Battleborne Heart

Chapter 4

   The massive grey scaled beast had returned some hours ago to check on the pony only to see it thrashing and screaming out as if in pain, though no signs of injury were presenting themselves and it sighed "Another dreamer...seems like this one has it's hooves quite full....what?" There was a blinding flash that forced the beast to shield its eyes, once it dimmed the pony was gone, the only trace it had ever been there was a small mark in the shape of a blackened pentagram with a silver moon left smoldering on the stone slab that it had been resting on.

   Jon awakens not where he had been, in pain, and sweating like he had run a marathon that was three days long. Looking around he spots plush furniture, regal paintings, expensive desks and wardrobes, things that only the rich could afford, it was then he felt warmth next to him and extreme softness below him, taking stock of where he was he figured he was laying on a very large, very rare, and very expensive bed next to someone. Rolling over he saw the royal blue coat of a princess and blinked, the last he knew he was in the badlands, passed out from a broken wing and probably dying of dehydration, but here he was, in the bed of a princess who was huffing and puffing just as badly as he was. He knew nothing had happened between the two of them, yet he was respectful and moved from her bed, lest someone walk in and assume the worst. Sighing he sits at the foot of her bed and shakes his head as he becomes lost in thought 'What the hell is going on....first the weird things kidnap me, I'm in the bad lands with a busted wing....now I'm here in Princess Luna's private room?' He sighs again and then smiles as he looks at Luna in the morning light, her form is shivering as if cold, but it was actually quite warm in here, he lets out a soft chuckle as a voice in his head pipes up 'Give her a chance you idiot....just because that one woman broke you doesn't mean you should give up....' He shakes his head again and looks away as the mare moves to lean her body to look at him "Jon? How did you?" He shrugs as he hears her groggy voice "No idea..." She nods and sighs before getting out of her bed and onto shaky legs that Jon quickly notices and moves to support her, his frame smaller than hers but easily supporting the much larger alicorn as if she were a feather leaving her to smile softly as she gains her legs under her "Only a week and three days and yet you know your new body like you were born in it." He chuckles as he moves from her once she is stable "I just know equine anatomy Prince-" She stops him with a hoof and shakes her head "Please Jon...Call me by my name. You have been through too much in your life to be adhering to decorum." He nods and shrugs "Alright then....Luna." They share a smile before she accompanies him from her room only to find a bright white alicorn standing with a grin just outside "I see I have no need to summon....Star Saber from Ponyville." A blush coats Luna's face turning the blue to purple and Jon sighs "Princess Celestia. Uh...Certain circumstances led to my being here, please don't tease her like that right now, we've both been through a....." He searched his mind trying to find the right words to make this statement seem less dirty but he could find none and looked away "Rough night." A giggle escaped Celestia's lips as she shook her head "Well I can see that. Is he just a strong in bed as he is in a fight????" A deeper blush coated Luna's face "W-we have mu-much to...discuss my sister...." Jon shook his head once more to Celestia's errant teasing of her sister as the two began to walk towards what he could only assume to be a conference room, or the throne room, or maybe even the dining gallery to discuss what was happening.

   "So....a shadow of evil is making itself apparent in the dreams of ponies across Equestria?" Celestia had a look of disbelief on her face, her wings ruffled a bit as she placed a fork down with her golden magic as Luna nodded and Jon just sat there listening before he spoke "Yes Princess. I experienced it myself; after I had been kidnapped by something in the guise of a small squad of YOUR guards and brought to the badlands, knowing the history there I'm sure that something there is what is causing this." When he spoke of the Bad Lands both princesses looked at him with complete and utter shock "Something in those lands? There isn't any way possible! How did you yourself survive??? How did you...." He shook his head to Luna's words "I don't know, I got in a couple of blows and escaped, hit the ground and broke my left wing...." He flexed it though it was completely healed, there was no damage to be seen or heard of "But it doesn't look that way, I guess some life form out there decided to save and heal me before a nastier beast found me and decided I'd make a nice snack...." He spoke as if it was nothing he hadn't experienced before, his past was rough and tumble and he was a survivor, next to nothing could get to him, but something about his two sides being in his dream unnerved him though it wasn't shown. The Princesses nodded and sat in silence for a few moments until Celestia smiled "Well...since you have made yourself comfortable, why not stay here in the castle for a while? I'm sure Lulu would LOVE your company." Luna nodded and then her eyes widened when the words sunk in, her face becoming coated with another blush and her head being turned away "TIA! While I'm sure he would enjoy being here, it will NOT be in that way......unless he wants to...." Jon's ears perked a little and a small smile crossed his face having heard the words unheard by Celestia "Of course Celestia. However...I won't be able to stay long, if my own darkness is right, I need to be in Ponyville. I fear that while the light in me is strong enough to keep my own at bay, other ponies would fall into darkness...including the Elements....with everything light comes the darker sides, this includes those that wield power, especially the power of Harmony. Honesty becomes Deceit, Kindness becomes Wrath, Generosity is Greed, Loyalty is Betrayal....so on and so forth, and it’s a delicate balance." Celestia nodded at his words and smiled "Wise words for one so young, Jon." He shook his head at the name and then looked at a crest on the wall "No...That name is no longer fitting for me." Luna and Tia looked at him with curiosity "Then...what name do you wish?" He motioned for paper and something to draw with, it would be crude but when he received what he asked, he showed a black five pointed star with a crescent moon in the center and pair of crossed blades intersecting behind the star "I wish to be known as Star Saber. The name I gave when I first met you Princess Celestia." Raised eyebrows met his eyes "Star Saber? Are you sure? There are no records of you having a family here, no record of birth or life in general; you are a ghost in our world. With a name come questions, records needing to be found, if you wish to have a job...." Jon, or rather, Star Saber stops her with a hoof there "I don't have a need of a job, I believe I may have one already, IF my light side is right, I need to protect one I love....even if I don't love anymore. There is ONE that could....or does qualify as one I love....or potentially will...even I don't have an idea when Wulfrick is concerned....uh...my light side." Luna looked at him then as he revealed the name of his good side and then blinked at his words "Are you referring to that strange two legged wolf that was in your dream?" A nod and then he rose, his plate empty of the small meal that had included to the cook's horror, bacon and sausage among pancakes and eggs with a heavy drenching of syrup and ketchup. "Yes, I am, his name is Wulfrick and he has kept me on a....somewhat straight path despite idiotic mistakes my darker side tempted me to. A few of which I still do." He began to leave, however magic held him in place as Tia rose to meet him "You wish to....guard my sister? Based on the words of something in your mind? Based on an emotion you seem to no longer have? With what skill? What power? You have no magic, you are still new to this world, and you have wings but don't use them right. What makes you think I will allow a stranger to protect my sister?!" He cleared his throat and stared right into her eyes, his own changing to the gold and gunmetal grey that Luna had seen only once before, his body going completely calm in the span of a second "I advise you to let me go Celestia. I have spoken my piece, heard yours and Luna's, and now I wish to go. Unless...you want to see what I can do. It seems that way to me." Tia raised an eyebrow at his change in demeanor and smiled "So what if I am? You are held by my magic. How do you plan on showing me what you are capable of if you are bound like this?" A small chuckle escaped his lips "Tia....if you think I can be held like this, then you are sorely mistaken." His eyes closed for a minute his mouth moving silently in foreign words, like he was casting a spell, though there was no power to them before he let out a sigh and forced his wings open, moving despite the hold the grand alicorn had on him "You...can still move?!" His eyes opened and he smiled as he began to take steps towards her "Your magic works when one believes they cannot truly move. I know different. If I tell myself I can move, then I can. Now fully release me Celestia. Or I will break your magic." She stood fast, a smile to her face as she kept her magic going "Show me Star Saber. Show me this power of your mind." Her horn flared brighter, her spell strengthening around him, forcing him still. He sighed and openly grinned "Alright. You want to be shown then I can show you." He began to breath slower than before, his body relaxing momentarily as he let the spell strengthen until it was moderately powerful, then, when he breathed out he shook and cracked his neck rear legs kicking out, wings flapping hard, his body rising as he moved, not easily, but it became easier as he saw Celestia straining before a single hoof stopped a mere centimeter from her horn, his eyes cold, calm, calculating before he simply tapped her glowing horn and broke her spell dropping himself to the ground as he spun and tripped her by forcing her front legs out from under her and placed his own body under her, bouncing her into the air like a breeze blowing a feather, causing her to flare her wings in surprise as she looked down, only to find he wasn't below her before she felt a tap on her flanks "Don't....do that again." Luna looked shocked to find that he had so easily broken her sister's magic AND knocked her into the air like it was nothing, Tia simply looked at him in surprise before gently touching the ground "I see....So this is your strength...." He shook his head as he touched ground next to her "Only a fraction. Only a small fraction Celestia." She nodded and then sighed "Alright then. Hide what you wish, if you want to protect my sister then go ahead. BUT, I want you trained by my own elite." He shook his head at that as he neared Luna "No. I must refuse that. I am self-trained only, my body is mine, and I won't have it mastered by another." He walked past Luna, not making a single sound as he exited and wandered the halls, Luna left in shock and Celestia left wondering just how strong he is.

   Night fell quickly as Star Saber roamed, letting his mind calm and his eyes change back to his own. "Wulfrick...you know that wasn't right, I was content to let her believe I was powerless to her....Luna is the only one that needs to know, you didn't need to show off like that..." His words were to himself though they were heard by passing guards who stopped and began to follow him 'Yes I know Jon....but she ticked me off by not letting you leave.' He shook his head "Yeah I know...and now she wants me trained by her elite....but we aren't going to do that are we?" The guards had their interest piqued, and he was talking to himself, distracted from the fact he was being followed 'No...We aren't, our body is our own, and I told her as much. Your darkness is in its cage for now, by the way. Oh...we did shock Luna by doing what we did to her sister...it was funny as hell.' A smile crossed his face as he remembered and nodded "Yeah...it was funny showing Sun Butt up like that, so what did you use? Half? A quarter?" The guards following him stopped and shook their heads at his words; this was a crazy pony, talking to himself like this 'An eighth. Hell, she's so weak that she was barely able to restrain us...even after strengthening that little bind spell.' Star stopped and blinked "An EIGHTH?! Really?!?! That's all it took to break her bind spell? Damn...I thought you used more than that!" The guards behind blinked and then approached him; curiosity piqued beyond what was good for them "An eighth of what? And breaking a bind spell? Impossible! Especially for a pegasus!" Star turned around and shrugged "An eighth of my own power. It's not necessarily impossible if you know how to calm yourself." The first guard shook his head, an earth pony, and the second, a unicorn smiled "Your own power huh? Against Princess Celestia's? She had to have been taking it easy on you." A shrug from Star "I don't know...maybe she did...maybe not...wanna test your own luck?" An open challenge to the unicorn and he smiled as his horn began to glow "Ah...ah ah ah…not here. If anything I want this to be seen by all the guard. If I am to be tested so often, it will annoy me. I want it done once. At your strongest...or if you find a more powerful unicorn...their strongest. I want a duel, to show just how much I can do. Celestia and Luna need to see as well. So their fears about me can be laid to rest." The earth pony backed up a little and the unicorn backed down with a grin "Alright...you want an elite then...we'll set it up you cocky little bastard."