When Friends are Said and Dun

by xenos29

Chapter 8

“Twilight! It's so good to see you!” said Jade Singer, greeting Twilight with a hug. Her expression softened. “One of the royal messengers was just here. I’m so sorry about Ponyville.”

“It’s ok, Jade,” said Twilight. “We’re going to fix this, but first we need your help.”

“Of course, what can I do for you?"

“We’re looking for any information about the Everfree Forest, especially Princess Celestia and Luna's old castle.”

Jade rubbed her chin. “Hmm, we have plenty of books in the history section about Equestria during that time, but I’m having trouble remembering if there was anything on the castle specifically.” She waved Twilight and Alpenglow along into the main hall after her. “Well, there’s only one way to find out.”

The three walked upstairs to the history wing. After several minutes of perusing the towering bookcases, Jade gave an annoyed sigh. “A lot more than I remembered being here. This may take a while. We can set up downstairs, if you want. I already had some tea on the stove. Would you like any, Twilight?”

“That’d be wonderful, Jade. Thank you."

Jade looked past Twilight, smiling politely. “And you, young sir?”

Alpenglow turned to face her. “Yes, ma’am, please. And thank you for your hospitality."

Jade beamed. “Ah, such manners from such a young pony!” She quickly pretended to fix her mane. “A stallion after my own heart. Quick, Twilight, introduce me!”

Twilight shook her head and smiled. “Alpenglow, this is Jade Singer. She’s the royal archivist, and a very talented author. I’ll show you her books later.”

Jade chuckled. “Please don’t, I'll never be convinced that the second one measured up to the first. Besides, Twilight isn’t telling you the best part, about how the two of us met. A while back after I wrote my first book, I let my fears get the best of me, and tried to hide away here in the archives. Then one day, this young mare shows up at my door, organizes the entire collection in less than a week, and convinces me to go back to doing what I love. Not bad at all.” Jade smiled to herself. “I’ll never forget that first day you showed up. There you were, full of sugar and spice, and me, hobbling around, grumpy as a gargoyle. Good times.”

“Sounds like it, ma’am."

“And what about you?” said Jade, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “I know I’ve never seen you before, yet there’s something I can’t quite put my hoof on, like I should recognize you from somewhere. I assume you’re one of Twilight’s new guards?”

“Not exactly, Jade. He’s…um,” Twilight hesitated. She still didn’t have any real idea who or what Alpenglow was. He knew the princesses, and must have served some kind of official role, but there was little for her to say beyond that.

“I’m nopony, ma’am,” Alpenglow said quickly. “I’m just here to help Princess Twilight.”

Jade raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Is that right? Well, let me go get that tea, then I’ll come join you two.”

Together, Twilight and Alpenglow hauled several stacks of relevant books downstairs. Plopping them onto the large circular table in the middle of the room, they sat down and began to quietly flip through the various volumes. Almost twenty minutes had passed before Twilight tore herself from their work and realized Jade hadn’t returned yet. Didn’t she say that she was just going to get tea?

As if on cue, Jade strolled into the room, levitating a tray and a large, gilded book. She gently lowered the pot and cup-laden tin onto the table, but almost threw the book onto it, looking delighted.

“My eyes might be shot, young stallion, but I’m not senile just yet. Either the pony who designed your uniform has great taste in children's stories, or you’re a lot older than you look.”

Alpenglow looked up from his book and rubbed his neck, looking uneasy. Though he hid it well, the faintest of embarrassed smiles appeared on his face. Twilight looked at the book Jade had brought: The Legend of the Equestrian Knights. She didn’t recognize it. Examining it further, she could make out a detailed drawing of six ponies, three stallions and three mares, all clad in shiny, extravagant armor. They were standing on a hill looking very heroic, and on the far right of the group stood a pegasus. Twilight looked at the stallion in the picture, then at Alpenglow. The blue-grey coat, the ochre eyes, the pale gold mane, even the painfully serious expression- they were all a picture-perfect match.

“This book was beyond ancient when I was a filly,” said Jade, picking up the book. “It was one of my favorites growing up. Even now, I still enjoy pulling it out from time to time for nostalgia's sake. All those rousing adventures and gallant figures...I loved every single page of them.” Jade leaned slightly on the desk towards Alpenglow. “But I just don’t understand. If you’re real, then why have I never seen anything written about you outside this single storybook?”

Alpenglow shrugged. “A thousand years is a long time, ma’am. Things change. Ponies forget, and things get lost. I suppose over time, the truth of what we did turned into stories. Isn’t that how it usually happens?”

“Of course, but if half of these stories are true, you must have been known throughout the world, and not just Equestria, either!”

“I’m sure there’s been plenty of exaggeration over the years, ma’am.”

Jade began flipping furiously through the book. “So you’re telling me that you didn’t once save the king of the griffin kingdom from being eaten by a rampaging troll?”

“It was just a coincidence that we were there,” explained Alpenglow. “Princess Celestia just sent us there to escort the king to Equestria for a royal summit.”

Jade turned to another page. “What about when you rescued the entire Equestrian Congress after they were kidnapped by a long-lost civilization of subterranean ponies?”

That last one seemed to catch Alpenglow off guard. He looked a little bewildered as he rubbed his eyes. “Oh...them. They were just ponies protesting some badly thought-out city planning decisions. I don't know what Chancellor Blueblood was thinking when he made those proposals. There were a few hundred of them living under the streets, scaring everypony and causing trouble. It took some time, but we managed to calm them down and convince them to let the congress go without a fuss. I'm hoping you'll tell me ponies today are more level-headed.”

"No comment," replied Jade with a smirk. She flipped to another section with practiced ease. “Then how about when the six of you single-handedly defeated an army of changelings sent to invade the Crystal Empire?”

“That sounds about right, though I wouldn’t have called a couple hundred an entire army. Still, it was- it wasn't a good day.”

Jade finally shut the book, managing to show awe, disbelief, and annoyance all at the same time. “‘Nopony,’ my rump,” she grumbled. “And what do you have to hide, anyway? That kind of enigma is overrated, and should be beneath a pony such as you.”

Alpenglow gave a short, weak laugh that sounded more like a wheeze. “Very little is beneath a pony such as me, ma’am." He paused, and his face grew more serious. "And I’m sorry I lied to you. Explaining who I was just didn’t seem that important.”

Jade huffed disapprovingly, then sat down. “You know, Twilight, this is kind of a dream come true for me. As a filly, I always imagined meeting the knights and asking them about their adventures. It’s not quite as dramatic as I’d imagined…” She rested her head on her hoof thoughtfully as she looked at Alpenglow, “…but in a way, you’re everything I thought you’d be: professional, composed, dashing. But tell me something, Alpenglow, why just you? Where are your friends, the others?”

Alpenglow froze, his eyes lost in the books before him, or possibly somewhere else. Twilight anxiously considered Jade’s question, recalling what Discord had said. She watched Alpenglow carefully from the corner of her eye. He blinked once slowly, then said in a trailing voice, “I’m sorry, Ms. Singer, but that'll have to be a story for another time. We should focus on finding what we came here for.”

“Oh, I see,” said Jade. She cleared her throat, looking suddenly embarrassed, and perhaps a little bit guilty. “I'm sorry for prying. My curiosity got the better of me.”

"I understand; no need to apologize."

Jade shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and with a hushed sigh, opened the book in front of her. Twilight did the same, and the three ponies were left alone with their work.