Back in Ponyville…
“And still nothing?” Twilight asked Rainbow Dash, who was hovering in front of her. The two were outside of Twilight’s castle.
“Sorry, Twi. If Fire Fight really was around there, he left pretty quickly. No sign of that weird timberwolf either.” Rainbow said. “I’m starting to think that Zecora was just imagining that ‘figure’ she saw, ‘cause we haven’t any trace of something weird there.”
“Rainbow Dash, Zecora is very attuned with the Everfree forest. I’m confident that she didn’t just see things.” Twilight said.
“Well, maybe it was nothing! Might’ve just been some kind of animal in the forest that even she’s never seen before. What does it even have to do with Fire Fight?” Rainbow argued.
Twilight sighed. “I guess you’re right about that, if something is happening here in our home, then we need to address that as well.”
“Let Zecora handle it. She knows that forest better than any of us anyway, and if she needs help, we’ll give her a minute or two. We’ll focus on finding Fire Fight.” Rainbow said.
“Hmm….Yeah, we really should. The Royal Sisters will be here shortly to discuss things with me about that anyway. Did Zecora happen to say anything of note?” Twilight said.
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Not really, but I guess she mentioned something about controlling monsters or whatever. Bunch of Zebra mumbo jumbo.” Rainbow started her way towards the forest. “Well, I promised her I’d help her search the old castle. Have fun with the Princesses!” she said as she flew off.
Twilight waved back. “Bye, Rainbow Dash!” As the cyan pegasus disappeared into the horizon, Twilight thought back to the topic that she and the Princesses were really going to discuss: the Shadewalkers. She had Spike help Fluttershy care for her animals so as to protect him from any sensitive information that might come up….which was likely inevitable. Could they actually be real? If so, then could Fire Fight really be with one? Why would they take interest in him? And most importantly, were he and those other foals in danger? It wouldn’t be long before she had an answer, for the Royal Sisters’ carriage descended onto her front yard mere moments after Rainbow Dash left.
The two regal mares stepped off of their golden chariot and greeted Twilight with a bow, to which Twilight reciprocated. “Good afternoon, Twilight. I trust you are well?” Luna said.
“Apart from the whole Fire Fight problem, I’m as well as I’ll ever be.” Twilight said. “Oh! Did Princess Celestia tell you about that?”
Luna solemnly nodded. “She has. It’s…..truly a pity.” Her thoughts went to the foals she swore to watch over.
Celestia nodded. “Indeed. Wherever they are, we pray that they are safe and sound. To think that they are in so much pain that they’d run away from home…..” She sighed. “Well, we have much to discuss. Let us go inside. It’s getting rather chilly out here.” They nodded in agreement and entered Ponyville’s castle.
*****
The Princesses joined one another in Twilight’s meeting room. The air quickly became slightly heavy knowing what the topic at hoof was. Twilight hoped that the answers she’d receive would put her at some ease, but she was prepared for the worst should it come. “So….did you get results back from the lab in Baltimare about that dagger?” she asked.
“We did, and as expected, it was a near perfect match.” Celestia answered.
“Obviously, it was not the exact same dagger used to slay Professor Gene Splice, but one identical to it was determined to have done the deed.” Luna said. Knowing deep down what all really happened made this difficult for her.
“A-And it was a Shadewalker dagger?” Twilight asked.
Luna sighed. “It resembles no known style of weaponry across any age or land, so….perhaps.”
“The Bladerunners use no such arsenal, and some of them claim to have directly battled with Shadewalkers over the ages.” Celestia said.
“You formed the Bladerunners shortly after Nightmare Moon was banished, right?” Twilight inquired.
Celestia nodded. “I did. I wanted to create a force of fierce warriors that would surpass even the highest ranking members of our military, and thus I selected a good few of said soldiers to rigorously train and begin teaching themselves and each other as they explored swordplay further. Many more were taken under their wings, and a clan family of swordponies was born. They were meant to be a final resort should even the Elements of Harmony fail.”
“So who are the Shadewalkers, and why do they and the Bladerunners hate each other so much?” Twilight asked.
A glint of sorrow twinkled in the eyes of the solar sovereign. “It was not long after the Bladerunners had truly begun to forge their own identity. Many of them humbly relished their new positions and swore undying fealty to their code. Day in and day out, they would practice and forge their techniques with great joy in their hearts, remaining ready for any other evils that may threaten our realm. However…..there was one amongst them that was….unsatisfied.” she explained.
“Unsatisfied?” Twilight inquired.
“The way of the blade that the Bladerunners formed and adhered to was formatted so that its warriors would prioritize protecting the innocent over felling their foe, which was widely accepted amongst the clan and citizens alike, myself included, but then there was New Moon.” Celestia said.
“New Moon?” Twilight inquired.
“New Moon was a rather….troubled stallion amongst the Bladerunners and particularly vicious with his sword. Not only that, but he would sometimes resort to questionable tactics and strategies to fell his foes.” Celestia explained.
“Such as?”
“I remember one instance where a group of about four or five rogue marauding griffons tried to raid upon an old crystal mine just outside of the castle town. New Moon was the only one who could to their aid quickly, but he pulled no punches when combatting the attackers. Reports said that he used a small series of strange tools that he had apparently crafted himself apart from his blade, such as a grappling chain to pull the griffons down from the air, smoke bombs that blinded his foes so that he may attack them while helpless, and a series of daggers that he threw from a distance.” Celestia explained. That last tool made Twilight gasp. “The miners witnessed him break the griffons’ wings and knock their weapons from their talons and use them against them; one of the miners even said that he grabbed a spear of them had dropped, hurled it towards another griffon that airborne and it pierced through their shoulder. He then pulled him down with his hook and slashed his eye out. As the griffons retreated, he cried out to them, ordering them to ‘go back to their coops’.”
Twilight just sat there trying to process what she was just told. A pony exhibiting such horrific brutality was unbelievable! It was difficult to imagine that this ‘New Moon’ was ever allowed to be a swordspony dedicated to serving the crown. “Is….that really true!?”
Celestia solemnly nodded. “I’m afraid it is, but that was just one such example. Listing all of his grievances would take all day. Whenever he was confronted about his actions, he expressed a strong desire to protect Equestria and disdained the ‘passivism’ that was put forth by his clan members, saying that it held them back from truly protecting anything. As to where he crafted his tools, I can’t say. Much about him was a mystery.”
“I was not there when it happened, but the day finally came that New Moon had finally gone too far.” Luna said.
Celestia glanced at her sister and sighed. “It’s a day that haunts my memories even to this day…”
“What happened?” Twilight asked.
Celestia took a moment to remember and closed her eyes, picturing the dark day in history that has never been spoken of again….until now. “Canterlot and much more of Central Equestria had become plagued by dark, shadowy creatures marauding the lands and creating chaos where they went. I, the Bladerunners and a good chunk of the royal guards fought them with all of our strength, New Moon notwithstanding. It was finally discovered that a mad wizard hidden deep beneath Canterlot within the crystal caves where you once found Princess Cadence was summoning these abominations directly from Tarturus, seeking nothing more than panic and chaos for him to enjoy. Fighting him was no easy task for us, but we eventually weakened him to the point of victory, but even in his vulnerable state, his madness kept him from surrendering. New Moon was amongst us and….he called us all fools for even presenting the prospect of simply imprisoning him….”
Twilight gasped. “You don’t mean…”
Celestia nodded. “Yes…..New Moon executed him right then and there.” Twilight put her hoof over her mouth upon her teacher uttering those words. “We sought to catch him on the spot and make him answer for his crimes, but he seemed to have an affinity for the shadows and escaped. Not only that, but there were other Bladerunners who came to his defense, saying that they saw new light in what New Moon could teach them and disappeared with him, never to be seen or heard from again….”
Twilight sat there in complete disbelief. Hearing such a dark secret in Equestria’s history made the new princess quiver somewhat, but everything was pretty much made clear. “So….the Shadewalkers used to be Bladerunners…..that just defected? They’re actually real!?”
“They were indeed very real back in that age, but they remained in complete silence, so we never knew whether they truly survived or not. Although, current events suggest that they still lurk about. Who knows what their intentions are….” Luna said.
Twilight felt her heart starting to race. “I-I-Is Fire Fight in danger!?”
“I’m unsure, but if the current Shadewalkers are anything like their original master, then it’s safe to assume that they will go to great lengths to achieve their goals. Whatever goals they may have that involves Fire Fight and all of those foals is beyond what I can speculate about.” Celestia said.
“Indeed.” Luna added. She suddenly thought about Fire Fight and the Battle Foals. Despite Shadow Shroud aiding them greatly, seeing into her heart proved difficult. The hardened will of the shadowy filly blocked even the lunar princess’s insight, but what she was able to feel was something soft and gentle hidden under her sharp cloak and dagger. Luna knew that the Battle Foals had an important mission to complete, and it pained her that she had to completely reserve herself regarding them from even her own sister. The only comfort she could receive was knowing that they were alright.
“Is something the matter, sister?” Celestia asked.
“N-No….Tia. I simply worry for those foals. It’s a wonder that they’ve travelled so far despite facing so many perils….” Luna said. Her words had more weight than the other princesses could feel.
“So is everypony, Princess Luna. It looks like we’ll have to intensify our search. I’ll talk with our local schoolteacher about it.” Twilight said.
Celestia nodded. “Good. My sister and I shall do our part as well.
“One more thing.” Luna said. “This may sound ludicrous, but….try not to worry too much. Despite his rather dark disposition, New Moon only ever had good intentions, and I don’t doubt that he would pass that onto his students, so perhaps Fire Fight and the others aren’t in quite as much danger as we fear. A closed mind is the first step to any unintended conflict.”
Celestia and Twilight were slightly taken aback by her comment, but they couldn’t deny the truth behind it. “I…suppose so, but our conversation must never leave this room, understood?”
Twilight firmly nodded. “Understood. Thank you both.” With that, the Royal Sisters bid their farewells to Twilight, and boarded their carriage to head home. As they disappeared into the horizon, Twilight began to feel sick with worry. Was that filly that Rarity encountered really a Shadewalker? Could her friend have been killed that day? What would Fire Fight be doing with such a dangerous pony? What would she have to tell his mother? What all was going to happen?