//------------------------------// // Weakness // Story: The Golden Armor Part II: Lost chapters // by Comet Burst //------------------------------// One Week Later... Leaving your friends is a difficult thing to do for anypony. Seeing their sad faces as you tell them you won't be coming back for a while stabs ponies to the heart in a land built on friendship and harmony. Valyrie, who had lived in a country where such things were only as valuable as you could make them, found that out the hard way. Gryphons were not as deeply rooted in friendship as ponies were, and as such was stunned to hear their responses. Both Comet and Angel were extremely upset at the news she would be leaving in less than a day, Angel going as far as to hug the gryffon tightly and cry hyseterically into her shoulder, begging her not to go. While leaving her two best friends was painful, Midnight Glow was even worse. Angel's sobbing had hurt Valyrie, but Midnight's face stung her more. His warm golden eyes suddenly went from happiness at seeing her to glossy orbs, straining as hard as he could to hold back tears. "A-Are you sure you have to go?" he asked, his voice quivering. Valyrie, the normally headstrong, tough-as-nails gryffon, suddenly found herself unable to look at her coltfriend. Instead, she found interest in staring at the stone floor, trying to hold back her own emotions. "Yes, Midnight," she spoke morosely, "I-I'm sorry." As she finished speaking, a strong set of hooves wrapped around her and hugged her tightly, trying to both comfort her and keep her there. "Valyrie, I... I don't want you to leave," Midnight stammered, the hurt evident in his voice. Valyrie returned the hug, tears stinging at her eyes. "I don't want to go either," she whispered to him, "I want to stay here. With you and Angel and Comet, too." The stallion tightened his hooves around her at that. "Then don't leave," he said, his voice full of determination, "Stay here with us. Surely Celestia can find a way for you to--" "She already tried!" Valyrie burst out, burying her white-plumed head into Midnight's shoulder, "I begged her to stay, but she couldn't let me!" "Why not?" Midnight asked, his voice edged with a little bit of anger and sadness. "The agreement was I could come here instead of being banished permanently! Celestia said she would only keep me here as long as I was supposed to, and once it was up, I was to be returned to my homeland!" After saying that, Valyrie started sobbing into Midnight's shoulder as he hugged her as tightly as he could. He ground his teeth as he felt a few tears escape his eyelid's vice grip, feeling the enamel chip away. "There is one way for you to not leave," he spoke, his voice shaking, "You could run away with me. Yeah, we could leave here now and go live somewhere else, like my colony!" Before Valyrie could respond to that, the door to the chamber they were in burst open and a shout of anger echoed into the room. "Valyrie!" came the gruff voice of her father, "It's time to go!" A deadly pause filled the room as she lifted her head and looked Midnight in the eyes, wishing she could say something. "What are you two doing?!" her father shouted again. In the few conversations she and her father had that didn't involve threats and shouts, Midnight Glow had never come up. Valyrie had never told him she was in a relationship with a pony to protect Midnight, due to her father being extremely against pony and gryffon relationships. He often called such relationships unnatural and disgusting, sometimes implying that there was some mental or parental problem leading to it. Valyrie had agreed with him once, long ago before she met Comet and Midnight, but now she totally disagreed with him. As the two looked at each other, there seemed to be no point to keeping it secret now that she wouldn't see him again. Without any fear or shame, Valyrie closed her eyes and pushed her beak into Midnight's mouth gently. Midnight, slightly stunned by this, returned the kiss. For two blissful seconds, it seemed Valyrie and Midnight were all alone, just like their first date when they had a small picnic on one of the rooftops in town under the moonlight. A loud roar of anger came before Valyrie felt a strong set of claws grab her, hard. A force much stronger than Midnight's hug pulled her away and she flew backwards as she was tossed into the hallway, crashing into the marble walls lining the other side. "What do you think you are doing, you stupid girl?!" her father shouted, his anger causing his voice to shake. Pain shot across her cheek as she felt the back of her father's claw strike her, his warm breath coming down into her face. Valyrie recoiled at the pain and started to curl up as her father kept shouting about how disgusting it was she would do that. "Do you have any idea what you just did, you pathetic pile of feathers and fur?! What the hell is the matter with you?! I know I raised you better than that, you disgusting, ungrateful piece of--!" "Hey! Shut up and leave her alone!" Came Midnight's voice, shouting over her father's ranting. Valyrie whimpered as he rubbed her cheek, tears still flowing down them. She opened one eye to see her father's back turned to her, facing the bat pony. At opposite ends of the hall, a small crowd had gathered, some watching and others calling for the Royal Guard, even as two gryphon guards blocked any of them from interfering. "What did you say to me, you impertinent sack of filth?" her father asked in a deadly tone. "I said, 'leave her alone'," Midnight growled back, baring his fangs. "Do you even know who you're talking to!?" the gryphon roared to him, spreading his wings to make himself look bigger, "I am Samson Coldclaw, destroyer of the great wyrm of Felltop Mountain!" "And I'm Midnight Glow, guardian of Princess Luna herself!" the bat pony yelled back, clearly unafraid. As Midnight stared into the old gryphon's gold feathered face, he saw a smirk begin to cross it. "What does it matter if you protect your pathetic little princess from a butterfly?! You are nothing to me!" Samson shouted back. Midnight growled again before speaking. "Don't you dare insult my princess or strike my marefriend, you arrogant idiot!" he snarled back. "Or what, you'll bite me?" Samson replied in a mocking tone. "Oh, I'll do way worse..." Midnight threatened. As Midnight finished speaking, three razor sharp claws raked the side of his face, going from the base of his jaw up his muzzle. Midnight yelped in pain and clutched his face as the flat side of another claw hit his other cheek with incredible strength, sending him flat onto the ground. Midnight tried to get up instantly, but a claw descended on his face and pressed his head into the coarse stone, making his face hurt more. He yelled in pain as a small chuckling escaped the gryphon, who pressed harder. "Pathetic inbreed," he spat at him, "I could kill you now if I wanted." "Father!" screamed Valyrie as she leaped onto his back trying to dig her claws into him, "Let him go!" A swift kick stopped Valyrie as she leaped, knocking the wind out of her and Midnight to yell louder as he struggled to get free. She landed on her back, luckily avoiding crushing one of her wings, and looked over to Midnight. He thrashed around, desperately slamming his front hoof into Samson's leg while his wings and hind legs struggled to pull him back. A shout of pain escaped him again and Valyrie quickly rose to her feet. Before she could do anything, however, a dark shadow zipped across her father's back and he shouted in pain. The shadow skidded to a halt as a bat pony in full armor spun to face him, golden eyes glowing dangerously from underneath the helmet. Samson released Midnight and turned to shout at the shadowy pony, but not before a steel blade shaped like the sun hooked dangerously around his throat. The blade was attached to a wooden pole, held onto by a pegasus in a full gold helmet with a blue plume, a sparkling gold cloak covering the rest of his body. Through the eye slits in the helmet could be seen a pair of fiery red eyes. "Don't. Move," came the scariest rendition of Comet's voice both Midnight and Valyrie had ever heard. "You dare threaten me?!" Samson yelled back while remaining resolutely still. "You hurt one of my guards," came the cold voice of Angel, "We shouldn't even be threatening you." "Then do it," Valyrie's father challenged, "I will break you all before you even hurt me." Silence reigned as the gryphon stared down at the bat pony in armorl. Comet never moved, but kept the gryphon still as the halberd sat dangerously close to his arteries. After a few tense moments, the halberd left Samson's throat. "Get out of here," Comet spoke coldly, "Don't ever return to Equestria again." "With pleasure," Samson spat at him before turning towards Valyrie, "Come, daughter. We will discuss your actions later." "No," Valyrie said before he struck her cheek again. "I said, 'we're leaving'. Now." With tears in her eyes, Valyrie slowly stood up and began to walk away, glancing over to her friends. Midnight held his face as tears gently rolled down his cheek while Comet had his head turned away from her, unwilling to watch her leave. Angel gave a small sniffle as the two walked away towards the carriage waiting for them. After they had rounded the corner with their gryphon guards, Midnight let out a choked sob as Comet examined his injuries. "Angel, get him to the medical wing. These look bad," he swiftly spoke. Without any protest, Angel came up to Midnight and slowly led him down the opposite hallway as Comet removed his helmet. Sweat beaded his forehead as the rest of the Goldencloaks emerged from the crowd, along with members of the Zodiac. Comet sighed to himself, knowing that regardless of what the gryphon had said, he wouldn't be able to fight the sheer numbers of guards who were waiting to intervene. "Commander Comet!" came a swift shout of a voice he had hoped not to hear. The pegasus spun to see Shining Armor trotting over to him, a look of both anger and sternness on him. "What the hay is going on here?" he asked. "We had a small incident involving the gryphons, sir," Comet replied with a salute. Shining narrowed his eyes before asking, "What kind of incident?" "One of the gryphons attacked an unarmed member of the Zodiac unprovoked, sir. Both Commander Angel and I intervened as he kept on hurting the Zodiac guard, sir!" Shining stood there in silence as he looked at Comet, unsure of his story. While he trusted his commanders, he was sure there was something else that happened. A shout from farther down the castle affirmed his suspicion as a pony came running up. "Captain! Commander!" the guard shouted, his bulky armor getting in the way of his running, "One of the gryphons just passed out!" Shining wrinkled his nose at that before turning to Comet. "Gather Commander Angel and report to my office immediately," he spoke in a deadly serious voice. An hour later, Comet and Angel stood in Shining Armor's office, standing rigidly still as the Captain shuffled through some papers. In the air hung an uneasy silence, one that threatened to destroy the room should it be broken prematurely. Angel, being the overactive bat pony she was, shifted her weight from one hoof to another, causing a slight jingle to escape from her armor. Comet's eyes shrunk a little at that while Shining Armor looked away from his papers. "I suppose there's no sense in prolonging this," he mumbled as he pushed himself away from the desk, "I want to know what the two of you were doing in that hallway with a whole contingency of both Solar and Lunar guards waiting to attack an unarmed civilian of another country. And, more importantly, I want to know why you, Commander Angel, attacked him." The Captain narrowed his eyes at them and Comet cleared his throat. Before he could talk, however, Shining Armor raised his hoof. "Before you begin, I do know of your friendship with his daughter, the gryffon Valyrie. I also know of your relationship to the pony Midnight Glow, Ms. Angel." "Captain, sir," Angel began before Comet could speak, "Then you surely know what happened to Midnight and why we intervened." "I am well aware of Lieutenant Midnight's condition, yes," Shining said, levitating a piece of parchment, "Three lacerations to his right cheek, as well as scrape marks on said wounds and pressure applied to his head." The note fluttered gently to the desk as Shining continued. "I also have witness testimony that Samson Coldclaw struck him first without any actions on Midnight's part. Your actions, however," Shining accentuated as he pointed a hoof at Angel, "Were without provocation." "Sir, if you are aware that Midnight Glow is my half-brother, then you know that he is a member of the Zodiac as well. An attack on any of us is an attack on all of us," Angel spoke unwaveringly. "He was off-duty, Commander," Shining pointed out, "The Zodiac's very presence there meant you suspected an attack might happen and failed to notify me of such a threat, marshaling your own forces without authorization. That is a very large breach in our protocols, Angel." "She wasn't alone," came Comet's voice as he took a step in front of her, as if to shield the now paling bat pony, "I had my own force there as well. Commander Angel and I were notified by the gryffon Valyrie that her father was highly aggressive and might attack anypony unprovoked, should he feel slighted." Shining Armor's piercing blue eyes shifted to Comet as he returned the stare, showing very little fear of the unicorn. "Commander Comet, your actions are not in question here. We have known of his violent nature since he first arrived at this castle, per the notification by Valyrie. While I am curious about how many Goldencloaks were there, you were supposed to keep a small unit following him at all times. Are you insinuating you were not following orders at some point?" Comet's ears drooped at that, but his gaze hardly faltered. "No, sir," he replied, his voice slightly lower than before. "Then do you wish to say that you roused Commander Angel and her guards when you should've easily had the situation in hoof?" "No, sir, he didn't," came Angel's voice, slightly more squeaky that it usually was. Both Comet and Shining turned to her as she looked up, her golden eyes now sad. "I roused my own troops without permission because I feared for the safety of Midnight Glow. I should have let Commander Comet keep the peace without my intervention." Shining narrowed his eyes further at her before speaking. "Did you attack Samson Coldclaw?" he asked plainly. "Yes, sir," Shining put a hoof to his forehead and rubbed it, thinking to himself. Comet's gaze never wavered from Angel as she looked back at him and smiled weakly, her tiny fangs barely showing from under her lip. "Samson Coldclaw passed out on the way from the castle," Shining spoke up as Comet and Angel's attention snapped back to him, "He claims you ruptured an old wound he gathered back in his military service. He is on his way home now with Valyrie, but the delegates here say their king is rather displeased with what has transpired. He is demanding we take action to prevent hostilities from starting between our countries by punishing those responsible for the event, namely Midnight Glow and you, Commander Angel." Angel gulped, feeling like she was trying to swallow a watermelon whole. Shining put his hoof on the floor and looked to her, sadness and seriousness mingling together on his face. "Midnight Glow is going to be given immunity from punishment from Princess Luna, since the witness accounts say Midnight did nothing to provoke the attack on him. You, however," he said as he pointed a hoof at Angel, "Are to be relieved of your duties as acting commander of the Zodiac and are discharged from their majesty's services." The words hung in the air the same way a deafening explosion did. Comet's eyes shrunk to pinpricks as Angel lowered her head. "What?!" Comet almost yelled in an exhasperated tone, "Sir, this is far too extreme of a punishment!" "And why is that, Commander?" Shining asked, his voice laced with venom. "Sir, I was there! I saw what he did and while Commander Angel acted rashly, the gryphon would have killed Midnight Glow without her intervention!" After Comet finished speaking, Shining Armor let out a sigh, an uncharacteristic thing of him. "Commander, you should know our dealings with gryphons are notoriously sticky. If it were up to them, Angel would be put to death for her actions. Removing her from her command and the guard is the very least we could do, short of banishment or, Celestia-forbid, executing her." Comet felt his throat tighten as he strained to find his voice. Before he could speak, however, the sound of metal being moved came from behind him. He turned his attention to see Angel removing her armor, placing it on the floor of Shining's office very gently. Comet spun around to stop her, but she looked up and saluted Shining with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I-I-It's been an honor t-to serve, sir," she spoke, her voice nearly cracking. "Angel, wait!" Comet shouted, "I'm sure there is a way we can stop this! We have witnesses!" "Commander, restrain yourself!" came the gruffest command from Shining Armor that Comet had ever heard. The pegasus winced at the command, but said nothing in return. "I-I am-m relieved of m-my c-c-command, sir" Angel continued, her eyes completely glossy. Shining saluted back at her and said, "You are relieved, Commander," Angel nodded to him and gave the weakest sincere smile she could have ever given to Comet as she turned around and trotted to the doorway, leaving a dumbstruck pegasus to watch the door shut. "Commander," Shining spoke once the door had completely shut, "I am placing you in charge of the Zodiac now until we can find a replacement for her." Comet spun around and looked at Shining, his face hardened. "And if I refuse, sir?" he growled. "The you will be removed from your command as well on the grounds of insubordination," Shining spoke tonelessly, "I would much rather salvage one of you from this mess than lose both." Comet grit his teeth together, feeling the tips of his molars rub uncomfortably against one another before he saluted. "Sir, yes, sir," he replied, his voice filled with anger. Shining nodded to him and turned around. "I will allow you some time to say goodbye to Angel, Commander," he spoke, "I know she is a very good friend to you and I must fill out some paperwork before you are granted control of both guard units." The door nearly slammed shut as Shining finished speaking and he sighed again. "Damn these gryphons," he mumbled as he pulled out some faded parchment.