“So you got caught.”
“That’s right. What about it?”
“Nothing! I was just curious, that’s all. I had heard about you back when you were stealing from noble ponies. I was just wondering how somepony like you ended up here.”
“You mean working for Princess Luna?
“Yes. How did she convince you?”
“Easily. She gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
***********
I was in prison. I wasn’t unfamiliar with the feeling of waking up on a cold stone floor. After all, sleeping on the floor isn’t so bad once you get used to it. Waking up after being knocked out, however, is never fun. I caught the back half of a sentence as I began to regain my senses.
“-diolus are you sure about this?” said a voice.
“She has potential, Princess. I’ve seen her in action. I think she can handle it.” replied another voice that also seemed vaguely familiar. My head was still a little foggy and whatever part of my brain that was responsible for recognizing voices hadn’t quite woken up yet.
“My concern is not whether she can ‘handle it’ as you say, but rather that she can be trusted.”
Apparently these two ponies were having a conversation, and that conversation seemed to be about me.
I awoke facing away from the front of the cell so I couldn’t see whoever was talking, but I could pretend to still be asleep and keep listening to them.
“I think she can be trusted, but I will be watching her in case she does something stupid. Plus, I did some digging and her parents-”
“Hold for a moment Gladiolus. It seems that we are no longer the only ones privy to this conversation.” The first voice changed slightly to address me. “Good morning young one, or rather, good afternoon. Your tranquilizer is quite effective, you have been asleep for almost fifteen hours.”
I had made an effort to keep my breathing slow and steady and to not make any movements that might give me away. I was impressed. With a small groan I sat up to face my inquisitors, my muscles felt like they had been liquefied. I was somewhat surprised to see both Princess Luna and the mysterious pony that knocked me out. I had been expecting to meet Princess Luna at some point but I was surprised that I would be graced with her illustrious presence so soon. (That was supposed to be sarcasm, by the way)
“How could you tell?” I asked weakly.
“I am the Princess of the Night. It is my duty to safeguard the ponies of this realm while they sleep. After many years of experience, I can tell when somepony is ‘faking it’.” She stopped for a moment before continuing. “I assume that you heard the last part of our conversation just now, but that is not important. What is important is that you understand exactly why you are in the position you currently find yourself.”
I looked around at the stone walls of my cell and at the pair of ponies on the other side of the bars and shrugged. “I’m in the dungeon because I took that little box from the archives, that’s it.” I said, stating the obvious.
“Wrong!” The princess boomed before turning towards me to deliver the full brunt of her royal stare. “You are in the dungeons because you put every single creature in Equestria, no, the entire world, in mortal danger! Have you stopped to consider the fact that there might be a very good reason for having all of that security?” I just sat there nervously looking at my hooves. This was like being told off by your teacher but a million times worse, since in this case detention could last for the rest of your life.
Her lecture continued.
“This world is full of things that have the potential to cause great harm not only to Equestrians, but others as well. Many such dangers have been locked away; at no small cost in both effort and lives so that the ponies in this kingdom can live in peace! Yet here you are after attempting to nullify all of the hard work and sacrifices that we have made.” Princess Luna didn’t drastically raise her voice throughout her speech, but the sheer intensity with which she spoke chilled me to the very bone. I was just starting to realize that I had messed up. Badly.
“I-I’m sorry” I apologized weakly, shaken by the force of her words.
“Good. It seems you are beginning to understand the gravity of your actions.” She turned and began slowly pacing the length of the area outside my cell. “Your crimes are grievous indeed. Normally, they would amount to summary banishment from Equestria for the rest of your life.”
I balked at the idea. By our very nature ponies are herd creatures; it’s why we have such tightly-knit communities. Being separated from one’s herd for the rest of their life was a punishment almost worse than death.
“However, you have managed to pique the interest of Gladiolus here whose judgment I have come to respect.” She gestured to cloaked pony who had been watching silently the whole time. “I am willing to give you a choice: either face banishment from Equestria or put your effort towards protecting this country. If you were to choose the second option then you would join my Night Wardens under Gladiolus’ supervision. I also know of the current situation in regards to your mother. Keep her in mind as you make your decision.”
I vaguely remembered hearing about something called the Night Wardens before, probably from some old mare’s tale. They were supposed to be a special group of ponies that did stuff like driving off monsters that ventured too close to villages and stuff like that. Rumors and conspiracy theories about them floated around for centuries, but nopony seriously thought that they existed. Apparently they were wrong, and apparently the pony that caught me last night was one of them.
I took a moment to think about the options; on one hoof I had the prospect of banishment from everything I had ever known while the other hoof held a prospective life of fighting monsters and doing who knows what else. Neither option seemed very enticing, but eventually I made up my mind.
“Alright, I’ll join your little night club,” I answered grudgingly.
“Wonderful! You have made the right choice this day. Although you should keep in mind that my Night Wardens are much more than a ‘night club’ as you say” she replied.
Yeah, like I really had a choice in the first place.
Princess Luna went on, “Gladiolus will see to your preparation and training. He will make sure that you will be prepared for the trials ahead—the first of which will be your initiation in the Everfree Forest.”
Wait a second. Initiation? In the Everfree Forest? Not the Everfree Forest! That’s full of manticores, timberwolves, and other terrifying pony-eating creatures!
...Suddenly banishment didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Before I could ask if banishment was still an option the Princess began wrapping things up.
“My duties call me elsewhere. Farewell Gladiolus, and farewell Cerulean Rose. I trust that you will continue to make the right choice.” She looked me right in the eye before she teleported away with a small pop. Doubtlessly she was going to intimidate some other poor unfortunate soul.
“I guess that’s my cue to let you out” the pony named Gladiolus said, producing a large ring of keys which he used to unlock my cell. I walked unsteadily out of my cell. The tranquilizer hadn’t worn off completely yet.
“So what now?” I asked as I walked up to my new proctor.
“Now you stick with me and we see if you can learn a thing or two.” He replied
“I can do that” I said.
“Good. I have some business I need to see to and you’re going to tag along. Of course, if you try running I’ll make sure you end up straight back here, and I doubt that Princess Luna will be so generous the second time around.” He finished that off with a look that could be described as…teasing? (Now, I've been working with this guy for a while now, and I still don’t get him)
He continued: “Oh, I have one more thing for you,” he said as he pulled a decently sized bag from the depths of his cloak and handed it to me. I opened it up to see that the bag was completely full of bits. “What’s this for?” I inquired.
“That’s the first half your pay for this month. Believe it or not Night Wardens actually get decently paid. Some of our jobs even offer bonuses depending on the difficulty. Just think of this as an incentive.”
This was only half? And I could get bonuses? Nice! Gladiolus gave a small grin at seeing my monetarily motivated excitement. Things were starting to look a little bit brighter than they had five minutes ago.
We stopped by the armory so I could get back my confiscated gear. Gladiolus didn’t have the key for the armory on his key ring so he had to get one of the castle guards to unlock it for him. I trotted inside, resisting the urge to ‘misplace’ a few particularly shiny objects, and went over to the chest that had my belongings in it. After reassuring myself that all of my stuff was present and in order I put on my cloak and saddlebags; feeling much more secure in the knowledge that they were now safely attached to my body.
My eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the sunlight as we stepped outside. I noticed that Gladiolus squinted harshly before pulling up his hood. With his hood up I suddenly had difficulty making out his face again, despite the fact that it was midday and I was less than five feet away from him. It seemed like he and sunlight didn’t get along very well. “Well come on!” he said before setting off in a seemingly random direction.
I followed behind as we walked through the streets of Canterlot. We left the upper echelons and delved into the part of the city that was built more into the mountain itself. From ground level only the castle is really visible because it sticks out so much, but the city actually goes back quite far. Canterlot has several layers, and as a general rule the farther away from the castle you are the less opulent things get. The iconic gold-and-purple spires of Canterlot’s more affluent areas gave way to simpler purple-tiled roofs as we worked our way towards the edges of the city. We ended up in front of a popular tavern the name of “The Golden Bit”. The sign above the door featured a weathered bit next to a frosting mug of cider. The sign was simple enough but it managed to get the point across.
Gladiolus hadn’t said a word during the whole walk and I hadn’t really felt like pestering him with questions, but after ending up in a place like this I couldn’t contain my curiosity. “Why are we here of all places?” I asked impatiently.
“This is just the first of a few stops before we get going. I just need to pick a little something up for later. You can wait out here if you want. This place kind of has a rough reputation” he replied.
“No thanks, I think I’ll come in.” I answered, not wanting to seem weak, but also curious about what exactly he wanted to pick up. I could already hear the music of whatever band was playing in the bar from outside, but inside the bar itself the music was just plain loud. The place was packed with all sorts of different ponies too and their conversations combined with the already loud music produced a noise that made it difficult to think. There might even have been a griffon or two in there too but it was hard to tell for sure because the room was so packed.
Gladiolus pulled his hood down as he entered the building and I followed behind as he headed towards the bartender. We managed to find a couple of seats at the bar right next to two particularly rough looking patrons. Gladiolus managed to catch the attention of the barkeeper who responded with a friendly greeting.
“Gladiolus! It’s good to see you! What brings you to my humble establishment? Not chasing another rogue Vampony are you?”
“It’s good to see you Tab, and no, I’m not after any rogues today. A drink sounds pretty good right about now though.”
“Hold on a second and I’ll get your usual whipped up in a jiffy,” the barkeep replied. With that he turned around and I watched him as he skillfully poured various liquids into a glass mug. I could’ve sworn that one of those bottles had a skull and crossbones on it, but it might have been the light playing tricks on me.
The bartender placed the glass in front of Gladiolus. “One Scorpion, on the house. So, who’s your marefriend?” the bartender asked.
“I’m not his marefriend!” I said indignantly. Gladiolus only laughed as my face reddened by several shades. “She’s actually the reason I’m here. I need to pick up a vial of the special stuff.” He said the last part in a conspiratory whisper that I almost missed over the din of other conversations. The bartender’s demeanor completely changed as he gave Gladiolus a strange look. A look that I didn’t quite like.
“For her? She doesn’t even have her marks yet! Isn’t it a bit early for that? Especially after how the last one turned out…” The way he trailed off after that last sentence set off several alarm bells in my head.
“What last one? What is he talking about?” I demanded to Gladiolus. He pretended I hadn’t said anything and answered the bartender instead. “I have a good feeling about this one. Just trust me on this one, okay?”
“If you say so, but only because it’s you Gladiolus. If Chestnut or any of the other captains came in with a pre-initiate I’d tell them no. Just give me a moment to get it.” The door swung shut behind Tapper as he disappeared into the back rooms.
“What was he talking about Gladiolus?” I asked, “Why did he look so worried?”
He turned and looked me straight in the eye. “I’ll be honest with you, the path ahead is full of dangers. Many have gone down the same path before you, and some of them didn’t make it. But I’ve seen you in action and I’m sure you’ll be just fine!” He punctuated the last remark with a playful jab at my shoulder. While his words were strangely comforting, I had a nagging feeling that he had said the same thing to whoever came before me.
Gladiolus returned his attention to his now half-empty mug. I was about to ask him another question when the tough-looking pony sitting to his right butted in instead. The pony had a large scar running down the side of his face and wore what seemed to be a battle-scarred set of barding. He looked intimidating but he hardly seemed like the sharpest broadsword in the armory. The bruiser drunkenly nudged Gladiolus in an attempt to get his attention.
“Hey pretty boy, what’s with the stripes? Ya got some kind of zebra fetish or something?” Gladiolus calmly took a sip from his mug before placing it back down on the counter. “Hey stripey! I was talking to you!” he said, his growing anger becoming more apparent. When Gladiolus’ only response was to continue sipping from his drink the larger pony’s anger only grew. The bruiser stood up and violently kicked back the barstool he had been sitting on. It hit the floor with a metallic clatter and came skidding to rest a couple of tables down. The lively music ground to a halt and suddenly every eye in the bar was on us. The buck in his alcohol-fueled anger brought his hoof down heavily on top of the bar counter, causing several other pony’s drinks to fall over and Gladiolus’ mug to jump several inches in the air. At this display Gladiolus finally turned his head to look at the angry pony beside him.
“You know, almost spilling somepony’s drink is considered quite rude in most civilized company. However, I’ll let it slide this time since you are obviously not such.” he said, looking the angered stallion right in the eye.
“Why you little-!” The bruiser made a move towards Gladiolus, intending to break his jaw. What happened next occurred in less than a moment.
Right before the enraged stallion’s right hook connected with Gladiolus’ jaw the entire room was plunged into pitch darkness. There were a few thwacks and a heavy thud or two, and when I could see again the previously aggressive pony was hanging from the chandelier by his armor, unconscious, and Gladiolus was at the bar sipping his drink like nothing had happened. The musicians started up again and everypony else in the bar went back to their own business.
I sat on my stool, stunned. “What the hay was that?” I asked him.
“Just a little party trick” he said with a wink. It was at that moment that Tab, the bartender, returned with a moderately sized vial of some strange swirling liquid which quickly disappeared into the depths of Gladiolus’ cloak. “Thanks a lot, Tab,” he said before giving him a hoof-full of bits. “That’s for the mess. Sorry about that.” Tapper just gave an exasperated sigh. “I should be used to it by now, but for some reason I always expect your next visit to be a quiet one. I should know better by now.”
Gladiolus stood up, leaving his now empty mug on the counter. Tab moved over to a throng of thirsty customers as we headed towards the door. I followed Gladiolus as we went back out into Canterlot proper.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what’s with the stripes? Y’know, those” I said, pointing to the thin marks that traced across his face and down his neck like the lines of a contour map.
“These things?” he asked. I nodded in conformation. “Well they’re more than just a fashion statement. It’s actually kind of complicated so I’ll try to keep it short. Essentially, they’re a symbol of a Night Warden who has shown their worth by passing the initiation. These markings are a part of a Night Warden’s identity, like your eye color or cutie mark; and like your cutie mark once you get them they stick around. The lines are a representation of the natural magical leylines in your body. Since every pony is different, no two Night Wardens have the same leyline structure. They also let you do some cool stuff too.”
“What, like that weird shadowy stuff you were doing while you were chasing me through the archives?”
“That’s only part of it, but yes. It’s more complicated than that, but I’ll leave that talk until after the initiation. For now, just think of it as a second cutie mark that gives you cool powers.”
I fell silent as I thought about the idea of tattoos that gave you awesome shadow-powers. I’d heard of stranger things, and I had to admit it sounded cool. Not to mention badass.
It was almost evening when we left the bar and we worked our way through the crowds of ponies who had emerged to buy and sell goods in the outer district’s Night Market. Every night vendor would set up stalls in the outer business district to sell whatever wares they had. Haggling prices was a must, and you could buy almost anything at the night market; from various fried foods sold by food vendors, to supplies, trinkets, Saddle Arabian rugs, gems, and more.
I almost ran straight into Gladiolus as he stopped right in the middle of the sea of ponies going from stall to stall. “Hold on a second” he said, motioning for me to stay put. He raised his nose and sniffed the air a few times, searching for something. After a few seconds of looking in different directions he settled on one and pulled me behind him. He spoke as he pulled me through the crowd. “Stay close to me, and don’t make any sudden moves or noises.” I just followed him, bewildered.
We ended up in a small alleyway that was hidden between a pottery stall and an antiques stall. Gladiolus was on his guard as he approached a rusty dumpster near the back of the alley. It sat tilted to the side because one of its wheels was missing, and several cockroaches skittered out from underneath the dumpster into a drain between my hooves. Gross. At least the incense stall across the way was helping to make things smell a little better. There was the sound of something rummaging through the interior of the dumpster as well as some odd kind of…singing?
Oh Grodger is a rummaging, rummaging, rummaging
Grodger is a rummaging through a pile of trash
What will he find? Well he has no idea!
Hopefully a tasty little snack!
“Oh Luna preserve me…” I heard Gladiolus mutter under his breath. He stood right in front of the dumpster and yelled with surprising volume. “Grodger! Get on out here!” There was a startled “Gah!” followed by the scratching of small claws as a little thing crawled out from the metal box. It was something that I had never seen before in my life.
The little creature was maybe two and a half feet tall and covered in little green scales. The scales might have been shiny once, but years of digging around in piles of trash and had dulled whatever sheen those scales might once have possessed. The result was a mottled texture not unlike a garbage heap. It stood upright and its stumpy little tail swished back and forth nervously. It held claw-fulls of assorted junk and it looked like various pieces of trash had also collected on his body. A moment later I realized that various dirty bags and pieces of trash had been stitched together into a crude form of clothing.
I stared at the strange creature, and it stared back at me with surprisingly large, and surprisingly inquisitive eyes. “What in Celestia’s name is that?” I asked Gladiolus.
“His name is Grodger, he’s a scrounge-goblin” Gladiolus explained. “They’re foragers by nature; digging around in trash for things that catch their eye and for the most part staying hidden from ponyfolk. They’re pretty harmless. Most of the time. Although sometimes they stumble across things they shouldn’t. Right, Grodger?”
The little goblin replied indignantly in a strangely scratchy voice. “Mister G! Grodger has no idea what Mister G is talking about! Grodger has been a good little hobgoblin since the last time he met Mister G! Grodger is wounded by your wild accusations.” He looked up tearfully at us, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a slight twinge in my heart at the sight.
“You and I both know that’s not true Grodger. Now, where is it?”
“Where is what, Mister G? All I have is this” He displayed his hoofful (or rather clawful) of trash with poorly-feigned innocence.
“You know what! I can smell it on you, now take it out!” he said, his tone verging on annoyance. Gladiolus’ volume caused the goblin to let out a high-pitched “Eeep!” and Grodger pulled out a small straw figure of a pony from his makeshift tunic. He looked down at his feet and presented the strange figurine to the cloaked warden. Gladiolus inspected it closely before speaking. “Now Grodger, what are you doing carrying around a class two Dark Artifact in your dirty little pockets? It looks like voodoo magic too. You weren’t thinking of using it on somepony, were you?”
“No! Never! The thought hadn’t even contemplated crossing Grodger’s mind! Grodger was going to trade it for a nice warm carpet to put in my hidey-hole! Honest!”
“What have I told you about finding magical artifacts? You need to take them straight to the Night Wardens at Canterlot Castle! You know what, I’ll make you a deal. You’ll get a whole bag of rock candy for every artifact you turn into the wardens at Canterlot Castle.”
At this the little creature’s eyes grew as wide as saucers and he began drooling copiously. “A whole bag? All for Grodger?” he said, obviously enthralled by the prospect. “It’s a deal Mister G!”
“Good. Now, I don’t want to find you holding onto another one of these, got it?”
“You won’t, Mister G!”
“Now go back to whatever hole you came from.” With that, the little hobgoblin scurried
off and disappeared down a ponyhole in the street, startling some market goers in the process.
“Rock candy? Really?” I asked dubiously.
“Oh yeah, hobgoblins love the stuff; they can’t get enough of it. It’s a good bargaining chip if you’re ever in a situation where you need to barter with them. Anyways, I need to take this back to Princess Luna. You can wander around for a bit if you want—I’ll find you when I get back. Just stay out of trouble okay?”
“Okay. I promise I won’t start any fights or try running away. I’ll try to remember that thing about rock candy too” I replied.
“Good. See you in a bit then.”
Gladiolus disappeared into the shadows and I was left alone in an alley for the second time in two days. It had gotten pretty late and I was exhausted from this long and insane day. My body needed rest, but there was something else I wanted to do first, and in order to do it I needed to get back to my hideout. My only problem on that count was that I didn’t know how to get there from this part of Canterlot.
The city of Canterlot truly was a maze, and especially at street level one could easily get lost. To give you a little bit of background; Canterlot was founded soon after the banishment of Nightmare Moon. The old castle located in what would become the Everfree Forest was abandoned for a new one on Canterlot Mountain, most likely to leave the pain of the past and Princess Luna’s fall behind. The castle was built first, and in time the city of Canterlot flourished around it.
At first it was an orderly growth with straight rows of tree-line streets, but as the population increased and space became scarcer the growth of Canterlot became wilder. As the city grew outwards straight and orderly streets became twisted and intertwined with each other and buildings grew taller and narrower; all for the sake of finding more space in the prosperous city. If you happened to wander into an unfamiliar portion of the lower city and did not know how to find your way out, an hour long trip for groceries could end up taking the remainder of the day. A pony going missing only to turn up a day or so later because of a few wrong turns wasn’t entirely unheard of.
Fortunately, finding my way through places like Canterlot is kind of my talent. As I trotted away from the night market I put my hooves on autopilot and followed them as they led me to where I needed to go. Sure enough, I soon found myself in front of the gates of the now defunct fabric factory. Home sweet home.
After a quick visit to the manager’s safe up in my office-turned-hangout to get a few things I was back outside, and this time I knew exactly where I was headed: the place where I grew up.
The moon hung high in the sky by the time I arrived; it had to have been at least one or two in the morning. Across from me was my destination—a humble two story building. A small bakery was located on the first floor while the rest of the rooms were on the floor above.
A pale beam of moonlight reflected off of one of the building’s darkened windows as I stepped towards its entrance. I stopped right before the front door.
That old wooden door with its chipped white paint and dented brass doorknob just held too many memories; memories of a happier time that I would only be able to visit fleetingly in my dreams. Something in me felt that I hadn’t yet regained the right to walk through that door, especially after how I had left through it only three years before. That seems like a lifetime ago now…
I used one of the upstairs windows instead. The one of the floorboards creaked under my hoof as I entered through the window. I froze for a second, but the sound of heavy snoring that drifted down the hall reassured me. I made my way to that room and opened the door gently. I had to stifle a small laugh at the sight of my mom sprawled on the bed snoring her head off. I guess some things don’t change. I walked over to the night stand by the side of the bed and set down two bags of bits: the one Gladiolus had given me and the one I had been saving in my safe. Before I climbed through the window I had resolved to just leave the bits and go, but as I stood there next to the sleeping form of my mother words began tumbling out of my mouth almost against my will.
“Hey mom, its been a while hasn’t it? Look, I’m sorry I argued when I left and I’m sorry I said some of the things that I did, but I think we both know that I’m not exactly cut out to be a baker for the rest of my life like you wanted me to be. I wish we had this talk sooner, but we can hardly go back and change the past. I did pretty well off by myself, believe it or not. I managed to save up a lot of bits too. I guess this is kind of an apology. I know that it’s not quite enough, but I hope that it helps all the same. I’m sorry, mom. I know I messed up and it seems like I keep messing up, but now I’m trying to clean up my mess. It looks like I’m even going to get paid for it. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I’ll do my best to make you proud.” I wiped away a few rebellious tears that threatened to trickle down my face. My mom had slept through the whole thing.
I didn’t feel ready enough to have an open conversation with her just yet, but it did feel nice to get all of that off my chest. I opened the bedroom window and gave one look back at my mom’s snoring, wide open mouth and a small strand of drool connecting it to the pillow. A moment later I was through the window and back on the street where Gladiolus was waiting for me on the corner. I looked back one last time as I walked down the street with Gladiolus and for a split second I saw a pair of eyes looking back through the second story window.
Gladiolus spoke up as the evening mist gathered around us. “Did you finish what you needed to do?” he said, giving me a curious look
“Yeah, I did” I replied. “So, what do we do now?”
“Now? Well first you go get some sleep. You look exhausted.” He was right, I was completely exhausted. I was used to staying up late often, but after all of the excitement in the last few days my head was longing for the soft embrace of a nice, fluffy pillow. Before I could lose myself in dreams of the comforts of my bed, Gladiolus continued talking.
“Meet me at the train station bright and early tomorrow. Around seven o’clock should be good. Don’t be late.”
“Seven o’clock? That’s less than four hours from now!” I replied indignantly.
“Then you should hurry up and get some rest. Oh, and don’t forget to bring some donuts and coffee too!” he said with his trademarked cheeky grin. Its charm was beginning to significantly lose its luster.
I growled and made to lunge for him, but he just laughed and easily dodged out of the way. Sleep deprivation makes moving quickly annoyingly difficult. “Oh, you should also bring some traveling supplies with the donuts,” he added.
“Why? Are we going somewhere?”
“Yup! Tomorrow we’ll be headed to Ponyville!”