37. Agent of the Night
“How has nopony ever noticed this?”
The stone circle was not exactly subtle. By my estimate it was ten meters across with ancient runes ringing the outside perimeter. They were unintelligible to me. The center itself contained a smaller circle with a crescent moon emblazoned on it. All in all, not something I’d think an explorer would miss.
Yet the stone itself looked very similar to the mountain face in color and I had known what I was looking for, unlike a wandering pony. It could have also been the fact that all of the surrounding plants were in bloom, keeping it obscured from casual sight. During late spring most of Equestria is particularly lush.
It was more likely the fact that it seemed impossibly heavy and was perfectly flush into the cliff had run explorers off. My wings flapped and lifted me up to the small circle so that I could place the pendant against it.
There was a rumbling from behind the stone. Dust and small rocks began to fall from above so I thought it prudent to back off. Slowly, the circle drew inward about half a meter before rolling off to the side and revealing a gaping entryway. There was no light on the other side, just a long dark tunnel. It took a moment to push the memories of my last trip into the darkness away before I trotted through the opening.
This particular gloomy interior was different than the first. Instead of an endless dark tunnel leading down into a mountain, this one led up. It didn’t take long before shadows engulfed the way in front of and behind me. Even my magically enhanced vision couldn’t see around the spiraling walls.
Darkness is unsettling, even for an adult. On top of that, enclosed spaces aren’t my favorite. They remove the advantage of my wings. This cavern was not as large as the first which limited me even more. That wasn’t going to stop me, however. In fact, nothing could. Princess Luna felt this was important so I was going to see it to the end regardless of how unsettling the location was.
My pace was slow. I hadn’t found any ponies in the first village, but I wasn’t going to assume anything. It was unlikely I’d find anypony, but if I did, they might not be expecting visitors. Slow and steady movements allowed me time to listen. Unfortunately, there was nothing to hear other than my own breath and hoofsteps.
A light breeze brushed across my bare ears, teasing the little tufts at the top. That froze me in place. There had been no movement of air before. Listening carefully yielded no results, nor did looking around. The breeze had stopped so I pressed on.
In the dark, I crossed some form of threshold and instinctively felt the cavern expand before me. It wasn’t nearly as big as the one I had delved into prior, but it was large even for the interior of a mountain. Ahead, I could make out a small group of buildings and started toward them.
Drawing close, it became clear that the architecture was identical to what I’d seen before. Stone buildings, still in decent repair, but with the wooden parts starting to show their age. The doors were little more than sagging curtains that would have hardly kept anypony out.
Carefully, I crept around the nearest block of homes. Poking around inside of the first few proved to be fruitless. Everything small had been removed. There was still some furniture intact but time was taking its toll. It was too similar to be a coincidence. These ponies had simply left as well.
As I stepped back out onto the street, the hair of my coat stood on end. There was something else in the darkness. Perhaps even somepony else. It wasn’t so much that I saw or heard anything. It was just a feeling. Keeping my flank to a wall, I slowly made my way towards the village center.
To my relief, there was no ominous keep. Thank Luna for that. Instead, had it not been buried deep inside a mountain, I would say that it was a quaint plaza. In the center was a large marble fountain that featured a likeness of the alicorn now known to me as Nocturna. Numerous stone benches were scattered around the area, offering a quiet place to rest and watch whatever water that might have flowed in ages past.
Once more I felt the sudden movement of air through my coat and I dropped into my combat stance. It was the feeling you get when another pegasus swoops near: brief but fleeting. My eyes darted about in the darkness but there was nothing to be found. I was exposed in the plaza and an easy target for anything lurking in the darkness.
It was time for action. I wouldn’t be caught unaware by ancient magic a second time. With a heavy flap of my wings, I took to the air and set course for a three-story building that was nearby. My sudden motion seemed to yield results. The air moved once again, but this time clumsily. Whatever was in the gloom had been surprised by my movement. That was to my advantage.
Just below me I heard a soft thump—the sound of something falling to the rock floor and echoing off of the empty buildings. In an instant, I jerked left and swooped back down. It might have been a trick from a would-be attacker, but it may have also been a clue. The risk seemed worth the potential reward.
My hooves touched down near where I’d heard the sound originate. Quickly, I scanned the area and saw that on the ground, near one of the benches, was a small book. Where it had landed, the dust had been disturbed and there wasn’t a hint of any on the cover. I was certain somepony was here and that they had dropped it.
“Hello?” I called.
Silence.
“I am not here to fight. I’m looking for ponies.”
Even more silence once the echo of my voice ceased. Carefully, I scooped up the book and pocketed it. Princess Luna would know what to do with it. Keeping my eyes turned skywards, I beat a hasty retreat to the nearest building side.
There was no movement of air for the entire journey. Somepony had been here with me for certain, but it seemed that they weren't looking for a fight. Either that or they'd missed their opportunity. In any event, they really seemed like they didn’t want to be found. So much so that in their haste they had left me a book. It was time to see if there was anything else worth finding.
As carefully as I could, I investigated several of the larger buildings near the plaza. They were all in the same shape as the rest. Emptied, abandoned, and slowly decaying. There had been no further sign of my companion in the dark. Were it not for the book, I may have questioned whether or not I was imagining her or him.
I settled my rump into the corner of one small building to limit viable avenues of attack. I’d also effectively trapped myself, but it was a risk worth taking. It was time to take a look at my prize. The book itself was relatively soft and bound in what I’d guess was silk. The cover was a rich purple but otherwise blank.
With careful hooves, I flipped the cover open to investigate. It struck me immediately that the pages were hoofwritten, not pressed. The characters were foreign, however, like ancient unicorn or some other old script. They certainly didn’t make any sense to me so back into the saddlebag the book went.
Drawing upon as much of Iridescence’s stealth as I could, my search took me through a few more of the nearby buildings. Unfortunately, that proved fruitless which meant it was time to leave and report back to the princess. Double-quick trotting seemed to make the most sense to clear the cavern and get back into the relative cover of the tunnel out.
It didn’t take near as long to exit as it had to enter simply because I wasn’t being as cautious. Getting out was the priority and facing would-be ambushers outside the mountain seemed preferable. The scent of fresh air ahead tickled my nostrils and I broke into a gallop. Nothing got in my way as I sailed across the threshold and back out into the night.
Behind me, the mountain rumbled once more and the large round door rolled into place to seal the village away. The fact that it happened without my interaction was odd, but I never really understood magic. With a mighty shake, I knocked all of the dust off my coat before leaping into the air and heading back to Canterlot.
☾
"Thou art certain that somepony were there?"
“Yes, Princess. There is no way that book had been there as long as the village. I believe it was dropped by mistake. Possibly out of surprise.”
“And the village was as the other? Abandoned?”
“Identical, minus the keep with the frightening statues. In its absence was a wonderful plaza with a fountain. It was much preferable.”
Princess Luna softly chuckled. “The statues of which thou speakest are called gargoyles. In ancient times, it was believed they could ward off evil spirits.”
That gave me cause to snort. “Evil spirits, ponies, foals, and anything else with half a brain.”
Princess Luna gave me a curious look and then tapped the book. “I must review this. There is a benefit to having been trapped in the moon so long. These symbols still yet hold meaning for me. My deepest thanks for another mission successfully completed. My heart sings at the thought that thou mayest have found ponies.”
“I know it isn’t my place to ask, Princess, but who are these ponies I’m looking for? Isn’t it likely that they’d just have moved out into the other cities of Equestria?”
She shook her head. “No, they were unlike most ponies and preferred their seclusion. I fear for what may have become of them without a voice.”
“A voice?”
“In time, Silent Knight… in time. Now, it is far too late for thee to be up. Go and sleep. We will speak of this again.”
More secrets. I bowed and replied, “Yes, Princess. Until then.”
☾
“Silent Knight?”
Immediately, I rose to attention. It was Shining Armor in my doorway. “Sir!”
He waved a hoof. “At ease.” The captain came in and shut the door. “I understand that sometime back you had a little intruder drill with your staff.”
I didn’t like where this was going. “Impromptu, sir.”
Slowly, he nodded and then pressed on, “And last night you flew off into the west. Mostly out of uniform.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is there something I should know about?” he asked.
Lying to the captain was the lowest thing I could imagine doing, even for Princess Luna. Thus far, my missions had occurred during my off-duty time. If I hadn’t had a tussle with my own guards it wouldn’t be anypony’s business. “It is not Guard related, sir.”
He snorted. “I gathered that by the fact that you went without a helmet. Still, the question stands: should I know about it?”
Honor my promise to the princess or honor my oath. They weren’t necessarily at odds. “On the request of the princess, I did an errand. As a friend, not as a royal guard. I chose to wear my armor but I did not act in an official capacity in front of any ponies.”
The captain’s brow went up. “I see. Can you elaborate on the request?”
“I apologize, sir, but I cannot. My word was given and it was of a personal nature to the princess. Please don’t take that as an unwillingness to speak to you or any suggestion of duplicity. You are, of course, at liberty to ask her about the errand in question.”
His expression softened some. “I know how serious you take your oaths, Sergeant. Were I to ask her, would I get an answer?”
“Hard to say for certain, sir, but I imagine no. As stated, it is of a personal nature and, to the best of my knowledge, I am the only pony to which she has spoken about this.”
He nodded. “Should it become a Royal Guard or security issue, what are your intentions?”
“Should that happen, I will refuse any further errands without proper authorization from command. If I believe it necessary, I'll report on it immediately. I give you my word on that.”
“There are few stronger bonds than that. I don’t like the secrecy but the princess is entitled to her privacy. Carry on, Sergeant.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Oh, one more thing. Cadence said you didn’t have any plans for Hearts and Hooves Day.”
“No plans of the nature she suggested, sir, no. She did try to fix me up with Princess Luna. In fact, she did get her wish there, since I’ll be covering for Iridescence and Miley Hooves.”
The captain chuckled. “My wife has her eccentricities. Still, I’m sorry to hear that. You know, my little sister is single. I’m pretty protective of her but you’re the honest sort of stallion I hope she likes. You’re actually a lot alike. If you want, I could send her a letter. Perhaps set up a date?”
Being married to a unicorn that specialized in love magic must have been rubbing off on the captain. “Sir, with all due respect, dating your little sister terrifies me more than facing off against a company of gryphons.”
Shining Armor laughed and waved a hoof. “I just thought I’d offer. She could use a grounded stallion like you and the word around the palace is that you only have eyes for unicorns.”
My entire face felt hot and flush under my helmet. There was a good chance my white coat was now red. This was not a conversation I had ever wanted to have. “Captain, I am at a loss for words. Although that gryphon company sounds appealing at this particular moment.”
The older stallion laughed all the more. “At ease, Sergeant. I’m just giving you a hard time. Don’t forget about being well rounded. Have a good day.” He pulled the door open and headed out.
Doomed. The captain was trying to fix me up now? And since when did the palace have words to get around?
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SilentTwilight, their ship just started sailing
Anyway,
LovelyGreatInteresting... You know what, Great will do just fine.Great chapter, can not wait for more
In the paragraph before Silent talks for the first time is a mistake.
Oh you poor sap.
*puts on admiral's hat*
TwiNight roundstable.com/forums/images/smilies/mlp_smirk.png
media.tumblr.com/de3e5a07799ad6b8816a6d8c5481a836/tumblr_inline_ngt5eaps1h1s692e5.gif
I'm running out of wood to build all these ships. For God's sake man let one of them sail! SilentLight forever!
Great chapter! Still sticking to my children of the night theory. One thing I did notice, though; you said cadence was a unicorn by accident near the end.
5662425 In this particular story Cadence is actually a unicorn. There is a reason for that too ^_^
5662359 Haha :D Good ponies have to wait for true love!
5662339 5662314
5662309 Fixed, thanks!
5662300 Thank you kindly!
5658610 Thank you thank you ^_^
I have my ship crewed up, although I ade sure to leave space for when all those other ones sink.
And they will sink.
Hmmm....particularly during Silent's mission, the writing felt really choppy, not nearly as smooth as your usual work. It was fine by the time he was talking to Luna, but I don't remember even a single complex sentence in the whole time he was exploring the cave.
Now for speculations on the chapter.
Shining is poking his nose where it doesn't belong, and that bothers me. What Silent does on his time off is quite literally none of his business as long as it's not illegal. The fact that he felt it necessary to ask about it at all worries me, because I think Shining is smart enough to realise that, which means he suspects something untoward might be happening. I want to know why. That, and I hope Silent makes the right choice if his loyalty to Luna or the the chain of command is tested...
As for the village itself, my earlier speculations still stand. I think it was an ancient village, one that existed before Luna's ascension and was later abandoned after her banishment.
My question now is about the ponies that once lived there. The implication from Luna is pretty obvious: she's looking for bat pones. Or at least, that's the implication you want us to believe. I have my doubts, however. During the Nightmare Night chapter, the two guards that went with her were dressed as bat pones and the princess had no strong reaction to it. Given how she reacted to Silent's first trip to a cave--the fact that she was expecting a mountain of corpses instead of an abandoned city--lead me to believe that she would have had a much stronger reaction had her current guards dressed as ponies that used to be so close to her.
Though she was offscreen a lot during that chapter, so she might have just been keeping it to herself.
toot toot
there goes the ESS Twinight all aboard
*puts on captain's hat*
lets do this
good story again btw
5662553
I think Shining is just worried about the fight with the other guards, like if SK was getting for revenge offduty.
5662726
The fight Shining was talking about was when Silent came in after his last outing and was attacked by his own subordinates because they thought he was an intruder. Why would Silent want to get revenge on his own guards for anything?
Not only that, if Shining thought Silent was the type to "get revenge" on anyone in that manner he wouldn't have promoted Silent to first sergeant and left him in charge of Princess Luna's guard so often.
RRMMRRRGGRRD!! This adventure that SK is going on is getting better and better! Now we have a mysterious individual stalking SK. Hopefully that individual isn't trapped in that cavern. It wouldn't surprise me as to who that individual is.
I now want to see an interaction between Twilight and Silent just for the chance to see how they play off each other.
That was awesome. I loved how Cadence already tried to set Silent up with Luna. Their goes my guess with Romance then. I guess if Silent does get a second romance we will see it later. I do wonder who was the other pony that silent detected. I'm guessing a bat pony. And this may have the children of the night theme to it, but it doesn't add up with this new alicorn. I guess we will see eventually. Thanks for the update.
Seems to me that there are more typos than usual in this one...
I belive Shining Armor trying to set up Knight with his sister was a test, there for by turning it down he saved himself alot of trouble. And im loving the suspense these little missions to hidden cities are building into the story. Luna is being a sneaksbe. Personally im still with the shipping of Crystal x Knight but thats just me.
I feel Luna x Knight...Might just be me, but I am pretty sure I can call it when I see it...or it's my Luna fanboyism.
5662441
i will anxiously await the next installment.
Awesome chapter, and the nature of Silent's errands are bearing fruit, a chance encounter perhaps. Also Shining Armor trying to set up Silent Knight with his sister. Loved Silent's reaction to that. Can't wait till Thursday. Any spoilers to drop?
5662864 Ooh ooh I second that motion.
I agree Silent and Twilight need to meet, if only because it would be fun. I'm curious as to where you're going, and what Silent will do when something happens to force his hand with regards to telling Shining, or Celestia, about Luna's errands. Especially if Celly asks him directly.
Why do I get this feeling these ponies Luna is looking for are real bat ponies...
Hey! Make thestral out of him.
5663840
How could they be anything different?
"I scooped up the book and pocketed it."
lol pony pockets
i adore this story keep it up! :D
SilentSparkle... Sounds so wrong, yet feels so right.
So... Nightmare ponies. Possibly thestrals. Why u do disss? Make Silent one of them in due time.
This sentence reads... very weirdly to me. Like, super weirdly. It's not that I don't (for the most part) understand it, just... it's awkward. I'm not making a bit of sense, am I? I just don't like this sentence and suspect it of villainy. It's the reason all the bat pones are missing, I'll bet. And now I'm making even less sense I'm going to post and go to sleep then.
*pokes Shining Armor with a stick* Oy. Feck off mate. Who do you think ya are, sellin off someone's waifu like that? *poke poke POKE*
Besides, Silent needs to get married with a batpony. Preferably the one who dropped the diary, after subduing Silent in a ritual show of female dominance.
Another fun chapter! Keep it up!
Bahahaha! Loved this chapter. Poor guy... everypony's playing match maker...
poor stallion
TwiLent... where is this even going? ha ha, it's brilliant!
i sense a na na na na na na na na BATPONY coming up.... just me?
I can not get the idea out of my head.
Shining let it slip to his wife what offer he made to Silent,
thinks it is a good match and now deceids to take matter
into her own whoves.
Stallions be scared.
Writing from a phone sucks...
5666869 Lady Cadence can be a dangerous creature!
5666803 For the purpose of this story (and it is an important purpose) she is a unicorn and always has been. More on that will be revealed in the future. ^_^
5666449 You folks have come up with some really clever Twilight x Silent Knight short hands ;D
5666387
5666190 They are indeed! Between the ponies in the story and the ponies in the comments he is all set!
That was fun. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
So, with another visit to a strange colony, the mystery becomes even more mysterious. And with the mysterious stranger in the settlement, things get interesting. Chances are, the book will be crucial in finding out what happened to the inhabitants. I'll go with the popular choice and say that Knight is looking for Thestrals, or Bat-ponies (don't know how you're going to call them).
On a side note, you know it's actually very funny that every single time the hero accidentally finds a book or a document of some sort, it turns out to be something incredibly important. It would be amusing to find out that Knight brought back what is essentially an ancient cook book, or a story book for kids.
And it looks like another ship has set sail, you seem to love doing this. So many potential couples in a story where romance is hardly the central point. While I think Twilight and Knight could work out as a couple, more or less, I don't think that would happen. Though it would be nice if a certain pegasus stallion, whom the fandom hates with unreasonable passion, would show up...
I actually rather liked that conversation between Shining and Silent. Regardless of his intentions in asking, it let's Shining know that Luna is up to something that Silent is helping with, and if it becomes a security issue he'll put on the brakes and escalate it up the chain of command. It also gives Silent some potential cover for future missions now that Shining knows a bit of what is going on.
TwiNight is amusing in coming from Shining, but I don't really see it going anywhere.
5664776 Yes! Yes yes~! Although I have to wonder if he has a bit of bat pony blood himself, with those tufts on his ears.. They were only mentioned on him, after all. Maybe that's why he's uniquely suited to this, and why he ended up with the moon on his cutie mark.
Mmm, bat ponies.
Also, he can totally do better than Twilight. She's too neurotic and clueless in romance, I can't see them ever getting off the ground.
Raaargh, so many ships!
While it may be hard to believe. There are really people in the military that start out like the Protagonist.
I enjoyed the story.
If there's one ship that could maybe rival Silent X Iridesence, it's Silent X Twilight. And probably a few others in the future.
TwilightKnight....I like it. Not as much and LunarKnight but I like it. I'll have the dock workers begin begin a frame for the ship.
HA! Priceless
After the last few lines of this chapter........If I could stop laughing long enough....If I could give more than one "Thumbs Up"....It would have been filled to capacity!
6220166 I really appreciate you saying so! I enjoy Silent Knight's sense of humor and try to to stick with it. He is pretty dry usually! Thank you for the praise and I'm glad to have you reading and commenting.
It scares you now. Wait till you meet her.
5662300 SilentTwilight? More like KnightLight
6544574 your amazing
“Should that happen I will refuse any further errands without proper authorization from command. I give you my word on that.”
“There are few stronger bonds than that. I don’t like the secrecy but the princess is entitled to her privacy. Carry on, sergeant.”
One bond stronger (and possibly the strongest) is a Pinkie Promise.
Seeing as the wooden fixtures are described as not completely rotted away, rather rotting, I expect SK to eventually catch up to a perfectly intact city.