An Encounter With a Princess

by CanterColt

Chapter 3

***

"One...two....three—"

"Mmmmrghh!"

Stout Hoof's muscles tensed a fourth time as he pushed forward, hindlegs kicking out behind him. He grunted for a moment, his hooves scrabbling against the surrounding stonework.

"Almost....guhh."

Sighing, the colt hung his head, his legs going limp.

He was stuck.

Great.

He sighed again.

Just his luck.

Several hooves into the tunnel that had beckoned with the lure of freedom only a short while earlier, Stout Hoof had quickly come to realize how deceptive its promises had been.

Now—after several minutes of squirming and shoving—he was stuck fast, the walls of the narrow crevice pressing firmly against his sides and back.

This particular crack in the wall, it seemed, had not been made with young earth colts in mind.

The colt narrowed his eyes.

That was the last time he trusted ghostly shadows to lead the way to freedom.

He shook his head, taking a deep breath. Tensing his legs, he readied himself for another attempt.

"Mmmmphh!"

Stout Hoof pushed again, harder this time. His hooves scrabbled against the stone around him. He could feel himself slide forward a few fractions of an inch before his energy gave out.

His limbs flopped to the ground again.

Horsefeathers.

This was starting to look bad.

Stout Hoof sighed again, his thoughts wandering back to the forge. He winced as he remembered the parcel, left back with his satchel where his cloak had fallen off. Steel Wing had trusted him with those forms. Now the papers were lost for good, no doubt trampled into dust by the massive crowds he'd seen earlier.

He glanced glumly at his hooves.

Some swordstallion he'd turned out to be. He couldn't even deliver a parcel for his mentor when he asked.

The colt could feel tears starting to well up at the corners of his eyes.

Steel Wing deserved a better student than him. All he had managed to do was get into trouble, even after all the pegasus had done for him.

Memories of their conversation that morning echoed back across the colt's mind.

"You really think so, Steel Wing? You think I can be a swordstallion, someday, too?

"There's nothing I'm more certain of figilo—nothing I'm more certain of at all."

"...nothing I'm more certain of at all."

Stout Hoof narrowed his eyes. He could feel a spark of determination light in his chest.

Steel Wing wouldn't lie. If Steel Wing thought he had what it took to become a swordstallion, he would do everything he could to show him he was right.

"One...two...three!"

Stout Hoof grunted, throwing himself forward with all the strength he could muster. The wall pinched at his sides as tightly as it had before, but the colt didn't allow the thought to phase him. He gritted his teeth, hooves scraping against the stone. He just had to push harder.

"C'mon legs, c'mon! Almost...there..."

Stout Hoof's eyes widened as he felt himself begin to slide forward. The moonlight creeping in at the other end of the tunnel grew just a little brighter in his eyes.

He grinned. He was doing it!

Bracing himself, he doubled his efforts, hooves windmilling against the ground beneath him in a blur.

Kerrr-POP!

With the sound of a cork coming loose from a bottle, Stout Hoof's sides finally slipped through the narrow center of the tunnel. Eyes going wide, he somersaulted forward, tumbling head over hooves back into the moonlight.

"Gah! Guh! Gummphh!."

Three impacts and a mouthful of dirt later, the colt rolled to a stop. As his spinning vision finally began to settle, his eyes widened at the sight around him.

Staring out into the night air for the second time that evening, he was taken aback by the view before him. The escape route of the shadowy figure had brought him to the edge of a grassy outcrop nestled against the side of the mountain. Below him, Stableworth sat beneath the nighttime sky, the twinkling glow of the moon and stars bathing its buildings and streets in pale blue light.

Beyond the city walls, Stout Hoof could see an ocean of trees stretching far off into the horizon, leading all the way to where the western mountains held the edges of the sky in a silent embrace.

The young colt’s irises widened in wonder.

Never before had the rest of the world seemed so...big. So...open. So….real.

An unfamiliar feeling, an excited restlessness, stirred in Stout Hoof's chest.

Stableworth was all he had ever known, but he suddenly felt the urge to run off and leave it far, far behind. To strike out on his own. To see things. To do things. To explore the world that lay before him under the sparkling sky.

A light sigh of content escaped into the air beside him. It took him a moment to realize it wasn't his.

With a start, the colt whipped his head toward the source of the noise.

Not twenty strides from where he stood lay the shadow he'd seen earlier, resting alongside a small, leafy tree that protruded from the outcrop’s edge. At the rustle of his sudden movement, the figure’s head swiveled back to meet him, its dark hood falling back in the process.

The colt's eyes widened.

It was her.

Under the pale glow of the moonlight, the coat of the young, unicorn mare he'd seen on the carriage shone like fresh snowfall against the sky behind her. Her pink mane was drawn up in the same elegant ponytail, and the same gold tiara—the magenta gemstone at its center—lay nestled atop her forehead.

Her brilliant eyes, the same color as the gemstone, met with his.

The soft chirp of crickets sounded in the distance. Stout Hoof could dimly feel the same sense of weightlessness he'd experienced earlier creeping over his senses. His hooves once again felt both light and firmly affixed to the ground.

Silence filled the space between them, the mare's gaze holding his.

A few moments later, the mare nodded her head.

"Hello."

Stout Hoof’s shoulders relaxed as the word washed over him in a wave. Her voice was like birdsong—almost musical—but with an unmistakable firmness at its core. An underlying sense of confidence and grace becoming of a mare far beyond her years.

Averting his gaze, the colt was suddenly very conscious of his haphazard appearance. He glanced down at his coat. The dirt, grime, and ash of the day’s adventures clung to him like a second skin.

Letting out a nervous sigh, he slowly lifted his eyes to meet the young mare's gaze.

Warmth rising in his cheeks, he nodded softly.

"Hello."

Again, silence hung in the air. Stout Hoof's hooves remained frozen in place, his eyes locked on the unicorn’s gentle form.

The mare studied him for a few moments, eyes passing over his figure with curiosity. A small smile lit her lips as she seemed to come to a decision. She spoke again, her voice a bit more playful than it had been before.

“What is your name?”

Shuffling his hooves, the colt straightened his shoulders.

“Stout Hoof. What’s...um...yours?

“Celestia.”

“C-celestia?”

A light smile spread across the mare’s lips. Stout Hoof felt his heart leap at the sight.

“Yes, but Tia is fine. My mother and sister call me Tia.”

The colt offered a small, awkward smile of his own in return.

“Oh. Tia.”

A memory of a grinning Steel Wing nudging his shoulder flashed across the colt's mind.

"A true gentlecolt always pays his respect to a mare with a complement, Stout Hoof. Remember that."

The colt's eyes widened.

Complement. Complement. Complement.

"Ummm..."

The colt's eyes darted back and forth studying the mare's figure. Her eyes. Her coat. Her cloak. Her tiara.

He raised a hoof, his eyes locking on the first thing he could think of.

“I really like your—um—mane?”

Another long silence.

The colt facehoofed internally.

Great.

To his surprise, however, the mare seemed to take his comment in stride, smiling, then chuckling as she saw Stout Hoof stare back at her confusion.

"Thank you, Stout Hoof."

She flashed him another smile, the colt's heart leaping in his chest a second time. The mare held his gaze, nodding to the ground beside her after a moment.

“Would you like to sit with me? The night sky is beautiful.”

"Um...sure."

Nodding, Stout Hoof slowly approached the young mare beneath the tree. Her eyes remained locked on his as he stopped just short of her side. Clearing his throat, Stout Hoof nodded again, dropping down beside her.

Watching as he made himself comfortable in the grass, the mare offered another warm smile before turning her gaze back to the view before them. The colt’s eyes followed suit.

Sitting next to one another, the two looked over the quiet city below. The chirp of crickets had died down, only the whisper of the breeze audible in the cool air beneath the moonlight. The lightest wisps of pink were visible on the horizon at the far edge of the purple sky. Morning wasn't far off.

The colt stared forward, the restless excitement his chest from earlier rising once again. He glanced at the unicorn beside him.

"It's...pretty. Really pretty."

Meeting his eyes, the mare nodded and smiled.

“Yes. It is.”

She nodded toward the horizon with her horn.

“I come out here every morning to wait for the sunrise.”

The colt tilted his head, watching the mare's brow furrow faintly as her eyes drifted down to her hooves..

“Mother and Father don’t allow me leave the castle walls very often. This is the only time I can see the sky like this, myself."

Stout Hoof nodded, shifting his gaze to the ground as well. He could understand how she felt, somewhat.

Not that Steel Wing ever made him feel like a prisoner or anything—Stout Hoof could never repay the pegasus for all that he had done for him. But life at the forge was repetitive some days, even with their regular trips. At times, he couldn't help but feel the same way. Like he was trapped in one place. Stuck.

“Oh. I see.”

The colt fiddled with his hooves, unsure of what else to say. He glanced back at the mare, studying her profile. His eyes drifted back to her tiara.

"Tia?"

The mare lifted her eyes, tilting her head.

"Yes?"

"Are...um...are you a princess?"

The mare turned to Stout Hoof, frowning slightly. After pausing for a few moments, she finally spoke.

"Yes. Is that...alright?"

Stout Hoof could feel a small puff of confidence fill his chest. He nodded, offering the mare a reassuring smile.

“I don’t mind.”

The mare smiled back, letting out another small laugh.

"Mm. Good."

She tilted her head to the side.

"And what about you, Stout Hoof? What are you?"

The colt lifted a hoof to his chin in thought.

Nopony had ever really asked him that before. He was a lot of things. An assistant. An apprentice blacksmith. But there was one thing he wanted to be more than anything.

“I’m a swordstallion.”

The mare raised an eyebrow at his response, looking him over a second time.

"A swordstallion?"

Stout Hoof nodded, feeling a grin break over his muzzle.

"Mm. A swordstallion in training."

He straightened his shoulders.

"Steel Wing is teaching me how to be one when we're not working at the forge. He says that someday I can be a royal guard for the castle like he was."

The mare nodded, her smile returning.

“Is Steel Wing your father, then?”

Father.

The colt winced as old memories flashed through his mind at the word.

The smell of smoke. Something burning? Fire? Screaming. Shouting. Pain. Red hot pain.

The colt forced the thoughts out of his mind. He shook his head.

“No. My father died a long time ago. When I was a foal.”

The unicorn’s smile faded.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

The colt could feel a small pang of guilt at the mare's expression. He hadn't meant to make her apologize.

She met his gaze again.

"...and your mother?"

Stout Hoof shook his head.

"No. She's gone, too."

"Oh."

Stout Hoof could see the mare nod again, her eyes slowly shifting back to the ground before her. The colt could see her pink mane fall over her shoulder, resting softly against the grass.

Stout Hoof studied her for a moment—chiding himself for ruining the mood—before turning his gaze back to the city beyond.

The warm glow of morning had already begun to pick up on the horizon, the speckling of stars growing dimmer with the approaching dawn. Hints of orange were just beginning to break over the mountaintops. It was almost enough to make him forget the thoughts that had just been stirred up.

Stout Hoof tensed as something warm suddenly brushed against him. Glancing at his side, he could see the unicorn mare shift in, meeting his eyes with her own. Offering him a small nod, she leaned in, resting her head against his shoulder.

There were no words between them. They weren't needed. The gesture said enough.

After a few moments, the colt could feel the dark thoughts begin to melt away with the calm breathing and steady heartbeat of the body next to his. Careful not to brush her horn, he leaned over and rested his own head against the mare’s.

Closing his eyes, he could feel warmth spread across his face as the first rays of the sun broke into the sky. He knew he was missing the view, but it didn't bother him.

He exhaled, the calm warmth spreading through his chest.

Despite the troubles he had braved to get there. All the close calls he'd had. It had been worth it. If only just for this.

Fwip. Fwip. Fwip.

Stout Hoof could feel his ears twitch, shifting at the sudden sound of distant wind. As he opened his eyes to glance around, he could suddenly feel the mare tense at his side. Lifting his head from hers, he glanced down confusion lighting his own expression as he saw a worried look pass across her face. Her ponytail shifted in front of her as she started to glance back and forth.

A sinking feeling settled in the pit of Stout Hoof's stomach. He turned his head toward the mare.

“Tia, what’s wrong?”

Stout Hoof could see a new feeling—concern, fear—in the mare's movements. She met his eyes, nodding toward the sky.

“Do you hear that?”

Frowning, Stout Hoof followed her gaze.

“Hear what—”

The colt's reply was cut short as a heavy figure blindsided him, tearing him from the princess’s side and launching him into the air as it tore upward from beneath the overlook’s edge. Somersaulting wildly, the colt landed on the hard earth several hoove away, a sickening snap piercing the air. A sharp pain tore through the colt's hindleg as something inside was twisted out of place.

“Augh!”

"Stout Hoof!"

Stout Hoof rolled onto his side, tears welling up at the corners of his eyes. The world was spinning beneath him. It was hard to breathe.

What was going on?

At the edge of the colt's blurring vision, a second dark shape appeared in the air, diving down in his direction. Gritting his teeth as his leg continued to throb, Stout Hoof launched himself into a haphazard roll. The flying shadow’s hooves impacted heavily against the earth where his head had been a moment before.

“Stout Hoof!"

Snapping his head in the direction of Tia's voice, Stout Hoof could see two more of the shadowy figures—now discernible as pegasai in the growing light—landing at the mare's sides. Both had dark grey coats and were clad head to tail in dense, black armor.

A rush of panic seized the colt's limbs. Soldiers. His earlier memories resurfaced in an instant.

“Tia!”

Staggering to his hooves, Stout Hoof grunted, choking back a cry as his injured leg crumpled beneath him. Struggling to stay upright, the colt watched the two armored figures grab the princess on either side, rushing her back in the direction of the castle wall. Struggling to break free of their grasp, the mare glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes meeting with his.

“Stout Hoof, run! I’ll be fine. Run!”

A sharp gasp of pain passed her lips as one of the armored pegasai placed an armored hoof over the back of her neck, turning the mare away from him. At the sound, Stout Hoof felt something flare to life in his chest. He thought of the forge. His training. Steel Wing.

A royal guard wouldn't just sit by and let this happen.

Stout Hoof narrowed his eyes. A burst of energy coursing its way into his battered body, he charged forward, the pain in his hindleg momentarily forgotten.

Launching himself toward the nearest of the mare's captors—its attention still focused on Tia—Stout Hoof extended his combat rod and swung.

Crack! The rod made contact with the distracted pony's hindleg.

“BUCK!”

The pegasus cursed, whipping around on hoof. With a sharp click, the stallion extended a weapon of his own—a long silver blade—sweeping it out toward the colt's side in a blur.

Still off balance from his injury, Stout Hoof's reaction came a split second too late.

Splurch.

The fire in the colt's blood suddenly turned to ice. Time seemed to slow. Turning his head toward his side, Stout Hoof could see blood—his blood—flowing freely from a long, dark gash that had opened up along his flank.

His eyes followed the stream of red to the grass. A pool of it had already begun to form on the ground below.

The colt fell.

"No!"

The sounds around the colt suddenly sounded distant, as if he were hearing them underwater. His vision swimming, he slowly turned his gaze in the direction of Tia's voice. A cold chill had begun to work its way through his body. He couldn't feel his left leg.

He could feel his thoughts began to drift.

What was...what was going on?

Dark spots began to appear at the edges of the colt's vision.

He watched in stunned confusion as a blurry Tia suddenly reared back and then forward, landed a well-placed buck into the side of the other captor at her side. He could hear a distant grunt echo from the surprised pegasus as he stumbled back half a step.

It was all the opportunity the mare needed. Stout Hoof could see her race forward in his direction, her eyes wide—her expression devastated—her shouts still echoing in his ears.

Her hooves weren't quick enough. Spinning around, the first pegasus whipped forward, flicking its blade back into place as it caught the edge of the mare's cloak in its teeth. The sound of fabric ripping tore through the ringing noises that had risen in Stout Hoof's ears.

He could see Tia pitch forward, landing on the grass a hoof's length away. Her flowing, dark cloak had been torn free from her shoulders, revealing the entirety of her previously veiled frame.

Stout Hoof's eyes were immediately drawn to the two feathery appendages that he could now see rising from beneath her shoulders.

Wings. She had wings.

Even with the tendrils of cold snaking through his body, threatening to overtake his thoughts, the colt could feel his eyes widen.

But...she was a unicorn. That didn't make any sense.

"H-how?..."

Stout Hoof's thoughts were broken as a shadow fell between himself and the princess. Blade at the ready, a third pegasus hovered above him, its figure outlined by the sky. More pegasai, several more, were bearing down from above, flying in from the background.

A numbness settled in over the earth pony’s body as he watched the attacker's hoof draw back in anticipation of a finishing blow. The colt froze, unable to move. This was it.

The soldier's blade began to fall.

At the edge of Stout Hoof's dimming vision, another metallic glint suddenly caught his eye.

Huh?

The looming pegasus appeared to take notice of the movement as well, stopping and turning just in time to take the blow of the diving figure head on. The colt’s attacker suddenly vanished in a blur of black, followed simultaneously by the crunch of ribs and the grating sound of twin blades extending from their combat sheaths.

Like an echo, the sound of a half dozen other blades in the sky above answered a moment later.

Stout Hoof’s forced his head to turn, his vision fading. Slowly, his eyes came to rest on the figure of the dark coated stallion that had placed himself between him and the five remaining pegasai attackers.

Poised gracefully on two hooves, blades at the ready, the grey-maned pegasus stood in the same, familiar stance that Stout Hoof had practiced against a thousand times before.

Steel Wing.

Whether he had spoken the name aloud or simply thought it, the colt couldn't tell. His attention was fully devoted to his mentor. As the first of the pegasai near the princess stepped forward to meet him, striking low, an unexpected memory flashed before the colt’s eyes.

He was a foal again. His father was working as a packhorse for a traveling ballet. It was just past nightfall and his mother laid asleep in his parents’ bed—little more than a linen-covered haystack—sick with a cough she caught earlier that week. His father lifted a hoof to his lips in silence, motioning his head toward the door. Unsure of what to do, Stout Hoof followed.

His father led him out from their small, patchwork hovel toward a larger domed tent across the field they were camped in. Smiling ear to ear, the older blue stallion again motioned for silence, then swept away a small section of tent fabric.

Stout Hoof watched, eyes wide, at the shapes moving about within. Drifting across the stage with an almost eerie grace, it was if the performers had transformed into something other than the ponies they once were. Wind, water, air, fire—they were each there own element—more than just simple dancers. In the background, an orchestra played softly, its haunting melody only adding to the spellbinding scene.

The same haunting tune drifted into Stout Hoof’s mind as he watched his mentor step forward to meet them. Six pegasai, twelve blades, bodies armored and powerful.

They never had a chance.

Steel Wing was an artist, the battlefield, his stage. Sidestepping, parrying, lunging without hesitation—Stout Hoof was not watching a fight, but a performance.

As darkness finally overtook his vision, the colt was only dimly aware of the white mare that had rushed to his side. Though numb from the neck down, he could sense the faintest tingle—almost a pinprick—issue forth from the gash in his flank as something pressed against it. The faintest hum of magic filtered into his ears from the background.

The bulk of his attention, however, remained fixed on the sounds of blades glancing off one another before him. His ears could just register the calls of “Stand down! Stand down!” as they echoed from a voice far off in the distance.

"Steel Wing...Tia...."

Eyelids sliding shut, Stout Hoof's words faded off as he sank back into nothingness.

He hadn’t even noticed the two identical marks that had appeared on his sides.

***

Comments

[Armguard]

Cutie mark revealed. I wonder what they'll look like?

And how did Steel Wing know to come to that place? Events seem to be taking place in a very 'particular' fashion.

[Auburn Arc]

I am quite intrigued. Definitely following this one.

[CanterColt]

Thank you all for the support! I really appreciate the feedback.

(And to address Armguard's question about Stout Hoof's aptitude for being in the "right place at the right time," keep an eye out for chapter 4. I think it might help explain a few things.)

[Ampathy-Engine]

Getup ya pansy!
Tis only a flesh wound!
/Sarcasm
What is the most advanced firearm in this world?
Crossbows?
Ballista?
He needs to shoot 1 and become big boss.
Nice chapter btw!