M o n s t e r

by Papa Bear

Rating: mature
Tags: Dark, Alternate Universe, Human, Anthro, Tragedy
Length: 6006

Centuries after humans made their impact in Equestria, peace has been but a fabled dream. The constant conflict over dominance spread like an infectious wildfire. When a mysterious human knight arrives, begging for sanctuary, will the ponies accept?

(See blog entry: "In regards of: "M o n s t e r")

Centuries after humans made their impact in Equestria, peace has been but a fabled dream. The constant conflict over dominance spread like an infectious wildfire. When a mysterious human knight arrives, begging for sanctuary, will the ponies accept?

Looking for editors/proof readers

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-06-17 03:14:57 UTC

Branch 1: Interrogation (revised)

"How long has he been like this?" Princess Luna asked a guard that had just exited the interrogation room where the human knight resided.

The guard casted a glance back at the knight, who still remained sitting on the floor, his back to the wall, his shoulders hunched forward, his head resting on the peak of his knees. The guard took a few seconds to absorb the sight before releasing a soft sigh, glancing up at Luna's eight foot height with a small shrug.

"He's been like this since we first received him. He hasn't acted hostile, the only incident encountered was when my partner Flash tried to pry the human's armor off by force; resulting in Flash being manhandled like a foal's toy. The scary part is, the human didn't even appear to be trying, he just picked Flash up and started to play around with her, making her dance against her will, making her slap herself upside the head a few times; not enough to hurt her, just enough to annoy her. He released her shortly after she cried uncle, and hasn't spoken a word since then" the guard explained, causing Luna to perk a brow of interest as she examined the slouched form of the knight.

"What were the words he did speak when you got him to talk?" Luna asked, her rich diamond blue eyes never leaving the form of the knight.

"He asked for a milkshake" the guard deadpanned, earning a quizzical stare from Luna.

"Art thou serious?" Luna asked in a skeptical dialect.

"I'm always serious when speaking with you, your majesty" the guard replied, giving a courteous bow before returning to her posture.

"...and I'm assuming you didn't abide to his request?" Luna questioned, returning her rich gaze to the seemingly sulking knight leaning solemnly against the wall.

"Of course, we refused to meet his request and now...he's pouting" the guard replied, crossing her arms with a light sight.

"Great...just how old is this 'knight' character?" Luna asked, sighing out of annoyance.

"He doesn't know. He says he has been in that suit of armor since he woke up around four weeks ago in some dark underground room. He also says that the wounds from the arrows that were lodged into his back have been there since he woke up. Speaking of which, his armor has simultaneously regenerated over the punctures where the arrows once were, as if the armor were healing like flesh...we already had more than one mage examine his armor without much resistant from the human, and so far there have been no magical traces in regards to this regeneration...however," the knight began to explain, before casting a dexterous glance over at the sulking knight, then returned it to Luna who now met her gaze. "He has a strong magical aura, somewhere around yours and your sisters level, possibly even higher. The magic builds in power over time, the longer he doesn't use magic, the more plentiful it becomes...and judging on what our mages could decipher...this knight is thousands of years old...dating back to the dawn of the Human-Equine War..." the guard finished, causing Luna's eyes to widen slightly as she returned her gaze over to the knight.

"How is this possible...?" Luna thought aloud, her eyes narrowing. "His armor looks brand new, aside from a few obvious refurbishments...his armor should be nothing but rust yet..." Luna drifted off, mulling deeply to herself as she placed her fingertips against the specter glass, staring at the knight intently as he sat sulking near the corner of the room.

"I'm going in" Luna spoke, causing the guard to blink a few times.

"Are you sure, your majesty?" the guard spoke while Luna approached the door to the interrogation room. "He may be shorter than you, but his strength may possible rival your own" the guard bit her lip once Luna casted a glare back at her.

"Art thou implying that we are frail?" Luna inquired, perking a brow.

"No, your majesty" the guard sighed, lowering her head. "Just...be careful" the guard finished, earning a nod from Luna before she entered the interrogation room, closing and locking the door behind her.

"So you're this intimidating mysterious knight of human aspect?" Luna spoke with a condescending tone. "You don't look that tough to me" Luna added, earning only silence from the slouched knight as he stared blankly at the floor.

"Do not ignore a princess when she talks to you!" Luna hissed, walking over and hoisting the knight to his feet, gripping him by the collar of his armor.

The knight just stared nonchalantly up into Luna's rich diamond blue orbs, blackness residing behind the vent like visor of his helmet. Though the knight was four inches shorter than Luna's eight foot stature, his physique overpowered Luna's slim and curved frame. Luna was nowhere near scrawny, she wielded a suitable amount of healthy meat on her bones, and had a decent athletic built to accent her mystical form. However, the knight's frame was built like a colossal statue of solid steel; his arms were like columns of curved muscle, his legs healthy oak trees with a massive diameter. That could be just the armor making him appear so bulky, but even if that were the case; he would still have to be extremely powerful to maneuver around in that armor as easily as he does.

"Milkshake..." the knight spoke calmly, his voice a metallic echo beneath the confines of his helmet's visor.

"...pardon?" Luna quizzed, tilting her head in confusion.

"Milkshake...or no talk" the knight replied, shifting the face of his helmet away from Luna, crossing his arms in a non-verbal harrumph.

"What...you...why you little...!!" Luna grumbled, her expression changing between confused, anger, and disbelief.

"..." the knight remained silent, simply answering her with a parallel shift of his cross-armed pout.

"...what flavor?" Luna asked, earning the knight's attention.

"Butterscotch almond, blended with walnut, topped with sugar-cream....three of them" the knight replied, his tone sounding like a child being lured out of a pout.

"Why three?" Luna asked, but only grumbled when the knight shifted his visor away from her direction once more. "Never mind..." Luna sighed with annoyance, before slowly treading out of the room with an annoyed glare plastered across her face.

"Your majesty...?" the guard from before asked with concern; she stiffened up once Luna's glare was casted over at her.

"Three butterscotch almond milkshakes, blended with walnut, topped with sugar-cream...now" Luna demanded rather coldly.

"Yes ma'm!" the guard replied stiffly, quickly darting out of the room to retrieve Luna's order.

Celestia entered through the door after the guard had left. She casted a warm greeting smile at Luna, a soft chuckle escaped her lips once she observed Luna's annoyed scowl. Celestia stood a hefty nine feet three inches, casting a minor shadow over Luna as she approached with a mirthful gaze. Luna let out an exhale, waving nonchalantly over at her sister while taking a seat in one of the provided chairs and posturing herself before the specter glass that allowed her to observe the knight without him being able to observe her.

"How goes the interrogation?" Celestia asked, taking a seat next to Luna, casting a small smile at her distraught sister.

"Annoying" Luna deadpanned, glaring at the knight through the spectral glass. "He's acting like a foal" Luna added, huffing softly before rubbing her forehead in frustration.

"How so?" Celestia inquired with an amused chuckle, gazing in on the knight who had settled down on a chair at the interrogation table, swirling his index finger around in circles out of boredom.

"He refused to speak if I didn't get him a milkshake, well...milkshakes...he asked for three of them..." Luna spoke tiredly, rubbing her temples with annoyance.

"And I assume the guard who was rushing as if her life depended on it out of this room earlier is on her way to retrieve those milkshakes?" Celestia asked, earning a distraught nod of annoyance from her sister.

"Well, I must say, he is the least hostile human we've encountered before. So that's a plus, isn't it?" Celestia spoke as she shifted her gaze from the seemingly bored knight over to her sister.

"I guess so...but it appears that his hostility was replaced with utter stubbornness..." Luna replied, earning a small giggle from Celestia.

The guard from earlier returned with the milkshakes that Luna had requested, breathing heavily as she carefully held the three large glasses of butterscotch milkshakes accented with the requested edible accessories. She marched over, presenting them to Luna with a stiff expression, saluting Luna once the alicorn of the night accepted the tray of milkshakes.

"You are excused" Luna spoke, receiving a nod from the guard before she exited the room.

"You're so tense" Celestia spoke softly, giving Luna teasing elbow nudge.

"No I'm not!" Luna huffed, casting Celestia a glare before entering the interrogation room with Celestia close behind her.

"Here's your stupid milkshakes" Luna grumbled, setting them down on the table before the knight.

The knight examined the three shakes closely, rubbing the chin region of his helmet before he grasped one of them with his gloved palm, his gauntlet shining in the luminescence of the light hanging above them. He set the shake down in front of himself, then he grasped the other two milkshakes individually with his hands and placed them both in front of the two alicorn sisters, who now appeared completely befuddled.

"What is this supposed to be?" Luna inquired sternly, glancing at the milkshake the knight placed before her before returning her gaze to him.

"You're too tense, relax a bit" the knight replied, earning an audible chuckle from Celestia, as well as a smirk filled with mirth from the alicorn of the sun to direct towards the befuddled alicorn of night.

"I like him" Celestia noted aloud, causing Luna to groan in annoyance and face palm.

"Silence sister" Luna hissed, Celestia only giggled and pursed her lips with mirth.

"I like you too, milady" the knight spoke, standing up to bow softly with courtesy before sitting back down. Celestia blushed and smiled with bright mirth as she stood and curtsied in response. Luna glared daggers at the two.

"Anyways, back to the matter at hand" the knight began, positioning his stray through the vents of his visor, taking an audible sip of his sweet and creamy delicacy, his body language showing complete bliss from the single slurp of the sugary beverage. "I'm sure you two are wondering who I am," the knight spoke, earning a nod from the two alicorn princesses. "well then let me just say I would too" the knight spoke with a soft exhale, the two alicorn sisters glanced at each other in confusion before returning their befuddled gazes in the knight's direction.

"So, the reports were correct; you do indeed have amnesia" Celestia spoke softly, scratching her chin softly in thought.

"Aye, that's true...the only thing I know really is English and how to speak it"  The knight spoke with a slightly bashful tone, sounding embarrassed over his predicament.

"Do you remember how you came around?" Luna asked, her index finger swirling around a series of hair strands from her ethereal mane.

"I was awoken...by the cry of children" the knight responded, causing the two alicorn princesses to widen their eyes.

"You mean those foals you were found carrying along with the wounded guardsmen?" Luna inquired, earning a nod of acknowledgement form the knight.

"Aye" the knight replied, gazing up at the two alicorn mares before him.

"Would you mind explaining what happened?"

"Aye..." the knight exhaled, crossing his arms as he leaned back.

"I can't remember much before everything occurred, I can only remember being awaken by the distressed cries of children--or in your case: foals." The knight began, as the two alicorn sisters leaned in with interest. "I recall a somber ambiance, dawning my ears in the wake of recovering my encounter with dormancy. I was in this wide open space deep underground, based on the skeletal remains architecture: I could tell I was in a catacomb. The skeletons were what appeared to be equine, homo-sapient, and the occasional reptilian skeletal remains stacked here and there, though the walls and columns were mostly composed of what appeared to be human." The knight explained, Celestia's face suddenly faded to that of a contemplating and horrified expression. Luna glanced over at her sister with a quizzical perk of her brow.

"Sister?" Luna inquired, her diamond blue hues showing concern for her sister.

"I-It's nothing, I'll discuss it with you later sister. Please," Celestia shifted her gaze to the knight. "Go on"

The knight nodded in response.

"I had began to wonder throughout these halls, trying to find my way out of this...this chamber of death. I felt that all hope was lost when suddenly...that's when I heard it....the cries of young ones" the knight continued, shifting his gaze at the table surface as he recalled his memories.

[Flashback]

There bellowed a trio of shrill screams that pierced through the soil and into the walls of the catacomb. My heart thrusted against the cage of my chest in an attempt to burst free and rush to the aid of these poor souls--children from the sound of it. I quickly grasped the large serrated blade that I had found contained within a sheath resting on my hip, tearing it from its containment and wielding it firmly within my metallic grasp.

There it was again!

The shrill cries of children!

And from the sound of it, they were on the surface, outside this dark and treacherous grotto.

What could I do, I had to hurry and find an exit or else those children will meet their supposed gruesome fate, but where was this exit that I desired, that I required to find? I couldn't waste time looking for it, I had to act fast. I ran quickly to the closest source of their screams, standing right below these children now as I stared dexterously at the ceiling of this crypt of aged death. I focused my vision on the sinister cackles coming from across the position of the children. I couldn't make out what was being spoke, but all I could decipher was that there were a group of people planning on harming those children. My anger got the best of me, and what I did now was considerably wreckless, but strangely sufficient.

I let out an angry roar, shaking the walls of the skeletal framed corridors I wandered. With an upward thrust I cut through the ceiling armored by ancient remains, I cracked through it rather easily, shattering the integrity of the ceiling, causing it to cave in. I heard a series of surprised yelps as I bursted from beneath the ground. I had quite luckily been positioned between the children--or should I say 'foals', and what appeared to be a group of seven people similar to me: humans. They were much more shorter than I though, perhaps five foot nine each, though most of them made up with their armor and muscle mass.

"What the fuck is that thing!?" one of them cried out, rudely pointing at me with his puny little butter knife of a sword.

"I don't know!" another one barked, getting into a fighting stance; the others followed in example and prepared for a battle.

I took a glance back at the cowering foals, their eyes filled with shock and panic. They were scuffed up, a few cuts and bruises here and there, those cowardly bastards dare strike innocent children? They are defenseless against those dressed for battle, no real man of any species would call themselves strong after striking a child. I turned my gaze towards them, the interior of my helmet suddenly turned a bright crimson red as the cowards backed up slowly, their eyes wide with fear.

"ATTACK!!" one of them bellowed, rushing forward as he struck his mace against the bulk of my torso armored by my chest plate. His weapon bounced off me like rubber, redirecting it towards him, caving his face inward with a sickening blood saturated crunch. He fell to the ground, dying a vain fool's death.

The others cried out in rage, charging forward to avenge their fallen comrade while I continuously swatted them away like mere insects. I didn't know what was going on with my armor, all I know is that I can feel things like the material surface of my suit of armor is my flesh. I could feel each attack they thrusted at me, but they were feeble and painless, merely annoying rather than damaging. I felt a stinging sensation run through the back of my head, one of the heathens had launched an arrow into the exposed area at the back of my head. I shrugged it off, most of my adrenaline forcing away the annoying infirmity the arrow's strike.I grasped one of the feeble weapons these cowards wielded and chucked it into the throat of the offender who shot that arrow into the back of my head.

One by one I slaughtered them all, pummeling them into the ground. I almost felt bad, my superiority compared to theirs just made it seem like they were defenseless. As I crushed the life out of the last of those cowardly weaklings, I turned my attention towards the foals once more who now stared at me with a mixture of awe and horror. I tried to cast an assuring smile at these disgruntled young ones, only to succumb to the reality that my face was hidden by the vented visor of my helmet. I sheathed my menacing sword, figuring that was one of the features of my being that scared the ever living daylights out of them. I then knelt down, waving at them softly, my body language becoming docile and gentle.

"W-Who are you?" the alabaster foal ask, the one with a unicorn horn protruding from their forehead.

"...I don't know" I answered them honestly, figuring lying about my identity was rather redundant.

"What are you?" the middle one, a foal with wings protruding from her back, her orange fur coat matted with sweat and grime.

I took a glance over at the fallen enemies behind me, staring at them blankly. I wasn't too sure, but I had a feeling in my gut telling me that I was one of them, that I was human, like a memory I can't slight recall in detail. I returned my gaze to the foal, her expression saying she already pieced it together from my glance back at the bodies of those sinister cowards.

"Y-You're human?" the final one asked, the one on the far right. She had burgundy red hair, accented with a bow of a brighter red hue. She gazed up at me with slight fear, as well as the other two.

"I...think so" I replied, giving them an honest answer once more.

"We need to go...before more of those...cowards...arrive" I spoke as I let out a groan, the adrenaline of battle leaving me as the pain I inherited began to seep in.

"But what about them?"  the unicorn foal asked, pointing over at the four bodies that could become recognizable as four equine guards, all around seven or so feet of height. They were sprawled on the ground, wounded, and near death. I gave the foals a quick nod as I rushed over, hoisting them all onto my right shoulder while I hefted the surprised foals into the comfort of my left arm...

"..and soon after that, I had arrived at the front gates of your establishment. And now I'm here" the knight finished, as the two alicorn sisters stared at him with surprise and sheer awe at the knight's tale. Both Celestia and Luna's milkshakes have been drained empty, their faces filled with interest. Celestia seemed a bit off, her gaze never left the knight's, her expression was emotionless but her eyes said it all; she had a look of longing, of sadness, and hope. Luna noticed this, and slowly stood, shifting her gaze to the knight.

"Pardon us, we must discuss something" Luna spoke, grasping the attention of Celestia as Luna pulled Celestia out of the room by a gentle grasp of her shoulder. Once outside, Luna dismissed a few guards that were in the room, leaving Celestia and Luna to themselves.

"What's wrong sister?" Celestia asked, biting her lip softly.

"Don't give me that, you know what's wrong. What is with that look you give him, you look at him as if he is a long lost relative!" Luna spoke, staring at Celestia with confusion.

"...Luna," Celestia began, inhaling deeply before she quickly snapped her fingers, casting a spell of silence so that no one else outside the room could hear her. "I...I have reasons to believe that...that the knight in there is him" Celestia spoke, causing Luna to tilt her head in confusion.

"Who?" Luna asked, as Celestia inhaled deeply before releasing a calm exhale.

"...Elias"

Preface: The Arrival

There were four guards standing watch in front of the gates of the border wall surrounding Canterlot Territory, one of them being a stallion and the other three being mares. The mares stood roughly around seven feet in height, while the stallion just stood about three inches or so below them all. The mares were dressed in metallic armor accented with the luminescence of the moonlight. Their armor was a dark obsidian hue, with a crescent moon insignia embedded upon the breast plate of the rather bulky looking armor fit for the female frame. The stallion wore the masculine equivalent to the armor the three mares were suited with. The stallion had a visible burgundy hued fur coat underneath his dark fitted armor, two leathery bat wings protruded from his back, his two eyes sharp with an eerie golden glow. His mane was blocked from view thanks to his helmet, allowing no hair strands to burden his peripheral vision for future possible combat, the same applies to the three mares he worked with.

"Say, Rider?" spoke one of the mare guards, her violet hues adorned by the shadow of her helmet casting over at the burgundy stallion standing still as a stone statue who nodded stiffly in acknowledgement of her voice.

"You smell lovely tonight" the mare stated, causing the eerie golden orbs slowly cutting through the air and directing their direction at her.

"Indeed you do, Rider. Say, how about we have a bit of fun after our shift is through?" spoke another mare, the only recognizable things about the three mares was their eyes, since their heavy armor covered up most of their body.

"..." the stallion remained silent, giving the mares a dry and emotionless glare before cutting through the atmosphere once more and returning to their straight forward gaze.

"Oh come on Rider~" the third mare begged teasingly, since she was the closest to him she slowly reached over and rubbed his exposed abdomen (since stallions are more durable than mares they require less armor), purring audibly as her metallic digits crossed his steel-dense abs.

"Off" Rider spoke sternly, his voice surprisingly deep and gruff, as well as authoritative. With a wince and a soft pout, the offending mare retracted her hand immediately before returning to her stiff posture.

"I'm not into mares, you three know this" Rider stated coldly, avoiding eye contact with all three of them as the three mares gave a pout.

"We're just trying to break the awkward silence here Rider. You're stiff as a board sometimes, we know you're not into mares and we love ya all the same for it. It's just boring out here, nothing interesting ever happens!" the second mare spoke with an (Irish) accent, shifting her violet hues up at the night sky nonchalantly.

"Direct your enthusiasm into the silent muse of winning a potential battle that may come your way..." Rider retorted stiffly, causing the mare to sigh in defeat as a deafening silence once more enveloped the atmosphere.

"Well at least--"

"Silence!" Rider instructed coldly, cutting off the mare beside him, hissing as his eyes sharpened on the path before them leading into a wilderness blanketed by the dormant foliage shambling idly in the borderline-still wind.

"But Rider--"

"SILENCE!!" Rider snarled, waving his hand to gesture that the mare beside him should politely shut her trap.

"Who goes there!?" Rider called out, pulling his sword from its sheath, the other mares tensing up immediately and following in the stallion's lead.

The four equines stood cautious, on guard, ready to pry the life form the form of any adversary that foolishly dared to oppose them. Dawning from the distant horizon, approached an unknown figure cloaked by the light of the moon, turning this mysterious anomaly into a silhouette in front of the full moon. The figure was rather intimidating, the outline of its silhouette shaping that of imposing suit of armor, unknown armor to be exact. The unfamiliar shape of the silhouette's armor drew a weariness between the four equines as their posture screamed hostile, but their eyes spoke curious. A gasp emitted from the mares as a familiar detail processed in their vision: around twenty arrows were lodged within various regions of the stranger's armor, this became apparent when its form engulfed their view of the moonlight, allowing a more clearer view of the being of question.

"Dear Luna!!" the mare beside Rider spoke out, taking a step forward out of concern for the figure before being halted by Rider's powerful left arm.

"No.." Rider spoke coldly, his eyes sharpening at the mortally wounded figure as it approached closer.

"Rider! He's hurt!" the mare closest to the stallion voiced loudly, glaring at Rider before returning her gaze back at the mysterious silhouette.

"Look closer Spirit!" Rider spoke just above a whisper.

"What do you mean..." the mare squinted her hazel eyes before they widened at what they saw "Dear Luna!"

More aspects of the figure became clearer as it neared the equines peripheral vision: the figure was mostly male number one, considering the bulkiness of it and the fact that there was no feminine features to it. The armor had a very intimidating design, with demonic skulls framed in the knee-caps with a strange casting of form within the armor. The helmet was a very sinister design, a vent like visor with an ominous red light glowing behind it, the source of this light coming from two orbs which were assumed the eyes glaring back at the gawking equines in front of this shambling giant of metal.

The knight stood around seven foot eight, towering completely over the three mares and stallion by many inches. Resting in the knight's arms, were around three foals tucked in the corner of his right arm, while there were around four guards in the same armor as the equines before this knight, only they were bloodied, battered, and unconscious. The three foals were well awake, hugging one another for comfort as they leaned into the secure embrace of the giant's massive column of a right arm. The three foals seemed to perk up once they heard the calls of the guards standing at the gate.

"Dear Luna! Hurry call for assistance!" Spirit, the mare standing beside Rider barked out, causing one of the two mares standing on the other side of the gate to bolt through an entrance to a guards post on the other side of the gate, shouting out instructions and demands while the sound of raging footsteps echoed throughout the air, aimed in the direction of the gate.

Soon, the gate bursted open at high speed, and in the blink of an eye the knight that was now mere feet away from Rider and Spirit was surrounded by countless guards wearing the same armor as the original four equines guarding the door, and the four equines laying unconscious within the knight's grasp. They all glared daggers of caution towards this iron giant, silence deafened the atmosphere until eventually a sharp metallic inhale came from the knight causing everyone to clasp their weapons all the more tighter, sending a series of metal clanks to faintly echo through the air from the grip of the surrounding guardsmen's swords.

"Aid..." the knight spoke in a deep and almost mechanical voice.

"...what?" Rider spoke barely above a whisper, then flinched when the knight eerily shifted his gaze towards Rider.

"Aid..medical aid requested..." the towering knight replied, never leaving eye contact with Rider as an awkward silence between the two ensued.

"Why would we aid a possible enemy like yourself!?" Spirit called out, gritting her teeth as she approached slowly, concerned mainly over the foals in the mysterious knight's grasp.

"...Not for me..." The knight began, slowly approaching Spirit, causing her to pause in her tracks while the surrounding guards readied their weapons for any hostile movements the knight may take. "For them" the knight finished, presenting the foals as well as the other guardsmen in display, mainly gesturing that Spirit or some other guard assist the equines held safely within the giant knight's grasp.

Spirit and a few other guards quickly grasped the unconscious guardsmen from the mysterious knight's grasp, they were heavy with wounds but surprisingly still alive. The surrounding guardsmen watched this strange knight with confusion, curiosity, and caution. This knight presumed to have friendly intentions, but there was something off about this knight.

He was far different from any normal soldier of the Equestrian military, no; his armor spoke of rogue nature, he was in a league completely of his own, this armor was ancient and unrecognizable by any of the guardsmen around. This knight's voice was emotionless, mechanical, metallic, as if a machine was the wielder of this abnormal mail. It was not uncommon to stumble across abandoned machinery, since most of the humans used a very alternate method of alchemy to birth war machines that now lay in ruin across the former battlefields of ancient times.

The guardsmen surrounding the knight remained tensed as the knight slowly lowered the three foals to the ground, his crimson eyes staring at them with inspection. The three foals gazed up at the knight that towered over them , gawking faintly before they all three gently hugged the knight's crouched form, whispering multiple thank-yous as tears streamed down their cheeks. Rider approached slowly, staring at the knight with the foals. This knight was certainly gentle enough to earn the trust of these three foals, but he still couldn't allow himself to lower his guard just yet.

"Who are you?" Rider demanded, pointing his blade at the forehead of the knight who was know exchanging blank stares between him and Rider.

"...." Silence was all that the knight returned, staring distantly at Rider almost as if he were confused at Rider's demand.

"I demand your name stranger!" Rider barked, inching closer towards the knight.

The knight remained silent, releasing the foals from his gentle embrace momentarily as he stood up fully on his two legs, towering over Rider by sold foot, the knight's ominous form casting a shadow over Rider's frame.

"I don't...know" The knight replied, sounding unsure while he exchanged glaces with Rider.

"Where do you hail from?" Rider demanded, sheathing his sword, the intimidation of the knight's towering form giving his instincts plenty of reason to display as small amounts of hostility as possible without appearing too docile.

"...I don't know" the knight replied, staring down at Rider rather blankly.

"What do you mean you don't know, how can you--" Rider cut himself off when he saw an arrow planted in the back of the metallic giant's head, sticking out through the helmet. Rider let out an audible gasp as he backed away, readying his sword as a few other guards followed Rider's example. The three foals grasped onto the legs of the knight almost defensively, staring at the surrounding guards with caution.

"What...are you!?" Rider demanded, staring at the towering iron giant before him.

"...Pain..." the knight rasped out, causing a look of confusion to draw over the surrounding guardsmen's faces as well as Rider's.

"Pain..." the knight groaned out again, stumbling a bit as he started treading forward. A few guards were able to secure the three foals despite their protests. "Don't hurt Mr. Knight!" one of them cried out with a southern drawl.

"What are y--!?" Rider let out an audible yelp of surprise as the knight collapsed onto his knees, his upper body falling on Rider's torso as he drifted off into a pain-induced dormancy. Rider's eyes widened faintly as he saw the knight's red hued orbs glowing from underneath the darkness of his vent-like visor fade into that of a pale blue.

"Sleep...I must....sleep..." the knight spoke hazily, though his voice sounded more computerized, like something of human technology, though it couldn't be determined since so many races have adopted modern human technologies.The voice didn't have a specific rhythm to it, it was just robotic, emotionless, without any sort of life to it at all. This only added tension to the stares that Rider exchanged between the other mares he was with and the guardsmen that surrounded them.

"Help me get him to sick bay!" Rider barked out, as three guards approached and attempted to heave the knight from the ground, but failed. Seven guards later, they were able to lift him from the ground and maneuver him onto a large cart they use to haul heavy artillery.

After a variety of minutes passed, they were able to haul the large metal subterranean leviathan from the outside of the gates to sick bay in a matter of fifty seconds. They rushed, knowing the injuries this knight had sustained would've killed any normal living being, so how did this knight...this thing survive? From the looks of it, this "knight" prefers his equipment in the old-school department, considering that there were runes of ancient design embedded on the knight's black cape hued with a pearlescent shade of burgundy, as well as the antique molds of the armor, shaping it into that of an hulking stature. But from the feel of the knight's weight, it was mostly metal, since there was no feel of anything shifting around inside...as if this knight was but a machine himself.

A half hour passed, the knight had been secluded in a high security tent within sick bay, a spell of silence casted on the outside of the tent so that way no one could hear what was being conversed on the inside of the canvas. Nurse Red Heart was inside, along with two trusted personal guard from Princess Luna herself. Luna's guardsmen were attempting to pry the armor off of the knight, only resulting in failure without even scratching the surface. There were still vital signs, and from what the guards could sense from their horns; this knight was not equine...but something more dark and twisted.

The mere aura this knight gave off from its core was ominous and overwhelming, driving one of the guards outside of the tent for fresh air, considering the atmosphere within the tent felt heavy and intimidating. Nurse Red Heart let out a soft gasp, her pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks as she glanced over at the two guards. She had just analyzed a small blood sample she was able to gather from removing the arrows lodged in the back of the knight's head, and the results startled her, all color leaving her face.

"Get me the Princess!" Nurse Red Heart exclaimed to the two guardsmen, both of them exchanging glances of confusion.

"Which one?" the guard on the left asked, "Both of them!!" Nurse Red Heart exclaimed once more, her eyes trailing nervously over the unconscious body of the mysterious knight before them...or better yet: the mysterious human knight laying unconscious before them.