Of Blades and Brothers

Chapters

Take Off to Cloudsdale
Flashing Blades, Shining Sun
The Sky is Falling
Warrior's Lament
Sharpening Stone
Lesson One
Cloak of Night
Imprortant Announcement

Take Off to Cloudsdale

Chapter 1: Take Off to Cloudsdale

“So, are you sure you dulled them?” Sky Slicer asked his brother. “If they aren’t dulled, they won’t let us fight.” Sky sounded as if he wouldn’t mind if they did stop them from fighting. They were on their way to Cloudsdale, more specifically the Cloudasium, where the Flashing Metal Show was being held. It was a place where young pegasi who were interested in fighting could go to showcase their skills.

Sighing, Cloud Slicer hit the button on the device attached to his right hoof, holding it away from him as its blade shot out from its sheath. Before his twin had a chance to say anything, he smacked the dulled blade into Sky Slicer’s flank, not too hard, but enough to hurt. He smiled at his brother’s shout of pain as he pushed the button again to send the blade back into its sheath. “Does that answer your question Sky?” He had a hard time keeping the laughter from his voice as he watched his brother rub his flank with a sullen expression on his face.

“You could have just TOLD me you know!” Sky Slicer glared at him through teary eyes, “Just because it’s dull doesn’t mean it doesn't HURT when you smack me with it!”

“Yeah, I know that,” The laughter in his voice was plain. “I just couldn’t pass up a perfect chance to hit you. You know, you kind of set yourself up for –“His words were cut off as Sky Slicer leapt on him, dragging them both closer to the ground. They tumbled into the cumulus clouds, spinning as they each tried to overpower the other. Growling at his troublesome twin, Cloud began to flap his powerful wings, sending his twin spinning away from him.

“C’mon Sky, we have a competition to go to remember? Let’s save the fighting for that eh?” Cloud Slicer inspected his saddlebags, making sure the straps were still attached properly. The load that they carried was pretty heavy, after all. “Remember, we are the last to go, but we are going be the best!” He clapped a hoof on his brother’s shoulder, and pulled him around with him to face towards Cloudsdale. The pegasi that were there were easily visible, even from the distance the two pegasi flew. The flapping wings of the Cloudsdale pegasi could just barely be heard, sounding like a soft whispering breeze.

“If you say so Cloud, but I don’t know. What if something goes wrong? What if we accidentally both get knocked out?” Sky began to breathe faster as he considered the possibilities for errors, “What if… what if we accidentally hurt each other really bad? Or what if we-”

Cloud cut him off, “You worry too much Sky; I re-flattened blades especially for this occasion. They are flatter than the sound of Mono Tone talking.” His joke about their former foal-sitter received the desired response, coaxing a laugh from his nervous twin and eliminating his train of thought.

Cloudsdale grew ever so closer to the two as they flew to the city in the sky. As they entered the airspace around the city, they were directed by a bored-looking traffic pegasi, who raised an eyebrow at their drooping saddlebags and hoof accessories, but said nothing as he waved them in.

As the two flew towards their destination, the sound of cheering pegasi grew louder. Cloud patted Sky on his shoulder reassuringly, trying to alleviate some of his twin’s anxiety. They entered the building, the sounds of cheering now a dull roar, and headed off towards the locker rooms. Each contestant had a room to themselves, and the Slicer twins, being partial celebrities, were granted rooms of their own choosing. Naturally, the twins chose rooms next to each other. As they stood outside the doors to their rooms, they looked at each other and nodded, each of them heading to their own separate rooms.

Once in his room, Cloud took off his slicer, the name he had given to his invention. He figured naming it after his family was only natural, and fitting. Of course, there were only two like it, his twin being the owner of this one’s twin. This show would be the first time anypony else would see them in action, wielded by pegasi. Blade turned it over and opened the back panel, exposing the inner workings of the weapon. It was a simple setup, the blade being held within the gears until released by the push of a button. It conserved space that way, integrating the gears with the sword.

Other pegasi soldiers didn’t use swords, finding them to be too cumbersome in their mouths. Cloud himself had gone to the earth pony training camp and tried his hoof at swordplay. The resulting tooth ache and the taste of spit-sodden hilts took months to finally fade away. Instead of swords, the soldiers’ preferred weapon was the lance, being able to be used in a diving attack with ease. It suited the style of the pegasi, fast and light without much danger in using it. It also didn’t have to be held by the pegasus wielding it. Using a harness to hold the lance over their shoulder, the soldier was given more freedom in a fight to bash in opponent’s skulls and deflect blows with iron-plated hooves.

When he first sought out his dream of becoming a soldier, Cloud looked into many different weapons. He found the lance held a lack of versatility and durability to be repulsive. The lance often broke off after being lodged inside of an opponent, and could only be used effectively in a stabbing manner. Cloud was prompted by these disadvantages to create the slicer. Of course, his brother had demanded one after he had gotten wind of it, and Cloud saw no reason to deny Sky, who shared his dream, a slicer of his own. Today was the day that they would not only show off the slicer’s capabilities, but to show off to the War Wings, who were present at the competition. The War Wings were the Royal family’s personal force of Pegasi soldiers. It had been Cloud and Sky’s dream since they first heard of them in Cloudsdale when they were just foals.

Cloud pushed the button on the slicer, smiling to himself as the blade shot out with a ringing sound, glinting in the dull light of the changing room. Normally, the blade would be dirt specked and scratched. It had been polished the night before, to shine in the lights and make the fight look even flashier. Of course, Sky’s had been fixed up and polished as well. Setting the slicer down on the table, Cloud Slicer turned to his saddle bags, where his silver and blue fighting jacket was. He pulled it out and threw it over his head, working his wings through the chainmail protectors. Suit on, he pressed the button on the slicer and watched as the blade slide back into its sheath. He then slid the slicer back onto his hoof and walked towards the door. Outside was his brother, suited in a similar fashion, though his suit was streaked with red instead of blue. Walking side by side, they walked on the soft clouds towards the stadium’s entrance.

They stepped out into a large stadium, cheering pegasi surrounding them. Patting his brother on the shoulder with a hoof, Cloud flew to a cloud platform while Sky flew to one on the opposite side of the stadium. Cloud flapped his powerful wings to send gusts of wind to buffet the crowd, silencing them. Once he was sure of his audience’s attention, Cloud raised his voice so that everypony there could hear him. “Ok, me and my brother here will be showing you something new. We will be fighting, but not with hooves or lances, but with swords.” This brought a round of mumbling from the audience. Holding up a hoof and flapping his wings again, he brought them back to silence. “These swords won’t kill, but they do sting. Don’t worry everypony, even though he annoys me, I wouldn’t cut my twin apart!” His joke received a couple of chuckles from the crowd. “Now, you might be wondering where the hay our swords are, and we will be glad to show you.”

Synchronized, they both raised their left hooves slowly and then brought them down on the button of the slicer. Twin metallic rings sounded throughout the stadium, but the swords were lodged in the clouds, hidden from view. With practiced ease, both of them swept the blades through the clouds, sending puffs of white scattering as they each brought the blades, glinting in the sunlight, to point at the other.

Silence held the stadium as they both leapt into the air and charged towards the other, blades held ready and flashing in the harsh sunlight.

Flashing Blades, Shining Sun

Chapter 2: Flashing Blades, Shining Sun

They met in midair, their blades creating sparks as they slammed into their twin. Sparks rained down from the strips of metal as their wielders attempted to strike the other. Flying back suddenly, Cloud watched as Sky swiped through air where he was just a moment before. Grinning to himself, Cloud prepared to smack his disoriented brother with the flat of the blade, a humiliating but ineffective blow. Just as he brought the flat of the blade towards his brother, Sky had spun around, deflecting Cloud’s blade with his iron-clad hoof and bringing with him a flash of silver that struck Cloud in the side.

Cloud dropped to land on another cloud platform, panting with pain. The place where the blade had struck throbbed painfully in time with Cloud’s heart, making him wince as he shifted to look at his twin, who was flying up above him with a gloating smile on his face.

“What’s the matter brother? Did I swing a little too hard, or are you just trying to catch your breath?” Sky’s mocking tone rang out over the audience, caused a small ripple of laughter to flow through them.

Pride wounded, Cloud shouted back up at his brother. “You’re a bit cocky Sky; let’s see you back it up.” With that, Cloud leapt from his cloud with a flap of his powerful wings and shot towards Sky. Laughing, Sky dived to meet him again.

Cloud, not one to make the same mistake twice, unleashed a barrage of swift strikes with sword and hoof alike lashing out towards his opponent. Cloud was dismayed and impressed at how smoothly his brother knocked away each of his attacks, deflecting or intercepting the whistling blade and punching hoof. It was a strange thing; his brother had always been the one to come out of their practices with bruises and cuts, but now he was shining with skills that Cloud had never seen before. Cloud swelled with pride as he watched Sky deflect another strike that would have normally given Sky a bruise on his flank.

Cloud, becoming tired, had only managed to hit Sky once or twice, but even those hits had been glancing blows without much effect. It was all Cloud could do to keep Sky from getting too many hits on him. His blade and hoof, blurred with the speed of their motion, couldn’t keep all the attacks at bay, and Cloud doubled over with pain as a particularly fierce attack to his chest knocked the wind from his lungs. He sank to a platform in the stadium, gritting his teeth. He sat there, balanced on unsteady hooves as he tried to throw off the pain. “Had enough Cloud? Or should I keep winning?” His brother’s mocking tone rang across the stadium’s crowd, gaining yet another laugh.

Cloud focused in on himself, creating a fire within his heart. He fed all his emotions, his worries, and his ambitions, all of his self into the flame, letting them disappear from his mind as he floated in a calm ocean of nothingness. His brother had never learned how to do this technique; he was never good enough at concentration to focus long enough on it. It had taken Cloud years to achieve this state of calm, years filled with frustration.

He opened his eyes to the bright sunlight, lifting his blade so that it flashed in the sun. He was one with the sword, and it was a part of him. He brought the sword down onto the platform he sat on, smiling as it easily cut through the cloud. Floating in an ocean of calm, Cloud leapt back into the sky, towards his opponent.

Sky’s blade moved to block his, but at the last moment, Cloud turned the slash into a stab. He took his brother in the chest, hard. Backing away from him, Cloud let his brother catch his breath after the blow. His brother glared at him, rubbing at his chest with his spare hoof, keeping his other leveled at Blade. Hovering, Cloud watched as his brother dropped a few inches in the air before thrusting up to attack. Intercepting the blade mid-strike, Cloud turned his own so that his brother’s outstretched hoof met with the dull metal. Sky yelped in pain and Cloud allowed himself a small satisfied smile to float across his face. Cloud backed away out of striking range once more, watching as Sky rubbed his leg subtly as he turned to face him.

“You know, you don’t have to go THAT hard on me you know!” Sky’s pained whisper fell on the pool of calmness and slid away. “I thought this was supposed to be a SHOW!”

Smiling, Cloud launched himself at his brother, and spun in a circle before striking. Totally unnecessary, and would get him killed in a normal fight, but his brother was right in that they needed to show off the slicers and flashiness helped to do just that. Sky blocked the blow with ease, and prepared to slide Cloud’s blade off of his own. Before he could entirely recover from the blow, Cloud spun around the other direction, catching his brother on his iron-plated hoof. Cloud launched high into the air above Sky, shaking his head in disappointment. He had been aiming for Sky’s side, but the spin ruined his accuracy.

The crowd laughed a little bit at Sky yelping in pain and shaking his hoof, and Sky searched for Cloud, who was flying high above. With a shout, Cloud turned in mid-air to dive towards his brother, blade held back for a dramatic slash. The dive would obviously never work, as Sky obviously knew as well, deflecting the slash with a shower of sparks for dramatic effect as he jumped away from the whistling metal.

What his brother didn’t expect was for Cloud to recover from the diving slash and launch into a flurry of attacks. Cloud smiled as he watched sweat form on Sky’s face as he launched attack after attack at him. Breaking from his barrage, Cloud jumped away from his brother so they could both breathe for a moment. Keeping each other in view with blades poised, they flapped in midair, catching their breath and preparing to return to the fight.

Cloud launched towards his opponent, jabbing, slashing, and blocking the other’s blade. The sun reflected on the sword’s polished surface, which was cutting through the air with ease. Every time their blades made contact, a shower of sparks rained down from them peppering holes in the clouds below. Neither of them took a hit, and they were evenly matched, their blades whirling through the air. With every slash, their blades whistled with a different tone. Together, they made music for their dance of steel. And that was what it was, each of them flowing from one stance to the other smoothly to block a strike or to make one of their own. The whistles were the melody, and the ringing of steel on steel was the beat. To this song, the two brothers danced the dance of swords.

Soon, they were both sweating and panting with the effort of trying to hit the other. It had now become a test of endurance, not skill. The strips of dulled metal began to move slower through the air as both pegasi became exhausted with the efforts of their swordplay. Cloud knew that it was over as soon as his brother failed to deflect a slash to the side. Cloud took full advantage of his opportunity and unleashed a series of attacks on his brother. Rapid, in quick succession, and weak, the attacks did what they were meant to do, overwhelm and weaken his target. Each attack sapped more and more strength from Sky as he tried in vain to regain his balance, but it was already over. Cloud spun one last time, striking his brother in the chest with his hoof as he held Sky’s blade at bay with his own.

Flying backward, Sky crashed into a cloud platform, and lay there groaning and rolling with pain. Dropping to the platform, Cloud disengaged his sword, feeling it slide into its sheath on his foreleg. He limped over to his brother, his bruised body throbbing with pain. The pain still felt like it was some other pony’s pain, thanks to the calm ocean he floated in. Cloud bent down and pushed the button on Cutting’s slicer, allowing the attached blade to slide back into the sheath with a small ringing noise.

Cloud pulled his brother to his hooves, slipping himself under Sky’s leg and hauling him up. With an effort, Cloud lifted both of them up and flew into the middle of the Cloudasium onto the platform that was stationed in the middle. Once he landed there, he held up his brother’s hoof in his own. The crowd began to cheer for them, and a small smile grew on Sky’s face. Cloud was surprised to find one on his face as well, grinning at the admiring crowd.

In his calm ocean of concentration, Cloud saw a glint of silver in the crowd, and a flash of blinding light. Following the flash was a crack that echoed in Cloud’s mind. Sky jerked back from around his arm, and tried to flap his wings weakly to stay airborne. Cloud saw a red liquid flowing from a small hole in Sky’s chest, and Cloud saw pain in his brother’s eyes before they glazed over. Cloud heard himself scream as he watched his brother drop from the sky in slow motion, blood trailing after him.

A black streak flew across the Cloudasium and grabbed his brother out of the air. Anger, laced with grief, drove Cloud to shoot after the black pegasus who was flying away. The pegasus turned around, his hoof held out and pointed at Cloud. Dodging rapidly to the side, Cloud was blinded by a flash of light and felt something fly past his wing. Blind and disoriented, Cloud followed the sound of flapping wings.

When his vision returned, Cloud saw the pegasus sitting on a cloud with his wings wrapped around a unicorn. The unicorn held Sky in her magic grip, and she pulled the slicer from his hoof. With a cruel smile, she tossed his brother from the cloud. Cloud dived after Sky’s body, grief making time slow to a crawl. Wrapping his hooves around him, Cloud pulled Sky back up to the cloud, barely able to support both of their weights. Setting his brother on the cloud, Cloud finally allowed the grief to show.

His scream of anguish ripped at the ears of everypony in Cloudsdale.

The Sky is Falling

Chapter 3: The Sky is Falling

Glassy eyes filled his vision, staring at him with unseeing eyes. His brother was dead. This one thing echoed in Cloud’s mind, but he refused to acknowledge it. His brother’s eyes stared at him, almost as if they were asking Cloud something. Tears began to drip onto his brother’s corpse, and soak into the clouds beneath him. Cloud tried to stop the tears, but there was no end to them. Other pegasi gathered around them, muttering amongst themselves, but Cloud didn’t notice them. The only thing in his world that mattered had just been taken away from him, as quick as that flash of light. He looked back into the sky, and a scream ripped from his throat as he sobbed over his brother.

Sky was always the cautious one, always trying something hesitantly before actually doing it. He had always been a relaxed pony, always one to listen with both ears if you had a problem, and help you with it if he could. Cloud couldn’t stand his twin’s consoling tone and smile whenever Sky had used it. He never really got along with his brother, being the near-opposite of him. But the constant bickering and fighting had drawn them even closer together, and they held a close bond. But now that bond had been cut, and Sky was gone.

He howled his anguish to the sky once more, and then was enveloped in a veil of darkness as unconsciousness took him into its unfeeling grasp.

Cloud sat in his workshop, tinkering away on the small pieces of metal in front of him. Each small piece needed to be handled with care, as they took forever to make. Cloud remembered casting every piece, and how frustrating it was when they came out of the process with imperfections. They were so small, that if they were dropped into the grass, it would take Cloud longer to find it than to cast it again. He recalled with frustration the entire day he had lost searching for a small pin that was needed for the button mechanism.

Sky burst into the room, sending light into the dim workshop. Cloud spun around and received a blast of bright light in his face. Blinded, Cloud stumbled forward and slammed the door shut, trying to slap his brother with a wing. When his vision cleared, he saw Sky standing a small distance away from him, anger in his eyes.

“What are you doing in here Cloud?” His brother’s quiet voice held a small hint of anger, and betrayal. “What is it that you are working on here?” Cloud watched as his brother made his way over to his worktable, and the small pieces of metal that were glinting there in the dim light. Finally coming to his senses, Cloud leapt at his brother, hoping to take him away from the project. What he didn’t expect was the back hoof that came up to intercept him mid-leap. He flew into the opposite wall, groaning at the pain in his now-bruised chest. His brother had a strong buck.

Unable to stand, Cloud watched helplessly as his brother stared at each individual piece of metal, trying to understand what the different pieces were meant to do. Sky walked around the table, squinting at the strange pieces, and he came across a rag on the table. Cloud could do nothing as he saw Sky smile and rip the cloth from the table. Underneath was a working, if imperfect, prototype that Cloud had created. Sky looked at him with accusing eyes, tears welling up in them. Cloud rolled over and stood, the pain subsiding a small amount. He limped over to his brother, and put a hoof on his shoulder, which was then shrugged off.

“Why didn't you tell me Cloud?” The hurt in his brother’s voice cut at his heart. “I thought we were going to do this together. We both want to join them.” Sky turned to him, tears beginning to flow down his face. “I thought we would have no secrets! Why didn’t you tell me? Why?” His brother launched himself at Cloud. Cloud expected to be attacked, and would have accepted every blow, but his brother had only wrapped his hooves around Cloud, sobbing into his mane. Cloud stood in the dim workshop, and wrapped his hooves around the sobbing pegasus.

Cloud sat up from where he was sprawled on the clouds. He was surrounded by sad-looking pegasi, who were gazing in horror at something next to his side. Cloud looked down, and reality slammed into him like a brick wall. Sky really was dead, and there was no bringing him back. He wanted to tear away from reality again, but he stood there, anchored to the real world. Soon, the pain began to leak through the numbness of it all. Agony began to rip his heart as he screamed his twin’s name into the sky, the clouds themselves vibrating with the force of his anguished screams.

The ponies that surrounded him began to move closer, concern in their eyes. Cloud slammed his hoof onto the slicer’s button and held his hoof out as the blade extended. They wouldn’t take his brother from him, not until he died. They backed away, hesitant about approaching the sword-waving pegasus. Cloud took advantage of their hesitation, and launched himself and his brother over the edge of the cloud. He barreled with his brother down to earth, feeling the wind tug at his coat with the force of his dive. Pain gripped his mind, and blackness began to creep into his vision. He felt his body suddenly stop, and he saw a flash of steel-plated wings. Unable to stay conscious any longer, Cloud succumbed to the blackness.

Sky pulled away from him, sniffling and wiping a hoof across his face. Cloud placed his hoof on his brother’s shoulder again, and was relieved that it wasn’t shrugged off. Cloud led his brother over to the table, and placed a cloth over the table. He turned back to his brother, drawing him back from the table. “Now listen, Sky, we can’t tell anypony about this. Not even Mom.” He waited until Sky nodded before continuing, “You remember how she reacted when we said we wanted to join the army.” Sky shuddered with the memory, and rubbed at his flank in remembrance.

“Well, I still want to come and help. If I don’t tell, will you make me one too?” His brother’s hopeful voice made Cloud’s will crumble, and he nodded. Sky started to cheer, but had a hoof shoved promptly in his mouth by Cloud, hissing at him to be quiet. Sky nodded, and Cloud walked out of the shop, his brother behind him. He heard Sky whisper to him from behind, “I love ya Cloud.”

“Love ya too Sky.”

He felt a sharp pain cross the right side his face, and then on the other side. He shot up, and the iron-clad hoof stopped inches from hitting his face again. He looked up into the eyes of his attacker, which were filled with pity. He scrambled back and shot up from the clouds. Almost instantly, he fell back down, getting a mouthful of clouds in the process. Spitting out the puffs of white, he looked again at the pony before him.

She was standing stock still, as if she didn’t want him flying off again. She was clad in plate armor, uncommon for pegasi to have. Normally, soldiers took to wearing leather as their primary armor, only wearing chainmail if they needed additional protection. This particular plate mail was jet black, and streaked with slashes of bright white and blue. It was the uniform of the War Wings, the Royal Family’s personal pegasi force.

The small pieces of her that the armor didn’t cover were a pure white, and her eyes were a dark blue. She frowned at him, and held out a hoof. Hauling to his feet, Cloud saw a brief flash of anger in her eyes, and felt himself being tossed into the air. Shocked, Cloud fell back down without trying to fly, and crashed into an iron-plated hoof that she held up. Landing on the cloud heavily, Cloud coughed violently, blood staining the cloud.

“You flew off of a cloud, after a fight, and after having your only brother killed. That was for your stupidity.” She turned around, and began to flap her wings to take to the sky. “I will leave you to mourn your loss now. Don’t do anything stupid. ” She flapped away, leaving him there on the street.

Cloud, mind still fogged with pain, began to crawl towards his brother’s corpse. Lifting Sky on his back, Cloud set off to the Cloudasium with a grim heart and tears in his eyes.

Warrior's Lament

Chapter 4: Warrior's Lament

The sun beat down on his back, its rays throwing light over the gathered ponies and warming the day. Instead of feeling warmth, Cloud could feel only coldness gripping him. He sat at the place where they would bury his brother, looking into the deep hole where he would soon reside for eternity. Drops of water steadily made their way into the hole, dripping from Cloud’s face. He made no attempt to halt the tears, allowing all his grief to pour out of himself. He still wore his fighting suit and Slicer, which had earned him a few glares from the other ponies in attendance, but he didn’t care. He would send off his brother like he would a fighter. The suit was sweltering hot, and had more than likely burned his coat in a few places, but Cloud didn’t even acknowledge the pain.

Trumpets sounded, and four pegasi made their way down the center of the pathway with a casket between them. The casket was decorated with symbols, most of them known only to the soldiers of the pegasi army. Another symbol decorated the casket, one of a spear with a black wing curled around its shaft, the symbol of the War Wings. They were at the funeral, clad in their armor still with lances pointed over their shoulders. His tears stopped as they bore his brother closer to him. He would not cry anymore, not until he had his revenge. He watched as they set his brother down in the hole, his final resting place. The pastor pony, a close friend of Sky’s trotted up to stand before the gathering, clearing his throat.

“Friends, family, brothers and sisters, hear me please. We are here today to mourn a pegasus who we all held dear in our hearts. Sky Slicer was a pegasus like no other, always giving of himself to others, and asking nothing in return. He was one who held ties of friendship dearly, with only the ties of family having a tighter hold. We all know him as the shy and cautious pegasus, but he was much more than just that. He was a fiercely loyal friend, a strong soldier, and he was a loving brother.”

The pastor went on, but Cloud heard no more of the words. He was more than just that. Words cannot describe my brother so simply. There are no mere words that can achieve what needs to be said about him. As the pastor came to end his speech, Cloud picked up on pastor’s words again.

”Ladies and Gentlecolts, we are here today not to mourn, but to celebrate the pegasus who is before me in death. We have many tears being shed for him, but this is not what he would have wanted. He would have wanted us to have smiled at how he had lived, not think in sadness about how he would have lived.” The pastor cleared his throat again. “At the bequest of the War Wings, Iron Dancer will now speak to the gathering.”

Cloud looked up as he saw the pegasi who attacked him earlier step up to the grave, standing behind the headstone and clearing her own throat. She looked around at the gathering slowly, her eyes lingering on Cloud, before speaking.

“Now, I realize that it is not my place to speak out here, as I did not know the deceased, or his family. However, I feel the need to honor him, this valiant fighter before me. He was a strong pegasus, proud even after he lost a fight.” Emotion was leaking from her words, and Cloud found himself fighting tears once more. “We will send him off like we would any other comrade who falls in the line of duty.” With that, the gathered War Wings shot into the air and circled around the grave. With a slow maneuver, they turned over in mid-air to dive straight towards the grave. Six solid thuds echoed across the silent crowd. Breaking off their spears, the pegasi that had dived took off into the sky and flew into the horizon. Iron Dancer turned to join them, glancing back at Cloud once more before she flew away.

Cloud watched numbly as more ponies that knew sky walked up to speak words. Half of them sobbed between every word, and the other half sounded as if they were fighting tears. Everypony that went up there did nothing to grace his brother’s existence. No words that they said would have ever come close to describing him. Cloud realized that nopony else was talking, and looked around at the gathered crowd. They were all staring at him, expecting him to say words as well. Cloud slowly walked to stand where everypony else had, behind the tombstone. He turned to face the crowd with a somber expression.

“Thank you all for coming. I know that Sky would have loved to know that he had this many ponies that loved him back. You all come here to say your last thoughts and words, maybe confess something you never had the chance to do when he was alive. I am sad to say that I have no words to offer for my brother. No words can describe what I feel, towards him and towards those who had killed him.” He held out a hoof and slammed the button on the Slicer, the metallic ring washing over the crowd. “I have no words, but I do have a promise. I swear that with this blade, I will find those who took my brother away from me.”

He glared at the gathered ponies, “I will do this alone. It is for him and for him only.” With this, Cloud drew the blade across his spare hoof, drawing blood on the newly sharpened edge. Raising the blade to his mouth, he kissed the blood-stained metal. He flew into the air, and brought the blade down onto the casket, scoring a deep cut into the fine wood. For you Sky. Without a word, Cloud made his way back to his spot, watching blankly as the other ponies stood and moved back to their own lives. I have no life anymore. I have given it for you brother.

The setting sun reflected on his armor as he reflected on his brother’s life, reliving all the memories that they had made together. Absorbed in these memories, he didn’t notice as rain poured from the heavens, sparkling in the setting sun.

Bit of an author's note here. Sorry if this chapter isn't up to par with the others. I might just rewrite it. Looking back at 1 and 2, rewriting generally improves it, so I'll have to look at it tomorrow.

Sharpening Stone

Chapter 5: Sharpening Stone

Iron Dancer cast the harness that had held her lance into the corner to join the armor on the floor. She ignored the ring of metal on metal and fought to remain upright. Though trained to wear that heavy plate mail, it still drained her when she had to wear it for long periods. She found herself wishing that she had packed her chainmail to take to Cloudsdale. Fighting the fatigue that gripped her body, she walked slowly to her bathroom. The hotel they were staying in was fancy, fancier than her own quarters in the castle barracks by far. She hated the fancy rooms and food that they served here; her place was with the men, joking and eating the military slop. Sighing to herself, she cast off the leather coat that was worn under the rest of the armor and stepped into the warm shower.

The warm water washed over her grimy white coat and dripped to the clouds below, brown from the dirt and sweat they washed away. This was the one part of the fancyness that she could live with. Back in Canterlot, not only was the water for washing cold, bur they had to always retrieve it themselves. Being the best pegasi soldiers in the military didn't count for anything when it came to basic duties, and so whenever they wanted to wash they had been sent to get their own water. Cloudsdale, being the capital city of the pegasi, was the leading producer of rain clouds in all of Equestria. Banishing the random thoughts from her head, she leaned her head back and let the warm droplets pound on her face. She sighed dejectedly when the water stopped flowing from the clouds above her. Even the fancy hotels had limits on how much they would give, for free at least.

She stepped out of the shower and shivered with the sudden updraft of air that gusted through the small pores in the cloud. The gusts of icy wind were another thing she could have done without. Cloudsdale had some sort of system where they made a team of pegasi flap their wings for hours, sending the wind throughout the city via a system that the city officials called "air conditioning". She shook her head at their strange term for cold air, and grabbed a towel from the rack that was just outside of the showering area. After a bit of struggling, she managed to dry off most of her body. She unfurled her wings and flapped them rapidly to send waves of air against her coat and drive out the rest of the water. Happy with her drying, she slipped on the leather coat and walked back into her room. She was just about to lay down on the bed when she heard a knock, steady and sure, at her door.

As she opened the door, she was greeted with the sight of her right wing flyer, Stalwart Spear. He was a stallion of few words, but whenever he spoke everypony listened to what he had to say. His very presence on the battlefield brought courage to his allies and delivered death to his enemies. Stalwart was still in his armor, with a forboding expression on his face. She looked into his eyes and he nodded to her as she opened the door to admit him. Instantly the mares who had been following him started to whisper excitedly. He always attracted the attention of many wherever he went, being a Night Pegasus. Night Pegasi were almost a thing of legend, being nearly extinct. As far as all of Equestria knew, only five or six remained, with the means to create them lost to the sands of time. His bat wings were folded against his dark-blue coat as he sat down on his haunches and saluted formally to her.

"Everything has been seen to Ma'am. Are there any other orders that you wish relayed to the unit?" Iron Dancer couldn't help but to roll her eyes at his formality, but she shook her head to answer his question. Normally, Stalwart would have left her then after saluting a second time. Today he didn't move from his spot on the floor as he seemed to struggle to day something.

"What is it Spear? Spit it out." She rolled her eyes again as he recoiled at her tone. Just because I am the captain doesn't mean you have to be so formal all the time. She had to supress a sigh as he saluted her again.

"Permission to speak freely?" he asked in an unsure tone that was unlike his usual way of speaking.

She waved a hoof dismissedly. "Speak your mind Spear. We aren't on the battlefield either, so lose the formality."

He almost saluted her again, but stopped himself wit a hoof halfway to his head. Setting his hoof back down on the floor, he looked out of the room's window and into the sunset. It would be his time to feed again soon, but Iron had no fear or him attacking her. "Well, it's about... That pegasus who was in the Flashing Metal show, the one with the device named by himself as a 'Slicer'." She wanted to smack Spear in the head with her wing, but she knew that no amount of work would have him lose all of the formality. "I would like to suggest that he come and join the War Wings. We are going to search for the Black Coats regardless, and it is fitting that he would be a part of it. He is a potent soldier, and he has a very large attunment for machinery. You saw what the Black Coats used. We may be good warriors, but we haven't fought enemies with weapons like these before."

She nodded slowly as he finished. She had also considered extending the hand of invitation to both pegasi, but given the events at the competition, she felt that it would have been an insult to invite the surviving twin into the unit. "I believe so as well Spear. Tonight I will go and seek him out. You should go and feed now because you look dead on your feet. Stay away from the towns and hunt some deer or something." Spear flinched at her casual reference to his feeding habits, and then grimaced at the order to eat deer. Nevertheless he saluted her, and turned to exit via the window. She watched him fly away, black wings flapping in the bright, silver light of the moon.

Sighing, she turned to the pile of armor that was still lying in the corner and pulled on the harness. Slipping her spear into it's holder, she clasped the joints shut. She wiggled her body, and smiled as the harness moved with her, perfectly fitting as always. She picked up the armor and tossed it into the air. She flew up under it and winced as the weight of it settled onto her back. She dropped back to the floor, and slipped each of her hooves into the plated shoes that every War Wing wore. Those shoes had saved her life more times than she could count, and would more than likely save it many more times. Armor assembled, she turned to the window and leapt into the cool night air.

000

Cloud Slicer sat in the silent graveyard, running the blade across the tombstone of his brother. Sparks flew from the metal as it was rubbed against the granite headstone. He pulled the metal away from the stone, testing the edge against his leg. Pulling the blade away, he smiled at the small trickle of blood that flowed from the shallow cut. Nice and sharp. He pressed the button on the slicer and the blade whisked back into the sheath. Cloud stood and unfurled his wings, preparing to take off into the sky. He looked down one last time at the mound of freshy turned dirt that was pounded flat, the flower he had placed there was swaying with a soft breeze. It was a Sky Bloom, a special flower that popped into the air as it grew. As a young colt, Sky had always loved that flower. Turning away from the grave, Cloud walked a small distance away from the flower so he wouldn't disturb its growth.

The sound of a pegasus flapping their wings heavily made him spin around, smoothly punching the button on his slicer and assuming a combat stance. He crouched low as the pegasus landed with metal armor clanking as its hooves touched the ground. Cloud was poised to jump, every muscle screaming for a release of the tension they were under, but something stopped him from leaping at the pegasus. Plate mail? No pegasus wears that to fight. Well, no pegasi do except the ones in the War Wings. A flash of moonlight shone through a gap in the trees and Cloud saw that the armor was the same color as the night around it and streaked with strips of white and blue. Behind the face-guard, Cloud saw midnight blue eyes looking at him with apprehension. Recognizing the pegasus in front of him, he lowered his sword, pressing the button to retract the blade.

Cloud felt himself crash to the ground and he looked up into Iron Dancer's grim face. "You shouldn't have done that." He didn't even have time to shout as she thrust her lance downward.

Lesson One

Chapter 6: Lesson One

He could hear the rustling of the trees in the wind. He could feel the still wet grass being pressed down by his back. He could smell the sounds of damp ground. He could taste the blood that came from his bitten tongue. He could see nothing but darkness tinged with a soft silver light. Cloud opened his closed eyes and saw the armored pegasus still standing over him with her lance thrust into the ground next to his face. Yanking the lance out of the ground, she took off and landed a short distance away from him. Sitting up, Cloud pressed the button on his slicer and pointed the now-extended blade at the War Wing. "W-w-what was that about?" He winced after he said it, knowing that it was a terrible attempt at trying to be brave.

His oppenent seemed to think it was too, and she smiled as she dug her hoof into the ground. She was lowered down to charge at him and she snorted. A flash of silver and a clank of her armor was all the warning he had. Diving off to his right, he felt a rush of wind and saw the spear pass through where he had been moments before, but not before he felt the edge of the spear nick his cheek. He saw the iron-plated hoof coming a second too late, and he flew back into the dirt again. He used his wing to flip himself over and leapt away from the spear that stabbed down at where he had landed. Anger flashed in his mind as he realized that she was serious. She wants to kill me? She isn't gonna do it that easily!. He leapt toward her with his blade held in front of him.

His eyes widened as she grabbed the blade between her two iron-plated hooves. His whole world was flipped as she tossed him over her head and sent him flying through the air. Spreading his wings to right himself, he looked down just in time to see her shoot into the air after him. He brought his blade to deflect he spear, but he was too slow to stop her hoof from smashing into his side and sending him spiraling away from her. She's strong Cloud thought with admiration as he righted himself again.

He breathed deeply in and exhaled in a huff, starting the familiar small white-hot fire in his mind. Suddenly the fire was extinguished by a metal shaft smashing into his face. Rubbing his bruised face, he assumed the state of calm again obly to be stopped once more by a smashing blow. He dropped from the sky, wings limp from fatigue. He could see her diving after him with a grim look on her face. When she caught up with him, she placed her hooves on his chest and accelerated his fall to the ground. The pain that shot through his body was nearly unbearable. She sat on top of him with a dark cast to her face.

"You fail." was all the said before she reared back and pointed her spear downward to stab. He brought the blade up to catch the spear midthrust, and sent the head into the dirt next to his head. Shoving her off of his body with a burst of strength, he slashed at the harness that held her spear and the snap of the leather echoed in the forest. With a spin, he smashed his other hoof into her face with a blow that sent her sprawling. He floated in the familiar ocean of calmness. The pain that wracked his body felt as if it were another pony's pain. He raised his blade to point at the struggling and weaponless pegasus. "Do you yield? You have no weapon. This offer will be made but once, choose wisely." He was surprised by the cold dangerous voice that he spoke in, but he made no effort to lighten his words. His leveled blade followed her as she stood up on unshaking legs. Shock floated up and across the ocean of calmness before being grabbed beneath the waves. She was smiling at him and staring down his blade.

"No weapon? You think you've disarmed me?" there was laughter in her tone and her eyes, "I have trained for years as a soldier, you think that just because I lost my spear that I am defenseless?" She crouched down low to the ground and held her wings out to either side. "Let me show just how wrong you are you naive foal." With that, she knocked his sword aside with a hoof and lunged for him.

000

Counting on his hesitation and his foalishness, she charged in close to use her formidable hooves. What she didn't expect was for a hoof that shot up to catch her in the chin and send her flying, literally. She hovered for a moment to recover from the unexpected blow. How could I have made an error like that? Shaking her head, she floated back down to the ground in a combat stance. She watched in disbelief as Cloud punched the button on his sword to retract the blade. He turned to her and assumed a combat stance of his own, a hoof raised and his body low to the ground. She had seen it many times before, it was an amatuer's stance. They taught that to all potential soldiers, though it was never used outside of schoolyard fights. There were multiple holes that could be poked into that stance that she knew of, and she selected the most simple; a rolling uppercut. She charged at him and rolled aside to dodge his swift jab. Continuing her roll, she came out of it by punching her hoof upward. Her hoof shot through thin air and she stumbled forward. What? Where did he go? She looked around for her oppenent but found no sign of him.

A flapping noise was heard overhead, and the alarm bells rang in her mind. She brought up her hooves in a crossed block just in time to receive a crushing blow from above. Pain shot through her hooves as she tried to deflect the strike. The momentum of the blow carried the other pegasus into a horozontal position and she fell backwards to use all four hooves to throw him over her head. She allowed herself a small smile as she heard him crash into a tree and groan. She rolled onto her stomach and tried to stand but stumbled forward into the ground. She spit out a mouthful of the tasteless soil and blocked out the pain. Standing again, she limped over to where the other pegasus lie groaning. She stood over him, watching him struggle and fail to stand. He was a good opponent. Spear's judgement wasn't misplaced.

He opened his golden eyes to glare at her as he struggled to stand again. Iron Dancer smirked at his anger and walked over to where her spear lay in the ground. The rustle of feathers and the grunt of pain was all she heard before she felt a blow that made her spin around with the force of it smash into her flank. A brief spark of anger flared inside her, and she smashed a hoof into the stubborn pegasus' face. She calmed herself and picked up her spear with her mouth, grimacing at the taste of the cold steel. She turned around to face Cloud again, a smile forming around the weapon in her mouth. This was the part of the test that she enjoyed the most.

She flipped him over onto his back with the shaft of her spear and stuck the point into his soft coat where his armor didn't protect him. Looking into his eyes, she was dissapointed at not finding fear in their depths, but rather a cold acceptance. She dug the point in harder in an attempt to make him cry out, but the only reaction she obtained was a grunt of pain and a hardening of his stare. She pulled her spear away from his chest and set it down onto the damp grass. She held out a hoof to pull the battered pegasus to his feet.

And was promply pulled to the ground with him on top of her. His grinning face was inches from her own and his breath washed over her face. "Rule number one: Don't trust anypony right? Looks like I win." She reached up and grabbed around his neck with her hooves. Gripping tightly, she flapped her wings backward and launched the both of them into the air. She held his hooves down with the four of her own as she grinned down at the helpless pegasus. She leaned down to whisper in his ear, and a cough coupled with a deep voice filled with partial amusement resounded throughout the clearing.

"Am I interrupting something Iron Dancer?"

Cloak of Night

Chapter 7: Cloak of Night

He flapped his strong wings as he flew away from the barracks. Most pegasi would be making slow progress in the night, but Stalwart Spear shot forward away from the pegasus city. The night was filled with clouds, and only small shafts of moonlight struck through the gaps in the cover. Still flying at his swift pace, he shot towards the intruding material with his hooves in front of him. Slicing easily through the condensed precipitation, Stalwart Spear bathed in the moon's silvery light. He splayed out his hooves as he soaked in the full moon's light. His entire body tingled with the Lunar Magic that his body was so attuned to. He closed his eyes and floated in a sea of pure bliss, with nothing to disturb him. Night was his realm, and he was happy To call it so.

The wind picked up and blew upwards, sending him further into the night sky. Suddenly a deep hunger wormed its way through his bliss, and he turned down to follow the scent that the wind carried. He found himself goes back through the hole he had made and descending into the city. Realizing what he was about to do, he shook himself violently and shot back up over the clouds. He mentally scolded himself and flew away from Cloudsdale. That was stupid, falling under the moonspell like that while near so many ponies. If I had lost myself completely, who knows how many I would have killed. He shuddered with the icy coldness of that thought and flew even faster to put more distance between himself and the possible prey. There were times when he found himself wishing he could be like the rest of the world, and just be normal. This was one of those times, and he felt a small amount of despair creep into his heart as he brooded. He alighted on a tall tree after he had judged the distance to be significant.

Sighing to himself, he enjoyed the moonspell a bit longer before surrendering himself to the hunger. This was the part of his transformation he liked the least; the losing of his sense of himself. Primal trappings gripped him, and his nostrils dialated as he searched out his prey. There. He darted through the shadows, keeping himself out if sight as he stalked his prey silently. With a shout, he shot towards the animal with a flash of fangs. He felt his teeth peirce the tough hide and sink deep into the flesh, blood spurting through the wound and into his mouth. The beast struggled to free itself of the pegasus that was latched onto its neck, but Stalwart Spear's strength was much greater than the animal's and its struggles grew weaker and weaker until he brought it to the ground.

He pulled away from the fallen creature, murmuring an ancient saying to nopony in particular. "Multis gratias pulchra luna passus nobis hoc farinam satiare nostrum sitit. Gratias ago pulchra luna pateretur hunc mors velociter manus in cælum suscipere et te." The ancient rites observed, Stalwart Spear bent once more to his meal and began to feed.

Translation: Many thanks fair moon for allowing us this meal to sate our thirsts. Many thanks fair moon for allowing this creature a swift death at my hands, and may you recieve it in the heavens above. (It is Latin in case you are wondering.)

His feeding complete, he felt the primal feelings leave his body and his own sense of self return. He wiped away the blood from around his muzzle, grimacing at the coppery taste in his mouth. He hated this part the most, coming back into his body to find a mutilated creature in front of him. He hated not being in control of himself. He murmured the saying that he had invented, remorse filling his tone as his voice drifted through the silent night. "Ut luna semper protegamur complexu. Qui loquitur in oblivione possit. Ignis alis numquam evanescere a corda." Tears welled up in his eyes as he mourned his lost love. In his mind's eye, he still saw the look of pain on her face as he drained her of life. Her last words came unbidden into his mind, echoing repeatedly and stabbing at his heart.

"I still love you Stalwart, no matter......what......you.......have......become."

Translation: May she always find shelter in the moon's embrace. May she never be forgotten by the one who speaks this. Fire Wings will never vanish from our hearts.

He felt a small wind pick up and shivered with the icy chill it brought. He turned to fly back towards the city he had departed from, but a scent on the wind made him stop short. What is she doing out here? He shook his head. Of course, she must have followed me to be sure that I wouldn't do anything stupid. He felt a small pang of hurt at that, and he turned to follow the scent. He stuck to the shadows that the trees cast over the ground, letting his tracking instincts take hold. Night Pegasi were able to blend into the smallest of shadows and be undetected by those ignorant to the ways of detection. He knew that if his leader was watching him, she wouldn't have been fooled, but the scent was old, as if the wind had gone a long way with the scent on its gusts.

He lost track of how long he was following the smell, but soon the wind sent another pony's scent his way. He is out here too? What is happening between them? He spread his wings and speed into a gallop. He flew into the midnight sky and shot towards the clearing in the woods. The scent was stronger there, and his sensitive ears picked upmthe sounds of crashing and thuds. The sounds of fighting. Concern washed across his body and he streamlined himself into a silent dive. He alighted on a tree branch as quiet as a whisper and observed the two entangled pegasi.

Iron Dancer seemed to have the upper hand, but the other pegasus put up a strong fight. He rolled her over and sat on top of her, at which point Stalwart tried to surpress a dark chuckle. A move that had been used many times before on him was used on Cloud Slicer, and Stalwart nearly fell from the tree as he stuck its trunk. He watched as his leader moved to grab her spear, and nearly laughed as the other pegasus smacked her flank. Bad move Cloud. Nopony touches her flank and lives to tell the tail. He laughed in his mind at his weak joke, and watched as Iron Dancer shoved the spear into Cloud's chest. Stalwart Spear remembered this part of the "exam". She never did break him as she did so many others. He watched as the spear was dug in further and further until she suddenly pulled it away with disapointment in her eyes. He remembered the same disapointment in her eyes during his exam, and he felt a new-found respect towards the young pegasus who has resisted her punishment. He turned away to look again at the moon, reciting the same mantra in his mind. Ut luna semper protegamur complexu. Qui loquitur in oblivione possit. Ignis alis numquam evanescere a corda.

When he turned back to the two pegasi, he felt a swift jab of shock in his mind. His mind was racing as he felt himself drop from the tree and land on the ground as silently as he always did. He cleared his throat and addressed the pegasus that looked as if she were about to violate the poor pony beneath her. "Am I interrupting something Iron Dancer?"

Author's note time: Yes yes, I know that this chapter was semi-repetetive, but I felt we needed the story and POV of Stalwart Spear. I mean, who doesn't want a bit of backround on something as cool as a Night Pegasus?

Imprortant Announcement

Hello to the small amount of people who are following this story, I have a bit of....bad.... News

Of Blades and Brothers is going to be placed On Haitus. I have a few reasons however.

1st reason: I think that my overall fiction quality has....declined... For this story. I beleive I need to rewrite and rethink the entire story.

2nd reason: I have lost the.....motivation if you will.... To write this fiction currently. The ideas aren't flowing together anymore, which ties in with reason number 1.

For these reasons, I have decided to place a Haitus seal on this story, for both until my writing skills improve, and for when I get my computer back to totally rewrite it. It will be higher quality than before, with both more detail and more relationship connection.

It will also be resubmitted and under the new name of "Brothers of Steel and Blood"

I will post a chapter update when this time comes, so don't un-fave the story just because it is On Haitus.

I wish for you all to know that this is not done out of laziness to gain relief, but done out of a heavy heart that comes with putting a loved animal to death to spare it its pain. However, unlike the analogy, this story will not die, but be reborn from the ashes.