//------------------------------// // 8. Preparations // Story: Secrets of a Royal Guard // by Anzel //------------------------------// I was standing at attention at the center of Princess Luna’s office while Willowy Tempest was at the princess’s side, going through the day planner. The day planner that I previously maintained. It wasn’t important who had it, but there was a part of me that disliked giving up that control. Especially to Miss Tempest. The princess stared at two different crowns that sat on her desk and casually ordered, “Silent Knight, Willowy has cleared my schedule for the foreseeable future. You and I shall leave for the Badlands immediately to meet with the nox ponies. Make the necessary arrangements.” “No, Princess,” I replied flatly. Willowy Tempest’s eyes went big as she looked from me back up to the alicorn. The princess was already levitating some luggage. “I want to travel quickly and we’ll—” She turned to look at me in confusion. “Did you just say no? You never say no!” “Yes, Princess, I did. You and I, as you say, aren’t leaving immediately and we certainly aren’t going alone.” Princess Luna rose to her full height and commanded, “We will and we are!” I shook my head resolutely. “No, Princess. I’m glad you have a bond with these ponies and trust them fully. That is important, but it isn’t enough. Even though I feel a moderate level of trust for their matriarch, we don’t know that her word will hold everypony in check, however. When we go, we’re taking your guards. This is just like any other diplomatic trip.” “It is not!” the princess exclaimed before stubbornly stamping a hoof. “You said yourself that these ponies are afraid of us. You expect to march royal guards into their home? I will hear nothing more of this. We are leaving and we’re leaving now.” I wasn’t fazed by that. She was being unreasonable. “A single squad of ponies will be acceptable, and I can have chariots ready by this Thursday. We’ll take their feelings into account, but we have to protect you. I will not be enough.” Princess Luna stormed over and dropped her head to look me in the eye. “If I fly out that window right now, you’ll have to follow.” The princess had a withering gaze, I’ll give her that, but she was being petulant and immature. I fixed my eyes on hers and stated flatly, “No. If you fly out now, I’ll send Torch Light after you with a beacon. Then, I will personally go tattle to Princess Celestia. What do you think she’d say?” Torch Light, the poor guard that happened to be on duty right now, looked confused and mortified by the conversation. “You are a stubborn pony!” Princess Luna exclaimed in exasperation. She stomped away from me to stand at the doors to her balcony, flicked her wings, looked back at me, snorted, and dropped her rump to sit on the floor like a foal. “Fine, but we leave first thing Thursday. You may bring six ponies in addition to yourself. Willow, make the schedule work.” Willowy Tempest looked at me with a muddled expression and then nodded. “Yes, Princess.” I turned to go make the arrangements and then paused. “We’ll need amulets for everypony. Possibly for you, too, Princess, assuming you can’t see in the dark.” “It will be done,” Princess Luna replied grumpily, her back still to me. That was easier than I thought it would be. Evidently, the threat of summoning her older sister was enough to motivate the alicorn to behave. I almost smiled. I didn’t, because it isn’t professional to smile when they’re sulking, especially when she was a princess. Instead, I nodded to Willowy, ignored her light glare, and marched out into the hall to get the process started. When I reached our admin area, I stuck my head into Radiant Orchid’s office. She was at her desk, flipping through the latest reports from the palace. She stood up when she caught sight of me. “Sir.” I motioned for her to sit and she did so. “We have work to do.” “Alright, fill me in. What’s happening?” “Thursday, I’m escorting the princess to meet those ponies we talked about before. We need to make plans and do so quickly.” Orchid jumped back up and exclaimed, “Great! I could use a trip. Let me tell everypony and we’ll get everything together. It is short notice, but we can do it.” That wasn’t what I had in mind, so I held a hoof up. “No, I said I. As in me. Well, me and a squad. You’ll be staying here.” “What? You bring me into the know just to immediately box me out?” Radiant Orchid shot back. “Not at all. If we’re both with the princess, who am I going to leave in command here?” The mare practically shouted at me, “Iridescence! If she is ever going to take this job, we have to let her do it at some point.” It was a solid argument. Iridescence did need some hoofs on experience and keeping the unit together while we were gone would be good. “Alright, that works for me. Brief her when we’re done here.” “Of course she can do it, we just—” She stopped when she saw my pointed look. What was it with mares and assuming they knew what I was going to say? Was I that predictable? Her ears perked when she realized what I had said. “Oh. Alright. So, I’m going?” I nodded. “Yes, you are. Although, again, I didn’t ask. You volunteered. Now we’ll need two sky chariots. One small and one large. Be sure the large one is big enough for six ponies. For the small one, let’s go with what Princess Luna had made for Nightmare Night. If that doesn’t scream Alicorn of the Night, I don’t know what does." "It’s tacky but, yes, sir. I’ll get it all together,” Orchid replied. “Also, instruct all our ponies that we are to only refer to Princess Luna as Luna the Student until I say otherwise. Princess Celestia is to be referred to as Celestia of the Six. They should not discuss history or anything about Equestria as we know it. In fact, they should, in general, keep their mouths shut. Clear?” Orchid’s head tilted in confusion, but she replied, “Yes, sir. Confusing, but clear. Who are we taking?” “You, Nova, Golden Touch, Lightning Flash, and Cloud Lance.” “All pegasi but me? Seriously?” I shrugged, “If things go bad, there isn’t any way for a non-pegasus to escape without help. I want to limit the groundbound to two.” The mare snorted at the term. “That gives me so much comfort and fills me with joy for having volunteered myself…” she trailed and then blinked. “Wait, two? Who else did you have in mind?” Our eyes met, and I grinned. “The only medic I trust with my life.” Orchid groaned as recognition dawned on her. “Oh, come on, no. She isn’t even part of the House Guard!” “She might say no,” I teased. “Not to you. She weirds me out, sir.” “She saved my life, and probably the lives of a lot of others. Our medics are good, but they’re not on the same level as her.” Orchid nodded… and then sighed. “You’re going to stick us ‘groundbound’ together, aren’t you?” “Yes, ma’am.” I reached over to give her a consolatory pat on the shoulder. “Welcome to the inside. Now get to it. We’ve got to get this whole show together and ready before Thursday.” “Yes, sir!” she said. I left her office and started down the hall. That was one task down. It was time to handle another that was of a more personal nature. Thankfully, finding Iridescence was easy, since I had the schedule memorized. It was one of the perks of being in charge: I knew what everypony was up to at all times. When I found her in the main hall midway through her rounds, I approached her with a blank expression. I didn’t want anypony to know this was personal. “Sergeant, can I speak to you a moment?” She nodded, “Yes, sir.” This was one of those conversations that I typically struggled with. I’d rehearsed some words, but I didn’t want them to feel staged. As we walked together, I kept practicing in my mind. “Sir? Where are we going?” she asked quietly. “Sightseeing,” I replied before leading her to the top floor of the palace and through the door that led to the highest tower. We took the spiral staircase in stride before coming out onto the observation balcony. It was the one we’d been on when the changelings had started their attack. I took my helmet off and set it on the ground. She got the message and did the same, then asked, “What’s going on?” “I wanted to apologize if I’ve been distant lately,” I started. “It wasn’t meant to be directed at you personally. There has just been a whole lot going on.” She shook her head. “I know. It happens to everypony, Silent Knight. Things change.” “They do, but I should have at least taken the time to discuss it with you. This feels like when I made sergeant. It is almost like we’re doing the same thing again.” Iridescence chided, “No, it isn’t like that at all. Don’t feel that way. You had a huge opportunity. You’d have been a fool to pass it up. To be honest I’d be more worried if you had. Look, it means a lot that you’d even take the time to explain yourself to me but you didn’t have to. I know the regulations just as well as you do.” “Yeah. You know, life used to be less complicated when we lived in that little room together and you weren’t into mares,” I said. She softly laughed and nodded. “Yup! Well, nope, I was into mares, but you didn’t know it. Besides, look at us now. You’re an officer, dating a famous author, and a big pony at the palace.” “And you’re a soon-to-be section sergeant, surrogate mother, and still the best-looking house guard.” The mare gave me a soft shove. “I’ll tell Sunny Day you said that… but thank you. We’re going to be fine, Silent Knight. We know the difference between on-duty and off. We’ll just have to work a little harder to stay friends is all.” It was good to know she felt that way. I certainly didn’t want to lose a friend. I shifted and looked to the horizon. “You know, I don’t mind when you and Dot come over to visit Winterspear. She doesn’t always have to go to your place. It doesn’t weird me out or anything.” “I know, but you need to remember that Crystal Wishes gets a say, too. Do you think she really wants your ex hanging around your place a lot?” That was something I’d never considered. I didn’t think that way usually. “She’ll be fine. Besides, she likes Dot.” “Who doesn’t?” Iridescence asked with a laugh. “Yeah. Hey… on that topic, can I ask you something?” “Sure.” I idly drummed my hooves on the railing. “I don’t mean this in a rude way. It’s just that I’ve noticed that Dot doesn’t look like you or your other sisters. Plus, her name isn’t similar. Was she adopted?” Iridescence’s cheeks turned bright red and the mare cleared her throat. “Right… so please don’t repeat this—and I know you wouldn’t—but the truth is she’s actually my half-sister.” My ear flicked. “What? Your half-sister?” “My father gives most of his life to his work. He hasn’t ever been there for my mother or us. Sure, he provides extremely well but, you know, he was absent. So…” “Are you telling me that your mother…” I trailed in disbelief. “Yup. Daddy knows, but they both pretend like it isn’t true. Polite society and image, that sort of thing. I think that is partially why Luminescence and Opalescence are so mean to her. They think she isn’t good enough because she isn’t his.” I let that sink in and it upset me. It upset me a lot. How could they treat her so poorly due to something she had no control over? We would do better. “That doesn’t matter. She’s family.” “Unfortunately, they don’t have the same outlook on life that you do.” I shook my head again. “That isn’t what I meant. She’s our family.” Iridescence smiled. “That is sweet, but you don’t have to look out for her. She isn’t really your family.” “She will be,” I replied. Iridescence looked up at me and then just nodded. She leaned her weight against my side and said softly, “You’ll be a good uncle.” We stood in silence and just enjoyed watching the clouds go by. Life can get complicated, but it can never take away what is most important: family and friends. ☾ The sun hung high in the sky as I flew over Canterlot. Before my lunch appointment, I had some official business to conduct. There was another pony I needed for our mission. A powerful pony that could get us out of a sticky situation if we found ourselves in one. When I neared the Unicorn Temple, I couldn’t help but admire the large green space that spread out within the large, nondescript walls that separated it from the city. The closer I got, the more I felt the urge to divert my path or land. It was a strange magic, but one I had a great respect for. It was also a magic I had no intention of challenging. Most flyers simply steered clear of this space on instinct without realizing it. The whole area was meant to blend in and be unobtrusive, as these ponies had no desire to mingle with society. After landing, I knocked softly at the gates. In the past, I tried to make sure that I’d be heard, but the strength or loudness of the knocks didn’t seem to matter. Somepony always answered. It only took a few moments for the door to open. A somewhat familiar temple guard looked out at me. “Silent Knight. We have not seen you in a while. Have you come to enjoy the garden?” “It has been too long, yes. I’m afraid my new responsibilities have been keeping me busy, and as much as I wish I could stay and smell the flowers, I’m here to see the exemplar. I suspect if I wander the garden, she’ll find me as she always does.” The guard stepped back and opened the door further. “You’re probably right. She is in the barracks, though, so perhaps a more direct approach is in order today?” I’d never been inside any of the buildings within the temple grounds even though I visited often during my recovery. This was going to be a new glimpse into the lives of the ponies that lived here. “Very well, then. I’ll do that.” “Follow the path as normal. When you cross through the inner wall, it is the first walkway on the left. Tennant Hall.” “Thank you,” I replied before trotting down the path. At the heart of the grounds was the inner wall. Unlike the exterior wall, it was not nearly as impressive. It was nothing more than field stones stacked together that rose barely to shoulder height. I passed through what amounted as the gate and took the first left. The Tennant Hall was an impressive but unassuming building. It, like every other structure I’d seen at a distance, was built into the landscape. The walkway sloped down into the earth and ended in the face of a hewn stone entrance. Grassy knolls on each side rose to the height of the building and almost fully obscured it. The final touch to complete the odd architecture were windows on the roof to better let light in. When I reached the door, it seemed like I was visiting the warren of some burrowing animal even though the structure stood much like any other building. It was just deep within a depression and surrounded by earth. I let myself in. The interior, like the exterior, was also hewn stone. It was immaculately clean, and a plush rug ran along the short hall that expanded out before me. I walked along it to the first and only intersection. The hall ran far longer to the left and right, framing the building as a plus sign that had been squashed on the top and bottom. A small placard on the wall listed the inhabitants and room numbers. It seemed that Exemplar Ferrel lived in suite 10 East so that is where I headed. Her door was wooden, blue, and simple. Some of the others had decorations but this one had nothing but her name. I knocked. “Come in,” came her voice. I pushed the door open and walked inside. Despite her rank within the temple, the exemplar did not have much more of a room than I’d had as an enlisted pony. It was just large enough to house a single bed, a small desk with a stool, two sitting pillows, and a tall but narrow bookshelf. There was a door off to the left side, so perhaps there was more beyond. Exemplar Ferrel was sitting on one of the pillows, looking down at a scroll. She also wasn’t in her armor. “Oh, excuse me!” I said, stepping back. The unicorn’s head tilted and she said, “It is me, Silent Knight. I assume you were looking for me?” My head bobbed. “Yes, of course. I just didn’t know you’d be…” “Yes?” she asked. “Out of uniform?” I replied weakly. The curious look returned before she briefly smiled in amusement. “I do not wear my armor in my room. Do you? Surely no. Please, come in. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” She was right. I was being silly, so I came in and settled on the opposite pillow. It was small for a pony of my size, but I wasn’t going to be rude. “Do you have to ask? You don’t already know?” The exemplar eyed me a bit and then shook her head. “No. I have not had any Silent Knight-related visions lately.” “I’ll take that as a good sign. Princess Luna and I are going on another diplomatic mission. I thought you might like to come.” “Back to the gryphon kingdom?” she asked. “No!” My reaction had been immediate and surprising even to me. I lowered my tone and added, “Forgive me, no. This time we go to the Badlands and into the city of the exiled nox ponies.” There was no recognition in the mare’s eyes. She stared blankly a moment and then asked, “What is a nox pony?” “Ponies that were vassals of the House of the Night is probably the best answer I can give. They’re an ancient group that has been hiding. Princess Luna wants to start reunification talks.” That explanation seemed to make more sense to the mare. “Of course. You view them as dangerous?” “To be honest… not really. They didn’t have soldiers so much as brutes. Still, I prefer to be safe and this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.” She nodded. “Yes. I will go, providing the archon agrees. Leave that with me.” “Thank you.” I stood and the glimmer of something on the exemplar’s bookshelf caught my eye. When I looked there were numerous crystals strewn about the shelves. Most were similar in shape and size: cylindrical with two points. Some were large. Others were small. Almost all of them were clear-white. A dozen or so were clear-grey and then there were three that were as black as obsidian. “These are beautiful. What are they?” I asked innocently. Exemplar Ferrel rose and replied, “Memories.” I blinked and then pointed at the black ones. “And those?” “Bad memories.” There was a chill in the words. It seemed better not to inquire further. “Well… alright then. We leave Thursday. I hope to see you then,” I said as I started to let myself out. The exemplar was staring off into space. Briefly, her eyes focused back on me. “And so you shall, Silent Knight. Be well." She sounded certain. That gave me confidence that the exemplar would be joining us. She’d provide a great deal of protection if we needed her. With that task completed, I hurried out of the temple grounds and took back to the sky. It was lunch time and I had an appetite. Not for food, but for knowledge. I headed over to the Hay Cafe and settled at a table outside. The server pony came by and set a glass of water in front of me. “Would you like to order, or are you waiting for somepony?” “I’m going to need a few minutes. Water is fine for now, thank you.” He nodded and wandered off to help another guest. Without warning, I heard a voice whisper in my ears as clear as if somepony was standing next to me, “Silent Knight, don’t look around. I’m projecting my voice to you. There is little chance you’ll be able to spot me. Take a drink of water if you understand.” So much for sharing a lunch with my new friend. I picked up the glass and drank from it. “Excellent. As I’m sure you have surmised, I’m responsible for that envelope under your door.” I tried to figure out if I was dealing with a stallion or a mare. The voice was distorted into a husky whisper. “Consider that an appetizer, but if you want the main course, we’re going to need to play by some rules. It is far too dangerous to drop information in your office where one of your subordinates or some cleaning pony might happen upon it. You may place trust in them, but I don’t.” She or he had a point. I would have felt the I gave a slight, subtle nod in agreement. “From now on, when I have information for you, I’ll make a small chalk mark on the light post nearest your apartment. When you see that you’ll know there is a pick up. “Our drop will be at the Phial and Filly. It is a place you’re known to go and nopony will be suspicious of you doing so. Runic Phial has recently purchased some new displays and I have made some modifications to one of them prior to delivery.” This pony knew a lot about me. Too much, really. It was somewhat off-putting, but if this was the game she or he wanted to play, I was going to comply. Plus, there was no denying the validity and detail of the information that had been passed to me. I’d checked it against what the intelligence section was showing me, and there were too many matches to doubt it. “In the last aisle there is a table of bubble baths,” the voice continued. “The back-left leg of that display has a catch facing the wall. Press it and a compartment will slide out. Remember to replace the compartment when you have the package. Drink if you understand. Yawn if you want me to repeat it.” I picked up my water and drank again. “If, for some reason, you need to contact me, open the curtains to your south-facing window and stack two books on the windowsill. When you see an x on the lamppost, that means I agree. Come here for lunch the following day and we’ll do this again.” I grumbled quietly, “This is awfully one-sided. I can’t throw my voice.” “Oh, I can hear you. I just didn’t want you drawing attention to yourself by talking to an empty chair like a crazy pony. One more rule. If you mention to any pony that you’re receiving information I’ll stop and disappear. “There will be no second chances. I’m risking a lot by even talking to you about this, let alone passing on unredacted, classified information. That is why you’re going to keep using official channels, too. We don’t want to be too obvious, do we?” My head shook. “Over time, you can slow down the requests. They’ll think you either grew bored or were too frustrated with the speed. If you do it too quickly, your new friends might take notice and investigate. If our little arrangement is discovered, they might start throwing around words like treason and incarceration. Now, order lunch and then get back to work.” I softly snorted and mumbled, “Alright, invisible pony… if that is who you’re going to be to me.” There was a pause and then an audible sigh. “Against my better judgment, I’m going to extend you a measure of trust. Do not make me regret it.” Another pause. A far longer one. "You may call me Maya. Happy hunting, Silent Knight.” The server wandered back over and asked, “Have you made a decision, sir?” “Oh, yes, I certainly have. I’ll have the zucchini salad to go. I just remembered I have an appointment,” I said. He nodded. “Very good, I’ll have it right out.” I had a name. That was useful. I could put together some of the other parts as well, but I would have to do so carefully. Tipping off my benefactor would be a bad idea. Once my waiter had returned with my food, I paid and headed off for one more errand. I flew over to the Canterlot University Research Library, where I hoped to do a little snooping. The palace archives were good, but they were also curated. Sometimes, academic ponies had other ideas. The campus was still blanketed in winter’s chill. All of the trees and plants were buried under snow and showed little sign of life. The students seem to be in an equal state, as there weren’t many out and about at lunch time. Once I was inside the library, I found that there was little difference in the placid atmosphere between the outdoors and indoors. The rows of books were largely undisturbed and the whole building seemed deserted, save for one light green unicorn mare at an information desk. When I approached, she looked up, her green-and-blue mane tumbling down over her left eye. “Is there some sort of problem?” she asked point blank. “No...” I replied before looking at her name tag. “...Miss Ley Lines. I need somepony to pull some information for a project I’m working on.” Her horn erupted into light and unicorn magic encircled a clipboard. It levitated to her and she set a form on top of it. “Alright, what can we do for the Guard?” I cleared my throat. “We’re looking into a meeting that took place in the Crystal Empire over a thousand years ago.” Ley Lines looked at the form and then up at me. “Come again?” “There was a meeting held by the rulers of Equestria in the Crystal Empire a thousand years ago. We need some information on it. It may require coordination with whatever libraries they have there. Can you do this?” “It is one hay of a challenge, but we’re not afraid of that. Who should I forward the information to?” “Lieutenant Silent Knight, Princess Luna’s House Guard, Commanding.” Ley Lines nodded. “Can do!”