Luna's Dark Knight...

A:N Thank you all for all your support! I would also like to thank my friend (Captain Fuckew McHugeRage) and his friends for all their help in this, also for their aid in proof reading and giving me ideas for some of the future chapters. their help has been, and will always be, invaluable to this story, so send them a few high fives and shit!

Now, This is a somewhat longer chapter than normal, and i hope you all enjoy it!

Twenty fires gently licked at the night sky as the cool night air blew up and over the men and women that sat around them. Each fire was occupied by around twenty or so ponies each, stallions and mares joined in camaraderie as they shared in the fires warmth. The hundreds of ponies and one Anzaty Human Hybrid shared in old war stories and jokes as the time of their last march approached their destination, The eastern Border.

They all Laughed and cried as jokes and stories of past engagements flew about the campfires, lightening the mood and removing the heavy feeling that one would normally feel before such a monuments event. Though while some told stories and jokes to ease the growing tension, some, like Commander Grace, Quick Silver, and I, just checked their weapons and equipment and made sure their bed rolls were clear and ready for a night under the stars.

Every-so-often the three of us would trade words of advice, though it was more just sarcastic quips and humorous comments, most of which made no sense what-so-ever.

"Grace, Silver... Dost thou know fear?" I suddenly asked them, the three of us were sitting slightly away from the rest of the soldiers, a small fire set up for just the three of us. I had been unpacking my bag and rolling out when I suddenly had that question pop into my head, making me sit back on my ankles from my kneeling position and look up at the moon.

"Does the Moon not illuminate the night, does the Sun not rise in the morn? Of course we fear, Corpus, we art but flesh and blood..." Grace started jokingly, having grown comfortable in my presence after the long journey we had all shared together.

"I don't, at least not after what I've seen you do... Why should I fear?" Silver asked, her question being more rhetorical than true. This earned a scowl from both me and Grace, though for similarly different reasons.

"FleetFoot Silver," Amazing Grace growled lowly, making sure not to alert the rest of the camp to our goings on, catching Quick Silver's attention, "How can you NOT fear for your life after the stories Master Corpus has regaled us with. The number of Gryphons he's faced already were just part of their first scouting party for Princesses' sake!" She shot back to her subordinate.

"Yeah, and he's beaten hundreds of them on his own! How can we fear for our lives with such a force on our side?! We should fear FOR our enemies, not ourselves with him here... Buck, he even took down a BUCKING HYDRA! For Celestia's sake Grace, the Stallions got almost as much martial prowess as this entire division combined!" Silver growled, earning a scowl from Grace, though she must not have heard me sigh in annoyance at her flawed thinking, seeing as she continued talking.

"I mean, come on! Even Luna shows the guy respect, and tell me, how many stallions have you seen miss Ice Queen show any kind of emotion other than the cold shoulder!" This may have gotten another rouse of anger out of Grace, to which I was counting down the seconds until Mount Saint Graces blew its top and killed the poor mare across from me. It was what she had said about Luna's emotional status as Ice Queen that had caught my attention, and though I didn't act on the information, I did file it away for later discussion.

"YOU SHALT CALM THYSELVES NOW!" I suddenly growled loudly, making the two of them shrink back away from me in slight fear. Quick Silver gulped loudly at the prospect of facing my wrath, even if she wasn't the only one on my shit list right now.

"Yes-sir!" the both of them mumbled loudly before sitting ramrod straight and staring me straight in the eyes. Both of them were scared shitless by my rage flushed face as I stared them down for their irate dealings, especially so late at night.

"Now, FleetFoot Silver, thou art going to be sent back to the castle for thy thoughts of invincibility, they will get thou killed… along with any other that would try to come to thy aid… Dost thou understand this?" I ask crassly, making her scowl at me before looking down at the ground in defeat.

"I understand Corpus… I am sorry for allowing my arrogance to rule my thoughts… I ask forgiveness in thy eyes…" I could tell that the mare before me was telling the truth, ya know having the force and all, but I was going to stand by what I had said and send her back to Ivory City.

"Aye, we understand thy feelings Silver, and we forgive thee for thy actions… But it is still best that thou goes back to the capital and relays our current positions and remained there for further orders from the Princesses. Dost thou understand our reasoning's for this?"

"Yes sir, I'll leave immediately, Sir… I'm sorry for my actions…" Quick Silver said sullenly, knowing that she had done this to herself in the first place. She then began to gather up her things to leave, though I deftly made it across to her and stopped her from putting her roll away.

"Thou may leave in the morning Silver, traveling by night is a terrible idea… Stay the night and we shalt send a few stallions with thou to keep thou safe on the trip there." I smiled warmly at the young mare before me, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder and urging her to sleep. The light Grey coated mare stared right into my eyes, her burnished gold eyes searching mine for any hidden meaning as she sighed and gave a low chuckle.

"Fine… I'll stay the night, ya overgrown monkey…" She quipped at me in return, making me raise a brow in amusement, seeing as I could both see and feel her lightheartedness etched onto her face, I just chuckled along and tousled her sky blue mane like it was for free, making her growl in annoyance, but in good faith seeing as she just made a quip about my appearance.

I left the young mare to her slumber and walked over to the fire, slumping down into the dirt and staring into the fire before glancing over at the Grey form of Amazing Grace, whom was sitting there looking at me with her glowing Silver eyes, they roared in the light of the fire.

"Grace, We have a question for thee…"

"Aye, Lord Corpus? What be it?"

"What didst thou mean by Ice Queen when you were referring to Princess Luna? Hast she had difficulty in the past with the opposite sex? Or is it just her attitude towards everypony else in general?" I raised a brow at her from my position on the ground.

"Well… there's a few reasons for that Milord...But the few I can remember have to deal with some of her… encounters from when she was younger… I know of one about her Sister being asked out hundreds of times when they were younger, each time denying them, and then having those very same colts rush over to her seconds later and asking her out… She was always pissed off afterward for that, always going on about "I AM NOT second fiddle to HER!" She was livid for most the time… Even after that she still turns them all down, saying something about them not being up to snuff or something like that…" Grace sighed, trying not to sound to... exasperated and weary... for having to talk about one of her Princesses behind their backs, especially since she wasn't the one to bring it up in the first place.

"Ah, we see..." I said evenly as I stroked my chin in contemplation. Hearing that My Luna had been shunned, or better yet treated, like that for force knows how long, it gave me a better appreciation of the feelings we had for each other. Seeing as we were sharing her room EVER night and not ever being bashful about the entire arrangement had made me slightly desensitized to how close I had become with the Midnight Blue Alicorn... Something that I knew even then that I would have to think on and figure out... Not just what I meant to her but also what she meant to me...

"Aye, but I have also heard some other... Things... about her... Though it would be best if she told you instead of I... I will not betray her trust so willingly to just any who ask it of me." Though the declaration was sudden and passionate, I could feel the hardened resolve in Grace's words, he willingness to protect her Princess with all her heart, be it mind, body, or soul.

"Very well, we respect that in thee Grace, We just hope that thou will live long enough to show her your worth." I smirked at the young earth pony across from me as she blushed savagely, almost as bright as the fire that roared next to us. "We shalt not betray the trust thou hast placed in us with such a secret Grace... Love is a fleeting thing and can only be bought by those who cherish it and hold it together for all their worth... For only those worth deserve its embrace, and there are more out there worthy than not..." I winked at her and quickly stripped out of my armor and weapons and readied myself for bed, knowing that the morning would bring new challenges and all together new enemies.

As I lay there, grinning all the while, I could feel the gobsmacked form of Amazing Grace gingerly get up from her spot and ready herself for bed, her embarrassment and love now GLOWING in the force, Proving my statements clear and true to all those that could see them. She knew things of my Dear Princess that I would not know until later, and she kept those secrets close for she did not dare harm her love from afar.

Early in the morning, sometime around six or so I surmised, all of the soldiers of the first Equestrian division awoke and began their preparations for the coming war... Something that almost none of them had seen in their still young lives, even by their standards. I quickly awoke soon after the first and donned all of my battle gear, even going so far as to re-attach my helmet to my head. The sound of the hermetic seals going off woke up the two other occupants of my camp, Grace awoke with a stifled yawn while Silver stretched openly, unknowingly giving the rest of the men, and a few women, a show of her body... even me when she decided to go spread eagle on us and arch her spine downward while shooting her tail straight out... All I can say is... Pink... And it was good...

After the rest of us, including me and Grace, broke from the trance like state we had been unwittingly placed in by the curvy sky-blue maned mare we went back to our business of getting our shit together.

Looking over at Grace I said, "We never speak of this to anypony?"

"Never... Unless its to each other... Sound good?" Our monotone voices did nothing but get carried between the two of us as the din of armor and weapons clashing drowned out our conversation to all those that might have heard us. Nodding our heads we quickly made rounds around the camp, looking for a few volunteers to take Quick Silver back to the Capital. We quickly found two strapping young stallions, one was a Pegasus by the name of Thunder Rock, and the other was an Earth pony by the name Haven Stone, They heartily agreed to take the mare back to the capital and stay with her for any further missions she may receive.

"Well, that was taken care of quickly... We'd say let's go get some grub and then rally the troops... After We tell FleetFoot Silver of her new comrades, Aye?"

"Aye, let's go Milord..." So Grace and I set off in companionable silence for most the time we were at camp, except for the more obvious things we had to do.

We had quickly saw Silver and the two other ponies off, wishing them luck and a safe journey home. Now we were in the midst of a small skirmish, not ten miles from the nearest boarder Town and garrison... This didn't bode well for most of us and made us want to reach our destination even faster than before.

"REFORM THE LEFT FLANK! FLIERS COMING IN!" I shouted, making several enemies shake slightly from my loud roar of a voice. The left flank had just been smashed through by a small group of shield wielding Gryphons, whom I had just yelled over, and was now quickly reforming their place on the field.

I quickly decapitated the lead Gryphon, relieving him of his head and used the force to hurl his body up and over my men and into the mass of Gryphons attacking us, bowling over a good few of them on the front line and killing one or two with snapped necks in the process.

Next I twirled my dual hilt in my right hand and ignited one of the blades, letting my red lightsaber flawlessly be caught in my left as I started pummeling their shields and body armor, which had all been enchanted somehow beforehand. This left me with only the small gaps in between their armor to strike them and injure them. My blades danced across their armored plates, creating large burn marks with every strike.

As I fought I could smell the Ozone thickening in the air as my blades continued in their onslaught against the Gryphons bronze colored plate metal. The stench would occasionally become even MORE toxic and overbearing when the unicorns under Commander Grace's command would let off a volley of plasma bolts, most went wide and only scored the ground and other derbies they hit.

As I danced the Dance of death with my lingering opponents I could feel Grace become ever more excited as she and her retinue of guards held off a large detachment of Gryphons at the front, her group of fifteen to their forty. Grace and her guards fought valiantly against the Gryphons, her veterans tearing through their ranks like so much flimsy as they used hoof, sword, shield, spell, and spear to beat back the feathered foes before them.

As one of the Gryphons fighting me lunged for my legs the other three jumped for my back and chest, each one hoping to throw me off with the suddenness of their attack. It was a fruitless venture on their part, having the force and all allowed me to feel when the next attack was coming, having honed my swordsmanship over the course of a few centuries also helped. I quickly dispatched the one going for my legs with a swift upward kick to the throat, crushing his windpipe completely and breaking his neck, instantly killing him. I then spun the hilts in my hands, deactivating and reactivating my blades in such quick succession that as I struck at the two swinging for my chest my blades simply passed through theirs and severed the limb on the other side.

The last one was quickly taken out as I pushed off with my other foot. Ascending straight up into the air and twisting around to make a complete 180 and look down on him from above. I then simply outstretched my hand at him and let go a powerful force push, effectively shattering his body with the force of the blow as he also made a small crater from the impact.

The Mares and Stallions around me gave a loud cheer and redoubled their efforts at the sign of me having defeated the enemy forces that had broken through. Sensing that a new push was coming I slapped my dual hilt back into its holster and drew out my other single blade, igniting its golden blade and twirling it a few times in my right hand before charging to the front to make war on the Gryphons about to charge.

Just as expected, once I arrived at the front a group of twenty FULLY ARMORED Gryphons were charging towards my new position on the front lines. Seeing this immovable object coming at me I flipped both my blade hilts into a reverse grip and held my hands out in front of myself, keeping my fighting stance, I shot off several bursts of Force lightning, letting the bursts charge in my hands to form balls of energy before launching them towards their intended targets.

This effectively whipped out the incoming Gryphon forces, each ball having had enough power to properly SINGE one of their massive manticores, though it would not have been enough to kill one of the large beasts... Though it was enough to kill the Gryphons easily. By the time I was done the bodies of the charging Gryphons had been turned to so much charred refuse for the carrion to pick at.

"TO ME, Ninth squad! Charge!" I shouted to the group around me, having noticed their Squad mark on their shoulder guards as I had charged by earlier. The ten ponies, three Pegasus, four Earth and three Unicorn Ponies galloped ahead of me, charging into the enemy formation and bulldozing over several of the enemy soldiers to be trampled under foot and killed. I ran off after them, expertly sweeping with my blades to slice exposed throats as I ran by the trampled Lion Birds. As I got into the fray I switched my grip around for my right hand, now holding the saber hilt normally.

Coming up behind the groups Sargent I used the force to pull him back, letting a trio of javelin spears crash against each other as they clattered to the ground where he once stood. I then took a few strides forward and jabbed the tip of my golden blade out, expertly slipping the tip of the energy blade through the eye slit of a charging Gryphon, killing him instantly as the blade liquefied his eyeball and brain. I then spun around, sliding the blade from the confines of the eye slit, using my other saber, still in its reversed grip, I parried a trio of swords and spun up into the guard of the closest one on my right, quickly deactivating my golden blade and straight up punching the Gryphon in the face, sending him flying with a broken beak and snapped neck.

I then jumped up over a broad swing and brought the heel of my armored boot down on the armored head of the offender, cracking his helmet in half and sending him to the ground in a forming pool of his own blood. I then jammed the emitter nozzle of my unactivated hilt into the squawking maw of the other Gryphon and ignited the blade, watching in morbid fascination as the blade seemingly rebound inside the helmet of the gryphon, obliterating his skull and deforming the helmet to a lumpy version of its former self.

I was then suddenly sent flying by a large muscular gryphon, one that came up to my chest in height and was covered in chain mail and plate from head to toe. The large gryphon sported a scimitar like weapon in its right claw and a buckler on its left for leg. Its helmet had a set of curved horns coming out of the temple and a set of thorns rolled along his spine and along his shoulder guards, even his elbow and knee pads had claw like extensions placed on them for better tearing power. His claws were also augmented in such a way that they were longer and far sharper than those of his brethren.

In the suddenness of the attack, which had hit me from behind, I had lost my grip on my two swords, letting them fly through the air and off into the throng of bodies. Even as this happened I didn't know it, but, my dual blade hilt had also been knocked from its cradle and sent skittering across the ground, getting kicked and punted as the ponies and Gryphons battled.

With my weapons now out of reach I did the next best thing... I picked up a Gryphon gladius and Got into the basic form of Makashi, blade tip down and left arm behind my back as I faced my new opponent.

"..." I grinned evilly, taking the initiative and taking two steps towards him, making him step back wearily, none to confidant at seeing my grin. The Gryphon then brought his sword up to bare, leveling it at my from above the rim of his shield like a spartan. We then began to circle each other , Him going right and me going left.

This continued on for a few moments before the Gryphon charged forward and brought his shield up to bash me in the face. I deftly sidestepped and kicked the Gryphon in his side, the kick sent him rolling a few feet, but he quickly jumped to his feet and got into a defensive stance, waiting for me to press the advantage. What he didn't know was that I was toying with him, just to have a good fight for once.

As we both circled each other, once again, we began to get closer and closer together, to the point we were almost within arms reach of the other. This time I decided to act first, flicking my wrist and shooting my arm out at the same time I bounced the shield off tot he left, making the male stumble slightly. I allowed him to regain his footing, but kept up my quick strikes on the other parts of his defense, making him parry, block, and repose with each strike I threw at him.

As we fought the two of us noticed something peculiar happening to the warriors around us... They had almost all stopped fighting to watch us duel. The Gryphons cheering for their larger counter part while the ponies shouted my name in adulation and cheer as I continued my barrage against the Large Gryphon. As the fight went on we traded, swapping our positions regularly from Defense to Offense almost seamlessly.

"So, are you enjoying this Gryphon?" I asked in their ancient Dialect, making the surrounding audience gasp slightly in awe. Though there were a few that had heard of my feat of intellect when it came to speaking the different languages of these two people, they all still seemed awed by having witnessed it first hand, or hoof depending on your species.

"Aye, it is something I haven't done in many decades... It feels good to duel again... Though I have the distinct feeling that you are just toying with me... Am I not right?" The gryphon asked, his fatigue and slight exasperation evident in his avian tongue.

"Aye, sadly... I wished to give you a decent fight among your peers... Does that offend you?" I was truly concerned that I had offended such a decent opponent, well, not really, just that he was an elderly sort that should at least have some honor before he dies... Even by my hand.

"Nay, tin no offense to give such an elderly Gryff as I a bout to last the ages... But I cant last much longer...All I ask is that you make it quick and painless..." The Gryphon started, melancholy at this being his end. He jumped forward quickly, surprising me slightly, and buried his armored elbow in my slightly less armored stomach, making me back up a few feet to catch my breath. During the whole fight we had kept our voices low, so none of the others could hear us talk.

"Very well, but might I have the mane of the Gryff I am about to lay low?" I asked sportingly, loud enough for all to hear.

"Aye! I am Dark Claw, Champion of the Ninth Legion Imperial Army and Master Dualist... And Might I have the Honor of your name..." Dark Claw cawed at me leveling his sword towards my eyes.

"Aye! I am Lord Corpus, Master Dualist and Knight to the Royal Sisters, second in command of the Royal Equestrian First Division and its Champion. Slayer of the Hydra..." After hearing this, more than half the Gryphons around us turned pasty white, quite the feat seeing as they have feathers covering them all over the front and fur on their hindquarters. Even Dark Claw was slightly pale after hearing that last part, seeing as almost none can challenge a Hydra and live... It was quite the feat...

Both Dark Claw and I stared at each other for a few moments before we raised our swords and gave the duelists salute before we charged at each other with renewed vigor, bashing our weapons against the others defenses relentlessly. Slashing High and low we traded blows, earning rends and small gashes in each others armors. Though the damage done to mine was minor, it still showed the skill of the duelist before me, given the fact that he was able to land a blow on me at all.

Dark Claw then jumped up into the air, using his wings as a second stage of propulsion he gained a good twenty foot edge on me. I grinned up at his lofty form, running through several scenarios on how to strike at him. After thinking of a few I just decided to go with the whole "Jump and strike barrage" tactic...

So, I launched myself up after him, getting several gasps from the fighters around us as I jumped up into the air and clear the twenty feet in just one fluid motion. As I was about to fall back down to the ground I used the force to launch my body in his general direction. My sword held off to the right I flew at him at high speed, coming up on him in under a second. All the Gryphons and Ponies watching us gave a collective gasp in surprise, not believing what they were seeing.

I brought nine cleaving blows down upon the shield within the time it took my opponent to react, though the ferocity of the blows made him stagger nonetheless I kept on. Using the force to swivel my body, I delivered a fierce round house to Dark's right side, catching him under his guard and right in his ribs, sending him flying a good forty feet and down into the dirt. I landed solidly on my feet, a small dust cloud coming up from my landing, and made my way over to him. My battle gear gleamed darkly in the light of the afternoon sun, my thick war cape billowing out behind me, it having taken less damage than the rest of my body combined.

Just as I came upon the bruised form of Dark Claw I could see him just then getting to his paws and claws. When he got to all fours he was breathing hard, his helm was cracked down the side and his shield had splintered upon impact, leaving him almost defenseless on his left side. As I stood before him, assessing his damaged form, he brought his, now free, left claw up to his head and lifted off the mangled helm of bronze and dropped it to the ground, letting its neck plating clatter among the other broken bits as it finally snapped in two.

"If I can not see... then what is the point of protection... Ehh Corpus?" The large Gryphon asked me, a small grin spreading across his face along with a low chuckle escaping his beak. I quickly nodded in agreement and spoke out, my voice being slightly muffled and mechanized thanks to my helmets speaker.

"Heheha! Truer words have not been spoken my friend... Though if you are taking leave of your helm, then so shall I... One should always know the face of the one that takes them down..." My melancholy voice echoed around the small clearing of bodies, everyone looking to each other, some in bewilderment and others in confusion... Not understanding what I had said. I quickly stabbed my acquired sword into the dirt and brought my hands up to my head. I clasped my fingers around the pressure seals and released them, letting the cool air and other gasses escape from within my helmet. As soon as the as the seals had been broken the blue glow of my visor cut out and became a dull Grey.

As I lifted the helmet my Brown, slightly longer than, shoulder length hair fell out and laid against my face and shoulders, waving in the slight breeze that started to chase across the battlefield. AS I brought the helm up and over my head my eyes shined forth, their copper gaze falling on those around me and Dark Claw. I then brought the helm up under my left arm, tucking it in before I clipped it to my belt. As I gazed around I could feel the widened gazes of everyone as they saw the myriad different scars checkering my face, the three right to left scars across my left eye, the three triangular scars that shone brightly just under my hair line, and the large horizontal scar under my right eye that began just inches from my ear and crossed over my nose and just touched my left cheek.

"Before we begin again... Might I inquire as to where you got those scars?" Dark Claw asked, somewhat reluctantly, as he stared at my face, his eyes wide in awe.

"The one under my right eye was from a duel I had with one of my old masters... One that I lost badly... The ones going over my left eye are from a spat I had with a Barrabel... They're large reptilian creatures that have about as much fighting spirit as a rock is a rock... All predatory instincts honed with decades of training and battle... Now.. The one on my forehead is something special... That was form when I was captured by the Yuuzahn Vong and tortured for almost three years... The bastards tried to use Mind-Control on me... Didn't work out as they planned and I killed the whole lot of'em... All sixty-eight... Hardest fight of my life if you ask me Heheh!" I laughed, not just at the incredulity of the situation I was in, but also at the fact that I had also faced tougher opponents already through this short war and the one I was in before even coming here.

Dark and all the Gryphons just stood there and gaped at me as I gave them a quick rundown of SOME of the scars I had... Seeing as they could only see the three sets on my face... and not the literal scores I had all over my body. I was also kind of glad that I was able to talk to someone that may understand what it is like to face unstoppable odds and live, knowing that this Griff before me was of the elder echelons. Having known more war and death than most of the young beings that surrounded us, I felt a slight kinship with him... Even if he was meant to die by my hands, I would remember him for centuries and even millennium to come.

"Now... Shall we fight... Dark Claw, Champion of the Ninth?" I asked as I clipped the helm to the back side of my belt and picked up my sword, aiming right at him.

"Aye... Lets be on with it then!"

A:N thank you all for reading this, and sorry for the Cliffhanger... but you'll all get a happy little tidbit sometime soon thanks to it so hold your horses! XD I would love to see what you all think about this chapter and more, so please, send me a PM or review and I will try to either rectify something or answer a question if I can :) I love writing this story and I love to hear what you guys think, so please, all contributions will be given equal weight when looked at :)