The Warden: Part 1, Return of The Warden

Chapters

Chapter 1: Uninvited And Unexpected
Chapter 2: Uncomfortable Truth
Chapter 3: Another Confrontation
Chapter 4: A Considerate Enemy
Chapter 5: No Holding Back
Chapter 6: Harmony Or Vengeance
Chapter 7: Of Forgiveness And Friendship
Prologue: Meeting Her Match

Chapter 1: Uninvited And Unexpected

Over a thousand years later...

Sunlight streamed into the reading room, filling the space with a warm, golden glow. Luxurious carpeting covered the floor and several tapestries hung from the walls, the adornments giving the room a regal atmosphere. Through the windows, the golden spires of Canterlot Castle could be seen towering above the mountainside city below. All along the walls, shelves filled with books and scrolls lined the circular space.

At the center of the room, three ponies sat upon rather plush looking cushions, each reading something.

To one side, Princess Celestia lay, reading a gilded book of considerable size. Her brilliant, multicolored mane and tail gently billowed, sparkling and shining. Her golden chestpiece and tiara reflected the sunlight beaming in, only adding to her regal presence.

To the other side, remaining beyond the sunbeams, was Princess Luna; who was reading an old looking scroll, her piercing gaze ruthlessly dissecting the text in front of her. Her mane and tail sparkled with dozens of points of light, looking as if stars had been taken straight from the night sky and placed there in a dazzling array.

Between the two princesses lay Twilight, whose head was nearly enveloped in a book. Her smaller stature and relatively dull mane contrasted greatly from the alicorns alongside her, almost making it seem as if she did not belong alongside such regal company.

The three sat reading in near silence, only making sound with the occasional turning of a page, a change of posture, or a subdued sigh.

For Twilight, it was the perfect atmosphere for reading, as could be indicated by a small, neatly stacked pile of completed books standing alongside her. While the two sisters were quite relaxed, Twilight was visibly excited, her eyes and mind swiftly taking in all the knowledge she possibly could.

After a while, she finished the book before her, and her thoughts instantly shifted to what book she should start next. Without thinking, she slammed the finished book shut, sending out a resounding thud around the once quiet chamber.

She cringed, all but certain that she had disrupted the Princesses. Slowly, she turned her head towards Princess Luna, hoping that she somehow didn't take notice.

The princess, however, was gazing right at her, irritation indicated by her narrowed eyes and clear frown.

Twilight felt her stomach twist. So much for her not noticing.

'Eh, hehe…' Twilight quietly laughed awkwardly, giving an equally awkward grin. 'Uh, sorry.'

Still frowning, Luna sighed, rolled her eyes, and turned back to her scroll.

Twilight then looked to Princess Celestia, hoping that she was not annoyed like Luna. As she looked to her mentor, she noticed that the princess was also looking directly at her.

However, a gentle smile was on her face, and her eyes showed no indication of irritation. Twilight relaxed somewhat, now knowing that she was not irritated at all. In fact, she looked perfectly happy.

'Is that another book done, Twilight?' Celestia inquired. 'That makes five since we started.'

'Well, I hope you didn't expect anything less from me.' Quipped Twilight, having been put at ease by her mentor's easygoing manner. 'You had to have known that I would go into overdrive when presented with such an opportunity.'

Celestia playfully glanced upwards, putting a hoof to her chest in mock surprise. 'Why, how could I have possibly expected that Equestria's most avid reader would have gotten excited about having a whole morning to read from the Royal Sisters' private collection?'

Twilight giggled, fully understanding that she knew very well just how amazing it was for her to be given such an opportunity.

Celestia resumed a more relaxed posture, and continued.

'However, if I am being honest, this was the least that me and my sister could do before you return to Ponyville tomorrow. After how you saved Princess Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding, and overcame Chrysalis, you deserve some time to unwind.'

'Indeed, young Twilight.' Luna added, looking at her with a far less intimidating expression than before. 'Understanding your affection for reading, we came to the conclusion that thou would enjoy a day amongst our favorite selection of literary works.'

Twilight nodded, reflecting on the events of the past few days. It was all such a frenzy; finding out about the wedding, calling out Chrysalis, helping to defeat her, and taking part in the wedding itself. She did need a break before going back home, and the sisters' decision to allow her access to their collection of books was an excellent way of showing thanks.

'You were correct to reach such a conclusion, Princess Luna.' Agreed Twilight. 'I cannot thank you both enough for this!'

'Please, Twilight.' Celestia responded. 'This is our way of expressing thanks.'

Twilight nodded, and she felt thankful that she had a mentor who knew her so well.

She was practically flawless in Twilight's eyes. After all, she was the very embodiment of goodness, light, and unity! She banished Nightmare Moon against all odds, and led Equestria by herself for an entire millenium! Her achievements and feats were both numerous and legendary. There was also the fact that nopony could quite match her immense regality and dazzling beauty. Truly, nopony could hope to compare to the unique and legendary Princess Celestia!

Yet, she was far more than a ruler to Twilight. She was also a teacher, wise and knowledgeable in many matters. She was a mentor, understanding and engaged in Twilight's development. She was a role model, disciplined and always striving for excellence.

Most of all, though, she was a friend. Sure, she was also a princess, deserving respect from Twilight, but they both shared a special bond that exists only between a caring teacher and a reverent student.

The princess never lied to her, nor did she ever do anything to hurt her. Twilight knew that she could trust her with her life. It was because of this trust that Twilight had gotten so far, and she felt ease knowing that trust would never be breached.

Then Twilight felt a distressing thought come to mind. She could make a very, very long list of all of her own shortcomings. When compared to Princess Celestia, she was deeply flawed.

Why did the princess even take her on as a student to begin with? She had no hope of ever matching the princess' perfection.

Without intending to do so, Twilight's thoughts began to run out of control, spiraling into a maelstrom of anxiety and self depreciation.

She remembered one time when Celestia told her that the goal of any good teacher is to help their students become better than them.

How could she hope to be better than her? Would this mean that she would disappoint Princess Celestia by not meeting her expectations? Would she make the princess feel like a failure?

'Twilight? You look troubled; what's wrong?'

Celestia's question interrupted her sharp spiral into heavy thoughts. In a silent panic, Twilight realized that she would much rather keep her thoughts to herself, and came up with a lie.

'Oh! I was thinking about Queen Chrysalis, and if she could possibly be reformed.' Twilight blurted, hoping that her diversion had worked.

Princess Celestia tilted her head a bit, as if she were shifting her train of thought. A brand new fusilade of worries assaulted Twilight. Did the princess buy her bluff?

After a few agonizing moments, the princess spoke. 'Well, I wouldn't say it's likely to happen at the moment.' The princess remarked. 'But who's to say that it can't?'

Twilight felt a surge of relief, then an immense curiosity. Despite the fact that she had only brought up the changeling queen as a diversion, she felt an urge to see what the princess' thoughts were on the subject. After all, she didn't want to dwell on her inevitable failure to surpass the princess.

'You think it's possible?' She asked, immediately coming to the realization that she had perhaps come across as being skeptical. 'Uh- I mean, I think it can be done, but how?'

'Well, it would require somepony to show her unconditional love, for one thing.' The princess answed.

Twilight nodded, understanding. 'Like Fluttershy giving Discord a second chance and giving him the benefit of a doubt when nopony else would?'

'Yes, something like that.' Celestia said, taking on a thoughtful expression. 'Although I would expect that she would require both a lot more time and a much more drastic action.'

'A more drastic action? Like what?'

'Well, forgiveness for instance.' Celestia explained. 'It is a very powerful thing, capable of allowing both the offender and the victim to heal and move on.'

'Hmm.' Twilight murmured, thoroughly engaged in the subject now. 'I somehow doubt Shining and Cadence would be willing to do so right now.'

'Well, you can't force anypony to forgive, although I think that with time, they will find it in their hearts to do so.' The princess explained. 'That is one of the things that makes forgiveness so special; it is meant to be completely unconditional. When given in a genuine manner, it is one of the greatest acts of unconditional love that can ever be performed, capable of healing even the most grievous of wrongs.'

'Like how we forgave Princess Luna?'

Celestia smiled, nodded, and looked at her younger sister. 'Yes, and that has enabled her to put the past behind her and heal, isn't that right Luna?'

Luna, who had resumed reading her scroll, immediately stopped and looked at Celestia with a peculiar expression.

'Oh, um… Yes, of course.' She said hesitantly, putting the scroll back down. A bit of sadness flashed in her eyes before she glanced downwards towards the floor.

It seemed to Twilight that Luna didn't seem entirely convinced by her own answer.

'Do pardon me.' Luna sighed. 'It is getting to be rather late for me, and I must retire to my chamber.'

'Of course, sister.' Celestia replied, looking as if she had realized that she had said something that she wished she hadn't. 'I did not intend to keep you up so late in the morning.'

'It is of little consequence, sister. I enjoyed my time here with thou and young Twilight.' Luna said as she strode towards the door.

When she got to the doorway, she stopped, looking as if she had forgotten something. She looked back at Twilight after a moment, giving a barely visible smile.

'Pray, don't worry about the slamming of the book. I can understand your excitement.'

Twilight visibly relaxed, bowing her head. 'Thank you, Princess Luna.' She chimed, relieved to see that the younger princess didn't actually seem to think much of the disturbance earlier.

'Go get some rest, Luna. I’ll see you at sundown.' Celestia added, to which her younger sister nodded.

Upon bidding the two farewell, Luna turned back around and walked out. As she left, she gave a subdued sigh, her smile turned into a frown, and her gaze fell to the floor. Twilight noticed all of this, pondering why she looked so meloncholy after appearing in relatively high spirits mere moments before.

A few seconds after Luna disappeared into the hall outside, Twilight looked up at the remaining princess. 'Princess Celestia, can I ask you something?'

The princess nodded. 'Of course.'

'Is it just me, or does Princess Luna just become more…'

Twilight’s question trailed off as she got stuck, trying to summon the word she was looking for. However, Celestia replied before she could finish.

'Saddened?'

Twilight nodded.

'I'm afraid so.' Celestia sighed. 'Why do you ask this?'

Taking a moment to pause, Twilight thought of her response.

'I guess I just wanted to confirm that I was not the only one who noticed.'

'I noticed as well.' Celestia replied somberly. 'I fear that she still fails to grasp the true nature of forgiveness, and that nopony is truly beyond being forgiven.'

'Is that because of her time as Nightmare Moon?' Twilight asked, looking somber as well. 'But I thought that she learned that her subjects loved her last Nightmare Night! I thought that had helped her grapple with her guilt.'

Celestia nodded again. 'Dealing with that much guilt is not quite that simple, I'm afraid. True, I remember how oddly upbeat she was following that night. I can only imagine how much it meant for her to finally see her subjects love her for who she is.'

She sighed again, turning to one of several tapestries hanging on the walls, looking upon its depiction of Celestia and Luna flying in harmony, balancing day with night. Twilight saw deep sadness in Celestia's eyes, and she felt her own heart sink as the princess continued.

'But despite that, the guilt she carries is not going to completely disappear. She has suffered much, grappling with what has happened in the past. Stars above, she has suffered…'

Twilight and Celestia both fell into a thoughtful silence, with the former breaking the silence.

'But she must be healing though, right? Surely her improving spirits indicate that she is moving on.'

Celestia shook her head slowly, looking back at her. 'I don’t know for sure, Twilight. I’m not the best at hiding my emotions, unlike her.'

Twilight nodded and sighed sadly. She wanted to believe that Luna was doing fine and was healing, but if Celestia wasn’t certain that she was actually healing from her painful past, how could she be as well?

'Excuse me for asking,' Twilight requested, feeling another question arise; 'but what was she like before… Well, before her fall?'

Celestia glanced at Twilight with a peculiar expression. She was not prepared for such a question.

'Well,' The princess began, 'she was a lot more energetic. She looked forward to every night, eager to perform her duty and look after her subjects.'

Celestia sighed, and after a moment of looking at the tapestry once again, she resumed. 'Of course, that changed as time went on, but that was not her fault…'

Her voice trailed off, and she fell silent. Then she stood up, towering above her student as she strode to a window, looking at the golden spires outside. The sunlight reflected off of her, amplifying her already brilliant coat, mane, and tail.

Twilight stood up as well, and looked at the tapestry, deep in thought. She felt no small amount of sympathy for both Celestia and Luna, wondering if it would ever be possible for her to truly understand the pain that the sisters had undergone.

Princess Luna, despite her outward stoicism and occasional harshness, was very much caring of her subjects. After all, she watches over all ponykind as they sleep every night, guiding and looking out for them. In some ways, she seemed to understand more about their innermost feelings and emotions than her older sister did. Not only that, but in spite of the tension that occurs between her and Celestia, Luna clearly loved her sister dearly.

It had to have hurt Princess Luna deeply to grapple with the fact that she both failed her subjects and tried to do away with her own sister as Nightmare Moon. Despite everypony coming to forgive her, Luna definitely still felt great guilt.

Was it because she struggled to forgive herself?

Celestia then spoke, interrupting Twilight's train of thought and sounding far less saddened.

'You know, I think that your brother and Princess Cadence would enjoy seeing you one more time before you go back. You should go visit them later.'

Twilight's face became a little flushed. She still hadn't quite gotten entirely used to the fact that her brother and her former foalsitter were on their honeymoon. After pushing some awkward thoughts out of her mind, she mustered the clarity to speak.

'Um… Are you sure they would be open to visitors? I mean, hardly anypony has seen either of them since the reception.'

Celestia smiled reassuringly. 'They've had a few days to themselves. I think it would be fine for you to go over to see them.'

Twilight nodded and took a breath.

'Right. Uh… Yes. Of course, they would be happy to see me before I go.'

Just then, Twilight's stomach audibly growled. Hearing this, Celestia looked a little concerned.

'Goodness! It must be lunchtime already. Perhaps you would be better off eating before you go visit.'

Twilight almost looked disappointed, glancing at the unread books surrounding the room. This likely meant that she would have to leave all these interesting looking books indefinitely. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to remain a little longer. She hadn't read any of these books before, and the allure of them was quite intense.

But, after taking a moment to get her priorities in order, she looked back to Princess Celestia.

'Yes, I should. As painful as it is to part ways with these books, I would much rather eat and see Shining Armor and Cadence again.'

Celestia nodded in agreement, and Twilight turned to walk out, expecting the princess to follow. However, she paused and looked back when she didn't hear the princess following her. Instead, Celestia had moved to Twilight's pile of finished books, and was in the process of putting them away.

'You're not coming?' Twilight asked, sounding a little confused.

Celestia shook her head.

'I'm thinking of taking a nap, actually. You go on ahead, Twilight. I'll eat later.'

Twilight tilted her head, narrowing her eyes. This prompted Celestia to wonder what was going through her mind.

'Is something the matter?'

'I'm not sure.' Twilight mused, before a wry smile played across her lips. 'Are you saying that the Princess of the Sun actually takes naps? Are you sure you're Princess Celestia?'

The princess relaxed, now smiling again as she thought up a witty reply. 'Well, give it another fifteen to twenty years. You'll come to understand how magical a power nap can be.'

Twilight nodded. Although Celestia was being humorous, she had a point. Even for an alicorn, Princess Celestia was not young. She was unsure exactly how old the princess was, but she had the characteristics of a pony who had grown out of being middle aged, but was not close to being considered elderly; not unlike Twilight's own parents.

'Now go on,' Celestia chided, making a shooing motion with one of her hooves. 'before you get any hungrier.'

Twilight nodded and began to walk out, her thoughts having now drifted towards how much she was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed at the library once more, with her friends only a stone's throw away once again. She felt her mind slow down as these relaxing thoughts soothed her soul.

However, these serene thoughts ended when a harsh crash reverberated from well beyond the doorway, followed by frantic cries.

'Hey! Halt!' 'Catch it!' 'It's too fast!'

Twilight froze in place, and looked to Princess Celestia with an expression of confusion and general alarm. The princess stiffened, her eyes fixed on the doorway as she calmly yet firmly gave an order.

'Twilight, get behind me.'

She did not hesitate to obey, immediately sheltering behind the princess. Her mind was racing, dozens of scenarios rushing through at a time.

Did something breach the castle? Was it a remaining changeling? Was it something worse? This possibility sent chills down her spine, and her breathing grew more intense as overwhelming thoughts ran through her mind.

'Twilight, take some deep breaths. Whatever it is, we'll handle it.' Celestia instructed, having noticed her anxiety.

Twilight looked up, and saw Princess Celestia gazing back at her, her very presence exuding an atmosphere of confidence and regality. As instructed, she took a few deep breaths, regaining some composure. Whatever was coming, the most powerful alicorn in Equestria's history was ready to shield her from it. What did she have to fear?

The commotion grew even louder, and Celestia lowered her stance, ready to defend against the cause of the disturbance if need be.

Then, a small metallic streak entered the room with a whir, and Celestia's horn instantly began to glow, ready to meet the intruder.

The streak came to a swift halt, revealing itself as an odd looking object hovering in front of the princess.

Twilight immediately peered out from behind Celestia, and began to visually inspect the strange object. It appeared to be some sort of flying machine, only a bit larger than one of her hooves. It was metal in construction, and consisted of a spherical main body, with four small arms protruding out, each ending in an upwards facing propeller. There was no magical aura around any of its mechanisms, meaning that the device was not powered by magic.

Both she and Celestia stood still, staring at the machine with apprehension. Each was unable to fully understand how to react. It was so strange, and neither pony had quite seen anything quite like it before.

Then, mere seconds after the thing had flown in, three guards came crashing in, exhausted and looking a bit battered. For the first time since the machine came in, Princess Celestia turned her attention away and shot an irritated look towards the guards.

'Well?' She asked. 'What is going on?'

The three guards snapped to attention, still breathing heavily and looking ashamed at the realization that they had failed to keep the object away from the princess.

The highest ranking one, a pegasus, bowed and spoke. 'A thousand apologies, your royal highness. This- This thing appeared at the gate, and demanded an audience with you and Princess Luna. We told it you were not available at the moment, and that it had to wait. Then it just flew in and led us on a chase around the castle until it found you. It was so small and fast, we could not catch it. It even evaded our magic spells, somehow.'

'Hm.' Celestia murmured, now looking less irritated and more perplexed. Just like Twilight, she was trying to process this strange occurrence.

After a few seconds, she spoke. 'You said it wanted an audience?'

'Er- Yes your highness. But if you desire, we can arrest it instead.'

Celestia paused, and Twilight could tell that she was weighing her options. After a few moments of deliberation, she spoke.

'That won't be necessary at the moment, lieutenant. If it broke into my castle for an audience, then it probably has something important to say. Besides, I don't know how you would even go about arresting something like that.'

Twilight silently applauded the extraordinary display of patience and thoughtfulness by her mentor. Even after having been interrupted from a rest by an intruder which bypassed the royal guard, she still was calm and considerate enough to hear what it had to say.

'The floor is yours,' Celestia said to the machine. 'say what you must.'

The object then spoke, its voice sounding like it belonged to a male.

'Very well.' It said, sounding angry with a mechanical undertone. 'What do you have to say for yourself?'

This opening remark by the machine caught all present by surprise. The guards shot surprised and angry glances at it, while Twilight felt no small degree of indignation on the behalf of the princess. What in Equestria was that remark for?

'Excuse me?' The princess asked calmly.

'Don't play dumb.' The machine continued, its voice laced with a disturbingly calm, cold, and hateful tone. 'You know damn well what you did.'

Princess Celestia shook her head, expressing confusion. 'I'm sorry, I fail to understand. What did I do to deserve such harsh words?'

'I told you to quit playing dumb, princess. The truth will come out soon enough, despite your best efforts to bury the evidence of your tyrannical ways.'

Twilight saw Celestia stiffen a little at this statement, as if the machine had struck a nerve. She still maintained a calm aura, but Twilight could see that it was no longer completely genuine. She couldn't blame her.

'Tyrannical?' Celestia asked, not missing a beat. 'Are you not from around here? I'm afraid you are quite mistaken.'

The machine scoffed. 'I was born and raised in Equestria, albeit against your whims. No, there is no mistake.'

'What in Equestria was it going on about?' Twilight wondered. 'Why is it being so hostile?'

The princess took a silent, yet deep breath. It was clear to Twilight that she was trying to think of a way to deescalate this. What was the machine trying to accomplish by insinuating this to begin with, anyway? The very thought that Princess Celestia was ever a poor ruler, much less a tyrant, was ridiculous! Twilight had been over the entire history of Equestria again and again, including the life and times of Princess Celestia. All throughout her lifetime, the princess had never once acted as a tyrant. Whatever the machine was on about, surely it was false.

She began to feel an urge to speak up and make an effort to perhaps dissuade it. Maybe it was confused or simply misunderstood something.

'Um, excuse me, but I'm afraid there is a misunderstanding here.' Twilight interjected, stepping sideways away from the princess.

Princess Celestia glanced down at Twilight, and the machine turned towards the younger mare as she continued.

'You see, Princess Celestia's conduct has always been admirable, and that is a proven fact in many authoritative history records and books. If you think that Princess Celestia has abused her power, I'm afraid that you may have been getting your information from a faulty source.'

Celestia smiled slightly, and nodded at her student, silently thanking her for stepping up. Twilight smiled back, and looked at the machine, awaiting a response.

'There are things that can overrule even the most reliable books.' The machine replied bluntly.

Twilight's eyebrows sunk a little, showing her skepticism as the machine continued.

'Even the most authoritative records cannot convince me that what I have seen with my own eyes is false.'

Twilight pondered what he was saying. Was he claiming to have personally seen Celestia acting like a tyrant in the distant past? Such a statement seemed entirely preposterous, and the princess seemed to think so as well.

'I fail to see how you can back up that claim.' Celestia said in a matter of fact manner. 'Who are you, that you claim to have seen me rule in such a way?'

'Somepony whom you thought was disposed of.' The machine answered.

With a whir, the machine then shifted towards a nearby wall. Then, a small but intense light was projected by it, and an image appeared on the wall.

Celestia gasped, and took a step back. Twilight watched as her expression immediately turned to that of sheer shock.

Then, she looked at the image herself, wondering what it was that had shaken Celestia so badly. The image was that of an armored pony, entirely encased in shining, metal armor. Plates of metal covered his limbs and body, and an inner layer of segmented armor covered what the larger plates did not. Two metal wings lay folded at his sides, triangular in shape and divided into two sections each. However, the most striking feature of all was the helmet. It concealed his entire head, and two glowing visors covered his eyes. They glowed with an intense green hue, almost reminiscent of Queen Chrysalis.

Twilight shuddered, remembering the whole debacle with Chrysalis that had happened only a few days prior. But at least she was a living, breathing thing; Something that was somewhat natural. The visage being projected hardly seemed alive. It was hard for her to explain why. Perhaps it was the fact that she could not tell if the armor even contained a pony within, or the lifeless visors staring soullessly at Celestia.

Regardless, the thing that unsettled Twilight the most was Princess Celestia's reaction. Clearly, she was experiencing genuine surprise. In fact, she almost appeared fearful.

After a few moments, Celestia quietly stuttered a singular word.

'W-Warden?'

'Yours truly.' The armored pony replied in a dry manner. 'It must be surprising to see me again, considering the lengths you went through to get rid of me.'

Celestia took a shaky breath as she tried to find the focus required to speak coherently.

'Wha- You're alive? How did-'

Celestia fell into a stunned silence, and glanced down at her student for a split second. Twilight saw an expression in her eyes that she had never seen from Celestia before.

It was that of helplessness.

Twilight felt herself go a bit numb. She immediately understood what her teacher was feeling, having felt just as helpless during Chrysalis' incursion.

However, the realization that Princess Celestia, the single most powerful pony in all of Equestria, was at a loss for what to do was far more disturbing. Her reaction spoke volumes. This 'Warden' must certainly be far more than some inconsequential foe, Twilight reasoned.

After a few more seconds of stunned silence, the princess' mouth curled into a steely frown, and a bit of determination flashed in her eyes. Celestia stood up straight, stared down the projection, and took a step forward.

'What do you want, Warden? Why all the hostility?'

'Isn't it obvious?' He asked. 'You know what I want; for you to receive justice for enabling Nightmare Moon to do what she did.'

Celestia fell silent, and Twilight wondered if he was suggesting that Luna fell because of her. She knew that the sisters' relationship was strained back then, sure. But to insinuate that Celestia deliberately forced Luna to succumb to Nightmare Moon was ridiculous.

After a few seconds, the princess spoke again. 'I banished her after she fell, like you told me to. It was what needed to be done, after all. Since I never saw you after our last encounter, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you never found out.'

'Hm. Being legalistic about this, aren't you?' The Warden asked scathingly. 'As if adherence to our deal changes anything.'

'I thought we agreed to move on from this!' She exclaimed. 'Do you not remember?'

'I do.' He replied. 'But you violated my trust in a way that only a power hungry coward would do.'

'What?' Celestia asked. 'I did what I had to do! I never turned back on our agreement!'

'Stop trying to save face in front of your naive protégé.' Said the Warden, motioning towards Twilight, who felt some indignation at being referred to in such a way. 'You can't escape the consequences of your past. You might as well own up while you still have the chance.'

'I have nothing left to own up to.' Celestia retorted, beginning to sound angry. 'My past is behind me, and I have grown far wiser since then. The same can be said for Luna. We are not deserving of such hostility.'

'As if that claim entitles you to escape justice.' The Warden growled. 'Just because you have supposedly changed does not mean that either of you are any less deserving of punishment.'

She saw Celestia's jaw become set as she struggled to suppress her anger.

'Don't drag my sister into this.' She uttered, taking a deep breath. 'Princess Luna bears the burden of what she did, and regrets what happened that night. She does not deserve any further punishment.'

'Regret is meaningless if responsibility is not taken.' The Warden snarled.

Celestia's eyes narrowed again, seeming to pierce into the projection as her anger showed yet again. 'I don't think you understood. She is trying to move on. She has been accepted by her subjects, and has been forgiven for her past misdeeds.'

'That's irrelevant.' The Warden said bluntly. 'I will see to it that the penalty for her evil is exacted as well.'

Twilight saw Celestia's eyes widen in barely repressed fury. It was understandable, for Twilight also felt no small degree of anger stirring within herself now. His accusations were cruel, to say in the least, especially considering how much Luna was struggling with her guilt.

'What is this punishment, anyway?' The princess asked scathingly.

'Death for both of you, obviously.'

'What!?' Celestia gasped, a mixture of fear, anger, and despair evident in her voice. 'You dare to take the roles of judge, jury and executioner, then have the gall to threaten us for misdeeds which have been forgiven? The only pony here that deserves to be punished here is you.'

'Oh, quit your idiotic charade already!' The Warden barked. 'You are just as hypocritical as you were back then. You both did the exact same thing to me, and you think yourselves immune because you think of yourselves as being forgiven? Unbelievable.'

Celestia fell silent, not giving an immediate reply. When she did speak next, her voice was furious, yet subdued, a combination which practically made Twilight's mane stand up straight. She had never heard this tone from her in all the years that she had known her. Princess Celestia was actually struggling to keep her anger under control.

'You know, I once thought you could be trusted.' The princess said. 'I guess I am an idiot; An idiot for trusting a wretch such as yourself.'

The Warden seemed to tense up upon Celestia's harsh response. 'Bold words from a pony who has rendered both her and her sister's lives forfeit.'

This was too much for Celestia.

'Enough!' She shouted, swiftly picking up one of her forehooves and slamming it into the floor with a sharp crack, sending reverberations throughout the room. Twilight and the present guards all flinched, the sound of the angry outburst catching them by surprise.

Celestia was breathing heavily now, the degree of wrath in her eyes unlike anything that Twilight had ever seen before. Even her mane and tail, which normally billowed gently, seemed to be moving more aggressively.

After a period of silence, the princess closed her eyes and regained some of her composure. Then, speaking in a chilling, angry voice, she resumed.

'If you make a single move to harm my sister, I will find you again. I've done it once, I can do it again. This time, I know exactly what to expect.'

An incredibly uneasy silence took over the room once again, as the encounter seemed to reach its flashpoint.

'There is no need, Princess.' The Warden said, sounding calmer.

Twilight felt a lot of the tension leave her body once she heard this from him. Could it be that he was conceding? Even Celestia seemed to relax slightly.

'I know where to find you. Canterlot is not exactly hard to find.' The Warden continued, destroying the false sense of relief of the ponies present in an instant. 'I'll save you the trouble and come to Canterlot myself.'

Twilight felt her stomach twist. This was not what she was hoping for at all.

Celestia's ears drooped and her eyes widened for a moment, briefly revealing terror as the Warden went on.

'You have roughly thirty minutes. When I arrive, I will make Nightmare Moon pay in blood for what she has done, and do the same to you for your betrayal.'

The princess once again took on a firm and angry expression, and worked up the courage to speak.

'Then you had better come expecting a fight. As I said before, I know how to fight you now. I will not make it easy, nor will you touch my sister without me fighting you to the last.'

'So be it. It will not be the first time I've dealt a defeat to you.' The Warden said ominously, pausing before continuing. 'Remember your scar?' He asked, motioning to his chest. 'I promised you that I would kill you the next time you crossed me. I am going to make well on that promise. This time, I will end you.'

Twilight saw Celestia put a hoof to her breastplate, and she wondered why her mentor had done so.

The projection then swiftly faded, and the Warden disappeared from view. The flying machine then darted out of the room, zipping past the guards before they could react.

In mere seconds, the exchange was over. In the moments that followed, nopony uttered a single word. As seconds passed, Twilight's mind became increasingly mired in an effort to understand what had just happened. Princess Celestia took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and sat down with a shudder, allowing the stress that had been building within her to finally diffuse. Then, she spoke quietly under her breath as she put a hoof to her face.

'Why is he doing this? How is he back?'

After saying this, she put her hoof down and looked to Twilight, who was meekly looking at her.

'Princess Celestia?' Twilight asked, trying to find some form of reassurance.

Celestia looked straight into her student's eyes, and once again Twilight could see fear in them. She began to feel numb once again. This was not good, judging by the princess' reaction.

The guard officer, who had been standing alongside the other two guards during the entire confrontation, then spoke.

'Your highness, what are your orders?'

Celestia raised her head, and her whole countenance shifted, no longer appearing to be fearful, but rather determined. She stood up to her full height, towering above Twilight and the guards.

'I want all available guards mustered in the courtyard in full armor immediately, and the chariot ready for a flight to Ponyville and back.' Celestia ordered, her voice exuding a commanding aura. 'I also want Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor moved out of their suite and into the safe room until this is over, and for Princess Luna to join them as well. Go!'

The guards saluted in response, and ran back out into the hall as Celestia beckoned for Twilight. 'Come, Twilight. We're getting the elements of harmony.'

Twilight nodded, and the two swiftly exited the reading room, with the princess in the lead.

Chapter 2: Uncomfortable Truth

Twilight did her best to keep pace with Princess Celestia as they navigated the castle grounds. Guards were already rushing about, clamoring and shouting orders to one another.

The princess had not said a single word since they had left the reading room. Her gaze was fixed in the direction in which they were headed; towards the tower where the Elements of Harmony were stored.

Twilight still had many questions swirling within her mind. However, Princess Celestia's jarring display of anger and fear during the confrontation made her question the wisdom of asking. She didn't seem to be in the best of moods.

On the other hand, the princess had always taught her to not be afraid to ask her questions. Over the years, Twilight had asked numerous questions that she was afraid to ask. But the princess always answered to the best of her ability, and in a way which defused Twilight's anxiety. Such was the case mere minutes before, when she was asking Celestia about Luna. Indeed, the princess had given her no reason to fear, and was always open and truthful.

Yet something just did not sit right about her reaction towards the Warden. For the most powerful pony in Equestria to show such fear, that could only mean that the Warden was a very grave threat.

All this only made Twilight's need for some answers grow even more powerful. As the two approached the tower doors, she gathered the courage to ask.

'Princess Celestia? Who was that?'

'An old…' Celestia paused, as if she were thinking of a way to finish her answer as truthfully as possible. 'An old enemy, from an age long past. He is known as the Warden.'

She fell silent, her body language telling Twilight that she was anxious. Still, the need for answers only intensified.

'Are you okay? You looked a bit nervous back there.' She asked, hoping that downplaying Celestia's reaction would encourage her to be a bit more at ease.

'I'm fine, Twilight.' Celestia replied, this time looking at her student. 'I was… taken a bit off guard is all.'

She fell silent once more, and Twilight sensed that she was still not comfortable talking about him. She also suspected that the princess was also downplaying her own reaction. The expressions of fear and anger that Twilight had witnessed was far more than that of simple surprise.

They continued to stride along swiftly, shortly reaching the tower in which the Elements of Harmony were stored. As they paused at the door, Celestia sighed.

'You saw right through that answer, did you not?'

Twilight took a second or two to decide how to respond, finally deciding to be truthful. She nodded, feeling her stomach twist slightly upon realizing that Celestia had seen straight through her unspoken doubts.

'Of course…' The princess murmured while using her magic to open the tower doors. 'He is dangerous, Twilight. More dangerous than most. I didn't fear him at one time, until I learned to do so almost at the expense of my own life.'

She began to walk into the tower, Twilight following close behind, feeling more questions arise. Did the Warden almost kill her at some point? She had to ask.

'You've fought him before?'

The princess nodded. 'Yes, and I was completely at his mercy in seconds.'

Twilight tried to think of a logical explanation for that statement. How in Equestria could Princess Celestia lose a fight in mere moments, never mind lose a fight in general? She was the princess of the sun, for Faust's sake!

'What? How?' She asked, her tone revealing no small amount of confusion. 'What abilities did he even have to accomplish that?'

'To this day, I am not entirely sure.' The princess replied. 'However, I do suspect that he may possess the ability to bend magic to his will. He used my own magic against me, and had me at swordpoint very quickly.'

'He turned your magic against you?' Twilight exclaimed, her eyes widening. 'That's- I've never heard of anypony or creature who could do that!'

Celestia nodded in agreement. 'Well, I think his armor is to blame for that. It was unlike anything I had ever seen or heard of before.'

Twilight could not agree more. That armor was totally alien to her, looking like some sort of blend of traditional armor and something out of a sci-fi thriller.

'Do you even know who he is?' Twilight could not help but ask, pondering the fact that she could not tell whether or not there was a pony actually wearing the armor.

'I don't know who he is underneath the armor, Twilight.' Celestia admitted. 'All I know is that his ancestors have been a thorn in the side of the throne. I once thought that he was honorable and noble, but that went away when he almost killed me.'

She lifted her hoof to her chest again, just like she did back when the Warden reminded her of a scar. If Princess Celestia did have a scar there, she had never seen it.

'Why did he try to kill you?' Twilight asked, despite her instincts telling her to stop asking so many questions.

'As I said before,' Celestia answered, 'his family was concerned with trying to depose me and my sister. He was merely continuing that legacy, as-'

The Princess fell silent.

'No…' She said under her breath. 'I can't keep doing this...'

'Your highness?' Twilight asked, not hearing what she said. 'What did you say?'

The princess looked briefly at her, and looked away. 'Nothing, Twilight. Never mind.'

Twilight decided that it would be best to stop asking questions. Clearly, the princess didn't want to dwell on the current situation further.

The two strode up to the locked door at the end of the corridor, the doors which sealed away the Elements of Harmony. Princess Celestia paused upon reaching the doors, took a breath, and her horn began to glow, her magic working the intricate lock mechanism within the vault door. After a few seconds, the lock clicked, and the massive doors swung open, revealing the chest containing the Elements of Harmony within.

Celestia used her magic to lift the small wooden chest and bring it to her side. She sighed again, and looked at Twilight, who had been quietly observing.

'Twilight, you don't perceive me as being perfect, do you?' She asked, sounding apprehensive.

This question caught her off guard. Why did she ask her that?

'Well, uh- It's impossible to be perfect, so I suppose not.' Twilight blurted, realizing that she had just lied. Of course the Princess was perfect. Why did she answer otherwise?

Feeling the need to clarify her position and walk back her lie a bit, she continued. 'But I do hold you in the highest regard! Please don't misunderstand.'

'Thank you.' The princess replied, going silent for a few moments before adding; 'If it were revealed that I made a mistake in the distant past, a bad one, would that affect how you perceive me?'

This question struck Twilight as being quite odd. The princess had never asked such questions before. Was she feeling insecure because of the Warden? He had thrown around some crazy accusations after all. Was Princess Celestia afraid of her falling for his ridiculous lies?

'I… Honestly don't know.' She replied. 'I think it would change a bit, but you would still be the pony that I look up to the most.'

'Are you certain? What if my past actions went against everything I have taught you?'

These questions were starting to provoke some serious confusion. Was this some sort of surprise friendship test? This whole hypothetical scenario that she had been presented with was borderline ludicrous. The very idea that Princess Celestia would ever have done something that contradicted the values of friendship was ridiculous. She was practically the spirit of friendship and goodness incarnate!

Besides, if the princess ever did anything like that, she would have told Twilight. Celestia wouldn't want to violate her trust by hiding it, right? That was unthinkable.

'I would still look up to you like I always have!' She replied, wanting to put her mentor at ease. 'Besides, I know that you never would do such a thing, or keep it a secret. You are too smart to simply betray my trust like that!'

The princess, instead of looking relieved like Twilight expected, sighed and began to look a bit forlorn.

'That's what I was afraid of.' She murmured.

'What was she going on about?' Twilight wondered. 'Does she doubt the admiration I hold for her?'

'Come, Twilight.' The princess said quietly, beginning to stride back out towards the tower doors with the chest in tow. 'We have a job to do.'

It suddenly occurred to Twilight that she still didn't understand why they had gathered the elements in the first place. Deciding to put Princess Celestia's questions away for the time being, she gathered her thoughts, and scurried up alongside her.

'Why have we gotten the Elements of Harmony?' She asked, looking inquisitively at the princess. 'If he really can bend magic to his will, can the Elements even be effective?'

Celestia glanced back at Twilight. 'It is a precautionary measure, nothing more. If I am unable to stop the Warden by force, then I will need you and your friends to use the elements on him. As powerful as the magic of friendship is, surely it can find a way if all else fails.'

'Is that why you ordered for the chariot to be readied?' Twilight asked. 'To go for my friends?'

Celestia nodded. 'Yes, and you shall go to Ponyville and back with it.'

Twilight's eyes widened a little. 'You want me to go to Ponyville too? Don't you want me to help here?'

The princess shook her head as they crossed the threshold into the courtyard. 'No. This is likely going to be a nasty fight. Besides, I am the only one who has any experience fighting him.'

'But if the Warden is as dangerous as you say, you are going to need as much help as you can get!' Twilight protested.

Celestia looked sternly at her. 'I said no, Twilight. The best way for you to help is for you to get your friends here with the Elements as quickly as possible.'

Twilight opened her mouth to protest again, but promptly closed it once she realized that Celestia was correct. After all, by herself, she was nowhere as powerful as the princess. But with her friends and the Elements of Harmony, she could be powerful enough to fight the Warden.

The two continued walking along, and Twilight noticed that in the short time in which she and Celestia were in the tower, more guards were visible, and many of them were no longer wearing their elegant, shining ceremonial armor. Instead, they were wearing bulky, heavy combat gear. She had only seen such armor being worn once before, and that was when Shining Armor was showing it off to her once.

Incidentally, where was he in all this?

'Hey! Give us some room to breathe, guys!'

Twilight stopped in her tracks. That was Shining Armor's voice! Celestia stopped as well, and both looked over towards the origin of the annoyed exclamation.

There was a cluster of guards working their way to where they stood, and over the tops of their helmets, Twilight could make out the multicolored mane of Princess Cadence and the striking blue mane of her brother.

When the guards reached them, they stopped and the ranking officer bowed to the princess. 'Your highness, here are Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, as ordered.'

'Is that you, Princess Celestia?' Shining Armor asked loudly. 'Could you please tell them to give us some space?'

Celestia smiled slightly and motioned to the guards to disperse. They swiftly spread out, revealing Shining Armor and Cadence.

Both appeared to be tired and disheveled, and neither had on their usual garb. In fact, it almost looked as if they had just been woken up after a sleepless night, which Twilight awkwardly realized was not an unreasonable conclusion to reach. While Cadence looked more concerned than anything else, her new husband looked quite irate.

'Thank you.' He grumbled, taking a bow alongside Cadence.

Celestia returned the gesture, and stood back up. 'You're going to have to get used to being the one protected rather than being the protector, Prince.' She chided in a surprisingly lighthearted manner.

Shining Armor nodded. 'It doesn't come naturally to me, I'm afraid.'

'Aunt Celestia, what's going on?' Cadence asked with a twinge of fear. 'Is it Chrysalis again?'

'It had better not be…' Shining Armor growled. 'As if manipulating me and swapping places with my beloved was not enough, now she interrupts our honeymoon? I swear, if I catch sight of Chrysalis' hole riddled-'

'It's not Chrysalis,' Celestia interrupted, preventing Shining Armor from continuing his rant. 'but it's somepony who is no less dangerous.'

'Who?' Cadence asked, looking more concerned than ever. 'Who could possibly necessitate such an alert?'

'Somepony named 'The Warden'.' Celestia responded, sounding uncomfortable as she spoke.

'Who's that?' Shining Armor asked, raising an eyebrow. 'In all my time in the guard, I never even heard that name.'

'I never told you about him.' Celestia explained, sounding as if she were admitting something that she rather wouldn't. 'Nor is there any record of him, regrettably.'

With this remark, it just struck Twilight that she did not remember reading anything about the Warden before. Surely if the Warden had almost killed Princess Celestia and possessed a set of magic-bending armor, he deserved at least a passing remark or two in the history books. Yet she never read anything about him.

If Celestia knew about him, and the threat that he posed, why was there no record of him? Did she keep his existence a secret?

Twilight drove that thought from her mind. That was a drastic conclusion to draw. Why would Celestia try to hide something like that from her, much less the entirety of Equestria?

'Why is he threatening us?' Cadence asked.

'He's out for Princess Luna and me.' Celestia replied. 'He is an old enemy of the throne, and he has reappeared.'

She paused for a moment, then continued. 'I would explain further, but you both need to get into the shelter with Princess Luna until this blows over.'

Shining Armor's expression hardened, and Twilight could tell that her brother was not liking the idea of hiding away when a threat was looming.

'Excuse me?' He asked, sounding a bit taken aback. 'I'm not going to hide away when you and your sister are in danger!'

Celestia shook her head. 'This is non-negotiable. If anything happens to me and Luna, Equestria will need capable leaders to take our place.'

The prince opened his mouth, preparing to make his case, but found himself silenced when Princess Cadence put a hoof over his mouth.

'Love, you will not win this argument, trust me.'

Shining Armor sighed and nodded, admitting defeat.

'Very well.' He said, gently brushing his wife's hoof away. His gaze then fell to Twilight, who was silently observing the exchange. 'What about you, Twily? Are you going to shelter with us too?'

Just then, the royal chariot headed by two strong looking pegasi burst out of the castle, rushing up to where Twilight and the others stood. After seeing this and noticing the chest containing the Elements of Harmony, the prince realized what was going on.

'Apparently not.' He sighed, understanding what his sister was going to do. His expression softened, and he walked up to her, closely followed by Cadence. 'I'm sorry for all the stress that you have had to put up with this week, sis. First the marriage, then Chrysalis, and now this.'

Twilight nodded and looked up at her older brother. 'I won't deny that it has been challenging, but neither of you are at fault. You know that, right?'

Shining Armor sighed again. 'Yeah, I do. I still feel guilty that you have been subjected to all this, though.' After a moment's pause, he smirked and put one of his hooves in Twilight's mane, messing it up slightly. 'Just play it as safe as you can, ok Twily?'

Twilight smiled and nodded. 'Of course.'

She then turned to face Princess Celestia, who began to stride towards the nearby chariot. But Twilight hesitated to follow, and looked back to Shining Armor and Cadence.

The weight of the situation had just grown a lot heavier. Were they really safe? If the Warden found the opportunity to strike at Shining Armor and Cadence in addition to Celestia and Luna, would he try to completely decapitate Equestria's leadership? Her gut wrenched with anxiety. It was bad enough that Celestia and Luna were in danger, but the possibility that her brother and new sister-in-law were as well only made it worse.

'We'll be fine, Twilight.' Cadence reassured, noticing the concerned expression on her face. 'Go and save the day.'

Twilight forced a smile and nodded, trying to hide the sheer anxiety welling up inside her. Sensing that the longer she lingered the higher the chance that her emotions would surface, she twirled back around and walked to the chariot, where Princess Celestia was waiting.

'You look worried, Twilight.' Celestia remarked as she gently lowered the chest into the chariot. 'Do not fear. They will be safe.'

Twilight did not feel very reassured. The princess was acting strange, as if she were hiding something. She had been acting like this since the Warden appeared. Twilight didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was piling up.

First it was the confrontation between the princess and the Warden. It seemed as if their history ran deeper than she was letting on.

Then it was Celestia's odd, hypothetical questions to Twilight. They were oddly specific, and they didn't seem like a part of a test.

Lastly, the realization that nopony besides the princess seemed to know of the Warden's existence. If he was such a significant threat, even in the past, then why were there no records of him?

It all didn't add up, and the princess knew something that Twilight didn't.

Normally, Twilight would have shunned the thought of harboring suspicion against Princess Celestia, but that was changing. Shining Armor and Cadence were in harm's way, and she couldn't shake the feeling that the princess was hiding the reason why all this was happening.

'Princess Celestia,' She asked in a firm way, 'what happened between you and the Warden?'

'Excuse me?'

'The Warden. What happened to make him try to kill you? You never told me why.'

'Twilight, we are running short on time. I'll answer any questions you have after this has pass-'

'What are you hiding!?' Twilight shouted, causing Celestia to take a step back in surprise. 'Ponies are in danger, but you aren't letting us know why the Warden is after you!'

Celestia caught her breath, looking like she had been caught in a place she would rather not be. She closed her eyes and exhaled sharply, her expression showing the realization that she had been caught.

'I crossed him, Twilight.' The princess said quietly. 'I went after him. I started it.'

It finally clicked, but not in a way that Twilight wanted to believe.

'What?'

'I made enemies.' Celestia sighed as shame began to show on her face. 'I was immature and foolish. I did things that I am ashamed of, including starting the feud with the Warden.'

Twilight could not speak. In an instant, her perception of her longtime mentor and role model had shattered.

The princess had lied to her.

Not only that, but she had just admitted to creating an enemy that not only put her in danger, but Princess Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor as well!

Shock began to give way to feelings of betrayal, anger, and sadness.

How could she?!

'I'm sorry, Twilight.' Celestia said quietly, placing a hoof on her shoulder. 'I should have never-'

Twilight swatted the Princess' hoof away, and tears began to form in her eyes. Her anger had only increased. Has Princess Celestia been hiding this from her and everypony else this whole time?! Why did she never just admit to it?! Why did Celestia just pretend that it never happened?!

'Did you actually betray him?' Twilight asked. 'Are his accusations actually true after all?'

'No, Twilight!' The princess exclaimed, beginning to sound hurt herself. 'I started this conflict, but we struck a truce later on. His hostility is very much a surprise.'

This did little to calm Twilight. The immense trust that she had held in Celestia since she was a filly was gone.

'Really?' Twilight asked. 'How can I be certain you are not hiding something else? How can I- I- trust you?!'

She let out a trembling sigh, and stepped into the chariot, breaking eye contact with Celestia.

The princess looked downwards, as if she understood that perhaps she had deserved such an outburst. She took a shaky breath, closed her eyes, and fell silent.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes, and Twilight looked her mentor in her eyes for the first time since before her outburst. There was genuine regret in the princess' eyes, and Twilight began to feel pangs of guilt as well.

Was that outburst really necessary?

'I'm so sorry, Princess Celestia.' Said Twilight, sounding and looking upset that she had lashed out. 'I didn't mean to-'

The princess shook her head and inhaled, looking quite upset. Twilight braced herself, she was in for a reprimand for sure.

But Celestia's expression softened significantly. 'I am the one who should be apologizing, Twilight, not you. We will discuss this more when this matter passes.'

Then, she buried the emotions that had surfaced, assuming an air of authority. She directed a command to the pegasi heading the chariot.

'Go! Time is of the essence!'

The guards nodded and took to the sky, whisking Twilight up into the air. She looked down over the edge of the chariot as they passed over the castle walls, and watched as the ponies below fell away from sight.

Her thoughts dwelled on the princess. Celestia had hidden a very important truth from Twilight and put her loved ones in danger, because of a mistake that she had kept secret.

Twilight grappled with feelings of confusion, anger, and even betrayal. For over a decade, she had looked up at the princess as a perfect example of goodness. She had trusted Celestia wholeheartedly, even coming to love her as any student does any good mentor.

That perception and trust that she once had was shattered now, and it pained Twilight to acknowledge that. The sincereness of Celestia's very character had been brought into question. Was she anything like what Twilight had made her out to be, in all the years that she had known her?

Could she possibly dare to hope that she could look up to her again?

She hoped so, but she was also unsure if she could bring herself to do so. All this came as a nasty shock, after all. It left her mind in a hopeless heap of tangled thoughts.

Was she being too harsh on the princess? Was her outburst too much? Was she the one in the wrong here, not Celestia?

After all, could Twilight actually blame her? The incident when she cast the 'Want it, need it' spell on her Smarty Pants doll earlier in the year came to mind. That whole dumpster fire was caused because Twilight wanted to hide a failure from Princess Celestia. Would it be such a stretch to assume that the princess felt the same way about the Warden?

As the spires of Canterlot shrunk away, Twilight wished to clear her tangled thoughts and turn her attention elsewhere. She drew the chest closer, and opened it. Inside were each of the Elements of Harmony, and she felt a strange mix of relief and dread. Once she and her friends got back, the Warden was sure to be defeated, no doubt. But what if Celestia is defeated before they get there? What if the Warden makes good on his word and kills her because Twilight didn't make it in time?

She closed the chest and shook her head. It was unthinkable, the thought that Princess Celestia could get hurt. After all, being as powerful as she was, her chances of coming out on top in a fight was very high. Not only this, but she did say that gathering the Mane Six was only a precaution, as if the princess did not expect too many problems.

Still, Twilight felt some dread gnawing at her spirit. The expression of fear in the princess' face when the Warden revealed himself had been etched in her memory. If he warranted such a reaction from Celestia, then there was good reason to fear him, and what he could do…

***

Princess Celestia watched as the chariot disappeared over the tall walls of Canterlot Castle, her purple eyes looking skyward.

Her heart ached from Twilight's outburst. She could not blame her, though. She had betrayed her student's trust by keeping this secret, and this realization was eating away at her.

Would Twilight ever trust her again?

This question brought new pangs of heartache. She dreaded the thought of Twilight, the student whom she held almost as a daughter, feeling betrayed. That innocent, wholehearted trust that her student once displayed was never going to be regained. Ever.

Had she failed yet another student? Losing Sunset Shimmer was painful enough, but the thought of losing Twilight hurt far more.

Once the chariot went out of sight, Princess Celestia looked behind her, and saw both Cadence and Shining Armor standing close by, also watching.

Not only did she end up wronging Twilight, but her dear niece and Shining Armor as well. How would they react to finding out?

How could she keep such a thing a secret like this? Sure, it kept others from finding out, but it also had hurt those whom she held closest. Was it worth it?

'What are you doing?' Celestia asked the couple gently, gesturing towards the castle. 'You need to get to shelter.'

In response, the guards moved up to the couple, and attempted to guide them towards the castle doors. However, the pair did not move, looking at each other, then at Celestia.

'What was Twilight going off about?' Shining Armor asked pointedly.

'She was concerned for your well being, that's all.' Celestia replied.

The prince tilted his head, showing some skepticism. 'Are you sure? She looked hurt, Princess; I should know. Something had to have happened for her to lash out like that.'

Celestia's eyes narrowed as her jaw set ever so slightly, indicating that she did not desire to answer.

Cadence caught on to this subtle expression, that Shining Armor missed, and asked for answers in a way that she knew that her adoptive aunt would not easily dismiss.

'Aunt Celestia, what happened between you and Twilight? Is there something that we should know?'

Celestia took a breath, and her expression softened. Yet, she still remained silent.

'Besides Luna, we are your closest family.' Cadence implored. 'You can tell us. You can tell me.'

At last, Princess Celestia spoke, her guard having been lowered by her niece.

'I have been keeping the Warden's existence a secret,' She confessed. 'and I started the fight, not him.'

'What?! Why?' Shining Armor asked, sounding stern now. 'What in Equestria could possibly have deceived you into thinking that not telling us about this Warden was a good idea?'

Cadence motioned for Shining Armor to calm down, perceiving that he was speaking in an agitating manner towards Celestia. He reluctantly fell silent, still visibly angry.

Celestia shook her head slowly. 'It was never a good idea, but my fears made it an appealing alternative. But now I'm afraid my foolishness has cost me dearly.'

'What were you afraid of?' Cadence asked, her tone imploring for a response.

'Now is not the time, I'm afraid.' Celestia responded, looking to the guards running about. 'We're down to minutes now. Get into the safe room with Luna. I'll get you all when it is all over.'

Cadence and Shining Armor looked at each other momentarily, and after a moment of silence, they nodded in unison. Then, they both turned towards the castle doors, following several guards who had been anxiously waiting for them to do so.

However, a booming voice caused them all to halt.

'Sister! What art thou thinking, ordering me to hide away when there is a foe to confront?!'

Princess Luna stormed out of the castle doors, striding angrily out into the courtyard. She was followed by several guards, each looking at a loss for what to do.

Celestia closed her eyes and took another breath as Luna approached.

'Sister, it is not necessary for both of us to fight him. Besides, I already have Twilight gathering the rest of the element bearers.'

Luna strode up to her elder sister, stopping when they were face to face.

'Why did the guard tell me that I needed to go to the safe room? If this foe has truly struck such fear into thy heart that you have sent for the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, then why do you want to face him alone?'

'He has a vendetta against us, sister.' Celestia answered. 'He has the ability to overcome us, if we are not cautious. You have not fought him before, but I have. You are not familiar with him, so you need to stay away while I handle this.'

Luna's eyes narrowed as her mood shifted from anger to confusion. 'A vendetta? Who is it? Is Sombra back?'

'It is the Warden.'

'The Warden?' Luna murmured, her eyes widening a little and her ears drooping down in fear. 'H-how? How is he alive?'

Celestia shook her head. 'I wish I knew, sister. But he is back, and you need to get to safety until either I or the Bearers of the Elements defeat him.'

Luna was still stunned, staring off beyond her sister.

'He's back?' She asked quietly, as if in a daze. 'The Warden is back?'

Celestia was concerned. She had never seen Luna like this before. The princess of the night was often stoic, and rarely expressed such fear. Luna was confident in her abilities, and not even Discord could shake her up as badly as she was now.

'Luna, what's wrong?' Celestia asked quietly with genuine concern, placing a hoof on her sister's shoulder.

Luna's thousand yard stare broke as she looked up to Celestia, her gaze revealing a mixture of terror and remorse.

'Sister,' She said, 'Fighting him will not end well. He will go through anypony who stands between him and us.'

'The Warden has his limits, Luna.' Celestia reassured her. 'He has drive and is dangerous, but I am confident that he can be thwarted.'

Luna shuddered, and looked at the ground. 'Tia, he- he is consumed by hate and a lust for revenge. When I say that I know that he will stop at nothing if we resist, I mean it.'

'What are you saying?' Celestia asked. 'How do you know so much about him if you've never fought him? Even as Nightmare Moon, you never confronted him.'

'Sister, please trust me. I just know.'

Celestia tried to process her younger sister's statement. Before Luna's banishment, Celestia told her about her first encounter with the Warden. As far as she knew, Luna had never personally seen the Warden before. Why was her younger sister acting like she knew the Warden better than she did?

Just then, a pegasi guard swooped down next to them, looking alarmed.

'Your highnesses,' he said breathlessly, 'a patrol has reported an armored pony that is closing in on us, fast. We may have up to a minute, no more.'

Celestia nodded. 'Very well, get to your post and make ready.'

The guard saluted and took off, and Celestia saw Shining Armor and Cadence standing at the castle doors, waiting for Luna. Her gaze then fell on her sister, who was looking right back at her.

It then struck Celestia that Luna shared her concern that the Warden was out for her because of her brief stint as Nightmare Moon. But instead of feeling anger, Luna was feeling guilt. That made sense; her guilt was probably to blame here.

Nevertheless, time was drawing short. Luna had to get to shelter, now.

'Sister,' Celestia said, her voice firm and unyielding, 'go get to the safe room with Shining Armor and Cadence.'

Luna prepared to protest, but Celestia cut her off. 'Now, sister! Stay put until the danger is past, understand?'

Luna nodded, seeming to understand. Her gaze fell to the ground, and she turned around.

Celestia felt a bit guilty, having had to scold her sister when she was undergoing a crisis. But she needed to get safe, especially since she had no experience with fighting the Warden.

She watched as Luna ran up to the royal couple, and ushered them indoors. Before running in, she turned around and locked eyes with Celestia, her expression pleading that she reconsider sending her away.

Although it pained her to do so, Celestia shot a fierce stare back at her, silently rebuking her sister. Luna looked downwards, a stark contrast to the driven, furious manner with which she entered the courtyard. She walked in, and closed the doors behind her.

The weight of Celestia's guilt was growing heavy now. This was not how she thought the day was going to go. Twilight, Cadence and Shining Armor were surely upset at how she had kept them in the dark, and she had scolded Luna in a moment of crisis.

Princess Celestia felt like a horrible teacher, aunt, and sister, and it hurt her greatly.

Practically as soon as the doors closed, a cry was heard from one of the towers.

'There is an armored pony approaching!'

Now was not the time to feel guilty. It was time to put such thoughts away, and act.

Celestia's horn began to glow, then her body was enveloped in an intense light. As the light faded away, an ornate suit of gold plated armor manifested on her body. It was finely crafted, having many decorative engravings on it, and it followed her flowing, elegant form perfectly. The chestpiece that she usually wore had been replaced with a breastplate, although it still featured the single amethyst gemstone. Her tiara had been replaced as well, this time by a helmet which covered the top, rear, and sides of her head, leaving much of her face open. Her mane and tail had both undergone a change as well, both having been drawn through narrow holes in the armor and bound in such a way that they no longer billowed and flowed as freely as they usually did.

Upon donning the armor, her horn glowed once again, and a weapon materialized before her. It was a gold plated halberd, about as long as she was tall. She gently brought it down, and wrapped a foreleg around it.

She was ready.

Just then, she noticed a stange, eerie sound in the air. It was a strange, unnatural howl, high pitched and steadily growing louder and louder.

She felt chills run down her spine. She remembered that sound all too well.

'Ready yourselves!' The princess shouted, her voice booming throughout the courtyard. No sooner had she shouted, a shining figure arced over the castle wall.

He was here.

Chapter 3: Another Confrontation

The Warden slowly came to a halt, hovering some distance above the ground with his wings outstretched. Green flames shot out of the slots in his wings, and he hung ominously in the air, his armor howling all the while.

Celestia stood, defiantly staring up at him. From the plates covering his limbs and body, to the strange cutie mark painted on his armored flanks, to the two green visors burning straight into her eyes, it was undeniably him. In moments, memories of their encounter in the woods all those centuries ago flooded back.

Slowly, the Warden lowered himself down, and as he approached the ground, Celestia felt the air being displaced by his engines rushing past. He came to a slow landing a fair distance from her, gently making contact with the ground. His wings then folded, and the howling swiftly faded away.

The Warden stood, tall and ominous. The lifeless visors on his mask stared at Celestia, still glowing green. Her gaze, on the other hand, was anything but lifeless, displaying nothing short of a truly regal display of firm defiance. She was not going to show intimidation.

The Warden looked at Celestia, taking in her armor and weapon. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.

'I see you are already set on fighting, as always.'

'Only if you insist on continuing your ridiculous crusade.' Celestia retorted. 'However, if you go back to where you came from, I will not pursue you and we can leave it at that.'

The Warden scoffed. 'Not a chance. Although I must admit, it is a bit surprising to see you actually try to negotiate for once, instead of seeking out a fight.'

'I am not proud of how I once was.' Celestia sighed. 'I don't default to fighting any more. I've changed, Warden.'

The Warden tilted his head. 'I won't deny that you've changed, but I would hesitate to say that it was entirely positive. For instance, instead of operating by yourself, you are now brainwashing that purple mare into becoming your minion.'

The princess closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying her hardest to keep a solid hold over her igniting anger. Was he seriously insinuating that she was using Twilight?

'I assure you, I am helping her become the best that she could be.' She said, opening her eyes.

'I doubt that.' The Warden mused. 'I bet you've hidden your checkered past from her. Do you think that she will be willing to remain under your influence when she finds out the lies you've been feeding her?'

Celestia inhaled sharply, reflecting on this remark. That hit close to home, and her thoughts briefly dwelled on Twilight. She felt anxiety churn within her heart.

'I… Look, I know you are skeptical, but I assure you that I have changed.' She implored. 'Can we just calm down and talk this out?'

'Oh, it is far, far too late for you to weasel your way out of this.' The Warden growled scathingly. 'This ends today.'

Celestia fell silent, and sighed.

'Fine.'

She made a motion with her hoof and immediately, ten heavily armored guards surrounded the intruder, each pointing a large spear directly at him. They remained out of striking distance from the imposing stallion, who stood taller than each of them.

The Warden did not flinch, calmly taking in the situation. His armor clicked quietly as he moved, his gaze eventually coming back to Celestia.

Then, looking like some sort of metallic blur, the Warden slipped below the spears and delivered a devastating kick to one of the guards. With a crash, the unfortunate guard went flying back, his armor dented from the forceful blow.

The fight was on.

All the built up tension in the atmosphere exploded into violence. The remaining guards encircling him instantly went on the attack, attempting to overwhelm the lone enemy. One guard, who was standing directly behind the Warden, saw an opportunity. Expecting an easy hit, she thrusted her shining spear directly at him.

But he was already a step ahead.

With a single motion, the Warden dropped to the ground, dodging the attack. Then, lunging towards the vulnerable guard, a grappling claw shot out of one of his forelegs. Using the claw, he grabbed the guard by her hind legs, and hurled her into some other guards. She cried out in surprise as she impacted several of her comrades, sending them either flying or staggering back.

Another guard lunged at him, making contact with his spear. However, it merely glanced off of his armor, leaving behind a mere scratch. In response, the Warden whipped around, grabbed the spearhead, and brought his foreleg down on the shaft of the weapon, snapping it in two. The guard looked up at him in disbelief, shocked that he had destroyed his weapon in such a way. This moment was brief, however, for the guard rapidly received a harsh blow from the Warden, knocking him out.

Ducking, weaving, and striking with deliberate precision and overwhelming force, the Warden overcame each attack. One by one, the remaining guards were knocked away, most of them unable to continue fighting.

Celestia watched on in awe. This degree of fighting skill coupled with his armor made the Warden far more formidable than she had imagined. At that moment, she understood that more pressure was needed.

'Everypony pile on, now!' She shouted, charging at the Warden.

A dozen more guards also rushed to the Warden, now understanding that their best hope was to overwhelm him all at once. In addition to the guards below, several pegasi guards came swooping in from above as well, ensuring that he was truly surrounded from all angles.

The Warden looked frantically around, noticing that he had been encircled. But he swiftly jumped into action, extending his wings and taking off into the air. Celestia extended her own wings in preparation of pursuing him, but she noticed the Warden had left a small metal object where he was standing a moment before.

In an instant, Celestia understood what it was.

'Stop!' She cried desperately. 'Get away from-'

Celestia barely had enough time to put up a magic shield around herself and a handful of guards who were next to her before the object exploded. The resulting shockwave sent any and all guards who were not shielded flying like ragdolls, while Celestia's ears started ringing.

Meanwhile, the pegasi guards were disoriented by the blast, and the Warden flung himself into them. With a series of crashes and blows, he plowed through a couple of them, sending each plummeting down to the ground.

An intense fight then broke out in the air, but the result was nearly the same as before. The Warden was just as formidable in the air as he was on the ground. Looping, twirling, and swiping through the air, he kept the pegasi on the defense, his armor howling all the while.

As Celestia let down her shield, it became clear that a new approach was needed. The guards were not capable of keeping the Warden preoccupied, that much was certain.

She had to fight him herself.

She took a nervous breath, remembering their first fight. But she fortified her heart with a steely resolve. She was fighting to keep Luna and the others safe from him. Plus, unlike their first fight, she knew how to fight him now.

'Stand down!' She cried. 'I will deal with him myself! Don't engage unless I say so!'

'Yes, your highness!' The guards shouted, backing away cautiously.

The few remaining pegasi broke away from the Warden, and he took notice of the lull. He came down and landed with a thud that could be felt under the hooves of all who were still standing. He faced Celestia, who was preparing for what was coming.

'Had enough of having others do your dirty work, princess?' He asked scathingly. 'How very heroic.'

Celestia began to walk towards the Warden, unflinching and ready to strike, her halberd by her side. 'Your skill is only matched by your inflated ego, Warden.'

The Warden tilted his head, standing his ground against the imposing alicorn. Despite his large stature, he was still smaller than Celestia.

'Ego?' He asked. 'Look who's talking. You certainly have a silver tongue, I'll give you that. You even had me fooled by your deceptions once.'

With very little prior indication, he flew forwards, arcing through the air at her. She had a split second to react, and she did not hesitate. In an instant, she teleported several feet to the side, and watched him land a crushing blow into the ground where she once stood, dirt and grass flying some distance into the air.

This moment of vulnerability was all Celestia needed to attack. She teleported again, this time directly behind the Warden. Using her halberd, she swiped at him with no small degree of force.

Her blow connected with a harsh clang, and she heard the Warden grunt as he felt the effects of the impact. He rolled off to the side, putting some distance between him and Celestia, before smoothly standing back up. The princess could see that she had put a linear gouge in one of his outer armor plates, deeper than the other scratches from the guards. However, it didn't seem as if the damage was anything more than superficial.

The respite was very short lived, and the Warden attacked again, this time running straight at her. Celestia raised her weapon, ready to hit him once more.

He closed within striking distance, and she swung again. But the Warden was ready. Going down onto his back, he slid under Celestia's halberd and his blade shot out of his foreleg, the same blade which he had used on her so long ago. As he slid beneath her, he lashed out, attempting to slash her gut.

She reacted in time, beating her mighty wings to propel herself upwards in order to avoid his strike. She caught her breath, amazed at his swiftness. Not only did he know how to give and take hits, he was deceptively quick as well.

She had to rethink her strategy, and to buy time, she continued to fly upwards. The Warden looked up at her as she gained altitude, sizing up his next move.

Celestia acted fast, concluding that aggressive attacks would keep him on the defensive, and prevent him from making a concerted attack. Upon gaining some more height, she tucked in her wings and dove towards him, her weapon pointed directly at him.

The Warden quickly responded by taking to the air and rocketing towards Celestia, putting them both on a collision course.

They streaked towards each other, the princess an elegant blur of white, gold, and dazzling sparkles, while the Warden took on the appearance of a sinister visage of metal and machine.

As they approached at an intense speed, Celestia tucked the halberd in her foreleg and tensed up, ready to take the force of the impact.

But again, at the last possible moment, he ducked away from Celestia's halberd, seeking out an opening. But she was faster. With her other foreleg free, she extended it and brought her armored knee down, catching him by the neck.

A harsh crack was heard, and the Warden plummeted to the ground with a violent crash as Celestia came to a more graceful landing nearby.

'He won't be getting back up after that.' Celestia thought as she took the opportunity to pause and flex her foreleg, which was hurting a bit because of the blow she had just dealt. 'I'm going to be sore tomorrow morning because of that.'

No sooner had she thought that, a sharp clang was heard, and Celestia felt something impact her breastplate. A grappling claw attached to a metal cable had latched onto her, and the Warden was on the other end. With a violent motion, he tugged on the line and sent Celestia stumbling forwards. Having been caught by surprise and off balance, she was not in a good position.

He rocketed back up into the air, and before she could evade him, he dropped down right on top of her, driving her onto the ground. Celestia gave a muffled outcry as she went down, trying to think of her next move. Her ears began ringing as the pain from the violent impact coursed through her body. The Warden then delivered a series of harsh blows to her helmet, striking it with one of his forward knees.

However, Celestia was not going down this easy. Manifesting the focus and resolve required, she planted her hooves in spite of the Warden's blows and heavy weight. Then, with a herculean effort and a strained groan, she stood up, lifting the Warden into the air and causing him to tumble sideways onto the ground.

This feat of sheer strength caused her to tire, but Celestia knew that she could not afford to give him another chance to gain the advantage.

As the Warden landed, the princess latched on to him. She lifted him up once again, his heavy weight not being sufficient to counter the immense strength that she possessed. She wrapped her long forelegs around him, restraining him. She had him in a chokehold.

Of course, whether or not she would be able to choke him out was unknown to the princess, but it was worth a try.

The Warden struggled, putting his forelegs into a position that could break her hold. But Celestia began to apply all her strength, and like a vise, she tightened her fearsome grip. The Warden began to thrash a bit, trying hard to counter her potent effort. But she was not going to let him get out. She breathed heavily and sharply, her efforts draining her energy significantly.

However, the Warden then suddenly stopped moving, and Celestia caught her breath.

Did she do it?

A series of mechanical clicks immediately drove any sense of potential victory away. The Warden was doing something. To her shock, she felt his forelegs begin to push against her grip, slowly but surely opening her lock, moving a bit with each click. Try as she did, she could not hold them in place.

She realized that the chokehold was not going to work. He had some sort of mechanism in place that allowed him to get out of such situations. She felt a surge of frustration flow through. She was going to have to try something else.

Right as the Warden was about to break loose, she extended her wings, let go, and flapped as hard as she could, kicking off of the Warden to start her flight. She flew backwards and up, and the Warden stumbled forwards, swiftly turning back around to face her.

Celestia came to a graceful landing some distance away, weighing her options as the Warden caught his breath.

'Nice try,' He called mockingly, 'but I will not lose to a deceiver such as yourself!'

'Zip it.' Celestia said in a low, angry voice. 'Even if I cannot use magic against you directly, I can fight you well enough.'

Celestia then knew what to do next. She needed to do something which would guarantee that he would not be able to react.

She closed her eyes, and she surrounded herself in a golden aura. Then, as the aura faded, she smirked.

He had no idea what was coming. She had cast accelero on herself.

Then, after briefly plotting her course, she attacked. She became a golden blur of light, zipping around the Warden at a speed which he could not hope to match. She closed in, and made her first blow.

She felt her hooves impact the Warden with a crash. An instant later, she delivered two more kicks, this time to his other side.

The Warden yelled out as he was sent staggering, looking around desperately in a hopeless effort to locate Celestia. Then three more blows followed, and the Warden flew forwards from receiving the kicks from the rear.

As fun as it was delivering such a flurry of unblockable blows to the Warden, she knew that she had to end it soon. She had to deliver a coup de grâce.

This gave her an idea. Summoning her halberd, she swung it down on top of him at a vicious speed. It embedded itself harshly into another one of his outer armor plates, digging deep into the metal. Still under the effects of Acellero, she then hoisted the Warden, who was soundly attached to the halberd, up and over her body before slamming him into the ground.

From the time that she swung the halberd to when she had embedded the Warden into the turf, only a second had passed, such was her speed.

She paused, knowing that the Warden had certainly been soundly thrashed. He lay in the dirt, giving slight groans as he struggled to move. Clearly, he was in pain, but the princess did not feel much pity.

'Serves him right.' Celestia thought, preparing to pull her halberd out of his armor. 'I won't kill him, but he will regret coming here.'

With one leg wrapped around the metal shaft of her weapon, she planted her other foreleg firmly against his back in order to gain enough leverage to pull it out.

However, as soon as she made contact with her hoof, she felt like her whole body had caught fire. Convulsing uncontrollably and crying out in pain and surprise, every muscle in her body contracted violently, and her white coat began to smoke a little.

Just as quickly as it began, the shock ended, and Celestia tried to jump back.

But she could not move.

She could only watch helplessly as the Warden growled, tensed up, and kicked her as hard as he could.

Now she was on the receiving end of the abuse.

The blow blew out any remaining air in her lungs, and she flew backwards, landing a few feet away, only increasing her pain. While not quite unconscious, she was unable to move at all or see clearly.

She could not believe it. In an instant, just like their first fight, she was at his mercy.

His attack felt like an electric shock, but far worse than anything that she had experienced. She had no idea that he could deliver such an attack. It was unsafe to even make physical contact with him!

A small object ejected from the Warden's armor with a ping, leaving a trail of smoke as it arced through the air. Celestia wondered if it had anything to do with the nasty shock she had received.

Several remaining guards rushed in, huddling around the fallen princess, pointing their spears at the Warden, who was slowly and heavily striding towards them. They shuffled slightly, obviously nervous, but still determined to protect Celestia at all costs.

'Move.' The Warden said threateningly, his voice sounding more strained than it was before. 'She will die regardless of your efforts.'

'No she won't!' A familiar voice shouted.

Surprise and worry immediately surged over Celestia.

That was Luna's voice!

Her vision began to clear, and she could see her younger sister running out into the courtyard, looking quite alarmed.

What was she doing?! Why did she disregard her orders? These questions echoed in Celestia's mind as she tried to summon the strength to dissuade her sister from endangering herself.

'Lu- Lun-'

Her calls died out as her lungs struggled to take air back in. Right now, she was too weak to do anything to call Luna off.

The Warden had now turned around to face Luna, who was now standing a distance away, well out of reach.

'Warden, stop! Please!' She cried, sounding desperate.

The Warden tilted his head. 'What's this? A sacrifice play? That will never work.'

'No, Warden, please understand!' Luna pleaded as he began to walk towards her. 'My sister had nothing to do with it, I swear!'

Celestia managed to twitch her ears, marking the first time since the shock that she was able to move anything besides her eyes. In the meantime, she wondered what Luna was going on about. Was she playing for time?

The Warden paused, his visors seeming to burn through Luna's very being. After a moment of silence, he spoke, sounding cold and menacing.

'Perhaps not. But even if she didn't put you up to it, she is still responsible for your fall.'

Luna shook her head. 'Why do you insist on involving her? The blame is mine alone!'

She took a shaky breath, and her horn began to glow. Then, not unlike Celestia, a suit of finely crafted armor manifested on her body. However, instead of gold, her armor was silver, and seemed to possess a more intricate construction, providing less coverage than Celestia's, but allowing for greater movement.

A silver broadsword also manifested, the blade possessing inscribed runes and crescents that glowed with a pale blue aura, even in the broad daylight.

'I will not resist if you intend to avenge them by taking me.' She declared, looking hesitant to bring the sword to her side. 'But if you insist on killing my sister, I will do what I must to protect her. She does not deserve such a fate.'

Celestia began to stir, regaining more control over her motor functions. Despite the pain and rushing mind, she had heard Luna's statement.

Avenge them? Take me? What did she mean?

The blade extended with a harsh click from the Warden's foreleg. He began to stride toward Luna, and Celestia shook her questions from her mind. He was getting into Luna's head, using her guilt to do so. Otherwise, she would not be talking as if she had done something unforgivable.

'Luna!' Celestia called weakly. 'Don't let him manipulate you! Focus!'

Luna glanced at her older sister and nodded, not saying a word.

As soon as he was close enough, the Warden lunged at Luna, his blade aimed at her chest. Using her magic, Luna smoothly deflected his attack with her sword, and shoved him away.

He was not fazed. He continued on, making strike after strike, trying to land a death blow with his blade each time. Yet, Luna kept a masterful defence, deflecting blow after blow.

Celestia could not help but feel intense pride as she watched her younger sister hold her own. Perhaps it would have been better to use a defensive strategy after all.

However, she also noticed that Luna was not making any effort to strike back. She did shove him back from time to time, but she did not attack.

The Warden took notice as well.

'Why don't you fight back?' He asked in a tone that revealed unprecedented hatred. 'Feeling guilty?'

Luna did not respond, continuing to try her hardest to keep him away from Celestia. However, the Warden intensified his attacks, and was slowly working his way closer and closer. His speed and skill was overcoming Luna's limited experience with her weapon.

Celestia slowly tried to gain her footing, struggling to get on her hooves. Two guards looked back at her, and rushed to her side, lifting her up.

'Your highness,' One said, 'you are in no condition to fight.'

Celestia was about to give a rebuttal to the guard, but relented. She was barely able to stand, much less fight.

Meanwhile, Luna had been driven close to remaining guards in front of Celestia. Seeing the necessity for a breakthrough, the Warden opened his grappling claw and took hold of Luna's blade. Luna's sword dropped to the ground, no longer under the influence of her magic.

She gave an utterance of surprise, as if she had somehow lost her magical grip on it. Celestia silently gasped, wondering if the Warden's ability to absorb magic had allowed him to wrest control of the sword from her sister.

Using his other leg, the one with his blade, he then slashed downwards towards Luna, taking advantage of the opening. She reacted just in time, putting her armored leg up to block his attack.

The Warden's blade impacted her armor with a harsh clang that reverberated through the courtyard, and orange sparks flew from the impact.

Both combatants paused, and simultaneously looked at the site of the impact. Then, after a full second of surprised silence, they began to struggle awkwardly. The Warden's blade had embedded itself in her armor, and was stuck fast.

Sensing an opportunity to gain further separation from Celestia, Luna extended and flapped her wings. She flew upwards, taking the Warden up with her. Despite the incredible strength that was characteristic of alicorns of her kind, Luna was barely able to remain airborne with the Warden weighing her down. However, she did manage to fly a distance farther away.

The Warden fought to find a way to free himself, finding it difficult to gain leverage while hanging by one limb off of an alicorn. However, after a few critical seconds, he extended his wings and sent out a blast, causing them both to careen towards the ground.

Having gained some distance from her sister, Luna decided it was safe to seperate. Before hitting the ground, Luna teleported back between the Warden and Celestia, breathing hard as she regained her stamina from the immense effort.

The Warden landed hard, shouting in anger as he fell for a second time. After he hit the ground yet again, Celestia ordered another group of guards to surround him while he was down. In seconds, ten guards were standing over the Warden, spears pointed directly at him. He groaned angrily, but remained still.

Celestia was finally able to stand by herself again, although she was still in pain. Despite this, she smiled to herself. Her younger sister had just dealt far better with him than she had herself. Not only that, but she had most certainly saved her from death at the hooves of the Warden.

'Thank you, Luna.' She said in a genuine way. 'I was wrong to order you away.'

Luna nodded, looking downwards while still appearing somewhat saddened.

It occured to Celestia that she was probably still being subjected to her guilt. In fact, Luna's decision to fight to could have left her feeling worse than before. After all, she seemed to be very averse to the idea of fighting the Warden to begin with.

Feeling an urge to comfort her younger sister, Celestia spoke. 'Don't let him get to you, Luna. He doesn't know how much you've changed.'

Luna looked up at her. 'It's not that simple, Tia.' She said quietly.

Celestia wondered what she could have possibly meant, but had no time to elaborate. She instead gave an utterance of alarm, seeing a dense smoke cloud surround the Warden, causing him and the surrounding guards to disappear.

As soon as the cloud materialized, frantic shouts and the sounds of battle resumed. One after another, guards either flew or rolled out of the smoke, as the Warden's visors cast an eerie green glow within the dark cloud.

'Watch out!' Celestia cried, knowing that the Warden was not going to take long to resume the fight. This also marked the fourth time that he had turned the tables. She felt irritated at herself, having prematurely thought that the fight was over yet again. She could no longer afford to underestimate him, she was certain of this.

Meanwhile, Luna was setting about putting up a defense. Her horn glowed in her pale blue aura as she put up a magical shield in front of her. She was ready.

However, she had made a massive mistake, and Celestia knew it.

'Luna! Don't let him absorb-' She shouted, taking a step forward and stumbling to her knees, still unable to walk properly.

Before Luna could get away, the Warden hurled himself violently into her shield, passing straight through like it was not there. He struck with an enormous crash, and Celestia watched in muted horror as she saw Luna recoil back.

Luna staggered back a distance, gasping for air as the impact had knocked the breath out of her lungs.

The Warden flexed his shoulders, recovering from the impact. Underneath his larger armor plates, a blue glow, much like Luna's magic aura, could be seen. Celestia felt chills run down the length of her back. She knew all too well what that meant.

A blue aura enveloped a spear, and it was levitated into the air, before being thrown by magic. It was aimed at Luna, and Celestia knew that the Warden was using the magic he had absorbed from her shield to manipulate the spears around them, turning them on her!

'Drop, Luna!' Celestia yelled, frantically trying to alert her sister to the imposing danger.

Luna instantly dropped as a spear flew past her head, the wind from it stirring up her sparkling mane. Then, another spear came flying at her. This time, as she teleported to the side, letting it pass.

Then Celestia heard somepony else teleport, and the Warden was nowhere to be seen.

Her blood practically froze. He could teleport too?!

She looked around desperately, and she heard the howl of the Warden's armor coming from their left.

'Luna! Left!' Shouted Celestia, the desperation in her voice revealing a terror which she had never quite experienced before.

Luna quickly turned in time to see the Warden flying towards her with his blade extended. She prepared to teleport again, waiting for the opportune moment to dodge him.

However, he disappeared from sight with a magical flash. He had teleported again! He materialized to Luna's rear, too close for her to react. He struck out with his blade, and this time he found his mark between her armor plates.

She gave a sharp cry as she collapsed to the ground, putting a foreleg to one of her hind legs.

'Luna!' Celestia cried, fearing the worst.

More guards, of which less than twenty were still standing, rushed to Luna and huddled around her, spears at the ready. She picked herself up, and looked at her wounded leg. There was a nasty cut left behind by the Warden's blade, and blood flowed freely from it, staining her dark coat and silver armor.

Celestia tried to step forward again, but her muscles were still severely cramped from the shock, and she stumbled again.

The Warden came to a halt a short distance away, and he folded his wings. His armor had lost the magical glow, looking as if he had expended the magic he had absorbed. After a moment of silence, he spoke to Luna.

'It hurts, doesn't it? That cut is nothing compared to what you put me through.'

Luna's eyes began to tear up as she hung her head in shame.

'I know. I-'

Her voice trailed off as her emotions took control, leaving her shaking and crying quietly.

Celestia could not restrain herself any longer. He had wounded her little sister, exploited her guilt, and now he was mocking her as she cried. An uncontrollable rush of fury flooded her soul as she raised her voice and finally managed to take a step forward.

'You! I'm going to stop you for good, here and now! You have crossed the point of no return, and I am not going to allow you to continue with this unjustifiable violence!'

The Warden slowly and menacingly turned his head to Celestia. 'Unjustifiable?' He asked quietly. 'Are you really so clueless?'

'There is nothing to be clueless about, Warden!' Celestia shot back. 'You are trying to do what your family has always failed to do, remove us from-'

'You honestly think my motives are so shallow?!' The Warden roared. 'I have every right to take your lives! How can you forget that you, the mastermind behind Luna's fall to Nightmare Moon, committed such an injustice that you rendered both your own and your sister's lives forfeit?!'

Celestia's stare was intense, her fury clearly evident. She gently pushed the guards who were helping her to the side. They immediately fell back, understanding that she was about to fly back into action.

She took an angry breath, wondering how to respond to such an accusation. 'I may have inadvertently led her down a dark path, but it was not deliberate. I never would have wished such suffering on her.'

'More lies!' He shouted, fury ever evident in his tone. 'Your right to the throne is built on blood, manipulation, and deception! You are willing to deceive and betray everypony you hold dear in order to hide it! It is what you have always done!'

Celestia bared her teeth. She had finally heard enough. She unfurled her wings, her eyes began to glow, and the ground began to shake a little underhoof as the ambient light in the vicinity seemed to gather around her, leaving the rest of the courtyard unnaturally dim.

She was not going to hold back any longer. She would be careful not to succumb to Daybreaker, but she would get close.

The Warden's wings also unfolded, and his armor began to howl. Incredibly, he was not displaying a single sign of intimidation. He too, was prepared for another bout.

'Stop!' Luna's desperate cry echoed through the courtyard. 'She does not know what I have done!'

Both the Warden and Celestia paused at Luna's outcry, and looked questioningly at her.

'I never told her.' She continued. 'I- I should have done this long ago, but I…' She stopped as a sob choked out her voice.

An overwhelming sense of dread overcame Celestia, her concern and worry for her sister suffocating the fury within her. Her eyes turned back to normal as the light became natural once more. She felt a flurry of terrible thoughts rush through her mind as chills pierced her soul.

It was falling into place. Luna's sudden onset of guilt, her remark about the Warden avenging 'them', and the Warden's obsession with killing them both because of something they did.

Did Luna… No. No way. That was far too implausible.

But if both Luna and the Warden were speaking as if such an event happened, then that meant-

Celestia caught her breath. She did not want to believe it.

The Warden stood still, having retracted his wings.

'Really?' He asked. 'You're telling the truth?'

Luna nodded, taking a deep breath before looking at Celestia with watery eyes.

'Sister, I love you, and I'm so, so sorry for never being brave enough to tell you this…'

Celestia could hardly bear to see Luna like this.

'Luna,' She asked somberly, 'what happened that night?'

Luna sniffed, suppressing an urge to sob as she gave her answer…

Chapter 4: A Considerate Enemy

A Thousand Years Prior...

The throne room was in shambles. Moonlight poured into the chamber through a gaping hole in the roof, providing some illumination and bathing the room in pale light. Stone fragments lay strewn about, and chunks of the walls, floor, and ceiling were missing. In addition, nearly all the stained glass windows arranged around the room were either partially damaged or completely destroyed. At the head of the room, the sisters' thrones stood, completely vacant of their usual occupants. In the middle of the room, a strange looking stone contraption jutted out of an open hatch in the floor, consisting of a large central sphere and five smaller spheres all attached to a central shaft.

The sounds of crumbling stone and the wind rushing in through the breaches were the only sounds that could be heard clearly. However, another sound, quiet and soft, could also be heard during periods of silence.

Crying.

Sitting right next to the odd looking structure, directly in the beam of moonlight, was Princess Celestia. Her mane and tail shimmered slightly in the moonlight, billowing ever so slightly in the wind. Around her lay six gemstones on the floor; the Elements of Harmony. Her head was hung low as she gently sobbed, her tears shining as they fell to the floor.

'Luna… Why did this happen?' She asked quietly. 'Why did I treat you so poorly?'

Upon this lamentation, she looked up towards the empty thrones, and her eyes fell upon a large tapestry hanging beyond them. At one time, it depicted the two princesses, each flying in harmony, striking the delicate balance between day and night. But now it was torn in two, and the depictions of the sisters were now physically separated by the resulting gap.

'I caused this.' The princess said between sobs. 'Now you have succumbed, and I… I cannot bring you back.'

She hung her head again, and sunk into her despair once more. She remained there for some time, shaking as she continued to cry, unable to bear the weight of her sister's fall to darkness, or the shame of her own misconduct towards her.

Just then, Celestia stiffened, on the alert. Her sensitive ears had picked up a new sound behind her. It was faint at first, but steadily increasing in volume at a steady rhythm. It was hoofsteps.

Celestia swiftly wiped away her tears, putting on a stoic appearance, ready to face whoever was approaching. She needed to continue projecting the image of authority and strength that she had been so careful to curate for her subjects, despite the fact that she was at an all-time low.

The hoofsteps grew quite clear now, and she could make out a metallic tone with each step. Was it a guard wearing armor? Perhaps, but she gave the order for the guards to get to safety before she confronted Nightmare Moon. After all, there was nothing they could have done against her.

The steps then stopped, and the room fell silent once more. Whoever it was, he or she was here now.

'Well?' Celestia asked, trying her best to sound irritated, but not quite completely hiding her sadness. 'What is it?'

'I'm wondering why you aren't saving your kingdom.' Said a voice.

Celestia's heart skipped a beat in surprise and fear. She had only heard that voice once before, a few months ago. She turned around, and her suspicions were confirmed.

It was the Warden.

He was standing among the rubble, a short distance from Celestia. His armor was just the way that she remembered it, especially the visors, which added a gentle, green glow to the space around him.

They both stared at each other in somber silence, and Celestia wondered what to say.

'Why are you here?' She asked, putting less effort into sounding authoritative. 'Have you come to mock me?'

The Warden shook his head. 'No. But I am not here to provide words of comfort either.'

Celestia sighed, and did her best to put on an arrogant expression. 'Is that so? I should have known that you would break our arrangement so soon.'

'Hm.' The Warden grunted. 'I would have thought that these were extenuating circumstances. The sun set less than an hour after it rose. Now it is noon, and it looks like midnight out there.'

Celestia would not admit it, but she could not help but agree in her mind. Naturally, he would be concerned about what was happening, considering that nightfall had arrived in the morning.

However, that conclusion disturbed her. If he was concerned about it, what would he do to fix the problem? What if he found out that Luna was behind all of this?

'I will be taking care of the situation shortly, Warden.' She said, hoping that he would buy her bluff. 'I shall set things right. There is no need for your interference.'

The Warden looked around at the devastated room, then at the Elements of Harmony laying on the floor. Celestia knew that her lie was pathetic, and that he thought so too. He looked back up at her, and sighed.

'Nothing you just said was true, was it?' He asked pointedly. 'You are clearly distraught, and incapable of lying properly. Tell me the truth.'

Celestia took a shaky breath and turned away. He had her cornered, and unlike her subjects, he seemed to know who she really was beneath the displays of pomp and regality. There was no point in beating around the bush any longer.

'It's my sister. She…'

Her voice trailed off as a new wave of emotions washed over.

'She finally cracked.' The Warden said plainly. 'There was no way she was going to tolerate your treatment of her for much longer.'

Celestia clenched her jaw in a brief moment of anger. Once again, he had called her out where it hurt. But just like before, he was completely correct. She took a deep breath and relaxed. There was no point in clashing with him over this.

The Warden continued. 'I see you've brought the Elements of Harmony out.' He remarked, looking down at the six gemstones laying next to Celestia. 'Yet your sister is at large and is still a major danger to Equestria.'

'I- I did confront her!' Celestia protested, scrambling to put together an explanation. 'I pulled out the Elements of Harmony and tried to stop her! But…'

Her countenance fell as her voice faded away. The Warden continued to stare at her, his lifeless gaze managing to convey that he expected her to continue. She took a breath and continued, albeit in a quieter and sadder tone.

'Well, she- I- I could not bring myself to do it.'

'Do what? Kill her?' The Warden asked bluntly.

Celestia had to take a moment to process that remark. Did he really just suggest that she tried to kill Luna?

'What?! No! Why would I try to kill my own sister?'

'Perhaps because she is now threatening the lives of all in Equestria.' The Warden answered.

'I- No, no, no! She might have fallen, but she is still my sister.' Celestia said frantically. 'Killing her is out of the question!'

She motioned to the Elements of Harmony and continued. 'With these, I have the ability to banish her without causing her harm. This is the only way I can fix this.'

The Warden shook his head slightly.

'But you could not bring yourself to do even that, could you?'

This question stung. Once again, he was brutally correct. Celestia shook her head, responding to the Warden's question.

'You do realize that if you don't resolve this, I will have to step in and deal with her in my own way, right?' He asked in a particularly serious tone, driving his question home.

Chills ran down Celestia's back. She knew all too well what he meant by that. He was going to kill her. If any other pony had made such a threat, Celestia would have laughed.

But this was the Warden.

'I forbid you from doing such a thing.' She said slowly, sounding strained.

'Princess, surely you realize that Equestria's fate lies in the balance?'

Celestia did not reply, instead turning around and looking at the two thrones sitting among the rubble once again. He was right, again. There was no telling what Nightmare Moon was going to do if she managed to seize full control. Whatever the outcome, it certainly was not in Equestria's best interest.

Eventually, Celestia replied.

'Yes.'

'Then why hesitate and allow her to escape?'

'Because this is my fault!' Celestia snapped, her facade of pride and regality falling away as she whipped back around to face the Warden. 'I did this to her! I held her down, I kept her from getting the respect and love of her subjects that she deserved, because I let my pride overcome me!'

The Warden tilted his head slightly, almost as if he did not expect such a reaction.

'If there is a pony who deserves to be punished, it is me, not my dear sister!' Celestia continued, her tone imploring the Warden to try and understand her dilemma.

She inhaled sharply and decompressed, realizing that her outburst had granted her some degree of clarity.

A few tears trailed down from her glistening eyes as she shook her head.

'But now I have to choose between banishing her or allowing you to kill her.' She murmured. 'Surely you can understand my hesitance?'

The Warden nodded.

'I do.' He answered in an unusually gentle tone. 'Plus, it seems as if you have finally come to grips with the folly of your ways.'

Celestia was shocked. This was not something she had come to expect from this mysterious rival. She began to feel something she had not felt since before Nightmare Moon manifested: relief.

'However,' He continued. 'Your admittance to being at fault is not enough to stop Nightmare Moon.'

The sensation of cautious relief faded away as Celestia once again was faced with the heartbreaking prospect of banishing her sister.

'I know.' She said, shaking her head and taking a deep breath before continuing. 'But I'm not certain I can bring this to an end.'

'I have far too much at stake to sit idly by as Nightmare Moon threatens the future of all ponykind.' The Warden said plainly. 'If you want to save Equestria and your sister, you are going to have to use the Elements of Harmony on her.'

Celestia nodded, relaying that she understood what he meant. After a moment of silence, she spoke.

'If I seek her out and banish her, will you please not hurt her?'

The Warden stood silently, gazing at the ground in momentary thought. Then, he looked back at the tearful princess.

'As long as you find her before the time at which the sun would normally rise tomorrow morning, I will not hunt her down.'

'Thank you.' Celestia said quietly, feeling a bit encouraged at the second chance that she had been given.

The Warden nodded slightly, and added; 'Furthermore, if you succeed, can we put our feud behind us? It is pointless.'

The princess nodded. 'Of course.'

'Good.' He said, and he turned around to walk away. Before he reached the exit, he stopped and turned his head back towards the princess, who was watching him leave.

'You have the strength to follow through with this, Celestia.'

She was stunned. He had called her by her first name! Normally, she would have immediately called for anypony who had dared to do so bound in chains. But this was different. Whether because this was done in an encouraging manner or because the Warden did not fit in the same category as the rest of her subjects, she did not know. Regardless, his remark was oddly uplifting.

'You… Think so?' She asked, sounding somewhat unsure.

'I know so.' He replied. 'Luna is the only family you have, and you will go above and beyond to protect her. I am a father and a husband, and I would do the same to protect my family.'

Then, not waiting for a response, he walked through the throne room doors, going back the way he came. Celestia watched him, seeing the green glow from his visors gradually grow dimmer as he walked onwards.

Soon, he was gone from sight, and Celestia took a steady breath. There was so much to unpack from this encounter.

The Warden was not who she thought he was at all. He was calm, collected, and thoughtful. There was no doubt in her mind now, he was truly honorable. How could she have treated him as such a foe?

He also had a family of his own? No wonder he was so defensive when she had confronted him in that forest. How could she have not seen that possibility before?

She shook her head. Truly, she had been a massive fool. Not only had she caused Luna to fall, but she had needlessly created an enemy. However, at least one of these problems might become resolved.

Regardless, she sighed as the weight of her past actions made itself known. She had to make things right, but she had to banish Nightmare Moon to do so.

This was the only way to save Luna.

Tears began to fall from her eyes once more as she gazed at the tapestry once more.

'Oh, dear, dear sister…' She said quietly. 'I know what I must do. I will find you, and I will banish you. That way, no harm will befall you, and I can start making amends for what I have done. But most importantly, I will be able to see you again some day…'

***

The moon still hung high in the sky, surrounded by a host of stars. The moonlight shone down directly into the castle courtyard, enveloping all that it touched in a pale, white glow.

The Warden walked out of the keep and into the courtyard, his armor shining and glinting in the light. He walked forwards a short distance, then stopped. He slowly looked around, as if he were in thought.

Then, his wings shot out, and his armor began to howl. Glowing flames shot out of his wings, bathing his surroundings in a flickering green glow.

He then lunged upwards, and rocketed skyward, a silver streak among a sea of stars. The howl momentarily stopped as he turned in mid-air to face a new direction. Then the howl resumed, and he began to streak away, flying off towards the distant horizon.

As the Warden disappeared into the night, a shadowy form began to materialize out of a darkened corner of the courtyard. The dark miasma swirled, coalescing into the form of a pony. First to appear were two intense, turquoise eyes, each possessing a vertical pupil, not unlike a snake's or a cat's. Then appeared a sharp, toothy grin, evil and chilling in nature. The rest of the form soon came into being, dark in complexion and wearing articles of intricate, silver armor.

Having completed her transformation, the dark pony laughed quietly to herself.

'So, you think that you can just encourage my sister to banish me?' She asked quietly. 'I was expecting you to hunt me down, not give my sister a pep talk.'

She walked into the courtyard, looking up at the night sky.

'I bet you think yourself noble for that, Warden. Regardless, I cannot let you escape unpunished.'

She gave another laugh, and continued.

'Oh, to think that you were both so foolish as to not suspect that I would not be eavesdropping on you both.'

She then took off into the night sky, hurtling into the darkness at an unnatural pace, seeming to become one with the darkened heavens.

'Of course, I have to deal with Celestia eventually, but the Warden is more dangerous.' She reasoned. 'Plus, I know just what to do with him now.'

She laughed again, this time belting it out far louder and more gleefully than before.

'Oh, you made a grave mistake, Warden. You never should have revealed that you have a family! Because of that, you shall watch them perish for your insolence!'

Chapter 5: No Holding Back

In The Present...

Celestia was unable to think of a response to what Luna had just revealed. She had completely forgotten that the Warden had admitted to having a family. All she could do was look in disbelief at her younger sister, trying desperately to cope with the confession.

'You did what?' She asked in sheer disbelief.

'I think- I think I killed them…' Luna said, tears flowing freely from her closed eyes.

The remaining guards shot brief glances in Luna's direction, also surprised and trying to process the news.

The Warden remained silent, staring directly at Luna.

'So,' He said, breaking the silence. 'the truth finally comes out.'

Celestia shook her head, closing her eyes. This was unimaginable. There was no way that her dear sister could have done such a thing! Not Luna!

'N-no.' She stammered. 'No, this- this- this is not true, Luna could never-'

'But Nightmare Moon could!' The Warden barked, turning to Luna. 'She took my family away from me! Isn't that right, Nightmare?'

Celestia watched Luna nod in immense shame as her posture and expression indicated a will and soul that was utterly crushed by shame.

At this point Celestia's numbness and disbelief began to give way to realization.

This was why Luna's guilt was so great. This was why she didn't seem to believe that she was forgiven!

Celestia shook her head, wrapping her head around the revelation that her sister had likely killed innocent ponies. Grief clutched at her heart as she finally understood why the Warden was being so hostile.

His anger could almost be considered justifiable.

However, Nightmare Moon committed the dreadful act, not Luna. She was ashamed of what she did, and she felt great guilt.

She didn't deserve to die.

'Her name is Luna,' Celestia finally said, her tone revealing anger. 'and she is no longer Nightmare Moon.'

'Is that supposed to change the fact that she ripped my daughter and my wife away?' The Warden asked.

'It does not change anything, sister.' Luna said, struggling to get the words out. 'I deserve to die for- for killing them…'

She motioned for the guards surrounding her to step aside, opening an avenue of attack for the Warden.

The guards looked around, at a loss for what to do. Eventually they looked to Celestia, who shook her head and shot a firm glare at them. Understanding, they planted their hooves, not budging. They were going to hold their ground, despite Luna's wishes.

However, the younger sister simply disappeared from sight, materializing a distance behind the Warden. Her armor was now gone, and so was her breastplate and tiara. She was completely open to attack. The guards looked to one another, wondering if trying to defend Luna was a futile cause.

After taking a deep breath, Luna spoke to her older sister. 'I'm ready for this to end. I've been living with that terrible truth for far too long, and I am at a loss for what to do. You and Twilight have done so much to try and help me move on, and I love you both for that, but I'm afraid I was too far gone from the beginning.'

Celestia felt her own eyes begin to grow misty, her emotions surfacing. 'Luna, no! Just stop and listen to yourself! There's always hope, and you are not defined by what Nightmare Moon did to you when she took over!'

'I'm sorry, Tia.' Luna said quietly. 'This needs to happen. The guilt was bad enough when I thought the Warden was dead as well. But now…'

She took a breath, and spoke to the Warden. 'You know what you have to do. Just spare Celestia, I beg you. She did not intend for any of this to happen.'

The Warden sighed, almost sounding saddened as well.

'That depends on whether or not she continues to fight.' He responded, turning to Celestia and speaking to her next. 'You heard her. She knows what she did, and what the penalty is. As you said, this ends today.'

Extending his blade once more, he began to walk towards Luna.

Celestia stood where she was, trying desperately to summon a way to process this.

Luna, however, had already conceded to her fate. Closing her tearful eyes, she awaited the inevitable sting of the blade.

'Princess Celestia, what are our orders?!' A guard frantically asked, trying to find out what was to be done.

However, the guard's question faded into the background for Celestia. If she didn't do something, she was going to watch her younger sister die in front of her!

Anger and determination flooded her soul and mind. Without thinking, she began to act out of instinct.

She had to protect her!

Using her magic, she stealthily lifted her halberd, which was resting a short distance away.

He was not going to hurt Luna any further. She was going to protect her little sister at all costs!

Rage bubbled up from within, and Celestia could not restrain herself any longer. With a cry of pure anger, she hurled the halberd at his face. He turned to face Celestia, his attention being drawn by her cry, only to see her halberd inches away from his face.

It impacted his faceplace with a loud crash, the sound of shattering glass and rending metal filled the atmosphere.

Putting a hoof over his right eye, he staggered backwards, shouting in surprise and pain.

Luna was dumbstruck. She looked at her older sister, who was now placing herself between her and the Warden. Celestia's eyes revealed an anger that even Luna had rarely seen. Her eyes seemed to glow, as if she were about to shoot fireballs from them. Her armor, though now dented and tarnished, still shone brightly in the sun, and her mighty stance projected an incredible regality.

'You won't hurt her anymore.' Celestia said in an unbelievably intimidating tone. 'To kill her, you will have to kill me first. Good luck with that.'

The Warden stood still, looking up at Celestia with his intact visor. Slowly, he let down his hoof from over the damaged area.

His left visor was completely shattered, and the gash left by the spear created a visible gap running across where the visor used to be. Underneath part of this gash, a nasty cut was visible, and blood was running down his mask. Where the visor once was, one of the Warden's eyes was visible. His iris was green in color, much like his visors. The halberd had missed his eye, remarkably.

Both Luna and Celestia could not help but feel chills when they saw the expression in his eye. Hatred, loathing, it was clearly visible. It was worse than the visors' soulless stare.

This observation caused Celestia to calm a bit. She quietly reigned in her anger, realizing that she had almost lost control. If she had aimed an inch to one side, she would have killed him. The thought of killing a pony made her blood run cold, even if it was the Warden.

Although she was defending Luna, she remembered how he once was. Despite how he was consumed by hatred and anger now, Celestia remembered how reasonable and uplifting he was towards her that fateful night.

Luna needed to be protected, but the Warden didn't deserve to die either.

'Close, but yet so far.' The Warden said quietly, interrupting her thoughts. 'You want to play hardball? Fine. Let's play hardball.'

Celestia braced. She knew that the fight was about to intensify, and she was going to need all of her wits about her.

The Warden slowly began to move to the side, and Celestia watched him carefully. A sudden fusilade of popping sounds echoed in the courtyard, and a series of objects flew from his armor. Celestia watched, prepared to react.

But that was the worst thing she could have done.

The objects exploded with incredibly bright flashes and deafening bangs, dazzling the unsuspecting princess.

She recoiled, holding her halberd close. She had been severely disoriented by the explosions, and the Warden was not going to be waiting any longer to attack, that much was clear.

She heard his armor howl to life over the ringing in her ears, and she knew that he was closing in fast. She could not see him, nor did she want to make direct contact in order to avoid the possibility of getting shocked again. She stood her ground, immediately knowing what she had to do.

Her horn began to glow, and with an intense effort, she lifted the ground around her and created a perimeter of rocks and soil. The Warden was going too fast to avoid colliding, and impacted the makeshift shield. Hearing and sensing where he had impacted, she compacted all the loose dirt around the Warden with her magic, pinning him down before he could force his way through.

He cried out in anger, and struggled to free himself as Celestia jumped back, having begun to regain her sense of sight.

Her eyesight had nearly returned to her when she felt something impact her foreleg. Looking down, she saw the Warden's grappling claw latched to her armor. She had failed to restrain his forelegs!

He began to retract the claw, causing Celestia to stumble forwards. She had to break free.

She finally caught a solid stance, and pulled with all her might. But the claw held fast, and she inadvertently pulled the Warden out of her trap. Now free, he rushed towards her, ready to resume the fight.

Celestia smirked. 'Gotcha.' She whispered, manifesting an intense, blinding light at the end of her horn.

The Warden was caught off guard. Disoriented by her light, he missed her completely, making an opening for her to strike.

Twirling around, she swung the pointed end of her halberd at him, hitting between two plates of outer armor, where his right foreleg merged with his body.

The Warden was sent flying, a dent in his inner layer of armor now clearly visible where she had struck. He fell to the ground some distance away, groaning in pain.

Celestia's fury was not going to let her stop there, however. She teleported to him, and forcefully flipped him to his back. Then, she planted her halberd at his chest.

'This is your last chance.' She snarled. 'I don't want to kill you, but if you don't yield, I may have to do so.'

The Warden's visible eye opened and focused on Celestia's own, defiant and still full of hatred.

'Go to Tartaurus.' The Warden spat, giving a nasty sounding cough.

Celestia clenched her jaw, trying to keep her fierce anger in check. She had finally wounded him. But immediately following his remark, a jarring mechanical howl made her flinch

His wings! She had failed to notice that his wings were unfolded and facing her!

She staggered backwards, blown away by a forceful blast. When she opened her eyes, she saw an armored hoof flying towards her face.

The Warden's hoof smashed into her nose, and Celestia cried out as she stumbled backwards once more, the pain causing her eyes to water. Once again, he had gained momentum. She glanced up, and saw the Warden slashing down with his blade, aiming at her face.

This time she summoned the focus and energy required to teleport, and did so. But not before the blade sliced the side of her face with a shallow cut.

She materialized out of reach, and took a sharp breath as the pain from the cut began to burn. She had to take a moment to recover from his vicious attacks. Her nose was bleeding a bit from his punch, and a slow trickle of blood oozed from the cut on her face.

Some of the blood had worked its way to her mouth, and the metallic taste was more than noticeable. She sighed angrily, spat on the ground, wiped away the blood on her face, and glared at the Warden with a wrathful expression.

He was going to pay for that.

Her horn began to glow once more with her golden aura. Picking up several spears, she held them around her, aiming each one at him.

The Warden saw this, outstretched his wings, and prepared for the oncoming barrage.

She let loose with a furious cry, hurling the spears directly at him. He ducked and weaved around them as best he could, but a few spears did impact him, albeit with little or no damage. Still, he was unable to keep on the offensive. Celestia closed the distance quickly with a few beats of her mighty wings, and was now practically within reach for a blow. She raised her halberd, ready to strike.

However, as the last spear whizzed past, the Warden grabbed it with his claw, twirled around, and swung the shaft at her neck like a club.

This caught her completely off guard, and with a sickening whack, she was hurled to the ground. Celestia struggled to catch her breath as the Warden suddenly loomed over her, blade extended.

She then caught sight of the dent that she had created with her halberd. This weak spot was out in the open as the Warden recoiled, prepared to deliver a fatal blow.

Celestia had less than a second to react to save herself, but it was enough time. In an instant, she used her magic to grab hold of her halberd, and summoning all the focus that she could muster, she drove it into the dent as hard as she could.

The inner layer of armor gave way, and the halberd sunk in about an inch deeper. The sound of a pained shout from the Warden and metal rending apart echoed around the courtyard as he tumbled backwards.

Celestia pulled her now bloodied halberd out of the Warden as he recoiled, and she saw a small fountain of blood spray out from the wound.

Her gambit had worked, thank goodness.

She slowly picked herself up, and looked at Luna for the first time since she smashed the Warden's visor. Luna was watching on with a mixture of concern, fear, and awe.

Celestia turned back towards the Warden, and he was hunched over, one of his hooves placed over his wound. Trails of bright red blood ran down his once shining armor, and he was breathing heavily.

There was no doubt in Celestia's mind that she had finally succeeded in beating him. But she knew better than to let her guard down.

She brushed herself off, wiping away any blood still leaking from her wounds. Then she stood tall, no longer appearing furious, but firmly stern, as was more characteristic of her.

His wound looked bad. Another wound like that, and he would run the chance of dying. She set her eyes on the Warden, who was coughing again.

'Give up!' She said in a commanding tone. 'Killing is a last resort for me!'

The Warden paused, his coughing replaced by a quiet but pained grunt. 'Fat chance. You wouldn't have hesitated back in my time.'

Celestia began to feel her anger fade a bit. He was correct about that.

The Warden slowly began to walk to the side, and Celestia carefully followed his movement, being sure to keep him in front of her.

'I know what I did in the past was wrong, and I know- I know that it cannot be easy for you to put what had happened behind you.' Celestia said, trying to reason with him before he did something that would force her to kill him. 'But killing Luna for something that she did while under the influence of Nightmare Moon will not enable you to move on.'

The Warden brought his hoof down from his wound, and Celestia noticed that the bleeding had slowed.

'You have no idea what it is like.' He uttered coldly, his visible eye still filled with hate. 'Killing Nightmare Moon won't bring them back, sure. But at this point, I just don't care. And if you insist on dying to defend your sister from the judgement she deserves, then you can join her in death. You owe me that, at the very least.'

Celestia's eyes narrowed. 'Why won't you see sense? You can't take much more of this, I can tell. Don't make me kill you, please!'

'Tia, you don't understand what hatred does to a pony.' Luna interjected, speaking for the first time in a while. Her eyes were still watery, emotion and guilt still governing over her. 'I know that he will stop at nothing to kill me to get revenge. I tried to do the same to you.' She shuddered and took a tearful breath. 'And I did the same to his wife and daughter.'

She closed her eyes, and hung her head. 'Please stand down, sister. Save yourself. You don't have to go down with me.'

'Luna, enough!' Celestia scolded, her eyes growing watery as well. 'He is wrong! You are my sister, and I will not let you perish on my watch!'

Then turning to the Warden, she spoke again. 'Luna is evidence that revenge is not the way to heal! I know who you once were, and he was not nearly as hateful as you. You even uplifted me and even dared to call me by name during my darkest hour! What happened to him? Is this really what he would have wanted?'

The Warden continued to slowly walk to the side, keeping a constant distance from Celestia, who was still being careful to face him.

'I'm afraid what I used to want was not enough to protect the ones I loved.' He said slowly, raising his foreleg with the blade, pointing it at Celestia. She took up a defensive stance. He was about to do something, she knew it.

'Now all I want is for you to pay for all you've done.' The Warden uttered.

She heard a click from his armor, and something deployed from his foreleg, next to the blade. Then, with a loud bang, what appeared to be a long, metal dart shot out, flying straight at Celestia.

Having anticipated something like this, Celestia simply teleported to the side. The dart whizzed past, and she could not help but feel a bit confused. Surely the Warden had to have known that she would avoid something like that.

But then she remembered who was behind her this whole time.

Luna.

Her blood ran cold as she immediately realized that the Warden was not walking around her for no reason, but to get a clear shot at either her or Luna.

There was no time to lose. There was not enough time to cast accelero, nor was there enough time to put up a makeshift barrier. She could try to grab it with her magic, but what if the dart was made of the same material his armor was and it simply ignored her magic? Would Luna be able to dodge it, or would she get hit?

This left only one option left that would guarantee the stoppage of the dart before it got to Luna.

In an instant, Celestia teleported once again, this time placing herself directly in front of Luna.

As soon as she materialized, she felt something impact her breastplate with enough force to knock the air out of her lungs and push her back a few steps.

She blinked and tried to take a breath, but she struggled to do so for some reason. She looked up at the Warden, and he retracted his device and blade, adopting a more relaxed stance.

Then she looked down.

Half of the dart was sticking out of her armor, and it immediately became clear that it had punctured through. She continued to stare at the dart, and after a few seconds, blood began to leak from the puncture. Oddly, while she felt some discomfort, she wasn't in great pain.

She turned around to face Luna, who put her hooves to her mouth with an expression of sheer horror at the sight of her wound.

'Tia?!'

Celestia began to feel lightheaded, but she shook her head.

'It's fine, Luna. I'm fin-'

She was cut off by a sudden coughing fit, and she noticed a metallic taste in her mouth once again. She hunched over, and spat out some fluid she had coughed up. When she was able to open her eyes, she noticed a small pool of blood on the ground.

She had been dealt a bad wound, and she knew it.

She heard a frantic cry from one of the guards. 'Take him down!!!'

Just then, she felt several hooves pulling her up and gently laying her down as her dizziness intensified. Despite this, she could make out Luna standing above her, clearly distraught as several of the remaining guards rushed by, running at the Warden.

'Tia?! Stay awake! Please!'

Luna's voice began to fade away for Celestia, as did her ability to see clearly.

At least Luna was still alive, for now at least. But now she was practically defenseless. The remaining guards could only hold the Warden but for so much longer, and Celestia knew that her role in the fight had come to a close.

Has Luna's fate been sealed since the beginning? Was she unable to do enough to save her little sister? Where was Twilight? She and her friends were Luna's only hope for survival now. Would she and her friends be able to stop him in time?

Her thoughts then turned to Twilight. How would she take this? How would she feel, knowing that the last time that they would ever talk was brought about because of a betrayal of trust? Who would look after Twilight?

Her final thoughts before she drifted off were steeped in fear and uncertainty, and indeed, all hope seemed lost. The realization set in that the Warden had made good on his promise, and her ultimatums that he would have to kill her in order to kill Luna had been realized.

Finally, the darkness overcame her, and she fell into unconsciousness.

***

For Luna, time seemed to slow down to a crawl as she struggled to cope with what had just happened.

'T-Tia?' She whispered, placing a hoof in an affectionate way on her sister's limp body.

All remaining guards rushed the Warden, making a final, last ditch effort to hold him at bay. But Luna could only watch as the Warden dispatched them one by one, still displaying his prowess despite his wounds.

Eventually, there were no guards left standing, leaving Luna and the Warden the only ones left.

It was eerily quiet. Only Luna's quiet crying and the Warden's clicking armor could be heard.

She merely sat where she was, tears streaming down her face as her heart succumbed to hopelessness. Celestia was likely dead, having sacrificed herself in a hopeless attempt to save her life. Her loving sister, who had stood by her even when she understood that Luna did not deserve it, was likely gone.

Gradually, the Warden came to within a few feet of her, and stopped. His eye was still gazing upon her.

'She brought this on herself.' He said, sounding disappointed. 'Her love for you blinded her to justice.'

Luna shook her downturned head, trembling and unable to reply. The Warden paused, then extended his blade.

'Anything you want to say?'

Luna continued shaking her head.

'Please end this. Do it.'

The Warden did not reply. He simply pulled his front leg back, preparing to plunge his blade deep into her chest.

Luna looked up, readying herself for the strike.

She deserved this. After what she had done, and after seeing Celestia throw herself away, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she deserved death.

The Warden hesitated momentarily, as if he were thinking as well. But then, giving an angry shout, he threw his blade forward.

Chapter 6: Harmony Or Vengeance

But it was not the end for Luna.

Before the Warden's blade fell, she saw an oddly familiar rainbow colored blur flash right before her eyes.

The blur swept past the Warden, causing him to sway violently to the side, missing Luna entirely

Both Luna and the Warden looked around, in stunned confusion.

Then, the rainbow colored flash came back, and this time it collided with him.

The Warden stumbled sideways as the blur came to a halt.

'Hey! You alright, your Highness?'

It was Rainbow Dash.

Luna was stunned. 'Rainbo- Wha-?' Her eyes widened as concern for the pegasi's safety overrode her sadness.

Closing her eyes, she teleported herself, Rainbow, and Celestia to the opposite side of the courtyard, away from the Warden.

'What are you doing here?' The princess asked, still in awe. 'He's too dangerous for you to take on! Run!'

Rainbow Dash looked at the Warden, who was now staring directly at her.

'That pile of metal right there?' Rainbow scoffed loudly, making sure that the Warden heard her. 'He won't be a problem!'

At that moment, Luna noticed that Rainbow Dash was wearing the necklace containing the Element of Loyalty. She remembered that Twilight and the others were on their way with the Elements of Harmony.

'Stand down, pegasus.' The Warden growled. 'I've no quarrel with you, but I will remove you from my way if need be.'

Rainbow Dash flapped upwards a few feet, looking as confident as ever despite being quite a bit smaller than the Warden.

'Remove me? Maybe.' She remarked, shrugging. 'But remove me and my friends? Not a chance, buddy.'

Just then, the flying chariot came hurtling over the castle walls, swiftly landing directly in front of Luna. Then out hopped Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy, joining Rainbow Dash.

All six gathered together, each wearing their respective elements.

They looked around, each taking in the situation as the Warden measured up his new challengers.

Fluttershy then made a noise that could only be described as a horrified whimper, putting her hooves to her face. 'Princess Celestia! S-s-she's-'

Just then, the gravity of the situation sank in for the six as they noticed Celestia lying on the ground.

Twilight went completely numb. For a few seconds, she simply shut down. Pinkie and Fluttershy did the same, while Rarity stumbled backwards, and Rainbow went completely pale, having failed to notice until now.

Applejack, meanwhile, took a step forward, her eyes gleaming in anger. 'Did- Did you hurt the princess?!' She screamed, gesturing at Celestia.

The Warden nodded, not saying a word.

Applejack looked around at her friends, looking as if she were trying to find something to say, but couldn't quite find the words.

Rainbow Dash flew forwards next, looking at Twilight. 'We need to zap him to Tartarus and back right now! Give the word!'

But Twilight wasn't listening. She was staring at Celestia's lifeless body, which was lying on the ground.

Try as she might, she could not break her gaze. Was Princess Celestia dead? Was her longtime mentor and teacher actually lying dead in front of her?

In moments, all of her memories of her time spent with the princess fashed past: Her first Summer Sun festival, during which she saw the princess for the very first time; The moment when she first hatched Spike and became Princess' Celestia's pupil; The countless days spent in the classroom, listening intently to the princess' every word; and the day that she was sent to Ponyville and reformed Luna, reuniting the sisters, to name a few.

These flashbacks then came to a jarring halt, terminating with the events that occurred earlier. Specifically, when Twilight lashed out at the princess.

Regret flooded her heart. She never had thought that their friendship would end in such a sour way. Princess Celestia's regretful expression when they last talked stuck to Twilight now in a resounding way.

If she had known this would happen, Twilight would never have hurt the princess like that.

Twilight bowed her head and closed her eyes. A single, shimmering tear fell from her eyes, leaving a shining trail on its descent.

'Don't weep for her.' She heard the Warden say in his gruff voice. 'She was only seeking to turn you into her puppet.'

This remark caused something else to begin to arise within her. She felt rage. An urge to exact vengeance began to swirl in her heart. At that moment, for the first time ever, she genuinely wanted to kill somepony.

How dare he speak in such a derogatory way about Celestia's intentions?

'She was better than you could ever hope to be.' Twilight said slowly, her voice laced with anger. 'She wanted nothing more than for me to be the very best I could ever be.'

'And yet she lied to you, didn't she?' The Warden shot back. 'I was still keeping an eye on you two before you left. I saw you call her out, I know that she kept you in the dark.'

This was true. His remark had left Twilight without a response. All she could do is stare at the Warden, thinking about how the princess had betrayed her trust.

'You know she was not worth following.' The Warden continued. 'If you are angry, you have every right to be. She deserves nothing less than your scorn.'

That was where he was wrong. Sure, the princess made a mistake, but Twilight understood why she wanted to hide them away. Besides, did this one slip up really offset all the good that the princess had done? She taught Twilight many difficult lessons in the best way possible, and the two had grown very close over the years as teacher and student. In difficult times, she helped Twilight overcome obstacles and achieve great things. Never once did Princess Celestia abandon her, nor did she mistreat her. In addition, the princess was unmistakably regretful for keeping Twilight in the dark.

Twilight was not going to hold it against her any longer.

'I forgive her.' Twilight said in a blunt tone. 'She was my teacher, and the only ponies who know me better than she did are my own parents and brother! She was afraid of how I would perceive her if I knew the truth, and I understand that feeling all too well! Yes, she was imperfect, but I am imperfect too! We all are, and I am not going to hold that against her!'

The rest of the Mane six looked at Twilight in awe at her righteous outburst. She shuddered and took a deep breath, checking her emotions. Then she spoke, sounding calmer.

'I know that she started the conflict between you two, but I also know that she said that you both had agreed to move on. So that begs the question; Why did you come back to fight more? Why did you instigate this fight and kill her?'

'I instigated this?' The Warden spat back. 'She and her monster of a sister kept the fight going. I'm merely ending it.'

Extending his wings once more, he prepared to strike out at the six.

'Girls, now!' Twilight commanded, having no choice but to defend against him. Immediately, the six harnessed the Elements of Harmony. Each rose into the air as a veil of brilliant colors surrounded them. Their eyes also changed, now glowing brightly. Twilight sat in the middle of the group, as the others then shot out beams of magic at her tiara.

The Warden came to a sudden stop, his wings now acting as airbrakes. It seemed as if he had suddenly realized what he was up against.

As the Element of Magic absorbed the beams from the other five, Twilight directed a single, concentrated beam at the Warden. He was immediately sent flying back into the ground, becoming embedded in the soil.

Seeing that he was knocked down, Twilight stopped, the others following suit.

The Warden was motionless, and his armor was smoking a little. Then he groaned, and began to move. Slowly, he stood back up.

Twilight could hardly believe her eyes. His armor was glowing, a full spectrum of colors forming an aura around him.

Twilight's mind entered a swirl of panic. He just absorbed the magic of the Elements of Harmony! Did she underestimate him after all?

Regardless of the answer, she knew that they had to act fast.

'Again!' She cried, and the others complied without hesitation. Once more, they shot beams of magic at Twilight, who instantly shot out another beam at him, determined to keep him off balance.

This time, the Warden was prepared. Extending his blade, he drove it deep into the ground, anchoring himself.

A few seconds passed, the six using the Elements, and the Warden holding fast, against all expectations. The six began to strain a little. They had never used the elements for so long at one time.

The Warden, however, also began to visibly struggle. Several flaps in his armor opened up, and Twilight could see magical auras begin to jettison out of them.

Her heart jumped. It looked like he was trying to offload the magic. That meant that they were overloading his armor! The Elements were too powerful for him to handle after all!

'Keep going!' Twilight shouted, her full focus on maintaining the stream of magic.

The Warden was clearly struggling now. His blade began to slip out, and he was desperately trying to find a solid foothold. But as they kept up the stream, the harder it became for him to resist.

'We've got him! Keep it up!' Twilight's words of encouragement seemed to inspire her friends to redouble their efforts, despite their increasing exhaustion. The beam intensified even more, and this seemed to be the tipping point.

The Warden shouted out in what could be described as a mixture of pain and anger, before finally losing his grip. Helpless against the beam, he was flung into a wall, his back firmly planted against it. His armor was glowing orange now, and smoke was coming off of it.

Twilight was growing weary. Surely, they could safely stop now.

But then she noticed something.

The Warden's visible eye was glowing, brighter than the beam itself.

She realized with a chill that he was not done yet.

The six were straining again, groaning and grunting with exhaustion. Twilight had to encourage them again.

'He's not done yet! We need to-' Twilight was cut off by a furious shout from the Warden.

'I will not fail! I will avenge them!'

Then, a beam of the very same magic coming from the Elements of Harmony was fired by the Warden, counteracting the beam from the six.

They struggled desperately, but they were already exhausted from having continuously used the Elements for such a long time. Slowly gaining momentum, the Warden's own beam moved forward, pushing back the six's beam.

Things had just gotten even more dire than Twilight could have anticipated. She looked at her friends around her, and each was straining immensely. She knew they had mere seconds remaining before they were overcome.

She needed to turn this around. She and her friends were Luna's only hope now. She could not fail. Far too much was at stake, and she had to end this now.

They had to defeat him, for Princess Celestia's sake.

With a determination that could only be described as supernatural, Twilight gave one all out, final effort.

The six's beam now equaled that of the Warden's, halting it. Then, the six's beam broke the Warden's, enveloping him in overwhelming power.

Twilight finally cut off the magic, and the six friends tumbled to the ground, exhausted.

After a few seconds, as she regained her breath, Twilight staggered upright, looking at the Warden.

He was standing as well, breathing heavily, his armor glowing with intense heat. His eye had lost its glow, and he simply stood completely still.

Then, with his armor sparking and smoking, he fell to his knees and toppled to the ground, unconscious.

He was done.

'Is- is everypony okay?' Twilight called.

'We're fine! Go check on the princesses!' Fluttershy replied, pointing at Celestia.

'I'll check on Princess Luna!' Rarity declared, already running towards the stunned but conscious princess.

Twilight felt a stabbing sensation of dread pierce her heart as she looked at the fallen princess once more. She began to gallop to her side, being joined by an equally concerned Rainbow Dash.

They came up to Celestia within seconds, and Twilight felt her heart drop.

The princess lay on the ground, her eyes closed and a small amount blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth. Twilight also could see the dart now, sticking out of her breastplate.

She unsuccessfully fought the urge to burst into tears. The princess was lying broken and lifeless on the ground before her.

Memories of her time spent with Celestia played out in front of her eyes once again.

Memories of their last exchange less than thirty minutes before also replayed in her mind. She recalled Celestia's shame in admitting that she was not who Twilight thought she was. The feelings of anger and even betrayal experienced by Twilight was still raw, but now it had been replaced by grief.

Sadness began to overwhelm her, causing her to breathe uncontrollably and for tears to begin to flow freely.

Why did her final discussion with Celestia have to be such a heartbreaking one?

A surprised and joyous cry from Rainbow Dash, who had placed a hoof to the princess's mouth, shattered Twilight's flashbacks.

'She's breathing! She's alive!'

Indeed, she was right! Twilight noticed Celestia's sides rise and fall as she breathed. Her breaths were weak and raspy, but she was alive!

Twilight felt a wave of intense joy and hope wash over her. She looked over at Luna, who had an expression of shock and joy in her eyes. She, too, looked a bit relieved.

'Oh fer- You just don't know when to quit, do you?'

Applejack's angry remark caused Twilight to look at the Warden.

He was standing once again!

Twilight was shocked. Not only did he just try to use the Elements of Harmony against them, but he was now standing again!

Hopelessness set in once again. He had taken everything that they could throw at him, and he was still able to fight!

'Why!?' Twilight cried, at a loss for what to do. 'Why are you like this?! Why are you doing this?!'

'Ask her.' The Warden groaned, pointing to Luna. 'You won't believe it coming from me, but you might coming from her.'

Each of the six looked to Luna, who was also staring at the Warden. Having been put on the spot, Luna broke her gaze, took a shaky breath, and spoke.

'I-I killed his family in cold blood as Nightmare Moon.'

Twilight felt shock pierce her soul as she heard her answer.

Everypony was deathly silent.

A few moments passed, then Rainbow Dash spoke.

'What?! No! That's just- That's got to be a lie!'

'I agree!' Rarity said. 'That's- That's too much!'

Applejack's eyes opened wide for a moment, before closing them and lowering her head.

'Gals, she's tellin' the truth.'

Twilight had to take a moment to process it. It was unbelievable.

What should she do?

She looked back at Celestia, and her soul rallied.

It would be an injustice to allow him to hurt anypony else. If Celestia's friendship lessons and Luna's conversion taught her anything, it's that forgiveness is the best way to move on, not exacting revenge.

A look of determination overcame her face, as a fiery resolve kindled within her.

'Warden, I cannot hope to understand what you have been through.' Twilight assured him. 'But please, please understand that revenge is only going to increase your suffering. There is only one way to fix this.'

'What? Forgiveness?' The Warden scoffed. 'In case you really are this dense, that went off the table centuries ago. Now stand aside.'

Twilight sighed. If he was not going to be talked down, then they were going to have to stop him. His armor was badly damaged, and he was bleeding in several places. If there was a time to take him head on, it was now.

'If that is the case, then we are going to stop you.' Twilight declared. 'Right?'

'Yeah!' Rainbow Dash shouted. 'Princess Luna's our friend, and we aren't going to stand aside in her time of need!'

Fluttershy worked up the courage to speak next, scolding the Warden. 'If you weren't so heartless, you would realize that she has changed!'

'Well said, darling!' Rarity praised, stepping up alongside Applejack and Pinkie.

Twilight nodded as the rest of the six mustered around her.

'If we cannot stop you with the Elements of Harmony, we will stop you with our hooves if we have to.'

The Warden did not flinch.

'Fine.' He uttered.

'Let's get him!' Rainbow Dash shouted, rushing towards the Warden.

He braced, extending his blade and preparing to take on the six mares.

However, a pale blue aura suddenly enveloped the six, including Rainbow Dash, who was only mere feet from the Warden. Then, they found themselves being forcibly moved to the side. Twilight looked around desperately, and to her dread, saw that Luna was responsible.

'No!' Luna shouted. 'That's enough! I'm not letting anypony else get hurt because of something I did!'

She hung her head as she turned to the Warden. 'I'll hold them at bay, don't hurt them. Just end this now.'

Twilight tried her best to break out of Luna's grasp, but could not do so. The princess was far too powerful. All she could do was watch in horror.

The Warden did not say a word. He simply stared at Luna, and began to slowly walk to her. He strode up to her, his hoofsteps thumping quietly as he approached. When he was within a few feet of her, he paused.

Twilight's mind desperately raced. The only thing she could do now is make a desperate appeal.

'Warden! Think! Although your family is gone, are you completely certain that this is what they would have wanted?'

He looked at Twilight, and stared at her for a few moments. Then he closed his visible eye, and shook his head.

'No… But as you have said, they are gone. All that can be done now is what I want.'

'Celestia said that she once thought you were honorable and good. Was that because of your family? Were they the ones who drove you to be better?'

The Warden sighed and opened his eye, making eye contact again. 'You certainly possess your mentor's penchant for getting under my skin.' He remarked. 'I suggest you remain silent.'

He turned back to Luna, and Twilight desperately tried to come up with another appeal.

'Please listen! Would they have approved of this? What would they have thought of you? If they were good, surely they would not-'

'Shut up!' The Warden shouted, shuddering as he did so. 'The more you talk, the more I'll make Nightmare Moon suffer before she dies!'

Twilight gasped, swallowing any additional words she had. Had she made things worse? She looked at her friends, hoping for some hope.

Fluttershy was hiding her face, tears streaming from her closed eyes as Rarity and Pinkie were trying to hold back their own tears while trying to console her. Rainbow Dash was frantically struggling to get out of Luna's grip, trying desperately to stop the Warden by force.

Applejack looked even more somber than Twilight had ever seen her before. 'You did all you could, sugarcube.' She whispered, trying to do her best to console Twilight.

Twilight took a shaky breath, and looked back to the Warden, who was looming over Luna now.

Luna did not say anything, closing her tear filled eyes and waiting for what came next.

He came in closer, putting his head directly above her own. Steadily, he took his blade, and pressed it to her chest, right over her heart. Luna felt the cold metal pressing against her. She inhaled sharply, anticipating the killing blow.

For several unbearable seconds, the Warden held his blade to her, remaining motionless.

But then, the blade withdrew.

She flinched, expecting the killing strike.

But nothing happened.

Luna felt her heartbeat quicken, as she began to breathe quicker. The anticipation was antagonizing.

Why is he taking so long?

Then, she felt a drop of water fall onto the back of her head.

Luna's mind raced. It was not raining, that much was certain. Then what was it?

She opened her eyes, and saw the shining blade trembling slightly, a few inches away from her chest.

She slowly looked up, gazing at his face again.

A small trail of shining water, was running down his mask, originating from his broken visor.

It was a tear.

The expression in his eye was different from what it was before. Luna gasped silently.

In his eyes was not anger or hatred, but regret and realization. It was almost a mirror image of her own feelings.

The Warden's breathing was becoming more uncontrolled now, as he struggled to maintain his composure.

Twilight watched on, not knowing how to react. Could she dare hope that he was hesitating?

The Warden took a series of deep breaths, taking a few seconds before speaking. His voice trembled, revealing a surprising degree of sadness and regret.

'What am I doing?'

He took a few steps back, looking around in awe.

Twilight could not be sure, but it seemed as if he were only just realizing what he had done.

Luna released the six from her magic, certain that the fight was now over.

Rainbow Dash tensed up as if she were about to rush in to fight, but Applejack placed a foreleg in front of her. Rainbow shot an irritated glance at her, but relented.

Eventually, the Warden's gaze fell on Celestia, who was still lying unconscious. Slowly, he looked back to Luna, his own tears flowing freely now.

He didn't say another word. He extended his wings, his damaged armor grinding and sparking as the engines sputtered to life. Then, within seconds, he struggled skyward, and flew out of sight.

The fight was over.

Chapter 7: Of Forgiveness And Friendship

'Set up the triage over there, quick! If you can walk, help the wounded! Move!'

Shining Armor's commanding voice boomed clearly in the courtyard, and the battered guards obeyed his orders. Mere minutes had passed since the Warden flew away, but efforts to treat the wounded were well underway.

One guard tried to stand, but stumbled to the ground, unable to walk properly. Fluttershy and Applejack rushed over to his side.

'Don't move, we've got ya.' Applejack assured him, picking him up with Fluttershy's assistance.

'It's not that bad.' The guard argued, groaning as he was moved. 'I can help!'

'Oh, please don't move!' Fluttershy begged. 'You're definitely hurt! Please let us help.'

The guard, like any other pony faced with the impossible task of saying no to Fluttershy, relented and silently nodded in acknowledgement. He allowed them to walk him over to the triage, where several stretchers with the wounded were already placed. Upon reaching the station, a nurse came rushing up.

'I've got him.' She said, taking the guard with her.

Applejack and Fluttershy swiftly stepped back, getting out of the way of the rushing medical personnel.

After taking a moment to catch her breath, Fluttershy noticed Twilight and Cadence sitting nearby, next to Celestia. Nudging Applejack, she gestured in their direction. Applejack nodded, and they walked over.

As they approached, they could tell that both Twilight and Cadence were visibly shaken. They both sat in a somber fashion, watching as a doctor and a nurse finished stabilizing the wounded princess.

She lay on a stretcher, still unconscious. Her white coat was tarnished with dirt and blood. Her once brilliant mane was no longer sparkling, but was now messy and dirty. She was breathing, albeit with the help of an oxygen mask. The dart had been removed, and a large amount of gauze had been placed in the wound, preventing it from bleeding any further. Her eyes remained closed and her breathing was weak, but she was clearly alive.

The sight of the most powerful alicorn in Equestria in such a weakened, tarnished, and vulnerable state was sobering.

'Oh my…' Fluttershy gasped, putting a hoof to her mouth as her eyes grew misty. 'Is she going to be okay?'

The doctor nodded. 'She will survive.'

A collective sense of relief reduced some of the grief and shock in the atmosphere. At least there was some good news.

'How bad are her injuries?' Princess Cadence asked worriedly.

'The dart punctured her lung, albeit slightly. A concussion cannot be ruled out either.' The doctor replied, shaking his head. 'She's going to be in bed for at least two to three weeks, even with healing spells.'

Twilight sighed, and the others shared her sentiment. The sheer degree of danger that the Warden had posed had sunk in even more, now that the adrenaline had faded.

'We're going to move her indoors.' The nurse interjected. 'She's going to require an emergency procedure, so no visitors until we are done later tonight.'

All who were present nodded, understanding. The doctor and nurse immediately began wheeling Celestia indoors. Everypony they passed by stopped what they were doing and watched in silence. Even the wounded guards stood up as they were able, paying their respects to the incapacitated princess.

Once Celestia had disappeared from sight, Twilight sniffed and wiped away some tears that had gathered. Cadence gently wrapped a foreleg around her, doing what she could to comfort her.

'Come on, let's see how Princess Luna's doing.' She suggested.

Twilight nodded, and the four walked over to an open spot to the side, where Princess Luna was sitting with Rarity. A fresh bandage had been applied to Luna's wound, and several other bandages covered various smaller injuries.

As they approached, Cadence embraced Luna as Rarity did the same to Twilight.

'How bad are her injuries?' Luna asked apprehensively.

'She will be okay.' Cadence reassured her. 'If anypony can bounce back from something like that, it's her.'

Luna sniffed and smiled slightly. 'My sister has always been extraordinarily tough. Even I couldn't overcome her at my worst.'

'That damage to the Warden's Armor, was that Celestia's doing?' Twilight asked, moving closer to Luna. 'His mask was torn open and he had a gaping wound in the pit of his leg. He did not look nearly as rough when he confronted me and Princess Celestia in the reading room.'

'Yes.' Responded Luna. 'My sister did most of that. I was reminded today of how fearsome she can be when she fights. She hurt him badly, and did some feats of strength I doubt anypony would be able to match, myself included.'

Twilight could only imagine what Celestia could have looked like, delivering a fierce beating to the armored menace. It was not an image that she ever conjured up before, the princess being a warrior. It almost disappointed her to think that she never saw Princess Celestia performing in such a way.

Luna took a breath, and continued. 'But strength alone is no match for a sharp witted opponent such as the Warden. He had many tricks at his disposal, and he used each one to their full potential.'

'If Ah may, yer highness; did he absorb magic before we got here?' Applejack asked. 'Ah'm a tad curious, considerin' how he shot our magic back at us.'

'He did.' Luna replied. 'He could absorb magic as long as he could get in contact with it. He snatched my sword right out of my grip, passed through a magic shield, then used the absorbed magic to manipulate objects and even teleport. For a time, that is.'

'He could do that?!' Twilight asked, completely astounded. 'How could he perform such spells?'

'Through his armor, I suppose. It has some sort of unknown technology behind it.' Responded Luna. 'Still, I am completely in awe that he had managed to turn the Elements' power on itself like he did. That is no easy feat, and I should know.'

'We all were quite astounded.' Rarity confirmed, turning to Twilight. 'But you did manage to keep him from getting us. You truly went above and beyond, darling!'

Twilight shook her head. 'You say that like I did that all by myself. Without any of you, I would have just become another casualty.'

'Oh, stop being so modest!' Pinkie Pie's shrill, yet vibrant voice cut through the atmosphere as she bounded up to Twilight's side. 'After all, you stopped him from shooting the Elements' magic back at us and managed to talk him down!'

Twilight managed a slight smile for the first time since the Warden's first appearance.

'Hey, Pinkie! Don't forget who saved Princess Luna from that freak to begin with!' Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she flew over.

Luna nodded. 'Indeed, and I am indebted to you. You truly are representative of the Element of Loyalty.'

'Aw, don't make me blush, your highness!' Rainbow declared.

At that moment, Shining Armor strode up to the group, went straight to Princess Cadence, and gave her a quick kiss before making a report.

'Well, things could have gotten a whole lot worse.'

'How so?' Luna asked.

'Every single guard that took part in the fighting was injured in some way, but nothing was more severe than a broken bone or two.'

'That's all?' Applejack asked, looking astounded.

'Looks like it.' The prince replied, nodding. 'Nothing that a guard is not prepared to suffer in the line of duty. Honestly, I expected far worse.'

Cadence nodded. 'I did too. It would seem that the Warden kept his focus on Luna and Celestia, only doing just enough to keep the guards out of the fight without killing them.'

'He is not a mindless killer.' Luna remarked. 'He is very deliberate with what he does, and does not act without reason.'

'Yet he tried to kill you and Celestia.' Shining Armor interjected. 'What could have possibly possessed him to do such a thing, anyway?'

The whole group fell into an uncomfortable silence, and the prince began to sense that his question had struck something painful.

Luna closed her eyes and sighed, prepared to make a third confession.

'I think I killed his family as Nightmare Moon.'

Both Cadence and Shining Armor stared at her in shock for a moment, before looking at each other, wondering what they should say. Luna sighed heavily and looked downwards as Cadence wrapped a wing around her, trying to comfort her.

'Aunt Luna, why didn't you tell anypony before? We wouldn't have thought any less of you.'

'I know.' Luna answered quietly, a single tear falling from her eye. 'But my shame is immense.'

She looked up, gazing at the group of family and friends that had gathered around her.

'I'm so sorry for putting you all in such grave danger. It's my fault.' She murmured. 'You didn't deserve to undergo all this. Celestia least of all.'

Twilight then felt compelled to speak. 'You and Nightmare Moon are two entirely different personalities. You are not at fault for this, especially if what Princess Celestia told me is true.'

'She finally admitted her past mistakes to you?' Luna asked, now looking concerned. 'After that exchange between you and the Warden, I suspected that something happened between you and her. Do you… still harbor resentment against her?'

'No.' Twilight replied. 'You heard me back there, I forgave her.'

Luna's eyes widened slightly, the full realization that Twilight really didn't hold anything against Celestia had finally set in.

Twilight continued. 'She didn't deserve to be forgiven, but isn't that why true forgiveness is so powerful? It's as she told me back when we were in the reading room: When given unconditionally, there is really nothing more potent at healing great wrongs. Besides, we both stand to gain nothing if I harbor bitterness against her. If I remain unforgiving, how can I expect others to willingly forgive me when I inevitably make a mistake? All that we would gain would be nothing but suffering.'

Luna glanced downwards, looking like she was deep in thought about Twilight's statement.

'You mean suffering like the Warden?' Fluttershy meekly asked, looking saddened. 'He was not very forgiving. I don't like to imagine how badly he must be hurting for him to do what he did. His poor heart must really be broken...'

The others looked at her with a mixture of reactions. They hadn't really given that much thought to this aspect until Fluttershy brought it up.

'Now that you mention it, I suppose he really is suffering badly.' Rarity remarked somberly. 'It honestly saddens me to think about it. I don't know whether to still be angry towards him or feel sorry.'

'He doesn't have my sympathy.' Rainbow grumbled. 'After what he pulled, he deserves to feel terrible.'

Everypony present shot a glance at Rainbow, each one wearing a slightly different expression. Sensing that they disagreed with her exclamation, she felt the urge to clarify.

'What? He almost killed Princess Luna and left Princess Celestia for dead!'

'Yes, but he lost his family because of their mistakes!' Fluttershy scolded. 'How awful would you feel if your family was taken away by somepony?'

Rainbow nearly gave a snippy reply, but then the weight of Fluttershy's question sank in. She sighed, and looked downwards, silently admitting that she had perhaps been too harsh.

'The Warden's unforgiveness led to this.' Twilight remarked. 'Not only is he suffering as a result, but all of us are as well. That is one of the reasons why I stand by my decision to forgive Princess Celestia. Bitterness and resentment only lead to more suffering by all involved.'

'So what now, then?' Rainbow Dash asked. 'That freak's still out there.'

'Well, we ain't huntin' him down.' Answered Applejack. 'Sorry to disappoint ya.'

Rainbow immediately looked irritated, indicating that AJ had indeed given the answer that she did not want to hear.

'He's too dangerous!' Added Pinkie. 'If he could almost kill Princess Celestia, he can surely hurt us, badly! If Luna hadn't kept us from fighting him directly, we would have gotten all beaten up until we looked like jelly!'

'So we're just gonna let him go?' Rainbow Dash asked in an exasperated way.

'Yes, but we shall be on the alert.' Shining Armor declared. 'I will see to it myself that the guard is back in action as soon as possible.'

'We'll help!' Pinkie Pie declared enthusiastically.

'No, you all need a break.' Luna interjected. 'Especially you, Twilight. Having to deal with Chrysalis, the wedding, and now this, you and your friends need to rest.'

Twilight paused. 'Are you sure? We are capable of-'

'Twilight, I am telling you politely that you need to go home. Cadence, your brother, and I are able to fix things up.'

Twilight looked downwards. 'Of course, Princess Luna. My apologies.'

The princess sighed. 'Don't mistake my bluntness for anger, Twilight. You have shown no reason for me or anypony else to be angry at you.'

She strode over to Twilight, and lifted her head gently with one of her wings. 'Celestia will be very proud of you once she awakes.' She said, smiling a little.

Twilight's relief was visible. Luna was right. 'Thank you, your highness.' She said, smiling back. 'When should I return to see Princess Celestia again?'

'You shall receive a letter from me as soon as she is able to talk.' Luna reassured.

Twilight nodded. 'Then I will go pack my things.'

After bowing her head, she turned to walk off into the castle.

'Twily! Do you want help with that, darling?' Rarity asked, trotting up alongside her.

'It would be much appreciated.' Twilight replied.

'Woohoo!' Pinkie Pie cried as she zipped up to her. 'Twilight's coming home!'

Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor watched the rest of the six follow Twilight into the castle. Each of the royals dwelled upon how fortunate Equestria was to have such gallant defenders. After a few moments, Luna looked to Cadence.

'Was I too harsh towards her?'

'Not at all.' Cadence replied. 'You are improving by the day.'

Luna sighed. 'I know. But I'm still so flawed. I have blood on my hooves, and there's nothing that I can do to remove it.'

The three fell silent, now dwelling on this dark truth. Luna's expression fell once more, and Cadence could tell she was fighting back tears. Putting her leg around her adopted aunt's shoulder, she quietly offered some reassurance.

'Perhaps not, but there is always forgiveness.'

Luna shook her head. 'With the Warden? I fear not.'

She took a deep sigh, then spoke again.

'Not to brush you off, but I need to be alone for now. Would you be so kind as to leave me?'

'Of course.' Shining Armor answered, beckoning for Cadence to leave with him. Cadence was hesitant, looking to Luna in concern. But after a moment of deliberation, she walked to her husband's side, and together they walked away, leaving Luna to find solace in her solitude.

Three Days Later…

Twilight took a deep breath as she was led by a guard along the sprawling corridors of Canterlot castle. Earlier that morning, Spike had burped up a letter from Princess Luna, stating that Princess Celestia was finally awake and able to converse. Mere minutes after receiving the letter, Twilight was picked up by the royal chariot and ferried to Canterlot. As soon as she arrived, she was greeted by her brother and Cadence, and was directed to the room where Celestia lay.

The events that unfolded a few days prior had been weighing heavily on her since she returned to Ponyville. However, Princess Luna was right to send her off to rest, she needed it badly. Now that she had a few days to recuperate, she could think more clearly and reflect on what had happened.

As she worked her way along the glistening corridors, she tried to think about what to say to Princess Celestia. Should she give her a happy greeting, or should she apologize again for snapping at her?

This debate raged on in her mind, but it came to an inconclusive halt when the guard leading her stopped as well. In front of them was an ornate door, with two sentries standing vigilantly at either side. Upon seeing Twilight, one of the sentries gave a knock at the door.

'Come in.' Princess Luna's voice beckoned.

The sentry opened the door, and Twilight walked inside. The room was quite spacious, with a polished stone floor and a high ceiling. To one side a small fire crackled in a richly adorned fireplace, and to the other, a tall window flanked by luxurious purple drapes let in the late morning sunshine.

At the far end of the room, in a rather large bed, lay Princess Celestia, and her sister sat by her side. Celestia was attached to several machines and IVs by way of tubes and wires, and a large amount of bandages were wrapped tightly around her chest, covering her worst injury. Another small bandage was located on her face, covering the cut that nearly took her eye.

Twilight nervously stepped in, and the guards closed the door behind her. The sight of the princess in a hospital bed had thrown her for a loop, in combination with her indecisiveness in choosing what to say.

However, Princess Celestia's expression immediately melted away any nervous feelings. As soon as she saw Twilight enter, Celestia's eyes lit up and a joyful smile played across her face. She then turned to look at Luna.

'Sister, you didn't tell me that she was coming to see me!' She exclaimed, sounding quite a bit quieter and weaker than usual.

'I wanted it to be a surprise, Tia. Seeing such happiness from you is gratifying.'

Celestia looked back at Twilight, and motioned for her to come closer. 'Well? Get over here, Twilight!'

Twilight could hardly restrain herself from running over. After seeing Celestia almost die, the happiness and relief from seeing her alive was overwhelming.

With a massive smile on her own face now, Twilight walked to the bedside. Princess Celestia extended one of her forelegs in her direction, beckoning for her to come in for a hug. Twilight did not hesitate, and they shared a heartfelt embrace. Despite being in a weakened state, Celestia's grip was quite firm, holding her smaller student tightly. Luna, who was looking on, also could not help but smile in genuine joy.

After a few seconds, Celestia loosened her embrace, and the two separated. Twilight watched Celestia's smile fade, and her eyes turn sorrowful.

'Oh, Twilight.' The princess sighed. 'I am so, so sorry for violating your trust like I did. That was senseless of me, lying to you.'

Twilight listened attentively, somewhat relieved that the princess had broached the subject instead of waiting for her to do so.

Celestia continued. 'I should have just told you from the beginning and set the record straight. Instead, I kept you in the dark, and irreparably damaged your trust. I know just how highly you regard me, and believe me, I try my hardest to be the best teacher that I can possibly be for you. But I failed miserably.'

These words rang true for Twilight. Indeed, she looked up to Celestia greatly, and she understood that the princess wished nothing more but to be a good mentor for her. She had succeeded in doing so ever since Twilight came underneath her tutelage. But her failure to be truthful to Twilight was undeniable.

However, that was not nearly enough reason to hold resentment against the princess.

'Princess Celestia,' Twilight said, 'I don't hold any of that against you.'

'You don't?' The princess asked, looking hopeful.

'Of course not! I can understand why you tried to hide the truth.' Twilight explained, closing her eyes. 'In fact, I do have a confession to make, myself.'

After a brief pause, she started. 'Although I said that I know that it is impossible for anypony to be completely perfect, I'm sure that I made an exception for you. Part of the reason why I was so upset was because the realization that my perception of you that I had held since I was filly was false. It almost seemed as if all my time as your student was a lie.'

She took a deep breath, preparing to admit her own fault. 'That, in of itself, was very unfair of me. I held you to such an unrealistic standard, and I overreacted when that impossible standard was not met. To be honest, I feel terrible about it.'

Twilight fell silent, and Princess Celestia sighed.

'Twilight, I forgive you for all of that. Besides, I never really owned up to my biggest mistakes, if I am being honest. You saw me as being perfect because that was an effect of me keeping my bad choices a secret. Like this whole debacle with the Warden, I am the root cause of the issue.'

Twilight nodded, understanding what the princess was saying. She was admitting full fault for all of this, and she obviously felt awful about it all.

'Well,' Twilight gently said, 'I forgive you, for all of this. No need to hold on to bitterness.'

Celestia nodded and smiled, looking quite relieved. Her smile soon gave way to a thoughtful expression, and she asked her student a question. 'Now that you know that I am not quite what I seem, how do you perceive me now? I must know.'

Twilight pondered this question for what felt like a full minute. After a long silence, she gave her answer. 'I feel… Closer to you now, if I am being honest.'

'Closer?' Celestia asked, looking curious. 'Do elaborate.'

'I mean closer as if we are both imperfect ponies.' Twilight explained. 'You are not some perfect, flawless goddess. You are a pony, just like me, capable of mistakes. That means that it is possible for me to succeed as your student and perhaps even surpass you some day. That is one of your goals as a teacher, right? To help me eventually surpass you?'

Celestia nodded, compelling Twilight to continue.

'I will be honest, it was really stressing me out, thinking that I had no hope whatsoever of even getting close to meeting your expectations. But now that I have learned that you are imperfect, your expectations are achievable. It really puts my mind at ease to think of that.'

'I'm glad you have realized that.' The princess said, her expression falling once more after a moment. 'However, I'm afraid that not everypony will be as understanding as you.'

'How do you mean?' Asked Twilight.

Celestia sighed shakily. 'Twilight, Equestria needs rulers whom they can trust, and I failed them. By keeping the past a secret, I have curated a false image of myself that my subjects worship. What would happen if they found out?'

Both Twilight and Luna looked downwards, each reflecting on this question. There was no doubt in either of their minds that the princess knew just what would happen.

It would be a scandal of massive proportions. The status quo would be badly shaken, that much was certain.

'Sister, art thou suggesting that we should keep your doings a secret from the populace?'

'I am.'

'B-but Princess Celestia,' Twilight stuttered, 'wouldn't it be better to simply just come clean about this whole matter?

The princess looked Twilight dead in the eye and sighed.

'It would for me, yes. It would allow me to get that off of my chest. But for Equestria, I'm afraid not. Now, more than ever, our enemies are coming forward. Our nation needs rulers whom they can trust if we are to persist. If we go public with this, our trust and unity as a race will erode. If ponykind cannot trust their own rulers, how can we be expected to save ourselves when the next threat comes along?'

All three went quiet for a few moments, then Celestia continued.

'For now, the status quo must be maintained, for the good of the nation. At least, until a suitable replacement has been found for us. The sooner the better'

Twilight took a second to process what she had just heard.

'Wh- Hold on, wait. You think that ponies will call for your removal if they find out?'

'That cannot be ruled out, young Twilight.' Luna explained. 'Ponies are usually not content to remain underneath the rule of those whom they don't trust.'

She paused, glancing at her older sister.

'Whilst I understand that keeping this whole affair from the populace is the necessary action, I think that the right thing to do would be to come clean. Unfortunately, I believe that doing the right thing would be too harmful. Thus is the struggle of being a princess.'

Celestia nodded, turning to Twilight.

'Do you understand why I wish to keep what you found out about me a secret, my student?'

Twilight paused, then nodded in return.

'I... Think I do.' She said hesitantly. 'But I don't like it at all.'

'We don't either.' Celestia reassured her. 'Trust me, we don't.'

The three ponies fell silent, each reflecting on the events that had occurred earlier. Then, Twilight spoke up, changing the subject.

'So, what about the Warden? What do we do about him now?'

'There is not much that we can do now, I'm afraid.' Celestia remarked. 'I have an idea where he may be, but hunting him down would be a massive mistake.'

'But what if he comes back to try again?' Twilight asked. 'What then?'

Luna shook her head. 'He won't.'

Twilight tilted her head. 'How do you know?'

'I know how he used to be, young Twilight.' Luna replied. 'This may come as a surprise to both of you, but I remember visiting his dreams on more than one occasion.'

Celestia looked a bit surprised. 'Sister, you never told me that before! Why didn't you say so?'

'Because back then, he and his family were your enemies, remember?'

Celestia's expression fell once she remembered. 'Oh. Yes, I do remember.' She said with a sigh. 'You didn't tell me in order to protect him?'

Luna nodded. 'You are correct. He was but a colt back then, and I was not about to bring down your unjust anger upon him.'

Both Twilight and Celestia fell silent, thinking about this discovery as Luna continued to explain.

'The Warden was not consumed by hatred and bitterness then. Although, his drive to protect Equestria drove him to do things that are questionable, and he had a tendency towards anger, admittedly. He certainly felt anger towards you, sister, but it was not ill-placed.'

Celestia nodded, conceding that her sister was correct.

'In spite of his anger, he was a good pony, one of the best I have ever known.' Luna continued. 'He wanted nothing more than to protect Equestria and all who dwelt within. That is, until he started his own family. At that point, his primary focus became protecting them. They strengthened his morals, and helped him keep his anger in check. It was because of them that he came to you in your hour of need, on that night that I fell.'

Luna paused, her expression falling. 'Of course, it was also on that night that I- I took away his family and left him for dead. He somehow survived and came back, but after having lost his family, there was nothing preventing him from becoming a slave to bitterness and resentment, not unlike Nightmare Moon.'

Princess Luna sighed, looking down and away from her sister and Twilight.

'Then… Was it my reminding him of his family that caused him to back down?' Twilight asked hesitantly.

Luna nodded, still looking away. 'I can't see how it could have been anything else. When you reminded him of his family, his whole expression changed. For a fleeting moment, I saw myself in his eye. Regret, shame, pain, it was all there.'

Celestia then sighed. 'It sounds like his love for his family was even more powerful than his lust for revenge.'

Luna sniffed, wiping away a tear from her eye. 'It would appear that way, sister. But I have to live knowing that Nightmare Moon took away what he loved most.'

Twilight saw Celestia's expression fall as well as she noticed Luna's emotions beginning to surface.

'Lulu,' Celestia said gently, 'you do know that we forgive you, right? No matter what Nightmare Moon did, you are still Luna, and we love you for it.'

The younger sister nodded and sniffed again, regaining some of her composure. 'I know, Tia. Both you and young Twilight have shown me that you don't hold my past against me, and for that I am grateful.'

Luna took a breath, gathering herself before continuing. 'But I cannot forgive myself if the Warden does not.'

Twilight fell into thought, wishing that she were able to fully understand the pain that Luna was undergoing. Her guilt had been plain to see even before she realized that the Warden had returned. If she was struggling to move on then, there was next to no hope of her doing so now.

Unless…

'Princess Luna?' Twilight asked sheepishly. 'What if he is actually willing to forgive you? Would that help at all?'

Luna looked at Twilight, and her eyes glimmered a little, as if a spark of hope had been ignited within her.

'Do you think there is a chance he would do so?' She asked quietly.

'Luna, hold on.' Celestia interjected. 'You know I don't mean to squash your hopes right now, but he is going to need some time to recover before we go seeking him out. The last time I did that, he almost killed me. He's too dangerous.'

'What if you sent me?' Asked Twilight. 'If me and my friends could turn Discord from his evil ways, then who's to say-'

'Out of the question.' Luna responded, shaking her head. 'Not only is he far too dangerous, but this is something that I have to ask of him myself.'

Twilight nodded, and felt a little embarrassed that she had even thought of asking for forgiveness on Luna's behalf. It just didn't seem right, now that she thought of it.

'Still, I am very grateful you would be willing to do such a thing, Twilight.' Luna added, not wishing to come across as being too harsh. 'I know you meant well.'

Twilight smiled slightly, understanding what the princess of the night was saying.

'Well,' Celestia said, 'there is nothing more that we can do right now, I'm afraid. Until he decides to come out of hiding and forgive you, we can only wait.'

'Regrettably so.' Luna murmured, her voice growing quieter. 'I would have very much liked for him to put this matter to rest, but that would be unreasonably optimistic of me.'

The three fell silent once again, each deep in thought. The fire continued to crackle gently, and the rhythmic ticking of the clock added to the soothing atmosphere. Celestia yawned, and her eyelids briefly fell.

'Sister, do you wish to rest?' Luna asked.

Celestia opened her eyes, looking quite tired. 'Almost, but there is one more thing that I wish to say.'

She turned her head towards Twilight, and smiled gently.

'My dear Twilight, me and my sister owe you our lives because of what you did. Please, never doubt the fact that you truly are the best student that I could ever wish for. You are destined to do great things, things that will surprise even myself.'

Twilight smiled, her cheeks beginning to flush from the praise.

'Furthermore,' Princess Celestia continued, 'I think you are deserving of a reward.' Then, turning to her younger sister, she asked; 'Luna, what do you say to giving Twilight some of our books?'

Twilight's heart almost jumped out of her chest at this sudden prospect. Her face was smitten by surprise at first, then by a hopeful expression directed at Princess Luna.

The younger princess observed Twilight's reaction, and could not suppress a smile of her own. 'I think it is a splendid idea, Tia. Shall I escort her to the reading room?'

Celestia nodded, and an unsupressable squeal escaped Twilight's mouth.

'Ooooh! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!' She cried, embracing Princess Celestia once more.

The princess closed her eyes and laughed quietly. 'You're welcome, my dearest student.'

They seperated after a few seconds, and they exchanged farewells. Following this, Luna began to walk towards the door, Twilight practically prancing alongside her. Soon, the sentries outside opened the door, and the two mares walked out, leaving Princess Celestia alone to rest.

Prologue: Meeting Her Match

Long ago, a few months before Luna's Banishment...

This clearing was about to become a battleground, Celestia could sense it.

The silence was intense. Only the rustling of leaves among the trees caused by the wind gently rushing down from the nearby foothills dared to make a sound. Moments before, birds were chirping, squirrels were chittering, and the forest seemed to be full of life.

But now they were quiet.

Perhaps they also shared the princess' sense of unease.

She sighed, taking a breath to calm her nerves. Unlike the animals, she was not about to run. She had never backed down from a fight, and she was not about to start now.

Her eyes were restless, darting back and forth, analyzing each bush and tree. Her other senses were also attuned, carefully awaiting any sign of her foe. If he was not here yet, then he would soon be.

Around her, four guards stood vigilantly, looking nervously at the dark forest surrounding them. Their armor glinted in the sunbeams that managed to breach the green canopy above. They held their spears at the ready, prepared to fight in spite of their fear.

In contrast, the princess stood firm, doing a better job at hiding her unease. Despite her young appearance, she had centuries of experience to draw from, and dozens of vanquished foes. In her mind, she tried to reassure herself that this one would be no different.

A tree branch snapped somewhere in the distance, shattering her sense of security. They all flinched and faced the source of the disturbance, staring with a mixture of suppressed fear and apprehension.

Any comfort her self-reassurances were providing were gone now, and she remembered why she was so nervous: In all of her six centuries of living, Celestia had never faced a foe she knew so little about. She had always been careful to study her enemies before fighting them, if possible. Given her track record of defeating each of them, including Discord, that habit had never let her down.

But she knew very little of the foe she was seeking. After years of trying to hunt him down, she had only just gathered enough knowledge to find the general area where he might reside.

Having such scant knowledge of him made the prospect of fighting him a daunting one, in spite of her fighting prowess.

Meanwhile, the eerie silence resumed. Celestia slowly relaxed after a period of time, and motioned for the guards to do the same.

It was probably the wind.

They slowly breathed out in relief, lowering their weapons. Then the senior guard, the captain of the royal guard, spoke.

'Your highness, are you certain our information was correct?'

Celestia turned her face towards the captain and nodded. 'Yes. He is around here.' The princess faced away, and they fell silent once more.

More time passed, and the captain spoke again. 'If I may, why did you think that we must fight him here? This is a perfect place for somepony to set an ambush.'

'We must face him here, because we cannot find him anywhere else, captain.' The princess sighed, sounding exasperated. 'This is his home, the one place where I know he can be found.'

'But why must we fight him at all?' The captain asked. 'He has not done anything to indicate that he is an enemy.'

'Excuse me?' She asked quietly, turning her head slowly to the side, looking at the captain once more. Her eyes were narrowed, glaring ominously at him. 'Are you questioning my command?'

He took a step back nervously, realizing that he had overstepped his bounds. He began to try explaining his position, stumbling over a few of his words. 'I-I only suggest that maybe fighting him is not- not necessary, c-considering that he hasn't-'

'Silence!' The princess barked, to which the captain simultaneously froze and fell silent. 'Have you forgotten that he is the descendant of Hightower the traitor?'

The guard shook his head in response as Celestia began to stride intimidatingly towards him. He broke eye contact and looked downwards as she approached to within inches of him, not daring to look her in the eye.

'He also violated the terms of his ancestors' exile, and continues to fulfill his family's agenda; to dethrone me and my sister, and leave Equestria in a state of anarchy. We have spent years tracking him down, and I finally have a chance to eliminate this threat to my kingdom's security once and for all!'

The captain kneeled before her, breathing shakily. She paused, seeing that she had instilled enough fear for him to see the error in his judgement. It was time to calm down and finish putting him in his place. Celestia took a breath, and used her foreleg to brush her flowing pink mane away from her face, revealing a calmer, more dignified expression. Then she spoke, this time in a softer manner.

'I have no intention of letting him slip away, not again. So, understand your place and follow my command, am I clear?'

'Yes, your highness.' The captain said meekly. 'Please forgive my insolence.'

Celestia smirked, sensing an opportunity to further stroke her ego. 'You know, I had your predecessor replaced for a lesser transgression.' She said condescendingly. 'You are fortunate that you still have my favor. For now.'

The captain nodded, indicating that he understood perfectly. He stood back up, still not daring to look the princess in the eye.

Celestia turned back around, feeling some degree of mirth at having reminded one of her underlings to stay in his place. It was addicting, the sensation of being able to command others and coerce them into fulfilling your will. This was one of her guilty pleasures, and a perk of being at the top.

But more importantly, it was vital to ensure that everypony knew who was in charge, and that her authority was the only one that mattered in this kingdom. Sure, Luna ruled alongside her, but she was not mature or strong enough to lead. Celestia was certain that this meant that it was all down to her to call the shots and to keep everypony in line.

Still, a doubt sown by the captain's remarks was now nagging her. Is fighting this enemy really the best way to deal with him?

What the captain had said about him was true; he did not offer much reason to treat him as an enemy. Indeed, he was actually responsible for saving a few villages from attacks by wayward dragons as of late. In fact, he had even garnered a name among the populace: The Warden.

Despite these heroic acts, he was still guilty of an unforgivable act of treason in her mind: Disobeying her command.

What she had said about him a few seconds ago was also true; he was the descendant of an enemy of the throne, and part of a family that was notorious for trying to overthrow alicorn rule. Not only that, but even though this family was exiled beyond Equestria's borders, this foe was residing in this forest, well within her domain, and defying his exile.

This act of open defiance far outweighed any good he had done.

She was the one and only Princess of the sun. The brilliant, graceful, and beautiful alicorn that all ponykind depended upon for their survival. Her authority was unquestionable, her word was law. It was her destiny to rule Equestria, her right to the throne was absolute. To defy her wishes would be to commit treason.

The Warden was guilty of this crime, this much she knew. He needed to be punished, and she was more than willing to exact the consequences on him.

A jarring howl, unnatural and mechanical in tone, destroyed the uneasy stillness.

The princess jumped a little, having been startled out of her train of thought. She and the guards frantically looked up towards the treetops, where the unnerving sound had come from.

What they saw was a most menacing sight. It was a metal-clad figure, looming over them on a large tree branch, looking down upon the five ponies below.

Celestia's heart skipped a beat, out of fear. It was him.

He had a form that resembled that of a Pegasus, complete with wings. However, from head to flank, he was encased in metal armor, wings included. In fact, there was no visual evidence that suggested that there was even a pony underneath.

The armor was unlike anything she had even comprehended before. Plates of thick armor covered his limbs and critical areas on his body. These plates were smooth and followed the form of his body, clearly a work of a skilled craftspony. Although these plates overlapped each other and covered most of his body, there were some areas that the plates did not cover. But even these open areas were covered by what appeared to be an inner layer of segmented metal, lying beneath the heavier plates.

On his flanks, there appeared to be cutie marks painted onto the metal plates. The marks were a hollow, grey pentagon, with perfectly symmetrical, polygonal protrusions jutting from each outside corner of the shape. What exactly the mark was supposed to be was completely unknown to the princess, much less what it was supposed to mean.

This armor had been engineered to provide uncompromising protection and mobility, Celestia had no doubt. But her marvelling did not end there.

Several irregularities existed on the outer plates, looking like various devices and gadgets of some sort. What these did, Celestia could not quite imagine.

The wings were also strange as well. They were folded at his sides, but in such a way that was not characteristic of pegasi. They also appeared to be made of metal, and no feathers were to be seen. Oddly, they were angular, not being very aerodynamic in shape.

The helmet caught her attention as well. It completely encased his head, and certainly provided no small amount of protection. It appeared to be composed of multiple parts. One such part covered his snout and mouth, another covering the upper half of his face, and the last part covering the rest of his head. On top of the helmet was a short, wide fin that ran from the top of his head down along the back of his neck, resembling a buzzed mane. Two blisters also sat on top of the helmet, resembling a set of lowered ears. Where his mouth would be, there appeared to be several small slits, running vertically down the end of the lower piece.

But most striking were the eyes, or rather, the visors. Two circular, glowing, green plates of what appeared to be glass were staring directly at her. No emotion was conveyed by these, simply appearing lifeless and ominous.

Celestia felt tingles run along the length of her spine, a sensation that she was unfamiliar with. He was far more menacing face to face than he was in the numerous rumors and tales that surrounded him.

With two mechanical clacks, he outstretched his wings. Proportionately, they were larger than a pegasi's, being more akin to Celestia's own. Each wing was divided into two main segments, each making up either the inner half or the outer half. More strange though were the numerous slots and holes cut into the wings, each one placed in perfect symmetry with another in the other wing.

The mechanical howling resumed. What appeared to be small, green flames shot out of several of the holes in his wings. He jumped off of the branch, and began to come down. He didn't flap his wings like a pegasi either, only moving his outstretched wings to control his descent. He landed across from Celestia with a resounding thud that could be felt in the ground. The guards took an involuntary step back, quite intimidated. The howl then faded away, the flames receded, and the Warden's wings folded to his sides with metallic clacks.

He looked around at the five ponies before him, silently analyzing each of them. With the howling gone, Celestia could make out slight clicking and whirring sounds coming from the Warden as he moved his head, and she wondered what sort of mechanism was making the noise.

After a few seconds, the Warden stood up straight. Then, with a deep voice tainted with a mechanical undertone, he began to speak.

'Well, you've found me.'

Celestia gathered her thoughts. If she was not careful, her fear and uncertainty would be seen. She needed to respond in a manner befitting a knave such as the Warden.

'No 'your highness'?' She asked, feigning indignation while hiding her nervousness. 'That is no way to address your ruler.'

'You aren't my ruler. You aren't worth following.' The Warden fired back.

This statement caused Celestia to feel a wave of anger mingle with the fear within her. She took a few steps forward, straightening to her full height. She stood at roughly one or two feet taller than the Warden, her slim yet muscular frame also causing her to appear larger than he. Yet, he did not flinch, not intimidated at all.

'You clearly are not one for courtesy, are you?' She asked, sounding sarcastic this time.

'Why should I be?' He retorted. 'You're the one who barged in on my territory with hostile intent.'

'Your territory? You forgot who rules Equestria!' She declared, motioning around her before pointing a hoof at herself. 'This is my domain, and you are trespassing.'

The Warden tilted his head. 'This was not Equestrian land when you exiled my grandfather all those decades ago.'

The princess glared at him, her deep, purple eyes slicing mercilessly into his soulless, glowing visors.

'The terms of Hightower's exile was that he and his descendants remain beyond Equestria's borders. That means if Equestria comes to you, then you must move.' She said, putting on an arrogant tone. She needed to set a strong image, and hiding her true anger was the way to show that the Warden was a mere nuisance to her, and nothing more.

The Warden sighed, and spoke in an angrier manner.

'I have no reason to leave, least of all because of your command.'

This blatant disregard for her authority really got to Celestia. She felt her fur bristle a bit and a surge of burning anger rush through her core. Her fear, while still present, was steadily being replaced with rage.

'I was considering simply offering a word of warning for your disobedience.' She said nonchalantly, struggling to veil her rage as she took a few more steps forward, almost putting her within reach of him. 'But I suppose I could simply put you in your place instead.'

She smirked. If that wouldn't intimidate him into submission, nothing would.

The Warden took a step forward, compelling the princess to shuffle back a little. Clearly, he was still not intimidated, much to Celestia's invisible dismay.

'Actually, you're the one being warned.' He said firmly. 'I have too much here for me to simply abandon. If you want me to move, you will have to kill me.'

'Is that so?' She said, her livid anger being barely disguised by an air of dignity. 'Then I suppose I have no choice, then.'

'I will warn you only once.' The Warden said, taking another step forward. 'Leave, or harm will befall you, and your pride shall forever be crippled.'

This time, Celestia held her ground. She was far too angry to back down now. In fact, at this moment, she wanted nothing more than to beat him senseless.

'Is that an invitation for me to show you the consequences of your behavior?' She scoffed. 'If so, I would love to oblige.'

Before she could speak, the four guards rushed in between her and the Warden.

'Your highness,' The captain whispered urgently, 'this can get out of hoof very quickly. This is not an ideal situation for a fight with a foe we don't know enough about. We should cut our losses and try again when the odds are in our favor.'

The princess' jaw became set, and her eyes flashed angrily.

'Watch your words, captain!' She said loudly, her anger finally surfacing. 'Another word out of you, and I will exile you like this traitor in front of us!'

The captain stiffened and stared in shock at the princess, unable to believe how harshly she had treated him. But momentarily, he nodded and turned back towards the Warden, who was looking on with his head tilted, obviously processing what had just happened.

'Wow.' He said bluntly. 'Here I was thinking that you possessed enough sense to not abuse your source of protection.' He shook his head, and continued. 'Then again, I should have seen this coming from a pony who rules like a conceited brat.'

Celestia was caught off guard by this daring provocation. 'What?' She uttered slowly through gritted teeth, in awe that he made such a remark.

'You heard me.' The Warden said. 'You are beneath the delusion that your actions have no consequences, merely because you have placed yourself above everypony else.'

'Do you wish to die?' She hissed, her posture displaying an immense urge to lash out. 'If so, then by all means, keep talking.'

The Warden inhaled slowly, and to her consternation, he continued.

'Being a petty dictator is bad enough, but do you know what really gets to me?' He asked. 'The way you treat your younger sister like she's some sort of parasite.'

Celestia was legitimately taken aback. Her eyes widened, and she made a quiet, angry growl.

'Oh, please.' The Warden remarked, noticing her reaction. 'It's no secret how you suppress her popularity because of your inflated ego. It's pathetic.'

This callout was too much for Celestia to stand. He was hitting a very sensitive nerve, and her anger flashed out of control. Her eyes began to glow, flames practically jumping from them as her horn aggressively sparked to life, glowing with a fierce golden aura. Then, using her magic, she shoved the guards out from in front of her, much to their surprise.

'Enough!' She bellowed, using the full volume of her royal Canterlot voice, causing the smaller tree branches above to bend and break and for leaves to rain down from the canopy. 'You shall die here for your insolent defiance towards your rightful ruler!'

Her mane and tail began to float in an unnatural manner, her wings became outstretched, and a sphere of pure energy manifested at the tip of her horn. Her eyes began to glow even more intensely than before, and the sphere began to grow in size.

She had no intention of holding back. All he had done since he had first spoken was stir her ire. His defiance was infuriating, and with every word, he undermined her authority. He needed to die, no question about it.

The sphere grew about as large as she was, the light and heat radiating from it causing the guards to recoil further from the princess.

Yet, the Warden did not move, still staring at the princess with his lifeless visors, unflinching.

Even when faced with the prospect of having the flesh blasted from his bones, he still stood in defiance. Celestia noted this, feeling her hatred hit an unforeseen height as a result.

With a cry of rage and sheer effort, she concentrated the sphere into a beam of energy, braced herself, and hurled it at him with all the strength she could muster.

The beam engulfed the Warden in an instant, causing him to disappear in the immense light. The grass on the ground withered and shriveled in the heat, and a few trees directly impacted by the beam shattered and burst into flame, sending flaming fragments of wood shooting into the forest. The guards stumbled backwards while shielding their faces, awestruck at the intensity of the fierce attack.

Celestia felt her energy and focus drain swiftly; she would have to end the attack after a few seconds. But it would not matter. Surely, the Warden had been annihilated.

She gradually let off the attack, the beam faded away, and the forest fell silent once more.

Celestia had to take a moment to catch her breath, dropping her head and kneeling. Even for her, that attack was exhausting. However, it most certainly got the job done. That attack could melt iron, Celestia knew from experience. There was no conceivable way that he survived. She silently laughed to herself; surely he had been reduced to nothing more than a charred mass.

'My turn.'

That was the Warden's voice.

Her gaze snapped back to the source of his voice, and her mouth fell open in disbelief.

He was still there, standing among the smoldering remains of the plants that once grew there. However, his armor was different.

It was glowing.

Celestia felt her blood freeze.

'Wha- H-How did-'

Before she could get any further, the Warden took a stance and a beam of magic, just as intense as her own, was fired at her.

She was too exhausted to get away in time. She was overcome by the light, and the pain that followed. Through her clenched teeth, Celestia cried out, the burning sensation of the magic almost causing her to convulse.

Then, it stopped.

In the moment that followed, she came to the realization that she was, for the most part, unharmed, although she would have to take a moment to recover from the pain.

'What was that!?' She thought to herself frantically. It was magic, no doubt. How the Warden managed to use a magic attack powerful enough to cause her such pain was beyond her, though.

Then it struck her. It was almost exactly the same as her own attack, but smaller and more focused.

He had somehow turned her own magic against her!

This implication almost caused her to panic. How was she to gain the upper hoof while the Warden could simply reflect attacks back to her?

Just as the princess looked up towards the Warden again, she saw a metallic blur rushing up to her. Before she could react, the air in her lungs was forced out by a violent blow, unlike anything which she had been subjected to before. She careened backwards through the air for a short distance, before landing on her back.

She hacked and wheezed as she frantically tried to regain her breath, and her vision went blurry for a moment. Her instinct cried for her to teleport away, but she could not muster the focus to do so. As she began to catch her breath, she felt something cold and sharp gently but firmly press against her chest.

As her vision cleared, she saw what was pressing up against her: A blade. It was attached to one of the devices on the Warden's armor, his right foreleg specifically; and it was leveled at her heart. The Warden hung above her, his glowing green visors staring ominously at her.

Celestia then felt something that she had very rarely felt before.

Raw fear.

From dragon lords to ursa majors, she had faced down some of the most terrifying monsters that called Equestria their home. None had ever gotten close to ending her life.

Yet, here she was, completely at the mercy of an unnatural, horrifyingly lifeless being who could quite possibly use her magic against her.

For the first time she could remember, she was completely helpless.

'Get away from her!' The captain shouted, having finally recovered from the effect of the intense attacks. He and the other guards had their spears outstretched, and they were moving towards the Warden.

The Warden simply looked up at him, and tilted his head. 'Stop, or I skewer her.' He said plainly. 'I will let her live if you stay put, captain.'

The captain and the other guards froze, seeing no other option and not willing to let their ruler be killed.

Celestia's eyes widened, and she felt panic begin to set in. Attacking him was not an option. Maybe she could teleport away, but there was no guarantee that he would not react in time. Her chest began to heave as she began to breathe uncontrollably, fully realizing that her life was in the balance, completely at the mercy of the Warden.

'Relax.' The Warden said. 'I will let you go if you listen to what I have to say, understand?'

Celestia closed her eyes, wrestling back control of her breathing. He was giving her a chance to live, and she needed to be level headed. After a few seconds, her panic dwindled and she nodded in response.

'Out with it.' She said, still trying to retain some dignity in spite of her vulnerability.

'Now, I have a proposition for you, princess.' The Warden began. 'I know you don't like me, on account of my lineage. I don't like you either, because of how you wrongly exiled my grandfather. Therefore, I have an idea that is mutually beneficial; we leave each other alone.'

Celestia scoffed, putting on some bravado. 'Seriously?'

The Warden tilted his head. 'Yes, seriously. Also, watch your tone. You are not in a position to negotiate.'

The princess nodded, her expression still somewhat arrogant.

'Now, if you agree to leave me alone and never come back, I will not get in your mane. I won't stop defending Equestria from her foes, but I will actively try to avoid interfering with your affairs.'

Celestia processed this offer. Even after she had tried to kill him and despite having an opportunity to kill her, the Warden was giving her a most generous offer.

'Well?' The Warden asked. 'Do you agree to my terms?'

Celestia's eyes narrowed, and she took a few slow breaths. The humiliation of the position that he had put her in had begun to sink in.

Before long, anger began to get the better of her. How dare he do such a thing to her, the ruler of Equestria?!

'I don't appreciate your arrogance, idiot.' She seethed. 'Rest assured, I will see to it that you will get your comeuppance for this disgrace!'

The Warden sighed, sounding disappointed. 'I think that I need to do a bit more to drive my point home.'

Then, he sharply pressed down his blade and drew it back just as quickly. Celestia inhaled sharply as a small amount of blood began to leak from the newly created wound, a small streak of red contrasting with her pure white coat.

Fear had replaced her anger, and she took a shuddering, shaking breath. It finally sank in that she was certainly not in a position to contest him any further.

'I will ask again, princess.' The Warden said slowly. 'Do you agree to my terms?'

Celestia gulped. There was no other option left. She felt her face become flushed as embarrassment at the shameful defeat overcame her expression.

'I agree.' She grumbled.

'Good.' The Warden said, proceeding to point at the small wound on her chest. 'That will leave a scar, princess. It will serve as a reminder to not breach our agreement. Every time you see it, I want you to remember the only time a pony dared to stand up to you, and succeeded.'

Until he mentioned the scar, Celestia had not considered the implications of her wound. It would become a highly visible reminder of her failure, and a massive humiliation! This thought was nigh unbearable.

'Now, I am going to go.' The Warden continued, prompting Celestia to temporarily turn her thoughts back to him. 'You will not follow me, and if this happens again, I will not show mercy. Do you understand?'

Celestia nodded, not saying another word while angrily staring him down.

'Good.' He said. 'In that case, farewell.'

His blade retracted with a sharp click, becoming completely concealed within the box-like device on his forearm. His wings then extended, and his armor began to howl once more.

Celestia barely had time to close her eyes before she was blasted by hot air. The howl briefly intensified, then swiftly grew quieter.

When she opened her eyes, he was gone, and the howl had already diminished to a nearly inaudible volume.

She lay there in complete silence for a few seconds, looking up at the patches of sky visible through the leaves above. The smell of burning wood left over from her initial attack lingered in the air, and broken twigs lay strewn around her.

The guards ran over, now free to check on the princess. The captain extended a hoof to try and help her up, but Celestia swatted it away, electing to pick herself up. Still sore from the harsh blow from earlier, she groaned as she slowly but surely stood back up.

'Your highness?' The captain asked.

Celestia held up a hoof, motioning for him to be silent. She proceeded to brush herself off, flicking her mane and tail, shaking off the dirt as best she could.

Almost a full minute of silence passed, with Celestia staring angrily into the distance, her rage boiling over. Then she gave a furious cry, and shot a beam of magic at a nearby tree, causing it to explode into flaming debris. As the smoke cleared, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, she spoke, having resumed an aura of dignity and regality.

'Captain, I want you to not say nothing of this when we get back. If anypony asks, our information was faulty and we found nothing.'

The captain nodded, somewhat fearful of her anger. 'Yes, your Highness. Shall we return at once?'

Celestia nodded. 'Yes. Let's get back before Luna awakens.'

She unfurled her large wings, and launched herself into the air, the four guards following close behind. She led the group in the direction of her Castle in the Everfree Forest, which was far beyond the distant horizon. As she effortlessly cut through the bright skies, she reflected on the whole encounter. Many thoughts and questions swirled about in her mind.

One thing was for certain; she would never forget what had happened here. For the first time since her first attempt at fighting Discord, she had been defeated. Not only that, but she also had a scar to cover up now. Fortunately, there was a golden chestpiece back at the castle with an amethyst gemstone that would cover it up perfectly.

That still didn't change the fact that she had been dealt a humiliating defeat, and her pride was permanently wounded. In her mind's eye, she concocted scenarios in which she could get revenge on the Warden, and regain her pride. But looking down at the bloody streak on her chest, she remembered how he had her completely at his mercy in seconds.

She clenched her jaw, reining in her anger. Revenge was not in her best interest. If she tried to find him again, he would surely kill her.

She sighed as she coasted along, calming down and submitting to rational thought. 'No, he is too dangerous. If he keeps his word, then I have no choice but to keep mine.'

Her thoughts continued to center around the Warden, pondering the encounter as she left the forest far behind.

Author's Note

So... Here's a product of a project that I've been working on for well over a year now, and the first fanfic I've written and posted here.

Between work and life's responsibilities, progress has been slow, but this story is finally almost complete.

I hope you enjoy, dear reader!