Imperial Forclousure

Blackhoof was sitting on a chair by the armory; his rifle, armed, stood next to him by the wall. His wounds were healed in their totality by Lady's bizarre new magic; his confusion, however, was not.

He pulled out his last cigarette out of his top pocket, put it in his mouth, and then remembered that he lost his lighter.

"Ah, crap. I wish I remembered to ask for a new lighter when she said she could just conjure it." He tucked his cigarette back in his pocket and looked up at the sky, covering his eyes. It was several hours before noon. Officers were busy figuring out what to do with all of the new folks, and nobody gave him any orders, but he would still prefer the day to be over with. He then noticed that he had company. A thestral with a light brown coat and rich green eyes behind spectacles intently stared at him. In the light of day, Blackhoof could see that her uniform was light blue with a silver outline and a crescent-shaped moon adorned with bat wings. Below, there was a motto: "Ad noctem aeternam".

"Hey, are you lost or something?" Blackhoof figured it was a bit weird that the bats were simply left to roam free, but this wouldn't be the first time they got to serve side by side with recent enemies. Compared to changelings, thestrals were at least not as stiff and boring.

"I've seen you somewhere…" the thestral said and squinted her eyes at him.

Blackhoof shrugged,

"I don't remember seeing you before."

"Hmm… Which unit did you serve in?"

"Uh…" Blackhoof thought for a second; did she mean before… or after? "Well, there was One-Hundred and Eleventh Infantry Regiment, then there was First Imperial Guard Company, then it was Sixth Platoon of Her Majesty's Police at Mount Aris, then there's whatever this outfit is."

"You've fought in the war," she said confidently, nodding her head.

"Uhh… Technically, in more than one. There was the civil war, then-"

"Is your name Blackhoof, by any chance?"

Blackhoof stared at the mare for a whole second, then shook his head,
"Okay, enough playing around. How the hay do you know me?"

The mare smiled bittersweet at him,

"You saved my parents and me from a rolled-over train car at Horseshoe Hill. The train went off the rails, and one of the cars crashed into our house. You and your troop pulled the car out. My parents still keep a picture of you all in a silvered frame above the fireplace."

Blackhoof looked down at the ground embarrassedly,

"I was a private back then. I didn't really do anything besides stand around and clear a bit of rubble. It was Sarge who got the tank boys to drag the thing away; we wouldn't have managed on our own."

The mare sat next to him,
"We are grateful to all of you regardless of how much you did. You could've left us there since you were battling Solarists, but you helped us even though we couldn't have helped you."

"Yeah… except if it wasn't for us, the tracks wouldn't have been damaged, and the train wouldn't have crashed. It was the very beginning of the whole debacle, and the trains weren't switched to wartime operation yet. We all regret it ever happening... even Lady Moon does."

The mare looked confused for a moment before pressing her spectacles to her snout,
"It wasn't your fault. You did the best you could."

Blackhoof shrugged. The best he could do was all too often, not enough,
"I guess," he said.

"Is everyone else here too? Mom would want nothing more than to get another picture."

Suddenly, everyone in the platoon flashed one by one in his mind. The dead ones, too.

"Ehh… No, not really. It's just me. I got promoted out of One Hundred Eleventh and never saw my old squaddies again. Sorry."

"You've mentioned you were promoted into the Imperial Guard. I never saw the inside of the Palace… or even met anyone who did, now that I think of it. I saw it for the first time with my own eyes tonight. It must have been magnificent," she said reverently, staring in the direction where they knew it was.

"I've heard even the stone of the walls was magical there."

"It's true," Blackhoof said quickly, eager to get out of thinking about that time in the past. "The walls of the Palace glow slightly. It's still dark, but just bright enough to go without a light."

"You know, the templar are inspired by your service. I do not know why we were ordered here, but it must have been a misunderstanding. Moon's honored servants could have done nothing to impede her plan."

And now they come to the pertinent question, why were they here,

"What were you told? I was under the impression that your… organization doesn't do anything so open. Frankly, I thought you, folks, were peaceful."

"Well… sometimes it is wise to be prepared for anything."

Blackhoof frowned at the non-answer,

"What's your name?"

"Silver Strings. My special talent is music."

Blackhoof nodded contently; barely anyone talked about their special talent these days,
"Nice meeting you, Silver Strings. I figure I should stop delaying and go see my sergeant. He probably will have something for me to do by now."

Silver Strings got up along with him,
"Okay. Talk to you again?"

"...Sure," he answered with a slight bit of hesitation. "See you later. I'll tell you about what Moon is like later."

"That would be nice, thank you!" she smiled at him gratefully.

Having entangled himself from this piece of his past, Blackhoof headed in the opposite direction. He was never really fond of bat ponies, despite technically fighting a war for their sake. He, in particular, did not like when they wanted to keep vital secrets. Maybe she had just recognized him by coincidence, or maybe she wanted something else entirely; he really didn't care. He was about to head to have some sleep to make up for the night he spent awake but stopped at the corner of the closest barrack. There was a small crowd: about eight ponies and changelings stood in a half-circle, all watching now Queen Daybreaker. Blackhoof saw her horn grow in neon green light, yet instead of the expected transformation, Daybreaker grunted her annoyance. Blackhoof snorted and went inside. He dropped onto the bed without even bothering to take off his dirty fatigues.

He woke up when the sun was already setting. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes before glancing outside an open window. The commotion seemed to have died down. He yawned and stood back onto his hooves. He was still tired, but he was feeling better now. Blackhoof thought he should be able to find his mates somewhere around; they probably had some sort of task by now and felt pretty mad that he'd left them out. Suddenly, a foal ran up to him.

"Uh… Hi, Tiny," he said, holding back another yawn. "You seen Whitenose anywhere?"

"Moon is looking for you," Tiny flatly stated.

"Me?" Blackhoof stared at her incredulously. "What does she need me for?"

"She said you know the city, and she needs someone to help our sister and her host find their way around."

"Huh? Hold on a moment; let's start from the beginning. What happened since I was out?"

Tiny sighed and looked up at him with irritation,

"Moon and I went to the Crystal Empire to send Rainbow home, and Moon decided she was going to split our sisters from their hosts because it's unfair that only one gets to have a body. Then she gave Mister Rich a bi-i-ig box of gems because he lost a bunch of money before, or something. Then she asked him if he knew anyone who was good at holding attention, and he pointed us to Color Splash-"

"Hold on!" Blackhoof shook his head, forcing himself to refocus. "Maybe I don't need the whole story. Who are the ones I need to walk about with, and where are they?"

"Color Splash and her host, Fireball. They are over there." Tiny pointed at the canteen.

"Of-course that's where they are…" Blackhoof said in a defeated voice. "Right then. I guess I'll go ask them where they need to go. Run back to the Lady and tell her I am on it."

"Wait, she said you should take this," Tiny showed him a tiny notebook. It was colored deep blue and had Moon's cutie mark pressed into the cover.

"Didn't think she'd ever make her own merchandise," Blackhoof joked in a flat voice while taking the book and starting to flip through it. To his surprise, he found that the pages weren't blank. The back of the cover had Blackhoof's name written in black, calligraphic letters, and the first page had a monochrome picture of a large gem. The next one had a basket of apples, and the one after that had a combat knife.

"Ooookay… What's this? This ain't no regular souvenir, that's for sure."

"Moon made a few of these; if you tear out a page, it will transform into what's on it."

"Huh, convenient. I guess this way we won't have to run to her every time someone needs something. I gotta flip through it and see what else is in here. Oh… what happens if I lose mine? Can anyone else use it?"

Tiny shrugged,
"Don't lose it."

"Fair enough. Okay, I'm off now. See you later."

Tiny nodded and went back the way she came. Blackhoof waited in place, flipping through a few more pages, before heading to the canteen. The tiny notebook seemed to have items for all sorts of situations and contingencies. It had food, clothes, cleaning supplies, and even weapons. It also had spells in it, each having notes on how a non-unicorn could use them.

Blackhoof whistled. Ho-ho, did he wish he had this thing in the past... It was almost comically convenient. He couldn't even remember all the times he wished he had a clean pair of legwraps, or some soap.

He put the notebook in the pocket on his chest and stepped inside the canteen. He regretted not asking how this Color Splash looked. There were about a dozen ponies sitting there, eating meals or socializing. There was a trio of thestrals taking up a table for themselves, enjoying radish slurries. Then there was a single changeling. Five troopers in hippogriffian fatigues, one of them waved at him; he waved back but didn't approach. Lastly… there were two identically looking mares in civilian clothes. One was literally jumping in excitement, and the other was warily eying her while chewing a lettuce sandwich. Well, maybe it wasn't an issue after all.

"Hey!" he called out to them, getting closer. "Either of you Color Splash?"

"That's meee!" the bubbly mare singed out. "That's my sis, Fireball! Nice to meet you!"

"Yeah…" Blackhoof recoiled. "I guessed you were twins or something."

"Are you also…?" Fireball asked cautiously but trailed off in the end.

"What?"

"Forget it," Fireball grumpily muttered, standing up. "Let's get this over with."

"Wait a second, what are we doing? I was told to find you, but not why."

"We are going to do a show!" Color Splash excitedly bounced her way around the table.

"That's what this is about? You are performers?" he groaned. "Crap, I wish I stayed in bed. The nosey brat wouldn't have found me."

"No, we aren't musicians, comedians, or even jugglers," Fireball stated. "That Moon of yours says she needs someone who isn't an alicorn to reach out to the townsfolk."

"Which means we are doing a show!" Color Splash added.

"No, we aren't!" Fireball snapped at her. "I swear by my horseshoes, I've only known you for less than a day, and you already piss me off!"

"Wait, aren't you two sisters?" Blackhoof titled his head. "Were you separated at birth or something?"

"Something like that. The more I think about this, the more I want to choke this pile of crap for wearing my face!"

Color's attitude changed in an instant,
"But I told you I was sorry! I will make it up to you now that Moon split us!"

"The hay is going on?!" Blackhoof yelled out loud enough for thestrals to give him annoyed glances. "Nothing in this bleeding place makes any sense since yesterday."

"The way it was explained to me," Fireball said with a sigh, "some ponies are born with an evil spirit inside of them that waits for an opportunity to steal their body, and it happened to me. The only reason why I am even here is because Moon took pity. I am still bollocks knows where surrounded by creatures I don't know, and I got no idea how to get home or where my home even is now."

"I am sorry!" Color yelped out.

"Shut your piehole," the mare grunted angrily.

"O-okay. That... actually makes sense," Blackhoof nodded to himself. "I just didn't know this sort of thing happens regularly. So, does everyone get their own body, or how does this work?"

"Back at Crystal Empire, yeah. There's a whole lot of these freaks there who just got split off from ponies."

"Okay, so what was that about Lady Moon giving you a job?"

"I figured I might as well do something for her since she gave me my life back and stuff. She said she needed someone who could grab a crowd's attention, and I used to be a teacher before. I figured I am as good a candidate as anyone else there."

"Okay, what about her?"

"She insists on coming along and won't take 'no' for an answer. Moon said she should, too."

"I know that it doesn't sound genuine coming from me, but I always wanted to meet you! I wish we could've been sisters from the start!"

"You. Are. Not. My. Sister!" The mare punctuated every word by thrusting her hoof into Color's chest. Color's eyes were shimmering wet by the last word.

"Hey-hey-hey-hey!" Blackhoof got in between the mares. "I get that you are mad, but there's no need for this! We're all in this together!"

"You don't get it do you?!" Fireball exploded. "You don't know what it's like to lose six years of your life because some bitch can't get her own body!"

Blackhoof should have just listened to her and didn't ask any questions. He now understood why her name was "Fireball".

"Look, Fireball. We got a job to do. If Moon says Color Splash should also come, that's good enough for me. She is good at picking good people; I've known her for almost fifty years, and never once was she wrong about someone."

Surprisingly enough, that was all it took. Fireball blinked, and her brows slowly straightened out while her snarl eventually disappeared as well,

"You are right," she said. "I volunteered for this job, and I shouldn't get distracted. We should get going. What's your name again?"

"Blackhoof. I used to live here; I can take you wherever you need to go."

"Our church used to be in the lower city," one of the thestrals suddenly spoke up. "If you want someone to deliver the words of the Moon to, Her chosen people would be the most receptive."

"Huh… Thanks," Blackhoof said over his shoulder. "I owe you a cider."

"Okay then, lead the way," Fireball said.

"Right. I had a thing here somewhere…" Blackhoof pulled out his notebook and started flipping. "Here it is… Okay, if I understand correctly, I should just tear this one out, and it will work out." Blackhoof proceeded to pull the page free and drop it on the ground. Before even hitting the floor, the page transformed into a folded carpet. "Huh, it really is that simple."

Both the mares and the soldiers looked in confusion at the carpet materializing just in front of their eyes. Blackhoof casually kicked the carpet until it was fully unfurled; he then walked onto it and sat down.

"Okay then… Go outside!" he ordered, and the carpet immediately floated up and towards the door. "Ha-ha! It worked!" he laughed excitedly.

"How in the world did you do that?" Fireball asked incredulously.

"I got no freaking idea how this works! Apparently, Lady Moon can just make these notebooks full of spells with delayed activation, and when you tear one page out, whatever's on it will immediately appear in front of you."

"C-can we get a few of those too?" a trooper asked.

"Maybe," Blackhoof shrugged. "Try asking."

After briefly looking at each other, both kinds of ponies quickly left the room, leaving only the lone changeling to sit there.

"Alright! All aboard! Choo-choo!"

With all three of them on the carpet, Blackhoof commanded it to fly towards the city. Whether the item was intelligent or had some means of navigating itself, the carpet went where it was ordered. Blackhoof easily saw the building of the old church above; it stretched like a crescent moon among other, much smaller buildings. He commanded his carpet to land, and before long, they stood on the street just by the entrance. He folded the carpet and put it across his back.

"So… now what?" he asked.

"Well, the entrance is impressive enough," Fireball nodded her head at the bemused pedestrians staring at them. "We've got an audience already. So, is this the place? Looks a bit bland for a temple in the capital."

"Her Ladyship dislikes worship," Blackhoof stated. "Back in the day, the bat folks were even more unhinged than now, and she preferred ignoring them entirely. She eventually made them disband the church, but I guess it didn't take."

"Alright. Let's see if anyone's home," the mare went directly for the doors.

Blackhoof exchanged looks with Color, then shrugged and followed. Fireball knocked on the door. To Blackhoof's surprise, someone opened.

"Yes?" a batpony stallion cautiously looked at all three of them.

"My name is Fireball, I am an anointed messenger of the Moon. I must see your High Priestess."

The stallion stared at her with glassy eyes for a long five seconds before responding,
"That is not possible," he said very slowly. "The church was closed by the order of the Moon herself."

"Then give me the name of your High Priestess and tell me where to find her."

"There isn't one anymore. There wasn't for decades."

"Hmm… This complicates things. Say, would you be able to gather the congregation together? Even as many as a few dozen will be plenty."

"Wait, how do I know you are not lying?"

Blackhoof sighed; he knew the question was coming. He pushed past Fireball and stood in front of the church's caretaker.

"Here's our proof," he pulled out the notebook emblazoned with Moon's mark. "I received this from her hooves minutes ago. It is a magical item that allows me to cast spells like a unicorn would."

"Well, I was hoping you had some sort of a… document."

"Okay, listen here: I am Sergeant Blackhoof, of the First Canterlot Regiment of the Imperial Guard. I am the bearer of the knightly honors, Medal of Courage, Distinguished Service, and Order of The Silver Moon. I fought at Canterlot Siege, and I stood by my Empress' side as she vanquished the Changeling Queen. She knows her greatest champions by their names, and she believed that her most devoted subjects would too. Should I go back to her and tell her how unworthy you are?"

"A… A thousand apologies, Master! I am only a humble daykeeper of the chapel!"

"Go and do as the messenger says! The Moon demands that you listen!" Blackhoof stomped his hoof on the granite floor.

"At once! I will be gone only for a moment, I promise!" The thestral proceeded to gallop out, respectfully keeping distance from them under Blackhoof's stern eye.

"Well, that was easier than I thought," he admitted casually. "Okay, let's see if they got any beer in here."

"Wait, you didn't tell me you were-" Fireball began.

"Quit sweating it. I just put it all in the words that this kind of folk understands best. I am not actually that important."

"A-are you really one of her guards?" Color asked, her eyes staring at him in awe. "Does she really know your name?"

Blackhoof sighed,
"Yes, she does. She knows all of her guards by name. She has to since she didn't trust anyone to pick recruits. I am telling you: drop it. It's a lot less extraordinary than it sounds. I never got to guard her quarters or anything; she’s just isn't that kind of a ruler."

"Did someone else get to?" Color asked, bewildered.

"No! She isn't like that!" Blackhoof snapped.

"...I didn't mean to say anything offensive, I am sorry!"

"It's fine. It's just a touchy subject. My idiotic squadmates loved to gossip about her, and it's really not how we are supposed to behave. I didn't lie about the knightly honors, you know."

"Oooohhh!" Color gasped, her eyes glittering. "That's so romantic! A knight defends his lady's honor!"

"Can we get on with the job already?" Fireball reminded.

"Yeah, I figure we should. Right then. What's the plan?"

"Well, Moon told me to tell them that she is back, and now she won't let anyone go uncared for, but she is not forcing herself on anyone. She also told me to teach them how to contact her in their dreams."

"Well, I guess volunteering is now the operating mode. Not sure if it works though: we haven't had much progress since we arrived. We only have the bugs, who already have a really strange sense of loyalty to her; and now we also have the locals and the bats. Neither are sure how to deal with the fact that they died, and Moon just magicked them back to life. That's pretty much it, in a total of about four hundred. We are going to need to speed this up a lot if we are going to turn this thing around."

"Wait, she raised them from the dead?! Nobody told me that! Celestia's shoes, why does she even bother with this proselytizing horsecrap if she can probably just send her message through dreams?" Fireball asked out of frustration.

"Well… do you remember a lot of your dreams after you are up?"

"A fair point. Anyway, I've got to prepare. Let's go see if there's a board somewhere here I can draw on."

"Hey, we aren't in school, remember?"

Fireball smirked,
"It's never too late for school!"

"...And so the Moon compels you to take up Her word and spread it to all, so that everyone can share in the fruit of her labor. She does not order you to do so, nor will she judge if you would not, but know that you will be doing great service to the realm and earning Her eternal gratitude."

“Damn…” Blackhoof whispered to Color, chewing on some lettuce he got from his notebook. “What kind of a teacher is she? I doubt there are classes on how to talk to batfolks.”

“She was a linguist,” Color said absentmindedly.

“Lady Fireball,” a thestral mare stood up. “With all due respect, what you are saying cannot be true. The Moon abandoned us in favor of the day ponies. Even if she has returned, she would not want us back. Do you have a proof?”

“Are ye of little faith?” the answer came. “Simply do as I ask when you go to sleep, and you shall see for yourself... or better yet, come with me and ask her.”

“Look,” Color nudged Blackhoof. He raised a brow at her as she held out a piece of paper with an excited smile.

He took it and turned it around. It was a drawing of him in a knightly plate with his helmet’s visor up.

“Huh, thanks. I don’t think anyone ever drew me before.”

“Do you like it?”

“You bet, skillfully made. Especially since you only have a pencil there.”

“I mostly work with brushes, but I just couldn’t help myself! You really should tell me a story or two; I know my illustrations will sell like cakes!”

“Hah! Sure, later,” Blackhoof hid the drawing inside one of his pickets and turned back to watch Fireball preach. …But it was already over. The thestrals were standing up from their seats, quietly exchanging words and leaving out of the door.

“Hey, looks like I am done here,” Fireball approached them. “Are you ready to leave?”

“Sure. Tell you what, let’s go have a cider. Moon won’t think ill if we relax after the job, trust me.”