What was the price of loyalty?
It was a question that gnawed at Captain Split Second's mind, its strength only growing as the moon's gibbous light refused to fade. How long had it shone on the burning remnants of this village?
Three days? Yes, it must have been three. Three days of madness and blood as his Princess descended into tyranny, first overwhelming her sister, then rampaging throughout the local townships.
"Let no sun worshipper survive..." he whispered, shivering at the memory of his sovereign's words. It was tainted further with a vision of her new war form, fangs bared and insanity blaring in predatory eyes.
It wasn’t a coup. It wasn't. Yes, the Lunar Guard had disobeyed orders. Yes, he'd personally commanded them to hold her majesty at bay as they evacuated the citizens. Yes, he'd stolen...
A grunt escaped Split Second's dry lips, the huge blade resting on his shoulder needing to be moved once more. A shot of envy raced through him. The Pegasi of Solar Court could at least use their feathers to grasp; his leathery wings couldn't hold the sword even if he tried.
Moonrise, partner of Moonfall. Forged in a time before the sisters themselves, Princess Luna had personally cut down incalculable ancient horrors with the twin blades. A saying had emerged from those on campaign with her, 'Rise the godkiller, 'Fall the guardian'. He'd made the right choice in taking it.
Princess Luna wasn't well, she...
Her impact was practically silent, only the displaced air alerting Split Second to his guest's arrival.
"Captain."
"Princess," he replied, nodding genially.
"I am a benevolent liege, Captain Second," she eventually said, breaking the pregnant silence with an affable smile, "Your many crimes shall be forgiven if -and only if- you return my weapon."
He kept his distance, wings twitching at the thought of her 'benevolence'. Silent Strike had told him what she'd done to his brothers-in-arms. What she'd taken from them.
"What need have you of it, Princess?" he replied coolly, shifting the sword once more, his shoulder aching. "Are you not powerful enough to leave your moon aloft?"
She took a step.
Deep within him, something he'd tentatively call a soul flexed, and the world responded.
"One..."
Counting was imperative in the newly desaturated world of his talent. Little else could help him.
"Two..."
Raising Moonrise, he stalked forward for the killing blow, ice flowing through his veins. The last step was heralded by a leaf brushing gently against his flank, once fluttering vegetation now standing fast in mid-air. She'd loved frolicking in greenery long ago. Now only flames reflected on her inky hide.
"Three..."
Clearing his mind, Split Second focused. A clean strike was needed, not out of mercy or pity, but self-preservation. She may have been his Princess, but he was a soldier. He and Equestria had one, and only one, chance.
"Four..."
Wings taut, the thestral thrust his blade towards where he knew was the Moon Mistresses' heart. Even as it broke his own.
"Fi-"
Moonrise should have met the soft resistance of flesh, that unforgettable scrape of metal on bone. Instead, it merely paused, an unstoppable force impacting against the immovable object.
"Foolish. Brave, but foolish."
A wall of starlight miasma hissed, planets flaring in their death throes as the blade's formerly invisible runes glowed ominously, its point straining against the metaphysical barrier. With enough time, the godkiller could pierce even this. That time didn't exist.
Her silver shod hoof lashed out. It was an awkward angle, stretching the equine body to its limit, but even so, its speed was blistering. The force exceeded it somehow, Split Second barely registering the transition from being upright to painful impact.
"I must congratulate you Captain!" She chuckled, heavy foot treads following the trench his broken body had formed. "Ponies with tempus infinitum as their skill are a rare thing indeed. Even rarer to find in such a capable warrior like yourself." She sighed wistfully, "Time as a plaything, marvellous..."
"H-How?" He managed to force through a broken jaw, forelegs stubbornly holding Moonrise despite the ponderous weight slowly trickling into his chest.
"I am a god. Your attempt on my life was amusing, but ultimately fruitless." She sneered, "I sent that sun-loving whelp mewling to her mentor, and I crushed his Pillars as the ants they were. Your tricks are meaningless." Her eyes narrowed, "Now, return that which you have taken."
He rose. With shattered legs and crooked spine, the pain unbearable and agony indescribable, each second wanting to cry out, yet he rose. One thing ironclad in his mind now.
"I pledge myself to the true ruler of Equestria."
It hung there, like the blood oozing out his maw, thick and overwhelming. Flames and moonlight illuminating a princess and her captain.
The demure smile that graced her monstrous features would almost look innocent, if not for the savagery she'd meted out mere moments ago, "You have seen sense, we thank you."
It was a good sword. The best he'd ever held in his life. It was hers as well. What came next then eclipsed his gruesome wounds, pain fleeting compared to this.
With waning strength, Split Second lowered himself to a knee, slowly raising Moonrise aloft in obeisance. The blade was cool and heavy in his hooves, it's surface unmarked and pristine despite the hundreds of battles it had endured.
He relished the grin on her face.
The life of a warrior was a hard one, constant drill, eternal vigilance, and learning the strengths and weaknesses of every object at your command.
Especially swords.
Two screams mingled as Moonrise's length collided with an already ruined knee, ensorceled steel bending for a single heartbeat before shattering. The godkiller was a supreme weapon of offence, yet little more than cooked ore without its sibling.
Smiling bitterly, Split Second found himself on the cold earth once again. He couldn’t feel his legs, or much else at all. The creeping numbness didn’t matter.
He had his answer.
Author's Note
Notes are here.
