Honour Bound

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Corporal Honour Bound didn’t really know what to feel right then. Her Majesty Princess Luna of Equestria was there, in intimate company with her Very Important Pony (who isn't actually a pony), the Royal Engineer Anonymous. Even though there were barely more than ten ponies in the room, Honour didn't feel the royal Presence which had so awed every other pony lucky enough to meet her in private. The Princess had even been avoiding Anonymous' gaze. And now she’d said she was there to apologize to him?

While he retained his composure, the Royal Engineer wore a quizzical look. "I'm afraid Your Majesty has me at a loss. I don't recall being inconvenienced or discomfited recently in any manner."

Luna smiled apologetically. "Thou art too kind, to downplay things so. But surely thou dost not pretend to have suffered no embarrassments or disruptions since Monday?"

"No, Ma'am," Anonymous glanced around the room, looking at Honour and the rest of the quaternion. "Unless they've been concealed from me?"

The last question had been directed at Honour specifically, and since she also wasn’t quite sure what Her Majesty was getting at, she shook her head. "No, sir."

The Princess of the Moon briefly frowned in her direction, then turned to Sergeant First Class Ebonshield. "Stellar Ebonshield, is this true?"

What? Her Majesty didn’t believe her?

Honour felt a little insulted, but as the batpony bowed her head to answer, the corporal realized that, no, it had to be something else.

"Gracious Mother, there may have been some friction between members of the retinue, but this has been kept out of the sight of the Great Lord."

That statement seemed to surprise Princess Luna, and she was taken aback by it.

And what a curious way of addressing the Princess in the first place...

"Oh, well, in that case..." Shifting in her seat, Her Majesty turned to address Honour, face-to-face. As she looked the Princess in her dark, turquoise eyes, she felt... something.

A tingling in the back of her neck.

"We should address our apologies first to the forespony of thy quaternion."

She lifted an eyebrow ever so slightly, and the tingling feeling crept up behind Honour’s head.

She felt a strange compulsion to introduce herself. "Corporal Bound, Your Majesty." The head-bow she gave along with her name was automatic, but she felt like the answer itself was drawn out of her, almost pumped out, like water from a well. And the Princess was still looking her way.

But she shut those captivating eyes of hers, and gave her a nod in return that filled her with warmth. "Corporal Bound, thou hast our sincerest apologies for the disharmony and the awkwardness which were imposed upon thee..."

Princess Luna opened her eyes again, and almost the moment she did, the Royal Engineer's chambers felt like they'd grown darker. A cloud must have passed in front of the sun outside, she supposed.

Except she could still see light streaking in through the windows.

"Perhaps an explanation for how this came to pass will put us back in thy good graces."

The far wall, above and behind the short partition divider, grew darker as she spoke; almost reflexively, Honour swallowed.

But Princess Luna returned her gaze to the Royal Engineer, and the shadows seemed to recede. He was still sitting there, his coffee-cup on its saucer in his hands, calm and straight-faced, but Honour could tell he remained as confused as ever.

"Anonymous, when our beloved sister told us that she had assigned thee a retinue of guards, we were absolutely furious. Not because we felt thou wert undeserving -- far from it! In truth, we had recommended that such an honor be bestowed upon thee some time ago."

Pausing for a moment, the Princess of the Moon took a sip of coffee. “We were upset, because at that prior meeting, we had also proposed that one of thy retinue should be a batpony. This proposal our sister had forgotten when the time had finally come."

It almost looked like the Royal Engineer wanted to interject -- and it wouldn't be a surprise, because he had no idea of the significance of her first statement. But Honour’s VIP merely shuffled slightly in his seat, waiting for Her Majesty to finish. He’d probably have his explanation by the end of it, anyways. And, for that matter, so would she.

The Princess continued."She agreed that if thou shouldst require a fourth member, then that one may be as we had suggested, and we hastily made preparations to ensure that such a candidate be ready to enter thy service. But after issuing orders, we were pulled away to deal with other affairs, and only now, having returned, we find that thou hadst already made such a request, and that our servants did duly carry out their instructions in our absence, assigning you Stellar Ebonshield without us having had the opportunity to make proper introductions..."

Sighing, Her Majesty looked at each of the guards in turn, before settling upon the Royal Engineer. “...And for that, we are truly sorry."

There was a pause in the conversation, and then the Royal Engineer leaned forward, placing his drink on the coffee table before him. "Your Majesty, I feel that there's still something I'm missing here."

Before he could elaborate, she interrupted. "Yes, there is, and it is for this reason that thou wert the ideal subject for what is, we must admit, an experiment of sorts...” Once again, she scanned the room. “...Thou art unaware of the history surrounding batponies. Even the members of thy retinue, I wager, know only rumors and mythology, and the Royal Guard's orders enforcing their segregation from Equestrian society."

Nopony moved a muscle, which Princess Luna took as a confirmation of her statement. "... It was our intention that you all should have received the truth first, before then receiving a batpony in your midst. That moment has passed, which is our regret, so we have come to make amends, and to hastily try to repair our error."

Fixing her gaze on the Royal Engineer once more, the Princess continued, but, even though Her Majesty wasn’t looking at her, she could feel the tingling sensation at her nape again.

"But it was also our intention to consult with thee before proceeding, as well. So, we ask thee, Anonymous, Royal Engineer of Equestria: if thou hast now any objections to taking on the batpony Ebonshield as thy servant, speak them, lest secrets be shared which cannot be taken back."

Honour could feel the sensation growing, and she almost, almost, wanted to answer Princess Luna's question herself.

Shaking his head, the Royal Engineer shrugged his shoulders. "I have no objections. Sergeant Ebonshield has demonstrated no flaws, as far as I am able to judge. But, if Your Majesty will excuse me, I feel as though I don't know what I'm getting into."

Another cloud passed in front of the sun, and this time it was the ceiling that seemed to grow dark and distant. But the colors in the room remained as vivid as ever, instead of turning grey with the sky.

"Didst thou know into what thou wert getting when thou didst proclaim thy intention to 'industrialize' Equestria?"

The brilliant blue sky visible outside the windows turned a darker hue, and Honour could almost swear she saw stars out.

‘Now, in the middle of the day?’

‘Strange.’

Stranger still, Honour’s VIP seemed completely unfazed by the development. "I had some idea, though I've been surprised on several occasions, and this with the task only beginning. But I believed, and still believe, in its purpose: improving the lives of everypony in Equestria."

Honour struggled to listen to the conversation, but she watched, unbelieving, as the starry dark sky bled through the windows, and began to creep in along the ceiling of the Royal Engineer's chambers.

There was a motion in front of her, and she saw Princess Luna's mane bob in the air as the Princess of the Night leaned forward. "That belief is a powerful force, Anonymous. We ask thee to believe in our purpose as well, for it is nothing less than the rectification of a terrible and ancient sundering of Equestrian society."

Honour heard a faint clinking of armor beside her, and she saw Specialist Sparkshower shuffling their hooves. Although she was also trying to focus on what was happening in front of her, Honour saw the pegasus look nervously up at the ceiling. Even Glamerspear, across the room, was shooting glances upward. Only Ebonshield seemed to be either ignorant or unconcerned with the newly-ethereal nature of the roof above her head.

Honour felt her attention being drawn away from the mystery and its impact on her squadmates, and back towards the two sofas and the coffee-table between them.

The Royal Engineer was nodding. "Then I will believe, Your Majesty. Please, continue."

A hum started to become audible, though Honour couldn't place the source. It was low, and it pulsed in slow, rhythmic waves, like a force surrounding the chambers.

Princess Luna, joint ruler of Equestria, sat back up straight in her seat, and her ethereal mane followed with the same lethargy as the sonorous noise. "As Royal Guards, the ponies of your retinue are already keenly aware that anything they should learn about batponies is not to be shared. As a member of the Blue Council, we ask that you, too, swear to secrecy in this matter."

Incredibly, with the ceiling disappearing into the sky, which was completely the wrong shade of blue for almost noon, not to mention being full of stars, and the humming noise now surrounding the room, the Royal Engineer found himself able to casually gather up his drink and biscuits before replying.

"Your Majesty has my word."

With a startling snap, the hum ceased, and the ceiling disappeared entirely, only for the walls to be consumed by the starscape as well. Honour was now, for all intents and purposes, outside and under the night sky, though everything and everypony was illuminated as if in the midday sun -- with the sole exception of Princess Luna, who glowed with her own light, her blue coat radiant, her starry mane brilliant, and her white crescent cutie mark blinding. So captivating was the experience that Honour had to consciously think to breathe.

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Recommended background music: Vangelis - 'Tales of the Future', from 'Blade Runner' [1982]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwbr9EL0UJM

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The Princess of the Night spoke, and the stars above echoed her words in chorus. "You all know the story of our banishment and our return; it, like so much other history, is written into the very stones and glass of the palace of Canterlot. But like those other legends, many details have been omitted..."

Her sovereign looked wistfully up at the stars above, her eyes darting from one to the next, as if greeting old friends.

"When we, in our bitterness, became Nightmare Moon and rebelled, we did not do so alone. Though most ponies shunned the moon, a few joined in our reverence for the night, and secretly preached our creed, growing in number until they were a force to be reckoned with. It was then that we struck, and they, calling themselves the League of Stars, followed us into rebellion and sedition. While we sought to wrest power from our sister through magic, they marched on the Castle of the Two Sisters, besieging its defenders."

Inexorably, Honour’s eyes were drawn to the heavens above, and she felt herself fixating on one star after the other -- and she knew in her heart, as she jumped from each one to the next, that she was following Luna's gaze. And the stars seemed to know it as well, for they twinkled, one by one, as if presenting and introducing themselves.

"In the end, we were defeated when our sister harnessed the Elements of Harmony, and our followers could not stand where we had fallen. We were banished to the moon, but to our followers, Celestia offered a choice: repent, and renounce our cause, or else join us in exile."

Honour took a breath -- it felt like the first one she’d had in minutes, even as the heavenly tour carried on.

"Many turned back to the light of the sun, and the harmony of day and night. But some refused her amnesty, and they chose to follow us to the end."

The stars clouded Honour’s eyes, filling her vision, and it all culminated in an almost-blinding flash that forced her to shut them for a moment. When she opened them again, she found herself free to look around once more.

Except that the stars had joined her -- falling from the sky like snowflakes. There was a muffled gasp from nearby, and Sparkshower must have been seeing the same thing Honour was, because her eyes followed the mysterious, descending brilliance as well.

"The League was made up of all three kinds of ponies -- earth, pegasus, and unicorn, for we had followers amongst them all. Though faithful, none of them were suited to life on the moon, harsh mistress that she is. So, with our final gasp of power, we prepared them, and rewarded them, blending their essences to erase all distinction, and creating a new race perfectly adapted to the eternal night that was our objective: the batponies. With only the briefest glimpse of what we had wrought, we collapsed into torpor, fated to slumber for a thousand years until prophecy decreed that we should awaken and renew our nightmarish quest."

Collecting on the floor like brilliant flecks of dust, the stars tumbled from the heavens in uncountable numbers, until the ground was as radiant as the heavens above. And at the center of everything, Princess Luna stood out like a beacon, eclipsing all other sources of light.

"While we slept, numb to the universe, these ponies built their lives on the moon. They were no longer the League of Stars -- they were the Children of the Stars, and we were their Mother. Their society was founded on one goal to the exclusion of all other considerations: preparing for the day when their creator would rise up, and lead them to triumph over the hated sun, and all of its 'prisoners' -- Celestia, the other ponies, and all of Equestria."

Honour inhaled, and she smelled the cool air of the night, fresh and crisp. The luminous star-dust came rushing into her nose, as well -- but it didn’t irritate or make her sneeze. Instead, it started to make her glow, too.

"The day finally came, not too long ago. And we did indeed rise up, full of fury and wrath, descending upon Equestria and triumphing over our sister. But while the Children of the Stars assembled themselves and made ready to be received as the guardians of a new order, we were defeated -- and the bitterness which had infected us was drawn out like poison from a wound."

All around Honour, everypony -- Sparkshower, Glamerspear, Ebonshield, Anonymous, and even Princess Luna's guards -- were glowing. Luminous beings surrounded her, and she felt a profound and sublime sense of serenity and peace.

"With that second summoning of the Elements of Harmony, the entire purpose of batpony society was upended; their creator -- their deity -- embraced the harmony that she had once sought to destroy. And a thousand years of their work suddenly came to nought."

Princess Luna sighed, and although it was utterly impossible, it felt like she was looking everyone in the eyes at the same time.

"Their confusion, their struggles, and their suffering, are our burden, for we bear responsibility. It is no easy task to argue against a thousand years of history, to lead them with us back into the light. And Equestria is an obstacle to be surmounted as well, for the ponies who witnessed the event passed down legends and myths about those who had betrayed them."

It didn’t feel like Honour was breathing any more.

It didn’t feel like she needed to breathe.

The force of Luna's will alone would sustain her.

"That is why we need thee, Anonymous. An outsider, unburdened by prejudice. And a reformer, seeking to make changes to society in thy own manner. In this small way, by taking one of their number as a retainer, thou mayest help us to bring these outcasts back into the light."

The harmony Honour felt overpowered all mortal wants and needs. She closed her eyes for just an instant, but when she opened them again, the scene she’d witnessed -- no, that she’d experienced -- faded before her.

She drew in breath, shallow at first, barely even moving her lungs, but then progressively growing deeper and deeper. The lights on the ground faded, until she could see the patterned carpet once more.

The creatures in the room faded, too -- more slowly than the ground, the brilliance living on a while longer, as if fueled by their life-force.

The sky closed up, and the ceiling came back into view.

Outside, the midday sun shone once more, and the windows radiated its heat and warmth.

And in front of her, Anonymous, the Royal Engineer of Equestria, finished his coffee and put the cup down, licking his lips after having apparently eaten his biscuits, all while Honour was having a transcendental experience in the intimate presence of one of her nation's immortal sorcerer-queens.

"I'll do whatever I can, Your Majesty."

Next Chapter: Chapter 37 Estimated time remaining: 31 Hours, 20 Minutes