Chapter 4

Licking some of the blood on my face I look down, seeing both, Celestia and her 'sister' Luna lying before me, deep cuts all over their bodies. Garnjiel stuck in the marble to my right, blood dripping from it's burning edge. Their blood gathering to little pools. The heavy gasps from Luna as she trembles, trying to move, trying to get closer to Celestia.

"T...Tia" she wheezes.

Celestia didn't breath anymore. Her blood has already stopped pumping out of her wounds.

I grin, the guards around me trembling as they kneel down.

"For our new queen!" they shout, "For queen-"

I open my eyes.

I'm still sitting in the hallway, leaning against Garnjiel, guards surrounding me.

I sigh.

"Can I atleast walk to the cell by myself?"

Something hits the back of my head.

Apparently not.

~~~~~~~~

"Who was that pony?" Lunas voice filled with curiousity, "and why was she calling you liege?"

Celestia sighs, looking at Luna with a hard glare silencing her, atleast for the moment. Turning back to Shining Armor she sees him also wearing a curious expression.

Another sigh.

"Long time ago" Celestia begins, realizing that it was no longer possible to run away from her haunting past, "there were five ponies."

"The elements?" Luna asks, rising a brow.

"No" Celestia shaking her head, "guards ponies. But those five were something special. They were the best fighter Equestria had seen till that day. They were a unicorn, a pegasi, a bat pony and two earth ponies." Luna and Shining Armor stayed silent, just looking at Celestia, following her explanation.

"The pegasi was something very rare to that time" Luna and Shining Armor looked confused.

"But, pegasi were always there" Luna speaks up.

Celestia nods, "yes. Of course they were there. But I didn't mean that he was special because he was a pegasi, I mean he was special because of the clan he was from" looking up to the ceiling.

"Dark Anvil was his name" still looking to the ceiling, tears glimmed in her eyes, "Dark Anvil Featherbeat" she whispers. Shaking her head she looks back down at Luna and Shining Armor.

It was time to explain.

~~~~~~~~

I open my eyes.

The grey bricks of a cell welcome me back in the world of the living.

Grey bricks and the eyes of no less than four guards, standing in each corner of the room, each having a spear pointing up to the ceiling.

My face turns into a grimace. I sit up, the four guards lower their spears, pointing them now at me.

"Guys, calm down" I mumble, "if I wanted to escape I would have already defeated you."

No reaction from the guards.

I shake my head, 'boring.'

Three loud knocks could be heard from the door. One of the guards walked to the door, opening the observation slit. Apparently pleased with what he saw he opened the door, revealing another four guards. Two were carrying a small wooden table, the third a small wooden chair, the fourth carrying a tablet with a plate of food and a wooden cup of something to drink. They placed the table right at the end of the bed, the chair in front of it, placing the tablet on the table. The guard who opened the door points at the table as the others leave the room.

"Eat" he states coldly.

"What if-"

"We will force it down your throat" he interrupts me.

"How rude" I state as I walk around the table and sit down at it, the door in my back now.

Looking at the plate I notice something missing.

"I have no cutlery" I look at the guard.

"And you won't get any" he stats, the spears still pointed at me. I glare at him.

"I'm not some animal."

"Eat!" he shouts at me, stomping on the table.

I stand up and glare at him.

"Buck you" I say grinning.

He slaps me across the face.

"You whorse! Eat!"

"Force me" I purr.

He rises his hoof, and slaps me again. This time harder and I tumble back onto the table, breaking the plate and soiling my coat with the food and juice.

The other guards look at the scenery, not sure how to deal with it. All beside one.

A pony with a bandaged ear.

He stood in the corner behind the guard attacking me, now he stood right behind the guard and...

Hits him in the neck with the pole of the spear, making him tumble to the ground.

"Leave this room" he orders the guard on the floor. The guard on the ground stumbles up and looks menacing at his brother in arms.

Another hit with the pole, this time at his left foreleg making him kneel down and shriek in pain.

"Leave this room this instant! You're a hazard for the captive, the guards around you and yourself!" he shouts.

No one dared to move.

"Hey Iron!" the guard with the bandaged ear shouts, after it was clear that he wouldn't go, the kneeling ponies eyes widen.

"What?" came the answer outside of the door.

"We have a little problem, can you help us?"

"Sure" came the rough answer followed by heavy hoofsteps.

The door opened, a big, a very big, bulky stallion walked in.

"What seems to be the problem?" he asks friendly, his voice rough and deep.

"Cinder here was abusing the captive, please guide him into his own cell" looking down at me, the broken plate and the food spilled all over the place "and please bring us another plate of food and a towel" he finishes quietly.

Iron nods, "stand up Cinder" he orders. Cinder was still not moving, "not listening to me will hurt a little bit more than a pole to the knee" he threatens.

Cinder growls and stands up, turning around and hobbling out of the room.

"Thanks Iron" the other guard nods at Iron.

"You owe me one" Iron answers grinning.

"Whatever."

Looking at me, he flinches as the door closes with a loud bang, opening his eyes again he rises a brow.

"How long do you plan on lying there?"

"Don't know" I answer grimmacing, "the table is more comfortable than the bed" I grin salacious.

"Safe your charm" he closes his eyes with an annoyed look, "I got immune to it the very moment you cut off my ear."

"Is that so?" I roll off the table, food dripping of my coat, "what a waste" I whisper. He apparently understands that I don't mean the food.

The door opens again. Iron and a new pony, a maid, walking in.

"Clear the table" Iron says to the maid, she nods and walks at the table, using two towels to clean the table.

"Clean yourself" Iron throws a towel at me.

"Tha-"

"Safe your breath" he interrupts me.

Moving out of the way of the maid I sit next to the guard with the bandaged ear, trying to rub most of the food off my coat.

"Are all the guards so rude?" I ask him.

"What do you expect?" he shakes his head "after your rampage through the dungeons and defeating Skull there are not many out there that like you in any way."

Lowering my head a thought crosses my mind.

"What happened to the young guard down in the dungeons?" I ask, regreting the fight.

"The one you almost cut his head off?" I nod.

"He will survive" he simply answers, "now stay quiet."

I nod again.

The maid finished cleaning the table and Iron places the tablet with food, this time there was atleast a fork, on the table.

Iron turns to me, a friendly smile on his face, he nods towards the chair and the plate, "eat" he states roughly.

I nod, walk to the chair and look down at the food.

Nothing special, carrots, tomatoes a few daisies and a fruitsalad made of apples, plumes and bananas. The juice in the cup seems to be made of grapes.

"Guys, I don't think we need to point the spears all the time at her" the bandaged ear-guard talks to his comrades, as I dig in, enjoying the rather boring meal.

"Yes sir" the other guards answer, pointing the spears back up to the ceiling.

I eat in silence, only hearing the soft breathing of the guards and my own, sometimes the sounds of the fork scratching over the plate or the cup as it touches the table again.

"You're boring" I suddenly say. Annoyed by the silence, "You don't have to be so stiff!"

"I'm afraid they have to" a voice, a female voice, suddenly answers behind me. I turn around, Celestia in front of me. Jumping up I kick the chair out of my way, also away from Celestia, ignoring the guards as the point their spears at me again and kneel before her.

"My liege!" I call out.

"I told you, stop calling me that" she answers quietly, "the time I was your liege is over."

"The time you are my liege ends with my death" I blare out.

"Rise, Siren" I do as ordered looking deep into her eyes. Her face shows sadness.

"We have to talk" she turns to the guards, "no need to guard her anymore. Thank you all for your patience, you can return to your positions now" the guards nod in unison and walk out of the room. Before the bandaged-ear guard manages to get out I stop him.

"What's your name?" I ask him purring.

"I told you, I'm immune to your charm" he turns around and starts walking out but stops in the doorframe, "I'm Dark, Dark Amber" my eyes widen as he walks outside.

"Dark?" I ask no one particular.

"A coincidence" Celestia answers, "your clan died with Anvil" she sounds sad. I turn to her, questions burning on my tongue but she stops me, her hoof covering my mouth.

"Silence" she orders, "and follow me" I nod.

Celestia walks out of the cell, through the dungeon, the staircase up and once we are on the castle level she walks to the westwing. The westwing, filled with many statues and banner I don't recognize.

But one particular banner peaks my interest. I stop in front of it.

The banner was completly midnight blue and shows a earthpony, coloured in white, his mane that of a lion, standing atop of a hill. The sky over him was showing red rain or for all who know what this should symbolise, blood raining from the sky, symbolising the defeat of the pegasi. The ground was also drenched in red, pointy things, unicorn horns, poking out of the ground, symbolising the defeat of the unicorns, their bodies used as soil.

I shake my head. I never liked this banner.

"Your clan was pretty gruesome" Celestia says, standing right next to me, after a moments she turns away again, "come" she orders.

I follow her.

We walk through the hallway. Not stopping at any of the many statues. At the end of the hallway is a big door, a sun covering it whole, Celestia opens the door with her magic and we walk outside.

More statues.

Five statues to be precise.

I turn around, startled, as the door shuts with a loud sound and I notice that the sun is now black with a small white ring at the edges.

It was an eclipse. I turn back around and take a closer look at the statues.

I gasp. The five ponies on the statues were my comrades and myself, eternalized in different coloured stone, our runes on our chests.

My eyes wander from left to right, jumping over the pony in the middle of the group, standing in a semi circle.

I feel tears welling up. My look jumps back to the first, reading the inscription.

Lieutenant Cracked Ice

* 25.7.00
† 14.2.28

Fallen to a gryphon ambush, after defeating 7 gryphon alone, to a poisoned wound at her neck.
Her soul may rest in peace, embraced by the warmth of the sun.

My eyes jump to the next.

Captain Dark Anvil Featherbeat

* 03.4.00
† 30.6.57

Killed by princess Celestia herself after a tried coup. Died in dishonor after he killed 17 of his brothers in arms.
His soul, burned by the sun, shall smolder for the rest of the time in the depths of tartarus.

Even more tears were falling now.

The next statue was my own.

Vasall and first-captain Dark Siren Neylitha

* 12.7.00
† 18.1.22

Defeated by Discord himself, her remainings were never found and she is considered dead.
Her soul may rest in peace, embraced by the warmth of the sun.

The next-to-last.

Marshal Shining Insignia

* 12.7.00
† 15.12.46

Died in war between ponykind and the dragons, while trying to protect her liege.
Her soul may rest in peace, embraced by the warmth of the sun.

And the last, at this point I'm nothing more than a crying wreck.

Lieutenant Lunar Eclipse

* 17.9.00
† 30.6.57

Died by the hoof of Dark Anvil after a two hour long fight, protecting his liege.
Her soul may rest in peace, embraced by the warmth of the sun.

I sit down in front of the statues, crying to the heavens.

Celestia walks closer and sits down, right next to me, folding one of her wings around me.

"Welcome back" she whispers, making me weep even more.

Author's Note

The reason why the graves have all 00 in the year place is that they are all born in the same year and (what a coincidence haha) it was also the year in that ponies first started to count years. ...
Yeah I know the explanation is weak, but I didn't find a better way to describe it.... I'm sorry. I suck....

What Celestia told Luna and Shining Armor will come up, don't worry.

And yes, Siren might be a little bit masochistic. And yes, she loves to play around.

Well.... whatever....

See ya next chapter.