Imprisoned within reflectionby DevourMistressChaptersPrologueChapter 1Chapter 2PrologueBeautiful If one were to look at the night sky of Equestria, one would most likely describe it as such. The stars shines bright in ocean of darkness in the sky, with moon lighting the land below the heavenly view. The Everfree Forest was quite peaceful this night, as the animals and monsters within rested in deep slumber and the night sky was clear of any offending clouds, showering the dark forest with white light of the moon. Deep within Everfree Forest, the castle of the two sisters stood tall, even though it had seen better days thousand years ago. However, below the castle, in the basement of this wonderful place, stood a single room, which was in circle shaped with stone walls. The diameter was only 20 meters, but it was enough to serve it's purpose, as in middle of the room stood a single mirror. The mirror in question was full-length standing 2 meters tall and 1 meter wide. The frame was made of gold with beautiful carvings along the sides, with the surface of the mirror itself still perfectly intact, reflecting the moonlight that shined towards it from a hole in ceiling of the room. However, this was not a normal mirror in question. Within this bright mirror, stood a single room, which was as tall and wide as the mirror itself, with the back wall only a meter from the surface of the mirror. Within, sat single bipedal, wearing a armor over his body, his flesh long ago being replaced by dark mist that animated his armor, earning him the name 'Wraith' from those who saw it. Armor itself was mix of purple, gold and grey, even though there were dried blood on the surface. The armor was designed to inspire fear among the enemies of it's wearer, so it was no surprise that the surface designs were complex, with metal curved into shape similar to spikes in some places. The armor completely covered the body, with upper arms, middle of the body and back of the knees being only ones unarmored, with dark mist taking the place where the flesh would be visible. The helmet was of intimidating design, with two horns standing in the top. The helmet covered the face part almost completely, leaving only thin Y shaped space in the middle, with red eyes of it's wearer glowing through as the purple gem glowed in middle of the forehead, with two similar gems in chest and waist of the armor. As he continued to watch the moon above, he could feel the familiar ache in his soul as he saw the reflection of a mare in the surface of it, which brought painful memories back to his mind. He could still remember the first time he had seen her, and taken her offer to step into her service as adviser and knight/enforcer..... He smiled as he looked at his opponent, the ignorant child hero and his group of fools that followed him. The wise old tree loving elf, the seductive mage, the dutiful paladin, the sarcastic rogue, the hothead dwarf, the handsome bard, the sharp archer, skilled thief.... the group was like taken from children's stories, with all of them following the charming, young hero on his way to get famous and 'save the world' crap. " Your days of terrorizing the world is over, Xalecian Nexus. Today, you will pay for your crimes of destroying this village and slaughtering everyone here" The self-righteous hero proclaimed, making him laugh at the foolishness of this child. The village had been full of thieves, rapists and murderers, with the village itself build by the riches they had stolen. "Oh, is that so? So you would rather kill me, than to thank me of killing this village of criminals that you heroes oh so dutifully ignore in exchange of money that you seem so eager to give to anyone who does your work for you? This village" he motioned his hand around, gesturing the burning village and masses of slaughtered corpses on the ground "Was build on the mass graves of people and thousands of poor and innocent who fell to their victim, and you sanction their actions?" he questioned, enjoying when the self-proclaimed heroes of the group started hesitating in their battle stances, shifting nervously as they took glances at each other. Of course the young fool didn't see the harsh truth of this world "While what they did was wrong, it does not give you permission to just go around and kill people. The guild -" he interrupted the young fool before he had to listen this bullshit of right and wrong "The guild would have investigated a week, before they would declare that the village was clear, thanks to right amount of money in right places. Your guild is one of the most corrupt ones in this world, and if your not willing to act to prevent hundreds of women and children of losing their lives or being raped and made poor by people like this village, then the Legion will gladly be known in history as ultimate evil to preserve the rights of people, unlike your filthy guild of heroes" He said in angered voice as he took a step towards the young fool. The Legion was the group started by him, to replace the corrupt guild of heroes that had once, centuries ago, actually done it's job instead of letting innocent suffer so that they could become richer. Those who followed him knew that if he died today, they would continue his work. There were several things preventing the corruption and crime spreading in ranks of Legion, such as the dark guardians that were sentient. If needed, they would take over and continue recruiting people to take lesser evil for greater good. The young hero was about to say something, but he didn't give him the change as he shadow stepped in front of the young fool and swung his blade, which was barely blocked by the fool. The others quickly joined the battle, previous thoughts gone as they started fighting him. The battle itself lasted almost two hours, with the dwarf, rogue, thief, paladin and the young fool having serious injuries, with mage and elf knocked out by use of magic. It had been a lucky shot from the archer that had hit him in the chest, the arrow going through the armor thanks to it's special design and magical assistance. He could see the dark spots in his vision as he was in his knees, hands on the ground as he spat the blood out of his mouth and coughed, feeling his life slowly starting to fade away. "You're a fool, you know that?" He said loud enough to group to react, turning their attention back to him from nursing their wounds. "What are you now talking about? We already defeated you" The archer said in arrogant voice, which made his chuckle between the coughing as he raised himself back to standing position, swaying as he leaned against his sword "Yes, you might have defeated me, but what now? Do you plan to return to your corrupt guild and have a party, ignoring all the crimes that you call 'heroes' committed in last few centuries? Or do you plan to clean that corruption from the ranks of heroes and make the real difference?" he questioned as his vision started having black edge, adding to reality of his dead the cough that almost brought him back to his knees. The young fool stayed silent as he though to himself, most likely realizing all the corruption he had seen in his last few visits. The fool had apparently found a group that while it help criminals. they were willing to face their actions if greater good was in question, if one were to judge from their protests of not letting the corruption continue. He laughed within his mind as the fool answered "i'll make the guild what it once was, to protect the people that we are supposed to serve. While you might have had the right idea, your way of doing so is wrong, Xalecian. I'll change the guild even if it's the last act i'll do" The fool made a promise as he put his hand into fist in front of his heart. Good, at least the Legion would have less resistance with the guild in two factions, the corrupt and pure. "Good for you" He said as his vision filled with black as he collided with the ground, sending him into darkness that death brought to those who died. The same darkness that to most, would be the final destination after life, with all senses and abilities simply disappearing. But to some, the reality makes it interesting...... Darkness. That was the first thing he saw. Black as far as he could see, though he wasn't sure if he had eyes anymore, because he couldn't feel anything. His mind was hazy as he tried to move, only to realize that his own body wasn't reacting to his commands. Did he even have a body? He wasn't sure, but he knew that this wasn't hell or heaven at least. It began as barely a whisper, but he could hear beautiful voice in this darkness, speaking some ancient, unknown language as it circled around him, coming closer and closer with each second. It felt like eternity before the source of voice stopping in front of him. He could hear her (he was pretty sure it was she) speak something, but he couldn't understand other than intrigued tone, which turned into confused one after a small pause. It was then when he felt something push into his mind, his mental shields breaking away as foreign words pushed into his mind, creating connection between this new, beautiful language and his own. The progress was slow, but after some time he could feel the foreign source stop invading his mind as the female in front of him spoke "Can you understand me, creature?" The beautiful voice asked in questioning tone. "Yes" was his answer, though he wasn't sure if he spoke aloud or if his thoughts were made into physical sound by something. "Good. Tell me, what is a creature like you doing in the void?" The female (he was correct, it was female voice) questioned him, making him wonder for a moment for his answer. The void was, if he remembered correctly, the empty space between dimensions. But how did he get here? Didn't he just die a while ago? "I am....not sure why I am here" he answered after moment of silent thinking, feeling his senses starting to wake up as he felt his body being held immobile by the something. "Interesting....tell me, what would you be willing to do to escape from this place?" The voice asked, making him realize just exactly what she wanted. He was smiling inside as he answered with humorous tone "So that's your game, huh? Very well, i would be willing to do anything, if released from this place and returned back to life" The source of voice stayed silent, clearly thinking about something while he tried opening his eyes, before realizing that they were already open. He could feel the cold against his body, but the pulse of his heart and blood in his veins confirmed that he was, somehow, still alive. "If i get you out of this place, will you swear your complete loyalty to only me, Princess Luna, until the time comes that either you die, or I die?" The female (Princess Luna? She's royalty?) asked in serious tone, making his body tense as chill went up his spine for because of her tone. She was the first that had ever gained any reaction from him, so it would be interesting to see where this would lead to. "Yes, I will swear my life and loyalty to you, Mistress" His answer seemed to satisfy her as he heard her give a beautiful chuckle at his answer. He could feel the foreign presence in his mind as it searched for something, before retreating away as the same presence wrapped around his body "I accept your oath of loyalty, Xalecian Nexus" Princess Luna answered as he saw the Princess in question stand in front of him, smile on her face just before his vision was suddenly turned white and he could feel strong magic pull him from the darkness.... Chapter 1He let out a sigh as he put his hand against the mirror, the metal of his gauntlet rubbing against the glass surface and creating a high pitched sound when he dragged his hand down against the surface. The freedom was so close, yet so far, with simple glass between him and the end of his centuries long imprisonment. He had tried so many times to escape, only to fail time and time again, as the only way to leave was to have someone open the way outside. Neither his own magic or sound carried through the mirror, leaving him alone in silence after Celestia had thrown him into this cursed prison without caring if he lived or died. The moment he had been imprisoned, Celestia had ordered something to her guards, but he couldn't hear anything as the glass stopped all that tried to enter or leave. The dark part of this prison, however, was that air didn't leave or enter either, so he had to sacrifice his own flesh to remain alive. Celestia hadn't cared or seen it, as he had been transported to this damned circle room and left in the dark. Of course, that had been fixed as the centuries had gone, slowly forming a hole in the ceiling until it was big enough to let enough light into the dark room. However, it didn't change the fact that he had been forced to turn himself into wraith just to keep himself from suffocating to death in this embarrassing prison, which he had himself made, due to the request of his mistress. He let out a tired sight as he raised his gauntlet in front of him and took a look at it, seeing the centuries old blood still tainting the surface of the beautiful metal patterns. He formed a fist with his gauntlet as he hit the glass surface of his prison hard, watching as the force traveled through it but not breaking it. It was painful to stay in this prison of his, as he was awake the whole time. He could easily understand why some wanted immortality, but for him, it was a curse. His former body was still a mortal, so his mind wasn't intended to suffer centuries worth of being alone in the dark, with no sound around him. His magic was still within his core, but it was merely a shadow of it's former self, barely able to contain his soul and new body in place. As he turned his attention back to the beautiful moon, his thoughts went back to the days of past..... He could feel it, the ache of his bones as the muscles started materializing around them, followed by everything as his body went through a slow progress of materializing into this new world. He could feel the clothes materialize around his body as the strong, metal armor started to materialize, moving from the legs upwards as it came into existence. He could hear the whispering of people around him as his armor fully surrounded him, the familiar weight surrounding him. As he opened his eyes, he could only see blur, before the burning sensation in his chest forced him to take deep breath, his vision starting to focus. He could see himself hovering in the air, surrounded by rune circle. It was clear that he was not alone however, as there were few unicorns around the circle, their horns glowing as they wore dark blue armor, clearly designed to be draconic in nature. The room was quite nice, blue glassed windows and lunar themed furniture. The banners were on the walls, presenting the night sister as the single throne stood in front of him. However, Xalecian's attention was drawn to beautiful woman sitting on the said throne, her dark dress and blue skin almost glowing in the moonlight that shined through the windows, with her appearance and aura screaming royalty worth of his respect. He could see her smile as she rose from her throne and slowly, but gracefully, walked towards him like a predator stalking her prey. With a single motion of her hand, the unicorns released their hold on him as he fell to his feet. He caught himself easily and corrected his pose to the one of war commander, standing straight with his hands on his sides as he kept his eyes on the woman in front of him. As princess Luna stopped in front of Xalecian, the guards looked nervously at the armored warrior standing only few meters away from their princess, even though he was currently unarmed. Compared to the princess, who with her sister princess Celestia normally towered the ponies around them, looked small compared to the warrior in front of her. Normal ponies were around the height of 160 cm or less while the princesses themselves were around 180 cm, but Xalecian was standing 195 cm, forcing even the princess to tilt her head a little to look at him in the eyes. The small silence moment passed between people in the room as the towering warrior and night princess continued to keep an eye contact, standing completely still as the guards and unicorns nervously shifted and looked at each other, wondering what was happening. The silence was broken as Xalecian knelt down, one knee raised as he bowed his head and crossed his right arm across his chest, with his fist in front of where his heart was as the other hand gently touched the ground. The guards held their breath, ready to strike as the metallic horns were being pointed directly at their princess, but the tension was broken as the kneeling warrior said two words "Your highness" The dark and powerful voice said, the tone filled with respect as the smile widened on the princess Luna's face as the kneeling warrior stayed still, waiting for the command of his mistress as Luna motioned the guards to relax, signalling that she could protect herself if needed, though that was highly unlikely. "Thou may rise now, Xalecian Nexus" Princess Luna said in her royal tone, watching as her new warrior didn't react to it as he raised himself to his feet and stood straight, waiting for her command. "Guards, leave us. We will call you back when we are done talking with our new servant" she ordered without moving her gaze from the glowing eyes of Xalecian. The guards and unicorns were quick to obey, leaving the throne room as they closed the door behind them, leaving their princess alone with her new servant. Before Luna could say anything, Xalecian interrupted her with amused tone "Royal tone, your highness? I wasn't expecting it, though it's clear why you used it" he said in calm tone as Luna chuckled a little, knowing enough about him that he meant no disrespect with this tension breaking comment "It is to be expected from the princess of Equestria to speak in royal tone, though it would seem that it would be more comfortable to talk in informal manner, when we are talking in private" Luna answered with smile on her lips as she turned around and walked back to her throne, with Xalecian few steps behind before stopping in front of her throne. They continued talking few hours, as the night was almost always silent, as most of the ponies slept through Luna's beautiful night, leaving her with very much freedom to do what she wanted. So, since they were left undisturbed, Luna gave him brief explanation of the world Xalecian now lived in, as well as explained his role in her inner circle: He would become a member of her royal guard, and earn his ranks from there. This of course left bitter taste in his mouth, because of his former role in Legion, though he did understand it clearly that he was bound to obey her, as promise that he made was binding his soul to hers. Still, even though he was currently in such a low position, he would proof his worth to his new....mistress. Currently however his focus was not in the conversation, but the annoying sight of two guards escorting him towards the barracks, where Night Blossom, the captain of the lunar guard, was currently reading some documents and reports. While it wasn't the meeting that annoyed him, it was the two guards giving him nervous glances over their shoulders as well as the guards that they passed that made his eyes narrow in displeasure. He would love nothing more than teach these weaklings to grow a backbone, but first he would have to reach correct rank to beat them into shape. He could see so many flaws in the guards, though some might be because of his size and the look of his armor. He seriously couldn't blame them if he was part of the reason for their unprofessional acting, because he loved whipping the new members of Legion into shape, especially if they hadn't seen him in person yet. The look on their face as he charged was always priceless..... Anyway, back to the matters in hand, it seems his mood would darken even more as they passed through the barracks, where more than few guards were readying themselves for their shift as he walked through it to reach the captain's office. They didn't even reach for their weapons, just standing there and looking at him in shock as he calmly passed through, though he noticed the few older looking members only raising their eyebrow at him, before continuing putting their armor on after taking their quick glance at him. Good, at least not all of the guards looked so hopeless as he first though, but that might be because the older guards only checked if he possessed any weapons before relaxing. His current line of thought ended as he arrived at the door, where the guard on the right knocked the door to the office, where the simple "come in" came as response. As the guard on the right walked in, he stayed outside with the other guard as the first one closed the door behind him. He could hear them talking silently behind the closed door, but he was more annoyed about the guard next to him, who looked like Lucifer himself was towering over him and staring at him with glare as the armies of hell stood behind him and wearing full armor and heavy weapons. Xalecian raised an eyebrow at the guard, daring him to do something other than silently whimper. Unfortunately, the guard couldn't see the facial expression because of the helmet shielding his face, only the darkness and two, red glowing eyes narrowing as they looked at him. The guard was luckily spared from being under the gaze of Xalecian too long as the door opened, drawing the warrior's attention to it as female warrior stepped out, her armor looking almost the same as the night guards, only female version with little more color and changes made here and there to make it look higher rank. Compared to her fellow guards, the captain herself was around 165 cm tall Unicorn, making her little bit taller than most of the guards and ponies. And like all the other guards, her skin was dark grey and her pupils were slit, which made her look even more dangerous to common criminals. However, it was clear that it was an enchantment on the armor, as he had seen one of the guards have visible changes when he put his armor on in a hurry to get away from the towering warrior. Back to the captain, her figure was quite feminine, though one look around the body told that she knew how to fight, with some muscles and skill to back her up. As he made a rapid inspection of Night Blossom, he could see her eyes slowly traveling across his body (more like his armor), making a clear mental list of things to know about him. Weaknesses to the armor, how he carried his own body, the clear sign of strong muscles and something else he hadn't bothered to think about right now. So it wasn't a complete surprise when the captain moved fast as her horn flashed a blinding light and targeted his middle section for the obvious hit spot. Unfortunately for her, it didn't end so well as he quickly dodged her attack, half blind from the spell as he swept her legs under her and used the motion to grasp her by the throat and bring her hard to the ground. They both stayed still as they looked at each other, with Xalecian kneeling down on one foot as his hand kept a grip on Night Blossom's throat (not too hard, just enough to make her know he could use more strength) as the other was drawn back into the fist and ready to strike. Night Blossom on other hand had her right arm grasping tightly at the hand holding her throat, with her legs ready to strike at his middle section and left arm on the hilt of the sword on her belt. The guards were fast to react (though not fast enough, if asked from either one), with their weapons drawn and ready to assist their captain if needed. The tension on the room was broken as the smile spread on captain's lips as she let a small chuckle, breaking the tension as Xalecian released his grip on her throat and stood up, offering his hand to her as his other hand opened and relaxed. The captain was quick to accept the offered hand as Xalecian pulled her to her feet, giving out an amused chuckle at both the situation that had happened and the confused looks of the guards around them "Well then, that was fun" Night Blossom said as the swept her armor to wipe non-existing dust from it, before looking at him in the eye "You have quite fast reflex, and apparently more than enough experience in fighting both professionally and dirty with strength and speed to back it up. What's your name, soldier?" She asked in commanding tone, which seemed to dismiss the shock from the guards still in the barracks and making them continue their business. "Xalecian Nexus, Ma'am" Xalecian answered as he gave her a salute, which made her raise an eyebrow before returning it. "Apparently our worlds have more than few similarities, though i'm not going to question about your past life." She said in lower voice than normally, before speaking up again. "Now then, first thing we are going to do is to get you acquainted with your new sleeping place, as well as to get you a new armor. I'm sure you would love to wear that armor everywhere you go, but as member of royal guard you will wear the armor designated to lunar guards, do you understand?" Night Blossom questioned, making it clear that she was in charge. "Yes, Ma'am" He said as the captain motioned him to follow and walked past him, making him turn around as he steadily walked few steps behind her, turning left from the barracks and heading towards the temporal quarters. It was fairly close, due to the fact that sometimes they needed to add few extra beds in the other rooms after an accident with fire that burned most of the barracks down and half of her office few months ago. As the captain opened the door, inside was a fairly large room with multiple beds, though only one was currently in use. The expressions on the faces of the two stallions was priceless as they had been caught by their own captain having some....private time before their shifts began. He took his position on left side of the door as the captain teared the two stallions a new ones, both of them not daring to run away from angry mare (woman? it's quite confusing to talk about them when in his world, the stallions and mare's were equine, while here the 'ponies' were more human than ponies) nor to even approach the door as he stood there in scary armor, towering over them like demon from tartarus (this world's version of hell, though it was more like a prison than what it should be). Cutting the long story short, the two guards got punished with extra shifts and being moved into different squads, with their schedule being made so that other was on duty while other was not. After the captain calmed down, she swept the incident under the rug like it never happened as she explained that Xalecian would be using one of the beds in here until they could make a more suitable bed for his length in the small, private quarters he would later receive (apparently he and the captain would be only ones with private rooms, so they would literally be next to each other near the barracks. His was already being prepared by the servants, though the bed would need to be bigger. Apparently Luna had some plans to get a new warrior into her guards, as the quarters had been prepared a week before he had been summoned). Moving on, the walk to the armory was short, as they weren't far away from the barracks because of obvious reasons. Both solar and lunar guards had their own barracks and armory in opposite ends of the castle, meaning that the solar guards would rarely be seen by lunar guards in their armor except when they were both deployed somewhere. As they arrived at the armory, it became clear that the armors were, boldly said, too small to fit. As the captain introduced him to the caretakers and smiths, to say the least they were both impressed with his size and the armor itself. Of course, since it would take few hours to make him a new armor, he would have to wait for the later to get it. However, they still needed to measure him and store his armor away, meaning he had to take it off right there. This was going to be fun...... Chapter 2Xalecian's recollection of past was broken when suddenly more of the ceiling collapsed on the floor, only few meters away from the mirror. His eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to the collapse spot, seeing that while the hole was still small, the surrounding area had grown weak under the centuries of weather and nature. He wouldn't be surprised that if one day some explorer of the old castle would just fall through the floor, thinking it was solid when in reality it was hollow and weak. Shaking his head in amusement, he raised his head to see what time it was. The sky was clear, but the sun hadn't reached it's usual position, so it was still early in the morning. He never understood the need to control nature itself, but these ponies had taken it to extreme, which in the end would give them (in theory) the control of the whole planet if they wished it. Such dangerous tampering with creation, as the animals and nature itself couldn't do anything without the help of these ponies. At least the Everfree Forest was one of the only places where ponies didn't control everything in sight, though that might be because of the forest attacking anyone trying to force it into obedience. Such power of nature, creating an hive mind of sorts between the forests and the animals within, protecting their natural style of live. Hmm.....maybe there was a way to turn the whole planet into one big, wild version of Everfree Forest, where no creature or plant obeyed the forceful control of the ponies and other sentient creatures......but that was the future Xalecian's problem to solve, if he ever got out of this damn prison of his. making a mental sigh, he continued to remember the days of the past...... "Is there something on my face, Ma'am?" So, the reaction of ponies to what he looked like was utter confusion. To them, he looked like normal earth pony, with only difference the red iris of his eyes glowing and being taller than normal ones. He wasn't sure what they were expecting, maybe some red skinned demon with strange symbols on his face or something so alien, they couldn't compare it to anything on the planet. The captain was first to react, only raising her eyebrow at his looks before shaking her head "No, I was just comparing your similarities to us ponies, even though it's clear to me that your not from here, or even the same species as us. Though, your are handsome by our standards" Xalecian gave a amused chuckle at that, it was a while since someone reacted so...casually to his presence. Everyone he had met in last 15 years either reacted with fear, anger, respect or praising (the last group almost literally kissing his ass to gain his favor. It never worked, but it didn't stop them from trying). It was nice to be treated that way once in a while....... Snapping out of his thoughts, he handed the helmet to captain as he began to take the rest of his heavy armor off, starting with his gauntlets. Night Blossom seemed impressed with the strength and weight of the helmet, as she inspected it closely before handing it to one of the apprentices working at the armory. To say the least, pony wasn't expecting such heavy weight (Xalecian later learned that the stallion had literally joined day before his summoning in the armory, so he wasn't used to heavy weights) that he almost fell over when it was so casually given to him. It took nearly 5 minutes to take the armor off, though it was mostly thanks to hard to access claps that held his armor together. The smiths were quick to start taking the measures as soon as the apprentices had moved the armor pieces into small pile, where they would later be put into armor stand, which (again, something he later learned) amused the older members of the armory as the apprentices had to make one strong enough to hold his armor and then put it there. Luckily for them, at least one was unicorn, though the weight and impressive magic resistance made it hard. As the smiths finished taking his measures and started working, the captain motioned him to follow as they left and started heading toward the barracks, walking in slower pace than before "If I may ask, Ma'am, why are you personally escorting me around? would one of your guards be more efficient at doing this?" Xalecian asked as he turned his head towards Night Blossom, who continued to look forward with small smile on her face. "While that is true, I would rather take a break from boring paperwork of nothing interesting happening tonight. True, there are some important things to do, but last few months have been so calm, there hasn't been nothing but same paperwork that is night after night the same. If something even little interesting happened, i would hear it immediately, but as it stands there hasn't been anything interesting except maybe one or two Everfree monsters coming too close to the nearby settlements" She explained with bored tone, before flashing him a smirk. "But it's not everyday, or night in the matter, that you get to meet a experienced warrior from another world, summoned by princess Luna herself to join her royal guard. And after the personal experience with your fighting capacity and lack of nervousness fighting superior officer, getting to know you would be more interesting than reading the same old reports night after night" Night Blossom finished as Xalecian raised an eyebrow at her. They were currently half-way between barracks and armory, walking slow enough pace to make it a stroll rather than moving from place to place. "From what I read between the lines, that means that you will be getting to know me and my past in both on and off-duty, meaning your words of not questioning about my past was a discouragement to the guards around us. As for the personally escorting me, I either made good enough impression to have you take your time off from insignificant paperwork or it was an order from princess Luna herself that you escort me. Your clearly bored with lack of serious action, rather fight in front lines of some war, hunt dangerous criminals or extinguish an attempted coup than sit all night, as you have last few years" Xalecian said as they finally arrived at the almost empty barracks, some guards having just finished their shifts as they were ready to take their free time before going to bed. "Three years, but your correct on all accounts" Captain answered as she opened the door and gestured him inside, which he did as she closed the door behind her as she entered after him. The office was quite simple, a bookcase on the left and window on the right as the table was set so that the person sitting behind the desk would be facing the door. The room wasn't anything fancy, which was good, because it meant that the captain wasn't a person who was trying to impress whoever came to the office. Practical, and easily defended or escaped if the almost unnoticeable web of magic danced across the darkened window, giving the room enough light but not too much. As Night Blossom takes her seat behind the desk, she makes a quick motion to the comfortable chair opposite of hers, which Xalecian gladly takes after hours of standing and walking without rest. Really, Luna made him stand the whole time they talked, and the walk around the palace wasn't too hard to do, but the slow numbness creeping up his legs was annoying. "Now then, since you're the new member of the lunar guard, i will need you to fill the paperwork involving it. After that, you can retire to your temporal sleeping place, because the sun will rise up soon and i'm sure you will most likely spend some of the day sleeping" Night Blossom said as she gave him a stack of papers, which required some sharp eyes to understand the small text on it. Fun part however, which was pure luck, was that the written language of his world and Equis was mostly similar, with letters looking a little different. However, the alphabet was close enough to understand which letter was which in his language, allowing easy mental remembering and learning the Equestrian written language. "And tomorrow, Ma'am?" Xalecian questioned as he focused on filling the stack of papers, though noticing the mischievous smile on captain's face as she began to read through the worthless pile of reports literally about nothing happening tonight "Tomorrow, you will be put through initial testing and will start your official training. It doesn't matter if you have experience, everyone goes through the training. Luckily for you, the training of new squad starts in next few days , so you'll be trained with them" she explained casually as she continued reading through the reports in fast pace, checking for anything that wasn't exactly the same as the last report had. Now, some might question how she could do that, but the answer is very simple. EVERY single report is written the same way, with only things changing being the time, who patrolled and where they patrolled. So, it would be easy to spot changes on the reports, if you had years of experience reading both the 'something happened tonight' and 'nothing happened tonight'. Anyway, moving on, the rest of time with Xalecian filling the required paperwork while captain went through the utterly boring reports in fast pace was uneventful, with exception of another guard coming to drop the last few reports of the night. "Hello, Xalecian" A voice interrupted his thoughts, making him raise his head to look at the person standing in front of the mirror. The woman in white dress with golden crown and jewels stood in front of it, with horn on her head and wings on her back. Xalecian narrowed his eyes as he looked at the woman in front of him "This hallucination again?" he though to himself as he raised himself into standing position. "What is it that you want, hallucination?" He asked, watching as the woman in front of him let out a sad sigh. The room was well lighten up with the ball of light hovering above them, near the ceiling where the hole was "How many times have I told you, that I am not an hallucination? That I come here out of genuine intentions of turning you away from your darkened path?" Celestia said with tired voice as she looked at Xalecian with sadness in her eyes. However, he wasn't fooled by this sight before him. He had experienced this hallucination before, 19 times to be exact, during his imprisonment. The glass between him and freedom was enchanted, so when it was closed, nothing except light could pass through it. Not even magic could break the barrier between this failed-experiment-turned-prison and the real world. He could already see the mistakes in hallucination as it spoke, though he ignored all it said as the obvious errors shifted and changed. The other wing was too short, the horn was leaning more to right than it should, the eyes were different color, the imprint of the jewels and crown kept shifting.....the mistakes in this hallucination kept going on and on. Taking a deep breath to calm his mind, he could see the hallucination disappear as he sat back down and raised his head towards the hole, seeing the sunlight come through and light the chamber he was in. His eyes narrowed in disgust as he leaned against the back wall as watched the electricity dance on the surface of his gauntlets. However, his mind was elsewhere as he remembered seeing the hallucination few moments ago. While it was disgusting to see Celestia standing there, it was better than seeing the two foals (children? pony terminology is strange at times) , both genderless and faceless, standing there with their mother between them. The same female who smiled at him with that strange smile of hers, like he had seen her smile before he had led the failed coup and been imprisoned in this mirror. How long has it been since that day that he had seen her, before he had gone to free mistress Luna from the tyranny of Celestia? How long has he been imprisoned in this cursed prison, to suffer his own, mortal mind breaking and tormenting him with hallucinations of what could be? He had lost count after eight centuries, but he knew that the time was close. The stars were nearing their alignment and help Luna escape her cursed prison. The night would last forever, but the planet would live under the iron fist of Nightmare Moon and her servants. Yes, the time would be soon. An year or two, but in the end, it would not matter. Their mistress would be free to get her revenge, and make the ponies appreciate her night. There would be no-one powerful enough to resist her, and those who attempted would be crushed under her loyal soldiers and the members of cult of Nightmare Moon (or at least, he hoped those two fools managed to create it). Maybe he could visit 'her' grave after their mistress returned.......
PrologueBeautiful If one were to look at the night sky of Equestria, one would most likely describe it as such. The stars shines bright in ocean of darkness in the sky, with moon lighting the land below the heavenly view. The Everfree Forest was quite peaceful this night, as the animals and monsters within rested in deep slumber and the night sky was clear of any offending clouds, showering the dark forest with white light of the moon. Deep within Everfree Forest, the castle of the two sisters stood tall, even though it had seen better days thousand years ago. However, below the castle, in the basement of this wonderful place, stood a single room, which was in circle shaped with stone walls. The diameter was only 20 meters, but it was enough to serve it's purpose, as in middle of the room stood a single mirror. The mirror in question was full-length standing 2 meters tall and 1 meter wide. The frame was made of gold with beautiful carvings along the sides, with the surface of the mirror itself still perfectly intact, reflecting the moonlight that shined towards it from a hole in ceiling of the room. However, this was not a normal mirror in question. Within this bright mirror, stood a single room, which was as tall and wide as the mirror itself, with the back wall only a meter from the surface of the mirror. Within, sat single bipedal, wearing a armor over his body, his flesh long ago being replaced by dark mist that animated his armor, earning him the name 'Wraith' from those who saw it. Armor itself was mix of purple, gold and grey, even though there were dried blood on the surface. The armor was designed to inspire fear among the enemies of it's wearer, so it was no surprise that the surface designs were complex, with metal curved into shape similar to spikes in some places. The armor completely covered the body, with upper arms, middle of the body and back of the knees being only ones unarmored, with dark mist taking the place where the flesh would be visible. The helmet was of intimidating design, with two horns standing in the top. The helmet covered the face part almost completely, leaving only thin Y shaped space in the middle, with red eyes of it's wearer glowing through as the purple gem glowed in middle of the forehead, with two similar gems in chest and waist of the armor. As he continued to watch the moon above, he could feel the familiar ache in his soul as he saw the reflection of a mare in the surface of it, which brought painful memories back to his mind. He could still remember the first time he had seen her, and taken her offer to step into her service as adviser and knight/enforcer..... He smiled as he looked at his opponent, the ignorant child hero and his group of fools that followed him. The wise old tree loving elf, the seductive mage, the dutiful paladin, the sarcastic rogue, the hothead dwarf, the handsome bard, the sharp archer, skilled thief.... the group was like taken from children's stories, with all of them following the charming, young hero on his way to get famous and 'save the world' crap. " Your days of terrorizing the world is over, Xalecian Nexus. Today, you will pay for your crimes of destroying this village and slaughtering everyone here" The self-righteous hero proclaimed, making him laugh at the foolishness of this child. The village had been full of thieves, rapists and murderers, with the village itself build by the riches they had stolen. "Oh, is that so? So you would rather kill me, than to thank me of killing this village of criminals that you heroes oh so dutifully ignore in exchange of money that you seem so eager to give to anyone who does your work for you? This village" he motioned his hand around, gesturing the burning village and masses of slaughtered corpses on the ground "Was build on the mass graves of people and thousands of poor and innocent who fell to their victim, and you sanction their actions?" he questioned, enjoying when the self-proclaimed heroes of the group started hesitating in their battle stances, shifting nervously as they took glances at each other. Of course the young fool didn't see the harsh truth of this world "While what they did was wrong, it does not give you permission to just go around and kill people. The guild -" he interrupted the young fool before he had to listen this bullshit of right and wrong "The guild would have investigated a week, before they would declare that the village was clear, thanks to right amount of money in right places. Your guild is one of the most corrupt ones in this world, and if your not willing to act to prevent hundreds of women and children of losing their lives or being raped and made poor by people like this village, then the Legion will gladly be known in history as ultimate evil to preserve the rights of people, unlike your filthy guild of heroes" He said in angered voice as he took a step towards the young fool. The Legion was the group started by him, to replace the corrupt guild of heroes that had once, centuries ago, actually done it's job instead of letting innocent suffer so that they could become richer. Those who followed him knew that if he died today, they would continue his work. There were several things preventing the corruption and crime spreading in ranks of Legion, such as the dark guardians that were sentient. If needed, they would take over and continue recruiting people to take lesser evil for greater good. The young hero was about to say something, but he didn't give him the change as he shadow stepped in front of the young fool and swung his blade, which was barely blocked by the fool. The others quickly joined the battle, previous thoughts gone as they started fighting him. The battle itself lasted almost two hours, with the dwarf, rogue, thief, paladin and the young fool having serious injuries, with mage and elf knocked out by use of magic. It had been a lucky shot from the archer that had hit him in the chest, the arrow going through the armor thanks to it's special design and magical assistance. He could see the dark spots in his vision as he was in his knees, hands on the ground as he spat the blood out of his mouth and coughed, feeling his life slowly starting to fade away. "You're a fool, you know that?" He said loud enough to group to react, turning their attention back to him from nursing their wounds. "What are you now talking about? We already defeated you" The archer said in arrogant voice, which made his chuckle between the coughing as he raised himself back to standing position, swaying as he leaned against his sword "Yes, you might have defeated me, but what now? Do you plan to return to your corrupt guild and have a party, ignoring all the crimes that you call 'heroes' committed in last few centuries? Or do you plan to clean that corruption from the ranks of heroes and make the real difference?" he questioned as his vision started having black edge, adding to reality of his dead the cough that almost brought him back to his knees. The young fool stayed silent as he though to himself, most likely realizing all the corruption he had seen in his last few visits. The fool had apparently found a group that while it help criminals. they were willing to face their actions if greater good was in question, if one were to judge from their protests of not letting the corruption continue. He laughed within his mind as the fool answered "i'll make the guild what it once was, to protect the people that we are supposed to serve. While you might have had the right idea, your way of doing so is wrong, Xalecian. I'll change the guild even if it's the last act i'll do" The fool made a promise as he put his hand into fist in front of his heart. Good, at least the Legion would have less resistance with the guild in two factions, the corrupt and pure. "Good for you" He said as his vision filled with black as he collided with the ground, sending him into darkness that death brought to those who died. The same darkness that to most, would be the final destination after life, with all senses and abilities simply disappearing. But to some, the reality makes it interesting...... Darkness. That was the first thing he saw. Black as far as he could see, though he wasn't sure if he had eyes anymore, because he couldn't feel anything. His mind was hazy as he tried to move, only to realize that his own body wasn't reacting to his commands. Did he even have a body? He wasn't sure, but he knew that this wasn't hell or heaven at least. It began as barely a whisper, but he could hear beautiful voice in this darkness, speaking some ancient, unknown language as it circled around him, coming closer and closer with each second. It felt like eternity before the source of voice stopping in front of him. He could hear her (he was pretty sure it was she) speak something, but he couldn't understand other than intrigued tone, which turned into confused one after a small pause. It was then when he felt something push into his mind, his mental shields breaking away as foreign words pushed into his mind, creating connection between this new, beautiful language and his own. The progress was slow, but after some time he could feel the foreign source stop invading his mind as the female in front of him spoke "Can you understand me, creature?" The beautiful voice asked in questioning tone. "Yes" was his answer, though he wasn't sure if he spoke aloud or if his thoughts were made into physical sound by something. "Good. Tell me, what is a creature like you doing in the void?" The female (he was correct, it was female voice) questioned him, making him wonder for a moment for his answer. The void was, if he remembered correctly, the empty space between dimensions. But how did he get here? Didn't he just die a while ago? "I am....not sure why I am here" he answered after moment of silent thinking, feeling his senses starting to wake up as he felt his body being held immobile by the something. "Interesting....tell me, what would you be willing to do to escape from this place?" The voice asked, making him realize just exactly what she wanted. He was smiling inside as he answered with humorous tone "So that's your game, huh? Very well, i would be willing to do anything, if released from this place and returned back to life" The source of voice stayed silent, clearly thinking about something while he tried opening his eyes, before realizing that they were already open. He could feel the cold against his body, but the pulse of his heart and blood in his veins confirmed that he was, somehow, still alive. "If i get you out of this place, will you swear your complete loyalty to only me, Princess Luna, until the time comes that either you die, or I die?" The female (Princess Luna? She's royalty?) asked in serious tone, making his body tense as chill went up his spine for because of her tone. She was the first that had ever gained any reaction from him, so it would be interesting to see where this would lead to. "Yes, I will swear my life and loyalty to you, Mistress" His answer seemed to satisfy her as he heard her give a beautiful chuckle at his answer. He could feel the foreign presence in his mind as it searched for something, before retreating away as the same presence wrapped around his body "I accept your oath of loyalty, Xalecian Nexus" Princess Luna answered as he saw the Princess in question stand in front of him, smile on her face just before his vision was suddenly turned white and he could feel strong magic pull him from the darkness....
Chapter 1He let out a sigh as he put his hand against the mirror, the metal of his gauntlet rubbing against the glass surface and creating a high pitched sound when he dragged his hand down against the surface. The freedom was so close, yet so far, with simple glass between him and the end of his centuries long imprisonment. He had tried so many times to escape, only to fail time and time again, as the only way to leave was to have someone open the way outside. Neither his own magic or sound carried through the mirror, leaving him alone in silence after Celestia had thrown him into this cursed prison without caring if he lived or died. The moment he had been imprisoned, Celestia had ordered something to her guards, but he couldn't hear anything as the glass stopped all that tried to enter or leave. The dark part of this prison, however, was that air didn't leave or enter either, so he had to sacrifice his own flesh to remain alive. Celestia hadn't cared or seen it, as he had been transported to this damned circle room and left in the dark. Of course, that had been fixed as the centuries had gone, slowly forming a hole in the ceiling until it was big enough to let enough light into the dark room. However, it didn't change the fact that he had been forced to turn himself into wraith just to keep himself from suffocating to death in this embarrassing prison, which he had himself made, due to the request of his mistress. He let out a tired sight as he raised his gauntlet in front of him and took a look at it, seeing the centuries old blood still tainting the surface of the beautiful metal patterns. He formed a fist with his gauntlet as he hit the glass surface of his prison hard, watching as the force traveled through it but not breaking it. It was painful to stay in this prison of his, as he was awake the whole time. He could easily understand why some wanted immortality, but for him, it was a curse. His former body was still a mortal, so his mind wasn't intended to suffer centuries worth of being alone in the dark, with no sound around him. His magic was still within his core, but it was merely a shadow of it's former self, barely able to contain his soul and new body in place. As he turned his attention back to the beautiful moon, his thoughts went back to the days of past..... He could feel it, the ache of his bones as the muscles started materializing around them, followed by everything as his body went through a slow progress of materializing into this new world. He could feel the clothes materialize around his body as the strong, metal armor started to materialize, moving from the legs upwards as it came into existence. He could hear the whispering of people around him as his armor fully surrounded him, the familiar weight surrounding him. As he opened his eyes, he could only see blur, before the burning sensation in his chest forced him to take deep breath, his vision starting to focus. He could see himself hovering in the air, surrounded by rune circle. It was clear that he was not alone however, as there were few unicorns around the circle, their horns glowing as they wore dark blue armor, clearly designed to be draconic in nature. The room was quite nice, blue glassed windows and lunar themed furniture. The banners were on the walls, presenting the night sister as the single throne stood in front of him. However, Xalecian's attention was drawn to beautiful woman sitting on the said throne, her dark dress and blue skin almost glowing in the moonlight that shined through the windows, with her appearance and aura screaming royalty worth of his respect. He could see her smile as she rose from her throne and slowly, but gracefully, walked towards him like a predator stalking her prey. With a single motion of her hand, the unicorns released their hold on him as he fell to his feet. He caught himself easily and corrected his pose to the one of war commander, standing straight with his hands on his sides as he kept his eyes on the woman in front of him. As princess Luna stopped in front of Xalecian, the guards looked nervously at the armored warrior standing only few meters away from their princess, even though he was currently unarmed. Compared to the princess, who with her sister princess Celestia normally towered the ponies around them, looked small compared to the warrior in front of her. Normal ponies were around the height of 160 cm or less while the princesses themselves were around 180 cm, but Xalecian was standing 195 cm, forcing even the princess to tilt her head a little to look at him in the eyes. The small silence moment passed between people in the room as the towering warrior and night princess continued to keep an eye contact, standing completely still as the guards and unicorns nervously shifted and looked at each other, wondering what was happening. The silence was broken as Xalecian knelt down, one knee raised as he bowed his head and crossed his right arm across his chest, with his fist in front of where his heart was as the other hand gently touched the ground. The guards held their breath, ready to strike as the metallic horns were being pointed directly at their princess, but the tension was broken as the kneeling warrior said two words "Your highness" The dark and powerful voice said, the tone filled with respect as the smile widened on the princess Luna's face as the kneeling warrior stayed still, waiting for the command of his mistress as Luna motioned the guards to relax, signalling that she could protect herself if needed, though that was highly unlikely. "Thou may rise now, Xalecian Nexus" Princess Luna said in her royal tone, watching as her new warrior didn't react to it as he raised himself to his feet and stood straight, waiting for her command. "Guards, leave us. We will call you back when we are done talking with our new servant" she ordered without moving her gaze from the glowing eyes of Xalecian. The guards and unicorns were quick to obey, leaving the throne room as they closed the door behind them, leaving their princess alone with her new servant. Before Luna could say anything, Xalecian interrupted her with amused tone "Royal tone, your highness? I wasn't expecting it, though it's clear why you used it" he said in calm tone as Luna chuckled a little, knowing enough about him that he meant no disrespect with this tension breaking comment "It is to be expected from the princess of Equestria to speak in royal tone, though it would seem that it would be more comfortable to talk in informal manner, when we are talking in private" Luna answered with smile on her lips as she turned around and walked back to her throne, with Xalecian few steps behind before stopping in front of her throne. They continued talking few hours, as the night was almost always silent, as most of the ponies slept through Luna's beautiful night, leaving her with very much freedom to do what she wanted. So, since they were left undisturbed, Luna gave him brief explanation of the world Xalecian now lived in, as well as explained his role in her inner circle: He would become a member of her royal guard, and earn his ranks from there. This of course left bitter taste in his mouth, because of his former role in Legion, though he did understand it clearly that he was bound to obey her, as promise that he made was binding his soul to hers. Still, even though he was currently in such a low position, he would proof his worth to his new....mistress. Currently however his focus was not in the conversation, but the annoying sight of two guards escorting him towards the barracks, where Night Blossom, the captain of the lunar guard, was currently reading some documents and reports. While it wasn't the meeting that annoyed him, it was the two guards giving him nervous glances over their shoulders as well as the guards that they passed that made his eyes narrow in displeasure. He would love nothing more than teach these weaklings to grow a backbone, but first he would have to reach correct rank to beat them into shape. He could see so many flaws in the guards, though some might be because of his size and the look of his armor. He seriously couldn't blame them if he was part of the reason for their unprofessional acting, because he loved whipping the new members of Legion into shape, especially if they hadn't seen him in person yet. The look on their face as he charged was always priceless..... Anyway, back to the matters in hand, it seems his mood would darken even more as they passed through the barracks, where more than few guards were readying themselves for their shift as he walked through it to reach the captain's office. They didn't even reach for their weapons, just standing there and looking at him in shock as he calmly passed through, though he noticed the few older looking members only raising their eyebrow at him, before continuing putting their armor on after taking their quick glance at him. Good, at least not all of the guards looked so hopeless as he first though, but that might be because the older guards only checked if he possessed any weapons before relaxing. His current line of thought ended as he arrived at the door, where the guard on the right knocked the door to the office, where the simple "come in" came as response. As the guard on the right walked in, he stayed outside with the other guard as the first one closed the door behind him. He could hear them talking silently behind the closed door, but he was more annoyed about the guard next to him, who looked like Lucifer himself was towering over him and staring at him with glare as the armies of hell stood behind him and wearing full armor and heavy weapons. Xalecian raised an eyebrow at the guard, daring him to do something other than silently whimper. Unfortunately, the guard couldn't see the facial expression because of the helmet shielding his face, only the darkness and two, red glowing eyes narrowing as they looked at him. The guard was luckily spared from being under the gaze of Xalecian too long as the door opened, drawing the warrior's attention to it as female warrior stepped out, her armor looking almost the same as the night guards, only female version with little more color and changes made here and there to make it look higher rank. Compared to her fellow guards, the captain herself was around 165 cm tall Unicorn, making her little bit taller than most of the guards and ponies. And like all the other guards, her skin was dark grey and her pupils were slit, which made her look even more dangerous to common criminals. However, it was clear that it was an enchantment on the armor, as he had seen one of the guards have visible changes when he put his armor on in a hurry to get away from the towering warrior. Back to the captain, her figure was quite feminine, though one look around the body told that she knew how to fight, with some muscles and skill to back her up. As he made a rapid inspection of Night Blossom, he could see her eyes slowly traveling across his body (more like his armor), making a clear mental list of things to know about him. Weaknesses to the armor, how he carried his own body, the clear sign of strong muscles and something else he hadn't bothered to think about right now. So it wasn't a complete surprise when the captain moved fast as her horn flashed a blinding light and targeted his middle section for the obvious hit spot. Unfortunately for her, it didn't end so well as he quickly dodged her attack, half blind from the spell as he swept her legs under her and used the motion to grasp her by the throat and bring her hard to the ground. They both stayed still as they looked at each other, with Xalecian kneeling down on one foot as his hand kept a grip on Night Blossom's throat (not too hard, just enough to make her know he could use more strength) as the other was drawn back into the fist and ready to strike. Night Blossom on other hand had her right arm grasping tightly at the hand holding her throat, with her legs ready to strike at his middle section and left arm on the hilt of the sword on her belt. The guards were fast to react (though not fast enough, if asked from either one), with their weapons drawn and ready to assist their captain if needed. The tension on the room was broken as the smile spread on captain's lips as she let a small chuckle, breaking the tension as Xalecian released his grip on her throat and stood up, offering his hand to her as his other hand opened and relaxed. The captain was quick to accept the offered hand as Xalecian pulled her to her feet, giving out an amused chuckle at both the situation that had happened and the confused looks of the guards around them "Well then, that was fun" Night Blossom said as the swept her armor to wipe non-existing dust from it, before looking at him in the eye "You have quite fast reflex, and apparently more than enough experience in fighting both professionally and dirty with strength and speed to back it up. What's your name, soldier?" She asked in commanding tone, which seemed to dismiss the shock from the guards still in the barracks and making them continue their business. "Xalecian Nexus, Ma'am" Xalecian answered as he gave her a salute, which made her raise an eyebrow before returning it. "Apparently our worlds have more than few similarities, though i'm not going to question about your past life." She said in lower voice than normally, before speaking up again. "Now then, first thing we are going to do is to get you acquainted with your new sleeping place, as well as to get you a new armor. I'm sure you would love to wear that armor everywhere you go, but as member of royal guard you will wear the armor designated to lunar guards, do you understand?" Night Blossom questioned, making it clear that she was in charge. "Yes, Ma'am" He said as the captain motioned him to follow and walked past him, making him turn around as he steadily walked few steps behind her, turning left from the barracks and heading towards the temporal quarters. It was fairly close, due to the fact that sometimes they needed to add few extra beds in the other rooms after an accident with fire that burned most of the barracks down and half of her office few months ago. As the captain opened the door, inside was a fairly large room with multiple beds, though only one was currently in use. The expressions on the faces of the two stallions was priceless as they had been caught by their own captain having some....private time before their shifts began. He took his position on left side of the door as the captain teared the two stallions a new ones, both of them not daring to run away from angry mare (woman? it's quite confusing to talk about them when in his world, the stallions and mare's were equine, while here the 'ponies' were more human than ponies) nor to even approach the door as he stood there in scary armor, towering over them like demon from tartarus (this world's version of hell, though it was more like a prison than what it should be). Cutting the long story short, the two guards got punished with extra shifts and being moved into different squads, with their schedule being made so that other was on duty while other was not. After the captain calmed down, she swept the incident under the rug like it never happened as she explained that Xalecian would be using one of the beds in here until they could make a more suitable bed for his length in the small, private quarters he would later receive (apparently he and the captain would be only ones with private rooms, so they would literally be next to each other near the barracks. His was already being prepared by the servants, though the bed would need to be bigger. Apparently Luna had some plans to get a new warrior into her guards, as the quarters had been prepared a week before he had been summoned). Moving on, the walk to the armory was short, as they weren't far away from the barracks because of obvious reasons. Both solar and lunar guards had their own barracks and armory in opposite ends of the castle, meaning that the solar guards would rarely be seen by lunar guards in their armor except when they were both deployed somewhere. As they arrived at the armory, it became clear that the armors were, boldly said, too small to fit. As the captain introduced him to the caretakers and smiths, to say the least they were both impressed with his size and the armor itself. Of course, since it would take few hours to make him a new armor, he would have to wait for the later to get it. However, they still needed to measure him and store his armor away, meaning he had to take it off right there. This was going to be fun......
Chapter 2Xalecian's recollection of past was broken when suddenly more of the ceiling collapsed on the floor, only few meters away from the mirror. His eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to the collapse spot, seeing that while the hole was still small, the surrounding area had grown weak under the centuries of weather and nature. He wouldn't be surprised that if one day some explorer of the old castle would just fall through the floor, thinking it was solid when in reality it was hollow and weak. Shaking his head in amusement, he raised his head to see what time it was. The sky was clear, but the sun hadn't reached it's usual position, so it was still early in the morning. He never understood the need to control nature itself, but these ponies had taken it to extreme, which in the end would give them (in theory) the control of the whole planet if they wished it. Such dangerous tampering with creation, as the animals and nature itself couldn't do anything without the help of these ponies. At least the Everfree Forest was one of the only places where ponies didn't control everything in sight, though that might be because of the forest attacking anyone trying to force it into obedience. Such power of nature, creating an hive mind of sorts between the forests and the animals within, protecting their natural style of live. Hmm.....maybe there was a way to turn the whole planet into one big, wild version of Everfree Forest, where no creature or plant obeyed the forceful control of the ponies and other sentient creatures......but that was the future Xalecian's problem to solve, if he ever got out of this damn prison of his. making a mental sigh, he continued to remember the days of the past...... "Is there something on my face, Ma'am?" So, the reaction of ponies to what he looked like was utter confusion. To them, he looked like normal earth pony, with only difference the red iris of his eyes glowing and being taller than normal ones. He wasn't sure what they were expecting, maybe some red skinned demon with strange symbols on his face or something so alien, they couldn't compare it to anything on the planet. The captain was first to react, only raising her eyebrow at his looks before shaking her head "No, I was just comparing your similarities to us ponies, even though it's clear to me that your not from here, or even the same species as us. Though, your are handsome by our standards" Xalecian gave a amused chuckle at that, it was a while since someone reacted so...casually to his presence. Everyone he had met in last 15 years either reacted with fear, anger, respect or praising (the last group almost literally kissing his ass to gain his favor. It never worked, but it didn't stop them from trying). It was nice to be treated that way once in a while....... Snapping out of his thoughts, he handed the helmet to captain as he began to take the rest of his heavy armor off, starting with his gauntlets. Night Blossom seemed impressed with the strength and weight of the helmet, as she inspected it closely before handing it to one of the apprentices working at the armory. To say the least, pony wasn't expecting such heavy weight (Xalecian later learned that the stallion had literally joined day before his summoning in the armory, so he wasn't used to heavy weights) that he almost fell over when it was so casually given to him. It took nearly 5 minutes to take the armor off, though it was mostly thanks to hard to access claps that held his armor together. The smiths were quick to start taking the measures as soon as the apprentices had moved the armor pieces into small pile, where they would later be put into armor stand, which (again, something he later learned) amused the older members of the armory as the apprentices had to make one strong enough to hold his armor and then put it there. Luckily for them, at least one was unicorn, though the weight and impressive magic resistance made it hard. As the smiths finished taking his measures and started working, the captain motioned him to follow as they left and started heading toward the barracks, walking in slower pace than before "If I may ask, Ma'am, why are you personally escorting me around? would one of your guards be more efficient at doing this?" Xalecian asked as he turned his head towards Night Blossom, who continued to look forward with small smile on her face. "While that is true, I would rather take a break from boring paperwork of nothing interesting happening tonight. True, there are some important things to do, but last few months have been so calm, there hasn't been nothing but same paperwork that is night after night the same. If something even little interesting happened, i would hear it immediately, but as it stands there hasn't been anything interesting except maybe one or two Everfree monsters coming too close to the nearby settlements" She explained with bored tone, before flashing him a smirk. "But it's not everyday, or night in the matter, that you get to meet a experienced warrior from another world, summoned by princess Luna herself to join her royal guard. And after the personal experience with your fighting capacity and lack of nervousness fighting superior officer, getting to know you would be more interesting than reading the same old reports night after night" Night Blossom finished as Xalecian raised an eyebrow at her. They were currently half-way between barracks and armory, walking slow enough pace to make it a stroll rather than moving from place to place. "From what I read between the lines, that means that you will be getting to know me and my past in both on and off-duty, meaning your words of not questioning about my past was a discouragement to the guards around us. As for the personally escorting me, I either made good enough impression to have you take your time off from insignificant paperwork or it was an order from princess Luna herself that you escort me. Your clearly bored with lack of serious action, rather fight in front lines of some war, hunt dangerous criminals or extinguish an attempted coup than sit all night, as you have last few years" Xalecian said as they finally arrived at the almost empty barracks, some guards having just finished their shifts as they were ready to take their free time before going to bed. "Three years, but your correct on all accounts" Captain answered as she opened the door and gestured him inside, which he did as she closed the door behind her as she entered after him. The office was quite simple, a bookcase on the left and window on the right as the table was set so that the person sitting behind the desk would be facing the door. The room wasn't anything fancy, which was good, because it meant that the captain wasn't a person who was trying to impress whoever came to the office. Practical, and easily defended or escaped if the almost unnoticeable web of magic danced across the darkened window, giving the room enough light but not too much. As Night Blossom takes her seat behind the desk, she makes a quick motion to the comfortable chair opposite of hers, which Xalecian gladly takes after hours of standing and walking without rest. Really, Luna made him stand the whole time they talked, and the walk around the palace wasn't too hard to do, but the slow numbness creeping up his legs was annoying. "Now then, since you're the new member of the lunar guard, i will need you to fill the paperwork involving it. After that, you can retire to your temporal sleeping place, because the sun will rise up soon and i'm sure you will most likely spend some of the day sleeping" Night Blossom said as she gave him a stack of papers, which required some sharp eyes to understand the small text on it. Fun part however, which was pure luck, was that the written language of his world and Equis was mostly similar, with letters looking a little different. However, the alphabet was close enough to understand which letter was which in his language, allowing easy mental remembering and learning the Equestrian written language. "And tomorrow, Ma'am?" Xalecian questioned as he focused on filling the stack of papers, though noticing the mischievous smile on captain's face as she began to read through the worthless pile of reports literally about nothing happening tonight "Tomorrow, you will be put through initial testing and will start your official training. It doesn't matter if you have experience, everyone goes through the training. Luckily for you, the training of new squad starts in next few days , so you'll be trained with them" she explained casually as she continued reading through the reports in fast pace, checking for anything that wasn't exactly the same as the last report had. Now, some might question how she could do that, but the answer is very simple. EVERY single report is written the same way, with only things changing being the time, who patrolled and where they patrolled. So, it would be easy to spot changes on the reports, if you had years of experience reading both the 'something happened tonight' and 'nothing happened tonight'. Anyway, moving on, the rest of time with Xalecian filling the required paperwork while captain went through the utterly boring reports in fast pace was uneventful, with exception of another guard coming to drop the last few reports of the night. "Hello, Xalecian" A voice interrupted his thoughts, making him raise his head to look at the person standing in front of the mirror. The woman in white dress with golden crown and jewels stood in front of it, with horn on her head and wings on her back. Xalecian narrowed his eyes as he looked at the woman in front of him "This hallucination again?" he though to himself as he raised himself into standing position. "What is it that you want, hallucination?" He asked, watching as the woman in front of him let out a sad sigh. The room was well lighten up with the ball of light hovering above them, near the ceiling where the hole was "How many times have I told you, that I am not an hallucination? That I come here out of genuine intentions of turning you away from your darkened path?" Celestia said with tired voice as she looked at Xalecian with sadness in her eyes. However, he wasn't fooled by this sight before him. He had experienced this hallucination before, 19 times to be exact, during his imprisonment. The glass between him and freedom was enchanted, so when it was closed, nothing except light could pass through it. Not even magic could break the barrier between this failed-experiment-turned-prison and the real world. He could already see the mistakes in hallucination as it spoke, though he ignored all it said as the obvious errors shifted and changed. The other wing was too short, the horn was leaning more to right than it should, the eyes were different color, the imprint of the jewels and crown kept shifting.....the mistakes in this hallucination kept going on and on. Taking a deep breath to calm his mind, he could see the hallucination disappear as he sat back down and raised his head towards the hole, seeing the sunlight come through and light the chamber he was in. His eyes narrowed in disgust as he leaned against the back wall as watched the electricity dance on the surface of his gauntlets. However, his mind was elsewhere as he remembered seeing the hallucination few moments ago. While it was disgusting to see Celestia standing there, it was better than seeing the two foals (children? pony terminology is strange at times) , both genderless and faceless, standing there with their mother between them. The same female who smiled at him with that strange smile of hers, like he had seen her smile before he had led the failed coup and been imprisoned in this mirror. How long has it been since that day that he had seen her, before he had gone to free mistress Luna from the tyranny of Celestia? How long has he been imprisoned in this cursed prison, to suffer his own, mortal mind breaking and tormenting him with hallucinations of what could be? He had lost count after eight centuries, but he knew that the time was close. The stars were nearing their alignment and help Luna escape her cursed prison. The night would last forever, but the planet would live under the iron fist of Nightmare Moon and her servants. Yes, the time would be soon. An year or two, but in the end, it would not matter. Their mistress would be free to get her revenge, and make the ponies appreciate her night. There would be no-one powerful enough to resist her, and those who attempted would be crushed under her loyal soldiers and the members of cult of Nightmare Moon (or at least, he hoped those two fools managed to create it). Maybe he could visit 'her' grave after their mistress returned.......
