//------------------------------// // Forgotten // Story: Eq. Divided: Whitegold's Silent Wing // by PurpleFire18 //------------------------------// The sun was at the top of the sky when two airships left Manehattan. One of them headed for the Everfree Forest and the other one started to fly across the Coast of Stars. Sky Dreamer was on board, donning his nighthoof cothes, staring blankly at the fortified city. "You seem troubled, sir." Sky Dreamer snapped out of it and turned around. A militia pony had approached him, noticing the look on his eye. "I'm not troubled...it's just that I hoped I'd never have to go back to Moon and Star territory, at least not with orders to kill." Sky Dreamer looked at Manehattan one last time. "Plus...my daughter..." "You will survive this, Silent Wing. You always do," the militia pony reassured him. "You have been with Moon and Star before, in case of an engagement, what should we expect?" "Well, slaves. Moon and Star will send slaves to take the first hit, and then attack with their unicorns. But I hope it doesn't come to that. If things haven't changed in eight months, then Stalliongrad is not heavily guarded, so infiltrating it should be easy." "Slaves, huh? Well, they will be easy to ki-" the militia pony noticed Sky Dreamer glaring at him. "I mean...sorry, sir." Two hours into the flight, Sky Dreamer no longer looked outside the airship. He couldn't bear to look back at his old, painful life. Just being this close to Moon and Star territory made him remember the whips, shackles, agony and starvation that were common in a slave's life. They were so fresh in his memory that he could almost feel them now. He remembered his parents and Thin Veil, the only ponies that showed any love and compassion during the nearly ten years of slavery that took almost half of his entire life. He then remembered the reason his family was gone: Black Night, the Inquisitor. Even after killing him months ago, his memory made his mind burn with anger. Just remembering that unicorn face with the moon symbol tattooed on the left cheek and the long mustache made him want to kill him again and again, as many times necessary. "We are getting close, Silent Wing. Get ready!" the captain shouted from the deck. Sky Dreamer approached the captain, then whispered to him. "Stay flying above the island...as soon as you see me coming back, start the flight home. If you see forces gathering near you, don't even bother waiting for me." "...Sure thing, son." Sky Dreamer waited for the airship to be above the island in question. Looking at his comrades aboard the airship, he took off and prepared to dive to the ground. "For House Whitegold." He dived to the ground and flapped his wings when he was close enough, flying just above the ground at high speed, headed for Stalliongrad. He luckily remembered most of the turns he had to take, and even though he had just one eye, his depth perception was, mostly, fine. Not too long after, he reached the outskirts of the city Stalliongrad. However, he noticed one first change: the city had various Inquisitors patrolling it, accompanied by legionnaires. This gave him a clear idea that whatever they were doing there, it deserved vigilance. He had to create a diversion to safely infiltrate Stalliongrad, and it would have been easier if Guardian was with him. He carefully observed the patrols, and spotted one particular guard who was alone. He looked at his hoof and activated his concealed blade, then charged at the guard at such a speed that he had no time to react. With two quick stabs in the eyes, the guard was blinded. As he screamed in pain, Sky Dreamer took the chance to get into the city and hid in the first place he deemed safe. Slowly moving from place to place, he looked at the numerous slaves that walked in the city, not as citizens, but as servants. He remembered the times he was forced to carry the mages' books, bags and even pull their carts. Once in a while he'd get a coin or some food, but those times could be counted easily by a recently born foal. However, he was genuinely thanked once by a young unicorn mare who wasn't likely to be older than himself. He never heard anything from her again, and in fact didn't remember her until now. He eventually managed to find what was so important in Stalliongrad, and what he saw scared him. They were building an Idol of the Sun and Moon, but far bigger and he deduced twice as powerful. The added size clearly required a longer construction, as it was not even halfway to being finished. He now knew why they had to send spies, something this big would easily mean Moon and Star's victory in any battle. He had to return quickly, but before taking off he saw why so many spies were lost: the sky above the construction site was being watched by Seraphs. Before he had the chance to swear to himself, he was immediately attacked. In battles, his specialty was taking out individual targets at a time, but he was greatly outnumbered and didn't have room to escape. To his surprise, he wasn't killed, and was instead captured. "An eye patch of leather, gold and diamonds?" a seraph asked aloud. "Then this is the one the Inquisition is looking for!" another seraph announced. "Take him to them, his crimes against the divine rule will be answered for at last!" "Guess I'm famous around here, as well?" Sky Dreamer asked with irony. "Silence, the Inquisition will see to it that you are burned at the stake soon." "Woo hoo..." Sky Dreamer's sarcasm irritated his captors. *** Sky Dreamer found himself tied to a stake in front of the gigantic monument under construction, along with the several nighthooves who had been sent to Stalliongrad, every single one of them still wearing their masks and uniforms and tied to their own stake. It seemed the Inquisition was waiting for him to execute them all. He looked to his side and saw the nighthooves looking at him. "What?" he asked. "We are going to be executed because of you, you fool!" one of them shouted. "Silent Wing had nothing to do with this, they would have executed us anyway!" another one replied. "Then why did they keep asking us about him? It is him they want!" "Yet they are going to execute us as well!" "Alright, all of you, be quiet!" Sky Dreamer sighed. "Does anypony know why they want me exactly? No? Then stop blaming me!" The inhabitants of Stalliongrad gathered, and soon after a pair of unicorns, male and female, the male one of being an inquisitor, walked in front of the stakes, the inquisitor speaking as the other pony removed the nighthooves' masks. "For the crime of heresy against the divine rules and teachings of the Royal Sisters, our Princesses Celestia and Luna, these traitors will burn. May Celestia and Luna have mercy on their souls!" He ordered the mare to stop at Sky Dreamer, and looking at him in the eye, he took a lit torch and levitated it near him. "The Silent Wing...guilty of the crimes of heresy, treason and murder of several Moon and Star ponies, including the famous Inquisitor Black Night, a beloved comrade...and beloved father..." Sky Dreamer froze with shock. "FATHER?! That...that monster...had a son?!" He looked at the inquisitor, who resumed his speech. "This murderer, the Silent Wing, shall burn, followed by his fellow assassins. His mask shall be removed, so that all will know the face of the criminal who murdered our brothers and sisters! In the name of Celestia and Luna!" He nodded at the mare, who then removed Sky Dreamer's mask. He prepared to burn the pegasus, but upon seeing his face, he dropped the torch to the ground and took a step back. "Y-YOU?!" the inquisitor said in disbelief. Everypony present was confused by the inquisitor's reaction, especially Sky Dreamer. "No...no...no, no, no!" the inquisitor's shock persisted. "No! This is impossible!" the inquisitor fell backwards, landing on his rear. Sky Dreamer looked at him in confusion, but said nothing. "...Are you Sky Dreamer?!" Sky Dreamer was clearly surprised by the inquisitor knowing his name."...Why...why did you do it?!" the inquisitor asked, getting up. "Why did you kill my father, Sky?! Did our past mean nothing to you, 'Brother'?!" Sky Dreamer was now shocked, and his memories flashed back to him. Something he had forgotten ever since the House enslaved him and his father. Before the war, when he was friends with the now cultist Tricky Note, he had another friend, a male unicorn known as Dusk Fire, his best friend, and one could say they were like brothers. He never knew Dusk Fire's father, he lived in Canterlot, and Dusk Fire's parents were in reality divorced. When the war began, Dusk Fire left Ponyville, and he never heard from him again. "Dusk...Fire?" he asked, as if to fully confirm the identity of the inquisitor. "You will pay for all the lives you took, murderer!" Dusk Fire took the torch again and levitated it close to the stake. "In the name of Celestia, may your flesh burn like the fire of the sun. In the name of Luna, may your soul fade away in the light of the moon!" Dusk Fire set the wood at the base of the stake ablaze. Sky Dreamer snapped out of his shock and held his breath since he knew inhaling the smoke was the first cause of death when burning at the stake, opposed to what others believe. He started moving his hooves, fortunately his captors did not notice his concealed blades, which he activated with some difficulty. Nearly damaging his forelegs' muscles, he managed to cut the ropes tying his hooves together, and with the smoke providing a way to move mostly unnoticed, he cut the ropes tying his wings and legs to the stake. He quickly jumped out of the fire and with his trademark swiftness did the same with the other nighthooves. "You son of...seize them!" Dusk Fire commanded. The mare accompanying him and the seraphs attempted to stop the pegasi from escaping, but they were too quick for them and could only chase them. "Do NOT let them escape!" Dusk Fire joined the pursuit with an anger that burned more intensely than the stake. Barely avoiding the guards and inquisitors, the nighthooves led by Sky Dreamer made their way through the city's borders, the field and coast, reaching the island the airship was still flying above. As the captain was instructed to, he turned the airship around and began the flight home as soon as the nighthooves were spotted, and though catching up was difficult considering the situation, they still made it to safety. "Alright, start talking, 'Sky Dreamer'!" said a nighthoof, catching her breath. "What happened there?" "...I believe that the inquisitor I killed before joining Whitegold was that unicorn's father, and now he wants to kill me for it." Sky Dreamer looked down. "He knows you, and you knew him...what was that about?" another nighthoof asked him. Sky Dreamer did not look at them to reply. "...We were friends before the war...when we were little kids...I honestly forgot he existed until now." "Wait a second...you said you killed the inquisitor, Black Night I believe it was? Yes, Black Night, before you joined House Whitegold, right?" "Yes..." "Then, how come he knew the Silent Wing killed him? He didn't know it was you until your mask was removed, but you didn't become one of us until after the murder happened." "...You...you make a good point. I wasn't Silent Wing then...heavens, at the time I didn't even know I'd fight under the Whitegold banner!" Sky Dreamer thought for a second. "To the ones captured before I got there...are there any cultists in Stalliongrad?" he asked the nighthooves. They thought for minutes, until one of them finally answered. "Now that you mention it, I did see some ponies who were...or at least seemed to be cultists." Sky Dreamer did not like the sound of that. "Everypony, we will be getting to Manehattan in three hours. Until then, please do not bother me, I have much to think about now." Not waiting for reactions, he walked away. He had indeed a lot going on in his mind. His friends' secret was nearly revealed, his family was being used to blackmail him, his old best friend now wanted him dead for something that needed to be done, and, even though this was only a hunch, somepony he knew was after him again, likely laughing at him from wherever she was. "Tricky Note...I should have killed you that day. Next time...I will fix that."