Blight of The War Horse (Reforged)

“It’s nice to meet you; I’m Princess Celestia. Welcome to Equestria.”

The words spoken by the tall alicorn were lost on the warrior as she owlishly gawked at her. Unseen waves of mounting pressure slammed into her body at once, the mana produced by the alicorn causing shivers to ravage her body. The moment she stepped into the room, the warrior could tell right away the white alicorn deserved her position as a leader.

Despite the horrid feeling attacking her nerves, the warrior would have thought twice about Celestia being a powerful ruler based on her appearance. Besides the useless gold trinkets covering her chest, hooves, and head, Celestia had a motherly appearance with her soft magenta eyes and straight but relaxed posture. Her voice was as smooth as the calmest of rivers, and not a sign of malice or malicious intent showed on her features. No doubt she heard about what the warrior did to the shaman's underlings, but either they were nothing to Celestia, or she was good at hiding her emotions.

Nonetheless, it could’ve been a facade; she would reveal her intentions with enough resistance. So, choosing to remain quiet, the warrior donned her usual scowl and frown, glaring up at the princess with annoyance as the lavender pony shuffled nervously in place on the alicorn's left.

Seeing no response coming, Celestia’s smile faltered for a moment before she dipped her head in respect, “I do understand if all of this is so sudden for you, brave warrior, “She said, pulling her head back up and motioning a hoof at the surrounding room, “but you can be at ease for now, I’ll answer any questions you may have. There is no reason to be scared.” She reassured.

The warrior resisted the urge to snap at the large alicorn, a grunt of offense escaping her.

The S-word: the one word every vanguard knight knows all too well, and not for the right reasons. Storm Breaker and her comrades were traded from a young age, sometimes since foalhood, to be the best, the peak, of the earth pony race. Countless night’s sleeping in the unforgiving snow, going days without food or drink, trotting the line of death just to get some berries from the beast-infested forest. Some ponies died from the training regiments the elders placed on them, and others were sent home without body parts. Storm Breaker, much like her comrades, was broken down and reforged in the fires of conflict and hard work, becoming the definition of death itself so ponies couldn’t suffer the way she did.

To label a vanguard knight as scared or cowardly without reason was no different than somepony calling your mother a whorse or your dad a bastard. And anypony who dared such a thing never lived long enough to regret it.

However, the warrior cursed her dream dad and his advice; there’d be only more problems if she tried to force her escape or make a scene.

If only these ponies discussed matters the Earth pony way: a cage match.

“Speak, savage. Our sister ordered it.” Scoffed a second voice. Looking over to Celestia’s right, much to her shock, Storm Breaker laid eyes on a second alicorn, claiming to be Celestia’s sister. Shorter and younger in appearance, the second alicorn had a contrasting color scheme than her older sister: a mix of dark blue and black. As if Celestia was the sun herself, this one was the moon, with her starry mane and tail- also -flowing in an unseen wind. Unlike Celestia, she lacked any friendly or outgoing qualities, looking to be ready to strangle the warrior while staring daggers into her.

But before the warrior could retort, Celestia placed a hoof upon the younger alicorn’s shoulder, “Luna, we talked about this, remember?” She said, a disapproving tone matching her expression. “As I said, if you don’t want to be here, you don’t have to.”

“Sister,” Luna snapped back, “We’re not letting you and Twilight Sparkle remain here with a vanguard knight! Because of your student, we know better now that they are far more dangerous than any royal guard. For all you know, they’d sink their teeth into your throat the second the restraints come off.” She sneered, casting a nasty side-eye at the warrior.

Truly, the warrior thought about that idea for a second, but it seemed the alicorns could read minds without magic.

Celestia sighed, “I highly doubt your concern; SHE is not in a state to harm anything or get far doing so. I’m certain you, I, or Twilight here can handle any violence our warrior may cause.” She said, stealing a glance at the flattered unicorn.

“I am not under anypony’s ownership, alicorn!” The warrior barked, grabbing the attention of all three ponies. “Your coward of a student and the annoying alicorn couldn’t bring me down, not even in a hundred winters.” Putting the two up against the male alicorn, the lavender unicorn was a drop in an ocean compared to him, and the younger alicorn was a bit weaker.

Celestia- she was the biggest problem.

Comparing the two alicorns, King Platinum was the same, if not weaker, than Celestia.

The thing about unicorns is that they were a pain to deal with. On top of having a mana pool dependent on how skillful or powerful that unicorn is, they were generally sly bastards who could slither away or cheat their way out of a fight. For a unicorn brave enough to go against a pony like Storm Breaker: it would be a nightmare dealing with their spells, especially if they were the grappling/submission type. Add on the fact an alicorn is said to have ten or more times that power: Celestia would positively decimate her without breaking a sweat considering the condition the warrior was in.

An amused huff came from Celestia, probably knowing the same based on the warrior’s expression, “Well, Dr. Charlie Horse was correct in his assessment of my spell. It would be a pain to converse when we don’t know each other’s languages, no?” She asked.

“I’d rather rip out my tongue than speak in your foul dialect.”

“...I see.” Celestia awkwardly replied before sighing again, “Let’s try to have a civil conversation; there’s no need for insults now.”

The warrior, looking down, choked down a snarky reply and remained quiet for a few seconds, then looked up with a neutral expression. “I know not of why you grant me, a prisoner, the privilege to speak. But taking this opportunity, where am I? Who are you? And explain to me why everything is…strange.” She demanded, feeling sick, having to comply with the enemy's mind games. Not that she admitted it: the alicorn had a point.

With the lavender unicorn, Twilight appeared somewhat excited at the warrior’s questions while Luna narrowed her eyes.

Celestia, once again, smiled kindly at the disgruntled warrior, “Please, know that you are not a prisoner of any sort while you’re here; I can overlook your little incident…for now.” Giggling slightly at the warrior’s shocked and confused expression, she turned to the unicorn, “Twilight, would you mind taking over this part?” She offered.

Enthusiastically nodding, Twilight’s horn glowed its lavender hue as a cloud of smoke appeared, dissipating to reveal a bundle of books and papers. The warrior flinched at the display, but no pony seemed to notice. “Not at all, Princess. Just leave it to me!” With her previous fear gone, the unicorn placed the bundle on the floor. “I took the time to go over all there is to know about the vanguard after Luna and Celestia discovered you were a member. That…was a heated discussion.” She sheepishly said, causing Celestia to nervously look at her vexed sibling, “So I compiled a short and easy-to-understand timeline of events leading to the war of the three races to now.” She smiled.

“Easy to understand? You take me as a fool?” The warrior sneered.

Proceeding a quick shake of the head from the unicorn, she began explaining the several thousand years of events of a nation called Equestria.

Nearing the end of the war between the races, a young pair of Alicorn sisters, Celestia and Luna, who are, in fact, ageless, appeared in several pony settlements and helped unify them with the power of artifacts called the elements of harmony. As a result, technology, society, and peace grew as the centuries passed, with pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies sharing common interests and beliefs. Many terrible ponies that threatened this peace came and went, King Sombra, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, and Tirek, all defeated or sealed away by the sisters.

And, of course, more wars raged across the lands, but never became as bloody as the three race war: the Griffon war, the Zebra Gulf campaign, and the Pony bison war of 560 B.B. In spite of the achievements the sisters have made, defeating dastardly foes and preventing wars, Luna felt jealousy toward her older sister, the ponies they’d ruled over praised Celestia’s sun more than Luna’s moon. Within that jealousy, it festered and bubbled into something awful, a magical being known as Nightmare Moon, a culmination of the young alicorn’s hate and dark magic. It fully possessed Luna one night, and both were ultimately banished by Celestia to the moon for a thousand years following a taxing battle; the price: Celestia lost connection with the elements.

Upon the return of Nightmare Moon, where the demon foalnapped Celestia, intending to make the night everlasting, she was defeated by Twilight and five other mares with the elements of harmony. From then on, the newly formed elements of harmony- dubbed the ‘mane six’ by some ponies -protect Equestria from any evil that may arise or return.

As Twilight began wrapping up the last of her story- something about a chaos god or whatnot being encased in stone for the second time -the warrior all but shut down to the outside world.

There…was no more war?

“...What?” The warrior shuttered, her bravo now reduced to a shivering whimper contained in one word.

How was that possible? She guessed she should’ve been glad it ended, but how did thousands of winters go by in the blink of an eye? Was the warrior resurrected after she died in that battle? No, it had to be something that the male alicorn did; the crystal, the sudden change in environment- it was too obvious to dismiss. No matter how hard the warrior thought, it was all too hard to believe. In what felt like a short rest, multiple generations of ponies passed while she was sleeping.

It had to be a lie, an illusion; none of this was real! They had to be lying!

Twilight’s prideful smile over her well-constructed explanation turned into a concerned frown, seeing the unsettled look on the warrior. “Is everything okay? Was my explanation now thorough enough?” She asked nervously.

She lived and breathed on the very concept of war and grew up alongside it.

Families were made and buried. Friends gained and lost. The warrior laughed, cried, conquered, and bled with her comrades numerous times before, on the battlefield or not.

Every second of the warrior's waking life was dedicated to fighting the evils of the pegasi and unicorns so her fellow earth ponies could sleep soundly at night. The concept of peace was a pipe dream, a foreign thought, never to come to fruition. Yet, being told by a unicorn this peace was achieved and so close to the war’s end by two of the ponies standing before her was, in plain terms, ridiculous. The ponies looked weird, sure. The things around her made no sense, most definitely. The elements of harmony being gems in necklaces represent the aspects of friendship and can nullify evil with a rainbow beam; idiotic, but what wasn’t in this place? The two alicorns can move the SUN and MOON with their magic alone, to hades with it, why not?

But to have the only reason to live stripped away from her, all because of a single fight and waking up in an alien world without her comrades.

It was soul-crushing.

Not during her many battles, not being found by the unicorn, not even the pony shaman, had the warrior felt this sinking feeling of absolute dread in her stomach. She had to be stuck in enemy territory, but earth ponies were helping to hold her down yesterday night. She could escape, but these damned straps wouldn’t come loose.

Her comrades couldn’t be far away to help her out of this place!

“Where are they?” The warrior muttered, her eyes glossy with tears.

“I see,” Celestia spoke up woefully, barely gaining the warrior's attention, “You need time to process this information for a little while.” She said, turning to leave the room, sensing something was wrong. “When you feel comfortable enough, press the red button on your bedside and-”

“NO!” The warrior shouted, startling the three ponies, even the annoyed Luna.

“I…I’m fine.”

(last night)

A few days had passed since Twilight and her assistant stumbled across the strange pony in the castle ruins- and their brief scuffle. And keeping up with Canterlot healthcare standards, a team of pegasi arrived a bit after the letter Spike wrote to Celestia was sent, carrying the injured pony back to the mountain-side city.

Teleporting to Ponyville, Twilight dropped Spike off at Rarity’s, regretting not informing her fashionista friend about her hastiness before running off; instead, she went to the train station and took the earliest ride to Canterlot. Admittedly, the train ride was rather stressful, never seeming to go as fast as the studious unicorn liked it too, but she eventually made it. And upon her arrival, a small band of royal guards greeted her, revealing themselves as a private escort. Rather than arriving at a local hospital in the city, the royal guard escort brought Twilight to Canterlot Castle.

Apparently, none of the regular hospitals were equipped to handle the strange pony’s size; Nevertheless, Twilight was just thankful the strange pony could get help in the castle's infirmary.

“Sister, you can seriously be considering conversing with that…that beast!” Luna shouted, slamming her hoof on a large round table.

Celestia’s brow furrowed at the outburst, “Luna, that is not the proper way of speaking about somepony. We both know of the vanguard's actions thanks to Twilight, but it isn’t a reason to treat them like some wild animal.” The solar monarch argued, using magic to clean the spilled tea and tipped cup on the table.

Twilight wasn’t glad about the unexpected argument the sisters were having as she sat at the table between them.

It started when Celestia approached her about the strange pony when she arrived, saying she needed assistance. Of course, when her teacher needed something, Twilight wasn’t one to think twice about accepting, so she obliged. Arriving at the hospital room and grimacing at the nearly-mummified pony sleeping on a bed, Celestia showed a strange mark on them that- in Twilight’s opinion -was worse than the horrible scars.

A brand.

In the area between the withers and the crest was a patch of old scar tissue forming a shield with a skull centering it. Behind the pony skull were two objects: a flower recorded as extinct and a greatsword, overlapping in the shape of an X.

At first, Twilight thought the brand to be the result of diamond dog slavery; with how malnourished they were, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Those creatures were always kidnapping capable ponies for their gem collecting.

But Celestia nullified her worries, saying no such thing was the case. Although, her expression of acceptance and fret did little to calm the unicorn. Twilight tried asking the solar monarch about the strange pony, but she was reluctant to provide a concrete answer. All Celestia gave was that the pony was far older than she was and that she needed her to look into ‘The Vanguard’, giving the unicorn free reign over the royal library. Not everything within the great halls of literature was placed there by her, and Twilight was the best mare in finding them.

If she wasn’t hooked before, Twilight was practically performing her best impression of Pinkie Pie at the thought of researching the strange pony.

“It’s as Mrs. Sparkle said,” Luna pointed a hoof at the mare in question, “These vanguard knights were sent out specifically to end mass conflicts and assist in wars. By themselves! The records and documents Mrs. Sparkle found Showed they were worse than any Hydra or Ursa Major you can think of, Tia!” She ranted.

Although, it probably wasn’t a good idea.

Because during her research time, the strange pony was in a medically induced coma, Twilight discovered many things about the Earth pony vanguard from the royal library and local libraries.

The vanguard, an old organization formed in the early years of the three-race war, was created as a last defense for the earth ponies after the windigo’s covered the land in ice. While few in number, the knights of the Vanguard were a force to be reckoned with. Their combat efficiency and unnatural physical abilities were unmatched. It said in one battle, a single earth pony among a small battalion of soldiers took out over two hundred pegasi in an attempt to reclaim a fort before dying to their wounds.

Not much is said about the knights’ personal lives or habits; rumors and false tales were Twilight’s only lead. But as short on specifics as Twilight was, a plethora of legends and stories of their actions were easy to find.

While these stories were fantasized in foals books at the local library, it was different in the stories found deep in the back of the royal library.

Twilight couldn’t even finish one without nearly throwing up.

When she was a young filly, her BBBFF and brother, Shining Armor, looked up to these foal stories their parents would tell them before bedtime. He praised them as heroes, ponies who were just and could do no wrong; it was partly why he joined the royal guard in the first place. But reading these old, dusty tomes, Twilight feared the idea of her brother discovering his heroes were no different from brutal, blood-thirsty savages who thrived upon slaughtering others.

But Twilight wasn’t that pony anymore, the one who was quick to judge and shun ponies. Maybe the strange pony wasn’t as terrible as the stories made them seem.

“Uh, excuse me?” Twilight spoke up with a raised hoof, getting the alicorns’ attention. “Maybe she isn’t so bad? Imagine waking up after thousands of years, and your mortal enemies were right there- I’d also be scared.” She said.

Luna, eyes shifting to Celestia and back, shook her head, “It’s not as simple as you think, Mrs. Sparkle. Even nearing the war’s end, the harmony you know today was still building itself with the work Celestia and we put in. That peace was nowhere to be seen before then; prejudice and hatred were as common as breathing air. It took centuries for ponies not to stab each other in the back for the simplest reasons..” Turning back to Celestia, Luna’s momentary calm vanished back into her previous ire as she scowled at her sister, “Now we have one of those ponies who would attack anypony unlike her with every ounce of strength in their body, and is harder to put down than an army of hydras! I will not have something like that endangering you or our subject, Tia.” Finishing her speech, Luna fell back into the chair she sat in.

The private chamber of the solar diarch, which they resided in for the discussion, went silent, the air filled with a thick tension. Neither sister looked the other in the eyes, Celestia having closed hers in thought, Luna diverting her gaze to the table. Twilight switched between the two, hoping internally the recently reunited sisters wouldn’t break out into a large fight. Then nightmare moon might take over. Canterlot would be in shambles! And Celestia would have to banish Luna all over-

“Still, I disagree,” Celestia said, halting Twilight’s inner panic attack. “We won’t have to worry about that.” She added.

Luna narrowed her gaze suspiciously, “Why is that?” She questioned.

“...because I know who Storm Breaker is.”

Twilight and Luna simultaneously raised a brow in confusion, staring at a downcast Celestia like she’d grown three heads. “Um, who is Storm Breaker?” Twilight asked, mirroring Luna’s thoughts.

Celestia's eyes twitched at a far-off memory before she took a deep breath, “They, or rather, she is the pony you brought to my attention, my dear student.” She revealed, causing the former two ponies' eye’s to widen in shock. “It’s a long story, one made before Luna was born. Since I was a filly, and until Luna and I matured, we never left our home; we were sheltered due to the world’s horrors by our mother. Father, however, was consumed by those horrors and acted in the vile ways of time, conquering and pillaging whatever he could. Of course, I never knew of this until his death. But when he was around, he wasn’t too different from a loving husband and father. He’d tell us tales of his ‘adventures’, as our mother dubbed them. There was this one particular story…about how he almost died to an earth pony.”

Chuckling bitterly, Celestia held a hoof over her face. “I still remember his caring embrace, sitting by the warm fire as he told me that story.”

“What does this have to do with father?” Luna said, her tone filled with the sound of old wounds and hurt. It was written on the young alicorn’s face that her father was a sore subject.

“And…who is your father?” Twilight asked.

An air of sad nostalgia washed over Celestia, peering over to a window, her eyes peeking from under her hoof at a bird happily chipping in a nest containing two newly-hatched chicks. “My father’s name and title was King Platinum.” She said, facing away from the avian family, hoof falling to show a look of regret.

“And he was the one who fought and killed Storm Breaker.”