Chapters View Online
Chapter One: The Tardis, The Doctor, And The Assistant
SaberStar Brightwing shouted at the top of his lungs. "Doctor! Doctor! DOCTOR!" A brown Earth Pony wearing a green tie appeared out of nowhere.
"I'm here, I'm here! You don't have to yell! Oh. It's you and your.....friend." he replied.
"Yes Doctor it's me. Last time we met, I wasn't the happiest. This time, I need your help. My friends have been kidnapped by the Changelings. I need your help getting them back." Saber explained.
"Did you say Changelings? Then we need to hurry. Get into the Tardis." the Doctor replied seriously.
"Tardis?" Rainbow Dash questioned,
"My ship." the Doctor explained. "We need to hurry." a police box, like the one Saber had seen last night, was in the clearing.
"Are those doors secure?" Rainbow said, looking doubtfully at the Tardis doors.
"Whole armies can't get through and believe me, they've tried." the brown pony said, opening the door. "Derpy? We have visitor!" The gray mare he'd seen last night came out. "Oh it's you and your......friend." she addressed Saber.
"Can we stop the whole 'you and your friend' thing?" Saber asked. "We don't have time!"
"Oh okay." the mare said, trying not to grin. Saber noticed that her eyes were crossed, but didn't comment. He also noticed her mane was tied in a ponytail by a key on a chain. Saber had a feeling that he was going to need an explanation .
"After you." the Doctor said. Saber walked in and couldn't believe his eyes. The inside was as big as his house. 'How' was all he could manage. "It's a time machine." the cross-eyed mare explained. "So, what are we doing Doctor?" she asked.
"Hold on." the Doctor said. He pulled out some sort of gadget. He scanned Saber and Rainbow.
"What the hell are you doing?" Saber demanded.
"Checking to see what species you are. Let's see, Pegasus and- hold on! You're not a normal Pegasus. Powers like fire conjuring, eye color changing, all sorts of things. Who are you?" the Doctor replied.
"Long story short, a Changeling cut them off and I got these powers. Now, we need to help my friends. Now." Saber said.
"Well then, avante!" the Doctor said he pulled levers and pushed buttons. The inside whirred. The room rumbled and then stopped. The Doctor opened the door and gasped.
"Doctor! What is it?" Saber demanded.
"The Changeling Empire," he said with awe, "Bit to dark for my liking." Derpy stepped out of the Tardis.
"Eww, this place is gross." she said. "It's like a giant beehive." Saber stepped out and agreed. The place was hideous. Green chrysalises hung from the ceiling, baby Changelings in them. Two Changelings were guarding them.
"I believe this is the hatchery," the Doctor whispered, "Where Changelings are born." and before Vinyl, Derpy, or the Doctor could stop him, Saber charged out and pinned both Changeling guards to the ground. His armor appeared on him like water was being poured over him.
"Where the hell are the four ponies you captured earlier?" he demanded. The two bug like ponies didn't answer. "Answer me godamnit!" he flipped his wings to blade mode and pressed them into the Changeling's necks.
"The....Arena." one gurgled.
"Why are the in the Arena?" the Doctor asked
"We Changelings make our prisoners fight to the death, gives us more food than ever." The creature choked.
"Where is the Arena?" Saber demanded.
"Down the hall. First right" it gagged
"Thank you. And if you tell anyone about us, I will make you wish you could die." Saber threatened, releasing them. They ran of and stood against a wall.
"Rainbow, can you tie them up or something?" Saber asked.
"Of course!" She said proudly.
"Then make sure they can't get out. They want fighting, they'll get me ." Saber growled.
When they got to the Arena, Saber fumed. Vinyl was facing Discord. He was towering over her and she was shaking in fear, cuts on her face and chest. Saber's eyes turned pure ice blue. His mane turned to ice blue fire and his wings were alight with the same stuff. He charged out of the hall he was hiding in.
"YOU BASTARD!" he yelled, "YOU HURT HER, I KILL YOU!" he leapt on Discord and decapitated the god of Chaos. He turned around turning normal. From Rainbow's point of view, he must've looked terrifying. Covered in Discord's blood, angry wings spread in blade mode. He saw Chrysalis shocked on her throne, but next to her was a higher throne. A male Changeling that looked like Chrysalis sat there with an enraged look on his face.
"Who are you to stop my entertainment!" the strange creature yelled. He flew down and hit the sand with a loud thump .
"I am SaberStar Brightwing! You, you beast have kidnapped my friends and you will pay." Saber said calmly considering what just happened.
"I do not think I will pay. Turn around and look." Saber did. Rainbow, the Doctor, and Derpy were all tied up in Changeling goo. "Give up or all you friends die." the creature said.
"And who are you to order that?" Saber defied.
"King Switch of the Changelings." he replied.
"I will only give in if you heal her." Saber shot back, pointing at Vinyl. Switch's horn glowed green and all the cuts disappeared. Saber ran over to Vinyl. He wrapped a wing around her and pulled her close. "Vinyl, it's me. SaberStar. I'm here." She looked up at him.
"S-saber? Is that y-you?" she asked, tired and losing conscious. She fainted in his arms. He picked her up and flew to his friends. They had scared looks on their faces. He followed the Changelings towards the cells.
Chapter Two: The Battle In The Arena
SaberStar and his friends were dragged off to separate cells, two people per cell. Twilight and Derpy in one, the Doctor and Adamant in another, Saber and Rainbow in one and Applejack and Vinyl in the last. Saber's armor disappeared. The first day, Rainbow smacked the walls kicked them and cried. She finally gave up and cried in a corner. Saber went over and comforted her. She looked up at him, her rose eyes full of misery. The cells were stone and the Changelings used their magic to make a hole in the wall to get to the prisoners. Otherwise, they couldn't contact or see anypony and the same was true for anypony else. He hugged her and sat next to her. She sobbed into his shoulder.
"Shh, it's okay. It's okay." he reassured her. She sobbed harder
"No it's not! If I hadn't kissed you, You would've been there for your friends if the weren't angry at you. And now they got taken as well!" she said. Saber pecked her on the forehead.
"You saved my life, I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you." He replied, "I don't know what happened last night but I'm sure it wasn't your fault." Rainbow leaned into him and kissed him. She withdrew, blushed and hung her head in shame.
"I-I-I'm sorry Saber. I'm ashamed. I just-" Saber cut her off before she could say anymore.
"I should be the one who's sorry. I kicked that cloud, I left the table. It wasn't your fault."
"W-w-what do you mean?" she asked
"What I mean is-" and the wall in front of them was blown apart. A tall metal beast as big as Celestia was in the crater. It had a dome-shaped head, a gun and a suction cup in the middle with strips of metal and half spheres on it like a dress at the bottom. In a robotic voice it said:
"Exterminate all life forms! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"
"What the hell is that thing?" Rainbow yelled
"I don't know!" Saber called back. The eye thing on it's head looked down.
"Must be exterminated!" it yelled
"Dash, run! I'll distract it!' Saber called.
"No! You can't fight that thing on your own!" she protested
"Please," he said "just run." and she ran past it. Saber sliced the beast with his wing and it had no effect. Saber was shocked.
"Hey, tin face! Over here! What are you?" he yelled.
"I am a Dalek!" it responded.
"Well 'Dalek' what are you doing here?"
"I am-" it was cut off and it's blue eye faded. Switch stood behind it, horn glowing and holding Rainbow upside down, gagged with his magic. Switch threw her into the cell and walked away, holding the Dalek with his magic and he repaired the cell. Saber ran over to Rainbow. He cut the ropes around her. Saber was enraged to see a scar on her back. "What did they do to you?!" Her eyes were filled with pain. His eyes turned blood-red. Saber had no healing powers or healing experience.
"I-I ran and I bumped into Switch. He whipped me." she said quietly. She lay down and rested her head on her front hooves. She was quiet and sad. Saber passed a wing over her. No Changeling interference. He lay down next to her. Putting a wing around her, he asked,
"Are you okay?" she looked at him. Her eyes were so sad, Saber was angry at Switch. First Vinyl, now Rainbow ? He was starting to hate this guy. She leaned into him and fell asleep. Saber kept her close and soon did the same. No nightmares that night, but something was off in his emotions. Way off. Not in a bad or good way. Saber had no idea what was going on.
"Wake up! Wake up you scum!" a Changeling yelled. Saber's eyes shot open and he bolted up. "Come on!" it said. "Up! To the Arena! Both of you!" Saber and Dash followed them as directed but Saber still kept his wing around her.
"Come with me," a Changeling growled at Rainbow. Saber let her go as he followed the other one. It pushed him into the Arena. A pony was standing there. He was stallion, red with a green mane. He was an Earth Pony, so he was a bit stronger than Saber. A Changeling flew over the Arena and said,
"Today for his and her majesties entertainment a new fight. After five wins, Archer Flame of Trottingham, is standing against a new contestant, SaberStar Brightwing of Ponyville! Let the games begin!" and it flew next to Chrysalis who had a bandage where Saber had injured her. The pony charged at him determined to kill Saber. He flew up barely avoiding the pony's hoof. His wings immediately flipped to blade mode and he swung around towards the ground. Saber landed behind Archer and smacked the back of his head. Archer collapsed. Saber stood over the stallion. He was beginning to regain consciousness. The Changelings kept yelling,
"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"
"Wh-what are they saying?" Archer mumbled.
"You mean you don't understand?" Saber asked, confused.
"Can you?"
"Yes." The Changelings sounded disappointed.
"Boo! Kill him! Gore! Death, death, death, death, death!" they all called out. Saber stepped away from the pony.
"I won't kill him! This sport of yours is wrong! You kill others for fun! You can see I've won! Let him live!" Saber called out to the crowd. Switch and Chrysalis contemplated this and then Switch said,
"Very well then, if you won't kill him, our newest contestant will." and four guards released the Dalek.
"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" it said. It aimed it's laser at Archer and fired. Archer screamed and collapsed. It was approaching Saber when a voice said. "Oi! Dalek, remember me?" The Doctor stood behind the thing, little gadget in hoof.. The Dalek looked at the Doctor.
"Exterminate the Doctor!" it said
"Nope no exterminating today! Just another gone Dalek." the Doctor replied. He then said, "When your fighting a pony with a sonic screwdriver, don't let him near a vast source of magic." a Changeling shot a beam at the Doctor but he touched the sonic screwdriver to it's horn and redirected it back at the Dalek. The thing exploded. Before the Doctor could react, a Changeling grabbed him and his screwdriver went flying. It landed at Saber's feet. He snatched it up and hid it under his wing. "You can-Ow! Stop-Ow! Hey let me go!" They dragged him off to his cell as well as Saber and Rainbow.
When they got back, Saber was still energized. It wasn't a long fight, but Saber felt defensive. Rainbow sat down next to him, grimacing.
"Saber, sit down, take a break. You're fighting to much. Sometimes, you need to take a rest." she said. Saber sighed and sat next to her. She leaned into him and pecked him on the cheek. This time, she didn't blush or back away. Instead, Saber's ears blushed. He wrapped his wing around her and sighed. The sonic screwdriver fell out.
"What's that?" she asked.
"It's the Doctor's tool." Saber replied, "I picked it up when he dropped it." He heard a voice from next to their cell.
"Saber? Can you hear us? It's me Adamant and the Doctor!" Saber yelled back,
"We can hear you!" Saber replied,
"Found a way to escape with your............friend?" came Adamant's voice.
"Adamant!" Rainbow said.
"Sorry."
"Doctor, I found your screwdriver! Can we use it to get out?" Saber called.
"I doubt it. Wait, I think Derpy still has the Tardis key! She can use it to get us out of here!" The Doctor called out excitedly,
"The Changelings have spells over this place no tools that have the use of letting the prisoners escape work. No tools can work, not even your screwdriver." argued Adamant. Silence.
"I swear, I am going to Switch pay." Saber growled, "First Vinyl, then Rainbow, and now this spell? I am starting hate that guy."
"What do you mean? What did he do to Rainbow?" Adamant queried.
"Whipped her." Saber muttered. Silence again. Rainbow kissed him again and to her surprise, he kissed her on the forehead. "It's going to be okay. Don't worry. We're going to escape. I promise you." he said. She noticed that the bruise on his side was gone. He still looked, tired. His eyes stayed the same flame color they had always been. No color changing, no nothing to tell what he was feeling. He could be angry, happy, sad, ashamed, or scared. She doubted it was the last. Saber hardly felt fear. All of a sudden, his eyes turned black, which guessed meant tired.
"Your eyes are black. What does that mean?" she asked,
"I would guess it means tired or sleepy, 'cause that's what I feel now. Tired and......" he trailed off, his cheeks turning red. He looked away. Saber pulled her closer and she saw tears in his eyes. She knew what he felt. He liked her, but he liked Fluttershy as well. His heart was torn. Saber was heartsick. Rainbow was torn as well. She wanted Saber to be happy, but liked him. She really liked him. Saber turned to face her. Dash put a hoof around him. He gazed at the Pegasus. Saber's eyes turned two colors. His left eye was blue and his right was gray. Sadness and shame. Rainbow started feeling the same as Saber did.
"Saber, I'm sorry. I split you up with your friends. I ruined almost everything in your life." she said miserably. Then Saber really surprised her. He kissed her on the lips. She blushed furiously. The two split apart. "Saber, you've, you've-"
"I know. I and I don't know what to do." Saber replied in a low voice, "I feel torn." he felt dizzy. Then, the torches went out and it had started to get cold. It was freezing now. Saber pulled her closer. She leaned into him and kissed him on the cheek. She believed him. They would escape the Changeling Empire.
Chapter Three: Days in a Cell
SaberStar was starting to hate his prison. After the fight he'd had, not many Changelings opened the cell. Only three times a day. Once for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They did what looked like what rolling their eyes every time they came in and saw him hugging Rainbow and she leaning into him. The food (surprisingly) was fresh bread and ripe apples. One day, the Changelings yelled, "Get up! Get up! their royal Majesties wish to speak with you." the two shot up and followed as told. When they got there, the Doctor, Derpy, Adamant, and Twilight were already there. Applejack and Rainbow weren't though. Saber was next to Adamant and Vinyl.
"Are you okay?" he whispered. Adamant gave a tiny shake of the head. Everypony was bowing. Even Twilight.
"He is trying to tell you that is rude to talk while in my court." Saber bowed, reluctantly. What seemed like an hour later, he heard a commotion in the hall they had come through. Applejack and Vinyl were fighting against their guards. Saber was pleased to see many bruises and hoofprints all over the guards.
"How can you treat us like this?" Vinyl yelled, "You're monsters!" Chrysalis and Switch sighed.
"What gave it away? Was it the insect wings?" Switch asked. Twilight straightened. She glared at the evil king and queen.
"What do you want with us?"
"Battle contestants of course! What else?" Chrysalis replied.
"I'm the best fighter out of all of us!" Saber said, "But you've only put me in once."
"You are a loose cannon. You are reckless and dangerous." Switch replied, sharp as a blade. "After you killed that god of chaos, I don't trust you. And especially not after you did this." he pointed to the bandage on Chrysalis's neck. Saber remembered the fight. It hadn't been easy.
"Reckless and dangerous? Have you met me? I fight for home, I fight for those I care about." Saber said. Almost everypony noticed Saber glance at Rainbow. "When I fought you, Queen Chrysalis, I fought you because you hurt my friends." Twilight winced, remembering her injured shoulder. All eight ponies stood up. Saber put his wing around Rainbow and flipped his other wing to blade mode. "We fight to protect those we love and care for." His eyes turned steel-gray. Determination. He was determined to keep his friends safe and make sure they escaped. Chrysalis had had enough of this.
"Back to your cells! All of you!" she interrupted. "Now!" and they did.
The ponies were locked inside their cells once again to their dismay. They all waited for an hour. Finally, Adamant's voice came from the wall.
"Saber, what happened back there?" Saber was silent for a while before answering.
"You know why." He said in a low, hard voice. Rainbow sat down with him, but he didn't react. The only thing he did was wrap a wing around Rainbow. She kissed him. They grays disappeared. He turned back to normal, but his eyes remained steely gray. Saber's eyes turned black and he fell asleep. Rainbow leaned into him and did the same. Once again, the Changelings woke them up the next morning.
"New battle today!" they said, "More exciting than your pitiful performance yesterday." addressing Saber. He snatched up the screwdriver as soon as they came. Him and Vinyl followed the guards where his six other friends were there. They led Saber, Vinyl, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Adamant, and the Doctor. They pushed Derpy towards the Arena.
"No!" the Doctor protested, "Let me go instead! Don't hurt her! Derpy!" the two struggled against their bonds.
"Hey!" Saber cried, "That wasn't pitiful yesterday 'cause I don't fight other ponies to the death for fun. Put me up against one of yours, I'll give you a good fight!" they contemplated this, and one said,
"I will talk to His and Her Majesties. But for now, this Pegasus!" and they shoved Derpy into the Arena.
"No!" the Doctor yelled. He managed to buck his guard and ran to Derpy. The Doctor stood in front of her and kicked her guard. The Changelings did the rolling eye thing they always did and grabbed the Doctor. Saber took his wings off Rainbow, spread them and set them ablaze. The Changelings stepped away, fear evident in their eyes.
"There, that's better," Saber said, as if nothing had happened, "Let someone with good fighting experience have a match." The Changelings ran towards the thrones where the king and queen sat. The Changeling was stammering in its language, rapid fire. Saber turned to the Doctor. "Doctor, yesterday I could understand the Changelings but that Archer guy couldn't. Do you know what happened?"
"Something that the Tardis does. It's telepathic and it gets in your head, makes you understand almost every language." he explained. The Changeling came back looking terrified.
"Y-y-you get your wish, crazy pony. You fight one of us." it said. It let him onto the Arena, careful not to get near him. The sun was beating down on his back when he walked out into the Arena. A huge Changeling in full battle armor stepped out into the Arena in front of Saber. This thing must've been eight feet, almost three times the size of a teenager. Saber's armor formed around him. He stepped forward. The Changeling announcer did his normal introduction and the battle began
SaberStar charged the massive beast, lighting his wings ablaze. He rolled under it and slashed its belly and then flipped around to face it. The Changeling swatted him and Saber hit the wall and got the air knocked out of him. It was about to land on him and crush his life out when Saber moved out of the way. He cut his side on a wing and twisted his wrist. Saber limped away from the creature. It picked up a rock the size of on eagle from the Arena and threw it. Saber ducked but to his anger it hit Rainbow in the leg. She crumpled. Saber yelled in defiance and slashed a leg of the Changeling off, rolled under and cut off the leg diagonal from it. He knocked it against the wall and jabbed it in the chest. He flew up and glared at Chrysalis. His expression clearly said, This is you .
Saber limped back to the cell, holding his side with a wing. He couldn't heal himself. His fire wasn't working. He grimaced as he sat down. The torches were relit so Saber could see the cell. Rainbow sat next to him, looking concerned. He had two scars and a twisted wrist. One scar looked as if it was years old and the other looked as if he had just gotten it. His right hoof was twisted in an odd position. He didn't put much weight on it.
"Aren't you going to heal him?" she had asked the guard that had escorted them back to their cell.
"Why would we?" it asked. She knew that the cut he had couldn't get infected, but she guessed Saber had taken care of it. He had kept one wing over the cut so nothing could touch it. She made sure she sat on the opposite side of his wound. His white eyes were slowly turning to normal flame red. He sighed raggedly. Saber wrapped his wing around her and his eyes turned back to his usual mood most of the day. Multicolor, which she guessed meant thinking. He was almost always doing this. Rainbow wondered why. He only talked when she talked to him. "Saber, what's wrong? Your eyes are all sorts of colors. They're not changing. They're just, all sorts of colors. You're not yourself." she asked. His eyes changed like a slot machine when they landed on his original eye color. Saber's eyes slipped for a second and they turned navy blue. He fought down his emotions, (with difficulty) and managed his normal eye color.
"I'm just thinking about........" His ears and cheeks blushed and his eyes turned cherry red. Looking away, he struggled to keep his emotions in check. He failed. His eyes flashed every color there was in the world finally landing on the multicolor that he wore so very often these days, but then they switched and this time, Saber couldn't change them for a while. They landed on pink. Rainbow didn't know what this one meant. But Saber translated it through his actions. Love. it meant love.
Months passed. Saber guessed at least a year had passed. He couldn't stand it anymore, so one night, him and Rainbow formulated a plan. It was simple and probably predictable. When the guards came in at night, attack them, get their friends out in a certain order and get to the Tardis. Easy. That night, the guard came in to give them their food. This night, it was tired of the two. It came in every morning, noon or evening to see the two hugging.
"Will you two stop? I come in every day and see you two hugging and whatnot." It growled. The stallion stood up with some difficulty, turned the flaps on his wings and slashed the Changeling. It blacked out.
Saber tied up the guard and tossed him in the cell. Adamant managed to open Adamant's and the Doctor's cell, Adamant managed to open Twilight's and Derpy's cell and Twilight managed to open Applejack's and Vinyl's cage. They all galloped towards the hatchery, where the Tardis was. Many guards tried to stop them, but Saber took care of them. They approached the Tardis when a voice yelled behind them,
"Not another step!" Switch said. The king of the Changelings looked enraged. "You will not escape! I will not let my finest gladiators escape!"
"I'm not a lowly gladiator. I am a Centurion, And my friends? YOU TOUCH THEM, YOU DIE!" Saber replied. He turned to his friends. "Get in the Tardis. Now. Don't argue, I'm coming too." They all filed in to the blue box and Saber shot in before Switch could react. "Doctor!" he yelled, "Get us back to Canterlot!"
"On it!" The Doctor started pushing buttons and pulling levers. The Tardis whirred and rumbled and shook. Then it stopped. Derpy opened the door and gasped. Saber ran forward. There were slaves everywhere, wrapped in chains. And even worse, Celestia stood over the slaves, whipping them mercilessly with an insane look on her face. Saber looked at all the slaves. To his relief, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, or Rarity weren't among them.
"D-d-doctor? Is this a parallel world?" Derpy asked,
"I'm afraid not. This is Canterlot after a year. We were gone for so long, a tyranny has started." the Doctor replied. Saber's armor immediately appeared and was blood-red. He turned to the Doctor.
"Doctor, get us to our friends. Twilight will give you an image of what they look like. Teleport the Tardis around them. We need to hurry." Saber ordered, "Hurry!" The Doctor pulled more levers and pushed more buttons. The Tardis whirred and rumbled again and the quartet of Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and this was the worst for Saber's innocence and sanity, Fluttershy, and she wasn't alone. Saber never forgot this moment for the rest of his life. She was kissing LunarSun. They all appeared in the Tardis slowly. Saber was shocked but then his eyes turned the color orange. Betrayal. He stalked off after they appeared. Saber flew up to one of the long stems branching out from the Tardis floor. He landed on one and perched there in the shadows. His armor disappeared so he couldn't be seen. Soon everypony was fully solid and were looking around. Fluttershy saw the group of nine ponies but didn't see Saber.
"Where's Saber?" she asked. The nine looked around. Nopony saw anything but Derpy saw a flash of orange up on the weird stems branching out from the Tardis. She dismissed it. Things like that were always happening on the Tardis. Saber prowled the stems near the ceiling, not saying a word, not showing himself. His scar that he'd given himself in the Arena burned and he nearly fell. Lunar spotted movement near the ceiling.
"Something's up there," He said, "I don't know what it is." a dark shape swooped over their heads and landed on the opposite side of the room.
"Don't recognize me? Surprise. I guess I'm no use to anypony now." a bitter voice said. Orange runes appeared and orange glowing eyes opened. Saber spread his wings and they glowed orange. His voice was quiet but his eyes said it all. His scar burned and he nearly fell again. Steadying himself, he tried to light his wings and heal his scar. The scar disappeared and he then touched his right hoof and it was normal. His eyes narrowed and he withdrew from sight.
"I'll go check on him." Rainbow tried
"Oh and what help will you be?" Vinyl said,
"Better help than you." Rainbow retorted. Saber's voice soon came from above.
"I don't want to talk to anypony right now," He snarled, "Nopony." Rainbow flew up to the stem Saber was on silently and he turned his back on the ponies behind him. His wings and armor were flashing the colors they had done a while back and they weren't any good colors. Orange, blue, blood read, white, black, raincloud gray, sea-green and they finally landed on one color. White. He was clearly in pain. Emotional pain. She tapped him on the back. His armor faded and his wings flickered pink and faded. No emotion. They flickered back to whitish-pink. The wings were flickering, like a dead light bulb. Rainbow could barely see an outline of him. Saber was curled up, head on his front hooves, looking miserable. His eyes and wings were flickering.
"What's wrong with your eyes and wings?" she asked.
"I don't know and I don't care." He replied softly. She glared at the ponies below them. "Who might've done this?" she growled. Nopony responded. Vinyl saw tears in his eyes and knew that he was more sad than anything. His normal Mohawk (Which he wore most of the time) was messed up. His eyes closed, but his wings told all. They were emitting an aura, black as night. She sat next to and leaned into him. For once he didn't wrap his wing around her. His wings glowed slightly pink.
"What does pink mean?" Derpy asked.
"I think it means love." Rainbow replied. She kissed his forehead and the wings glowed slightly brighter. They weren't flickering anymore. They were solid in color. One came over her on pulled her closer. She looked up at Saber. He had his head up and was smiling at her, his eyes pink. He looked down at Fluttershy and LunarSun. Instead of frowning or glaring, he smiled at them.
"I see you two got together. I don't mind. Remember the promise I made you a year ago. As long as your happy, I'm happy." he said.
Chapter Six: The Resistance
The small band of twelve ponies all lived in the Tardis. They were a team. SaberStar and LunarSun were the warriors and strategists, Adamant Shadow and Twilight were the scientists, Applejack and Derpy were the cooks, Fluttershy and Rainbow were the recon and got food, Vinyl and the Doctor were the engineers, and Rarity and Pinkie were the entertainment. They all had separate bedrooms except for Saber. He slept on the stem that spread from the floor. Saber had put up a bedroll and usually slept alone. Some nights, Dash kept him company. One night, they were talking quietly so they didn't wake the others, when she sat next to him and kissed him. He put his wing around her and kissed her on the cheek. Dash leaned on his shoulder and Saber pulled her closer. She yawned and blinked tiredly.
"You should get some sleep," He suggested, "Why don't you go to bed? I'll keep watch tonight." she shook her head.
"I'll stay with you until you fall asleep." she replied sleepily, "I'll be fine." she closed her eyes and sighed. His eyes glowed pink and he put a blanket over her. She moved the blanket until they were both under it. Saber smiled at her. He kissed her on the cheek and before he knew it, he was asleep.
The two were woken the next morning by Adamant.
"Wake up lovebirds. It's morning. Time to get up." He said, trying not to snigger.
"Adamant," Saber grumbled, "Don't call us 'lovebirds' or I'll smack you off the edge."
"Fine, fine," he replied, trying harder not to laugh, "But the rest are a bit worried." Saber and Rainbow flew down and then Adamant down to the floor where the Applejack and Derpy were cooking what looked like muffins. Derpy turned around and saw the two.
"Oh hi Rainbow! We were looking for you. You weren't in bed this morning." The gray mare said, focusing on her cooking. She was wearing an apron and had one eye closed.
"I was with this bighead right here." Dash replied, smiling. She playfully punched Saber in the shoulder.
"Nothing naughty I hope." Derpy joked. Saber's eyes turned cherry red and his ears and cheeks blushed. He pawed the ground, embarrassed. His eyes faded as he realized she was joking, but his cheeks and ears still blushed.
"No, nothing naughty," Rainbow replied, "Just sleeping." she turned to Saber, frowning. "You snore by the way."
"I do?" he asked, surprised. "Well, I'll keep that in mind. Meanwhile, Adamant, what's the status?"
"Celestia is still holding Canterlot in an iron hoof. We have good news though. a) The rest of Ponyville, Cloudsdale, Trottingham, Manehattan, Saddle Arabia, and all the detectable cities have moved into the Crystal Empire. Bit crowded but still. b) Princess Luna escaped Celestia's insanity and has now formed a resistance known as the Night Hunters. We're going to be meeting up with them but we don't quite trust them. The Doctor gave us teleportation devices so we can escape if need be." Adamant replied, sipping coffee.
"Good," Saber said, "Let's hope we can trust them."
"Any info on why Celestia did this?" Applejack called from her baking,
"Nothing. Although she looks, I don't know, gray? Maybe she became discorded? All the slaves looked like that." Dash replied. Vinyl walked out from her from her room.
"What was that sound last night?" She asked tiredly, "It was like snoring." she turned to Saber. "Was it you?" Vinyl asked.
"Yes it was." Rainbow answered, "He snored all night."
"How did you know?" Vinyl asked,
"I was with him last night." she replied grinning.
"Lovebirds." Adamant coughed.
"Adamant...." Saber warned.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOO-" Vinyl started,
"Don't you dare." Saber grumbled. He shoved her away. LunarSun, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and the Doctor all walked out, manes messed up and tousled. Applejack started singing the song that foals used to sing to their friends to tease them about crushes.
"Saber and Vinyl sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-"
"That's enough!" Saber exclaimed, "Just because me and Dash spent one night together, just sleeping doesn't mean we're getting married or anything. And why just us? There are other couples on board." everypony snickered. Saber rolled his eyes. He walked away. "Such immature ponies sometimes." Saber grumbled. Saber sighed and checked the cameras installed outside the Tardis. As always, a warrior was slamming against the doors with a spear. The daily guards that Celestia sent every day never got in. Never made a dent. After about half an hour, he heard Applejack yelling,
"Soup's on everypony!" Saber got down from the controls and walked towards the kitchen. The smell of coffee and muffins filled the air. He reached in to the fridge and pulled out a jug of orange juice with his wing and opened it. Saber was a bit old-fashioned, always having OJ with his breakfast but he wasn't a big fan of coffee. He took a chocolate muffin with his other wing and set them next Dash's seat. Saber took a bite of the muffin. Derpy made really good muffins. He pecked Rainbow on the cheek and sat down.
"So," Saber said, "It appears that Luna has built a rebellion against Celestia. I don't know if we can trust them, but we need three people to meet them. One person best suited to be the leader, one recon and one scientist. We need to choose who should do what. I think a voting system is the best option." all of them agreed. "Who should be the leader?" he asked. All who had been in battle or had seen Saber fight pointed at him. "Uh, me really? I'm a soldier, not a leader." everypony nodded. He sighed. "'Kay, I guess I'm the leader. Who's the engineer?" They all pointed to Rainbow. "Okay Dash, you're the recon. Who's the scientist?" They all pointed to Adamant. "Adamant, you're the scientist."
"What time do they get here?" Lunar asked, a guarded expression on his face.
"We don't exactly know," Saber replied, "Maybe at 1800 hours tomorrow. That's the closest we could figure out. The message we got was in code. The Doctor managed to break most of it with his sonic.........probe."
"That's sonic screwdriver !"
"Whatever. The time had some sort of spell on it. We think Celestia may have tried to intercept it, but she only hit the time with her magic. If she really became discorded, Discord was behind this." then, "I swear I'm going to decapitate the little trickster again when I see him next." he growled.
"I don't think it'll be just you," Lunar replied, "He discorded my brother, SolarMoon. Nearly killed by my own brother."
"Then you and I can both decapitate him." Saber said, grinning a bit, "But we have other priorities. Twilight, can this be reversed?"
"Yes, but that's almost all of Canterlot," Twilight replied, "If Luna is on our side, I'll need her help to reverse it."
"Well that's good. Most cities have been evacuated to the Crystal Empire, so no more discorded ponies running around. First Changelings, then Celestia and Discord? I've had enough of this. I just want peace." Saber explained, "We need to stop a war and a tyranny. Anything else Equestria needs from us?"
"Anymore guards banging on the doors this morning?" the Doctor asked,
"Yeah, they're just keeping it up every morning. Never giving up. Celestia must really want us." Dash replied. She leaned into Saber's shoulder and he put his wing around her.
"Loveb-" Adamant was about to say,
"Oh shut up!" Saber grumbled, shoving Adamant out of his seat. He fell and stood back up, getting in his seat.
"Awe, you four make such great couples." the Doctor joked. Saber smacked his forehead with his hoof.
"Ugh." He said, "Well, it's been nice sharing info, but we need to get ready for tomorrow. They're going to meet us near the Tree of Harmony." an knock sounded on the door of the Tardis.
"I'll check out who it is." the Doctor said. He was about to trot off to the doors but Saber stopped him,
"Let me come with you. No offense Doctor, you're not a fighter." Saber replied.
"Alright, come on then." the Doctor sighed. They walked towards the doors of the Tardis. Saber opened one. There stood the Princess of the Moon. The rebellion had come. Saber and the Doctor kneeled.
"Please," Luna said, "do not kneel. I am no longer Princess anymore. Just Commander."
"Commander Luna, please, come in. The others are eating in the kitchen." Saber replied. First, Luna scanned him to make sure he wasn't a Changeling, as she did with the Doctor. She then followed the two to the kitchen. Luna scanned all of them and then she relaxed.
"Uh, Princess Luna, do you want something to eat? We have muffins and coffee." Derpy asked, presenting a cookie sheet with all kinds of muffins on it.
"Just Luna is fine, and yes I will have a muffin." Luna replied,
"What kind of muffin would you like?"
"Blueberry please."
"Any coffee with that?"
"Yes please." Derpy handed Luna a mug of steaming coffee. Luna blew on it to cool it down and then took a sip. "So, who speaks for all of you? Or do you speak for yourselves?" she asked,
"We speak for ourselves, but when we need a leader, our leader is SaberStar." Rainbow replied, kissing Saber on the cheek. He put his wing around her.
"Do you have any idea why the hell your sister did this?" Saber asked, sipping his orange juice,
"She became discorded from what I can gather. My own sister, a tyrant. I can't believe this." Luna replied.
"We'll set everything back to normal Luna, I promise." Saber said.
Chapter Seven: Destruction At Home
So far, Luna had gathered thirty-four soldiers willing to help the cause.
"With all of them combined, including us, that makes forty-seven." she had explained.
"What about the soldiers we commanded into battle?" Saber had asked.
"Fifty-four are free, so if we can convince them to help, we'll have about one-hundred." she said. The Doctor managed one more room for Luna. That was the maximum capacity of the Tardis. Saber always kept guard at night, he was kind of like a sentry. On a rare occasion, he fell asleep while on duty. On most nights, Dash kept him company and on the nights when she was too tired, she slept with him. He enjoyed her company. She kept the nightmares away. The group of thirteen traveled to the Night Hunter base, in the Everfree. The Doctor rigged a device so that the thirty-four soldiers could stay in a room in a pocket of time. The recon always had to keep a low profile, looking for the fifty-four other soldiers. Canterlot needed this group of one hundred ponies. Equestria needed them.
That night, he fell asleep and it wasn't dreamless. He had multiple nightmares, forgetting them as the finished.
"Saber," a soft voice called, "Saber, wake up." his eyes shot open and he bolted upright. Rainbow was standing next to him.
"Dash? Is it daytime?" he whispered,
"No. It's the middle of the night. You were thrashing around. What's up?" she explained,
"I was?" Saber asked. She lay down next to him and leaned into his shoulder. Rainbow had a concerned look on her face. "Nightmares," he explained, "I can't remember them though. Don't worry. I'm fine." he yawned and blinked tiredly.
"Come on," she yawned, "Let's get some sleep. We all need to into Canterlot to get supplies tomorrow." she fell asleep on his shoulder. Saber stayed up for little while longer and soon fell asleep. Now, he didn't have nightmares. He slept for what felt like a second. Closed his eyes and opened them. The Tardis lights were up and running and most of the group down below. Saber helped Vinyl up and glided down. He landed near one wall of the time travel ship and the couple trotted towards the group.
"Ah, there you two are!" Adamant exclaimed, "We need to get ready. Rarity, do you have the cloaks ready?"
"Here they are!" Rarity answered, tossing the group cloaks made from plain black fabric. Saber donned his and so did the others.
"We're going to need to split up into groups of two." Saber explained, "Go with whom you would want to." Dash leaned against him and whispered,
"I'll go with you." he kissed her on the cheek and nodded. Saber looked at the other groups. Most were obvious. Doctor with Derpy, Applejack with Rainbow, Lunar with Fluttershy. Others weren't that obvious. Luna with Twilight, Rarity with Pinkie Pie. Adamant was going to watch the Tardis. They walked out of the Tardis in pairs, one by one. The Doctor managed to replicate a bit, so everypony had at least a sack full of them. Saber and Dash were in charge of weaponry. The couple made their way through the market, weaving in between beggars and the homeless, asking for money. Saber was enraged with Celestia. He vowed that if she couldn't be undiscorded, he would make her pay. They found what looked like a blacksmith's shop. The trader turned around at the sound of them approaching.
"Ow can I 'elp 'ou?" he asked,
"We need enough spears for twelve ponies." Saber replied, keeping his head low. He didn't keep his wings outside his cloak so they didn't attract attention.
"'Ou sure 'ou got enough?" the merchant said, eyeing the shadows that covered their faces. He was about to knock of Saber's hood when his eyes glowed haphazard blue. Warning. The merchant then knocked off Rainbow's hood. "Ah, pretty girl ain't ya? How's about 'ou leave this bum and come have a pint?" he said, putting a hoof under her chin. She slapped his hoof away.
"Don't touch me." she growled.
"Spears. Now." Saber said, eyes slowly turning red.
"That'll be a thousand bits." the trader replied, handing over twelve steel spears. Saber paid the trader and the couple left. They returned to the Tardis where the others had just returned. The spears clattered as Saber dropped them.
"Is everypony back?" Saber asked,
"No, the Applejack and Vinyl still aren't here." Adamant replied. Suddenly, the doors of the Tardis flew open and Rainbow, followed by Applejack galloped in at full speed and shut the door. "What happened?" Adamant demanded,
"Guard saw us," Vinyl panted, "Got a bunch of others and chased us back. Get us out of here! Celestia herself is coming!"
"On it!" the Doctor replied. The Tardis whirred right as Celestia's horn was starting to glow. It rumbled and then stopped. Saber opened the door and what he saw devastated him and his friends. It was Ponyville, but it had been razed. Fire was everywhere. The houses were destroyed. He stepped out and landed on a piece of charred wood. Saber recognized this place. This was where his house had been. Where his parents lived. All gone.
Razed
Chapter Eight: Loss of Blades
Total destruction. That's all Saber could use to describe what had happened here. Total and utter destruction. Saber's eyes turned white and he was at a loss for words. Slowly, his armor, wings, and eyes turned the color of blood. Deeper than the blood the Changeling war had brought. He took a deep breath and settled his armor back to a purposeful sky blue. Saber turned to the others.
"You can come out and have a look, but you're not gonna like what you see." he said, trying to control his anger. The rest of the group stepped out and gasped. Most of the crew had lived here.
"Saber, what part of Ponyville are we in?" Fluttershy asked,
"My- My home." he said, voice cracking, "Where my house was. Where my parents lived. Where my whole family lived." all of a sudden, a young voice called out.
"S-s-saberStar? I-i-i-i-is that you?" Saber turned around to see his own sister and brother, MoonStar and SunFlight, covered in ash so their coats and manes were a dull black.
"MoonStar! SunFlight! Oh thank god you're alive! Where are Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle?" he exclaimed, putting his wings around the young Pegasi. Moon started crying and Sun was silent. "Oh god," he whispered, eyes, wings, and armor turning white. His eyes filled with tears.
"Saber?" Sun asked, "Who is everybody here?"
"Friends," Saber replied, "And one who's more than a friend."
"Where are we going to go?" Sun said, looking up at Saber with his ice blue eyes.
"With us. You two are part of the crew now." Saber responded, "Luna, can you take these two in? They need food and rest."
"Of course." the former princess replied. "Children, come with me." She led the two inside the Tardis and closed the door.
"I need some time alone or with one person." Saber asked the group, voice breaking. "I just-" He stopped and didn't say anymore. Dash walked up next to him.
"I'll go with you," she said, "I'm not leaving you alone in this." she gestured to the ruins of a once peaceful city. His wings turned from shock to the deepest blue and began to flicker.
"Alright. Let's go." he replied, wrapping his wing around her and walked towards where SugarCube Corner once stood, now razed.
The couple walked along the charred remains of Ponyville. Saber nearly tripped over something and turned around to see it. It was the body of his own uncle, SaberSlash. He kneeled beside his uncle's remains.
"Who is it?" She asked.
"My dad's brother, SaberSlash Brightwing. He must've tried to lead whatever attacked Ponyville away from the rest. Him and my father were the bravest fighters before me." Saber responded, armor turning the color of a bluish stone. Mourning. Dash kissed him on the cheek.
"I'm sorry Saber. This must be harder on you than anything." she replied.
"I will never let this happen to you. Never." He promised, pulling her closer. "I think we'd better get back. I don't want to find anymore bodies." The two walked towards the Tardis and opened the door with the key the Doctor had given them. The door creaked and the thirteen other ponies looked at him and Rainbow. MoonStar and SunFlight had been cleaned. SunFlight was a bright yellow Pegasus with orange eyes and a white mane, and MoonStar was a black unicorn with glowing whitish gray eyes, and a gray mane. The siblings looked ready to cry. Saber walked slowly over to them, his wings flickering. They glowed bright for a second and then went out completely. Saber relit the color and flew up to his perch, silent. Three others joined him. Dash, SunFlight, and MoonStar. Dash lay down next to him and his siblings sat down on the other side. Saber put his wings around the three and his eyes turned to pink, but with a tint of the deepest blue. "I-I know this isn't the best time," he said, "But what happened?"
"We-we were at a Crusaders meeting, trying to get our Cutie Marks. Me and Moon had just gotten ours when we saw what looked like a meteor heading towards Sweet Apple Acres. We went to go get Uncle SaberSlash, when there was an explosion. It knocked us all backwards and the ground rumbled. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo hid, while me and Moon explored." Sun continued, We wish we never had. We saw Celestia herself, enslaving some of the citizens. U-u-uncle tried to stop her. S-s-s-she killed him. Grandma and Grandpa were 'to old to work' she said, and she killed them too. We ran before she could find us and told the rest of the Crusaders to get to Zecora's hut. They found their way there, but we stayed behind. And then we heard this machine you have and we found you." Moon started to cry and Sun looked on the verge of tears. Saber pulled the foals closer and kissed them both on the foreheads.
"It'll be okay," Rainbow replied in a soothing voice. "Nothing's going to hurt you guys as long as Saber is here." She kissed Saber and his eyes brightened by a hair.
"Do you love her Saber?" Moon asked, looking up at the couple. He was silent for a while before he responded.
".............That depends on your definition."
"Like, y'know, do you love her? Just, you know......?" Sun said. The silence wasn't as long before he replied.
".......Yes. I do. Did you ever have a crush, Sun? Do you have one now?" Sun was silent.
"He does. He has one on Scootaloo." Moon replied for him. Sun looked like he was blushing. Saber grinned at his younger brother.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure she might feel the same." Saber said. Moon looked like she was about to say something but she couldn't.
"Yeah about that..." she said, "One time, Sweetie Belle pulled me aside and told me that Scootaloo had a crush on you." this time, his brother was blushing furiously. Sun looked away.
"Now they're gone," he said, "And it's all my fault."
"It's not your fault. We'll get them back." Saber replied, "I'm pretty sure we can make it to the edge of the Everfree and make our way to Zecora's." Saber and Dash helped Sun and Moon down and opened the Tardis doors. Big mistake. Celestia was standing, looking insane. "Go. Get to the others. Tell them she's here!" Saber said urgently. "Go!" He shoved the others towards the inside of the Tardis. Facing the tyrant, he warned her with a voice sharp as broken glass. "Leave now. Leave and don't come back." She ignored him and her horn glowed with an evil aura. Saber was blasted backwards, but not before he was able to close the Tardis doors. His wings had been disconnected and vaporized. He was losing consciousness when he saw the others race into the room. Saber's vision faded and he saw no more.
Rainbow Dash watched over Saber with tears in her eyes. The Doctor had inspected him and said that his heartbeat was very faint. He barely moved and barely spoke. His wings had been disintegrated. Nothing anypony did could help. One night, she was sleeping on the perch opposite the one he slept on when a young voice woke her up.
"R-rainbow? Are you awake?" MoonStar said,
"Yeah sweetie, I'm awake." Dash replied, "What do you need?"
"I'm scared. Anything that can beat my big brother scares me." the filly replied.
"She caught him by surprise. Plus, she wouldn't have stood a chance if the rest of us were with him." The Pegasus said, reassuring her coltfriend's sister. "C'mon. Let's go down and see him." She helped Moon down and went to the bed where Saber was sleeping. His unconscious state broke her heart.
"Is there anything that can help him?" the filly asked, looking hopeless.
"Not that I know of. That was a blast made from pure hatred. I don't know what it will do to his mind. We can only hope for the best." Dash replied. She thought for a moment and then thought she had an idea. "Maybe............" she pondered,
"Maybe what?"
"When the Doctor is about to die, he reforms. Energy that heals is usually around him. If we can find some of this energy without hurting anypony, we may be able to heal him!" the rainbow maned pony exclaimed, "We should get some sleep. The others have to know about this."
The next morning, she told the others of her discovery.
"It might work, although I don't know where we would get some of this energy." The Doctor said, rubbing his chin with his hoof. "I know I emit it when I regenerate, but how can we get some?" the group all thought for a moment. Their thoughts were interrupted by a commotion outside the kitchen. Everypony looked towards the entrance. What they saw shocked them. It was Saber, but he wasn't right. His eyes were completely black darker than night. A discharge the same color was leaking from his eyes and mouth. He had wings, but they looked like bat wings and as if the skin had been peeled away. Just muscle and bone and blood. Fluttershy screamed. Saber took a step towards her. LunarSun jumped down from his seat, picked up a spear and stood in front of Fluttershy.
"Don't touch her." Lunar said. Saber turned his demonic eyes to Lunar.
"Who are you to stop me? " He replied in a hollow, growling voice that sounded like it came from the depths hell itself.
"One who can toss you out into a black hole." The Doctor snarled. Saber laughed. It was a sound like metal screeching and ponies screaming.
"You puny little ponies. You make me laugh. Me and my master will drag you all down. You will all burn in hell. " the demonic stallion replied. His mane turned to fire. Not like the angry fire he usually had. It was evil and dark.
"Go ahead. Drag us into hell. Inside of a glass jar. Just know that we will fight you every step of the way and whatever army you have planned for us and we will drag you or your dead body out from the Doors of Death themselves. Remember that ,Saber." Adamant growled. The demon faced the scientist. Walking towards Adamant, sharp extending lengths of bone protruded from his wings. Dash couldn't stand this.
"Saber! This isn't you! Snap out of it." She yelled. Saber turned to her. With a flick of his wing, he had slashed her twice and she collapsed, shivering on the ground. A spark of flame red ignited in Saber's eyes and he looked down at the cyan Pegasus. Memories flooded the beast's eyes. He knew this mare. He loved this mare. His head pounded. Lunar, who was watching Saber's every move, noticed that the wings were evaporating into mist the color of blood and being replaced by normal wings, but a bit bigger. The eyes were returning to normal and his mane extinguished.
"Wha-what happened?" he said, holding his head. Saber felt odd. He felt wings on his back and his head was pounding. Looking down he saw Dash, unconscious, cuts bleeding. Adamant looked at Saber, fear evident. Saber crouched down to help Dash up when the Doctor stopped him.
"Not now. I need to scan you."
"What the hell for? She's injured!"
"Because you are the one who did it Saber. You." Saber's eyes turned to a shade of gray nopony had ever seen. He wasn't moving as the Doctor scanned him. "Nothing. No entities, no nothing." Vinyl came over to comfort Saber. She was going to put an arm around him when he stormed off, folding his wings against his side. Hiding in the shadows, he lay down and cried silently. Saber didn't remember what had happened. He looked at his wings, not believing what had happened. He heard hoofsteps nearby and withdrew deeper into the darkness. Too late. Vinyl had spotted him. She walked over to him, straining her eyes to see Saber in the darkness. A hint of movement caught her eye. Saber was laying down, head on his hooves, crying.
"Go away," He said, his voice raspy and filled with pain, "I want to be alone. Just alone." his wings were folded and his eyes were purple, blue, gray, and black. Vinyl bent down, kissed him quickly and went back to the kitchen blushing furiously. Saber eventually fell asleep and for once, had no nightmares. He woke up on his perch, curled up. The others were below, talking in hushed voices. pieces of the conversation were caught.
"-Can we trust Saber?-"
"-Will she be okay?-"
"-What should we do?-"
Saber covered himself with a blanket and cried quietly so he didn't alert the others. Images flooded Saber's vision. Images he never wanted to see again. He blinked them out of his eyes, but didn't see the pony behind him. The blanket came off of his face and light blinded him temporarily. It was the mare he loved most, but had hurt in such a way where he could never forgive himself. Dash walked up next to him and lay down next to the distressed black warrior pony. She leaned into his shoulder and kissed him. Saber wasn't crying anymore. He couldn't cry. He was a soldier. Soldiers didn't cry. A wing passed over the weather pony and pulled her closer. The Centurion kissed her on the cheek. The couple lay there, silent, enjoying each other's company.
"I love you, Dash." The soldier said in a soft voice. Dash looked up at him and kissed him.
"I love you too, Saber." She replied.
Chapter Ten: Recovery of Lost Friends
The crew still hadn't quite recovered from the demonic encounter. SaberStar still hadn't forgiven himself for what he had did to Rainbow. She still bore the scars he had given her. If they hurt her, she didn't show it. Saber had liked that his wings were back. He could fly faster than normal and they were more flexible and light. There was a change in his mood. Nopony saw him very often and he seemed..... withdrawn. Rarely came to meals, barely talked and stayed hidden in the shadows. He was jumpy and startled easier than before. Saber didn't trust himself. Not after what had happened. Regardless, Dash stayed with him on the nights where she was tired enough. Now, no matter what, nightmares plagued his sleep, and the worst ones, he never forgot. He noticed that something had been.......changed. No fire, no crystal armor, no bladed wings. He still had his color changing eyes but just normal wings and black steel armor with no runes and red designs instead of blue. It was hung up in the armory in the Tardis. Nights where he was alone were few. When Celestia had nearly killed him, the Tardis had teleported away into the Everfree. Saber usually took walks by himself. One day, he came across Zecora's hut. The lights were on and it looked as if somepony was home. Saber didn't trust himself, so he found his way back to the Tardis, not easily. It was the Everfree Forest, what was he going to expect? He trudged back, spirits lifted slightly by the news that the Cutie Mark Crusaders might still be alive and well. Opening the door slowly, he ambled into the Tardis.
"I found Zecora's hut. Looks like somepony or a few someponies." Saber shared with the others. SunFlight looked up, joy written all over his face. He immediately blushed and looked down. "I don't trust myself around others, so somepony else can go." The stallion said, hanging his head. Saber told them how to get to the hut. Memories, none of them good, flashed through his vision. Shaking his head to clear them, he spread his larger than normal wings and flew up to his perch. He heard the conversation and decided that Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, and Princess Luna should go. Saber heard the doors creak and then shut close. Withdrawing to the darkness, he lay there, deep in thought. His eyes were probably the multicolor they were when he started to think. About an hour passed. Memories flashed through his eyes every once and a while. Some were happy times, other were not-so-happy. The Tardis doors creaked again and closed. Saber heard the commotion of three little fillies. He swooped down and landed on the other side of the room, as silent as a shadow. Stepping out into the light, Saber saw Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. His younger brother was looking down, pawing the ground and not speaking. To Sun's immense surprise, Scootaloo ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.
"Oh thank Celestia you're okay! After you went exploring, we didn't know where you to were. What did you guys find?" The orange and purple Pegasus blurted. Sun smiled but it soon faded and was replaced by a grim expression no foal should've had to wear. Scootaloo noticed the sudden change in the colt's mood. "Did I say something wrong?" She asked, looking concerned. Sun glanced at his older brother.
"What do I do? " He mouthed at the black stallion.
"If they really want to know, tell them. " Saber replied, "Otherwise, play it cool. "
"No, no. You didn't say anything wrong, it's just, what we saw, wasn't pleasant. Even Saber was the least bit scared." Sun replied, cheeks tinted red. Scootaloo looked at the pony hidden by the shade. She had never met SunFlight's older brother, let alone seen him. He waved a cyan hoof at her and put on a brave attempt to smile. It looked like he was trying his best to be happy. She couldn't decide what color his eyes were because they were like a kaleidoscope, constantly changing. And then, her hero, Rainbow Dash, with two long scars came out of a room that was in, well, wherever they were. This time, Saber actually looked happy. Putting a bigger than normal wing around her, he pulled her closer and kissed her on the cheek. His eyes turned pink. Scootaloo wondered what the scars were about. They looked like battle scars. She decided she would ask later.
"So what happened, Sun? Did you find out?" She asked cautiously. Sun's younger sister, MoonStar, looked like she was trying not to cry.
"Uncle Slash, Grandma and Grandpa are......." Sun tried, holding back tears.
"Oh no....." Scootaloo said, putting a hoof over her mouth, "I'm so sorry Sun." she looked like she was starting to cry as well along with the rest of the Crusaders.
"What's worse is that Sun and Moon had to watch them die." Saber replied, face identical to his brothers'.
"Saber it's worse for you," Dash said, leaning into the Centurions' shoulder, "You've had to watch ponies die when you wanted to saved them. You've fought Changelings and even killed them."
"That was different. I was fighting for home and my friends. I'm not a heartless killer like Celestia." the black stallion replied, eyes turning to haphazard blue, which wasn't an emotion, but the meaning was clear. Don't go there. "But we have each other now. We all depend on each other." A shadow crossed his face. His eyes turned back to flame red. All of a sudden, Adamant galloped at full speed out of one of the Tardis rooms.
"Saber. I've.........finished...........an experiment. It might work." The scientist said in an out of breath voice. He held two small plates that would fit over his wings with a lime green aura. "Spread your wings." Saber did as he was told as Adamant moved the two plates forward a bit faster than Saber would've liked. They apparently they had little spikes in them and they jabbed into his bones.
"Ow! What was that for?" Saber yelped, eyes turning haphazard blue again.
"Think of a pen outlining your wing." The Unicorn replied, not looking scared at the look his friend was giving him. Saber grudgingly obeyed and the plates extended along his wings. They gleamed like starlight. Honed to a deadly edge, they were almost like his old wings. He flexed them and the plates moved smoothly, but not as fast as normal wings. Slower as if they had been wrapped in a thin layer of rubber. He though of them unextending. They did just that, slower as well. Just plates the size of a paper card. When Saber folded his wings, they were just a gleaming white band on top of each wing. Not unnoticeable. They were actually pretty noticeable. Even somepony with bad eyesight. Spreading one wing, he put it around Dash again.
"So, where exactly are we?" Sweetie Belle asked in awe as the Doctor walked in.
"We are in the Tardis," He answered.
"Does that stand for anything?" Apple Bloom asked, looking very confused.
"Time And Relative Dimension In Space." The Doctor replied. Apple Bloom turned to Saber.
"What's that mean?"
"It's a spaceship as well as a time machine."
"Now Ah get it." She said, nodding. The Doctor looked offended. Vinyl hid a smile. Saber had a serious look on his face, like he would do anything to protect those he loved. The Doctor studied him.
"You remind me of somepony." He said, "His name was Rory, but to his enemies, he was known as the Last Centurion."
"The Last Centurion, eh? I'm guessing you gave him that name."
"Mmh. We have other problems."
"Then let's take care of them."
Days passed. The search for the other soldiers continued. No luck. Not until something pulled the Tardis off course. It shook more than ever. Saber was thrown against a wall and a heavy object hit his right wing. He growled in pain and tried to fly out of the way of flying objects. Failing, he hid behind a pillar, sheltering Dash with his good wing. It stopped shaking and Saber got up. He tried flexing his wing. He was able to move it but he had torn a muscle and bruised it pretty badly. Twilight wasn't an expert in healing, but she was able to wrap a bandage around his wing. He couldn't fly. At least not for the time being. Coughing, Derpy opened the Tardis doors. Smoke poured out. The Pegasi in the group (aside from Saber) cleared the smoke by flapping their wings rapidly. They all climbed out, mostly covered in bruises. Saber stepped out into a strange base. Saber recognized some of his own troops. Plate Mail, Flyby, Blue Page. Others, he realized were from other groups. They all stared at the group. Some gave a gasp of surprise when they saw the others. Some looked happy, like Flash Sentry, who grinned when he saw Twilight and the others. The rest glared at Saber as he exited the Tardis. The part of the crew who hadn't been in the Changeling Empire, recalled the rumor about Saber and Rainbow. It was a scandalous rumor, and it wasn't pretty. Lunar winced in sympathy and empathy. Saber looked around, eyes turning a clear watery blue. Guilt. Retreating into the Tardis before he caused anymore trouble, Saber attempted to climb up onto his perch and barely succeeded. He stumbled upon a suit like that of the Wonderbolts wore, aside from the missing hood and different designs. Navy blue with white designs, it had been a birthday gift from Dash a year before they had been captured. He tried it on. It still fit. Glancing at his injured wing, he tried to extending it and pain lanced along the length of it. He grimaced and slowly folded it against his side. Saber found a shadow big enough for him and sat down. With his good wing, he traced lines in the dust of the Tardis absentmindedly. After awhile, he looked at what he had drawn in the dust. He regarded the runes darkly. Saber recognized these, although he didn't know why he had drawn them. They were the Grecian runes that spelled out who he was. SaberStar, Peacebringer but also the Bringer of Death. He swept them away with a wing. The Tardis doors opened. It was Dash. She didn't see him at first. Not until he tried to move to a different position. A flicker of movement caught Rainbow's eye. Up near the perch where Saber slept. Who could be up there? She thought sarcastically. Flying up silently, she landed as quietly as she could which wasn't easy considering the hard material that the Tardis interior was made out of. Hoofsteps approached Saber. Turning to face Dash, he lifted his good wing and let her lean into him. She kissed him on the cheek and put her wing around him, careful of his sore wing. Eyes turning to gold, the black stallion kissed her on the forehead. He looked happy but a shadow was over his upper face. Lines from the prophecy rang in his head. He will save the one he cares for the most but lose those close to him. He tried to ignore the returning memories and enjoy Dash's company. Fail. Worse images flashed through his mind. Ones that weren't even from his memory. Nightmarish scenes. Stuff he didn't want to see ever again in his lifetime. Shaking his head to try to clear his mind, he put his wing to his temple. Dash noticed this sudden change in his attitude.
"What's wrong?"
"Images. Nightmares. Can't get them out of my head."
"What's causing them?"
"I don't know. And I don't want to." His head started to pound viciously. "Agh!" Saber held his head. Dash gave him a concerned look. His eyes were pure white, the color of bone. Saber heard a ringing in his ears. Slowly, it stopped, along with the pounding. He raised his head and looked around. Vision blurry, he blinked and shook his head, which unfortunately made the blurriness worse. He squeezed his eyes shut and stayed still until his sight felt clear again. Looking down at Rainbow, he kissed her on the cheek and tried to steady his thoughts. They swam back and forth, sometimes making him smile on the inside, and others made him growl in anger or eyes widen in fear. One (Which he never shared with another soul for as long as he lived) almost made his wings spring up, which would have been kind of painful, considering his injured wing. Gritting his teeth, he shook his head, blinked a few times, and his thoughts faded to normal. Dash looked worried.
"I'm not much of a therapist, but maybe you need to try to forget some of these things." She suggested.
"I can't. They won't go away." Dash looked into his eyes and she saw a color she never saw very often. Sea green. Saber was scared. Before she could try and comfort him, a cold wave of air swept over the two.
"Brrr," She said, shivering, "I'll go get some warm clothes. You stay here okay?" Dash swooped down to get some things from her room while Saber put on the only warm thing he had which was the Wonderbolt suit. After a minute or two, she came back, wearing a quartet of purple socks. Okay, Saber had to admit, Dash looked pretty cute in socks. He rummaged through the bags that he had up where he slept. Pulling out a thick wool blanket, he put it over the two of them and put his wing around the cyan mare. Thankfully, he didn't have anymore visions for the time being. Dash looked up at him with her beautiful rose colored eyes and smiled. The two sat under the blanket, talking, laughing, and having a good time. Dash hadn't seen him smile in a while. Saber looked happy, not scared or sad or angry. She studied him. He wasn't as strong as Applejack's older brother, Big Macintosh, who's muscles were like a set of interlocking Roman shields or steel cables. Saber was well built and a little stocky, but not big and buff. He didn't rely on strength and force. He relied on strategy and sometimes trickery. That was what Dash loved about him. He thought before almost everything. Speaking, fighting, thinking, anything. His color-changing eyes, which were her favorite physical feature about him, and most of all, his personality. Saber would do anything to protect the others, even LunarSun. Loyalty. That had been her Element of Harmony. If they had still had the Elements of Harmony, this would all be over. But if they did, she also wouldn't be here with Saber. He looked at her with his bright golden eyes. Kissing her on the forehead, the shadowy stallion pulled her closer. Dash leaned into his shoulder. The two continued talking until the others came in, looking excited. They all shivered when they walked in.
"Yeah, might want to bundle up," Saber suggested, "It got pretty cold in here."
"Cold? Tardis doesn't just lower its temperature." the Doctor said, confused.
"Well, it is about 35 degrees in here." Dash pointed out,
"Good point. I'll see what I can do. Meanwhile, you all should get some warmer clothes on." the Doctor replied, wearing the same thinking look he wore most of the time. Saber smiled at Dash as the others went to their rooms to put on jackets, hats, scarves and other things to keep them warm. Aside from Adamant of course. The Unicorn rarely got cold. Saber struggled down from his perch with Rainbow to help and eventually they got down. Applejack came out in a green scarf.
"Usin the sock appeal, eh RD?" The farm pony joked. Dash blushed and pawed the ground.
"They were the only warm clothes I had." She said
"Quite honestly, I think they're pretty cute." Saber replied, making her blush harder.
"Stop it guys, you're starting to embarrass me." She said, avoiding everypony's eyes. Saber chuckled.
"Us? Embarrassing you? I didn't know there was such a thing."
"Well, let's say there is." The Pegasus replied, still blushing.
"Sorry about that Dash. Didn't know," Saber apologized, keeping his wing around her, "Still, you do look cute in socks." Dash socked him in the shoulder.
"Not funny, Sky-boy." She said, all too seriously.
"Sky-boy. I'm never gonna stop calling you that." Vinyl laughed, coming out of her room, wearing just a windbreaker. She turned to Saber and gave him a mischievous grin. The rest came out, dressed warmly. Aside from Adamant, they were all wearing something. Unfortunately for the Doctor, he had to wear an itchy wool sweater, so he was constantly fidgeting.
"Oh, this itches! Can't I have worn something less itchy?" He complained, squirming.
"It's the warmest thing you have Doctor." Derpy replied, straight to the point.
"Fine."
"So, what's up with the temperature? Ah'm pretty cold." Apple Bloom asked, shivering a little.
"Something's up with the Tardis, like someone is messing with it." The Doctor said, fidgeting. A boom shook the Tardis violently. Saber landed on his already hurt wing and cursed under his breath, grimacing. Slowly standing up, he checked one of the cameras on the Tardis. Sickeningly, it was Celestia, and even worse, a Dalek.
"What the hell? I thought you killed that Dalek, Doctor! And how'd Celestia find us?" The Centurion cried, standing protectively in front of Dash.
"I don't know. And I really don't want to. Still, we can't get out. They've put a temporal prison around us. We can't escape." The Doctor replied, pacing around the Tardis.
"Uh, what's a Dalek?" One of the Crusaders asked nervously.
"When I think of hate and fear and death, I see a Dalek. They are the reason I'm the last of my kind." The Doctor said bitterly
The Tardis rumbled again and Saber thought he heard the doors crack a bit. The doors creaked again and the group looked at the screen, horrified. It was Celestia, the Dalek and Saber's least favorite person, Discord. The god of chaos looked different. He looked evil instead of evil/happy. Red eyes, more dragonlike and razor sharp teeth.
"We need to get out. Right now these doors are just wood." The Doctor ordered.
"But how?"
"We have to surrender."
"Never. She won't get her hooves on anypony here. She'll have to kill me first."
"I almost did once. I can do it again." Celestia's face appeared on every camera, "And it was really quite easy."
"It won't be so easy now, Celestia." Saber said. He spat out her name like a rotten apple. Luna came up and stared at her sister in defiance.
"You will not hurt these ponies, sister! I will stop you before you can do anymore damage."
"Like you could beat me."
"I did once before." The tyrant replied, smiling evilly.
"Like hell you could beat me again." Saber growled, eyes turning blood-red.
"Oh I doubt that, " Chrysalis said, walking into view with Switch, "My army, the Dalek army, and the Cybercolt army will rule you all. Oh and the Weeping Angels." Saber didn't know what half of those meant, but apparently the Doctor and Derpy did. The Doctor cursed under his breath and Derpy looked devoid of hope.
"Doctor, what the hell are Cybercolts and Weeping Angels?!"
Silence.
"What are they?"
"Weeping Angels. Don't see them, they kill you. Cybercolts, pony brains inside a metal body, devoid of emotion."
"Damnit. I wish they were easier to kill." Saber sighed. He turned to the cameras. "What the hell do you want from us, you god forsaken ponies?"
"We want you. You and your whole crew. First slaves, then battle contestants and then Cybercolts." Celestia replied, yawning as if this was starting to bore her.
"Then you can leave. We won't agree. Doctor, get us out of here." The Centurion commanded, with all of his authority.
"We can only make one trip, then she'll have to recharge, and that'll take ,say, a day?"
"Do it."
The Tardis whirred as rage crept over the faces of their enemies, aside from the Dalek and Discord, who was smiling as if he'd just won.
Back in Canterlot, rumor that SaberStar Brightwing had ran off with Rainbow Dash and kidnapped Twilight, Vinyl and Applejack spread like wildfire. Now search parties were on the move. One who didn't believe these rumors was Fluttershy. She pulled out the gem he had given her before battle. She looked into its reflective surface, wanting to see where he was. What she saw startled her. Saber was in full war armor, his wings in attack mode, facing down a huge Changeling also in full battle armor. Saber had a calm look on his face, but his eyes and armor told it all. Seven other ponies were tied up. She recognized Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Vinyl. The other two, she didn't know. He was clearly fighting for his friends. A king sat next to Chrysalis, watching the showoff, looking amused. The thing screeched and charged at him. The gem went blank. She put a hoof over her mouth. This wasn't good. He had been captured by the Changelings and so Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and maybe even Vinyl. She needed to tell Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy galloped towards the library. The two were looking for anyway to find Saber.
"Girls!" she cried, "I found something out!"
"What is it?" Pinkie asked in her high-pitched voice.
"I know where Saber is. Before he left for battle, he gave me a gem that showed where he was. It showed him in Changeling Empire, fighting a massive Changeling. Seven other ponies were tied up behind them. I saw Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Vinyl, but they were all tied up. I didn't recognize the other two. But he's clearly trying his best to escape. But even worse, Chrysalis isn't their ruler. There is a king. Then the gem went blank. I couldn't see anything else." she explained,
"Does anypony know where the Changeling Empire is?" Rarity questioned.
"Mmmm, don't think so," Pinkie replied, "If so, we would've conquered it already." Fluttershy sighed.
"I guess he'll have to get out on his own." she said miserably. She walked away to her room. She opened the door and screamed.
-OOO-
