Once again, for the second time that day, I paced the halls as Fang was being operated on. And yet again, my anxiety reached critical levels. I bet Fang would’ve said something about seeing my Rage Thermometer bursting. Also, my temper was rising thanks to the sorry state of our military… if it could be called that.
Tia came up behind me, tapping my shoulder. “Luna, calm—"
In a moment of instinct, I reached back and grabbed her face, throwing her down the hall and watched as she crashed into an abandoned nurse’s cart. I ground my teeth, stalking toward my adoptive sister. “CALM DOWN?! Is that what you were going to say?!”
I stopped just in front of her, looking her in the eye as she slowly stood. “I doubt you’d be calm if the one you loved was sent to surgery twice in one day! Tell me, dear sister, would you… FANG ALMOST DIED, TWICE!! WE DOUBT THAT ANYONE COULD BE CALM IN SUCH A SITUATION, LET ALONE WHEN THY FRIEND GOT STABBED THROUGH THE CHEST!!”
“Lulu…” Tia moaned, nursing a bleeding scratch on her elbow.
I scowled at how Tia, the famed warrior Princess, was whimpering over such a small cut. How could she be so weak when Fang had been stabbed and scarred so many times? He even blocked a sword from hitting me with a single hand, the permanent scar edged into his palm, and now one was no doubt in his chest.
But I breathed, trying to clear my rage-filled mind. Though it worked by a small margin, the fog of anger and worry remained, abet thinned out. “And this CULT of worshippers has never been dealt with, as you let their numbers grow into possibly the near thousands! You, my sister, have let this band of killers and dark magic users run rampant!”
The alicorn’s eyes had started to leak, her sobs grabbing at my ears. “L-Luna, ple—”
“Then, there’s the matter of Equestria’s military being absolutely worthless!”
“U-Um… Princess…” Spoke a stallion guard, stepping forward to address me. But as I turned, my unearthly glare set upon him, making him shiver in his golden armor. “Uh, never mind…”
“What?” I snarled; my glare darkening as blue flames licked at my eyelashes.
“Uh, I just got a report that more Priests have been spotted in the main foyer.”
My glare turned into a raging inferno, my eyes and maw coming alight with blue fire. “And you haven’t disposed of them WHY?!!!”
“T-The Pr-Princess usually takes care of intruders…” I smelt the putrid stench of pee.
Again, I breathed deeply, and the fires dissipating, getting my boiling anger under control after a few more breaths. I then turned to Tia, who was being helped up by the Elements of Harmony. “My case in point.” With that, I briskly stormed out of the medical wing and charged toward the main entrance, rushing past castle staff as I went.
As I rushed down the hallway, my eyes caught sight of eighteen Priests, all locked in winning battles against the Royal and Night Guards. I was forced to watch as three of my guards were slain, as well as five Solar Guards. My feet pounded against the polished and now cracked floor, propelling me forward and straight for the first two Priests. Garbed in red silk and gold armor, the Priests held many swords and polearms. Once I approached the two, I grabbed their helmets and smashed them together, the resounding clank echoing in the great hall.
“I am Princess Luna of the Equestrian capital of Canterlot! Thou art charged with the crimes of foalnapping, murder, illegal dark magical arts, and trespassing! Surrender now or face death!” I snarled, throwing the unconscious ponies to the ground. “We warn you, unlike the guards you faced, We art a trained veteran of war. Face us at thine own destruction!”
“HA! You hear that guys?” Mocked what I guessed to be the leader, the only difference in armor was the purple rope around his chest. “The Princess wants to play. Well… let’s not disappoint, it’d be rude.”
With that, they all rushed at me, weapons at the ready. I ducked below the first sword, using my claws to tare through the frail armor and drew blood from his stomach and ribs. The stallion gagged and coughed on his own blood, failing to notice as I punched his spine. The echoing cries seemed to scare the others, all now regarding me with caution as they slowed their approach.
Now with the ponies advancing, I thrust my outstretched hand toward the hallway behind me, igniting my magic and summoning my light saber. Within seconds, the hilt sored through a wall and into my palm, and on instinct I turned it on. The silver blade shone over my body, bathing the grand room it its pale glow.
“I give you one last chance.” I warned, standing straight and sword at the ready, glaring down at them with a superior air. “Surrender!”
To this, they charged with renewed zeal. I sighed in irritation, mindlessly blocking one of their attacks, the sword not even close to touching me. Sidestepping a downward slash, I kicked the offending Priest in the face, sending him flying several feet with new wounds decorating his muzzle. Two more had come up behind me, looking to take me by a blind spot. But, using my magic, their own weapons were wrenched from their hands and turned against them. Their heads rolled across the floor seconds later.
The captain, upon seeing how the battle was going, pulled a radio off his belt, pushing a button. “This is High Priest Fleet Hoof, send in the Goats!”
I blinked in confusion, catching his words with my strong ears, taking a moment to slice another attacker in half down the shoulder. A second stallion threw his spear at me, missing me by an inch as I caught it with my free right hand, spun it, and launched the spear back at him. The affect was an impaled stallion, bolted to the wall by his own weapon. I then turned to the last twelve, my eyes now alight with fire.
The remaining Priests stood next to their higher-up, spears, and swords at the ready. The High Priest looked at the stallions as if they were stupid. “Kill her! That’s an order!”
But one stallion looked between his commanding officer and my blood-soaked body, shaking his head when he turned back to the other Priests. “Forget this, I don’t wanna die.”
“Too bad.” Said the High Priest as he pulled his sword out and trust it at his subordinate.
With a burst of speed, I rushed forward and slapped the offending blade away, pushing the quivering stallion to the ground. Grasping the broadsword by the flat side with both hands, I twisted it out of the attacker’s grip and spun the sword into mine, the maneuver ending with the steel blade at the High Priest’s throat.
“You won’t win, Devil!” Seethed the stallion, bringing his hands up to show he was no threat. “The Solar Priests will have your head!”
“That’s highly doubtful!” Shouted a voice from above.
I looked up to see Silken Garb, a pair of large wings folded on her back, standing atop one of the four chandeliers. My eyes widened, watching as her body suddenly burned with green fire and the body of a grey Wargess stood in her place. Small patches and streaks of blonde lining her face and forearms, the usual dress she wore replaced by a green sweater and black jeans, her mane pulled back into three braids. Her yellow eyes like the rising dawn with their deep purple rings.
“I’ve been with her since the beginning, and I can tell you this; she won’t go down easy! Same goes for me.” With those words, the Wargess dropped down with a flap of her mighty wings, everything lighter than an average-sized book blowing away. She landed with an irritated huff atop five Priests and crossed her arms, looking quite peeved at the remaining shaking stallions, particularly the one who’d refused my death.
“Go while I still allow it.” She snarled, showing her fangs with not an ounce of hesitation and we all watched the stallion run out of the palace. She then turned to me, smiled brightly, then looked to the Priest with a glare that could make the mountains shiver. “So Luna, got any ideas on what we should do to them?”
I stared at her for a long moment, my brain trying to compute what had just happened. “W-Who are you?”
She looked at me in confusion, but after a moment, she smacked herself on the forehead, stepping off the hill of crushed Priests. “Ack, Duh. I’m sorry, I’m Akiira, assigned as your protector and caretaker by the King and Queen. I had to keep the disguise until I felt it was safe, or in this case, you wanted some help.”
“But I did not ask for it.” Slight Irritation edged my voice, but intrigue filled my mind.
“You didn’t need to.”
I had suddenly taken a liking to this Wargess, as I found her snark a refreshing break from the uptight and ‘proper’ nobles. “Why show yourself now? Why not sooner?”
Akiira blushed as she rubbed her neck, looking away for a moment. “Eh… I like making an entrance. We were also ordered not to unless necessary, and I thought this qualified.”
I looked closer and found her eyes to be sky blue with orange rings, said rings pulsing slightly. “I see…”
“So…” She said, turned to the remaining stallions, tapping her chin as she thought. “What to do? What to do?”
“LUNA!” Came a shout from behind.
I turned to see Tia, the Elements, an escort of twenty guards, and Roret running toward us. The ponies gasped in horror at the dead Guard bodies, while Roret blinked in surprise at my newest acquaintance. With a roll of her eyes, she marched up to the other Wargess, ignoring the remaining Priests as they were subdued by Tia’s escort guards.
“Akiira!” She barked, crossing her arms under her chest as she got in the sheepishly grinning Wargess’ face. “Explain yourself NOW!!”
“Uh…” Akiira rubbed the back of her head, stepping away from Roret with her tail tucked. “You see…”
“HEY! HIGH PRIEST HERE, VOWING TO KILL YOU!” Snaped Fleet Hoof, weakly grabbing my lightsaber hand, attempting to push it towards my head. Still listening to Akiira’s story, with a sharp punch, I nailed him in the gut, but the sword at his throat kept him from dropping to the floor.
“…and then, you came up and are currently glaring at me.” Finished the Wargess, giving the other a flat look.
“You are an idiot.” Roret sighed and shook her head, suddenly lurching forward and pulling Akiira into a hug. “It’s good to see you sis. Mom would be proud.”
“WHAT?!” Gaped Pinkie, her jaw literally hitting to floor before she bounced around the room in excitement. “OH. MY. GOSH! YOU TWO ARE SISTERS?! I’m throwing a ‘Welcome-to-Equestria-and-reunion-of-long-lost-sisters’ PARTY TONIGHT!! We’ll need cake, and cupcakes, and punch, and cheese with crackers, and pie, and—”
A cupcake from out of nowhere was suddenly shoved in her mouth by Applejack. “Ok Pinkie, we get it…”
The two Wargesses stared at the pink pony for a long moment, then turned back to me.
“You can let him go now.” Said Akiira as she pulled herself from her sister. “Since this is Celestia’s territory, we’ll let her deal with the intruder.”
I nodded and stepped away from the gasping Priest, deactivating my saber and throwing his sword to the floor. Then, two Guards came up from behind Tia and took the stallion away. I looked between the two Warg sisters, wondering if it would be polite to ask who their mother was and how they knew my mine.
Roret seemed to read my mind and smiled with a raised hand, stopping me before my lips could move. “You wish to know how we know the Queen and that we are sisters?”
I nodded in affirmation.
“Actually, the same answer is for both questions, Luna.” Smiled Akiira, stuffing her hands into her sweater pockets. “We are both the daughters of the Warg Queen.”
The entire world halted in that single moment, all fading into the background. T-They, the one who’d been posing as my handmaiden and the other who’d saved Fang’s life twice… were my SISTERS?!
“Uh… Luna?” Roret waved a hand in my face, my stunned stature crumbling under several seconds. “You ok? I know we just dropped a bomb on you, but I’d like to properly hug my little sister.”
I barely heard the ponies gasp, a slight echo to their sound.
“…” My body started to shake from the shock, my legs coming close to giving out, my breath quickening. “Um….o-ok…”
Without a word, Roret stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close just as my legs caved. “Whoa, easy!”
Akiira rushed over, helping to set me down with my head on her lap. “She’s in shock, Roret. Got any spells that could help?”
“Not in the case of shock, but we should just stay by and let her calm down.”
At that moment, my eyes shut, and all faded to black.
-=Later=-
“The king and his men
Stole the queen from her bed
And bound her in her bones
The seas be ours and by the powers
Where we will, we'll roam…
“Yo ho! All hands!
Hoist the colors high!
Heave ho, thieves, and beggars!
Never shall we die!
“Yo ho, haul together!
Hoist the colors high!
Heave ho, thieves, and beggars!
Never shall we die!
“Yo ho, haul together!
Hoist the colors high!
Heave ho, thieves, and beggars!
Never shall we die!”
The lyrics of a strange and soft song be what awoke me, causing my eyes to flutter open and slowly look over to the source. There lay Fang, chest bandaged up once again and a pair of headphones over his ears, humming along with the tune of the music.
“Hey, welcome back Luna.” Came the voice of one Silken Garb, but when I turned my head to look at the mare, the face of a grey Wargess greeted me. “You took a good tumble there? Need anything?”
I found the corners of my lips curling upward, remembering how Silk used to coddle me when I was young. I smiled at the Wargess, seeing that, even though she wore a different skin and was an entirely different species, she was still the Silken Garb I knew. But then… she’d said that she had been with me since the beginning. What did she mean?
“Yes, Akiira. I need an answer.” I said, pushing myself up onto my elbows.
“Ask away.”
“What did you mean by ‘been with her since the beginning?’”
The Wargess in question went stiff for a long moment, before relaxing after Roret rusted a hand on her shoulder. “R-remember when y-you were seven… and you got your first handmaiden?”
I nodded. “Of course, her name was Evening Breeze.”
“And remember all the others? Dawn Daisy, Sky Chaser, Water Lily, and Chocolate Aurora?”
“…Yes?” I looked away for a moment, the wheels in my head turning. Then they clicked and my eyes snapped wide open. “WAIT! They were all you?! You posed as all those mares?!”
My peripheral vision picked up on movement and I turned my head to see Fang removing his headphones. Akiira stifled a giggle, pressing her furry hand up to her muzzle, sitting up with pride soon after. “Yep. All one and the same.”
“Chocolate Aurora? Really?” Roret leaned in next to Akiira and smirked, using her head as an armrest. “What? Did you gather a sweet tooth? That would explain why you stopped sending pictures of yourself in your letters.”
Akiira gasped, her face turning red as her voice cracked. She pushed her sister’s limb off her. “WHAT?! No! That’s not the reason!”
“Then what was it?” She mocked and the other Wargess puffed out her cheeks in frustration, pouting like a filly. She then said something below her voice. “What was that Aki?”
The grey Wargess spoke slightly louder, but the words didn’t reach me. Roret just smiled. “It wasn’t a handsome male that distracted you, was it? Maybe one with a sweet tooth?”
Akiira’s blush only deepened, to which Roret gasped in joy and clapped her hands, leaping back in joy. “HA! I knew it! Ordem owes me ten Marrow!”
“You bet on me?!” Akiira squeaked, to which I finally burst into laughter at their exchange, the red Wargess joining me. Akiira for her part just teleported a pillow into her arms and hugged the life out of it, her blush remaining.
After a long while of girly conversation, I then noticed a maid step into the room, carrying a large tray of warm food. In an instant, my magic leapt into action, snatching the tray from the maid’s grasp, and flinging it to the far wall. The mare gasped in shock, backing away from me as I sent her a glare, but backed up too close to a certain red Wargess. Roret cleared her throat, getting the maid’s attention. The mare turned, going still in fear, looking deep into the Wargess’ blue and orange eyes.
Said mare started to back up and slowly exited the room, shuffling passed a perplexed Tia. The Princess of the Dawn soon entered the room, noticing the tray of splattered food on the floor. “I really wish you wouldn’t—”
“Wouldn’t what?” Huffed an assertive Akiira, standing up and towering over Tia at a height of ten feet, opposed to the alicorn’s nine-foot stature. “Wouldn’t be suspicious of a maid carrying a covered tray? Poisoned food perhaps? Or maybe another bomb?”
“W-Well… I…” Tia was indeed surprised at the Wargess’ aggressiveness, her yellow eyes boring into magenta.
“When she’s been attacked on a near regular basis and just decides, ‘oh, look at me! Everything’s fine now and I can go on my merry way, never to worry about that suspicious group of ponies in that ally!’” Akiira mocked as she danced around the room in an overly innocent manner, turning back to Tia with an annoyed glare. “You seriously expect her to just shrug this all off by tonight, don’t you?”
“Easy, Akiira.” Spoke up Roret, standing next to the bed I lay in. “We’ve all had a long day, let’s let the two heroes get some rest and report this to father. He’ll need to know what’s happened.”
Akiira looked over to me with a worried glance, then looked back to her sibling with an irritated snarl. “Fine, but once that’s done, I’m coming right back here to keep them safe. I was sent here to protect my little sis, and that’s what I’m going to do!”
“Ok, bekymringsmiddel (worrywart).” With this, they left the room. I saw that Fang’s face was twisted into worry and anger. No doubt thinking of how to deal with this band of killers. Roret’s companion stayed behind, keeping an eye on the medical equipment that we were hooked up to.
Micah started to speak but was immediately cut off by the sound of canon fire. The impact shook and cracked the castle walls, making all three in the room freeze in shock.
“Your highness!” Shouted a young Royal Guard as he burst into the room, startling us back to the present.
“WHAT WAS THAT?!” I commanded his answer, grinding my teeth and clutching the bed’s railing.
“The Royal Palace is under attack!”
“No SHIT!!” We all stared at Fang, his eyes alight with crimson fire as he huffed clouds of smoke. His runes had come alight with embers and the bed he lay on started to burn. “WHAT IS ATTACKING US, YOU DUMB BLOCKHEAD?!”
The guard stood in utter terror and just barely held onto his spear. “T-the c-c-castle…”
“SPIT IT OUT!!” The metal creaked under his curling fists, at least that which wasn’t melting. “Or get out and—”
“Micha, ENOUGH!” I shouted back, using the Royal Canterlot Voice, and causing him to wince. I then turned to the shaking stallion, his golden armor clattering. “What is attacking the Palace?”
“F-four tanks, all housing Sun Priests, Princess.”
I heard Fang’s teeth grinding against one another, his voice rigidly snarling. “And you haven’t done anything about this why?”
The guard’s shaking increased tenfold.
“Fang! The stitches! You’re burning them!” Cried Tuurak, Roret’s assistant.
“Shouldn’t they be resistant to Chroma?” I asked, staring as the bandages on Fang’s chest burned to ash.
“They should, but his Chroma is just so hot that even the stitches’ binding is failing! He’s hot enough to be close to the sun’s temperature!! We need to calm him down!”
“That ain’t happenin’!!” Shouted Fang as his Chroma flared, causing the bed to explode, and sending the Warg flying through the roof. The last of him I saw was a lengthening smoke trail as he skyrocketed.
-=Fang’s POV=-
In that moment, I’d finally snapped. I couldn’t take it anymore. The Changelings, the squabbling nobles, Blueblood, these Priests, and nearly everypony else had rattled my cage. I’d had it, and I wasn’t going to hold back, not this time.
With the force of ten-ton sledgehammers, I plummeted down atop the first tank I saw, propelling myself further with my fire. And much like Iron Man, I rolled my body just in time to land atop the bucket of steel. Well, landing wouldn’t cover it, I smashed through the roof of the tank and ignited my entire body in fire and lightning. I then discharged the power and blew the tank to bits, the Priests’ screams only lasting a second. I stood amongst the rubble, my eyes and maw alight with red flame, claws sparking with arcing energy, and glared at the remaining three tanks.
A creaking sound caught my ear, causing me to look in its direction. I found two Priests staring at me in utter terror as they peeked out from the roof of their mobile fortress.
Then, without a word, I charged up the fire in my limbs and rocketed toward them, my jaws wide as I howled. I grabbed hold of them before they could duck down back into the tank, yanking them both out and holding them close to my snarling face.
“You like hurting people? You like making people suffer?!” I asked, both mine and Balder’s voices mixing. “Then go home!”
With that, I roasted them in an instant, their ashes scattering to the wind. I looked down to see my feet had grown hot enough to start boiling the metal, the once impenetrable armor now turning into soup. Not wanting to wait for my feet to burn through, I elongated my claws and superheated them, tearing into the tank’s shell to find three sweating stallions in gold armor and red cloth.
My hearing spiked as I looked up, seeing Luna’s sisters (one of them named Akiira I think) firing numerous spells and tearing into the next two tanks. That just left this one for me. I then looked back at the remaining stallions; their eyes filled with fear as they started to beg me for their lives.
Considering mercy, I looked away in thought and after several long moments, I looked on them with less anger than before. “So be it. I’ll let you live, but only if you denounce your commitment to the Sun Priests and leave the Royal family alone. Do this, I will let you live. But if you leave here and I find out that you’re still with them and attacking the Royals. I. Will. End you.”
All three nodded vigorously and promised with tears and sweat in their eyes. “Yes, YES!! We promise!”
Feeling the rage still swirling inside, I denied it’s hunger and let the three escape. Watching as they raced down the street and out of the city. For a brief moment, a deeper part of me wondered if this was a mistake; letting them go. But in the end, I was ok with giving them a second chance.
A sudden explosion snapped me back to reality as I looked to see Luna’s sisters walking toward me, away from the two melting tank husks. Roret smiled, blowing her smoking finger tips clear of her fire magic. “You seem to be doing better. You know, for a Warg who got stabbed through the chest, barely missing your third heart.”
“Yeah, I suppose.” I found myself chuckling as I descended the abandoned tank, coming to stand before the two Wargesses. Only to stop and look on her with a shocked and confused face. “Y-you said… three hearts, right? I must be hearing stuff.”
Akiira shook her head, crossing her arms. “Actually, no. Wargs have four hearts all together.”
“For whatever reason, I can’t stop thinking of how even more insane the Master would be with eight beats, rather than a rhythm of four.” Feeling slightly uneasy, I took to leaning against the tank behind me, letting my forehead rest on my fist. I was getting some serious Seven Deadly Sins vibes too. “So… where are they located, just so I have a picture incase I get stabbed again?”
Roret pointed to the areas on her torso, naming the whereabouts of the vital organs. “Two are along the chest, the third is near the right shoulder, and the fourth is below the left lung.”
I then lifted a hand up to my newest scar, mapping out where each heart was located via their pulses, and froze upon feeling that the scar was but inches away from my upper right heart. Again, I’d come so close to death, yet I felt at peace knowing that the God of Heaven was with me. I shrugged the fear off and nodded to the two sisters, smiling, and crossing my arms.
“So, now that we’ve run them off, what are we going to do about the Priests?” Akiira asked, sharply nodding toward an approaching Celestia and Luna, Gleaming Shield and a squad of guards escorting their Princesses. “And where were they when the Priests and tanks attacked?”
“Keeping the Princesses safe.” Sharply barked Gleaming, holding her spear slightly tighter than before.
“Right…” Quipped the Wargess with a chuckle, shaking her head. “And by ‘Princesses’ you must mean just ‘Princess’, seeing as how I didn’t see Luna being guarded and half her night guard is dead, along with a good number of your guards.”
“They did their duty.”
“Right…” I huffed before Akiira could snap back. “Unity, Duty, and Destiny… minus the unity in this case I guess.”
Gleaming gawked, marching up in front of me with a frown. “You know, I’ve just about had it with you!”
“Yeah? Good, because my house is almost done being built. Which means that you’ll be seeing less of me, good for you Gleaming.” With that, I limped back towards the castle, but stopped next to Luna. “If you ever want to drop by and say hello, or just need someone to listen, my door is open.”
Continuing on my way, I nodded as Luna thanked me. I no doubt was going to get an earful from Roret about having three medical emergencies in one single day. And I needed lunch, as fighting till after noon works up an appetite.
-=The Underground Hive=-
“My Queen?” Asked a drone as he approached the Changeling Queen’s throne, shivering slightly at the small draft coming in through the tunnels.
“Hm, what is it Mandible?” Chrysalis said with a note of casualness, lounging in her large throne, it’s holed surface matching most changelings’ limbs.
“The Sun Priests had attacked the pony palace this mornin—”
In a flash, Chrysalis was up on her eight spindly legs, coming to stand over her primary general. “What?”
Mandible started to sweat profusely. “T-they attacked the castle… and they failed. I sent several of my best to infiltrate and gather their bodies. They’ll be disposed in the Hatchery soon, my Queen.”
“Whew…” The Queen sighed, resting a hand on her chest to help calm herself, backing up but refusing to sit back on her throne. “Good, good. We can’t let them do that again, and if they do so again, bring them to me for a dinner date.”
Chrysalis smiled and licked her lips in anticipation but was brought back by her drone’s next words. “But again, the Lunar Knights have rejected your invitation. They still refuse your generosity.”
The Queen sighed in frustration this time, chuckling to herself as her eyes lit up. “Well then, let’s invite them over for breakfast tomorrow. I do hope we have tabs on all their whereabouts, yes? Wouldn’t want any to get lucky and escape. But don’t grab them all at once, it would be too suspicious, only giving our little Wargs reason to come and hunt us. Gather the Knights every so often, let the Hunters have a bit of fun with their prey. And do make sure to prepare my favorite seasonings for the next month… after all, a Queen must consume much if she is to expand her hive.”