Chapter 9
The Castle Canterlot:
Chapter 9
“Silence! I have heard enough of your prattling! You would cast your actions as those of loyal servants? Where was your vaunted loyalty while that… thing ate at her heart and poisoned her mind?! You were her protectors, always by her side, and yet you did nothing! You said nothing! You watched as my sister—! You will find your pardon writ upon the stone that marks your grave.”
—H.R.H. Princess Celestia, pronouncing judgement over Arch-Mage
Silver Flash and the surviving members of the Nightguard.
Chronicle stayed on the peripheries of the Princess’ Cabinet as much out of apprehension as habit. When Princess Celestia was present, he was little more than a secretary. Oh, he had a right to voice his opinion, and the Princess would call on him from time-to-time, but he rarely felt that his voice had any merit. It was a rare thing for him to disagree with the Princess, regardless.
Now, without either princess present, he was the defacto head, and he did not like it one bit. When this was all over, he might finally take a vacation.
The pegasus guard remained at attention after giving her message, ready and waiting to receive her next orders. There was little doubt in Chronicle’s mind as to what was going on. Kara, and griffons in general, were all too predictable. Still, it was Captain Quartz who was the first to speak, her face twisting as though she’d bitten into a bad apple.
“What kind of situation?”
“They are packing, Ma’am.”
“Packing? What do you mean, packing?” the captain asked incredulously.
“They are loading up the ambassador’s private airship with supplies, and—”
Chronicle cursed. It wasn’t loud or forceful, barely a whisper, a hiss between his teeth that happened to carry the name of a particular princess without the addition of a title. Everypony in the small group stopped to stare at him, many with jaws hanging. For one of the few times in his life, he didn’t notice.
The first to recover was Chancellor Subtle Plume, her eyes going wide when she realized what Chronicle had. Her curse was far louder, but much less remarked upon. “We've got to stop them.”
“Stop them?” Quartz snorted. “If they want to flee, good riddance. For all the good it will do them. Perhaps we shall finally get their stink out of the tapestries.”
Plume rounded on the large, armoured earth pony and stared her down, an impressive feat for a pegasus whose exercise regimen consisted of lifting paper one page at a time. “You blithering idiot! They haven’t agreed to the trade compact yet! If they leave it will be months before we can restart negotiations! Aside from the lost revenue, the Princess’ influence over them is the only thing keeping them out of Prench and Hackney affairs!
“The economic loss alone will spur them into selling their swords to the highest bidder! So, unless you want to be the one to explain why the Queendoms are awash with bloodshed, I suggest you do something about it!”
“And what would you have me do?” Quartz shot back with a sneer. “They have done nothing illegal. Without declaring martial law and closing the airspace, there’s precisely nothing I can do to stop them.”
Subtle Plume smiled viciously. Taking a short step back, she eyed the earth pony captain from head to hoof. “You dislike the griffons, yes?”
“I have no love for them.”
“Good. Come with me.” Without waiting for a response, she turned and trotted toward the exit.
Captain Quartz hesitated for a moment, glaring at Plume’s back before turning to follow. With a loud bark, she ordered three more guards to fall in behind her.
Chronicle watched the quintet leave, an inkling of the Chancellor’s plan running through his head. He did not like it. Plumes’ gambit was just that, and if it failed there’d be Tartarus to pay. Worse still was Princess Cadence’s continued absences. Every pony in the palace should have been looking for her, and she was hardly the stealthiest of ponies. He was beginning to fear that whatever was keeping Princess Celestia from waking Sol had got to her as well.
A hoof on his shoulder made Chronicle jump. Turning, he came face-to-face with Boisterous Banter. She wore a comforting smile, her ears relaxed but attentive. “All right there, Chronicle?”
His confusion gave way as he noticed his own rapid, almost panicked breathing. He started to nod, but there was no point in lying. In no way was he ‘all right’, nothing was right right then. Instead, Chronicle closed his eyes and forced himself to take a few deep breaths until he’d settled himself down, focusing on finding solutions rather than the myriad of problems he faced.
“Thank you,” he said, once again trusting his voice. “I just need a moment.”
Chronicle stepped back, separating himself further from the on-going discussions and moving back toward the throne. Turning his back on the hall, he tried to imagine that the room was no larger than the space now in front of him. It helped a little.
“Star,” he said in a whisper, not bothering to look for her, “I need you to find Princess Cadence.” There was no reply, but he trusted that his message was received.
Having regained as much of his composure as he could expect, Chronicle turned once again toward the career politicians. From the dais, he could see all of them and wished he could not. With the most immediate concerns taken care of, they’d already begun to falling back to bickering.
— — — TCC — — —
Quartz eyed the pegasus flop as she led them out of the castle. Pegasus though she may be, Plume held to none of her tribe’s martial history. It would not surprise her to learn Plume had never held a spear in her life. What the Princess saw in her, Quartz would never know.
It was immediately evident where she was leading them. The griffon embassy was housed in one of the tallest towers at the eastern side of the estate, a good half-hour trot from the throne room, or a five-minute flight by chariot.
The two pegasus guards she’d grabbed from the throne room disappeared into the hanger the moment they arrived without having to be told. They were good soldiers. The silence continued as they brought a chariot out and the rest of them squeezed on board. In seconds, they were airborne, flying toward the griffon embassy, and the private airship dock on the roof.
As the seconds turned to minutes, Quartz found her gaze continually shifting toward Plume. She did not like going into a situation blind, but she’d be damned if she was going to speak first. If Plume wanted to play her little games, fine. She’d better not be surprised when Quartz didn’t dance to her tune.
The chariot circled around the tower, slowly rising until they could come in for a landing at the very top.
With the sun still absent from the sky, the landing platform was lit up by lamps posted around the rim, casting the flock of griffons in wavering light and shadow. The ambassadors private zeppelin was docked on the far side, tethered down but a good four lengths above the platform. Little more than a pleasure craft, it could carry perhaps twenty ponies, fifteen comfortably. When fully laden, the small engines wouldn’t make it further than Manehatten. Unfortunately, that was as far as would be necessary.
The moment the chariot touched down, Igneous Quartz was off, the other three guards falling in behind as Subtle Plume flitted up to her side. The griffons noticed their arrival, but only a few stopped their work. Five detached from the group, moving to meet them, everyone stopping four lengths apart near the platform’s center.
“What do you want Chancellor?” Ambassador Kara squawked from the flock’s center.
“For you to stop packing and to remain in Canterlot until this blows over.”
“Blows over?” Kara scoffed and pointed an accusatory talon at Plume. “You expect me to believe that this isn’t all a show? I know posturing when I see it, Chancellor.” She smirked. “You aren’t as subtle as you’d like to think.”
Quartz stopped listening. She couldn’t care less for the bickering of puffed up feather brains. When it was time for her to do something, she was certain she would know. Instead, she focused on the griffons surrounding Kara.
She recognized them, sort of. Griffons all looked the same to her. These ones, though, she’d seen often enough pick them out by size, if not name or face. Kara’s guards, they were all male and larger than the rest, both in stature and bulk. If it weren’t for the scuttlebutt among her own ponies, she’d think they lacked tongues for all the times she’d heard them speak.
“… challenge you.” Quartz snapped out of her thoughts, head whipping to the side to stare at Plume in surprise. What was this air-head up to? “If I win, you remain here, sequestered in the embassy until the situation has been dealt with.”
“And if I win?” Kara asked, giving Plume a questioning glare.
“We let you leave.”
Kara flicked a dismissive claw, starting to turn away. “Which I was about to d—”
“And I guarantee you more favorable terms on the price of Equestrian foodstuffs.”
Kara stopped, seeming to ponder that. A slow smile showed on her beak. “I assume you will be choosing a champion?”
The Chancellor finally met Quartz’s gaze. The Captain understood the look immediately and frowned but nodded. No matter how little she thought of the flop, it was her job to protect her.
“Captain Quartz.”
Quartz turned all her attention to the ambassador. For a second, she was certain that Kara would have one of her bodyguards take her place as she was taking Plume’s. To her surprise, and pleasure, she was wrong.
Kara stepped forward, shrugging off her stole of office. “I accept.”
— — — TCC — — —
Arch-Mage Star Shimmer stood before the door protecting the younger princess’ private room. The thick, hardwood was not the what gave her pause, rather it was the heavy matrix of ancient runes securing it from unauthorized intrusion. For a brief moment, she considered testing herself against it, pulling it apart so as to keep from setting off any of the myriad of alarms that undoubtedly connected to the nearest guard quarters. It had been years since she last came upon so complete a lock. Most of what she encountered were child’s play, providing no sense of accomplishment from unraveling them.
Unfortunately, Chronicle would not appreciate her spending the extra minutes it would take to fully comprehend the intricate connections and hidden trips.
It was, she reflected, something of a shame. The ward was likely close to a millennia old, the legacy of a long dead mage. A more sentimental pony might have paused at that thought, allowing a moment of silence to pass in mourning. Star was no such pony.
Prodding the runes with her own magic, she identified the pillar runes that supported the entire framework. Taking hold of the key runes, she attacked them with extreme prejudice, shattering the architecture and making the whole of it crumple in on itself.
She wasted no time stepping inside, closing and latching the door behind her. Under normal circumstances, she’d have five minutes at a minimum before the guards reached her. Today, with everypony already on edge, it was a complete crapshoot.
Taking the door in her magic again, she constructed a ward of her own. The equivalent of an iron bar, it lacked all intricacy, but, lacking the key/lock mechanism of the previous ward, it would take a much more concerted effort to break. Eight minutes, she estimated, unless Shining Armour or one of the other more powerful unicorns happened to be nearby, then just three.
Cadence’s room was exactly as she expected, given her limited experience with the mare. Were it not for her own blue mane, Star Shimmer could have disappeared amid the over-abundance of pink and puff with no help from her magic.
She began to walk around the room, taking in everything with a single glance as she recalled what she could of the Princess.
Princess Cadence Invictus. Aged, ten hundred years. Niece of Princess Celestia Invictus. Daughter of Luna Invictus, a.k.a. Nightmare Moon. Founder and Monarch of the Crystal City. Occupies the cusp of current culture, refraining from attaching herself too much to any particular style. Married five times, no natural foals. Currently (secretly) seeing Captain Shining Armour. Renounced the Lunar throne, and has shown little interest in…
Star’s internal monologue trailed off, eyes locking on a number of small portraits mounted in brass frames atop the dresser. In the entire room, they were the only items more than a century old.
Each of the five pictures carried an image of Cadence, her dress and the style of her mane marking an easy tell for the age of the image. Seated beside her in each was a different stallion. The newest, only a few generations old, depicted a unicorn with a white coat and blonde mane, an easy pick for Duke Blueblood’s distant ancestor. There were no discernible similarities between the pictured stallions, stretching the gamut of demeanour, breed, and general attractiveness.
Star’s lip twitched in what might have been an attempt at a smile. She was hardly one to judge another mare’s choice in mates.
A knock at the door pulled Star’s ears around, muffled voices carrying through her ward. The Guard, no doubt. She could not afford to linger.
She glanced once more at the portraits and almost turned away, only to notice the oldest of them. Taking it in her magic, she studied it a moment. Uhtceare Cloudbreaker, a pegasus, was Cadence’s first husband, married less than a decade after the War of Sun and Moon.
Star smiled.
Calling forth the necessary runes, Star Shimmer brought her destination to mind, forming as detailed an image of it as she could. It was far, near the outer edge of her limits, but she knew the place well enough.
The runes connected. The spell snapped, and Star fought down a wave of nausea.
Uhtceare’s Point was not a common destination for tourist, rarely even marked on maps. It was little more than an outcropping on the eastern side of the Canterhorn, opposite Canterlot itself. The hoof path leading there made it a long, arduous, and dangerous climb with many uncertain ledges. For those who knew about it, and were willing to risk the journey, it presented an unparalleled view of Eastern Equestria for anypony not gifted with wings.
The view, however, was blocked for Star Shimmer, obscured thoroughly by Princess Cadence’s slouched form sitting at the far edge, staring out over the night cast coast. It was odd, seeing her covered from head to hoof in plate mail, but, given the night’s events, she didn’t consider it all that surprising.
Star’s arrival had not gone unremarked.
“Go away,” Princess Cadence said without turning from the horizon.
“No.”
“No?” Cadence asked, surprised and angered at the curt reply. “I am your Princess, a Goddess, and I command you to leave me in peace!”
“You are a spoiled foal, running at the first hint of responsibility.”
“How dare you!” Cadence screeched, snapping her head around to glare at Star. Getting a look at her face, Star noted the tear carved ravines trailing down from her eyes and the wide bruise just starting to show on her muzzle. “I—” Cadence’s ears fell back, pressing down against her head as she nearly growled. “I know you. You’re…”
“Arch-Mage Star Shimmer of Her Royal Highness’ Order of the Wanting Dawn,” she said without pride or affectation.
Princess Cadence’s muzzle twisted in a restrained rage. “And to what purpose have you come here? Eager to demonstrate your loyalty to your mistress at last?”
“I care not for your mother’s designs. Your presence has been requested in the throne room, and I am here to see that you attend.”
“How did you know—”
“We are not ignorant of our history. Nor are we accustomed to waiting.” Star Shimmer held out a hoof toward the princess, for all the good it would do.
Cadence stood and turned to fully face the unicorn, spreading her wings in an aggressive show of dominance. Her expression only darkened at Star’s lack of reaction. “I said be gone.”
Star held her gaze, contemplating the different possible outcomes to this confrontation. She’d sooner saw her own horn off than back down. Princess Cadence was a goddess, however, and Star Shimmer was not so foolish as to think she could match her spell for spell if things turned violent. Then again, she wouldn’t have to, depending on her skill and training. More important still was how Princess Celestia decided to view the altercation. Having been on the receiving end of the Sun Goddess’ ire, Star had little desire to repeat the experience.
“I can not do that.”
“That is a direct order from the ruling monarch. As a Dawn Knight, failure to comply constitutes treason, punishable—”
“By summary execution and public defamation of all honors and citations.” Star put on a smile she saved just for such situations. “If that is your wish, Your Highness, I shall gladly accept my sentences, as soon as you ascend the Solar Throne.” Star twitched her still extended hoof. “It would be an honor to accompany you there.”
It was an idle fantasy of Star’s to see that particular expression of anger and defeat on Princess Celestia’s muzzle just once. Unfortunately, that was hardly enough to bring Cadence around. She snorted, turning and extending her wings as though to take off.
As fast as she was able, Star conjured a small gravitational spell, slamming it into place under the princess.
She grunted at the sudden weight dragging her down, her legs almost buckling at first, straining to keep her upright.
“I suggest you reconsider this course of action. If you will not attend your duties—”
“You’ll what?” Cadence shouted as she spun quickly despite the spell’s burden. Her horn ignited, carving through Star’s spell like a razor through so much hair. “You’ll do nothing! I am a Goddess, and you are naught but an ant before me!” Penumbra came at Cadence’s call, the heavy blade held high and close. “Step aside or be removed.”
Star Shimmer continued to hold her gaze. Once again, she reconsidered the paths before her. She thought of her duty to Princess Celestia and Equestria as a whole, of her odds of success, and of her estranged daughter and her Bookkeeper. But not once did she consider turning away.
With a dispassionate acceptance, she summoned her own blades, a longsword and stout sword breaker. Whispering a prayer to Celestia, and wishing she’d taken the time to gather her own armour, Star Shimmer slipped easily into a loose battle-stance.
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So, a thousand years old, right? why not just say that? sorry, it's a daft little thing for me to pick on, it's just whenever anyone describes something as something-hundred, when it can be described reasonably in terms of thousands, it seems redundant. An (admittedly somewhat poor) example would be to describe one million as one thousand thousands, or one hundred hundred hundreds.
My nitpicking aside, another great chapter, surprised (in a good way) to see Star's response to Cadance's "come at me bro", and just generally having an enjoyable time with your story. keep up the good work!
5211339
Might have to do with the setting of the story.
5211339 5211438
Well, you see, I got the age wrong first, writing 'fifteen hundred' because that is a lot shorter than 'one thousand five hundred'. Of course, when I was corrected on the age, I gave Tundara a raspberry and changed the 'fifteen' to a 'ten' because laziness. Oddly, I became attached to Star thinking of it that way, so I left it. Really, I should have written 'twenty-two and ten hundred', but that's a bit over the top.
5211444
Hey, I liked the 'ten hundred' wording too...
5211444
And I'll bet that occasionally there's a pony in this setting that celebrates his or her 'leventy-'leventh birthday, too.
I feel sorry for Star Shimmer, having to deal with Cadance when she's in such a low point.
Great chapter, all the threads on the story so far have been really interesting, can't wait to see what's next!
5212242 I'm imagining a pony Bilbo Baggins after I read your post.
5211339
Leaving aside its use in helping define character, (i.e. she's someone who would think 'ten centuries' rather than 'a millennium'),, age is one of those things that might not use thousands even when it crosses that mark. Unless those ages tightly cluster just beyond a millennium, (e.g. 90% never get beyond 1100 years and almost none make it to 1200), it is meaningful to specify the exact number of centuries.
What I would expect if you have a population of very long-lived people, is an extension of what we tend to do in RL: Exact years until the mid-20s, decades until sometime in the third century of life and centuries until somewhere north of 2000.
Holy crap that opening quote.
Daaaaaamn.
Well that challenge is risky.
Star Shimmer? A relative of Sunset, perhaps?
Wow, and she bluffs hard.
Wow x2, and bluffing isn't her only strength, she has gonads of solid steel, too.
5220354
Thinking all unicorns with the same last name are related is just racist.Well, it mentions her having a estranged daughter.
5220354
Maybe I should write a one-shot for her. That could be interesting. A little introduction to her history. Hmmmm....
5222292 Namist, maybe. I'd assume any pony with an Apple related name to be potentially related to AJ regardless of species subtype, for example.
Only thing I would mention is some spacing between paragraphs. Get's hard to read after awhile when everything is clumped up. Still that didn't distract much from the good story you've got here
i.imgur.com/6MrWqNZ.png
5295822
Thanks
Sad to see that there isn't more (yet?). Pretty risky gambit. If this actually heats up, then Shimmer's head might get separated from her shoulders. Cadence might feel all kinds of guilt and regret later, but that won't change the stark reality of her being dead,
I have to say that this makes it clear that, for better or worse, Cadence is a spoiled brat. She thinks mostly of herself and considers the needs of others only when it is convenient. Makes for an interesting portrayal, She's also a bit of a fool. What point is there in even trying to stop Nightmare Moon if aught happens to Celestia and/or the ponies panic and riot? Why bother with an epic and risky fight if everything else goes down in flames of it's own accord? So far it seems she is opposing Luna/Nightmare Moon only for personal reasons.
Couple of minor typos that I noted:
Interlude
I assume that was meant to be 'Taiga' not 'Tiaga'.
Chapter 6
The word here, I believe, should be 'site', not 'sight'.
5518232
You answered most of your own questions about Cadence. Character development ahoy?
She might feel guilty, but I wouldn't count on it. Star wouldn't be the first pony she's killed, and Star isn't exactly an angel.
I'll fix those as soon as I get a chance. Thanks.
More is on the way... Eventually.
5518432
Err, okay. I suppose what I'm getting at is that she's (Cadence) not stupid per say. She would probably realize, later, that she could have resolved the issue without bloodshed. That sad I think she would regret killing Star even if only because she failed to resolve it without violence and did as her mother would have.