Pathfinder

"Taliel has thou studied the surrounding countryside like our sister requested?" Taliel focused on ignoring Luna voice, as he tried to draw more and more power to the small orb of air he had formed underneath himself.

She had been doing these check ins for the last three days while Ember was at they called "The vet.". Sighing Taliel started to dispel the swirling orb of air underneath him, he knew he would be a little drained after using his power for so long. Joric his old tutor, would constantly remind him of that fact."Remember, your power is like a muscle, it gets tired , and with use it will tire you."

The door to the apartment the princesses had so generously given him opened. Luna stood in the gap, her eyes locked onto him. "Hello, Luna how do you fair this afternoon?" she looked at Taliel with a hint of confusion. "Doth thou jest? It is almost sunrise."

"So it is." he said as he looked out the window the moon slowly setting in the northwest. "Go in peace. Sweet Lady of the Night." he whispered to himself as his gaze was still locked on the moon.

"Lady of the Night?" Luna looked with befuddlement at her guest. Taliel smiled, as he stood up his brown shirt damp with sweat. "Hath though been exercising?" she asked. as he stretched his back a much need pops coming from his spine.

"The Lady of the Night is Atri, goddess of the home and defense." he stated as he made his way to a basket and removed his shirt. " She watches over my people every day without falter, and if one of us is to see her leave, we must bid her farewell until she returns again." He looked longingly at the moon.

"Taliel there is no need to despair, thou has been protected, thy foal creature that accompanied you could hath slain thee." she smiled. Taliel moved across the room to a drawer and produced another brown shirt, this one with three holes in it.

"Princess surly you didn't come here for simple small talk, yes?" He smiled as he walked to the couch to lean over the map spread on the small coffee table before him.

"Actually, I did Indeed come for this talk of small, if thou wouldst indulge me?" she shrank slightly. Is she afraid on me or something? Taliel raised his head. "Indeed I wouldst Indulge, fair princess." Taliel almost forgot how lonely it was for the noble children he met when he was younger, no real friends, no sense of childlike innocence. part of him was happy that his father left the nobility to join his mothers lesser house.

"What would wish to speak to me about?" he said offering a seat. The princess hesitated for a second, Maybe she isn't used to this much kindness, or at least hasn't seen it in sometime. He stood from the couch. "Please princess if you would." he bowed gesturing his hand to the nearby cushion. "I, will prepare some tea."

"Thank you, thought the tea will not be required." She stated almost with a stern commanding tone. "As you wish mi lady." Taliel waited for Luna to sit on the couch before sitting down again next to her. he waited for her to make the first move, or at least that's what his father had taught him to do, the few silent seconds turned to minutes.

"Taliel, tell us. Why do you have the company of Ember?" She asked as she levitated his right hand glove his families seal now in perfect view. A crescent moon with the silhouette of Graybane the Elder wolf, his red eyes burning against the blackness. several intricate runes were carved into the gap underneath Graybanes chin.

"My family are what for lack of a better term are wolf riders, Ember is but one of a special breed of wolves that grows to be the size of three equines, or about the size of you and your sister combined." he reached for the glove but was stopped by the all to familiar numbness his mark forced on his body.

"Wolf Riders. doth thou mount them to ride into battle?" Luna turned her head her starry mane washing over the back of the couch. Taliel simply nodded.

"Luna, If I may ask something. I've seen who you shrink away from the servants in the palace, Why is that?" His question was met with silence. " I see wel-"

"It's because... They fear us or at least a part of us." She placed the glove back down. "The Nightmare we were. The pain and suffering we caused." a single tear slid down her cheek.

"Princess, for what it means it is in the past, we cant live in the past and hope to redeem ourselves through self imposed misery and regret." Taliel said sagely, remembering his tutor Joric once more. "We cant live in the past because we wont be ready for the challenges of the future."

" Thou attempt to impart wisdom that is already known to us. But it still wont change the fact that they fear us." Luna stood from the couch, now visibly upset. "Then you give them a reason love you." Taliel placed his hand on the princesses wing. "Make then love you for who you are trying to become, not what you were. Sins of the past can only be cleansed with repentance Luna. Its up to you to take that first step."

And with that Luna trotted away, back into the palace a wave of sadness following her. "Joric, I sometimes wonder if you taught me this for me or others." he whispered looking back to his bow.

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The hay bale took another arrow this one slicing through to the wooden wall behind it. Focus don't let your emotions dictate your shot. "Damn, damn, damn." Taliel let three more arrows zip to the target each missing their mark.

"You seem upset." Taliel paused he didnt recognize the voice that came from behind him. he spun around a single arrow draw ready to strike.

"Whoa whoa whoa... Easy there, the names Hearths Fyre. Princess Celestia sent me to make sure you were comfortable." The mare raised her hooves to defend her face, her electric blue mane was a stark contrast to her soft red coat. "Tell her I'm fine, but was curious as to what is wrong with her sister." Taliel relaxed placing the arrow back into his quiver.

"Will do sir." She started to shrink away."Just let me know if..if you need anything." The mare called out from the hallway.

Taliel sighed, it was already late afternoon and something was bothering him.

"You hear it don't you the whispers, they fear you hate you, why not leave them to face the taint on their own." The voice was raspy almost as if the words were being hissed into his ear. "No I swore an oath no matter where I stand so long as the taint exists I will fight." "Then you will die along with these morsels, you cant stop the us we are everywhere everything, we are you." The voice continued to hiss. "No, You may be the reason I'm marked, but so long as I draw breath I will stand against you. So what if these equines fear me, I will stop you even if I make an enemy of them. "

"So be it. you seek death, and death will come for you." the voice growled. "Tell him I'll be waiting."

"Taliel, who is thou speaking to?" Luna emerged from the hallway. "The Taint its spreading faster then I thought." Taliel walked to the the moon goddess. "Fyre, I need you." he shouted down the hallway. Several seconds passed before the mare galloped back frantically.

"Yes what do you need." she panted almost as if she had run from the other side of the palace grounds. "Tell Celestia, that me and Luna are going out for a walk." He turned his head to Luna already knowing what she would say. "We need to talk about something."

"B.. But I have to raise the moon and... and uhhh." She stammered nervously. Taliel raised his hand " Oh and please see if you can get one hundred arrows like this one." He reached into his quiver and pulled out a sturdy arrow with a serrated bi-dent point. both ponies looked in awe for a second at the arrow. "That will be all, thank you." he placed the arrow in front of the servant pony and started to walk towards the palace gardens. "Luna, are you coming?"

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"Luna this city, I don't know if you have ever bothered looking at it, it's beautiful." Taliel shifted slightly on the stone shingles of the central tower. He looked to the dark blue mare a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"The last time we saw this city, twas thrown into chaos and calamity in our wake." Luna looked down to a small plot near the city center none of the lights and torches burned there. "Twas our doing, we caused thy innocent ponies suffering."

"Luna, what happened?" Taliel scooted closer to the sulking princess. "We happened, thou ask as if thy is equal to mine sister, why?" She glared angrily to him. Taliel smiled. "Because, I see no reason to fear you." Taliel looked at the plot of darkness near the town center. Something moved on the nearby rooftops before falling into into the darkness ."Oh,no."

"Twhat is it?" Taliel reached for the dagger in his boot. "Luna, I need you to fly me over there, now." Taliel looked frantically at the princess.

"What madness hath come over thou Taliel?" Taliel looked at the princess his gaze less frenzied and now more stern. "Luna. Now." Taliel was gripped in a silvery blue aura as Luna lifted off the roof with a mighty gust of wind. Pulling him with her.

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"Right there, right there." Taliel shouted as Luna released him from her grip, "Go back to the palace, be as many guard as you can and have them set up a perimeter." he stood up surveying his surroundings, there were tomb stones everywhere. "Taliel, thine enemy wouldn't attack hollowed grounds wouldst they?" Luna asked as she landed gently next to him. "No they would use grounds like these to...."

The both paused, the sickly scent of decaying flesh filled the air. "Raise an army." Taliel said as a ghastly screech filled the air. Just then several hooves burst from the ground swarms of small black and blue beetles crawled from the loose flesh. "Luna go I can hold them off until you get help. "What, are these foul monstrosities." Taliel looked as one of the corpses dragged itself out of the ground its body covered in glowing blue pustules, as well as razor sharp spines sprouting out of its back. "This is the Taint, Princess. Spread by a carrier no less."

One of the stumbling ponies lunged at Taliel, he side stepped and dug his dagger into the creatures head, before twisting and violently yanking it out. "Luna, Things here are about to get real messy. Go. Get some guard, we cant let this spread to the rest of Canterlot." He yelled as he punched into anothers rib-cage with his dagger. Luna spread her winds ant lifted of the ground.

"Hey maggot bait over here." someone shouted several of the creatures were blasted apart by a burst of yellow light. "Whiterun on your left." Taliel paused .Survivors. Taliel charged towards the clearing.

In the heart of the clearing stood a lone mausoleum surrounded by the dead. Two ponies were valiantly defending the entrance where the cries of a child echoed. Taliel looked in horror as more and more dead kept coming, slowly but steadily pushing the two into the mausoleum. Taliel reversed his grip of the dagger. as he brought as much power he could into a swirling blade of wind in front of him. the dead all paused and turned their heads to him.

"I'am Taliel O'Carish of house Black forest. Die Tainted scum." He hissed as he slashed with his newly created wind sword. A blast of wind tossed all of the dead in a clear line from where he stood to the mausoleums entrance. He dashed for the entrance, the only thing standing between him and the survivors was the slowly recovering mass of the dead. He drew another burst of power this one blasted downward launching him into the air.

He landed with a thud on the mausoleums roof. before rolling down and falling at the entrance.He picked his head up to see two ponies cowering inside the structure from what he could tell a mother and child. As Taliel tried to regain his footing , he was struck viciously in the side by one of the two defenders, his blue eyes burning Taliel, in hate and determination.

"Please, I came to help." Taliel hoped that was all he need to say, as he glanced back to the other stallion boldly blasting the creatures back. "What are you?" the stallion raised his hoof to Taliels throat , some contraption that held a blade mere seconds from ending his life.

"Whiterun. could use a little help here." the other shouted. The stallion glanced between Taliel and his companion before charging back out to the fray. Taliel picked himself up he grabbed his dagger once more.

Taliel started towards the entrance, he never noticed the sound of buzzing. Each step he crunched several small beetles. a few fluttered through the air. He got to the door the two guards still holding the horde at bay.

"Get back both of you, now." Taliel felt something he has never felt before, his body tingled the ground around him surged with energy. Taliel smiled "Lets see what you got." his breath condensed before him. The two stallions ran past him as the air suddenly cooled.

"You are but one, we are many, you cannot hope to destroy us." came the voice in an angry hiss. Taliel looked to the moon.

"NO HE IS NOT ALONE." A blinding light crashed in the middle of the teeming mass of the dead, Luna stood in the middle of the blast. "Lady, thank you for protecting the innocent from this filth." he glanced back at the four ponies the stallions stared in shock at Luna.

A swarm of insects filled the clearing. "Luna, be careful, there's a carrier somewh-." Taliel was knocked to his back. He looked at the creatures face. Where its eyes should have been sat two spines each dripping with a sickly blue pus. The creature opened its mouth a small swarm of beetles crawled out. Its hot breath bringing with it the stench of decay and blood. Taliel struggled to free his hand, as the creature reared up to bit into his throat. he managed to free his right hand, as the creature seemed to momentarily vomit more insects into the air. One chance here I go He winced as a chill ran through his arm, only to build up in his palm.

Taliel placed his hand on the the creatures chest, he felt the swarming hive move underneath the creatures skin. "Die." Taliel forced the energy he felt in his body to manifest a massive spike of ice jutted out off the beasts spine. The swarm in the air froze as the lost coherency with their host.

The beast was coated in a layer of ice. "May the taint be cleansed from your soul, child of Culi." Taliel closed his eyes in a moment of silence , Before digging his dagger into the beasts head.

"Taliel, art thou okay?" Taliel felt her silver blue aura wrap around him. Luna Lifted him to his feet, her coat was slicked in the blue pus of the horde.

"Princess Luna. Thank you." He looked to the mausoleum where a foal burst out and galloped towards Luna before hugging her leg.

Even in so much violence and fear, love finds a way. Taliel smiled at the scene. He especially liked the surprised look on Lunas face. "Told you Luna, give them a reason to love you and they will. And I guess ending a zombie apocalypse before it started was a bonus." He turned around to the other three ponies near the mausoleum "Come on, if there were any more we would have already taken care of them."

"Princess Luna." the three ponies bowed. Both Taliel and Luna shared a glance. "Please, brave ser arise."

"Corporal Bastion Stonewall, and Corporal Whiterun Snowtrot." Both of the stallions saluted. before saying. "Reporting for duty, ma'am." Taliel walked over to the frozen beast. Before digging out his dagger. He looked at the creature, ignoring the ponies and their conversation. He looked at its sharp teeth is claws. A predator, hit in the eyes so sight may have been primary for it or...

"Luna, what is this creature?" Taliel called out, as he firmly ripped his dagger out of its head. "Tis difficult to tell but we think this creature a... Manticore." The ponies exchanged nervous glances. "A Manticore made it into the city?" Whiterun trotted up to the frozen carcass .

"Yes, but not a regular one. this one bore the Taint." Taliel gathered his magic in his hand to destroy the tainted creatures body. "Wait, what taint. Princess, whats going on." the gray unicorn spoke up.

"If you give me the time. I'll explain everything." Taliel said as he sent a tempest of slicing air into the carcass. Before it fell to the ground in small bits.

"Luna, thanks I owe you one." Taliel smiled as he started to dash for the palace. "No Taliel, tis I who owes you one." She smiled watching him scale the nearby buildings.