//------------------------------// // Desperate Times // Story: In Her Majesty's Absence // by PegasusMesa //------------------------------// It was a hot, sunny night. Directly overhead of the Castle of the Two Sisters, the sun gazed down as would a tyrant, observing its kingdom. Ponies moved sluggishly through the small surrounding town with their heads cast towards the ground to allow their eyes to adapt to the intensely bright light. Every now and then, one would glance upwards and frown at the uncaring disc that sat unmoving in the center of the sky. The air stood still, which only made the temperature that much more uncomfortable. Not a breeze or even a single wisp of wind ghosted through the air to help cool off those suffering. Brown, brittle blades of grass outnumbered the green as the suffocating heat took its toll. All around the castle, ponies bustled in the sweltering atmosphere. A crew of construction workers labored tirelessly in their efforts to remove the giant piles of debris that lay strewn across the grounds. A particularly massive hole opened into the castle’s throne room and allowed the sunlight entrance, where before it had only been able to seep in through the stained glass windows. Starting from the massive doors that led into the throne room, a line of ponies wrapped around the castle, waiting for a chance to see one of their princesses. They all wanted an answer to the same question, but as of yet none of them had been allowed entrance. Angry mutterings wafted through the air as the petitioners tried their best to stay cool, be it by fanning themselves or by vying for a spot in a rare patch of shade. A number of guards stood at regular intervals along the line to keep order amongst the increasingly impatient petitioners. One of the armored stallions repeatedly glanced back and forth as his hoof probed under the armor to sooth the parts of his body where the gear chafed. Lines of sweat ran down the guard’s face and dug furrows through his dark-brown coat. One of the petitioners, a unicorn stallion, turned to the fidgety soldier. “Hey, are you ever going to let us in?” he asked with a scowl. When the guard didn’t respond, the civilian craned his head to look him in the eye. “I asked you a question, colt!” After a moment of internal deliberation, the guard sighed and returned the other pony’s gaze. “The doors will open when the princess is ready to receive you,” he intoned drily. “All I want to know is what’s going on!” the unicorn said. “The sun’s been up for at least three days now, and none of my family can sleep! The princesses haven’t run away, have they?” “Um, well...” The besieged stallion gulped and wiped another bead of sweat from his brow. “They aren’t—” “Ah, so something did happen, didn’t it?” The unicorn smirked as he pressed his advantage. “It has something to do with the moon coming up early a while back, doesn’t it? And all of those explosions, am I right? Well? Out with it!” With a dark expression on his face, the soldier opened his mouth to retort, only to be interrupted by a barking voice from behind. “Recruit Gumwing!” “It’s Greenwing!” Only too late did he try to bite off the end of his sentence. A gryphon, wearing armor identical to Greenwing’s, scowled and put her beak an inch from his face. “Oh, thanks for the correction,” she said. “Like I didn’t have enough to deal with, now one of my guards is talking back!” Greenwing snapped to attention and fixed his gaze on a point straight ahead. “Captain, I’m sorry, I didn’t—” “I didn’t put you out here to talk! I put you out here to stand guard!” Greenwing’s right eye twitched. “Yes, sir!” “None of the other ponies I have out here think they can take a break to have a chat with a civilian,” the captain said. “What makes you think you’re special?” He glanced at the stallion who had been complaining, but no help appeared to be on the way from that quarter. “Nothing, sir!” “I bet you were just answering a question,” she said softly so that nopony else could hear her words. “You must present an image of absolute vigilance! Is this really such a difficult thing to understand, Nightie?” Her voice dripped venom. Greenwing’s eyes narrowed. “So exactly what part of you berating me gives an ‘image of absolute vigilance’?” he said loudly. A hush instantly fell over the immediate area. Everypony nearby took a long step away from Greenwing and his superior, whose face had flushed deep red. Greenwing shrank backwards, away from the steaming gryphon. “Wait—” He held up a placating hoof “—what I meant was—” “Recruit Goatwand!” she roared as she finally found her voice. “It’s Greenwing,” he said, unable to stop himself. “You think you can talk back because your father was commander?!” “No, I—” “That kind of behavior might have been accepted in the Lunar Guard, but it won’t work with me.” A wicked grin spread across the captain's face. “Not only will you finish your shift here, you also get to cover your relief’s shift. Am I understood?” “Yes, sir!” Greenwing snapped off a smart salute. “I thought so.” She turned to leave, but paused to make one last remark over her shoulder. “And don’t think that you’re off the hook yet.” That said, she spread her wings and flew to an overhead balcony. The moment the captain left his sight, Greenwing sighed and relaxed his posture. “This would have never happened in the Lunar Guard,” he growled. “Yooou got in trooooublllle,” sang a nearby colt as he pointed at the disgraced guard. “Shut it, you.” Greenwing directed a glare the small pony’s way. He sighed and resigned himself to another eight hours of misery in the blisteringly hot weather. Inside the castle, two unicorns, a stallion and a mare, stood at a pair of ornate golden doors. The metal depicted numerous scenes of the sun rising at the behest of a majestic alicorn. The stallion, wearing a set of thick robes despite the heat, wrung his hooves together as his eyes bored holes through the golden artwork. “It’s been a while since he went in.” The mare slowly leafed through a thick tome. “Calm yourself.” Although she wore similar garments, her robes were open at the chest and the hood hung backwards, letting her golden mane flow freely. “But what if she sends him away, too?” he said. “What if nopony can get through to her? What if—” “Chestnut!” the mare said in a voice that, while lacking sharpness, still caught his full attention. His eyes immediately snapped over and locked onto hers. “Calm. Yourself. The scholar’s been in there for at least twenty minutes, which is the longest so far. Perhaps he will be the one to calm her.” “Well, forgive me if I can’t take this in stride like the great Dusty Scroll,” Chestnut said, waving his hooves in her direction. “I’m only thinking of the well-being of all of Equestria! How silly of me to be worried!” Dusty sighed and closed her book. “I’m as worried as you are. However, the only thing fretting will garner is gray in your mane. Princess Celestia would be better served if we keep our minds cool.” “Princess Celestia would be better served if she would let us do our jobs and advise her,” Chestnut said. He returned his gaze to the massive doors. “And you know what my first piece of advice would be? Lower the stupid sun!” “I feel that there is more to this than we know,” Dusty said, sighing once more. She was about to continue when the jingling of medals announced the commander of the Royal Guard’s arrival, accompanied by a gryphon who bore the insignia of a captain. “Ah, Commander Vigil. How go the matters outside?” Vigil gestured to the gryphon. “The captain, in fact, justeth—" Chestnut glanced at Dusty and rolled his eyes "—finishedeth surveyingeth the—” "Commander." Dusty frowned at Vigil. "I realize that you wish to adapt to your new station as quickly as possible, but now is not the time for you to practice speaking like a noble." "Fine," Vigil snapped. "Gabriella, tell Her Majesty's advisers how things go outside." She glanced at the captain, who snapped a sharp salute. “Everything outside is as well as you’d expect.” Gabriella frowned and put a claw to her chin. “Except for lazy sentries,” she added as an afterthought. “There you have it,” Vigil said with a dismissive wave. “Have you made any progress here?” “None whatsoever!” Chestnut threw his forehooves into the air. “It’s as if the princess has lost all reason!” Dusty cleared her throat gently. “Be calm, Chestnut.” She returned her attention to Vigil. “Have your scouts anything to report on Princess Luna’s whereabouts?” Once again, Vigil glanced at Gabriella, who took her cue. “They say she’s nowhere to be found,” Gabriella said with a snort. “Those layabouts couldn’t find their own flanks if they weren’t attached to them.” “I’m sure Princess Luna will show up when she finishes whatever little game she’s playing.” Vigil leaned against a wall and casually examined her front hooves. Trembling, Chestnut whipped around to face the languid mare. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that! I don’t think she’s actually coming back! Why else would Princess Celestia command that the Lunar Guard be disbanded?” “You’re a jumpy one, aren’t you?” Vigil said as she glanced over him appraisingly. “Speaking of the Lunar Guard’s dispersal, it is my understanding that you have recruited a number of them into Princess Celestia’s own Royal Guard,” Dusty said. “You are yourself new to your position as commander, are you not? Are you having any difficulties getting the guards adapted to their duties?” “I can assure you that I’m more than qualified for my job.” Vigil frowned at Dusty as she spoke. However, when the other mare’s expectant gaze continued, Vigil sighed and averted her eyes. “Captain Gabriella has been given responsibility for the new recruits. Captain?” “The recruits have been given their positions,” Gabriella said immediately. “Despite some difficulties getting used to staying awake with the sun up—” “Not that they have a choice, these days,” Chestnut muttered to Dusty. “—I feel that they will soon be acclimated to life in the Royal Guard. However, I find their sense of discipline severely lacking. Their superiors in the Lunar Guard were far too lenient regarding breaches of protocol.” Just as Dusty opened her mouth to ask another question, the doors blew open and a young unicorn, barely out of colthood, came tumbling through. The three ponies, two with shocked expressions and one with nothing save curiosity, beheld Princess Celestia standing in the doorway. For her part, Gabriella glanced away and shuffled her talons. The princess’s normally flowing mane hung to one side, clumped together from days of neglect. She leaned ever so slightly to the side as she regarded her subjects. “All that I want,” Celestia said slowly, “is to be left alone.” Her fierce gaze drifted to the prone scholar, who started to tremble. “Princess!” Chestnut said as she turned back to her chambers. “Please, will ye not just talk to us?” The princess’s steps halted, and with a sigh, she looked over her shoulder. “What do you want to speak with me about?” Dusty opened her mouth, but Vigil stepped forward and immediately cut her off. “Firsteth of all, when willeth thee lowereth the sun?” she said loudly. “Fool!” Dusty said, eyes flaring. “Princess, please ignore that, why don’t we—” Celestia’s face darkened, and she suddenly seemed to loom over everypony else. “Dusty Scroll, when We are prepared, We shall come forth and see to matters. Until then, leavest Us in peace.” The doors shut with a heavy sense of finality. “Oh, well done,” Chestnut said to Vigil. “What an impressive show of diplomacy. You got her angry enough to use the royal 'We'! She never uses the royal 'We'!” He snorted and turned away. "You know, since you're so good at this, why don't you be Her Majesty's adviser? We could trade, and maybe the guards would get something done for once—" “That is enough, Chestnut,” Dusty said before Vigil could retort. “I agree that we could have handled that better, but what’s done is done. The important thing is what we do next.” She turned to the still-trembling scholar, who had already begun to edge away from the group. “Did you learn anything about Her Majesty’s mood?” “W-w-well—” The shaking pony dusted himself off “—she wouldn’t t-tell me anything about lowering the s-sun, but that wasn’t what made her m-mad.” The three older ponies waited, but the colt didn’t offer anything else. “And?” Vigil said impatiently. The timid scholar flinched away from this new terror. “Well, um… sh-she didn’t want to talk about…” His throat bobbed as he swallowed heavily. “She didn’t want to t-talk about h-her… h-her sister. I’m s-sorry, but can I go lie d-down now?” “Yes,” Dusty said, patting him on the back. “Thank you for your help.” Within a moment, the colt was out of sight. “Well, my friends, what are we to do with our dear princess?” “Didn’t you hear her?” Chestnut said as he dropped his hoof onto her shoulder. “She said she wants to be left alone. This is the closest thing to a command we’ve gotten in days, and we’re just going to ignore it?” “Of course we aren’t,” Dusty said. “However, we also cannot just leave things as they are. It’s clear that Princess Celestia is not in her usual state of mind. We must do what we can to bring her back to normal, or close enough for the kingdom to run properly.” “I think a larger guard presence would help,” Vigil said with a hoof on her chin. “If worse comes to worse and chaos breaks out, we’ll want enough forces to keep the peace.” “Commander, you were recently promoted,” Dusty said, “and the reports I have read indicate that you are having issues managing your guards at their current numbers. I suggest you focus on acclimating to your new position before you turn to increasing the guard ranks.” “The matter at hand can be solved diplomatically,” Chestnut added. “The military is not the solution to our problems!” “What’s the—” Vigil began, but a gasp from Dusty interrupted her. “Is something the matter?” “Chestnut, I believe you have given me an idea,” Dusty said slowly. “Maybe the military is the solution.” “You… you aren’t suggesting a coup, are you?” he said, eyes widening. “Don’t be ridiculous, that’s not what I mean,” Dusty said. “I mean, perhaps Her Majesty would be willing to open herself up to a guard.” “Now you’re the one being ridiculous,” Chestnut said. “We’ve sent the castle’s most accomplished diplomats into that room with her, and not one of them has gotten more than a swift boot out the door. If we sent a guard in there to talk to her, she’d tear the poor pony apart!” “That isn’t necessarily true.” Dusty put a hoof on her chin and gazed at the ceiling contemplatively. “Princess Celestia has already rejected everyone that we have sent in thus far. Perhaps a different type of pony will see different results.” Vigil sighed and leaned against a wall. “How can you know such a thing? What makes you think that matters?” Realization dawned in Chestnut's eyes. “Hold on, I think Dusty’s onto something. You’re talking about the gryphons, right?” Gabriella leaned forward. “Indeed,” Dusty replied. “Whenever Princess Celestia has any type of diplomatic meeting with a gryphon, she exhibits a charisma that otherwise does not come forth. I believe it to be because gryphons, typically, are very straightforward. If you’ll excuse the generalization,” she said to Gabriella, who gave a sharp nod. “Perhaps Her Majesty merely finds it a refreshing change of pace, but regardless, the difference is there.” “Commander,” Chestnut said, “can we trust you to choose an appropriate candidate to go through with this?” “Of course.” Vigil turned, beckoning for her subordinate to follow. “I shall send Captain Gabriella and the chosen guard within the hour.” They moved down the hallway and turned a corner, where Vigil pulled Gabriella close. “Commander?” “Captain, I want whoever we choose to be from amongst the new recruits,” Vigil whispered. “You heard what that colt said, right? About Her Majesty not wishing to speak of her sister?” Gabriella's eyes widened. “You want to send in one of Princess Luna’s guards to agitate her?!” “Sh!” Vigil glanced around to make sure nopony had heard them. “Maybe if we can shake her up, she’ll be more willing to do her duties, correct?” Gabriella frowned, but slowly nodded her head. “And, if worse comes to worse, I’d rather it not be one of our own that gets caught up in Her Majesty’s wrath, eh?” “I suppose.” Gabriella put a claw to her chin and grinned as she considered the options. “Sir, I think I know just the stallion you’re looking for.” Greenwing shambled through a side door, taking one last look at the line of petitioners. For the entire duration of his long shift, it hadn’t progressed at all. The temperature in the castle was even higher than outside, a fact that irritated him to no end. “Princess Luna wouldn’t have ignored the problem like this,” he grumbled as he yanked his helmet off. The mass of black hair that made up his mane tumbled out in a single drenched clump and stuck to his neck, even after he shook his head. “When she gets back, I’m sure she’ll make this all better.” But is she even coming back? He blinked as that unwelcome thought crossed his mind. Luna often left the castle, sometimes for days at a time, and usually confided in nopony as to her destination. However, she always returned when something important called for her attention, and seventy-two hours of perpetual sunlight certainly qualified as such. Closing his eyes, Greenwing envisioned a lightly smiling Luna, but the tranquil image was almost immediately ruined as she vanished into the darkness. He shook his head again to clear it of the disturbing premonition. “Of course she’s coming back,” he said under his breath. He moved through the castle at a snail’s pace, pausing every now and then to wave when a passing acquaintance recognized him. Finally, he reached the armory and started to strip out of the suffocatingly hot Royal Guard armor. As he hung the breastplate on a peg, a nearby earth pony stallion noticed him and trotted over. “You look a little tired,” he said to Greenwing, who just groaned in response. “Thanks for covering my shift, by the way!” Greenwing didn’t have the energy to glare, so he instead settled on a heavy-lidded stare. “Shut it, Trip—it wasn’t my idea. You can thank Captain Gabriella for that.” “Yeah, I heard she gave you a rough time.” Trip dropped a hoof on his friend’s shoulder. Greenwing growled and slammed his helmet into a cubby. “You’d never see an officer act like that in the Lunar Guard. Princess Luna made sure that her guards were courteous! It’s disgraceful!” “I know what you mean.” Trip led his friend out of the armory and back towards the guards’ quarters. “Look at it from her perspective, though. She’s only had the job for a month, and already there’s a crisis for her to deal with. Wouldn’t you be a little worked up, too?” “It doesn’t mean she needs to get so angry,” Greenwing said, but much of the venom had left his voice. “I really miss being a Lunar Guard.” “If you want the Ol’ Nighties reinstated,” Trip said consolingly, “why don’t you talk to the princess when she gets back from… wherever she is?” “Her Majesty doesn’t just sit around for me to chat with her all night,” Greenwing said, wiping the sweat out of his eyes. “I know that!” Trip said. “But I also know that she likes you more than just about anypony else we know.” “Just because she can remember my name doesn’t mean she likes me.” They continued their friendly argument right up until the point where a sprinting mare collided with them, sending all three tumbling to the carpeted floor in a mad jumble of legs and curses. “Darn it, Altone!” Greenwing snapped at the newcomer. “I keep telling you to watch where you’re going! Whose hoof is digging into my back?” “Sorry, that’s mine,” Trip said, trying and failing to remove the offending limb. “Altone, would you get off of me?” “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” the mare cried. “I was in such a hurry that my helmet slipped over my eyes and I couldn’t see and I—” “It’s alright, just get off us!” With a grunt, Greenwing managed to slide himself out of the pile. “What’re you running around for this time?” Altone stared at him for a second before recognition flashed in her eyes. “Oh! Right!” She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a loosely bound scroll. “Missive from Captain Gabriella for you!” A slight feeling of dread fell onto the exhausted stallion. And don’t think that you’re off the hook yet. “Let’s get this over with,” Greenwing mumbled, accepting the correspondence and slipping off the string that bound it. “I’m not one to complain about lying underneath a pretty mare,” Trip said as his friend read the letter, “but I can’t really feel my legs anymore.” “Hm?” Altone glanced down and realized that she still sat on Trip's back. “Ah! Sorry!” An exasperated groan drew both of their attentions over to their beleaguered, who looked about ready to cry. “What is she getting at?” Greenwing said. “Why? What does it say?” Trip clambered to his hooves and stretched. “The captain wants me to report to the royal suites immediately!” Greenwing dropped to his haunches. “I just got off of a double shift! Isn’t this a bit too much to ask?” “Wow,” Trip said. “Who would’ve thought that talking back to your superior officer might come with consequences?” “I’m too tired for sarcasm,” Greenwing said, hanging his head. He took a few steps down the corridor before Altone’s voice called out. “The captain told me something else,” she said with an apologetic smile. “She said to tell you to bring your old Lunar Guard armor.” “Probably for when she has you clean the princesses’ lavatories,” said Trip. “You’re a real friend, you know that?” Greenwing said over his shoulder before stalking around a corner. His hooves scuffed lightly against the thick carpet that extended down the hallway. On the walls, torches loudly crackled, lit despite the copious sunlight that beamed through the stained glass windows. As he approached a cross-hall, Greenwing paused to let a pair of workers pass. The sweating laborers each pushed a wheelbarrow filled with debris. He only had a few more minutes of tromping through the stuffy castle before he reached his personal quarters. He shouldered his way through the door and shut it behind him. In the small room’s corner, a low bed beckoned invitingly. He cast it an envious glance before he turned to the closet and pulled it open. A deluge of boxes and papers fell out, nearly knocking Greenwing to the ground. With a massive effort, he forged a path through the clutter and dug into the back of the small space. “Where is it? I swear, I just had it,” he muttered as he threw more and more of his unused things aside. Finally, the true prize came into sight. “Aha!” Dark-purple metal glistened in the sunlight as Greenwing hefted a breastplate out into the open, followed shortly thereafter by a similarly composed helmet. “It’s only been three days,” he mused, lovingly admiring the polished armor, “and I already miss you.” He pulled the breastplate over his head and yanked it down. It took some effort, but he finally managed to get his wings through the back and slid the piece snugly into place. A familiar tingling sensation washed over his back as the armor’s illusion enchantment took effect. Greenwing glanced at his wings, which, while normally covered in feathers, were now naked and leathery. He spread them out to their fullest in order to get a better look. The helmet was far easier to don than the breastplate, and the moment it rested on his head, he felt another illusion spell sharpen his front teeth. “Well, let’s go see what Gabriella wants.” After one final glance at his bat-like wings, Greenwing was out the door and on his way. Outside of Princess Celestia’s chambers, little had changed. Chestnut paced back and forth before the monstrous doors while Dusty Scroll jotted down notes in an aged ledger. Eyes closed, Captain Gabriella leaned against a wall. “Captain, you did say you were getting somepony, right?” Chestnut asked. “For the twentieth time, yes,” Gabriella replied without so much as opening her eyes. Dusty’s quill scratched another mark. “Then where is he?” Chestnut asked with his hooves thrown in the air. “What makes you think that ‘he’ isn’t a ‘she’?” Dusty said serenely. She licked her hoof and flipped to the next page. “It was just an assumption,” he said as he rolled his eyes. Gabriella had her mouth open to comment when the soft sound of hoofsteps on carpet reached her ears. “I think our lamb has arrived.” Dusty threw her a sharp glance, but before she could say anything, Chestnut gasped. “What—” he said. “What—Why is he wearing that?” Garbed in the armor of the Lunar Guard, the newcomer stepped up to Gabriella and saluted. “I’m glad to see you can obey orders, Ginwand,” Gabriella said, acknowledging him with a nod. “Captain,” he said tersely, then added under his breath, “It’s Greenwing.” “You should pat yourself on the back, because you have been given the honor of being Equestria’s savior.” She put a leg around his shoulders, drawing forth an uncertain expression. Dusty and Chestnut glanced at each other and shrugged. “Sorry, Sir—” Greenwing fought back the urge to shudder “—but what does that mean?” “Your job,” Gabriella said, “is to go into Her Majesty’s chambers and convince her to lower the sun.” Dusty Scroll finally stepped forth. “And barring that, if thou canst learn anything at all, we will all be very grateful.” “What about Princess Luna?” Greenwing asked. “Maybe Princess Celestia knows where she is.” “Just worry about the sun,” Gabriella said. “We’ll worry about the other princess.” “And try not to get yourself killed,” Chestnut offered, earning a flat stare from his fellow advisor. “What? It’s good advice!” “You heard em, colt,” Gabriella said. Dusty’s horn lit up and the heavy doors cracked open. “Get in there and get it done!” She shoved him through. A few seconds later, the portal shut with a light "thud", and Chestnut turned to the captain. “What in Equestria were you thinking, having him wear that armor?” “The last one said that the princess didn’t want to talk about her sister, right?” Gabriella answered. “The commander thought this would stir her up, maybe make her let something slip.” “An interesting theory,” Dusty said, scratching her chin. “Perhaps it even has some merit. You do know, however, that there is every chance that Her Majesty will take offense, correct?” “Calculated risks." With a cruel smile on her face, Gabriella spun on her heel and walked out of sight. “That poor guard,” Chestnut lamented. “He just got thrown under the wagon, didn’t he?” “You never know,” Dusty said as she turned back to her ledger. The quill resumed its frantic scribbling. “Maybe the commander’s plan is better thought-out than you think.” Chestnut closed his eyes and let the familiar scratching of pen-on-paper calm him, but the reverie was interrupted only seconds later when Dusty spoke once more. “Although you’re probably right.”