//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Blades in the Crowd // by walk-in closet brony //------------------------------// The world swayed back and forth into darkness and light as Noble Virtue slowly returned to the world of the living. His head ached terribly, and his back was resting awkwardly on a hard slab. He tried lifting his head, but to no avail. "Hey . . you . . . okay? Saw you . . . from the river . . ." A voice sounded from the deep, but was quickly drowned out, blanketed by the raspy cough that had now filled Virtue's lungs. He slowly regained consciousness and with it, his memories. And once he did, he'd wished he died back in the fire that had taken his entire family. "PENUMBRA!" Spouted Virtue, shooting up from his position, writhing his limbs wildly in the air. A strong pair of hooves held him back down, and before he knew it, Virtue had sapped all of his strength once more and quickly faded back into the welcoming pillow of unconsciousness. Deep inside her majesty's palace, princess Twilight Sparkle sat in her private study, writing furiously with a worn down pen. Her gaze un faltering, her eyes hardly blinking, she documented her encounters with an object old as time, one that held all the secrets, and didn't even require a key. It was a marvelous thing, this little ball. It had been her everything. Her rise to power, her authority over her little ponies, the ladder she had given her friends to take their place among the hierarchy with her. It had been long since- "Your majesty?" Hailed a voice, interrupting Twilight's train of thought. "What? Can you not see I'm busy!" She called out frustratingly, shutting the drawer to her right and locking it with magic. "I-I'm sorry y-your highness, b-but you haven't l-left your room in days! Please, Princess Celestia and Lady Luna would ask that you join them for dinner this evening." The page stuttered. Twilight sighed in annoyance, the constant pestering of her "dear" mentor was becoming a nuisance, much so that it was starting to interfere with the allignment of her plans. With the actions undertaken at Ponyville today, she would have to postpone the first phase of her operation to next Wednesday, a whole week behind schedule. "Very well Tinker, I shall consider it. Now please, leave me be!" She said, attempting to retain as much self control as she could. "Of course your majesty, whenever you're ready to depart." Said the page as he humbly backed out of the study. "Impudent fool . . . " With an irritated sigh, Twilight Sparkle picked up her pen and ink well and began writing once more. Consciousness once more returned to the distraught orphan, only this time he had found himself wrapped in thick rope, strapped to a wooden dining table. "Oh goddess. Mom, dad . . . Penumbra . . " He silently cried to himself, the soft whimpering echoing within the small cottage. The clip-clop of hoof steps soon entered his ears, and with what room he had to move, Noble Virtue glanced over to find an old, grey-haired stallion grinning from afar. "Please let me go! I don't want to be burned alive!" Virtue shouted, fear lapsing through every vein in his body. "Easy child, easy . . . " Said the stallion in a soft, smooth voice. Virtue watched closely as the stallion used his aged, frail horn to pick up a small cutting knife and hover it near him. Virtue panicked, and squirmed away as far as he could, only tightening the ropes further. "No . . no . . . please . . . " He begged. "I'm not going to hurt you colt, just hold still or the knife will do all the hurting." The old pony said as he cut the ropes calmly, wielding the knife with such grace, caressing the thinning rope with the blade's edge. "You're not?" Sniffled Virtue, wiping the pained tears from his eyes with his now-free hoof. "Of course not. Hold on one . . more . . second . . . and there, finished." Spoke the stallion, pulling the remnants of the binding away. Licking his raw forelimb, Virtue stared at the aged pony, observing his weathered features. Now that he had gotten a good look, Virtue could see many scars adorning his head, some running down the length of his neck to underneath his apron, which had been presently covered in blood. The impressions in the pony's face grew very intricate as he spoke. "I picked you up from the river, luckily I was the first to find you. You know, princess Sparkle's guards are looking for you now, and that is never a good reason to be found out in the open like you were. What on earth were you doing lying face-down in the river like that anyway?" Virtue stared at the floor with a grim face, remembering the cold blooded murders of all those innocent ponies, including his family, all burned alive save one small flattened pile of flesh lying somewhere among the rocks. First it had been sadness, then anger that finally overtook the poor colt as Virtue steamed where he sat, wanting vengeance for all those poor souls who had suffered at the hands of the guard, under direct orders from the tyrant Twilight Sparkle. "Calm yourself young one, and tell me what has happened, you were quite bruised up when I brought you in. My name is Sterling Valor. Might I inquire yours?" "My . . my name is Noble Virtue, and a great evil has befallen me and my family." "Goddess, burned alive? All of them, even the little ones?" Asked Sterling in disbelief. "Yes . . . all of them. I could hear the screams as my father pushed my sister and I out the window." "Of course, your poor sister. I had no idea, where did this happen?" Asked Sterling. "In the industrial sector, near the abandoned textile warehouse. All of them, my entire family dead." The old stallion could hear the anger festering in the young colt, rising to boiling temperatures. "I . . . I'LL KILL THEM ALL! EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM! THE PRINCESS, AND ALL THOSE WHO SERVE HER!" Virtue shouted, much spite and hate dwelling within his voice. The two took a moment of calming silence, when Sterling raised his head and pleaded sincerely. "Look child, I know you are angered, and rightly so, but do not throw your life away so suddenly. My sympathies and condolences to all who perished at the hooves of those dogs, but you are a young stallion, barely out of your childhood. What do you think will happen when you try to face her majesty's guards? Hm? They are seasoned mercenaries, trained to kill. You would be slaughtered before you made it to the palaces front step." Sterling explained bluntly. In a flash, Virtue directed his rage towards the old pony, who sat only inches away from the destructive orphan. "You would call me incapable!? You of all ponies, you, who is just as feeble and weak as a newborn foal!" Shouted Virtue. Suddenly, Sterling Valor stood up from his stool and spoke in a deafening voice, one that made him seem much more powerful than before. "You insolent child! I was a captain in the solar guard! Where do you think I got these scars from? Playing bridge with other seniors!? I was once a proud warrior, standing guard amongst the elite in Canterlot, when that witch Twilight Sparkle spoke out against me one day, suspecting me of treason! TREASON!" Virtue had lost all of his gumption, shrinking in fear before the tall ex-guard as he continued to chastise him. "Her brother, a close friend of mine have you, had no choice but to discharge me from the royal guard and banish me from Canterlot, never to return again. I was to be executed! Hung from the very gallows I was expected to guard each day! Luckily, lady Luna was able to persuade her sister to lessen the punishment, so here I reside today, wallowing in my own self-pity. I have become a beggar, a shadow of my former self. But you, you who still has so much life to live for, would throw it all away in a second without even thinking. For shame." He explained, softly shaking his head as he sat back down on his stool. A long quiet spell cast itself over the room, engulfing the two conflicted souls within. Virtue, pondering his thoughts, realized the wisdom in the old stallions words, that he had no training pertaining to the art of combat. He could barely make it through the first guard before he would lay eyes on the tyrant princess. He would need special schooling. But from where? Virtue hung his head in disappointment and leaped off the table, limping towards the door. "Where are you going? Remember what I said, don't do this!" Pleaded Sterling. Virtue stopped in his tracks and glanced back at the old guard. "Listen, I'm very thankful for your help, but whether you like it or not, I'm going to take action. For too long I've watched those thugs terrorize this city. You might lack the will to make a stand but for once in my life, I've got nothing to lose and I'm going to use every ounce of my strength to taking down this "princess". You can try to stop me, but I'll just keep trying until I can't any longer." Virtue turned toward the door once more, possessing no intent to face Sterling again. "Wait child- " "Stop calling me that!" Virtue yelled, maintaining his course. "You are not ready! You possess neither wing nor horn! What will you do without combat training? You aren't thinking this through!" Begged Sterling. To his own surprise, Virtue reluctantly stopped again, yet refused to face the stallion behind him. "Where do you suppose I get this training from? Hm? Everyone is too scared to do anything about the monstrosity staring them right in the face and I'm tired of it! I'm leaving, with or without help." Virtue trotted towards the door and prepared to nudge it open, not surprised that Sterling had nothing to say to his open retort. "I will." What? Noble Virtue's right hoof was on the door, which was already slightly ajar. The sudden outburst however, had restrained him from pushing it open all the way. Slowly, the wronged colt turned his head and stared at Sterling who was off the stool and by his fireplace mantle, eyeing the badges and merits he received from his glory days. "I will give you the training necessary to defeat the tyrant princess Sparkle and all those who follow her." "Again, thank you Sterling. I honestly don't know what I was thinking. I'm not gonna lie either, I was literally about to march out of here and buck the first guard I saw right in the face." Admitted Virtue as he followed Sterling to an armoire in the corner of the cottage. "That's exactly why I was trying to stop you, now come closer, there's something I want you to see." Spoke Sterling as he telekinetically grasped the handles of the armoire and pulled them open. The dust that settled as the doors swung open confirmed that this piece of furniture had not been touched in a long time. What was revealed as the dust settled however made Noble Virtue's jaw drop. "As you can see, I haven't used these in a long time, but they'll still hold their own in a fight." Said Sterling. In front of the two, showcased on a mahogany rack sat age-old guard armor that had long lost it's luster. The effect however, still held tantamount meaning. The set came complete with greaves and a full breastplate that would envelope the entirety of the wearer's body. It was the helm however, that caught Virtue's attention. It was an old model, one that still shined with the bright crest of the old guard. With glazed-over eyes filled to the brim with boyish wonder, Virtue reached for the set of grand armor, already imagining how he'd look standing over the dead bodies of his conquered enemies. SLAM The armoire doors slammed shut, denying Virtue access to the royal armor. "Hey, what gives Sterling?" Asked Virtue. "What, you think just because you retain the will to fight you can don the robes of a guard? You must earn these through months of hard training." "Months!? I can't wait months!" Cried Virtue in disbelief. Sterling laughed hard, locking the cabinet and turning to face his new apprentice. "When I said I would train you, I meant it. I am going to give you every bit of knowledge I possess about combat and cunning so that you may be prepared to strike hard and fast in the coming months. Come the end of this year, you shall be ready to begin the long road to smiting our foes, and do a great service to the ponies of this land and those beyond." Explained Sterling. With an accepting sigh, Virtue stood still, staring at the closed doors of the armoire. Sterling had already trotted away into the kitchen, preparing the evening meal. "I shall prepare a sleeping space for you in the attic. It is no longer safe for you to wander outside. Word of your survival will surely prompt a mad search from the guard." Called Sterling from afar. "Very well." Virtue spoke quietly to himself, moving his gaze to the mantle where Sterling's medals sat. He had countless merits, even a solar cross, all depicting his bravery in the face of unrelenting danger. On the centerpiece sat a photo of him in his captains armor standing at attention alongside another, one Virtue could recognize all too well. Captain of the guard, Shining Armor. Sterling entered the room, interrupting Virtue's train of thought. As the young colt stared at the aging stallion, he could hardly believe that the guard in the picture was the old pile of bones he was looking at today. Sterling set a tray on the table with a pitcher and two glasses and began pouring an orange liquid into each cup. "Fruit nectar," He spoke. "Invigorates the body so I'm told." "Thanks Sterling." Said Virtue as he joined his mentor at the table and sipped his beverage. It tasted delicious, but the entire time he drank, a single question insisted on lingering in the back of his head. "Hey Sterling, I've got a question." "Yes?" "Why? Why would you help even though I insulted you like I did back there. Despite the fact that what we're proposing, open rebellion to a princess of Equestria which is considered the highest of treason, you would still help me. Why?" Sterling smiled and closed his eyes as he slowly sipped his fruit nectar in what seemed like the calmest tranquility. "Virtue, fifty years ago I took an oath. An oath that entitled me a protector of the free ponies of this land, and if anything should threaten that freedom, I am to take immediate action, risking life and limb to preserve such freedoms. Ah, but these old hooves, they're too old to stand against an evil as strong as this. So I take action by way of training you, and I fulfill that oath through your actions against out foes. Do me this last kindness and help me keep my word to the princess that I am still a guard, and shall be to the day I take my final breath."