//------------------------------// // Into the fray // Story: Inquisitor of the Moon // by Snowliasion //------------------------------// Right, why did dark mages always choose gloomy places to hide in? You would never find them in bright colorful gardens, or a nice sunny beach. No, it was always, and I mean always graveyards, deep dark forests or creepy old mansions with them. Or in this case, all three of the options. Fantastic. Today would be one of those days wouldn’t it? Pulling the hood of my cloak up over my head, I cautiously resumed my way through the misty dark woodlands, cautiously regarding my surroundings just in case. Soon, the trees thinned, and I reached a massive graveyard situated around a small hill top. On the hill however stood an ancient, huge manor straight out of a horror novel. I rolled my eyes. “Right, now we only need some—” and of course my snark was cut off by the eerie, distant howling of timber wolves. I facehoofed. My horn ignited with a soft hum while I focused my magic into the shape of a sword, strong as any steel and nigh unbreakable. This art right here was not taught to just any unicorn. Equestria was a place of peace and harmony to the public eye, so Blade Casting—as this spell was aptly named—was only taught to those ponies braving the darker realities that was kept from most other ponies. The downside was that it needed almost all of one’s concentration and allowed barely any other spells to be used simultaneously. Slowly I pushed open the gate of the large fence surrounding the estate. The huge manor with surrounding graveyard could easily be called such. I was not surprised that the moon damned thing creaked loudly, the sound echoing clearly into the distance. Sure enough, several pony shaped forms started rising from the floor and looked in my direction, then began to shamble my way with purpose. Great. Just great. It was now time to stay alert. Even though the trotting dead were usually clumsy and slow moving, there was always the risk that some among them were special cases. You know, those rare undead that proved to be ridiculously fast or still in full control of their mental faculties. Everypony hated zombies that could open doors. These three were not that sort, however.  Rushing at them, I angled my blade and drove it straight through the face of the nearest one, a stallion who had been quite fetching during his lifetime, I thought. Such a waste. But that was the best known method with these creatures. Trauma to the brain usually stopped them in their tracks and returned them to their eternal rest. As the first one slumped to the floor, I swiftly leaned onto my forehooves and raised my hind ones to deliver a fierce buck to the second zombie’s chest. The normal kind might not be tough to fight, but you still needed space. After all, one bite or scratch might be enough for you to join their eternal ranks. Swinging my blade at the third proved to be a test of willpower. The zombie had been barely adult when she died, and a pair of still innocent and bright eyes stared back into mine, making me hate my job for the first time that day. The young should not fall before reaching their prime, and certainly not be used like this after their demise. Then she snapped her jaws shut just inches from my face and jolted me back into reality. My blade swung upwards as it separated one half of her body from the other, making both halves fall down as I shook my head. Don’t lose focus like that, they’re no longer ponies. That left the last one, but as he was all alone now, I made swift work of him, watching his decapitated body topple over before perking my ears at a sudden unexpected noise. From higher up the hill, a challenging whinney drew my attention, and looking up, I saw a robust and absolutely huge earth pony mare gazing down at me. I had seen stallions smaller than she was. More worrying, however, were the heavy plate mail and leg armor she wore. Her tail whipped from side to side in either glee or anxiety. Her eyes, though dull, burned with determination and intelligence. Clearly she had either not been dead long, or had been preserved in some way or another. She then clamped her jaws shut around the hilt of a massive greatsword that had been jammed into the ground next to her moments before, pulling it free, and lowered herself into a fighting stance. So much for getting into the manor easily. I channeled more magic into my conjured blade to strengthen it. By doing so, the weapon would withstand heavier impacts like the kind of weapon my adversary used. I admit that at times like these, I wish I had a little more physical prowess instead of magical power alone; that plate mail of hers looked much tougher than my mage plate and robes. Surprisingly, she had not charged at me while I strengthened my weapon, and that fact filled me with an odd sense of respect for my new opponent. Thus I attempted a conversation. “Can you understand me?” I asked, to which she gave a nod. “Is there any chance that we can avoid this and you’ll just let me pass?” She hesitated for a second but then slowly shook her head. I nodded in understanding, something or somepony compelled her to do this, so there was no choice in the matter. “Then fight with honor, my sister.” She actually smiled faintly around the hilt of her blade at that, then sighed before rushing at me with her weapon poised to strike. She was faster than she looked, I barely had time to raise my own sword to block her swipe which she immediately followed up with another. Luckily, I had agility of my own and I hopped out of the way of her next swing as she plowed her blade into the ground where I just had been. I retaliated with a swift slash at her shoulder, but it barely bothered her thanks to her tough armor. Another strike hit her flesh, but even though it cut her, she shrugged it off, stepped in closer and kicked me hard enough to send me flying. Luckily a tombstone broke my fall, but knocked the wind out of me. After a moment, I groaned and scrambled to my hooves, staggering for a moment. Then focused my magic once more, horn igniting with a hum while a new blade was brought into being. The earth pony knight actually waited for me to get ready again, which caused me to tilt my head in curiosity a moment. I had never met an undead being with this much dedication to chivalry, which led me to believe that aside from the main commands given to her, she had still a semblance of free will. “Please, Lady Knight. I notice you have still some control of your actions, is there really no other way to settle this?” I pleaded, looking up at her while lowering my weapon. Then she actually spoke, her voice gentle even as she readied her weapon once more. “No. Go home. If you won’t then you leave me little choice.” I sighed at that, I couldn’t go home. I had a mission to complete. So I had to beat her and then find out where the necromancer was hiding. After taking a step towards her, a jolt shot through my body and I had to grit my teeth to prevent myself from crying out. My chest burned. She had actually hit me hard enough to either bruise, or—in the worst case—break one or more of my ribs. “Filly, you are obviously hurt already. Turn around and go home. I am running out of patience.” The knightess growled while observing me from a distance, yet looked very capable of hurting me more. Ignoring the pain for now, I looked at my opponent. She had to have some weak spot. Sure there was her head, but it seemed awfully risky to get too close to her. Then, a thought hit me: couldn’t I use her strength and weight against her somehow? If I could get her to charge at me, I could perhaps trick her into getting herself stuck somehow. That, or dispel my blade and try actual magic on her. But being weaponless against that mare sounded unwise. I had to think of something quickly, though, before she decided to dash at me again before I was ready. Looking at a nearby mausoleum, I noticed that it had a heavy set of iron doors with a chain around the handles. I thought for a moment. Would she actually fall for that? Nothing to lose at this point, I suppose. If anything, I could always teleport outside right? I dispelled my blade and looked at the knightess, then feigned more injury and hobbled slowly into the mausoleum, trying to get her curious enough to follow me in when I saw her trot into my direction. Once inside, I made my way to the wall at the back and slumped down next to it, keeping my eyes on the entrance while taking a quick breather. Sure enough, the knightess followed me inside halfway, then looked down at me and spoke. “Why won’t you listen to me little mare? Now you’re hurt.” I fidgeted a little to get more comfy, flattening my ears as I simply stared back at her. She closed in on me and knelt down a few steps away from my position. “I have a fairly good idea what you are planning you know?” She actually smiled. Blinking, then flicking my ears, I asked. “That obvious, huh? Doesn’t surprise me all that much, really. But if you knew, why did you follow me in anyway?” It surprised me a bit, was I overlooking something? “Because you are clever, and far more persistent than the last three hunters that came here. Whoever pays you must have earned your loyalty. So here is the deal: if you manage to enter the manor before I catch up to you, I’ll leave you alone. It will be very tough to ignore the order to bar you entry but if you are already inside, I can’t exactly prevent you from going inside now, can I?” Ohh, she was a clever one, very crafty. I had not expected that from her. “And if you do catch up to me?” I dared to ask even if I knew the answer. She sighed softly and gave my mane a caress. “Then I run you down, and this time there won’t be any more talking, filly.” Getting the message, I got to my hooves and broke into a gallop while she got up herself, giving me about two seconds to get away. She then chased after me, the swing of her greatsword barely missing my tail and instead shattering a few stone coffins into pieces. My chest hurt, but I had to keep running. She looked like a mare of her word, so if she caught up to me, that would be the end. On my way out I did use my magic to slam the iron door in her face and snap the thick chains into their locked positions. A loud clang resounded through the cemetery and I paused a second. Then, the doors burst open by a single mighty kick and I bolted towards the manor with a high pitched whinny. Nope! Not fighting lady‘ tears-through-inches-thick-metal-like-it-is-nothing’, not today! Just as I reached the manor doors, I heard a curious swishing sound behind me, then nearly jumped out of my fur when my adversary’s blade buried itself into the wall an inch from my face. Blanching like that was all the time the knightess needed to catch up to me, and bash me straight through the wooden front doors of the manor, and into the opposite wall shattering the coffee table in front of it. Wheezing, I slowly opened my eyes in terror, surely my time had come. Yet the knightess stood in front of the manor’s entrance looking at me in a strange way, but she didn’t enter. Then I remembered what she had said to me, and realized that by tackling me into this place she was oathbound to leave me alone. So I did the very first thing that popped into my head. I stuck my tongue out at her.