Margull was beginning to look more like a military base with each passing day. The seaside capital's port was filled with ships bringing supplies, materials, and royal guards. There were also gryphon soldiers pouring in to be processed before heading south. Tents went on forever outside of the walls, as every available berth inside was already claimed.
That is where rank had its privilege. As a member of the general’s staff, I had my own room in the same building as him. It was small, but it was mine. The peace and quiet was helpful to my profession, too. I’d been studying every topographic map possible and passing insights on to my gryphon counterpart.
There was a knock at my door before it popped open and Colonel Hammer poked his head in. “Silent Knight.”
“Yes, sir?” I resisted the instinct to stand up. Hammer had repeatedly instructed me not to bother.
“Commander Tsunami has left Margull to tour some of the cities he’ll be responsible for. He’s taken most of his staff with him, too. Ironhoof wants somepony to go down to the receiving center and just verify things are progressing smoothly in the commander’s absence. You know the Guard better than anypony else on this staff, so get to it.”
I set my maps down and stood. “Yes, sir. Snooping without bothering the guard leadership. I’m on it.”
He chuckled. “We’re just validating that our flanks are protected. Trust but verify, Captain. Don’t linger, though. I expect you in my staff meeting this afternoon.”
“Understood. I’ll be there.”
He nodded and left. I grabbed my helmet and headed out. Our quarters were close to the palace and, given all the commotion in the streets, it would have been quite the hike to the port. Thankfully, I had wings.
From above, the city was total chaos. Every street was packed to capacity. There were wagons everywhere moving materials and I’d never seen so many armed soldiers in one place, either. How a civilian could go about their business I’d never know. They seemed to be tolerating it well enough, however, given the circumstances.
In fact, there was wide public support to march south. Yellow banners were affixed to the doors of private homes and the Nordanver standard was plastered everywhere. Evidently, the rivalries between the gryphon kingdoms ran deep.
Even with all of the hustle and bustle, spotting the receiving center was easy. It was a series of large tents that seemed to be stitched together and stretched on forever. The canopy itself was white and every support pole flew both the Nordanver and Equestrian flags. Theirs over ours, of course. The other way around would have suggested something sinister.
Everything seemed to be going fairly smoothly from above. Royal guards disembarked from their ships, got in line, and entered the tent on the south side. Processing was obviously occurring inside, and I assumed things were going smoothly because ponies were leaving out the north end fairly consistently.
From there, they met up with others likely going to the same destination as themselves and then headed off in groups. At least, that was my guess how it was done and how I’d have run the process.
I dove down and came to a landing near the start of the process. As I did so, every guard around me stood to attention, which was expected since I was an officer. There was more to it than the standard level of respect, though.
They were all looking at me like I was some sort of curiosity. I guess Princess Luna’s House Guards are still fairly obvious. After all, my armor didn’t match theirs at all. No, they all knew who I was. “At ease,” I said casually before walking into the tent.
“Guards from the west follow the blue line! East, you’re on the navy line! Central is the teal line! Crystal is the sapphire line! Everypony else, take the indigo! Why is this so hard to understand?” The voice was coming from a tiny blue unicorn mare.
She was standing on a box and that still barely put her taller than me. At least it looked like she’d finally found a suit of armor that was sized for her. It was silver, bore the symbol of the palace, and had a senior warrant officer pin on it. What was interesting was that the traditional star heraldry had been replaced with a pink heart.
That wasn’t regulation. At least it hadn’t been when I was there, but then again, very few things about this particular pony were normal.
“Perhaps you should distinguish your lines better, Warrant Officer? They’re all blue to me,” I said with a smile.
Azurite’s eyes narrowed as she turned to find the source of the voice. Then she smiled brightly and hopped down. “Silent Knight!” She trotted over and then looked around at all of the guards. “I mean, Captain Silent Knight! Hi! Sir.”
“Hello Azurite. I’ll be honest, I’m surprised to see you here.”
She set a hoof on her chest. “I’m hurt, sir! Everypony has to do her part. I volunteered to help run the receiving center. After all, I’m a paperwork guru! Bringing tens of thousands of guards to another kingdom, building units, and assigning them to cities needs my kind of skills.”
That actually made a ton of sense. This was a huge effort and Azurite was, unquestionably, the best suited pony to do this much paperwork. I patted her on the shoulder. “You’re absolutely right. You’re the best at this. Forgive me. Now, who’s in charge?”
“You are forgiven… this time! Lieutenant Brook is, sir.”
“Oh yeah? A regular reunion in here, then,” I replied.
Azurite grinned. “You have no idea! Just follow the blue line.”
“Which blue line? They’re all blue.”
The tiny mare squealed and shoved a hoof to the third line from the right. “That is clearly blue! Follow that one, sir.”
“Yes, ma’am!” I replied before doing so. Following a line was a good way to get a feel for how things were going. Of course, knowing that Azurite and Brook were on this made me feel very confident it was being done correctly.
As I wandered away, I heard Azurite shout behind me, “Guards from the west follow the blue line! East, you’re on the navy line! Central is the teal line! Crystal is the sapphire line! Everypony else take the indigo!”
I also happened to catch sight of a familiar face standing guard at the arch between the first bay and the next. A sky blue earth pony wearing Princess Luna’s House Guard armor was hard to miss.
When I approached him, I nodded. “Hey, Div.”
He stiffened to attention and nodded in return. “Sir. Good to see you.”
“At ease. You as well. I honestly didn’t expect anypony to volunteer. I was hoping you’d all stay and look after Princess Luna.”
“Yes, sir, and I will. This is a temporary assignment. Security detail for Senior Warrant Azurite.”
My ear twitched. “Pardon?”
Div grinned. “Command considers her a very valuable and easily misplaced asset, so she has a security detail. Three ponies, actually. Clear Skies, Night Frost, and myself.”
I tried to hide a smile and leaned in close. “Are they afraid she’s going to wander off and get lost?”
Div held up a hoof and whispered, “Just a little bit. Plus, she gets so much done they want her back in one piece. So while she is here, we’re staying to protect her… and wrangle her as necessary. Captain Day made it clear to Clear Skies that if we lost Azurite, we’d better not come home.”
“Good… truly and you better listen to Sunny. She probably means it. Well, unfortunately, I’m on a mission here but it was great to see you, Div. Tell Night Frost I said hi. Perhaps we can all meet up at some point.”
“Yes, sir. Will do!”
This was probably going to be a small war in the sense of knowing ponies. I patted Div on the helmet and moved on. The next bay was just as orderly. Guards stood on the blue line, waiting for their turn to see one of the ponies behind the makeshift desk that ran the length of this section of tent.
Lieutenant Brook stood behind the ponies completing the paperwork, keeping an eye on everything. When he spotted me, he smiled and came around. “Well, hello, Silent Knight, it is good to see you,” he said, offering a hoof.
I took it and we shook. “You, too, Stony. How are things going?”
“Incredibly smoothly given what we’re trying to do. Of course, I also have an elite staff. You’ve seen my carnival barker, I presume?”
I nodded. “Yes, who let her pick all blue lines?”
Brook’s cheeks flushed red and he said sheepishly, “I didn’t think that one through and she was really happy about it. After that bay, things go smoother. She spends a little time yelling and then she goes back to processing paperwork. It’s kind of like her break.”
“And the heart?”
The red intensified. “That… That is a whole other story. We don’t have that kind of time today.”
“Works for me,” I said with a chuckle.
He shrugged and then added, “So, you’re not here for processing, obviously…”
I shook my head. “No. To be frank, I’m spying on your operation for the EAC.”
“I figured as much. How do we stack up, captain?”
“Quality operation being ran by a solid officer and an incredibly competent if not slightly eccentric senior warrant officer. Nothing I’ve seen gives me anything other than confidence. Anything going wrong you need us to help smooth out?”
“That is appreciated. Actually no, for the most part things have been going smoothly. We get them in, validate they’ve checked in, issue them region-specific gear, assign them to a unit, and give them their orders. From what I understand, they’re making it to their next station without any trouble.”
“Great to hear. It is good to know our flanks are secured by unquestionably friendly troops. I guess you’ll be heading back when all of the paperwork is done?”
Brook shook his head. “No, I’m an S class pony. Once this assignment is done I’m transferring to the Army.”
My jaw went a bit slack. “Pardon?”
The stallion snorted. “Come on, Silent Knight, just because I’ve been riding a desk a while doesn’t mean I forgot how to be a soldier. I’m sure my services will be of use and I can’t sit back at home comfortably knowing that this is going on. Surely you of all ponies understands that.”
“No, I just… I’m a little surprised. No offense intended. I completely understand. Perhaps we’ll get to work together again.”
He laughed. “Yeah… no.” He tapped the badge on my armor. “Ironhoof’s headquarters company? I’m most likely on my way to supply. Now, go ahead and continue spying. I need to get back to processing ponies.” He lightly nudged me and smiled, “But truly it is good to see you in your element.”
My element? A war? I kept my expression light and nodded. “Will do. Thanks, Brook. See you around.”
“You’ve got it, Silent Knight.”
I went through the bay onto the next one, keeping my eye on everything that was happening. That needed to be my focus for now. Not that I should have been surprised that when ponies looked at me, they saw a warrior. That is all I’d ever been before.
Those thoughts could wait, though. I had a job to do. The next bay was running smoothly, too. Before I could cross it completely, a hoof found my tail and tugged it.
“Silent Knight? Oops, I mean, sir!”
It was a familiar voice. I turned to face the guard that would dare pull a captain’s tail. She was an earth pony with a pink coat. Her mane and tail were two tones of violet and she wore the golden armor of a city guard. There was no city badge, though. Just a sergeant’s pin.
I stared her down, not sure who she was. Who was this pony that knew me? Then it hit me. “Ruby?”
She grinned. “Yes, sir. Sorry about the tail. I’m still getting back into the swing of things.”
“Ruby Moon…” I suppressed a smile. “Out of retirement just for this, huh?”
“Couldn’t sit at home and not do my part. Obviously, you couldn’t either. Plus, with you here, who knows how business would go.”
“Fair enough. Well… mind the tail pulling. Welcome to Nordanver.”
“Yes, sir!” she replied.
I shook my head and moved on to the next bay, tucking my tail in a little closer. How about that? The mare that ran my favorite game shop had picked her sword back up. This wasn’t going to be like my father’s war. The crowns had seen to that. We’d have friends at our backs with only the enemy in front of us. Thank the alicorns for that.
☾
General Ironhoof had chosen the TMS Honor as his flagship despite her age. She was one of the few airships that Equestria had built specifically for the purpose of war. In her prime, she’d been fast, armored, and armed with numerous bolt throwers on the main and secondary decks.
She also had a lot of meeting space to serve the general’s needs. When we weren’t in our headquarters in Margull, we were on the Honor. Today was one of those days. We were going to take a quick fly by the front lines so that Ironhoof could get a feel for it himself. It was a bit risky, but the serious fighting hadn’t started yet.
The gryphon forces had been skirmishing with each other. It was all about feeling out your opponent and forecasting how things might go. It also put us on a timetable.
I stood alone by one of the bolt throwers, admiring it. A single pony could operate it but two could do so exponentially faster. It produced far more thrust than any crossbow could. This was the sort of weapon that armor would stand almost no chance against.
“Be sure you stay on this side of that thing.” The voice was rough and gravelly. All too familiar.
“You better believe that is my goal, Chief. Do the gryphons have these?”
“They do. Those and worse. How’re you doing, sir?”
I turned to face Steel Wings. He looked like his usual surly self and I wasn’t exactly thrilled to speak to him. He had been a major motivator in my decision to push forwards with the plan to hunt down and remove Alastair as a threat. That isn’t to say I wouldn’t have done it on my own, but Steel had been a source of constant encouragement.
That was in the past, though. I’d just have to work with the old stallion. Another gray old stallion from a war long past. I shrugged. “I’m doing as well as can be expected for our situation. I’m here to get the job done.”
“Yes, sir. I wouldn’t doubt that. I just mean…” He looked around a bit and lowered his voice. “Morale wise. I imagine this isn’t the outcome you imagined. Perhaps you’d be a bit angry with me and the situation.”
“It would have happened regardless. We just made it easier,” I said as plainly as I could but I’m certain he’d notice the twitch of irritation on my face.
Steel Wings nodded. “I see. Well, listen. If you want to take a swing at me at some point, I’m fine with that. You’ve earned it. Otherwise, I’m with you. I just want to get through this and be done with it. The real, right way this time.”
The right way? The last time he’d talked about doing something the right way he meant cutting throats. “Yeah?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What changed?”
“Nothing, really. I’m getting old. Priorities change and being back here is giving me a bad feeling. Plus, I’ve been spending time with the general and he has a different outlook than the last commander I served with. Him and your grandfather. And, to be honest, I’ve got another nephew here and I don’t want him to be at risk because of my stupidity.”
I blinked in surprise. “Risky had a sibling?” I’d never heard that.
“Nah, a cousin. An older one actually that, despite knowing better, my sister actually named after me. Can you believe that? Naming a colt for me. I’m not that kind of pony.”
I shrugged. I didn’t know what to say to that. “Where’s he at?”
“Royal Guard, thankfully. I pulled strings and got him assigned to Margull. I figure if anything goes wrong, that will be the last place to fall and he can get out in time. Not that he would. Strong Wing is just too stubborn when it comes to his duty. Just like me… heh, maybe she named him right after all.”
“Maybe so. Don’t worry about me, Chief. I’m not going to tell you I like you, but it won’t do either of us any good to hate you. Let’s just pretend like we’ve never met like we planned.”
“Yes, sir. I can do that. Now, can I ask you a favor?”
My ears shot up and I peered at him. “You need a favor?”
“Yes, sir. There are a couple of civilian ponies down in the engine room tinkering around. I don’t know how to deal with civilian ponies. You can’t just tell them to do things. See if you can get them to get this thing in better shape faster. Let’s face it, you and I both know the Honor has been sitting on the shelf for far too long. This lady was barely brand new during the last war.”
He had a point on that. The Honor looked great. It was a symbol of the Army’s power, so the exterior had been kept pristine, but she was a little rough on the inside. She should have been faster, more efficient, and sturdy. Jet Ventures had provided mechanics for the whole fleet at no expense but they did things differently than the Army.
“Sure, Chief. I’ll go see what I can do. Why me, though?”
“I know you’re good with ponies. Hammer doesn’t have the touch you do and I’m not ready to bring him down on them yet. What is it they say? You catch more ponies with sugarcubes than nets.”
“What? Chief, nopony says that! Who said that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. You know what I mean, though.”
“I do but I’m slightly frightened now. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go dispense sugarcubes.”
It was odd. Ponies that knew me well saw me as this big, frightening warrior. That was their image of me. On the other side of things, ponies that were more on the warrior side themselves saw me as somepony that could deal with others. It was strange.
Not that I wholly minded. It just seemed like I was trying to straddle the line a bit and play both sides, assuming you even had to choose a side. My life had swayed far too much into the realm of the Royal Guard. Almost as much as it had for my father and his father. I didn’t want that.
That made it all the more important for me to be the pony that went down and got the civilians into gear. I was certain I could motivate them without throwing around the rank and such. I’d just need to figure out how once I met them.
Never thought I'd see Silent described as a people's person
I swear Azurite no ribbon for you!
Ruby Moon
Well, there's somepony I didn't expect to see in Margull.
Another great chapter that meets my daily requirement for Azurite.
Okay what's the story behind Azu's armor?
7007548 I think Silent is having that exact same thought!
7007579 Aww, why not ribbon? She's so cute!
7007580 Surprise! *jazz hands*
7007586 You can never get enough Azurite. She's like a drug.
7007596 TMS is Their Majesties Ship since there are two ;D
7007618 It will be written :D I promise! Crystal came up with a cute idea that went along with the image I'd had in mind so we're going to put something together. It will likely appear in Sunny's story but may show up in an Azu mini-fiction.
Poor Azurite.
AZU! YES! Great chapter, I'm liking the build up of tension. Also helps that best pony is involved.
7007596 I'm assuming its 'Their Majesties Ship'
Seriously...who let Azurite pick all blue lines...isn't that a bit confusing? But her armor is adorable!
Oh god Azurite, I'm getting Lickity Split flash backs!
Oh my goodness, they brought Azurite. That makes me kind of uneasy. Of course, she is almost certainly administration staff that is unlikely to see combat unless things go very wrong, but there's always the chance that things will go very wrong.
Huh, well on the other hand, command seems to be very focused on protecting her.
Yeah, I bet she did.
I'm definitely curious about the heart insignia.
This is not making me any less uneasy. Lots of named characters potentially in the line of fire. Next thing we know, it'll be Crystal's dad down in the engine room.
so fucking called it this is turning in to the Q&B version of Vietnam, everything in this and the war parallels to a T
:smiles devilishly: Oh, so many friendly faces came... Just imagine if something were to happen to any of them...
Shall we have bets?
Silent Knigjt: Huh? Why is everyone else's uniforms now red?
Ahh, it's good to see this coming together. :3
I'm worried about Azurite being there. She's a little pony who can't stand violence, and even being in the nation having a war means she's undergoing risks.
As for Silent Knight and Steel Wings, they seem like they feel guilty about what's going on, but from a logical standpoint this war was going to happen either way. Silent Knight was able to save Princess Luna, and now the southern kingdom has TWO armies to deal with when it only planned for one, so this war should end very quickly.
7007548
I know, it's so weird. Our little soldier is all grown up and making nice to people.
Its funny that Silent is seen as a pony's pony. But I can understand why. He does seem to have a calm way of dealing with everypony most days. Its nice to see Azu (She better not get killed off!) and Ruby moon in the story. I wonder if she will still supply him with ship models lol. This was a good chapter and its setting the stage well. I cant wait to see more.
7007727 I have a feeling its gonna be Azu who gets hurt. I hope not but just a hunch.
7007942 Have the sudden urge to tie mittens onto his coat now
That was fun, may I have another? Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
A day at war. In command, ofc. I like this chapter as much as Sunny's day at officers school chapter. I love Slice of Life
I'm curious, though. That Luna tag on the story.
Alternate chapter title: Protect The Tail!
7007959
Oh, you know well I do not mind a little suffering thrown into the mix of things. Let us see where this tale goes with it...
Alternate title,
Y'know, after reading so many fics such as this one where the guard/army is taken seriously, you forget that it's colorful ponies going off to kill or be killed. I couldn't stop laughing after that pic of Azurite in her heart armor.
I was surprised that Azurite had been summoned.
Also, it would seem that Steel Wings isn't very good at apologizing for his role in having Alastair murdered, but at least he's realizing how big of a mistake that was.
7007624 Indeed, though it is true. The little pony could end up in somepony's pocket!
7007644 Thank you, thank you! Azurite to the rescue!
7007657 How can you tell her no? If she wants blue she wants blue! I'm glad you like the armor. That will be a fun story to tell later :D
7007678 I'm not 100% sure what that means but I'm going to take it as good! Azurite is always good ^_^
7007682 Please don't injure yourself!
7007707
I think you'll enjoy the story =D Yes indeed. LOTS of named characters showing up.
7007708 We'll have to see how it shakes out ^_^
7007727 Oh my.
7007812 Oh my^2
7007815 And so much ground to cover still.
7007941 There is a lot of unease about Azurite being there it seems! I agree with you. The outcome was the same even if the reasons would have been different. They still own their part though.
7007954 Indeed it is. He certainly feels that way too. Though I guess in comparison to the others it makes sense.
7008010
7008062 Oh you don't think I'd write Luna out do you? ;D
7008294 It was a consideration ;D
7008440 Yeah... I do try to balance that for sure. This story I'm going to have a tougher time doing it. Thankfully though we can have moments of Azurite!
7008600
I look forward to that story!
“Guards from the west follow the blue line! East, you’re on the navy line! Central is the teal line! Crystal is the sapphire line! Everypony else, take the indigo! Why is this so hard to understand?”
Only Azurite would do something like this. Only her
Well I suppose it is all a matter of opinion of those that see a certain aspect of him.
7008190 That is very true, and yes, lets
...Why the heart armor?
I think I saw Rossby behind a cloud somewhere. So many familiar face.
You say Azu's armor has a story behind it, and it will be told. Will it be in this story, or in her story?
7008673 i beg to differ how lieutenant brook let tht idea slip through him, could also explain slightly as to her heart versus the moon, bcuz he seemed way too sheepish to even answer that question
7010313 That's quite a reaction.
7008590 Azurite is the best at what she does! A paperwork genius ^_^
7008673 Aaaand she has enablers!
7008730 Exactly. That is how I was hoping to frame it.
7008820 That is a story onto itself that will be told in time!
7008879 Potentially so! There is plenty of story left.
7009248 Indeed it will. I'm not 100% sure yet exactly where though. It won't be here most likely. More likely in Sunny's Days or Azurite 3.0.
7010313 I'm not sure what happened with this comment. It just ended up as 3 screens of garbage characters. Went ahead and deleted it.
7010568
7010545
Okay. It was an image of a medieval knight meme. It was both funny and fitting. It said:
"I will smite thy catapult with"
"My flanking horse maneuver"
You can find it at the internet by googling in "Flanking horse meme age of empires"
7008879
"Hey! Silent! Fancy meeting you here, huh?"
"Runic? What are you, of all ponies, doing here?"
"Upgrading our canons."
"We have canons?"
"We will. Step one: Runic builds canons. And then I'm going to upgrade them."
*Somewhere in Sudramoar*
"Well, there goes the kingdom. Somegriff break out the white flags."
Well at least Azurite is ready for Hearts and Hooves day! She is adorable in that armor.
Sure is, um... sure is an awful lot of text about flanks in this chapter...
...
... yeah...
...
... cutie all day every day?
7011032
That would be so awesome, hah the princesses shouldve just sent Runic.
7016898
"I just don't know what to do, Runic! The Sudramoar gryphons are entrenched in that mountain and we can't get past until we drive them out. And it's riddled with crevasses, run through with tunnels, and some of the lower slopes are just plain treacherous... I can't see us taking it without massive loss of life, even if we can!"
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay!"
"Runic... What do you mean, 'okay'?"
"I mean that I'll have the mountain down by tomorrow..."
"...there are probably all sorts of cool new rocks inside!"
7017221 *teehee*
Just wanted to drop a comment now that I've caught up to this story. I finished Crystal's Wishes not too long ago, and so I decided I had to go ahead and read Silent Knight's side of things. I have to admit, I was apprehensive at first, going back in time in the universe like that and covering old ground again. But I hadn't realized just how much wasn't covered in CW's tale, so it didn't really feel like retreading events at all.
This and CW's tale and very different, even more so now that SK is at war. That said, they fit together like puzzle pieces. I really must commend you and your partner's ability to write in parallel. It's a novel approach that I really enjoy.
All that to say, of course, that you have earned yourself another fan in it for the long haul. Consider me committed.
By the way, how long will this story be compared to the past two? Roughly same length? Shorter? Longer?
7022164 Thank you very much! I'm glad you've enjoyed Silent Knight's side of things. We tried to show their own lives in detail and hit on the same important events. A puzzle is a great analogy :D
I really appreciate the praise and having you around!
7011032
Runic for Engineering section! Development of course. .... Alchemic warfare!