen to when discussing the most Capital offenses. Celestia had oversaw them herself, from spies and traitors to paedophiles alike. It was chilling, hearing the Princess' voice so coldly read out Stone Face's charges. He was selling information to the Griffins over six years that had cost the Legion hundreds of lives. The sentence being Incineration by Sunfire, the Princess' short tone declaring, 'I could never lift a hoof to harm one of my little ponies, Sergeant Stone Face. In your final moments know that you are no longer one of them.'

That was the true, terrifying extent of a Shadow Warrant. You may biologically exist as a pony, but you were no longer Equestrian, no longer under the Princess' protection.

No longer loved by the Goddess of the Sun.

The thought made him chill. That hadn't happened to Deep. . . had it?

The Captain speaks after allowing the silence to settle for long moments, grey eyes seeming to peer into Shining's very being, "No. He will not be Shadow Warranted, but his career will end. He will be blacklisted for government contracts, his scholarship pulled, and he will be made to return home. What do you think of that, Recruit Shining Armor?"

Deep would never get into Intelligence. He would never even be a successful engineer if his scholarship was pulled, let alone the inability to work on any government project. He might be able to get into a University again, but at what cost to his family financially? "It. . . It isn't fair, sir. It's not his fault, I -"

"It is, Recruit Shining Armor." With voice a note louder, but compared to the quiet near-whisper before it is almost a yell, "It is his fault. You were complicit, but he chose to leak information to you, information you used as justification to assault a guard." A moments pause as the musculature of Steels jaw flexes. "Fortunately for Deep Thought, I have been authorised to offer you a deal."

Shining manages to tear his eyes away from the despondent Deep Thought and back to the Captain, his hard gaze still set as he continues. "You may choose to take the fall for Deep Thought's transgressions. It will be spun that you coerced the information from him, absolving him of most guilt. As a result, you will be expelled from the Solarian Academy, barred from government or military service, a note added to your permanent record of this event and you will return to civilian life to reintegrate into the general populace."

A weight settled on him as the Captain spoke. He can't let this happen to Deep Thought, but what about the guard? It was everything he ever wanted to be, to protect ponies, to protect the Princess. It is his purpose, his cutie mark! He couldn't even join the Legion if he did this. But. . . Could he really do that to Deep? Could he live with himself if he did?

A deep, steadying breath. Another. "I. . . Yes, Captain. I'll do it."

The following silence was deafening, the Captain's gaze became so intense that it took all of Shining's will not to look to the floor. Finally, the Captain nods, and his wing unfurls again and slides along the doorframe. The door slowly reaffirms its opacity, although not before Shining caught a glimpse of a flash of green flame from inside. The Captain turns and walks away, making it half a dozen meters away from the surprised Shining, whose eyes are locked on the door. Green flames? What?

The Captain's voice jolts him from his stillness, "Come, Recruit. I will be showing you to Sergeant Basalt Pie."

Shining turns and follows after him, speeding up to a canter to catch up before slowing again, mind still reeling. "I. . . What? Aren't I being expelled, sir? What were those flames?"

"Illusion Magic, recruit. You are being shown to the Sergeant for your punishment, as mandated by the Princess. You will spend the summer in the barracks. Washing, cleaning, making beds, polishing, and running errands."

The Captain's step is unwavering as they move, but Shining nearly stumbles part-way through the explanation, exclaiming once the Captain is done, "What? What was that then, sir?"

"A test, Recruit. The first of many."





Twilight is completely unable to keep her jaw shut as she darts around the room, trying to take in every detail. The room is massive. A domed ceiling stood above an open two-story space, bookshelves lining the walls, a walkway allows one to walk along the second story shelves. A second layer of shorter shelves formed a circle with regular openings that sectioned off the majority of the room and the centre, where couches and cushions were laid out. Further, in the exact center of the room, was a clear space encircled by a solid ring of silver laid into the ground, the place it protects clear and smooth and clear of any ambient magic. Perfect for rituals, or any kind of spellcasting, really.

The room’s decor was all blues and purples, dark but not overly so, regular bursts of colour around the room help liven up the palette. Several solid looking mannequins had been gathered into their own location, nearby an impressive array of tools and tables were set out. Hammers, chisels, knives, and picks were carefully organized and arrayed in their proper places. On the other side of the room, in a sequestered study isolated only by half-walls, sat a large map of Equestria hung in a part of the wall cleared of bookshelves. The desk was some sort of dark wood, completely clear of decoration except for a half-moon engraved on its face. Tucked away in the corner of this office was a chess board made of marble, the pieces steel and gold instead of the traditional black and white.

The domed ceiling was not without decoration, although Twilight would hesitate to call it mere decoration. A constellation map, exact and perfectly precise down to the star colours, sat inlaid in the dark stonework, each star a small glowing stone that acted as the room's main form of illumination. At the opposite end of the room to her was the exit to a large balcony, she could see a large telescope placed carefully for good access to the sky. Even from here she could see the view provided of the distant mountains from their place at the top of one of the Castle's towers.

Then there were the enchantments. Subtle and beautiful, sapphire blue lattices were lain in the floors and walls, flowing around the room and up to the ceiling, where they ran through each constellation in turn. She could see someone had purposefully drawn with the spellwork as well, several seemingly nonsensical shapes drawn out along the walls, from a tree to an otter to a sword, swirling and dancing to some unknown tune.

Twilight swallows thickly, connecting the dots leaving her more awed than before. A half-moon desk, constellation ceiling, the colors. She takes a breath, managing to speak after a moment, moving back to the Princess, eyes still wandering along the walls and shelves, "P-princess I c-can't use t-this r-room, i-it w-was P-p-princess Luna's w-wasn't it?"

After several seconds of no reply, Twilight turns her head to look to the Princess. Her eyes are far away, looking around the room, taking each location in turn. The Princess' wings flutter at her side, her longing expression tugs at Twilight's heart. Twilight takes several long seconds to form the word carefully, so she won't stutter, then says in her softest voice, "Celestia?"

The Princess' eyes rocket to her, widening, her back hoof shifting away - as if she was reeling from some shock. Her eyes refocus, returning to the present after several seconds of recognition and grief ran across her expression. After a moment it was all tucked away, the Princess looking calmer and more serene, neutral and pleased. A lying expression. "Oh, Twilight, apologies. I was lost in some memories. . . It was my sister's room, yes. It had sat unused for some time when I had the maids clean it, the doors hadn't been unsealed in centuries. It took them days to get through all the dust, then the books had to be checked on and their preserving spells refreshed. I assure you that she would be most pleased to see that it is no longer wasting away, she was very fond of it when she was in Canterlot."

Twilight had to hold back a shiver of excitement, a smile forcing its way onto her face, despite her heart telling her that this was too much - it had to be. She shakes her head to banish the smile and thoughts. All this just for a failure like her? A Princess' room? The Princess' dead sister's room. "B-but P-princess, I-it's. . . N-not r-right! I-i'm just a f-f-" Twilight trails off, realizing what she had been about to say out loud. She couldn't bring herself to lie to the Princess, but she can't say things like that out loud. Not now, not ever, no one should be burdened with her.

The Princess' eyes have a note of something in them, a glimmer of guilt, and her expression softens out of its deceptive look and into sympathy and encouragement, "I assure you, Twilight, you are a brilliant and talented little pony. You have an affinity for magic that is truly spectacular."

"Don’t lie to m-" The words were out before Twilight could stop them, her fear of the Princess' deceptions and her own radically different viewpoint of herself spilling over into reality, one of her hooves rockets to her mouth. The Princess' mouth sets, her expression torn between some unknown emotions, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards a moment. Was she angry? Was she going to expel her and send her back home? She would deserve it, she can't even be grateful and accept what the Princess is offering her.

"Oh, little Twilight," The Princess finally says, expression losing any hardness, instead twisting into an expression of grief and guilt. "You are more perceptive than I gave you credit for.” The Princess takes several long strides, lowering herself onto a yellow cushion, its blue partner just next to it. "Please, sit. We need to discuss something, my little pony."

Twilight had to bite her tongue to stop from stuttering out apology after apology, slowly moving after the Princess and settling onto the blue cushion next to her. She has a stark realization that Princess Luna must have sat here, many, many years ago, staring down at the ancient seat for long seconds before looking back up to the Princess. The Princess lowers her head to peer at Twilight, eyes searching for several seconds before she speaks, "Why don't we make each other a promise, Twilight? I will admit I have issues being honest with others, but I also have difficulty believing others are entirely honest with myself. I am sure you feel the same, my little pony."

It feels like the Princess, in a single sentence, pierced directly into Twilight's soul. Those magenta eyes gazing past all of her barriers and protections, every deception she had built up, every trick and false smile, to lay bare everything Twilight was afraid of; honesty. It was terrifying, to know the Princess knew something so intimate. At the same time, she didn't feel the same terror she imagined she would feel if her parents said it to her. Something in the Princess' look, her words, and her tone made Twilight feel like the Princess knew what was going through her head, and understood.

The Princess shifts a bit, wings fluttering as she scoots a few inches closer to Twilight. "Why don't we promise not to lie to one another, hmm? If we don't want to answer a question, we can simply be honest and say so, otherwise no lying. What do you think of that?"

Twilight had to resist huddling in on herself and thinking, blocking out the world to try and process this, tapping her hooves together for several seconds as she struggles with the thought. ‘Promising not to lie to her? Could I do that? Can I really tell the truth all the time?’ She's a liar, and a failure, a deadly combination when it comes to promises. A glance at the Princess' expression made her feel more at ease, though. The understanding. The soft, reassuring smile that was so good at banishing her fears setting her at ease.

Twilight couldn't think, her thoughts speeding from one thing to another. ‘Liar! Liar! Liar!’ one side chants. ‘Worthless! Worthless! Worthless cheater!’, the other. She has nothing to give the Princess, Twilight is worthless. Why is she doing this?

That smile, soft and reassuring, brought her some focus. Eventually, she raises a hoof, the appendage trembling. "I,” she pauses, trying to enunciate perfectly, “promise."

The Princess raises her own hoof after a moment, placing it against Twilight's. The large, white hoof overshadows her own by a fair margin. The Princess is warm to the touch, like a normal pony running a fever. Like Twilight when she got mad, but Celestia didn't seem mad. Twilight's doubts are banished when the Princess opens her muzzle, speaking, "I promise."

Both of their hooves lower, Twilight finding herself missing the physical contact, placing the hoof against her chest. She feels like some sort of weight has been lifted from her shoulders, but with that comes a creeping sense of dread in her belly. Why did the Princess want this? Did she know something? Did she want Twilight to admit she was a failure? Before the Princess could speak and confirm her fears, Twilight blurts out, "W-what was s-she l-like?"

The Princess stills, eyes clouding and straying to the rest of the room, "I suppose you mean my sister, little Twilight?"

Twilight nods for several seconds before remembering the Princess isn't looking at her, "I-i'm s-sorry, I s-shouldn't h-have. . ."

The Princess eyes lower toward the ground for a moment, her small smile vanishing. "No, no. It is quite alright. Not many ask me about her," with a deep sigh, she continues, "and I do not get to speak of her much. I suppose everypony feels as if they know her from history, like they know Princess Platinum or Consul West Wind. To them, that is what she is, so it is easy to forget that she was. . . is more."

Is more? What? Before Twilight can give voice to her question, the Princess continues, "She is strong. Stronger than I in character, unshakeable in her beliefs when she has decided them. A warrior at heart, she lives for the thrill of action and the song of battle. Most know this, but she is so much more. . . She cried when she was weak and wept when her soldiers perished. She loved Equestria more than any pony alive." The Princess' voice has lost much of its serene quality, falling into a quiet, almost desperate meander. Like she wanted nothing more than to say these things to someone. "But it did not love her back."

"Luna loved art and creating it. She sculpted, smithed, carved, wrote, painted, enchanted, composed. She craved creativity, expressing herself in any way she could. Everything became an art form to her, a thing to master and make beautiful. Warfare, magic, architecture, and every other subject she set herself to. In some decades she was called a virtuoso, in others the Warmistress, and in others she would seclude herself and study and write and publish. Ponies loved her when they met her. The entire Legion was hers and hers alone because she sacrificed for them as much as they sacrificed for Equestria. Ponies were drawn to her when she spoke, and she was beloved among her friends and allies. Even when they died for her in the end."

The silence following that statement hung in the air like a thick fog, clinging and still as the grave. Twilight manages a gulp, absorbing all of that, reverence filling her. The Princess is talking to her about this, she really isn't lying. Her promise was real. Still, something was off in the way she spoke, something in the way she talked about Princess Luna. Remembering the promise, Twilight gulps again and manages to speak, "Y-you t-talk like s-she is. . . s-s-she i-is. . ."

The Princess' eyes returning to her caused her to stutter and trail off, they were watery. The Princess was near tears, taking a deep breath and asking, "Tell me what you know of my sister's end, Twilight."

Twilight's mind scrambles at the sudden question, going back to the history books she has studied, pulling up paragraphs and paragraphs of facts and figures. Won't talking about this make her sadder? Still, Twilight takes a breath and replies, voice shaking, "S-she d-d-died fighting t-the e-evil a-alicorn N-nightmare Moon." Celestia turned her head, the shadows playing across her tensed jaw. Oh no, Was that wrong? She turned her head back to Twilight with small nod to continue. "T-the conflict d-destroyed E-everfree City a-and the r-residual magic t-twisted the f-forest. . ." Oh dear, were the books wrong!?

Celestia's eyes lower, now staring at the dark wood. When she speaks again, it is barely above a whisper, "That is what is in the books, yes. It is not the truth."

The air is heavy after that statement, Twilight involuntarily shivers, feeling the weight of it. The books were lies? The Princess continues, "In the century leading up to the Battle of the Everfree, Equestria was at peace. For. . . countless reasons, including my own arrogance and blindness, the ponies of Equestria had begun to distrust and mislabel my sister. A warmonger of the past, a relic unworthy to stand alongside my radiance. Many had not appreciated her works and sacrifices in the past, but it reached new heights in this time. I was blind, my place as the central public figure of our diarchy clouded my vision. I did not see her despair until it was too late, until others forced me see it."

Twilight was barely breathing, scooting closer, entranced. Some part of her can tell what is coming, and she dreads it, somewhere deep down. A line of wetness slides down the Princess' cheek as she continues. "Her friends were not so blind as I, and the Legion still held her in the highest regard. For some time we had grown further apart, she spent much of her time in Everfree City and away from the Capital, at the Legion Headquarters and the old castle. During one of my visits. . . The commanders of the Legion attempted a coup."

Twilight's breath catches. "They were driven by desperation and a notion that if my sister could rule alone she would escape her depression and self-loathing, become appreciated and rise to the limelight. I know now that they did not intend to kill me, but I had grown paranoid of the Legion. In my arrogance, I believed her growing distance from me was the beginnings of a plot, for I jealously loved my power and the praise showered on me from everyone in Canterlot. When they ambushed me in the barracks during inspections." "

The Princess' voice lowers, her head lowering further, her voice wavering as she declares, "I. . . killed them all."

The Princess' cheeks are wet now, tears leaking freely from her eyes and sizzling as they move down her cheeks, but her voice continues, cracking and breaking the previous steady tone. "I stormed to the castle afterwards, intent on confronting Luna about her failed plot. . . There I ran into several legion commanders and made more examples of them when they confronted me and began accusing me of negligence. It was then my sister finally emerged."

The Princess' eyes seem to gaze through the floor, lost in long ago. Her face scrunches up, her mouth tightening, and her voice comes out half-choked. "She saw what I had done and it broke whatever was left of her. . . She embraced a spirit that had haunted her thoughts and became a twisted version of herself; Nightmare Moon. Our confrontation killed thousands. I am more powerful than she, even with all the might of the nightmare at her command, but she was a warrior, and I was arrogant and too sure of my own abilities. She defeated me, the fighting ending near where it began, in the castle. Had she not been studying. . . a set of powerful artefacts, she would have taken over Equestria. Instead, I used them to seal her away on the moon after fleeing into her research study."

The Princess is silent, eyes glazed over and staring at the ground, mourning as soft amber aura leaking from her fur and flowing onto the ground like a mist. Twilight has to do something, anything, to make up for making her teacher this sad. She should have known better than to ask, not that she ever would have expected this. 'Stupid, stupid dumb unicorn.' She focuses, setting aside the newly gained information and gathers her courage. Then she scoots closer, inch by inch, until she is on Celestia's cushion and at her side, only inches away. Then she presses her side against the Princess, barely up to her wing when they are both settled down like this.

The Princess tenses slightly, her head finally turning away from the floor and to Twilight. She seems to almost say something before deciding against it, a soft, lopsided smile working its way onto her muzzle. The Princess' wing unfurls and lowers slowly over Twilight after a split second of hesitation. Twilight can't resist tensing immediately at the feeling of something draping over her, shivering violently and blanking her mind on instinct, falling still after a moment. 

The warmth of the Princess and her gentle embrace slowly comes back to Twilight, dragging her mind away from the shadows of her nightmares to the present; to Celestia embracing her. Her instinctive stiffness fades away as the seconds pass until she begins to feel at ease, leaning more against the Princess' body.

Twilight’s breaths deepen slowly, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier. Soon her vision is dark and her ears are filled with the sounds of windblown grass and a gentle breeze fills her mane.



Twilight was pulled from moonlit fields by a gentle humming. Slowly the haze over her mind begins to lift, the Princess’ wordless song filling her ears. She becomes aware of the gentle warmth surrounding her, and the softness of the Princess’ fur and feathers. It was that time, though, that some part of her noticed she wasn't tense and afraid, flashes of the closet and library don't haunt her at the Princess' embrace. She feels tears begin to sting at her eyes, and when she next inhales it comes in a sniffle. She nearly broke her promise.

The Princess' humming comes to a stop at her sniffle, her wing lifting slightly, revealing the Princess' set of magenta eyes peering down at her. Celestia offers a soft smile, "What troubles you, little Twilight?"

That made Twilight feel even worse, and she sniffles again, burying her face in the Princess' side and mumbling, "I l-lied."

Silence hangs for several seconds, Twilight unable to see anything except the Princess' fur. She absently notes the gentle smell of lilacs as she sniffles a bit more. Finally, the Princess speaks, "What did you lie about, my little pony?"

Twilight begins to feel regret and fear, would she be rejected again? The voice of the Principal fills her mind, ‘You little liar!’ ‘So greedy for attention!’ ‘Did you want to show off?’ Would the Princess be the same way? No, right? She couldn’t, if she couldn’t trust the Princess, who could she trust? She manages to shake the thoughts off, and after another moment of struggle, speaks, "I-I t-told my p-parents. . . I-I wanted h-homeschooling. . ." 

"Shhh," the Princess' gentle tone interrupts her thoughts and stumbling words. "You don't have to say it, little Twilight. I know, I know what you have gone through."

Twilight feels her chest tighten and she chokes back a sob, shaking against the Princess, "I-I c-couldn't - I c-c-couldn't -"

The Princess pulls her tighter with her wing, "It's alright, little Twilight. You didn't do anything wrong, nopony can hurt you anymore. I'm here."

Twilight didn't try to choke back her next sob, feeling herself shake and cry into the Princess' fur, pressing herself deeper into the embrace and letting herself go. Each sob released some tension from her, the next always easier than the last. Her eyes began to feel heavy again, but her heart began to feel lighter. The sound of windblown grass begins to overtake her again, the smell of a filled library. The last words she hears before she fades back to sleep are whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "I promise."