Chapter 4: The Challenges of Going Home
A smaller group than the one that had arrived in Canterlot stepped off the train and onto the Crystal Empire’s platform. Assured by Vigil that everything would turn out just fine, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie had returned to Ponyville: Applejack to tend her farm, Fluttershy to care for her animals, and Pinkie to help with Sugar Cube Corner and the twins.
Luna, as promised, had traveled with them and had relished in the thought of returning to the Empire. She enjoyed the train ride almost as much as Vigil had the ride from Ponyville to Canterlot. During the trip to the Empire, Vigil had been much more subdued. The gem had begun to flare more often, and the pain increased with each pulse. As he stepped onto Empire soil, he smiled. Even in the face of his fears, he felt relieved to be back in the country he had called home.
Rainbow looked around, seemingly insulted. “Where’s the welcoming committee? There’s no Shining, no guards, no Cadence, no anypony. What gives?”
Luna grinned. “Celestia and I didn’t give them any hint we were coming. The first rule in a contest of arms is not to give your opponent any more information than necessary.” She began to lead them toward the palace, humming as if she were walking in the gardens of the castle.
Twilight looked at the princess in disbelief. “You think we’re going to have to fight to get Vigil to the Crystal Heart? It’s my B.B.B.F.F. and Cadence you’re talking about, not a pair of dragons guarding their hoard.”
Luna’s tone was untroubled, as she explained, “I don’t think the conflict will be with your brother and my adopted niece. Upon the wedding of Cadence and Shining, the council agreed to return the rule of the Empire back to the royal family without dispute, so long as certain terms were met. After some negotiations, an accord was reached so that Cadence and Shining could take their rightful places. The accord held that all rules of conduct passed by the council would stand as law for any events that took place during the Empire’s isolation. The council also demanded that the decisions they made during the time of strife were not to be judged as crimes. The key action that they sought immunity from was the attempted misuse of the Crystal Heart. There is one wrinkle to the accord that will come into play with Vigil’s situation. The council can be briefly reconvened to judge crimes that had been committed during their control of the Empire, so long as all the members are still alive, which is the case.”
Luna turned to Rarity. “While the council’s laws no longer hold sway, the council still has the power to judge crimes that occurred during their governance. You named Glittering Stone as the pony who sold you the gems. He is on the council. I’m sure he will stir up trouble in a futile attempt to save his own hide. Knowingly hiding the nature of a dangerous artifact and selling it to an unsuspecting pony is a crime.”
Vigil snorted in disgust. “There is no doubt in my mind that Stone used his wealth to purchase his council seat in some underhooved manner. No sane citizen of the Empire would have entrusted their future to him. It was an open secret that he dealt with most of the less reputable names in the Empire and beyond. He was also known for price gouging during the crisis, especially when supplies ran low. I would have to send a couple of Lancers every now and then to politely remind him that such a thing was a crime against the Empire, whether he was on the council or not. Needless to say, he is not fond of me.”
Rainbow flew close to Luna. “You think he’s going to give us trouble?” Luna nodded. Rainbow stage whispered, “Just give me a description of him, and I can make sure that he is unavailable until Vigil is through with that gem.”
Luna gave the flying pony an amused looked. “As much as that thought appeals to me, I cannot condone it. We will have to deal with Stone with a little more cunning.”
Rarity heard something in the princess’ voice that made her smile. “I take it you already have something in mind?”
“Oh yes. It will be glorious.”
Vigil winced at Luna’s words. The last time he had heard Luna say that something was going to be “glorious” it involved driving off some of Discord’s creations that had been ruining what was left of the Empire’s crops. The mission had been dangerous, long, and tough. He didn’t want to know what kind of trouble they were about to get into if the princess was right about Stone.
Rainbow shrugged and offered, “We could just slip Vigil right up to the Crystal Heart. It’s right in front of the palace, it would be easy. One magical wave later and poof, he’s free of the gem.”
Vigil smiled at the idea, but shook his head. “I wish it were that easy. The heart is only placed in front of the palace on Crystal Empire holidays and when important dignitaries visit. It’s kept at the top of the palace the rest of the time. That way it’s protected and its magic can reach further into the world.
The Crystal Empire’s inherent magic began to work on Vigil. His coat shimmered with a sliver light like moonlight across the bottom of a pool of water. His mane resembled living flows of obsidian glass.
Twilight looked him over and lit her horn. “I forgot that you were a crystal pony. Hold still, I’m going to cast an examination spell. I’ve wanted to know what magic caused this effect. I have your baselines, so now I will understand what forces cause the change.”
“For the love of Luna, no more examination spells, especially not in the middle of the street!” He turned to the princess he had named in vain and apologized.
She snickered as she tried to keep from laughing. “No offense taken. It’s nice to know that I am thought of highly enough in some parts of Equestria that my affections are still called upon.”
“Captain Vigil?” A lancer queried from across the street. The armored pony hesitantly began heading for the group. “Is that really you captain?”
Vigil stood still, not sure how the reunion would turn out. “Yes, Brass Ring, it’s me.”
Brass all but bowled Vigil over when he embraced him. “We thought you were gone! We saw the Crystal Heart destroy Sombra. We thought we had lost you too!”
“Brass, as much as I appreciate the greeting, that armor hurts.”
Ring released Vigil from the hug, but kept his hooves on his captain’s shoulders. “I thought you were dead! I can’t believe your back!”
“This lovely mare and her friends saved me.” Vigil pointed to Rarity. “Without their help, I wouldn’t have made it back.”
Brass stepped over to Rarity and bowed. “Thank you for returning our captain. The new captain is a solid commander, but he can’t handle a lance to save his soul.”
“That’s my brother you’re talking about.” Twilight’s horn was still lit from her preparation for the examination spell, and she looked ready to do violence.
Brass quickly backed away from the irritated unicorn. “I meant no offense, but it’s the truth!” He continued to retreat, and backed into Luna, which caused him to stumble and sit down. He looked up, noting the warmth against his back, and his eyes widened as Luna smiled down at him.
She patted Brass’ helmeted head. “Greetings Brass Ring, I’m glad to see that you are so pleased to see your captain again. He was worried that ponies would assail him with rotten vegetables upon sight.”
Brass scampered to his feet and bowed to the princess. “I’m sorry your highness! Please forgive my bumping into you, and please forgive my rudeness in not welcoming you first!”
She waved his words away with a hoof. “No formalities needed with me this day. I’m here to lend aid to my friends, not in my role as princess of Equestria. It’s not every day somepony you once thought was dead appears in the street, so it’s quite understandable.”
Brass turned back to Vigil and started to say something. He stopped mid-word when he noticed the gem in his captain’s chest. “Captain, please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”
Vigil gave him a sad nod. “It is. It’s the core of the horn.” At that moment, the gem flared causing Vigil to gasp in pain.
Luna’s eyes narrowed. “The gem’s power is waning faster. Let us not linger here.”
“It will kill you, won’t it captain?” Brass’ orange eyes showed his fear for the health of his commander.
“That’s what we’re afraid of, if I cannot get access to the Crystal Heart.” Vigil answered, when he got his breath back.
“Leave it to me captain.” Brass took point for the group. “Clear the way! Princess Luna and captain Vigil are passing through! Clear this street!”
Rainbow laughed as the group started to move again. “So much for making a sneaky entrance, we’re literally being announced to the whole kingdom.”
Luna’s smile lacked some of the mirth that it had possessed earlier. “True, but now speed may be more of a pressing matter than subterfuge.”
*****
“What’s taking them so long?” Rainbow groused.
Twilight scanned over the book that Luna had given her. Luna had instructed her to look over a certain section of the Empire’s laws before she and Vigil had gone into the throne room to face the now gathered council, Shining Armor, and Cadence. “Considering it took less than an hour for the Lancers to gather the council members for an emergency session, it’s going very quickly. We didn’t even have a chance to really speak with Shining or Cadence to say hello, much less tell them about what is going on.”
Rarity tried to appear completely composed. She did an admirable job, but she would occasionally fidget and show her concern. “Twilight, what is Luna having you read?”
Twilight thumped the pages with a hoof. “It’s something about making a challenge to be able to be granted access to the Crystal Heart. I don’t really understand what it has to do with what is going on.”
Rainbow continued to fly in constrained, concerned circles around the room. “I don’t know either, but it sounds awesome.”
The doors to the throne room opened. It was difficult for the gathered ponies to judge what had happened. Luna was smiling with unabashed glee, and Vigil looked as if he were going to be physically ill.
Luna immediately explained, “It went better than I expected. The hearing was short and productive, which is quite unusual for things of this nature. Vigil has been formally acquitted of all crimes by a vote of eight to one. There is a slight concern in gaining him access to the Crystal Heart, but we will have that sorted out once I speak with Cadence and Shining. Twilight, is the section of law that I asked you to check still valid?”
Twilight nodded over the edge of the book. “Yes, but why is that so important?”
Vigil despondently answered, “Because I’ve been formally barred from approaching the Crystal Heart by the council. It takes a unanimous vote to be granted that honor, and I failed by one vote.”
Rarity ground her teeth. “Let me guess whose vote it was.”
Luna nodded, confirming Rarity’s intuition. “Do not fret. There is always another option, or even two, if the situation calls for it.”
Cadence came rushing from the throne room, having finished the formalities of disbanding the council again, and hugged Luna. I’m so sorry! I thought you were brilliant in his defense.”
Vigil grimly smiled. “She was perfect. She got my name cleared, but that pile of wendigo droppings would see me dead if he had the chance.”
Shining stepped into the entrance hall, making sure he was between Vigil and the departing council members. “They’re all good ponies Vigil. Well, almost all of them.”
“I know. There is only one bad one in that lot, and he really showed his fat flank today.” Vigil had been impressed by the new captain of the Lancers. It was a relief to see that his former troops were in good hooves, and not under the command of some incompetent political appointee.
“Since you’re both here, we can address our new issue with all due haste.” Luna released Cadence. “I hereby formally request the Three Tiered Challenge for Vigil. What say you?”
Both Cadence and Shining looked at her as if she had lost her mind. Cadence delicately asked, “What are you talking about?”
Brass Ring cut in, “The Three Tiered Challenge is used when a pony feels they have the right to approach the Crystal Heart, yet have barred from it due to a formal ruling. The challenger must face three challenges, typically martial in nature, and win two of the three to gain access to the Heart. The test was created to allow potentially wronged ponies to reach the heart, and keep those with evil thoughts from getting too close to the heart.”
Luna smiled at the lancer. “Well recalled, but you left out one important detail. In the event of a tie with the challenges, the challenger’s second is allowed to face one of the trials to break the impasse.”
Twilight looked up from the book. “You’re right. How did you two know all of that?”
Brass rubbed his neck, embarrassed by the number of eyes that fell upon him. “I planned on becoming a Lancer since I was small. Besides learning all of their training exercises, I learned all I could about the Lancer’s history. The Challenge has been invoked on a couple of occasions, and Lancers were always called upon to be the opponents during the challenge.”
As Rainbow completed another cramped circle around the room, Luna gestured to her and Brass. Rainbow flew close to the princess. Luna slipped her a piece of paper, whispered some instructions, and then wished the pegasus luck. “Brass, you are to accompany this mare and ensure that nopony interferes with the tasks I have given her. In whatever manner you can, lend her your aid and knowledge. Make haste, yours is a vital effort that will have far reaching ramifications if you succeed.” Rainbow and Brass both saluted, and then sped out of the castle.
Luna turned back to Twilight and shrugged. “As for my knowledge of the Challenge, I wrote the law. I should know what it contains.” She regarded the ruling pair. “We need your answer. This stallion is hard pressed for time.”
Cadence and Shining answered in unison, “We agree.”
“You can’t do that!” A corpulent, golden coated stallion with a green mane, who had been eavesdropping the entire time, stormed towards the group. “He was forbidden access to the Crystal Heart by the council! That’s the end of it!”
Shining stepped in front of the irate pony and put his hoof on his sword. “Stone, halt right there. I’ll cut you down if I need to.”
Luna leveled an icy stare at the disreputable stallion. “This is not a matter for the council. This law predates the council’s conception and cannot be interfered with by its members under the terms of the accord. This is also a new issue before the currently ruling ponies of this Empire, since the council was officially disbanded minutes ago.”
The stallion fumed, “So two traitors to this nation are trying to circumvent the law and it will be allowed to stand?!”
Luna’s horn lit and her eyes glowed as she tapped into her magic.
Stone stumbled back at the display of power. “Now you’re threating me?!”
Luna addressed him in the Royal Canterlot Voice, “No, you foal; I just saved your life. Look upon the captain’s sword.” Stone blanched as he saw Shining’s muscles strain against Luna’s magic in an attempt to draw his blade. “Leave our presence till tomorrow. You are to attend the Challenge without fail or tardiness, under pain of imprisonment if you fail to do so.”
Stone left with all the quickness his unhealthily thick legs could muster. Luna released Shining’s sword from her magical grip, and it flashed through the air at a stunning speed.
Shining bowed to her, fearing he had overstepped himself. “Princess, my apologies, I was only going to hit him with the flat of the blade for insulting you and Vigil.”
Luna gave him an amused grin. “I had guessed as much, but we need him whole and healthy for tomorrow.”
Rarity looked as if she were thinking about taking after Stone herself. “I wish I could get my hooves on that slimly excuse of a pony.”
Luna’s smile grew to an almost unhealthy width. “You may yet have your wish.”
After a brief discussion, Twilight, Luna, Cadence, and Shining headed towards the palace’s royal quarters to catch up on royal and family matters. Vigil and Rarity wandered the halls of the palace, with Vigil acting as tour guide. Vigil caught sight of an older pony coming down the hall, as they neared where the Lancers were housed, and whistled sharply to get his attention. “Hey, you’re out of uniform! You don’t have that feather duster of yours!”
The stallion’s eyes lit up, as he recognized who was heckling him. “It can’t be! Vigil! You’re dead!”
“I’m doing well for somepony suffering from that condition.” Vigil shook hooves with the stallion. “I’m glad to see you. Rarity, this fine stallion is Cozy Room. He is in charge of keeping the palace habitable and making sure that guests and residents are comfortable.”
The ruddy coated stallion bowed to her, making his long, blue locks fall in front his eyes. “He makes it sound as if I do something important. I am merely head of the castle support staff.”
Vigil patted Cozy’s shoulder. “He also makes all the purchases of the palace and Lancer’s supplies, is in charge of storage, the kitchens, and practically anything else that functions around here.”
Cozy vigorously shook his head. “Not true. My wife is in absolute control of the infirmary, you know that.” Cozy smiled, as a thought occurred to him. “Speaking of her, you’ll want to speak to my lovely wife about that item that you left with her, I would assume.”
Vigil nodded. “That is part of it, but I wanted to see you and her too. You both are dear friends. Having gone through what I have, I have come to appreciate the friends that I have all the more.”
Cozy’s smile faded at Vigils words. “It’s always the tragedies that allow us to learn what we really need to value. Come with me, Mend is treating some fool recruit who pushed himself a little too hard.”
They made their way to the infirmary. A pink coated, silver maned pony was delicately putting away a set of crystals into a padded box, and not so delicately dressing down the recruit. “You foal! You could have been seriously hurt! That record was set by a veteran with years of training and experience, not by a wet behind the ears recruit.”
“Yes mam.” The recruit tenderly got to his feet, from the pad he had been laying on, taking care with his left hind leg.
“Don’t act like you’re still hurt. I’ve made sure that you’re all but back to normal. Whatever good that will do you if you keep pulling stunts like that.” The mare snapped shut the case with a little more force than was necessary.
Vigil was glad to see that some things had certainly not changed in the palace. “Tender Mend, please don’t terrorize the recruits more than I do. You’ll make me look like a softy.”
Mend’s head snapped around, and she covered her mouth with a hoof when she saw Vigil. Her voice held tears, as she asked, “Vigil is it really you?”
Vigil embraced the mare. “It’s the very same Lancer you’ve been treating for all these years.”
The recently healed recruit was stone still for a moment. He was equally stunned by the fact that Vigil had returned and that he dared embrace the notoriously strict healer. He reached out, and touched Vigil on the shoulder. “Captain, it is you.”
Vigil grinned at the young Lancer. “Wild Wind, it’s good to see you. I take it you were trying to beat my record on the course again?”
The recruit fidgeted. “Yes and no sir. The current record was set by Shining Armor, sir.”
Vigil felt a slight sting to his pride. “Well, at least the new captain is in fighting shape.”
The recruit looked to his captain expectantly. “I take it you won’t be staying, sir?”
Vigil shook his head. “There is a possibility that I won’t have any long term planning to do at all. Right now I’m not certain of anything, thanks to this.” He patted the gem in his chest. He briefly explained the situation with the gem, and how tomorrow would decide any number of things for him.
“May I have permission to speak freely, sir?”
Vigil internally grinned, knowing Wind would certainly let fly with whatever was running through his head. “Of course, speak your mind.”
Wind all but pleaded, “If you survive this, which I know you will, please consider coming back permanently. Shining may be good on the course, but he sucks with a lance. Brass Ring beats him every time they joust with just three passes. Shining may be a captain, but he’s certainly no Lancer.”
Vigil laughed so hard that he had to hold onto his sides. Rarity asked Wind, “Is Brass that good?”
Wind shrugged. “Brass is good, don’t get me wrong, but Shining is horrible. With a sword Shining is plain scary, but if you give him a lance he hardly knows how to properly hold it. Vigil is the best of us without a doubt. He didn’t get his cutie mark for nothing.”
Rarity glanced at the pair of crossed lances on Vigil’s flank. “He’s that skilled?”
Wind smiled, and stated with no small amount of pride, “Our captain is the best in all of Equestria.”
“Get out of here Wind, and tell Rough I’ll see him soon.” Vigil shook the recruit’s hoof, and sent him off.
As soon as Wind left, Mend gave Vigil a key. “The room is just as you left it. I told Cozy you would be back.”
“Thank you, I was worried that it would have cleaned it out by now.” He looked down at the key, lost in thought.
Rarity looked at Mend’s mane with poorly concealed envy. “Your mane is stunning. I wish the Crystal Heart’s power affected me like that all the time.”
Mend seemed to take note of Rarity for the first time. “Vigil, who is this mare and what is she doing in this part of the palace?”
“This is the lady Rarity, the mare who saved me from my imprisonment. She is the bearer of the Element of Generosity, and…”
Mend held her hoof up and Vigil immediately went silent. The healer finished his sentence, “And the mare that has caught your eye.”
“I was going to say took me in when I had no place else to go, but the other is true as well.” Vigil turned to Rarity. “Cozy and Mend are like second parents to me. My parents died not long after I joined the Lancers. They learned about their deaths and have been looking out for me ever since.”
Cozy pulled Vigil shoulder to should with him with a foreleg. “Tell us what happened.”
Vigil explained what had occurred and the challenges he would be facing. Cozy nodded sagely at the end of the tale. “Good thing I kept ponies from your room then. You’ll find all your gear is still there. You better get going. Make sure that you have everything you will need. If you lack for anything, come see me and I’ll get it.”
Vigil hugged Cozy. “I will. Thank you so much for everything.” He gave Mend another hug. “Thank you for believing I would come back.”
“You’re going to make me cry and ruin my reputation. Go on.” She patted his back, and then pushed him towards the hall. After the pair had taken a couple of steps down the hall, Mend’s voice carried to them, “You better make her mane her like mine, or I’ll have your ears!”
*****
Vigil unlocked the door and slowly opened it. Cozy and Mend were right, nothing had been moved. He walked into the small room and smiled at the familiar sight.
“You lived in a storage closet?” Rarity looked around the small room, amazed that the captain of the Lancers wasn’t afforded better living quarters. There were stands for Vigil’s armor and weapons, a couple of chests for his personal items, an unframed mirror on the wall, and two pencil drawings of ponies that she assumed to be his parents, and a cot, nothing else.
Vigil chuckled. “That’s exactly what this room used to be. They moved me closer to the castle proper when I became captain. I didn’t want to be so far from the Lancer’s quarters, so I worked a deal with Cozy and set up my room here.”
Rarity slipped on a pair of his sparring gloves with practiced ease. They were big for her, but she laced them down tightly to fit. “You will win tomorrow.” She lashed through a combination in the air fast enough for Vigil to wonder if he needed to step back or not.
“I’ll be up against the best the guard has to offer. It’s not a certainty.”
She lightly struck him on the shoulder. “Both Lancers I’ve met look up to you due to your skill. You have the talent. You just have to go out there and kick some flank.”
She started another series of strikes to the air, but he caught her hooves before she could complete the first flurry. “Rarity, I want to talk to you about what Mend said.”
“Giving me a mane like hers?” She smiled and gently pulled her padded hooves from his. “I think she was just pulling your tail.”
“No, she wasn’t. Any crystal pony can do it, but it has a meaning to crystal ponies that you might not know about.”
Rarity grinned at his awkwardness, before asking him, “Why so bashful all of the sudden?” She removed her hooves from the sparring gloves and returned them to their rightful place.
“To give the shimmer to a non-native crystal pony is seen as being about one step away from engagement with that pony. I didn’t know if you wanted ponies to think that about us or not. It’s still early in our relationship, and I didn’t…”
She covered his mouth with a hoof. “Let them think whatever they want.”
He nodded and smiled at her acceptance. “Just close your eyes.” He pulled her into an hug and kissed her forehead just under her horn. He led her in front of the mirror. “Now, open them.”
She watched in fascination as the shimmer began to spread from the spot that he had kissed her. Soon her coat and mane returned to the same luster and brilliance that they had when the Crystal Heart had touched her with its power.
He leaned in close to her. “It’s said the shimmer allows ponies to see how beautiful a pony is on the inside. This must be true, because I have never seen a mare as magnificent as you look right now. Your compassion, generosity, and understanding have lit up my world, but were hidden for only me to see. Now everypony will see the light that you bring to my life.”
In response, she put a hoof to his cheek and pulled him into a kiss.
After too short a moment, the pair was interrupted by a trio of ponies clapping. They broke the kiss and turned to their unexpected audience. Luna, Rainbow, and Brass were at the doorway, grinning like mad ponies.
Rarity gathered herself enough to ask, “How long have you been there?”
Rainbow gave her a smile that would have made Pinkie proud. “Right before he kissed you the first time. Your coltfriend really knows what to say, I would have kissed him too.”
“Captain, you’ve got to save your strength for tomorrow. Though I can see why you would be tempted to get some warm up time in right now.” Brass was lightly cuffed by Luna for his cheek.
Luna scolded, with mock authority, “Enough from the both of you. We came to inform this pair that dinner will be served shortly, not to enjoy a show.” Even having just reprimanded her cohorts, she added to Vigil and Rarity, “Should we leave the door open, or should we shut it so that you two can have dessert first?”
The two ponies in the room blushed and followed the laughing trio towards the dining hall.