Chapters I'm not perfect. In fact, I'm far from it.
Starry Knight stands three feet ahead of a line of four alicorns. The other four in his line are wearing identical uniforms, with their wings tucked into their sides, and their horns pointed to the ceiling. All are clad in brilliantly polished steel from head to hoof, bearing decorated sheaths, loaded with golden-hilted swords. Starry's armor is more ornate than the others, and where they wear helmets, he does not.
The castle court is a large hall, with two rows of columns going down it's center from the iron doors of the castle atrium on one end, to the huge, marble staircases on the other. Between the columns, down the middle of the room, a red carpet has been rolled out, and at the end of it sits a throne—a very special throne cast in black steel and decorated with rubies. The room is built up like the apse of a cathedral, more than twice as long as it is wide, and with a ceiling several stories high. All around the upper level walls are great mosaic windows to let the light of day and night fill the room with their beauty. For the night, when it there is less light from outside to fill the room, two chandeliers, made of brass, weighing almost three hundred pounds each, hang from the roof.
"Come forward, good knight." The voice rises from the far end of the hall. The king stands up from his throne, wearing a purple cape with white trimming, and a golden crown. He isn't a very strong looking stallion, and has a gray coat and a black mane. A glow lights up around his horn as he waits for the knight to approach, and draws his silver-and-gold ceremonial blade from his side.
Starry approaches. His mane and tail, unkempt but short cut, dim gold and silver lined in color, sway from side to side as he trots forward, each step in perfect time. Once he approaches the king, he kneels down before him, laying down on his fore-quarters.
The king's sword touches each shoulder on the alicorn before him. "By the power invested in me, King Iron Scepter, by this great kingdom, I hereby name you Commander Starry Knight." After he speaks, he sheaths his sword once again. "Rise."
As the king says so, the armor clad pony rises. "Thank you, my lord." Turning around, he heads back to his line. The five alicorns leave the throne room in an orderly fashion.
That, as you probably heard, is King Iron Scepter, the ruler of the Alicorn Kingdom. His rule takes after his father's, who marked the beginning of our kingdoms isolationist policies.
Festivities begin the night of Starry Knight's promotion ceremony. The court has been flipped, and turned into a great dining hall and ballroom. Several filled tables are delivered a banquet of food, served up by the castle chefs and servants. A musical troupe starts up, and before long, the hall is filled with dancing, food, drinks, music, and the denizens of the kingdom. It's typical of a royal party.
The king cheers on the occasion, calling for more food, more wine, and more entertainment. The queen sits next to him. The hair of her mane and tail, which used to be a brilliant white and turquoise, has grayed in its old age. Her coat is bright manila, almost golden. She seems distant from the occasion, and simply nods along to everything that's said. She barely eats, making her husband look like a glutton.
"Did you hear that our lovely queen, Diamond Chalice, has fallen out of love with the king?" a pony starts a discussion as Starry Knight, now dressed in a more casual suit, trots by a table with a cup, grasped by his magic.
"I heard that the queen was looking for a good alchemist to poison the fat king while he stuffs his face with his ponies' food," another table stirs up, snickering and joking.
Before long, the Queen Diamond Chalice grows tired of the party, and leans in to whisper something into the king's ear. Afterwards, she gets up, and leaves the party. The rumors only continue.
The seat next to hers is occupied by a rather young, gorgeous, peach-maned pony. Unlike her mother, she takes a liking to the party, and continues to drink and eat to her delight, although still quite a bit better mannered than her father. She leans into a friend who sits next to her, and whispers something into her ear. The two of them begin to laugh with each other afterwards.
That's the princess, my fiancé. We are to be wed at the end of the month. I don't love her, but she loves me. As the princess, and the eldest foal to the king and queen, she gets what she wants. And she wants me. We have been betrothed for four months, and we have only seen each other a hoof-full of times. I'm almost certain that whatever she whispered to her friend just now was about me.
Before Starry Knight can go any further, he is stopped by another alicorn. A hoof wraps around his neck and pulls him aside. His friend, drunk, says to him, "Great party. You should get promoted more often." The pony's coat is a bright, coppery color, and his mane and tail are the color of rust.
"I probably will," he says, not nearly as drunk as his friend.
"Hey, so, you know how I like that Moonlight mare, right?"
"Yes."
~Moonlight Serenade~ My friend, Copper Arrows, fancies her. Unfortunately, she doesn't feel the same way towards him. Moonlight Serenade is one of the foals the king fathered out of wedlock. She is the love of my life. If fate had been kinder, it would be her I was marrying at month's end.
"I was thinking about finally asking her out."
"That's . . . lovely, good for you." Starry Knight lifted his friend's hoof off of him, and set him down at a near-by table. He did his best to hide his feelings from everyone else. If their relationship became public, there would be serious consequences. Without waiting a moment more, he approached the royal table, and took a seat that was saved for him.
The king was laughing and joking around with the captain of the royal guard, and he was too drunk to notice his soon-to-be son-in-law finally take a seat at their table. He didn't like the king, but was good friends with the prince, or at least he was close enough to have his trust.
"So, Starry," the prince says to him, turning and facing across the table from his seat, beside the king, "Are you ready for royalty yet?" The prince's coat is a bright gray color, and it even appears silver in the right light. His hair is black, like his father's.
Starry Knight smirked, and shook his head. "You royal ponies are crazy," he says back. He added a hint of sarcasm to his voice, but in truth, he wasn't being sarcastic at all. He did enjoy the idea of gaining some power, and he definitely had it in his mind that he would do the kingdom some good once he rose up. But he didn't like where the kingdom stood, and he didn't like being forced into it the way he was.
That's prince Silvercoat. He seems alright on the surface, but he is cunning. I never once trusted his motives before, and I won't start now. I think he's jealous, and that he wants the throne.
"Aren't you going to say hi to me, darling?" the princess asks, a smile on her face.
Turning back to her, he smiles, and leans forward in tandem with her to exchange a kiss to each cheek. "Crystal," he says, "How are you on this fine evening?"
"Just peachy. Enjoying the early benefits of royalty?"
It was no secret. My promotion wasn't deserved. The king only promoted me so that he could feel more comfortable giving his daughter away to me.
Starry Knight chuckles a little and nods. "Yes," he says, halfheartedly, "You could say that." It was partially true, he did enjoy the extra benefits, and the party.
"Just wait 'till you're a prince."
"Oh," he says, rolling his eyes, "I can't wait."
"Oh, you need to relax, sweetheart. It's nothing. Just a few little etiquettes, most of which you can get away with ignoring." She glances over at her father as he continues to stuff his face and make slurry, drunken jokes before continuing, "and the few you have to abide by are rather simple, probably things you already do."
"It's not the etiquette I'm worried about," he says. He lets off a soft sigh. "It's just all happening so fast."
Reaching a hoof over the table to give her husband-to-be a comforting hug, Crystal whispers into his ear. "I know, I know. Maybe we can go outside and get some fresh air . . . or"
"Or?"
"The air in my room is pretty fresh too, if you want to give that a try."
Starry Knight smirks, and shakes his head. "We should wait. Don't want to risk getting on your father's bad side." He wasn't worried about getting caught with her early. He was uncomfortable with the very idea of being somepony other than his true love.
She kisses his cheek in return. "Very well," she says, feeling that she could trust him. She hadn't a clue about Moonlight.
After Crystal Clear finished speaking with him, her friend speaks up. "Well," she says as she gets up, "I'll just leave you two love birds alone, then."
"Later, Creamy," she says, sending her friend off with a hug, and then turns back to Starry. "So, fresh air then?"
"Fresh Air sounds lovely." He gets up from his spot, and awaits Crystal. Everything he did with the royal family was for show. He had to put on a good act for them, lest they grow suspicious.
Crystal got up from her spot as well. Her horn glows a bright pink, and the same glow takes hold of her glass, picking it up and taking it along with her. "Let's go."
The two of them go upstairs and trot out onto a large balcony. The night air settles in, and the sun sets in the distance. Every day, somewhere between fifty and a hundred alicorns take shifts raising and lowering the moon, and it takes twice as many to raise and lower the sun. Every night, a team of alicorns watch over the kingdom, keeping everything in order.
"The sunset is beautiful," Crystal says, looking out in the distance, as the sun falls over the flat horizon.
"Yes, it is. I like the moon better, though." He points to the opposite side of the balcony to where the moon rises.
"Why's that?"
"The sun rises, and brings light to everyone who can see it. Tons of light." He then holds her close, and has her look to the distance where the moon is just coming up. "The moon rises, and it's full of light from the sun. But it doesn't shine over the land. Instead, it remains a gentle, humble light that provides for everything that thrives in the night. It doesn't have to overpower the scenery in order to let the world know it's beautiful."
"You're pretty poetic for a soldier. I didn't know you could come up with something like that."
"I didn't. I . . . I think I read it somewhere."
She then laughs at him and playfully pushes him away. "It's a beautiful night," she says as she spreads her large wings, "Let's go flying."
"Flying?"
"Yeah. It's beautiful out, the air is nice, and you're too scared to take me to bed, so let's go flying."
"Won't they miss us at the party?"
"Naw." At this point, she had already lifted herself up, flapping her wings and hovering just off of the balcony. He simply nods, and unfurls his own wings, taking flight with her. "We can review the creed while we're at it to. Do you remember?"
The Alicorn Creed. It's said to have been mistranslated and changed a few too many times by our late king, Platinum Crown. Once upon a time, it might have meant something important. As an up and coming prince, it's my duty to have it memorized. I had to memorize once before when I was knighted, but I've since forgotten.
"Right," he says, "By the might of our magic, and the kinship of our fellow alicorns, we shall protect the kingdom, the noble family . . . and . . ." The creed seemed oddly self-serving now that he was destined to become a member of the royal family.
"The royal family," Crystal corrects him. She flies around behind him, and nudges him onward. After the nudge, he starts flying forward, and upward into the sky, with her right by his side.
"The royal family, and serve—oh wait."
Giggling, the princess goes back through it with him. "By the might of our magic and the kinship of our fellow alicorns, we shall protect and serve the kingdom, and the royal family."
He chuckles a bit at the idea of it as he flies onward. "That just sounds silly as the prince."
"You're not the prince, yet, my love."
"Yes, I know. You see what I mean, though?"
"Yes," she says, and then giggles a little, "But, it's tradition, so you have to know it."
As the two fly onward, they approach the northern edge of the kingdom. In the midst of their chatting, Starry Knight happens to look down to see a lone earth pony charging in from the kingdom's northern border. Stopping mid-sentence, he points the pony out, and flies down towards it.
"Huh?" the princess questions as she looks down. "Wait? Where are you going? It's just an earth pony."
"Something's obviously wrong here."
"Yea, but we have other ponies to take care of that kind of stuff."
"But we can help out."
"I'm just saying, we don't have to." She follows him down.
The pony, battle scarred, and panting in full gallop, slows to a stop as Starry Knight lands before him.
"What's wrong?" Starry Knight asks.
The pony pants and collapses to the ground, pointing back to the border as it tries to speak up. "There was . . ." he manages to start, "Discord . . . he's here."
"Discord?" the princess asks.
"Discord is where?"
"My town," the earth pony says, starting to calm down, "right at the border, he's here. He's here."
"Calm down, now. You're safe here."
"I need to speak to the king," the earth pony says, "It's important, we need help."
"Good luck," the princess mutters with a scoff.
"I can take you to him," Starry Knight says.
"What?" The princess just looks at him, raising a brow as she hovers about five feet off the ground.
"I would appreciate it."
"Wait, wait," Crystal says, "You can't be serious, right?"
"Why can't I?"
"You know my father. He won't even bother listening, much less helping."
"So you just want to leave him?"
The earth pony looks at the two, nervously. "Please don't leave me."
"Whatever," she finally says, deciding she couldn't care less. She was more upset that her alone time with her love was interrupted.
"Crystal," Starry says back, "I have a duty."
"Your duty lies with our own kind." Crystal starts to pick up altitude, getting ready to head back to the castle.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Crystal."
"What about tonight?"
"I'll make up for it, I promise." Starry Knight then turns back to the wounded pony. He was a little bit larger, but not big enough to carry him. "Come with me, I can get you into a carriage in the next town over."
"Discord has moved into the Northern Kingdom," the rather large earth pony says as he stands from his spot in the throne room. "I know that this may not seem like a very pressing matter to this court, but believe me, you should be worried. If Discord takes us over, then you will be surrounded by his tyranny on every side."
"Son," an older alicorn speaks up. He sat beside a row of other alicorns, including Starry Knight, at a table in front of the throne. "Discord has tried many times to invade this proud kingdom. And not once has he ever succeeded."
"Not only that, but one of the primary reasons his attempts have been so unsuccessful is that we have concentrated our efforts on our own defenses for the last seventy-five years," a second advisor speaks. "How can you expect us to protect our own people if we thin out our armies like we did in the past?"
"Please, council... your majesty," the earth pony pleads, "Our kingdom has been a strong one, withstanding the cold and the hostile environment for countless generations. We have offered our support to you many times, and believe me, we would continue to do so in the future. But how can we do that if our kingdom is torn asunder?"
"My dear colt, we have not needed your help."
"With Discord and his forces surrounding you on every corner," the earth pony keeps on, "I doubt that will continue to be the case. I fear Discord will win slaves and warriors out of my brethren. You can either be their allies today, or their enemies tomorrow."
"What is your name?"
"Iron Sword."
"Your breath is wasted. If you wish to live, stay here. But if you want to help your people so badly, then go home, Iron Sword."
Starry Knight keeps quiet, not wanting to oppose the king's view on the matter. He simply looks in his direction, and then to the prince, wondering if he'd say anything.
"Enough of this," the king suddenly says, "I'm tired. I cannot waste my time on this matter, we all know where it ends. I am going to bed, and I suggest all of you do the same."
The advisers all leave, as does the prince. Iron Sword stands there, and looks at Starry Knight, the last pony there. For a few moments, he seems to want to say one final word, but instead turns and leaves. Starry lets out a sigh, and makes his own leave.
I want to say something. But I can't afford it. We have the resources, we should help.
Starry Knight walks through the streets, heading home for the night. Along the way, he stops, and looks around to make sure nopony is following, and then takes a turn onto a different street. He takes the road to the edge of the city, and once he gets there, he waits.
A few moments pass by, and then another alicorn passes him. She wears a black, hooded cloak, and trots onward, away from the city limits, giving him only a glance, and a bright smile. He follows after her. The night grows darker, and a half hour passes before they reach a tall oak tree near a crossroads.
"Moonlight, I—" Starry begins to speak but is suddenly hushed as the mare presses a hoof to his lips. A half second passes before she leans into him and gives him a warm, passionate kiss. He doesn't hesitate, and kisses right back, pulling her hood off of her head and wrapping a hoof around her to hold her tight.
"Will you stay tonight?" she asks him a few moments after the kiss ends. Her dark purple mane hides her form in the dark of the night as she sheds her cloak, and leans in closer to him.
"I will."
She simply smiles at the response, and then gives his cheek a tender peck. The two of them lay down together and snuggle up closely to sleep through the night with one another.
I'm not perfect. I betray the trust of everypony I'm supposed to be close to . . . My best friend. My fiancé, the princess. My king. Instead, I love the king's illegitimate daughter, my best friends lifelong crush. My rank is a direct result of one of those relationships I betray. And I can't even stand for what I believe in when it matters.
Chapter 2: Refugees
"Hey, wake up." Starry blinks, eyes opening up to the beautiful mare. She kisses him on his muzzle, just over his nose and then gets herself up. The first light of day begins to shine past the distant hills to the east, creating long shadows from everything it touches. "Time to wake up, sleepy head." As she rises, the mare puts her cloak back on, hiding away her dark blue coat, and her mane.
"What?" he mutters as he stirs from his sleep. He shifts around, rolling onto his belly, and slowly lifts himself up off of the ground. He reels back a little as the sun shines on his face, and turns his head as he lets out a yawn. "Moonlight," he mutters softly as she starts to trot away from him.
"Yes?" she says as she stops, and turns to face him again.
"Good morning," he says, a grin coming over him, "I love you."
"I love you too. Good-bye."
"Bye."
I hate saying good-bye like this.
After she leaves, walking back through the city gates and past the buildings, Starry Knight flies into the air, staying low as he heads back to his house in the city. During his flight, however, he notices a long line of ponies, earth ponies, pegasi, and a few unicorns, and decides to investigate. Flying towards the front of the line, he lands, touching down in a city square before the gates of the castle.
Upon further inspection, he discovers that these are a mix of war ponies, and civilians, all wearing thick, tattered clothing, carrying satchels of personal belongings, and looking worn and tired. The soldiers are even worse—beaten, bruised, wounded, but what seems worse than anything, a miserable look of defeat and hopelessness about them. All of the soldiers bore insignia of the different regions of the Northern Kingdom.
"You there," he asks a heavily armored alicorn guard escorting them, "What's all this about?"
Recognizing him, the guard steps closer upon being called out, and removes his helmet, clipping it to a saddle. "Northerners, sir, all of them. Fleeing to the safety of our great nation from the wrath of our common enemy."
He says common enemy as if we're lifting a hoof to help fight.
"Where are they going?"
"Well, to the king, sir," the guard replies, a very formal tone.
"Starry," a voice calls out as a hoof places itself on Starry's shoulder. He turns to see the prince addressing him. "Starry, We need you in the council chambers. We checked your house, but you didn't answer. Where have you been all night?"
"Sorry," he says, cutting off the line of thought as soon as he could, "I must be a heavier sleeper than I thought. I'll head straight there."
"Then come with me," he says, "I'm sure you already have some idea of what this is all about."
"Try not to be so naive," an advisor spoke directly to another within the court as Starry arrived, "Where will they stay? Who will feed them? We don't have the resources to take them all in."
"We don't have the resources?" a younger stallion spoke back, "Look at us. We're at our most prosperous in several generations. You can't seriously sit here in this marble palace, eating exotic fruits and drinking the finest wine, and say that we don't have the resources."
As Starry trotted into the large room, he stopped, and looked at the throne. Not a single member of the royal family was present. "Where's the King?"
The entire panel of advisors stopped talking, and turned to the new arrivals, Prince Silvercoat, and Starry Knight, as they came in. "The commander asked you a question, gentelcolts," the prince says in a rather snarky tone to the panel, "And... of course, gentlemares as well. I do too wonder, where is my father in this most . . . pressing hour?"
"The King was not feeling himself, this morning," another advisor spoke, "And as such, this council has the authority of law, since neither the King nor the Queen are present here."
"Well, I'm here now," the prince says, taking a seat on his father's throne, "So I think that makes me in charge. Starry, brother-to-be, what's your take in this matter?"
The prince hated the entire council. This put me in a tricky spot.
"Well," he says, thinking for a few seconds, "I think that we have some blood on our hooves, here." The council doesn't seem to like that, they immediately begin to protest all at once.
"Quiet." The prince hushes the council as they argue. "I want to hear what our commander has to say."
"I hate to say it, but it's something we've got to address. Last night, we heard a plea for help from an earth pony, who told us that something like this would happen. The king ended the meeting prematurely, and now, we have to deal with the consequences. Our armies would have been more than capable of defending at least one or two towns in the Northern Kingdom. With our aid, we might have been celebrating a victory right now. But instead, they have suffered a terrible defeat, and now they merely seek refuge from their foe. Their towns being destroyed, their brethren being slain . . . we could have stopped that."
"Sir," the oldest advisor turns to face the prince, who was lounging, nonchalant, in the throne, "This hardly the time to let any feelings of guilt cloud our judgment. Yes, we might have won that battle, but how many more after? The war against Discord never ends. We can only protect our own kingdom."
"Well, council-members," the prince says as he gets up, "If we can indeed protect this kingdom, then I don't think that we have any reason to send these northerners away, since to do so would be to send them to their deaths. So you have my ruling on that matter, at the very least. Now, we do have quite a surplus of resources, and oh, yes, our magic. I'm sure that you will have no trouble at all deciding amongst yourselves how we will aide our guests in the times to come."
After speaking, the council didn't retort. The prince got up, and trotted away, Starry Knight following close behind. "So are we going to see what's wrong with your father, then?"
"No," he says, "He's fine, I slipped him a small amount of Wilt Flower Nector before he went to bed."
"And that would be . . . "
"Oh, well, if you drink a lot, it will kill you. But the amount I gave him is simply meant to keep one asleep for extended periods of time."
"Wait, so if you knew he wasn't going to be here, then why did you need me?"
"Two reasons," the prince explains with a cunning smile, "One, because if this all goes awry, I can blame your bad advice, and two, to show you that I have ways of seizing power if I really want to."
Starry Knight stops, and the prince keeps on going through the castle halls. He then decides to let that one go, and turns to leave.
It's true, the prince can be a cunning, two-faced stallion, but at least he tries to do what he thinks is right, as long as he sees it as no threat to himself. The king would have been likely turned the northerners down.
Suddenly, Starry Knight is attacked, being grappled from behind and held tight by the most fearsome thing imaginable. A creature with soft, white fur, and a brilliant peach mane has gotten a hold of him, and now threatens to drain his blood like a vampire as her lips press to his neck. "Mwah. Hi Starry."
"Hello, Crystal." After she squeezes him, she lets go, and Starry turns to face her. A smile comes across his face, and he gets a glimpse of their future together, what she looks like after waking up in the morning, before she's pampered, combed, and only she knows what else. The real her, which is a rare sight for royalty. "You look stunning," he says to her.
I never said she wasn't attractive. I'm just in love with somepony else.
"Oh stop it," she says with a giggle, playfully punching him in the shoulder with her hoof, "I haven't even done my mane yet."
"I mean it," he says back, a moment of sincerity, "You look beautiful. I can only imagine what every morning will be like waking up next to you."
Rather dumbfound by the compliment, she blushes, and leans in to give his cheek a loving peck, her lips pursing and pressing against him. "Thank you," she says with a smile, and then snaps back to the moment, away from that point of love, frozen in time. "Six more days and you will."
"Days?" he says, joking with her, "It's just days now? Yesterday I still had a whole week."
Somepony save me, or else soon I'll have two loves.
Crystal Clear giggles and pushes at him. "Oh stop it," she says, a bit more sincere in her request this time.
"Alright," he says, pulling her into a hug, and kissing her back on the cheek. "Six days, though . . . I hope we can have a proper wedding with all of this craziness going on."
"What craziness?"
He pulls back from her and blinks at her. "Oh right," he says, pressing a hoof to his face, "You just woke up . . . Last night, Discord made his move against the last of the Northern Kingdom. The survivors have come here for refuge."
"Dad agreed to that?" she blinks at him as he starts to continue down the hall.
"No, your brother did," he says as he waves a hoof good-bye, "And he's pinning it on me if anything goes wrong. I've got to help them sort everything out."
"He's a bastard."
"That'd make things a lot easier on me, but as luck would have it, no, he's not a bastard."
"Bye!"
"See you soon."
"I love you," Crystal's last words echo, but never return to her. She sighs and goes back into her room, getting along with her morning affairs.
When Starry goes back into the court, it's flooded with northern ponies, guards, and a council of advisors that didn't know how to deal with them. He lets out a slow, calming breath as he looks at the crowd and enters the room. Before he gets far, an earth pony approached him, Iron Sword.
"Sir," he says, "I heard what you did. Thank you."
If I'm going to take the fall for this, I'm going to take the credit too.
"You're welcome. Just . . . trying to do what's right." The room is a stir of voices and rambling. "Alright, everypony," he says, trying to get attention but fails. His horn lights up, and then a loud, screeching sound is heard through the room, silencing everypony. "Alright!" he says as he clears his throat. "No doubt you are all in a desperate situation, but please stay calm, we're doing everything we can now to help you. Now, the council, and the prince himself will see fit to blame me for any problems that you bring here, so you are all my responsibility. We may have food, and water for you, but as of right now, we don't have shelter, and I'm pretty sure that the civilians of this great kingdom are going to be rather cross if we force them to share. So, here's the plan: Every single pony in this room that is able to work, will work. You'll start by building your own shelter. There's no room inside the city walls, but I assure you, it is just as safe outside, and that's where you will start building. Meanwhile, I will have the city guard look for volunteers to assist you, feed you, and perhaps even offer up a place for you in their home. The only thing that I want from this council," he turns to face the advisors, "is assistance in planning the construction that will take place, and organizing volunteers. I'm sure that you are all hungry and tired. I want to remind the council that the castle food stores are more than sufficient to feed the entire city for a single night, and therefore, there is plenty for you all to eat... at least until you can start producing food on your own, or buying it from local markets. The grounds are also safe, and fairly large, so as long as nopony sleeps in the hallways, you should be able to rest here."
After that, Starry Knight keeps on moving, and leaves the court, going out of the castle and into the city to assemble some of the guard. Iron Sword follows him, and catches up after a short while of pushing through the crowds. "Commander," he says as he gets his attention.
"Yes?" he says, turning to him.
"I don't remember if I got your name."
"Starry Knight, can I help you?"
"Actually, I was about to ask the same thing."
"What, you didn't hear the speech?"
"No, no, I heard. I just want to return the favor somehow."
"Look," Starry says as they walk out into the castle grounds, "I know you think it's a big deal, but it really isn't. Trust me on this, the best way you can help me is to forget about it."
Iron Sword stops as Starry keeps on going. "Umm, okay, sure. Whatever you say, mister. I owe you one though . . . any time!"
"The topic, gentlecolts, is Discord," an armor clad pony says from his seat at a large, round table. He is a light gray alicorn, with a series of scars over his left eye, and he is much more highly decorated than Starry Knight, who sits a few seats away in a chair of less importance. "How do we kill him?"
Everyone sits in silence. Nopony can think of anything.
"I hate to disappoint, General." Silvercoat speaks up. "But we don't know. Nopony knows."
"Our weapons cannot cut him; no physical force can hurt him," another officer says in response, "Magic seems to be the only option."
"Haven't we tried to use our magic against him already?" the prince replies.
"Yes, but maybe it just wasn't enough."
"I know who might be powerful enough to stop him," a third officer says.
"Who?" the general asks him.
"Harmony."
Starry Knight rolls his eyes at the notion, and the reaction of all of the other officers doesn't seem very enthusiastic either.
"Get real," the prince says, chiming in again, "Harmony hasn't been around in hundreds of years." After he speaks, he gets up from the table and heads toward the door. "If you'll excuse me gentlecolts, but this is just a waste of time."
"We have the Sunraisers," Starry says, "It's a stretch, but they fight Discord's power with their magic every day, and the Moonbringer's every night. It might be a good place to start."
After nopony else says anything, the General rolls his eyes and gets up. "Fine," he says, "Go talk to the pansies and see if they're any help. Everypony else start recruiting extra soldiers, we need to strengthen our defenses in case Discord does come here."
As everypony leaves, Starry glances at the middle of the table. At its center is a single, large sword sheathed within its oaken construction. The sword's hilt is bright white, like marble, and embedded with gold-set, bright pink jewel, formed in the shape of a heart. There is an engraving on the silvery blade, though the letters are indiscernible.
A forgotten weapon. It was once wielded by a righteous king. The old engravings read "The Greatest Weapon." I only know about it because my father told me, and my father's father told him.
"Ahh, Starry," the voice of an older pony speaks as Starry Knight walks into a large, marble room. The room is adorned with great columns and in the center lies a marble statue of an alicorn. "It's been too long."
"Sir Daycaster," Starry says as he trots up to a marble altar before the statue. The alicorn that stood there was tall and white with bright, yellow eyes and a pale yellow mane.
Daycaster isn't his real name, but nopony calls him by his real name anymore—not his friends, not himself, not his mother; nopony—He is one of the Sunraisers, a society of very powerful alicorns responsible for managing the sun for ages and ages.
"I don't suppose you've come to make amends with the Paragons."
"You know me," Starry says as he eyes the statue, wearily staring at it out of the corner of his eye as he turns towards the other pony, "I've never been one for religion."
The Paragons—the great guardians. There's hundreds of stories about them, but the last Paragon disappeared hundreds of years ago and nopony's seen one since. The Paragon of Magic is who made the alicorns powerful, and the one who taught us how to take control of nature against Discord.
"Harmony and Prosperity are still with us, with the kingdom. But if you didn't come here for that, then why are you here?"
"You were my mentor for a very long time," Starry responds, "And being a Sunraiser, you have experience fighting against Discord's magic, personally."
"So what is it that you're asking of me?"
"Do you think he can really be defeated? Is there any hope for us to take the battle to him?"
"You come here looking for hope, but you have no faith. So for you, there is none."
"I hate it when you talk like that. Just tell me: What would it take?"
"Discord is said to be our kingdom's worst enemy, because he is the opposite of all of our values."
"Yea, I get it, discord is the opposite of harmony. But you have to be honest about us. We don't exactly exemplify our virtues."
"Discord is not the opposite of harmony, Starry. Discord is what happens when you take the principles of harmony, and twist them, and corrupt them the way that this kingdom has done. Discord himself may not reign over us, but we are certainly a kingdom in discord."
"Okay, but do we stand a chance? Can we fight Discord?"
"Think, Starry. How do we fight the discord that plagues our kingdom?"
Starry sighs, and rolls his eyes. "I suppose we would start by breaking the essence of harmony down into its basic elements, whatever those might be. But I don't see how—"
"What makes a kingdom harmonious?" Daycaster interrupts him.
"Well, magic's pretty helpful. We got that part down."
"Good. What else?"
"We sure could use a figurehead that we could actually look up to. A good king, for once."
"Then what makes a good king?"
"They'd have to be kind and generous. A royal family that isn't stabbing each other in the back would be helpful . . . And it'd also help if they were honest with their people. So, can you tell me if we can fight Discord now?"
"Don't think of Discord as some powerful, maniacal monster. Think of him as simply discord. A small problem creating bigger problems. Start by rooting out the smaller problems. If we can't deal with the discord in our own kingdom, then what hope do we have of fighting the one and only Discord?"
"So you don't think it's possible?"
"I didn't say that."
"Then what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that if our kingdom returns to harmony, maybe Harmony will return to us."
With a sigh, Starry turned and left the room. Behind him, Daycaster simply shook his head and turned to go the other way.
After leaving, Starry flies from the temple and through the city. He lands in some obscure area and trots to another, staying out of sight as much as possible. Finally, he comes to a secret place where he waits for his lover to meet him again. "Moonlight," he says as he trots toward her to give her a gentle kiss to the lips. "Things are crazy."
"I know," she says as she pulls the hood of her cloak down. "It won't change your plans will it?"
"I wouldn't miss you for the world."
With a blush, the dark mare leans in to kiss him back, and they trot into the dark where they enjoy the night with each other, and split as soon as the sun rises. And Starry never goes home to sleep.
Chapter 3: Strings
The slow whine of fifty sets of strings builds up in the large hall, the noise softly flowing around the room in gentle symphony. Just after the violins start, the chimes of a piano enter in. A crowd of finely dressed ponies sit and listen to the serenade of music—Beethoofen's. Among the crowd is Starry Knight, watching with a smile. One of those playing is Moonlight Serenade, on a violin. She smiles as she sees him, and then focuses up on her part again, adding to the sweet melody.
Moonlight loves music. She loves it just as much as Starry Knight. Her cutie mark is a bright, full moon with a treble clef and a series of small musical notes. The performance goes on for another fourteen minutes, and then the band all exits after a short applause of hooves stamping the ground. Starry makes his exit while the rest of the crowd stays for the next band to take the stage.
"I'm glad you could make it." Moonlight and Starry meet by the back entrance, and casually walk away from the crowd of musicians and stagehooves that don't seem to turn a second glance.
"You really shouldn't doubt me so much," Starry says.
"I would understand though. You've been busy. Things are happening."
"'Things' makes it sound so simple."
"Well it's true."
"So today . . . the King is lazy. The princess is spending the day out in Smallsaddle. The prince is spending the day at the barracks, calling for extra training from the troops. The Queen will spend all day inside the palace as usual."
"What about your friend?"
"Which one?"
"Umm... something Arrow or Arrows. The one who has a crush on me."
"Oh, right. Copper Arrow. He's at archery practice."
"So you're totally free?"
"Indeed I am." Starry nods to her, a smile across his face. "So where would you like to go?"
After giving an excited trot, Moonlight responds, and they trot forth towards a new destination. Later, the couple sit in a crowded theater, much larger than the one from before.
"I don't understand how you still want more of places like this when you already spend so much time in one," Starry says, very quietly as to not disturb those around him.
"Hush," Moonlight says as she watches the actors on stage.
Starry nods and shuts himself up, watching the comedy with mild interest.
As Moonlight lets out a slight laugh, along with the crowd at one of the jokes, Starry takes a brief look around and catches a glimpse of the King, sitting up on a balcony. He quickly turns around and nudges Moonlight. "Hey, don't look now, but the King is here."
"What?" Moonlight whispers back. A few ponies that heard Starry immediately begin looking around.
"Shush—don't make a scene, I'm going to make a casual exit. I'll see you out back."
"Okay . . . " Moonlight nods, and continues to watch the play.
As Starry gets up to leave, he looks back at the king, and notices a strange, older mare leaning to him and whispering something into his ear, or perhaps it was a kiss. The King happened to notice the glance that he got from the soon-to-be prince, though Starry doesn't see it. Starry heads out without thinking any further on the matter, and waits out back. Soon, he is rejoined by his lover, and they trots away, onto the next spot.
"I think I saw somepony with him."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Moonlight says.
"I think she kissed him. Kind of ironic, isn't it?"
"Can we stop talking about the King, Starry?"
Starry blinks, stopping in his place, and for a second he forgets why the topic strikes a chord with the mare. He is quickly reminded, however, and nods to her. "Right, I forgot. The sun will be setting soon. Any last places you want to visit?"
Moonlight seems lost in her thoughts for a moment, and shakes her head. "No, it's been wonderful."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Starry doesn't question it, against his better judgment. "Okay," he says, "The wedding is coming up."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"I think we ought to."
"What?" Moonlight's good mood has clearly expired.
"It's right around the corner. I won't be able to spend as much time with you."
Moonlight sighs and stops. She turns to him, and says, "Maybe you shouldn't."
"Shouldn't . . . spend time with you?" The notion leaves Starry a little confused.
"You're going to be a lot busier, and I would just be getting in the way."
Starry pulls her into a hug and nuzzles her neck. "Don't say that," he says, a hint of fear in his voice, "I love you, Moonlight."
"I don't want you to become like him."
Starry nods to her. "I know, he didn't love your mother, though. You know that."
"But it's the same."
"I promise it won't be."
"You can't make that promise."
Starry doesn't respond.
"Maybe it would be for the best if we never saw each other again." Moonlight pulls away from him, her eyes welling up a bit. She tries to hide it. After a few more moments of silence, Moonlight continues. "Why didn't you say no to her? It would have been so much better."
"She's the princess."
"We're free ponies you know."
"Our relationship has always been a secret. From Steel Arrows, from my commanding officers, and now from the royal family. This doesn't have to change anything."
"Can you really say that it wouldn't have been better though?"
Starry thinks hard for a moment, and then shakes his head. "Looking back. No. But I can't change the past. My path is set in stone. I will become king."
"So you get everything you want, then, don't you?"
"Not everything . . . " Starry says. Moonlight begins to leave, and Starry sighs. He hesitates to follow her, and instead says, "Good-bye. I promise we will see each other again."
No response. Starry leaves, flying off into the sky and finding a place to sit on the wall and watch the sun set, and the moon rise.
The next day, Starry awakes in his own home to a knocking on his chamber door. "Commander," he hears, as some unknown officer tries to awaken him.
"What?" Starry says as he opens the door, looking out and seeing that the sun is only just rising. He didn't sleep well.
"You've been summoned by the council. There's a commotion among the new citizens. They say it's an emergency."
"That all?"
"Yes—"
Starry promptly closes the door before the soldier can finish his sentence, and collects some of his gear. He arms himself, and then opens the door again and leaves.
He lands outside of the city walls and looks around. There's already a nice little town springing up, made up of wooden buildings. He trots over to the council and the large crowd of ponies around them. "Starry!" One of the advisors addresses him, flustered. "Thank the paragons you've arrived."
"What's the problem?"
"The new arrivals don't think they're being treated fairly."
Starry rolls his eyes. "What did you do?"
"Nothing."
Starry sighs and turns to address the crowd. He conjures up another screech with his magic to get attention and then clears his throat. "What's the problem, here?"
"They're trying to put a curfew on us!" One of the earth ponies begins to complain, and a dozen others chime in afterwards.
"Quiet!" Starry shouts over the crowd, and then turns to the advisors. "Your side of the story?"
One of the younger advisors speaks out. "A few among them have become thieves, we're only trying to bring in some added security."
"It was you alicorns stealing from us!" A pegasus says, shouting out from the crowd.
"Okay, calm down," Starry Knight says and then yawns. "It sounds like we have nothing more than a common thief on our hooves. If you all would like to, we can solve this problem today by having the guard search through everypony's home and personal belongings. And whoever has the stolen articles is the thief. But if nopony has any stolen articles, then we can assume your theory is correct, and an alicorn is the thief. Either way, they will be brought to justice."
"Justice?" Another Earth pony speaks up. "We've been fighting Discord for hundreds of years while you sat by and did nothing. We lost, and had to flee, and now we live in squalor! Don't talk to us about justice. When we find the thief, we want his head!" The crowd grows angry again.
"And what if the thief is among your own?" Starry asks.
"We'll kill him all the same!"
"What if it's multiple thieves?"
"Death!"
"What if it's a starving mare?"
The crowd goes silent.
"Better yet, what if it's a little colt or filly? Or a group of them? Will you still put their heads on a pike?"
No response.
"Well? Who will be the one to hold them down? Who will bring an axe to their throats?"
Still nothing. The crowd is completely silent.
"This kingdom isn't perfect, but we do believe in mercy. And we also believe that the punishment should fit the crime. The day that doesn't hold true, I'll be gone from here. Don't worry about the thieves, my stallions will handle it. But leave law and order to the guard. Now get back to building yourselves up, and maybe there won't be a need for the thieves to steal."
Starry leaves the crowd as they all disperse, and trots back towards the inner city. As he does, Iron Sword approaches him again. "Sir!" he shouts after him.
Starry stops and turns to face the pony. "You again. What do you want?"
"I want to join the guard."
"I'm a little high up to be recruiting ponies."
"I still owe you, sir. I want to join your ranks."
Starry thinks for a moment, and then nods. "Alright, since you're so eager. Report to the barracks for training tomorrow at dawn."
"With all due respect sir, I'm already quite skilled."
"Barracks," Starry says as he continues trotting away, "Dawn."
Iron Sword nods and leaves in the other direction.
That night, Starry goes to the secret meeting spot where he and Moonlight meet up. HE waits, but she never shows up.
I waited for Moonlight every day until the end of the week. I never saw her. A part of me likes to think that she was sitting, hidden somewhere atop a building or behind a wall, watching me.
Chapter 4: Love
The great hall of the castle is filled with rows of ponies. The room is decorated with white, pink, and royal purple flowers and linen. The center aisle has a long, white carpet rolled out; on one end of it lies a decorated white archway, and an altar. Hidden behind the archway is the throne. Every member of the crowd is in uniform, or some fanciful attire. A small orchestra of trumpets, violins, and an organ are off in the side, and their music runs through chamber. In a spot before the archway sits Starry Knight, wearing his decorated uniform. To his side are lined Copper Arrows, followed by a few others. On the other side is Crystal Clear's friends, each in identical, artful attire. In the front row, on the side of Crystal's family, are seated the Queen, the Prince, and some other, lesser nobles, followed by friends in the rows going back. On Starry's side, an older alicorn wearing a decorated uniform of his own, and beside him, only friends.
I realize you haven't met my family yet. Unfortunately, there's not much of it left. I was an only foal, and my mother passed away some time ago. My father, sitting next to family friends, served in the military before. He retired as a commander, and now lives in Castelle, a town on the northern border of the kingdom.
At the other end of the hall, through the large, castle doors, Crystal Clear trots through, wearing a luxurious gold-trimmed wedding dress, accompanied by her father on one side. They make their way slowly down the aisle to the altar, and the King leaves his daughter to go and sit with the Queen. Starry smiles as he sees his bride, and Crystal returns the smile.
The music stops.
"The power of love is great," Sir Daycaster says as he approaches the altar, and stands in the arch behind the couple. "Love drives all creatures to do both terrible evil, and boundless good. It is though, more importantly, the bond that holds us all together. Today, we cherish and celebrate that love. Sir Starry Knight, take you this oath of love: that you will always and forever take our dearest princess, Crystal Clear, as your one true companion in love as long as you may live, before witness of the paragons?"
The longer version of this oath is never used anymore, and comes from ancient times, before the Alicorn Kingdom.
"I swear it," Starry Knight says.
"And do you, princess Crystal Clear take this oath: that you will always and forever take Sir Starry Knight, as your one true companion in love as long as you may live, before the witness of the paragons?"
"Yes, I swear," Crystal says, excitement in her voice.
"Then by the authority of the paragons, may you both be bound by your oath in the name of Love. Now go on and give us a kiss." The Sunraiser steps down and takes a seat with the crowd.
As Daycaster sits, Starry and Crystal share a passionate kiss, and the crowd gives a cheer. Soon after, the King rises and makes his way over. Some helping hooves move the altar and the archway aside, revealing the throne that was behind them. The kiss ends just as the King takes his spot, and draws a ceremonial sword. Crystal Clear takes a half step back as Starry takes a bow before the king.
"Sir Starry Knight," the King says, "Declare to us the Alicorn Oath." After a brief pause and facehoof from a few members of the royal family, the King corrects himself. "I apologize. Declare the Alicorn Creed."
Starry, with a smirk, nods and speaks. "By the might of our magic and the kinship of our fellow alicorns, we shall protect and serve the kingdom, and the royal family."
. . . and when I'm King, that's the first thing to go. I really hate saying that now.
King Iron Scepter taps the end of the sword to Starry's shoulders, and then sheaths the weapons again. "I pronounce you Prince Starry Knight. Rise." Starry Knight gets back up. "Welcome to the family," the King then says as he signals for helpers from before to start rearranging the room, preparing for the soon-to-come celebration.
Starry Knight goes back to give his new wife a long hug, and another deep kiss.
As the sun rises the next morning, Starry slowly awakens. The day before was like a dream. Giving out a yawn as he stirs, he stretches one hoof and touches at Crystal—his new wife—on the other side of the bed, and starts to come back to reality. A soft murmur comes from the mare as he does, and he slowly draws his hoof back, so as not to cause her to wake. He next tries to slip free from the covers and out of the bed, but is soon interrupted by the waking mare.
"Good morning, handsome," she says, and then lets out a yawn of her own, waking up.
He stops trying to get out of bed, and rests with her for the moment. His hoof moves back to her, and wraps over her side as he smiles and hugs her close. "Mornin'."
She giggles as his hoof moves around her, and kisses it softly before turning around to face him with a smile. "Fun night?"
"Yea," he says, "I may not be remembering this right, but did your brother make out with your best friend?"
"Yes," she says with a smile, another slight laugh moving out, "He drinks more than my father sometimes. But, that's not what I was talking about, my sweet prince."
"It isn't?" he says, a bit confused. When he comes back to his senses and realizes what she's talking about, he blushed. "Oh—oh, 'last night' he says. Yea, last night was nice."
Crystal laughs at him, and pulls him into a kiss. She then turns and gets off of the bed, stretching out her legs and wings before moving to her wardrobe. Starry soon follows, getting himself up and stretching in suite. "So what do you want to do today?" she asks him.
"Today?"
"Yeah, it's our honeymoon . . . technically."
He trots over to her and kisses her cheek. "Today I have to get to the refugee town, and oversee things."
"Aw, but what about us?"
"There will be plenty of time for us," he says, "But right now, the refugees have a problem with thieves."
"Thieves, huh? Likely story."
"True story. I'll see you later, tonight if not today. After all, we're in the same bed now."
She shoves at him playfully. "Nuh-uh," she says, "If you're going to be up all night doing guardpony things, don't you wake me up trying to get into bed. You can sleep with the thieves, then."
"I'll steal some flowers for you," he jokes back as he grabs his gear and heads for the door.
"Starry, wait," she says, trotting after him to give him another kiss before he leaves, "I love you. Bye."
"You too," he says and gives her a peck on the lips in return, "Bye." He leaves after that, and she returns to getting ready.
"Mi'lord," a guard says as he enters the prince's chambers, "We found him." Another guardpony throws a pegasus pony into the room. Both sets of his hooves are bound, as well as his wings.
"Thank you," Silvercoat says as he straightens up his dress shirt, and turns to the pony on the ground, "And the things he took?"
Another guardpony walks in and sets down a bag full of various trinkets and valuables. Stolen things from the refugee camp.
"Good," the prince says, "Now speak of this to nopony. You've done excellent work, and I'll see to it that you're rewarded handsomely when I take my rightful place on the throne. Now leave us."
"Yes sir. Thank you, mi'lord." The three guardponies leave without another word, and the last one out closes the door.
"Now," the prince says to the bound pony, who looks up at him with a mixture of fear and curiosity, "Tell me, what is your name?"
"No."
"Well this isn't getting anywhere fast, now, is it? If I don't have something to call you by, then how are we going to make this work?"
After remaining silent for a few seconds, the pony speaks. "I go by Sly."
"Sly, then. Tell me . . . what is it you were planning to do with all of these things?"
"Sell them. Or use them."
"Practical," the prince responds. He trots slowly around to the pegasus on the floor. "How is it that you went on so long without getting caught?"
"I only lasted a few days, you know that."
Silvercoat raises a brow. "Is that so?" He then takes the bag and empties it. More than trinkets and practical items fall out—more than to be expected from a camp of refugees: polished, decorated silverware, perfectly clean and polished gold and silver trinkets, jeweled objects. "Are you aware of how long we've known these were missing from our castle?"
The tone changes quickly. 'Sly' goes silent, and blank-faced for another moment. "How did you find those?" he asks.
"You have your methods. I have mine."
"Are you going to kill me?"
"Kill you? Oh no no no no no. Your skills are far too valuable to de disposed of. Where did you learn to steal like you do?"
"Nowhere!"
"Oh come now, Sly. I promise, this will be just between you and me."
Silence.
"You're kind of small for a northern pony, aren't you?" the prince changes directions in his questioning, "Where are you from Sly?"
"Not the north."
"Where then?"
"The east."
"The east? Don't lie to me. There's nothing but desert for miles and miles out there."
"Exactly. Discord wouldn't look for us in a place he meant to be so unbearable."
"I see. It sounds like you hail from a smart group of ponies. What prompted your move to the Northern Kingdom, then?"
"Nothing."
Silvercoat turns toward him again. With his magic, he fidgets with a decorative knife, prodding a wooden table on his side of the room. After a moment of silence, he speaks. "You know. I'm really starting to lose my patience. That's something to be proud of, Sly—making me lose my patience. I'm a very patient stallion." The knife moves over to Sly, and comes within an inch of his eye. Sly reels back. "I've kept my patience for a very long time now—waiting for the poison I've been slipping my father to kill him; waiting for my mother to grow weary enough with him to finish the job, so that I could pin the whole thing her when it happened. But now something has happened while I've been waiting all of this time. I have use of your skills, Sly. But I need a background check before I can employ you." He gets up and moves in close to the petrified pegasus, and leans close to him to speak. "So are you interested in the position, or not?" Silvercoat pulls the knife back, and cuts away the bindings on each set of Sly's hooves.
Once free, Sly sits up, and looks at Silvercoat fearfully. "I'm interested."
The refugee camp is quickly starting to look like a real town. Starry trots through it, glancing over at an old oak tree and smiling as a memory of Moonlight floods his thoughts. It's the same tree that he had awoken under the day the northerners arrived. He quickly snaps back to reality, and continues trotting towards the town's center, to a small tent set up for the advisors to do their job in planning the distribution of labor and resources.
"Any new robberies last night?" he asks the council when he gets there.
"Just one," an older advisor speaks as he writes some things.
"Report?"
"Someone saw the tail of the thief as he—or she escaped through their window. The thief must have gotten spooked, because he didn't steal anything."
"That's good news."
"Howso?" the advisor asks.
"What color was it?"
"Solid black. But it was also dark, so it could have been any dark shade."
"Rats."
"Terrifying isn't it," the pony's tone was very droll and uninterested as he spoke, "I can't even remember a time when one pony got away with something for so long. I'll bet he's a professional of some sort."
"That would make sense. Let's hope not. Any other news."
"None."
"Really?" Starry questions. He looks around, "Aren't you a few ponies short?"
"Technically, no. Feather Quill and Sanskrit quit."
"Who? Or—why?"
"Why? Probably because nopony important ever bothered to remember their names." The advisor kept on writing, and looking through scrolls and papers.
"Oh, sorry." After an awkward silence, Starry finally asks, "What was—"
"Senex . . . "
"Isn't that Greek for—"
"Yes."
Starry makes an awkward click with his tongue and nods. "Destiny, huh?"
"We can't all be king when we grow up."
Feeling nothing but awkward in the conversation, Starry nods and heads off, trotting back to the city, and wandering around for a bit. A part of him searches for Moonlight, while another part of him tries to decide if he shouldn't. Eventually, he settles to wait outside the back of the theater where she played. An hour of waiting passes before she shows up, trotting up slowly as she sees him.
"What are you doing here?" she asks as she approaches him while he isn't looking.
"Moonlight!" he says, rushing to hug her. She doesn't hug back. "Something wrong?"
"No," she lies, "Nothing's wrong. I need to practice."
"I promised you that I wouldn't let this change how I felt for you."
"Yes, that you did." She wiggles free of his embrace, and heads for the door.
"That's it?"
"What's it?"
"This," he says, "I came here to see you? What's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?"
"What's wrong?" she repeats the question, rolling her eyes. "You got married. That's what's wrong." Frustrated, she opens the door and trots in.
"I'm sorry," he pleads to the wind as the door slams shut behind her. "I'm sorry..."
As the sun sets, and night falls on the kingdom, Silvercoat and Sly finish their conversation. "So," Sly says finally, "All I have to do is follow this colt, Starry, and report back to you anything suspicious."
"No," Silvercoat says, "I want you to report back his every move, and the time he makes it. I want to know everything."
"Gotcha. And in return?"
"In return, you'll have so many riches that there won't even be an appeal to stealing. You'll be the chief spy in my kingdom."
"Right."
"Will you need anything?"
"No."
"When can you start?"
"Immediately."
"Well then. I bid you the best of luck, Sly. It's been a pleasure doing business with you. When can I expect you—" as Silvercoat turns around to face Sly again, and finds him missing. The pegasus had already left. "I like this one."
"How long have they been here, again?" asks Crystal Clear as she trots alongside her husband.
"Only four weeks now." It had been three weeks since the couple was wed.
"They sure build fast for being mostly non-magical ponies."
"I know," Starry says, "It's amazing. They've left me with almost no work to do." They were wearing some rather eloquent outfits. He wore a suite, no ranking symbols or merits of status. He was becoming more well-known, and his place as prince spoke for itself. She wore a sparkling silver dress, with a white, fuzzy trim.
"Ever been to a concert before?" she asks.
"Yes," Starry admits, "It's been too long though."
"Well I hope you enjoy it. I know I will."
The couple arrive at the theater before the first part of the performance. They sit in a balcony seating—a royal treatment with a personal waiter and plush seats. The band quickly files in as the lights go out. Among them is Moonlight, now playing the lead violin.
I knew she would be there. But I didn't try to talk Crystal out of it, because I didn't want a hint of suspicion, especially not for something that was . . . over.
As the music began playing, a rather sad melody came up at a point. It was gone within a few moments. Starry took notice of Moonlight the whole time, and nopony else. She saw her in his seat of power.
Earlier that day, Crystal happened to be trotting past her brother's door when she had heard an unfamiliar voice on the other side. She went in, and saw only Silvercoat.
"Other than spending a lot of the day doing nothing important, Starry's not a hoof out of line," she swore she heard.
"Who was that?" she asked.
"Are you imagining things again?" Silvercoat asked. This had not been the first time.
"Don't lie to me. I heard Starry's name."
"Did you?"
"Please. Whatever it is. I beg of you, stop it. I know you may not like it, but he's my husband. I love him."
"No harsh words? My sister, you seem awfully calm for this time of the month."
She stopped speaking, and stayed silent for a moment. "Just . . . look. I know you never liked mom and dad, neither have I. I know you've spied on them before, but I know you love me. Please, for me—"
Silvercoat shook his head. "Alright, alright. Fine. I'll make a deal with you." It was clear she knew his secrets for certain. "Promise me you won't tell him. And I'll call off the spy."
"I promise," she said and then left, her nerves were about her.
In the rafters above the curtains, Sly kept watch, his eyes watching Starry.
"Normally," Sly said after climbing back into the room from outside of the window, "I can tell when somepony is lying. But with you—"
"It was a lie. Don't act like you couldn't tell."
"I was going to say that I'd better be sure."
"We need to meet in secret from now on. We'll come up with meeting places through written letters."
"I can work with that." Sly was then gone.
As Moonlight takes notice of Starry in the theater, she looks at him longingly. As she does, Crystal leans in to whisper into his ear.
"I'm pregnant."
The words draw Starry's attention for a brief moment. He looks at her with love—confused love, but love none-the-less. He soon responds with a short-lived kiss, forgetting all about Moonlight for that moment in time.
When she sees the kiss, Moonlight turns her head down, and for a few seconds, tears build in her eyes, and a single drop falls to the ground while she plays more perfectly than she had ever before a String Quartet.
Starry's eyes linger on his wife too long to see it. But Crystal notices as she looks back at the stage. "Look at her," she says.
"Which one?" he asks.
"The dark one. I swear I saw her cry for a moment."
"Poor mare . . ."
"I wonder why. Maybe she has some lost love. The way she stares at the ground, I imagine he's in the audience."
"That . . . is some imagination you've got." Starry sighs and fights back his own tears before they surface.
"You getting all sensitive on me?" Crystal smiles at him sincerely, and then turns again to watch the show go on. "You can almost feel her emotions by the way she plays."
Starry nods and watches, eyes on Moonlight the entire time. Not another word is spoken during the performance.
Chapter 5: Lies
It has been one year today since the refugees arrived from the Northern Kingdom. Now, their camp is a small town of stone and wooden structures. The refugees have begun to integrate into the society playing host to them. Some have taken up jobs and homes within the walls, and alicorns have begun to trade outside of the walls as well. A couple more strings of burglary came and went as the days passed. The days were growing shorter now, and the winter solstice was coming. The winter solstice was hardly noteworthy in the Alicorn Kingdom however, where they controlled the sun and the moon. During the winter solstice, the day is a mere hour shorter than the night.
Two weeks ago, Starry Knight and Crystal Clear's daughter was born. There was a short-lived celebration, and life went on. Starry Knight became more devoted to his wife during that time, but not a day had gone by where he didn't at least think of Moonlight. His mind is often wrapped up in fantasies, and it wears on him day by day. For the whole eleven months, he never acted suspiciously. He never put a hoof out of line far enough for Sly to catch him, or for the prince to condemn him. Silvercoat has grown impatient waiting for Starry to trip up, and he has begun to think of ways to accelerate his brother-in-law's demise.
Moonlight never went a day without thinking about Starry. Their apparent break-up saddened her more deeply than she was willing to admit, and she thinks to blame herself for it. Truthfully, she believed it was for Starry's own good, and for the kingdom's, but she wishes now to take it back. Her performance picks up, and she joins a more popular orchestra. Her career has been put on a fast-track. The king grows older. He meets with more mares, and the poison being slowly served to him by his own flesh-and-blood starts taking its toll.
Iron Sword and Copper Arrows have become better friends. Copper is now a captain of the guard, and Iron Sword serves as his lieutenant. The general has passed away now, of old age. The mission to go after Discord was forfeited with his life. The stage is almost set.
"I'm going out today," Starry says as he dresses himself one morning.
"Where to?" Crystal asks as she nuzzles their foal.
"Oh, everywhere," he says, trying to hide his intentions, "I've got some errands to run." He trots over to his wife and gives her a kiss on the cheek. The romantic high from their wedding has left, and they've settled into a normal life—as normal as can be for them.
"Okay," Crystal says with a smile, leaning in to kiss him back, just once, returning the peck. She didn't suspect anything of him. "See you when you return."
"I may not be returning until tomorrow," he admits to her.
"Why?"
"I'm going to be checking on some other towns near the border."
"Oh? What's going on?"
"Nothing," he says, "It's just a routine thing. We ought to keep everypony on the tips of their hooves is all, just in case. We can't forget that this is now the last kingdom left standing."
"Right..."
"Good-bye," Starry says as he leaves the room.
Out on the street, Starry browses the various theaters in the city. Some small, some large. He hasn't seen Moonlight in so long. He goes by her old performing center first, but quickly finds out that she's moved on from them. A deep feeling of regret rises in him. He should have done this sooner. He thinks that she could have easily gone off to another town by now. He couldn't blame her if she didn't want to see him. Just as he nearly gives up, he spots her.
As Moonlight walks up to a theater near the city's central plaza, another alicorn stops her to talk. Starry catches this little interaction and gives the other stallion a good look over.
I've never seen this colt before. I can't help but feel jealous.
She waves the stallion off after a few moments, and nothing much seems to be going on between the two. Starry decides to make his move. He trots up from the other side of the street as she heads toward the front door. He meets her inside.
"Moonlight," he says.
She hesitates. It's as if she were hearing a ghost. She has often heard Starry's voice in some romantic hopefulness, but it has always been just that: a voice in her head—nothing more than memories and dreams. This time, he was real. It takes her a moment to process this thought, and for the moment, she remains quiet.
Starry moves up to her and gives her a hug. She hugs back, still uncertain. "It's been so long," he says.
"Starry..." she says, still in disbelief, "I thought I'd never see you again." The hug breaks soon after. A couple passer-bys pay no extra attention to them. It seems of nothing suspicious to them, merely old friends meeting up for the first time in a long time.
"Me neither," he says.
"You didn't try to talk to me again. I thought you were done with me."
"No," he says, shaking his head, "I wouldn't cast you aside so quickly."
"Then why so long?"
"Crystal got pregnant. I had obligations to her."
"Really? How many months?" Moonlight seems to spark to life. She somehow forgets about the hurt, and is only happy to be catching up.
"It's a filly. Came out two weeks ago today," he says with a smile.
"Oh," she says, and then sighs, realizing that this very nearly confirms that they will never again be with each other. "I've missed you."
Starry hugs her again. "I've missed you too," he says, "Haven't you moved on though?"
She shakes her head as she leans into him. "I couldn't..."
"After all that?" he asks, breaking the hug.
"I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" he says, pulling back a little, "What do you mean? You were right, you know."
She shakes her head in response. "I want to see you again..."
"I do too," he confesses, "But, we both know it wouldn't work out well."
"Why not?"
"I'm married, with a foal, and I'm going to be king soon. All eyes will be on me."
"We could make it work."
"How?" Interested in hearing her out, he can't help his primal desires for love.
"If you're married, and I have somepony of my own. There would be a lot less suspicion."
"Who might you have in mind?"
"Your friend Copper Arrows has a crush on me still. I see him every now and then at my shows, and he tries to buy me a drink on occasion."
"Poor fellow . . . Will that really work, though?"
"Yes, as long as we're both careful."
He thinks it's stupid idea, but in this love-struck state, he doesn't care. "Okay," he says, "I'll send him to you. Do you have a show tonight?"
"Yes."
"Go to your usual tavern after the show tonight. I'll make sure he's there."
"How?"
"I'll tell him I talked you into giving him a chance."
She giggles a little bit at the plan. "This is so cruel to him, though."
"I know. But as long as he doesn't know the truth, he'll be happy, and thinking that he's getting what he always wanted."
"That's a terrible way to justify it," she says, "You're terrible. I hope they see that and make somepony else king."
He shoves at her playfully, and rolls his eyes, turning to go. "And tonight, after your date with him, I'll meet you here." As he turns his head back to watch his trots, he bumps into somepony who had been watching and listening.
"Oh sorry, I didn't see you there."
"My prince, how bold of you."
Starry glances back at Moonlight as she trots into the back of the theater. "Listen," he says, realizing that this pony was no fool, "I think we can work this out."
The pony rolls his eyes and holds out a hoof, as if expecting something valuable.
Starry sighs and forks over a few gold coins. "Happy?"
"Yes," the alicorn says and trots onward.
Starry Knight leaves then, in a bit of a hurry, just in case. Little does he know that his tail was still with him. Sly watches from a rooftop on the opposite side of the street. He sees the prince in a rush, and decides to investigate.
He flies from rooftop to rooftop, landing on the theater and finds a door going down. He makes his way through the building to the instrument room, and grabs a spare violin before heading off and wandering through the building, pretending to go somewhere, and listening as he trots.
"Did you see Moonlight talking to prince Starry?" he overhears after wandering for a bit. Sly stops and joins the conversation. "The prince?" he asks for clarification.
"Yeah, prince Starry Knight. Crystal's husband."
"No wonder Moonlight is lead violin. She has friends in high places," the other pony says.
Sly nods them off and trots on, pretending to lose interest in the conversation. His jet black mane and tail were shiny, and a texture that appeared akin to alicorns. This made those he met overlook his lack of a horn at first glance, and so for a short while, he could fit right into a conversation. His coat was a sandy color, but he was mostly concealed with a dark brown cloak. The color of his coat was not akin to the Northerners, or to the alicorns, and it made him stick out in some places.
As he wanders through the building some more, he notices another pony swapping a couple gold coins for silver with a money handler at a bar in the theater lobby. He casually sweeps up to the bar and requests a drink. "Anything with Vodka." A northern drink, traditionally. He counts on the alicorns to not know enough about the northerners to tell him apart from them. "Say," he says to the alicorn with the coins, "Did you see the prince in here?"
"Maybe I did," he says with a smirk, thinking he could get more money from the stranger.
"Oh, sounds interesting. A bribe?"
"I can't say," he simply says and takes a drink for himself, requesting his usual from the money handler: a spiced rum on the rocks.
"Oh come now," he says, "You can tell me. We play together, no?"
"I suppose we do," the pony responds, noting Sly's violin, "But unless there's something in it for me . . ."
"Maybe, which part do you play?"
"6th seat," the strange pony says, taking a drink. "I'm actually new as of today."
"No kidding?"
"Yes. I'm looking forward to your company."
"I should probably be going. I need to catch up with somepony before the show. What was your name?" Sly asks.
"Eight Strings. Yours?"
"Treble Clef. So long." Sly finishes his drink and leaves quickly.
Silvercoat heads down the castle hall towards the front doors when one of his trusted guards meets him, and delivers a letter. He opens it, and thanks the guard before dismissing him.
"Eight Strings. Plaza Theater, central. Need to interrogate. Bring him in," is all that is written on the paper.
"You there." Silvercoat calls back to his guard. The stallion turns around and goes back up to him. Silvercoat gives the letter to the guard and says, "Tell nopony."
The guard looks at the message and nods, stuffing it into his uniform and heading off.
Sly gives the unfortunate stallion a slap to the face. He sits there, hog tied and gagged, wings bound, and horn broken off. "This can be very simple, or very difficult," Sly says as he plays with a sharp looking dagger, "If you tell me what I need to know, I will be merciful. But if you don't, then I will not be." Sly takes the gag out of the pony's mouth. "Did you see Starry Knight at the theater?"
"Yes," the stallion nods, panicked.
"Who was he talking to?"
"I don't know."
Sly gives him another slap, a bit harder, leaving a welt on his cheek.
"I swear! I told you I was new there. I don't know anypony there."
"Fine. What did you see?"
"They were flirting."
Sly smacks him once more. "Specifics, Mr. Strings."
"Ahh, okay. They were planning something. I don't know for sure, but I think that they were planning a secret meet up. And they talked like lovers. I think they must have been together before."
"Much better. When are they meeting?"
"Tonight. She's going to go on a fake date with somepony named Copper Arrows. It'll be after he leaves that Starry will meet her."
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Strings." Sly leaves and to the guard watching he whispers, "Get rid of him. He's bad evidence."
The guard nods.
Meanwhile, Starry Knight was talking to Copper Arrows. "What's up, Starry?" he asks as he approaches.
"I got a surprise for you."
"Oh, a surprise?" he says, snickering a little at the implication.
"You're gonna love it."
"What is it?"
"Moonlight Serenade."
"What?"
"I convinced her to give you a shot. She wants a date, tonight, after her show."
"Wait . . . what?" Copper was a bit shocked, "But she doesn't like me. How on earth did you manage that?"
"Oh easy," he says, "I ran into her on the street, thought about you, and gave her my word that you were decent—well not decent but not bad."
Steel shoves at him, hitting him back for the comment. They laugh and joke around. "Alright then," he says, "I owe you one, I guess."
"Oh don't worry about it," Starry says afterwards, as he's turning to leave.
Sly returns to the theater, carrying the same violin, and meets up with the money handler at the bar. The theater is slowly becoming more crowded as more ponies slowly file in. "Looks like I finally got a spot," he says.
The looks at him funny, not recognizing him. "Who are you?"
"Oh, nopony, I guess. I'm one of the stand-ins. I just heard that the new guy bailed."
"Oh," the stallion doesn't care. Sly smirks and leaves to go take a place in Eight Strings's spot. The band notices not a single thing out of place. Sly can barely keep up in his spot. He can play, but not well. He does his best to make his music inconspicuous.
After the concert, he talks to the band members, socializing with them. He finds out a little bit more about Moonlight Serenade, but most importantly, her lineage. He decides that he has just about everything now. The only thing left is to catch Starry and Moonlight in the act, just be sure of it all.
"Goodnight, Copper," Moonlight says to her cover coltfriend as they part ways. The night has grown dark. A few moments after they leave one another, she turns down an alley, and meets up with Starry Knight. Sly watches from a rooftop.
"Moonlight Serenade~" Starry says as he approaches, "How was your evening?"
She giggles and shakes her head. "He's a terrible kisser."
"Aw, that bad?"
She nods, and wraps a hoof around him, and kisses him deeply. Sly smirks from his perch.
"Well, I'm more than happy to make it up to you, for sending you on such a terrible date."
She giggles at his joking, and nuzzles his cheek before heading off down an alley. Starry goes down another. They part ways now and take their own route to their new secret meeting spot.
"You really are clever, you two," Sly mumbles to himself, "I'll give you that." He opts to follow Moonlight some more. Maybe something new would come up. Flying from rooftop to rooftop, always careful to be quiet and out of sight, he tails her.
Soon she leaves the city walls, and heads out into open fields of grain near the refugee town. Sly runs into some difficulty, and is left to watch all the way from a guard tower along the wall. Sure enough though, Starry meets up with her, and he watches through the night, ensuring that they don't leave one another until morning. There was only the slightest doubt now. He was ready to report.
"This is unbelievable," Silvercoat says.
"It's the truth, though. Every bit of it."
"I ask you to help me bring down Starry, and you hand me the king as well? You're a genius."
"Thanks."
"Let's review though," the prince says. They are in an empty room on the edge of the city, meeting in secret. "Starry Knight has a mistress—a secret lover whom he still sees. That mistress, Moonlight Serenade also happens to be my half-sister, the bastard daughter to the king."
"How old was your sister?"
"19."
"I have more good news then."
"Spill it."
"Moonlight Serenade is 21."
"Oh, so she's also the king's first born? I could use that, for sure."
"With all due respect. I don't see how this makes a difference. Even with the evidence I've given you, we still can't prove the part about Moonlight's lineage."
"We don't have to."
Sly looks at him, confused.
"It's not about proof. It's about leverage. I bring this news to my mother, and they'll move against the king. She'd want her own blood to inherit this kingdom, after all. Besides, news like this getting out won't help me at all, it'll only solidify Starry's place. The king is the only pony in the kingdom who could provide any proof that Moonlight Serenade is actually the rightful monarch over Crystal. So my mother will certainly see him as a threat. She'll finish what I started, and she'll do so sloppily, and will be ousted quickly. Once that happens, Starry Knight becomes the king. But Starry will very quickly be forced to resign."
"That's a stretch, don't you think?"
"Yes, but it's what I've got. I suppose I ought to be as patient as ever. Sly. Keep tailing Starry Knight. If anything else surfaces, tell me." Before Silvercoat finishes his sentence, Sly is gone.
Three weeks later, the Castle is more active than usual. Medical ponies rush around as Starry wakes up and walks through the castle halls. "What's going on?" he asks one of them.
The pony stops. "The king has fallen deathly ill, mi'liege," the pony says, slowing down but not stopping, and then hurries on.
Starry quickly goes back into the room and attempts to wake up Crystal. "Crystal," he says, shaking her a bit, "Crystal wake up."
The slumbering alicorn groans and stirs. "It's too early, need sleep," she mumbles.
"Crystal, your father is ill."
After a few moments, Crystal comes fully to life, and hops out of bed. "Sick how?"
"The alicorn I stopped in the hall said it was bad."
"Stay here," she says as she leaves the room. Starry nods and trots over to their foal, and smirks as he watches her sleep. Some time passes before she returns.
"How is he?" Starry asks.
"They think he'll pull through," she says as she climbs back into bed, "But he won't be able to do much for a while."
"How do you mean."
"He's bed ridden, indefinitely. A bad fever, coughing blood. It's not pretty."
"That's bad."
"You're going to be taking charge while he's unable."
"What?"
"What's wrong?" she asks as she snuggles her pillow, "Stage fright?"
"No," he says, and sighs, thinking for a few moments, "Yes, maybe. I don't know." Starry then heads for the door.
"Where you going?"
"To get a drink, I think."
Starry Knight waits for Moonlight at their secret meeting place. She arrives a few moments after he does, approaching him nervously. "The king," he says to her as she approaches, and trots up to her, "The king is badly sick. I'm expected to start taking charge of things."
"That's good," Moonlight says back. Sly watches them both, silently.
"What? No, that's terrible. I'm not ready for this."
Moonlight brushes a hoof over his cheek and tries to calm him down. "Hush now, Starry," she says softly, "It's all going to be alright."
He calms down a little, and breathes deep.
"Listen," she says, glancing off nervously, "I have some news."
"News?" Starry asks, "What kind of news?"
"Umm."
Starry sighs and wraps a hoof around her, hugging her tight. "Please just tell me."
"I'm uhh," she still hesitates, "I'm pregnant."
Starry stops and blinks. Up in his perch, Sly goes wide-eyed and listens intently. Moonlight hugs Starry tightly.
"I . . . I have to ask," Starry says, "Did you and Copper—"
"No," she says, tearing up a little, worried about Starry's response, and growing afraid of what might happen. "Only you."
Starry hugs her and kisses her cheek.
"What are we going to do?" She realizes full-well how terribly this could turn out.
"I—" Starry can't bring the words out. Moonlight sniffles a bit on him, and he does his best to console her.
Everything's all moving so fast. I can't take this on, not any of it. That's it now, there's no one left I haven't hurt.
Chapter 6: Loyalty & Betrayal, part 1
Chapter 6: Loyalty & Betrayal Part 1
Near the borders of the Alicorn Kingdom, a storm brews. In the Northern Kingdom, ponies dawn armor and pick up swords, spears, and axes. Their colors have faded and they all appear dull and gray from mane to hoof. In mass numbers they march south through the snow and ice. To the west, on the rolling oceans, huge wooden ships rise and fall with the torrential storm's waves. Each ship bears a different flag, waving in the wind and the rain, but they all sail toward the coast where the sun rises. In the south, through the woods, lightly armored ponies travel with droves of beasts northward. As the sun rises on the Alicorn kingdom, the border towns prepare to fight, and each send word back to the capital.
"I promise I won't abandon you," Starry says to Moonlight, back in the alleys, "Or our foal."
Moonlight hugs him tightly, still worried. "All I have is your word."
"I know," he says, and breaks the hug, "I swear to you, I won't become like your father."
"We'll see." She has her doubts, and turns away.
"I love you." Starry says back to her before he leaves, heading out on his way.
"I love you too."
As the couple parts, Sly moves back towards the castle. The sun begins rising in the east as he makes his ways to the prince's window. "Silvercoat," he says, tossing a pebble in and hitting the prince in the head. He stirs and awakens.
"Sly . . . news?" he says, groggy.
"Just one bit of killer news. Moonlight Serenade is pregnant with Starry Knight's foal."
Silvercoat jumps up and starts dressing. "Truly?"
"Yes, I heard them talking in the alley behind her theater."
As Silvercoat puts on a coat, he nods to him. "Thanks. If that's all, be gone quickly, it isn't private here."
Without a word, Sly leaves.
As the sun rises up higher, fully above the horizon, the first messenger flies in. Starry Knight trots into the castle, and as he makes his way in, a messenger swoops in after him. "Sir!"
Starry turns to him. "Yes?"
"We need to get the council, the king and the commanders down here at once."
Starry blinks and is taken aback for a moment. "Slow down, what's happened?"
The messenger hoofs a written message over to Starry. "A pirate raid is coming, a big one. One of our scouts reports a huge fleet headed our way. They counted at least two dozen ships, three or four masts each."
"Thos are big ships."
"The full report is in there," the messenger gestures to the note, "Along with a request for immediate military assistance to squash the bloody pirates before they get past the shoreline."
"I'll fetch the King if you fetch the council. They're in the refugee town, wrapping up reports and such."
"Right away sir." The messenger leaves out where he flew in.
Starry Knight moves quickly up the stairs to the king's chamber. Crystal Clear is there. "Where is she?" he asks her.
"Don't worry, my friend is taking care of her. Where were you all night?"
"Not important. We have a huge problem," he says moving into the room without waiting for permission from a doctor who waits guard out front, "I need to talk to the king immediately."
"Starry you can't go in there!" Crystal says, but is ignored, "What's going on?"
"Sir, I know it's important, but the king is very—"
"My king, a have word from our western border: a scout ship has reported a pirate fleet on its way to sack a coastal town. If you just give me the order, I can pass it down and we can send reinforcements without dealing with the council. I wouldn't have come to you if time was not of the essence."
The king coughs and looks up at him. "Go," he says and waves a hoof, "Send the word. If more news comes, send it to me."
"Yes, milord," Starry leaves the room and lets the doctors do their work.
"Starry," Crystal says, catching up with him, "What's going on? Are we being attacked."
"No, just a coastal town. We shouldn't have to worry about anything here, but I do need to act fast."
"Starry," Crystal says, "I don't like this."
"I know," he says, kissing her once and then leaving.
As Starry heads down to the throne room, the council stops him, and another messenger is with them. "Starry!" Senex calls to him as he tries to leave, "We need to convene on a matter of most importance!"
"No we don't, time is more important, and I already have direct orders from the king."
"I'm afraid the situation is not quite what we originally anticipated."
Starry stops then, and turns to face them. "What happened?"
The second messenger steps forth, and hoofs a report to Starry. "It's the Northern Kingdom, sire. From Castelle, our guards reported a huge army assembling in the Northern town of Crossroads."
Starry takes the report and reads a bit of it, and then looks back up. "Council, what do you make of this?"
"To us, it is clear," Senex says, "The forces were of gray color. Discord intends to attack us."
Starry Knight puts the report back away, and returns it to the messenger. Just then, the prince comes downstairs. "What's happening."
"I think we're at war," Starry says to him.
"War?"
Another alicorn charges into the room. She is out of breath and a bit beaten—scratches over her coat, and a black eye. A councilmember rushes to her. "Are you okay?"
"No!" she says, and pulls away, stepping forward, "The beasts of the south have united against us. They attacked three of our small towns on the borders of the woods."
"War." Starry says as he turns to go back upstairs. The prince joins him.
"Where are you going?"
"To your father," Starry tells him.
"But he's sick."
"He said to report more news to him."
"We don't need him." Silvercoat trots in front of him and stops. "Listen, we can take charge without him. He's a miserable old fool."
"If we must—" Starry begins, but Silvercoat already seems to know what he's about to say.
"We must."
"I will relieve him of duty for the time being."
"Don't even ask him."
Starry continues trotting.
"Starry," Silvercoat calls.
Starry goes once again through the door, causing alarm for all present. "My king. I have the worst news. Discord attacks with forces from all angles. We need the authority of law to take control and command this nation's defenses."
The king coughs and tries to get up, but falls to the ground. The doctors attempt to aide him and he lets them. "I am too ill.Starry," he says and then looks to Silvercoat, "and you too. Do what you have to. You have my authority."
"Thank you mi'lord," Starry leaves the room, and heads back downstairs.
"What?" Crystal says as he trots out of the room. Starry turns to give her a hug, and a deep kiss. She kisses back happily, lost in the moment.
"I have to go, my love," he says, "Take care of our filly."
"If something goes wrong, don't you come back dead."
"I don't plan on it."
"Starry we need to go," Silvercoat says. Starry pulls away from his wife and follows, picking up the pace.
"I've more experience with the northerners and they will need to be consulted. I'll take the 1st and 2nd armies and send them there immediately. Hopefully they will arrive in time to prepare a real defense. You organize the other three forces to move out to the west and the south."
"We have four others."
"Send the fourth to the east, and fan them out. Tell them to prepare for an attack. We can't take chances of being caught off guard on one side."
"I'm on it," Silvercoat says, "But it won't be enough. I'll try to organize mercenaries in the south and the west. You take the north, and this city."
"I'll need artillery in the north."
"It'd be better put to use in the west."
"The Northern Kingdom is separated by a bottleneck. With concentrated firepower, we may not even have to fight."
"You won't need that much then. I'm taking half of them."
"I don't like that plan, but fine." The two arrive back downstairs. "Senex," Starry calls out to the advisors, "Send word out. We need mercenary armies now. And you three," he points to the three messengers, "Go back to where you came from, tell them that we are fighting a war on all fronts, and that we are doing everything we can to bring in reinforcements. In the mean time, have them prepare their defenses as best as possible. They may need to hold off for a bit."
The three leave off again without thinking twice, racing to get word back.
Out in the refugee town, a meeting has been called. A crowd has gathered in the streets of the square. Starry hovers above them. "I have terrible news for all of you," he says, "I will be brief. Dicsord intends to strike, and what's worse, he's using those who did not escape from the Northern Kingdom on one end of the attack. Your kin have been turned and intend to wage war against us. We cannot show mercy. We must fight, and we must kill."
The crowd is in shock and debates amongst themselves. They seem torn at the situation.
"We are looking for volunteers and mercenaries to aid in our defense, and if necessary, our counter-attack. We can understand that there are those of you who will wish not to fight against your own brethren, or may wish to go onto that front. We will respect those wishes, whatever they are. If you wish to battle, take up a sword and fight. Move out with the armies as they leave. You have one hour to make your decision. After that, you will organize here with other mercenaries to be sent into battle."
Starry Knight leaves, flying off for the barracks where the troops are already being assembled.
As the armies move north, Starry Knight flies over the rest of the forces. Copper Arrows flies to his right. He carries a large bow, and a quiver of arrows, and he wears a dark gray cloak, matching the color and texture of storm clouds. Starry is in full, shining steel armor. Below them, Iron Sword, clad in dark, northern armor leads a legion of northern ponies. Altogether, they have three full armies.
"What's the plan, boss," Copper Arrows asks.
"You take the arrows and the sky fighters, and you keep the skies clear. If you see any artillery, send a team in to take it out. I'll be organizing the defensive forces, and Iron Sword will be working on the front along with Double Axe. If you get overwhelmed in the sky, fall back to the line and lead as many enemy forces to it as you can. We'll pick them out with my defensive lines."
"You got it," Copper Arrows says before flying back to his division, and flying ahead of the rest.
Starry Knight flies down to Iron Sword next. "You'll be leading the forward attack when you arrive. I'm going to fly ahead with my defensive forces and start lining them up."
"Understood," Iron Sword says before Starry flies back up, and flies onward with a legion of alicorns.
The northern town of Castelle is large. The buildings are made primarily out of stone and on its northern border is a long wall, stretching from a mountain range to a dense forest. The tops of the walls have been lined with trebuchets, and just inside of the walls, thousands of troops are lined up, and prepared for battle.
As the sun reaches the highest point in the sky, the Northern Kingdom ponies begin marching down towards the wall. There are thousands of them, if not tens of thousands.
The sky is dark—overcast. Sleet and snow and rain falls to the ground, making for the most miserable battlefield possible. "What's the situation, captain?" Starry asks as he flies into the forward command.
"The northern armies haven't made an offensive move yet. They're staying put by the border."
"Strange? They're waiting for us to prepare our defenses?"
"Too soon to say what they're doing."
Starry leaves the command post and flies up over the wall, looking out at the army in the distance. Suddenly, in a flash of lightning, Discord himself flies forth, and lands on the wall's ledge. A moment of panic takes hold, and the soldiers jump back before preparing for combat. Starry lands directly before him.
"Your attacks in the south and your ensemble of troops here are being considered a declaration of war by the Alicorn Kingdom. Withdraw your troops and we can negotiate a peaceful end to this conflict."
Discord yawns in the middle of the Starry's speech, stretching out. His fingers snap and a stone throne appears for him to sit back in. "Oh, who wants peace?" he begs, "Peace is so boring."
"Enough with your games—"
"Oh games?" The draconequus seems more interested now, and snaps his throne back out of existence. "I haven't even started playing games today, and you're already tired of them. Don't you at least want to hear the rules?"
The alicorn was stern. "No. Order the attacks off, now, or we will be forced to launch an attack of our own."
"Oh you're big and scary with your troops surrounding you," Discord snaps his fingers, and suddenly, he and Starry Knight are in some far off place. "Let's see how well you fare without them."
"Where are we?"
"That's not the game, Starry."
Starry rolls his eyes and sigh. "Fine. I'll play your game for now. But under the condition that you hold off the attacks."
"Oh you're just no fun," Discord says, snapping his fingers and disappearing. A moment later he reappears behind Starry. "Fine, I've ordered everypony to stay put."
"Good," Starry says, "Now get on with it."
As Starry continues making demands, Discord takes a drink of glass, and tosses the remaining water to the side where it shatters. "Very well," he says, "I've hidden myself within your kingdom, and disguised myself as somepony you know. I could be a friend, I could be an enemy . . . I could be a lover. And let me just say, you're not as good in the sack as you think you are."
Starry's eyes widen at the notion, and he cringes at the thought that Discord could have made his way into his life in such a personal way.
"In 24 hours, I will set off my plans and traps aimed at somepony you hold dear. And they will die."
"You're a monster."
Discord laughs and smiles. He snaps his fingers and a vision of Iron Sword, Copper Arrows, Silvercoat, the Queen, the King, Moonlight Serenade, and Crystal Clear float around Starry. "I'll offer you a clue. I have, at least once, taken on the roles of one of these ponies you see here. You have 24 hours to find out who I am and reverse my plan. If you fail, one of these ponies will die."
"Then teleport us back."
"Ah ah ah," Discord wags a talon, "I haven't explained the rules, just the goal. For starters. If you tell anypony about our little game, the deal's off. I'll set my trap off early, and I'll attack on all sides. If you try to send soldiers to help you, the deal is off. Last but not least. If you try to single out the wrong pony as being me, your time gets cut short by 4 hours. And the best part: if you win, then I'll call all of my forces off. 24 hours. Starting . . . now." With a final snap of his fingers, Starry was back in his spot on the wall, and Discord was long gone.
"Sir?" one of the soldiers asks Starry.
"Carry on," Starry says, flying off of the wall and through the air, searching for Copper Arrows.
Meanwhile, Discord and Copper Arrows were meeting atop a mountain. Copper had an arrow drawn on his bow, aimed at Discord. He fired, and the arrow turned into ribbons at the snap of the dragonequus's fingers. "Oh come now, Copper," he says, "I'm on your side, here."
The alicorn archer wastes no time in drawing another arrow and firing. Discord snaps his fingers, and an apple appears on his head. The arrow changes direction and hits it. "No, really. You can trust me," he says as he takes the arrowed apple and eats it like a candy apple, which, after another snap of his fingers, it becomes.
"What do you want from me?"
"I want to help you out." He takes another bite, and then eats the arrow itself.
"Then leave my kingdom alone."
"You really don't realize how much of a disservice that would be to you."
Back in Castelle, Starry Knight had met up with Iron Sword. "Have you seen Copper?" he asks.
"No, I thought he was patrolling the skies," Iron said.
"His whole army has vanished. Discord and I have negotiated a 24 hour ceasefire. I need you to come with me back to the capital."
"Sure," he says, "Whatever you say.
A quick teleportation spell brings the two into the castle. "Alright," he says, "I need you to wait here while I go find the King."
A good old fashioned teleportation spell. They take a lot more energy than you'd think so we try to use them sparingly.
"Uhh . . . sure?" Iron says, confused, "Starry, what's going on?"
"I can't explain," he says as he heads up the stairs, "I just need you to trust me for now."
After charging up the stairs, he opens the door to the King's room to find it empty, save for a single servant. "What?"
The maid turns to him. "I'm sorry, can I help you, mi'lord?"
"Where's the King?"
"He felt an awful lot better and left to aid in commanding the defenses to the south."
Starry turns and leaves without another word. "Iron," he says as he comes back into the court.
"Yes?"
"I need you to go find the Queen, can you do that?" he asks.
"Sure thing."
"Tell her I need to talk to her when you find her," he shouts as they both part ways. Starry flies through the castle doors, out into the town. It was bright here, with clouds off in the distance, but mostly sunny.
After flying overhead, Starry comes down into an alley behind Moonlight's theater. "Moonlight!" he shouts to her as he catches her trotting into the back door.
Moonlight turns and gallops back to hug him. "Starry!" she exclaims, "Is the fighting already over?"
"No," he says, "It's gotten complicated."
"What?"
"I can't explain. You might be in danger."
"Starry, what's going on?"
He hugs her tight. "I'm sorry." Then he remembers Discord's words: I could be a lover. He pulls away, and shakes his head, his mind consumed by the thought.
"Please tell me what's wrong."
"I can't," he says, "Unless you're Discord."
"What?" Moonlight looks even more puzzled. Did he actually suggest what she thought he did?
Overhead, the sun suddenly shifts in the sky, changing the shadows of the buildings. Starry sighs with relief, and pulls her back into a tight hug, and gives her a kiss. She pushes him away, confused, and concerned for the both of them, and her unborn foal.
"Please, Starry," she begs as she holds him tightly, "Tell me what's happening."
"I'm sorry, but if I tell, things could get ugly," he says as he pulls away again, and turns to leave. "Please, be careful." He then takes off, and heads back to the castle.
As he lands in the court once again, the Queen approaches. "What is going on that you need me to come here but can't wait for me to arrive?" She seems irritated with his manners.
"I have reason to believe that Discord has infiltrated the kingdom, via subterfuge."
"What makes you so sure?"
"He told me so, and I can't really get too into it."
"So he's disguised himself? For how long?"
"I don't know. But if I could point out without making any direct accusations. You, your husband, your son and your daughter, and two of my friends are on the suspect list."
"Without making an accusation? You just named my entire family. How dare you!"
"Just one of you, and everyone else on that list is in serious danger."
The queen looks shocked, and takes a step back, not knowing what to think. "Well, with any luck, it'll be my husband who takes the axe."
Copper Arrows looks into the small pond at the scene that transpires between Starry and Moonlight. "I don't believe it," he says to Discord as he puts the thought aside.
"Oh, why not?" he asks as he turns on another scene, the one of the night when Moonlight and Starry set up the date between them.
"Lies!" he shouts as he turns away, looking out across the mountain range, trying to figure out where he is. "Why would he? How could he? It's just not true . . . it can't be true." As he mutters to himself, his form is washed over with magic, and he turns a darker shade.
"If he's lying, why don't you confront him yourself?"
"Alright, I will! To prove you wrong!" Within an instant, they both vanish.
Copper appears back at the castle, in the court where Starry, Iron Sword, and the Queen were talking. "Copper!" Starry says as he approaches. He then stops, noting the altered color of his coat and mane, which grows a shade darker as he takes angry steps towards his friend.
"Starry," he says, with concern, fear, and anger, "Is it true?"
"Is what true?" he asks. The Queen takes a step forward as well, wondering what's happening.
"Wait, where did you come from?" Iron asks, "And you're so dark . . . like the northern ponies after Discord's possession."
"Shut up! You know very well what I'm talking about!" He sniffles, heart-broken.
"Copper, I have to ask," Starry says, "Are you Discord?"
"What?" he steps back. "No!"
"How do we know if he's telling the truth?" the Queen asks.
Outside, the sun shifts a few more paces, and the shadows of taller buildings move into the court. "He's telling the truth," Starry says, "That narrows it down."
"Don't change the subject! Just tell me, Starry."
Starry takes steps towards him. "Tell you what, Copper? We're a little busy here. As a soldier, you ought to know you place, especially now, when we are at war!"
"It's true," Copper's shade turns darker, almost full grayscale, "You and Moonlight—"
"Who?" The Queen asks.
"He has a crush on a mare named Moonlight," Starry says, trying to keep a straight face, "Copper, did Discord get to you, too? He's a liar, you know."
Within an instant, the archer vanishes. "Starry . . . who is Moonlight Serenade. Please tell me you haven't—"
"No," Starry says.
Just then, another alicorn rushes into the castle. "Mi'lady!" he says. He's a sunraiser, dressed in a silver and gold robe, "We're losing control. We have no idea what's happening."
"Starry, enough of this nonsense," the Queen demands, "Tell us what's going on? You said you met with Discord. Did he tell you he was here?"
"Yes," Starry says.
"So what, then? You took his word for it?" Iron asks, "You just said it yourself, Discord lies."
"I suppose you're right. That thought didn't cross my mind. He gave me a list of ponies though. And we're down to just the royal family."
"Starry," Iron says as he thinks, "You never asked me."
"What?"
"How can you know for sure I'm not Discord?"
"How did you know you were on the list?"
"I'm not an idiot. You dragged me away from the front lines for a reason. And honestly, who's the best suspect here? I came from the Northern Kingdom."
"I can't explain any further, but it'd be a waste of time to ask you."
"So you do suspect us, then?" the Queen asks.
"Are you Discord?" Starry asks the queen.
"No." The sun moves to set.
"The King, prince Silvercoat, Crystal, Copper and you, Iron," Starry says, "That's the list. I can guess only three more times, so let's narrow it down."
"Ask him," the Queen says.
"What?"
"I want to know for sure if, after all this time, Discord is one of my closest family."
Starry sighs, and looks to Iron Sword. "Are you?"
"No," Iron says, and the sun sets, moving beyond the horizon.
"Where's Crystal?" Starry asks.
"You're going to waste a chance on her?" the Queen raises a brow.
"Discord made the implication that he could have been a lover. If it gets narrowed down to just two ponies . . . I just have to know."
"She's upstairs, sleeping. Recall, it was morning less than four hours ago. Tell me first, though. Why didn't you explain all this from the start? Why'd we have to figure it out?"
Starry rolls his eyes. "It's against the rules for me to explain what's happening."
"Rules . . . a game?" Iron Sword questions.
"If I could do this alone, I'd appreciate it," Starry says as he moves towards the stairs.
Starry enters his bedroom. Crystal is taking a nap, and so is their foal. He sighs and sits on the bed next to her. A hoof moves over to shake her shoulder. "Wake up," he says.
She slowly stirs, and looks out the window to see darkness. "Do you know what time it is?" she mumbles, "let me sleep."
He leans over and asks, very bluntly, "Are you Discord?"
She blinks and shakes her head, giggling a little at the question. "No, are you?"
"I would hope not," he says. He kisses her on the cheek and leaves the room. Outside, the moon picks up some distance in the sky, and the night grows darker.
Starry goes back downstairs and heads for the door. "Alright," he says, "The king and the prince. They're each fairly likely to be Discord. The king because he's been a lazy, arrogant, selfish stallion ever since he's taken the throne. The prince because he's a lying, backstabbing little brat. So we've got a 50/50 chance here. Any more evidence?"
"I've got nothing," Iron says.
"I'd imagine it's my husband," the Queen says.
"Any idea where he is?"
"No."
"Well, let's find him."
Chapter 7: Loyalty & Betrayal, part 2
Chapter 7: Loyalty & Betrayal Part 2
Copper Arrow appears before Discord on the mountain, once again. He looks around, distraught. His coat, mane, and all of his armor and weapons are completely grayscale. He sees Discord before him, but he struggles trying to figure out what to do. He knew he was telling the truth, and he knew that his friend had betrayed him.
"So, now you see," Discord says as he leans down over the alicorn, "Starry isn't your friend. He's only using you. Always has been."
Copper sniffles a little bit, refusing to look up.
"Oh but don't worry about that." A talon touches Copper, holding his shoulder and trying to comfort him. "Now comes the fun part."
"Fun?"
"Yes, loads of it! Now comes the part where we get to watch him fail on the most important quest of his life."
"Fun?" Copper mumbles, and then lunges at the Dragonequus, shoving him off. His magic draws a series of sharpened arrows from his quiver, and draws them, one at a time across his bow. As the arrows fly, Discord dodges, moving with great craft and landing in humorous poses. When he runs out of arrows, Copper draws a curved blade and charges his foe.
"Oh you're just no fun, are you?" Discord says as he easily avoids the attacks, teleporting out of the way of each swing. "I offer you the chance to watch your backstabbing friend fail miserably, and you reply with violence." With another snap of his fingers, Copper is hanging upside down by his tail from a rogue cloud over the edge of the mountain. His weapons fall to the ground, and tumble down the mountainside.
"Let me go! I'm having loads of fun!"
"Well alright, if you insist." A snap of the dragonequus's fingers and the cloud wraps around Copper's wings, pinning them tight to his sides as it turns into a form of rope.
After hanging in the air for a few seconds, like a cartoon character that doesn't realize it's walked off the edge of a cliff, Copper drops and tumbles down the mountain after his weapons. Armor clatters and splits off as he falls. When Copper finally comes to a stop, he looks up, and Discord is casually floating down by means of umbrella. Bruised and beaten by the fall, he barely manages to stand.
"Why the long face?" Discord asks, and then snickers at his own joke.
Copper looks around, and notices something frightening. All around him were weak and wounded alicorns. His own troops were scattered across the field. "You . . . You monster!" He moves to charge, but is too weak, trips on a rock and collapses.
"Oh, but I haven't even shown you my best trick!" He snaps his fingers again, and suddenly it appears as if there are thousands of Northern warriors in the field. Discord then flies over to one of them, and waves his hand through it, showing that it was like a hologram.
Copper picks himself up again, and turns to look in the direction that the false army was facing. In the distance was a large wall. "Castelle?"
"Indeed. Tootaloo!" Discord then vanishes. Suddenly, a huge boulder crashes into the earth, shaking the ground and leaving a small crater.
Copper panics and looks to the sky. More boulders. A siege from Castelle, defending itself from the threat of the huge army. "No," he then mutters as he looks at his helpless army scattered across the field. More boulders rain down, crushing them one by one. "No!" Copper makes a run for the field, towards the closest soldier to try and pull him away. His efforts are in vain, however, as a rock comes crashing down on the both of them.
"So, what's the plan?" Iron Sword asks.
Starry looks to the Queen, thinking for a few moments before speaking. "My Queen, you stay here. If the King returns, send word as fast as you can to me. I'm going to go find the prince, so that we at least know his whereabouts. Iron, I need you to search for the Queen."
"Sir," the sunraiser says, "If there is any way in which I may be of assistance."
"Possibly," Starry says, "Rally the sunraisers and the moonbringers. If it comes right down to it, we may need an army of powerful magicians to fight Discord."
"Sir, we're not an army—"
"You're the only thing we'll have. No time for questions, now go!"
"Yes, sire!" The alicorn then races off. Iron Sword follows after him on his own journey.
"My queen," Starry says, not yet leaving, "Crystal is half-asleep, possibly awake by now. Keep her and the foal safe."
"Did you think I wouldn't?"
"Of course I didn't think you wouldn't, it's just—it's looking desperate." Starry then leaves, flying out the door and into the sky.
Sly sits in the window of Starry and Crystal's bedroom, watching her sleep. He sighs, seeing if she stirs. When she does, she looks at him and jumps back. "Who are you?"
"Princess Crystal," he starts talking, staying in his spot, "I worked for your brother."
"You!" she shouts.
Outside the door, the queen approaches. She hears the shout and calls some guards down the hall.
"Please!" Sly says as he tries to calm her down. A candle stand is flung at him, and he catches it, setting it on the floor as he steps inside. "I feel the need to tell you something. Something about Starry Knight."
Outside the room, the Queen stops the guards, and listens in closely.
"Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it!"
"I wouldn't tell you if . . ." he sighs and shakes his head, "Your foal. My father broke my family apart. And I just—I feel that if we had known sooner."
"What?"
"Starry Knight is seeing somepony."
"What." Crystal's tone hushes, and she listens, scared to hear anymore.
"It's more than that though," Sly says, "This other mare. She's pregnant."
Silence. Sly leaves that moment.
Crystal slams the door opened. The queen moves out of the way just in time. "Starry!" Crystal shouts.
"He just left." Her mother gets her attention.
"What? Where?"
The Queen takes her daughter into her hooves and holds her close. "Don't worry about that now, we can take care of this for you."
"No."
"Hush, darling. You won't need to see him further."
She pushes away, and shakes her head. "No, I want to talk to him."
"Crystal?" an alicorn with the appearance of Starry says as he trots toward the bedroom.
Crystal lunges toward him, and shoves at him, crying. "Please tell me it isn't true."
"What?"
"You know what!" Crystal pushes him away and turns to herself. "Mother," she says, looking to the Queen, "Could I have a moment?"
The Queen nods and orders the guards away, and then leaves herself.
"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about," Starry says.
"You cheated on me!"
Starry sighs and nods. "Yes, I did. I was just coming to confess."
"You were?" Crystal looks back, confused.
"Yes," he says, his eyes flashing yellow for a split second while nopony looks. "I can't live this lie anymore. I was just on my way to tell you that I'm leaving you."
Crystal turns a few shades darker, Discordian magic washing over her form. "What?"
"I'm sorry. But I don't love you." Discord had to resist the urge to laugh.
Crystals appearance instantly becomes gray. The next moment, it appears as if the disguised Discord has teleported away.
As Starry flies towards the west, he considers again everything he knows. He thinks aloud as he juts across the sky. "The King or the Prince. We have the king who has been nothing but bad for this kingdom from the start. Discord said he didn't have to be taking over the whole time, just at least once. The prince, on the other hand, has proven that he's willing to manipulate ponies to get his way. And he's good at it. He's proven it before by poisoning . . . the king."
He stops. "That's got to be it. Discord wouldn't have been able to be poisoned. Money's on the prince!" He charges through the air.
Touching ground on the western coastline a few moments later, Starry heads to the nearest command post to begin asking around. "Where is the prince?" His voice is demanding.
"He left back for the capital. Teleported, actually."
"When?"
"About thirty minutes ago."
Prince Silvercoat appears in the court of the castle. "Mother," he says in greeting as he arrives, "You'll be pleased to know that the ships seem to have backed off. Chances are, all fronts are clear."
"That's good news," she says in response.
Crystal Clear slowly trots down into the court, sobbing softly.
"Crystal?" Silvercoat says, approaching her, "What's wrong?"
"Starry . . . he left."
"Oh don't worry, he'll probably be back soon. Discord's threats seem to have been empty."
"No. He left me."
"What?" The Queen approaches. "Where is he?"
"He teleported away."
"That's terrible. But," Silvercoat sighs, "I have to admit, I saw this coming."
"What do you mean?" the Queen asks.
"I had a spy sent after him."
"All the good that did," Crystal says, "Do you know who he did it with?"
"Moonlight Serenade. What was he doing back here to begin with?" Silvercoat seems oddly smug in this rather dark time.
"He had the strangest notion that Discord was one of us. We are all nearly certain that if it's true, then it's the King."
"Isn't his time up already?"
"It can't be too much longer."
"If we have reason to believe that he's Discord, couldn't we just . . ." He makes a gesture, implying offing the King.
As the Queen considers, a dark color washes over her form. "It's doable, I suppose. But I'm much too weary to take the throne. Crystal. Do you think you could take on this responsibility."
Crystal Clear looks up, and nods slowly. "I could. No, in fact, I'd love to. There's so many things I'd want to change around here."
Silvercoat smiles, and trots upstairs. "Very well then. Just don't go changing the name, I rather like the sound of Alicorn Kingdom."
"Aww," she says, sniffling a little, but cheering up, "So I can't call it the Crystal Empire? Drats."
Silvercoat yawns as he keeps moving. "I need to go to sleep. Hope you feel better, my sister."
Just as Silvercoat enters his room, Starry uses his magic to light a candle. "Hello, Discord."
Silvercoat laughs, and in a puff of smoke, he grows into a dragonequus. "You finally caught me! Congratulations, you won!"
Starry looks sternly at him, and, with his magic, draws a sword and shield. "Withdraw your forces, or I'll finish you."
"Very well," Discord snaps his fingers, "Oh wait, I already did that."
"What?"
"You see, I just knew you would win. Now here's a little surprise." Discord snaps his fingers, and suddenly, the both of them are in the besieged plains north of Castelle. A boulder moves, and reveals a crushed pair of alicorns. Copper Arrow is one of them.
"You bastard!" Starry lunges, attacking.
Discord teleports out of the way. "Ah ah ah," he says, "You wouldn't want to start a war, now, would you?"
"You killed him!"
"Not true," Discord says, "He killed himself, trying to save his fallen comrade. I have to hand it to him. He was a fine warpony."
"You turned him against me."
"With the truth!" Discord points out that nothing he said was false. "I haven't had this much fun in ages. I don't think I've told a lie all day." He snaps his fingers and suddenly they're standing in the middle of the encamped army. The entire army is perfectly still, unmoving.
Starry looks around, and swings his sword through one of them. It vanishes the second his sword touches it.
"I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?"
"There never was a threat."
"Did you really think that I, on my own, could control whole armies of ponies?" Discord leans forward, displaying the most sarcastic face Starry could imagine. "I'm flattered, Starry. But no. Why waste my time and effort launching a full-scale assault when I can send your entire kingdom into panic with a few simple tricks?"
Starry sheaths his sword and shield. The whole army disappears. "So what was the point of all this, then?"
"More surprises to come. Forgive me, though, you'll have to get to the big one on your own."
"What did you do?"
"What did I do?" Discord raises his hands, taking a defensive tone. "I didn't do anything, except tell the truth."
"You—you didn't . . ."
"Oh, I did. Oh, well of course, there was a few little white lies here and there for this part of my grand finale. Well, your grand finale, actually. Oh but before that though, one more surprise."
Starry finds himself displaced again. This time, they're standing in the town square of a northern city. The ponies walking around seem to be going about their lives as usual. They're all colorful, and seem to be getting by just fine. At the same time, none of them seem too distraught by Discord's appearance, though some take extra measures to avoid trotting near.
"They they look normal."
"Indeed. I've been so busy with the Alicorn Kingdom that this place has been relatively calm and uneventful for the years."
"But you're their enemy."
"I was their enemy. They surrendered. And now, I'm their master, whether they like it or not. Are you ready for the biggest surprise of all?"
"Bite me. "
The next moment, Starry is standing in front of the castle. Discord has vanished.
Starry walks into the court of the castle. The Queen and Crystal Clear stare at him. They despise him. He sighs. "Yeah, I've . . . got some explaining to do."
"As the acting ruler of this nation." Crystal Clear speaks up, standing proud and strong against her husband.
"I know, Crystal—Wait. Acting ruler?"
"Yes. You, Starry Knight, are hereby stripped of your rank. Your title as Prince—"
"Wait," he says, "What did Discord say to you?"
"Silence!"
"Crystal."
"I said quiet!"
Starry Knight stops talking, and listens. Hi coat grows a bit darker.
"You are not worthy of any of them. You are not worthy to live in this kingdom any longer. I banish you from it. Now get out."
"Crystal, please listen to me."
"She asked you to leave, Starry. I suggest you take this punishment and consider that she's been extremely lenient," the Queen says.
"But—Discord." As he tries to defend himself, a wave of magic washes over him, darkening him further.
"Don't make me execute you!" Crystal says. Some tears form in her eyes as she speaks.
Starry opens his mouth, but doesn't speak. After a few moments of standing still, hushed, he says, "Please, just let me speak."
"What is it that you think is so important?"
"Prince Silvercoat is Discord."
"Cute. Now leave."
"You don't believe me?"
"How can I believe anything you say after what you've done?"
"I swear, I never wanted you to know. Things got out of hoof. I love—"
"Don't you dare try to say that now." Crystal cries a little bit, turning her head away. "I hate you!"
A final wave of magic washes over Starry's form, and he turns completely gray. Silently, he turns, and leaves. As he trots out the door, his magic removes his armor, and leaves it there. When he is no longer burdened by it, he unfurls his wings, and flies away.
