Knights of the Silence: education is for everypony

XVII:
Final resolution

Spike and the girls were having breakfast together. One of their favorite traditions whenever Spike came to visit.

A bump on the door called everypony’s attention.

“The morning paper is here, I get it!” said Spike.

“Thank you Spike!” said Twilight as she fixed herself a secund cup of coffee.

After saying hi Dinky, the delivery girl, he checked the headlines, and smiled widely.

─ Wonderbolt Academy and MIT join the protest. They announce their doors would be closed indefinitely until the Crown stops pursuing the Knights of Silence. We demand freedom of knowledge. We demand justice for the Knights. ─

“What’s with the smile Spike, did you read some good news?” asked Pinkie Pie. “Oh, or did you see an announcement for something cool you want to buy?”

“Great news!” said Spike as he showed her the paper. “The Knights of Silence are getting support from all over Equestria. The two largest schools outside Canterlot have joined the protests. Princess Celestia would have no choice but see the light and stop going after the Knights.”

Twilight frowned.

“How can you call these good news? Are you telling me you support this group, Spike?”

The lavender alicorn looked at Spike to the eye, as he felt really awkward and guilty, but he ended up nodding.

“Yes Twilight, they have my full support. Maybe they crossed a couple of lines but they also did some great things for Equestria. Just check this out!!”

He extended his claw, and the biscuit basket flew toward him surrounded by a black magic aura.

Twilight couldn’t believe this. “How could you Spike?”

“Twilight, I just wanted to learn magic, be like you!” said Spike.

“I get that, but how could you abandon the safety of the Castle and join their night lessons?! You heard about the murders on Canterlot! Did you realize you were exposing yourself to danger?!”

The others looked at Spike with clear disapproving on their eyes. Spike wanted to tell them that he did all this to protect them and not fail them as Night Terror failed on his timeline, but he couldn’t find the right words.

“Spike you could get killed!”

“I could not! The Knights just proved that the Undead Knights were behind the murders all along! And they would never hurt us! Besides, I did not attended the night lessons. I’m not crazy! A couple of friends taught me, on daytime.”

“Still it was very dangerous! The Knights of Silence are dangerous people!” said Fluttershy.

“I have no idea if they are knights or not.” said Spike defensively.

“How could you not know?” asked Twilight frowning.

“I did not ask! I knew you would go ballistic over this, and I don’t want to lie to you, and I don’t want to betray my friends. So I did not ask.”

They couldn’t believe Spike. This was something they could expect from any other pony, but not from Spike.

Twilight just couldn’t believe it. “Okay, and tell me Spike. Who are them and what did your so-called friends asked you in exchange of teaching you magic?”

“Nothing! They are just owners of small shops in Canterlot, and they just sell ice cream and coffee. All they asked me is to buy them a cup of coffee or a cone and that was it. They are not ashamed to be full supporters of the Knights of Silence, and so I am.”

Twilight sighed. “Okay, I will not discuss ideologies with you. At least you did not endangered yourself and that’s all that matters.”

Spike smiled relieved. “I knew you would understand.”

“I don’t want to discuss with you about this. Anyway, what can you do? Which spells you master?”

“Oh just the basics. Shadow magic, to see as well in darkness as in daylight, shadow teleportation, shadow control and regular pony magic like telekinesis, normal teleportation and some transformation spells.”

The others didn’t say anything. What could they say anyway?

Canterlot:

The demonstration had continued for three days straight. The students have organized shifts to make sure nopony tried to reopen the schools, and to continue the protests in front of the castle simultaneously.

Even a bunch of business who supported the Knights closed their doors, or simply refused service to anypony who worked at law enforcement, or for faculty members. Professors and soldiers were suddenly banned form supermarket, restaurants, home improvement shops, etc.

“FREEDOM FOR THE KNIGHS!”

“WE ALL DESERVE THE SAME OPORTUNITIES!”

“LONG LIVE THE GREAT MASTER! OUT WITH THE CROWN!”

“WE JUST WANT TO LEARN!”

“REPLACE FACULTY MEMBERS WITH KNIGHTS!”

The yelling continued day and night, the Princesses could not rest at peace because the students’ yelling was getting under their skin.

They tried to use anti-sound barriers, but those were immediately unmade by the members of the Royal Guard who have joined the night lessons and supported the Knights as well. Most of them were apprentices of Silence, who improved on their guard duties because of the spells they were taught, and they were forever grateful with the Knights.

Of course, the culprit was never caught.

In the meantime the Crown was in constant debate to decide what to do regarding the situation. It hadn’t been easy because of the constant yelling coming from the outside but they knew there was only one solution. Celestia did not wanted to give in, but Luna, Cadence and Twilight showed her there was no other choice.

It was Luna who walked to the balcony to confront the angry crowd.

“Ponies of Equestria!” she said with her Canterlot Voice. “We have listened to your demand and have decided to give you what you ask. The Knights of the Silence would not be pursued anymore, and they would not have to hide in the shadows anymore.”

The entire crowd went crazy celebrating their victory. They defied the system and they have won.

Princess Luna raised a hoof, making everypony went silent.

“However! The Knights should stop their criminal practices, like stealing documents and breaking in highly restricted areas. Also, in exchange for the Knights’ freedom, the Great Master should turn herself in and answer for her crimes, and the Orders’.”

There was a death silence after she finished speaking. But in only lasted for thirty seconds. Then the crowd started to protest and even threw a couple of rocks to the Princess. They didn’t reach the balcony but was enough to annoy Luna.

The Princess went back inside the castle, as the crowd continued demanding her to go out and face them.

“HEY! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? COME ON, FACE US COWARD!”

Princess Luna closed the door and looked at her sister.

“These ponies are truly insufferable. They know they somepony have to pay for what the Knights have done.”

“They’ll see reason. And if they don’t at least the Great Master would. For what I can see, she is the most level-headed pony of the whole Order.”

“I hope she sees the light before nighttime! Watch the ponies’ dreams had become really difficult with all this noise outside.”

In the outside, the students continued with their protests, when the shadow of an adult dragon placed over the crowd and roared, scaring everypony.

Six ponies dressed in black hoods jumped from his back, who charged to random ponies and stabbed them with their knives.

That was enough to start a panic and make all the ponies to escape.

The Undead Knights looked at the injured ponies and left them there as they started to look for their real targets as they ran among the crowd, waiving their knives randomly hurting ponies and make them run faster.

Finally one of the protesters turned and shot six magic blasts to the creatures.

She was a light-brown earth pony with cream-colored mane and brown eyes.

The six creatures received the attack fully. One of them even lost her hoodie, revealing the face of Undash.

“I should have known!” said the earth pony.

Undash laughed. “Well, well, well, well, well, what do we have here? The Great Master herself!”

The pony put herself in a defensive position as the six creatures advanced toward her with their knives on hoof.

“I am not the Great Master! I’m just a Knight!”

“Yes, you are not the Great Master. yet. But you’ll get the Title after the original turned herself in and died in prison.”

“We didn’t do it, we swear!” said Jack the Reaper.

“Yeah, a shame. She escaped from our hooves that time.” sighed Fleshy Smile.

“But you didn’t though.” said Gothic.

Finally Midnight smiled at hear.

“And it’s a shame but it seems that you won’t live enough to fulfill your destiny, Great Master Irish Coffee.”

Irish gulped and raised her hoof.

The undeads’ shadows raised and charged against their owners, pushing them away and giving Irish time to run as far as possible from the creatures, and get lost among the crowd.

Soon other ponies followed Irish’s example, and started attacking the creatures with their magic. Unicorns and non-unicorns.

One pony managed to remove the hood from one of the undeads and looked at her in disbelief.

“Princess Twilight?” asked Minnuette.

“No, try again!” said Midnight stabbing the unicorn.

“Sorry about this, but we have to force the Great Master to come to light.”

Nopony knew when the Royal Guard joined the confusion, only that out of sudden they came to protect the crowd from the rampaging undead knights. They started to throw their spears to the creatures.

They did not even bothered to dodge the attacks. One of them managed to get one of the monsters right on the forehead, but she just laughed.

“Hey, isn’t that Pinkie Pie’s laughter?”

The hooded creature removed hood revealing her face. It was Pinkie Pie, but different. Her mane was straight, her eyes red and her smile was full of giant fangs. The monster laughed hysterically.

A young soldier tried to pierce her heart with his spear but he was so afraid that he missed.

“Here let me help you!” chuckled Pin-Kill-Die.

She pierced her own heart, then she took another soldier’s spear and pierced her own throat. He took as many spears she could and put them all over her body much to everypony’s horror. And then she laughed.

“Look girls! I am a pin cushion!”

A magic blast reduced the creature to ashes, but she was as good as new in less than a second. She turned to the attacker and bowed.

“Hiya Princess Celestia! Don’t you think is a bit rude to treat your allies this way?”

Princess Celestia landed ready to fight.

“You are not my allies! You are hurting my little ponies!”

“Didn’t you want them to shut up? We shut them up!” said Midnight approaching. “Also we didn’t kill anypony this time, we just stabbed them but they’ll be okay as long as you take them to the hospital.”

“The only one we were actually going to kill was the future Great Master but she ran away.” said Fleshy Smile.

Princess Luna joined the battle sending a new blast against Midnight, that she received and regenerated.

“Even you Princess Luna?”

“Go away Midnight! Your help is not wanted here!”

“Our help is never wanted, we always saved Equestria from the good of our hearts, not because we’ve been asked to. We are not the Bearers anymore but still want to protect our land.”

“This vicious killing from the last four years was not protecting the land! You were acting like what you are, undead monsters.”

“We only killed those who would become a problem in the future. You have no idea how easily let the power go over their heads. Every pony we have killed in the last four years tried to take over Equestria one day because after they got the power from the Knights of Silence. We chose our targets, those were not random killings.”

Celestia just glared at the creatures. She wanted to destroy them so badly but know she couldn’t.

“OUT OF MY SIGHT!” demanded Celestia with her Voice of Canterlot.

The Undead Knights bowed before Celestia and left.

“Just like that?! Aren’t you going to stop them?!” shouted a pony from the crowd.

Princess Celestia shook her head.

“As much as I wish to do something, my little ponies, those things are more powerful than me. And we cannot stop them.”

The ponies complained, and shouted but Celestia could only retired in shame and silence, as the Royal Guard hurried to help the ponies who were stabbed.

The Great Master witnessed the whole thing in silence along with Cream Cone and Emerald, and she finally sighed.

“What is it, East?” asked Emerald Horn.

“I know what I have to do Emerald. I knew I would have to do it sooner or later, and now is time. Before anypony else gets hurt.”

…

At the next day, Day Court was full of ponies wanting to complaint with the Princesses and shout on their faces how they failed their subjects by not stopping the creatures.

Now everypony was sure what was the dark force the Knights were facing.

Finally, after a non-stopping line of ponies wanting to yell at them, a young earth pony mare came to the audience room. She had navy-blue fur and a blond mane.

She bowed before the Princesses, the first sign of respect somepony have shown her in the whole morning.

“So what are you going to yell us about, my little pony?” asked Princess Celestia tiredly.

“I am not going to do such thing, Princesses. What happened yesterday made me realize I need to do something. As you said, the Great Master must answer for her crimes. The creatures are after her, not the other ponies. I came here to tell you where to find the Great Master.”

The two Princesses exchanged a surprised look.

“What?”

The earth pony nodded.

“Her real name is East Wind. She owns a students’ residence on the center of the city.”

Celestia looked at the young mare.

“How can we trust you’re telling us the truth?”

“Because it is the truth.”

Princess Luna looked at the mare in the eye. “What is your name, young mare?”

“My name is East Wind.”

And with that the Great Master released her aura.

Nopony could say anything.