Chapters “Are you sure you want to go back?” asked Zamir.
“I’ve waited long enough. It’s been too many winters since I’ve seen home. My sister probably believes I died, but I have to tell them what became of the others.” I said as I walked over to him.
“Will you rejoin the guard?” he asked looking out at the desert.
“No, I think it’s time that my scythe be used for harvesting instead of battle. I think I’ll follow in my father’s hoof prints and take up farming like most Earth ponies.”
“You aren’t an earth pony… well you have the strength of one, but you were born to fly my friend. Raised to stand your ground and fight to protect that which you care for. I don’t think that your blade will be farming much. As for your abilities they don’t have to be a curse. We’ll start to travel at dawn tomorrow.” I watched as the sun disappeared under the horizon. As the moon rose I looked back at the zebra that I had started to like. He was going to make a good ruler one day.
I felt torn looking at the moon. Part of me loved the night but another one wanted to erase the silver orb from the night sky along with the mare that raised it. I laid down, not the easiest task for a pony to do when missing a hind leg. I looked back at the jagged scars that once had been my wings. A row of black crystals followed my spine, my black mane was braided to try and hide them as much as possible. My coat darkened from its apple red to a very dark crimson. Sighing I wonder what my mom would have thought about the fact that I didn’t have a black, gray or dark blue coat like most bat ponies. Unlike most half bat half pegasi I didn’t only show the traits of one or the other but changed from one to the other based on my surroundings. My mom, Lunar Rose was half bat pony and half pegasi. She fell in love with an earth pony named Iron Back. He was royal guard that had retired. I had taken after my mom but she died giving birth to me. Dad did his best, but when he started to realized that I was having a hard time controlling the bat pony in me he decided it was time for me to start training. Dad’s family have been warriors for generations. So his idea was to teach me control through teaching me how to fight.
A cold desert wind blew by and with it a smell I had almost forgotten. I looked up and spotted three almost invisible spots fly through the air over head. Bat ponies, I switch my eyes to my bat pony eyes. Night Guard, Luna’s Night Guard. They circled us at a distance. I laughed they weren’t long time veterans because they stayed in formation. After about an hour of watching them I was getting more than a little ticked off. The winds started to pick up and swirl around the camp. Inside it was calm as if there was no wind at all. Sand started flying around creating a wall made of a sand storm around us. I missed this the ability to control the weather. Since I lost my wings I could barely do it. I pulled my cloak closer covering my cutie mark and my missing leg. The bat ponies landed near me. Two took up defensive positions and the one in the middle stood up trying to seem tall. He failed as I stood and made my way closer to them. I was never very small. I had gotten my father’s size making the bat ponies look up at me as I stood over a full head taller. I let the wind die.
“Tell the Pegasi to come out as well…” he commanded stopping as moon light showed through the falling sand. His eyes were looking at the two fangs in my mouth and my slitted eyes. “Where are they?”
“You’re looking at them,” I stated.
“You aren’t a… you don’t have…” he seemed very confused. Then realization slammed into him and he lowered his gaze. “Please tell the Pegasus to come out.”
“I am a mixed wing,” I stated. I heard a snort as one of the other bat ponies tried to suppress their laughter.
“You find something about my friend funny,” said Zamir in an icy tone as he trotted towards us.
“No sir,” said the one on the right.
“Obviously you did. Was it the fact he sacrificed part of himself to protect others,” Zamir said. “If I were you not only would I treat him with the utmost respect, I’d fear him. Somepony willing give part of himself to protect something they hold dear is a very scary adversary. He is prepared to die in order to win. It would also do you some good to remember if it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t even think about anything to do with Equestria.”
“Forgive him sir, he was out of line. We were sent by her majesty Princess Luna to escort you to Canterlot. There is an airship inbound on this position it will take you there by this time tomorrow.” Said the leader.
“Why change the plans?” I asked.
“The Princesses are north in The Crystal Empire. They should be back in a week or two, but we were sent to bring you to Canterlot and help you settle in till they get back.” The leader said.
“Zamir, you and the others go with them I’m going to go to The Crystal Empire,” I said. Zamir opened his mouth then closed it thinking better than to go against me in this. Zamir waved one of his guards over. A unicorn came up to him and Zamir told him something. A flash of light later and my saddlebags appeared along with a large glowing crystal. Zamir took the crystal and held it out to me. “So you know?”
“That you use magic stored in crystals like the ones in your mane to…” I nodded and took the crystal. I brought it up to my muzzle and looked into it. Magic swirled within it like a whirlpool of sparks. The crystal was about the size of a good sized apple. I opened my mouth and took a bite. I swallowed it and then the rest. The winds started blowing hard. I knew my change well enough to know what was happening. First black crystals like the ones in my spine would grow out from my stump and once they touched the ground they would change shape. It would become a prosthetic leg. Next the crystals in my spine would grow out then they would change into a black breastplate. Two large bat wings stuck out from the armor. I flapped them checking for any defects. They flapped silently as the armor grew up my neck and formed a helmet around my head. The bat ponies took a step back I wouldn’t blame them. A crippled Pegasus with no wings and missing a leg now looks like something that crawled out of the depths of Tartarus. I picked up my saddle bags and tightened the harness. I took off towards The Crystal Empire.
POV Luna
A guard walked up to Shining Armor. He told him something then Shining excused himself. Cadence looked puzzled. A few minutes later Shining came galloping back into the room. "There's been a battle at the barrier. Luna, you'll want to see this." He said with watery eyes.
I rose from my seat and followed him through the palace. We came to a guarded room. He opened the door and we entered. It was a large room, empty except for a large black crystal laying on its side. Shining used his magic but it behaved oddly. It flowed from his horn into the crystal. A glowing red symbol appeared on the crystal and you could make out the shape of a pony inside it. "Shining w-where did you find this?" I asked my eyes started to water as I thought about the pony who's cutie mark had appeared.
"A little bit after dawn there was a report of strange weather to the southeast of the barrier. When the guards got there they saw the end of a battle. Spears littered the ground outside the barrier. In the middle of it all was an armored being. In a blast of what I was told could only be described as black fire it destroyed a hundred shadow ponies we didn't even know were there. After the blast this crystal was laying where that being had stood. Magic can't be used on it or near it without it taking the magic away. The weirdest thing is that it only takes what you try to use no more. It even takes flight magic from pegasi. If they are too close it sucks the magic out of them. I've never heard of anything like it." Shinning Armor looked at the ground. "It's been a decade since they left Luna. What if they're alive out there somewhere? Who or What is in this crystal has a connection to at least Bolt..."
"Shining... we don't even know that's in there. It could be the reason why..." Tears welled in my eyes as old memories and feelings rose to the surface.
"It was reportedly using a scythe like Bolt's. Red lightning was seen at the battlefield. The only person I've ever heard of that has anything to do with red lightning was Bolt. For Celestia's Flank it's the reason for his name..."
"So he's not the first to control red lightning! He's not the..."
"Luna, Cadence told me about the two of you and what happened to you after he disappeared. This could be your chance to find him, to help him or find out what happened all those years ago. Are you just going to give up on him again when there's a lead staring you in the face? Are you just going to forget about that night in the cabin? Yes, I know what happened. Don't worry it stays between us. His Niece, Will you keep her in the dark about her uncle? She's your student but sooner or later the truth will be found out. This could lead you to him, he has a right to know. I would want someone to tell me if I was in his position..." Tears streamed down my face as Shining left closing the door.
There was so much I had wanted to tell him that day but I chose to wait till after he came back. if I had told him maybe he wouldn't have left. He would have stayed and been safe by my side. No, he wouldn't abandon his mission... For the next hour I thought about the past and what could have been. Slowly sleep took me...
A dark wasteland shrouded in mist and darkness surrounded me. Where am I? "Odd I normally don't see anyone here while I pay my bribe."
Turning around I saw a large cloaked figure. He was about my sister's height maybe even taller. "Who are you?" I asked.
"Now there's a question I've often asked myself while I'm stuck in here. Am I a hero or the monster? A peacekeeper or the destroyer? Good or Evil? Let us see?" He said and pointed a hoof off to the right. Floating slabs of black glass came in between us. Images appeared on them. "I think I'll start when fate abandoned my friends and me. A simple expedition to look for a lost civilization. We even knew its exact location. It couldn't have been an easer mission. We made a few friends along the way and they joined us on our expedition. We found what we had set out to find. It was a ruined city forgotten by time. The more we explored the city the more we began to feel uneasy about it. Tables were still set, tools half made dropped on the ground. Then we came across a message, one that chilled us to our bones."
The image in front of me changed from ruins to a open field with a cliff on the other side. Carved into the cliff was a message. 'Run she's coming! She took the others and now she wants us! Her monsters are out in the forest! We're trapped she knows it and she's toying with us!!! Run while you can!!!' Claw marks cut deep into the cliff side.
"After such a long time we had told ourselves that who ever they were talking about was long dead. That what had happened to them was long over. We were so foolish, so reckless. We should have run maybe we would have gotten away... That night we made camp in the city. Although we told ourselves that it would be fine, the threat was long gone we still set up defenses and posted guards. It was useless, we stood no chance against what was there. No chance against the same ancient horror that had taken the ponies in the city. A draconequus known as Shadow Empress. She took us one by one. Locked us up and used us for her experiments. For the first couple of years we hoped that someone would come and save us but after the first of us started dying we lost all hope. She toyed with us. Five years in that hell then those of us that were alive still we tried to escape. She found us. We weren't going back, not alive. There were seven of us when the blood bath started. she sent her monsters to wear us down. Only three of us survived the onslaught. She came then, I charged her. I cut off her arm, but she grabbed my wings and ripped them out. My comrades freed me and attacked again and again. Then when everything seemed to be going in our favor she started to laugh. Fire shot from her mouth vaporizing them and taking my leg. I put everything into my last attack. I ripped her head from her shoulders. Although the battle was won we had lost. As the darkness took me I could only think of my love that I had lost long ago as I looked up at the moon. That was the first time I had to pay my bribe. For an entire year I was imprisoned in this place..."
"Please can I see your face?" I asked I feared who could be under that hood. He raised a hoof and lowered the hood. my breath caught in my throat as the slabs moved out of the way. "Bolt," I said as I lunged at him."
I wrapped my hooves around his neck and held him close. "Luna, I'm not imagining this am I?"
"No, it's me Bolt, it's me." I sobbed as I nuzzled his braided mane. "I've missed you so much..."
"Luna, you can't be here. You shouldn't be here!" He pulled back his eyes were wide. "You must leave here now."
"W-why do I have to leave?" I asked starting to worry. He sounded scared. He looked me over and worry was etched into his face. It his battle worn face. I already didn't like the small almost invisible scars that were on his face. He could have easily have been a model with his beautiful face. I'll admit it was a rugged beauty like looking out at a scenic mountain range, but it never failed to send my heart aflutter.
"Luna if you're here then my prison is taking your magic. Leave, get out of here before it takes too much!" He said then he grabbed me and threw me hard.
I bolted upright. The sound of glass shattering made me look around. I was in the same room as before, but there were several ponies in the room as well. "You will not harm my friend or his love. I will not allow it!" shouted a zebra.
"I don't know who you are but you're stopping us from saving the Princess," Said Applejack as she ran towards him. He stood his ground and stamped a hoof on the crystal floor.
"Blockade," Commanded the Zebra and a wall of black crystals shot up between him and Applejack. The sound of her hitting the wall made me wince. A streak of rainbow colors blurred past. The Zebra was tackled by Rainbow dash. "Unhoof me mare! Do you know who I am?!
He bucked Dash off of him and sent her through the wall shattering it. On the other side stood Pinky a cannon ready. She pulled the rope to fire it and confetti shot out. A blast of magic appeared in the confetti and it hit the Crystal next to me. The crystal, Bolt was in there! The crystal took the blast and started to glow. I spotted another blast heading its way. I leapt in front of the blast. a loud crack filled the room as did a bright flash of light. Standing in front of me was an armored pony. It's armor glowing with a whirling sparks as it absorbed the blast of magic.
"Enough," Commanded the pony, Bolt. "Two weeks of rest, is that too much to ask for without someone almost hurting Princess Luna?"
"Who are you, bub?" demanded Dash jabbing at his breastplate with her hoof.
"I am the Knight of Princess Luna. The red flash that guards against the monsters in the night..." He said, his voice rough.
"Crimson Bolt... It can't be! You died, I saw your name on the wall its not possible!" shouted Twilight as her friends turned to her.
"Did ya just say Crimson B-bolt?" asked Applejack starting to shake.
"NO, NO, NO! You aren't Bolty! Bolty was kind and caring, not..." Pinky started.
"Enough, who is he? Why do you guys know him?" Asked Rainbow Dash.
"I know him because it's thanks to him that Applebloom and I are alive. He saved us when we were attacked by timberwolves. He lost his father that night." Applejack said looking at the black armored pony.
"Bolty was one of the first ponies I met when I came to Ponyville. He took me in and showed me around." Pinky said looking down.
"Bolt was the first Knight in a hundred years. I used to watch him and Shining Armor spare. Although, I never really knew him. When he disappeared Shining took it hard. They had trained together or I should say that he helped train Shining, forming him into the captain of the guard. His father was a retired General, his mother was a talented healer. He was always different, but he stood up for those who couldn't. He disappeared like he often did, but he never came back. Then five years later one of the guards posted at the Hall of Knights watched as his name was carved into the wall along with the rest of the fallen Knights." Twilight shook as she looked at the armored pony.
Bolt stamped a hoof on the floor and a black scythe rose up as he grabbed hold of it the blade changed. It took on the form of a lightning bolt. Red lightning crackled inside the crystal blade. Tears welled in Twilight's eyes. The doors slammed open and three ponies came in. Shining froze when he saw the scythe and Cadence stopped with him. The other one made my blood freeze, Night Jacks. He ran up to me and hugged me.
"Thank Celestia you're fine," he said. Bolt's eyes glanced at us and my heart fell. His eyes that had always been strong, focused and unyielding, now they were completely different. Though the eye slots in his helmet I saw the eyes of a pony that was beaten to the point he had been shattered. Sad, tormented, tired eyes looked back at me.
'Release me from the bond.' I heard his voice through the bond. It hurt even more hearing that, but I couldn't force him to stay when he didn't want to. I released him from the bond. He was engulfed in black sparks. As they disappeared standing there was a pony wearing an old worn cloak. Its hood hid his face. "Zamir, are you done?" he asked turning towards the zebra.
"Yes, Reaper I am." Zamir answered.
"Go get us some train tickets to Canterlot. We have work to tend to. I'll meet you there in about three hours." Bolt said and black sparks danced around his hooves as he sank into the crystal floor.
"Luna who was that?" Night Jacks asked.
"An old..." What could I say friend, knight, love, or should I lie to him.
"He was an old friend, one that left years ago. We thought that he had died a long time ago," Shining said before turning and walking away. I noticed although his steps were quite, cracks spider webbed from under his hooves. His eyes had darkened from their sky blue to midnight blue. Under his coat I could see the thick corded muscles were tense. Shining was his conrad and rival. He probably saw this as a challenge. For him it was a chance to speak to the dead. Cadence reached for him only to have him teleport. She stood there stunned then galloped off. I had caused all this with my order all those years ago. This, all of it was my fault.
The wind howled and tried to take my cloak from me. The enchantments on it held it from coming off. My coat grew long and thick. A trait from my father that I was thankful for in the harsh cold of the north. I plowed through the deep snow. An old lodge came into view and I continued on my way. I walked under the deck roof and up to the door. I opened my saddle bag and take an old beaten key out. Sliding the key into the lock and unlocking the door memories tried to come into my mind of the last time I had been here. I suppressed them harshly. I opened the door to find not a cold dark lodge but one of warmth with light from glowing crystals. I entered and hung my cloak next to the door on one of the many pegs that lined the wall. My father's family had once been even more numerous than that of the Apple family. Technically this tundra belongs to the house of the Frozen Blade, my house. Although I was a high born colt it was a fact well hidden and guarded. My own mother didn't know of her high standings. My sister and I were told of our ancestry by our father when he brought us up here to train.
Unlike most ponies that lived in Equestria we didn't follow Celestia's no killing rule. This land is harsh and would swallow hole those that show it weakness. To grant an enemy mercy here will only leave you in crimson colored snow. Celestia understood that and never forced us to live by it. The result made my family retain the primal strength that even few Earth ponies have. We never gave up our warrior ways and when called upon we lead military campaigns, cut down rebellions and strike down threats before anyone even knew they were there to begin with. When I became a Knight there was no big ceremony. It wasn't known to most that there was even a Knight at all.
I sighed a house that had once been so large was now down to two. I looked at the crystals embedded into the wall. Only two of the several hundred in the wall glowed. The first looked like a dying ember. The second caused me to pause. It should have been a silver color. The fact that it wasn't tore at my already ruined heart. The midnight blue crystal was small. It seemed that while my sister was no longer alive, I wasn't completely alone.
"Oh, who are you?" Turning around I found a young filly with a midnight blue coat. Two parts of her appearance made me stop. She had a bat pony's eyes, but a horn sat in the middle of her forehead. While she didn't have wings it still made me worry. "Are you the other crystal?" She asked.
"Yes, my name is Crimson Bolt. Please call me Bolt," I said trying to bow a difficult thing to do missing a rear leg.
"Oh, my here let me," she said as her horn started to glow. I felt a tingling feeling on my stump. She stuck her tongue out as she tried harder. Looking back I was surprised to find that her magic wasn't just getting sucked away by my crystals. Tears welled in her eyes as she stopped.
"Don't worry little one with how I lost my leg it won't be coming back," I said. She suddenly perked up as if remembering something.
"Prince Discord..."
"Discord," I couldn't stop the pure hatred that filled my voice and me along with it. Discord a draconequus that once ruled this land. A mad soul that tormented and enslaved. I was suddenly taken out of my thoughts as a bucket of ice cold water was poured over me.
"Sorry Uncle Bolt but you caught...Fire? It was Black through." I couldn't help the laughter that had replaced the hate. She looked at me like I had gone mad.
"I'm sorry little one, but you remind me so much like my sister. Although she probably would have used snow or ice."
"Yeah, Mama would have." She looked down and I suddenly realized what she had been saying. I have a niece. I Have a niece!!! I pulled her into a hug and held her as she cried into my chest. The sound of the door opening and closing caused me to look up. Looking up I looked at Shining Armor shaking off snow. He set his gear on the bench by the door.
"So you've met Lily shield. Lily could you please go get your uncle something to dry off with," Shining asked. She nodded and trotted off. "Crim why... why didn't you..."
"Shiny," I started and a thought hit me. The crystals on my spine glowed briefly then my mane started to undo itself. The black crystals that lined down my back. Shiny's eyes grew big. "Five years as a lab rat and another trapped like how you found me after I died the first time. Then it took three more to learn to control and figure out what I had become. The last year I spent in a land far from here helping them rebuild their kingdom. My leg and wings have been taken from me, but I gained the ability to absorb magic and then bend it to my own. Although I have a large amount of natural magic that I was born with should I use it... well you saw the results of that. There has been so much blood shed along the path I have traveled these many long years. The blood of friends and enemies alike as well as much of my own. Its a wonder that I haven't drowned in it all yet. The pony that left a Knight has returned a monster."
"Crim what did they do to you?" Shiny's eyes looked me over again and again. His trained eyes picking up the hidden scars and the hairline cracks in my hooves. The slight dull look in my left eye. "Your wings..."
"Ripped from my back during our escape... my escape... my death... our deaths."
"Your death?"
"I got better," I laughed. He glared at me and the laugher died in my throat. "That crystalized state you found me in happens because of one of two or both things happened. The first is that,I used my own magic instead of that of which I borrowed from others. The second and much more dangerous is that I am killed in battle. When I die because one of the experiments I had endured, they combined me with an extremely rare type of phoenix. The Shadow Fire Phoenix was bonded with me. These crystals were one of the first experiments. They bonded them to every bone I have. They forcibly poured magic into me after. Then they used the crystals to bond the phoenix to me. It wasn't the only thing they bonded to me. The others went through similar things... Not all of us survived them. In between experiments they treated us piss poorly and often used us as entertainment..." I stopped as I heard Lily returning. She carried a couple of towels and dragged something that made my breath catch in my throat. Shiny saw the black metal leg that she dragged with her magic.
"I got some towels and I found a leg," She said with a smile. Shiny picked up the towels with his magic and threw them over me. I chuckled and dried my self off. Suddenly I felt something clamped down around my stump. My eyes grew huge as it dawned on me what it was. I tried to tell them to stop but my voice turned into a howl of pain as the prosthetic leg locked in. Six control rods drove deep into my flesh and locked into one another. If it was anypony else they would have passed out because of the pain. They were supposed to be out already when it happened. "Uncle are you alright!?!?!?"
"I'm fine just never thought I'd be wearing one of Mom's prototypes. However it will need some work, she never did finish it." Black sparks flowed down the leg covering it. They disappeared leaving a black armored leg that fit perfectly. I tried it out walking around in small circles.
"Crim, please stay the night with me and Cadence. After all the last train for this week left about ten minutes ago."
"Sure..." the sound of slamming and clangs rang out. "Celestia's plot, lock down! Now what could it be?"
