Knights of Bayard

It was cold walking through the town and the sun was starting to go down. The chapel was a big barn once owned by a family of free peasants before the war. The priest was with her. He saw her blue and red tabard through the trees. Swift Bolt bowed his head. Lulamoon bowed his head too but more moderately.

“Good afternoon,” the mare said. “You’re not an Imperial, are you?”

“Oh, no,” said Lulamoon.

Swift Bolt was talking with the priest. They were laughing. “It’s kind of odd – an Imperial in the Equestrian army.”

“He’s not really an Imperial. It’s only the accent.”

“It’s still strange to see. What about you?”

“I-I’m,” Lulamoon mumbled. “I’m a tinker pony.”

“Oh, I’ve never met a tinker pony before. I always thought they lived up north.”

“Most ponies think that.”

“Why did you come here? To the war.”

“I don’t really know,” he said. “It just kind of happened.”

“There must have been a reason.”

“There isn’t always an explanation for everything.”

“Oh, isn’t there? I was brought up to think there was.”

“That’s awfully nice.”

“Do we have to keep talking like this?”

Lulamoon looked at Swift Bolt. He and the priest seemed lost in their own world.

“No,” he said.

“Thank goodness. I’m not that good at small talk.”

“What are those?” asked Lulamoon. The mare was quite tall. She wore what seemed like a typical culverin’s uniform, was blonde, had an ash brown coat, and gray eyes. He thought she was very beautiful. She was carrying a chain with various lockets, pendants, and other pieces, tied to her belt.

“They belonged to some of my regiment who was killed last year.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Some of them were very nice. This one was going to get married and he was killed in Kholstomer.”

“It was a terrible fight.”

“Were you there?”

“No.”

“I was part of the first line,” she said. “We weren’t really expecting anything from such a small village. They were on us like timberwolves. Didn’t even get a chance to fire my bombard. We fought back as best as we could.”

“How long were you there for?”

“Two weeks. He was one of the last to get hit.”

“Did you know him for very long?”

“Four years. We thought we would become knights together.”

“You’re with the knights?”

“Yes,” she said. “My parents thought I was a fool to try. I could have done anything else. But I wanted to become a knight, like Chasser, or Posey.”

“I see.”

“Do you want to become a knight?”

“No,” he said.

They sat down on a pew and he looked at her.

“You have a beautiful mane,” he said.

“Do you like it?”

“Very much.”

“I was going to cut it before I came here,” she said. “I wanted to do something for them. I didn’t care about any of the other things and they could have given me anything I wanted after all we went through. I could have gotten some land, gone home, get away from all of this, if I would only have asked. I would have gone to their families, and brought them these keepsakes, told them how their loved ones died and how they always talked about them. I can’t do that now. But I also want us to win and make their deaths mean something.”

Lulamoon didn’t say anything.

“I didn’t know about anything then. I thought it would be worse if I left. I thought perhaps I would be betraying them and then of course I refused and that was the end of it.”

“Can’t you go back now?”

“No,” she said. “I can’t. That’s the end of it.”

They looked at Swift Bolt talking with the priest.

“What’s your name?”

“Wing Song.”

“Tristan.”

“That’s a nice name. Your friend is a grenadier, isn’t he?”

“Yes. He’s very good.”

“You rarely find anypony any good this close to the front. Seems like there hardly any good ponies left now?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a terrible thing,” she said. “But it’s very beautiful. To risk everything like that.”

“You really believe so.”

“I do. My father was in Loire when the Asturcon’s attacked. He told me a solider doesn’t just fight for his country, he fights for his friends and family too.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“Do you have any family Tristan?”

“Just Swift Bolt, but it’s different.”

“I understand. My regiment is kind of like my family too. They say we are going to have a siege soon.”

“I heard that too.”

“We’ll have a lot of work ahead. There’s no work now.”

“Have you been a culverin long?”

“Since I was fifteen. I started when I was deemed old enough to marry. I remember going to the hospital on the first month of training. I ended up with a bandage around my leg, and we were all laughing.”

“It’s not the same way here,” said Lulamoon.

“Yes,” she said. “Ponies back home can’t realize what battle is really like. If they did, they wouldn’t all go. You don’t just get a sprained leg here. You get blown to bits.

Lulamoon didn’t say anything.

“Do you suppose it will end in Grani?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know?”

“They’ve lost nearly everything else. They can’t go on fighting and not crack.”

“They won’t surrender here though,” she said.

“You think so?”

“Yes. I’ve killed so many of them, but they always kept on fighting.”

“They may still crack,” he said. “Anypony may crack.”

“Even the Sisters?”

“No,” he said. “I don’t think so.”

They went over to Swift Bolt and the priest.

“You are feeling better ma’am?” Swift Bolt asked.

“Quite well.”

“Lulamoon is a good pony when he wants to be,” he said. He smiled.

“I wouldn’t mind meeting again.”

Swift Bolt looked at Lulamoon smugly.

“She’s from Bayard,” he said in Crystallian. “So, she knows romance.”

“She also knows Crystallian,” the priest said in Crystallian.

Swift Bolt looked at the priest blankly.

“But Tristan is a good pony,” he said to Wing Song. “He will be a good friend to have.”

“Not like this one I hope?” Wing Song pointed a hoof towards Swift Bolt.

“Oh, that’s different. You mustn’t take everything Swift says too seriously.”

After a while they said good-night and left. Walking home Swift Bolt said, “Miss Wing Song likes you. That is very clear. But do you like her too?”

“Very,” said Lulamoon. He was still thinking about her.

“I’m glad,” said Swift Bolt.