SWWC: Something Wrong With Canterlot

by Lighttone GryphonStar

File 1: Month 17-Part 1: Three Prong Attack

Seventeen months and twenty-nine days after Canterlot fell...

"I never did find out who those 'dragons' were." Comet Tail put down the cigarette and slowly puffed smoke in the face of the therapist. This was his thirteenth visit after leaving the hospital and his boredom had reached a peak. "And that was the last thing I remember before everything went black."

The gray earth pony therapist looked at him with an expression unreadable behind her thick glasses, but he could tell she wasn't surprised by this statement at all. She had probably heard it from dozens of patients that day alone. "Yes, that's good much better than last week."

"Yeah, seventeen months of pointless work." Comet Tail crushed his cigarette and threw it perfectly into the ashtray.

The therapist made a face as if to say something else, but didn't speak up. She turned around on the chair and started fiddling with some papers. A moment later she answered: "Your file says your work was classified."

"That doesn't matter to me." Comet Tail turned away.

"It should!" The therapist urged. "You are the only survivor of that mission. The more we work, the more we can unlock those memories, you just need a bit more." She twirled her pencil around. "Maybe we could--"

"Right, Doctor Allswell?" Comet's voice was filled with a bit too much snark to care for. "Is this work going to help bring my leg back?!" Comet slapped at the metal limb with a broken gladius caked in dust strapped onto it.

"You at least can walk." The therapist tried to help him smile.

"Yeah, but I couldn't during the war." Without any hesitation, he walked over to the window and pulled it open. In the distance, the Canterlot's mountain once stood, now only a crater remained.

"That is none of your problems. The King has been good to us since the princesses's disappearance. He gave you a new leg and all of this good technology." Doctor Allswell held up her hands to the machines around the room. All were monitoring Comet Tail's actions and movements across the room.

"Right, the King is so great, yet we rarely have seen him directly." Comet's eyes wandered upward to the twisted and distorted image that was once Canterlot, now a floating fortress above the crater. "My mission failed mere days before that place appeared."

"Well, there are still ponies working on getting you back on your feet and back to fighting." The doctor held out the papers that she had been fiddling with earlier.

"What? And serve that tyrant!" Comet Tail took another puff of his cigarette. "I'd rather stick to my private business."

"There are other options. You could join the guard or even become a knight again." The therapist leaned forward over the desk.

"I said, no!!" Comet Tail rushed over and smashed his cigarette into the papers. He snickered as the ashes consumed the signature line. He didn't wait any longer, heading toward the door.

“Wait, your session is not over yet.”

Comet didn't care to finish his own answer. Instead, he opened the door and left the room, making sure to slam the door behind him. This left the therapist puzzled and confused.

Doctor Allswell leaned back and tapped out the flaming paper, finally giving her own annoyed huff. “So close…” She wrote some notes down and turned to a phone.

“State your name and rank.” The voice on the other side was quick and strong in his words.

“I am Doctor Ashley Allswell of the Raven Institut. Rank, Lieutenant Captain of the Poena Guard.”

“State your business.”

Doctor Allswell got up from her chair and stared deeply at the crater that Comet had shown so much anger toward. “I have my next report on Comet Tail for the king.”

******

The one on the other side of the line took every word to count. “Good. I’ll take the report to him once I arrive back at Nigrum Crystalli.” The yellow pegasus closed his phone up and turned back to his work. He was standing over a burning field of dying trees on the far side of the Everfree Forest, near the caves.

“Captain Iron Sentry.” A soldier walked up to him. “We found fifty rebels inside, but still no sign of it.”

“Bring forward any that are still alive.” Iron Sentry commanded, a frown on his face.

The soldier turned away and gestured to the other soldiers. Twelve ponies were brought forward. They were covered in dirt and blood, barely able to stand. Iron Sentry approached them with a scowl, keeping himself from staring directly into their eyes. Most of them were very old or broken souls. However, his eyes stopped as among them were two children.

Iron Sentry slowly walked to the children. He leaned down and smiled at their small faces. “Tell me, were there any other children in the safe house.”

“No, sir.” The soldier behind him answered.

Iron Sentry’s face quickly frowned. “Good, good.” He rose back up and looked at the older ponies. “Now I will ask this once and only once. Where is it?!”

The older ponies shook their heads and pointed in different directions, some even pointing to themselves. None of them answered correctly. It didn’t seem to be out of some absolute loyalty but rather something else. Something that Iron Sentry could see very clearly.

He walked away from the children and looked over at each older pony. This time, he stared deep into each eye as he walked by. Once he reached the end, his hands shook to his sword. The cranks of metal in his wings echoed throughout the area. “I see, Lieutenant Outer. Remove the children.”

“Sir?”

Iron Sentry turned to the soldier with a glare. “Do as I said, a child should never see such brutality.”

Understanding the order, the children were quickly removed from the area. His kindness to them was indeed quite strange to the soldiers, but it brought less fear from them than his rage. The children saw mercy in Iron Sentry's eyes as they were pulled away. But there was also something else he dare not let even his most loyal see. It was a sign of defeat.

Iron Sentry turned away once they were out of sight and looked toward all the older ponies once more, finally speaking to them. “He gave strength and you ran from it.” The soldiers lifted strange weapons with barrels on the end. “He gave you valor and you denied it.” The soldiers aimed their weapons as the tip began to glow. “He gave you kindness and you give him hatred.” On that final word, the soldiers pulled their triggers.

The light burst outward from each weapon and the loud bangs bounced over every wall. Iron Sentry's eyes shook at every scream but kept a solid face, not letting them see him falter at all. He kept a calm stern mind and stayed ready and loyal to the kingdom he was now forced to serve. The kingdom that had enslaved them all.

"Thank you for your mercy, Flash." A soft voice echoed behind his ear, breaking his resolve for only a second. He didn't turn around as he knew only he could hear the voice.

Once the barrels stopped humming, he looked up to a tear in the ceiling. He closed his eyes at the feeling of rain pouring down. Under his breath, he whispered to the voice, “Thank you for this... Pale Mare.”

"Sir? Sir? Sir?" Another soldier ran up.

Iron Sentry's eyes popped open and faster than anypony could process, metal wings pulsed out and wrapped around the neck of the soldier. "There better be a good reason for interrupting my prayer?!" His words were pure rage.

"Sir... We found it." On those words, Iron Sentry only squeezed tighter.

"Are you sure? Where?!"

"It was exactly where Sir Night said it would be. Just beyond these plains. There are some ruins of a clocktower... and an altar with a giant crystal hand."

"Show me..." Iron Sentry finally dropped him to the ground.

The soldier led the way and the rest followed. Iron Sentry had given the command, but didn't follow until the last second. It wasn't until he felt a touch on his shoulder, that he joined them. The hand belonged to a pale mare that only he could see. Her face was covered in static and her body moving like that of a ghost.

Author's Note:

There were some notable changes to this chapter. For example, a greater note on the facade that Flash is trying to keep in front of the King's loyal soldiers. He's very much a gray character in this story and as you will see in other Month 17 chapters.

Comments

[ICarlykiller]

This Sir Night has me buzzing with theories

[Lighttone GryphonStar]

11645656
Theories? What are you enjoying most about him so far?

Also, thank you for the watch and the favorite.

[ICarlykiller]

11646109
Well, mostly the mystery I guess. We don't have much details right now outside of him possibly being sick and a hippogriff. It's a rare sight in this fandom to have a villain not be a unicorn.

[Lighttone GryphonStar]

11646113
I know, this fandom can be a little racist sometimes. But, don't worry, we will have more appearances for Sir Night soon enough.