Remnantsby LancerQuillChaptersDreamRemembranceGuardiansInterlude - HuntDreamThe first thing that Luna became aware of was the smell of fire. The second thing was the screaming. "My Queen!" a familiar voice shouted from the smoke. "We need to get out of here now!" Luna turned her head round searching her surroundings for the voice. Shadows in shape of ponies ran around her in a sea of fear and distorted voices. the sight that greeted her was a familiar one, a castle in flames with a ball of fire sitting atop her crushed throne, banners with a crescent-shaped moon stood defiantly against the burning of her throne. "Luna!" that familiar voice shouted out again. "We have to leave now!" Finally her eyes caught a reddish glint amongst the sea of panick. A tall shape stood strong against the tide, the corpse of two pegasi lay around the shape their bodies armored with the colors of Celestia 'solar guards'. Other tall forms stood behind the shape, their various colored weapons draw out and their bodies tense. "My Queen" blue cold eyes finally meet hers, its voice filled with relief. "This way quick!" Luna took a step towards the shape but before she could begin to move, the ceiling exploded, the sound of shattered glass filled her ears and the screams got louder, pegasi with gold colored armors flew inside her castle in great numbers their blades draw out and a battle cry on their lips. "My Queen look out!" a young mare's voice screamed next to her. The mare's bat wings gave a powerful thrust into the air, colliding with a pegasus that was flying towards her at an impressive speeds. Blood splashed across her vision as both bodies fell to the ground in a flurry of blades, the battle around her was vicious, expensively dressed ponies screamed and ran like frightened sheep, armored ones fought in a clash of cruel fury the likes of which she had never seen on a battlefield. as if something important depended on their best, the tall forms fought in the middle of the battlefield their battle a dance of death whenever a new enemy entered the fray they died as quickly as they arrived. "Captain Comet!" the familiar voice shouted in panick. "Take the princess out of here now!" A green colored stallion landed next to her, panting with sweat and with cuts around his body. "My Quee-" the captain voice faltered as he meet her gaze. "You're hurt, healer to me!" Luna blinked at the captain words, she was not feeling pain but nonetheless a old teal unicorn stallion came up to her and started casting a spell and yet she did not feel a thing. "She's stable" the old unicorn croaked. "But i can only heal the wound entirely once we reach safety" "That's good enough for now" the captain declared as he spread his wing "All right i want everypony on a tight formation, Starsong, Silkheart stay close to the princess, we are rushing out of here!" Luna felt two bodies press against her sides. "Follow our wing pattern as best as you can my queen, this is going to be dangerous" a soft voice spoke to her. "Get ready, Now!" The captain ordered. A large group of ponies took into the air a mixture of pegasi and thestrals and one alicorn, they flew towards the ceiling in a flight of blood and blades, as many were cut on all sides, she felt as a jet of hot liquid hit her face with force, She lost her balance, a gurgling scream was all she heard, and a war cry responded to it by spraying another round of blood around her, as she began to fall to the ground she felt a body grab her from the sides. "Do not worry my queen i have you" The same soft voice spoke with strain. The escape to the ceiling continued as the battle raged like the same fire that burned her castle, more bodies fell to the ground and the flight thinned out. Whenfinally she felt her body the surface, struggling to climb onto her hooves, she felt a weight fall of onto her back and hit the ground with a thud, turning her eyes turned towards the sound, she saw an adult mare on the ground, a spear lodged in her back, a relieved expression on her face. "General!" the captain voiced roared against the sounds of the battlefield below. "We have to leave now!" "We can't!" the familair voice shouted back towards her group, in a tone of finality "We need to buy you time" Luna saw the captains face fall in despair. "Sir i will not leave you behind" captains comet voice shouted back in defiance. "You don't have a damn choice captain" the general shouted in response his voice like thunder. Luna saw those cold blue eye soften "You do not have a choice Comet" the general said back in a softer tone Captain Comet stood there on edge staring down the battlefield, Luna swore he would jump into the fray, but he turned around with a strain as if lifting a heavy boulder, his eyes gleamed with tears,. "Comen on!" the captain sharpely barked at his soldiers moving towards the escape route on the ceiling, his tone choked. Luna peered into the edge, many of the her soldiers lay dead on the battlefield, the thestrals and pegasi still held the air with ferocity, the few remaining unicorns and earth ponies fought to the end their hooves caked with blood and horns fizzling, the tall forms and their colored weapons stood strong as a shield, their visage covered in cuts, blood and spears stuck into their bodies but yet they cut down their foes like artists and did not move a inch. The smallest of the forms turned their eyes up to meet hers, a young face Luna saw androgynous in a perfect mix of femine and masculine features,a grand smile covered their youthful features despite their worn down appearence. "Luna" a soft voice called out to her, as same as their features it was a mix of feminine and masculine, but Luna noticed the more boyish tone. "This was the greatest time of my life" he said, his smile diminished into a small one "I'm sorry i couldn't there to the end" His cold blue eyes stared back at her, shimmering with a thousand emotions until it settled into gratefulness "Thank you" The castle rumbled, cracks started to appear in the ceiling as stones fell towards the battlefield, the escape route entrace started to fill with rocks, bodies pushed her to the entrance, but Luna could only stare back at those blue eyes, his gaze left hers and turned back to the battle. "Cyclone!" Luna shouted in despair towards her friend as the stones filled the passage until darkness enclosed her, only to wake up to her sister's worried visage. RemembranceCelestia watched her sister from a distance. It was an interesting sight—the dark blue alicorn princess of the night standing in the middle of the bright morning light. It was also an unusual one. Celestia learned that her sister deserved to be treated like an adult, but yet, she worried about her; her sleepless nights have given her a tired appearance and an unruly mane. Celestia noticed her sister's gaze leave the painting; her eyes were narrowed with suspicion as she turned her head to gaze at her fellow sister/duarch. "I can see you, sister," Luna said, her tone neutral. "I was not trying to hide," Celestia responded in kind. Luna stared at her and her sister with intense scrutiny, then snorted with an air of dismissal, a melancholic expression covering her features once again as her gaze turned back to the painting. "Okay, it doesn't seem she wants to talk," her niece said, 'helpfully'. Celestia sighed with tiredness. "Was it something I did? Harmony knows I have been too busy these days." Celestia could not help but wonder at her sister's sudden aggressive behavior towards her. "Oh no, no, auntie! She does not feel any hate towards you," Cadance said in rapid assurance. "It is more like," Cadance hummed, searching for the word, "a feeling of sadness." She finished, a note of worry in her voice. Celestia felt the same worry in her niece's tone start to settle in her mind. Despite her recovery and progress after a millennium of isolation, Luna has not yet let go of the past. "What can I do to help her?, Celestia asked her niece in a pleading tone. "Well, perha-", Cadence started. "Perhaps her sister should stop being a scaredy-cat and ask her what's wrong," Luna finished, interrupting her niece with an angry tone in her voice. Celestia winced at her sister's tone and said, "I did not want to be intrusive" Luna sighed. "I will always appreciate your concern, sister; I only asked of you to stop 'babying' me, like some kind of foal," she said with annoyance. Celestia chewed her sister's words and cautiously trotted towards her. As she got behind her younger sister's, she saw a painting that she had thought of getting rid of years ago. "oh!" Celestia suddenly understood her sister's sadness. "Yes," Luna said, her tone guarded. "Oh." Luna's intense stare turned towards her sister's, a question present in her teary eyes that Celestia was careful to respond to, 'why?'. "I-" Celestia's voice faltered. "I had forgotten this was here; if I had, I know I would have." Her voice faltered again at her sister's tears. Celestia closed her eyes "I'm so sorry Luna". Luna maintained an unflinching gaze at her older sister's sorrowful expression until she could no longer hold the dam of sadness that filled her. The duarch of the night fell down into the ground; her wings closed around her body as she held herself. Tears fell down into the ground in great caskets of water. Celestia rushed towards her sister, hugging her with strength as she rapidly apologized to her fellow duarch, Cadance did the same, hugging both of her aunts in a show of silent support. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cadance did not know what to do in this certain situation she found herself in; her aunts were both an emotional mess, and she felt she was invading something private between them. "Why could it not be a relationship problem?" Cadance said, she very much enjoyed solving the matters of the heart, be they good or bad. Cadance took one last look at her aunts before turning to the painting that afflicted them. It was a bloody painting she noticed, one from the ancient times of the Kingdom of Equestria, ponies in silver and gold armor faced each other in fierce combat against each other. A burning castle that she noticed looked very similar to the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters. A Pegasus mare stood proudly atop a cloud surrounded by faceless guards adorned in gold, her gaze was merciless as she stared at the massacre below, she did not like this mare, a bronze plaque below the painting read 'The Turning Point' "It was supposed to be the day of my victory," a melancholic voice said behind her. Cadance jumped at the sudden voice, and turned to her aunts; they both gazed at the painting with heavy eyes. Cadance reigned in her beating at the sudden scare. "We were nice and lazy," Her aunt Luna continued, "tired from the constant battles to solidify a foothold for our rebellion; we had just captured the capital and destroyed the Summer Field Fort, and Equestria's north was wide open for the taking" She took a breath. "We were celebrating; we finally held our victory," Luna faltered, "but not one of us expected what was coming next." Cadance whispered to her aunt, "What happened?" "We were massacred!" Luna snarled with anger in her eyes. "General Crimson Victory." Luna all but spat out the name, "would not accept defeat; her post was Summerfield Fort, and she was not glad that we had burned it down when her plot was too busy sitting on the couch back in her state." Luna finished, her anger fading back into a sad tone "She found us with our flanks on the ground" Luna said weakly "Got together a bunch of ponies, and rallied many remnant units from the region against us" she sighed "But I cannot blame her for what happened, the ponies she gathered wanted us dead more than her, we were the cause of their lost lands and family, revenge was the cause for the coming massacre" "Sometimes I remember how I survived that day." Luna's voice dropped to almost a whisper. "The friends that I lost, the Ponies that were with me since I declared the rebellion," Luna's voice was almost unheardable "They were my family" "But what I always remember about that day is how I lost my guardians" GuardiansLuna gazed at the sky. The stars, which usually brought her joy, now only filled her with sadness. The night was supposed to be perfect. Her Thestrals were finally going to be accepted among the other pony tribes. Her dress was perfect, the court was cleaned to perfection, the moonlight illuminated the hall just right, and when the courts finally settled. Luna exhaled, it only went downhill from there. The words were lost to her now, a pompous fat pony started shouting about the necessity of the court in the first place, his fellow nobles joining him in the effort, Count Moondancer, bless his soul, began to shout back to defend me, and also attack back in a physical manner. Luna winced at the image, the old count's cane flying towards the instigator, his magic did not even have the chance to intercept the object before it knocked him out. Luna shook her head to stop the images of the vicious fight that came after. She closed her wings around her, her sister's shout, the chandelier falling, the glowing..... The Chariot bumped throwing Luna off her thought. Luna raised her ear, her charioteer's curses told her that the wheel broke, Luna hummed, a good time to ease her mind. She opened the door. Torch Heart did not notice her as he struggled to remove the cracked wheel. Her guard, Wind Whisper, followed her closely with Loud Trot, her maid, as she fussed over Luna. Luna smiled at them and shook her head, as she made her way into the clearing, Whisper started to protest before nodding, Loud Trot ever so 'even-tempered' started to chide Whisper about her decision. Luna ignored the pair, making her way toward the path's clearing. She listened to the wind, the rustle of the leaves, and the sound of the dirt as she headed to her favorite spot. She needed to relax and let her feelings calm down, she could not be a princess with her mind as clouded as it was. The large open clearing shone brightly under the moon, white lilies covered the circular shape of the place, and a large slab of rock sat in the middle, Luna climbed it and stared at the stars her thoughts drifting to nothing particular, she lay on the stone, closing her eyes and taking in the world around her. 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 The sounds of hooves awoke her, she looked up, her eyes bleary, and she examined the figures, wondering if the ponies were her escort. The dark cloaks told her they were not, she lifted herself and prepared to fly, but she couldn't, one of them a unicorn bounded her wings with magic, they drew their weapons and began to approach her, and Luna knew it would be her last night in Equus. The sound of twigs breaking distracted the group and one of the trees shook violently leaves and broken twigs dropped from it. Luna squinted her eyes a dark shape stood there red eyes staring from its hidden spot. A Wendigo? Another sound drew her away from the creature, one just below her. A large creature stood on all fours in the grass. It was draped in a black garment around its torso, with a mop of grey mane on its head. It was furless and its skin was a light tan. It had beady, piercing eyes with a small nose beneath them and stared at her with a flat mouth. One of its arms was on the ground, supporting its body, while the other was in the air, a long silver blade slick with blood strapped along its arm. Two long legs lay in the grass, with their feet planted firmly on the ground. The unicorn assailant screamed in fear, her magic faltering, allowing Luna to fly away from the creature that caused her senses to scream danger. The being pounced, its body tackling the unicorn mare in a shower of blood as her head was separated from the rest of her body, another of the assailants rose into the air towards her, wing blades gleaming in the night, a whistle whizzed past her and towards the pegasus, whatever it was it opened a hole in the stallion's face and the blew away his hood, a river of blood traveled through his features as he still stared at her with determined eyes before his body fell to the ground with a thump. A Stallion's scream made her focus on a young well-cared earth pony before it was suddenly muffled by a wet crack, the creature's fist connected with his head, making it bend backward and up at her with fear-fueled eyes before his body stumbled into the ground. A unicorn aimed its bow at the blood-soaked creature's head and fired it, the being snapped at the arrow, Luna barely saw it grab the thing before the creature threw it back at the unicorn with a loud whip-like sound, the arrow hit the unicorn in the eye throwing her assailant several meters backward before skidding to a halt. An earth pony mare screamed at the creature and charged at it, her hooves making a clicking sound before she reared to strike at the creature, wicked looking hoof-blades gleamed in her vision, it rolled away from her strike and jumped to her side, throwing one of its legs at the mare's torso, Luna heard the sound of cracking bones, the mare to let out a terrible shriek of pain as she collapsed to the ground in a vomit of blood. A pegasus darted toward the treelines, while a unicorn charged the tall creature, the pegasus barely got close to the trees, Luna saw a glint of metal dart from the dark before the pegasus was cut in half by a disc, causing a cascade of blood to shower the ground, it flew in arch across the clearing. The unicorn swung its axe at the creature, it jumped over his attacker and grabbed at his nape, throwing the unicorn into the air and the path of the arching disc, Luna looked away from the scene, she barely saw the surprisingly clean disc make its way towards the treeline. Luna stared at the last member of the group of attackers, a golden magic aura surrounded the mace close to the unicorn, it threw their mace at the distracted creature before it charged it with its horn, the mace impacted with the creature's head, and the unicorn shoved its horn on the the beings torso. Luna winced, too disgusted by the bloodshed to look at the death of the strange being, she closed her eyes....., She heard choking sounds. Luna opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the creature's anger filled with visage, its arm holding the fat body of its unicorn attacker by the neck, the unicorn stallion choked in panic, his hooves striking uselessly at its arm. Baron Golden Treasure situation aside, she looked at the assailant's weapon, the mace was broken, shards of it were scattered to the ground, the main part of its design gone as if something took a bite of it leaving only half its main piece remaining. The creature huffed as it stared at the Baron's eyes, and then it snapped its attacked neck, letting his body fall into the dirt. Luna did not know how to react, did she run, did she stay, either way, she knew it would end with her death, and the feeling of dread at her back grew with every beat of her heart. The Creature stared at her, beady eyes, which she noted were of a beautiful dark blue shade, and studied her closely, and then stared at the sky, and then at her again. "Neja" it shouted, it was both masculine and feminine sounding at the same time, leaving her wondering about the creature's gender. It shook its head towards the trees, and Luna felt the feeling of dread disappear, being replaced by fear. The creature bowed its head at her, and darted off into the grass, leaving Luna searching for it. . . . . . . Wind whisper busted from the trees her wing blades raised into combat, her two remaining assistants followed close behind brandishing two wooden clubs, Whisper shouted something at her, Torch used his light to illuminate her, and Trot fussed over her. Meanwhile, Luna was left wondering who were her mysterious Guardians. Interlude - HuntCyclone felt the wind and heard the leaves. He walked the ground and smelled nature. And with each step, he got closer to his hunt. His eyes were closed and arms rested on his sides, gone was the tan he acquired during his desert trek to this new land, and now his lighter complexion returned. His Cropped gray hair was disturbed by the wind and his side tail hit the back of his head, and a annoying stubble of beard was formed during his journey. He tried to dispell that annoyance, his mind knew that if he had got himself vulnerable his hunt would have become the hunter. But he couldn't shake that felling off, he had gotten sloppy, let a bunch of natives interrupt his chase. 'Strange creatures' he thought, he shook his head again he couldn't afford to be distracted. His hunt was close. The sound of wood opened his eyes. Deep blue orbs rapidly took in the small clearing, a nest of birds,some insects, and a footprint. He took a breath and smelled his prey, the taste of copper on hit his tongue. And them his senses screamed danger. The clanking was the first thing he heard, and then the whistle of an arrow. He dodged, the projectile cutting half of his side tail. And then the sound of metal on wood. 'His arrow not returning' "You ran out" he shouted to the clearing and silence answered him. Then he felt agony, his perception slowed as he analyzed the pain. First, it was coming from his leg. Two, it was a spreading and burning. Three, his leg felt numb. It was poison. Time returned to normal, and he pulled the dagger from his leg. Seeing the shadow, he threw it back where it came from, the wind gathered in his hand and it pushed the blade forward with all the strength he could muster. The tree cracked open and shuddered before falling into the ground. . . . . And again silence. He closed his eyes again, the rapid beating of a heart was all he could hear. He hated it, the kid was a novice in the clan life. He did not deserve to hunted. 'But it is your job' his mind whispered. Cyclone breathed again. It was either him or the kid. "Just like our ancestors did" he whispered bitterly. He heard the crack again. And a piece of metal flew toward him. It hit his eye. Cyclone ignored the pain and the burning. He spat a glob of poison and focused on the clearing again. 'Why are you not hunting him?' his mind whispered again. He sighed. "Because i am tired of this" he spoke without whispering. And then the sound of crunched leaves came behind him. This time he did not hesitate. Extending his blade, Cyclone thrusted the double headed spear behind him. A low wheeze reached his ear "I'm tired of this" he growled. Cyclone looked at his hunt. A kid, just barely out of the training grove. Clan Neiki, he noted, born from salt and sand. The five black balls painted on his forehead told him that he was barely five years into this life. 'Five years is enough to be hunted' his poisonous mind whispered again. The neikian glared at him, good, he should be defiant till the end. He retracted his spear and torrent of blood spilled from the wound, the heating process did not take place. The poison did not let it. The kid still glared at him, blood traveling from his mouth and painting his pale complexion. He put his hand on the novice's shaven head and pulled his head closer to his. "Let it go" he told him. Blue orbs stared at the grey ones "You have my word that you will be returned safely" The kid eyes softened and he closed his eyes. Cyclone held his limp body and gently put his body on the ground. The woods mourned the passing of a guardian. Cyclone retrieved the crystal and put it on the kid's heart. And then he chanted. "You ancestors are proud and your death was true" The crystal was laid on his heart. "You fought valiantly and made your clan proud" The crystal glowed. "And let this not be your final death" The novice's body began to merge into the earth and a white wisp came from his mouth and entered the glowing crystal. And then it stopped glowing He picked up the crystal and felt the salt and sand. Cyclone stood up and exited the woods. His felt the comfort of his ancestors sooth his mind. And for the first time in one year, Cyclone let his body relax. The clearing was silent and only one guardian stood there. The wind began to travel east and Cyclone followed it's direction. 'Another hunt' he thought 'Another guardian fallen' 'Another soul he took to the ancestors' He stood at the edge of the peak. The wind traveling in the direction of his home. The place where he would finish his task. And Cyclone let his body fall and let the wind take him home. Author's Note Ey, I'm back.
DreamThe first thing that Luna became aware of was the smell of fire. The second thing was the screaming. "My Queen!" a familiar voice shouted from the smoke. "We need to get out of here now!" Luna turned her head round searching her surroundings for the voice. Shadows in shape of ponies ran around her in a sea of fear and distorted voices. the sight that greeted her was a familiar one, a castle in flames with a ball of fire sitting atop her crushed throne, banners with a crescent-shaped moon stood defiantly against the burning of her throne. "Luna!" that familiar voice shouted out again. "We have to leave now!" Finally her eyes caught a reddish glint amongst the sea of panick. A tall shape stood strong against the tide, the corpse of two pegasi lay around the shape their bodies armored with the colors of Celestia 'solar guards'. Other tall forms stood behind the shape, their various colored weapons draw out and their bodies tense. "My Queen" blue cold eyes finally meet hers, its voice filled with relief. "This way quick!" Luna took a step towards the shape but before she could begin to move, the ceiling exploded, the sound of shattered glass filled her ears and the screams got louder, pegasi with gold colored armors flew inside her castle in great numbers their blades draw out and a battle cry on their lips. "My Queen look out!" a young mare's voice screamed next to her. The mare's bat wings gave a powerful thrust into the air, colliding with a pegasus that was flying towards her at an impressive speeds. Blood splashed across her vision as both bodies fell to the ground in a flurry of blades, the battle around her was vicious, expensively dressed ponies screamed and ran like frightened sheep, armored ones fought in a clash of cruel fury the likes of which she had never seen on a battlefield. as if something important depended on their best, the tall forms fought in the middle of the battlefield their battle a dance of death whenever a new enemy entered the fray they died as quickly as they arrived. "Captain Comet!" the familiar voice shouted in panick. "Take the princess out of here now!" A green colored stallion landed next to her, panting with sweat and with cuts around his body. "My Quee-" the captain voice faltered as he meet her gaze. "You're hurt, healer to me!" Luna blinked at the captain words, she was not feeling pain but nonetheless a old teal unicorn stallion came up to her and started casting a spell and yet she did not feel a thing. "She's stable" the old unicorn croaked. "But i can only heal the wound entirely once we reach safety" "That's good enough for now" the captain declared as he spread his wing "All right i want everypony on a tight formation, Starsong, Silkheart stay close to the princess, we are rushing out of here!" Luna felt two bodies press against her sides. "Follow our wing pattern as best as you can my queen, this is going to be dangerous" a soft voice spoke to her. "Get ready, Now!" The captain ordered. A large group of ponies took into the air a mixture of pegasi and thestrals and one alicorn, they flew towards the ceiling in a flight of blood and blades, as many were cut on all sides, she felt as a jet of hot liquid hit her face with force, She lost her balance, a gurgling scream was all she heard, and a war cry responded to it by spraying another round of blood around her, as she began to fall to the ground she felt a body grab her from the sides. "Do not worry my queen i have you" The same soft voice spoke with strain. The escape to the ceiling continued as the battle raged like the same fire that burned her castle, more bodies fell to the ground and the flight thinned out. Whenfinally she felt her body the surface, struggling to climb onto her hooves, she felt a weight fall of onto her back and hit the ground with a thud, turning her eyes turned towards the sound, she saw an adult mare on the ground, a spear lodged in her back, a relieved expression on her face. "General!" the captain voiced roared against the sounds of the battlefield below. "We have to leave now!" "We can't!" the familair voice shouted back towards her group, in a tone of finality "We need to buy you time" Luna saw the captains face fall in despair. "Sir i will not leave you behind" captains comet voice shouted back in defiance. "You don't have a damn choice captain" the general shouted in response his voice like thunder. Luna saw those cold blue eye soften "You do not have a choice Comet" the general said back in a softer tone Captain Comet stood there on edge staring down the battlefield, Luna swore he would jump into the fray, but he turned around with a strain as if lifting a heavy boulder, his eyes gleamed with tears,. "Comen on!" the captain sharpely barked at his soldiers moving towards the escape route on the ceiling, his tone choked. Luna peered into the edge, many of the her soldiers lay dead on the battlefield, the thestrals and pegasi still held the air with ferocity, the few remaining unicorns and earth ponies fought to the end their hooves caked with blood and horns fizzling, the tall forms and their colored weapons stood strong as a shield, their visage covered in cuts, blood and spears stuck into their bodies but yet they cut down their foes like artists and did not move a inch. The smallest of the forms turned their eyes up to meet hers, a young face Luna saw androgynous in a perfect mix of femine and masculine features,a grand smile covered their youthful features despite their worn down appearence. "Luna" a soft voice called out to her, as same as their features it was a mix of feminine and masculine, but Luna noticed the more boyish tone. "This was the greatest time of my life" he said, his smile diminished into a small one "I'm sorry i couldn't there to the end" His cold blue eyes stared back at her, shimmering with a thousand emotions until it settled into gratefulness "Thank you" The castle rumbled, cracks started to appear in the ceiling as stones fell towards the battlefield, the escape route entrace started to fill with rocks, bodies pushed her to the entrance, but Luna could only stare back at those blue eyes, his gaze left hers and turned back to the battle. "Cyclone!" Luna shouted in despair towards her friend as the stones filled the passage until darkness enclosed her, only to wake up to her sister's worried visage.
RemembranceCelestia watched her sister from a distance. It was an interesting sight—the dark blue alicorn princess of the night standing in the middle of the bright morning light. It was also an unusual one. Celestia learned that her sister deserved to be treated like an adult, but yet, she worried about her; her sleepless nights have given her a tired appearance and an unruly mane. Celestia noticed her sister's gaze leave the painting; her eyes were narrowed with suspicion as she turned her head to gaze at her fellow sister/duarch. "I can see you, sister," Luna said, her tone neutral. "I was not trying to hide," Celestia responded in kind. Luna stared at her and her sister with intense scrutiny, then snorted with an air of dismissal, a melancholic expression covering her features once again as her gaze turned back to the painting. "Okay, it doesn't seem she wants to talk," her niece said, 'helpfully'. Celestia sighed with tiredness. "Was it something I did? Harmony knows I have been too busy these days." Celestia could not help but wonder at her sister's sudden aggressive behavior towards her. "Oh no, no, auntie! She does not feel any hate towards you," Cadance said in rapid assurance. "It is more like," Cadance hummed, searching for the word, "a feeling of sadness." She finished, a note of worry in her voice. Celestia felt the same worry in her niece's tone start to settle in her mind. Despite her recovery and progress after a millennium of isolation, Luna has not yet let go of the past. "What can I do to help her?, Celestia asked her niece in a pleading tone. "Well, perha-", Cadence started. "Perhaps her sister should stop being a scaredy-cat and ask her what's wrong," Luna finished, interrupting her niece with an angry tone in her voice. Celestia winced at her sister's tone and said, "I did not want to be intrusive" Luna sighed. "I will always appreciate your concern, sister; I only asked of you to stop 'babying' me, like some kind of foal," she said with annoyance. Celestia chewed her sister's words and cautiously trotted towards her. As she got behind her younger sister's, she saw a painting that she had thought of getting rid of years ago. "oh!" Celestia suddenly understood her sister's sadness. "Yes," Luna said, her tone guarded. "Oh." Luna's intense stare turned towards her sister's, a question present in her teary eyes that Celestia was careful to respond to, 'why?'. "I-" Celestia's voice faltered. "I had forgotten this was here; if I had, I know I would have." Her voice faltered again at her sister's tears. Celestia closed her eyes "I'm so sorry Luna". Luna maintained an unflinching gaze at her older sister's sorrowful expression until she could no longer hold the dam of sadness that filled her. The duarch of the night fell down into the ground; her wings closed around her body as she held herself. Tears fell down into the ground in great caskets of water. Celestia rushed towards her sister, hugging her with strength as she rapidly apologized to her fellow duarch, Cadance did the same, hugging both of her aunts in a show of silent support. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cadance did not know what to do in this certain situation she found herself in; her aunts were both an emotional mess, and she felt she was invading something private between them. "Why could it not be a relationship problem?" Cadance said, she very much enjoyed solving the matters of the heart, be they good or bad. Cadance took one last look at her aunts before turning to the painting that afflicted them. It was a bloody painting she noticed, one from the ancient times of the Kingdom of Equestria, ponies in silver and gold armor faced each other in fierce combat against each other. A burning castle that she noticed looked very similar to the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters. A Pegasus mare stood proudly atop a cloud surrounded by faceless guards adorned in gold, her gaze was merciless as she stared at the massacre below, she did not like this mare, a bronze plaque below the painting read 'The Turning Point' "It was supposed to be the day of my victory," a melancholic voice said behind her. Cadance jumped at the sudden voice, and turned to her aunts; they both gazed at the painting with heavy eyes. Cadance reigned in her beating at the sudden scare. "We were nice and lazy," Her aunt Luna continued, "tired from the constant battles to solidify a foothold for our rebellion; we had just captured the capital and destroyed the Summer Field Fort, and Equestria's north was wide open for the taking" She took a breath. "We were celebrating; we finally held our victory," Luna faltered, "but not one of us expected what was coming next." Cadance whispered to her aunt, "What happened?" "We were massacred!" Luna snarled with anger in her eyes. "General Crimson Victory." Luna all but spat out the name, "would not accept defeat; her post was Summerfield Fort, and she was not glad that we had burned it down when her plot was too busy sitting on the couch back in her state." Luna finished, her anger fading back into a sad tone "She found us with our flanks on the ground" Luna said weakly "Got together a bunch of ponies, and rallied many remnant units from the region against us" she sighed "But I cannot blame her for what happened, the ponies she gathered wanted us dead more than her, we were the cause of their lost lands and family, revenge was the cause for the coming massacre" "Sometimes I remember how I survived that day." Luna's voice dropped to almost a whisper. "The friends that I lost, the Ponies that were with me since I declared the rebellion," Luna's voice was almost unheardable "They were my family" "But what I always remember about that day is how I lost my guardians"
GuardiansLuna gazed at the sky. The stars, which usually brought her joy, now only filled her with sadness. The night was supposed to be perfect. Her Thestrals were finally going to be accepted among the other pony tribes. Her dress was perfect, the court was cleaned to perfection, the moonlight illuminated the hall just right, and when the courts finally settled. Luna exhaled, it only went downhill from there. The words were lost to her now, a pompous fat pony started shouting about the necessity of the court in the first place, his fellow nobles joining him in the effort, Count Moondancer, bless his soul, began to shout back to defend me, and also attack back in a physical manner. Luna winced at the image, the old count's cane flying towards the instigator, his magic did not even have the chance to intercept the object before it knocked him out. Luna shook her head to stop the images of the vicious fight that came after. She closed her wings around her, her sister's shout, the chandelier falling, the glowing..... The Chariot bumped throwing Luna off her thought. Luna raised her ear, her charioteer's curses told her that the wheel broke, Luna hummed, a good time to ease her mind. She opened the door. Torch Heart did not notice her as he struggled to remove the cracked wheel. Her guard, Wind Whisper, followed her closely with Loud Trot, her maid, as she fussed over Luna. Luna smiled at them and shook her head, as she made her way into the clearing, Whisper started to protest before nodding, Loud Trot ever so 'even-tempered' started to chide Whisper about her decision. Luna ignored the pair, making her way toward the path's clearing. She listened to the wind, the rustle of the leaves, and the sound of the dirt as she headed to her favorite spot. She needed to relax and let her feelings calm down, she could not be a princess with her mind as clouded as it was. The large open clearing shone brightly under the moon, white lilies covered the circular shape of the place, and a large slab of rock sat in the middle, Luna climbed it and stared at the stars her thoughts drifting to nothing particular, she lay on the stone, closing her eyes and taking in the world around her. 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 The sounds of hooves awoke her, she looked up, her eyes bleary, and she examined the figures, wondering if the ponies were her escort. The dark cloaks told her they were not, she lifted herself and prepared to fly, but she couldn't, one of them a unicorn bounded her wings with magic, they drew their weapons and began to approach her, and Luna knew it would be her last night in Equus. The sound of twigs breaking distracted the group and one of the trees shook violently leaves and broken twigs dropped from it. Luna squinted her eyes a dark shape stood there red eyes staring from its hidden spot. A Wendigo? Another sound drew her away from the creature, one just below her. A large creature stood on all fours in the grass. It was draped in a black garment around its torso, with a mop of grey mane on its head. It was furless and its skin was a light tan. It had beady, piercing eyes with a small nose beneath them and stared at her with a flat mouth. One of its arms was on the ground, supporting its body, while the other was in the air, a long silver blade slick with blood strapped along its arm. Two long legs lay in the grass, with their feet planted firmly on the ground. The unicorn assailant screamed in fear, her magic faltering, allowing Luna to fly away from the creature that caused her senses to scream danger. The being pounced, its body tackling the unicorn mare in a shower of blood as her head was separated from the rest of her body, another of the assailants rose into the air towards her, wing blades gleaming in the night, a whistle whizzed past her and towards the pegasus, whatever it was it opened a hole in the stallion's face and the blew away his hood, a river of blood traveled through his features as he still stared at her with determined eyes before his body fell to the ground with a thump. A Stallion's scream made her focus on a young well-cared earth pony before it was suddenly muffled by a wet crack, the creature's fist connected with his head, making it bend backward and up at her with fear-fueled eyes before his body stumbled into the ground. A unicorn aimed its bow at the blood-soaked creature's head and fired it, the being snapped at the arrow, Luna barely saw it grab the thing before the creature threw it back at the unicorn with a loud whip-like sound, the arrow hit the unicorn in the eye throwing her assailant several meters backward before skidding to a halt. An earth pony mare screamed at the creature and charged at it, her hooves making a clicking sound before she reared to strike at the creature, wicked looking hoof-blades gleamed in her vision, it rolled away from her strike and jumped to her side, throwing one of its legs at the mare's torso, Luna heard the sound of cracking bones, the mare to let out a terrible shriek of pain as she collapsed to the ground in a vomit of blood. A pegasus darted toward the treelines, while a unicorn charged the tall creature, the pegasus barely got close to the trees, Luna saw a glint of metal dart from the dark before the pegasus was cut in half by a disc, causing a cascade of blood to shower the ground, it flew in arch across the clearing. The unicorn swung its axe at the creature, it jumped over his attacker and grabbed at his nape, throwing the unicorn into the air and the path of the arching disc, Luna looked away from the scene, she barely saw the surprisingly clean disc make its way towards the treeline. Luna stared at the last member of the group of attackers, a golden magic aura surrounded the mace close to the unicorn, it threw their mace at the distracted creature before it charged it with its horn, the mace impacted with the creature's head, and the unicorn shoved its horn on the the beings torso. Luna winced, too disgusted by the bloodshed to look at the death of the strange being, she closed her eyes....., She heard choking sounds. Luna opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the creature's anger filled with visage, its arm holding the fat body of its unicorn attacker by the neck, the unicorn stallion choked in panic, his hooves striking uselessly at its arm. Baron Golden Treasure situation aside, she looked at the assailant's weapon, the mace was broken, shards of it were scattered to the ground, the main part of its design gone as if something took a bite of it leaving only half its main piece remaining. The creature huffed as it stared at the Baron's eyes, and then it snapped its attacked neck, letting his body fall into the dirt. Luna did not know how to react, did she run, did she stay, either way, she knew it would end with her death, and the feeling of dread at her back grew with every beat of her heart. The Creature stared at her, beady eyes, which she noted were of a beautiful dark blue shade, and studied her closely, and then stared at the sky, and then at her again. "Neja" it shouted, it was both masculine and feminine sounding at the same time, leaving her wondering about the creature's gender. It shook its head towards the trees, and Luna felt the feeling of dread disappear, being replaced by fear. The creature bowed its head at her, and darted off into the grass, leaving Luna searching for it. . . . . . . Wind whisper busted from the trees her wing blades raised into combat, her two remaining assistants followed close behind brandishing two wooden clubs, Whisper shouted something at her, Torch used his light to illuminate her, and Trot fussed over her. Meanwhile, Luna was left wondering who were her mysterious Guardians.
Interlude - HuntCyclone felt the wind and heard the leaves. He walked the ground and smelled nature. And with each step, he got closer to his hunt. His eyes were closed and arms rested on his sides, gone was the tan he acquired during his desert trek to this new land, and now his lighter complexion returned. His Cropped gray hair was disturbed by the wind and his side tail hit the back of his head, and a annoying stubble of beard was formed during his journey. He tried to dispell that annoyance, his mind knew that if he had got himself vulnerable his hunt would have become the hunter. But he couldn't shake that felling off, he had gotten sloppy, let a bunch of natives interrupt his chase. 'Strange creatures' he thought, he shook his head again he couldn't afford to be distracted. His hunt was close. The sound of wood opened his eyes. Deep blue orbs rapidly took in the small clearing, a nest of birds,some insects, and a footprint. He took a breath and smelled his prey, the taste of copper on hit his tongue. And them his senses screamed danger. The clanking was the first thing he heard, and then the whistle of an arrow. He dodged, the projectile cutting half of his side tail. And then the sound of metal on wood. 'His arrow not returning' "You ran out" he shouted to the clearing and silence answered him. Then he felt agony, his perception slowed as he analyzed the pain. First, it was coming from his leg. Two, it was a spreading and burning. Three, his leg felt numb. It was poison. Time returned to normal, and he pulled the dagger from his leg. Seeing the shadow, he threw it back where it came from, the wind gathered in his hand and it pushed the blade forward with all the strength he could muster. The tree cracked open and shuddered before falling into the ground. . . . . And again silence. He closed his eyes again, the rapid beating of a heart was all he could hear. He hated it, the kid was a novice in the clan life. He did not deserve to hunted. 'But it is your job' his mind whispered. Cyclone breathed again. It was either him or the kid. "Just like our ancestors did" he whispered bitterly. He heard the crack again. And a piece of metal flew toward him. It hit his eye. Cyclone ignored the pain and the burning. He spat a glob of poison and focused on the clearing again. 'Why are you not hunting him?' his mind whispered again. He sighed. "Because i am tired of this" he spoke without whispering. And then the sound of crunched leaves came behind him. This time he did not hesitate. Extending his blade, Cyclone thrusted the double headed spear behind him. A low wheeze reached his ear "I'm tired of this" he growled. Cyclone looked at his hunt. A kid, just barely out of the training grove. Clan Neiki, he noted, born from salt and sand. The five black balls painted on his forehead told him that he was barely five years into this life. 'Five years is enough to be hunted' his poisonous mind whispered again. The neikian glared at him, good, he should be defiant till the end. He retracted his spear and torrent of blood spilled from the wound, the heating process did not take place. The poison did not let it. The kid still glared at him, blood traveling from his mouth and painting his pale complexion. He put his hand on the novice's shaven head and pulled his head closer to his. "Let it go" he told him. Blue orbs stared at the grey ones "You have my word that you will be returned safely" The kid eyes softened and he closed his eyes. Cyclone held his limp body and gently put his body on the ground. The woods mourned the passing of a guardian. Cyclone retrieved the crystal and put it on the kid's heart. And then he chanted. "You ancestors are proud and your death was true" The crystal was laid on his heart. "You fought valiantly and made your clan proud" The crystal glowed. "And let this not be your final death" The novice's body began to merge into the earth and a white wisp came from his mouth and entered the glowing crystal. And then it stopped glowing He picked up the crystal and felt the salt and sand. Cyclone stood up and exited the woods. His felt the comfort of his ancestors sooth his mind. And for the first time in one year, Cyclone let his body relax. The clearing was silent and only one guardian stood there. The wind began to travel east and Cyclone followed it's direction. 'Another hunt' he thought 'Another guardian fallen' 'Another soul he took to the ancestors' He stood at the edge of the peak. The wind traveling in the direction of his home. The place where he would finish his task. And Cyclone let his body fall and let the wind take him home. Author's Note Ey, I'm back.
