The Golden Armor Part II: Lost chapters

by Comet Burst

Take The Long Way Home

The sea of Royal Guards stood uncomfortably in the setting sun. Half of the crowd was made up of both white and gray ponies outfitted in golden pieces of armor. They all stood cloistered together, glancing nervously to the other group. The other half was a mass of dark gray with purple armor who muttered unhappily. There was a bit of tension in the air as the bat ponies cast mean glances to the pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies.

Above them was a simple stone balcony decorated with a railing of corinthneighan columns. The balcony led to an open window on the side of the spire it was attached to. A pink curtain, emblazoned with Princess Celestia's cutie mark, was drawn over it, concealing the meeting that was going on inside. Within the room were two alicorns, one white and one blue, along with the Captain of the Guard and the leader of Princess Celestia's personal guard corp. The two stallions remained silent as the alicorns discussed matters among themselves, particularly those of what had transpired earlier that day.

"What did that impertinent mongrel say?" Princess Luna asked bitterly, sending a chill up Comet's spine.

She was awake much earlier than normal, which would make anypony cranky, but had also learned from a member of her personal guard that the mare she had trusted to protect her had been removed at the request of the gryphon king. Needless to say, she was much more than cranky at this point.

"Sister, there is no need for those words," the white alicorn spoke, "I have resolved the issue."

"POORLY, I MIGHT ADD!" Luna shouted back in her Royal Canterlot voice.

Both Comet and Shining Armor winced a bit at her tone. The stone walls seemed to amplify her voice much more than it should.

"Dearest Luna, I did what had to be done," Celestia stated quickly.

"THEN ENLIGHTEN US AS TO WHY IT WAS MY OWN GUARD WHO WAS PUNISHED MOST SEVERELY FOR THIS MEAGER OFFENSE!"

Princess Celestia closed her eyes at that and took a deep breath. Luna would most definitely not like the answer she was about to receive.

"Sister, she had violated rules for a pony in--"

"WHAT RULE IS THIS, IF WE MAY INQUIRE?!"

"She summoned a large group of her own--"

"AND WHY IS IT THAT GATHERING HER TROOPS TOGETHER AN OFFENSE PUNISHABLE BY DISCHARGE?"

As Luna finished speaking, a small cheer echoed in through the window. Both Celestia and Luna turned to the noise before Celestia's horn glowed. A veil of blueish magic covered the window and the solar princess returned her gaze to her sister.

"WHY DID THOU BLOCK MY SUBJECTS FROM HEARING THIS MANNER? THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHY THEY WERE PUNISHED WHILE YOUR GUARD GOT AWAY WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A REPRIMAND!" Luna shouted to her sister while rising to her hooves.

Celestia's face hardened a bit, but before she could speak, Luna swept a hoof over and pointed directly at Comet and Shining Armor.

"THESE TWO, YOUR CAPTAIN AND HIS LACKEY, HAVE BOTH BEEN PARTY TO ATTACKS ON US, DEAR SISTER! WHY WERE THEY GIVEN PARDON FOR TREASON WHILE MY GUARD WAS--"

"ENOUGH, LUNA!" Celestia shouted over her, causing the walls of the castle to shake slightly.

The blue alicorn's mouth froze as she stared at her older sister while both Comet and Shining Armor winced loudly and rubbed their ears. Luna was quite loud, but Celestia could easily outshout her if she desired. The Solar Princess took three deep breaths slowly, trying to calm herself down before she straightened up and looked down at her younger sibling.

"Luna," she began in a more civilized tone, "It was not the gryphon king who removed your guard. It was me."

The blue alicorn's eyes narrowed at her and she put her hoof down.

"Tell us why you betrayed the trust of my guards then," she almost hissed to her.

"It was because of a law I put in place over a thousand years ago," Celestia stated without any hint of fear, "When you fought against me as Nightmare Moon, you turned your half of the guards against mine. While we fought our duel, my dear ponies were subjected to fight their own kin, the ones who they had trusted just weeks earlier to aid them in our fight against Discord and Sombra. They were shaken at the end of our conflict and I ordered that no pony, not one save the Captain of the Guard and ourselves, be allowed to summon a force of considerable strength."

Luna narrowed her eyes some more, but planted her royal rump on her midnight blue pillow, clearly unsatisfied.

"So why did thou not repeal the law when the times of strife subsided?" she asked harshly.

Celestia shook her head before responding.

"I could not take that risk, sister. When the struggles to establish Equestria had ended, you were still Nightmare Moon and I knew how devoted your guards were to you. They would answer your call, whether you be my sister, Princess Luna, or the madmare you became. I could not ask it of my guard to harm yours again, so I kept the law in place."

Luna scowled at the floor after hearing that.

"But why did thou not remove it after we were freed from the bonds of madness?" she queried, "Why does thou think of me and my kin as enemies still?"

"Luna, listen to yourself!" Celestia almost shouted to her, completely taken aback by what she had said, "Would it be any different if our places were switched? If you had to endure stopping me while I was in a state of insanity, would you be trusting of my guards who would have turned on yours? I do not consider you or those devoted to you as enemies! After you were banished, I pardoned all the guards who had taken up arms against me and my kin and welcomed them and eventually you back with open hooves and wings."

Luna ground her teeth together as she heard that. It didn't seem fair to her that her guard was punished, but she couldn't argue Celestia's logic. Surely, she would have acted in a similar fashion should their roles had been reversed.

"Still," Luna continued, "If thou knew of how we are not enemies, why was our guard not reinstated? She did only what was proper to keeping the peace."

"Luna, you know I can't ignore rules meant for Equestria's safety," Celestia stated.

Luna grumbled incoherently for a bit as Celestia watched her. A little ways back, both Shining Armor and Comet stood resolutely still, keeping silent. Comet was both thrilled and terrified by what had just happened. It was not every day he got to hear the princess talk about his secret new fiancee, but the argument they had was much more scary than any changeling or gryphon he had ever met.

"So, do you understand my actions and why your guard had to be removed?" Celestia asked calmly to her still aggravated sister.

Luna heaved a sigh, but looked up to her and replied, "We do understand and we will not go against your word, but this matter is still unresolved. I trust we shall have words about just how extreme this punishment was?"

Celestia smiled to her younger sister and said, "Of course, my sister."

With the two alicorns in agreement, Comet saw the blue magic surrounding the window disappear and the Solar Princess trotted towards it, her sister joining her. Now that they had resolved the issue among themselves, it was time to make sure their loyal guards understood as well.

---

The train rattled along slightly as Angel watched the world fly by. She had a very conflicting series of emotions as she watched the city of Canterlot disappear slowly into the distance. The gleaming castle still shone brightly in the sun, causing Angel to choke up a bit. That place had been her home for the last couple years, a special place in her life. While she was indeed heading back to her hometown, she felt more of a connection to the wonderful capital than the dank series of caves she hailed from.

"It'll be okay," she mumbled, trying to comfort herself, "You'll be back soon."

It took a bit for the castle to be hidden by the forests and hills of the country, giving Angel enough time to come to terms with her leaving. It was a sad moment, to be sure, especially since she wouldn't see her best friend and future husband, Comet, for at least two weeks. A small film of tears covered her eyes as she touched her hoof to the window, wishing he was there.

Out of all the ponies in her life, Comet was one of the few she had come to trust outside of her family. She had spent over two full years with him, pestering and irritating him every single step of the way. They had shared nearly every experience together, from her silly antics the day they were recruited to being the heroes of Canterlot, thwarting the attempted invasion. They had become personal friends to the princesses, something Angel never thought would happen in any scenario she had come up with, and had even grown to like each other.

Angel barely noticed the sky darken and the moon rise into the sky as she reflected on her life to this point. There were three ponies she specifically wanted to see when she arrived, her father, Harvest Moon, topping the list. She had promised him long ago that she would return eventually, bearing some sort of good news. The only problem was, she had made that promise years earlier, shortly before leaving the colony to pursue some pony named Artemis.

Still, it was a long way to her destination, a junction in the railway lines known as Cliffpeak. From there, she would have to wait for a train bound for Transylmania, the small pony settlement outside of her colony. She hoped it hadn't snowed there recently, since it would make the rail lines inaccessible. If that happened, Angel knew her trip would instantly go from a couple weeks to a month at the minimum.

---

Back at the castle, Comet heaved a huge sigh as he trotted over to Shining Armor's office. His commander had ordered him to report to his office at a later time after the princesses speech to the whole Royal Guard. The Night Guard was still unhappy about the situation, but followed Princess Luna's lead in taking the recent event in stride. If she was willing to overlook it, they would as well.

Comet had been on edge for most of the speech, but hadn't yet calmed down. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed Angel for that. His thoughts were stuck on the abnormal absence of her in the castle. Usually, after some incredibly stressful situation, like trying to get a handle on the newly crowned princess ignoring the safety measures he had installed for her, Angel would pop into his life, tease him a bit and end their meetings with a simple hug and kiss. His mind and body were feeling the negative effects of not having that happen to him today, a sure sign that the few weeks without Angel would be difficult.

As he marched off, the pegasus commander failed to notice a set of eyes watching him. The green irises watched him trot dejectedly through the hallway, looking at him with concern, As he rounded the corner, the eyes emerged from a shadow behind a tapestry, revealing a large black pony. She had a long, sickly greenish-blue mane and tail along with a shiny black chitin exterior filled with holes. Two large fangs hung from underneath her down turned lips, much bigger than the standard bat pony's set.

The black mare, a young changeling queen, took a small step forward when a loud cough broke the silence, causing the queen to yelp in surprise. She shrunk back into the shadows, trying her best to stay hidden. The sound of hoofbeats echoed over to her and pretty soon, the black figure of a Royal Guard stood in front of the tapestry.

"I know you are there, Princess," came the commanding voice of a mare.

Slowly, the young queen poked her head out, shivering as she did. If she was caught by a guard out of her disguise, she could easily be captured and imprisoned, probably for life. Her green iris twitched as she looked to the one who had found her. The pony, in question, was an off white pegasus with an orangeish-red mane and tail, along with piercing blue eyes. She wore the vibrant golden cloak of her unit, Princess Celestia's elite guards.

"Do I have to remind you of your limitations?" she asked pointedly.

The changeling shook her head quickly, as nervous as she could be.

"N-No, ma'am," she stammered quickly.

"Then you know he is not to see you, no matter how much you want to see him," the mare replied tersely.

"I know," the changeling mumbled sadly, "I just, I want to talk to him. Just once to apologize for what I put him through."

The mare raised her eyebrow at that.

"To apologize? Don't you mean 'feed' on him?"

The changeling shook her head, scared of the mare.

"No, It's more complicated than that," she weakly offered as a response.

"I see. Is this related to why Princess Celestia ordered me to keep a strict eye on you?"

The changeling said nothing, instead staring at the corner where Comet had turned.

"Alright," Holly Stalk said to her, "I think it's time you got back to your quarters, Princess."

The changeling glowered at that.

"I told you, I have a name."

Holly Stalk sucked her teeth at her comment.

"Fine, which do you prefer today? Gorgon or Nova?"

The changeling continued to stare after Comet longingly, as if she was hoping he would reappear.

"I... I don't know," she whimpered, looking down and shutting her eyes.

Comments

[Raul]

DuN Dun dun! I forgot all this stuff, man! This really is the 2nd best story I read, such improvement, the character perspective changes are clearly defined, plot wholes are not found, pacing is swell.

Also

"It'll be okay," she mumbled, trying to comfort herself, "You'll be back soon."

Yes, soonTM. Me and my bud still have a running bet, on under 3 months, and over. I swear, I've been waiting ages for that $20.

[Guner]

THE HALL?