Dishonored
“What shall we do with a drunken whaler early in the morning…”
Blood spilled by the gallon. The rats continue to plague these streets, and those who fall victim to the plague… well, they’re unsaveable. Under Empress Twilight’s reign, hopefully we can being to rebuild this city of Canterlot from it’s ashes, become the shining beacon of the empire again.
Personally, I could care less. My life ended six months ago, on that fateful day. My one task in life… terribly failed. The day that Empress Celestia, ruler of the empire and the one who had placed her trust in me, had died in my hooves. It was a sunny day in the city of Canterlot...
March 6, 1243
Under the orders of High Empress Celestia, the Lord Protector Dawn Wings is sent on the HMS Galliston to find a cure for a new plague transmitted by rats that plagues the underbelly of Canterlot.
November 19, 1243
Lord Protector Dawn Wings returns to no avail, bearing a message from his royal governor Solaris Quintus who commands the nearby city-state of Appleloosa.
“Welcome back, Lord Protector.” Hooves automatically go up in salute as I make my way up the docks connecting to Canterlot Harbor. Around me, the city’s activities are coming to a slow as the sun reaches its zenith, the only sounds in the form of slowly dying engines and the keening moan of a skywhale as it is transported to a slaughterhouse. Ever since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, whale hunters go out in earnest to bring in the tons of whale oil required to run this city. Even now as my hooves trod down the wooden gangway, pulleys tend to the cargo the HMS Galliston had returned with.
I gave the soldier a curt nod before swiftly exiting the docking area, marching straight towards the nearest guard station. The regalia of my rank glimmered in the sun’s rays, giving me easy access to the harbor garrison’s commander.
“What is it that you require of me, my Lord Protector?” Head bowed low, as he should. One does not become Lord Protector without having the necessary deadliness to back it up. A quick glint of greed is quickly extinguished as I stare coldly into his eyes.
“What I require, sir, is my transportation to Canterlot Castle.” I snapped, causing the captain to step back in alarm instinctively. “Or was it your intent that the business of the Lord Protector, and by extension the Empress Celestia, be obstructed?”
The captain stammered out a quick apology before quickly exiting the office to arrange for the Lord Protector’s carriage. “Incompetent bastards,” I mutter darkly under my breath. Before the plague, the only guards to be hired were judged and tested by the rigorous standards of the Solar Guard, soldiers of her Empress Celestia. But with the city in a state of emergency, the Royal Spymaster Luna has seized emergency powers and enacted a security measure that allows for the additional hiring of militant forces to combat the rat plague.
Meaning, the majority of the city’s new “security forces” are at the beck and call of the Royal Spymaster. I really do not like the woman; but as the Empress’ sister, she must be trusted regardless.
The city is a blurr as my mechanical carriage whirrs towards Canterlot Castle and towards Empress Celestia. I try to force down my irritability, and found it supremely hard to do so. After seven months abroad appealing to self-serving governors and snivelling state officials to send aid to our dying city, I long to be back by the Empress’ side where I can firmly keep watch of her. I had been loathe to leave her to begin with, with none for her to confide in or trust and surrounded by troops in the Spymaster’s pocket.
The carriage finally arrives. I hear gravel being crunched underhoof as an all too familiar figure approaches. The Royal Spymaster tilts her head slightly in greeting.“Ahh, Lord Protector, we didst not expect thee to show up now. How curious that thou should arrivest at this time.”
I wipe my face into a neutral stare. While technically we are equals in rank, she is connected to the Empress by blood and thus holds the weight of royalty. “The winds were truly favorable towards her Empress’ servant. They did not want the urgency of my message to be wasted.”
Luna raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Indeed, Lord Protector. If thou willst excuse us, we must attend to more… pressing matters. Good day.” Holding her head high, the Spymaster exited swiftly towards the main garrison a slight distance away from the main castle of Canterlot. With her back turned towards me, my eyes shoot daggers into her backside until the guard escorting me clears his throat uncomfortably. “My Lord Protector, if you will,” he said cautiously, opening the carriage door to let me out.
Glamorous hallways with floors of polished marble. Visions of past glory films over the palace in a glimmering haze as I make my way towards the royal gardens. “The Empress is having her tea,” a maid had said, gesturing a hoof towards the recently constructed royal pavilion. Still in the midst of my mild fury, only one sight manages to bring a smile to my face.
“Dawn Wing!” called out a young voice excitedly. My vision is immediately filled by a violet-coated mare as she bounds towards me, book in hoof. The scent of lilting lavenders fills my nose, a slight reprieve when so much of the city smells of death and plague.
“Princess Twilight,” I murmured, managing to tone my smile down to a small grin. It would be unseemly for me to show too much affection towards the Princess Royal, especially when on duty. I certainly could not hate the girl, however. Her earnestness towards her studies made her a favorite amongst the palace staff, even if it also attracted the unsavory attention of the Spymaster and that of Head Overseer Dark Blade, the head of a fanatical church that tolerates nothing but absolute adherence to their strictures.
“How did your travels go? Did you get to see many new places? I’ve missed you, Dawn!” Twilight chattered on excitedly. Reaching downward for a hug, I soon had the Princess Royal in my embrace as she rubbed her cheek affectionately against the rough fur of my chest.
“Thank Celestia you’re back, Dawn… Mother has been meeting with the Spymaster and the Head Overseer in tandem over the past several days, and she always looks so tired after meeting with them… will you go to see her now?” She asked, looking up at me pleadingly.
Gently setting the young mare down, I gave her a nod before passing under the arches leading towards the royal gardens. In the distance, I can see the silhouettes of Celestia and the Head Overseer, and I quicken my stride towards the pavilion. After all, if given the chance to interrupt or delay whatever the Spymaster seems to be cooking up, it would be a shame not to take it, no?
“My Empress,” I said firmly, coming to a bow as Celestia and Dark Blade turned to me during a halt in their conversation. Celestia looked haggard and seemingly worse for wear, but she brightened as she recognized the stallion beneath the uniform in front of her.
“Dawn Wing! So it is true that you had returned,” Celestia beamed at me, her worries melting away from her shoulders as her energy returned.
“Perhaps we shall discuss my proposal another time, Empress.” The Head Overseer glared coldly at me, to which I deign not to respond to. “If you will excuse me. Lord Protector, Empress.” Giving me the curt nod that was due my rank, he stiffly walked back towards the castle, no doubt planning on returning to the Spymaster’s tower to rearrange their plans.
Celestia let out a sigh of relief before gesturing to the two chairs before her. “Please, Dawn, sit. I won’t make you stand on ceremony when we are alone.” Gratefully, I take a seat at the table. There is all manner of goods arranged before us - toffees, small iced cakes, and of course a warm pot of mint tea. Overall, a very refreshing yet simple spread, befitting of the empress I served.
“It’s gotten worse here, hasn’t it Dawn?” Celestia whispered, her expression pained as she looked out towards the city. I follow her gaze over the battlements, my eyes resting on the Flooded District. Of course, I say nothing. There is no need. Anyone could see that our city was dying.
Grimly, I pull out a tattered letter from my saddlebags. It shows sign of wear and age, the results of several months in the sky sea. I watch as my empress wordlessly takes the letter. How her face creases in disgust before burning the letter in a fit of anger. “They plan on placing the city in quarantine,” she said miserably, stalking in agitation as her eyes continued to stare towards Canterlot. “With no hope for cure, they want to contain our situation before it destroys the empire...oh Dawn, what shall I have to do to save my little ponies?”
“Whatever we can, my Empress.” I try to soothe her frayed nerves, calmingly placing a hoof on her back. “I am yours and yours only, your knife and your strength.”
“Thank you, Dawn.” Celestia granted me a teary smile. “I know you will be there to protect me always.”
If only she were to know how false those words could truly be.
The world warped around us as unicorns swathed in black appeared into existence around the pavilion. “Behind me, my Empress!” Immediately, I pull out my half-sword and pistol and shoot one of the bastards between the eyes.
“Dawn!” Celestia cried out helplessly as she became surrounded by more of the assailants.
“Guards, to me! Guards!” I roared, mercilessly driving my blade into another pony’s throat. Hearing the squelch of blood fill his lungs, I extract my sword only to cut open another pony’s stomach in to. The smell of innards hits the air, something foreign to the royal palace gardens. The assailant only stares at me, gaping as his intestines hit the floor. I ignore him, cutting a path through the ponies until I had found myself in front of the Empress. Quickly whirling around, I am startled to see that there were no ponies left. Seven mutilated bodies surrounded me, my hooves in their pooling blood. I open my mouth to ask if my empress is unharmed, when my vision went black and I passed out.
It could not have been more than an instant, yet as my vision cleared I saw a unicorn plunge my sword into Celestia’s chest, twisting it cruelly as she screamed. After ensuring that she would live no longer, he quietly passed into the shadows leaving not a trace but a single bloody hoof print on the edge of the pavilion floor.
Though my body ached, I crawled my way over to my dying empress, cradling her head in my hooves as I saw the light fade from her eyes. “D-dawn Wing… protect my daughter… protect… Twilight…”
“Celestia!” I yelled out, banging my hoof uselessly against the marble floor as the last breath left her lungs. I became dully aware of several presences rushing up from behind me.
“What is this…?” Luna surveyed the scene and gasped when she noticed her sister, dead upon the floor in a pool of blood that was not entirely her own. The bodies of those I had slain have disappeared by some sorcery, and my blade was buried in my empress’ chest. “Guards! Arrest Dawn Wing, the Lord Protector, for crimes of the highest treason against the state! He has murdered the Empress Celestia!”
As I was taken away from Celestia’s body, I could almost see the faintest smile on the Spymaster’s face as she ordered more guards to investigate the area as well as search for the Princess Royal.
It’s been well over a month since I took the fall for my Empress’ murder. The dankness of Moon Ridge Prison leaves a deep chill in my bones that even the torturer’s brand cannot expel, and oh does he try his hardest to do so. Each day, the Royal Spymaster brings me in for “questioning” under the facade of forcing a confession out of the infamous ex-Lord Protector, but no one knows that behind those walls she gloats of her coup-de-grace.
“We were so pleased whenst you showed thy face that day, Dawn Wing.The Head Overseer and we had been planning to murder her for months, yet we had pondered over who should take the fall…” she would say tauntingly, lifting up my chin with her hoof to grin mockingly into my eyes. “Be at ease, Dawn. Thanks to you, the empire can now begin anew under OUR reign…”
I would be unable to reply, my back freshly scabbed over from that day’s torturous session. If only I could stab the treacherous wench, but I had no longer the means nor the will. The empress who had confided her confidences in me was dead, and it was I who had failed to protect her.
Chains swing slowly from the ceiling, clinking against their links. I rattle against my bonds, hoarsely begging for water for what seems to be hours on end. No one understands the unquenchable thirst you develop after being tortured for hours without the smallest respite. Sometimes, cradling my wounds in my cold cell, I almost rather be back in the chair and howling in agony. At least then, the pain would distract from this terrible thirst.
My prayers are answered. A guard shoves a meal tray under the door into the cell, looking piteously at my condition before returning to his rounds without another word. I was the object of compassion and scorn in the prison, being jointly filled with both Royal Guards and City Watch alike. That would soon change; with the Royal Spymaster declaring herself Lord Regent of the city, she’s been ousting all of her sister’s supporters from the guard until only a few remained whom she controlled through more unsavory means.
Crawling over to my tray, I first take the cup in my hooves and tremblingly bring it to my mouth. In my excitement to gulp down the precious water, some of it spills over the brim but I could not care. Coolness trickled down my throat, the pain of my dehydration receding into a dull memory alongside the wounds on my back. For the first time, I notice a note placed stealthily underneath the plate of greens that was my meal for the evening.
Hesitant, my hoof drifts over the note as if the swipe it aside when a small glimmer from within it stops me. I open the note and out drops a small metal key that clangs loudly against the cobbled floor of my cell. I was too shocked by the contents of the note to noticed much, though.
“Lord Protector,
We know you are innocent of the crimes set against you. We could use a stallion of your ability to help our cause. Join us, and take back your honor and your empress’ revenge. Reject us, and be hanged on the morrow as is planned for your public execution.
Inside this note is the key to your cell. With what little influence we could exert within the Spymaster’s domain, we have arranged for the passages directly around your cell to be strangely lacking of guards. You will find a standard half-sword and pistol directly outside of your cell’s door. There will be a note with further instructions inside the sword’s sheath should you choose to accept: if you have resigned yourself to die, take no regard to this letter.
We will be waiting for you, Dawn Wing.”
I steady my hoof from it’s shaking. There were greater forces at work here, and I’ve been forced into the fray against my own will. Now, I can either die a dog’s death for a murder I did not commit, or I can force that bastard Luna to die in my stead. “There really is no choice, you bastards,” I uttered fiercely under my breath as I took the key to my mouth.
Using the key to unlock my bonds and my cell door, I stretch out my limbs before almost tumbling back down to the floor again. My back burns in protest at the sudden movement, and my vision grows blurred for a second as pain rules my body. Forcing my legs to my will, I mechanically walk into the hallway and pick up the promised weapons. Opening the sheath, I find the second note.
“We knew you would choose to join us.”
Pretentious cocks, I thought darkly to myself.
“We knew you would choose to join us. We have arranged for a way of escape from Moon Ridge Prison, but you must first find your way to the extraction point. In the Spymaster’s interrogation room, we have hidden timed explosives. Retrieve those before making your way to the main gate. Once you set the charges to explode, you must immediately escape through the gate into the nearby sewers. We’ve left another package of tools for you to use, along with a map of the route you will need to take to reach our stallion. Find your way through the sewers, and you are as good as free.
Good luck, Dawn Wing.”
By the Empress, I thought to myself. This was more well-planned than I anticipated.
It was relatively easy to navigate through the halls undetected. After all, most of the guards had been drafted to help with preparations for my planned execution to begin with, and some of what little guards were left had been influenced by my newfound group of benefactors to conveniently not show up to their respective watches. Still, I had to exercise caution as I approached the Spymaster’s interrogation room.
Hearing hooves tramp down the hallway, I immediately turn a corner and crouch into a stealthed position, immediately unsheathing my blade. As the guard turned the corner and raised his eyes in surprise, I silently plunged my sword into his chest while covering his mouth with my hoof. I watch the light slowly die in his eyes as his body grows limp, and I haul his body into the corner before continuing.
It was a distasteful task, dispatching the guards like this. After all, it was hardly a fair fight when you placed these greenhorns against a veteran of the Zefrican wars. I felt little remorse for them, however, as I remember who their employer was. “The gods-damned Spymaster will drown in her own blood if I have anything to do with it,” I say to myself after slitting the throat of another unwary guard.
The way into the interrogation chamber was surprisingly unguarded. I grab whatever money could be found within the desk that sat in the corner of the room before retrieving the promised explosives. Just as I turn to leave, though, I hear voices outside of the room. After stealthily making my way back towards the door, I kneel down to peer through the keyhole and see what was occurring.
“I’m tellin’ ya, it’s downright eerie it is. No matter how many rat-catcher gangs we send out, them damn rats keep surgin’ back. It ain’t natural.” A city guardsman stands by the rails that overlooks the prison block below, slowly puffing on a cigarette.
His companion grunts in agreement. “At least we ain’t assigned to the Flooded District; I hear them poor bastards have to deal with rats AND weepers while shoveling out them dead carcasses. Plus all that talk about the Outsider-”
“Quiet!” muttered the first guard intensely. He gestures towards an overseer that was walking below them. “I can’t figure out for myself if those bloody creeps scare me more than the rats. Did ya here what they did to the last guy they caught talking about the Outsider?” he said in a low tone so as not to be overheard below.
“No, what’d they do?” the second guard whispered back.
“That’s just it, nopony knows. Guy just disappears off da face of de earth like he never lived or nothin’. They could still be torturin’ him as we speak, or his body could be rottin’ at the bottom of a whaler right about now. Thing is, them overseers always keep everything secretive like. Hell, they even wear masks so we can’t see their damn faces. Bloody pricks, the lot of ‘em.” Spitting gratuitously to the side, he finally backs away from the rail. “Come on, Spymaster wants us ta get out the former Lord Protector again; seems he wants to gloat one last time before the poor bastard’s hanged. Son of a bitch deserves it though; who the hell murders their own empress?”
Hoofsteps gradually fade away as the guards make for my empty cell. “Damn it,” I cursed under my breath. If I didn’t plant these explosives on the main gate soon, the entire prison would be after my head. At this point, stealth would have to be forgone for speed.
Making haste, I ghost my way through the hallways until I nearly collided with a watch captain who had suddenly turned the corner. “What the-” was about the farthest he got before I shoved my sword into his eye and gave it a twist before viciously pulling it out again. He fell without another sound, and I make it to the last checkpoint that separates me from the outside. A patrol of four guards stand around making jokes to each other while a guard captain watches from the gatehouse control room.
I take a moment to regain my strength. After a month of physical torture, my body did not have the physique it formerly possessed, and even now my breathing was starting to become more ragged. Gripping a nearby empty bottle with my mouth, I throw it as hard as I can down the hallway before melting into the shadows.
“What was that!?” came the cry of the nearest guard as he came into the hall to investigate the noise. Spotting the broken wine bottle, he runs over to investigate the remains. Guards two and three also come out to accompany him, while guard four remained at his post being farthest from the hallway.
Stepping out of my hiding place, I quickly crawl my way into the main hall. The remaining watch captain and guard has their vision obstructed by several tables that I use to my advantage as I creep closer to the door leading to the gatehouse control room. At this point, I throw all caution to the wind. Barging into the door, I quickly shoot the watch captain with my pistol as I move towards the controls, setting the entrance to the hall to go on lockdown. Guard four brings out his own pistol to take a shot, but I quickly dive underneath the cover of the controls and crouch my way towards the other side of the control room that exited towards the main gate.
I hear pistol rounds bouncing off the walls above me as I break away from the control room. Sending my own pistol fire in return, I set the explosives to explode before a searing pain pierces my leg. “Bloody miserable bastard!” I cursed freely, dropping the explosive at the base of the door to bring out my pistol again. The guard pressed down on the trigger only to find that his chamber was empty, during which I send a bullet into his chest. With a moan, he collapses to the floor with his hooves holding his injury in an attempt to staunch the blood.
The explosives blow just as my pursuers manage to break down the door. Without hesitation, I run through the opening in the gate and dive into the moat 50 ft. below Moon Ridge prison as guards fumble with pistols attempting to get a round off. The pain in my leg recedes as I embrace the cold water swirling around me, sending me into a slight reverie. This was not to last, however. Bullets whizzing past me in the water bring me back into reality, and I force my tired body to swim towards the sewer entrance - and hopefully, to freedom.
