Chapter II
Uncertain Future

Canterlot, right after the Academy incident:

Cream Cone and Emerald Horn took their unconscious Great Master through the shadows, until they arrived home. Once inside, they materialized in East’s room, where they put her in bed. She was sleeping deeply and peacefully. The two knights smiled a relieved smile, she was in better form that they thought she would be after making that many copies, and breaking Celestia’s defenses.

Emerald Horn smiled softly. “To this day I still find unbelievable that an earth pony haves this insane amount of magic power.”

Cream Cone glared at him. “Shut up, Emerald. Remember we owe everything to this ‘earth pony.’”

“If I wouldn’t respect her, she wouldn’t my teacher, moron!” said Emerald, angrily. But he relaxed after he saw at Cream’s expression. “Okay, sorry. Is just that I am a bit nervous. What we did today won’t be unnoticed. There would be consequences, and you know it. We challenged Princess Celestia in her face. And, if that wasn’t enough, we used unknown magic to her.”

Cream Cone sighed. “Yes, I know. But, right now, we better go to sleep. I used too much magic, and I need to rest.”

Emerald looked at the sleeping mare, and smiled.

“You go to sleep. I’ll stay here with the Great Master.”

“Emerald, you need to sleep too. That unicorn sealed his memories with a really powerful spell. You need a good rest after invading his mind.”

“I’ll go to sleep right after the Great Master wakes up.” assured Emerald. “After today, one of us must stay in guard in case something happens. We must prepare for the worst.”

Cream yawned as she nodded. “Okay, fine. But you better go to sleep immediately after, alright? And if something does happen, wake us. I think the Great Master would understand.”

“Don’t worry.” said Emerald firmly. “Besides, I have no classes today, so I can sleep the whole day.”

Cream left the room after she smiled at Emerald. She couldn’t help but notice the feelings the stallion had for his teacher.
After she left, Emerald sat aside the bed, watching the Great Master. And, for the hundredth time or so, he wondered why he did to deserve to be taught by such and admirable pony. Not only an earth pony who could use magic like a unicorn, but a pony who fought for the noblest of all causes, education.

“Great Master…” mumbled Emerald as he guarded East Wind’s dreams.

East Wind was floating among her memories, thinking of what she should do now. She may have made a huge mistake by revealing the existence of the Order to the Crown. After all, according to the previous Great Master, the Knights of the Silence only survived because they were always hiding in the shadows. And, the most powerful of all shadows, was the shadow of silence.

East reminded that time when she was a six-year-old filly, when she asked her teacher if earth ponies could do magic as unicorns. The other kids laughed at her, but her teacher asked them silence, as she answered East’s question:

“Children please, is not good that you laugh at somepony who asks a question. And her question is as valid as any other.” Then, she turned to East Wind. Her answer was kind, but devastating for young East Wind. “And I am sorry, East Wind, but no. Earth ponies have their own kind of magic, directly linked to the power of nature and mother earth. Each tribe has its own gift.”

The little filly felt bad for the answer, but she convinced herself that she would get used to it. Right? Adult East Wind smiled as she re-watched her past-self trying to adapt to a magicless life. At that time, East Wind ignored that all she had to do was to look for the right teacher.

And then, he appeared. The Great Master.

At that time, all the kids of the neighborhood were afraid of an old moody gryphon who lived there. They called him Mister ‘Rusty Feathers’.

One day, playing hoof-ball, East broke Mister Feathers’ window, and had no choice but go talk to him.

“Yes?” asked the old gryphon, irritated.

Six-years-old East smiled shyly. “Ehem, hi Mister Feathers. I am terribly sorry, but my friends and I were playing ball, and I broke your window and then…”

The old gryphon glared at the filly, and the rest of the kids around her. They all gulped and moved backwards as he threw them back the ball, and pulled East inside the house.

“Your friend and I must discuss what to do to repay my window. You go back to your games, and don’t dare to bother me!”

Then, he shut the door.

East Wind began to cry. “Please Mister Feathers, don’t get mad at me! If you want, you can talk to mom so she pays you with my allowance! But please don’t get mad.”

The gryphon extended a sharp claw to the window, releasing a black magic aura. The window was fixed immediately.

East Wind forgot all her fears, as she looked at Mister Feathers in awe.

“Unbelievable!” said the young filly.

The gryphon nodded. “You don’t need to worry about my window, East Wind. But I do need to talk to you.”

“I didn’t know gryphons could use magic!” said East.

The old gryphon chuckled. “Do you actually believed you need an ugly pointy thing in our head in order to use magic? No, all you need is being willing to learn. You’ve caught my attention since I moved here. I’ve read your soul. I see that you are obsessed with learning some magic, and you haven’t given up on your wish despite that everyone around you is telling you to do so.”

East Wind looked away. “I know it’s silly but…”

“Are you even listening, filly? You don’t need an ugly pointy thing on your head. As long as you are willing to learn, you can learn. If you want to learn magic, if you really do, you can. With the proper guidance, with the right teacher, you can become the magician you dream to be.”

East Wind’s eyes sparkled with joy. “So, you can be the one who guides me, Mister Feathers?”

The gryphon nodded. “If you do not transmit knowledge, it’ll get lost. Forever. I believe that education is for everyone. But, before I teach you, are you really willing to learn magic?”

“Yes, I AM!”

“Then from now on, I am your teacher.”

That evening young East Wind told her mother that she and Mister Feathers agreed that she would be helping him around the house for a week, and in exchange, he won’t make her pay for the window. The mother understood, and from that day East Wind ran into the gryphon’s house to begin her learning.
When the week passed, she gave the excuse that she and Mister Feathers grew close to each other, so she could continue go to his house. And, part of that was true. She loved her teacher, like a grumpy grandpa.

The gryphon showed her the secrets of Shadow Magic, and the secrets of all magics with that. “Ponies use to limit themselves to their Cutie Marks. Once they mastered their ‘especial talent’ they stop learning. There is no limit for knowledge. There is no limit for the talents you can develop.”

With the pass of time, he also began to teach her the ideology of the Knights of the Silence.

“Dear East Wind, we base our ideology in a single principle: education for everyone. Transmit knowledge, don’t be selfish. Share you knowledge or eventually it’ll get lost.”

“Then, tell me, Mister Feathers, why do you call yourselves Knights of the Silence?”

“Shadows are usually misunderstood, East. For most of the ponies, ‘shadow’ is the equivalent to ‘evil’. But no, Shadows mean ‘emptiness’. The beginning of everything, including both good and evil.” He looked as his student with a pleased smile. “And do you know what the voice of Emptiness is?”

“Silence!”

As the lessons continued, East realized that there was more about the Great Master’s speech than she thought. The ‘Shadow Magic’ proved to be incredibly powerful, as she discovered that once she mastered it, she easily master any kind of spell she wanted.
The power of shadows, the power of emptiness, was an early form of magic which the other types of magic were based on.

“But I don’t get it, Great Master. If the power you have is this great, why haven’t anypony else have heard about the Knights of the Silence?”

The gryphon looked at the sky, sad. “Because, back when our order were at the Gryphon Empire, those with power feared us. We have great power, power that we share with everyone who ask us to. And once this power is mastered, it opens the doors to learn any kind of power you desire. They did not like it. They infiltrated between our lines in order to exterminate us so we couldn’t continue teaching to whoever who asks. We survived, but from that day, we must hide into silence and only transmit our knowledge those who clearly would never betray us. That’s why we learned to read souls. Sadly, it was already too late. I haven’t tell you this, East Wind, but I am the last of the Knights of Silence.”

East Wind was shocked. “What?”

“Betrayed and chased by our own people, we had no choice but running to Equestria. But only I could make it. The last Great Master named me his successor before he sacrificed himself so I could continue with our legacy.”

East Wind bowed before him. “Pleas, Mister Feathers, you cannot give up. Here in Equestria there is so much potential for an Order like yours. Show your knowledge to others, with this tool, we can make possible that everypony learns what they want without any restrictions.”

“Is too risky, East Wind, the system is made to protect the status quo. Those who stablished it, your Princesses, won’t allow any changes to be made.”

“East, you are still too young.” said Mister Feathers. “You must become a real Knight of the Silence to understand what we are risking here.”

East bowed even deeper. “Then, make me one. Great Master, please, allow me to become one of you. I want to be a real Knight of the Silence.”

The gryphon smiled. “If this is what you want, I’ll grant your wish. My dear East Wind.”

But she wasn’t initiated until she learned enough hoof-to-hoof combat, magic combat, the hierarchy, and the rituals of the Order. One of the basis of the Knights of the Silence was that they had to wear their robes all the time during their meetings, but it never made any sense to East Wind. But she would always obey her Great Master-

But, in the end, East grew up to become beautiful and powerful, as the Great master grew old and sick.

And, finally, the Great Master called East Wind to his side for one last time.

“East Wind, I don’t have much time left. My dear, I want you to know that you were more than a disciple to me. You are the daughter I never had. Please, come closer, my daughter.”

Cleaning off her tears, East approached to her Great Master, and bowed. The old gryphon put a claw inside his shadow, and offered her the solidified shadow of a book. “This is the Book of Shadows, our sacred text. Tell me, East Wind, do you remember our mission?”

She nodded. “Make sure education is granted for everyone.”

“Go, East Wind. Do what I never had the courage to do. Fulfil your dreams, you always wanted to give ponies free access to all their knowledge, so this is now your chance. Please, guide them with wisdom, Great Master…”

“But, Mister Feathers, I don’t know where to start!” said East.

“Go to Canterlot, the city of dreams. The city where most of the young ponies go to study and become the better versions of themselves. East, I have named you my universal heir. Everything I had is now yours: my residence in Canterlot, and my bank accounts. Use it as you wish, but be careful. An educated population is the worst fear of those in power.”

“I won’t disappoint you, Great Master!” said East Wind.

With that, the Great Master died in peace. East cried the lost of her beloved teacher, but not for long. She moved to Canterlot, and turned the old mansion into a residence for students.

When the young earth pony woke up, she felt refreshed, and more sure than ever about her purpose. She must go on no matter what. Then, East turned to see the unicorn sleeping at her side.

“Emerald? Did you stay here all day?”

Emerald Horn yawned. “I had to, Great Master. I cannot help but feel paranoid after what we did.”

East nodded. “My Great Master would feel the same. But don’t worry. I know it sounds crazy, but I know this is what we should do. Now go to sleep, now that I’ve rested I feel full of energy again. Unlike others…”

“Yes, of course my Great Master!” said Emerald, stumbling because of how sleepy he was.

Luna and Cadence walked behind Spike as he guided them to the Royal Sisters’ lost castle. That was the last place where the Bearers of Harmony found a sign of the Undead Knights. And even if the creatures weren’t there, they would leave a message from them. The situation with the so-called ‘Knights of the Silence’ was too uncertain to leave anything to chance.
But, as usual, Twilight ended up siding with Celestia, and the other Bearers ended up siding with her. But Luna and Cadence were decided to talk to the creatures, and Spike was happy to help, as long they didn’t tell Twilight.

They went through the forest really fast and then entered to the Castle. And most for their surprise, the first thing they saw was a minotaur’s head on a silver tray. It has been washed, perfumed, and its eye were replaced with beautiful gems.

Cadence and Spike threw up at the horrible sight, but Luna’s stomach was stronger. She looked away from the head, and called the monsters as she destroyed the horrible gift with her magic.

“Undead Knights! In the name of the Crown, I demand you to show yourselves!”

Seven pairs of red eyes appeared from the shadows, and six monstrous ponies followed by a giant purple dragon with black wings bowed before the Princesses.
Spike was scared, and tried to hide behind Luna, but his nightmarish version spotted him.

“Don’t look at me like that, kid. You know that except for the red eyes, this is how you’ll look in a few years.

The lavender alicorn glared at the dragon. “Don’t scare him Night Terror. We’re on their side, remember?”

“I’m just frustrated, I don’t like when people interrupt our precious moments of sexual depravation.” apologized Night Terror.

“Please don’t say more.” asked Spike. “Twilight is my mom, how can you two…”

“You haven’t hit puberty yet, kid. When it happens, let me introduce you to Oedipus complex, if you embrace it, you can start making new kinds of memories with mommy. “Mocked Night Terror.

“SHUT UP!” Commanded Luna with her Canterlot Voice. “He did more than enough to bring Cadence and me to this place, do not upset him. Do you understand? Now, I need information about a possible enemy, but we’re not sure yet. You who are time travelers, do you know if a group of fanatics can make any harm?”

The corrupted version of Twilight grinned. “Oh, did Starlight had adepts already? Undeads, we’re going to kill them now before they spread the word of ‘Equality’ even further!”

The other six creatures roared in expectation.

“Hey, but aren’t they victims too?” asked the yellow pegasus.

“Fleshy Smile, darling, if the Princesses say they are a danger, we kill them. Period!” said Gothic, the white unicorn.

“No, they have nothing to do with Starlight Glimmer!” said Cadence. “And, please, don’t kill them … for Faust’s sake… don’t kill them!”

“Haven’t you see an Undead before?” asked a pink earth pony, bouncing. “Killing is what our species do!”

“Pin-Kill-Die is right!” added Undash. “Is like asking you to stop loving. This is what we are!”

“Also, if yer’ here, ya’re aware that we’ll go after any threat to Equestria.” Continued the orange earth pony with a cowboy hat.

“Reaper is right, this is what is left from who we were.” said the alicorn.

Luna made a sign a Cadence to calm her down, and glared to the Undead Knights. “Easy you, as Princesses we know the right spells to seal Undeads forever.”

Pin-Kill-Die laughed. “The Undead you know are irrational things, who just kills everything around it. We still can think.”

“And Gothic and I can use magic.” Said the lavender alicorn. “Oh, and as corpses, we cannot feel tired. That allows us to use as much as we need without rest. What can you do against us, Princess? Only delay our killing spree for a few hours.”

Luna and Cadence looked to each other, in fear. But in the end, Luna shook her head and exposed the situation.

“Knights of the Silence. What do you know about them?”

Midnight, the leader, raised an eyebrow. “Oh, the ‘education is for everypony’ guys? They were a problem.”

“They emerged during the ten years we wandered around Equestria without our Cutie Marks. If it wasn’t for them, Glimmer’s ideology would have spread all over Equestria. But the Great Master showed ponies another way.”

“As a matter of fact, we tried to learn from them.” explained Gothic. “Somehow, they are able to teach magic to the three tribes without a problem. But because of our lack of Cutie Marks, we could never get as strong as we needed to oppose Glimmer.”

“But the Great Master did.” said Undash. “She and Glimmer had a Tartarus of a fight, and were tied. Despite being an earth pony, the Great Master put Glimmer in her place multiple times. And her ideology were getting more adepts than Equalizers. Equalizers made everypony as equally weak; and the Knights of the Silence made ponies as equally strong.”

“Also, the Great Master never imposed her beliefs to anypony.” said Undash. “She was just there, and if you ask her to teach you, she did it without hesitation. She made sure to teach her students everything she knew.”

“And, that’s why they became a problem.” said Midnight.

“Why?” asked Luna.

“The Knight’s ideology says that you have to share your knowledge with everypony who asks.” explained the alicorn. “Even if you had bad intentions, the Knights are not allowed to deny you any kind of knowledge. As long as you don’t plan to tell the authorities where to find them, the knights will offer you all of their knowledge. So, many ponies got mad with power, always asking for more, and the Knights granted them with it. When we became this, we had no choice but chase them down.”

“But the damage was done already, and their ideology had spread all over Equestria. To this day we’re not sure if we properly killed them all.”

Jack the Reaper sighed sadly. “Stupidity is more dangerous than evil. We learned that the hard way.”

Luna nodded, evaluating the situation. “A childish ideology and a great power combined, this doesn’t look good.”

“If they have just appeared, we must stop them.” said Midnight. “That’s the duty of the Undead Knights.”

Luna agreed. “As much as it hurts to say it, Tia is acting like an idiot. I know she fears you, and with good reason, but this is a resource that cannot go to a waste. Undead Knights, I know you’ll start killing as soon as we leave this castle. So all I ask is that you bring me the Great Master, alive.”

The Undead Knights shrugged. “Just that? Easy enough.”

“And when you capture her, you send her to the Crystal Empire, without aunt Celestia knowing.” said Cadence.

The creatures bowed before the Royals.

“The Undead Knights only exists to serve you!” said the seven in unison.

The group left, but before they did, Luna looked at the monsters for a last time.

“Before we go, I must warn you. The Royal Guards will attack you on sight. I hope you understand.”

Midnight grinned. “Of course, this meeting never happened.”

Author's Note

Okay, in this chapter I tried to show the nature of the Knights of the Silence. They are not evil, just antagonists to the Crown. Anyway, I hope you liked it. You know? This feels like a completely different story despite being a translation, still I hope is enjoyable.

Read ya’ later!!