“Wake up, Mr. Silent, wake uuuuuup!!” I heard a high pitched voice besides my bed.
“Not now, now is sleeping time, not waking time,” I groaned. It was too early in the morning to be clever.
“Not if Ah have anything to say about that.” I heard the little voice mutter under its breath before belting out at a volume I didn’t think possible. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER ALARM CLOCK YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!”
And with that, the young filly that I now assumed to be Apple Bloom began to spring up and down on my chest. It actually looked pretty fun. I didn’t really mind it too much, she could do that for days and I wouldn’t get hurt, but I definitely wasn’t getting back to sleep.
“Mr. Silent yur gonna miss breakfast!” She whined. I suppose that was a good enough reason to get out of bed.
“Alright, okay, I’m getting up, but I do need you to stop jumping on me, Apple Bloom.” I told her.
“Awww...” she groaned when she realized her fun was over. I knew it, she was having a good time up there.
With that I slowly got out of the makeshift bed Big Mac and I threw together when I moved into the barn. It wasn’t very comfortable, but it got the job done. I was only planning on staying until I got back on my hooves... wings... whatever. As I exited the barn I was greeted with a beautiful sight. There was not a single cloud in the sky (save for my house of course, but that didn’t really count). This was going to be a great day for flying--assuming I could get myself off of the ground.
As I made my way into the house I was greeted by the smell of pancakes. Today was shaping up to be a very good day. The rest of the Apple family was already at the table, digging in. Looked like I wasn’t the only one who loved pancakes. Almost before I sat down a plate stacked high with wonderful-smelling flapjacks was laid out before me. I dug in enthusiastically; I could definitely get used to this.
After a little bit, I noticed Apple Bloom looking impatiently between AJ and me and I noticed AJ rolling her eyes.
“Is everything okay, Apple Bloom?” I asked her, “It looks like something is bothering you.”
I was concerned, as she looked like she was about to burst. She looked up excitedly and began to speak “Well Ah-” but stopped herself and looked to Applejack as if to ask for permission.
AJ gave a small nod that clearly said “go ahead”.
“Ah was just wondering how you got your cutie mark, Mr. Silent.” Apple Bloom asked with eyes like dinner plates.
I chuckled a bit, telling her “You don’t have to call me Mr. Silent, just Silent is perfectly ok. And I would be happy to tell you how I came to get my cutie mark.”
“It was my last year at Cloudsdale Academy, about four weeks into the school year, and the new flyers were doing some laps around the hoofball field while I was doing strength training. It was a nice day, not too much lateral wind, but the updraft was strong enough to keep a pony airborne without much effort. Perfect conditions for flying, or so I’m told. It was pretty late in the afternoon and the new edge guards were still training-”
“What's an edge guard?” Apple Bloom blurted out, letting her curiosity get the best of her.
“It’s not polite to interrupt, Apple Bloom,” AJ chided her little sister.
“No, it’s fine.” I tell both of them, “I probably should have realized that she wouldn’t know what an edge guard is.”
“You see Apple Bloom, most buildings and areas inhabited by pegasi are made out of the clouds that float hundreds of feet off of the ground. The edge guards are there to make sure that if anypony were to fall off the edge and couldn’t right themselves, somepony would be able to save them before they hit the ground,” I explained.
“Anyway, like I was saying,” I started back up again, “the new edge guards were still training, but it had been a few years before anything scary like a freefaller happened and no one could even remember the last time anypony had gotten seriously injured from a fall. Because of this, the guards were mostly seen as a formality and an easy way to make a few bits. Whenever the older guards didn’t feel like going on duty, they usually pushed the hours onto some poor newbie who couldn’t say no to an upperclassman.
So I was doing some weight training on the sidelines when I heard a scream from right above me. A young pegasus, she looked to be about three years younger than me, was plummeting from the sky. My first guess is that it had to be some sort of wing cramp. Flying with one wing is something that takes years of training and it certainly didn’t seem like the mare that was falling had any idea of what she was doing and was simply flailing around in a panic.
My eyes immediately shot to the edge guard and I immediately noticed two things about him. First, he was about the same age as the mare that was falling, only a first year at most.
Second, the shock and fear that overcame him had completely frozen him in place.
They say that in times of panic, your body takes control and is completely separate from your mind. When this happens, the actions that your body takes can differ drastically from one pony to the next. The edge guard's body had kept him still, my body had thrown me over the edge of the cloud after the mare.”--*crash*
I was interrupted by the sound of a plate shattering.
AJ had dropped hers on the floor but didn’t even seeming to notice, Apple Bloom’s eyes widened in a mixture of awe and terror, Granny Smith’s teeth fell out, and Big Mac was utterly speechless (well, more so than usual). I never thought much of it, but i guess it is kind of shocking when you think about it.
“Anyway,” I resumed. “I was quite a bit heavier than the mare who was falling so I quickly caught up with her, and as I grabbed her I regained control of my body. After carefully analyzing the situation I was in, I came to the conclusion that I was falling out of the sky and that slowing down might be the best course of action. So, I unfurled my wings. That lasted about five full seconds before my wings were dislocated, that whole trotter concept had really slipped my mind at the time. When the mare saw how my wings were fluttering lifelessly above me she began to sob, seeming to accept her fate. I on the other hand had other plans, I jumped off of a cloud to save this pony and I’d be damned if I didn’t do everything I could to do just that.
I told the mare to hold on as I wrapped my front and back legs around her and positioned myself between her and the ground. I closed my eyes and waited. The only things I could feel or hear was the air rushing past me and the sobbing of the mare clinging to me for dear life.
Then there was the impact.” I finished.
You could have cut the tension in the air with a knife if you wanted to.
Apple Bloom jumped up “What in tarnation!” she yelled.
“What happened?! Did the mare survive? Did YOU survive?” she asked in a flurry.
Tension gone. Everyone in the room, myself included, burst into laughter. Apple Bloom had a very confused look on her face until she looked at me for a second and, seeming to realise the craziness of her third question, joined in on the laughter herself.
After everypony had calmed down AJ asked, “But really Silent, what happened? Nopony just up and walks away from hitting the ground that hard.”
“Well,” I began, “The mare who I was trying to save was all right, she had a few bruises and was a bit shaken up, but aside from that she was fine. I on the other hand was a different story. I had broken my back in thirty-five places and each of my ribs were split. If my wings hadn’t been limp because of dislocating them, the doctors told me that I would never have been able to use them again. I just consider myself lucky that I landed on a grassy field and not some rocks. I woke up three weeks later. The doctors told me that no one else would have been able to survive the fall like I did. Pegasi have naturally crash resistant bodies, but the fact that I had solid bones and about six times as much muscle than the average pegasus my age bolstered the shock absorbing effects that my body naturally had. when I was finally able to get out of bed I took a look in the mirror. It is amazing what modern magic can do. Aside from the casts and bandages that riddled my body I looked much the same as I did. But there was one very distinct difference that I was very excited about.” I paused for a second to turn to Apple Bloom could see where I was pointing to.
“This.” I said as I motioned to my cutie mark, a solid steel plate in the shape of a shield.
Apple Bloom stared at it in awe, “That is so amazing, Silent!” she said
“The story’s not over yet though,” I said, making Apple Bloom visibly confused.
“You mean you got another cutie mark!” Apple Bloom squealed with delight and began to dart around me trying to find the nonexistent second mark.
“No, not that kind of mark, but I like think that it is just as cool,” I said with a smile.
“Cooler than a cutie mark?” Apple Bloom immediately sat down in front of me, eagerly awaiting the continuation of my story.
“About a week after I got out of the hospital I got a letter from Princess Luna herself. She and her sister wanted to meet me personally. When I arrived at the castle, I had never been more nervous, and that’s considering I had fallen a few hundred feet off a cloud just a few months ago. When I entered the royal throne room I was greeted by one of the most intimidating yet beautiful sights a stallion can see. Both the Princess of the Sun and the Princess of the Moon were sitting on their ornate thrones. The Princess of the Night was the first to speak. She told me to rise, and I was confused before I realised that I had absentmindedly prostrated myself before them. Both of the princesses asked me about the events that had taken place and I explained in much the same way I just explained it to you. After I had finished, the two sisters nodded to one another, and Princess Luna stood from her seat and told me that I might kneel. She then told me told me to bring one of my front hooves out in front of me.
When I did, she placed her horn first on my right shoulder, saying ‘For thine willingness to throw thine life away to protect that of another,’ and then placing her horn on my left shoulder, ‘and for thine bravery and resourcefulness in doing so,’ then placing the tip of her horn on my outstretched hoof, ‘I dub thee, Sir Silent Charge, Seventh Night of the Royal Court.’ And upon contacting my hoof with her horn, it was emblazoned with the seal of the two sisters.
‘Arise, Sir Night,’ She said to me, and so I did.
I felt both honored and worried about what had just happened. Obviously what the Princess had just done was not something that everypony was able to say they had done to them, and I was extremely grateful for it. But it also worried me, I was fearful as to what this title might imply, and what I might be called to do in the future because of this.” I paused to collect my thoughts.
“Hold up there partner,” Applejack stopped me from starting back up again.
“What is it?” I asked a bit concerned about the questioning look on AJ’s face.
“Ah’m a bit confused here, some things just aren’t adding up.” She began, “Well, all of this seems like a sorta’ big deal, Ah mean, if you saved some mare from plummeting to her death and then got knighted, wouldn’t ya think that ah would have heard of ya before now?”
I paused for a moment, that question actually did make a lot of sense. One would think stories like that would be journalistic gold.
“I hear where you’re coming from there, but both of those issues are fairly explainable.” I began, “First off, there is the matter of explaining the absence of a story on how I saved the mare from falling to death. For that lack of coverage you can thank my father. He is the owner of a large firm in Manehattan and has the resources to keep a story about me out of the papers. As to why he would do that, well, he is a pegasus with a lot of pride. He would do anything to stop attention from being drawn to the fact that his son is a dirtkicker.”
Applejack looked livid for a moment so I decided to add “But honestly it doesn't matter to me, I didn’t do it for the attention anyway.”
“And then there is the matter of the lack of publicity in regards to my Nighting. There is a very big difference between being a Knight beginning with a K and a Night beginning with an N. The former group is comprised of individuals who are considered to be heros throughout equestria, they are the faces that everyone will recognise. Soldiers of merit, philanthropists donating millions of bits to the impoverished, those types of folks. They are Knighted in front of crowds of hundreds by Celestia.” I continued to explain.
“The Nights beginning in an N on the other hand, the group I am a part of, are the ones that are not as well known, but are heroes in their own right. We are not meant to be well known, that way we can lay low and report on the status of the kingdom from the average ponies perspective. I report to princess Luna once a week on how things are going in my personal life and the town I was assigned to.”
“So you’re a Night, starting with an N, and you report once a week to Luna,” Applejack questioned me with a very doubtful look on her face, “Seems kinda corny to me.”
“Really, I had thought it was quite clever myself.” I replied confidently.
“Oh and let me guess, there are only seven of you at any given time, one for each night of the week?” AJ said sarcastically.
“ Actually yes,” I replied with a start, maybe Luna was being a bit corny with the organization of things here. “That way Luna only ends up getting one report a day and she can space things out a little bit, I for example report to her each Sunday.”
Applejack still didn’t look too convinced so I figured I would have to prove it to her one way or another.
“If you want proof I can give it to you, what day is it?” I asked her.
“Friday.” she replied with a surprised expression on her face.
“Ok, so I will be sending my next letter two days from now. Luna’s response always arrives when the moon is highest in the night sky, I have to be outside when it gets here so it’s usually pretty chilly, but if you’re up to it I can let you see the letter after I read it.” I told her in the hopes that it would get her off my back.
I mean jeez, what was with this mare and her honesty issues. It felt like if I ever lied to her she would string me up on the spot.
“And on that note, I believe it is time for me to go.” I say, standing up and bringing my dishes to the kitchen. “I have a flight lesson in about forty-five minutes that I really don’t want to miss.”
And with that I said my goodbyes and headed towards Ponyville. Or more specifically, Rainbow Dash’s house.