I stretched behind my desk. It had been a long day and there was still a significant stack of guard profiles in front of me. Each one hoped to fill the now vacant spot in Radiant Orchid’s squad following Iridescence’s promotion. I had finally narrowed it down to a short list. That had only eaten up half a day.
Miley was the other half. She had managed to trip, knock over a statue and, as a result, create a pony-sized hole in one of the palace walls. It was her biggest mishap thus far… except that it wasn’t. When the facilities ponies came to patch up the damage, one of them noted that some sort of mites had been aggressively burrowing into and eating the local support beam.
Had there been no hole, facilities would not have seen the damage. I was told that the floor could have given way into the office below at any time should sufficient weight be applied to it.
It wasn’t abundantly clear on whether I should cite Miley, reward her, or just sweep it under the rug like usual. It was also getting late. The sun had been down for an hour or so and I was about ready to go home. Tomorrow, Miley. I closed the file and started to leave.
There was a knock and the door opened suddenly. It missed my nose by half a hoof’s length.
“Oh, Sergeant, I’m so terribly sorry!” Lavender exclaimed.
“No harm done. What can I do for you?”
“Princess Luna is asking for you and she is in a mood.”
My ears twitched. “A mood? She is never in a mood. What sort of mood?”
Lavender shifted. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say sad. She has us stationed outside her chambers. I’d have gone to Sergeant Orchid, but the princess asked for you specifically.”
“Thanks, Lavender. I’ll handle it. You head back to your position.”
“Of course, Sergeant.”
We walked to Princess Luna’s chamber together in silence. Risky Storm was outside the door and Lavender took her place across from him as I went inside.
The phonograph was playing one of the classical pieces that the Royal Canterlot Orchestra was known for. This one in particular was slow and melancholy. Princess Luna was on her settee staring off into space.
“Princess, you sent for me?” My tone was soft. Lavender was right; she looked sad.
There was no immediate reply. The princess just sat in silence until the song drew to a close. “Yes. Please, come here, Silent Knight.” I did so and she took my helmet off. “There is something I need of thee.”
“Of course, Princess. Name it.”
“I have a mission for thee. There is somewhere I want thee to go,” she said as she looked intently at my face. It was unnerving.
“A mission? Have you discussed it with the captain?”
The princess shook her head. “No, it is a mission for me. Not the Royal Guard.”
Most ponies assume that a princess can order a royal guard to do whatever she likes. That isn’t actually the case. We have policies and procedures to avoid that to make certain royal meddling doesn’t result in a systemic failure.
They had to follow the chain of command like anypony else. They order the general, the general orders the brigadiers, the brigadiers order the colonels and so on down the line until it gets to me.
The look on Princess Luna’s face made me care a whole lot less about those policies, though. “Okay… but we could tell him of it. I’m sure he’d agree.”
“He would, but we will not. This mission is between thee and me alone. Canst thou do that for me, Silent Knight?”
It was an awkward position for the princess to put me in, but I wasn’t going to disappoint her. How could I? She was the princess and most likely this was going to be something minor. Perhaps a secret trip to a bookstore or to meet one of her fanfiction fans.
“Yes, Princess. Can you at least tell him after I am gone that you had to dispatch me?”
“Agreed. I need thee to leave as soon as thou can. Fly east towards Fillydelphia. There is a mountain range between here and there. Look for the highest peak that parts the clouds. Thou wilt find a cave there. Go into it and report back thy findings.”
“A cave? What am I looking for, Princess?”
She shook her head. “I cannot say for certain but thou wilt know it when thou findest it. Now… thou wilt need a tool for this task.” Her horn illuminated and tendrils of blue magic reached out towards me. They swirled over my breastplate and for a brief instant it glowed. Then, as if nothing happened, the magic disappeared. “As long as thou wearest thine armor, shouldst thou find thyself in the dark, thou wilt be able to see.”
I blinked a few times, looking down at my armor. “That is amazing. Forever?”
“Nay. It lasts only a fortnight, I’m afraid. Now go, as fast as thy wings will carry thee,” she said, a hint of urgency in her voice.
“Yes, Princess.” I reached for my helmet and she placed her hoof over mine.
“When thou arrivest at the cave thou art, under no circumstance, to enter with thine helmet on. Is that clear?”
“Crystal.” The hoof withdrew and I put my helmet on. I had no idea what I was getting into but it seemed important. I hurried out to make one stop before leaving Canterlot.
☾
It was a stroke of luck. Sunny Day was in her office still working late. Her door was open, which was typical. I knocked and she looked up.
“First Sergeant. Come in!” I did so and she continued, “What can I do for Princess Luna’s House Guard?”
“I need a favor, Lieutenant.”
Her ears wiggled and she beamed. “Oh, Silent Knight needs a favor?”
I shook my head. “First Sergeant.”
“Drat. Well, what can I do for you, First Sergeant?”
“The princess has dispatched me on something only I can do. Can you look after my ponies until the captain gets in?”
Sunny’s head tilted but her cheery expression didn’t change. “Dispatched? On what?”
“Classified.”
The mare pouted and then sighed. “Fine, I’ll take care of your ponies…” She then put playful emphasis in her tone. “First Sergeant. But! Silent Knight will owe me lunch.”
Extortion. Never trust the ponies that prance. “Agreed.”
“Have a safe trip then!”
☾
Flying at night with Princess Luna’s vision enchantment spell was both amazing and strange. When she had said I’d be able to see in the dark she was correct, but everything at a distance was washed out colorwise. There were just shades of grey and brown until I got closer.
Despite that fact, finding the mountain the princess was talking about was not difficult. The range in general was not overly large but one particular peak truly did reach into the clouds. When I breached the cover, it was probably around midnight and my body needed a rest.
For a pegasus, I didn’t spend much time in the clouds… or even flying, for that matter. I did it just enough to stay in shape, so it was a pleasant treat to fly above and nap on a fluffy cloud.
I used my rest period to scan the peak and try to spot the cave. At first it seemed like a fool’s errand, since I could hardly distinguish between grey mountain, greyscale vision, and shadows. Over time, my eyes adjusted and the subtle differences became more obvious.
The moon broke through the cloud cover and illuminated the peak. In the pale light, it became all too clear where I was going. The opening itself was large. Large enough for a pony to pull two wagons through side by side. Without a moment’s hesitation, I dove off the cloud and flapped hard for the cave.
Curiosity had taken hold of my soul and I pondered what was going to be found. The distance grew shorter and shorter. This was no ordinary cave; it was a grand entrance. Out before the arch was a landing platform wide enough for multiple wagons.
My hooves clattered on the stone as I landed. It only took a moment of inspecting the platform to realize it was not naturally occurring. The rocky surface had the tell-tale signs of tool work. This had been done by ponies... or some other species. There were no other hints of life and that meant it was time to delve into the entrance of the cave.
The opening was even larger than I had estimated. In fact, I’d guess it was the same size as Canterlot’s main gate. It was smoothly hewn and similarly artificial. Just before I crossed the threshold, the wind blew across me and under my helmet, tickling the tufts of my ears. It was a pointed reminder that I took. My helmet would remain outside while I went in.
Thank Luna for the vision spell. Without it, there would be little chance of success in navigating the cave, since the moon’s light barely reached a few meters inside. I wasn’t that far in before the floor shifted to a downwards grade and started to spiral inwards. The path was leading me deeper into the mountain.
The hair of my coat started to stand on end the further I walked. Even though I could see in the dark, there was nothing but shadow behind me and even darker shadow in front. My vision wasn’t the only sense that was limited, either. There was no sound other than my hooves on the stone. The place felt like a tomb and I quickly realized why.
In front of me, that tunnel opened up into a massive catacomb. It extended out further than even my magically enhanced vision could process. I had just wandered into a village not unlike Ponyville buried deep inside a mountain.
Silence. Nothing but still silence. I was surrounded by empty streets, vacant buildings, and gloom. The wooden doors and windows to the stone buildings had long since rotted out. Many roofs had collapsed as the support beams gave way to time. In some cases, whole walls had collapsed.
My pulse started to pick up and I reached under my armor. The feel of the hilt of my sword was comforting and I drew it. It rang like a bell as I did so and the sound of metal on metal echoed throughout the chamber. Softly, I cursed my foolishness and held my breath. Anything there, dead or alive, would have heard that. Into my battle stance I went, my ears twitching here and there to listen for any sound. There was nothing. Nothing at all.
Fear is good. Fear keeps a pony alive. I crept as quietly as I could into the nearest building. It had been someone’s home. Most of the furniture was still in place, rotting but waiting for the return of its owner. There were no personal effects, however. No pictures, no clothing, no spoiled food. Nothing. Someone had packed before leaving… just not the large items.
A search of several other buildings confirmed my hypothesis. Big items had been left but dressers were empty, cupboards were bare, and there was not a hint of recent occupancy. Whoever lived here had not left in a hurry. It was almost as if the beings that had dwelled here had simply ceased to be. It was unnatural. Either that, or scavengers had stripped this place bare over the centuries.
Slowly, I pushed from the village exterior towards the center. There were shops and stalls to explore on the way. They were all equally abandoned. Neatly, of course. The denizens of this village were consistent if nothing else. That was something I was thankful for. I had expected to find the place littered with bones.
After clearing one more store, my eyes were drawn to the largest building in the village. It was a small keep that rose in the center above all the other structures and I had been avoiding it. I’m not too proud to admit I was frightened. The whole structure had a dark and foreboding feeling to it.
Its spires were tall and sharp, with horrific stone creatures emblazoned on the various roof peaks. They were batlike and had yellow eyes that stared down into the city. At first I thought they were real, but a closer inspection made it clear they were little more than stone. What sort creature would decorate with something so frightful?
The double front door was still intact but the left side of the pair was wide open. An inviting trap. It gave me pause. Once again, I froze to listen. Any noise would give away an ambusher. A breath or a whisper… the shift of a weapon. Anything. Please.
im so excited for part 2!
5588099 This is a special week so it will be this Friday! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Extortion. Never trust the ponies that prance. “Agreed.”
very good line
In which Silent Knight is hit on (again) and completely misses it (again). Is he ever going to understand these things?
What? What do you mean there was stuff after that? Super spooky mystery village? That sounds silly and like it has nothing to do with shipping Silent with anyone and everyone, you probably imagined it.
Now things got interesting (which they were before, but nowhere near like this).
Batlike creatures?
Cargoyles? Bat Ponies? Cave Demons? small malnourished dragons wearing wigs/fur?
I'm going to guess cargoyles, for now.
I I'm guessing Bat Pony's? To recruit to her guard? I mean this is a story about the lunar guard and so far there aren't any bat ponies...
Luna's own pony village. Nice. But I think the decendants of those ponies are alive but somewhere else...
It would be cool for SK to discover that his family orginates from that place.
Sudently! Jer
seyhay assasin pony attack!!!But **** that - I want to know who will be SK's new boss/student.
Huh, ive got money on them being petrified and that little spell being a massive undo. Likely the same reason why the helmet was a no go, with the wards.
Well, the housing is standard Equestrian architecture, but the keep... Not in any modern Equestrian architecture, and if it wasn't built by ponies, then my next guess would be griffons, but they don't live underground... Diamond dogs don't really have architecture as such, it's just tunnels and caves, unless they used to build in olden times. And the thing about yellow eyes...
Ooh, the plot thickens!
Hmmmm..... There's a part of me that wants to say this was Luna/Nightmare Moon's castle before her banishment. I'm curious to see what happened to all of her followers and why she didn't want SK to have his helmet on in there.
Also, I still haven't figured out which one of the three (Iridescence, Crystal, or Velvet) Winterspear spent the night with the last time they had to be walked home from Luna's place. I'm still rooting for Silent x Crystal, but this is MLP, so she's probably a lesbian...
I'm guessing Luna is waiting for the return of her batponies. That's my version and I'm sticking to it. Same with Silent Knight's promotion. If the author fails to render my vision of the fic, I shall keep on reading, promptly ignore the read words and imagine it all went according to plan.
Do carry on.
5588120 Sunny Day is one of my favorites =D That was a fun line to write.
5588160 Priorities ;D
5588238 I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Welcome!
5588304 Haha ;) Well nobody would write Luna fan fiction!
5588307 5588332 Time will tell!
5588336 That will be revealed soon.
5588399 Cockatrices everywhere!
5588439 Yellow eyes!
5588700 I laughed at this honestly ^_^ I mean if we go by the show, ponies are like... 80% female. Statistically speaking they're lesbians or polygamists!
5588703 He is an important pony now!
Also, in case any of you missed it, we made some cute rank symbols for pony enlisted ranks. Officer ranks to follow shortly.
5588736 She's going to land herself a nice catch, isn't she?
I hope he remembers to remove his helmet before entering the cave proper, Luna did instruct to do so.
5588736
It's possible. Enough fanfic authors certainly seem to think that's the case. But Silent doesn't seem like the type to go for a herd. He can barely understand one woman, much less two or three of them. Though I must admit that seeing his reaction to two mares together would be priceless.
You are afraid, Silent Knight. You are right to fear this strange place you have found yourself in.
There are things in the dark; things that are perhaps best forgotten and left undisturbed by little ponies.
5588736
Wouldn't the Lunar Guard have a Crescent Moon rather than a sun?
5588700
Maybe somepony else entirely? Was Miley on shift that night?
5588944 It is a newly established unit so I'm going to say not yet (we made those too ;))
5588736 Not quite that, but more so, her sisters little insurance measure on keeping down folks from getting uppity in causing trouble with luna gone for that little span of time.
Thus we say farewell to Silent Knight. He served faithfully, but in the end was swallowed hole by denizens of the dark places. Or something like that. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
5588944
Well, if we're going that route then it could theoretically be almost any mare in Canterlot.
Iridescence and Winterspear walked the other two home that night and then Winterspear never came back until the following morning. Usually that would mean that she stayed with one of those three (or more than one, if that's what they're into). That, and I really want to see Winterspear deal with Iridescence's sisters.
Was that a Star Trek reference and is this where that AU tag comes in?
5588439 I personally think that that keep belonged to Luna.
5588735 But the episode with Nightmare Moon Celebration stated that Luna's batponies are normal ponies with ilusions on. So technicly batponies don't exist here.
5588700 I'm counting on IridXWinterspear, CrystalXLuna and SilentXVelvet. It would have the biggest amount of cureness, hilariousness and sexyness.
5590362
Technically, we know they are illusioned pegasi. Where did the idea come from anyway? Maybe its a myth, or, I don't know, a race of pony that existed thousands of years ago and wasn't heard from ever since?
Besides, can't you let a man dream?
5590372 I don't think Silent wants to do that scince he seems in my opinion to stick to only 3 pony tribes scince only they are in hearth warming's eve story.
I can. Write another fic where they are present, so do not be sad and work.
5590370
Silent with Velvet, you say? Interesting. Silent hasn't paid her as much attention as he has Crystal, so I can't really bet on that pairing myself, but hey, if it does happen you can say that you called it now, lol.
5590382 I think she is scretly in love with him and stalking. I got that feeling from her conversations with SK - she gives an impression of knowing him at each -even the first- talk.
5590403
Maybe. I don't really remember them having much interaction though. But if she is stalking him, then I definitely oppose their relationship. Stalkers are bad news.
5590420 It can end well if she hides it long enought.
5590424
Speaking as a married man, lies are never the basis for a good relationship.
5590426 Forgiveness is. Is a good excuse for a first date. (Velvet pays)
Any bat ponys soon?
Wow, that was a lot of comments overnight.
5589929 The AU tag comes from the fact that this is an AU story per the only definition I found: AU is just for what if situations where a major decision in the show is taken in a different direction such as Chrysalis succeeding or Twilight never coming to Ponyville. I may not have made major decisions that differ from the show yet, (unless we consider the fact that Cadence is not an alicorn major), but I will be doing so. It seemed silly to me to only add the tag after that happens. Plus, in my own definition, AU absolves me from the small details of canon and fanon.
5590345 Maybe a little ;D Thank you for reading!
5589182 Just a tiny bit!
5590723 I humbly request more words.
By that I mean I'll plot to give the antagonists spoilers of questionable accuracy if you don't make more words.
5591163 More words tomorrow for sure! Also LOL ;) Thanks. Thus far it hasn't been an issue but I've seen some stories where the comments get bogged WAY down into the "true" version of A or B.
Hello again. First I bow down to you as master of fourth wall breaking. Save for Deadpool he's in a league all his own. I just wanted to say I love your story there is good pacing and realistic character development. Their reaction to Discord's attack was hilarious. Sleep through it lolz. Anyway I started your story at 12:30 AM central US time and read the entire thing in one sitting. You kept me up until 6:30 in the morning. That's how good your story is.
5590723 Equestria and MLP is fun like that b/c it introduces fanfic authors to an entire world with a very vague history aside from a few events here and there which allows for the imagination to run wild and all types of stories are produced from such imagination.
5593757 Not only you. Evry chapter steals from me 30 mins to read and 3 hours to think thought and consider what will be most likely to happen next. And I never guessed right.
(Set "Tonight is the night and we're gonna lose it" song tune)
Today is the update and we're gonna read it!
5590426 Also they aren't lies but secrets.
5594395
They become one and the same if you hold onto them long enough.
5594418
5594418 They sure can but let's return to the main topic: Silent would propably discover it early on and make nothing of it.
5594418
5594525
Wow... I suppose I'm flattered that you wanted my attention badly enough to link me three times.
And I don't think he would ignore a stalker. He's too invested in following the rules for that. Not to mention what Winterspear, Iridescence, or Luna herself would have to say on the topic once it came to light. And that's assuming that Velvet is, in fact, stalking Silent Knight, which I highly doubt.
5594634 It's an error.
I think he would just investigated it and eventually shrug it off as harmless.
5593757 I'm sorry I kept you up all night but I'm extremely glad you're enjoying the series!
5594634 5594674 For the sake of clarity: Velvet may or may not be interested. I won't spoil that. With that said she isn't a stalker!
5594707 Don't be it was time well spent.
5594707 5594674 5594634
Or is she?!
i.imgur.com/IxFCaHe.png
She's not.
5594707 Pitty. Looked like a good theory. Or you're mad cuz I could be right!