Author's Note

This chapter, and probably the next, is dedicated to my friend currently serving in the military. Brohoof, John!

Lunar Apex

On the way to Canterlot, Twilight finally got a look at where they were. It was some sort of forest, and judging by the state of it, it wasn’t friendly either.

“Excuse me, um…”

“Geralt.” The Witcher spoke, clearly seeing through the mare’s unsettled and nervous tone.”

“Right,” She chuckled nervously. “Geralt, where exactly are we?" She paused, looking around once more at the grim landscape. "This doesn’t look like any forest I’ve been in. Even the Everfree looked tame in comparison!”

He thought for a second, giving way to silence in the woods except for the occasional hooting of an owl. “If you think it’s scarier than the Everfree Forest, then there’s something wrong.” He said.

“What makes you say that?” Another long pause.

“Because this is the Everfree.” Fear suddenly gripped the Princess, realizing that if the White Wolf had cause for concern, she should be careful too.

Celestia, on the other hand, showed no fear and only became more ferocious as the night went on. “Celly doesn’t like the witch pony,” she whispered into her student’s ear.

“He’s only here to get us back to safety, Celestia. I’m sure the whole castle is concerned!” Twilight turned around, and stared into her teacher’s eyes, her mood changing rapidly from concerned to slightly angry. “It isn’t like you to run away like that!”

Even when in this state of mind, the alicorn could sense her student’s anger and bite in the tone of her voice. She lowered her ears, and began fidgeting with her paws. “C-Celly is sorry, Twilight.”

Oh, I didn’t want to make her apologize! I was just angry that there was no explanation! The purple mare thought, feeling bad for making her teacher, Princess Celestia, apologize to her. Suddenly, she was yanked back by the witcher.

“Stay back, Twilight. The moon is about to reach its apex!”

Jumbling for words to say, she only managed to say “W-what does that m-mean?” fear reaching her voice again.

“DON’T TOUCH MY CUDDLY ONE!” The lycanthrope screamed, getting ready to lunge.

Suddenly, she grew calm again, with a slight mist hovering around her head, her pupils dilated. Geralt turned to Twilight for a brief second and very calmly, began to explain. “I used Axii, a Witcher Spell to calm her. She needs to be calm during Lunar Apex or else...” he pointed to his silver sword, causing Twilight to swallow her heart that somehow leaped to her throat.

“W-why is that so important? I need to know Geralt!” Twilight exclaimed in a combination of fear and anger.

He sighed, regretting having to explain this to a young pony. With Luna, it was much easier to explain as he recalled…

Luna frantically yelled for the guards to scour the castle for any trace of Celestia, besides the large hole in the wall that she flung off, and took Twilight and herself through and off into the distance. Hours later, all guards had the same to report: Celestia was nowhere in sight, and her young pupil was missing too! Quickly, she took action and explained the situation to her night guard as well as Celestia’s usual day guard.

“Listen closely, guardsponies! Celestia, my older sister, is nowhere in sight, and her pupil, my cousin-in-law, is with her! Only those staffed within the castle are to be informed of her current…condition.” Everypony in the castle knew of the Circle, and of Luna’s vampirism as well, making sure no silver was to be used within the castle’s marble walls. Equally important, the cooks working in the kitchen were to limit Luna’s diet of Garlic-based recipes and needed to find a workaround. “As the only Princess currently occupying the castle, and according to Equestria’s Law regarding this matter, I appoint myself as temporary singular ruler of Equestria, until such a time as either Celestia or Twilight Sparkle are back within the confines of Canterlot Palace.”

She paused for a moment. “Furthermore, I am in need of a volunteer to contact Vinyl Scratch and bring her here to discuss matters regarding this incident.” One of the guards nervously approached the flustered and worrisome Princess.

“I’ll help you out, Luna.” He said with a deep voice, even for the Royal Guard.

The midnight blue alicorn leered back at this pony before her, not sure if she should trust him or not. His armor wasn’t of the traditional regal attire that the guard normally wore, but instead more of a standard military uniform, with his class patch, PVII, visible to her eye. Closer inspection to detail showed that this stallion had a brown coat, with a short black mane. His cutie mark was a hoof raised towards the sky, a red sun adorned behind it. “And what, praytell, are you doing here, private…?” she questioned.

He saluted, and began to speak. “Boros, PVII. At your service, Princess!”

“Why are you in the Palace, Boros?” Luna asked curiously.

“On leave, before shipping off for overseas training. I was walking through town ordering some defect food, getting ready to visit my friend, but then I heard this huge noise, and I saw a friggin’ hole in the side of the Castle!” he exclaimed. “So I went to take a look.”
She stared long and hard at the stallion before her yet again with that same skeptical leer as before. In a regal fashion, she nodded, and pointed at Boros. “Very well, then. It has come to my attention that you are most fit for this retrieval.” He bowed to the princess before running off, yelling to the sky itself “YES! I GET TO MEET DJ PON-3!!!!!”

We just need to do one more thing… Luna thought. “You there! Scribe!” she pointed to a silver maned stallion. “W-who, me?” Silver Quill asked nervously and received a roll of the eyes and a quick nod from Luna.

“Yes, you! We need you to put out a notice, and it needs to be specific and down to the very last detail.”

He summoned a quill and some parchment, intent on making the Princess satisfied. “I am ready to begin, Princess!” Quill beamed.

Geralt took a look at the notice that appeared before him in a wisp of smoke. It seemed to be a letter addressed to him by one “Princess Luna of Equestria.”

“Great, a Princess. That’s exactly what I need right now…” Geralt groaned. He opened the letter and saw that there was a small pouch of bits bundled with the paper. After untying the bag of bits from the parcel, and putting it in his satchel, the Witcher began to read the letter.

Dear Geralt of Rivia,

We humbly request your services in tracking and capturing a lycanthrope that has regretfully abducted a fellow Princess- Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship.

“Does Friendship really need a ruler?” he said to nopony in particular, before continuing on.

It is imperative that the werewolf and Princess are returned UNHARMED due to the fact that the afflicted is my sister and co-ruler, Princess Celestia of Equestria, and incidentally, the one who raises the sun.

He grunted in frustration. “That’s just great; A pony Princess who raises the sun. Looks like I don’t have a choice on this one.” Though this led to a conclusion, the letter wasn’t fully read yet and there were a few bits of words left still unread below.

As reward, we will hire a smith to craft an enchanted silver sword, tailored to your preference as well as access to a portion of the Royal Treasury if my sister is left unscathed. With that, the letter was read and put in his satchel for later notes and discussion.

A few hours later, the White Wolf found himself standing just outside a gate settled in front of a massive and ornate castle. As he approached, the two guards standing adjacent one another blocked his entry with the tip of two spears now wedged in front of the entrance to Canterlot Palace.
“Halt, state your identity.” One of them bellowed in a deep voice. Suddenly his partner nudged him and pointed to the famous eyes Geralt gazed with.

“Dude, that’s totally that witchmare Luna sent for, remember?”

The guard broke his blank expression and began to stare suspiciously at the Witcher, his eyes in particular. “OH MY CELESTIA, THOSE EYES!” were the only words he uttered before being interrupted by the stallion whose eyes gave him quite a shock.

“First off,” he stared to the other guard this time, growing a little frustrated. “The term is Witcher. Second, I’m here for the contract.” He pulled out the note from earlier, and handed it to one of the guards, who read it carefully. After a few nods at the signature, the guard said “Go right in. Princess Luna will be awaiting you in the courtroom.”They both retracted their spears and went back into their usual routine of staring blankly staring off into the distance, keeping their faces emotionless.

After a bit of maneuvering through the halls, Geralt found the room he was looking for, and without a single knock, burst through the doors, paying no heed to the guards warning him that court was still currently in session.

“With everything said, your highness, I believe that my daughter should be wed underneath an apple tree, as our family tradition states.” A farm pony suggested to his current ruler.

“Well, MY family’s tradition states that the groom should be wed in a more regal setting, preferably at the castle’s ballroom here in Canterlot.” A rather wealthy merchant suggested.

Ugh, I’ve had enough of waiting! the Witcher thought. He approached the two arguing benefactors, and waved his hoof in front of them, emitting a wispy fog around their heads. “You will both respect the wishes that your kin have for their wedding. A compromise is needed.”

“W-why yes, how about the Royal gardens?” the rich one said.

The other one nodded. “Yeah, I think that’ll manage.” With their situation resolved, they bowed to the Princess and left with dazed looks on their faces.

“H-how did you do that? It took me an entire hour just to get them talking about the same thing!”

“It was nothing. I just used Axii to ‘convince’ them that their argument was pointless.” He said with a slight smug look on his muzzle.

“You need to teach me that sometime.” Luna said, before being nudged by Silver Quill who had yet to go home. “Ahem, yes, well that isn’t the reason I summoned you here.” She continued. “As said in the letter, I need your help in tracking my sister and it seems that if she doesn’t come back soon, the whole kingdom would be in an uproar!”

He set a hoof in the air, stopping the alicorn from explaining further. “I understand your sister needs to be brought back unharmed, but if you know who I am, I don’t come cheap.”

Her face started to frown. “You have already been paid a portion beforehand, and the rest will be delivered once the contract is fulfilled.”

Geralt grumbled in frustration. “Fine. No guarantees about your student though. It’s nearing the Lunar Apex, and depending on the mental state of-Celestia, was it?” Luna nodded. “Celestia might or might not end her life.” He said before trotting briskly towards the exit.

“Wait!” Luna exclaimed, stopping the Wolf in his tracks. “What, praytell, happens during Lunar Apex?”

He gave a pause, thinking for a moment and trying his best to think of a way to explain it to the Princess. “The, uh, Lunar Apex is when werewolves are strongest.” His scowl darkened. “It’s also when they start to lose control and the… beast starts to take in the reins.”

“And what does the state of mind have to do with it?” she asked.

“If a werewolf is calm during this time of night, they are in more control of their actions. They are aware of what’s going on. If she isn’t calm…” he pointed to his swords, letting Luna take the hint of what would happen if her sister wasn’t calm.

“I see. Very well, then. In light of this recent news, we hereby give you permission to an additional 300 bits as compensation.”