//------------------------------// // 16-A Hero gets his due. // Story: This Beautiful Darkness Shall Protect Me... // by Timemaster //------------------------------// It had been a week before I finally left the hospital. Clapping and stomping greeted me as I rolled out of the hospital In the free wheelchair they give patients. I stand up, my fore legs in the air, working up the crowds immense cheers. There is people, supposedly from Canterlot, that are cheering, but I still see a sad blue hue around them. I look up and see a chariot approaching. The light fluttering of the wings of the royal guards is quite weaker than my ponies. No wonder they died. I smile at the chariot, lowering onto the ground. On it is the older princess, Celestia, and her student... er... Sparkles. "Mayor Scribe." The older princess said somewhat sternly. "Yes, ma'am?" "You know that, under law, you have committed a heinous crime." She looks at me hard. I look at her with a smile. "Actually, in the book of laws, it only mentions that a city can not have a militia as long as it is on Equestrian Land... and I am pretty sure the sky is not land, nor are clouds, for that matter." She smiles at me, coolly, "What a smart colt you are, sir..." "You can call me Wright, my liege." "Well then, Wright, do you mind if we spend a few days in the spire... our castle was obliterated by the dragon and the hurricane that it spawned." Dust acts inconspicuous, and so does the other members of her wing. "Yes, my liege, but... " I stutter, "w- who is all coming?" She rubs her chin. "Me, my sister, and Princess Twilight will be coming here." I fake a smile, but scream in fear on the inside. I begin to sweat as I say, "oh... okay." I turn to my people, smiling wider, "Did you hear that? The Princesses will be visiting our city! We must show them how far we've come!" "What do you mean?" said Celestia. "Well, you see, my liege, I did not just create an unstoppable militia, I have also increased revenue of the city immensely, reduced the Anti-griffon act to smithereens, and have started to spend more money on education. According to my citizens..." I look at my army next to their families and Canterlot friends, "I have had the highest approval rating of all city leaders since... ever." I look at her, "Though I don't like bragging." I chuckle, and so does my audience, who nodded along with all that I had said. Princess Celestia looks at Princess er, Twilight (NOT Sparkles) and she walks up to me with a scroll with a blue ribbon on it. "Sir Wright, by the authority of us three leaders, bestow unto you the Scroll of Honor. This scroll has been passed down from each and every pony who has passed for the qualifications of becoming... " she turns to the audience, " a member of the Equestrian Council." She looks back at me, leaving the crowd so happy yet silent. "Whenever you wish to join the Council... just send us the scroll." She gives it to me, motioning me to open it. 'Dear Sir Wright, You have been selected to be a member of the 50th Equestrian Council as the Tactics Adviser on November 23, Year 6 of the reign of Princess Sparkle. You are acquitted of any and all debts to the government, are freed of any suspension prohibiting your flight, and are to be released from questioning if no evidence is given toward you once you become a council member. We will be awaiting you, The Princesses and fellow Council Members' "This is a pretty short message for such a fancy looking scroll." I joke. "We know, but it should at least look special." Princess Twilight says with a smile. I roll up the scroll, feeling the parchment in between my hooves. It felt so wonderful. "We should all be getting sleep, now." I say to everyone, "For the battle that was just fought must still have you tired or in tears." I fake a tear, smiling at the crowd. They bawl and clap at the achievements we made. I made... ... I lay in my bed, the covers on my equine body, feeling horrible. The wool scratched my fur, which I am not accustomed to sleeping in, and my head was too big for my pillow. I shake in my bed, sweating and feeling discomfort. My eyes are wide awake, afraid to sleep. The one who reads dreams is only a floor below me. The one who yelled at me... ["W—t — D—ne] wait. I sit up in my bed, my hooves supporting me. "What was it that she was yelling... ?" I lay in my bed, removing the amulet around my neck so I can concentrate on thinking, not on discomfort. I think for a long time, and begin to recall something... A man walks out of the mirror last, approaching me. His face was a blur, but I could see his green eyes staring me down. He smacks me across the face, spouting nonsense about being a traitor. "I just want to go home!" I cry, my huge, masculine hands covering my face. "Your home is with us, man." He begins to laugh, knocking me down. I wrap my hands around his neck, attempting to choke him, but something grabs my leg. I look back, seeing dozens of changelings tearing off my legs with their magic and somepony I know replacing the human. "Fr—" He zaps me with his powerful magic, knocking me out... My dream begins to fuzz out, a blue figure appearing before me, destroying the changelings that had harmed me... I get out of bed, fast. I grab hold of the amulet and nearly slam it into the ground... but something stops me. I put it on, feeling anger. I step out of my room, going downstairs. I open Luna's room with my key and toss my scroll at her bed's direction lightly. She was already awake and catches the scroll. "Hello... " She says, "Mr. Wright... are you ready already?" "I am always ready for a challenge." She nods and motions me to follow her. A carriage awaited us at the roof of the spire, Celestia and Twilight exchanging glances after seeing me. They both give Luna a blue-bit. "You bet on this, really?" I jokingly ask Luna. She nods, flipping the blue coins in front of Twilight and Celestia. I sit by Princess Twilight and across from Celestia and Luna. "So... where to?" "We are going to go to, " Celestia says with a smile, "a secret place." "Ooooh, so the council has a hideout." I say with a smile. "Of course, for when any riot occurs, who will ponies attack first?" "Riots? I cannot imagine that. Not even my less educated city, which is improving, was that violent." Twilight laughs along with a royal guard (who silences himself, but still snickers). "What?" "Well, " Princess Twilight says with a smile, "riots not of the Equestrian peoples." "Then of whom?" "Riots of the nations of the world." "Why would they... oh. I see." "Yeah, we do indeed control the strongest military, but they are all in our allied countries for assistance in their wars. If we wanted to start a war, we would have to take the most valuable thing from those naitons away." "Which is your soldiers?" "Yep." "That seems, quite frankly, immensely mean to say to other countries." "But statistics show that if we removed our soldiers from them, they would all lose the wars they are fighting." "But, if the army is the strongest, how come my small militia could beat something your guards couldn't?" I blurt out, feeling bad afterwards. ... Everyone is silent the rest of the ride, not being able to counter what I had said. It must have been embarrassing. But, it was definitely what needed to be said to prove that I am the best general in this land. I sit on the highest pedestal of the council room, other than the Princesses, and look around. On the left was Financial Adviser Immensely Rich, Peacemaker Gecko Kain, Cultural Adviser Charles Wheatly, and a lot of ponies who have just joined the council (hence had no nametags). On the right was the Princesses, Guard Trainer Gerald Shield (Who looks sad), Ambassador Shining Armor representing the Crystal Empire, Magic Warfare Adviser Trixie Lulamoon, and another bunch of new ponies. "Sir Wright, would you please introduce yourself?" Princess Celestia said. "I would, actually." I cough. "Fellow council members, I am sure you have heard of me in the news lately. But let me say something now," pause for suspense, "Most of what they say is most likely wrong because nopony there would dare describe the scene of Cloudsdale's militia final triumph." I look to the left, "We may have beaten the dragon, but I know that somepony must have been controlling it. Its power was too much for a natural happening, and I am sure Trixie would agree." She nods. "Right now, since we are not, ourselves, at war, must train all of our currently at home guards against necromancy. You all know about necromancy, but let me be the first to say the necromancy is NOT an evil magic." Everyone looks appalled. "Necromancy, like all magic, is just a tool to edit this eternal universe we currently live in. In my studies from random books of current information, it seems that magic is amplified from feelings. The strongest feeling of all is love..." Silence. "Yes. I believe some unicorn of a forbidden amount of magic used love to create these living embodiment of fear and mourning..." I breath in, " I believe we are dealing with someone who lives around Canterlot, for only they, who live in ignorance of most of the outside world, would not realize my army quickly approaching... I mean, we were so easily seeable." everyone blinks, but nods in understanding. "I, Wright Scribe, trust in all of you to find this one pony and annihilate him or her." they look at me funny. "The necromancer will be brought to me after he/she dies, though, for I have the perfect punishment for them." "What is it?" said a pony who looked at me with questionable glances. "I will resurrect the necromancer, and for him or her to tell us who she is working for, if anyone." They all look at me, disgusted, but all nod in agreement that this plan will work. "Good, now let us begin on other trivial matters..."