The Captain blurred as he ran, only when he reached the knight did he reappear. He appeared and slammed a fist through the Brass Knight's throat and spun around, he threw the knight at another who rushed out of the bushes. Yet a third knight appeared behind the Captain, axe raised high. Then a pair of Lunar Guards slashed at the knight as they swooped past, he yelled in pain then fell to his knees when the Captain slammed his glaive into his neck. The Captain quickly ducked under the sword of the second knight, who managed to throw the first Brass Knight's body off. The knight shuddered when the Captain slammed his hand into the knight's faceplate, when he pulled it out the knight immediately dissolved. All four knights of the kill squad were ash, the Captain stood staring at something in his palm.
"Well, Captain. I guess we made it." Celestia said in a cheerful tone, but the Captain was very interested in the object in his hand. "Captain?" Celestia asked and the man turned and held out his hand, an orange crystal was gently glowing in his palm.
"Kill squad, sent here to kill me. Ordered by C-3737, a Brass Centurion, from Canterlot, your old capital." The Captain said as the Princess looked at the crystal, then he crushed it. Celestia looked confused and looked up at the Captain. "You will not experiment on my brothers, even if I'm free, I am a soldier of the true Brass Inquisitors." The Captain stated proudly, Celestia nodded as the rest of the group walked up.
Twilight seemed to be bursting with excitement, but the Captain could see a slight fear in her eyes. Applejack had a stoic face, something the Captain could respect. Rarity was concentrating on his coat, the Captain smiled mentally. It disappeared quickly though, it gave him a sense of deja vu. Rainbow was sizing up the tall Captain, the Captain immediately disliked her, stunk of smugness. Pinkie simply smiled widely at him, the Captain knew something was wrong with her. He saw Fluttershy out of the corner of his eye, shaking behind her friends and poking her head around Applejack, fear dripped from her. The Captain locked eyes with Luna, something in those eye made his heart pump, within them was caution, anger, amazement and what he thought was... appreciation? Luna quickly looked away, a slight blush on her face. The Captain looked to Twilight, almost expecting her to-
"Can I ask a few questions?" She asked quickly, yup, she seemed to be the one who'd ask questions.
"Gosh egghead, just drown him in questions why don't you?" Rainbow said sarcastically, then went slack jawed when the Captain chuckled.
"What do you want to know?" The Captain asked, sure that he'd keep certain things secret.
"What's your name?"
"William Sharp, call me William or Captain, nothing else."
"Uh ok, erm. Oh! Are you a human?"
"Are you a pony?" Luna chuckled, then blushed when William looked at her. Something is up with her.
"I guess that's a yes, who's this 'lady' you keep talking about?"
"Classified." William answered immediately in a hard tone, one that suggested no questions.
"O-ok, what were you doing in the Everfree, when I woke you when I pressed that button on that box." William's golden eye widened.
"That... my object was to wander, nothing more until I found civilisation, or as I would of called you back then: Pests."
"Why do those soldiers call us pests?" William sighed, this will shatter their point of view of him.
"Because you are nothing more then bugs in their eyes, only humans and allies are pure. Even then, most allies are still seen as pests." William rubbed the back of his head. "Some of the knights would keep a 'filth quota', the highest in my old squad was 42." He said hesitantly.
"Who held that score?" Dash asked, William slowly turned to her and locked eyes.
"Captain William Sharp, me." William stated, no emotion escaping though his words. Fluttershy looked over Rarity's shoulder, her eyes ready to burst with tears.
"W-why would you do such a-a thing?" She asked, stuttering.
"Because the... orders, we either follow them or die. I guess you can tell what I did, I'm not proud of it but I can't go back." He hoped nobody noticed that slip up, but both Celestia and Luna looked at him with suspicious glances. But he returned them with a glance that begged not to ask that question, both understood.
"Did you and you friends have parties? Oh! Did you have friends? Was one named Bob, or Tomas, what about Steven? Was one named Ledo, he owes me a hammer!" Pinkie said in a happy tone, the Captain didn't show it, but he was quite startled.
"I knew a Ledo, yes. He was quite eccentric, had a bloody big hammer. Basically imagine a huge anvil stuck on a pole, then imagine it about twice the height of me. That is basically all I remember of Ledo, haven't seen him for ages. Last I remember, he was following another battalion to some city, something with 'ring' in it." William said, still pondering over it. "But yes I used to have parties, not big ones though, just a simple toast. I remember one night, it was the best time I had. Me, Sieg... was it Siegward or Siegweyer? Can't tell, and some soldier from another squad, he had a pointed helmet and a name that started with 'D'. We had Sieg brew up some of his wonderful Siegbrau, tasted like fire, strong stuff. We had a big pot of the stuff, we toasted and drunk all night, in the morning..." The Captain drifted off, looking far off. "I'd rather not talk about that part in the morning, anymore questions?"
"Yes, me and my sister have two." Celestia said, William looked at her. "We are thinking of sending a scouting party into Canterlot, could you take part?"
"Of course, you'll need help to take down that many knights." William answered along with a nod, he turned to look at Luna. "You have something to ask, Princess of the Night?" Luna frowned, looked away and blushed. Then she pointed to an open spot, the Captain nodded and followed her.
"Captain W-William, I have to ask you something personal." Luna said, although shakily.
"As you wish, nothing will get out. If you sister wasn't eavesdropping." William said as he glared at Celestia, her horn stopped glowing and she walked away.
"We... I want th-you to join t-the Lunar Guard, I think your skills could help u-us greatly." Luna stuttered, William leaned down and gazed into her eyes from under his hat.
"Princess, is something bothering you?" He asked in a hushed tone, immediately her face flushed. The Captain leaned in close, Luna went stiff. "Oh Luna, aren't you a dirty one." He whispered into her ear, she huffed and William burst into laughter, he shook his head. "I'll gladly join the Lunar Guard, but many will despise me." He said and stood up, then both spun around as a massive roar shook that ground.
"Looks like your friends aren't gone." Luna stated and the Captain nodded, they ran to where the roar came from. A number of Royal Guards suddenly skidded around the corner and sprinted past the two, but what were they running from? The answer came around the corner, a Brass Knight with chains wrapped up his arms and around his chest. In his hands was a glaive, more square then William's. The Brass Knight roared, the Captain spread his legs and bellowed back. Both soldiers locked eyes, standing in silence, then Luna yelled and smashed a large blue of blue energy across the knight's face. The Chained Knight reared back and seemed dumbfounded, William took initiative and smashed the blunt end of his glaive into the knight's face and caused him to stumble back.
"Here comes the ban hammer!" William shouted, his glaive had morphed into a huge hammer, the Chain Knight shrunk back. The knight tripped backwards as the Captain pulled his hammer over his head, the Chain Knight put up a hand in a wasted effort to stop the hammer. The knight roared then fell silent as the ban hammer slammed down, William's hammer morphed back into a glaive and it shrunk back into an axe. The Chain Knight's ashes were positioned in a way that outlined the body, to William it was another unfortunate death, but to Luna it was a victory.
"Will there be another soldier, Will?" Luna asked, a slightly smug tone entering her voice.
"My name is William, you will refer to me as such." The Captain stated coldly as he turned and walked towards the squad of Royal Guards, his eye glaring through them, it clearly unnerved them. "Where did the knight come from?" He asked in a calm voice.
"F-from the treeline! From Canterlot probably, it's in that direction." The lead guard answered, the Captain nodded and turned to walk towards the treeline, but found Luna in front of him. He stared at her, his golden eye piercing her teal ones, the Captain's coat slowly fluttered in the wind.
"You should get a large squad ready. From what I understand the battalion is moving." He stated, Luna blinked and looked confused.
"How do you know that?" She asked, William slowly pointed behind her. Luna turned and gaped as a massive cloud of dust was drifting from the lower part of Canterlot, although it was slightly masked by the still smoking Behemoth. Then a strange but booming crack made them turn, a pillar of orange light was beaming into the sky, stranger yet only William saw it. He turned and spotted a pair of unicorns walking past, one was in golden armor.
"You two, come here." He called and the two turned and looked at him, William waved them over and they approached. He gazed at the guard, his golden eye pulsed as they locked eyes. The unicorn blinked a few times and looked annoyed, but a flash of golden in his right eye was what the Captain was waiting for. "Is your armor in good condition?" William asked, the guard nodded. "Then follow Princess Luna, you are in the expedition squad." He stated and walked towards the beam, Luna and Swift looked at the soldier as he walked away.
Canterlot: Behemoth Crash Site
The Smile Knight stumbled through the streets, parts of his armor cracked and other parts gone completely. He turned at a noise, he lumbered over and looked down at a Brass Knight stuck under a large pile of rubble, the Smile Knight tilted his head as the other knight struggled under his gaze.
"G-get away!" The Brass Knight stammered as the Smile Knight rubbed one of his hands across the faceplate of the knight. The knight tried to free one of his arms but failed, the Smile Knight pulled his hand back. Then he raised his fist and smashed it throught the faceplate of the Brass Knight, who let out a low groan as he dissolved. The Smile Knight soon heard buzzing, he turned around and swayed as he tried to find the source. Suddenly a green bolt hit the knight's chest, the Smile Knight looked down and glared at the little scorch mark, then roared and leapt into the air. He spotted a black insect who's blue eyes widened, the knight roared as he descended upon it.
Expedition Squad
Luna didn't know why she was following Captain William's orders, or why he had chosen a Royal Guard to join them, but she was curious. What made William act like that, and why didn't he come with them? Luna mental questioning was interrupted by a question.
"Princess Luna, we are nearing the gate to Canterlot." One of her Lunar Guards stated, Luna immediately cleared her head.
"Alright, I want everypony on high aleart, I don't know what'll be in Canterlot or if anything has survived." Luna ordered and the squad nodded. One of the Lunar Guards, armed with a crossbow, and the Royal Guard rushed forwards to the archway. They both looked around, the batpony hovering in the air while Swift stayed on the ground. Finally they both motioned for the rest of the squad to move up, which they did swiftly. They moved through the gate and into Lower Canterlot, Luna noticed the Royal Guard standing by one of the bodies. She trotted over to see a mangled and bloody pegasus, the guard was staring closely at the stallion. Luna was about to ask what was wrong when Swift beat her.
"This was Fury, one of my friends and one of the first of the slaughter." Swift quietly said, Luna's eyes narrowed at slaughter. "Strange thing, death. We fear it for so long, but it's embrace is tranquility." Swift murmured and moved from the body, Luna stood thinking over his words. Suddenly the crossbow guard swooped down, he looked slightly scared.
"Y-your majesty, you n-need to see this." He said and pointed a hoof towards where the rest of the squad were standing, even from here Luna could feel the fear and shock. She and the Lunar Guard quickly walked to the front of the squad, Luna gasped.
Scattered along the street were bodies, changeling bodies, about a dozen of them. Some had sacks, others had armor, but all were smashed and crushed. Then a greater surprise, there was a Brass Knight, well half of one. He was slowly dragging himself from an alleyway, black blood covering his upper body. The Brass Knight turned his head to the squad, he made a slight motion with his hand. The knight pointed above them, at the archway, then curiosity turned to horror. The knight was suddenly jerked back, he gripped the edges of the alley, but was soon pulled into the alley.
Slowly another hand gripped the edge of the alley, a horrible grinding sound filled the air as what ever owned the hand came closer. Slowly a brass faceplate come around the corner, a smile carved into it's surface. The Smile Knight slowly emerged, more of his armor gone, only his helmet and upper half of his chestplate remained. Underneath the scraps of armor was a leather vest over a scarred torso, the knight's legs were covered by a pair of black trousers, black boots covered the Smile Knight's feet. The knight turned his head and locked onto Luna, the knight suddenly spun around and threw the Brass Knight at the squad. They dived to the side but one was too slow and was hit by the flying, half dead knight. Luna watched in horror as the Smile Knight let out a pained scream and tore of his chest piece, the knight let out another scream as he sprinted towards the pony squad.
Everfree
Captain William shoved his way into a familiar clearing, but the Brass Tower wasn't standing proudly. The Tower looked shattered, it's entire body was scratched and some parts were rusted. The once sharp and massive spear was nowhere to be found, but then William saw it, the point of the spear plunged into the key hole. The Captain looked behind the kneeling Tower and saw the collapsed arch, his mind was racing, but then the Brass Tower slowly rose. His left shoulder came loose and slipped off, the knees of the Tower creaked in protest as he stood tall.
"Come to finish the job? I'm afraid that you're gonna regret it." The Tower stated and took a step forward. Then his legs collapsed in on themselves and the Brass Tower came tumbling down, his landing let out a deafening clang. William walked forwards as the Tower tried to push himself up, but then his left arm snapped and the Tower fell down again. The Captain place a foot on the Brass Tower's shoulder and looked at the Tower's back, a pulsating black mass was writhing in a hole in the Tower's neck. Rust was covering all around the hole, as William watched more rust slowly spread. The Brass Tower was being corroded from the inside out by Corruption.
"Alas, the Corruption got yet another victim. Most unfortunate." William stated as he stepped off the Tower, who let out a groan. "I know that you wouldn't be so easily Corrupted, so now you lay suffering." William swung his glaive around in his hand and held it above the Tower's head, the Tower let out another groan. "You did your job well, I shall relieve you of your duty." William said and smashed his glaive through the Tower's head, the Brass Tower quickly dissolved. The black orb hovered in the air, before exploding into a bunch of sparkles. William waved his hand in front of himself and a ring of gold extended from his golden eye, his face paled as he saw through Swift's eyes. The ring dissipated and William broke into a mad dash to Canterlot.
Canterlot
The Smile Knight smashed his fist into another Lunar Guard as she charged at him, Swift slid under the knight's kick and skidded around to glare at him. The Smile Knight's helmet was cracked and a hole in the faceplate revealed a red eye, it left a red tracer as the Smile Knight swayed. The knight suddenly pulled back his fist, red magic swirled around it, and dashed forwards at Swift. He yelled as he charged, his sword in front of him in his magical grasp. Suddenly a force threw both of the chargers back, standing in the middle of the street was the Captain and he was glaring directly at the Smile Knight. The faceplate of the knight slowly split through the middle, the two halves fell away and revealed a thin face, one that looked quite feminine. Suddenly her red eye pulsed and her entire body glowed red, slowly ghostly red spikes grew from the woman's arms and back. Slowly she got into a stance, William's eye pulsed and a golden kukri appeared on his chest and his glaive sparked viciously, then he got into a similar stance.