52. Brought To Light
Princess Luna’s chamber was how I’d left it. Not that I expected everything to change in three weeks. Div was standing guard back where I’d stood guard and Willowy was sitting at the secretary’s desk that I’d used as a sergeant.
“Welcome home, Silent Knight,” the princess called after I came in. She didn’t sound overly excited. In fact, I’d say her tone was almost casual.
“Thank you, Princess. It is good to be back. Mostly. I was having a lot of fun.”
Her ear flicked. “Oh? And what did you do?”
No! Don’t ask that. Don’t say Crys— "Nature trails!” I said with confidence.
“Oh, yes, I read in your little guide book that the island has about a hundred miles’ worth of them. You probably ran poor Crystal Wishes ragged.”
Yeah I did. “Yes, I did.”
“Well, I’m glad you had a good time. It’s nice to see you. I wish you’d come back a day earlier, though.”
“Why is that, Princess?” I asked, suddenly less than thrilled to be back.
Princess Luna looked over a scroll in front of her. Her eyes narrowed, and her head shook as if in disbelief. It probably wasn’t the first time she’d read it, but she seemed upset.
She looked up and over at Willowy and Div. “Could you two give us the room, please?”
“Yes, Princess,” Div replied, bowing and leaving as commanded.
Willowy lingered just a bit longer before nodding and following the stallion.
“What is it?” I asked once we were alone.
“Celestia had this sent over.” The scroll waved about in her magic. “It is a royal decree from King Kronson. He says he has credible information that the Kingdom of Nordanver is holding Garrard and demands his immediate release. He goes on to say that if that demand is not met, this wrongful imprisonment will be met with a proportionate response.”
Credible information? That was highly unlikely. Impossible, actually. It didn’t matter, though. This reeked of an excuse to rattle sabres.
“Silent Knight? I asked what you thought,” the princess said.
Had she? I shook my head. “It is a ruse… but I’m not sure the threat is.”
“Why do you say it is a ruse?”
“If King Ranald had Garrard, it seems unlikely he would keep that information from you. More importantly, their law is clear on this. Garrard killed other gryphons. He wouldn’t last long, and I imagine the execution would be immediate.”
She shook her head. “What if he’s not sharing such privileged information, though? We aren’t that close.”
“They aren’t, Princess.” I shook my head and then stood at attention. This was getting out of hoof. There was going to be more blood because of what I’d done if the threat was real, and it seemed real simply because Kronson was lying. He was making an excuse.
If I said nothing, I could go about my life. I’d be in the Crystal Empire with my new wife and the crowns could deal with this mess. Another petty war between the gryphon kingdoms. They did that every few decades, anyway. Why would this be different?
Why, indeed? It would be different because this time I had personally given the Sudramoar an excuse, and I couldn’t live with myself if I let others pay the price for that.
No. That would be selfish and cowardly. It was time to take responsibility.
“Princess, they’re not lying to you. King Kronson is for certain, and I know that because Garrard is dead.”
“What?” Princess Luna’s eyes shot up to me.
We stared at each other a moment before I found my voice again. “He’s dead. He’s been dead a while. I killed him.”
She rose and took two steps towards me. “You did what!”
It was time. Time to let this go, even if it meant I’d pay the ultimate price.
“Following when I got well, I worked with members of the Equestrian military and intelligence agency to track him. Using my influence and position, I put together a plan to trick him into coming here. Without authorization, I built a unit and conducted an ambush to kill him. He’s dead, Princess. King Kronson is lying, but it doesn’t matter. This is clearly not about his grandson.”
The alicorn just stared at me. Her eyes were wide in shock, but there was also a bit of disappointment mixed in. I stared back. My methods had been wrong, but the outcome was not something I regretted. An enemy of the kingdom was dead.
“Wh… Why?” she finally stammered.
“He tried to kill you. He killed my ponies. He was a threat to you, so I put him down.”
She gasped. “Do you know what you’ve done?”
“I do. I really do. Which is why I’m going to turn myself in. I did what I did without any permission or authorization from anypony. You and Princess Celestia had no knowledge. I’m a rogue military officer that was set on revenge.
“That won’t be a hard sell. You give me up, there will be grousing, but the culprit will be punished and this blows over. Kronson’s lie will be revealed and our allies have the high ground.”
She didn’t say anything. She just kept staring.
I bowed deeply and turned to go. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a confession to write.”
My hooves made it two paces towards the door before I was completely surrounded in an orb of blue magic and swept up into the air.
“No!” the princess’s voice thundered in my head. It wasn’t in the room… she had not yelled. It was just as Nocturna’s had been in the vision.
“Princess, we don’t have a choice,” I said as calmly as I could. In truth, I was terrified. The orb held me fast as I struggled against it. Crystal’s magic, I could pull out of. This was something entirely different.
The alicorn floated me back towards her, horn burning brightly. “You foolish little stallion!”
My hooves pressed against the blue energy and I flapped my wings. “Princess! Stop this. Let me go.”
“I will not!” the voice slammed in my head again. Then she spoke. “I will not sacrifice you for a murdering gryphon. I will not let them punish you for making a decision you did not understand. He was our enemy! He was a criminal! You will not surrender yourself to the likes of them.”
The energy gripped me tighter and I gasped, “I will! I have to!”
“You will not! You are my foal and you will do what I tell you to do!”
“What?” I stopped struggling, momentarily distracted and confused. “I’m not your foal!”
The princess looked away, her cheeks flushing. The energy loosened slightly. Not enough to escape but it was less constricting. “I see you as my foal… which… I guess is why you have to leave your position. And leave you shall, but not like this. Not in disgrace.”
“You know I’m going to. You can’t hold me forever.”
She snorted and lifted her head. “Do not make such a bold assumption, Silent Knight. I am a mighty alicorn, and you are a little stallion. I will hold you as long as it takes if I have to. I will not deprive Crystal Wishes of her new husband. I will not allow you to be burned for the sake of a failed assassin.”
Her eyes narrowed, glowing with power unfathomable to me. “No, you will swear to me here and now. Swear on your honor that you will bury this secret deep inside you and never speak of it again.”
I shook my head. “No! That is the wrong thing to do! I did the right thing the wrong way. Now you want me to do the wrong thing altogether! I’m taking responsibility.”
“And now I relieve you of it. Swear to me.”
“No.”
The orb slowly started floating upwards. “Do you really want to take responsibility for this? To be parted from your wife? Your family? Your friends?”
I shook my head. “Of course not! But I made a choice that had consequences. Now I have to face them. That was something I was aware of when I started this path. This is the right thing to do!”
The princess nodded. “Yes, it is. You’re not going to get to, though. There is a plot at play here. This may disrupt it, it may not. In either case, I forbid you from this course of action. There will be need of you when the true danger comes. As such, I will accept the consequences of this choice. I am making my choice, just like you made yours.”
I bucked within the bubble a few times. The magic held fast. It seemed hopeless, but she’d have to explain why she was keeping me prisoner sooner or later. Somepony would ask questions. Right?
I paused to look down at her. “I can’t let you do that, not for me.”
“I’m not a filly that needs protection. I am an alicorn ruler! These are the decisions I was reborn to make.”
“I’m not a foal, either!”
“You are to me.” The orb flew me to the ceiling where I would be out of sight, at least as long as a pony didn’t look up. That wouldn’t stop me from yelling.
“Princess, this is silly! Please let me go.”
“Yes, it is, and no.” She went back to her desk.
I had to try something else. I had to reach her on some other level. Perhaps on that mothering level. “Luna, I don’t like this. You know I don’t trust magic, and you’re holding me hostage! This is wrong… and it’s scaring me.”
“Yes, it is. I’m doing the wrong thing for the right reason. I understand your desire. I disagree with it nonetheless. It is not your decision to turn yourself over to a foreign kingdom. That is for Celestia and I to decide. You have confessed to the appropriate authorities. You’ve fulfilled your obligation.”
On a fundamental level, I couldn’t argue with her logic. I was still trapped, however, and I needed that to change. “Agreed. Let me down, I’ll confess, and then you and Princess Celestia can decide what to do.”
The princess looked up at me. It was a cool, calculated glance. “So you still intend to ruin your career?”
“How could you respect me if I didn’t take responsibility?”
She sighed and shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out. Swear your oath, or stay in the bubble. And before you start shouting, only I can hear you in there.”
“Ponies are going to ask questions…”
She shook her head. “If it were anypony else, sure. You? No. I sent you to Haven or somewhere else. Shining Armor would accept that letter from me. Oh, sure, you’ll be back eventually. By the time you are, however, it will be too late. It would just seem to the gryphons like we’re offering up a random pony to hopefully stop the eventual outcome that is soon to be revealed.”
My blood ran cold. Was she really this devious? It frightened me at how right she was. Ponies were used to me disappearing and none would question her. Nopony would think twice about it, not even Crystal. She could keep me forever.
“Besides, you are Silent Knight. You are thorough and careful. I imagine that there is no evidence this plot even occurred. No physical evidence, anyway. Just witnesses. All ponies who could be bribed. Am I wrong?”
No, we’d seen to that, hadn’t we? There had been an investigation by Sunny and nothing came to light. Nothing at all! The situation was unnerving. No, it was terrifying.
I sputtered, “How—How can you do this?”
“How? How, you dare ask?” Her eyes were glowing again. “Ponies do foolish things for those they love. You did the same thing to protect me. Now I’m protecting you. Don’t judge so easily, Silent Knight. Swear the oath, and this will be over.”
It wouldn’t be, though. I’d know the truth, and the gryphons were still going to enact their plan… whatever it was. I wasn’t thrilled with being given to the gryphons for executing one of their criminals, but it was still the responsible thing to do.
The princess was trying to protect me yet again. Now she was going overboard by holding me hostage, and fully convinced that she was doing the right thing. This was exactly why I should have left long ago.
We sat in silence for a while. I’m not sure how long, to be honest. She just pretended to work and I floated above her in the bubble. If the magic was any strain to maintain, I wasn’t seeing it.
I cleared my throat. “Luna?”
“Yes?” she replied calmly.
“Would you really keep me in this bubble?”
“Of course, Silent Knight! Do you really believe I’d let some gryphons that are clearly scheming have you? They’d put you to death immediately. We might be able to show enough evidence that Garrard was a criminal, but we could never link it to his grandfather, and I doubt it would save you anyway.
“I’m sorry, but I won’t allow you to die in their mockery of a justice system just so you can take responsibility. It might delay their ploy, but it won’t stop it. They’d just go on to the next thing, and I won’t have my little stallion when they do.”
She sighed. “Besides, these are the very gryphons that asked for my sister’s help a generation ago and then attacked us for our kindness.”
I slouched in the bubble. This was a battle I probably couldn’t win. How does a simple pony fight against an alicorn?
Perhaps there was a way to mitigate the damage. A compromise. “I’ll swear the oath on two conditions.”
“You’re not in a position to negotiate, but I’m listening.”
“One, you can’t do this again. I’m legitimately frightened that you know you could just tuck me away and nopony would question it. Do you understand how terrifying that is? Protecting me or not. Loving me or not. This is wrong. I can’t look at you the same if I know that at any moment, if I do something you don’t like, you’ll just scoop me up and hide me away.”
She didn’t look up at me, but I could see guilt in the slight droop of her wings. “Go on.”
“Two, you have to tell Princess Celestia and allow her to have a say on this decision. You said it yourself, this is up to both of you. If you swear to those conditions, I’ll swear the oath.”
The orb and I floated down to the princess’s eye level. She looked upset. Very upset, actually. The calculating alicorn was gone. “I’m honestly sorry to scare you. I just… Losing you to a job is one thing. This is something else entirely.”
Her eyes softened as her voice grew to a trembling whisper. “I’m not going to knowingly let them kill you for nothing. I can’t do that. You have to understand. You’d die for me, so I can take some consequences as a result of this. Tell me you understand that?”
I had to get out of this bubble. “I do. I understand. Will you swear what I asked?”
She paused in thought. “Will you swear your oath, and keep it?”
“Silent Knight does not break his oaths,” I replied.
“Then swear it now.”
This was wrong. I knew it. She knew it. The price of these words was going to be high. It brought me no comfort that we would pay it together, now.
With a sigh, I did my best to stand up straight in the swirl of blue energy. “I swear on my honor to withhold the information of my operation and do all I can to forget it.”
She nodded. “And I swear not to imprison you again so long as you keep your oath.” Her ear flicked. “I will also explain this to Celestia.”
“She must have a say.”
“She will,” the princess replied.
“Let me go, please.”
The bubble landed on the floor and dissipated, freeing me. I shivered a bit and shook my coat out to try to release the nervous energy tingling along my nerves. “I’ll await the decision of the alicorns.” Then I bowed deeply. “If you’ll excuse me, Princess.”
She reached a hoof in my direction, but then thought better of it. “Yes, of course.”
I left her quarters and headed to my office. Once I was inside, I slouched behind my desk and tremors started to shake my form. I’d never been on the other end of her power before, not like this. I never wanted to be again, either. In my heart, I understood why she’d done it, but that didn’t make it any less terrifying. I’d been a hostage.
I sighed and looked around. My office was depressing. It had always been sparsely decorated and utilitarian, but now it was barren. My former guards had even packed the pillow I normally sat on. All that was left was the standard issue desk and a few pencils.
It left me dreadfully alone with my thoughts. The thoughts of what would become of Crystal. Yet again, I’d made a decision without considering her. It was the exact opposite of what Jet Set told me to do.
We’d been on the right path. Everything was going the right direction. And now…
Now, she would be devastated and I was to blame. The princesses would at least let me say goodbye. She wouldn’t understand why I’d done what I’d done or why I had to go now.
I just sat there and trembled. Two relationships ruined in the span of a single moment. Besides what I’d just done to my wife, there was also the rift between me and the princess. I’d never seen her in the light I just had. Malevolent and sinister.
Princess Luna had spoken in my mind, rattling my very spirit. Then she’d sealed me away in some sort of magical alicorn prison. I was powerless against it! That was not something I ever wanted to experience again. In fact, it frightened me more than the idea of being turned over to the gryphons. That would have just been a quick false trial and then an axe, short and swift.
Not that I wanted to die. I didn’t at all. I just didn’t want more harm to be done because I’d been stupid enough to play right into the Sudramoar king’s claws. After all, why would a noble child be in another kingdom spying and pretending to be a brigand without orders? He wouldn’t be. He’d been a pawn. I almost felt sorry for him.
There was a far larger game being played here, and we were several turns behind. That shifted my thoughts from sorrow to anger. Once more, the gryphons were looming over me, deciding my fate. I should fight back. I had to fight back.
Val should know about this. She might already know, actually. A letter to the princess would have crossed her desk. If I was lucky, she was already trying to sort out the plot. That wasn’t something I could count on, though.
If I could get to her before I was dismissed and taken into custody, I could help her. After all, Princess Celestia would see clearly and make the obvious decision. That was a given. I could go to Val now and then turn myself in afterwards. Perhaps I could even get to Crystal before the word came down officially.
The Royal Guard would be after me, but I knew them inside and out. I could hide and move about for a day or so before they’d find me.
I wasn’t running away from the punishment. This was just to get the ball rolling before I was burned. That was what I had to do. I rose resolutely and marched to the door. One final purpose. One more duty.
As I reached for the handle, it turned and the door swung inward, leaving me nose-to-nose with Sunny Day. Why her? I didn’t want to fight her.
Her brow furrowed. “Silent Knight?”
“Hi, Sunny,” I replied as politely as I could while I sized her up.
She didn’t smile but nodded. “Lieutenant Knight, we’re to escort you to Princess Celestia’s chambers immediately.”
There was little doubt I could get past Sunny. From her posture, it was clear she wasn’t expecting a fight and when I ambushed her, she likely wouldn’t hit me with her fire magic. Wait— "We?”
“Yes, we.” She nodded behind her. “As in, myself, Windrider, and four of my house guards. You know, just to ensure you have enough company.”
Overwhelming force. Six skilled ponies in armor against me? Zero chance of success and too much risk. A sucker punch and a quick flight out could be forgiven. A drag-out melee would mean somepony would get hurt. That wouldn’t do.
What about diplomacy? We were pals! These ponies knew me. Silent Knight wasn’t a criminal. I’d explain the situation and they’d just let me go for a few hours. Right?
No, of course not. I wouldn’t even consider that if I were in their hoofguards. I’d have to let Val know some other way.
For now, it was time to take responsibility and stop considering plans to run out on ponies I respected. “Right, I understand and it’s fine, honestly. Let’s go.”
She nodded and backed out of the way before turning and starting to march towards Princess Celestia’s wing. I followed along behind her. All of the guards on the way looked confused. Sunny’s expression was different from theirs; there was no confusion, just pain. I’d have felt the same way if I’d ever been tasked to arrest her.
The formation was loose. They were keeping an eye on me but, out of respect, it was mostly just a casual walk. It was still too much to consider an escape.
When we arrived at the doors of Princess Celestia’s chambers, Sunny pointed to the detail. “Everypony remain here.” She then pushed the door open and walked inside.
My only choice was to follow. The princess’s chambers greeted me with books and scrolls everywhere, and a lot of comfortable places to sit. The only difference from normalcy was that Princess Celestia was sitting in her ‘court pose’ and not smiling at all. Not even a little.
Princess Luna was off to her side with her head down. Ah, yes, cooler heads had prevailed and I was going down for this. I’d hoped that maybe it wouldn’t happen this way, but I understood it. I’d really backed the princesses in a corner.
Sunny bowed. “I’ve brought him, Princess. For the record, if there will be one, he didn’t resist.” She then took a few steps back and took up a post in front of the doors that had been closed behind us.
I bowed, too, but didn’t dare speak.
Princess Celestia just stared at me in silence. Long, uncomfortable, judging silence.
It was difficult to look her in the eyes, but I did it. I owed her that. A soldier always takes responsibility for his actions. Dad had been right to teach that lesson.
Finally, the alicorn of the day broke the silence. “You just tricked him into coming here and killed him?”
“Yes, Princess, I—”
She slashed her hoof across her chest. “Just like that! Work with intelligence, build a unit, and kill him. Knowing he was a gryphon noble.”
“Yes, again, I—”
“Making political decisions without consulting us or your chain of command. Sunny doesn’t do things like this! At least, I certainly hope she doesn’t.”
Sunny spoke from behind me. “No, Princess, I’d n—”
“What am I supposed to do?” Princess Celestia practically yelled.
“Turn me over,” I replied weakly.
She snorted. “Turn you over? Lovely.” Her hoof lifted again and she turned her head towards nopony in particular. “Well, hello, King Kronson, we can’t prove you tried to assassinate Luna, but we’re pretty sure you did. Still, it seems one of our own was foolish enough to kill your grandson. Yes, the one with the alias that was an enemy of the state and had a price on his head. Here’s the pony. That covers this all, right? Everything is satisfied now?”
Princess Luna looked over. “Celestia—”
“No!” Princess Celestia cut her off. “No, thank you. You’ve said quite enough, little sister. Ever since you’ve come back, the two of you have been scheming and plotting. Which I wouldn’t mind, but you’ve cut me out of the loop. We’re family. This is a partnership, but now your little stormtrooper has gone wildly off course.”
My eye twitched and I stood tall. “Luna had nothing to do with this! I did it without her knowledge. She’s not to blame.” Oh, honest mouth, that was stupid.
The alicorn princess stood, her wings ruffling before spreading wide. She loomed over me. “I am angry with you enough as it is! Don’t dare try and assert yourself now. You will stay quiet while I think!”
Her aura hit me like a physical force and I immediately prostrated myself. I heard armor groan behind me as Sunny did the same.
“Yes, Princess,” I whimpered.
Then she started to pace back and forth. “I’m so very disappointed. This is not harmony! Just or not, your job or not, we don’t just go about flippantly killing! That is disharmony. You understand that, right?”
Should I answer? I should—
“Of course you do! You know better.” She huffed something like a sigh. “I get it. He was a bad guy. He tried to assassinate Luna and you… well, you love her.” The alicorn’s feathers ruffled and her wings slowly came to her sides. She sighed and looked to Luna. “This is why you can’t let them get this close. They can’t help themselves. They’ll do anything for you. Anything at all.”
Princess Luna nodded softly. “I’m sorry. I… I didn’t… I’m not as good at this as you are.”
“No, you aren’t… yet.” Princess Celestia slipped over to hug her sister. “I have centuries of experience, and I’ve made a whole lot of mistakes getting here. And I didn’t have anypony to help me, but I am here to help you. It pains me that I have to remind you of this fact so frequently.”
They embraced, which was lovely, but I still wasn’t sure what was going to happen to me.
Princess Celestia’s expression hardened again as she stood and came over to where I cowered on the floor, her aura still washing over me. “And you, little pony, are a hoofful.” She shook her head. “No, I’m not going to give you to the gryphons. Not because I want to spare you, though I do. And not because I don’t want to break my sister’s heart, though I don’t. I won’t give you to them because I truly believe it wouldn’t matter. A death for a death is disharmony. It doesn’t make the world better. You know that now, don’t you?”
My head drooped. “Yes, very much so.”
“Then that is settled. We know King Kronson is up to something and we will have to weather this storm. Unfortunately, our ally King Ranald is going to take the brunt of it. Although, again, I suspect that may have always been the plot. You just gave him what he wanted. We’ll have to wait and see what that is.” She then turned her back and started to head towards her bedroom.
Sunny softly asked, “Princess? What do I do with Silent Knight?”
Princess Celestia stopped and looked over her shoulder. “You do nothing. You forget what you learned today and do nothing. You will not tell your commanders or anypony else. There is nothing of value to be done, and I suspect we’ll have need of him later. Help him pack his things, hug him, and send him off to the Crystal Empire, where I suspect he’ll keep my niece quite safe. I can only hope he executes his duty with less zeal than he has here.”
The aura dissipated, and the strength returned to my legs. “Princess, I am so sorry. I really am. Please don’t h—” I cut myself off. It would be a stupid thing to say. I should just shut up.
The alicorn turned fully and shook her head. “I don’t hate you, Silent Knight. I am just extremely disappointed.” A smile graced her lips but didn’t reach her eyes. “Though, in truth, I don’t even fully blame you. Some things can’t be helped. You made a mistake. A big one. One that cannot be undone, but this is Equestria. If we don’t offer forgiveness, who will? If we judge you by a sole action, no matter how misguided, how are we different?
“Say your goodbyes and go. It is time for you to do so. This will pass, as all things do. Good day.”
She disappeared into her bedroom and closed the door, leaving the three of us there to feel awful. At least, I knew I did, and I was certain Princess Luna did, too.
Sunny came over to hug me and whispered, “You’re an idiot… but I’d have killed the bastard, too, if you’d dropped him in front of me...” She squeezed me tight. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too, Sunny. Are you going to help me pack like she said?” I asked, trying to put a little humor into my voice.
The mare snorted. “No. I’m mad at you. Going to be for a little while. I’ll see you later, though.” She kissed my cheek and left me alone with Princess Luna.
I swallowed and slowly made my way over to her, hooves dragging. I’d gotten away with it. That was what some ponies would think: I’d gotten away with it.
It was a horrible feeling. A feeling that could likely spiral me if I wasn’t careful. I’d need Mindful Soul or some other counselor in the Crystal Empire now more than ever.
Princess Luna was still looking down. I set a hoof on hers. Thankfully she didn’t pull it away as she whispered, “She’s very upset.”
I nodded.
“Not just at you.”
I nodded.
“I’ve made several mistakes.”
“We.”
The princess sighed and nodded. “We’ve made several mistakes.”
“I’m going to need more therapy. Maybe you should go, too?”
Princess Luna’s head came up and she looked at me funny. “Me, go to therapy? No. I’ll just have to spend more time with my sister. Which, it seems, is going to be mandatory for a bit.”
My head tilted. “Oh?”
“Yes, I told her what I did to you. I now have to take her course in the ethical usage of advanced magics at the School for Gifted Unicorns.”
I really didn’t know how to react to that. A small part of me wanted to laugh, but that seemed wholly inappropriate. “Are… Are you being funny right now?”
“I wish I was. She was so angry that I didn’t want to argue. Maybe I could use the class…” Her head shook, and she squeezed my hoof. “It’s time for you to go.”
“It feels anything but.”
Princess Luna shrugged. “Your punishment, then. Exile to start your new life.”
“It seems like a weak punishment.”
“There may be more in time. We’ll not know for sure. She said that disharmony has a cost.” She lowered her eyes again. “You must go, though. For your sake and mine.”
Her words cut deeply, but I hugged her anyway. “I’m sorry.”
“Me, too.” She set a hoof on my back without really hugging me back, then withdrew. “Go and be happy. I’ll miss you, but please try not to dwell on this. Dwelling isn’t healthy.”
“I’ll do my best, I promise,” I whispered before squeezing her once more. Then I pulled away and bowed. “See you later, Princess.”
“Until then, Silent Knight.”
Then I left. The chambers. The palace. Canterlot. My friends and family. My princess.
I left it all.
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Oh my various Gods and goddesses...the feels in this chapter were strong.... Why must I wait for new chapters? Well better get back to work on that time machine and prey multiverse theory isn't a thing.
Well, that was a quick turn-around, although I suppose it can be expected that the situation in the gryphon lands wouldn't just put a pin in itself to give Silent some cooldown time.
And the end looms ever closer :P
Uh-huh, yeah.
Also, next chapter is the last one right?
Is it just me, or is this meeting in Canterlot starting to sound familiar? Something that happened a long time ago among some very powerful ponies?
Or I'm reading too much into things. Take your pick.
Sorry but Celestia needs a slap in the face. Kill a known murdered and threat to Equestira as disharmonious. BULLCRAP! I think you have been at peace so long you have forgotten things. Heck in our world if Clinton had killed Osama Bin Laden when he had the chance 9/11 would likely not have happened. In truth Sk did the right thing, maybe not in the right way but still the right thing. It sounds like the North Kingdom wants war. They would have any way they like.
Heck your counterpart in Rites of Ascension understands this and went to the aid of an ally when other wanted war no matter what.
TO be truly harmonious you might need to kill.
Also you get on Luna's case, how about a mirror. You ignored Luna's issues till she became Nightmare Moon. Hypocrite.
*Sigh*
I kind of wanted to smack Celestia. She wasn't wrong, but she's very clearly broken... Although from my perspective they all are somewhat.
Reading this is rather difficult for me at times. It's a lot about following your duty and dropping your individual desires and emotions in the face of the needs of the whole of some vague plan of the nations or the universes...
That stuff is important, that stuff is noble, but it can be just as damaging as the constant wanderings of an angry broken rebel like me. This is why the world needs both knights and rebels. The knights are there to hold the world together and the rebels are needed to fix the world when it's broken and remind everyone involved that they are people.
Why do I feel like you're going to end the book on a cliffhanger?
Oh well, just be more amusing when oaRG3 comes out. 
On a side note... Understanding Sunbutt is understanding, and I almost think that's worse as a punishment for Silent Knight... Also, that totally IS extortion done in the best possible way. 
Now, I cannot wait to see the finale (and the next chapter, even if that's not quite said finale).
Soon!
I'm very glad I got that neck brace out. By the Princesses, man, stop trying to kill me!
I kid, of course. If you kill me with your great story I'll just haunt you to ensure you finish it.
6731727
Isn't that the same fic where nearly the entire Canterlot bourgeoise are all stroking their goatees and practicing their evil laughter? And doesn't understand the first thing about international relations? That one?
Also, mentioning another story that has absolutely no bearing on this one. At all.
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/975/998/f45.gif
Why is everyone focusing on Celestia when they should be focusing on that private lunch between Crystal and Cadence? Cuz, my dude? You really think it's gonna be food they're eating?
Heinie all day every day.
6731727
Little harsh there. Yeah Celestia did screw up a lot here, everyone did though. She was pushed into a no win situation with stupidity on all fronts. Every single one of them did something unbelievably stupid. It is a bit of disharmony to do what was done though. Silent Knight went way too far out of parameter of acceptability. Then she had to deal with what the hell Luna did with the bubble trap & the fact that SK is far too big of a part of Luna's continued emotional stability. Gotta remember that SK was a huge, huge part of Luna recovering including the fact that he was the first to volunteer (not assigned, but willingly volunteer) to be on her guard. On top of that Celestia probably knows the depth of Luna's care for him. Then to top all of this off the bulls**t that the griffins are pulling is a major headache all their own. Finding out that a major secert was held that played a huge factor and would have been helpful to know was held by a renegade member of your military that is all of the above reasons impossible to properly use in an obvious way.
Was that a wall of text, yes. Did it outline basically why Celestia snapped and came off really tyrannical and stupid, I like to think so. Well it is also important to note that Celestia lacked any time to think about this properly. SK was pretty much leaving right away so Celestia was rushed, so being rushed like that doesn't help with decision making. They all really left Celestia with a cluster of dumb that I am surprised that she was that held together.
6731621 I tried to pack it in on this one. Especially as things "move faster and faster." Don't worry, another chapter will appear on Wednesday and we'll wrap it all up on Monday of next week!
6731639 Indeed it was and I was a little concerned about that BUT it is also intentional. I wanted this to feel really fast and out of control.
6731674 It is on the near horizon for sure. Two more chapters!
6731683 ;D Two chapters. Wednesday and then it all ends on Monday.
6731686 Like, say, an alicorn summit?
6731727 She isn't a big fan of killing in general :D As far as her or my counterpart in another story I don't see how that can relate at all. Personally, as a writer, I see Celestia as extremely benevolent and loving. Even deaths that she feels were completely necessary would be upsetting.
6731729 That is what Silent Knight struggles with a lot. Duty, responsibility, and honor in the face of it being counter to his personal desires.
6731733 No comment on the cliff hanger ;D Although you do know me!
6731738 Quill & Blade branded neck braces now in our store ^_^
6731799 thewindsbeachclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/The-Winds-Resort-Gold-Star-Of-Excellence.jpg
6731799 Yes i'm harsh because she is acting stupidly, AGAIN. If she is that mad then she needs to calm down before doing ANYTHING.
Look at the situation as a whole. Clearly the North Kingdom wants to take down the West Kingdom. They have an imbedded royal organize an attack on Luna to weaken the bonds between the two nations and was likely also made an excuse to further the war goal. Heck who knows what more Alistare would have done more if given the chance. Elements of their own intelligence division also agreed with this move by the fact they FAILED to make connections earlier or even warn of potential attack. The price of Freedom is eternal vigilance and that means at times taking out threats. Not every being can be reformed like Luna and eventually Discord.
Perhaps Sk could have found a better way to do this but he ultimately did the right thing. Heck they fact that Sunny said she would have done the same yet be mad at him. HYPOCRITES! Hypocrites all of them.
6731812
That's not what I mean. It's not when honor and duty is counter to his personal desires that's the problem, that is merely weakness of will.
What I'm talking about is when honor and duty are actually bad for the world.
Oh it happens. With duty especially. I don't expect you to understand though. You're a knight to the core.
I don't get why he didn't mention the whole evil black smoke thing. Surley that would have gotten some attention.
6731754 Actually there is many like that. That one they just think they can rule better then the sisters.
However how it does apply is this.
They basically have a similar series of events happening here. I tragic event happens and in Rites case the Zebra's go to war with Saddle Arabians blaming them for the event. Celestia shows the Zebra President that is was done by a crazy zebra cult. The pesidents response. "Doesn't matter we are going to war." THe Celestia of Rites again tries to bring peace showing that a zebra gang had gotten by questionable means several Equestrian made weapons and she will not allow there use. the Pres still refuses so Celestia goes to war and with a quick strike she decimates their navy while Saddle Arabia can march in.
In both that story and here. she had a country's leader wanting war no matter what. Buit I think the Rites version acted better about then the Sk version.
6731833
True, what SK did was probably the best course of action and if he had proposed the idea rather than go renegade she might have thought about it better. Hell she might have even had some pkans for that herself. Military leaders have to be kept in line in a system like they have even if the leader might have agreed with the action. Secretly killing Alistair was not SK's decision to make even if it was the best one with good intentions. The old saying that " the road to hell is paved with good intentions" applies here very well. She had no time to cool down because SK was going to the Crystal Empire and she did not want Cadance & Shining Armor involved. She forbade him to telling them and at the end of the chapter it seemed that they had no clue whatsoever.
6731860 I think you're missing the point, genius.
6731812 I point to my response comment to ZOMG.
I understand her wanting peace but she should know by now that peace can't always be achieved. heck Alistair attacked a ruler of a nation. If caught what would his sentence be? Simple, death. so does it really matter how he meets his end?
heck Sk could not have done this without support of others. Heck i bet if it did become known what he did the bulk of the ponies would be okay with it.
Not everything is sunshine and rainbows and she should know that.
So yeah I will be harsh on her for being too harsh on him.
6731875 Going to the Crystal Empire has nothing to apply to this. He was keeping the secret and would remain so. She can call him back at anytime. Princess trumps Governor. So that's a weak excuse at best. heck it would have a stronger case if Cadance was an Alicorn in this world since she and Celestia would be at equal rank.
6731878 Well you just lost the arguement by name calling.
6731891 That implies that there was an argument worth winning. I'm busy laughing at how utterly asinine it is to drag another fic's verse into this one as a reference when they have so little bearing on each other outside "ponies are involved and so are some politics". Frankly, this one does a better job with the political and military aspect because the author actually has a background in both.
Also, I made it painfully clear at the start that I was mocking you. There never was a debate. Just me laughing.
Ta ta, pookie.
6731896 6731891 6731875
OKie dokie, I think we're good! We've seen the perspectives, agreement is not to be had, and nobody is going to convince anyone else. We have each said our bit and we'll leave it there. Any further responses will be deleted.
Again though, I appreciate that another author did it differently. It is nice to like that. I don't find them relatable and that is my bit :)
Oh, so Celestia is okay with intrigue as long as she is involved? And then she preaches about "disharmony"? Ha, how jocular! If you are fine with clandestine practices then do not pretend to care about harmony or morality, or other virtuous nonsense.
6731896 At least I acted civily rather then name call. Don't tell me you haven't compared movies or stories in the past.
How is it that so many people missed this line? Part of what Celestia was chastising him for was not looking at the bigger picture. Killing Alistair may have looked like a good solution to the immediate problem, but not problems that would come down the line. This quote is proof, or will be proof should it be true, then his actions have put an ally under a lot of pressure. There is a bigger plot here we can't see. SK was wearing blinders, only worried about Luna's safety (a noble goal mind you) and never the bigger picture. He never once considered what the fallout of his actions would have internationally, only what would happen if anypony on his team got caught.
Killing Alistair was a mistake. SK's approach was shortsighted as it was based on vengeance in addition to the protection of Luna. As it was said, they'd grown too close.
6731911 Well, my counter argument would be that perhaps she'd have talked them out of it. And perhaps not!
6731848 Silent Knight doesn't really understand magic. Plus he doesn't even know if he really saw something. Technically we don't either ;D
6731844 I'm going to go with Thank you!
6731860
Oh yeah, also: DON'T POST SPOILERS OF OTHER FICS! I haven't gotten that far!
ought to be "piece"
6731920 Becuase i think Sk's actions do not matter in that at all. I believe the North Wants war with the West. Now a war would be easier if Equestria was not invovlved thus even if SK hadn't done what he done the North king would have found some other reason. The only way i see this war not happening is if North King is diposed and I don't see that happening.
6731922
Well, it was an assassination attempt on her own sister... She would have proposed a more "intricate" scheme, I have a feeling, one taking the bigger picture into consideration.
And I think she knows that. She knows that she would not abstain from a vile plot. Which is exactly why she is reacting in such a volatile way.
6731907
Was done anyway, we both got our bits in. To be honest I saw our "argument" as more of a friendly mental competition rather than aggressive argument. I don't get to have those that often anymore with someone who not only can match me me with good points or isn't a dick.
6731891
Was going to counter that with a few statements about things, but other people say that what we said is enough. You are a worthy adversary, so good day to you sir.
6731973 I am always up for civil debates. cya around.
6731973 I do apologize. I don't want to stifle creative discourse. I really don't! Sometimes things get out of hand here ;D Not saying you do though. You don't at all! Consider PMs to continue as, again, I wasn't really trying to deprive you of your discussion.
6731922
OK fair enough however didn't he wonder about it when he had a talk with Ferrel?
6731984
No problems. This was a rare case on the site, trust me it is more likely at finding a grain of gold in a sandstorm than for this to happen. You did the right thing. Discussions can go very wrong very fast.
6731911
Clandestine operations aren't necessarily bad or amoral. Half the stuff she's sent Twilight to do throughout the entire series has been either in secret or without full information. I get that most of the reader base (including myself) is from a country with a particularly outrageous bunch of black ops groups, but that's not really anything against secret operations as a concept.
Also, including her in the scheming makes the scheme less likely to do something hotheaded and dumb, like secretly executing a foreign royal via paramilitary raid.
6731922
You're welcome. You keep doing your thing and I'll keep doing mine and the world will be okay.
6731946
Good point. I can see that. The northern king would just find another excuse. In that case, everything SK had done doesn't effect anything, at least in that matter. But is that the only thing that Alistair's death would cause?
SK's actions have to matter in some way we can't see yet. That was one of the points I was trying to make: we don't know what his slaying of Alistair is going to cause, what ripples will spread; the bigger plot. Yes it did have some that we've seen, but its the unseen, the things hinted at, that matter.
That, and it would be pointless for the author to put this rather important part of the story if it wasn't going somewhere. There's simply too much emphasis on his actions to have no effect on the bigger picture.
Unless, of course, your speaking in a strictly political sense. Even if Alistair hadn't been killed by Equestrians, the king would just find another excuse or have a contingency in place. SK's actions really wouldn't matter then.
Ooooo, Celestia be angry.
Wild speculation, this is what happened with Sombra in this AU and is also related to what happened with the other alicorns.
Huh, well there we go.
It's really good to see that Silent understands the continued need for counseling.
I dunno, it's kind of funny.
You know, the Crystal Empire wasn't a particularly good self-choice of posting for someone who doesn't like the snow.
Knowing only what Crystal knows about this assignment change, that's not a bad question.
Duty never ends. Plus, it's probably time for of hint or two about what's coming up next.
Yeah, seems like it. War or some variety of conflict with King Kronson?
6731922
Actually, we do know. One of the few perks of a first person narrative is that we know what Silent Knight knows and only what Silent Knight knows. Not only that, you'd think that after hearing about all of this, one of the first things they would have done is gotten a detailed report of exactly what happened from Silent. Even if he's not sure it would still be something he would have mentioned.
And you keep using Silent's ignorance of magic as an excuse. You'd think he would take some time to read up on that shit, especially with the whole Knight of the Moon thing. That training is very thorough, and according to whatshername, the leader in haven, the nox ponies didn't have unicorns until fairly recently in their history. You would think that there would be an entire several books dedicated to understanding and countering the 1/3 of the pony population that can turn someone inside out with their brain.
I mean, that's a pretty HUGE gap in his ability to defend someone when he can't even tell the difference between a ball of fire, a ball of fire that will explode on contact, and a simple illusion that will draw him out of position and keep him from noticing the guy thirty feet to the left with a crossbow.
Just saying, he doesn't get to use ignorance as an excuse for failing at anything else, so why does he get to on this one?
But back to the chapter itself.
I am, as always, torn. Silent is being Silent, but Celestia and Luna are disappointing me right now. I mean, really, this whole thing with King Kronson is novice-level political shenanigans. They should have had this dealt with before breakfast.
"You want to know where your grandson is? Well, where was the last place you saw him?"
Kronson really only has two possible answers to that. He either comes up with an assumed identity that his grandson was supposedly using, in which case everyone involved can, with 100% honesty and transparency, say that they have no idea. They've never even heard of that person, but he's welcome to look around. Or he admits that his grandson was Alistair, which is the same as admitting that his grandson is a wanted criminal and suddenly everything EIS and Silent did is entirely validated.
There. Done. At that point, if Kronson goes ahead with the war he's completely branding himself as a warmonger and setting himself up to be opposed by literally every other nation in the world.
Not only that, Celestia's whole speech about harmony and disharmony and all that was so... shallow.
"There is only one right way to do everything, and if you do anything else you're aiding the forces of darkness and ruin and shame on you forever. But it's ok, because I'm such an experienced and benevolent leader I'll show you how it's done. You too, Luna. I mean, we're totally equals and all, except for all these parts where I'm better than you and you should follow in my footsteps lest you make another mistake."
That's pretty much what I got out of her speech. If Celestia treated her like that a thousand years ago, I can honestly say that I now 100% support Luna's rebellion and honestly think she would be a better ruler than celestia.
And don't think I missed her little comment about how they can't be real friends with any of the lesser mortals, lest they be corrupted by her alicorn aura of shock and awe. At this point I'm honestly wondering if Celestia's just gone completely insane from a thousand years of isolation and loneliness, since she has to keep everyone but Luna at arms length to avoid driving them insane or something.
6732133 Ah ha! Now that is the kind of comment I missed :D Shall we return to our wordy exchanges of yore? Yes! Yes sir!
What we know is what Silent Knight "thinks he saw." Just because we as readers can interpret, from a far, that black smoke is magic, doesn't mean he can. After he is:
A. Seeing through an enchantment in the dark
B. Filled with adrenaline
C. Not 100% in his right mind.
His words were "could have sworn I saw..." which can easily be written of later. After all, when Crimson cried out in pain he didn't hear Crimson's voice... nor when he ordered Nova to get "Lavender" out of there did he realize he meant Tranquil.
Yes, we can see what he saw clearly and interpret a lot. Why do we expect him to fully understand the significance of that one subtle thing when he is literally fighting for his life and everything is burning around him? Specially when nobody has mentioned smoke coming out of the mouth of someone that has died.
And I'm not saying he didn't make a report ;D
In this case I'd refer to the above.
Knights of the Moon didn't "counter" ponies. They existed to counter the things that prayed on ponies. Things that didn't have unicorn magic. That is why Nimbus was upset at the idea of dealing with ponies. KotM fought ogres, dragons, gryphons, and other creatures of that nature.
Again, ponies don't really suspect ponies too much. Plus, as has been discussed, most unicorns don't have that kind of power. Azurite's magic would pose little threat to anypony at all. Sunny, on the other hoof, is extremely dangerous but she is very rare.
I feel that is more or less what they said the two times he reached out directly to them. That is the other thing. He didn't ask them where he was. He asked them to pressure King Ranald. Thus they blew him off.
Agreed, but as we know, he isn't blaming the ponies.
Well, I'm sure none of us have ever spoken out of anger in the heat of a moment ;)
It was not to be missed!
6732055 I am Speaking politically for that should be the main reason Celestia would be upset on. In the end I think this was a poor showing by her to be so mad at this. When SK started this it was not known that Alistair was related to the royalty of the North Kingdom once it was still didn't matter. In any polictical account it's the North that's in trouble.
6731727
That Silent technically did the "right thing" does in no way justify doing so in the absolute worst of the wrong ways. The ends do not justify the means, and in this case Celestia is absolutely right to be furious.
No. Killing is pure and simple the opposite of "harmony." Silent didn't have to kill Alastair, but he chose to do that and only that, which is extremely disharmonious. He could have lured alastair like he did and then turned the guy over to the proper authorities - or an officially-sanctioned and overwhelming Equestrian force in order to provoke a surrender. Then Equestria could use its focus on harmony to try capturing and reforming Alastair - like with Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sunset, Starlight, etc. IF Alastair continued to refuse, that's on him, but not offering that option is very disharmonious.
Luna would be dead... Discord would be dead... Sunset Shimmer would be dead... Starlight Glimmer would be dead... Trixie would be dead... Rainbow Dash might very well be dead...
Simply eliminating all threats that way doesn't sound like it would make for a very harmonious Equestria to me.
With Silent Knight standing before Celestia, I couldnt help but remember the times I had to stand before my parents as a child and listen to them either yell or take me to my room and spank me lol.
Its interesting how Celestia wouldnt turn him in, SK might have dodged that proverbial bullet, but something tells me the magazine isnt quite empty...Im pretty sure there is more to come. Also, with Ferrels prediction, things are going to get worse before things get better arent they?
6732183
Gotcha.
I think its Anzel's comment down there somewhere that it said it was the heat of the moment thing. So, your right, it was a poor showing on her part because she wasn't focused on the real issue of his actions. She wasn't in 'Leader of Equestria' mode when she did this, but 'Protective Sister'. So, the reason she's so upset isn't just because of his actions, but other factors, and she took it out on him. Anything she said at that time was based on emotion, not logic.
6732172
If this report that he may or may not have given, if he left out things like that then he deserves to be yelled at for his incompetence. He just got done having several conversations with both Celestia and an order of super secret unicorn priests about the corruptive nature of dark magic and how he'll be needed to counter it in the near future. The fact that he doesn't understand it should be even more reason for him to mention something like that to someone who would understand it.
And yeah, he wasn't entirely in his right mind there. But that should have ALSO been in the report.
Apparently ponies, and unicorns in particular, are enough of a threat that when Silent had to come up with a default scenario in which he would have to sacrifice himself to protect Princess Luna, the first thing to come to mind was throwing himself in front of a fireball that someone had cast.
Not an arrow, not a sword, not a rampaging dragon, not a monster, but a fireball. A spell.
The fact that that, out of all possible threats, is what he defaulted to says a lot about what he thinks could likely threaten one of the princesses.
I mean, you can say that ponies don't really suspect other ponies, but the story so far really doesn't support that. Azurite was traumatized because someone tried to kill her partner. You have an entire pony military trained to kill that thinks nothing of using their talents when the need arises. Pretty much every time Haven is mentioned it's accompanied by Silent's thoughts on how he's going to protect the princess from the ponies there, even though they're not likely to do anything. You've even said that historically the houses of Night and Day were pretty much everything but openly hostile to one another on more than one occasion and the whole reason the next two in line that were ascended were sisters was to try to bridge that gap.
If they didn't believe and suspect that ponies could be a threat then there wouldn't be any need for a house guard at all. I mean, if ponies aren't a threat, even a small group of the Equestrian military could stand around watching for griffins and dragons and such.
Nothing in the story supports the belief that a unicorn would be any less dangerous than any other being, or any less likely to be a threat to the princesses.
Not only that, Nimbus didn't get upset at being told he would have to fight ponies, he got upset that he was told he might have to kill ponies. At least, that's the way it seemed.
Of course I have. But the fun fact about that is that when I do it, I'm not saying things I don't mean. I'm saying exactly what I do mean but would normally never give voice to...
And as for the thing with Alistair, the North Kingdom guys can use the exact same response. Especially since they somehow legitimately didn't know that Alistair was Kronson's grandson, even after he tried to murder Luna.
6732207
I'm not picking sides in this debate, I just want to point out that there is precedent, both in canon and in this story, of killing in order to protect Harmony. Not commenting on whether or not Silent was right, just saying that it's a thing that does, in fact, happen.
6732207 Harmony is balance. Look at the sisters. they are equal but also opposite being day and night.
How is it harmonious to let evil continue to do evil and have others suffer. Hence why sometimes harmony requires to kill. NOT always, but sometimes. That's why soliders deserve the respect they should get. They at times have to kill to protect those they love.
So again Celestia should know ALOT better. So she is dissapointed in them, well I'm dissapointed in her.
6732254 Really? It made sense to me that Celestia wouldn't turn him in at all. i think since we're in SK's head so much we might buy into his logic a little bit but Celestia made it pretty clear
after which I let out a long "oh yeah!, DUH!" sometimes people can say the simplest things to bring issues to rest.
Now the only pony left to hear Silent's secret is Crystal. His wife. The first pony that should have been told in my opinion (not as a storytelling decision just from my life experience) I think the characters have stayed true to themselves even as they have evolved and changed and matured, and sometimes that's exactly the cause of my frustrations in the past but right now I'm loving the change of scenery and the stress fractures going on in Silent's relationship with the royalty.