The Fall of Morninglight

(( This entry is dated December 11th of last year ))

As if the Changeling incursion up north were not enough, there seem to be plots within plots happening on an international scale at the present time.

I wrote the other day about being visited by a mysterious hooded pony who asked me many odd questions pertaining to the Leylands crystals, and who espoused to be part of a secret organization working towards goals that he did not make exceptionally clear.

I had mostly excused this oddity for being exactly that, an odd pony seeking odd information; this is not uncommon for me with the unique history of Roanoak and the archives and collections I keep. But with the inclusion of an odd scroll of parchment with my breakfast yesterday morning from a second of their group, it does appear there is a very real secret cabal of ponies at work here.

This incident has also resulted in a complete reorganization of the castle staff and a full questioning of everypony involved with seeing to my needs. My personal guard did not take well to an infiltrator managing to tamper with my breakfast – for some odd reason.

Once the letter was analyzed by the talented magister of the 13th Legion for both magical taint and clues of origin, it was given back into my custody later in the afternoon. This letter I reference bid me destroy it after I had read the contents, but as it implicated that this organization most certainly has Equestrian origins, and it claimed that this cabal is operating under the auspices of Princess Luna herself – I felt it best to take this discussion to her directly.

I dispatched a letter to her Royal Highness via spell, carefully avoiding any indication of urgency as to not cause her to be awakened before evening, and I settled back to resume my research whilst I awaited her response.

Moments after I settled into my pillow before the fire, Baron Goldfleur and his personal guard were shown into the hall by Zealous.

I will admit that my first thought as the Baron was announced was that this was to be another impromptu sales session regarding the war effort. I have already forwarded his bank manager to Praefectus’ office, and I assumed this was to be a more direct approach by the Baron to secure some lucrative contracts.

But as I set the weighty tome I was researching aside and had the opportunity to examine the Baron, well, let us just say he was in a terrible state. He was bedraggled, wet, and wore more of the road to Astur than I assumed to be possible.

I was so taken aback by this image that I could find nothing to say beyond general pleasantries. To see the normally impeccable Baron standing there, dripping upon the parquet, was so incongruous that it literally stunned me into silence.

And then he spoke. The typically unflappable countenance of the Baron was a shattered ruin, and this echoed in his words. He launched into a tale of how he felt his life was in danger, how his business was in danger, and even how the Empire was in danger – and then in the same breath pressed me for information regarding my mysterious visitor from last evening.

It is well known that I do not merely speak with another. Every word is carefully weighed, analyzed, and applied to a veritable chessboard of strike and riposte, and I control information like a Diamond Dog controls a gem mine.

I shall add here that the baron is very good, quite possibly the best orator in recent pony history, and his skills with the spoken word are very impressive…

But he made a fatal mistake in his opening…

“A cloaked pony who was allowed entrance into the guard compound, one that I have been told came to you asking of Leyland crystals. About me.”

With those last two words he let it be known that everything that followed would be a careful ruse, for none but myself know that my mysterious visitor asked about the Baron, specifically. Yet he somehow had discovered this, and as such I knew a game was afoot.

We diced a while; he pressed for information that he already knew, namely the gender and distinguishing characteristics of my mysterious visitor. I coyly answered his questions truthfully to create an air of trust. He angled to involve me directly in resolving this for him with threats of pulling his business out of Ardennes, I countered with exposing his angle by calling his circumvention of the guard into question and referencing treason. He backpedaled, apologized, and changed the subject to the resuming of the High Council sessions.

And he soon departed after an exchange of pleasantries.

I do so enjoy my time with the Baron. He is a true product of Canterlot high society; a society that breeds incredible skill and determination for acquisition, something not often seen in Roanoak, and as such he keeps me sharp and well polished. He, like any weapon, has his uses for both good and ill – the difference being that the Baron is both wickedly sharp and willful, and as such requires careful control.

It worries me that I cannot fully see what game he is playing at. He understands the limits of my vision; that I can only see and comprehend so much, so he fills the world around himself with an incredible amount of activity, rumor, and outright disinformation.

Which, I will admit as his occasional opponent, is quite wonderful. And I am reminded that I need to send him a Hearth’s Warming Card.

Shortly after the Baron’s departure I received a reply from Luna asking if I would like to discuss with her in private within the White City of Canterlot. So I set about preparing myself for the cold airship journey northward, and within moments of finding my scarf a courier from the 13th Legion was shown into my chambers. He bore a letter from Imperious that, in his typical fashion, was short on words and long on potential problems.

The letter simply stated that he had discovered the identity of my mysterious visitor, and had a question regarding the veracity of a note left on his desk. The note on the desk claimed that I had authorized the movement and change of venue for a prisoner – and was ostensibly penned by my mysterious visitor.

This created quite a quandary. On the one hoof, if I said ‘no’ Imperious, knowing who the mystery pony is, would simply end them for treason. On the other hoof if I said ‘yes’ I was authorizing actions I had no real understanding of…

At this I decided to skip the airship trip to Canterlot and option for faster transport… It would tire me, but time was of the essence.

Canterlot, the White City and seat of the Equestrian government

I appeared at the train station in Canterlot in a blaze of spellfire, scaring two local ponies in the process and leaving a bit of a scorch mark on the alabaster of the loading platform. I apologized for my abrupt appearance to the two ponies – who merely stared at me slack-jawed – and I headed, as best as I could tell, towards the castle.

Canterlot always confuses me; hectares of smooth, featureless white stone separated by seemingly random doorways and dead end alleys. As I do not tend to fly in Canterlot – the stone buildings are entirely too closely spaced for my wingspan and I am terrified of injuring myself just to get into the air – I settled in for the long winding walk up to the castle proper.

Once you make your way up the road to the castle far enough, and you clear the rooftops of the town proper, some of the views are simply astounding… I can see why the Equestrian Diarchy had the castle built there, but my word is the walk arduous. I truly feel for the Earth Ponies who desire to see their Princesses, for one would almost have to plan on camping along the road on the way back due to running out of daylight.

I did eventually make it to the drawbridge though, and from there was escorted by two of the Equestrian Guard to the throne room where I was met by Princess Luna… We exchanged brief pleasantries after she dismissed the guards, and then she showed me to their chambers as to discuss in a more private setting.

Our first topic was the complications of this secret society operating in her name. I shall not go into detail here for diplomatic reasons as it is an Equestrian issue pertaining to Equestrian ponies, and as such I was happy to cede jurisdiction to Luna to resolve it.

From Roanoak’s view, there is no assumption of malice from Equestria in regards to these events, and she and I closed the discussion with the acknowledgement of such between us.

The second topic was one more involving my seeking Luna’s wisdom regarding the talisman and the Silvermane hive.

I explained the malevolence of the artifact and how I was fighting a battle of attrition against its will by it simply being near, and in this it must certainly be destroyed simply to prevent the turning of another of our kind to the evil of the Changelings. But while this is easily accomplished while the amulet is separate from a host, I also seek to free the Silvermane hive – which means giving the talisman to Miss Silvermane…

When Miss Silvermane places the cursed thing about her neck, she may succumb to the evil inherent to the artifact, gain its considerable power, and complicate my desires greatly by trying to end me instead of the artifact… Which would, in effect, be finishing the job that was started at Morninglight.

Luna asked many questions, approached the problem from many angles, and eventually offered to aid me with this plan. Shortly after this Celestia returned from her duties and asked to be caught up on the reason for my visit – and a few minutes later had also pledged her support.

So with Celestia and Luna’s power pledged so, I no longer fear for the outcome of this plan, for myself, but I do remain terrified for Miss Silvermane.

With these two problems well in hoof though, I leapt from the balcony outside the Princess’s chambers to fly up and over Canterlot proper, opened a gateway to Ardennes with the last of my strength, and amidst what I am sure was a spectacular light show returned whence I came.

And I slept better last evening than I have in a very long time…