Knight of Solas

The Last Knight of Solas

The Lords of Dorcha

Prologue

Many years have passed since the end of the griffin war,years after the mysterious Lasair who defended the daughter of Cacoon, Queen Chrysalis for so many years; vanished off the face of the earth, alleged to have died by the blade, one that he himself knew would inevitably have to meet. Now 7 years after his demise...The knights journey is not over. Time has passed and the last Knight of Solas lives on. I see he is a different colt than the one he left behind, i see it on his face that he is tempered by war; his heart bitter cold and what goodness left inside now slowly rots within, now only held captive by the hatred for the Dorcha and  the loss of his precious Ephee who to this day remains to haunt his dreams. The journey of the last knight of Solas is far from over and i question myself...What motivates a pony to do the things that most of us would run away from, is it courage? is it will?...The answer...Is love ...A force so powerful that no tide of adversity can seek to overcome it. I can only hope he finds peace and clarity on his journey and end the Evil that cultivates itself in the darkest and unseen corners of this world, thus he walks on, without any prospect of reward, without any sign of fear or doubt...walks ever-onward through the rich and beautiful land of Equestria...

“What makes a knight, is it the armor he wears, is it the weapon he carries, or even the name he bears, these are not the things which make a knight, what makes a knight, it is the heart behind the armour, and its strength to keep on going, through and through, to the end of all things,  For this is what makes a true Knight, A Knight of Solas” +++Golodren, First Knight of Tarnoch+++

Chapter 1

The Silent guardian

Fire Knight walked through the dark foreboding forest, deep within the Everfree, deeper than he’d ever been before. He felt a small but relative degree of security cloaked, as he was, in a coarse, black material which helped to disguise his identity from those that would seek to maim or kill him. He’d been following the dirty mud-brown path for hours, it seemed endless, almost futile, but he continued, relentlessly determined. The natural sounds of the forest invaded his thoughts and somewhat eased the tension he was feeling in the pit of his stomach.  The Everfree forest was not a place one frequented without a feeling of trepidation and wary caution. In his mind he could only recall one pony that had braved a similar such journey, her name was Zercora. Zercora also lived, as he did, in the Everfree but he was sure she had never ventured this far, and he wanted to keep it that way, he somewhat treasured his seclusion from society. Fire Knight plodded wearily on until he spotted what seemed like a wooden signpost of some description. As Fire Knight neared he could see it had rotted years ago and ivy and moss had covered almost the whole of the surface, he rubbed the moss and pulled the clinging ivy away and revealed the legend “WELCOME TO PONYVILLE” it read. Fire Knight took to walking off the road forcing his way through thick bramble and foliage until he reached the edge of the forest. The sun was high and exuded a blinding white light, he had to shield his eyes and he could now see the outline of buildings in the distance and he knew he was not far from Ponyville and Canterlot. He knew he could have took the longer more circuitous rout to the village but that would have exposed him to risk and serious danger because it was much used and he did not want to advertise his coming; the deep dark path through the Everfree, he felt, was the right choice. Now he was within a stones throw of his objective.

Fire Knight shook his head vigorously to clear it and shake of the burrs that clung to his mane then, somewhat hesitantly, started down the path towards Ponyville. In his mind, as a first port of call, he had set himself the task of getting access to some ancient books and documents from a pony named Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle had recently had the title of Princess conferred on her by her majesty Celestia and Fire Knight had already got an inkling that it was Celestia that had, had something to do with the ascension of the deserving filly and it came as no surprise to him. Fire Knight knew that with the title of Princess came much responsibility and serious miscellaneous duties allocated to her by protocol, one such duty, as a young pony it was part of her remit to observe society and be able to spot characters that tried to infiltrate the small community with the soul intention of causing mayhem and disruption to the peaceful day to day life of the village; the title Princess was not because of birthright or bestowed because of royal decree, it was hard earned, the young pony had shown great aptitude in the understanding of affairs of magic and uncanny wisdom in her formative years.

Fire Knight reached the bridge which led down to the main street through Ponyville, when, for no apparent reason, he stopped, something had made his spine tingle, he sensed danger he threw his head back and smelt at the air whilst pawing at the ground in agitated nervousness. Fire Knight suddenly turned back towards the Everfree and now facing the foreboding density of the forest he knew something was really amiss. Gathering his cloak about him as though to ward of the evil that was at work here he proceeded to head back the way he had come but a short while ago. A strong urge drove him to pull his sword that he had kept hidden all the way through his journey in the forest earlier.  He turned around to face the Everfree again; he stared directly into the dark shadows just beyond the sunlit path then began to walk towards it. As he neared the edge the sudden frightening raucous sound of screeching birds split the air as they exited the canopy a little way off to his right he reared up in fear then raced into the undergrowth dodging the trees and leaping over bushes until he entered a clearing. The scene that confronted him brought him to a sliding halt. Three Diamond dogs armed with what looked like spears were baiting and stabbing at a small mare; the guttural evil voice of one came to him even though he was still a way off.

   “Looks like we got a stray one here, Boss, what do we do, shall we kill her, shall we kill her?” said a skinny slavering hound. With bared teeth, also drooling and wearing a crown made from the bones of another dead creature and carrying a wooden staff with a sharp pointed end which he used to prod the scared filly growled the same the same question and added “oh, lets kill her boss, we haven’t had a kill for days.”  They all circled the pony menacingly and took turns to stick her with their make shift weapons.

   “Keep her alive I want to keep her for my… ambitions” a large muscular beast with a white streak running the full length of his pelt said in a low sadistic voice. He approached the scared trembling pony cautiously not wanting to be maimed by a flailing hoof and acting as one they began to tighten the circle about the pony all the time getting ready to pounce.

    Fire Knight had seen enough, forgetting his mission and the consequences of his actions he ran headlong into the fray and reared up and kicked out at the dogs, his sword gleamed as the only source of light arcing at blinding speed and sliced through the neck of the leader beheading him instantly. It was all so quick the other two did not stand a chance, whilst the body of their leader still stood and the head rolled on the ground Fire Knight kicked out with his back legs and knocked the skinny dog with the crown all of ten feet in the air and up against a stout tree which shook visibly with the impact of the body. The third dog although scared growled his anger and bunched the muscles in his shoulders ready to leap at Fire Knight but in his fear at being confronted by such a formidable foe he had forgotten all about the mare, she came at him from behind screaming her anger rearing high before she brought her front legs down on the head of her would be assassin. The mare then collapsed on top of the dead body of the dog. Fire Knight quickly assessed the situation and saw the deep wounds in the mares flanks inflicted by the dogs and knew she would be unconscious for a while. He turned his attention to the dog over by the tree, it was still twitching so he approached the body cautiously then with a sharp stabbing motion he ran the creature through and the body lay still.

With difficulty Fire Knight picked up the badly wounded mare and managed to secure her across his back. He returned the way he had come and crossed the bridge even more apprehensive now that he had an injured pony to explain away. He reached the outskirts without being noticed and spotted two of the royal guards chatting under an awning of a small house. He could hear some of their conversation  “what does she look like and how long has she been missing?” asked the guard, off someone standing in the shadows inside the house. Darkness had fallen and now aided him as he moved slowly ever closer. The colt inside; he presumed it was a colt because of the voice, answered “an earth pony, yellow coat and an orange blaze on her forehead and she has been missing since mid morning. Fire Knight realised this was the house where the pony on his back lived. He slowly passed the distracted guards and whomever they were talking to and made his way to the rear of the property. Fire Knight used his door-opening magic spell to enter the house, fortunately he entered into a room that housed a bed, and he gently lay the pony down on the bed. He was just about to leave when the young mare stirred and moaned herself awake. She turned over and looked up at him with a scared incredulous look in her eyes. Fire Knight indicated that she should stay silent, he pointed towards the front of the house where the voices were coming from. She smiled up at him. He began to walk towards the back door to extricate him from what was becoming a very dangerous situation when he heard the sound of hooves coming towards him.

  “Who the blazes left the back door open?” enquired an irate female voice, stamping towards where Fire Knight was ready to depart. He looked over at the window in the room and rushed over to it, swung it open and leapt out into the welcome cover of night. He had only got a few strides from the house when he heard the excited cry of the mother shouting through to the guard and her partner

   “Oh, sweet Celestia, she’s home….”

  Fire Knight allowed himself a smile of satisfaction as he pulled up his hood again and walked back into the main street, the guard who had recently been at the house viewed Fire Knight walking in the shadows with an expression that was a combination of suspicion and fear. Fire Knight wasn’t surprised by this, because every pony he met in his life were overawed by his height and stature. When it came to it nobody wanted a piece of him.

   Fire Knight had a black mane, tail and fetlocks; the rest of his body was as white as fresh-fallen snow. The black cloak, draped and flapping about his withers, gave him a sinister, mysterious, illusional almost ghost-like appearance which heightened the fear factor in strangers, after seeing him for the first time other ponies had said he walked and smelled like the angel of death; they were not far from the truth; Fire Knight was not your average pony, he was in fact one of an elite band of superior warrior ponies. He was one of the select few that are chosen to be in the army of the Golden Warriors, the most deadly warriors in the entire dimension; warriors who have pledged and often sacrificed their very lives in service to the creator, to the brotherhood, in defence of all that is good and the protection and balance of each and every dimension.

Fire Knight is the golden warrior who has seen enough war, terror and blood shed for it all to be second nature to him.  A golden warrior who’s spirit is unbreakable and who’s faith is ironclad in it’s unyielding steadfast loyalty to his fellow warriors; he is the ultimate warrior of untold might and unquestionable bravery, who fears no evil,  he regards death as the sacrifice he is prepared to pay to remain incorruptible in the pursuit of his duty. The only mantra he indulged was discipline and honour and his pledge that everyday he would always do what is righteous for the glory and good of their mysterious creator. Fire Knight is that warrior.

Fire Knight allowed himself one last look back at the guard who, seeing he was being scrutinised, turned his head abruptly back toward the house nod and then hurriedly walk away, Fire Knight could almost smell the fear and sense the anxiousness of the stallion. Fire Knight shook his head and continued on his way. He focused his attention on the lights of the library and recalled that a pony named Twilight, whom he used to know, lived on the premises. He reached the library and knocked three times on the heavy door set deep into the front portico. He looked about cautiously to see if he was being observed and waited nervously. No answer, he was just about to knock again when the door opened inwards and the light flooded outwards momentarily blinding him. He saw a shadowy silhouette framed in the doorway but he could discern any recognisable features but the cheerful feminine voice that greeted him was familiar to him as it enquired.

    “Hello how can help…” the female stopped half sentence startled at the sight of the magnificent stallion before her.

    “Can I help you…?

    “I’m sorry, were you expecting someone else?” he replied with an air of mischievousness in the tone of his voice. Twilight shook her head vigorously

   “What is it that you want at this time of night?” she asked emphasising her tiredness by raising her hoof to her mouth yawning.

   “I’m looking for a book” He replied

   “Well we have plenty of those” she chuckled pointing to the rows and rows of neatly placed books lining the polished wooden shelves behind her. Fire Knight turned to face them and smiled, impressed at the number of books the library stocked

   “What about…?” Fire Knight very nearly revealed his purpose for coming to this place of books but he restrained himself he didn’t know who he could trust yet. He turned back to Twilight and asked.

   “I was actually wandering if you wouldn’t mind if I take a look through your collection for myself?”

   Twilight looked him up and down while she seemed to be considering his request. The stallion seemed so confident and the use of her given name in such a familiar way warmed her towards him. She did not know who he was, she had seen him a few times in the past and had heard the gossip in the village when ever he attended the pageants which were held to promote new princesses and it was not that long ago that she had become a princess herself. She mused that it was perfectly logical that he would know her name. His awesome presence and size held her spellbound but somehow she did not feel threatened. Twilight concluded he is only interested in looking at some books, who’s that going to hurt

   “Sure, why not.” She said. “But don’t be too long, I’m so tired.” She said and started off towards the flight of stairs at the back of the premises. “Call me when you find what you are looking for and I will check it out for you.

  Fire Knight, followed her closely to the booking desk where he knew the book index would be, he was not perturbed by her backward somewhat inquisitive stare. He sat down at her desk and began to flick through a card index as Twilight took the stairs two at a time. When he was sure she was safely secure in her room he stood up and began to pace up and down the aisles removing various leather bound tomes and carefully replacing them shaking his head in anger as yet again he did not find what it was he was looking for. This went on for hours until his patience was wearing so thin he was on the verge of giving up his quest.

   “Where the hell are you…?” He voiced his frustration at the shelves of thousands of books. It was getting late and daylight was not that far off and he knew Twilight would soon be getting curious to the length of time he was spending in the library. He was beginning to seriously doubt that the legendary books secreted in this place of learning.

He persisted aisle by aisle, the mystical books of magic lore and spells just had to be here, everything pointed towards this being the place they had been hidden. A thought struck him maybe they were hidden under false titles. He sat down at the desk and looked through the index again and suddenly it dawned on him the one place he had not looked was under children’s titles and there they were under the heading of bedtime stories but beside each of the 3 titles he was looking for was a line of text which read ‘NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM LIBRARY AND NOT TO BE READ BY UNAUTHORISED PERSONEL’ He almost allowed himself a whoop of pleasure.

Fire Knight wasted no time and rushed to the aisle and shelf indicated on the card. There they were, kin plain sight but high on a dusty shelf amid children’s fairy tales. Written in an ancient script which few could decipher the titles ‘Elements of harmony’, Unnatural Events and Dark Magical Entities.’ He took the books to the desk and sat down, excitement rushed his blood through his body he began to madly turn pages of the 2 books cross referencing as he did so and taking notes. He heard the stairs creak as Twilight tried to sneak down and catch him unaware. She was very suspicious as to why he was taken so long. She reached the desk and managed to glace the books before Fire Knight covered them with his cloak and giving her a baleful stare. She was just about to voice her concerns when she spotted the gleaming scabbard emblazoned with a gold crucifix and holding a vicious looking blade only revealed because Fire Knight had opened his cloak to cover the books. Twilight took a step back and regained her composure.

   “Did you find what you are looking for?” she asked rather hesitantly.

“Yes, I have. Thank you, you have been of tremendous assistance”

   “Would you like to book them out, sir” Twilight said, eyeing him nervously, but masking her suspicions.

   “Yes I would” and then used a levitation spell to place the books in front of her he also used a spell to disguise the titles. She proceeded to stamp the books still feeling like she had somehow been duped.

   “And can I have your name, sir?” she asked. She wanted him to tell her his name. Her female intuition knew she was missing something. The time he had taken to find the books and the mysterious way he had turned up so late at night. Fire Knight had already secreted the books beneath the folds of his cloak and turned to leave.

  “Just a moment, sir…. I can’t let you leave without a name!!!

  Fire Knight ignored her pleas and proceeded out the door. It was very much out of his comfort zone to be so rude but he knew time was against him and he could not afford the luxury of dilly-dallying in conversation that was only going to leave her in a more het up state than she already was. He reached the outside and breathed deep of the cold early morning air. It was still dark but only just he could hear the birds welcome the coming of the day. Twilight had used her own transportation spell and reached the outside of the library but she only saw the back of the dark cloaked figure of the stallion galloping off in the distance down the main street of Ponyville.

Fire Knight raced through the night a deep sense of urgency forcing his tired limbs to carry him over the rough terrain on his way back to his home in the foreboding enveloping foliage of the Everfree. He entered his lodge exhausted and blowing hard. He placed the precious manuscripts on his desk and sat down he gulped a glass of cold refreshing water. After a short while he began to examine the books carefully reading opening passages of the ancient text, he began skipping through relevant chapters of both books. Fire Knight slammed the books shut, he felt like he was going round in circles, some of the spells did not make sense, before he knew darkness had come again to the Everfree he did not realise how long he had been reading so engrossed that time had flew. He was worn out and annoyed that he had not found what he was searching for, or maybe I have but not recognised it for it was, he thought.  He began to doze where he sat and his last thought before he slipped into a deeper sleep was, Time is against me.

He woke with a start; muscular cramps had made him uncomfortable. He stretched himself to wakefulness and went outside. The bright full moon bathed everything in its magical light. The Everfree in glorious shimmering silver moonlight was a thing of beauty to behold, a spectacle like no other, in all the free world.

It had been a long time since the opportunity to take a leisurely walk through the Everfree and remind himself of it’s wondrous wild beauty, now it seemed the Everfree seemed to somehow call to him and compel further from his home. The gentle rustle and creaking of the trees, the swaying branches seemed to call to him guiding him through its huge labyrinth. It transported back in time to when he was a young colt searching for adventure. Then he saw mystery and wonder in each tree and rock. He snapped out of his reverie, he could not allow himself the time to indulge his memories of good times when there was no danger in the forest. He followed the path that seemed to be preordained allowing himself to go with the follow of his senses.  A great ruin reared up in front of him, he recognised it from his youth and even recalled its name.

It was a place of mystery, why had it fallen into such decay; it was called The Royal Pony Sister Castle, it was a place, it was said, where the battle beneath a nightmare moon had taken place. The evil scourge of the Everfree, was defeated by the elements of harmony. A vision came into his head of how it must have been done; he rubbed his fore head as he continued into the centre of the ruin. Fire Knight examined the architecture of the castle in detail marvelling at how nature had reclaimed the space. The massive mason-cut stones that once echoed with the sound of battle but now lay covered in moss, ivy splitting the great stones and bringing them unceremoniously to the ground.

Fire Knight stopped abruptly for a few moments and found himself at the very spot where Nightmare was defeated, she had brought evil to the land and was left where she had fallen, defeat for her had came in a final rush from those loyal to Celestia. Fire Knight looked at the spot and could only feel pity for the mare; she had been deceived by the dark powers of evil. He moved on and looked up at what remained of what was once a tall stone-supporting pillar a part of which had toppled over and lay on the ground. Fire Knight sat down on it and viewed the devastation about him. He took off his hood and sighed his relief at this moments respite from the worlds prying eyes.  He actually felt relaxed, yet the visions of the past didn’t cease to intrude on his consciousness and the urgency of his mission seemed not so important, the place comforted him. He was lulled and tiredness washed over him his eyes becoming heavy. He relaxed.

Fire Knight came suddenly awake, he now heard the loud flapping of heavy wings beating the air; they are still some way off he thought to himself. He quickly moved behind one of the remaining intact pillars and looked in the general direction of the growing noise. There they were, hideous changelings, they landed no more than a few meters from where he hid, his heart began to beat harder as he clung to the pillar and craned his head to hear the conversation of the beasts.

  “Why did she send us here?” one said in a blood curdling sinister voice.

  “Don’t question our queen, fool, do you want to lose your head” said a blue helmeted changeling, seeming to be the one in charge “she sent us here to find our compatriots, sympathisers and all other changelings and get them to regroup for the battle of all battles. You heard her you idiot, or were you not paying attention as usual. She intends to finally defeat those that have opposed her all these years. She will crush Canterlot and then finally reign supreme over all of Equestria.” Saying this he cackled long and loud until the sound echoed through the ruins.

  “How is she meant to do that, remember last time she tried” said the other changeling with a bitter tone to his voice.

   “ She has already infiltrated Canterlot, you idiot do you think I would be here if she had not.  The stupid guards actually invited her into the city like a VIP guest.  Now, now she is on her way to do the deed and kill the do good leader of Equestria!” the over zealous changeling said to his companion.

“And who might that be, know all? ”

“CELESTIA, YOU IDIOT!” it spat.

  Fire Knight thought a bit about this changeling scheme of theirs, it wasn’t at all like changeling strategy to kill let alone assassinate ponies of interest. It was more like them to infiltrate government through devious means. There was a time when chrysalis played as cadence for a while and feed of ones love until how do they say they become “lifeless husks.”

Still, Fire Knight thought, this assassination attempt was too impressive for the weak mind of a changeling to think up. In warfare changelings used a strategy called gloating as a means to achieve victory and also weight of numbers. Fire Knight moved and accidentally made a noise.

   “Did you hear that?” enquired one of the changelings.

   “I think it came over there” the other changeling said and began to walk in the direction of Fire Knight. Fire Knight sprang from behind the column and drew his sword.

    “WHAT THE...” the changelings words were cut off as they were confronted by the stallion screaming his battle cry and rearing magnificently into the sky his sword swept down in a deadly arc and first disabled the first weaker changeling by severing its wings and then on the backward sweep of the mighty weapon he decapitated the other changeling. The sword flashed through the air glittering the starlight and moons reflections into eyes of the now pitiful sobbing changeling sprawled against the giant stones.  Fire Knight placed his blade beneath the sorry creatures chin.

   “Have you more to tell changeling, before I end your miserable existence?”

   “No….” he sobbed.

   Fire Knight removed the sword and turned to leave then in one blinding spinning move his sword stretched out he delivered the coup de grais and the creatures head fell to the ground with a horrible thumping sound.

Fire Knight slowly but deliberately wiped the blade carefully on the chest garment of the changeling and sheathed the weapon,

Now…only but time was his enemy. He had killed two of the messengers of evil and knew their plans.  Celestia’s life was in peril and he was the only one who could stop the assassination from taking place. He now knew why he needed the mystical books and it was time to come out of the shadows and do what destiny had decreed he should. As a Golden Warrior he must honour his vows and he had taken first blood.