He gasped as his eyes shot wide open before shutting them back up almost immediately after when he was blinded by a bright light overhead. He was going to move his hoof over it when the light darkened on its own. He opened his eyes, squinting them, to see what turned down the light and became confused when he found himself looking through the polarized visor of a power armor’s helmet.
He lifted his head inside the helmet and looked through the visor to see the rest of the suit, which was lying down inside a metal container of some kind. Wondering what was going on, he tried accessing the suit’s systems and was both surprised and relieved when the HUD lit up, displaying the suit’s readouts. He then realized that he was inside a shade knight’s armor, he was an actual shade knight now.
Since he could access the HUD, he wondered if he could control the suit as well. He first tried to lift his arms, only to find that they wouldn’t respond, much to his disappointment. He checked the HUD and saw that the suit’s motor functions were disabled for some reason. He tried to reboot the system but the suit refused to accept the command as it beeped and flashed red in response.
Thinking that he might have inputted the commands incorrectly, he tried again but received the same beep and red flash on the HUD. Not one to be deterred that easily, he tried other commands he could think of but the suit would just beep and the display would just turn red. He grew increasingly frustrated with the uncooperative until he just swore out loud in frustration.
Then he heard a voice calling out his name and turned to see Crystal Clear standing next to the metal container with a worried look on her face. She asked him what was wrong and if there was something she could do to help.
Seeing Crystal’s face made him remember what happened to him within the void and coupled with his frustration at the suit’s unresponsiveness, he snarled at her in anger. Crystal backed away in fear as he raged against the confines of the power armor. He angrily demanded to know why she put him through such a harrowing experience in the void without any warning besides the worthless advice because everything was certainly not alright.
However, his anger faded when he saw Crystal whimpering with tears in her eyes and ears splayed back as she apologized to him profusely. He became ashamed of himself and assured Crystal that there was nothing to be sorry about. He said that he was the one that needed to apologize as he shouldn’t have lost his temper like that and took his anger out on her.
While wiping the tears out of her eyes, Crystal said that it was understandable why he acted the way he did. She had read reports about how shades would be in a volatile state of mind when they awaken, often times lashing out at ponies they would consider friends. Though she had sorely underestimated how violent his reaction had been. She was just happy that there were no bad feelings between them.
He looked away ashamedly as he nodded, clearly not comfortable with talking about his outburst. Crystal clearly saw this and asked if there was anything she could do to help him. Wanting to put what happened behind him, he asked her if she could something to do about the armor’s lockdown. Crystal said that only somepony higher ranked than her could authorize his release.
He was disappointed at this but was confused when Crystal ducked down and reached for something on the side of the container. He wondered what she was doing before a notification appeared on his HUD, informing him that the suit’s motor functions had been restored. Crystal then came back up with a sly smile on her face and said that what the higher ups didn’t know won’t hurt them. She then asked him to try move his body and get a feel for them
He nodded in understanding as he lifted his arms up to his face and moved the large metal fingers one at a time. As he reacquainted himself with the movement, he discovered that he could somehow feel the hands’ movements as though they were part of him. Crystal told him that the power armors used by the Eternal Legion were modified so that shades could sense what the armor touched, to a degree. This was done to help shades operate their suits as naturally as possible.
Even though he should be happy about this, his feelings towards it were rather ambivalent. While he was able to feel and touch the outside world again, it was only through a machine and not his own four hooves. Not to mention that controlling the suit without a physical body was a little disconcerting but as strange as it may feel, being inside the power armor was comforting.
After he felt he had enough practice with the arms, he wondered if he could move the legs just as smoothly. He asked Crystal if he could get up and move around a little. Crystal nodded and pressed another button that made the container shift into a vertical position, allowing him to step out of it. Eager to walk on his own hooves again, metaphorically speaking, he lifted one leg up and stepped out. Due to how heavy the leg was, the movement was slow and awkward but the foot reached the floor without incident.
At Crystal’s encouragement, he lifted the other leg and stepped out of the container. He then took another step forward and stumbled but managed to stop himself before he fell. Undeterred, he tried again as he moved his feet as steadily as he could and soon managed a decent forward motion. Crystal asked him not to move too far away since she didn’t want to risk him falling down.
He grumbled a little as Crystal was talking to him as if he was a foal. He knew she meant well so he turned around and headed back but took it slower as he wanted to take in his surroundings. The room he was in seemed to be just as large as the chamber with the capsules, if not bigger but in place of the capsules were more of the containers, which disturbingly resembled open caskets, each containing suits of power armor.
Some of them were occupied as he could see mist swirling behind the visors though they haven’t awakened yet. He saw the same acolytes from the chamber moving about. He caught a few of them giving him and Crystal strange looks though they didn’t do much else as they carried on their business so he put them out of mind as he explored the chamber. His eyes soon rested on the center of the chamber where he saw a large green crystal hovering over a stone dais that seemed to have bits of machinery embedded in it.
He quickly turned away from it as the sight of the crystal made him feel uncomfortable as the glow reminded him of the light in the void. He thought it might be a coincidence but asked Crystal what it was to hopefully ease his worries. Crystal explained that it was the Soul Conduit, a critical component of the Phoenix Forge. Once again, he found himself confused by Crystal’s answer. Thankfully, the mare realized that he didn’t understand so she gave him an explanation but phrased it so he could understand it better.
The first thing Crystal told him about was the Phoenix Forge, a device that was created during the early days of the Great Crusade. The Phoenix Forge was instrumental in the creation of the shade knights and the Eternal Legion. The Phoenix Forge allowed the Vatican to bind the shades to enchanted gems called the Soul Gems, which was currently the only thing anchoring him to the power armor.
Crystal stopped mid-explanation to warn him to not be too reckless with his actions on the battlefield as dying again would be just as traumatic as the first time. He nodded slowly and promised to take care on the battlefield. Satisfied with his promise, Crystal continued with her explanation.
Normally, the spell required to bind the souls was extremely complex and would take many powerful unicorns to cast it successfully and even then, the spell could only bind one soul at a time. However, with the Phoenix Forge, the process was streamlined and allowed multiple souls to be bound at the same time with fewer mages required to cast it, explaining the mages’ presence back at the chamber.
Crystal then pointed at the Soul Conduit and said that it was one of the many nodes connected to the Phoenix Forge and its purpose was to divert shades into the soul gems inside power armor to create the shade knights for the Eternal Legion. Now more curious than wary, he asked Crystal if the Soul Conduit might have been the light he saw in the void.
Crystal said there were several first hoof reports of shades seeing the same thing so it was very likely. She assured him that the light, despite what he believed, wasn’t malevolent in any way so he had nothing to fear from it. Regardless, she still apologized for what he went through and for failing to warn him about it back in the chamber.
He told Crystal that it wasn’t her fault to begin with but he was still grateful to her for trying to help. He knelt down so he would be closer to Crystal’s height and extended an open hand out to her. He said that he would like to shake her hoof and thank her properly for going out of her way to help him and for putting up with him. Crystal turned away bashfully and said that she was just doing her duty but gave in to his request as she placed her hoof in the palm of his larger hand.
Thanks to the suit’s unique modifications, he could feel the warmth of Crystal’s legs and her fur brushing against the palm of his hand as he clasped it. He briefly imagined Orchid Dew standing in Crystal’s place, and how much he wanted to hold her in his arms and feel her warmth once more. He pushed the daydream aside and focused on Crystal as he shook her hoof and thanked her before the motion sensors on his HUD lit up like a tree on Hearth’s Warming Eve.
The caskets inside the chamber started moving as they all shifted themselves into a vertical position before releasing the awakened shade knights inside. Unlike him, they didn’t have the benefit of getting acquainted with their new bodies so they stumbled out of the caskets, completely disoriented. The acolytes quickly moved in to help the confused shades adjust to moving their bodies as best they could.
Crystal moved to help her fellow acolytes with the disoriented shade knights. He moved to help when he heard the sound of a door opening, followed by sunlight streaming into the room. He and everyone else in the room turned to the doorway where they saw the silhouette of a figure clad in power armor walking through the doorway.
The armor was similar to the ones the Knights wore into battle but it was more ornate as intricate patterns depicting the sun made of gold and silver inlays decorated the armor’s ivory white chest plate while the pauldrons were, oddly enough, draped by a long white cape. However, the most striking part of the armored figure’s appearance was the swirling mist behind the helmet’s visor, which formed itself into the stoic visage of a brown stallion with gray mane.
With the elaborate armor and light behind him, the shade knight exuded an aura of authority, which increased when Crystal Clear and the other acolytes in the chamber bowed before him. He dismissed them with a silent gesture from his hands. Crystal turned her head and gave him a reassuring look before she and the acolytes left the room through the same door the mysterious shade knight came through. Once the acolytes were gone, the earth stallion barked out an order for them to assemble before him immediately.
His training from the Academy kicked in as he and the others scrambled to line up in front of the earth stallion who eyed them critically as they gathered into formation. Even the shade knights who were still disoriented from the abrupt awakening, managed to assemble without much incident.
Once every shade had gathered before him, the earth stallion introduced himself as Sir Igneous Rock and announced that he would be their instructor until further notice. Not giving them any chance to speak, he then ordered them to follow him as he headed for the door the acolytes just left through. He and the other shades looked at each other and wondered if they should listen to Sir Igneous or not but with no other option, they obeyed and followed him through the door.
Going through the door, he saw a large arena beyond it enclosed within four stone walls that towered over them, which instantly reminded him of the training grounds used back at the Academy but on a much larger scale. He saw a wide track field that ran along the length of the walls, making him wonder what purpose it would serve as Crystal told him that shades couldn’t get tired.
Aside from the track, he also saw a shooting range on one end of the field, equipped with various guns ranging from the basic needler pistol to the heavy gauss rifle. On the other end, there was an area occupied by rows of training dummies shaped into crud likenesses of khalai templars with racks of both swords and bludgeoning implements of varying lengths and sizes nearby.
In the centre of the field was a large empty space marked off by four lines on the ground, forming a perfect square. Judging from the racks of weapons outside the marked space and blast marks on the ground, he guessed that it served as a space for sparring. Then the similarities ended as he saw the acolytes from before, including Crystal Clear, as well as the mages at the far side of the field.
They stood next to a machine that resembled a mobile repair station for power armor as evidenced by the multiple power armor harnessed to the machine. However, after his false assumptions with the capsules, the machine could be something else altogether.
He then looked up and saw four white spires set atop the corners of the walls of the enclosed field. He wondered what purpose they served until he noticed something shining at the top of the spires. Using the targeting system in his suit, he zoomed in on one of the spires where he saw a green crystal embedded at the top of the structure. He became unsettled as the glow from the crystal reminded him of the light in the void. Despite Crystal’s assurances, he still felt wary of it.
He didn’t dwell on it long when he saw the others gathering at the center of the field where Sir Igneous was waiting for them. He rushed over to join them lest he earned the ire of their new instructor. As he lined up with the others, Sir Igneous announced that they would begin their training by running two hundred laps on the track field; the first hundred will be in quadrapedal mode followed by the second half in bipedal mode. Sir Igneous explained that this would help them adjust to their new body so that they’d be ready for the next phase of the training.
One of the shade knights scoffed at Sir Igneous, before stating that he was an elite class crusader sergeant who had fought in many campaigns and that going through basic training again was a waste of time. Sir Igneous calmly said that the training was different from the ones employed by either the Crusaders or the Knights. The training would only benefit him as the sergeant was likely having trouble moving about let alone fight with his new body.
The sergeant scoffed as he started walking forward. The other shade knights stepped aside and watched as the sergeant approached one of the weapon racks and lifted up one of the heavy gauss rifles before aiming it at the training dummies and fired off a grenade. The grenade flew in a wide arc and landed in a cluster of dummies just as it detonated in a cloud of smoke of fire. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left of the dummies except for pieces of metal and a scorch mark on the ground.
Then sergeant slung the rifle over his shoulder as he turned to face Sir Igneous and said that his years of combat experience was worth more than anything the training could possibly offer him. If this were the Academy, the instructor would have probably started berating at the sergeant for his insubordination followed by some form of punishment. But Sir Igneous didn’t do anything of the sort.
Instead, the knight’s lips curled up in a barely noticeable smirk as he made the sergeant an offer; the two of them would have a duel right here on the field. This would demonstrate the differences in fighting styles and prove if going through the training would be worth it or not to the sergeant. If the sergeant won, he would be exempt from the training and allowed to leave for the battlefield on the next transport.
However, should he lose, he would participate in the training with the others and obey Sir Igneous’ every instruction to the letter without complaint. The crusader sergeant readily agreed to the challenge as he stated that he always wanted to fight a Knight. He then asked what weapon they would duel with.
Sir Igneous gestured to the weapon racks around the arena and said that they could use any of the weapons here in the duel and could use more than one, as he wanted to fight the sergeant at his best. That, and to ensure that the sergeant wouldn’t complain about unfair advantages should he lose the duel.
He and everyone else moved to the sides to make room for the duel. He wanted to go over to where Crystal and the acolytes were but couldn’t as he was jostled to the other side of the field. He turned his attention to Sir Igneous and watched their instructor pick up a rune saber, and a single needler pistol and nothing else.
While Sir Igneous’ choice of weapons was respectable, he felt that it was insufficient when he saw what the sergeant had selected for his own loadout. The sergeant opted to keep the heavy gauss rifle as he replaced the grenade he spent earlier before picking up a pair of rune daggers. The daggers were a compact variant of the rune saber that were issued to the Crusaders so it was no surprise the sergeant chose them as well as a couple of magazines for the gauss rifle.
Just looking at their loadouts, the outcome seemed decided already but Sir Igneous said nothing as he and the sergeant headed for the field. When they stepped inside the boundary, the mages spread around it and conjured a dome around it. One of the acolytes, who had been elected to preside over the duel, stepped forward and, with the aid of a voice amplification spell, announced that the barrier was to ensure that all damage would be contained within the dome. He then followed up with the rules for the duel.
The first rule was that both duelists were restricted to the weapons and ammunition they have on hand. Neither were allowed to obtain another weapon from the racks should they lose their current weapon or run out of munitions, after which they’d have to improvise.
The second rule was that due to their unique condition, they would be allowed to use live rounds in the duel against their opponent, including explosives. This piece of news made the sergeant chuckle deviously under his visor as he eyed his gauss rifle and the attached grenade launcher. However, they were told not to use explosives on the barrier as it could collapse from the blast.
Lastly, the barrier was enchanted to remain standing until the duel was over. This meant that it would only fall when one of the duelists had been defeated or conceded defeat. Due to their unique condition, defeating one’s opponent meant killing them or depriving them of the capability to carry on the fight. The two combatants nodded in agreement to the conditions before they readied themselves for the duel.
The sergeant disengaged the safety on his gauss rifle while Sir Igneous lifted his sword up in a ready stance. Both the combatants and the audience waited in anticipation for the signal to begin the duel. Seconds passed before the acolyte launched a bolt of magic into the air, which soon exploded midair with a loud crack.
The sergeant immediately brought his gauss rifle to bear and fired off several rounds. Sir Igneous stood his ground as he used his sword in tandem with his pauldrons to block the projectiles. The bullets instantly tore part of the knight’s cape apart though the pauldron underneath withstood the assault as did the rune saber.
The sergeant’s rifle soon clicked on empty as he had spent all the ammunition in the magazine but he wasn’t done yet as he launched a grenade straight at his opponent. His opponent barely had time register the grenade flying towards him before it hit him and exploded, shrouding him in a cloud of smoke and fire.
On the sidelines, the shade knights lost sight of Sir Igneous in the smoke but from the way the sergeant lowered his rifle, he was clearly confident that he already won the duel. The shade knights thought the same as nothing could have survived that onslaught. That is until the smoke and dust settled, revealing Sir Igneous still standing.
Scorch marks from the explosion marred the armor’s formerly pristine surface though it remained intact. As he stepped forward, his cape, which had been burned and shredded in the attack, fell away, revealing the full extent of the damage to his armor. The shoulder guard that he had used to defend against the sergeant’s assault was all but gone as the mechanisms underneath were exposed while the rest of his body was peppered with dents and bullet holes.
His limbs, especially his legs, were worse off as they were riddled with so many holes that the other shades wondered how he was even standing on them. Despite the damage to his legs, Sir Igneous started running towards the sergeant who hastily slammed the second magazine into his rifle and resumed firing. The knight blocked some of the shots with his sword though many still tore into his armor, damaging it even further.
Smoke started rising from the knight’s armor and yet he didn’t slow down for even a second as he kept running, quickly closing the distance between him and the sergeant. The sergeant growled in frustration before he aimed his rifle at Sir Igneous’ feet to disable him but when he pulled the trigger his gun clicked hollowly as the munitions counter flashed zero. He ejected the spent magazine and reached for another but before he could get it, his opponent was already in front of him.
With little time to lose, the sergeant swung his rifle like a club but Sir Igneous sliced the weapon in half with a single stroke before using the momentum for a second one. The sound of metal striking metal rang through the air when the knight’s rune saber struck the sergeant’s two rune daggers. The runes on the blades glowed as the enchantments within them tried to overpower the other.
The runes on the daggers soon started to dim, indicating that it wouldn’t be long before its larger counterpart cut through them, and their wielder. Either through sheer determination or simple desperation, the sergeant pushed Sir Igneous back, causing the knight to stagger and giving him an opening.
The sergeant quickly lunged forward with his daggers but Sir Igneous saw the attack coming and used his left arm to take the blow as the daggers pierced it up to the hilt. He then quickly pulled the arm away with one of the daggers still stuck in it before swinging his sword.
The sergeant parried the sword with his remaining dagger before throwing a desperate punch at Sir Igneous with his other hand. His fist connected with the helmet’s visor, leaving a significant crack though it barely affected the knight who retaliated with a downward swing of his sword. The sergeant barely reacted in time and sidestepped the blade before he tackled Sir Igneous to the ground.
Sir Igneous tried to swing his sword at the sergeant but the sergeant knocked the blade back and pinned his arm to the ground. The sergeant then raised his dagger and plunged it straight into the knight’s visor. The enchanted blade easily pierced the hardened glass, shattering it as mist billowed from the opening. Sir Igneous suddenly seized up as mist poured out through the shattered visor moments before he became still.
The sergeant let go of the dagger, leaving it embedded in the helmet, before he pumped his fist into the air and cried out in victory. Some of the shade knights cheered with him. As for the others, they were shocked by the outcome as they didn’t expect the sergeant to win against Sir Igneous. However, the celebration proved to be premature when everyone realized that they had missed one important detail.
The barrier was still standing.
The sergeant had no time to react when Sir Igneous thrust his sword into his chest and out his back. The sight of the sword buried in his chest instantly caused the sergeant to scream in pain as he grabbed hold of the hilt to pull the sword out. Hydraulic fluid spurted out of his suit as he pulled; giving the impression that he was bleeding. However, while he was preoccupied with pulling the sword out of his chest, he didn’t pay any attention to Sir Igneous who pulled the daggers stuck to him out as he slowly approached the sergeant.
Some of the shade knights tried to warn him but the sergeant couldn’t hear them over his own cries of agony as he pulled the sword out little by little. By the time he pulled the blade out, Sir Igneous was looming over the sergeant with a dagger raised in the air. The sergeant tried to raise the rune saber to defend himself but Sir Igneous didn’t give him the chance as he stabbed one of the daggers into the sergeant’s wrist, and with a quick twist, severed the connection from the hand to the rest of the suit.
As the hand holding the rune saber went slack, Sir Igneous dropped the dagger and grabbed hold of the sword’s hilt midfall. He then swung the sword around and cut off the sergeant’s other arm at the elbow in a single stroke before he landed a kick in his midsection, sending him reeling back from the blow.
Now unarmed, both literally and figuratively, the sergeant was unable to defend himself as Sir Igneous approached him. Out of either desperation or sheer foolishness, the sergeant ran at Sir Igneous in an effort to tackle him.
The knight simply stepped out of the way and tripped him with the tip of his sword, causing him to fall facedown into the ground with a heavy thud. The sergeant rolled himself over until he was face up and got up to his knees only to see his opponent standing over him with his needler pistol aimed at him.
Sir Igneous praised the sergeant for his skill and determination but said that the duel was over and asked if the sergeant would surrender. The sergeant glared at Sir Igneous and said that he would rather face defeat than surrender. Sir Igneous said that it was a good answer before he pulled the trigger and sent a bullet into the sergeant’s chest.
The hole left from the shot was miniscule compared to the many that riddled Sir Igneous’ body but the effect was immediate as the sergeant instantly dropped to the ground like a puppet that just had its strings cut. The barrier then fell, signifying the duel’s end.
However, just as the barrier vanished, the crystals atop the spires started flashing brightly, causing a feeling of unease to spread among the shade knights though this was forgotten when they saw a light coming from the sergeant’s body.
A tiny light, so small that it barely visible on their HUD, emerged from the hole in the sergeant’s chest. It hovered in the air for a few seconds before it quickly flew off towards the nearest spire where it was seemingly absorbed into the crystal. Then the spire sent a beam of light down to an antenna attached to the machine next to the acolytes, which suddenly came to life as the acolytes gathered around it.
Moments passed before the machine let out a loud hiss before it released one of the suits as it fell forward but instead of hitting the ground, it dropped to its knees. One of the acolytes approached the suit and spoke to it soothingly, asking if he needed any help. The shade knights were surprised when the tinted visor depolarized and revealed the crusader sergeant’s face behind it.
The shades looked back and forth at the sergeant and the empty suit at Sir Igneous’ feet, clearly confused by what had just happened. A few started murmuring amongst each other but their speculation was cut short when Sir Igneous turned around to face them. He pointed to the empty husk that was the sergeant’s body and told them that this was what it meant to serve in the Eternal Legion.
They were the undying soldiers who fight until they fall only to rise up to fight over and over again for they could never rest until every last heretic lay dead at their hooves for their crimes against their goddess. Sir Igneous then gestured to the sergeant who had recovered from his recent ‘resurrection’ and praised him for his bravery and his refusal to surrender as those were the qualities best suited for the Legion’s ranks.
Despite Sir Igneous monotonous tone, it didn’t lessen the weight of his words as the shade knights cheered and applauded the sergeant. However, the cheering came to an end when Sir Igneous told them that they had to start their training now if they wanted to make up for lost time. None of the shade knights argued as they shifted their suits to its four-legged configuration before they started running.