Revelations Underneath the Moonlight

Recap,

She was about to enter his dreamscape again, in attempts to calm his mind, when suddenly one of her night guard walked into her room.

" Your highness your sister requires you in the throne room, Twilight Sparkle and the elements of Harmony have arrived,".

Luna sighed as she turned towards the guard, " Very well let us go at once, we should not keep sister waiting," she turned one last time to look at Axel before walking to the throne room with the guard, she lowered her head as she thought of something, " Rest easy now child of Tartarus, let thy pains leave thy mind while thou rest,". She used her magic to project an image of her in the room to look at him one last time before she entered the throne room. As she stood next to him she couldn't help but feel a strong sense of remorse, she lowered her head, pressed her muzzle against the side of his, and kissed him on the cheek, " Rest well warrior, let thy heart be at ease," the projection disappeared as she arrived at the throne room doors, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, opened her eyes, then opened the doors.

Twilight Sparkle and her friends had arrived just a few minutes after Princess Luna had entered the dreamscape of the slumbering stallion, they had received an urgent message from Princess Celestia herself. Upon arrival, they were escorted directly to the throne room where the princess was awaiting them. " I wonder what Princess Celestia called us for, her message made it seem like some major disaster was going to occur, something worse than Discord ever," said Twilight as she tried to remain calm. While she was receiving different looks from her friends, she was thinking of what Celestia needed from them for, " Whatever it is that the princess needs, I hope It's not another crisis like with Discord, I don't think i could bare to come that close to losing my friends again, " she stayed in her thoughts a she walked alongside her friends.

An ecstatic Rainbow Dash was looking pumped to take on anything the princess would throw at her, " Whatever it is, it won't stand a chance, we're the elements of harmony, the coolest ponies there are. "

Applejack simply rolled her eyes and spoke, " Dash I doubt bein cool is gonna help when it comes to a crisis. "

Twilight remained in her thoughts as they walked, until she felt a hoof tap her. She turned to see Fluttershy, looking as timid as ever, Twilight could tell that Fluttershy wanted to say something, just by how her lips were quivering. " T..twilight, what if it's something like Discord again, " it didn't take much to tell that Fluttershy was terrified at the thought.

A reassuring smile could be seen on Twilight's face, " Don't worry Fluttershy, it won't ever happen again, I swear, " Twilight said sincerely. Fluttershy gave a small smile in response, which in turn made the others smile, " Whatever the problem is, we can overcome it if we work together. " They all turned their attention to the large doors that lead to the throne room, they stared at it for what seemed like the longest time, the same thought was going through all six of their heads, including Pinkie Pie. What dangers lie ahead for us once we take this task.

" Come on girls, lets do this so we can get back to Ponyville and relax, " Rainbow Dash said in a confident voice.

" I just hope this exploit doesn't lead us to the Everfree forest, that is the last place i would want to go, it's absolutely dreadful, " Complained Rarity.

Pinkie Pie simply hopped in place, she seemed to be in an absent-minded state, the others looked at her in confusion, wonder as to why their normally chatty friend, wasn't speaking at all. Pinkie Pie looked at them, " what are all you silly billies looking at, I'm just thinking of the party I was planning, I didn't exactly get to finish it you know. "

Applejack patted her on the back, " Don't ya worry yer little tail off, when this is all over, we'll all work with you to finish that there party, alright sugar cube? " Applejack's response brought a wide smile to Pinkie Pie's face, along with bringing smiles to the rest of her friend's faces.

They all turned their attentions to the doors of the throne room, " Alright girls, lets do this, " Twilight said. Upon opening the doors they were greeted by Princess Celestia herself, they all bowed before her, save for Twilight who bowed then hugged the princess of the sun, " It's so wonderful to see you again princess. "

" It's so wonderful to see you too Twilight, It's wonderful to see all of you again, but we must save catching up for later, I called you all here to speak of a crisis that could happen, if the proper precautions are not taken, I shall inform you of what my sister and I have found out so far, and this does concern the stallion you found in Ponyville. "

Twilight and her friends shared confused looks as they wondered what the princess meant, " What do you mean Princess Celestia, how does this concern Axel? " Twilight asked.

The princess looked at them for a moment, then at the guards who were in the room, she nudged her head to the side signalling for the guards to leave. Once the room was devoid of anyone other than the princess and the main six, Celestia began to speak, " We have discovered the origin of the mysterious colt, as some of you may have already witnessed, he possess powers beyond that of a normal unicorn. " All six of them stared at the princess with anticipation in their eyes, they wanted to know what she was saying. " Your new friend is not even of our world, Equestria that is, he is in fact a being known as a demon from the prison realm of Tartarus, a place my sister and I used to seal away some of the worst beings long ago. Only I knew of the existence of demons, they were sealed behind a great wall of magic where they could never escape....I fear that wall is weakening. "

The main six, with their eyes as wide as can be, stared at the princess wondering if she was telling the truth. Twilight was the first to speak up, " I-I've read about demons in an old book, " it wasn't hard to tell that she was nervous to the point of stuttering, " T-they're vile creatures who, who destroy everything in a mindless warpath...It's impossible that he would be one...he-he's just too kind. "

Applejack spoke up next, " Twilight is right, that feller saved me and Dash from timber wolves, he can't be one of them demon things. "

Celestia closed her eyes and simply shook her head, " There are two kinds of demons, those that Twilight described, and those who only wish to live in peace...I know this because I use to be acquainted with such A being. " There was a collective set of gasp from the group.

" A princess of such divine stature, friends with a being who is a member of race of creatures who only destroy. How is that even possible?! " asked Rarity who was still clearly in shock.

" Not all demons were as bad as they appeared, yet they were all imprisoned, once my sister arrives we shall all see exactly how a single demon managed to escape the wall that surrounds them, and if there is no evidence that he escaped then perhaps there is another explanation, " Princess Celestia explained.

As if on cue, Princess Luna then walked into the room, "Sister I have arrived, " she spoke as she made her way towards Celestia.

" Princess Luna! " Twilight exclaimed with a smiled as she bowed before the princess of the night.

Luna smiled at the gesture, " Greetings Twilight Sparkle and friends, we see thou hast arrived in good health, then we shall proceed," she stated.

Celestia nodded, " Now that we are all here, we are going to use a spell to project astral versions of ourselves and delve into the realm that is Tartarus. We shall then see if there has been a breach in the great wall, are we all ready,". She looked at all six of them, who in turn gave nervous nods. Her horn then began to glow, " Then we shall begin our astral journey into the realm of the imprisoned. " The spell enveloped both princesses, and the main six, who then passed out before awaking as an astral projection floating in the air above their sleeping bodies.

" Wow!!! this is so super-mega-ultra-funtastic!! " exclaimed Pinkie Pie in an ecstatic voice and sparkles in her eyes as she floated around in random patterns in the air. As soon as her friend's got adjusted to the feeling of floating they joined her before getting stopped with a loud, ahem, and a stern look.

They all replied with an apologetic look and a simultaneous "sorry" .

Celestia's stern look returned to her usual kind look, " Forgive me for that, but we must stay focused. " Both her's and Luna's horns began to glow causing a portal to open in front of them. Inside the portal laid the most barren of land that any of the six had ever seen. Dead trees littered the landscape, dying grass and unearthly vines that seemed to move on their own, raven like birds littered the area, their eyes glowing an eerie red, and in the distance howls of various beast could be heard.

The main six just stared into the portal, Fluttershy looked as if she'd pass out, Pinkie Pie was absolutely silent, Rarity's mouth hung open wide, Applejack and Rainbow Dash hugged each other for comfort, and Twilight just stared into the portal. " This place, it's filled with nothing but an evil presence...if their were good demons, why would they be sent here? This place looks like it would tear apart the purest of souls and spit them out as nothing but a hollow broken shell..." Twilight stated fearfully.

Celestia looked at her pupil, " Yes this barren place is where they sent those peaceful souls...my sister and I have only ever been here twice, both times gave us a feeling of great unease. " She took a long look at the land before them, " But do not fret, this spell makes us nothing more than specters, unable to be seen or harmed by the beings here, now come we must find the wall. "

Luna nodded in agreement, " Yes let's, onward then, " they nodded, although in a hesitant manner.

As they traversed the dead world they all took notice of their surroundings, " This place looks as if it died ages ago, " Twilight stated.

Celestia simply nodded, " When Luna and I were young our parents founded this place, it was meant to house the demons in an environment where they could do no harm to anypony, but what they didn't know was that life did exist here. Although it doesn't look like it there is indeed a vast variety of life in the dying plains of this world. " She was about to start talking about the wildlife, when suddenly one of the inhabitants became visible, emerging from a pit of lava, it resembled a cragadile, except instead of its skin being green and rocky, it was black and glowing like a volcanic rock, and instead of only being a few meters long, it looked as big as an entire island.

" T..th...that's A big..monster, " Fluttershy stuttered in a hushed tone, hiding her face behind her mane to avoid looking at it.

Rainbow Dash, who in an attempt to be brave spoke up, " He doesn't look that tough I bet I could handle him without breaking a sweat, " she had sweat running down her face as she spoke.

A hoof covered Rainbow's mouth. The pony who the hoof belonged to was Applejack, who was trying to stay calm and collected, " Hush up, ya can hardly handle Pinkie Pie's pet....what makes you think you could handle that there thing. "

Princess Celestia turned to them all, " Yes, however that fearsome beast isn't even one of the deadliest creatures here, now let us regain focus we are nearing the wall," these words nearly brought everypony to a halt.

"Princess, what exactly are we looking for at this wall? " Twilight asked.

There was a long silence before she answered, " We are searching for any breaches that may be in the wall, even the slightest, anything that would allow one of them to escape. " Princess Luna and the main six could tell there was great distress coming from within Celestia, but they couldn't tell what she was worried about.

" Sister, perhaps you could tell us exactly troubles you? If it were only a small breach that he made to escape then perhaps we could mend it shut, " Luna said in an attempt to calm her sister.

As they floated further the wall soon became visible in the distance. The sight made everyone save for Celestia freeze, the monolith of a wall shot up into the sky till it became shrouded within the clouds, making it impossible to tell how tall it was. It looked as if it covered endless miles with it's length, how could it be possible for anything to escape such a barrier was beyond the thoughts of anypony, " P...princess, are you sure hes actually a demon? This wall looks like it could take even the strongest of magics and not even receive a scratch... " Twilight said.

Celestia kept her eyes glued to the monstrous wall, " These walls were created with the strongest of magics that only an alicorn could produce, although in the process of creating it...three lives were lost....that is how much magic was poured into making this behemoth. " The princess of the sun just stared at the wall before speaking again, " We will do a full check around the parameter of the wall, there has to be a breach somewhere, " she was determined to know if the colt who she left back at her castle, was who his memories say he was.

Luna on the other hoof was worried about two things, her sisters behavior and why shes behaving the way she is, and the colt whose dreams she had recently been in. " Sister, perhaps we should go back, somepony must be there to watch over the supposed demon, we shall volunteer ourselves so that you and the elements of harmony may continue searching. " She looked her older sister in the eye as she spoke, hoping it would convince her.

Celestia turned to her younger sister, " As noble of a suggestion as that is, you are needed here sister as both of us are needed to open the portal back home, " Luna sighed and nodded in understanding.

As they were about to start their check of the walls outside, Twilight noticed that Fluttershy was not standing with them, this made her worry greatly until she heard Fluttershy's voice. " Girls! " Fluttershy called out in her loudest voice, " I found something...it looks like a flower. "

The princesses and the other members of the main six trotted over to see her standing in front of a red, crystalline flower. It looked as if it were simply implanted into the ground, and in the center of its crystal body laid what looked to be a piece of black cloth. " My goodness, Fluttershy dear that flower looks simply divine, it almost looks like a gem, " Rarity said as she stared admiringly at the flower.

They stepped aside as Celestia walked towards the flower, " I've seen a flower like this before, they're called memorial blood roses...as they hold a single memory of whoever's blood they grew from. "

Luna stared at it curiously before tapping it with her hoof, " It holds a memory? " she looked very confused as she attempted to wrap her head around what her sister meant, " Sister what do you mean? "

No answer was given, instead Celestia's horn began to glow, which in turn caused the flower to glow for several seconds. The shiny light from the flower erupted into a flash of blinding light, the area around them had changed from a dead wasteland, into that of a derelict village. Most of it had been burnt to the ground. They could see only a few houses standing but what caught their attention the most was the sound of screams, both from fear and also some of the most unearthly sounds they had ever heard, " Princess whats going on?! Are we in the memory?!? " Twilight asked in a panicked tone.

The princess slowly shook her head, " This is nothing more than a mere illusion of the past, we are but witnesses to the tragic events held within the flower, " she and the others looked around to see what was happening. They saw 2 fillies running for their lives past them towards what appeared to be the center of town. They were about to give chase, when suddenly a cloud of black passed by them. The creatures in the cloud of midnight were mangled beyond comprehension, as if they were more than one creature molded into one abomination. It was in Rainbow Dash's instincts to save anypony who was in trouble, then she remembered that this was only an illusion, yet she couldn't help but want to rescue the fillies.

The mangled creature had the two fillies cornered. It opened its maw which was filled with several hundred serrated teeth, several tongues left it's mouth to pull them in, it seemed like the end for the fillies as they let out pleas and cries for help while the tongues pulled them closer to the beast's mouth. Right as they were to be consumed a blade, far larger than the two fillies combined came crashing through the creature, impaling it through the head and killing it on impact. The main six instantly recognized the massive blade and then heard the voice that matched its owner, " You kids get out of here, there's a circle in the center of town where the villagers are at, " it was Axel! The same Axel who had saved Applejack and Rainbow Dash, even in Tartarus he was saving lives. They watched as he galloped off towards the center of town in a hurry.

" Why in Tarnation is he runnin? If he can do that to one of them critters why can't he stay and fight the rest of whatever they are?" Applejack questioned, Fluttershy tapped her with her hoof and directed her head in the opposite direction. It was an endless sea of black from all directions, the unholy beast were closing in on the village. The main six couldn't help but flee towards the center of the village where they saw, not soldiers as they expected, but four to five rag tag warriors, ranging from griffons, to minotaurs to just ponies in general, once Axel arrived it made six of them.

The Princesses followed the fleeing main six, not out of fear but to witness what was happening. The two princesses watched Axel's actions as he and the other warriors round the villagers into what seemed like a barrier, " Alright ladies and gentlecolts we got company from all sides! Don't let a single one of them near this forcefield, we fight with our lives!," Axel shouted, he had a valiant look in his eyes as he picked his sword up in his mouth and faced the oncoming sea of death.

The eight witnesses of the memory noticed a mare in the forcefield, she was wearing a similar uniform as the warriors, Luna on the other hoof, recognized the mare as the same one from the memory she witnessed just recently. The pegasus in the memory spoke up to get Axel's attention, " They're here! We mustn't let them through! " he raised his scythe and readied himself.

The six warriors outside of the barrier held their weapons high, their eyes filled with determination, " They were willing to throw everything away to save the smallest of lives... " Celestia said in a hushed tone.

They stood and watched as the first wave of the vile creatures rushed towards the barrier, only to be bisected by Axel's blade, " It's us or them, decide now! " With this, the six warriors rushed the sea of death. One by one the dark demons fell to their hooves and claws, yet their numbers seemed endless. They slaughtered what seemed like thousands of the beast, but still they pushed with the desire to kill. They watched as Axel became overwhelmed, a spear in his side, a sword in his hind left leg, yet still he fought It was a battle that they knew they couldn't win.

" Why did they try so hard..? They couldn't win from how this is playing out.... " Twilight said solemnly.

Celestia was quick to answer, " The same reason you fought so valiantly for friendship, It's something they believe in, they believe that all things should have a chance to live in happiness, so they fight the darkness with all their might. "

The Minotaur was the first to fall, he had been stabbed multiple times with spears and swords, many of which still stuck out of his torso. He was already dead as he fell to his knees and spoke his final words, " ...F-forgive me....my brothers in arms....I have failed you..." the shadowy beasts rushed past him towards the field.

The main six and the princesses watched closely at how Axel reacted to this. He began to glow red, the pupils in his eyes became mere slits, and his expression turned into pure rage. He charged through the hordes to his fallen ally's body, striking down all those in his path, he was like an unstoppable force of nature. The attacks that seemed to wound him before simply bounced off, he was determined to reach his friends body, " I'll make you pay!!!! I'll make you all pay!! " he pulled his neck back with his sword and looked towards the earth before him ready to strike, and with a single swing he cleaved through the ground and anything standing there. As the bodies fell before him he rushed forward. Right when he was to reach his fallen friend's body, something caught his attention, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention, a ball of red light, slowly falling towards the force field, " No!!! " he quickly altered his course and ran straight towards the barrier, cleaving through anything that tried to stop him.

Time seemed to stand still for everypony, including those witnessing the memory. Those fighting turned their heads to see the orb get closer and closer to the barrier. The mare inside the force field looked up, her eyes grew wide with fear, Axel was only a meter away when the orb made contact, a bright flash consumed the battle field, stunning everything that was in combat, an explosion had just gone off. When the light had faded and the smoke had cleared, they saw that the barrier was no longer there, and anypony inside it was either unconscious, or dead. Axel crawled towards the still breathing body of his love, picked her up on his back and turned towards the resuming carnage.

The beast had pushed forward, they all watched as another warrior fell, the griffon in the group. His death was enough to make them want to vomit, had their bodies been with them. " How can anything so gruesome ever happen... " Twilight said with utter fear and shock in her voice. They had all been told the terrors of war before, whether it had been from a relative or from a book, but never once had the imagined it being like this.

The beast drew ever so close to the villagers, or what was left of them, Axel could tell that he and his remaining allies were rapidly losing the strength to go on. As he struck down another demon he looked back at the villagers, then to his comrades, and finally to the mare on his back. He tightly clenched his eyes shut, letting tears slip, out his horn began to glow, and he opened a portal. " Retreat!!!! " He had tears in his eyes as he and his comrades fled towards the portal, leaving the villagers to their demise. With that the memory ended, and the flower shattered.

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up, " So that's it?! He fights that hard just to give in at the end, what kind of cowards does that! " the princess of the sun placed her hoof on the shoulder of the element of loyalty.

" He fled because he thought of his friends lives...he had already lost two...and those who he had sought to protect were long gone...that explosion made sure of that. " She looked at all of them, including her sister, " We can't always save everypony...no matter how hard we try, there will always be those who are just out of our reach... " the solar princess's tone became soft and somber.

Twilight looked at the expressions on her friend's faces, they didn't know what to think of what they had just witnessed, " I think he fought his hardest and in the end...he made a choice that few of us could even think of making. He fought with everything he had... I mean, at least saved his friend's lives, that's what mattered to him. " She looked at the ground and felt as if she were going to cry, " Had it been me....I'm sure I would have made a similar choice. " She was surprised to feel that she was pulled into a group hug by her friends.

" And if ya did we wouldn't think any less of ya sugar cube, " Applejack said.

" Yeah no matter what choice you make, we'll always be okie dokie loki with it, " Pinkie Pie said, with her usual cheerful tone.

Celestia smiled at the sight, but was surprised to feel her sister hug her, before returning the hug herself, " This is a touching moment indeed, we shall continue it back in the palace but we must do one last thing, find exactly how our guest escaped this prison of a barrier. " They all nodded in agreement, and thus they continued the search.

As they searched they came across a lone set of hoof prints, " I think it would be the best action to follow these prints, maybe then we'll find something, don't you agree princess? " Twilight asked. In response the princess gave a nod, as they followed the tracks, they found large pieces of rubble, they were unlike the stones they had seen, these seemed to be giving off some kind of magical glow. The sight instilled a greater worry and fear within Princess Celestia, they had to make haste and went on a full sprint while following the hoof prints.

As they reached the end of the trail they found more rubble, Princess Luna looked around but couldn't find anything, " This is useless there is noth- " she was cut off as her sister put her hoof over her mouth. She looked at Celestia and saw her sisters eyes widened, and her mouth hanging agape, she then looked at the main six and found them all with similar expressions. She closed her eyes for a moment, opened them, and looked where their eyes were. Her pupils shrunk with fear, her jaw seemed to unhinge as it fell open like the rest, her legs trembled.

The wall had not been breached like they had thought, the wall had been split open all the way to the top, leaving a massive hole in it, and it was no longer a single set of hoof prints they saw, it was hundreds upon thousands, perhaps millions, of prints molded into a single path, " .... We are doomed... " was all Celestia could say.

Author's Note

Well ladies and gentlecolts, I've successfully finished another chapter, and I'll start working on the next one right away, but i had news. I will be writing a side story to this one, it will still have Axel but its going to be a whole different tale, but don't worry, this story will remain as my main story, so until next time bronies and pegasisters, I bid you farewell.