Chapter 1: Loyalty and Magic
The grey mare galloped through the halls of the Royal castle, her regal armour slowing her down slightly. She pumped her wings to allow her a burst of speed with each thrust, compensating for the added weight. She’d been summoned personally by Princess Celestia herself. As a Lieutenant she could scarcely believe it; only the Captain of the Guard and his twelve Commanders were ever summoned directly, not to mention the guards that often stood by the entrances to the rooms either Princess happened to be in at the time.
The Lieutenant skidded to a halt before the two guards guarding the throne room. “Lieutenant Hawkeye reporting. I was summoned by the Princess.” she said, saluting the two almost identical guards before her. They both nodded in sync and opened the heavy large doors to allow her entry. Hawkeye hurried through, not wanting to keep the Princess waiting. She was surprised to see Princess Luna also present. She thought that Celestia alone had summoned her, but both was an even greater honour.
“Lieutenant Hawkeye, your majesties.” Hawkeye bowed low before the two alicorns sitting in their thrones.
“Welcome, Hawkeye. You are no doubt wondering why we have summoned you.” Luna said, her voice softer than her presence let on.
Hawkeye stood straight before them. “Yes, Princess; I’ve not heard of a Lieutenant being summoned before.” it suddenly dawned upon Hawkeye that being summoned might not be such a good thing after all. “Have I committed a crime I was not aware of?” she broke her formal stance and made her nervousness and fear known to them through body language.
Celestia raised her hoof and closed her eyes. “Nothing of the sort, young Pegasus. We have called you here to impart a very special assignment to you. It is one we both believe you are best suited to perform.” Hawkeye sighed in relief and returned to her straight stance.
“I will do what I can, Princess. What is it you wish me to do?” The princesses looked at each other before their horns glowed, each with their own colour. Celestia’s shone gold, while Luna’s radiated with a wispy blue. The tips of both horns touched and an earthy green light flashed forward, stopping just short of Hawkeye’s hooves. The floor between them opened up and revealed six small pillars, each with a single hole in them that stored the famous Elements of Harmony. Hawkeye grew wide-eyed as she stared at the flawless artefacts. The one that took her breath away was the Legendary Twilight Sparkle’s Diadem, the golden tiara that housed the stone of the element of Magic. It reflected her features perfectly at several different angles. The other elements were just as beautiful, each a golden necklace with their own differently shaped gem encased within. The red lightning gem that resembled Loyalty almost seemed to glow before her as she stood in front of it.
“Lieutenant, it has come to our attention that the Elements of Harmony will soon be needed once again. Somewhere in Equestria, the rightful bearers have been chosen and are unknowingly waiting to accept the role. We want you to find them and prepare for whatever the future holds.” said Luna. Hawkeye nodded, confirming that she understood the parameters of her mission.
“I just have one question.” she waited for either Princess to acknowledge her. “Why pick me for this? What makes me the only one qualified?”
Both Princesses looked at each other again and then back to Hawkeye. “There are two reasons. One is simple, the other not so much.” Celestia said. “The simple answer is because you yourself have been identified as an Element of Harmony; specifically, Loyalty.” Luna added. They paused to allow Hawkeye to register the answer. She was the Element of Loyalty. As a Pegasus, she looked up to Rainbow Dash who was the first Shadowbolt Captain in over a thousand years. A legend in her own right as the Element of Loyalty and the fastest flyer in Equestria.
“I’m…” she couldn’t finish her sentence.
“Rainbow Dash’s successor, yes. I will admit now that it was because of the possibility of you being an Element of Harmony that you weren’t promoted past your current rank.” Celestia concluded. Hawkeye was speechless. She took a few minutes to register everything in her head. Maybe this would be what gave her the recognition she desired from her family.
“And what’s the complex answer?” she asked.
Celestia smiled at the Pegasus. “I think time will tell in due course.” she replied. Hawkeye felt rather uneasy about the answer, but said nothing more about it.
“Where should I start?” she asked. Worried faces began to form on the alicorns’ features and Hawkeye knew immediately that something was up.
“We believe we know who the Element of Magic is. Frankly, we’re torn between wanting him to be such and wanting him to remain where he is.” Luna said, shifting in her throne. Celestia did likewise. Hawkeye began to wonder who this mystery pony could be and how he could inspire such nervousness in both Princesses.
“You’re not talking about Golden Armour, are you? As Captain of the Guard, it’s understandable you’d want him to retain that role and devote himself fully to the job…” Hawkeye observed the worried looks on the Princesses and began to grow rather scared.
“No, Golden isn’t the Element of Magic. His cousin is; at least we believe so. It would make sense since he’s a direct descendant of Twilight Sparkle.” Hawkeye gasped as she heard this mysterious pony’s ancestry.
“I thought High Mage Twilight’s bloodline had died out long ago?” there was a pause that shifted the uncomfortable air around, making the throne room almost unbearable.
“Well… not exactly. This pony is the last of the bloodline. Nopony knows about him because he went into… protective custody at an early age and was believed to be dead. We neither confirmed nor denied the rumours and did our best to drop the subject.” the caution in which the Princesses took when describing this pony added a dangerous feeling to his mention.
“Where is he?” she asked. There was another pause. Celestia closed her eyes and looked away, seemingly too ashamed to utter a reply. Luna was left to respond. The answer wasn’t very assuring to Hawkeye.
“Canterlot Asylum. He’s a patient there. He went of his own free will and is free to leave as he pleases, but he chooses not to, thank goodness.” Celestia cleared her throat, the sound revealing evidence of restrained sorrow.
“If he’s as bad as you make him sound, why allow him the option to leave?” asked Hawkeye.
Luna actually laughed at the question. “There are many reasons. One being that he’s not the sort of pony you can restrain forcefully. He knows magic better than anypony we’ve ever known. That stallion could give Starswirl a run for his bits. Another reason is that we don’t have it in us to force him. Celestia and I both owe Twilight our lives and to oppose her descendant is… unspeakable. If anypony could overthrow us, it’s him. Our hearts couldn’t take it.” It was as Luna spoke those words that Hawkeye began to see how much time had worn these two down. The flare had gone from their eyes and they seemed to view themselves as little more than role models and idols. They weren’t the goddesses that they seemed to be; they were simply ageless and powerful Alicorns whose hearts were on the verge of breaking thanks to their close attachment to Twilight Sparkle and her bloodline. It then dawned upon Hawkeye that the same pony they were talking about was in fact a distant relative of theirs. Twilight was their niece in-law. She knew that the Captain of the Guard was royalty in his own right, but this new pony that she’d never heard of was something else entirely. The logic of familial heritage confused Hawkeye and distracted her from the task at hoof.
“I… shall go immediately to request his aid.” she said. The Princesses both seemed off in their own little worlds and barely acknowledged Hawkeye’s departure; something Hawkeye was used to.
The receptionist at the Canterlot Asylum looked up as a grey Pegasus with a dark blue mane and tail approached. She bore the armour of the royal guard and had the strangest eyes. The receptionist halted what she was doing and proceeded to address the guard before her.
“Good evening, ma’am. How might I help you tonight?” she asked. The guard just scratched her head and looked around the room.
“Um… I’m here to see somepony. It’s official business.” she said.
“You’ll have to give me more to go on, honey. There are a few here that refer to themselves as somepony. They went so far as to abandon their names.” The Pegasus sighed, unsure what else to say.
“Oh man… I never got a name. All I know is that he came here voluntarily and is actually free to leave whenever he wants.” The receptionist’s face drooped as she realised who the guard was there to see.
“Oh, him. Good luck getting anything out of that one. He’s started spouting gibberish and singing rather morbid songs that sound like they belong back in the sixties. Hang on, I’ll buzz you through.” the receptionist then proceeded to press a large button on her desk and the door next to the guard opened up. She went through and waited for the receptionist to lead the way along with a big surly security stallion in tow.
“Why the muscle?” the royal guard asked. The receptionist shrugged.
“I feel safer when there’s security around, especially with him. He has that look in his eyes, like he’s waiting for an opening so he can strike.” The security guard shivered as he recalled an event that remained unsaid.
“Door sixty-six.” the security guard called, sticking his horn through a hole in the door. It lit up with a complex system of runes and symbols placed on the door.
“For somepony who’s free to leave whenever he wants, you sure have him locked up tighter than any other patient here.” the Pegasus said. The Receptionist laughed at this.
“This isn’t a barrier keeping him in; it’s a barrier keeping us out. Night Light here is using his magic to request permission to enter.” The grey Royal Guard went wide eyed as the runes and symbols began to move in circular rotations, each one stopping upright as they made sounds like an unlocking door.
“We’re in.” Night Light said, stepping aside to allow the guest entry.
The room was dark and Hawkeye could barely see a thing. Somehow, the light from outside was being blocked and couldn’t pass through the doorway. She tested it with her hoof and it grew pitch black as she passed it through the threshold.
“This is amazing. A spell that bars light from outside.” she stepped all the way in and looked behind her. She could see the light from outside, but couldn’t see herself until her hoof passed the threshold once more.
Hawkeye jumped as the door closed on her, trapping her inside. She suddenly felt very claustrophobic. The feeling of being watched added to her discomfort.
“Hello?” she called out within the darkness. There was a slight jangling sound as something moved within the darkness. Hawkeye wanted to retreat into her armour. She wanted to shrink to a near invisible size and hide somewhere she couldn’t be seen.
“I-is anypony in here?” what a stupid question. Of course there was somepony inside. But how many, that was a different question altogether. Perhaps the receptionist and security guard had tricked her and had now offered her to a cannibalistic pony or a psychotic pony with a tendency to kill cute things. Hawkeye never saw herself as cute, but she figured somepony else would.
“The… thoughts running through your mind… still a better read than the Dusk saga, with the sparkling vamponies.” a voice called back. Hawkeye almost jumped.
“You can read my thoughts?”
“Well… not read exactly… More like… view them. What do you want?” he asked, the jangling sound resounding once again.
“I-I want to ask for your help. Princess Celestia sent me to–.”
“Just Celestia?”
Hawk eye pasued for a moment. “No, Princess Luna as well-.”
“Did they tell you my name?”
Hawkeye shook her head before realising that even he probably couldn’t see in this darkness, but before she could verbally give her response, he spoke again.
“I didn’t think so. I imagine it was difficult for them to mention me at all. Still, that’s what happens when you throw an Ursa Minor into the sky and send it to the moon.” Hawkeye thought he was making sense until he mentioned the Ursa Minor.
“They have reason to believe that you’re the Element of–.”
“Magic, I know. They’re correct, I can see it. And you are Loyalty. So they believe I’ll be able to track the remaining bearers of the elements. Smart of them, and unoriginal.”
“Sorry?”
“They’ve done this almost all their lives. It started with previous Elements of Harmony. Celestia has a habit of sending her friends in to do the dangerous and dirty work for her. Nightmare Moon, also known as Luna’s resurrection, she sends Twilight to Ponyville to gain friends and become the bearers of the Elements. Again with Discord, she has Twilight and her friends solve Discord’s riddles, and then lets them suffer disharmony. And don’t get me started on the Crystal Empire. The list is almost endless. And now she’s repeating the cycle with you and I. She’s easy to read, is my Great Aunt.”
Hawkeye remained silent, searching for the source of the voice among the darkness.
“Would you mind lifting this veil? It’s getting a little uncomfortable.” There wasn’t a response, but the request was answered when she began to see the light from the runes around the walls.
“It’s a self-sustaining spell. All it requires is a little magical energy with the intent in one’s mind and the runes act accordingly.”
It was then that Hawkeye gazed upon the Stallion that had hidden himself away from Equestria and unnerved both princesses, and as soon as she saw him, Hawkeye saw why. A White stallion with a dark purple mane was bound from the neck down in restraints, preventing his movement. His eyes were dark and lifeless, distant even. He was looking directly at her. Hawkeye began to feel a force weighing her down on the spot, as though his mere presence caused the gravity to increase.
“Hello, Loyalty. My name is Grimoire, and I’m the Element of Magic.”