Beats is Weird and That One Mare Appeared
Beats sat on the cushioned stool in the white operating room of Star Shine's home. Across from him sitting on the floor with a thick file in paw was the home owner, giving him a quizzical look.
“So, Silver sent you here?” she asked, her expression remaining.
Beats nodded, “Yep. He said there was something weird about me and told me to come here.”
“Weird?” she repeated, raising a brow even higher, “Beats, everypony in that guard is weird.”
“That's what I said,” he chuckled, “But he insisted I come here.”
Star Shine eyed him up and down for a moment before shrugging and setting her folder on the counter behind her.
“Alright then,” she conceded, “Did he say what he wanted me to take a look at?”
“He just said to explain my training regiment.”
“Which is?” she prompted.
Beats slipped off his headphones from around his neck and gave them over to the wolf, “You know about these right?”
Star Shine nodded and examined them, “Yeah, Enhancement spells weaved into music. I was surprised he managed to find a way to do it. I never cared enough to try it, much less thought that ponies would be the key to it.”
“Right, well my regiment is to play through all the songs on the play list to get a feel for how the music affects me. In total, there are a hundred and twenty-three songs with varying effects depending on a number of factors.”
Star Shine was about to make a remark about his seemingly analytic explanation until she fully processed what he said.
“....Come again?” she replied.
“I have to listen to all one hundred and twenty-three songs at least once a day to adjust to how the music affects me.”
Star Shine sat stunned, a small twitch showing in her eye, “...hun-hundred and tw-twenty-three....” she mumbled.
“Uh... Miss Star Shine?” Beats tried, waving a hoof in front of her face.
Snapping out of her daze, Star Shine set the headphones on the counter and quickly made her way over to Beats, and, doing much like Silver did the day before, began walking in circles around him while examining him.
Beats sighed and sat still, “Well at least this time it's a cute girl.”
Star Shine payed him no mind as she tried to wrap her head around the enigma that is Beats' body. Biologically, it wasn't possible for a pony to endure that kind of physical strain for so long, even if it was broken up into smaller increments.
Assuming the average length of each song was three and a half minutes, the total play time of the entire play list was just over seven hours. Not even the most durable wolf would be able to endure that. Their muscles would tear, their lungs would collapse, blood vessels would rupture. They'd be a bloody mess by the end of the first half of the set.
And yet, here this stallion was, defying all logic.
And that was something Star Shine simply couldn't ignore. All things could be explained logically, even Discord. And this wolf was determined to find the answer to the riddle that is otherwise known as Beats.
“Silver's right,” Star Shine finally said, stopping after her twentieth circle, “You are weird.”
“Thanks for that,” Beats retorted flatly, “So, can you tell me what's wrong with me?”
Star Shine snapped her head up to look him in the eyes, “What's wrong with you? There's nothing wrong with you, if anything there's something very right with you. Biologically, this shouldn't be possible, and yet here you are. You're fascinating!”
A hint of blush crept up on the stallions cheeks, “Right, well then why am I here? If there's nothing wrong with me, then there's no need for a check up, right?”
“Hmm,” Star Shine hummed as she turned around and went back over to the counter. She pulled open a draw and pulled out a stethoscope, putting it around her neck and moving back over to Beats, “Well, there's nothing wrong but I'd still like to know what makes you tick like this. I've literally never heard of someone being able to endure seven hours of Enhancement spells. And I know a lot of borderline monsters...and actual monsters.”
“Fourteen,” Beats corrected.
“Huh?”
"Fourteen hours. Well, at the most. I still take breaks and I have to leave to get Scootaloo from school so it's more like ten, but I try to play through the playlist twice.”
“WHAT IS HE, A ZOMBIE!?”
But before her internal flip out could find it's way to her mouth, Star Shine managed to regain her self control and smiled back at the stallion, “Could you turn around please?” she asked.
Beats did as instructed and swiveled around on the stool until his back faced the wolf. He extended his wings outward so she could freely move the metal of the stethoscope around. He shivered at the cold touch but did his best to sit still.
After a few moments of silence, Star Shine pulled away and hummed to herself.
“Your lungs are fine and heart rate seem to be normal,” she said, removing the plugs from her ears, “I'd like to do a full check up though, if you don't mind.”
Beats shrugged, “Might as well. Haven't been to the doctor's in a while anyway.” As he rose off of the stool, he paused and stretch forward, a loud and satisfying pop resounding from his back.
“Before you go,” Star Shine added on, “I'd like to take a CT scan of you. I want to see if your body behaves any differently than other ponies.”
“How long will it take?” he asked, standing up straight once more.
“Only 15 minutes or so,” she said motioning over to the large doughnut shaped machine against the wall.
“Might as well,” Beats said, shrugging once more before trotting over to the machine. Star Shine followed after and moved over to it's operating panel to start it.
“Alright, just lay still on the table for me,” she explained, “You won't feel a thing.”
As Beats climbed up on the platform, the wolf's eye caught a glimpse of something. Normally, she'd keep her eyes on the front end of a pony, but when he clambered up to lay down, it just happened to stick out.
In the middle of starting the machine, Star Shine's paws stopped. She fully leaned over to see Beats now laying on his back waiting on her.
The wolf stepped out from around the side of the machine and lowered her head to view the side of Beats' flank. He didn't even notice she stepped over until he felt her breathe on his leg.
“Uh, my eyes are up here, you know?” he joked, sitting up since she apparently had other plans aside from the scan.
Once again ignoring his comment, Star Shine raised her head and turned to the stallion, “Beats, what does your cutiemark mean?”
“Huh?” he retorted with a cock of his head. It wasn't an odd question, in fact it was somewhat common among ponies, though it was typically asked between those who were close friends or lovers. He couldn't figure out why she had the sudden interest in it however, “My cutiemark?”
Star Shine nodded in response. Beats shot her another quizzical look before shrugging, “My cutiemark represents my skills to pump and amp up a crowd with music. That's why it's a blaring audio visualizer. It's the energy that comes from the audience and the music.”
Star Shine hummed for a moment before speaking again, “And how do you feel when you DJ?”
An exceedingly bright smile grew on the stallions face, “It feels amazing! The crowds chants and shouts gives me an unbelievable rush, and the sound of the music makes it all the better! It's like I'm a king when I'm playing a set! I feel so alive when up there an--”
His ramblings were cut short by a paw over his mouth.
“Sorry,” Star Shine excused with an apologetic smile, “but I need to think a moment.” She pulled away back over to the counter to grab a clip board, pencil and paper. She began scribbling something on the sheet and muttering to herself. All the while, Beats could only look on in confusion.
After a few minutes of sitting on the CT table waiting, Beats jumped when Star Shine suddenly bolted up out of her chair.
“Stupid!” she shouted, “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! ARHG! HOW COULD I BE SO DENSE!?”
Beats quickly pulled away, though was stopped when his back hit the machine.
“Ugh! I can't believe I've never thought about it!” the wolf shouted again turning back to the stallion, “Tell me everything you know about cutiemarks. Doesn't matter how little you know, just give me something.”
Beats sat in utter bafflement at the wolfs request. After a moment, he manged to escape his confusion and scooted back over to his original spot before speak.
“Well, uh, every pony gets a cutiemark at some point in their life. It usually happens when their young and still in elementary school, but sometimes a pony doesn't get theirs until their an adult. We get them when we discover what our special talent is; what we're meant to do in out life. No two cutiemarks are ever the same, but two marks can mean the same thing. Like how Vinyl's cutiemark and mine have the same meaning.”
As he spoke, Star Shine scribbled down notes while nodding to show she was still listening. Beats couldn't figure out what the purpose of this was, but figured that if Star Shine herself was requesting he explain something to her, it must be important.
“Uh, other than that, I'm afraid that's all I know,” Beats concluded, “I've never really thought much about them other than they tell you what a pony is good at.”
“No, no, that was all fine,” Star Shine replied, finishing the last of her notes.
“Um, do you mind me asking what this is about?” Beats asked, “What does my cutiemark have to do with what we were talking about before?”
Star Shine rose once more from her seat, but instead of going to the counter once more, she simply began to pace with the clipboard held in her paw up to her face.
“Ponies are the only creatures to have cutiemarks, correct?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“And you don't find that odd? That of all the races in the entire world, only one gets a crystal clear indication of it's individuals are supposed to do with their lives in the form of a mark on their flank?”
Beats thought it over for a moment, “Well, now that you mention it...”
“And further more, a cutiemark can be anything. It doesn't just have to be a profession, but a skill or a passion. Like Aerial.”
“Yeah, it can just be something that makes you unique. But what does Aerial have to do with this?”
“You said it can take until adulthood for a pony to get their cutiemarks.”
“Well, yeah but that doesn't happen often. It's pretty rare actually. I've never met a pony like that.”
“But you have,” Star Shine corrected, “Aerial didn't have her cutiemark up until a few months ago. When Silver first arrived in Equestria, he was a full day late because he was with Aerial. During that time, she learned she could use Wind Magic which triggered her cutiemark.”
“Oookay, but that's not really weird,” Beats commented, earning a raised brow from the wolf, “Aerial never would have thought to try Wind Magic unless she'd met Silver. Naturally, she wouldn't have gotten her cutiemark until then.”
Star Shine shook her head, “That's the thing, she got it before Silver began training her to use Wind magic. She had nearly fell to her death and just before she hit the ground, she used Wind Magic to break her fall. But just as important as when she got the cutiemark, we also need to consider what the cutiemark produced. Like you said, she never would have thought to use Wind Magic until she met Silver, and yet she could use it without a problem moments before dying.”
“So?”
“SO, that shouldn't be possible. You don't just start doing Elemental magic out of the blue, it has to be cultivated like a plant. Like with Ruppy and Onyx. They can't naturally use Earth or Shadow Magic on their own, they have to be introduced to it first, which is why Silver gave them the weapons. As time goes on, they'll rely less on their weapons and more on their own abilities to start using their magic. So that begs the question, how did Aerial start using Wind magic literally, out of no where?”
Beats sat dumbfounded, “I have no idea what's going on anymore...”
Star Shine rolled her eyes, “Humor me and listen. Aerial said that when she first used Wind Magic, she nearly fell to her death.”
“Okay.”
“But that shouldn't be possible, since it takes time and effort to learn any Elemental Magic. So, is it possible that a near death experience can trigger a cutiemark?”
Beats thought for a moment, “Um...sure? I'm not exactly an expert in these things.”
“Well then let's say it is, for the sake of this theory,” Star Shine hypothesized, “And if said cutiemark showed a talent in Wind Magic, then what if, in the instant she earned her mark, it allowed her to use the basics of the magic since it would allow her to survive her fall?”
“That's definitely a stretch,” Beats concluded.
“It is, but it also poses a question. Does a ponies talent reveal their cutiemark, or is their talent bestowed by their cutiemark?”
“Umm, a ponies naturally born with their talent, it's just a matter of finding it. So I'd say option A,” Beats answered.
“Then what about Aerial?” Star Shine asked, “She had no idea she could use Wind Magic, much less knew she had a talent for it, and by all rights, couldn't use it until the moment she almost died. And when her cutiemark activated, she suddenly gained the ability to use it. So how could she earn a cutiemark with a talent she didn't know she had, when the whole point of earning a cutiemark is discovering what your talent is?”
Beats went to respond but paused. She had a good point, “But there are still holes in your theory,” he pointed out, much to the shock of the wolf. Not many had the gall to do such a thing, “For one, you haven't heard Aerial's story from her yourself. Second, there's still no proof that a near death experience can trigger a cutiemark. And third, it's hard to determine how exactly cutiemarks work. Sure, you're supposed to learn what your talent is, but literally no pony knows what that is until they try it. Aerials situation is the same as everypony else, just like how I didn't know I was good a DJ-ing until I first tried it.”
Star Shine sat stunned. She had actually, without a doubt, just had her theory shot down by this pony. And in all honesty...
She really couldn't tell if she hated or loved him for it.
For a moment, she sat in silence, still pondering on her theory, “....So...my theory is shaky at best. But I have one last question.”
Beats raised a brow.
“Do cutiemarks have an effect on ponies?”
The stallion sat for a moment and thought, “Honestly? I have no clue. I know they're magical, but I have no idea if it has an actual effect on the pony.”
“I might need to talk to Princess Twilight about this then...” the wolf considered, “Or mayb--”
The wolf was cut off by the sudden interruption of another wolf barging in through the doors. As much as Star Shine enjoyed seeing her friend, she felt this visit would be less than pleasant based on the scowl Silver was wearing when he came in.
“We have a problem.”
The crystal carriage jostled and rumbled along the dirt path it was being pulled down. In front and behind it were ten guards each, twenty in all. On the inside, it's three passengers sat in deep discussion.
“He's here already?” Twilight asked to the pink mare across from her.
Cadence nodded in response, “Yes, the Duke will be arrive in Canterlot shortly.”
“But why now?” Twilight questioned, “I thought he wasn't supposed to come for another three days.”
“He wasn't,” Cadence replied with a sigh, “However, he's taken it upon himself to drop in ahead of schedule without informing us first. I assume he's trying to catch us off guard.”
Twilight groaned and placed her head in her hooves, “What was the deal with this moose? Why is he so desperate to get Radiance back? She's just one fox.”
“She's one incredibly powerful fox too,” Onyx piped up, sitting next to Twilight, much to her surprise, “When Silver was recovering from getting hurt, I ran into her at Star Shines while we were waiting for him to wake up. She's....different.”
“Onyx is right,” Cadence agreed, “Even Black Wing says she's intimidating. Not much is known about Foxes or the magic they wield. He says there's no telling what she could be capable of at her level, which is why he wanted to keep an eye on her at the Crystal Empire.”
“Really?” Twilight said with notable surprise, “And here I thought he just wanted to hit on her.”
The pink alicorn giggled, “Well yes, that too. But he was never sure of her or her intentions and planned on keeping her there until he knew what she was going to do now that she was away from the Duke.”
“Well that's unusually cautious of him,” Twilight noted.
“Black Wing, despite his behavior, has been chosen as a Royal for a reason,” Cadence defended, “He's an Alpha as well, and of one of the three strongest packs in Houndland. It's not that unusual when you think about it.”
Twilight had to admit, her sister-in-law had a point. It would be almost impossible to rise to that kind of power if all he had was Lost Magic. It wasn't that she underestimated or doubted the wolf, just that he didn't seem the type to be cautious or wary.
“I see your point,” Twilight finally said before Cadence could begin listing off even more of his achievements. All the time she spent with him allowed her to learn a fair amount about the wolf and his life.
As the conversation died off, so did the ride of the carriage.
“Are we there already?” Twilight questioned, looking out the side window.
Cadence stood up from her seat and opened the door to stick her head out, “We shouldn't be. It should be at least another forty minutes.”
As she looked around, she realized the formation of her escorts had changed. While there would typically be a group behind them and in front led by Shinning Armor, the groups had split and were now on all sides of the carriage, their bodies leveled as if ready to fight.
“What's going on?” She asked, stepping out from the coach. Twilight immediately went to rise from her seat, but was stopped by a black hoof gently setting her back into her seat. Onyx shook her head and stood up, stepping out of the carriage after Cadence.
“Princess, please get back inside,” she requested, drawing her blades. Cadence looked over to the unicorn as she began walking forward closer to the crowd of guards. Through the thicket of helmets and spears, she spotted the Captain standing at the front of them all, seeming to be talking with someone.
Before stepping into the crowd, Onyx looked back. Cadence was still standing outside, and Twilight was now poking her head out of the door.
Onyx shot them a hard glare, both of them quickly catching it and hesitantly turning back to the coach. It wasn't that the unicorn didn't understand why they'd want to know what was happening. This concerned them as much as anyone else, and add in the fact that the Captain leading the guard was both a brother and a husband to the two mares, it made more than enough sense for them to want to see what's happening.
But Onyx was a guard now. She couldn't allow either of them to put themselves in danger. Turning to the ponies hitched to the carriage, she asked, “Do you have your orders?”
All four nodded, though their eyes remained ahead.
Onyx nodded in return before finally heading through the crowd. As she got closer to the front, the back of Shinning Armor became more and more present, as did the reason why they were stopping in the first place.
Staring him down in the middle of the path was a platoon of moose's, dressed in full armor, roughly forty from what she could see.
Unfortunately, that wasn't what bothered her the most.
No, that honor when to the black and multi-colored neon wolf leading them. None other than Aurora stood at the head of the crowd of moose's, much like Shinning did for his soldiers.
“What are you doing on this road?” he demanded, “This path is off limits to any citizens or guest of the country, and is to only be used by the Princess of the Crystal Empire and the Princesses of Equestria.”
“Oh? Monopolizing roads now?” Aurora replied with a smirk, “And here I thought you ponies were supposed to play fair.”
Shinning Armor's scowl deepened, “Answer the question. There isn't supposed to be anyone else on this road. How did you know about it?”
“Now now, you should know better than to ask a girl about her secrets,” the wolf replied.
“Leave,” the stallion demanded with a stomp of his hoof. It seemed that was a signal for the rest of the guard as they all pointed their spears and horns directly at the ones now blocking the road as the pegasi took to the sky.
This in turn ignited a response from the moose's, as they all lowered their heads, though not in submission. A magic energy could be seen building between their horns, though nothing came out.
“Stand down!” Aurora commanded, but not to her own troops, “Surely you don't think you could handle the Archmages of Caneighdia.”
As much as Onyx hated to admit it, the wolf had a point. While she knew nothing of Caneighdian Magic or military, she could feel the power radiating from the moose's. If she had Ruppy, Sica and Beats there with her, she figured they could probably have a stalemate, but without that, there was no chance of winning without--
CRACK!
BOOOOOOOM!
In a sudden flash, there was explosion from a head of Onyx, not far from Shinning Armor, who had almost jumped out of his armor.
A dust cloud rose up and no one moved as it settled. Soon a black paw with a white bandanna wrapped around the leg above it stepped forward.
“Aurora....” Black Wing growled. Even with his back to her, Onyx could feel the glare the wolf was giving. What amazed her was how the wolf it was directed at was still standing there smiling.
“Black Wing,” she responded simply.
“Do you mind telling me what it is you think you're doing?” he growled again.
“We are on our way to Canterlot Castle, escorting Duke Little Horn on this road. When we realized that we were being followed, he sent a party, lead by me, to check it out.”
“I don't care about that,” he said coldly, moving forward until he passed Shinning Armor and was now only a few feet from the wolf, “I want to know why you seem to think it's okay for you to aim spells from a foreign country's soldiers at the Princess of another while in a land you don't belong to.”
“They're the ones that bared their arms first. This is--”
“This is a private road, owned and used by the Crystal Empire for Princesses Cadence, Celestia, Luna and Twilight. What you're doing is a declaration of war!”
As the words left his mouth, the wolf flared his wings, his bandanna around his leg coming clean off. The power that emanated from him made the air unbelievably thick and gravity felt like it increased ten -fold. Onyx quickly fell her knees gasping for air, as did the rest of the guards, moose and pony alike, though she knew it wasn't a spell that made her bow.
It was fear.
All weapons were dropped and all spells fizzled in the moment he discarded one of his seals. All resistance from either side came to a screeching halt before this beast.
“ALLOW ME TO MAKE MYSELF PERFECTLY CLEAR!” Black Wing shouted, his voice literally booming like thunder, “ YOUR ACTIONS HAVE BEEN DEEMED A THREAT TO PRINCESS CADENCE! SHOULD ANYONE OF YOU EVEN TWITCH, I WILL SLAUGHTER YOU ALL!”
The more he spoke, the quicker Onyx became a quivering mess. His voice alone terrified her beyond belief, but with the power his was letting off, if she didn't know any better, she'd think she were in the presence of a god.
And yet, in spite of the overwhelming presence of the wolf, Onyx managed to look up from the ground.
….and froze at the sight she saw.
She saw only one other wolf that would be able to still stand with this amount of pressure barring down on themselves. There was only one other wolf that would stand in the face of this immeasurable power....
…and grin.
But unfortunately, it wasn't Silver. Aurora stood, smirking at the display Black Wing put on.
“Scary,” she said with almost a giggle, “It's been a long time since I've seen you take off one of your seals. When was the last time, the Tolwaki Forest?”
“The Engrid Desert,” he responded, folding his wings.
Aurora sighed with a small roll of her eyes, “Alright, you've made your point. Our actions were uncalled for. Soldiers, disarm all spells!”
Even after she spoke, Black Wing kept his bandanna off, his eyes no longer staring at the other wolf but rather down the moose's. His expression was simple but sent a clear message. Defy him and they would die.
Eventually, he bent down and picked up his bandanna off the ground before tying back around his leg. The the air lightened and Onyx could feel her legs coming back under her control, though they still had a noticeable shake to them.
“We're going back!” Aurora shouted to her troops as she turned around to step away.
“Not just yet,” Black Wing called after her with a new friendly grin plastered on his face, making the wolf pause in her steps, “Since you've come all this way and made such a ruckus, why not at least escort us to Canterlot?”
While the wolf may have been wearing a smile now and the intensity of his voice died down, there was still a clear indication that his words were less of a suggestion and more of a command.
Eyeing him up and down, Aurora pondered what the wolf could be up too. Though with his earlier display, she couldn't risk angering him. Sure, she might be able to hold her own against him, but Black Wing was a wolf of his word was still more than capable and willing to slaughter all of her troops, even with her there. The Duke would be furious is she ended up getting the greatest mages of Caneighdia killed.
And so, with a reluctant sigh, Aurora turned back to the moose's.
“Change of plans! We're accompanying Princess Cadence and her guards to Canterlot Castle!”
While she may have gotten a few odd looks from her troops, a quick glare from Black Wing ensured they followed their orders.
“Wonderful,” Black Wing said with a small but seemingly vicious smile, “I certainly hope there are no other surprises while we're on this road.”
Aurora rolled her eyes while both the moose and ponies got back in formation and began moving again, Onyx heading back inside the carriage.
“You're just as paranoid as Silver,” she retorted, almost spitting as she said his name, “And as violent too.”
It seemed Black Wing had some interest in the conversation as, instead of disappearing into wherever he was hiding before, he remained on the road, trotting by her side. That, or he just didn't trust her to be left on her own.
“Strange. Here I thought you hated talking about Silver,” he said back.
“I do,” she replied, “But I like talking about how much I hate him.”
The winged-wolf rolled his eyes, “Has anyone ever told you you're the textbook definition of a horrible ex? You know, rude, selfish, unwilling to change her point of view, talking shit behind their ex's back?”
Aurora snapped her head around to glare at Black Wing, her first real showing any emotion since showing her face to him, “I'm not like that,” she denied, “I just don't like him. Besides, it's not like anything I say isn't true.”
It was Black Wings turn to glare at her now, “And how would you know?” he argued.
“How else? I dated him.”
“Yeah, forty years ago,” he added on, turning back to face ahead of him, “A lot can change in that time, especially when you two avoid each other like the plague.”
“Ha! Please!” she mocked with a roll of her eyes, “With my eyes? I doubt I'd miss it. He hasn't changed a bit.”
“Then you're color blind,” Black Wing retorted.
“What's that supposed to mean?” Aurora sneered back, “Are you trying to say my Aura Sight isn't working right?”
“Pretty much,” he answered, “When you look at Silvers aura, what do you see?”
“Same old bland gray with some hint of color on the edge.”
“Wrong,” he countered, “Try again.”
“Wha-try again? What do you mean try again? How the hell am I supposed to try again?”
“I mean, try again. When we get to Canterlot, I want you to look at his aura again, but this time try to actually see it, not just look at it.”
Auroras face contorted into various expressions over the span of a few seconds. Anger, confusion, and the urge to scream ran across her brow and cheeks as she stared at the wolf walking next to her.
“What the hell are you talking about?” she questioned, “See instead of look? You're not making any sense, they're the same thing. Maybe you're the color blind one here.”
“If I am, then how is it that when I look at Silver, I see far more than just gray, and yet when you look at him, that's all you can see?”
“I don't know, but I know what I see. Silver always has, and always will be the same indifferent monster he's always been."
“Or maybe you've just been seeing things wrong. Aurora, I've known Silver longer than anyone, and I can tell you I've only ever seen his aura turn gray a scant few times. I don't know why it is that all you ever see is gray, but have you ever thought that maybe the problem isn't with him, but with you?”
Aurora went to argue, but before she could, Black Wing opened his wings and took off to the sky, disappearing in a flash of lightning.
“Asshole....”
Ruppy, Sica and Beats stood at attention in a line in Silvers living room. The wolf sat in front of them, a scowl drawn on his brow.
“Listen closely, we have a bit of an issue,” he stated in a clear, authoritative voice, “Duke Little Horn of Caneighdia is arriving in Canterlot Castle within the hour to meet with the Princesses. Joining him will be Aurora, an Alpha of the Fallen Star pack, and at least two of her Betas. I imagine he will probably have soldiers from his own army accompanying him as well. Before we leave I will make two things absolutely clear. The first is do not strike first. I don't care how insulting or threatening they may be, do not attack unless they do first. It will become an international issue and possibly lead to a war if the damage is severe enough.”
“And the second?” Sica asked.
“If an incident does break out, do not, under any circumstances, engage in a fight with the wolves, especially Aurora. You will leave them to myself, Black Wing or Star Shine.”
“But you're injured,” Ruppy needlessly pointed out, “Are you sure you should even be going?”
“I doubt anything will actually happen, however, even in this state I'm still strong enough to at least hold off the Betas. Black Wing or Star Shine can handle Aurora.”
The tan pegasus shrugged in compliance. Despite her pride in her strength, she didn't have an issue with not fighting the wolves and knew Silver was plenty strong even with a dozen stab wounds. And that was only if a fight breaks out.
“Anything else?” he asked. All three shook their heads, “Good, now let's go.”
The group left the home and stepped into the castle, Silver leading as the trio followed behind. As they wandered through the building, Ruppy noticed that as they got closer to the throne room the number of guards increased. At first it was one on every corner, but soon became four on each side of the hall.
“Wow, I didn't know the guard was this large,” the pegasus commented, “Or that there would be this many of them.” As an ex-criminal, the heavy presence of lawful authority still made her nervous.
“All three Princesses of Equestria and the Princess and Prince of the Crystal Empire will be in the same room with a hostile Duke of Canighdia and his bitchy wolf guards,” Silver explained, “This kind of situation requires this many guards.”
The group soon arrived in the throne room where they found Celestia and Luna sitting in their seats, issuing orders to the rest of the guards. Around the room stood five soldiers, though Ruppy couldn't help but notice their attire was different from the ones in the hall.
“Silver!” Luna called, though she quickly noticed her marefriend was not present with him, nor was her surrogate daughter, “Where are Onyx and Twilight?”
Silver stepped forward, but not onto the raised platforms themselves, “They're at the Crystal Empire. Twilight sent me a letter saying they would be coming back with Cadence.”
“Ah, well I suppose there's nothing we can do about that,” she said with a small frown, “In the mean time, could you help organize the guards? We're in a bit of a scramble at the moment.”
Silver nodded and turned around to the trio behind him, “Beats, Ruppy, go stand on the left of Luna's throne. Sica, shadow them.”
All three nodded, with Beats and Ruppy moving to their places and Sica slipping into...nothing? Ruppy paused and did a double-take as the mare who was standing beside her literally three seconds ago had vanished into nothing. Looking around, Ruppy tried to find the assassin, but after almost getting whiplash from turning her head so much, the pegasus sighed and gave up.
After telling the three where to go, Silver turned and looked around the room. He recognized the five guards in the room, despite their appearances being obscured by their armor. They were the same five ponies that Celestia had picked out to be initially trained by him.
“You brought in you're special Captains?” Silver asked as he turned and looked to Celestia.
“Huh?” she questioned, “Oh, yes. I figured the occasion called for it since we couldn't get the full guard here on time.”
“Did you explain to everypony to not fight with the wolves?” he asked.
“Yes, I'm well aware of the power gap and made sure they understood that as well,”she replied.
Just after she spoke, an almost inaudible scoff came from the wall of the room. While Celestia didn't hear or simply choose to ignore it, Silver turned and found the pony responsible for the noise.
“Something to say, Captain?” Silver asked as he walked over.
The mare against the wall looked up to match his eyes, only for him to find he recognized this mare. Not just as one of the ponies Celestia picked, but from somewhere else.
“Have we met somewhere?” he asked.
“Yes, unfortunately.”
The mare continued to stare him down, her glare clearing showing through the narrow sights of her helmet. Silver continued to look down at her, still pondering where he'd seen that same look.
“Are you gonna tell me where that was?” He said after having a short staring contest with the mare.
“In the castle, late one night.”
“In the castle.....” Silver pondered for a moment. The only mares he'd met with in the castle at night were Luna and Twilight. Anypony else would have been a....guard.
“Ooooh...” the realized dawned on him, “You're that mare! The one that wouldn't tell me where Luna was when I ki—messed up.”
The mare gave a rudely sarcastic smile, “Look at that, the dumb dog does have brains. Maybe he can do more than chase his tail.”
“Wow, it;'s official. All ponies are actually assholes,” Silver retorted, “I assume you already know I have no authority in the Royal guard, otherwise I doubt you'd be speaking to me like this.”
The mare simply rolled her eyes, “Yes, I'm well aware of you're unique position and how much you've managed to abuse it. Now, we already have our orders, so there's no need to speak with the rest of us. Go do something else.” The mare finished her brush off by actually shooing him away with a hoof.
“Alright, alright,” Silver said, taking a step back, “I get it, you don't like me. But you will follow your orders, right? No fighting with the wolves?”
The mare sighed, “Yes, despite how much bullshit it is, we won't fight with the wolves. Not that a fight is even going to break out anyway.”
“Good,” Silver said and turned to the door, “As long as you understand.”
I'M BAAAAACK!
After a very long break, I have finally returned! Although I'm working now, I should still have time to write....if I'm not lazy.
Another thing that actually happens to be about the story, the whole discussion between Star Shine and Beats was pretty much me just having an argument with myself in writing. Feel free to ignore it if you want.
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Glad you are back cool chapter.
Welcome back!
I was so happy to see this chapter appear in my e-mail alert. I missed reading this story and I can't wait for the next chapter. 
As soon as the inevitable fight brakes out, I'm blaming the captain for jinxing it.
Thanks for the update!!
Soo...
Would it be wrong for me to imagine one or few of my OCs completely cleaning this whole mess out just by doing what they do the best?
I mean, stealing somewolf's soul is rather easy...
P.S. "Show must go on"
first welcome back.
i think this hole argument really makes thing good and sheds light on cutie marks.
this is a vary strong chapter i really like it.
Worth the wait!
Great job. I cant wait for more
I haven't read any chapters yet. I leave on Tuesday for combat training and its fucking 2 in the morning. Looks like I won't be sleeping cause I'm gonna read all of these chapters before I leave on Tuesday
more pls
Saw this and thought of this story...
(Silver and Human Luna?)
petbreederconnection.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/wolfdog.jpg
star shine and beats ship?