Knightmares

by NerfedFalcon

By Any Other Name

A week later

Sweetie Belle was starting to wonder about the wisdom of hiding in a suitcase. Sure, it wasn’t like there wasn’t plenty of room for her among all the clothes and other supplies, but it sure wasn’t that comfortable, and the warmth was oppressive. Still, she didn’t say a thing, barely daring to breathe, afraid to be found out.

When she’d heard from Rarity about the visit in Canterlot, she wanted immediately to go as a consolation for her older sister, who was stuck back in Ponyville. She was behind on her orders after the Cerberus incident, so she’d snuck aboard the train to bring back news of the celebrations. She hadn’t expected it to be this difficult to travel, though.

Finally, she heard the train braking, and felt the rest of the luggage slamming into her, pressing her against the back of the suitcase. She resisted the urge to scream for as long as possible, but when the suitcase started moving quickly, her horn bumped into something, and she shouted in pain.

But that wasn’t right. Her mouth had been closed the whole time. Meaning...

The case was opened, and Sweetie Belle was dumped unceremoniously onto the pavement, along with two other fillies she’d barely even noticed. One was a straw-yellow Earth Pony with a red mane and a ribbon, and the other was an orange Pegasus with a tomboyish look. Both of them were at about her age, and somewhat gratifyingly, neither had earned their own Cutie Marks. Staring at them were Rarity’s friend Twilight, and a white Pegasus in gold armour.

“Little young to be pulling a stunt like this, aren’t you?” he asked, shaking his head. “Your parents must be worried sick. You’d all better get back on the train, before it...” He was about to say more, but the sound of the train pulling out drowned him out. He stared at its rear for a while, in disbelief of the coincidence, not seeing the fillies twitch slightly.

As he walked towards the end of the platform, Twilight turned to the trio that had stowed away on the train. “He’s right, you know. You shouldn’t have tried to leave home on your own like that. You all live in Ponyville, right?” Sweetie Belle nodded, along with the yellow filly.

The Pegasus, however, shook her head. “Las Pegasus originally,” she said, “but I’ve been moving around a bit. Whole lot of world to see, you know?”

“You’ll have plenty of time to see it once your parents stop worrying about you,” Twilight reprimanded her, and all three of them seemed to twitch at once again. She didn’t really notice, as she had turned towards the guard again. “Excuse me, sir, but what do you think we should do with them? The next train isn’t for a few hours yet.”

The guard snapped back to attention, stumbling with his words a bit at the surprise. Eventually, he finally looked Twilight in the eye and said, “It’s really not my place to decide. All I can suggest is that we bring them back to the palace, and let Princess Celestia determine their punishment.”

“Punishment?” the Earth Pony filly murmured. “You won’t... put us in the dungeon, will you?”

The guard looked down and met the saddest pair of puppy eyes he’d ever seen. Despite his practiced stare, he couldn’t hold with her for long, and eventually looked away, saying, “I’m sure that some accommodation besides the dungeons can be arranged.” He looked back down and added, “That’s assuming you all behave yourselves on the way there. Can you do that?”

All three of them nodded quickly, and Twilight stepped back in shock. As they walked off, she cantered up to the guard and asked him, “Are you serious about that?”

“Are you sure they want to find out?” he replied, and ignored the look she gave him. The fillies were all walking in a single file behind him, not even glancing to the sides.

Twilight looked at him again, and finally recognised the guard. “I remember you,” she said. “You were in Ponyville when Cerberus attacked. Didn’t you...”

“I really didn’t do that much besides make it angrier,” he cut her off. “To be honest, I was kind of dumb, thinking I could handle it...”

“Even so, I wanted to thank you for what you did. Without your help, a lot of ponies could have died.” She paused for a moment, and then added, “But where were the rest of the Guard? Why did Celestia come on her own?”

Skipper sighed loudly, stopping in the street. Confused, the fillies stopped too. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask. It’s not something I’m really at liberty to discuss, either. You’d better talk to the Captain about that.”

“I’m not sure... He always seemed to be leaving something out in his letters to me.”

“Wait, you know the Captain?”

“He’s my brother.”

Skipper paused again, looking over at Twilight carefully. The twin streaks in her mane and tail were right, and he’d definitely remembered hearing Shining Armor wondering about his sister before. He shook his head as he started walking again. “Well, if you tell him why Cloud Skipper is the only guard who both helped you with Cerberus and escorted you to him, then maybe he’ll open up.”

Shrugging, Twilight looked back at the fillies walking behind Skipper. They seemed to be whispering together about something, and for a moment she considered casting a spell to listen in, but decided against it. Eavesdropping was wrong, after all, and doing it to kids was even more wrong.

The rest of the trip passed without incident. Sweetie Belle had once asked if it was possible to get a Cutie Mark in being a decoy, but the Pegasus had reminded her of the dungeon threat. That kept the noise to a minimum, at least until Skipper called out to the gate. “Hey, boss, I’ve got Celestia’s student and a few train-hoppers here. Wanna open it up?”

Twilight definitely recognised her brother on the gate. Surprisingly, Gilda was standing on the other crank. If the Captain of the Guard was busy opening the main gate with the help of a griffon, then things were different to what she’d expected, and not in a good way.

“Shiny!” she shouted as she teleported up to the rampart, and the stallion nearly lost his grip on the gate’s crank. As he did, she grabbed it with her magic, pulling it all the way open for Skipper and the fillies to walk through. She panted slightly as she let go, the exertion being more than she expected, and she was immediately thrown off balance by the hug her brother pulled her into.

“It’s great to see you again too, BBBFF,” she eventually said as she pulled apart. “How’s life in Canterlot going?”

“It’s been difficult,” he said, “what with preparing for the Emperor’s visit and all. Then again, you already knew that, that’s why you’re here...”

“Cloud Skipper must be a pretty capable pony, though.” She thought about what Skipper had told her, and added, “Especially if he both fights and escorts. I thought the Guard were usually kept separate for those?”

“There’s been some changes to the training regiment,” Shining said with practiced speed and fluency.

“To account for the fact that most of them left?” The observation threw Shining off-guard, and Twilight proceeded with the proof without being asked. “It was strange that Celestia came to Ponyville without a contingent, and it was strange seeing one pony in two duties, but what sold it was that a griffon was on the gate. If you don’t even have enough numbers to man the gate without bringing another species into it, then something’s gone badly wrong with the Guard.”

Shining Armor paused, looking over at Gilda across the ramparts. The griffon shrugged, flying down to meet with Skipper, leaving him alone to face his sister. He trusted her, there was no doubt about that, but there were some things that he shouldn’t have to talk about with her. Eventually, under her questioning gaze, he finally cracked. “I’ll assemble the Guard,” he said slowly. “Meet me in the throne room.” He teleported down to Gilda and Skipper to give them the orders as Twilight walked towards the doors leading into the castle. She’d forgotten just how much leniency on teleportation there was in the palace, and didn’t intend to test it too much.

When she arrived in the throne room a few minutes later, her brother was already there, along with Celestia. Cloud Skipper came in shortly after, followed by the three fillies from before, the griffon (Twilight swore she looked familiar, but couldn’t quite place it) and a pony she’d never seen anything like before.

Except that wasn’t quite right. She’d seen a pony with bat-like wings in Ponyville when Cerberus attacked... and even before that, Celestia had told her about what she called a ‘pet project’. She’d never seen it up close, but clearly this was the basis of the Night Guard, planned for Luna’s return.

Twilight didn’t realise she’d said all of that out loud until the Night Pony nodded. “Yep, that’s me,” she said. “Name’s Midnight Blossom. I suppose that makes us kindred spirits, since we both studied under Celestia for a while.”

Twilight wanted to ask how the Night Pony had managed to tolerate the presence of the Princess of the Sun, but Shining cut in. “What you see before you, right now, is the extent of the Royal Guard,” he explained. “Hearing about the return of the Night Guard caused a few problems, and the Day Guard left under their rabble-rousing leader, Cumulus. So far, we haven’t gotten any recruits to replace them, not that we’d be able to train them if we did...”

“I trained Midnight Blossom, did I not?” Celestia asked. “Surely, between the two of us, we could at least train somepony else.”

“Be that as it may, we’re short on numbers right now, and this isn’t a good time for it. The Emperor of Neighpon is coming, and we need everyone we have here to handle it.” Twilight looked at the griffon for a moment, and her brother filled in the mental gap. “They don’t have any problems with griffons around. It’ll be strange, but they won’t mind Gilda as much as some others.”

“So, that’s why you wanted me back?” Twilight asked Celestia.

“Indeed. It only seems right that I introduce my protégé to such a dignitary. He even asked personally after you.”

At once, Twilight felt both excited and worried. “But I haven’t been practicing my Neighponese for years! How am I going to handle myself around the Emperor when I can’t even...?”

“They aren’t coming for three days yet,” Skipper said. “You’ve still got plenty of time to practice.” He looked at Shining for a moment, and then added, “Shinpai shinai yo. Ore ni makasete!” He bumped his right foreleg against his breastplate, laughing slightly, and Twilight giggled as she worked out what he’d said: ‘Don’t worry, leave it to me.’

“Show-off,” Midnight grumbled. “Just because you grew up there...”

“I’d rather not get into that right now,” Skipper replied curtly. “We’ve got other things to discuss. There were a few stowaways who wanted to come with Twilight,” and at that he waved a wing towards the group of fillies. They immediately stopped chattering among themselves and turned to the two princesses.

Seeing Celestia up close for the first time was nothing short of awe-inspiring. They’d been trying to avoid looking at royalty, but placed under the spotlight by Skipper, they didn’t have a choice but to step forward. Her body, far larger than any pony could hope to be, simply radiated presence and power, and that was before the magic that went into maintaining her mane was taken into account. Their mouths hung open for the longest time before Skipper spoke again.

“The train left before I could send them home, so I took them here. I wanted to know if you thought any punishment was appropriate.” That snapped them all back to reality, but they all reacted differently. Sweetie Belle, for her part, looked like she was about to cry. The Earth Pony seemed disappointed, like she was hoping he’d forget to bring it up, and the Pegasus seemed angry enough to attack him despite her lacking size. He looked at them for a moment before turning back to his liege.

“I feel that punishment is for their parents to decide upon, no?” Celestia asked, and unlike the Pegasus and Unicorn, didn’t fail to notice their reactions. She was about to amend the statement to ‘their families’, but the time had passed. “I apologise. I was not aware that...”

The Pegasus was the first to brush it off. “It’s been like that since my mother was... since my mother’s been gone. I never knew my dad, either. Didn’t want to get stuck in an orphanage, so I’ve been on the move. Everywhere I go, ponies who’ve never seen me before ask the same thing. It’s easier that way, never having to make too close a connection.” For a moment, Skipper tilted his head at the filly. For someone far below his age to have come to that conclusion...

“My mother died giving me,” the filly said. “But we’re Apples, so I’ve got a brother and a sister to help look after me. Name’s Apple Bloom.” She smiled broadly, infecting all the others except Celestia and Skipper, who were respectively too practiced and too detached to join in.

“I usually live with my sister,” Sweetie Belle offered. “I don’t see my parents often; not since we left home together. But they’re still alive,” she said, as if it would give comfort to the others. She tried to take it back when she looked at the other two of her age, but Apple Bloom just nodded her off.

“Maybe I’d like to meet them someday,” the Pegasus said. “Name’s Scootaloo.”

“Even so, you can’t just ride on a train without paying,” Skipper reprimanded them, “and you shouldn’t leave your families like that.” You never know how much longer you might still have one, he thought ruefully. “None of you did tell your families, did you?” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded slowly. “What should we do? I doubt we can manage to get them back to Ponyville on the next train and prepare enough for the Emperor’s visit.”

“Well, perhaps they could stay here until everything’s calmed down?” a new voice called from the entrance to the throne room. Everypony turned to stare at the new arrival, who quickly swept into a low bow. “I was not aware that Amaterasu was present. Forgive my intrusion.”

“Amaterasu...” Skipper mused. “You must be from Neighpon. What are you doing here?”

“I am one of Emperor Heishiro’s personal honour guard. My name is Minazuki, though you may call me Mina, and I have been sent here in advance to prepare for His arrival. Although...” She looked at the assembled group, trying to piece together what she’d heard. “It seems like you have everything just about under control.”

“Well, we will in three days,” Midnight said, smiling. “I hope.”

“It will be fine, I am certain,” Mina replied.

Skipper nodded slowly, looking her up and down. “I know you from somewhere. Weren’t you... Kiryu? The Devil Dragon?”

Mina looked up suddenly, realising what everypony else in the room missed. “Hisashiburi desu ne, Hakumen,” she said. “It seems we both found gainful employment after all.”

“Where did you two meet exactly?” Twilight asked.

“Not in front of the foals,” Skipper said, “and I’m not sure you even want to know at all. I’ve done things I’m not proud of, and Mina played into that.”

“Aww...” Apple Bloom said slowly. “I wanted to hear the story of how you two met.”

“Or a story, at any rate,” Scootaloo added. “Anything to get away from this adult stuff.”

Skipper nodded, turning to his colleague. “Midnight, do you want to take these three to the guest quarters? You can probably tell them about how Celestia recruited you. That should keep them out of trouble.” For now. As if we needed any more trouble, given that we’re short as it is...

“Alright! Girls, follow me. I’ve got some time before my shift starts, anyway.” Midnight had avoided talking about her training period before, but telling three fillies whose friends back home probably wouldn’t believe them about meeting a Thestral...

Skipper had once told her, when she refused to tell him about her past, that at some point you had to confide in somepony. He’d always found it easier, knowing the lengths that gossip could spread to were limited where he’d grown up, but she was happy to have finally found her ‘perfect stranger’, as he’d called it.

“It was about a year ago, when I’d finally gotten my Cutie Mark...”
~
Midnight’s parents were arguing again. And since they thought she was out of earshot, she knew before she could make out exactly what they were saying that the argument was about her.

“...but what could it possibly mean?” her father said, holding himself back from shouting. “That her talent is lazing about in that field?” The field was her sanctuary, and the white flowers always comforted her. Perhaps that was why she’d found her Cutie Mark among them, but to be honest, it was something of a mystery to her too.

“I’m sure there must be some explanation,” her mother replied.

“But are you sure you’ll like it any more than I?”

“You’ve never loved that girl, not since the day she was conceived. Empty sky, she’s your daughter as much as mine!”

The conversation paused for a moment, and their voices dropped too low to hear. Curious, she pushed her ear against the door, but was still unable to make anything out. They stopped as she pushed the door open, hearing the creak as though it were right next to them, despite all the care she’d taken. “I’m sorry,” she said meekly, but it was too late.

“Your mother and I have been talking,” her father said. “I think it’s time you found your place in the world. Now that you have your Cutie Mark, it’s important that you leave this place.”

Midnight didn’t understand. “What do you mean? I thought we were never supposed to go too far away...”

“I mean that you should leave, and never return,” her father said. “I do not expect you to understand. I merely expect you to listen to your... to listen to me!” Midnight stepped back at the sudden change, still unable to understand. She looked at her mother, whom she’d always thought would support her, but all she saw in those eyes was pity, not the support she wanted.

After a long standoff, Midnight finally turned and left the room. She’d never liked her father, but to see her mother abandon her after so long... it was too much to take. And she didn’t have anywhere else to go besides the family’s home.

Nowhere except the white flowers.

The flowers had calmed her down, like always, but she still couldn’t understand what it meant. The mark that had appeared out of nowhere, the rejection she’d been given by her parents, and the suddenly growing light in front of her. She looked up at the light, throwing a hoof in front of her face to protect her eyes, unused to such bright light.

“Child, do not fear me,” a voice said, powerful and yet controlled. “I have a proposal for you. I am Celestia, Princess of the Sun.”

“I don’t like the sun,” Midnight said, still averting her eyes. “Thestrals usually don’t.”

All of a sudden, much of the light disappeared, and when Midnight looked, Celestia simply had a straight pink mane and tail. She still stood imposingly tall, but the light no longer forced Midnight to look away. “You are aware of the prophecies, then. The thousandth year approaches, and we all must prepare for her arrival.”

“The Mare in the Moon,” Midnight said softly. “She’s returning? But why are you asking me for help?”

“There is much that you do not know about her. She was good once, and I feel that this can be possible again. But there must be someone to help her return to life in Equestria. I feel there is no better choice than one of her own brood.”

“Are you not worried that I’ll betray you for her?”

“I am certain, once you understand fully who Luna is, you will be safe. Come, walk with me.” She walked off into the forest surrounding the glade, and with nowhere else to go, Midnight followed.
~
“You probably don’t need to hear much about the training she put me through,” Midnight finished. “But Celestia picked me personally, and I’m sure it wasn’t just because I was there. There must have been some reason, that I’m still not aware of...”

“A chess-trawl?” Sweetie Belle asked, unfamiliar with the word. “Is that some kind of boat?”

“Most of you call us Night Ponies,” Midnight replied, smiling. “Don’t feel bad. We don’t mind it. Anyway, here’s your room. There should be a bed there big enough for all of you, if you don’t mind sharing. If you need anything, there’s plenty of servants about even at this hour, just ring that bell.” With that, she closed the door and bolted it from the outside.

“Aw, man, we’re locked in here,” Scootaloo pouted, before yawning suddenly. “I must be more tired than I thought...”

“Hey, I’ve got a great idea!” Apple Bloom said suddenly, smiling broadly. “She said she didn’t know how she got her Cutie Mark, right?” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodded. “And there’s plenty of stuff to do around a castle, right?” They nodded again. “Starting tomorrow, why don’t we make a project of finding out what our Cutie Marks are around the castle?”

There was a long pause, and Apple Bloom’s smile started to droop. “That,” said Scootaloo, “is the best idea anypony’s ever had!” She pulled her new friends into a group hug, not lowering her voice despite the short distance. “But we need a name! What are we going to call ourselves?”

“ABSBS?” Sweetie Belle offered.

“No, how about the Cutie Seekers?”

“Guys, you’re doing this all wrong,” Scootaloo rebuked them, and both of them turned, more from the unfamiliar slang term than anything. “We’re in a palace full of guards, right? They must all be knights of some kind, like in the books. And if they go on a quest... what’s a knight’s quest called?”

“A crusade?” Sweetie Belle offered.

“That’s it! We’re...” All three joined in at once, agreeing upon the name immediately.

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

Back in Ponyville, Rarity suddenly shuddered all over, unable to understand why.
~
The roar of the crowd was deafening. That was only to be expected; it was the largest crowd that Chikatetsu had seen in all the time it had run for. An unforgettable clash between two champions: Hakumen and Mitsuyoshi. All the ponies who fought at Chikatetsu had been given arena names, to detach them from themselves. Cloud Skipper, he thought to himself, a small act of defiance against those who had forced him to become a warrior. My name is Cloud Skipper.

You didn’t see it, did you? Nightmare Moon’s voice asked.

“Go away,” Skipper replied. “You’ve been quiet for almost a month now. You don’t want to break that streak.”

What are you going to do about it, you foal? she replied, angrily. Calming down slightly, she continued, Besides, there was a reason why we are here again. But you didn’t see it, did you?

“See what?” Skipper asked, as he stepped into the arena. Instead of Mitsuyoshi, as he’d expected, it was the Pegasus who’d known him, her bright orange coat seeming to brighten the entire arena. Her electric blue mane spiked in a set of curls—

and flashed purple for a fraction of a second—

“That can’t be right,” Skipper said. “There’s no way it’s more than a coincidence.”

There was a long silence as he stared down the Pegasus, her mane switching colours more and more rapidly.

Are you sure?

She dived for his throat, too fast for him to react—

Author's Note:

Hey guys, I'm not dead after all! Just needed a while to figure out how to start this arc.

Should be updating more regularly now that I know what's going down.

(Just discovered that I can't spell "Scootaloo" properly. I need a beta...)

Comments

[DesertShadow]

Sweet!

[Ise no Kami]

My name is Minazuki...

Once you've played enough games that actually use Japanese names, you start to associate every such name you see with that character. In the case of this pony, my mind went straight to Sho Minazuki from Persona 4 Arena.