Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Journal Entry of Sir Jellybean Soup, Knight Mystic, dated 701 AF
March 21, 701.
The Spruce Spaniel is scheduled to make port in the Northern Empire tomorrow, or ‘Crystal Empire’, as I’m told the locals refer to it. I’ve been waiting for this for months. Years. It feels surreal; the effort of dozens of my fellow Knights, spread over nearly two hundred years, coalescing into this one moment. I have no idea what will happen once I arrive. I barely even planned on what would happen if I got this far; nopony from the Diarchy has managed this much since the shield went up. Nopony has even managed to get on a ship to the empire, let alone this far. When I get back, I’ll have to thank Harmonica and Dusty Daze for both their acting lessons and the idea of using a horn prosthesis to pretend to be a unicorn refugee fleeing the Diarchy. Nopony is even bothering to question that I’m not using telekinesis; a little trauma acting and everypony easily accepts that I’m just some sort of abused victim. Nopony has shown an ounce of suspicion.
I’ll write more tomorrow after we’ve made landfall.
(The next entry is not for several weeks)
April 19, 701.
I know I promised an entry after I landed in the Empire, but I have been in no mood to write. Not after the horrors I have seen. I scarcely know where to begin.
Needless to say my landfall didn’t go as planned. I was told that we would be landing in a port located a half-week’s journey from the Empire’s center, a port named Armor’s Bay, after some long-dead hero of the crystal ponies. All of the crystal ponies on board Spruce Spaniel spoke of the port as if it is some great marvel, and yet I found nothing truly remarkable about the port, besides the impressively large, flat barges that troll the harbor pushing some of the larger chunks of ice out of the way of incoming ships.
The harbor is protected by the pink shield, just like every other boundary of the Crystal Empire, but each ship’s captain is granted an amulet, enchanted by the Empire’s legendary ‘Princess’ herself, that allows each ship to pass through the barrier. I found the experience unsettling; not that there was any physical sensation, but spiritually unsettling. I felt like I was traveling into a land of the damned; I imagine it was similar to what Saint Twilight felt when she first stepped into the unholy unicorn city on the mountain. At the time, I dismissed the feeling as nerves.
When the ship made port and I disembarked, she was waiting for me. I have no idea how she knew. The crystal ponies bowed to the monstrous figure, a frighteningly tall hideous winged unicorn. Her fur was pink, very light, and her mane was the same pink at the roots, growing slowly darker until it reached a dark purple at the tips, with solid cyan streaks. She wore a simple coronet made of gold that clearly identified her as the 'princess' of this place. Their faces were confused but not fearful; these fool heathens didn’t even have the good sense to be terrified. She ignored them, waiting only for me. I tried to act, using the same words and actions that had so fooled the captain and his crew.
“Imposter,” she hissed, and her horn lit up with a baleful yellow light. With a flick of her magic, she knocked the false horn off my head. I am not ashamed to write that I cowered before her furious gaze. “I feel the taint of the usurpers’ enchantments on you, Knight.”
The gazes around me turned instantly hostile. The captain, once friendly and sympathetic, now apologized to this ‘princess’ for letting himself be deceived by me. I felt the magic of the creature lift me off the dock and push me back onto the ship.
“Captain, you will return this spy to Zebrica as soon as my guards can resupply your ship. I will provide you with the chains capable of securing him. And you,” those nightmarish eyes turned on me, and I shivered. “Tell your superiors that your kind are not welcome here. The next Knight that sneaks into MY kingdom will be returned in MULTIPLE PIECES. I cannot be deceived, and I will know. Am I clear?”
I admit I may have soiled myself at the way her voice made the timbers of the ship tremble.
1110 AF, New Canterlot City
“Where’s your closest cathedral?” Lady Turquoise demanded tersely as soon as she and Emberglow had left the shop.
“Um, ma’am? It’s, uh, on Garnet Street. Two blocks north, then take a left,” Emberglow answered, confused at the query.
“Let’s go. What I have to say needs to be said in front of the Saints,” the Knight replied, heading off at a quick trot that left Emberglow scrambling to catch up.
“Ma’am? Lady Turquoise?” Emberglow tried, but the Knight Jubilant said nothing. “My lady, I’m so s—“
“Shut it. Not another word. Not yet. I told you, we’re going to have our chat in front of the Saints.”
“But…”
“Shush, squire! Don’t you know how to obey?” Lady Turquoise snapped, but there was an unexpected hint of amusement mixed with the annoyance in her voice. Emberglow complied, staying silent as she tried to keep up with the Knight. Her mind was churning with questions, but she contained herself as they walked in silence to the cathedral.
It wasn’t a Wednesday, so there was nopony in the cathedral when they entered, besides one of the junior confessors who was tidying between the benches with a broom. When the young stallion saw the pink garb of Lady Turquoise, he dropped the broom, practically tripping over himself to offer whatever assistance she required. The Knight brusquely pushed off the obsequious confessor, asking only that they be left alone with the statues of the Saints. While the confessor hurried to obey, Lady Turquoise impatiently hustled Emberglow over to the statues. Emberglow noted with curiosity that Turquoise had led them before the statue of Saint Applejack.
“So,” Lady Turquoise began, taking a seat on one of the benches in front of the earth pony Saint, with her back to the statue. She pointed at a seat across from herself, and Emberglow hurried to sit, dreading whatever Lady Turquoise was going to say.
“So,” she said again, before pausing as she noticed Emberglow's expression. “You look terrified, young lady. You think I’m going to bite, or something?” She snorted, blowing out a puff of air through her nostrils.
“N-no,” Emberglow prattled nervously. “I’m sorry, my lady. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have…”
“Stop. Those things you said. Calling me a stubborn mule, I believe?” Lady Turquoise eyed Emberglow critically. Emberglow cringed, her ears splaying back. Behind her mentor, Saint Applejack loomed imposingly, almost seeming to gaze judgingly at her. Emberglow felt tiny underneath the weight of that gaze.
“That’s exactly what I said, ma’am,” Emberglow whimpered, bile rising in her throat. She felt sick.
“You said I was aggravating? That I was driving both of us crazy?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Emberglow whispered. She felt like she was about to cry. She didn’t think she’d be able to lie or to even try to walk back what she’d said, even though she wanted to; it just wasn’t in her to be less than honest. Perhaps she hadn’t been exactly diplomatic or politic with her words, but there was nothing incorrect or false in what she had said. “I’m so sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” Lady Turquoise asked, leaning forwards, her perked ears facing the young squire. “Because you didn’t mean it?”
What could Emberglow say to fix it all? The Knight Jubilant seemed to be offering her an out, an escape from what Emberglow had said. Was that the chance she was being given? Maybe Lady Turquoise wanted her to apologize and pretend it had never happened. She didn’t want to know what happened to insubordinate squires. But then…
“I meant it,” Emberglow squeaked, looking up at the statue above her. “I’m sorry because of how I said it, not what I said.” She stared at Lady Turquoise in horror. The words had just slipped out of her mouth. Maybe there was something about sitting in front of Saint Applejack that compelled honesty. Or maybe Emberglow was just incapable of deception.
“Uh huh,” Lady Turquoise said skeptically.
“I’m sorry,” Emberglow whimpered again.
“But you meant what you said.” Lady Turquoise confirmed. Emberglow nodded. Suddenly the façade of impatient anger slipped from the Knight, replaced by a weary sigh. “Of course you did. You’re painfully honest, aren’t you, Emberglow? The problem is, you were right, even if you said it wrong.”
Emberglow looked up in shock, caught off guard by the sudden change in her mentor's attitude. She opened her mouth to speak, but a sharp glance from the Knight compelled her to silence.
“As soon as I chased you from my office, I went to speak with Lady Diamond Dot of my order. Dot’s my boss. I thought…” she paused, and let out an annoyed huff. “To be perfectly honest, I went to beg my superior in the Jubilant to have you placed with a different Knight.” Lady Turquoise grimaced, her face twisted with an expression which seemed just a tiny bit ashamed.
“She… disabused me of some of my assumptions. See, I was sure you were a punishment of some sort. I thought I’d angered Lady Dot somehow, offended her in a way that made her want to punish me with a useless squire. I was, um, incorrect. Turns out she wasn’t mad at me, and she really believes in my pet project. Even so much so that she specifically made sure I got assigned a squire who would help see my dream become a reality. She was quite upset that I hadn’t been using you as a resource, just like you said.
“I need you to speak with me, Emberglow,” Lady Turquoise said, shifting from her storytelling for a moment to pin Emberglow with an intense gaze. “How you felt when you yelled at me today, you’ve felt that same way for weeks now?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve been quite frustrated,” she replied. She still felt apprehensive, but Lady Turquoise’s confession had leeched some of the fear from her.
“I need you to promise me. Swear an oath, in front of Lady Applejack,” the Knight demanded, waving a hoof at the statue above them. “I want you to promise if I start to act like a mule again, you’ll say something.” She sighed. “I’m not used to having somebody working for me, and I didn’t know how to act. So I need your help to keep me straight.”
“So I’m promising what now?” Emberglow asked, confused.
“Promise that you’ll do exactly what you did today. Except maybe more diplomatically. Without the name calling and spilling coffee and broken mug all over my floor,” Lady Turquoise said. “Lady Dot made it clear to me that one of your jobs is to—“ the Knight sighed and rolled her eyes, “—deflate my ego from time to time.” She paused, going silent while she glanced over her shoulder. “Look, I’ve got a temper. This is something I’ve known for a while, and I’ve been under a bit of pressure lately. None of which is your fault. So can you promise me that you’ll call me out on my horseapples?”
“I—I can do that,” Emberglow stuttered. Honestly, she felt like her hooves had been swept out from underneath her. Just a few hours ago, she had been terrified that her squirehood might be in jeopardy. “I promise. I promise I’ll be more respectful about it than I was this morning, too.”
“Good,” Lady Turquoise said with a satisfied nod. “Now. I believe during your morning rant you said something about me using you like a tool?”
“Um, yes ma’am,” Emberglow said eagerly. “However I can help, I will.”
“You might regret saying that,” Lady Turquoise said with a snort, rising from her stool. Emberglow rose with her, and the two of them left the cathedral. “I’m going to take you up on that offer, and I’ll work you harder than you’ve ever worked before this.”
“I doubt that, ma’am. I graduated from med school before I entered the Ivy Seminary.” Emberglow smirked, some of the giddy relief she was feeling fuelling her confidence.
“By the Saints, was that sass?” Lady Turquoise said, laughing. “You have a sense of humor! I didn’t even know. We’re going to head back to my office and discuss how best to use your talents to advance my mad plans.”
“Your mad plans, ma’am?” Emberglow asked curiously. “I know they involve the Northern Empire, but not much more than that.”
“Not here. I’ll share the details back at the Annex.” With that, Lady Turquoise began trotting back towards the Annex, and Emberglow followed closely behind.
With the easing of the tensions between her and her Knight, Emberglow suddenly felt much more curious about the project she would be helping on. She supposed she'd find out more soon enough.
Together, they walked into the office, which now smelled faintly of stale coffee and carpet cleaner. Somepony, probably one of the civilian employees at the Annex, had cleaned up the broken crockery and spilled coffee in Lady Turquoise’s office. Nothing but the scent remained of the fit she'd thrown earlier. Still, Emberglow felt a shiver of apprehension as she stepped inside. It had only been earlier this morning, after all, that she’d had the gall to yell at a Knight in this very room.
Her younger self would have been horrified at even thinking of a Knight being imperfect. A younger Emberglow would have been drowning in guilt and disbelief. But here she had seen not only that a Knight could behave badly, but that she could recognize and repent of it as well.
That brought a second unpleasant epiphany, one that struck Emberglow like a hoof to the face. She wasn’t that many months away from becoming a Knight herself, which meant she wouldn’t be perfect, either. It was a chilling thought. It made sense that a few oaths and an arcane ritual wouldn’t immediately change her into a perfect pony, immaculately emulating the Saints and their will. It simply wasn’t something she’d considered before, and it unsettled her.
“So, I’m sure you’re curious,” Lady Turquoise began, snapping Emberglow out of her reflection.
“Definitely, ma’am,” Emberglow said.
Lady Turquoise smiled at that, before tapping her chin in thought. "Where to begin…" She absentmindedly pulled a cushion over, sitting down on it. "What do you know of the Northern Empire?"
“Not much,” Emberglow admitted. “Nopony knows much, actually. I know the Empire is to our north, and it’s protected by a barrier of strange, impenetrable magic.” Emberglow had read as much as she could about the shield; advanced magic always fascinated her, but very little was known about the Empire’s barrier. “They’re isolationists, and they hate the Diarchy. They don’t have any diplomatic contact with us, even though they’re ponies, too.”
“Yes, I suppose that much is common knowledge.” Lady Turquoise seemed to consider for a moment before speaking again. “There is another reason I’m looking into the Empire other than scholarly curiosity, though. Now, I can’t go into too much detail, but,” she said softly, leaning in towards Emberglow a little conspiratorially, “I’ve always believed there’s a connection between Saint Pinkamena and the Northern Empire. Specifically, I believe that is where the Element of Joy has been hidden.”
“Oh!” Emberglow exclaimed. The Elements of Harmony were legendary artifacts, said to be able to channel vast amounts of magical energy. The six Elements had since been lost, their locations forever obscured by history, though the romantics, the curious, the treasure seekers and the historians continued to chase legends about their locations to this day.
“Whether or not it’s really up there doesn’t actually matter, though,” Lady Turquoise said, sitting back while Emberglow watched her silently, confused. “Do you know much about any of the times the Diarchy has tried to infiltrate the Empire?”
“Infiltrate the Empire? I didn’t even know it was possible,” Emberglow said.
“It’s possible,” Lady Turquoise said. “The Northern Empire isn’t closed to all, just to us. Possibly even the griffons as well. Trade and diplomacy flows out from the Empire to other nations, just not ours. The barrier only stops the Diarchy and our forces from entering, not anypony, or any creature else. It was centuries ago that the Mystics first realized this and made their first attempt to sneak spies into the Empire.”
“Did it work?” Emberglow asked.
“I don’t think so,” Lady Turquoise said with a sigh of frustration. “It’s hard to know what happened back then, especially because the damned Mystics are so damned cagey about information. They believe they’re entitled to every bit of knowledge that flows through our heads, but they give none back. The few and rare records I have managed to get my hooves on suggest that the Mystics made three attempts.”
“So what’s your goal, then?” Emberglow asked, eager to get to the point.
“It’s just that, every attempt to connect with the Northern Empire has been through spies and infiltration. The Mystics have always spearheaded those efforts, and then failed. On top of that, they’ve shared almost nothing of the results. Clearly a new approach is needed, and I thought, if Saint Twilight saw fit to hide the Element of Joy in the Northern Empire, maybe it’s because Saint Pinkamena's Knights need to take the lead in reaching out to our wayward cousins, not the Mystics.” Lady Turquoise’s tirade faltered, and she looked a little embarrassed. “I get that the connection is tenuous. The Element’s probably not even up there. It just gave me the idea, got me thinking about the Northern Empire.
“I want to be the first Knight in the Northern Empire, Emberglow,” the Knight said, her voice filling with enthusiasm. “Not as a spy. Not sneaking in. But as a missionary. A diplomat. For nearly two years I’ve been trying to get my hooves on every piece of information I can about the Empire. I spent most of the first year trying to get permission from the Mystics to interview one of the zebra prisoners in their camps in Zebrica that may have interacted with some of the Northern ponies, but nopony in Lady Twilight’s order wants to be cooperative.” She let out an exasperated huff. “They don’t even want me to succeed just because it would be an embarrassment to them.
“So I’ve been doing what book research I can, spinning my gears while every single one of my requests to meet with creatures that have actually seen the Empire, creatures supposedly in Mystic custody, plod their way through the Mystic’s bureaucratic limbo.”
“You’ve been doing this for two years? You didn’t, um…” Emberglow trailed off.
“Think about giving up?” Lady Turquoise guessed, and shook her head firmly. “Not a chance. It’s… it’s kinda personal, but I think my cutie mark is pointing towards this.”
Emberglow nodded, but didn’t prod further. It wasn’t considered polite to ask about another’s cutie mark unless they offered, and Turquoise seemed to want to be private about hers.
“Okay. May I make a suggestion, ma’am?”
“Sure,” Lady Turquoise said.
“I have a talent for scholarship and research. It’s what got me through med school at a young age. I also have a connection with the Mystics. Why don’t you let me see your notes so I can see where you’re at, and then we can talk about working with our brother and sister Knights over at the Star Shine building? What note taking method do you use?”
“Yeah, I’ll let you look at them, but, uh, what do you mean by note taking method?” Lady Turquoise asked, her face screwed up with confusion.
“You know, the system you use to organize and access your information.” Emberglow was practically bubbling with enthusiasm; studying and note taking were things she was genuinely good at, and enjoyed quite a bit as well. She was sure she would be able to help her mentor at least a little in this aspect. “They taught Citrus Splash’s method at the Ivy Seminary, but they didn’t make us use it. What’s your system, so I can make sense of your notes?”
Emberglow had never seen Lady Turquoise blush with embarrassment before, but before she could say anything, the Knight leaned over and opened a drawer on her desk. With a grunt of effort, she lifted a large file folder out of the drawer. It was bulging with hundreds of papers shoved haphazardly into it, all of various colors and shapes. Emberglow opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Lady Turquoise went down for a second folder, and then a third, each one bearing no evidence whatsoever of any sort of system or organization.
“So, uh, your system is to shove them into file folders in your desk?” Emberglow asked, trying to ignore the rising panic she was starting to feel. She was supposed to help navigate this mess? To make sense of it? How!?
“Yes,” Lady Turquoise said guiltily, her ears back and her eyes shifting about. She glanced at the cabinet in the room, then glanced away again quickly.
“Ma’am, is there something else in there?” Emberglow asked, suddenly horrified of what those wooden cabinet doors might hold.
“Three more boxes of folders,” Lady Turquoise said, her head sinking. Emberglow forced out a panicked laugh. It was a desperate, delirious noise.
“You weren’t kidding,” she said with confidence she didn’t feel. “This is going to be much more of a challenge than trying not to go crazy while you assign me busywork.”
“Well, if you like, we can go back to how it was before,” Lady Turquoise snarked, and Emberglow laughed again, this time more sincerely.
“’No task, when undertaken with faith and prayers, is beyond the reach of the sanctified,’” Emberglow quoted, and Lady Turquoise smiled. “Even if it’s going to take a lot of prayers.” She stood up, walking over to the cabinet and opening the doors. There were indeed three boxes inside, each one perched precariously on the ones below it, with bulging file folders stacked haphazardly inside. Papers, typed, handwritten, and newsprint, were stuffed into each one. “Lots and lots of prayers. Oh, Saint Twilight, have mercy on your wayward and desperate children.”
“Hey! It’s not that bad!” Lady Turquoise protested, before smirking. “Also, when did you get so snippy?”
“I’m sorry!” Emberglow yelped, suddenly self-conscious. Maybe that had been too far. Before she could say more, though, Lady Turquoise was laughing.
“Relax, Emberglow. Please.” Lady Turquoise looked her straight in the eye. “I want a fresh start, and that means be yourself. You promised honest criticism, remember? So lay into me.”
“Um, okay. You clearly need a secretary. Lady Knight, I humbly ask permission to organize this disaster you have created for you,” Emberglow said. She didn’t know where this cheekiness was coming from, and she was a bit surprised and alarmed at the sense of anticipation, even excitement, as she considered the monumental task before her of organizing and cataloguing the notes of her mentor. She felt good, confident and useful in the face of the herculean task that sat before her. While her education had been medical in nature, she was an expert at note taking, organization tactics, and studying. She had been required to develop those skills in order to survive medical school. They’d given her quite the advantage at the Seminary, as well.
“You have my permission, humble squire,” Lady Turquoise said, her voice taking on a comically magnanimous affectation.
“And…” Emberglow began nervously, her tone losing the confident strength it had had earlier. Though their newfound understanding had greatly improved the relationship between the two mares, Emberglow knew things were still too uncertain for her to push the Knight too far, too fast. “If it’s okay with you, ma’am, I can teach you how to take your own notes and keep your own documents organized. It won’t do you much good if I take care of all of this for you and you can’t make use of it once I’m gone.”
“Good point.” Lady Turquoise nodded.
“We’ll need supplies. Fresh binders and dividers, paper, possibly a copy of Organized Notes, Organized Thoughts by Citrus Splash. I could go pick it up for you, it’s a fairly common book. I’m sure at least one of the booksellers in town has a copy.”
“Ah. That’s a lot… um, how important is the book?” Lady Turquoise asked nervously.
“Well, everypony needs to have their own style, but since you seem to have, uh, no method of organization and notetaking”— Emberglow looked sheepishly at Turquoise as she said that —“the best I can do is teach you mine. Maybe you’ll figure out something that works better for you, but I think it’ll be a good starting point.”
“Okay,” Lady Turquoise said with a resigned sigh. “I’ll go track down the book and the supplies. You start trying to make sense of my… um… notes.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Emberglow said cheerfully. It wasn’t that the task would be easy or pleasant, but it was a task that made sense, with a defined goal and clear obstacles. She loved it when things made sense.
“Is there anything else we’ll need?” the Knight asked her as she opened the first folder.
“Muffins,” Emberglow said absently, without looking up from the first page. It looked like a sailing ship’s passenger manifest. Somepony with sloppy hoofwriting had circled two entries on the manifest and written some hasty notes in the margin.
“Muffins?” Lady Turquoise asked, sounding amused.
Emberglow looked up from the paper. “Uh, sorry ma’am, but my mother, Needle Point, would always bake muffins when I had a particularly difficult study session coming up. It’s an essential component of any difficult scholarly venture.”
“Of course,” Lady Turquoise said with a smirk. “You okay with banana nut? It’s my favorite.”
“Oh, good choice, ma’am. That will be very helpful to both of us.”
“If you say so,” Lady Turquoise said. “You know, Lady Pinkamena was a baker by profession before she took up her destiny as a Saint. I’m sure she would approve.”
“Let’s hope.” Emberglow grinned. “You’ll probably need her help too, in addition to Saint Twilight’s.”
“That’s enough sass out of you, young squire,” Lady Turquoise scolded, but the rebuke had no bite to it. “I’m going to go locate some quality muffins, then, and the supplies. It may take me a while, so you can start, uh, organizing.”
“I’m going to temporarily clear your stuff off your desk, if that’s okay,” Emberglow said. “I’ll need the space. I’ll put it back when I’m done.”
“You do whatever you need to do, squire. If I’m not back by sundown, send a search party.” Lady Turquoise smirked. “I may have been eaten by wild books.”
Emberglow felt so much lighter, even bouncy, as the Knight left. It felt a little odd for Lady Turquoise’s treatment of her to change so rapidly — then again, the Book sometimes spoke of Saint Pinkamena as having a bit of a mercurial mood. She supposed it was perfectly in character for one of her Knights to go from antagonistic to cheerfully teasing in a few hours.
Between the change of pace in her relationship with her Knight, and the monstrous but attainable task in front of her, she felt like she could sing. She carefully moved all of the knickknacks, picture frames, and other personal effects off of Lady Turquoise’s desk and pulled up the first haphazard box onto the now empty surface. She didn’t have the supplies she would need to begin transcribing the notes, but at least she could start organizing things. She began separating the documents into categories, giving each paper, notebook, or newspaper cutting a quick summary glance before placing it in one of several growing piles on the desk.
As time passed, she began to grow more and more interested, taking longer and longer with each document. Every page was a snippet of information about the Empire; a personal account of contact with a crystal pony, a report of a naval encounter with Empire ships, even transcripts of interrogations with captured Zebra soldiers who’d mentioned the Empire’s citizens. Each document was a clue, a hidden treasure that added one more drop of information about their mysterious neighbors. While Lady Turquoise may be desperately disorganized, she was smart. She’d clearly gone to a lot of effort to gather as much relevant information on the Northern Empire as possible.
The time melted away. Emberglow realized she had no idea when she’d started familiarizing herself with the materials in question, but she was sure it had been hours. Lady Turquoise did have a small desk clock, but it was with the rest of the Knight’s personal effects in a neat pile on the floor. Emberglow leaned over to glance at the piece, a ceramic timepiece which was molded in the shape of a toaster, of all things. She was sure there was a story behind that. The clock read three o’clock, but Emberglow had no real idea when she’d started, so she didn’t know how long she’d been reading. At least two hours, perhaps. It had felt like no time at all, as it usually did when she was reading or studying.
She glanced back to the fascinating set of notes Lady Turquoise had taken on a skirmish fought between a convoy of Diarchy supply ships headed towards a fort in the Zebrican continent and a Northern Empire warship. Unfortunately, Lady Turquoise had not included a primer on naval terms, something the Knight was clearly familiar with herself. It would have been helpful, but Emberglow still found the multiple witness accounts of the violent encounter fascinating. She didn’t know much about naval combat, and the unfamiliar terms were like puzzles Emberglow had to figure out with context clues. She tried to imagine what the battle would sound like, with roaring cannons competing with the splash of the waves and the war-cries of sailors as they swung on ropes between the ships. She was sure she was overromanticizing it in her head, but that didn’t stop her imagination. It easily took up another half hour, before the door swung open wide.
“J’arrive!” Lady Turquoise cried out musically, somewhat muffled by the handles of a bag clenched between her teeth. The Knight was laden with a pair of bulging saddlebags and a bag that exuded the irresistible scent of fresh muffins. She deposited the muffins on the desk and shrugged the saddle bags off onto the floor.
“Was that Prench?” Emberglow asked. “I didn’t know you spoke a dead language.”
“Just a few words here and there,” Lady Turquoise said, waving a hoof. “It’s one of the perils of scholarship, to occasionally be exposed to odd unrelated tidbits of information.”
“C’est vrai,” Emberglow said slowly, completely unsure of the pronunciation. The two mares laughed, and Lady Turquoise motioned towards the bag.
“Snack break, then the squire can become the teacher. I found the book you asked for.”
“Great! Reading is tiring work.” She reached into the bag and pulled out one of the muffins. “Still warm?” she asked with pleasant surprise.
“Yeah, I put in my order before I went shopping for the other supplies then picked them up on the way back. How do they taste?” Lady Turquoise asked. For some reason, she had a sly smile on her face. Emberglow was beginning to get just a little nervous.
She gingerly took a small nibble of the banana nut muffin, chomping through the chopped walnuts that garnished the top. It was amazing, and oddly familiar. There were bits of real banana baked into the muffin, which combined with the chopped walnuts to create a mélange of textures. The muffin recipe relied on the natural sugars within the banana more than adding too much itself, making a muffin that actually tasted like a muffin, not a cupcake. Emberglow’s tiny nibble turned into a much larger bite as soon as she recognized exactly where the muffins had been made, and she glanced at the knowing smirk on Lady Turquoise’s face.
“How’d you convince my mom to make us muffins?” Emberglow said once she’d swallowed her bite.
“Wasn’t hard,” Lady Turquoise grinned. “I told her I was about to have you teach me how to properly take notes, and could she please supply us with some appropriate study fuel? She refused to let me compensate her for the favor, too. So I’ll be sending you home with a few bits. She can’t say no to you. You said she was the one who taught you about muffins and studying, after all, so I figured I should go to the original source.”
“Good plan. I love my mom’s muffins. Thank you, Lady Turquoise.”
Lady Turquoise’s face bloomed into a small smile, and Emberglow thought she saw a hint of a blush. “Well, I didn’t do it for you, I did it for me. I needed to be sure I got the one hundred percent correct studying muffins. Pure selfishness.” She stuffed nearly half of a muffin into her mouth, closing her eyes in a blissful expression. “‘ere, ‘emme geh ah book,” Turquoise said with her mouth full. She reached into the stuffed saddlebags and pulled out the text Emberglow had asked for, Organized Notes, Organized Thoughts, by Citrus Splash. Emberglow’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar cover art and the shiny ‘Third Edition’ emblazoned on the cover.
“Third Edition! I never even got to read the second! My copy’s a secondhand book I got used. I wonder if they actually fixed the table typos in chapter four! It was really frustrating that they’d labeled all of the tables in chapter four with threes instead of fours! I know it’s a minor issue, but… uh…” Emberglow trailed off awkwardly when she noticed that Lady Turquoise was laughing.
“You’re one of those, then? A total nerd?” the Knight asked, grinning teasingly.
“I prefer ‘detail-oriented scholar’,” Emberglow said with a sniff. “But yes, that’s what my friend says.”
“I’m in good hooves, then. Where should we begin, Instructor Emberglow?”
* * * * *
There was a bit of uncomfortable awkwardness at first; a single day of reconciliation would not remove Lady Turquoise’s temper, but both ponies were patient. That first night, Emberglow went home for the first time in weeks with a smile on her face and a bounce in her steps. She was in such a good mood that her parents even commented on the difference, and her mother didn’t argue too hard when Emberglow pressed the bits for the muffins into her hooves. On the second day, Emberglow could tell Lady Turquoise felt a bit out of her depth, but she knew it was the will of the Saints that they’d been placed together. Lady Turquoise, too, seemed to realize that fact, and she was clearly trying her best.
One of the best changes was that Emberglow got her own writing desk. It wasn’t huge; the room already had one desk in it, after all, so there was only room for a small one, but it was her desk. On the day Lady Turquoise had some workponies move the desk into her office, she also presented Emberglow with her own picture frame, suggesting that Emberglow could decorate her desk however she liked.
Once the lessons were done, Emberglow became Lady Turquoise’s secretary practically full time. She took notes for the Knight, studied with her, set up appointments, and even filled out paperwork requests. Lady Turquoise wasn’t one to give up easily, and had chosen to take a squeaky wheel approach to asking the Knights Mystic for information. She boasted to Emberglow that she’d sent at least one request a week for two years. Now it was Emberglow’s job to fill out the forms that would inevitably be denied. It was an exercise in patience and persistence.
The process of transcribing all of Lady Turquoise’s notes into a logical, rational, readable fashion took the better part of two weeks, and by the end of the process, the Knight was irritable and frustrated. Emberglow was happy, however. This was her element.
One day, while Emberglow and Lady Turquoise were working in her office, a courier came by with news of the most recent rejection by the Knights Mystic. Emberglow was already tensed for an explosion; the morning had been full of minor setbacks like overcast skies, stale donuts, and watery coffee.
“What?!” Turquoise snapped crankilly as the courier entered the office. Emberglow raised an eyebrow at her, and she took a deep breath and motioned the nervous courier forward with one hoof. He nervously placed a missive on her desk, which she read with a hopeless sort of look, before sighing loudly, crumpling the note, and tossing it idly in the trash.
“Will you need to send a return message?” the courier ventured. Lady Turquoise’s eyes snapped to him, and she snarled.
“No. Shoo!”
“Lady Turquoise?” Emberglow cut in cautiously. Lady Turquoise’s angry eyes snapped to her squire, then softened. It was the same scene that had repeated itself a dozen times over the last few weeks. One of her most important duties as Lady Turquoise’s squire, she’d discovered, was serving to act as a buffer between the Knight and everypony else on her bad days.
“Look, I’m sorry,” she told the courier, who looked terrified. “It’s not your fault they’re being stubborn over at the Star Shine building. Thanks for bringing the message, and I don’t need to send a return just yet.” He nodded, then backed out of the office after shooting Emberglow a grateful glance.
Emberglow felt a guilty sort of relief every time Lady Turquoise’s anger exploded at anypony besides her. She didn’t like that others had to suffer the wrath of her Knight, but it was comforting to think that she was now an ally with Lady Turquoise against every force arrayed to stymie her goals.
“What if we arrange a meeting between you and a high ranking Mystic?” Emberglow asked after the courier was gone.
“You mean your sponsor, Steadfast?” Lady Turquoise asked, perking up slightly from her tired slump. “I didn’t want to ask you to put yourself out like that. This is my fight with the Mystics, Emberglow. I didn’t want to put you in their crosshairs.”
“It’s why I’m here,” Emberglow said. “Your senior, Lady Dot said so right? I’m a resource. I could send him a note right now, or I could go over in person.”
“A note should be fine,” Lady Turquoise said cautiously. “Where would we…” she began, but Emberglow waved a hoof.
“I’ll figure out the details. It’s my job, remember? You just work out what you’re going to say to him.”
Now with her Knights’ permission, Emberglow wrote up a personal note for Sir Steadfast, asking to meet with him to discuss her Knight’s ambitions for the Northern Empire. She trotted downstairs to find a courier to take the note over to the Star Shine building, then went back upstairs, complete with a bag of cookies acquired from the downstairs cafe.
Emberglow went back upstairs (using the elevator; she’d never quite been brave enough to ask why Lady Turquoise avoided them) and delivered her prize to a grateful Knight. They relaxed and munched on cookies while they waited for a response.
Finally, there was a knock on the door, and the very same nervous looking courier held out a note to Emberglow, pointedly trying not to look at Lady Turquoise. The note was simple: ‘You free for lunch? 12:30 at Let Us Wraps. Bring your Knight’. It was signed ‘Steadfast Word’.’ Emberglow showed it to Lady Turquoise, who read it with cautious optimism.
The restaurant was a trendy lunch spot, conveniently located near several of the Orders’ headquarters buildings. As Emberglow and Lady Turquoise approached, she could see a rainbow of colors; the outdoor tables were filled with Knights wearing the robes of their Orders. She couldn’t help but notice that while there were Knights from each of the Orders, for the most part each table was segregated by color.
They didn’t see Sir Steadfast at one of the outdoor tables, so they entered via the front door. The insides were nearly as busy as the outsides, but the noise was more a subdued hum than the cheerfully babbling cacophony of the outdoor tables. It was a bright and cheerful sort of restaurant, with colorful floral print wallpaper and bright yellow curtains. A sparklingly pleasant waitress with a two-tone pink and white mane bounced over to offer them a table before they saw Steadfast, one light blue hoof waving to catch their attention.
“Welcome to Let Us Wraps. Let us find you a table?” the waitress asked, looking a bit embarrassed at the pun she probably repeated dozens of times each day.
“Thanks, but we’re with somepony already,” Lady Turquoise said, motioning towards Sir Steadfast.
“Okay!” the waitress said brightly. “Have a seat, and I’ll be by right away with your menus.”
Sir Steadfast stood politely as the mares approached. He gave Emberglow a quick hug in greeting, then reached out a hoof towards Lady Turquoise.
“Lady Turquoise. It is a pleasure. I am Steadfast Word,” he said, and the two shook hooves. “Have a seat, you two.” The waitress brought their menus, and Emberglow glanced over the restaurant offerings. As one would expect, most of the menu was lettuce wraps, with soups and sandwiches as well. Emberglow ordered a grilled cheese and tomato soup. The Knights ordered their own food, and the waitress flitted away to put in their orders.
“So, the note you sent in reply certainly came in a timely fashion. Perhaps you’ve been expecting Emberglow to ask for a meeting?” Lady Turquoise began evenly. Only her twitching ears betrayed her nervousness.
“I thought it might be possible,” Sir Steadfast replied vaguely. Emberglow watched him closely. “I’ve read over several of your proposals. You have interesting ideas, Lady Turquoise.” Emberglow wanted to ask why he seemed to be acting so coy, but she stopped herself. She was a squire in the presence of Knights. If they wanted her input, they would ask for it.
“How long have you been following my requests to your order?” Lady Turquoise asked, her eyes narrowed with concentration.
“For a while now, to be honest. I’ve always thought it a great shame that we weren’t closer with our Northern cousins. You seemed to be the only pony who cared enough to try to do something about it. It’s a shame that pride becomes so much of a roadblock to positive change like this.”
Lady Turquoise nodded. Emberglow just stared at the two, her face twisted with confusion. Lady Turquoise, though, wore a thoughtful expression, and seemed perhaps a bit excited. The waitress brought their food, setting down a steaming bowl of red soup in front of Emberglow that smelled deliciously herbal. The cheese was perfectly melty, too, and she immediately dug into her lunch.
“So,” Lady Turquoise began, her voice casual. “What’s it like being a sponsor? I’ve never done it before.” It was a rather abrupt subject change, and Emberglow’s gaze flickered back and forth between the two Knights, now well and truly lost. Lady Turquoise sometimes seemed temperamental and flighty, but this sudden shift in conversation felt odd even for her standards.
“It’s been a rather interesting experience. Some Knights seek out good candidates from among the common folk for sponsorship. Mine sought me out.” He winked at Emberglow. She smiled back, but stayed silent, not quite trusting herself to speak. This conversation had taken an odd turn, and she couldn’t quite follow it. “I’ve never seen myself as much of a teacher, but I’d like to think the small amount of contact and influence I’ve had have been positive.”
“The chats we had throughout my time in the Seminary were a lifesaver, sir. I don’t know if I could have survived otherwise,” Emberglow interjected. Steadfast grinned at her.
“Thank you, young lady. I’m just glad I could have helped, in whatever small way,” he said. “Though, to be honest, as a sponsor I don’t have too much influence, as evidenced by the fact that I have so far been unable to lure Miss Emberglow away from her plans to join the Radiant. I’ve told her several times we could use a mind like hers in my order. The only real tangible influence I’ve had is when they consulted me on who she would squire for.”
Lady Turquoise twitched, and a slow, careful smile spread across her muzzle. She looked at Sir Steadfast, her eyes quizzical, but her expression hopeful. The older Knight merely answered with a grin.
“That sounds interesting. You had influence in the Order Emberglow was assigned to?” Lady Turquoise asked.
“Not just the Order, but the Knight herself,” Sir Steadfast said, his eyebrows raised significantly. “I wanted to make sure my sponsored pony got placed with a Knight with fresh, bold ideas.”
“Too bad nopony else thinks the way you do,” Lady Turquoise said. Sir Steadfast nodded.
“You know how ponies can get when pride is involved. There have been so many failures to reach out to the Northern Empire. It’s understandable that a group that’s failed so many times would be reluctant to see another succeed in their place. It would be a tremendous blow.”
“I can certainly understand that,” Lady Turquoise replied. “But isn’t positive progress worth stepping on a few hooves? Surely the end result is worth a little bruised pride.”
Emberglow merely sat and listened to the conversation while she ate her lunch. Both ponies sounded completely casual, though she was pretty sure there was some subtext she was just on the edge of understanding. It was like she was almost listening to the same conversation they were having, but not quite. Was Sir Steadfast suggesting that he’d read Lady Turquoise’s proposals and had deliberately placed Emberglow with her in an attempt to reach out and help? But why not just openly offer assistance? She didn’t get it.
“If only all ponies could have that view,” Sir Steadfast mused. “It would certainly make things simpler.”
“Hypothetically, what sort of balm would it take to massage wounded egos?” Lady Turquoise asked. “I mean, in a situation like ours.”
“An olive branch, of sorts,” Sir Steadfast said. He hadn’t even taken time to consider his response, and his eyes were alight with excitement. “You’d like to send a mission, rather than spies, to the Northern Empire. I think that there’s a chance this could work. The problem is, how does any of this advance the agendas of individual Knights Mystic?”
“What do you suggest?” Lady Turquoise asked.
“First, include a Knight Mystic in your planning and proposals, as much as possible. Unfortunately, we’ve been ordered to leave the Northern Empire alone as a lost cause and a waste of resources. So many of us would be unable to help you publicly.”
“But helping along the studies of a squire you personally sponsored into the Seminary…” Lady Turquoise mused, trailing off significantly. Sir Steadfast beamed.
“Exactly. Doing so would allow interested parties to offer support while saving face with our superiors, who seem to think the entire issue is an embarrassing non-starter. I’m so glad you understand.”
“Okay. Next?” Lady Turquoise asked.
“Second, you’re going to have to find a way to include Mystics at every step of your journey. I assume your plan includes arranging meetings and talks with agents of the Northern Empire’s government at neutral locations, probably within the FZR or even one of the griffon border towns.”
“I don’t really like the tone that sets for talks,” Lady Turquoise said. “I’m asking them to trust me, and then I bring spies? It seems disingenuous.”
“You don’t think the Northern ponies will bring agents? Spies?” Sir Steadfast said. “I can assure you they will. In fact, it may be safe to assume they already have agents within the Diarchy.”
“They do?” Lady Turquoise asked. “You know that, for sure?”
“I said it may be safe to assume so, Lady Turquoise,” Sir Steadfast said cautiously. “If I knew something like that for certain, it would be classified, wouldn’t it?” Lady Turquoise nodded slowly, taking another bite of her wrap while she paused to think.
“I wouldn’t be too bothered by the idea of Mystic agents within whatever entourage goes to communicate with the Empire. As long as I had some sort of assurance that they would be acting under the direction of whatever Jubilant was in charge, and not operating on their own.”
“I’m sure some sort of assurance could be made,” Sir Steadfast nodded slowly. “Thirdly, I think it would go a long way if the Jubilant could offer some sort of honey to sweeten the deal.”
“And do you have something already in mind?” Lady Turquoise mused, and Sir Steadfast nodded.
“I have a few ideas.”
Emberglow wasn’t sure, but it felt like a breakthrough had happened in the conversation. The discussion became more casual after that, without the sense of subtext that had been making her nervous. The two Knights spoke of different projects the two orders were working on, and even engaged in some bantering political discussions that mostly flew over Emberglow’s head. She’d never bothered much with local politics, and from what she’d heard of the relationships between the five orders, it was more of the same. Petty rivalries, pride and arrogance, scandal and sensationalism. She imagined she’d have to start paying attention sooner rather than later, but it just all felt so petty to her.
When they were done eating, Sir Steadfast paid for their lunch over Lady Turquoise’s objections. The two mares parted ways with the older stallion, with Lady Turquoise wearing a cautiously optimistic smile on her face as she shook his hoof goodbye.
“I’m not entirely sure exactly what happened there,” Emberglow finally admitted after the two had walked in silence for a few moments. Her Knight smiled patiently.
“Well, sounds like a great teaching moment, squire,” Lady Turquoise said smugly as the two wove through a growing crowd on their way back to the Jubilant Annex. Emberglow wondered what was happening; ponies were milling about as if waiting for something to happen. “What do you think happened? Do your best.”
“Um, politics?” Emberglow ventured vaguely. Lady Turquoise laughed. Emberglow had done well in social sciences class when the tests were from facts and theories in books, written down in paper and not in real life conversations with real life ponies. She was a tailor’s daughter, and she knew she would always struggle with some of the things that her noble-born fellow students took for granted.
“Try a little deeper than that, squire,” Lady Turquoise instructed.
“Well, it seemed like Sir Steadfast wanted to help you, but couldn’t really. So he waited for me to introduce the two of you?”
“Possibly. Most likely he engineered you being my squire to begin with. At least in part to reach out to me and offer support.”
“Why?” Emberglow asked. “Why use subterfuge? If he was familiar with your proposals, why not just reach out and offer help?” The crowd was growing thicker, and there were sounds of commotion from over near the entrance to the justice building.
“I don’t know for sure, this is only speculation. My guess is that he wanted to, and got shot down by somepony with more clout in his own Order.”
“But why, though? Wouldn’t everypony benefit if the word of the Saints spread to the Empire?” Emberglow asked. Lady Turquoise laughed, and Emberglow blushed. “Look, I know just how naïve that sounds. Really. But maybe I had hoped Knights would be beyond that.”
“You know as well as I do, Emberglow. Not even Knights are perfect. Ponies have ambition, jealousy, and greed. And yes, those things are sinful. But it’s quite easy for a pony to convince themselves that their own petty desires are the will of the Saints.”
“’Twist not these words to your own profit,’” Emberglow quoted. “’Therein lies the path of self-deception and damnation.’”
“From Saint Twilight’s own pen, even,” Lady Turquoise agreed. “But while the Book of the Saints is the bedrock of all truth, that doesn’t mean we all agree with each other’s interpretations.”
“I always thought the Confessors were in charge of the interpretation of the Book,” Emberglow said.
“It’s always been a bit unclear what the Saints ultimately intended. We Jubilant have always taken that responsibility, and have clashed with both the Mystics and civilian confessors in the past. We know the Knights were designed to be equals, so no one group is supposed to be stronger than the others. It leads to bickering and dissention at times as each Order wants to enforce their particular interpretation of the Book. Each group sees their own version of the greater good, and is frustrated when the others don’t see what they see and fall in line.” Lady Turquoise let out another laugh. “Not that you’ll need to look too hard into the politics between the Orders. The Radiants have always traditionally stayed out of the infighting.”
The crowd was much thicker, and the sounds of angry shouting floated from a concentration of ponies in front of them. Lady Turquoise said nothing, but with a grim look stepped in front of Emberglow and held her back with a hoof. It was an oddly protective move, and it made Emberglow feel weirdly good that her Knight’s first instinct would be to step in front of potential danger.
“What’s going on?” she asked the Knight, who shook her head.
“Protests. See the signs? There’s some ponies picketing in front of the Justice building. Looks like things are getting tense.”
The situation did seem like it was becoming violent. There was a line of armored Knights Vigilant, each one carrying a heavy truncheon. In front of them was a gaggle of angry ponies, many carrying signs that read ‘Free Red Pen’, or some other variant of the sentence. There were other signs demanding free speech. There were even a few with insulting caricatures of the Knights Vigilant.
“Oh. It’s that,” Lady Turquoise said dismissively.
“What’s going on?” Emberglow asked. Lady Turquoise shook her head and began leading them backwards, away from the crowd.
“Actors and poets. There was an arrest made recently. A playwright named Red Pen. He was arrested for heresy. His trial was a few days ago, and the sentencing was going to be today. I don’t pay much attention to what kinds of plays and music the common ponies are consuming.” Belatedly she realized who she was speaking with. “Sorry, Emberglow.”
“No, it’s fine,” Emberglow said. “Why was the playwright arrested?”
“He wrote a heretical play. When his local confessor told him to change some things, he refused and went forward with getting the play produced anyways. When somepony from my order went to see the play, she alerted the Mystics and the Vigilants. The playwright, director, producer, and many of the actors were taken in for questioning. But I only know bits and pieces of the story, from gossip around the Annex.”
There was shouting from the protesters now. Some of the ponies were surging against the line of Vigilants. Partially in anger, and partially because of the press of protesters behind them. The orange armored Knights were shoving back.
“We should get back,” Lady Turquoise said carefully. They weren’t close to the epicenter of the protest, but it would still be safer the further away they were. Still, as she looked at the protestors pressing in on the tiny group of Knights, she felt an urge to do something.
“Do you think they’ll need help? The Knights are outnumbered,” Emberglow said. Lady Turquoise smirked.
“Good to know what kind of Knight you’re going to be,” she said. “They’re probably fine, but it wouldn’t hurt to offer. Carefully fly over and get in touch with whoever is in charge. I’ll try to find a way around the crowd.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Emberglow said quickly, spreading her wings and taking to the air. None of the protesters were airborne, and Emberglow could see only one Knight Vigilant in the skies. The orange armored pegasus flew over to Emberglow with challenge in his eyes, before noticing her squire robes.
“Sorry to bother you,” Emberglow began as the pegasus stallion slowed to a hover in front of her. “My Knight and I were passing by. Is there any way we can help?”
“That’s your Knight down there?” the stallion said, motioning with one hoof at the pink robed figure of Lady Turquoise, still making her way away from the crowd.
“Yes, sir,” Emberglow said.
“Not much you can do, then. We’ve sent for some of the Radiant to help. Things are getting nasty, we’re expecting violence as soon as the arrests start.”
“Um, I-I’m not a Radiant, but I’m aspiring to be one. I’m medically trained as well. I would love to help however I can.”
“A Radiant in training? Maybe. Get with Lady Yellowtail on the ground.” The pegasus stallion pointed at a blonde Lady Knight, wearing the orange armor of her Order, who was coordinating the Vigilants and shouting orders.
“Yes, sir,” Emberglow repeated. She flew down to land next to the lady Knight in question. The Vigilant eyed her approach suspiciously.
“Squire, state your name and purpose,” the Knight barked. Emberglow wasn’t bothered by the gruff order, but she was a little intimidated by the mare’s demeanor.
“Emberglow, ma’am. Squiring for Lady Turquoise of the Jubilant. We saw the commotion and wanted to offer assistance. I’m aspiring to the Radiant, and I’ve received medical training. Your pegasus said things might get violent soon. I can do first aid and I’m practiced in healing spells, if I have a rune quill or gauntlet.”
“Don’t have any spares. But as soon as we start making arrests, things are gonna get nasty. Can you follow orders?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Emberglow nodded.
“Where is your Knight?”
“Trying to find a safe way around the crowd, ma’am. She’s an earth pony.”
“Good. Stay back, at least five paces behind me, but close. I’ll call your name if we need your skills. When your Knight gets here have her stay back with you. By Saint Applejack’s grace we won’t need either of your help, but I’m not betting on it.”
“Yes ma’am,” Emberglow repeated, assuming a position on the cobbled street as ordered by Lady Yellowtail. The orange armored Knight proceeded to ignore her as she continued to issue orders to her outnumbered Knights as they tried to wall off the Justice building from the increasingly rambunctious protestors. The protesters began to push their way towards the building, and the Knights pushed back, becoming increasingly stern in their measures to make sure the civilian ponies didn’t make it past them towards the Justice building, where Emberglow assumed their playwright hero was being sentenced. Emberglow was focused on the ponies themselves, so she didn’t see when the first rock came sailing out of the crowd to smash into the street just a few feet to the left of Lady Yellowtail.
“Who threw that!?” the Knight Vigilant shouted angrily. She raised her gauntlet and cast a spell, enhancing her voice to spread menacingly over the crowd. “Citizens, this protest is illegal. Lay down on the ground and place your forehooves over your head and you will not be harmed. Anypony still standing will be considered violent and be treated appropriately. You have…”
A second rock sailed out of the protesters, then a third. This one came down, shattering right against Lady Yellowtail’s helmet, just on the forehead. It wasn’t a regular stone, Emberglow realized, but a cobblestone pried up from the street. The Knight cried out in pain as broken splinters of stone rained into her eyes and muzzle. Instinctively she sat back on her rump and raised her hooves to rub at her injured eyes.
“No! Lady, no, don’t rub them! Let me look!” Emberglow called out. “Be still!” She felt a jolt down her spine. She was a squire! And she’d just shouted an order at a Knight! She shoved her panic down as she dashed to the Knight’s side, who was gritting her teeth in pain with her eyes clenched shut. Emberglow reached the Knight, desperately looking around at the situation. Knights Vigilant were wading into the crowd of protesters, laying about with truncheons. Protesters were fighting back, using their signs to batter at the armored figures that were advancing on them to little effect. Ponies were already down on the ground, clutching bleeding heads or oddly-angled limbs. Some few had laid down as instructed, now being bludgeoned by the hooves of the combatants trampling about above them. She glanced around and matched eyes with the pegasus who she’d first spoken with. She waved him down.
“Your commander is injured,” she told him quickly. “I need water, and inform whoever Lady Yellowtail’s second-in-command is that she won’t be able to carry out her duties.”
“That would be me, squire,” the pegasus said, raising his voice to carry over the tumult. “I have nopony to send. Everything is-“ his gaze drifted back to the chaos that was unfolding in front of them. “Excuse me. You’ll have to make do until the Radiants we sent for get here.”
“Emberglow? What do you need?” came Turquoise’s voice as the pink robed mare galloped up.
“Water. Hurry!” Emberglow shouted, and her Knight, though looking shocked, turned and galloped towards the justice building. She turned to the wounded Vigilant. “Lay down, Lady Yellowtail. I’m going to remove your helmet. Keep your hooves out of your eyes and face, okay? Stay calm.”
“I’ll t-try, squire,” the mare said through gritted teeth. Blood seeped down cuts in her face, and shards of stone jutted out in places. “How fare my K-knights?”
“Not your concern now, Lady. Your second in command is handling things. Trust him, and stay calm,” Emberglow said. She glanced at the incipient riot, hoping that she was telling the mare the truth. She wasn’t nearly experienced enough to know how well or badly things were going, but there were dozens of wounded, nearly all protesters. She did her best to tune out all that extraneous noise. She had a patient already, and if those ponies hadn’t wanted to be injured, then perhaps they shouldn’t have questioned the will of the Saints’ representatives. The thought was surprisingly bitter, and she felt guilt flow into her for thinking it.
Lady Turquoise rushed up with a canteen of water, and Emberglow took it with a quick thanks, before sending her mentor back into the Justice Building for more. Gently Emberglow pushed the wounded Vigilant onto her side and began flushing out Lady Yellowtail’s eyes. The mare showed the resolve of a veteran Knight; despite a few whimpers and cringes of pain, she remained as still as possible while Emberglow muttered comforting and encouraging nonsense. As she poured water over the wounds, she did her best to remove the larger pieces of shrapnel from around her muzzle.
“You’ve been blessed by the Saints, Lady Yellowtail. You’ll have to spend some time with the Radiants when they get here, but I can’t see any major pieces of shrapnel in your eyes. Mostly just dust and tiny particles. I don’t believe there will be any permanent damage.”
“T-thanks, squire. Where is Sir Ratchet? I need an update on the situation.”
“Your second-in-command, lady?” Emberglow asked, glancing about. She could see the pegasus directing the Knights Vigilant as they pacified the remaining rioting crowd. Most had fled, many were down on the ground either of their own accord or due to injury. Several were not moving. Emberglow pushed it from her mind again. “He’s doing fine. I don’t see any serious injuries among your Knights, ma’am.”
There was a hoof on her shoulder. Emberglow looked up, surprised, into the gentle eyes of an unfamiliar Knight Radiant, wearing her white painted armor.
“Well done, squire. I will heal her injuries now. Thank you.”
“Um, of course, ma’am,” Emberglow stammered. “Is there any more I can do?”
The Knight Radiant’s attention was on her glowing rune gauntlet and the runes she was already writing over Lady Yellowtail. Her response was distracted.
“The Vigilant will only see criminals and enemies as they round up these miscreants, not wounded ponies. Ponies that might die if they don’t receive some help. My sisters and I will be working with the wounded Knights. Can you look for some of the worst cases and do what you can?”
“T-tell any Vigilants who challenge you that you have my authority,” Lady Yellowtail chimed in, her voice still hoarse with pain. Emberglow’s heart soared at the trust that had been placed in her.
The protest was completely over. The Knights were still standing. The protesters who had not fled, whether voluntarily or not, were on their bellies on the cobbled street. Many were bleeding or bruised. Out of the corner of her eye, Emberglow saw Lady Turquoise rush up, carrying more water and a bag full of bandages. She glanced at the crowd, then at Emberglow.
“In this, I am your squire, Emberglow. Just tell me how I can help,” the Knight Jubilant said. Emberglow smiled, though it was a bit grim as she considered the task ahead of them.
“Yes ma’am,” she said with a note of determination in her voice. With a gait far more confident than she felt inside, Emberglow trotted towards the first patients.
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I expect this will go up on the featured list any second now, I haven’t started reading this yet but I’m taking a shot in the dark because the premise is too good to pass up
Me before this update:
Mah LONELINESS is KILLING me. BUT I MUST confess THAT I still BELIEVE!
Me after reading this awesome chapter:
STILL BELIEVE!
Seriously though, this chapter is my favourite part of the story. Every paragraph is so well-written that it completely gets the right meaning and emotions across. And Emberglow's thoughts? Wonderfully realistic and makes the reader thoughtfully empathic! Everything in this story just flows like this magical, beautiful river. Can't wait to see where this river finally leads!
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I really hope you enjoy it when you do start reading!
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Thanks! I honestly worried about this chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Your Flurry continues to be a goddamned delight. And I am itching to see what kind of heresy Red Pen's play committed, because at this point there are so many options.
I can't help but wonder how this northern expedition is going to go. My guess is that whoever is sent to greet the Jubilant/Mystic envoy team - either a local bureaucrat or a very incensed and skeptical Flurry - will turn away everypony who's had the probably abhorrent somehow knighting ritual done, giving only Ember, as a squire, tentative privilege to visit.
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Thanks!
Not just a delight, but a goddamned one, hmm?
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but I'm really glad you're enjoying it.
I really do love it when people speculate about my story like this. I can neither confirm nor deny anything
So I'm going to try a new thing, and see if people are at least a little entertained.
Obviously this kind of writing involves a colossal amount of world building, much of which you never get to see in the actual narrative of the story. There are tons of details that probably will never come up within the actual text of the story. Some of this is harmless detail, that has no place in the narrative but may be interesting nonetheless. I'm going to try to post some silly details in the comments of each chapter going forward, just for fun. These details will have practically no impact on the story, or spoiler value, just fun stuff about the side character's backstory, or sometimes even my writing processes. I'll mark them with the spoiler tag, though, for people who haven't read the chapter yet, just to be safe.
Chapter 9's silly detail: Lady Turquoise accidentally began a collection of ridiculous tchochkes, such as the ceramic toaster shaped clock on her desk. She has a huge family, with several siblings and cousins. Whenever they go anywhere, for any reason, they make sure to buy her something completely worthless and nonsensical as a prank. Her apartment is so stuffed with the stuff she had to check with her Order head, Lady Diamond Dot, to make sure keeping a collection of useless tourist garbage wasn't a violation of the Knights Jubilant Oath of Poverty. Examples include carvings of animals, collector plates, unique designer picture frames, tourist spoons, etc.
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That's so delightfully silly, I love it
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Message of unity? Featuring the empire? Homosexuality?
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"Saint Rarity was a unicorn"
"The Diarchy had wings and horns and so did Saint Twilight"
"Saint Twilight's immediate family were unicorns"
"There were no gender restrictions on love"
"Sunset Shimmer wasn't a traitor"
"Discord was a live creature and a friend of Saint Fluttershy"
"Equestria used to have diplomatic ties to other races"
"A zebra was a friend of the Saints themselves"
and a thousand other options
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"Saint Fluttershy would have been proud of her knights discordant"
I’m loving this story so much, and wow is Flurry not taking anyone’s shit.
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There actually was no cover art originally. I started posting chapters before I'd decided on what scene I wanted as the cover, and even before I found somebody to do the art.
Also, I'm glad you're enjoying the story.
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*clears throat* have changed/shaped her personality.
Flurry's so much fun, she's kind of a blank slate, given that she's pretty much non-verbal in cannon. I got to figure out what kind of Princess she is, and how... um... various events
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I see. Also, I'm going to be keeping an eye out for this story. This truly deserves to blossom, and i'll do my best in aiding it however I can. I'm going to recommend it to my groups of friends, and hopefully the small number of us can help bring this to more peoples' attention. Stories should be shared so that they may spark joy in as many as possible, especially those tales which deserve it. To this end, I will do my part.
The next chapter can't come too soon. I need
my fixto read more of thisheroinawesome story.10357668
That would be a interesting twist!
Best name
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I was particularly proud of it, thank you!
I've always loved doctor types. They're the real peacekeepers, and the reason the fight can go on
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DERPY!!!!!
Flurry Heart my beloved. I figured the shield wasn't just a shield, but would likely be some kind of enchantment detection, or something of the like.
I was feeling like Turquoise would end up much more receptive towards Emberglow's attitude towards her as a sort of 'somepony willing to stand up to her' type thing. Maybe it was all a test to see what she'd put up with?
Yep, there it is. Easy as pie.
Coulda gone for AJ's order, honestly.
Eeeeyup. I was wondering how she'd be a Knight Jubilant if she couldn't be anything but angry all the time.
Interesting that the narrative has spun that Twilight hid the Elements, likely the Theocracy paints it as a test. As your notes said that Season 9 isn't canon to this story, it's clear they do exist, so that's more than likely why Cozy would have waited until one of the Bearers died to begin her plans.
Twilight Snarkle was known for being sassy, sarcastic, and above all, stubborn before her ascension. Fun parallel that the Knights Mystic share this trait, it seems.
She really would fit the Knights Mystic. A mare after Twilight's own heart.
Muffins.
Sneaky sneaky, Turquoise! Especially considering they were near shaking since she was there earlier, I'd call this a win.
Refer to above comments for analysis, re: Twilight Sparkle, Knights Mystic.
Awh! She's trying her best! I'm so proud of her!
Okay, this is like, my favorite section in this entire chapter. Bar none. This is REALLY good subtext, a conversation within a conversation, hints and ideas that show the reader Steadfast has had some ulterior motives, but none of them inherently harmful within the context of what the Theocracy would want you to think and feel. He's been playing a very slow game of chess, and he knows how to work his pieces to the full extent of their ability.
It's also gives the reader a good view on the real conversation going on, while Emberglow, still being a teenager and a Squire, realistically doesn't understand, without having to forcibly tell the reader by explaining it to Emberglow.
Okay, so I'm cheating a little. I had some comments, but ended up losing them, and read through the whole chapter before I remembered, so I've been rereading it to get my commentary out. Shhhh.
Mm. This was the moment I realized something was up, very clearly. Protests, and I get the feeling we're about to see just how much stronger a Knight is than a regular pony.
Very conspicuously not saying how the play was heretical. Whether it's taboo to discuss heresy directly as it is, or that it's intentional on Turquoise's part, that's yet to be seen - she's also very specifically not giving her own thoughts and feelings on the situation.
Again, maybe I read into this much, but it's conspicuous that they seem to imply the help being needed for the Knights, and not the protestors. Mercy Song very specifically showed that even the ponies that the Diarchy would condemn deserve help, medical attention, and support, so there's at least this notion that there is underlying good within many of the ponies inside the Diarchy itself, but that's what a fascist theocracy would put its wagers on, wouldn't it?
Have I mentioned I adore Emberglow? Because I adore Emberglow. She's still going to be how she is, and Knighthood isn't going to change that, and I think she's realizing that more and more.
Ah, the sickly saccharine smell of indoctrination at work. She also recognizes that thought as wrong. Good. You know what we call that? Growth.
Well, she didn't really need to grow to get to this point, but still.
Mmmhm. There it is again. An interesting perspective - as a medic attending to the Knight specifically watching this protest, she doesn't actually get to see, other than snippets already mentioned, how the crowd was placated. Perhaps this is a good thing for her own sensibility, but it is a unique perspective all the same.
Exactly what I said before. The Radiants so far seem to be the ones who help everyone, but I'm curious to see what else lies behind the mask. It's very telling and fitting that this is what Emberglow wants to do, and I believe that the ideology of the Radiants she aspires to so much foreshadows her own future, likely role in what will most likely be the dismantling of the Diarchy in its current state. She does it for the good of all involved, whether or not society sees it as something that should be done. Idk, maybe I'm sounding weird or not conveying my words right, but it's a good parallel.
The humility, the growth. We love to see it. Again, you've managed to make almost every character relatable or understandable in some way. I adore it.
Time for the next chapter!