"Press Start"
When we went to career fairs in foal school, I never would have guessed that I would have grown up to be a knight of the Celestian Order. Sure, a lot of my friends went gallivanting around on "adventures" in the Marshlands. They spent their time scaring turtles and whatnot, but that just wasn't for me. I wanted to finish my education and move out to the country. I wanted to start a living tilling black land earth. It seemed that life had other ideas and it was announced not ten minutes after I had graduated that the marshlands were being invaded by Basilisks. Being the younger stallion that I was, I took this as a personal affront and joined the standing militia to rid our land of those beasts.
I became rather adept at dispatching my foes. As luck would have it, somepony who knew somepony up the chain of command recommended me to the knights. It didn't help that I earned my cutie mark by defending some of the more attractive mares in my class from an errant drunk. The Brass interpreted my crossed swords as excellence in combat instead of excellence in the defense of others. Needless to say at this point, when I expressed my disinterest my loyalties were questioned and family harassed, so I chomped the bit and began my training.
It became blatantly obvious after i joined the knights that they were much more than glorified bodyguards. The Celestian Knights are keepers of ancient knowledge. The shelves of the libraries are filled to capacity and well guarded because the librarians are all knights that are retired or are recovering from minor wounds. They stressed the importance of preserving all forms of accumulated knowledge and teaching it to the newer generations, even those that are less desirable. There was even a restricted section that was locked by Luna herself.
What they teach you in History class is sufficient for the general populace, but every squire in the Celestian order is taught a slightly different version of events. About a millennium ago, a Draconequus named Discord began wreaking terror on the ponies of the world. It was all harmless at first, candy clouds that precipitated Gummy-ade, corn randomly popping off its cob, and every now and then somepony's hat would turn into a baked ham. Unfortunately, the frequency and intensity of the events started to increase while the terrain began to warp from such anomalies. The rivers turned to milkshakes and the vegetation bore fruit of candy canes and water balloons.
As more of the population started experiencing food shortages and property damage, pressures rose for Discord to be dealt with. Luna's older sister Celestia responded by appointing an envoy to speak with Discord. It was pretty obvious that he was in no mood to stop his mayhem when the pony returned covered in snake skin and wearing a very silly looking top-hat. Luna and Celestia went to speak with Discord themselves, but after a rather tense few sentences, Discord turned some of Celestia's mane into cotton candy and a fight broke out. Long story short: Discord tried to turn them into stone, Celestia shielded Luna, Luna could not revert her sister's form, went mad with grief, and killed Discord. I know it's unthinkable, and Luna still regrets how she handled the situation to this day, but actions taken cannot be undone.
After what happened to Discord, the world returned to a stable but unfamiliar shape. However, the weather became increasingly difficult to deal with. Some of the more remote areas of the world soon became twisted and the once peaceful animals became violent. Luna had her top scientists research this bizarre change but they gave up and said it was magic. The world's most powerful magicians were then gathered and they came to one conclusion: Discord had only lost his body and was now an entity in the atmosphere and the earth.
So i guess you can't really kill the embodiment of chaos, but Luna sure did try everything in her power to remove his influence, all to no avail though. The weather got worse and the monsters grew in number. Because of all this turmoil, many groups of ponies seceded from the alliance and became countries of their own. Discord's influence began to affect the minds of the leaders, causing them to fight amongst themselves, so Luna took what ponies remained faithful to her and created the New Lunar Republic.
Due to the added strain of raising the sun, Luna appointed trusted advisers to listen to the people in a forum. Luna also created the Celestian Knights in honor of her sister and to protect her little ponies. Now Luna is only seen in public at formal occasions and spends a great deal of time in the ruins of the old city that she and her sister once ruled from. The NLR is very stable and deaths to Discord's influence have been minimal over the years. Unfortunately, the other countries see the NLR as inferior, and have attempted to siege us before, but we have always defended ourselves and have always avoided unnecessary conflict.
Fast forward a thousand years, and you'll notice that monsters all over the world have been slowly growing more potent. Over the last year alone, abominations such as the Bone Dragon have been rumored to exist.
After learning the real history of my fellow ponies, I couldn't help but feel compelled to continue my fight for the Lunar City. Such devotion to the protection of my country yielded an accelerated climb through the ranks of the knights. I also attracted the attention of one of the oldest and most decorated Lunar Knights, Marshall, who became my commanding officer. Under his supervision, I became one of the best sword fighters in the knights, but I requested that my accomplishments not be flaunted. Soon after I made the rank of Solar Knight, Marshall suffered from a serious illness and retired. I was acting like a little fan-boy at the reception for him because I got to see Luna herself! I even squee'd when i got to kiss her hoof...
Since then, I've been paired with Sour Note, a rather odd example of an Earth pony's internal magic. This eccentric and blazingly neon blue and pink pony possesses the ability to foresee negative events. Although It's often inexact, it's been useful more than once but I value him more for his swordsmanship and intellect. Our latest assignment is to undertake a trek to Luna's Watchtower, the northernmost outpost before the great Ice Wasteland. We are to provide safe passage back to the Lunar City because he will no doubt be tired after a week of solitude while battling the embittered enemies of the Wastes.
"Drop it Like it's Hot"
A sharp gasp interrupted my train of thought. I glanced over to Sour Note and I noticed that his leg was violently twitching. "What's the matter, Note? I thought you packed an extra scarf."
He nickered, but paused a while before turning to me, "We'll be at the tower soon, but there's a blizzard moving in."
I shot back a concerned look, "Do you think we'll have to start a fire to thaw him out when we get there?"
"Assuming the poor soul is still alive, yes..." But then I heard him stop. As I turned to face my fellow, he was hoofing through the snow to the frozen ground. "I do believe we'll have company within the hour as well. You think you can fight in the snow?"
I shifted the swords strapped to my saddle and replied, "That depends, will I need the big sword or the small one?" I smiled as he let out a laugh.
"Definitely not enough for the Buster sword, but I'm more concerned about the wasted time. I don't want to become a pony snow bank." He wiped his nose and added, "Or have icicles growing out of my nose."
"You worry too much," I turned and continued north, "I'm sure they'll turn tail after we wing them, killing anything just about ruins my day." Sour Note then turned and slowly started to follow me.
"You seem to forget how bad the monsters are up here. Why else would the only requirement for Luna tier knighthood be to spend a week up here alone? It's bad enough that the cold itself can kill a stallion, but I hear the monsters are always hungry, always searching for food..."
I tried to ignore such negativity as Sour Note continued to ramble on about perpetual doom. The cold really was something else, I can't imagine how it must be north of the watchtower. I suppose I'll find out eventually if I want to become a Lunar Knight.
I am fairly surprised that we haven't seen any signs of life on our journey so far. You wouldn't think that the monsters that live up here would pass up an opportunity to munch on some nice pony flesh. Every now and then our guard patrols have their hands full when one of the larger beasts decides to go exploring. From what i hear, they act ferocious, but they go running on home as soon as you stab them a few times. Are there even are any normal animals left in the world, other than the ones preserved by pony settlements? I've never personally seen a creature that wouldn't attack you outside of the cities, villages, and homesteads.
"I said hold up!"
Sour Note's yelling snapped me to attention, "I'm sorry, i guess your rambling made me zone out a little bit."
"Oh, ha, ha. Let's be serious now, Basalt. There are a bunch of odd snow mounds up ahead that just seem out of place smack dab in the middle of the trail. This is all flat-lands, so I think we should go around them."
"Oh, come now, Note, do you seriously think that the Boogeyman will jump out of the snow to get you?" I started laughing at him, and then sneezed from excessive amounts of ice in my nose.
"Bless you." he said with an unamused look on his face, which just made me laugh more. "Would you quiet down and take this a little more seriously? We haven't come across any monsters yet, and i think i can see the Watchtower from here."
"Well, we both know you've been wrong before, this might just be one of those-"
My head snapped in the direction of a guttural yowl and i saw the snow mounds explode. Insectoid beasts with patches of fur came bounding towards us with their maws open, revealing rows of teeth. I noticed Sour Note draw his spear and enter a defensive stance as i grabbed the short sword off my saddle. "Ah guessth you were righ'."
I charged towards the closest monster. Right before we made contact, I could see the beast's legs coil and I slid beneath it as it pounced over me. I struck the creature's leg with the flat of my sword and could feel the bones break. The first monster hit the ground skidding and as I turned to face the second, it barreled into me, sending me spinning on my back into the snow.
I heard Note's spear clang as he parried the third combatant. I spun around while getting to my front hooves and gave the second a swift buck in the chest. It started wheezing and stumbled backwards, but I wasn't taking any chances. With a speedy lunge, I body-checked it onto it's back.
Sour Note had stabbed the third creature several times, all in non-vital areas, and it was starting to back off. The pack moved together off in the distance, no doubt second-guessing their current choice of prey. As I moved back into position with Sour Note, I quickly glanced at him to make sure he wasn't injured. We put down our weapons momentarily to brush the snow out of the crevasses in our armor.
"Well, it's official, we might freeze to death." Note mumbled. I looked around, and I guess I hadn't noticed it since i was so focused on the current engagement, but it had started to snow. A quick glance around our horizons confirmed that there was quite a storm brewing. Grey clouds were swiftly moving towards us from the west.
Curiously, the one whose bone I had broken was now packing snow around its leg. As i observed them, the wounds caused by Sour Note on another seemed to become a patchwork of skin as the snow hit it. The third one was just sitting there, but stopped wheezing after a while.
"I don't think we'll make it to the tower without properly dispatching these guys first." I said to no pony in particular, but Sour Note just harrumphed.
I grabbed my sword out of the ground and began to walk towards our foes. Sour Note started to follow me. I could hear his spear hit the ground, and I spun around expecting a sneak attack.
But all I saw was Sour Note, Stiff as stone, falling sideways while shaking violently in his armor.
The sword fell from my muzzle. "Note, What's wrong!?" I called out, Hoping to Celestia that these twisted figures weren't poisonous.
He stopped convulsing, but then I could see his eyes shoot wide open. "It's big sword time, IT'S BIG SWORD TIME!"
The ground began to quake beneath our hooves. Our three previous combatants perked up, but then immediately started running away in random directions. I watched them flee in what seemed like terror, but just what are they running from? As if in response to my question, a massive claw tore open the ground. With a deafening crack, the claw impacted and sent squalls of snow over us. I rushed over to aid Sour Note onto his hooves, and we both stood our ground against this unknown threat.
"Note... what is that?" I squeaked out between wind gusts.
Another claw ripped through the earth. My ally and I stood fast. I couldn't tell if it was anything but fear that held us at this point.
"Maybe if we ask nicely, it won't kill us." I heard him say quietly.
All at once, the other claw came crashing down as a gargantuan figure burst through, as if it was pushing the very continent apart. It towered above us but we could not see what it is was. The blizzard was in full force now so all the surrounding area looked like we were stuck in a giant snow-globe.
We stood, contemplating our options, and only one viable solution came to mind for me. I turned to Sour Note and tried to stay as calm as possible. "I think we should run now."
He paused for a moment and cocked his head as he looked at me. "I think that's a really good idea."
I grabbed my short sword and slipped it back into my saddle as we started sprinting away from the figure. As we turned to circle it, the claw nearest to us started glowing. In one swift movement, it picked up its claw and then slammed its palm down into the snow. The glow around the claw dissipated just as quickly as it had formed.
I came to a grinding halt as the earth around us began to shift and crack. I turned to Sour Note with a frantic look on my face, and he just stared back with those bright yellow eyes. "It's been nice knowing you. If I die first, I’ll put in a good word with Celestia for you."
I glared daggers at him, how could he just give up so easily? "Nopony's dying on my watch." I spat, and then bit his saddle. I began to spin, slinging Sour Note around me. I could feel the earth become increasingly more uneven, but I had a plan.
"Basalt, don't you dare!" I could hear Sour Note scream, but he really didn't have much say in the matter anymore. I released his saddle and sent him sailing above the ground towards Luna's Watchtower. The area beneath my rear hooves gave out and I clambered forward to hold onto the ledge. I can feel a strange warmth starting to burn my backside so I quickly looked behind me. The fissure that the figure had created was now a canyon of magma. Just my luck, I get to burn to death in the freezing cold.
But, where did that towering figure go? I can't see anything but magma and snow at this point. I can feel the ledge continually crumbling. As I tried to pull myself up, the area of snow surrounding me splintered off and fell into the fire. Now I wish I hadn't tossed Sour Note so far, I could tell him to pull me up. As soon as I slung one of my rear legs up, the ledge gave way.
Why is the only thing i can think about right now is how my parents won't have to bury me? That's just weird. I grabbed my Buster Sword and twisted in mid-air towards the sprawling magma pit so I may face my death with honor.
"Needle Goes Where?"
Complete and total darkness. Well that was anti-climactic. I feel like I’m weightless in an endless void. I've somehow acquired a nice gray robe with auburn trim that matches my eyes. I can see a blurry image off in the distance. But now it's gone, where did it go?
And why is something poking me in the forehead? I recoiled and tried to swat away whatever it was, but for some reason I couldn't feel my legs and I could feel that the robe was gone.
"Oh yeah, he's alive and doing fine now." I heard a male voice say. My throat hurt and I tried to open my eyes but all I could see was a dull orange.
"I told you to stop poking him!" This other voice was feminine and smooth as silk.
"Look, though, I fixed him, he woke up didn't he?" I couldn't help but cough out a chuckle at his logic. "And he likes my jokes too!" I heard a dull thump, "OW!"
"You may have found him half-dead in the river, but you asked me for help. Would you stop poking him!?"
I finally swallowed hard and uttered in a hoarse voice "I don't feel anything..." Wow, I sound like I'm in really bad shape.
I could hear movement and metallic clanks. "Wait, you couldn't feel that? That's not good, hold him still again." There was genuine concern in her voice. Hooves were suddenly holding my legs down against a cold, metal surface.
"Why are you doing this?" I managed to say. I really want to know, these ponies don't seem very friendly.
"You may not have reacted very much when I poked you, but you clocked Serenity upside the head earlier. I'm guessing it's because you can still feel the needles. She's asked me to hold you down so you don't make her face look any better." I take that back, this stallion is kind of friendly, but a little loopy.
"I have an extra needle here, for anypony who needs it." This mare seems kind of crazy.
"I really don't think you should stick him with two needles at the same time." I felt the stallion shift away from the mare's voice. "Stop trying to hit me and stab him already!" Forget that, he's downright strange.
She sighed with emphasis, "Why I always help you with your weird ideas and adventures is beyond me. Next time you show up on my doorstep with a dying pony, I'll boot your flank to the curb." Is this a common occurrence for them? I was about to voice this concern, but she put her hoof on my side. It felt so soft as a small wave of calmness washed over me. "Okay, ready?"
"I got him, do it."
"No, no, please-" But I felt the needle make contact near my shoulder. OH MY SWEET CELESTIA! This needle must be the size of a sword! My chest suddenly feels like it's been set on fire, and I can sure feel my legs now that the stallion's weight is the only thing keeping them still.
I suddenly felt another, but thankfully smaller, needle pierce right above my neck. "Sorry I have to give the sedative second, the medicine doesn't work as well if you already have it in your system."
I opened my mouth to ask what medicine, but my head felt heavy all of a sudden. Just what exactly are these ponies pumping me full of?
I can't feel my legs again, or the rest of my body for that matter. "A few more minutes and you should be out like a light, champ. I'll be back when you wake up to see if we need to stick you some more."
"The only pony in here should get stuck anymore is you if you don't stop that." I wasn't feeling the humor either, and I could hear another thump.
"Mare, stop hitting me and leave this poor stallion to have some rest. Out with you!" The mare nickered indignantly and I could hear the door slam after two sets of hooves left the room.
The pain has started to recede and I’m actually starting to feel much better now. There's no way I’m going to be able to figure out where I am right now, so I think I’ll take a short nap.
I awoke to a shuffling sound coming from across the room. Alright, let's state facts here. I'm pretty sure I’m not actually dead. They are two questionably insane ponies who seem to have my well-being in mind. I still can't see anything, but there's something in the room with me.
A jab to my side just gave it away. "If you don't stop poking me, I’ll ask that nice mare to come back and punch you again." I couldn't help it as a big grin made it's way across my muzzle.
"Oh, it's alive!" He poked me again and added "I'm following medical procedures. You obviously felt that this time, so you're doing even better than the last time you were awake. Serenity told me to make sure you could still wake up before I went to bed. She is home sleeping now so you and I can talk without her listening. I'd like to ask you some things, if that's all right with you." I heard him pull up a stool.
I suddenly felt irritated about my current situation. "Tell you what, I'll trade you questions for questions."
He paused for a while. "Fair enough, you've probably got more than I do so you can go first."
I looked where I thought he was sitting. "Why can't I see anything?"
I heard him chuckle lightly. "Serenity says blindfolding the patient is part of the 'healing process'. Apparently, the less you use your senses while the medicine is active, the better it works." I reached up and started fumbling with the cloth. "It's pretty dim in here so it shouldn't hurt too much, let me get that for you."
I closed my eyes in anticipation as he reached over and pulled my blindfold off. Suddenly everything was white, even through my eyelids. I blinked a few times and began to look around as my sight adjusted. I've been laying on a metal table in the middle of some sort of workshop. Sitting beside me is a green stallion with a blue mane. His colors seem awfully dark, especially with the blackened fur around his muzzle and black freckles, but his eyes were a light, cheerful green.
Looking around, there are all sorts of tools covering most of the walls. I was faced away from a really nice set of Bay windows. "Do you live here?" I'm actually mildly impressed with this setup.
"It's not bad, it's not something you'd find in the Lunar City, but..." he sighed and continued, "Yeah, this is my home. I'm afraid I only have one bed. I'll bring you some blankets or something and you can prop yourself up in the corner or in a chair somewhere. The name's Locke by the way, tell me yours and I’ll let that second question slide."
I guess he's alright, but I don't see any of my armor in the room. "I'm Basalt, nice to meet you. Did i have anything with me when you found me in the river?"
He paused for a moment, then reached up and started rubbing his eyes. "I know for a fact that the techniques she uses prevents and restores any memory damage." He put his hoof down and looked right at me.
"You said you found me half-dead in the river. Just what exactly are you insinuating?"
He slammed his hoof on the table and I recoiled as he glared at me. "I found you with almost no pulse, hanging upside down by a hunk of twisted metal in my orchard! Why were you in there? how did you find it?" Oh boy, he was seething.
"Hey! I swear I have no idea what you're talking about!" I could see the doubt in his eyes. "One minute I'm fighting a giant monster near Luna's Watchtower and then falling into a giant pit of magma. The next minute, I'm getting stabbed with needles by two ponies I’ve never met before!" His ears shot up when I mentioned the Watchtower. "If I had any clue why I'm still alive, you'd be the next to know."
He was eyeing me carefully. What was I doing hanging from a tree? Where's Sour Note? Where's my armor? "What the hay were you doing near the Watchtower? Only the Celestian Knights go anywhere near that place and you don't look much more than the militia rabble."
Oh no he didn't. "Listen here, punk, I'll have you know that I'm a Solar Knight! I was on my way to escort a prospective Lunar Knight home." I bit my tongue, no one outside the Order is supposed to know things like that.
He suddenly closed his eyes and leaned back on his stool. He looked contemplative but troubled. "I guess we can't all be that honest." I looked at him, but he just kept sitting there.
I suddenly had a strange feeling about him, as if he'd always been my friend. "If i had either of my blades, you could see the emblem on the hilt." He just nodded his head and mumbled. "I'm being completely serious right now. I have no reason to lie to you. I just want to go home and I’ll probably need your help. Please..."
"I have no doubt about the authenticity of your claims any longer. "He opened his eyes and stared out the windows. "The emblem is there on the hilt of both your broken blades. Now it makes sense why they look as if they've been melted." I looked down at my hooves. "Aw, don't worry about it, I'm sure that my buddy can add blades to them."
"He can't." I looked up and Locke was looking at me with a puzzled expression. "They were crafted from a superior metal, and the buster sword is too thick to smith by normal standards."
"Okay then, I’m sure he could smith something to appeal to your superior tastes." He started snickering but I was still concerned, and it showed. "Oh, don't worry about your armor either. I'm sure i have some steel plates lying around that we can strap to your chest." We laughed for a few minutes.
The fact that Locke lied to Serenity was still bothering me though. I looked over and he didn't seem to be tired yet. "If you don't mind me asking, just why exactly did you tell Serenity that you found me in a river?" His posture suddenly stiffened.
"Oh... well... there are things she doesn't need to know."
That was informative. "Why would you lie to such a pretty mare like that? I would never dream of lying to her."
He looked at me and smiled. "You know that wave of calm that you felt before she stuck you with the needle?" Changing the subject, but maybe this is going somewhere. I nodded the affirmative. "It has side-effects that you should probably know about."
I looked at him side-ways. "What do you mean?"
"I'll put it this way, the last time she used that spell was on an injured mare while we transported her for medical care. Basically, the mare was visiting some of her family but had slipped and fell down a cliff while playing with her nephew. The road back was really bumpy and we had to carry her in a carriage. Serenity sat next to her in the carriage and used that spell more than once to keep her alive on the way back, the broken bones might have cut some major arteries if she tensed her muscles too much, you know. What started throwing red flags was when the mare got better, she grabbed Serenity and kissed her before she departed. I think I was the only stallion there who was more concerned than... having other emotions."
I interrupted his tale with a chuckle. "Sorry for interrupting, but I don't think you need to explain that one." He smiled back before continuing.
"We sort of knew the mare, she'd visit every couple months because she didn't like that her siblings had moved away. So it was weird when she showed up the week after that. I'll spare you the rest of the drama and such, but what happened was she actually proposed to Serenity, but she was obviously declined. So the next thing we know, she's trying to kidnap Serenity. With her siblings' help, she was more or less forcibly removed from the community. Now her siblings go to see her, and she's finally stopped asking about 'that beautiful mare who single-handedly saved her life'"
I remember stories of ponies becoming addicted to anesthesia spells and certain poultices during recovery in hospitals. Most of those incidents only concerned lingering pains that had no cause, but I’ve never heard of altered behavior patterns. "And what does that have to do with me?"
"I'm just saying, i saw the look on your face when she hit you with the spell. I'm just concerned for her well-being. Now that I know you're military, I’m worried that we wouldn't be able to stop you if you tried to do what that other mare did." He gave me a stern look.
"You must be tired or something, you're being delusional. I would never harm such a nice pony. I think you'd better go to bed." I've had enough of this conversation."
He got up, smiled, and said, "Alright, but I'll notice if you start staring at her flank for an extended period of time." He started strolling away and added, "Don't worry though, you'll be able to feast your eyes in the morning."
I could feel myself start to blush. "Would you just be quiet and give me some blankets?"
"Yeah, sure, I'll get you some right now." He tapped the door open and left. He's being awfully friendly to somepony he's never met before. After finding me in his precious orchard no less. Wait, why did lie about finding me in the orchard?
Some blankets came flying in the room at me. "There you go, buddy. I'll make you wash those if you happen to spill anything on them."
The warm feeling returned. "That was a very clever redirection you pulled there. Don't think I’ll let you do that again."
"Just stop thinking about her and you'll be fine.Good night, Basalt, your maiden awaits your awakening!"
I could hear him laughing as he walked away. Enough of this tomfoolery, I'm going to bed. I spread the blankets over myself and used the cushion that was with them as a pillow. I'll try to figure the rest out in the morning when I see Serenity.
