Assembly - Chapter 11
Chapter 11
It was late in the evening when the train from Appleloosa finally pulled to a gentle stop. The sun was just barely touching the western horizon, making it all but invisible to the team of ponies as they made their way between the tall, regal buildings of Canterlot. The streets were busy, although not quite packed, relaxed in the lull of activity that took place between the after work rushes and the early nightlife and late diners. They passed ponies putting out evening tables, setting up signs pronouncing evening dinner specials, and even a brightly lit dance club where a team of unicorns were unsuccessfully racing against a DJ, trying to erect a sound buffering spell before the DJ could get her equipment going. Although Steel didn’t consider himself an expert or even remotely knowledgable about the topic, if speaker size was anything to go off of the unicorns were going to have their work cut out for them. He did notice as he looked back however, that Nova’s gaze lingered on the club for a moment longer than anyone else's. Sabra had merely glanced at it with disinterest, and Hunter ... Well, he probably knew somepony who worked there knowing the way he made friends.
Steel’s thoughts turned back to Nova as he led the way toward the palace. Around them the city streetlights were already beginning to spring to life, awakened by the encroaching shadows as the sun sank lower and lower. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the unicorn. He trusted him already, at least to give an honest response and stick to his word. The fact that he’d stuck around in Silverstar’s cell had been proof enough of that. He mentally grimaced as he thought of the sheriff’s cell. Proud though the stallion may have been, it had been obvious that his town was fairly crime free. Steel felt certain that he could have broken out of one of those cells in just a few minutes. The fact that the gang Nova had been working with was still incarcerated at all said volumes about their capacity as common criminals. No, Steel reasoned, an accomplished thief like Nova could have walked out of his cell any moment he’d wanted to.
It was a strange sort of moral code, to steal so much but then willingly accept the consequences when caught. The fact that he’d been caught at all, that puzzled him as well. Again, Steel was forced to malign Sheriff Silverstar with his thoughts, because as sought after as Nova had been, there was no way the Sheriff could have captured him. He’d read over the unicorn's file, more thoroughly in fact than any of the other team members' files. The kid had once spent three hours leading a whole platoon of the Night Guard on chase of cat-and-mouse across the entire city of Canterlot. They’d almost caught him several times, but Nova had always managed to slip away. For a sheriffs posse in the south to catch him completely unawares on a robbery ... No, he couldn’t accept that. There had to be another motive to it.
He stole a quick glance back, but Nova was still there, eyes wandering around the city and an amused smile on his face. Was he remembering old times, thinking back on the rooftop chases he’d led, or the valuable items he’d stolen? A sudden thought struck Steel. Maybe Nova was simply playing along until he could get back into Canter—no. That didn’t make much sense either. The colt clearly could have made his way into and out of the city without any help. It wasn’t like Canterlot was guarded or difficult to enter. There was no reason for him to let himself be arrested that he could see.
That's just it, he thought as he passed by a pair of expensively dressed unicorns, out early for the Canterlot nightlife. He couldn’t accept that Nova had been captured by chance, not after reading what he was capable of. He frowned, one ear twitching. But why?
“You’ve been pretty silent boss,” Hunter said, appearing next to him. He still had the hat on, tipped at that ridiculous angle, wide grin on his face. “What’s on your mind?”
Already doing his job, Steel thought, even as he opened his mouth to voice his concerns. “Nova’s on my mind,” he said in a low voice. He took another look behind them. Nova looked to be trying to engage Sabra in a conversation, but appeared to be hitting a wall with the Zebra’s quiet disposition, although he didn’t appear to be giving up because of it. “Something about the whole thing is off,” he said, looking back at Hunter.
“Which part?” Hunter asked. “That part about him getting caught, the part where he’s coming willingly, or something else?”
“Both of those first two,” Steel said as they rounded another corner. Down the lane Steel could see Main Street, a thoroughfare leading straight to the Castle that was always busy, even during a lull, and he turned them down a parallel side street to avoid the traffic. “You read his file?”
“Sure did,” Hunter said, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
“What do you think then?” Steel asked.
Hunter looked at him. “As a First Lieutenant? Or as me?”
“Both.”
Hunter gave a shrug as he looked back at the two ponies following them. Sabra looked to be doing his best to ignore Nova, a fact which Nova appeared to have picked up on, given that he kept talking, but his expression had taken on a bit of a glower at Sabra’s silence. “As a Lieutenant, I think he’ll be a hooveful. He’s talented and capable—as the Night Guard found out over the years—but he’s also a bit arrogant. He likes to crack jokes, doesn’t take things seriously, and as we’re seeing right now—” Sabra finally broke and said something that Steel couldn’t quite catch at the distance, but Nova’s expression went from a glower to outright indignation. “He’s not going to do much for team unity without some serious work.”
Steel nodded as he watched Nova shake his head and turn his attention back towards the sights of Canterlot. Even on a back street, there was a lot to look at. The sun had finally set, the moon rising to take its place, and the white marble facades which made up so much of the Canterlot cityscape sparkled under its gentle light. “What about as you?”
Hunter smiled. “Honestly? I don’t think he’s that bad. Sure, he’s got his rough spots, but I’m sure they’ll rub off in time. Besides,” he said as his grin stretched even wider. “With him around I’ll at least have someone with a sense of humor. Not that Sabra isn’t bad, you know, when he talks, but he fits right in with you and that crazy doctor for stoic silence.”
Steel gave a small chuckle. “Alright. But what about the whole captured-not-escaping part?”
Hunter’s brow furrowed, almost hidden by the brim of his hat. “Well, as a Lieutenant, yeah, it’s suspicious. But,” he said with a shrug. “As me, and considering Princess Celestia recommended him, I’d have to say that on the whole I’m inclined to think there’s a good reason behind it.”
“Such as?” Steel asked as they made a final turn, Canterlot Palace towering over them as they approached its walls.
“Well,” Hunter said, taking another quick look back. “Maybe he was tired of it? Guilty maybe?” He gave another shrug. “Good a guess as any until you ask.”
“Hmm,” Steel said, his mind still not quite convinced. “I may just do that.” They were walking parallel to the Castle now, passing along the massive wall that separated the palace grounds from the rest of the city as they headed for one of the rear entrances. Overhead the stars had come out, small pinpricks of light barely visible above the light of the city.
“So, what are we doing for accommodations tonight?” Hunter asked, changing the topic. “I assume we have a barracks waiting for us?”
Steel nodded, glad for the change of topic. “Yes,” he said, before launching into an explanation of the state of disrepair that Princess Luna had mentioned and his plans for changing the building from a simple company barracks into a base of operations for the Dusk Guard. As the conversation changed and flowed from topic to topic, Steel felt a bit of his tension relax. It was one thing to think about the logistics of establishing a new Guard division, but discussing it with Hunter—and of course, passing some of the duties off on him—was almost relieving to the old stallion. By the time they reached the barracks a few minutes later, he was feeling better than he had all day.
That feeling died the moment they opened to door to the barracks.
“Huh,” Hunter said as he looked out over the scene in front of them. “I thought you said we had a place to sleep tonight?”
“We did last I looked.” Steel said, his mind reeling as he took in the scene before him. When he’d last opened the barracks several days earlier, it had been exactly what he had expected: A selection of musty triple-bunked cots, all in neat rows and separated by squad with cloth dividing walls that hadn’t quite reached the ceiling. The place had been dark and dusty, with signs of disuse everywhere, but that wasn’t at all the scene he was looking at now.
Now the interior of the barracks building was brightly lit, huge industrial worklights set up all around the outside walls beaming forth so much power that Steel could clearly make out the curve of the ceiling supports some twenty-five feet above them. The dividing walls were gone, along with everything else that had taken up the inside of the structure, opening the cavernous space that had been once been designed to house almost two-hundred ponies. Even the stairs that had led to the company commander's office had been ripped from the wall, and Steel noticed as his eyes followed the old imprints, the second story office had been removed as well, sheared from the wall so cleanly only a faint imprint on the wood marked it as having ever been there.
“Wow,” Nova said as he and Sabra joined them in the doorway. “Somepony's been busy.” Steel nodded. The open space revealed by the removal of so much of the old structure was far from empty. Sawhorses and temporary workbenches were everywhere, some holding assorted tools, others with bits of wood or metal laying across them in what Steel could only assume were various stages of completion. One bench was covered in nothing but a vast swath of blueprints, sheets and sheets of the material, held down with all manner of paraphernalia from scrap wood to screwdrivers. Thick cables or hoses, he wasn’t really sure which, crisscrossed the floor, running over and around piles of materials. Large machines that he couldn’t identify sat here and there against the walls, the source of the strange cables. The far end of the rectangular structure was stacked almost wall to ceiling with large metal girders, some of which were forming a framework that he could only guess at.
From nearby there was a high-pitched whine that quickly dropped in pitch, followed by a voice. “Ponyfeathers!” There was another whine which tapered off, followed by a popping sound and a hiss that sounded to Steel like air escaping from a balloon. Moments later a grey hoof poked up from behind one of the workbenches, followed by a sky-blue mane attached to what looked like a large drill. A moment later the drill dropped onto the table with a loud “ptah” and “yuck” revealing a grey coated pegasus pony that Steel recognized, her mouth opening and closing as if struggling with some horrid taste.
“I swear, this thing's never been cleaned!” she said, sticking her tongue out and running a hoof across it, oblivious to her observers. “Would it kill them—” She gave her tongue another swipe. “To clean things once in while?” She shook her head and smacked her lips a few more times, and it was only then that she noticed that she was no longer alone in the building. Her face lit up with a wide smile as she took wing, darting over the construction and screeching to a halt in front of Steel. “Captain Steel!” she said, throwing him a salute with the wrong hoof. “Welcome back!”
Steel sighed inwardly at the performance. It was going to take some work to get this young mare’s exuberant energy channeled right. “Sky Bolt,” he said, returning her salute and making sure that he was returning it with the correct hoof.
“So,” she said, not even waiting for him to begin speaking. “Is this the rest of the team?” She darted from side to side on her wings even as her neck craned to give her a better look. “Nice!” she said, her attention flipping back and forth between the various members.
Steel’s mind raced as he tried to think of the best way to handle the energetic young pegasus. She had thrown him a salute, maybe she was expecting him to be the Captain he was. “Specialist Sky Bolt!” he snapped. “Front and center!” In a flash she was directly in front of him, wrong hoof once again up in a salute.
“Yes sir!” she said. “Sorry about that. Breaking ranks right?”
Steel blinked at her response. “Well ... Yes, but for now lets not worry about it. For now,” he began raising his voice in increments. “I want to know what in Tartarus happened to my barracks!” Sky Bolt wilted under the outburst, her enthusiasm melting. “What is all this?” Steel demanded, gesturing with one hoof at the equipment everywhere. “Explain!” he demanded, looking down at her. For a moment he was afraid that she was going to wilt under the look he was giving her, but then he saw a spark in her eyes, and she gave him an enthused smile.
‘Remodeling Captain!” she said, throwing a hoof out behind her. “When I showed up three days ago you were gone, so the Royal Guard took me to see Princess Luna—”
“Wait,” Steel said, interrupting her. “Why Princess Luna?”
“Because you weren’t around,” Sky Bolt said matter-of-factly. “I showed up early in the morning, the Guard did a little asking around, and it worked its way up until somepony pointed out that Luna was the head of the project, on paper anyway, so they sent me to her. Anyway,” she said, motioning with her hoof once more at the cavernous space behind her, “Luna decided to bring me down here, but she mentioned that the place was in a pretty sorry state and that they’d been looking to fix it up. One thing lead to another—” she said, sitting back and rotating her forehooves around one another, a nonchalant expression on her face, “—and I drew up some quick sketches of what we could do with this place, and then Luna mentioned that she’d already budgeted for the construction anyway since it wasn’t just going to be a barracks anymore ...” She tilted her head. “Plus, you’d already promised me that I would get a bigger workshop, and since we were going to do that anyway, well, Luna told me I might as well get started on the whole thing.” Her wings gave a quick flap and she was once again floating at eye level. “So, what do you think?”
“I think, Sky Bolt,” Steel said, his voice as firm as he could make it. Even if she was technically right ... “I think that you have a lot to learn about the chain of command,” he said. “While everything you’ve done here may be right and cleared with Princess Luna,” he drew out the annunciation, emphasizing her title. “In the future I expect you to follow the chain of command, especially if, I repeat especially if you’re going to embark on a project that eats into the budget as big as this is, even if—” he said as he saw the question on her lips, “—Princess Luna or Celestia are alright with it. Just because they are alright with something,” he said by way of explanation, “does not mean that it’s something that I feel falls under the purview of our mission. Understood?” Sky Bolt nodded and threw him another salute. “And by the way,” he said, throwing her a salute in return in demonstration. “The other hoof.” She pulled her hoof down, looked at it for a moment, then laughed.
“Now, what about the stuff that was supposed to be in here?” he asked as he looked around the cavernous space. “Armor was supposed to be delivered yesterday, what did you do with it?”
“Oh that?” Sky Bolt said, fluttering to the ground again, her eyes still darting to the ponies around him. “Sent it back.”
“What!?” Steel sat back, eyes wide and stunned by the casual response. “Why? On whose authority?”
"Well, I guess you could say mine.” Sky Bolt said, putting one hoof under her chin in thought. “But ultimately I guess you could say it was Princess Luna who backed me up.”
Steel could feel the calm relaxation he’d built on the way back, along with the comfortable plan he’d laid out for the next few days crumbling underneath him. “Why in Equestria did you—I mean—Princess Luna—why?” He saw Hunter smirk out of the corner of his eye. Of course Hunter would find this funny. Why not?
“Because it was terrible armor,” Sky Bolt replied, almost looking bored at this point. “It was just recolored Royal Guard armor, they hadn’t even done a good job of it. Princess Luna was checking on the construction at the time, and when she got a look at it she declared it unfit for duty. Something about ‘not evoking the right image’ I think. Between the obvious flaws that I could see with it and Princess Luna’s complete refusal, I think it was rejected pretty soundly. Actually ...” She took to wing again, flying backwards slightly. “She and I got talking about it and I made few suggestions which I made into preliminary sketches.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I showed them to her and she liked the idea, so I think she may want to talk to you about it soon.”
Steel straightened, not sure how he was standing since he felt as if a rug had been pulled out from under him. Which had then dumped him into—well, he wasn’t sure yet if it was a fire or a cushion. He sighed.
“Alright alright,” he said holding up both hooves and cutting off Sky Bolt's excited explanation. “Despite the surprises, it sounds like you’ve been doing exactly what I recruited you for, even if it was completely without direct orders or permission to do so. I’ll let it slide this time,” he said. “But only if you can answer one question: Where are we supposed to sleep tonight?”
"Um—” The grey coated pegasus rubbed the back of her head with one hoof. “Here, I guess? It’s where I’ve been sleeping,” she said, pointing one hoof towards a small bedroll that had been thrown down in a nearby corner. “Arch and his crew don’t get here until about nine, and they leave around seven, so I’ve been sleeping here since I’ve stuck around anyway to do extra work.
Steel looked at the construction and then back at his team. “Alright, I guess we’ll figure something out then,” he said. “Maybe we can get some cots from one of the armories. For now, you might as well meet the rest of the team.” He motioned the other three ponies forward. “Team,” he said, addressing all of them and pointing towards the dusty pegasus. “This is Specialist Sky Bolt. She’s a top notch engineer and inventor, the one who designed The Alicorn airship that’s been in the news these last few months, and she’s going to not only be our team engineer, but our pilot once she finishes up a little project of her own. Sky Bolt,” he said, turning to her and motioning towards each member of the team in turn. “This is First Lieutenant Hunter.”
“Nice to meet you,” Hunter said, tipping his hat.
“Hunter is our second in command, if you’re not taking orders from me, then they’ll be from him.” Steel said. “He’s also our team tracker.”
“Nice to meet a fellow pegasus,” Sky Bolt said, flying up next to him and giving him a hoof bump.
“Next,” Steel said, motioning towards Nova. “We have Specialist Nova. He’s going to be our designated magic user, plus he has a few other talents that might come in handy.”
“What kind of magic?” Sky Bolt asked before Nova could open his mouth, her eyes wide with excitement. “Can you make heat?”
“What kind of heat?” Nova asked. “Because I’m getting a little warm right now.” He winked.
“Huh, maybe not,” Sky Bolt said, ears flat and her voice chill.
Nova smiled. “And now I’ve made something cold. Two for two! But yes, I do both.” Sky Bolt just rolled her eyes.
“Lastly,” Steel said, ignoring Nova’s remarks. “We have Specialist Sabra.”
“Ooh wow!” Sky Bolt said, dropping to the ground in front of the zebra. She tilted her head slightly. “Habari gani?”
Sabra’s eyes widened in surprise. “Nzuri, je wewe kuzunguzma lugha?”
Sky Bolt shook her head, but her smile stayed bright. “Pole, only a few words.”
“Ah,” Sabra said, a small smile on his lips. “Asante all the same.”
“Huh,” Steel said, surprised by the exchange. “I didn’t realize you spoke Zebra.”
Sky Bolt gave an embarrassed grin, rubbing the back of her head with one hoof. “Well, not that much. A traveling zebra stayed with my family for a few months one year while I was growing up, and I learned it from her.”
Steel nodded. “Well, it may come in useful. If Sabra doesn’t mind, you might want to consider picking up some more of it from him. Now,” he said, turning to Hunter and missing the thoughtful look on Sky Bolt’s face. “I’m going to go meet with Princess Luna and take care of a few things. Hunter is the commanding officer until I return.” Hunter gave him a nod and tapped his head with one wing, a sort of pegasus salute. “Figure out some sleeping arrangements and get some rest. We’re going to be up early tomorrow. Sky Bolt!” The sudden loudness of his voice jerked the pegasus' head up, her wings almost flaring out in surprise. “I need a piece of paper and pen.”
Sky Bolt tilted her head in thought for a moment before her eyebrows shot up. “Got it!” she said, her wings throwing her into a backwards half-loop that left her hovering over a nearby workbench. Seconds later she was back in front of Steel, a notepad with a pen carefully balanced in her front hooves.
“Thanks,” Steel said, his voice muffled by the notepad as he took it in his teeth. He scrawled a quick note, then tore the first sheet from the pad, folded it, and scrawled an address on the outside. “Lieutenant Hunter, you’re in command,” he said, stowing the note in his saddlebags and leaving the once barracks.
A few minutes later Steel was standing outside the entrance to the Night Court. The note he’d scrawled had already been passed on to a member of the royal staff with instructions to deliver it in pony that night, which left only a meeting with Princess—he grimaced as a loud voice thundered inside the court hall, so loud he could feel the floor shaking beneath his hooves.
“Silence!” the voice thundered. “Cease this disrespectful rabble at once!” The rumble in the floor faded, as did the echoes inside the hall. Steel could see shocked looks on the faces of the Night Guard unicorns on either side of the door. Apparently their regent's outburst was as shocking to them as it was to him. Princess Luna’s voice resumed once more, but low enough that he couldn’t make out any of the words.
“How often does that happen?” he asked one of the guards, but the guard merely gave him a stoic look and resumed staring straight ahead. Right, Steel thought. No uniform yet. He was tempted for a moment to pull rank and force an answer out of the youth, but such an action rarely left a positive impression, especially if the guard wasn’t directly under his jurisdiction. So he moved for a different tactic.
“I’ll let myself in,” he said, moving for the door and pausing when one of the guards held a hoof up in front of him.
“The night court is already seeing another delegate,” the guard said, his voice impassive. “However, if you give us your name and the reason for coming to meet with Princess Luna tonight, we’ll announce and show you in as soon as she is finished with the current group of delegates.”
Steel grinned down at the charcoal colored unicorn. Now he could use rank. “I’m Captain Steel Song of the Dusk Guard,” he said, his voice level. “You might have heard of me.” Apparently the guard had. If he’d been able to undo the armor’s coat-coloring enchantment, Steel was certain the Night Guard's coat would have been as white as a member of the Royal Guard. Nothing like finding you’d just blocked a superior officer. “Princess Luna is expecting me.” He wasn’t quite certain on that last bit, but then again given his experiences with the Princesses so far it wasn’t a stretch to expect that she really was expecting him.
“Yes sir!” the guard said without so much as a stammer in his voice. Steel had to give him credit, he’d recovered from his surprise admirably. “Right this way sir.” The guard pushed the door open a crack and Steel slipped into the room before he could be announced, thanking the guard quietly as he pushed the door shut behind him. Nopony save the two additional night guards standing beside the door—counterparts to the guards outside—noticed him as he slipped in. Both guards him a glance, then turned their attention forward once more.
The Royal Court truly was one of the most commonly used rooms in the Castle, a massive hall that stretched almost a hundred feet from one end to the other. The ceiling was vaulted, high enough that had the original architects so desired they could have built an additional three stories in its place rather than leaving it open. Dark blue banners hung from the ceiling, each emblazoned with the personal seal of Princess Luna, matching other blue colors around the room. Steel had been there once before during the day many years earlier, and recalled that the colors then had mainly been soft reds and golds. Clearly the change between night and day courts involved more than just which regent was involved.
Each wall of the room was dominated by massive stained glass windows depicting famous events from Equestrian history, from the founding of the nation all the way up to the most recent defeat of the changeling invasion. Steel had heard rumors that the windows were enchanted, allowing the Royal sisters to switch out dozens of different windows stored in the palace at their leisure.
The stained glass windows, impressive as they were, stopped some distance from the ground, as the walls on both sides of the chamber moved outward near the bottom, forming a series of wide steps. These steps were separated from the floor of the chamber by a chest high wall. Not enough of a wall that it would be difficult for a pony to get over, but enough that it was clear that the floor and the steps were to be kept separate. It was a viewing area, allowing those who wished to observe the Court without directly participating to do so. As it was currently the Night Court, much of the viewing area was empty, although there were a surprising number of newsponies scattered here and there in small clumps, most of them frantically scratching away at legal pads.
The focus of their attention was the small group of ponies standing before the royal throne on the thick blue carpet. The group was fairly spaced out despite apparently petitioning together, implying some sort of division or order among them. At the moment, the entire group was silent and staring at Princess Luna, some with obvious dislike.
“—and it is as we have said.” He tuned into Princess Luna’s words in time to hear the tail end of them. “This matter has already been discussed with our sister and we do not see any reason to dispute her decision. Moreover, we do not like the tone thou hast taken with us, accusing us of spuriously performing our duties. If thou wished to make that the focus of thy petition, then thou shouldst have done so in the proper setting, not during a session of the night court.” Luna glared down at them from the royal seat. “But,” she said, each word carefully pronounced. “Our sister has already discussed this matter with thee. If thou wish to discuss it as shareholders, then this court is not the place to do so. Understood?”
There was a moment of heavy silence, and Steel could feel the tension in the air. Apparently, so could the reporters, as the silence was quickly broken by the hushed scribbling of pencils on paper. Apparently Luna’s declaration was one of importance. The Princess herself continued to look at the ponies grouped in front of her, brow low with annoyance, and Steel noticed that several of them were openly glaring back, including a stocky dark brown earth pony standing at the front of the group.
“Very well then your highness,” he said. His voice was smooth, cultured, with just the right amount of Canterlot accent thrown in. Whoever he was, he was a socialite of some sort. “We shall send a missive with a date for such a meeting, because mark my words it will occur.” Despite the levelness in his voice, Steel could hear the challenge in the message. The earth pony gave a small bow, one so quick it could’ve scarcely been called that at all, and then turned without even waiting for Luna’s response, striding down the thick carpet. One by one, the other members of the group bowed towards Luna and followed, although most of them were more respectful, and several of them even thanked the Princess for her time. One, a pale green unicorn with a long flowing pale-blue mane, even whispered what sounded like an apology as she kneeled. She was accompanied by a taller unicorn with a similarly colored coat, and Steel could see a resemblance between the two. They were the last to leave, trailing behind the rest of the group, and Steel noticed that several of the photographers were snapping quick pictures as the two strode down the carpet.
Steel watched as the group made its way out of the doors. Some of them seemed almost uneasy by whatever action they had just taken, in particular a green pegasus who was following close on the hooves of the lead earth pony. She turned her head back towards the throne a few times, a look of guilt on her face, but her expression only lingered for a moment before she would return her gaze forward.
“Ah, Captain Steel Song.” Steel nearly jumped as Luna addressed him. For someone so much—he hesitated to think larger—taller than the average pony, she could move very silently when she wanted to. Even without jumping, his surprise must have been evident in his face as Luna began to apologize for startling him.
“No no,” he said as the Night Guard closed the door behind the departing group. “It's fine. I was just looking at that group of ponies who left. Who were they?”
Luna sighed and shook her head. “Those ponies represent the shareholders of the Equestrian Rail Service. In specific, forty percent of the Equestrian Rail Service, most of them from Vanhoover and Baltimare, where the two regional headquarters are located.” She looked down at him with a furrowed brow. “My sister and I control the other sixty percent from here in Canterlot.”
“Ah,” Steel said, nodding. “I read something about that in the Canterlot Daily a few days ago. You and your sister are the ones sponsoring the rail line into the Crystal Mountains.”
“Yes, we are,” Luna said as she turned and began walking back towards the throne. Steel hesitated for a moment, then followed her. “My sister and I hold controlling interest in many companies across Equestria,” the Princess continued. “With our knowledge and lifespan, we are able to look far ahead of most ponies, and bring a stability to the market with our constant support. We do not support it as rulers, you see, but as independent backers. When a pony approaches us with an idea that we approve of, we often invest in it in order to help give it a starting chance. By way of this process, my sister and I—” she paused as a moment of sadness swept across her face, vanishing almost as swiftly as it had come. “Well, my sister mostly for the last thousand years. Anyway.” She gave her head a slight shake, sending her wispy translucent mane into shivers that made its stars twinkle. “My sister and I as a result own controlling interest in a large number of companies across Equestria, such as Equestrian Rail Services.” The Princess reached the end of the chamber and turned to her right, heading for a small door set into the wall.
“If you don’t mind my asking, Princess,” Steel said. “What do you do with the money you earn back from those investments?”
Luna smiled. “Well, it is one of the ways we can afford to keep such a spacious dwelling fully cared for. But most of it goes into personal projects, such as Celestia’s Private School, or is donated. I myself prefer supporting children's hospitals.” The small door lit up with a faint blue glow and swept open. It was small enough that Luna would have had to close her wings had they been open, and as it was she had to duck her head to pass through. She stepped through without a moments delay, and Steel followed to find himself in—of all places—her private study.
He stopped, momentarily stunned as he looked around the small room. This was definitely the same room he had met the Princess in only a week before, although this time they had entered behind the desk, opposite the doors that had led to the balcony. He turned in confusion as the door shut behind him, just in time to see the Night Court vanish with a click. He looked back at the room in confusion, only to see Luna smiling at him, an amused look on her face.
“Your eyes do not deceive you,” she said, offering a small smile. “We are indeed in my personal study.”
Steel composed himself and closed his open jaw. She was the regent of the night, the one who personally used her magic to make sure that the moon itself rose and set, orbiting around their world. Of course she had enough magical power to perform such a feat. “That’s very impressive,” he said, finding his voice.
Luna smiled again and motioned for him to take a seat around the front of her desk. “Simply an old favorite of mine. It links similarly sized doorways. If anyone without the magic ‘key’ were to open that door in the court, they would simply find a broom closet. I was quite surprised to find that no one knew of the spell upon my return, it appears that it was lost at some point in the last few centuries. The professors at my sister's school have been hounding me relentlessly for it since the palace servants began talking about it.”
“Lost?”
Luna smiled. “'Twas my own fault. It would appear that I never wrote it down. Somewhat of a brief habit of mine a few dozen centuries back.” She settled behind her desk as Steel sat down, her expression returning to the more serious look he was familiar with. Comforting, but serious. “I later remedied that fact. In any case, it is quite useful for getting around the castle quickly, such as to avoid those—” her mouth contorted for a moment, “—paparazzi,” she said, her mouth twisting around the unfamiliar word. "After a session of the Night Court. Such things did not exist when I last ruled the Night Court, but then again nor was the Night Court in such use.” Her eyes took on a faraway look for a moment, but then focused on Steel. “Now then,” she said, bringing one hoof down on her desk with a sharp thump. “To business!”
Steel nodded as Luna asked her first question, his mind already brushing away the events of the Night Court in favor of timetables, training regimens, and budgets.
* * *
Nova released his magic as the last of the temporary cots floated into position, dropping it gently to the ground with a dull thump alongside its fellows. They were simple things, small wooden skeleton frames with cloth ‘mattresses’ that could be easily folded and unfolded to be moved as needed. All one needed to do was drop them into position, which had been his job, and then stand on one of the legs while pulling on a strap with one's teeth—Sabra’s job—and the frame would unfold and snap into place.
He didn’t envy the zebra’s part in the small chore. They’d retrieved the cots from the back room of one of the nearby barracks and it was obvious that they hadn’t been used in a long time. At Nova’s suggestion, they’d even stood them against the outside wall of the barracks and attempted to clean the thick dust off of them, he with his magic and Sabra with that strange stick of his. Even so, they weren’t going to be the most comfortable experience, but as Sabra gripped the loop of another cot and pulled upward Nova couldn’t help but grimace. Those loops had to taste awful.
Sabra spied him looking on as the cot snapped up, unfolding its legs in a small X that left it sitting six inches off the ground. There was a brief moment where the zebra’s neck muscles grew taut as the cloth panel that made up the sleeping surface resisted the movement, but with a wooden clack that fought to be heard over the sounds of construction Sky Bolt was doing, the cot's various pieces locked in place and Sabra spat the loop out. He stepped to one side, eyes still on Nova as he placed one hoof on a leg of the third cot.
“Wondering what it tastes like?” Sabra asked, before bending over the third cots loop. “Be glad for your magic that lets you avoid tasting such things.” He clamped his teeth down and began to pull the third cot upwards.
Nova rolled his eyes and pointed his horn at the cot he’d just set down. A bright blue glow sprang into being around the cot's loop, followed by a second glow around the legs. With barely a thought he began to pull the two apart. There was a brief moment of resistance, but moments later the cot gave a loud snap as it unfolded. “How about I just give you a helping hoof so you don’t have to deal with the taste of those loops?” he asked, fixing a level stare at Sabra. “And don’t assume that I don’t know what those loops taste like. I’ve put a lot worse into my mouth then these loops.” There was another clack as he unfolded his second cot.
“Really?” Sabra said, a loop falling from his teeth as he spoke. The zebra gave the cot he’d just unfinished folding a tap with his hooves, and then, apparently satisfied that it was going to stay unfolded, moved to the last cot. “Why would you do that?” he asked, gesturing at Nova’s horn with one hoof. “You have magic.”
Nova shook his head. “Not when I was young,” he said. “I had to do everything with my hooves and mouth just like any other pony back when I was a young colt. Even then,” he said, grabbing the loop from under Sabra’s nose and giving it a sharp upward pull with his magic. “I didn’t always have the luxury of magic when I was out working.” He raised one hoof and gave his horn a gentle tap. “The glow is kind of a giveaway if you’re trying to be really sneaky.”
Sabra raised one eyebrow as the cot snapped into place, his hoof still on its leg. “I would not have thought of that,” he admitted after a moment.
Nova shrugged. “Most don’t,” he said, shaking his head. “I had a few close calls when I was young, I learned pretty quickly that often the best way was the simplest way. If that meant using my teeth, well, then so be it.” He grimaced as a number of unpleasant memories swept over him. “And believe you me, there are a few things I wished I’d been able to magic my way around.”
“Why did you become a thief?”
Nova blinked and took a half step back at the directness of the question. “Why did I become a thief?” he asked, repeating Sabra’s question. Even he could hear the surprise in his voice.
“Yes. Why did you become a thief?” Sabra asked, his expression neutral. “It is what you are known for, and yet I do not see how your cutie mark has anything to do with thievery.”
Nova narrowed his eyes at the remark. “Everypony always brings up the cutie mark,” he said, his tone slightly more hostile than he’d meant for it to be. “What, just because I don’t have a lockpick or an open safe on my flank I can’t be a thief?” He sat down, putting his flanks and the offending marks at least somewhat out of sight. “I got these years after I started thieving, so don’t go making any quick guesses on me. I stole first because I was hungry, and then again because it was easy and I was still hungry.” He shrugged. “After that, it was because that was the quickest way to get what I needed. And before you think that I lived like a king somewhere—” he said quickly, cutting Sabra off as he opened his mouth, “—I lived in a one-bedroom flat here in Canterlot. You can check the court investigation if you’d like, I did after they arrested me. I only ever had what I needed and a little extra.”
“Then ... why did you do it?” Sabra asked after a moment. “Why did you stay a thief?” His voice was low, just low enough that Nova doubted anyone could have heard it but him over the whirring hiss of noise coming from Sky Bolt’s project at the end of the barracks.
He looked at the zebra for a moment. There wasn’t any harshness or judgement written in his face that he could see, just curiosity. He shrugged. “Can’t hurt to tell you I guess. Mainly just because it was fun and challenging.” He could see Sabra’s brow furrowing in confusion. “Look,” he said, raising both hooves in front to illustrate his words. “I don’t know what you do, or what you’re good at, but I enjoyed the challenge. Was it wrong? Well … yeah. It was,” he said, shoulders slumping a little. “But at the same time, there was a pretty good thrill to go with it. The feeling I’d get when I was sneaking past some security system somewhere ...” he smiled, a faint thrill running through him.
“What about those without security?” Sabra asked.
Nova shook his head. “I never stole from them. Why would I? No challenge, and it wasn’t fair. No, I only took from those who could afford to lose it and could defend it. There wasn’t any reason to steal—” he said, crossing his forelegs in front of him as he leaned back, “—from those who couldn’t even afford to protect it. No, I only stole from those who had the protection. Or guards. Love guards.”
“Royal Guard?”
"No. No—no ... well sometimes,” he said, giving the zebra a grin. His face was taking on a faraway look and he knew it, but he didn’t care. “Royal Guard, Night Guard, hired guard. Sometimes I’d let word get out where I was going to head next. Just so wherever it was would have some time to get some guards and some security together, make it more of a challenge.” He smiled as memories began running through his head. “Sneak in, past all the security, find whatever it was I was there to steal, then escape. If the guards spotted me, then we’d have a game of hide-and-seek.”
“And yet you were in jail when Captain Song brought us to meet you.” Sabra said. “Was that because—?”
Nova cut him off with a raised hoof. “Another matter entirely,” he said, hoping his tone implied that he didn’t want to discuss it. Sabra stopped speaking, apparently taking the hint.
“I received my own cutie mark playing a game very similar to hide-and-seek,” Sabra said with a soft nod of his striped head. “We called it ‘the calling game.’ It was very simple. All the colts and fillies would hide, and then one young colt or filly would try to find them with his eyes closed. If he called out somepony's name, they had to call back. The goal was for the searcher to find the hidden children as quickly as possible. I earned this—” he said, tapping the three strange rippled circles on his flank, “—the day I found all of my friends while blindfolded, without calling anypony's name.”
“So ... what?” Nova said, leaning forward. “You can find ponies?”
Sabra shook his head. “I can—” He shook his head again, ears back. “It is hard to explain. I can … see sound ...” He paused for a moment. “Sauti ... kuona ... kusikia—ah!” His face lit up. “I see the world by hearing it.” He raised a hoof to tap his ears. “Even with my eyes shut, blind to the world, I can tell how many ponies are nearby, where they are going, what they are doing, all by the noises they make.”
“Wow,” Nova said, impressed. “That’s pretty handy. I can think of a few times where I could have used that rather than fumbling around in the dark. You’d have been good at hide-and-seek.”
“Who would what now?” A hoof clapped down on Nova’s shoulder and he jerked forward in surprise.
“Oh, sorry there Nova,” Hunter said, throwing his body onto one of the cots next to them. “Didn’t mean to startle you. You guys talking about hide-and-seek?” he asked as he flipped himself onto his back, wings spread out beneath him, and settled his body into the cloth.
“A bit,” Nova said, giving the pegasus a glare. “How much of that did you hear?”
Hunter waved a hoof blindly then pulled his Stetson around to cover his face. “Not much, just something about hide-and-seek. Why?” he asked in a mirthful voice. “You telling Sabra where you stashed the loot?” Nova couldn’t see his face beneath the Stetson, but he could visualize the grin on the Lieutenant's face easily enough.
“No, it’s nothing. Forget about it,” he said, the twisty feeling in his gut vanishing almost as fast as it had arisen. The last thing he wanted was somepony eavesdropping on him. Even if it was somepony he could trust—and no one here was on that list yet as far as he was concerned—and the story hadn’t been anything especially private—even most of his buyers knew he had only been in the business for the challenge—he didn’t like ponies listening in. To be fair, he felt slightly hypocritical about that decision, as he’d eavesdropped on plenty of ponies before, but not for anything other than work.
“Well,” Hunter said, throwing both hooves behind his head and settling a bit more. One of his wings twitched. “If I were you two I’d get to sleep. Tomorrow is your first official day on the job, and that means we’ll be up nice and early.”
“How early is early?” Nova asked, regretting the question as soon as it had left his mouth.
Hunter laughed. “Well, at around six Celestia’s supposed to raise the sun ...”
“Okay, so around then?” Nova prompted when Hunter didn’t continue further.
Hunter laughed. “And we’ll have a nice view of the whole thing,” he said, shifting again. “So bed up, one of you go let Sky Bolt know I want lights out in ten minutes. And uh,” he said with a lazy wave of his hoof that wasn’t even pointed in the right direction, “I’ll make that an order. Might as well start getting used to being a Lieutenant.”
“I—” Nova said, trying to think of something snappy.
“Unless it’s the phrase ‘Sir, yes sir’ I don’t think you should waste your breath Nova,” Hunter said, his voice already growing groggy. “So I’d get to it.” The stallion rolled over on his side, making it clear the conversation was over. Nova looked over at Sabra, who had silently watched the entire exchange.
“I will tell Sky Bolt,” Sabra said with a small nod of his head. “It’s the least I can do after you offered me your help.”
Nova shrugged as he tossed himself on a cot. “Alright. Night.”
“Usiku Mwema.” Sabra padded off, leaving Nova alone with his thoughts. He looked out across the barracks for a while, looking at all of the equipment that had been dragged in and trying to identify it. While he recognized some of the equipment, such as a small tablesaw, some of the devices were past him and he grew bored almost immediately. He sighed and rolled over onto his back, looking straight up to keep the worklights out of his eyes.
“What are you doing here Nova?” he muttered to himself quietly, his voice barely audible even to his ears. There was a drawn out hiss from the end of the barracks and the ambient clatter of machinery died. Sabra must have gotten Sky Bolt's attention. Nova took a quick peek in their direction, but both of them were engaged in a conversation of some sort, and neither of them were looking anywhere at him.
He slid off the side of his cot, pointing his horn at it. His horn gave a soft blue flash and a sister flash echoed from the underside of the cot. He smiled and gave the cot an experimental shove. The spell had worked just as it was supposed to, and his push sent the cot sliding almost silently over the floor, a faint rasp the only sign of it’s passing. He pushed at the cot again, until it was a better distance from the other cots. Only then did he remove the spell with a brief flash of his horn and curl up on top of his cot.
What are you doing here Nova? he asked himself again as the lights clicked out. What are you doing here? Biding your time? What? But he had no satisfactory answer, and eventually, after staring out into the darkness for some time, he fell asleep.
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Wow.” Nova said as he and Sabra joined them in the doorway. “Someponies been busy.”
Consider "Someponie's" or "Somepony has". Great Yarn BTW.
Thou shouldst. Since the pony being spoken to is the subject of the sentence, rather than the object being acted upon (thee).
DJ? Only two I can think of, and one's a mare.
The whole Nova thing is fishy. Wonder if he's actually a distant relative. Suddenly the barracks is missing the inside. Sky Bolt's probably remodeling the place.
And she is, plus she complained about the armor. Hopefully R&D comes up with tactical vests equivalents. Hoping she'll also be able to design something for CAS for her airship.
Pulling rank is hilarious, as from what I've seen Dr. Watson do several times in Sherlock.
Back to Nova. Sabra's taking the direct route. Nova is sounding like Kaitou Kid. I'm guessing one of the princesses actually caught him or something like that.
Training is coming up soon, and soon Triage too. This will be amusing to see where they rank in terms of fitness.
As far as I can tell, the language is Swahili (very commonly used to represent Zebrican).
Habari gani? => How are you?
Nzuri, je wewe kuzunguzma lugha? (should be kuzungumza, by the way) => Good, do you speak my language?
Asante => Thank you
Sauti...kuona...kusikia => See... hear the sound...
Usiku Mwema => Good night
Bahati nzuri! => Good luck!
Not sure what this one is trying to say.
Guard's
It's
Bolt's
Nova is crawling up the ranks. He's also really fun to read.
2807398 someponies' is the correct term.
4287130 swahili? i thought so!
Shouldn't it be "Both guards gave him a glance"?
There are many instances where you put the plural for the possessive, like "someponies" for "somepony's", or "cities" for "city's". Please have those fixed.
Google Translate shall prove its worth, it seems.
One thing I noticed, though: Google Translate identifies Pole as the Estonian word for "no", and not a Swahili word at all. It wouldn't be the first time Google Translate has been wrong, but I thought I'd bring it to your attention.
5836805
It's just Google translate being wonky. Pole is Swahili for "sorry." If you tell Google that it's Swahili it'll figure it out, but otherwise it might get lost.
Glad you're enjoying the story!
"A traveling zebra stayed with my family for a few months one year while I was growing up, and I learned it from her"
Nope. Cmon man. That's complete BS. Can't even let that one slip by.
People take many, many years to learn a language. If you aren't constantly practicing it over and over and speaking with people in it, you lose it. Simple as that. I am not buying that she learned to speak it fluently from just a few months of speaking with one. And remembering it all these years later with no practice?
No.
Just no.
else's
Hunter, well
who worked there, knowing the way he made friends.
crime-free
The fact that he’d been caught at all puzzled him as well
members'
he'd led (because it's past perfect tense here, "had led"—sentences exist which could be "he'd lead" but that would be "would lead")
thoroughly, in fact, than
You’ve been pretty silent, boss
Street
thing's
led
armor, and they
Sky Bolt's
led
they’ll be from him,” Steel said
Zebra (languages are capitalized in English)
once-barracks
two hundred (only 21-99 or fractions-as-words take hyphens, of numbers)
had led to
made a few
sky-blue
regent's (sovereign's or diarch's would be more correct, really)
word choice?
Luna co-reigns as diarch. Not as regent.
chest-high (for whom, anyway? Steel's a big stallion.)
there were
Very well then, Your Highness,
still not a regent. Sovereign, co-sovereign, the obvious princess...
had led
ruler, princess...pick a different word!
sister's
“'Twas my own fault
cot's
cot's
cot's
anypony's
Stetson
6602615 I think you should reread that part. As far as I understood it she merely recalls some sentences rather than speaking it fluidly. Lot less harder to pull off.
Nova Beam reminds me a bit of Roarke from J.D. Robbs "...In Death" Series, a master thief who started just to survive and continued for the challenge only ever stealing from those who could afford it.
Facinating... I never thought about how Alicorn Lifespan would affect Capitalism, This System seems like, It could work quite well (In Equestria, at least)