Courage is Magic

Chapter 6

Sometimes all you need is time.

I opened my eyes from my rest and got out of the bed. I felt weird after sleeping in a bed that was that comfortable because I have never actually slept in one for a long time. Mostly because I was trying to avoid being killed by the royalty that would almost immediately enter the room.

You’re awake, that’s great. Now I can ask you some questions, I heard Morning Cloud say in my head.

I promptly ignored it and walked outside. The halls were almost as fancy as the room was, except the fact that some places of the walls had banners of the sun. I figured that they were the signet of the Princess of the Sun. I smiled as I thought of the odd coincidence of the two royal sisters that I’ve met. One sister was of the sun, the other was of the moon, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they controlled the sun and the moon.

Actually they do control the sun and the moon, Morning pointed out.

“That is something great to know… now to figure out where the observatory that Dusk Relic talked about is,” I muttered to myself.

Since I didn’t really get directions, I decided to ask the first pony that I see for it so I can get there later. I walked down the halls and looked out the window. I widened my eyes in surprise when I figured out that I was in the castle in what they call the capital city. Note to self, stop getting a free pass into large castles. I thought to myself.

Get lost often? Morning asks me with what I could guess is with a smile if he had a face. More than you could count, I thought jokingly. I turned around and saw a white pony wearing golden armor.

“Excuse me, but do you happen to know of someone who-” I started to ask, but he interrupted me to my annoyance.

“Shining Armor is looking for you; he wants to see you in the training grounds,” He said to me in a trained flat tone.

“I’ll make my way there, once I figure out where it is,” I told him with a bit of annoyance in my voice.

“I’ll take you there,” He offered.

“That would be great, thank you,” I said, mimicking his trained monotone. He wasn’t even amused and started walking off. I followed him with a frown on my face, but I turned it into a bored look. Are guards really trained to be that boring? I thought in my head.

Pretty much, not that they really have any reason to be that way though, Morning replied. I smiled and made a soft chuckle at that. I disliked trying to be serious in everyday life because it never really suited me.

________________________________________

I eventually was lead to an area that is just outside of the castle. The grounds had a few training dummies in the shape of ponies, along with a few other targets for practicing with the bow. I thought about using the targets for my knife throwing practice, but I thought otherwise since I’m sure that the targets have been stuck with enough arrows to turn them into porcupines anyways. The guard that was leading me saluted to a pony that wore purple armor rather than the typical golden armor that I have seen the guard wear.

“I brought John here sir,” The guard said.

“Good, now head back to your post,” The purple armored pony would say. I figured that he was a very high rank because of the guard calling him a sir, so I think that he is very experienced in fighting to become his rank. The guard walked off. The one I was brought to turned to me.

“You must be Shining Armor correct?” I asked.

“Indeed, and you must be John,” He replied.

“The one and only, it’s almost an honor to meet you,” I said while holding out my hoof.

“Almost an honor? Are you saying that you met someone better?” He asks me, not even bothering to give me a hoof bump. I lowered my hoof in disappointment.

“Yeah, I think Twilight Sparkle has more experience,” I told him with a smile. To my surprise, he also smiled.

“She does, but then again, she is an element of harmony and I am proud of her,” He says in a voice that sounded like as if he was talking about a family member, “She is my little sister after all”

“Twilight is your sister? Then I think she’s lucky to have a brother like you,” I said with a smile that equals his own. To admit something, I was actually fond of families myself. I have long since dreamed of starting one, so I made a very big promise to myself to never break apart a family, if I can help it.

“I’m sure that Twilight says the same thing sometimes, but we are not here to talk about my family,” He told me to try to get me back on track.

“You’re right, so why did you want me here anyways?” I asked.

“I’ve heard from Luna that you have someone that I should know, so I would like to speak to him,” He says.

“Sure, but I’m pretty sure I would rather him talk to you himself rather than having me translate for him,” I said with a small frown. I can’t believe that I would willingly let someone control my mouth for a while, but I think they would want to talk.

“Very well,” he said, waiting for me to do something. I sighed and closed my eyes. Try not to insult him so much, even though you can talk through me I still have limits on what to say. I explained to Morning.

Now why would I go and do that? He is my captain for Celestia’s sake! He said in mock shock.

Good point, have fun while I listen to this conversation. I thought in an attempt to remind him that I was always listening while he uses me as a temporarily home.

Well that’s not creepy at all. He said. I felt my throat move in an attempt to clear it.

“Hello Sir,” Morning says in greetings.

“Hello, may I have the name of who I am talking to?” Shining asks in confusion.

“I thought you would remember me, then again, I did die trying to slow down Shadow Blade,” Morning said in half disappointment.

“Morning Cloud?!” Shining shouted in surprise.

“Yes, but why do you… oh right, I died,” Morning said in now complete disappointment.

“But how-” Shining started to ask.

“I’ll answer that, I think somehow I have been able to pull Morning’s spirit back from the dead and there might be a chance that I can revive him again,” I explained, taking back control of my vocal chords to explain to him.

“Ah, so that’s what Luna meant by that,” He said, thinking out loud. I guess it’s a family trait. I thought with a mental chuckle.

“So what did you do since I died?” Morning Cloud asks in curiosity, asking through my voice again.

“I needed to get a new Second-in-Command since your death, so I put... Derpy as the second in command,” Shining said, surprisingly not shuddering.

That might explain why that grey Pegasus has a shield for a cutie mark… I thought to myself.

“Isn’t she the one that is somewhat clumsy sometimes?” Morning asks.

“Yes… it was not one thing I liked doing, but I had to do it because of your death. Astonishingly, she took the job very seriously and didn’t even mess up!” He explained.

Morning kept my face as neutral while I was laughing so much that I thought my head would explode with the effort to keep it in. I found it funny about this happening because of Morning’s sacrifice for his family. I didn’t find the sacrifice funny though, only the events that happened afterwards.

“Will you still allow me to be in the royal guard if I should be revived?” Morning asks.

“Only after you have been alive for a week, you’ll need the rest to recover,” Shining said.

That and I think you need a chance to catch up with who you love in the first place, I said in response for Morning to hear.

“That’s nice of you, but I still would like to have my spot in the Royal Guard,” he deadpanned.

“I can’t do that, but I can give you command of a newer branch of the royal guards though,” Shining offered.

“I think that’ll be the best offer I can get,” Morning said in half excitement. I figured that they were almost done, so I decided to take control of my vocal chords again.

“Very well, as for you John, I was going to offer you-” He started to say.

“Sorry, but I don’t like being restricted to be protecting others,” I said.

“Actually, I wanted you to know that you can lead a secret part of the royal guard that is not restricted by the normal rules of the Royal Guards,” He told me.

“I’d be honored, but I’ll save it until Morning is alive again,” I said with a small smile.

“It would be best, I don’t want you looking crazy in front of everypony do I? Now Dusk Relic wanted to talk to you in the observatory,” Shining told me.

“I know, but where is it?” I asked innocently.

“That’s right… you never got the tour of the castle, I’ll take you there,” He said knowingly.

“That would be great,” I said in a bit of joy. Shining Armor started walking, I followed along behind him. You need a better sense of direction. Morning said in my head. Shut up… I thought in annoyance as I walked.

________________________________________

I soon arrived at a tower that had a telescope at the top. I wanted to facehoof because of how obvious it was to locate, but I was still walking.

“Here we are, the observatory,” Shining said.

“Great, now you can return to whatever it was that you were doing,” I said.

“Only I get to tell my soldiers to do that,” He said, annoyed.

“Relax, I was just joking,” I said calmly. Shining glared at me for a moment before walking off. Geese, that guy needs to learn how to relax. I thought.

He’s relaxed when Candace is near. Morning said knowingly. I chuckled, knowing exactly what Morning meant. I didn’t waste any time in entering the observatory. Dusk Relic was waiting near a table.

“You’re here! Come, we have much to discuss about your... ability,” Relic said in a sense of urgency. I decided to spite him a bit and slowly walk over to him until he gave me a look that said “Stop messing around”.

“You’re really no fun,” I said in a disappointedly and sat down at the table.

“That’s because this is no joking matter, I have been studying the element that you are and found a grim tale about it,” He says with a darkened face.

“Everything about my life is grim: The people I have killed, the fact that I have rejected friends, and the single fact that I have single hoof(?)-edly killed the biggest threat that you know of,” I said in an annoyed frown.

"Yes, but it seems as if your element is one of the very few Elements of Creation that have been forgotten by time," Dusk would explain.

"And I should care about this, why?" I asked with a bored tone.

"Because your element could actually be able to revive my son without magic, you are more important than you would realize," Relic says in a grave tone.

"So you’re worried about me trying to revive every one of my friends if they die," I said in a deadpanned tone.

"You hold power to do that. But the question is will you respect their wishes if they meant to die?" He asked me.

"What is this, a trick question? Of course I would respect it, nothing deserves to be cursed to die again and again," I said with a look of annoyance. Dusk Relic smiled at my answer, as if he understood what it meant to be like that.

"You hold power, but you can respect others wishes,” he mumbled, scratching away at some parchment that had appeared out of nowhere, “I was right to believe that you deserve to know."

"Deserve to know what?" I asked him.

"You should know the origins of your parents," He told me.

"What do you mean? I thought that they were normal people who died from time," I said in confusion.

"They were, at least they used to be, history has long since said that two ponies had fled from evil carrying two of the Elements of Creation, one of them controls life, the other one controls order," He said in a story telling way.

"Wait a minute, your saying that they had stolen the elements?" I asked in shock.

"No, they were saving them from a very ancient evil, this evil has long since been defeated by the Princesses we know today and Discord," He explained.

"Discord? I’ve never heard of him," I said deep in thought.

"He is a strange creature of chaos, but before you or dusk got here, Celestia decided to give him a chance to redeem himself by having him stay with Fluttershy. She managed to get him to behave in a way that does not cause too much problems but he still does a few things for a laugh," Dusk Relic explained.

"So that explains that statue..." I said to myself softly.

"Indeed, but I want to ask you something," He says to put us back on the subject.

"Go ahead," I said with a wave of my hoof.

"Do you have a brother?" He asks me.

"Yes, he's a pretty good detective," I said with a smile. Relic gave me a calm look.

"I am sure he is; now we are here to talk about ‘your’ abilities, correct?" He asked me. I figured that he wanted to know if I wanted to talk about them, so I nodded my head.

"You do not have many abilities due to your element, but they are very powerful if used correctly," He explains in a way that reminded me of a sage.

"And what would these said abilities be?" I asked with interest.

"One of them is already happening now through your dreams, you have taken a spirit into yourself to give him another chance at life that he has missed," He explained.

"And the other ability?" I asked with growing interest.

"That ability is something that you should only use in a time of great distress and need, it will turn you into one of the great knights of life and let you fight an opponent of evil that is too strong to fight otherwise," He explains and pulls out a rough sketch of what it would look like.

"So it's basically a huge power boost to fight someone who decides that it would be a good idea to rule the world, and has the power to do it and plunge the world into darkness?" I asked.

"No, more of the destroying the world and all living beings on said world," He said with a small chuckle.

"That shouldn't be too bad, so most of my abilities don’t activate unless they are needed at the time, so I should be fine," I told him with a small smile.

"I am glad that you have gotten used to having this element," He said with a carefully hidden sigh.

"At first I thought it would be something I would have to live with, but this is something I can do easily," I said.

"It is, now I would like you to meet someone else that claims to know you very well," He says.

"Alright, you can go get him," I said.

"I don't need too... Golden Shield, would you come meet our guest?" He asks while looking up. I saw a yellow Pegasus with a mane that looked similar to gold jump down from the second floor. He landed on the floor with a soft thud after slowing his decent with his wings and turns to look at me.

"I see that they were right, you have returned," Golden Shield said with a soft smile.

"Damn right, how have you been?" I asked with a wide smile.

"I have been growing used to this time thanks to you and Luna," Golden Shield would say.

"Great to hear, now would you like to join me in going back to Ponyville? I have a party that needs to be finished and a wedding to plan," I said, letting the smile drop from my face.

"Wedding?" Golden Shield would ask.

"Yep, first between Sparx and Celestial Bell, then Midnight and my own," I said with a small bow when I finished.

"You finally proposed to Midnight Song," Golden Shield would say with a scoff, “about time.”

"Yeah, and you’re not going to be my best man... Stallion," I said with a glare.

"I think I made my joke come out wrong..." Golden Shield says in sadness.

"You have a long way to go before you can make proper jokes," I said with a small chuckle.

"Since you did mention that, shouldn't we get you back to Ponyville?" Dusk Relic asks.

"That would be great, and I think I'll bring you two along," I said, getting up after sitting down for a while.

"That would be great to do, I have vacation time anyways and I was planning on wasting it helping Relic study the stars," Golden Shield says.

"You were never the one to enjoy anything outside of the capital unless invited..." Dusk Relic said with a quiet scoff.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Golden Shield asks.

"It means that you need better hobbies," I said. The room was silent for a moment, and then all three of us broke out into laughter. I stopped laughing first, then Relic, and finally Golden Shield.

I don't get it, Morning asked, oblivious about what we were laughing about. I ignored it and turned to the door. I turned my head to the other two ponies in the room

"Let's get going before we miss the fun," I said to them. They would nod in approval and walk out of the observatory with me.

________________________________________

We would arrive at the train station a minute later. Most of the nobles glared at me, but continue on in a hurry when they see Golden Shield.

"You must have really built up a reputation to scare the nobles like that," I pointed out to Golden Shield.

"Mostly because I have flawlessly arrested a noble who assaulted a lady, and I was not one to stand by and watch it happen," He explained.

"Knightly as ever," I told him.

"And I won't ever change that," He replied. I chuckled and walked up to the ticket booth.

"Three tickets to Ponyville," I told the pony in the booth. He printed the tickets and gave them to me, I offered him bits but he told me to keep them. I left the bits for the tickets with him anyways because I felt like he actually needed them, despite his kind offering. I gave the tickets to Relic and Golden Shield and we made our way onto the train. I was surprised to see the ponies on the train treat Golden Shield with a kind respect instead of the way that they would to royalty. I almost felt jealous of how they treated him before remembering that I didn't actually care. The train would continue to go at the normal pace and I stared out the window at the passing scenery.

"So… how has your life been?" Golden shield asks me in an attempt to start a conversation. I turned my head towards him to answer.

"Interesting to say the most..." I replied and turned my head to the window again. I was not really in any mood for a conversation and I wanted to show him that. He picked up what I was trying to tell him and remained silent.

I really hope I can see my brother and everyone else again soon, Morning said in my head.

You will, I will promise you that; and I will find out where you were last alive. I replied.

Why don't you just ask me about it? I know where I died, He told me.

Yeah I know… I just like to hear it from someone who is alive, so I'll ask Scootaloo. I thought in response.

Alright... Morning said in disappointment and said nothing else for the remainder of the train ride. I smiled to myself, picturing what the day would have when I returned back home as the scenery passed by in the window.