Shining Armor had insisted that I use the lieutenant’s office until we actually had a lieutenant. It was unnecessarily large for me but I did what I was told. He stuck his head through the door and said, “Great work yesterday. I heard the gryphon soldiers were being rude and that nopony even batted an eye.”
“That is correct, sir. It takes more than some feather-brained gryphons to get under the coats of my ponies,” I replied.
“That’s the spirit! Speaking of ponies, I’ve found a good candidate for lieutenant. He is still at the officer’s academy, but I think he’s ready. Plus, he’ll have a great unit sergeant to educate him on how the Royal Guard life actually is.”
I tilted my head. We didn’t have a unit sergeant. Our unit had not been big enough for command to feel that was necessary. “Who is that, sir?”
Shining Armor set a first sergeant pin on the desk and said, “You, obviously. You’ve been running the whole unit for a while and it is getting awkward with Sergeant Orchid and you being the same rank. Plus, after Lieutenant Haze, command and I agree that this unit is too important to deny a new officer the council of a unit sergeant simply because it is small.”
Looking at the pin, I set a hoof on it and pulled it closer. This one I didn’t feel was undeserved. Early? Sure… but I had been committing a lot of time to running the unit. Plus, the captain was right, of course. Unit sergeants for sections had the responsibility of molding new lieutenants. At least the ones smart enough to listen.
I nodded and said, “Thank you, sir.”
The captain replied, “I know it is a bit fast but things change rapidly sometimes. Now, as your last task as unit commander, I need three names of who should get your old position. Then you and I are going to go look this academy pony over and see if he is House Guard material. Understood?”
“Understood, sir!” The captain left me alone to consider who I thought was ready to take on my old job. This was going to be difficult.
☾
Radiant Orchid and I sat at lunch, eating quietly. I looked across the table at her and said, “Orchid, can I ask you something?”
Orchid looked up from her apple salad mid-chew. “Hmm?”
I took that as a yes. “Do you mind that I’ve been promoted so fast? I wanted to see how you felt about that.”
She swallowed and then softly laughed. “You’re sweet to be concerned. Listen, Silent Knight. I wanted to be part of Princess Celestia’s House Guard. I worked really hard to make that happen. You know as well as I do that when you make that choice, promotion opportunities get really slim. Some ponies spend their entire career in the Palace Guard and never make sergeant. That is even more likely as a House Guard.”
Orchid paused to sip her drink. “I made sergeant. That is a big achievement. I also decided to move to Princess Luna’s House Guard. That is an even smaller unit. I’m glad I did. I certainly don’t begrudge you your success. Who volunteers for every extra duty? You. Who knows every regulation and protocol? You. Who looks out for everypony on the team? You. It was always going to be you.” She patted me on the hoof. “No, I don’t mind. You’ve earned it.”
I thought that over and then offered, “But you have more seniority.”
Orchid laughed, shaking her head. “I also have a husband and two foals I like going home to. The higher you go, the more responsibility you have and, as a consequence, the less time at home. That is fine for you—” She winced. “That isn’t what I meant, Silent Knight. You’ll get there. For now, though, it is fine for you.”
The comment hadn’t really stung but she had me there. Orchid had a beautiful family. If I had one like hers I wouldn’t want to stay late, either. My life was all about the job. I smiled at her and nodded. “Then we’re good. That wasn’t why I asked you to lunch, though. I need two names from your squad on who you think should make sergeant.”
Her head tilted and she asked, “From my squad? For your squad?”
I nodded with certainty. “Promotion opportunities are slim and the new first sergeant can’t seem like he favors one squad over the other. Everypony should have a fair shot. I’m going to pick two, you’re going to pick two, and I’ll give the best three to the captain.”
“Look at you,” she teased. “You’re going to make an excellent first first sergeant for this unit. Just remember us little ponies when you make master sergeant and move up.”
I snorted at that idea. Ponies do not make master sergeant easily or quickly and I’d be competing against every pony in both House Guards and the Palace Guard. No, this was going to be home for a while.
☾
“You realize two of these names are from Sergeant Orchid’s squad, right?” Shining Armor asked me.
“I do, Captain. I considered everypony in the unit and asked Sergeant Orchid’s advice on who she thought was ready in her squad. I did the same for mine. I took those ponies and ranked them according to seniority, commendations, and their leadership qualities. These were the three top ponies,” I explained.
“And you’re not worried your ponies will be upset if we bring somepony over from Orchid’s squad?” he asked.
“Not at all, sir. We’re one unit. Everypony is close knit and knows the score. First sergeants can't play favorites and I’ve got a lot of rookies in my squad. Orchid has the more seasoned guards. I took her two recommendations and put them with the best I had.”
Shining Armor nodded and tapped my desk. “Well, you passed the first test. Not that I had any doubt. Now that you have the list, who should get the promotion?”
“I gave you the three names as requested, Captain.”
“And I’m asking you to recommend one to me now, First Sergeant,” he replied.
“That puts me in an awkward position, sir. The best pony for the job per the metrics and Sergeant Orchid’s recommendation is Iridescence. If I pick her, the others may suspect it is because of our friendship.”
“Is she the best pony for the job?” the captain asked.
“Yes, sir. She has the second highest seniority of all of the first class ponies and the most commendations. Her interpersonal skills exceed everypony’s, mine included, and if this were a regular guard unit she would have made sergeant before me.”
“Then make the call, Sergeant,” Shining Armor said pointedly. This was clearly the second part of the test.
I looked at the documents in front of me once more to be sure. Mountain Stone had the most seniority. He had a full year and then some more than Iridescence. At the same time, Mountain had less than half the commendations she did. Iridescence even had a letter of reference from her commanding officer from her time as a palace guard. Then there was Lightning Flash. He was the best of my squad currently, but he really didn’t stack up.
From the group of three, I slid Lightning away and looked back and forth between the two remaining. What would the other ponies think? It was my first decision as unit sergeant and I was going to pick my former special somepony? On the other hoof, how could I face Iridescence if I sabotaged her career because I was worried that other ponies wouldn’t see the facts?
The captain just stood there quietly letting me work it out myself. I slid a piece of paper over to him and said, “Mares rule the world.”
He nodded in agreement. “That they do.”
☾
It so happened that everypony on Princess Luna’s House Guard did know the score and how to read metrics. If anypony was upset about Iridescence making sergeant, I couldn’t tell. The fact that they threw her a small party may have also been a hint.
I eyed the group and said, “Nopony threw me a party.”
Iridescence was sitting beside me, having her cake and eating it, too. “Everypony had expected you to make sergeant,” she said between bites. “You want a reward for doing what you’re supposed to?”
I snorted and then asked, “And why is Winterspear here? She isn’t even part of the unit.”
That yielded a shove from Iridescence, which isn’t strictly regulation but this was a semi-unofficial function and we weren’t in uniform. “I invited her and it’s my party. I’ll invite who I want to. Quit being surly.”
“Fine, fine,” I said before taking a large bite of cake. It was amazing. Crystal Wishes had brought it from Velvet Step’s family’s bakery, Sunridge Sweets. Those ponies really knew cake. I was in a sweets-induced heaven until I saw impending doom. My eyes went wide. It was Miley’s turn to play pin the tail on the pony and she was way off course.
Princess Luna had her back to the rapidly approaching Miley. I opened my mouth to shout a warning but with all of the cake I had just bit into, it sounded like the noises that fluffy pink pony from Ponyville makes.
Time slowed down and I felt my heart pounding in my chest. Princess Luna was about to have a second tail. I pointed a hoof. It was all I could do. Iridescence followed my gaze and gasped.
“Cripes! My backside hath been pinned!” Princess Luna shouted as she jumped straight into the air. Everypony in the room turned to look, horror on their faces.
“What happened?” Miley asked before pulling down the blindfold. For such a darkly coated pony she turned almost as white as me. “P-Princess! I’m so sorry!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. Everypony else was fawning over Princess Luna, who was taking it in good spirit. Golden magic levitated a slice of cake out the door and I distinctly saw a sun cutie mark on the white flank that was beating a hasty retreat. A set up then… the whole pinning had been a diversion.
I got up and went to check on the princess. She was a good sport and we got Miley back on track. Thank goodness our alicorn rulers have a sense of humor… and a lust for cake.
☾
Princess Luna and I walked side by side back to her chambers. Mixer and Cog were two paces back. As far as strolls through the palace went, this was probably one of the most unnecessarily secure ones.
Speaking softly, I asked, “Princess… before the gryphons came. You mentioned you were young before you were banished. If I could inquire… are alicorns ever fillies? You were born just like any other pony?”
“This is not something that we casually speak of, Silent Knight. Many ponies have certain… beliefs about us. Princess Celestia feels that certain things should remain behind the curtain and I agree.”
That made sense. Some ponies looked at the alicorns as living goddesses. “Of course, Princess. My apologies.”
When we reached the doors I pulled them open for the princess and she walked in.
“Silent Knight, I know thou art off duty, but join me for a moment please. I would like to speak privately.”
“Yes, Princess,” I replied before motioning to Mixer and Cog. “You two take position outside the door here for now.”
“Yes, Sergeant,” they replied as I followed the princess in.
After pushing the door closed, I made my way over to where Princess Luna had sat down. I took a spot next to her.
“Dost thou believe that alicorns are goddesses?” the princess asked me.
That was a very philosophical question. “Well, logically speaking… alicorns are immortal, they have powerful magic far beyond unicorns, they can fly, and they’re larger. If they’re not goddesses, they’re certainly more goddess-like than pony-like. I guess by being so close to you I don’t exactly… worship you. At the same time I know you’re not exactly like me.”
“Ageless,” Princess Luna corrected.
“Pardon?”
“We are ageless, not immortal. I won’t die of old age but I can be killed. Thus why thou art here to protect me,” the princess corrected.
My nose wrinkled and I shivered. The mere idea of the princess being killed creeped me out. “Ageless, then. Princess, you’re as goddess-like as can be… so I guess I do think of you that way.”
“Dost thou believe that Celestia and I have always been?” she asked.
“I did… but in working here, you both talk about being younger and even foalhoods. It is confusing. I know you’re both older than well-recorded history.”
“Indeed.” Princess Luna shifted and looked me over. “I was once a filly and we have not always been. Thou wilt keep that in confidence, wilt thou not?”
“You have my word, Princess.”
The princess nodded firmly and lightly patted me with a hoof. “If thou wouldst excuse me, I would like to take a little rest.”
“Certainly,” I replied as I got up and left the room, leaving the princess to her thoughts.
Finally! We were almost taking bets on when you'd get the promotion, sir. And I have no problem with another unicorn in the unit, and Iridescence is definitely experienced enough for the job.
With promotions comes more paperwork HAVE FUN KNIGHT.
This is a great story, but most of the chapters are far to short for my tastes. Always leaving me unsatisfied at the end. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
Hum master sergeant is the last grade a no officier can reach?
5580820 Chief Master Sergeant is grade 7. Similar to the WW2 U.S. enlisted ranks there are only 7 grades. There limited other similarities though. Master Sergeant is 6.
5580798 I do consistently update twice a week though ;D
5580687 It is all paperwork!
5580616 ^_^
... Well, this will have to do. If this Lieutenant is a dud, though, I'm going to question command's competence and demand Silent receive his damn field commission....
5580861 True.
Oh poor Miley!
Everyone going mad over Silent's promotion and here i am thinking that the best bit of this chapter was Princess Luna telling him a bit about her past and placing great trust in him. Showed how the other characters have developed around Silent Knight.
Again, the shipping continues between Silent and Luna. Just see how he stoically stays by her side and how she shares with him the deepest parts of her heart. They were meant for each other! Or at least that what I'm seeing whilst wearing my shipping goggles.
5580861
I was wondering, wouldn't they called Silent First-Sgt.? Leaving off the designator would be an insult to his rank.
The elusive Cake Bandit makes an appearance! Quick, Silent, after him or her! Cake banditry will not stand during Luna's House Guard's watch!
Also, I think Miley should get a medal for actually pinning the tail on the pony.
Mares rule the world.
It seems SK is really learning now
5581571 So is Equestria.
5581529 The cake bandit is a very serious problem in the palace.
5581515 It can be depending on the branch of the military in the real world. In this particular case I am going with the ones that would deem it appropriate to call "middle NCO ranks" by just sergeant. Plus their relationship is fairly familiar. In the U.S. army sergeant is fine. For the marines that doesn't fly ;)
5581336 Two characters alone together! This ship has sailed!
5581292 I'm glad you enjoyed that part. It was something I was excited about sharing (and will be important to the plot).
5581026 She does the best she can.
5581584 eeeeeeeyp
5581584
Someone really needs to get on that. I keep filing the paperwork to start a thorough investigation into the matter, but nothing comes back. I'm beginning to suspect the Cake Bandit has contacts within the local guard units. Which wouldn't be at all surprising, I suppose. Wise on their part, even. We'll have to go further.
I'll petition the princesses.
That was a great chapter. I'm glad Silent now understand why the princesses needs guards. Good luck with future chapters. This is one of my favorite stories.
5581584
That makes sense. I served in the USMC and have a habit of assuming the royal guard would be more like Marines.
5581674 Yeah, mine are kind of a mix between WW2 US army and the royal marines. Also, to be honest, it is also partially because I didn't want to type first sergeant repeatedly ;) But yes, dead on I'd never call a marine by anything other than their full rank.
5581674 What division?
5581766 Indeed! I watched some poor Corporal call a Staff a Sergeant on accident.....It wasn't pretty.....
Dawws for Miley!
All aboard the Miley Knight bandwagon!
Great story. The pace and dedication you have to writing this is amazing! Really cool to have new content on a pretty quick basis.
Why the cake hasn't been doubled yet!? Wait - it will double on next Nightmare Moon and/or Summer Celebration.
I like how you interpret the lore in your biding.
cool
Pretty good promotion decisions this chapter. Here's hoping that the next Lieutenant had his or her ears open for advice.
5583707 I try to be a clever pony =D
5583592 We will all find out... next week! This week will go a different direction.
5582455 I promise my two chapters a week! I'm trying to treat this like a web comic.
5582328 Haha. Silent is being shipped all over.
5581584
I'm glad you agreed with me. Ship is cannon. Calling it now.
Read the whole thing in one go (been sitting on my "read later" pile for weeks now), and got so say i'm loving it for the most part.
Three things i'm not all too exited about though.
1. Luna's characterization feels slightly off (mainly a personal preference, though i do feel it does not quite fit what we see in the actual cartoon)
2. No bat ponies, none, not even a whisper of them.
3. Not a single mention of Luna's dreamweaving and dreamwalking abilities.
But other than that, very nice story, and hope to see more, lot more, of it.
5583978 I'm glad you took the time! Thank you for reading and commenting.
1. Luna's characterization feels slightly off
I understand. We see so very little of Luna in the actual show it is difficult to attribute what is "exact" for her. The comic Luna, in my opinion, is actually pretty different from the show Luna. In the case of this story I needed a particular style of character to balance Silent Knight. I took what little we know about Luna and tailored it a bit to suit my needs. In that sense I'm not trying to get her "show accurate."
That is actually why I write OC / little known background pony stories. I'm simply not up to the challenge of characterizing well established ponies "correctly."
2. No bat ponies, none, not even a whisper of them.
Technically speaking, from the show, they only make a single appearance. The vast majority of bat ponies are fanon created. With that said, just because I haven't mentioned them yet doesn't mean I won't. (Or will) =D I have to keep my secrets and surprises for later on.
3. Not a single mention of Luna's dreamweaving and dreamwalking abilities.
This doesn't come up until season 3 and 4 respectively. I'm loosely following that storyline so I'd tack "yet" on to the end of the statement ;)
I hope those are somewhat helpful answers! Stay tuned, I honestly do have a lot planned.
For all of those curious about my pony ranks I wanted to have a treat for you. The enlisted insignia are done if you'd like to check them out.
Royal Guard Enlisted Insignia
5584090
1. fair enough.
2. they have been seen only once, but see them we did, and having not a single mention of them feels weird (any future revelations may or may not fix this), especially when you are using their armor.
3. not really an excuse, we only saw them at season 3/4, but that does not mean she did not have them earlier, so any story strongly featuring Luna that does not aknowledge their existence made post season 3, is, in my opinion, ignoring a rather large part of Luna and what she is/does.
But there are possible reasons why they might not have come up, maybe she just did not feel like telling ponies she can (and occasionally, does) look into their minds and see their deepest, darkest, most embarassing secrets whenever she feels like it.
5586477 You're keeping me honest ;) I'll explain a little bit more.
2. they have been seen only once, but see them we did, and having not a single mention of them feels weird (any future revelations may or may not fix this), especially when you are using their armor.
The fans have developed bat ponies a lot and in a ton of different directions. That is totally fine because there is zero information on them and it allows the imagination to run wild. I made the choice to ignore any bat pony and/or night guard fanon because it is just that, fanon. We see the bat ponies once on a night where ponies would dress in costumes. After that we never see them again. Not as background ponies, not in the palace, not at all. In contrast, after the crystal ponies were introduced the show went to lengths to show them in other places than the Crystal empire such as at "trade day."
I understand that it may feel weird to you. For me, it is extremely consistent with the show. As far as what we've seen (and I suspect season 5 might change this) there are literally two... or they were pegasi in costumes. I personally don't see it as "bat pony armor." It makes sense that guards that protect Luna would have armor that matched her colors. So, if they were their own species, I'd argue they're wearing Luna's armor.
With that said I'm a planner. Memoirs may only release twice a week but the timeline, plots, and even a lot of writing is completed past what is shown. All the choices I make are for a reason and I'll be addressing a lot as we move forwards. That may or may not include bat ponies. If I do, however, they'll be done in my way to suit the story I'm telling.
3. not really an excuse, we only saw them at season 3/4, but that does not mean she did not have them earlier, so any story strongly featuring Luna that does not aknowledge their existence made post season 3, is, in my opinion, ignoring a rather large part of Luna and what she is/does.
To your point, it also does not mean she had the powers right when she returned. Additionally, the story features her but isn't written 3rd person omniscient. It is first person from Silent Knight's perspective. Explaining Luna's powers has to be something he sees or she tells him. Thus far, to include that (assuming we're going with the theory that she always has the powers) it would almost literally be exposition for the sake of exposition. She'd have to say, in Silent Knight's presence, "Hey did you know I can see your dreams?" Again, as with bat ponies, I'm not necessarily saying I won't do this but, when/if I do, it will make sense to the story.
But there are possible reasons why they might not have come up, maybe she just did not feel like telling ponies she can (and occasionally, does) look into their minds and see their deepest, darkest, most embarassing secrets whenever she feels like it.
This is actually my feeling on the power. Knowing this could creep a pony out and, in a lot of ways, it is a complete invasion of privacy. It is a huge can of worms. Beyond that, being able to see both dreams and nightmares actually makes Luna massively powerful. It is a form of omniscience that even Celestia doesn't seem to have. I have to be delicate with how I present this. I've got a plan though ;)
All in all, I certainly see your points. One of the choices I made early on when I started Memoirs was to use the AU tag. That frees me from the burden of canon and fanon to go my own path because I knew some of what I did would take me a direction not everyone would agree with me on. Not everyone is going to like my canon and that is totally okay. I've got a particular story I'm after and these choices were all made early and for a reason.
Yes!! I totally called it!Okay I know I wasn't the only one, but we could see that promotion coming a mile away! Glad he made it. And First Shirt is gonna be a very important role if anything is to be hinted at the actual rank in relation to SK's position. The only gripe I have is that a First Seargant's rank insignia includes a diamond annotating his position as a Master Seargant First Seargant. However, it is your story so I won't say anything more. Do continue with this awesome story.
Shirt! Shirt is the best person to have on your side. Always.
5583978
Le-! You're right about most of those! There is no mention of of Luna's abilities so far.
But, I must say, there was mention of bat ponies in the Nightmare Night chapter. Two pegasus guards were wearing a charm that made them look like bat ponies. Honestly, though, I think the lack of thestrals is somewhat unnerving.
And Cakelestia found another victim ...
One job! You all had one job!
And that blink-and-miss-it Celestia cameo is just too good. I get why she's so absent from the story, these things considered, so it's nice to see her get a hoof in.
...or a slice out
8064580
But is it wrong?
The answer is no.
Tell me when S.K. makes Master Chief Petty Officer. the 117th pony to ever make it. xD im a halo nerd
well that's one way to play that game lol!
7101009
Ah I think you are forgetting something though...or at least you did when you posted this...5 years ago...whoops...anyway do you remember exactly what SK's ears look like?