Imperial Revision

by The Sound of Loneliness

A Soldier's Initiative

“I dunno,” one Guard responded to the other. “I feel like the longer she rules, the more detached she gets. You still remember the times when she watched us training? And that one time when she actually sparred with the Captain in hoof-to-hoof? It’s not just us either, she doesn’t call her Ministers these nights either. When was the last time she wanted us to do something and not just standing here? I just want her to give me an order, send me out somewhere to do something! It’s like she has forgotten we are even here! Baron and his team just took over out of nowhere and we don’t even get to fetch things for her anymore. They keep their distance from the rest of us too. It's as if they think they are better than the rest of us!”

“Baron wouldn’t tell what’s up, I guess,” another Guard wedged in.

“No he wouldn’t, none of his crew would either,” the first Guard answered.

“I think I like it this way,” the third Guard stated morbidly. “Whatever the Empress uses them for, it has to be something really ugly. Remember Wavy? She was fine one night and in a few hours she turned out dead, no one heard or saw anything. What’s worse is how quiet everything went. Her Majesty held the funeral and no one talks about her anymore, it’s like she never existed now. I asked the perimeter watch, Wavy didn’t leave the palace, neither did Her Majesty, neither one of the Princesses, Rarity nor Captain. Either they went to the caves, somehow went through the rock or...”

“...Or something was in the palace,” the second Guard finished.

“Yeah, my meaning exactly. Also, have any of you noticed how rarely do we see Rarity now?”

“She mostly hangs out in town or in her room. I heard she took up drinking after that night,” the first Guard said.

“Yeah and only Twilight hangs around Her Majesty now. Rarity was here from the very first night and now it’s all Twilight.”

“This isn’t right.”

“No, it really isn’t. Colts, I say it’s better we drop it. This whole story gives me the creeps even how it is now, without thinking about possibilities. Remember, she isn’t called Nightmare Moon for nothing, if we aren’t told something it means that this is how it has to be for our own good. Don’t try to stick your noses into something that isn’t your concern, the Empress is scary, but she has our backs just as we have hers. Have a little faith, she’ll pull through and drag us all along with her. She always does it,” the third Guard tried to raise the spirits.

“I just wish I wasn’t standing in this damn courtyard, being useless! We are soldiers, not security!” the First started again.

“And what soldiers do is obey orders. Keep sharp, eyes open, and do your job, and we all will be fine.”

“Tell that to Wavy. She’s mighty comfy in her grave, no doubt about that,” the Second morbidly blurted.

“Okay, then what do you want to do? It’s not like you are going to find out anything anyway, she guards her secrets closely from any curious moron that might come slacking along.”

“Who do you take me for? No, I have a better idea. Let’s get Captain after we are done here,” the Second suddenly spooled up.

"What, you think he knows something that we don't?" the Third asked.

"Nah, that has nothing to do with it."

“This better be good...” Suddenly a shout came flying over the perimeter wall forcing one of them to return back to his post.

---

“Sir Blackhoof? Are you there? I need to enter! I have an important letter!” Silver shouted up at the wall. A few moments later the gate was slowly sliding aside and letting the Guard through.

“Hi, kid. Sorry, I was called off by some slackers. How’s things?”

“Oh, they are wonderful, sir!” Silver responded with a large smile.

“How’s your dad? Still getting by?”

“Yes, sir, he started taking lessons in cooking!”

“Hah! Morning’s cooking? I wanna see that,” Blackhoof smiled.

“I’ll ask Father if I can invite you, sir.” Silver promised.

“Alright, kid, you do that. Go on now. Wouldn’t want you to be late with your delivery,” Blackhoof stepped aside to let SIlver through.

“Thank you, sir, goodbye!”

Silver swiftly went straight to the administration wing, as usual. But at this time, he was confused about how to feel. The more time he spent on this job the less he liked it.
In the past few months, he discovered the full extent of how well Blackhoof has advised him on the first time he entered through the gate. The palace was a nest of vipers! Everyone and everything in the palace reeked of secrets, intrigues and danger.

“Flank higher! Are you a soldier or a librarian! You’ve got twelve more to go, trooper!” Silver stopped upon hearing an unfamiliar voice. His brows rapidly crawled up as he discovered the source. A changeling officer drilling… Captain Thunder. Silver wasn’t acquainted with either one, but it was highly unusual for such an officer to be treated like a private in training. Something was up…

“You Silver Shine?” someone else asked him.

“Yes, sir,” Silver mechanically responded, turning around expecting to meet another Guard. It really was a Guard, but wearing Honor Guard colors. Silver resisted a reflex to bow.

“Tch,” the Guard clicked his tongue. “A foal, huh? I never believed it when I heard it.”

“I didn’t believe it myself, sir.”

“The youngest courier ever, what in Tartarus is she thinking?” the Guard asked, though Silver was having a micro panic attack over someone speaking of the Empress in such a way. Was this some new sort of a test? Noticing his confusion, the Guard sighed,
“Kid, you want a bit of a really good advice, you should run the hay out of here right now and never come back. This place is going to kill you, mark my words.” Silver slightly shivered, dropping his eyes down for a moment, “Anyway, I’ve got something for you.” The soldier reached into his bags and presented him with a letter in a fancy, purple envelope. “Here, I suggest you drop whatever you were doing and get on with this right away. I don’t think I need to tell you this, but you are dead if anyone finds out you opened it,” the Guard warned him, Silver swallowed the lump in his throat. “She trusts you for some reason and you really don’t want to disappoint her. Now run along and don't think you can get away with anything.”

A few moments later Silver found himself alone again with the letter in his hooves. The Imperial envelope left no doubt who could have written it. The letter was addressing Dreamy Tears, the High Priestess of the Moon Cult.
Despite the direct threat he was given, Silver felt a tinge of excitement over his task again. This was a sign of attention from the Empress! She did not forget him! ...But he began to doubt that her attention meant anything good.

Silver did as he was told and moved back to the gate, hoping that the High Priestess was not away this night. Sir Blackhoof gave him a weird look, for he was much too early, Silver quickly looked away.

Having passed the gate, Silver now had to venture back up the street and find his way into the lower city where the thestrals lived. Curious, if the bat-winged flock indeed were her chosen people, how come they were not given a place in the upper city, near the palace itself, together with other loyal ponies? They are not numerous enough to cause a housing problem...

---

“Ok, so what’s your plan, exactly?” Blackhoof asked, upon returning behind the wall again, with both other soldiers waiting for him. “I really hope you aren’t going to get us in trouble.”

“Well… to be honest, this is a bit of a gamble,” the Guard with a white patch on his nose answered. “So, the first stage is that we need to rescue the Captain from that bug-devil.”

“He-heh! I bet good old Rolling Thunder has remembered every second of bootcamp by now,” the First noted.

“Well, so I am guessing you want his authorization for something,” Blackhoof pointed out.

“Eh… Kinda, we need him, and every other Guard on board together with most of the staff.”

Blackhoof whistled,
“For something this large scale you might as well go to Her Majesty herself.”

“That’s the problem,” the Guard stated. “She can’t know.”

“What?!” the two remaining Guards cried out in unison.

“Are you nuts?! If she wished, she'd know more about us than we know ourselves!”

“No, no, she won’t! Look, she can’t know if she’s asleep!”

“You mean you want to do it all in one day?” Blackhoof asked in confusion.

“Yep, that’s why we need everyone on board.” Blackhoof and the other Guard kept staring silently in disbelief waiting for the white-nose to spill the prank.

“Bonkers, completely bonkers,” the First finally blurted.

“What are you even planning?” Blackhoof asked. ”I don’t expect you wanting to try blowing something up, or anything nearly as nasty. You wouldn’t be here if you would.”

“Nothing special,” the stallion smiled mysteriously. “Just a party.”

“A party?!”

“You gotta be pulling it.”

“None will be on board with the! The second Captain catches a sniff of this, he’s gonna make us stand watch on the perimeter wall without winter gear! We're gonna have our plots frozen off long before he’s done with us!”

“Hey, hey!” the stallion began waving his hooves to silence the others. “I swear, it won’t be like that! It’s not for us, after all, it’s for Her Majesty.”

The eerie silence ensued.

“On the other hoof... we probably should leave Captain and General alone for a while, who knows what this hellish bug will come up with for us if he sees the three of us walking around.”

---

“You sure she’d be up for it?” Blackhoof asked, unconvinced. “I mean, she may be the more approachable Princess, but it doesn’t mean she’s game, or that she’d even listen.”

“You’ve been out by that gate for too long, Blackhoof,” the white-patched stallion said. “This is Twilight! The Princess of Friendship! And we are trying to make friends!”

“Ugh… If you say so,” Blackhoof groaned, but not before facehoofing himself. “Why the hay did I even let you two, mooncalves, talk me into this?”

“Hey, it’s his idea. I am just as clueless about it as you are,” the First stallion reminded.

“Quit yanking there, if anyone else hears us, we are getting minced.”

“If only that wasn't happening regardless as soon as anyone notices us not being on our posts,” Blackhoof grumbled.

“Hey, we are on our post. Guess who was assigned to guard these here Archive doors tonight. You're the one who’s getting busted here, mate,” the First cheekily replied.

“Oh, that’s just great!” Blackhoof groaned again. “You two owe me big time for this, morons!”

“Hey, I said shut it! Someone’s coming.”

The three Guards stood at attention, as a remarkably grim Twilight rounded the corner, being followed by Princess Cadance, who tried to smile at them, tried…

“Is that normal?” Blackhoof asked.

“Eh… Maybe?”

“What do you mean ‘maybe’?!” Blackhoof suddenly fumed. “Were you, the inside Guard, picked for having the memory of a goldfish?”

“What I mean to say, perimeter yokel, is that I can’t tell! Princess Twilight can be grumpy for all sorts of reasons, ranging from something going wrong with her research, to something that none of us want to know about.”

“Okay, I get you, wise guy.” Blackhoof put his ear to the door, “Is Princess Cadance a part of your plan too?”

“-needed!” Blackhoof heard the final piece of Twilight’s phrase. Apparently, the Princesses were in the middle of an argument.

“Well… no, Cadance wasn’t planned for, we will have to wait until she leaves,” the Guard responded.

“Hey, shut it, this is interesting.”

“Twilight, don’t say that! You aren’t obliged to help the tyrant. Twilight, please, don’t be stubborn for once. Let me help you!” Cadance pleaded.

“Blackhoof, are you actually listening to royalty talking? Last time I checked, that was seven years in Her Majesty’s personal dungeons.”

“Well, I am already neck-deep, might as well dive,” the stallion mumbled back.

“You gonna regret that...”

“Maybe.”

“The only one you are trying to help here is yourself!” Twilight harshly snaped. “Cadance, I am where I am needed! I won’t run or hide from my responsibility as a Princess of Equestria, I am disappointed you’d even ask me to! You…” Twilight paused, “You should go back home, Cadance. It is going to be better this way for everypony.”

“Twily...” Cadance sobbed.

“I am sorry it has to be this way.”

“Okay, I had enough of this family business,” Blackhoof pried his ear off the door.

Told you, it’s not worth-“the Guard widened his eyes as Blackhoof unceremoniously pushed the doors open.

“Princess Twilight,” Blackhoof announced. “We need your help to organize a party for Nightmare Moon!”

Comments

[ILikeFood]

This did not show up in my feed today. I only saw the update because I looked at recently updated. I'm not sure if others are having the same issues or not, but I thought you might want to be aware that some people may not have seen it.

Aside from that, I love the character dynamics between even the less prominent characters.

[The Sound of Loneliness]

10574712
Bizzare. Must be the lag or something.