//------------------------------// // 2: No Mercy was granted for those who could fight, but wouldn't. // Story: The Unicorn Knight // by Ace of Blackjack //------------------------------// 2: No Mercy was granted for those who could fight, but wouldn't. Rescue, that was what I had planned to happen. But no, I smacked them for the pure fact that was their wings. Who am I kidding, I couldn't trick a lord with such a blatant lie. The reason I hit them after the first time was for my blade, though it's different than mine, somehow it's older. And its weight is off rather significantly, as though it's meant to be more weighty.  Prying it from the dragon winged pony's mouth was no easy task, their grip was formidable. But after plenty of tugging, it had come free. So I now had my blade, and nothing else to my name beside a direction to walk in. Towards this “Abbey.” I would go back to sleep, but that would leave me at the mercy of whatever, and at the mercy of this pony. I'm no longer tired after my experience with this Princess Lunar, probably went crying to a queen that they were disrespected so badly. So I paced, balance improving, enough to make it up the small hill that had bested me earlier. Coming back down was a struggle that sent me rolling down the hill in a rather unfun way.  Undeterred I'll pace till they wake.   He awoke groggily, at first dawn as well. It's been around five hours since he’s been unconscious. All I could imagine was how upset they would be, beaten senseless by a pony who had called out for help. They had called themselves a knight of something, I can't remember exactly what they had said. But they were a knight like I once was. They looked confused, their face easier to read than I would have thought they would be. Each flick of the ear meant something, and all I could tell was their confusion was turning into rage. I bit the handle of my blade where I had embedded it in the ground. It came up in a splatter of earthen dirt as I approached the pony, their leathery wings fully spread wide. I couldn't help but point out in my mind how flaring out your wings just leaves them open to assault from all sides.  It's a defensive stance if I've seen anything. The pacing had been a worthwhile practice, my balance had been improved dramatically, though I still don't trust myself to walk to this Abbey without any form of help.  He opened his mouth, before closing his eyes, tilting his head then breathing out. Calming his nerves, preparing to speak. “Why? You have called for help, then,” Sharp inhale, “You assault me, then steal the Abbey Blade, at least you have the courtesy to kill me whilst I'm awake.” The Abbey blade? I'll have to ask the Buildings caretaker about the history of my own blade, it would be quite an interesting story I'm sure of it. “Kill you? Here? Why would I draw your blood in this wonderful land?” I asked, somehow managing anything with the blade in my mouth, in as much of a kind tone as possible, curiosity inside my mind deafening. And yet I couldn’t possibly have it any other way, curiosity is a great motivator and driving factor.  “Right, your kind has been carefully sheltered less they be hurt, probably never even,” They stopped mid-sentence looking at my flank, before smirking. “Blacksmith, I’m guessing, maybe Royal Guard, never seen you exactly.” My tail subconsciously moved to cover up my mare parts as I held my blade, before sighing and dropping it out of my mouth.  “No, call me Traverse Bläde, sorry for hurting you Knight of, I can't remember what you said, not for God himself.” I turned to the direction of this Abbey, making an elaborate show of moving in that direction. He got to his hoofs and moved in front of me, I struggled to not look where their stallion bits would be. Only been a mare for so long and I’d already accepted liking stallions. Does that make me gay? No. “Knight of The night, unofficial of course, Princess Luna rules the night, doesn't matter which part of her does.” They spread their wings, their Scarborough underneath their wings, with an elegant grace they attempted to sheath my blade. They missed and cut into their fur slightly, at the slightest cut they scream out. It's a mild wound, compared to what I have seen and done. I continue to walk forward, climbing up is easy, going down is what will be the hard part, granted I won't have too much trouble. Of what I believe to be true. They whimpered, the blade going in properly as they took something from a pocket on the Scarborough strap, a salvo of some type. They spread it on the wound. And then approached me. “Are you emotional numb, or have you hit yourself so much with some blacksmithing hammer that you don't think twice about pain?” They backpedalled in front of me as I walked forward, the downhill section was daunting, but with them walking backwards down the hill, I found it easier.  “No, not emotional numb. No to the hitting myself with the hammer, that still hurts, especially when you're worn out and just wanna be done. You can't just put it down and start back up.” These knolls were plentiful, I had conquered only one and found myself in a near replica of the bowl area I had started in. There's a tactical advantage obviously to building a defensive area in such uneven terrain, you very well can't get door breaching equipment through here, without using their careful guarded road. “Then why we're you so indifferent to me being hurt, last time I've done that three ponies passed out, and one of them I had dated before.” They shivered as they said that, but I barely paid attention, focusing on climbing the hill, taking time to pause at the top. The red clay shingle roofing of this Abbey is visible from here, if I were to run as the hawk flys I could get there in an hour. But I can't even run, a rough estimate is that this will be a day travel accounting for my uncertain steps, and my inefficiency at walking. This Knight of the Night seemed eager almost to stay beside me, ask questions, more attuned to a scroll writer more than a knight. With my blade, somehow. “Hey, it's rude to not answer a question. I'm sorry if I'm bothering you,” They turned ever so slightly to block my path before turning to face me. “Actually I'm not sorry, you hit me, into unconsciousness that wasted a perfect night flight, now I'm gonna have to sleep and hope my sleep schedule recovers.” “I'm not sorry, you had wings of a dragon, and-” He interrupted me by putting a hoof to my muzzle. “Their bat wings, I'm a bat pony, that's just, the wrong shape and form for your information. But you should know that the only reason I assume you don't know is that you are a foreigner.” They didn't move, keeping me from continuing. I sighed and gently sat down, it felt wrong so I shifted until I was sitting on my haunches comfortably. “But you lack a curved horn, you have a cutie mark so that immediately rules you out for Saddle Arabians. And did I mention you don't have a curved horn?”  I finally opened my mouth, avoiding answers by giving questions yourself is 101 for aspiring communicators. “Is there a way to possible expedite my current endeavour of reaching the Abbey?” I asked the question, and their face went from confused to shock to pure unbridled, hehe, joy. “Sure thing. Anything for such a mysterious mare like yourself.” “And what do you think God would think of your actions?” “Which one?” “The one with the red cross people spreading it.”  “I think he would laugh at me, then feel pity at me being branded with my shields image.” “I think they would smite you. If they exist of course. Maybe a God of the dreams can kill you in your sleep.”  Flight. Put me back fucking down. The ‘Bat-pony’ flew at breakneck speeds, diving and such. Obviously taking pleasure with each screech I make as they bank, their grip barely holding onto me. They tossed me up into the air kicking and screaming as they ran along a cloud, barely catching me at the end of the cloud. I was gonna die having fallen from the sky. My breath got stuck in my throat as each time I open  my eyes I'm presented with the image of the ground whirling quicker than It had even unironically on horseback. But here I am being held around my barrel and carried relatively easily.  “Careful now!” I screamed as he slowed to a hover. My breath jumped from my throat so fast I swear I would choke on it. I daren't move afraid that would make him drop me. It didn't help he was a male carrying me under his belly. “Afraid I’d do this?” I didn’t know how high up we were, I don’t think he knew ether, as he opened his legs up and let me drop. I assumed he thought he was further away from the Abbey than he was, maybe that he was higher. I passed through the first cloud as he lazily chased down after me. Unfortunately under the cloud was the roof of the main building of the Abbey.  Clay tiles shattered as I slammed into the roof,  first my hoof bent in an unnatural way, before smacking my horn on a tile. Then the edge approached. The ‘Bat-pony’ did their best to catch me, but managed to only hit me in the flank hard, slamming me into the wall before I hit the floor harder. And karma was a bitch as my vision faded to black.  “What would you do if I stole from a farmers market?” “Make you return it in person.” “From a lord that ain’t our own?” “Place the item near where it was, they think that they lost it and are none the wiser.”     Are they dead? Did I just kill a pony? I had dreaded this moment, I had expected it to be somepony so far gone in life that its the last thing they wanna do, to feel something maybe. But yet this wasn’t what I had imagined. I thought I had flown past the Abbey, the cloud was way too low, the clouds need to be higher, that’s the only advice I wanna give to that weather team. Besides more overcast days and more rainy days. But that’s only a preference, nothing to bother the weather team about. They aren’t laying on the ground screaming, they're just laying there. I failed to catch her twice, the second time I had hit her into the wall. What if that had killed them, not the fall?  No. I’m not gonna be responsible for a death. Not on my watch. I dived at the ground, flaring my wings last second in order to not smack into the ground. Even though I deserve it. They're still breathing, it seems laboured, as though there's something wrong inside them. I don’t know how to fix that, I’m not a doctor, I slash and stab things now. Everything about this, I've screwed up so badly. Celestia and Luna help me. Oh, what am I gonna do? I'll take him to the nurse, maybe she can do something? “And what would you do if I fell?” “Laugh, and smile about it, but help you up.” “But what I die falling over?” “I wouldn't be able to tell, is be laughing at a corpse before I find out, the guilt would eat at me until my death.” “Can I laugh if you slip in the mud during conflict?” “Nein.” Ouch. I awoke in such indescribable pain. Head injury, chest injury, legs injury. And that's only what I can feel, what matters is if everything inside my body is fine. If not then we will have issues, if their medical knowledge is on the same level as the place I used to belong to. But I find myself feeling strange. My leg is covered in something, my back leg to be precise. There is something in my front leg, not a leech, a thin line of string. No not strings, but more like an alchemist's alcamator. There is my own blood moving through it, like a letting of my blood, or maybe not?  A pony approached, a different feeling about them. Their very stance clashed with earthen tones of the building, white and a simple white hat on their head with a cross of red. Much like those religious zealots. I won't drink to your God unless you raise a pint towards the idea that we were created by some cosmic accident.  The image on their flank matched the one on their hat slightly, born into your religion, indoctrinated at birth into what you believe. A cruel fate I guess. Though they wouldn't know any better. They moved carefully towards me, before halting slightly in front of my vision.  “You are kinda lucky we were even here, my shift had a mandatory company outing.” They looked at a chart, the sheets stacked one on top of the other. “They have the materials, but lack an actual doctor, the one on staff put ice on your leg, and just kept it at that!” They looked stressed, as if being here was driving them crazy. No, looking at the charts, the white thing on my leg, that’s when they seem happy. No they seem to be stressed at the premise of not working, a workaholic dragged away from work. I’ve had people have to drag me away from the forge to eat or dare they try it, sleep. “Then don’t get me started on you, something is wrong with you, you mumble Zebra or some crap in your sleep, and you can’t help but try and roll over in your sleep.” They paused looking at the doorway. “And don’t get me started on you, your healing seems to be all wrong, you heal slowly. You bruise easily. I would say you had thin blood, but your blood clots.” She held up images, in such detail that it looked like I was looking in a mirror. My skill could never match that.  “Your cut all over, the buildings tiles shattered and you were cut, pretty enjoyable cutting areas of your thick coat for bandaging might I add.” I swallowed at that, and opened my mouth to get my first word out at them in the whole time I’ve seen them. “You cut my fur? But I’m a unicorn, my coat needs to be-“ They cut me off with a snort. “I’m drunk right now, I’m usually as professional as AppleJacks Apple Cider. Hard but, even if I was sober I wouldn’t let that comment pass me by.” They coughed and gagged for a second, muttering about never taking that bet, before raising their head back up. “Unicorns aren’t a master race, if you were an earth pony, that fall would have probably just sprained your leg, not broke it as badly as you did, the ribs would be sore not broken as bad as they are.” And then they looked at me with blood shot eyes. “I’m gonna go back before the bouncer realizes I left the drunk tank, but do yourself a favor.” They hiccuped. “Don’t challenge that purple Kirin to a drinking competition, and don’t drink hopping to get blackout so you won’t have to participate in tomorrow’s trust fall activities, as I know that I’m still gonna be here, and hungover.” They hiccuped again and I couldn’t help but smirk. Reminds me of myself at the first few feasts I have been at, drink and hope you're too drunk for corpse duty. Your gods can keep you safe, but they can’t stop you from looking at the destruction you caused. And with a few stumbles, the hornless surgeon pony left with less dignity than they usually had. I can only guess that from the way they tried to hold themselves. I've met surgeons who treated life as a puppet game, and they did the best stitching as they didn't worry about you dying. They only worry about one less play member. Evh, I've thought worse whilst being laid up. I've been branded on my neck, no scarf can hide your indignity for long, eventually, you gotta walk out without the scarf on. I've walked with a limp after a hammer was brought down on my leg, no armour can protect your leg from that force. And yet I count my blessings, no brand on my neck, no limp, and my vision is better. By long strides am I in a better life. No matter who or what decides to drop me from the sky, an experience I wouldn't wish upon the worse of my enemy. Well, I can't say that winning through whatever means that if I could I would drop a pony onto a roof. Theirs a limit, I've just yet to find it. A limit of how far one would go to kill. Powder, that's the limit, theirs is not much that can be done against it. Rushing a line is suicide, so it limits yourself to interesting tactics. God, I'm really fucking bored, everyone here is not here. I have a semi see-through tube on my arm. Well leg, fucking terminology, that's a real bastard. I can't just sit here and wait to heal, when I broke my leg I did things, a splint didn't mean I had to stop forging, fixing, mending my items. All in the name of preparation. I had to re-learn how to fight, each step hurt, dodges were accidental dives and each block took more out of me than it should.  I can learn it all again, walking was becoming second nature when I had the chance to walk. Before I was dropped from the sky. I have half a mind too! Calm, thoughts win the war, my mental state would concern a scribe if they had known, I am wearing this expression well of the feeling of the ears flat on my head is an indication of anything. I'll find this knight and whoever they pledged blades to, and I'll give them a word barrage that would put all my past discussions to shame. But first I must heal. “This glitter as you describe is very tiny small metal flakes used as decoration? Am I correct?” “Yes, Uni Knight.” “Then why do you want me to call you that?” “Birth name, and it's a connection I don't wanna sever from home.” Dreamworld once again. No battle, no burning, just a simple field covered in wildflowers. The smell was nice, and I felt rather silly as I did a very silly thing.  I bent down and bit one of the flowers, edible but alas I couldn't taste it in this dream. But my ear flickered as I hear the noise of metal on cloth. A sound I found soothing. I followed the noise to see a rather odd-looking unicorn, their horn was shaped completely weird. And they had natural armour poking up from their body. Long paths. I watched as they swing a blade at the dummy, curiously only using one edge to strike the target. An observation I made as I got close was that their blade floated in weak magic, purple, but it left a faint trail in the air as the blade moved.  Like elegant dancers, they moved with grace, each strike was precise. They focused on certain spots on the dummy, what had been leather armour of some type was sliced to oblivion on the dummy. And I approached. Long slender blade, curiously I think it's only sharp on one edge. I cleared my throat as the pony turned towards me. “How? I, ugh!” They stepped forward and the ground around us faded away into a small room. Walls are seemingly made of scrolls with elegant writing all over them. Depictions of battles that I have no clue of. They spoke with a strange accent in their voice. But I took a cautionary step forward. Their blade hesitated in their magic beside them.  “Hey there, I do believe I have entered your dream, how is that possible?” I asked as they mumbled something under their breath. Before spotting the image on my flank and smirking. They motioned with their head and followed, they stepped through a door of beads and continued walking. They sheathed their blade in an elegant twirl.  They continued to walk down the hallway but turned on the spot, and continued to walk backwards facing me. “You haven't entered my dream, I gravitated towards yours, I'm sorry for bothering you. Though I do believe this will be worthwhile.” I meant to ask what they meant before they stopped at the edge of the hallway and looked as their architecture clashed with rough stone, large rooms with tapestries of single colours. My keep, my home, how? “Guess we are both running from something, this would be the exit to my building, but I guess this is the entryway to what would have been your home.” They pranced past me sorta eagerly. I followed along not worrying about walking in the dream realm, I walk because I believe I can walk. Which means… My horn flared up as I yanked on the overly eager pony's tail before they disappeared around the corner, unaided by me.  “You haven't told me your name, and what makes you think I want you going around here?” I asked as they froze. Turning slowly to me. Armour of loose looking leather appeared on them, metal bolts jutted from the leather telling me that underneath the letter is metal. And as they faced me a helm appeared in a snap-on her head. Made with a leather cap with metal horns and a thin sheet of metal on it.  “I know who you are, Transverse Bläde, now tell me why we are both here and now.” They unsheathed a different blade than they were using earlier from their sheath, pearl white handle, wrapped in smooth wrapping, and a crossguard of antler or some similar bone.  I opened my mouth and prepared to speak. But the blade appeared on the side of my neck. It's a dream I had nothing to, I felt it. I felt the sharp blade pressing gently, fur being cut slightly leaving a feeling of hurt.  “I came eight year's after you, but all know of you, your exploits, you established this Abbey in the face of danger, and it stands.” They spoke as whatever they tried to say descended into their inchrohensable native language.  I focused and found my scourobough appearing on my side, my blade rested in it. Plate mail feeling unfamiliar on my body as it appeared. The last thing to appear was my helmet, true to how I wore my armour; it had no face shield and blocked none of my peripheral vision.  But I spoke. “I would say something important but, I honestly think my old war cry would be offensive, so just fuck you.” They seemed taken back by my words as they held their blade out in their magic, steam emitting off their fur.  “Give me a real fucking cry, not a half-hearted insult.” They tilted their blade in their magic, anger boiling in their eyes as they looked at me, eyes locking with mine. “Praise the Sun!” I shouted as I swung my blade. Directly into a yellow claw, the Chimaera it belonged to feigned pain as they plucked my blade and the other ponies blade up out of the air. He looked at me, tossing an orange leather vest at me. They floated there, completely unaffected by the pull of the ground. The mare I had nearly cut into pieces shivered in place, slowly backing up. I'm in plate, and unarmed, but I can still land a mean punch in this dream world. Balance is not an issue if you don't imagine it as such.  I stood precariously on my back legs, readying my front leg to punch. I twisted my body to attack and encountered more resistance to moving. Until finally I couldn't move anymore.  “I was gonna make a Ha-Ha silly funny joke, but you two are bloodthirsty things. I may be chaotic, occasionally evil, but never outright have I harmed a pony to the point of death. To some, they may eventually want it.” They grabbed me by my muzzle, and with grace in those claws, he moved my body into a comfy sitting position, sitting me right next to the pony with a curved horn. They were posed slightly differently, accounting for their long tail, with the rather cute tail fluff. “I had planned on you two meeting by accident, pencil rolls in and you two conversate. But no, you had to almost kill each other, dream realm or not Equestria has changed.” They snapped their fingers showing a clean city, ponies walked cleanly through, not a weapon or blade in sight, nor any clothing actually. “They have changed for the better, and that only for today will be a bad thing.” He snapped and I let out a breath I didn't know I had held as I could move again. I was out of my armour and in the orange vest once more. The pony beside me got a simple paper and I got nothing but the rather comfy weighted orange vest, kinda poofy if I'm being honest. “I spent too long practising this joke in the shower to let it go to waste like this, I even got the best from Pinkie, even though we are in the dream realm, well a shard of it.” They snapped their fingers and a verhmint amount of the vests appeared behind him before fading away just as quickly. He cleared his throat dramatically. “Slow down their Marty, that's kinda not fly, you dug?” He smirked at me, then looked at the mare. Who sighed and looked up, “Great Scott?”  “Oh, the joke is ruined now... I'd rather have spontaneous chaos jokes rather than some planned out joke like that. “ He crossed his hoofs and our costumes disappeared once more. “Oh I'm running out of time, it's gonna be time to set up for tea time before Long, so let me get to the point.” He suddenly had a helmet of green, military-style so I'm guessing from the far future? How would it even exist? None of what they were doing was even useful outside of this realm. “Equestria is soft, the military is weak, and the royal knights is nothing but a title now, given out to ponies in power.” He tapped a riding crop onto the map, of this Equestria, of where I am gonna live for the rest of my life. And I’m okay with that. “But you two, your not soft, and I decided the best way to fix it would to bring all the ponies that don’t belong to this Abbey.” The other pony raised their hoof like a school kid asking a question. “Would you like it if I called you Sake or Tagi-“ The mare jumped up and nearly tackled the Chimera before they could finish saying the second name. They growled as I swear I could see small flames flickering on their fur. The Chimera licked their paw and placed it on their head, a sizzling noise happened. And out of nowhere, a frying pan was pulled out. And this pony, who I'm guessing is Sake, cute name. They grinned and let out a small laugh. Bacon and eggs appeared in the frying pan, but it didn't last longer long as a pillar of fire erupted from where Sake was. The dream seemed to become unstable as I looked at a pony consumed in flames and fire, yet they looked alive in their.   “I don't like getting angry, Unicon do you wanna guess why?” “Fear of harming those you care about when it happens?” “Yes, and because getting angry makes me wanna burn something.”   I awoke on the bed, the rustic wooden room was the same as earlier. Maybe I can get a wink of rest outside of that realm, just take a break, something I didn't have yet. Then the bat outline appeared in the doorway, less regal. “Hey do you have a moment to-” “FUCK!” I shouted as they slowly started backing up. And scissors threw through the air impacting the door frame. I reached up and touched and felt the soft white glow emitting from my horn, casting light better than candles and the window ever could. “Get out before I beat you to death with one of your wings after I pull it off.” And with that, I slammed the door with my newfound magic and covered my head with a pillow.