Chapter Eleven: Awakening
Chapter Eleven: Awakening
Dear Silver,
I don’t know if you’ll ever receive this letter. Even if you do, I have no idea whether or not you will read it. Either way, I feel like you should at least have some idea of how we’ve been doing. It has been a month since the three of us parted ways, after all. Now then, where to begin… I suppose I’ll start with when I left the picnic.
I didn’t mean to alarm anyone by leaving, but I didn’t have much time to work with. I realized something that day, that it’s my destiny…My duty to defend the Elements of Harmony, and by extension, their wielders. However, how could I defend them in a time of crisis? I didn’t have any combat experience; I didn’t even have a sword. So, I made a decision: I needed to join the Royal Guard. But to do that, I would need to speak with Captain Sol, who was on his way out of the town at the time.
I just barely found the Princess’s entourage before they left. I explained to Captain Sol how I felt, how I needed to join the Royal Guard. He seemed a bit skeptical at first, but then the Princess intervened, saying that if I felt so strongly about something, that I should be allowed to pursue it. That managed to convince the Captain, and they decided to delay their departure for one night, so that I could say my goodbyes.
I just barely managed to get back to the Carousel Boutique before Rarity did. I suppose I should thank you for trying to calm her nerves, but it didn’t exactly last long. Once I told her my intentions, she was shocked. She insisted that I reconsider, but my mind was made up, and she made no more efforts to try and stop me. That didn’t make it hurt any less when I saw her face filled with worry when I left early the next morning.
Colgate and I were on the train to Canterlot when I received Twilight’s letter about your disappearance. Princess Luna and Captain Sol had taken the royal Pegasus carriage back to the castle, as they both had matters to discuss in private with Princess Celestia, leaving just me and Colgate to read the letter. Twilight said that you had left during the middle of the night, and were urging us all not to follow you. Although Twilight had wanted to immediately give pursuit, she had the prudence to ask Princess Celestia for guidance on the matter first. For whatever reason, the Princess decided that it would be for the best if you searched for answers on your own. She mentioned something about how you were “Soul searching”.
At first, I thought that we should show the letter to Princess Luna as soon as we arrived at Canterlot, but Colgate insisted otherwise. She pointed out that Luna would likely not only ignore her sister’s decision, but that the knowledge that Celestia made such a decision could serve to drive the two even further apart. As much as I hated the thought of hiding something that important from one of the Princesses, Colgate was right; things wouldn’t be so simple anymore in this brand new world of politics and intrigue. Colgate and I only talked a little during the train ride, but I can already tell that there’s much more to her than meets the eye. She was very evasive of all my questions about her past, only willing to divulge bits and pieces of the truth, such as how she used to be a dentist living in Ponyville before coming into the employ of Princess Celestia. When I asked about what part of the Royal Guard she served in, she just laughed; she told me that she wasn’t a member of the Royal Guard, and that she was more of a “Freelancer”, doing odd jobs that Celestia apparently trusted only her to accomplish.
When we arrived at Canterlot Station, she led me on a brief tour through the city before leading me to the castle. Once we entered the gates, (the guards all recognized her immediately; she must have been important to receive such a reaction) I was led to the Throne Room, where I caught my first glimpse of Princess Celestia, the Princess of the Sun, in all her glory.
She was not sitting in her throne as I expected her to be, but appeared to be pacing around the room, deep in a private conversation with Captain Sol, who had arrived around an hour earlier. Colgate however, exercising both her penchant for disrupting the chain of command, as well as a blatant disregard of the consequences of such an action, simply walked up to the two and promptly asked a simple question, one that stopped the Princess dead in her tracks. “Where’s Luna?” she asked, ignoring the Captain’s shocked look at the fact that she had not only disrupted a private meeting between him and the Princess, but that she done so in such a casual manner, as if it was an everyday occurrence for her.
When the Princess, flustered for the first and only time that I have seen, regained her train of thoughts, she politely asked Captain Sol to escort me to the barracks and introduce me to the other trainees, while she had a more private conversation with Colgate. She did not look pleased at the prospect of the second part. Regardless, the Captain led me out of the Throne Room to the barracks, muttering the whole way about how Colgate was some sort of “madmare”.
Before I entered the barracks, the Captain pulled me aside with a grim look on his face. He asked me that I avoid mentioning my true intentions for joining the Royal Guard; he didn’t want anypony to think that I was receiving special treatment just because I knew Princess Luna. Upon entering the barracks, my first thought was “Chaos”.
Everypony sees the Royal Guard as the stalwart, unflinching knights who guard both Equestria and the Princesses from danger. However, they haven’t seen what they act like when they aren’t on duty. When part of your job is to stand almost perfectly still for the majority of the day, or to walk along the same castle walls over and over each day, it’s understandable that you would want to blow off some steam. Many of the off-duty guards were playing a variety of different gambling-based games, while many others simply spent their break chatting or wrestling with friends. Somehow, a small hooffull of ponies of in the corner even managed to get some extra sleep through the pervasive ruckus of the room. I realize that this might not give you the best impression of the Royal Guard, but considering how tough our everyday job is, believe me when I say that our time off-duty is well earned. Anyways, as soon as Alexander stepped through the doorway, it became readily apparent exactly how disciplined the other members of the Royal Guard were; they almost all immediately snapped to attention, and those who didn’t did so only because they were busy waking up those who had tried to get in a quick nap. It was a bit demoralizing to see, to be honest. How did I honestly expect to reach that level of discipline, let alone become Princess Twilight’s personal guard? These thoughts only lasted for a moment however; I had come too far to back out now.
“At ease, everypony. You’re all on break, after all.” Captain Sol said to the others with a friendly smile. “I’d like to introduce the newest member of the Royal Guard; his name is Tartanis, and he had enough guts to not only approach me while I was on a mission in Ponyville, but to ask me personally if he could join us here at the castle.” Everypony got a good chuckle out of this, but the Captain’s face then turned deadly serious. “But, we have a little problem. Even though Tartanis is here, that doesn’t mean he’s ‘in’ just yet.”
Needless to say, this had me more than a little bit worried. My first instinct was to act the Captain exactly what he meant by that, but I could see something in his eyes, a brief twinkle that told me he already had something planned. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but gulp at the thought of what sort of initiation the Captain had in mind. I didn’t have to wait long.
“Tartanis here has a goal: He wants to become one of the Princesses personal guards!” Captain Sol said, much to the amusement of the other guards. “So, why don’t we see just how well he stands up in a fight? If he wants to guard the Princesses after all, he shouldn’t have any problem beating me in a sparring match!” The moment he said that, I felt my heart drop. How in Equestria was I supposed to beat Captain Sol, after all? I didn’t even know how to fight! But as the Captain turned to lead everypony out to the training grounds however, I noticed him give me a little wink. The captain had a plan, though not one I would have thought of.
The training area for the guards was located just outside the barracks, and took up a rather sizable corner of the Grand Courtyard that filled the entryway to the castle. The area was filled with weapon racks holding a wide variety of wooden sparring weapons, from spears, to swords, to axes. There even appeared to be several racks devoted to more exotic weapons that I couldn’t hope to identify. Still, it was comforting to know that the Royal Guard encouraged its soldiers to seek out weapons that helped individualize them somewhat. I imagined it would be more than a bit demoralizing to just be considered rank-and-file troops that look like cookie-cutter generic soldiers.
The Captain led us all to a rather sizable circular clearing in the center of area, which had obviously been set aside for the sake of real sparring, with actual opponents. The Captain went to one end of the clearing, and then directed me to the other, towards a set of weapon racks filled with wooden training weapons. I watched as the Captain’s horn lit up, lifting a large and heavy looking wooden halberd from the racks on his end of the arena. Although the tip and blade of the halberd were rounded instead of edged for the sake of training, it was obvious that this weapon was designed specifically to be Captain Sol’s personal training weapon. I almost didn’t want to see the real thing.
Examining the weapons on my side of the arena, I realized that I had no idea how to use any of them. I decided to try and keep things simple, and felt my horn tingle a bit as I lifted a long, slender wooden blade. It lacked the reach of the Captain’s halberd, meaning I would need to try and stay somewhat close to him to ensure he couldn’t take advantage of that fact. I was also once again thankful of the fact that we were both Unicorns; holding a weapon in your hooves limits your reach, and also removes the advantage of being able to dodge attacks independently of your weapon.
The other guards gathered around the clearing as Captain Sol and I began to circle the arena, looking for an opening. They cheered as the Captain suddenly dashed forward, making a heavy swing with his halberd. I was just barely able to block the swing in time, and even then, I could feel the strain on my horn as I struggled to maintain the magical grip on my sword. Just as I began to recover, however, he was on me again, this time swinging the axe-head of the halberd down vertically in a powerful chopping motion. I quickly sidestepped the blow, before retaliating with a quick swing of my sword.
Much to my dismay however, Captain Sol had seen the swing coming from a mile away, and sidestepped before the blade got anywhere near him. The battle continued like that for some time, with me just barely evading the Captain’s attacks, while he easily sidestepped my own. I could tell he was toying with me. Suddenly, he leaped backwards, a clean disengagement from the battle. “Come on, Tartanis!” He shouted “Is that it? How do expect to protect the Princesses like that?” To be honest, I was amazed that I had been doing as well as I had. Every time our blades clashed, I felt my cutie mark tingle. I could tell that somehow, it was giving me just enough of an edge to keep going. “Tell you what, Tartanis. If you can hit me even once before I can hit you, I’ll have a chat with Princess Celestia. Maybe, just maybe, she’ll let you become one of Luna’s personal guards. But you might as well give up on becoming Princess Twilight’s guard. You’re not good enough.”
There it was. He knew exactly which buttons to push to make me angry. I could see him smile a bit as I got ready to charge him. “Come on, Tartanis. Hit me!”
I knew he was baiting me. I knew that he was expecting me to charge him in exactly the way I did. But I didn’t care. I narrowly dodged his first two jabs with the halberd, and could only watch as he brought it back into the perfect position to block my attack. I knew he would be fast enough to hit me with a counter immediately after my blade bounced off the haft of his polearm. But that didn’t matter to me. I was not weak. I would not fail in my duty. I would protect not only Princess Twilight, but all of the Elements of Harmony, until my dying breath.
I could see his eyes widen in shock as my horn began to glow brighter, and my sword began to glow with a crimson aura of magic. He began to move out of the path of the blow, but it was too late. My blade tore straight through his block, splintering the wooden halberd’s haft in a single, clean stroke. He managed to avoid a direct hit, but I could still the stark red of where my blade grazed against his marble-white coat. The other guards’ shouts of encouragement for the Captain died away as they saw the first few droplets of his blood hit the ground. The silence was deafening.
As I realized what I had just done, I could feel the blood drain from my body. I had just attacked and injured the Captain of the Royal Guard. I stood there frozen when I heard Captain Sol’s voice again.
“Tartanis”… He said, anger filling his voice. “That was my only training halberd.”
“I-I’m sorry, Captain.” I heard myself say, but I felt disconnected from the whole thing, as if I wasn’t really there. I felt only surprise when his expression suddenly changed, and he began to laugh heartily.
“Remind me to wear armor the next time we spar.” He said jokingly. “I’m a stallion of my word, Tartanis. You hit me first, and you hit hard. I’ll speak to Princess Celestia about this later. You have determination, I’ll give you that much.”
As Captain Sol turned to face them, I noticed for the first time that an even bigger crowd had gathered to watch the battle than when we began. I even noticed some of the guards patrolling the walls had stopped to look down in wonder.
“Everypony who was off-duty, head back to the barracks. You too, Tartanis. You fought well.”
The crowd slowly began to disperse, but I decided to stay behind and speak to the Captain. “Captain Sol, are you alright?” I asked him. He just turned and smiled at me in response.
“Tartanis,” he said “That was the best fight I’ve had in a while. You still need to work on your skill with the blade, but you’re already very fast. Also, that attack at the end… I don’t know how you channeled your magic through your sword like that, but it was incredible.” He turned his head a bit and motioned to his side where I had hit him. “That will be one scar that I’ll remember for a long time. You have a lot of potential.”
“Did you mean what you said?” I asked him “About recommending me to Princess Celestia?”
“To be honest Tartanis,” he said “I was going to do that anyway. You showed a lot of promise even during the beginning of the battle. But now that the others have seen that little show you put on, it would be a crime for me to not give you a recommendation.” “Thank you, Sir.” I said
“Tartanis, you don’t need to refer to me as ‘sir’” he said “I get the feeling that you and I are going to begin working closely together very soon, so you might as well start calling me Sol. After all, I doubt that you’ll remain a private for long after this anyways.” With that said, he walked back to the castle, leaving me to ponder what to do next. I practiced fighting some of the training dummies for a while, but it just wasn’t the same as a real fight. After a while, I went back to the barracks, where I was promptly met by cheers. Apparently, I was the first pony to so much as touch Captain Sol in a sparring match since he had become the Captain of the Guard.
As the others gradually went off to attend to their various duties, I realized that I still had yet to receive any duties myself. I only had to wait a while longer however, before somepony new entered the tent, a royal courier, carrying a letter from Captain Sol himself. It said that starting the next morning, I was to begin one-on-one training under his instruction by order of Princess Celestia. Apparently, she had decided that not only did I have the potential to possibly become Princess Twilight’s first and only personal guard, but that because I already knew both her and her friends, that I would be almost perfectly suited for the job.
The next morning, Captain Sol himself came to the barracks with a gift for me: A set of beautifully crafted steel armor for me to wear both while training, and while on duty around the castle. Starting that morning and every morning since, I’ve been training hard every day with Captain Sol, as well as being assigned to patrol the outer walls for several hours every day. It’s been taxing work, but… It’s about to pay off.
Last night, I received a letter from Princess Celestia herself telling me that tomorrow will be my final test. Princess Twilight will travel to Canterlot Castle to oversee the trial, as well as spending the majority of the day getting to know the way I think and act, as well as simply becoming accustomed to my company. And then, if both she and Princess Celestia approve, then I shall become Princess Twilight’s personal bodyguard. Of course, I will also be tasked with protecting all of the Elements of Harmony to the best of my ability, but officially I am supposed to guard only Princess Twilight.
To say that I’m nervous about this trial would be a massive understatement. I have no idea what I’m in for, and my success or failure here will determine the rest of my future in the Royal Guard. I can only hope that I will succeed. This one day will determine whether or not this past of hard work and training will have been worth it. I know that not only have I become a better fighter since my arrival, but also much more disciplined, and to be honest…An all-around better pony. I’ve had a lot of time to think about things, and I think I’ve come to terms with my new role here in Equestria. I want to help keep those I care about safe. And the one pony I care about the most… I think I’m finally ready and able to truly keep her safe in a time of crisis.
Silver… I won’t pretend to know why you left. But I think I can understand why you said you needed time to think. I may not remember anything from before I woke up in Ponyville, but I know this: Equestria is where I’m meant to be. Whatever destiny I had before then doesn’t matter anymore. Here, I can make a difference; I can protect everypony that’s important to me. And I feel like that’s something I was sorely lacking before.
Tomorrow, I’m going to ask Princess Celestia if she can send you this letter via magic. I know she regularly exchanges letters with Princess Twilight through the same method, and I’m hoping that she would be able to get this letter to you. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, I want you to know that you don’t have to face it alone. When you come back, we can sort through it together. After all… What are friends for?
Your distant friend,
Tartanis
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Letting out a sigh of relief, Tartanis set down his quill, and gathered together the parchments comprising his completed letter to Silver. It was a bit longer than he initially expected, but there was just so much to tell Silver about. He felt a bit sad though, that even after a month’s time, nopony had heard so much as a peep about Silver’s whereabouts. They only got to spend a bit of time talking with each other at the picnic, but he could tell even in that short time that they would become good friends, if they weren’t already. Tartanis’s thoughts were disrupted by the sound of knocking at the door.
Shortly after his private lessons with Captain Sol began, Tartanis was offered his own room in the castle, which he graciously accepted. He still spent much of his free time with the other guards in the barracks, but it did feel nice to have some measure of privacy at times. Still, it was surprising to receive a visitor; even though almost everypony in the Royal Guard knew where his room was in case of emergencies, it was rare that he received visitors. The only pony that dropped by with any regularity was… “Are you gonna let me in, or what?” Colgate said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Colgate dropped by once or twice a week, usually when she was in the mood to talk to him about something, ask him questions about how his training was going, or if he had heard from Silver yet. However, today was apparently a special occasion. Colgate was not alone as Tartanis opened the door to welcome her in, and she quickly rushed both her and her “guest” inside the moment the door was opened. “What the… What’s going on?” Tartanis asked with surprise. Colgate didn’t respond however, as she quickly looked around the room warily, closed and bolted the door, then cast some sort of spell over the room.
“There… Now we won’t have to worry about anypony listening in.” She said, before taking a seat on Tartanis’s bed. “Sorry about that Tartanis, but these are unique circumstances. After all, we’re currently playing host to an enemy of the state.” If there was anything that Tartanis had expected her to say, that was the exact opposite of it. He turned to face his new “guest”, and quickly looked her over.
Considering she was supposedly an” enemy of the state”, the young mare in question looked more nervous and scared than anything else. She was a Unicorn like him, but with a sort of bluish-green coat that was sharply accented by her bright blonde mane. And her horn… Tartanis had never seen anything like it. The upper half of her horn looked as though it had been snapped off, and was covered in ragged edges. Whatever had happened, it was not a clean break, and was likely extremely painful at the time. Every few seconds, a few magical sparks would pop out of its “tip”, though they seemed mostly harmless. Her cutie mark was also very strange… It was unlike any that Tartanis had ever seen, and looked like some sort of chitinous, insect-like trident head with translucent green insect wings extending from either side.
“Colgate, what do you mean ‘enemy of the state’?” Tartanis asked. This young mare didn’t seem dangerous at all, let alone a traitor.
“Tartanis, I’d like to introduce you to Ace Maverick. She’s an old friend of mine. She used to be part of a theatre troop operating out of the Grand Ovation Theater in Ponyville, where I first ran into her. We’ve kept crossing paths since then, until recently. That’s where things get complicated. A few months ago, Ace was adopted into the Changeling Hive, the first pony to ever be accepted in such a way. And now, she has some very important news, something important enough to share that she was willing to come here and risk her standing in the Hive. She is putting her herself, her friends… Her entire ‘family’ at risk by coming here.”
“Colgate, you really don’t need to remind me of all that stuff…” Ace said, seeming to grow more nervous. A few more sparks began to sprinkle from her horn stub. “I just couldn’t stand by and let Mom do something like this. I know she has good intentions for us, but…You ponies deserve to know.”
“What’s she talking about?” Tartanis said, beginning to grow worried. What sort of news was this Ace pony carrying, and why did Colgate decide to bring her to him?
“Go ahead, Ace. Tell him what you told me.” Colgate said. Ace let out a deep sigh, released a few more sparks, and then seemed to brace herself against some internal conflict.
“A few weeks ago, Mom sent out a group of spies all over Equestria looking for information on something, some old rival of hers. When they returned with the information she wanted, she left, went somewhere to the North on her own. When she came back a few days later… She wasn’t alone. She brought some big scary pony with her, a pitch black unicorn with a red horn. She never introduced him, but she did tell us one thing: He was going to help us with something. He was going to help us attack Canterlot.”
“What?!?” Tartanis said in shock “But you guys refused, right?” Ace simply shook her head.
“The Hive doesn’t work like that. Mom’s the Queen. If she gives an order, we have to follow through, no matter what the order is. She has some trusted advisors, but even they were shocked by this announcement. We all were. Right now, the Hive’s getting ready for battle. I don’t know when the attack will be, but it’s going to be big.”
“So why did you come to us?” Tartanis asked “If you’re part of the Hive, why tell us about the attack?” Ace’s face seemed to scrunch up at this, and several more sparks flew from her horn to the floor.
“Because this is wrong. The Hive has been doing okay for a while. I heard that things were tough after the whole Canterlot Incident, but things were getting better. And now all of a sudden Mom wants to attack Canterlot again? I know that she wants to give us… Or the others, at least, more food, but this is different. This is going to be a full-scale war, no holds barred. I just… I don’t want to see any of my friends get hurt, pony or changeling. And Buggy… I don’t know what I’d do if I lost Buggy.” Ace’s eyes began to fill with tears at this point. Whoever this “Buggy” was, they were obviously very important to her.
Suddenly, several sparks erupted from Ace’s horn, and a small raincloud formed over her head as she began to dry her tears. “Colgate told me that if I ever needed help, to find her. After Mom took me in, I didn’t think I’d need her help, but now…”
“What about the princesses, Ace? Do you know anything about the attack involving them?” Tartanis asked, voice filling with worry.
“I don’t know,” Ace said with a slight sniffle “Mom never mentioned the Princesses. But that shoadowy pony… I overheard him and mom discussing something about Princess Luna. I didn’t hear them say what they planned, but I know I heard them say that name.”
“Colgate, is this what you wanted me here for? To have me warn the Princesses about the attack?” Tartanis asked, turning to face Colgate once more.
“No, Tartanis. Quite the opposite, in fact.” Colgate answered.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that we can’t tell Celestia about this. Or Luna, for that matter. Nopony outside this room can be allowed to know what you just heard. One way or another, this attack is going to happen. If you tell the Princesses now, they’ll prepare the Royal Guard for war, and the changeling spies in the city will relay that knowledge back to Queen Chrysalis. She’s too far in to call off the attack, but she will try and find out who tipped us off, leading her to Ace here. If that happens, Ace and her other friends inside the Hive, especially her ‘coltfriend’ Repliety, or "Buggy" as she calls him, will be in great danger. I doubt Chrysalis will harm them, but there will be severe consequences. Ace might be disowned by the Hive, or worse.
The reason I brought Ace to you, Tartanis, is because of your unique position. Tomorrow you will be tested to become an elite bodyguard for one of the Princesses. You have already chosen to become Twilight’s guard, but if you made the request, I am almost certain you could become Celestia or Luna’s guard, allowing you to be here when the attack does come, and keep the Princesses safe. After Chrysalis’s last attack on Canterlot, she wouldn’t try again without some sort of trump card, meaning that the Princesses will be in more danger than ever. What I need you to do tomorrow is to place a request to become one of Luna’s personal guards. That way, you and I can make preparations of our own before the attack.”
For many long moments, Tartanis was silent. This was the true test of his abilities, of his sense of duty. He was faced with two very difficult choices, between his duty to the crown, and his duty to the Elements. If this attack was going to happen, the Elements of Harmony could be in even more danger than the Princesses, meaning that Rarity would be at risk. If he was with Luna and Colgate at the castle, he could feasibly safe many lives, but would they be the lives that mattered most to him? “I’m sorry, Colgate… But I need time to think.” Tartanis said. He turned to Ace once more, whose raincloud had dissipated as she regained some semblance of her composure. “Thank you, Ace. I know you put yourself and others at risk by doing this, but now we have a chance to try and save others with this knowledge. Thank you.” Ace smiled somewhat at this, though she still seemed uneasy.
“Thank you, knighty-person.” She said “I just want to keep everybuggy and everypony safe, that’s all. Anyways, I should go. If I don’t get back to the Hive soon, they might start to get suspicious. Colgate, can you help me get back out of the castle all sneaky-like?”
“Of course, Ace” Colgate replied. “Well Tartanis, don’t think about it too long. Either way, the choice is yours. If you decide not to stay here in Canterlot, then so be it. I’ll try and make what preparations I can on the down-low. Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow. Good luck with your big test.”
“Thanks, Colgate.” Tartanis said unconvincingly. He went over to his bed and promptly plopped down upon it with a thud. Things just got a lot more complicated.
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As the two young mares made their way out of the castle, they were blissfully unaware of the pair of eyes that followed their movements. Repliety didn’t feel right spying on Ace like this, but it was for her own good. He was hoping she wouldn’t get mixed up in all this, but that was not to be. Now, he would have to take action to ensure her safety… Safety from both sides of the looming conflict.
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Celestia was just preparing to go to sleep that same night when she heard a knocking at her door. Upon opening it, she found an unexpected visitor: Her visitor from several weeks past, the young Unicorn Thesis.
“Sorry to bother you, Princess, but I had a few more questions regarding my paper on the fall of the Crystal Empire. Do you mind if I come in?” Thesis asked.
Celestia was no fool. She knew that something here was amiss, but it would require further investigation. “Certainly, my little pony.” She said, putting on a false mask of happiness “Please, come in.” After Thesis entered, she turned to close the door to chambers, only to find yet another surprise awaiting her when she turned back.
“Good evening, Princess.” Repliety said, stooping low in a respectful bow, once more in his natural form. “Please don’t be alarmed. I mean you no harm.”
“Well, that explains a lot.” The Princess said “And what, pray tell, is the reason that you would intend anything other than harm upon me?”
“We Changelings aren’t as one-dimensional as you believe, Princess.” Repliety said, returning to a standing position “You should know that better than anypony, considering how many horrible mistakes you’ve made in the past based on that same assumption.”
“Venomed words it is, then.” The Princess said, her gaze narrowing. She disliked this changeling already. She recognized his armor, and its emblem alone told her much about this particular changeling, and the threat he posed. “All right then, bug, tell me what exactly you’re here for. After all, the Queen would never send her Alpha Drone anywhere without good reason.”
“That’s exactly the problem, Princess.” Repliety said, his tone neutral and unchanging. “The Queen has no idea I’m here, otherwise she would have me executed on the spot for what I’m about to tell you.” Now this piqued the Princess’s interest. “What do you mean?” She asked, curious.
“I’m here to inform you of an alliance, between the Changeling Hive and the Unicorn Pony known as Sombra. I assume you know of him?”
Celestia couldn’t help but shudder at the name. “Yes, I know of him. But why? They both have a grudge against King Shining Armor and Queen Cadence, so I assume that the Crystal Empire is their target?”
“No, Princess.” Repliety said with a shake of his carapaced head. “You are their target. As the Queen explained it to me, you are the overarching symbol of harmony throughout Equestria. They intend to kill you, destroying Equestria’s greatest symbol of peace and harmony, and destroying the power of The Elements at their source.”
Celestia was shocked, not by the outlandishness of the plan, but by how easily it could work. She always assumed she would be safe within the castle alongside her sister, but upon actually thinking about it in depth, it would be far too easy for an assassin to execute her while her guard was down in and around the castle. “Fine, say that I believe you. Why would you tell this to me? Why betray your Queen?”
“Because, Princess, I have too much to lose by not doing so. Several months ago, a pony from Ponyville by the name of Ace Maverick came to the Changeling Hive. To spare you a very long story, the two of us fell in love, and after many ordeals, misadventure, and as Ace describes them, “Feels”, Ace was welcomed into the Hive as the first pony to ever be adopted into the Hive. Unfortunately, she just entered, and exited the castle a short while ago in order to tell one of your knights about my Queen’s plans. When your knight inevitably tells you of her plan, you will ready the Royal Guard, and alert the Queen to the leak in our security. I will be dispatched to track down the leak, and eventually trace it back to Ace. At that point I will likely be forced to report my findings to the Queen, albeit with a plea that she be merciful considering both the circumstances and the member of the Hive in question. Considering the mindset the Queen is currently in, I doubt my plea would garner much success.
But by telling you about the attempt on your life myself, I have set myself up as the perfect scapegoat. After this you will likely ready the Guard, and when my Queen begins an inquiry, I will step forward as the informant. I will likely be executed for treason against the Hive, but Ace will be safe. And that is what matters the most to me.”
Celestia took a few moments to digest this information. She saw Repliety turn to leave, his “mission” apparently complete, when he was stopped by a word from the Princess. “There is one thing you failed to account for in your plan, changeling.” Repliety stopped and turned back to face her. “And what might that be?”
“The fact that I’m not going to ready the guard for the Hive’s attack.” The Princess replied.
“What?” Repliety asked, his genuine surprise still seeming somewhat monotone compared to that of a pony. Apparently, he had not taken into account this particular monarch’s sense of self-sacrifice.
“Your story showed me a fact that I had, up until now, been unaware of: The fact that changelings do, in fact, have some measure of selflessness in their hearts. Not only that, but this ‘Ace’ would assuredly be brought much pain by your demise, don’t you think?” Repliety could only remain silent. They both knew that her words rang with truth. “I can tell from your little speech that you truly do love this pony, something I expect to be an oddity among your people. In time, the two of you might become a great symbol of hope for a lasting peace between our two species. However, I also cannot allow myself to die while this nation still needs me.”
“So what do you intend to do?” Repliety asked.
“I will do my best to stay on guard against this assassination attempt, but I will not inform anypony else of this information. Not even my sister. That way, I will greatly improve the chances of this little coup failing, as well as keeping both you and Ace safe from any repercussions. Should an actual war between our races erupt after the assassination attempt, I will do my best to keep casualties on both sides to a minimum, which will unfortunately mean that I will likely have to imprison, or if need be… Kill, your Queen.” Repliety visibly cringed at this final statement. “I will try and avoid it if possible,” the Princess continued “But it may be necessary, and for that I apologize.”
For several seconds, silence prevailed throughout the room.
“I do not like your proposal, Princess,” Repliety finally said “But I know that it is too late to dissuade you from this course. So instead, I shall wish you luck.”
“Thank you, but hopefully I won’t need it.” The Princess replied. With that, Repliety once again changed back into the fictitious young Unicorn Thesis, then exited her room, leaving the Princess with much to think about, and many new plans and contingencies to create. Little did she know that the Alpha Drone Repliety would not be the only person to visit her chambers in the weeks to come. In fact, she would receive another most unexpected visitor in the month to come…
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The following morning, Celestia was happy to welcome Princess Twilight and her entourage of friends, including the young Unicorn named Painted Melody, to Canterlot Castle. Even though she had only invited Twilight, she fully expected her to bring her friends along. Today was the day upon which the most promising member of the Canterlot Royal Guard in many years would make his attempt at greatness, and become Princess Twilight’s first personal guard. However, the trial awaiting him in the training grounds of the Castle would be far from easy.
Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle to herself when she imagined the look upon the young colt’s face when he discovered the identity of his opponent. It took her a few minutes to find the old mannequin wearing her armor within her closet, and even longer to find the old weapon she used to wield in times of war. The enchanted golden armor and weapon still shone as brightly as ever, however, bringing back many memories of the past. The Princess took a moment to think to herself, “I wonder if I’ll be rusty after all these centuries?” But it would be a moot point anyways. She remained confident in her ability to give the young knight Tartanis a run for his money, no matter how rusty she may be.
-------------
As Tartanis entered the training grounds, he was somewhat surprised by the crowd that had gathered. Many other members of the Royal Guard had gathered around the training arena, and a raised set of stands had even been constructed for the Princess’ viewing pleasure. In the stands, he saw Princess Twilight, Rarity, and the other Elements of Harmony sitting and talking excitedly to one another. Alongside Fluttershy sat Melody, who had apparently come as well to see how Tartanis’s month of hard work and training had changed him. On the opposite end of the stands was Princess Luna, seeming to be sitting as far away from Melody as she could get. Alongside her sat Colgate, who had her eyes fixed on Tartanis as he walked to the makeshift training arena. And yet, Tartanis couldn’t help but notice that Princess Celestia was missing from the stands. Perhaps she was busy with royal business elsewhere?
Tartanis realized the gravity of his error in making that assumption once he entered the training arena, and saw his opponent. Clad in shining golden armor, and with a colossal golden battleaxe emblazoned with the image of a shining sun stuck into the ground next to her, she was as imposing as she could have possibly been. Taking a look at his own steel armor, finely crafted as it was, and his painfully simple longsword, he couldn’t help but feel puny and hopelessly overmatched. After all, his opponent was the one and only Princess Celestia. She turned to greet him with a smile, and laid out the rules of the battle. The two of them would clash, no holds barred, with the first to land a blow on their opponent being the victor of the test. Their wounds would be healed with spells after each round, with the first pony to land three blows upon their opponent being the winner. They were both prohibited from making any attacks that could be lethal to the other, with the stipulation that their attacks would need to actually draw blood from their opponent in order to be counted. Hence the need for armor.
However, Tartanis felt strangely disconnected from the whole affair. He heard and understood the rules, but it still seemed like some strange dream. He was truly going to fight the Princess of the Sun herself? He was finally shaken out of his trance when the Princess uttered a single, poignant phrase.
“Begin.”
The two immediately began to slowly walk in a circle, holding their weapons in a ready fighting stance with their magic. Tartanis quickly realized that the Princess was waiting for him to make the first move, and began to look for any potential weaknesses in his opponent. Assuming that the sheer size of his opponent’s axe might give him the edge in speed, he quickly dashed forward to close the distance between them, leading with a speedy jab of his blade. He realized the gravity of his error when he saw a shining golden disc of metal intercept his blade, then quickly sweep around to his flank and shear straight through his armor, leaving him with a long, painful scratch along his flank.
In a single motion, the Princess had parried his blow and took the first round without breaking a sweat.
After having the scratch healed by one of the Unicorn medics on-site, Tartanis began to re-evaluate his opponent. Celestia was fast, impossibly so. The size and weight of her axe did absolutely nothing to slow her blows, and she was obviously a master of her weapon. It made Tartanis shudder to think of what that behemoth of an axe could do in real combat. As the second round began, Tartanis took a much more defensive stance, trying to ready himself for whatever attack the Princess had prepared.
In a flash of shining gold, she was suddenly beside him, along with her already-swinging axe. Tartanis was barely able to bring his blade up in time to block the blow, but the sheer weight behind the blow nearly sent the blade flying out of his enchanted grasp. He tried his hardest to keep up with the Princess, but found it incredibly difficult to keep up with the sheer power and speed of the blows she continued to rain upon him. The clash lasted for only a few more seconds before Celestia suddenly rammed him with her full weight knocking him back, then immediately following up with a quick swipe of her axe. Tartanis could only watch helplessly as droplets of blood began to run down one of his legs.
By this time, the crowd was roaring. In the stands, Colgate fixed him with a hard gaze, reminding him of the importance of his victory here. On the other end of the stands, all of his friends were cheering for him to win, to fight as hard as he could. One voice among them stood out the most, offering the loudest and most heartfelt shouts of encouragement. At first Tartanis assumed it to be Rarity, but upon listening closer, recognized the voice to belong to a different mare entirely: Melody. The normally quiet and reserved mare had moved to the front of the stands, and was veritably shining with an encouraging light. Every word she yelled travelled straight to Tartanis’s heart, filling him with some semblance of hope. Yes, this might be the final round of the test. But even if he lost, he would always have friends to go back to, ponies who he would protect to his final breath.
Taking another look at Rarity, a mental image returned to him, faint memories of the past struggling to show themselves. Finally, one memory slipped free of the hazy veil filling his mind, and showed him a heart-stopping image: Himself and Rarity sitting in the Carousel Boutique eating lunch together, with the sound of Sweetie Belle playing with her friends the Cutie Mark Crusaders sounding muffled in the background. The two of them were speaking to one another about something, and then they both stood up, and then… They kissed. Tartanis wrapped a hoof around Rarity and pulled her into a deep kiss, to which she responded in kind. Tartanis couldn’t believe his eyes. This had never happened during his time in Ponyville. This was something greater, something from the past. A faint memory, brought back to the forefront of his mind by some unknown force. He couldn’t help but smile at it. Maybe, just maybe… The two of them could have a future together.
Tartanis was suddenly and brutally brought back to reality by the sound of steel grinding against gold. He suddenly found himself locked in battle with Princess Celestia once more, but this time something was different. Things seemed clearer than before, almost as if the Princess had begun to move more slowly. In an instant, Tartanis regained awareness of his surroundings, along with two very important pieces of information. First, he took note of the pony among the crowd who was holding up a scoreboard for all to see: Two to two. Later, Tartanis would be told about how he seemed to enter some sort of warrior’s trance, and he suddenly began to fight like some sort of fierce demon. The second was something that truly shocked Tartanis. His sword was glowing fiercely with a vicious aura of glowing red magical energy… And the Princess’s battleaxe shone just as bright, lit by a shining yellow aura of pure energy.
“I’m surprised, Tartanis!” The Princess said to him over the din of clashing weapons “The only ponies I’ve ever seen use the art of Bladesong Magic before were other Alicorns!”
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Tartanis tracked her movements, keeping up with her blow by blow. His cutie mark felt as though it were aflame, and the entire castle was filled with the echoing rings of blade and axe clashing over and over, with each hit more furious and mighty than the last. It was a deadly dance of blades, every attack followed by a flawless parry, every counter-attack barely dodged in just the nick of time. To the crowd of onlookers, their fight was a thing of the utmost beauty, a finely-tuned dance of steel where every step led smoothly and beautifully into the next, the echoes of clashing blades and the cries of the wind being sundered at supernatural speeds forming a hauntingly magnificent song that echoed through the morning skies. Their clash lasted for what seemed like an eternity, a never-ending whirlwind of shining gold and gleaming steel. Just as it began to seem like their battle might never end, Tartanis was afforded one final glance at the stands, along with the open-mouthed looks of awe coming from his friends as the deadly dance continued. In that single glance, he saw Melody utter a single word, a fragment of a sentence that, in that instant, seemed to consume the entire world.
“…Hope…”
As he turned once more into the typhoon of spinning blades that was his present reality, that single word resonated through Tartanis’s entire body, before finally finding its way to his cutie mark, which seemed to explode in a brilliant burst of emotion and light. The blaze of energy surrounding his sword seemed to erupt with the light of a thousand stars, cloaking every inch of the young knight’s body with its brilliant light. His blade suddenly shot towards the Princess at an impossible speed, a blur of motion that was almost impossible to track. The Princess began to glow with a shining aura of her own, and brought up the head of her axe into the direct path of the blade, trusting in both her own magical might and the potent enchantment s of the weapon itself to easily turn aside the blow. Celestia, however, made one crucial mistake:
She underestimated the resolve of one of the chosen heroes of Fate, one of the six future wielders of one of the most potent magical forces in Equestria. Even though his moment of truth had yet to come, the young knight’s body overflowed with the light and potential inherent in his particular destiny in that very moment, reaching ever so shallowly into the incredible power that would someday be take form within his heart. In that moment, Tartanis felt, just for an instant, a small taste of the power that he would one day inherit.
Not slowing for a moment, the tip of the young knight’s sword travelled straight through the head of the millennia-old Alicorn’s battleaxe, magical infusions and all. The Princess nearly paid for her hubris in not dodging the blow with her life, as the blade of the sword sank hilt-deep into the head of her axe, the impossibly sharp blade of magical energy cutting ever so shallowly into the flesh of her throat. Had the young knight’s full potential been realized in that moment, the Princess would have found herself in severe need of a new windpipe.
The entire arena became silent, shocked and paralyzed with awe at what at just happened. Some thought that they had just lost their beloved monarch in a simple sparring match. But it was apparent to all the significance of what had just happened. Both warriors released their magical grasp on their weapons simultaneously, both equally shocked at what had just happened. The two pieces of metal dropped to the ground in their mangled state, the sharp sound of their impact echoing through the air. For many long moments, the silence was deafening. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Princess Celestia asked the question that was on everypony’s mind: “How?”
And the most terrifying part of all was that Tartanis had no idea how he had just done what he did. He didn’t know how he was able to defeat a Goddess, an immortal being of immense power, in such a confrontation. And that scared him deeply.
-------------
It only took a moment for the Princess to heal her injury, being just a shallow cut. But throughout the castle, silence still prevailed. Tartanis was told to return to his chambers, while that three Princesses present discussed what had just happened. Had the Prophecy of Harmony ever been discussed at the picnic Princess Twilight attended been discussed before the picnics untimely end, it almost certainly would have been brought up. At the time however, it was still sitting in a forgotten corner of Fluttershy’s distant cabin, moved to its inconspicuous home there by the most elusive Alicorn of all, one who knew that it would need to remain forgotten there until the time for it to present itself once more was just right.
While the Princesses held their discussion, Tartanis sat in his room, shocked by what had just transpired. After a while, he heard a knocking at the door. He didn’t bother to get up and answer it.
“Tartanis…?” A familiar voice echoed through the door. It slowly creaked open, and Tartanis’s unexpected guest entered the room. “Tartanis, are you going to be okay?” Melody asked, a look of deep worry painted upon her face.
“I don’t know, Melody.” Tartanis replied in a dry tone. “I just got a hair’s breadth away from killing Princess Celestia. That alone could get me executed. But I also beat her in battle like the test required, so there’s still a chance that I might become Princess Twilight’s guard. So I don’t know how I am yet, Melody. I’ll just have to wait and see.”
Walking over to his bed, the young mare sat beside him, and wrapped a hoof around his shoulder. “Tartanis,” she said “The Princess isn’t going to execute you. Twilight would never allow it. So calm down, and take a few deep breaths with me.” Several minutes passed as the two simply sat together, and gathered their senses. After a while, Tartanis asked a question of his own of his compassionate friend. “Melody,” Tartanis said quietly “During the final round of the battle, I saw you in the stands, and I heard you saw something about ‘Hope’. What was it that you said?”
“I said it so quietly, I didn’t think anypony had heard.” Melody admitted quietly “I told myself, ‘You just have to win. You've come so far since we first met… You just have to let your Hope for success give the strength you need to win.’ Right after that was when you made that final blow and won. I was just as surprised as everypony else, but… I knew you would win.”
Meanwhile, a few rooms away, the Elements of Harmony who had accompanied Princess Twilight to the castle were in the midst of a heated discussion about Tartanis and what his fate would be. Heading the discussion was a certain white Unicorn who the young knight in question felt very deeply about.
“I just don’t know what that training did to him…” Rarity told the others. “They must have done horrible things to him to have made him do something like that… I’m worried that he might not even be the same pony anymore…”
Melody and Tartanis would sit there together in his room for a while longer before the Princesses finally summoned Tartanis to the throne room, whereupon he was informed of his new position as Princess Twilight’s first and only personal guard. His first assignment in the coming days would be to travel alongside her, the other Elements of Harmony, and their mutual friend Melody on a journey North to the Crystal Empire, where Princess Twilight would be tasked with informing Queen Cadence and King Shining Armor of the strange events of the past months in detail, beginning with how Silver, Tartanis, and Melody fell from the night sky all those weeks ago.
Little did any of them know about the significance of the events that would take place during that trip, as well as the important role it would play in the days to come. After all, none of them could have known just how large of a role the Crystal Empire and its two monarchs would play in the coming conflict, or how deeply a meeting with its recently-ascended Queen would change the life of a kind young Unicorn brought there by her group of newfound friends.
And none of them knew how these separate yet connected adventures of an up-and-coming knight and a kind young Unicorn destined to change the world would influence their distant friend, whose wanderings alongside a nigh-omnipotent Alicorn would lead him to find his destiny alongside the one he loved.
Only two beings would ever truly understand the significance of how these events were tied together: A caring Alicorn mother with a flowing auburn mane, and a young white Pegasus whose selfless martyrdom and prophetic legacy would lay the foundations of the narrow road of destiny that would later change a nation.
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So sorry about the lack of updates over the summer everyone. Things have been very complicated in my personal life recently, and I just haven't been able to get into the proper mindset to write anything new for a while. The good news is that things are starting to settle down somewhat, and I have already begun serious work on the next chapter of "But Not Forgotten", which shall be titled "An Era Come and Gone". It will delve deeply into the background of numerous characters such as Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, as well as moving the story forward for Tartanis, Melody, and even Silver. Also, as the end of Part Two draws to a close, many shocking story developments will occur, so I would like to remind you all that this story does not follow canon. This story began in the timeframe of shortly after the end of Season Three of MLP, and it will stay that way. I have already been "adjusting" the canon slightly in order to both fit the story more thematically, as well as to make it more interesting to me, and hopefully to you, the reader, as well. If you do not like the way I have handled this matter, please do not downvote my story because of it. Also, by the end of the story, there will not even be the slightest possibility of it fitting into the Season Four canon, so if it will make it easier for you to deal with that fact, please think of this story as a "split in the path" as far as events and timelines go. With that said, I hope you have all enjoyed the story thus far, and look forward to the chapters to come.