Battle Ready: The Rising of Sin

by D101 Reviews

Chapter Twenty

"Wondered when you'd drag yourself up here," Twilight said continuing to read her from one of the low stools arranged around the central room of Zecora's home. She didn't look up as Battle pushed his way through the beaded curtain leading to the lower rooms. Battle didn't mind. This was the dynamic he and Twilight had fallen into after their few meetings face to face. She liked Veteran Centurion, the King of Warhorse, that much had been confirmed to him by Shining Armour, but she apparently thought Battle was unprofessional as a member of Veteran's royal guard due to his observed behavior over a few diplomatic summits. Battle found this disapproval amusing.

"Twilight by a useful mare," the zebra said as she came up behind Battle, Fluttershy close behind. "Helps us get him back down there."

Twilight sighed and closed her book as Battle stretched, a tight look of pain on his face as he did so.

"No point," Twilight told her as Battle popped the knuckles in the bones of his hands. "He's up now. He might as well help us."

"Oh it's my help you're wanting eh Princess?" Battle chuckled, rolling his arms in circles to loosen up his shoulders. "Sure you're not gonna nag me?"

"I can have you arrested you know that right?" Twilight pouted.

"Oh yeah that'll really go down well in the newspapers," Battle snorted. "'Princess Twilight Locks up Foreigner Because of Undisclosed Personal Biases.' How's that gonna make you look?"

"You... you two know each other then?" Fluttershy mumbled through her mane as Twilight ground her teeth against one another as Battle checked his reflection in a mirror to see if his face had been injured in the fight.

"We've met prior yes," Twilight sighed, looking at Fluttershy. "On certain diplomatic summits. Battle was a member of the King's Royal Guard on a number of those occasions. We met then."

"You've been to Warhorse?" Fluttershy asked meekly. Twilight went a delicate shade of pink and adjusted her shirt.

"No," she said simply. "No I have not. Princess Celestia hasn't taken me to Warhorse before."

"It's a pity too," Battle admitted straightening up from the mirror. "Pretty sure you would like it over there. Legion is lovely this time of year."

"You say that every time we see each other," Twilight sighed. "Do you get some kick out of teasing me about that?"

"Nope, just proud of the home counties," Battle said spinning around and walking to the center of the room. He paused for a second before walking swiftly to the zebra mare and sticking a hand out smiling bashfully.

"Sorry, stupid me, I've been rude, never caught your name," he said, his smile becoming apologetic. The zebra looked at the proffered hand and, after a nod from Twilight, took it gingerly and shook hands with Battle.

"You could not have asked before," she said, "But I am called Zecora."

"Lovely to meet you Zecora," Battle said, as he finished shaking hands and turned to the room at large, before turning back to Zecora. "Thanks for, yknow? Patching me up." Zecora smiled warmly and made a movement to suggest it was nothing. He smiled too and looked across at Twilight, his expression suddenly very cold. "You said you needed my help?"

"Finally something sensible," Twilight sighed.

"Come on princess if you want me to talk sense you should know I respect the chain of command," Battle said, a wry smile on his face. "Right now the way I see it you're my commanding officer."

"And here I thought you were on leave of absence from the Warhorse Army," Twilight asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Isn't working for another military whilst on leave considered an act of treason?"

"Warhorse military doctrine dictates that a soldier of the realm may submit their services whilst on leave to any allied armed force at said soldiers sole discretion," Battle reciited. "Now however much you and me don't get on Princess Equestria and Warhorse are very much allies and as such, I submit my military service to your command."

Twilight nodded respectfully before folding her arms and turning to look out of the nearest window. "I don't need to tell you how much the recent attempted attack on Princess Lana has rattled the country."

"Mass panic and uncertainty, ponies seeing enemies everywhere they go, a bunch of politically charged tabloid press stirring up trouble even more?" Battle listed off a few things he'd seen and heard as a direct result of an attack like this.

"Precisely," Twilight confirmed. "And those are the problems coming from within Equestria. External political interference is also a factor to consider. No one outside of Equestria knows if this will be isolated to us or if other allied nations are to be subjected to similar attacks." Twilight turned to him. "And I get the suspicion that you have an idea as to what's happening here Battle."

"I have my theories," Battle admitted. "I haven't really been able to confirm any of them however. It's not like I can jump on the train to Canterlot and ask to pummel the information I want from the one in the cell now can I?"

"And yet you came marching straight into the Everfree forest?" Twilight said, resting her palms on the rim of the central cauldron looking directly at Battle.

"I had a few suspicions," Battle said shrugging. "Especially after the other attacked ran headlong into the Everfree on Nightmare Night."

"I'm assuming you caught up to them?"

"Naturally."

"So what you're keeping them locked up in your basement like some reverse boogeyman until he talks?"

Battle clicked his tongue lightly and looked over at Fluttershy and Zecora. He had told Fluttershy that the attacker who got away was already dead. He wasn't sure if Zecora knew yet though he was inclined to believe she did. That left Twilight alone the only one unaware of what had happened to the attacker that Battle had dubbed Happy Face.

"I followed him to a clearing about a hundred yards from the edge of the Everfree," Battle said slowly. "I hadn't noticed when I reached him that the clearing was bordered by various poisonous plant-life." Battle watched Twilight's face for her reaction, whilst also listening intently for Fluttershy and Zecora's audible tells. So far Twilight merely furrowed her brow, so Battle continued. "In the wild those plants would have most likely taken a few hours to take effect maybe. But from what I've heard the Everfree has some... negative aura that surrounds it. He was dead within a matter of minutes." He bit his lip here as Twilight's face turned to look of horror at the implications of what Battle was telling her. "I must admit there is the possibility that the adrenaline spike of having been discovered hastened his... premature demise."

Fluttershy and Zecora looked at each other in discomfort and Battle felt his soul cringe a little at the look on Fluttershy's face. Zecora in the meantime seemed to be holding up with this information rather well.

"I... I see," Twilight said slowly, swallowing a few times and gripping the edge of the cauldron. Battle raised an eyebrow. For all he had seen of Twilight before now she had been the symbol of constant professional. Maybe a little over-eager to please Princess Celestia and in her earlier meetings she was a little nervous sure but this was something else entirely. Battle's shoulders rounded slightly and his expression softened as he took Twilight in for a moment.

She was still young. Only a year or so younger than Battle but she was still so young when it came to the nature of war. The concept of death, murder, suicide; they were still almost alien to the ponies of Equestria. Twilight had fended off the return of Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra, Tirek and fought off an invasion of Changelings attacking the city of Canterlot. But all of these feats she had achieved with her friends by her side and without resorting to violence. Without a drop of blood ever having been spilled.

Zecora cleared her throat and Battle looked her way.

"That explains the end of the pony who died," she said slowly. "But what of that creature of impossible size?"

Battle cocked and eyebrow and Twilight cleared her through, shaking herself a little before she turned to the door of Zecora's hut and pulling it open. She turned to Battle and gestured for him to walk through the door first. Eyebrow still raised, Battle led the three other mare's out into the forest.

There, slumped on it's side, was the 'manticore' Battle had fought in the night. It's leathery hide was charcoaled and crisp, the scales burnt away to reveal white pulpy flesh underneath, thought blackened by smoke and flame, blisters like burst and whole angry red bubbles rising from the surface. There was a deep gouge in its neck on the right hand side from when Battle had hit it with his axe. The face of the creature was cut up and covered in its pinkish coppery blood, a few shards of glass still embedded in the flesh. It's left leg was severed at the knee. The cut wasn't clean and wasn't pretty. The stump was still bleeding. Battle pondered whether the bleeding or the fire had killed the creature.

"We found him about thirst paces from where we found you," Twilight muttered, looking everywhere but the mangled remains of the monster. "Your handiwork?"

"I'd like to think I gave as good as I got sure," Battle shrugged.

"He is an ugly one to be sure," Zecora muttered. "Quite the beating he did endure."

"Where's his leg?" Fluttershy managed to squeak out.

"In the undergrowth somewhere probably," Twilight muttered. "How did you get it off?" then as if realising the grisly implications of whatever answer might come she stuck her hands up and shook her head. "Actually no forget I ask. Let's focus on the question of what this... thing is."

"It looks like a Manticore," Fluttershy suggested.

"I must agree, though not like one I have seen," Zecora chimed in.

"He's a chimera," Battle said simply. "But a type I thought went extinct long ago."

"A type?" Twilight repeated. "What exactly do you mean? There's only ever been the one kind. Sure you might find one with different elements but they're usually a hybridisation of the same three creatures."

"Big cat, snake and goat right?" Fluttershy listed off.

"Wild Chimeras," Battle said in answer. "Chimeras that are little more than the beasts that they're comprised of. They weren't always like that though." He stepped up to the chimera and looked in its dead lifeless eyes. "A long time ago they were a race of creatures. Powerful and dangerous, their strength was in their ability to assimilate certain physiological aspects of any living being they came across." He absently pulled a shard of glass from its face and slid it into his pocket. "They were... envious creatures. But like I said I thought that they'd died out ages ago, reduced to wild monsters roaming the countrysides, their kingdom long since rubble."

"Their kingdom?" Twilight said. "They had a monarchy?"

Battle's mind retreated to a childhood memory at the question. A memory filled with ghost stories and the nightmares of a child about an evil queen. An evil queen with acid green eyes and skin an alabaster white. Towering, imposing and terrifying with huge leathery wings that blocked out the sun. One who could breathe fire, summon lightning and even cause earthquakes with even the gentlest stamp of her cloven hooves.

"If you believe the stories," Battle whispered to himself almost. Before anyone could press him for more details hower, Battle turned away from the chimera and rubbed the bridge of his nose, wincing slightly as the movement agitated some of the injuries he had sustained fighting the beast. He waved off Zecora however as she began to move toward him. "The point of the matter is there are going to be more of them in this forest. This bastard here all but confirms it and for whatever reason, they want an Alicorn."

"What?" Fluttershy whispered. "They want an Alicorn?"

"Reasoning?" Twilight said, folding her arms.

"They attacked on Nightmare Night," Battle replied. "I think they must have been doing reconascience for a long while on Ponyville. But when they went to the stage to capture Princess Luna they looked nervous, unprepared, like capturing Luna was an improvised plan b."

"And what would plan a have been?"

Battle looked at Twilight with an eyebrow raised, the word 'Seriously?' practically written on his face. Twilight blinked and pointed to herself.

"Me? Why?"

"Youngest and most inexperienced Princess of Equestria, Ponyville is pretty much your town so it would have been a safe bet you'd been there, you have a history of attending these sorts of things, it would be much easier kidnapping you say in the middle of a festival than assaulting Princess Luna in front of a massive crowd, relaxed royal guard presence around Ponyville at your insistence," Battle said listing off each of the various reasons on his fingers. "Really the only reason you weren't kidnapped Princess was because they didn't realise you had buggered off to Zebrika." He closed his fist and put it on his hip. "How was it by the way I never asked."

Twilight blinked and sighed putting her face in her hand. "It was fine, research was good look getting back to the matter at hand." She pointed at the chimera behind Battle. "Is there a chance that these will try the same sort of stunt again?"

Battle looked at the chimera and held his chin in thought. "It's hard to say really. The one who killed himself seemed to do so out of fear of punishment for his failure to kidnap an Alicorn. They immediately switched to a plan that they weren't prepared for when they discovered you weren't in Ponyville. So on the one hand fear and desperation could factor in to them trying something even more drastic in the near future. On the other hand we don't know how many they number so we can't really be sure if they'd risk more of their forces being killed or captured."

"So we don't know?" Fluttershy whispered. Battle shrugged.

"Time will tell."

Author's Note:

It's weird like I'll go on a year long massive hiatus because I've got writer's block on how to proceed with a chapter then someone'll do something like add one of my stories to the 'Dead Stories' group or whatever or leave a comment saying something like: 'Shame this ended when it did it was getting interesting,' and I will instantly hop back into writing like YOU FUCKING WHAT MATE?!
All that to say... I'm not dead.

Comments

[Balewood]

Now this is a blast from the past, well, Thanks for Writing!

[Ephedianroyalty]

It's weird like I'll go on a year long massive hiatus because I've got writer's block on how to proceed with a chapter then someone'll do something like add one of my stories to the 'Dead Stories' group or whatever or leave a comment saying something like: 'Shame this ended when it did it was getting interesting,' and I will instantly hop back into writing like YOU FUCKING WHAT MATE?!

...
Um... let’s see, it was ‘shame this ended when it did it was getting interesting,’ right? Right.

Well here goes nothing.

Shame this ended when it did it was getting interesting.

...hello?

... is this thing on?

[D101 Reviews]

9046607

[Ephedianroyalty]

9047781
But that’s not a thing. Like, ever. The treebrary gets blown up in the battle with Tirek, and the castle is created after Tirek’s defeat. Maybe during.

[WARGAMES]

I lose that idea