From the desk of Sergeant Iridescence
Acting Unit Sergeant
Princess Luna’s House Guard
Silent Knight was putting up a valiant but losing fight in the door of the train car. He was determined that the gryphons were not going to have a chance of reaching us.
His words echoed in my mind, “No heroes today, Sir.”
Stupid, stupid pony. The gap between the cars was growing swiftly as his slowed and ours sped up. He kept stealing brief glances over his shoulder and when it became clear that no gryphon could possibly reach us he just… went down.
The gryphons immediately pounced on him. Their heavy forms blocked any chance of seeing him and I screamed. I didn’t mean to, but I did. Everypony had stopped to look at me.
That was it. He was gone.
Behind me, I heard hooves galloping down the car. I turned to look just as the pearl-coated unicorn leaped over me and off of the train. She sailed forward on wings of light as silver magic shimmered around her form until she suddenly disappeared.
Down the track, I saw her pop into existence in the other car. Her sudden arrival sent gryphons tumbling about, leaving her standing over Silent Knight’s body. She looped her hooves around his unmoving form and her horn illuminated once again.
There was a crackle of air and a soft pop. The pair appeared beside me and she eased him to the floor.
“He is badly injured,” she said with a plain coolness that unsettled me.
Silent Knight’s sword was still clutched in his mouth, both bloodied. He didn’t move or make any sound.
Magic flared on Ferrel’s horn and she gingerly touched him. “He is stable but magic has its limits. I must rest.” Without another word, she walked to an empty seat, collapsed into it, and promptly fell asleep.
The rest of the squad came over to stare down at where Silent Knight rested.
“Miley, get him bandaged. Be careful,” I said firmly.
The others were in shock and I stamped a hoof. “Listen up! We’re not out of this yet. We don’t know what is waiting for us or if they’ve given up. There is no time to feel sorry for ourselves. I need every uninjured pony on watch. Now!”
They jumped to attention and I continued, “Thunder Tumble, get me a head count. Sergeant Orchid, you’re in charge of making sure this train moves as fast as possible. Miley, when you’re done with the First Sergeant, tend to the others. Get moving.”
Training and instinct took over and the ponies started on the tasks I set them to. I went to where the temple guards were. “You”—I pointed at the first—“back of the train. If the gryphons get anywhere close, I want a gravity spell. Can you do that?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Get to it. You”—I pointed to the second—“take care of the Exemplar. Make sure she hasn’t overdone it. Check her for injuries, too.”
“Right away,” she said before hurrying off.
The final one I put a hoof on. “You go to Silent Knight. It is extremely important that he lives. I know you have healing skills other than magic. You can tend his wounds. Help Miley.”
He nodded and hurried off. I jumped onto one of the benches where I knew everypony could see me. “Good work, ponies. When it all fell apart, you did your jobs. Everypony here did exactly what was expected of them… but we’re not done. We have to get Princess Luna to the ships. We have no idea how deep this goes and we won’t be stopping at the palace. Do whatever you need to do to get right in the head, but do it quick. By sundown, we’ll be at the port. Be ready.”
☾
I made the call. Right or wrong, I made it. Before the train reached the city, we stopped it and bailed out. With our wounded across our backs, we made for the port. By the time the train pulled into the station, we would be on the ships and setting sail. We’d let the Duke sort out who was guilty.
Luna had been strangely silent. She did not argue with me. She simply did as she was told and followed along with the plans I made to get us all out of the Celestia-forsaken continent.
Silent Knight groaned on my back. He was heavier than I had estimated, but I just had to be the one to say I’d carry him. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have done that. It is hard to command from under a heavy pegasus stallion, but the thought of him being injured and stuck on anypony else was more than I could bear.
The head count had not been as bad as I had estimated, at least if you didn’t consider Duke Cassius’s gryphons. We had three missing. None confirmed dead but, in my heart, I didn't believe ‘missing’ any more than anypony else.
The palace guards had fared worse. They had six missing and one poor pony didn’t survive the train ride. Silent Knight was in bad shape and Russet Rook was in a lot of pain. Rook was occasionally lucid enough to be useful but we still had to carry him.
Getting to the port was not difficult. The city guard were unconcerned, uninterested, and uninclined to stop us. We reached the ships without any trouble and got loaded up. I dumped Silent Knight into one of the bunks harder than I intended and he groaned.
“You have to hold on a little longer. Please… I can’t do this alone,” I whispered before heading back up on deck to look at everypony else.
“Cast off immediately,” I shouted to the captain.
He nodded and set his ponies to it. Within half an hour we were underway and facing a long voyage across the sea. A very long voyage…
☾
“I’ve killed him,” I said meekly to Lieutenant Rook.
He was up and on the mend. He still had a horrible limp, but thankfully he had resumed command. “Iridescence, you made the best call you could in a high-intensity situation. It is the same call I would have made. More importantly, it is the same call that Silent Knight would have made.”
I set my hooves on the rail of the ship. “He is going to die. If we stayed in the gryphon capital, we could have gotten him to a doctor. They could have helped him!”
Rook reached a hoof out and pulled my face toward him. “Your duty was to protect the Princess and that is exactly what you did. Don’t dishonor Silent Knight by second guessing yourself. Iridescence, he is injured because he chose to sacrifice himself for that duty. If you had risked the Princess to save him, you would have sullied that sacrifice.”
He let me go and continued, “It is ugly to say but soldiers die. That is what we do. Silent Knight knew… knows that better than anypony. It is the harsh reality that we rarely want to face. Honestly, ponies like him and I… this is always how it goes. There is no happy ending. We just try to make it count when it is our time. What he did counted. Don’t cheapen it.”
“That… That is horrible! How can you be so callous?!” I demanded.
“Violence is horrible. War is horrible. They are the antithesis of rationality and harmony. Every pony lost is a tragedy, but that is exactly why Silent Knight and I do what we do. We go willingly so that the average pony will never see this part of life. We die so that others may live. I have no delusion that I won’t end up the exact same way. If it wasn’t for him, I would have! When it is my turn, I hope no poor pony feels guilty.”
Lieutenant Rook drew himself up to his full height. “If he dies, he dies. It won’t be your fault. The only ones to blame are the cowards that ambushed us. Silent Knight made his choice and now it is time for you to make yours. Are you going to wallow in guilt, or make it worthwhile? What will it be, Sergeant?”
Tears for my friend threatened to fall but I willed them away. My heart broke as I did it, but I drew myself to attention. “Duty, Sir.”
The lieutenant nodded and said, “You’re acting unit sergeant, then. Pick an acting sergeant for your squad.”
“Yes, Sir,” I said quietly as I turned to go to my duty.
☾
“How is he?” I asked.
Luna was lying across the head of her bed with Silent Knight propped against her. She had graciously given her more comfortable quarters to him.
“He needs more medical attention than we can provide,” Exemplar Ferrel replied.
The unicorn priestess had been tending Silent Knight carefully, but she would not look directly at Luna or speak to her. It made for a somewhat strange situation since the Princess had been unwilling to leave her favored guard. The pair merely tended him and did not mingle.
“Will he make it?” I asked hopefully.
Luna replied, “He is in great pain. I fear there are internal wounds we cannot readily see.”
Exemplar Ferrel responded in her normal, emotionless way, “He will make the journey home. Once there, I cannot say.”
“How can you be so certain?” I asked
“I have faith in the alicorns,” she said plainly without looking away from the bandage she was replacing.
I looked at Luna, who simply shrugged, then back at the priestess. “I’ll take that as good news, then. Let me know if anything changes, please.”
“Of course, Sergeant,” Ferrel said.
Leaving the strange pair to care for Silent Knight, I went back up on deck to pray for strong winds. Just a few more days and we would be in Equestria. Then we could get him to the finest hospitals around.
☾
“Balitmare in sight, Captain!” called one of the sailors in the crow’s nest.
Lieutenant Rook limped up and shouted, “I want all of the wounded on stretchers immediately. Incognito, fly to the shore as fast as you can. We need medics ready to receive us.”
“Yes, Sir!” Cog shouted. He was already in the air and speeding toward shore.
I hurried down to Luna’s quarters. “We’re here!” I blurted nervously. “We need to get him on a stretcher.”
Luna nodded and gently laid Silent Knight fully onto the bed. He didn’t groan or even move… he was just limp and pale. His breathing was shallow, too.
Solar Flare and Astral Bolt arrived to take him. They went to move Silent Knight, but Luna blocked them. Gently, she levitated his form with her magic and nestled him onto the stretcher.
She fixed them with a stern gaze. “Thou wilt be most gentle with him.”
Quickly, they nodded, took their positions, and lifted Silent Knight to move up onto deck. I followed behind them, unable to take my eyes off him. I was worried that if I did he’d… depart.
Exemplar Ferrel stood with the wounded, staring vacantly off into space. When Solar and Astral set Silent Knight down, she seemed to snap back to reality. Immediately, she went to him and her horn flared into silver light. She touched it to his forehead and then dispassionately said, “He does not have long.”
Everypony on deck stopped what they were doing and turned. The ship slowly pulled into port and the sound of sirens became obvious. I willed my hooves to carry me to the stretcher. Silent Knight had stopped moving. My head fell and I nuzzled his cheek... It was cold.
I whispered softly, “Just fight a little longer… please. Just a little longer.”
Lieutenant Rook found a voice and he called sternly, “The ramp is coming up. Stretcher carriers, to your posts. Get the First Sergeant down and into the nearest ambulance. Move it, ponies!”
It snapped them out of their grief and they went back to their duties. I didn’t. My hindlegs gave out and I just sat as they carried him away.
Oh man. I can't wait for the repercussions to come down on the gryphons when Celestia and Equestria hears what happened.
Silent I have face in you. You can surive that.
On that note great chapter.
Hmmm He said earlier that the gryphons were split between a few different monarchies. While Luna may have secured an alliance with the Duke and Kingdom of the Kingdom she visited, My money is on captain Alistair turning traitor and seen as attacking Luna as a way to gain power with one of the enemy kingdoms. Im curious to see how it goes, But. these cliff hangers and having Silent near death has earned an Unlit torch.. Im curious to see how it goes. oh god... Crystal is gonna lose her shit when she finds out.
5773668 A possible gryphon civil war. Should be interesting.
*shakes violently* AHHHH!
awesome job, you did this just right, if we lynched you, we wouldn't be able to read what happens next.
I am eagerly awaiting the next chapter.
oh my... my best wishes to Silent, he is not deserving of this fate.
I am slowly starting to feel the need to see how gryphon tastes
Around a gryphon, the ice is thin.
*takes pitchfork from shed*
well... need to clean this thing... can't got and join an angry mob with a dirty pitchfork... we are civilized people.
ill stab you to death and twist the pitchforks so you can feel it well, but no one would blame me that i did it with a dirty pitchfork, a clean death in more then one way
Is it Wednesday yet? Because I hate waiting.
5774027 I know the feeling
I say equestria declare war if those attacks are starting a revolt against the duke! Help him and his brother, destroy the trouble makers.
Cliffhanger! Noooooooo!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Please make it, Silent!
Please.
I assume there is going to be a war between the Griffins and Equestria.
Out of respect for the situation, I will not attempt to detract from it.
But this is the exact reason why you never use the Phycoken in anything other than moderation! The body simply can't handle that kind of strain! Silent Knight, what were you thinking? Were you even thinking? If you die, who's going to take Princess Luna to book conventions?
I wonder if the temple guard will be into trouble. They sense/know something was coming and they did nearly nothing to warn properly.
No...Iridescence is coming back as a possible romance...No...
Luna has to be the romance! I have not waited this long for Luna to have no reaction!
Anzel!*tips glass* Good job mate. I'm not sure, but I'm in this for the long run.
Luna or not.
No doubt Crystal Wishes will be deeply saddened with what happened to her future soul mate.
I'll hang in, but wow. This is intense. Great job. Good luck with the next chapter. I guess the end of this arc is coming up soon.
All right here we go. Moment of truth. Hopefully we find out if he survives. I have a feeling that if he does survive, he might have limited use of the wing that was injured. If he doesn't survive, well, let's hope it doesn't come to that. But what Lt. Rook said may have sounded cruel and cold hearted, it is the truth, and carries a valid point: "If he dies, he dies". Now where have I heard that quote before? Ivan Drago from Rocky IV? Nawwww it couldn't be...
Wait until Wednesday for next update and another possible cliffhanger again which I shall have to wait until next Monday to find out the answer on everyone's mind?
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Youch. For the time being I'll keep my pitchfork and torches unwielded and unlit (the torches, that is, I doubt the pitchfork would burn well), but I have my eye on them.
On a scale of 1-10, how screwed are the Gryphons? I'd say around 15. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
5774358 Much appreciated! You pegged it correctly. It is a Slice of Life story with a slight twist since it is about a royal guard.
Your killin' me Anzel,
Like straight out stabbing me in the heart, from behind- while I was asleep.
This is amazing but my emotions.. GAAH.
Don't die, silent knight. Please.
To Quote a horrible Actor in a Horrible Movie Directed by said Actor: " You are Tearing me apart Anzel! " Great Chapter, I am waiting Patiently and eagerly for the next one. Good on yah! * Boops * /)
5774666 And the gryphon captain is somewhere around a 20, if he survived Knight's asswhooping. I hope he likes the smell of vacuum in the morning, because I'm sure Luna has a nice crater on the moon picked out just for him.
/sigh..... I knew nothing would be resolved, but this is literally killing me (not as much as it's killing Silent, though! ). I wonder how long he's gonna be out of the picture, and I really wonder what the long term consequences of this little adventure will be, both on this story and in your other one.
5774291
Nah, you don't have to worry about Iridescence coming back as a love interest; she's pretty firmly attached to Winterspear at this point. She's really good friends with Silent, but it's not romantic, don't worry.
That said, your hopes for Luna don't have much chance either. They are close, very close, and I would easily say that Silent Knight is the closest pony to her in Equestria, even more so than her sister, but there's no romance there. They're good friends, they respect each other greatly, and I would even say that they do love each other to a certain degree, but at the same time there's a definite line between them as master and servant that they won't cross.
Silent reveres her. Romantic love requires a certain amount of selfishness that Silent just can't feel towards her; he's incapable of feeling like she owes him anything.
Luna's position is a bit harder to pin down, but if I had to put a name to it, I'd say that she sees him as something like a distant grandchild, especially given his heritage. It's undeniable that she cares about him deeply, but it's definitely not romantic in nature.
Thank you everyone for your comments and notes. I've truly enjoyed the discussion and feedback. Not everyone has been comfortable with this arc given that I've probably gotten more thumbs down in 10 days than I have in two months. With that said, this arc has been planned since the beginning and is critical to the story. Obviously things aren't going to be the same going forward.
I truly appreciate all of you who have faith in me to handle it delicately and your dedication to the story. On Wednesday you will have a resolution, one way or the other. As always, I look forward to your comments and thoughts.
5776388 Good write up about the relationship between Princess Luna and Silent Knight =D
5775578 One of these days Alis(tair)... straight to the moon!
5775420 5775223 5774528 Much appreciated. I solemnly swear that the next chapter doesn't end in a cliff hanger.
5774666 It certainly will make foreign relations interesting!
5774475 Love the image ;) You won't have to wait though. There will be a resolution Wednesday. One way or the other.
5774446 You can't NOT include that line ;D
5774440 You are correct, the conclusion is coming our way.
5774392 No comment!
5774291 Thank you kindly =) I'm glad you're enjoying it.
5774270 Tough to say. That will be explained in the future though.
5774268 ;D
5774204 5774166 That is a possibility!
5774184 5774173 We'll all find out together Wednesday!
5774027 5773803 Soon! Very soon!
5773885 5773873 Yes indeed!
5773782 I hadn't thought about that. I guess I built lynching insurance in.
5773776 Oh my!
5773758 There are, in fact, four different Gryphon Kingdoms.
5773747 Very much appreciated!
5773668 We'll certainly see that play out!
5776644
Somehow, I believe we will all be listening to this while we read the next chapter. It also works for these past couple chapters. And I await tomorrow good sir. Never have I wished a day off to end faster for a work day.
Interesting twist, somehow didn't see Ferrel go and save him like that. But still understandable, and your also keeping the story exceptionally realistic, me likey I'm eagerly waiting the next chapter in such a good story, and I'm happy to see how long you've been able to continue this story arc. It's delightful to find a story where one can see the passion of the author making the story, and also see the development of the author
And I agree with 5773782, we have no reason to be against you, the author, you're the one who can make this all better And I'm with you 5773873, let me just grab my sword and knives first, let us go find ourselves some griffons...
Keep up the wonderful job!
Your faithful (and bloodthirsty) reader
Edukas
5776644
It dawns on me that I spend more time writing comments on your story when I get home from work than I've written on any other story for a while. It's a nice feeling.
5777698 It is also truly appreciated. I really do like reading your comments!
5776644 Could you at least be more pleasant in responding that way?
5776644 Honestly, this has been the best arc in the story so far, and I saw it coming from about six chapters away. Now that I've caught up with Chrystal's Wishes and Three of Hearts this story has quickly become, currently, my favorite read on the site. I love how the arc was set up, executed, and I love the direction I believe this arc is moving in.
I honestly believe the story will only get worse from here, if only by virtue of this arc being so good that the following arcs will feel dull by comparison.
5778144 My apologies if you took me as being short or rude. That wasn't my intent. I try to respond to everyone with at least something. It seemed the most appropriate without leading.
5778149 All down hill from here huh? ;) I'm pleased you're enjoying the story.
5777570 Thank you very much =D
5777067 Seems appropriate!
Apologies accepted. Also, I highly doubt that Silent's story really ends here.
5778243 Naw, not necessarily downhill. More like, say, the last two Matrix movies. They were great films, but the first one was so good that they are only considered mediocre at best by most, despite being quite good on their own.
5778287 Ah that makes sense! I shall work diligently to not be the Matrix 2 and 3 ;D
5778364 Even if you are it'll be a damned good read either way. You're a very talented writer.
People giving you thumbs down are idiots. They think that this story is supposed to be some lighthearted slice of life story and get mad when you throw violence and intrigue into the mix. Ignore them, I originally thought the same way until you started getting detailed with how the guard command structure works. That was the first indication that this was more than just a fluff piece. Readers who can't accept a little violence or recognize that this was story was never just a series of self contained one-shots to begin with have no right giving you a thumbs down ignore them. Also this story started getting darker around the changeling arc anyway. Another great chapter by the way
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5776644 It's an exceptionally likely possibility! One of the Officers of the Griffon's military, possibly under orders, has just attacked a Sovereign and foreign country's Head of State (or one of them at least). Even of there isn't a war, heads will roll.
5777704
Most of the time, the only comments I get to leave on stories are ones telling the author how many sharks they've jumped when a good story goes bad, or wondering if they learned English from Hooked On Ghetto Phonics. Being able to actually post on a story because it's going well and I'm invested in the characters is a pleasant change.
5780640 Huzzah! I REALLY enjoyed writing that one. I had to come up with some way to make it fit for my story and that seemed like a decent way to do it.
5779768 Then I am all the more glad to be positive side of your comments!
5779338 Indeed! We'll certainly be finding out a lot more about that soon ;D
5779335 Mere hours now!
5779172 I appreciate that. Generally down votes don't bother me so I'm with you on the advice. Getting a lot in a short period of time is never fun though ;) It is frustrating my goal of hitting 500 ups in March!
5778437 Thank you for saying so! I really appreciate it.
5780818 Your chapters and the amount of story you give us each chapter are consistently more than enough. You end self contained event chapters with a proper ending, that signifies the end of that event. At the same time you take elements of said chapters and link them to later ones without disrupting the story. You've done a good job developing a continuous story arc being straight forward in some chapters and subtle in others. When doing mini-arcs you leave us with cliffhangers that keep us wanting more but you also make use of wrap-up endings that involve foreshadowing of events to come, which instead leads to speculation among readers. Good on you for that.