//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Broken Father, Broken Son 
// Story: The Warden: Part 3, Dream of the Warden 
// by FortressLegacy 
//------------------------------//

A few seconds later, Luna and the Warden found themselves in the clearing with the cottage yet again. This time, it appeared to be the dead of winter. A blanket of snow covered the ground, a freezing wind blew through the trees, ice was prevalent, and the skies were dreary and gray.

Overall, the whole atmosphere was somewhat depressing, something that was certainly not lost on Luna.

A gust of wind rushed through the evergreens above her, picking up wisps of snow from the ground and sending them back into the sky, back to where it came from. Luna shivered slightly as she felt the icy chill penetrating through her fur and into her bones.

The Warden felt uneasy once more, Luna could tell. It wasn't just the cold, but it was a sense of apprehension that could be felt too.

Unlike the previous event, he seemed to remember this.

Once the gust subsided, a sound that starkly contrasted with the otherwise peaceful scene caught her ear.

"Wrong! Again!"

The Warden snorted quietly, his ears pinning down in anger.

Luna immediately correlated the voice to his father, Bastion, who sounded like he was giving stern instructions to somepony. It sounded like it was coming from behind the cottage, and Luna proceeded to stride through the snow towards the voice. 

The Warden seemed to hesitate for a second, but soon began to follow her. Luna had no doubt that this event was unpleasant for him to relive. She stopped, and glanced back at him as he approached.

"You don't have to watch this if you wish not to." She said, trying to assure him.

The Warden said nothing. He simply passed by, and kept on walking towards the source of the voice, ignoring her.

Luna's heart sank a bit. Whatever this was, he thought it was important enough to subject himself to, as if he hadn’t suffered enough because of her.

She sighed sadly, and followed the Warden despite her hurting heart.

As they got closer, another sound arose over the wind. It sounded like shouting, but coming from a child. Luna could not help but feel an instinctual urge to hurry up and see what was happening, both curious and increasingly concerned.

As she and the Warden rounded the house, she saw what it was. In the clearing between the other side of the cottage and the trees was Casemate, who now appeared to be about eight or nine years of age. His mane and tail were cut short, the same as his adult self. He lacked his older self's scars, though.

But more notably, he lacked his cutie mark. He hadn't earned it yet, it would seem.

He looked like he was practicing some form of fighting, attacking a makeshift dummy with a series of kicks and blows, giving a fighting cry with each attack.

Off to the side, Bastion stood. He looked far more haggard than he was before, but he hadn't lost his intimidating posture. He looked upon his son, his eyes showing no small amount of disapproval despite his son's best efforts.

After a final blow, young Casemate stopped and stepped back. Despite the cold, he was visibly sweating, and he breathed heavily, sending clouds of condensation flying off into the sky.

However, Bastion didn't seem to notice.

"Wrong!" He said sternly. "Again!"

Luna began to grasp what was happening, and she continued to watch carefully.

Young Casemate groaned, taking up a stance in front of the dummy. Luna felt concerned. Why was his father training a colt like this? It seemed abusive. If the colt were closer to adulthood, it wouldn't strike her as such, as long as Casemate was willing. But why put a young colt through such exercises out in the freezing cold?

The colt looked tired, and after a moment of holding a stance before the dummy, he began. He laid a series of deliberate blows on different locations, giving a shout with each kick. First below the chest, then the face, then the knees. Then, young Casemate twirled around, extending one of his hind legs, delivering a final blow to the dummy's head.

Luna was impressed. The degree of agility that the Warden had as a colt was extraordinary.

However, his father spoke up again, his tone louder and angrier than before.

"No! You got it wrong!" He barked. "Don't make me show you again!"

"Yes sir…" The colt replied breathlessly, his voice showing his exhaustion and discomfort.

Luna felt a bit of anger begin to burn deep within her, directed at Bastion.

Young Casemate took up an unsteady stance in the snow. He paused, staring at the dummy with an expression of hopelessness that caused Luna to feel a jabbing at her heart.

The colt then tried again. A blow under the chest, a blow to the head, and a blow to each front knee. Then, baring his teeth and seeming to suddenly grow enraged, the colt twirled around with all his might, giving his all into delivering the final kick this time.

However, he completely missed, spinning around and falling in the snow.

Luna gasped silently. This didn't bode well.

Bastion's eyes lit up in rage. Without saying a word, he stomped swiftly over to his son.

"Get up!" He ordered.

Young Casemate obeyed, getting on his feet. His father, now gritting his teeth, grabbed him and dragged him off to the side.

"What was that?!" He asked angrily.

"I don't know!" The young colt replied. "I tried!"

"Trying is not good enough!" Bastion shouted back. "I already showed you how to do it. If you were paying any attention, you would have gotten it already!"

"But I tried!" Young Casemate said again, clearly at a loss for what to say.

"What did I just say?!" Bastion asked. "Trying. Isn't. Enough!"

Luna felt a mixture of anger and sorrow in her heart. Anger against the callous father, and sorrow for the Warden having undergone this.

Then, Bastion pointed at an object a distance away, in the treeline along the edge of the clearing. 

A headstone.

"I tried to save your mother, and I failed!" He said loudly. "She died, because I wasn't good enough! If you allow yourself to be distracted or strive for anything less than perfection, ponies DIE!"

Luna caught her breath. Perhaps there was a reasoning behind his words. She recalled how the Warden told her about how his mother died, and he did say that his father was unable to save her.

Was he taking out his trauma and anger at himself on his son?

Suddenly, Bastion seemed to become a bit more relatable. While his behavior was not justified, Luna understood anger and trauma better than most.

Then, young Casemate began to shout back, drawing her attention back to him.

"But why do I have to be the next Warden?!" He shouted, catching his much larger father by surprise. "I don't want to be a Warden if I have to go through this!"

Bastion paused, creating a very uncomfortable silence. He stepped towards Casemate, who took a few steps back. Then, with a deep, rumbling voice, Bastion spoke.

"You have no choice." He said, barely veiling his rage. "You cannot say no to your lineage. You are a Warden. All of Equestria depends on you, and you cannot walk away, understand?"

Young Casemate looked fearfully up at his father looming above him.

Luna's consternation was reaching a fever pitch. She almost had to remind herself that this was a past event, and nothing that she could do now would change it.

Then, slowly, a flicker of hate began to shine in the colt's eyes. His mouth curled into a scowl, and his body tensed up.

"NO, I DO NOT!" He screamed, closing his eyes.

Luna felt chills run down her spine. That anger… She had seen it from him before, at Canterlot. The very memory of that day, when the Warden nearly killed her and Celestia, caused her fur to stand on end.

Meanwhile, Bastion's eyes widened, then narrowed. He wrapped a foreleg around his son picking him up.

"I will make you understand." He said with a menacing tone.

Casemate began to kick and try to break free, but it was no use. Bastion simply walked into the cottage, carrying the colt effortlessly with him, closing the door.

A full minute of silence passed as Luna and the Warden remained outside, alone once more.

Luna could feel the Warden’s rage radiating off of him. His anger was palpable, and it made her shiver slightly.  At least it wasn’t directed at her this time.

The Warden then walked aggressively over to the dummy, staring at it with a furious glare. Luna watched on, wondering what he was doing.

Then, without a word, he delivered a vicious kick under the dummy's chest, a blow to the face, and broke both the dummy's front knees. Then, his teeth bared, the Warden twirled around, and one of his back hooves ripped into the dummy's head. With a tearing sound, the head of the dummy sailed off into the woods.

Luna was stunned, not to mention a bit frightened. That anger didn't bode well for her chances at gaining forgiveness.

But this outburst directed at the dummy seemed to calm the Warden down somewhat. Luna could still feel a deep, burning anger, but his face and body visibly relaxed.

He stood silently for a few seconds, looking off into the icy forest, then turned towards Luna.

"Next event. Now." He said quietly and calmly.

Luna nodded, deep in thought about what she had witnessed.

This shed some light as to why he felt such anger towards his father, at least.

However, a sense of irony was not lost on her. He and his father seemed to share some things in common. Both had suffered a tragic loss, and both became angry and bitter as a result.

However, it seemed to Luna that the Warden had at least handled it a bit better than his father did. She knew for a fact that the Warden didn't abuse his family.

He was too good of a stallion to stoop that low…

Luna's horn began to glow once again, taking them both to the next major event in the Warden's life.