//------------------------------//
// Dia De Los Muertos 
// Story: Bladewing: The Rise of a Hero 
// by Cavalryunit001 
//------------------------------//

The din by the front gates of the royal palace was near deafening. Huge blankets of gray clouds were coming overhead from a distance, and the noise of cameras flashing and ponies chattering were relentless despite Blue Belle’s efforts to quell them. A dozen or so royal guards blocked the path of the news ponies in front of her and for the moment, they were able to control the crowd. It wasn’t until Bladewing arrived that Blue Belle found some relief from the situation. 

“… you already, the king is busy right now. Oh hey, Bladewing.” Bladewing was just above her when she noticed him, and she hugged him as soon as he was beside her. 

“Hey, Belle,” he greeted back, letting go of her, “I hope I’m not late to the party.” 

“*chuckle* We haven’t even started yet. Your timing couldn’t be more perfect.” 

“Great. And the others?” 

“They’re inside. Just give me a moment to-” 

“Sir Bladewing, what’s your thoughts on recent developments?” Despite one of the reporters asking the question abruptly, Bladewing wasn’t caught off guard by it. Even so, he planned to wrap up this gathering quickly. 

“Um, come again?” 

“A pegasus mare was brutally murdered by the Earth Legion last night on national TV,” spoke one of the mares among the group, “It’s rumored that they have several others like her captive. Any thoughts?” 

“Well, I only recently found out about the execution myself. It's vile that they put her death on display, but other than that, I've little else to say on the matter.” 

“Do you know what the king plans to do about it?” asked another reporter. 

“I don’t. Even if I did know, only he would be allowed to disclose that information. For now, just know that my fellow Knights and I will do what we can to assist him.” 

“Indeed,” agreed Blue Belle, “There will be no further discussion at this time. Now if you’ll excuse us, we are needed elsewhere.” Unwilling to relent, the crowd of news ponies bombarded both Blue Belle and Bladewing with questions as they left the scene. The royal guards meanwhile did their best to clear the area. 

“Nothing left to see, folks!” shouted the male captain in command of the guards, “Let the Council do its job! Hey, you over there…” 

Within the next minute, Bladewing and Blue Belle were walking down the hallways of the palace. They soon arrived at one of the doors leading into the conference room and upon entering the room, they were greeted by the sight of King Mountain Wind and of course, Sir Crixus himself. 

Crixus was an earth pony of a khaki-colored coat and a mahogany mane. Like his pegasus comrade, he bore the blue leather armor of the Council Knights along with a dog tag with his name on it. A spot a few shades darker than his coat covered most of the area around his left eye, and though the current events were anything but pleasant, he was happy to see one of his dearest friends make it to the meeting. 

“Bladewing,” spoke Crixus warmly, pulling Bladewing towards him for a hug, “Glad to see you could make it, bro.” 

“It’s good to see you too, Crix,” chuckled Bladewing, letting him go, “Is anypony else coming?” 

“Nope. Just us.” 

“I see. I guess the others will be using the new Holo-Vision technology to participate, then?” 

“Yeah. I still can’t believe the royal tech geeks created this stuff. None of it’s been tested yet.” 

“I’m afraid we have no other choice in the matter, Crixus,” Mountain Wind told him as he sat in his chair, “This is too great an emergency, and we’ve little time to waste. A live test will have to do.” 

“Understood, sir.” Bladewing noticed that Mountain Wind looked a bit disheveled, and he walked towards him to find out why. 

“I came as quick as I could, my lord,” Bladewing said, bowing his head in respect, “Forgive me for asking this, but are you okay? You seem a bit unnerved.”

“I’m fine, Bladewing. I just woke up late this morning, that’s all.” Bladewing then watched as the king smiled and raised the white cup beside him. “Thank Faust we have good coffee here at the palace.”

“*chuckle* Indeed, sir. I know you told us not to worry over you, but I just wanted to be sure. I don’t normally see you like this.” 

“Well, I appreciate the concern nonetheless. Please, help yourselves to some if you wish. It will take a minute for my team of scientists to set up the equipment needed to operate the Holo-Vision technology.” 

“Don’t mind if we do, sir,” spoke Crixus with a grin, “I’m feeling pretty thirsty myself.” Mountain Wind just grunted softly in reply. Bladewing and Crixus then sat beside each other at the table, and no sooner did the two serve themselves some coffee than a group of ponies in lab coats showed up. One of them pushed a cart loaded with large metal discs behind the group, and Bladewing watched as they placed the discs on ten of the chairs (four beside him and Crixus and the remaining six on the other side). The discs whirred to life after they pressed a couple of buttons on them, and the leader of the group then asked the others to gather around him before speaking to the king. 

“Ze technology is primed and ready to go, your majesty,” spoke the stallion. 

“Very good, Dr. Krupp,” replied the king, “I will call you immediately if there are any issues.” 

“Yes, sir.” Dr. Krupp and the others bowed their heads in respect before exiting the conference room. Blue Belle looked towards Mountain Wind for the go-ahead to commence the meeting, and the king in turn replied by tipping his head. After acknowledging him with a nod, she pressed and held a button on a device on the table that looked similar in shape to a kiosk. 

“Attention, all Council Knights,” she spoke through the kiosk’s mic, “An emergency meeting will soon commence. Locate the nearest government building and get inside. Enter a private room and be sure to lock all outside access to it and have your Holo-Vision discs on hoof. Send me your signal when you’re ready to join.” Blue Belle let go of the button shortly afterwards. Bladewing then watched curiously for a few minutes as one by one, all ten unlit lights on the kiosk’s surface turned on with a green glow, indicating to Blue Belle that the other ten Knights outside of Fredericksmare are ready to join the meeting. 

“They’re online, sir,” Blue Belle told the king, “You may start when ready.” Mountain Wind nodded his head before pressing a button on a console in front of him with a finger. 

“Attention, all Council Knights,” he spoke into the console’s speaker, “The emergency meeting is now in session. All Knights outside the capitol, report immediately.” As if by magic, life-size holograms of the other Knights began to materialize over each of the discs as each knight reported him or herself present. Bladewing kind of expected it to happen, but seeing it in person was nonetheless exhilarating. 

“Lady Ice Luster, reportin’ in.” 

“Lady Lafleur, reporting in.” 

“Sir Nikolai Kutuzov, reporting in.” 

“Lady Ariadne, reporting in.” 

“Sir Clover Field, reporting in.” 

“Lady Flora, reporting in.” 

“Sir Brimstone, reporting in.” 

“Lady Lauren von Schneider, reporting in.” 

“Sir Silver Streak, reporting in.” 

“Lady Skywalker, reporting in.” Pleased that all of his Knights answered his beckoning call, Mountain Wind carried on with the conversation. 

“Excellent. I’m pleased that this new technology works… and more importantly, that all of you are here. Now let’s get down to business. As some of you may already know, the Earth Legion murdered a pegasus mare on live television last night.” 

“Aye, sir,” replied Clover, “The bastards put a bag over the poor lassie and shot her in the head. They even made sure she was in pain first.” 

“Indeed. The Legion is becoming more aggressive with their messaging. Her death makes the fourth pony they’ve killed this year.” 

“We’re gonna have ta do somethin’ quick, sir,” spoke Ice Luster, “At the rate this is goin’, we might have another four bah the end o’ this month.” 

“Yes, I agree, Ice. The issue here is that we lack sufficient intel to determine where they're conducting their operations from. Finding her body would at least give us a starting point. RBI agents have already reviewed the footage of the execution, but they couldn’t glean any significant information from it. Perhaps you lot will have better luck than they did.” 

“Only one way to find out, sir,” said Skywalker, “Let’s play the footage.” 

“Of course.” Mountain Wind turned around to face the overhead TV behind him. “E.V.E.?” Bladewing and Crixus then watched as E.V.E. appeared on the screen with a BLIP noise. 

“Yes, your majesty?” replied E.V.E. 

“Play the footage of the execution last night.” 

“As you wish, my lord. One moment, please.” E.V.E. disappeared from the screen shortly afterwards, and she was replaced by static for a brief moment before the screen cleared up to reveal Ares in front of the camera. 

For the next minute or so, the footage of the gruesome murder unfolded, and the Knights – some squeamishly – paid close attention throughout.  

“Please, no… No… NOOOOO- *chk-BLAAAAM!*” With the final cry of the fallen mare, the chilling footage stopped, and the Knights turned their heads away from the screen as they did their best to recover… and of them all, only one was unable to fully regain his composure. 

“Silver?” Mountain Wind asked, “Is something the matter?” In spite of his demeanor, Silver Streak shook his head. 

“It’s nothing, sir. I’m still getting used to seeing such brutality.” 

“This ain’t pretty, ya know?” Silver Streak turned his attention to Ice Luster on his right, and the mare in turn shot a sobering look at him. “But it’s part o’ the job. Nopony ever gets used to it, but we gotta do our jobs no matter how bad it gets. Havin’ a cool head helps a lot with the stress.” 

“Yeah. I guess you’re right, Ice.” Silver returned his attention to the king. “Let’s carry on, sir.” 

“Of course,” replied Mountain Wind, “Does anything in this footage sound or look familiar to any of you?” 

“Hm… now that you mention it, sir...” Mountain Wind and the other Knights turned their heads towards Bladewing as he spoke. “That location they filmed at looks an awful lot like an abandoned mansion. It’s quite dark in there, but I could vaguely see old furniture and lights strewn about. It could explain why the room looks so massive and worn.” 

“Yeah, it could,” agreed Crixus, “There’s one by the castles and houses of the Lobos clan, sir. Should we try looking there?” 

“Hm…” The king ran his hand through his beard as he thought carefully. “You make a very valid point, Bladewing, but… are you sure it can’t also be an abandoned TV station or something?” 

“I don’t think zat's likely, sir,” countered Lafleur, “Such a station would not have most of its original equipment. Ze Legion would need it to access ze network and broadcast zeir execution.” 

“Ja,” agreed Laurie, “It’s unlikely that zey vould have an interest in such a place if ze equipment is gone. Vith all zeir pooled resources, zey probably already have ze equipment themselves. That vould enable zem to choose less obvious places like abandoned homes to do zeir dirty vork.” 

“Ah, yes. It would make more sense to go the alternate route, wouldn’t it?” 

“Aye, sir,” added Clover, “I say we follow Crixus’ idea and check out not just the abandoned mansion by ol’ White Fang’s clan, but also go in pairs to check out the other abandoned places that are closest to our locations. The RBI can have a look at the ones we can’t cover ourselves.” 

“Are you sure that’s wise, Clover?” spoke Lady Flora – a green-coated, yellow-maned earth pony mare – “That’s quite a bit of ground to cover. Even if we do find evidence that this mare was murdered in one of them, the Legion will not make it easy for us. They may have booby-trapped many of these places.” 

“What other choice do we have, Flora? You saw the footage. Of the lot of us, only Bladewing here had any ideas. At least we can close off these places if we find nothing. That’ll make it harder for the Legion to find a staging ground for their next execution.” 

“*sigh* Fair enough. I suppose denying the enemy access to more platforms is better than no result at all.” 

“Aye.” Clover turned his attention to the king. “How about it, sir? What say you?” Mountain Wind held his chin up with his hand as he thought. 

“Well... I don’t have any better ideas myself, so… why not? For your next mission, I’ll have you lot work in pairs to investigate the abandoned dwellings closest to you. Now let me see where each of you are.” Mountain pressed a different button on the console in front of him and looked at the digital map of Cydonia that came up. On this map were blue bars detailing the precise location of each of the Knights and after the king tapped certain sections of the screen, a list of addresses that do not have any known occupants appeared. The Knights waited for a good minute or two as the king thought long and hard on where to send them. 

“Hm… okay. Nikolai, Clover.” 

“Lord?” replied the two ponies in unison. 

“You two will be investigating the old cathedral by the outskirts of Fall Springs, Helicos.”
 
“Sir!” 

“Lafleur and Ice Luster, you two will search the abandoned farmland by the lake at Chancellorsville, Sacerus.” 

“Will do, sir,” replied Ice Luster for the two of them. 

“Brimstone and Laurie, you’re in charge of investigating the derelict coal mine at Tartarus Forge, Minero.” 

“Yes, my lord,” answered Laurie. 

“Flora and Ariadne, the both of you are tasked with searching the abandoned shipyard at Coral Bay, Santana.” 

“We’ll do our very best, sir,” replied Flora. 

“Silver and Skywalker, you two will search the abandoned film studio at Agila, Puebla.” 

 “All right!” cheered Skywalker, “I always wanted to go there.” Despite not being enthusiastic about going to that city specifically, Silver was happy to have a new mission nonetheless. Yet despite literally being only present through technology, Bladewing could see from the dreamy expression on his face that Silver might be happy for a completely different reason from Sky. It was a shame indeed that Silver was too far away for Bladewing to sense his true feelings.  

“And of course,” the king resumed, turning his head to Bladewing, “You and Crixus will search the abandoned mansion by the edge of the Lobos clan territory, Bladewing.” 

“As you command, my lord,” answered Bladewing, “We’ll inform you of anything we find at the soonest convenience.” 

“Good.” Mountain Wind redirected his attention to address all of his Knights. “Now listen up, everypony. With the Earth Legion stepping up their messaging to an aggressive level, I ask you all to be on high alert, whether you’re on or off-duty. There’s no telling if it’ll be another civilian or one of you they’ll try to execute next, so please look out for any suspicious activity… and more importantly, for each other. None of you are any good to me dead, so I want you to pull out of there if the situation gets too volatile. At sundown, I want each of you to head to the nearest government building and submit your findings to the RBI office there. We will meet in this room tomorrow at noon if nothing is found today. Am I understood?” 

“Yes, sir!” the Knights replied in unison. 

“Very well. Council adjourned.” Bladewing and Crixus watched as each of the other knights bowed their heads to the king before fading into nothing. Similarly, the Holo-Vision discs turned off with a soft blip and the fading of its power light. With the meeting now over, Blue Belle used this time to have some final words with the king. 

“It seems the new technology was a success, your majesty,” she told him. 

“Indeed it was, Belle. Be sure to let Dr. Krupp know that no issues thus far were found with it.” 

“Will do. Now we just have one small problem left to deal with.” 

“And that is?” 

“The news ponies. The guards tried, but the reporters haven’t left the front gates since they showed up.” 

“Ah, yes. I suppose I do owe the people an explanation. Inform the reporters that I will hold a press conference in thirty minutes. Be sure that the podium, camera crews and the like are ready when I’m done making myself more presentable.” 

“On it, sir. I’ll see you outside.” 

“Likewise.” Blue Belle bowed her head to the king one last time before exiting the room. Now that it was just him and his remaining two Knights, Mountain Wind turned his attention one last time to them. 

“You have your orders, you two. You are now free to leave. Be sure to exit through the rear of the palace to avoid attracting attention from the media ponies out front. We don’t want to alert them to how seriously we’re handling the situation.” 

“You got it, sir,” answered Crixus, “We’ll leave at once. Good luck.” 

“You as well, Crixus. Dismissed.” Bladewing and Crixus bowed their heads to Mountain Wind one last time before making their way to the rear of the palace. Before the king left the conference room himself, a humorous thought came to his mind. 

“Hm… I don’t recall Silver Streak ever being THAT pleased over a mission.” The king chuckled to himself as he left the conference room with his now lukewarm cup of coffee. 


*** ONE HOUR LATER ***

The rattling of rain hitting against metal, wood, and cobblestone could be heard all around the two Knights sitting in the carriage outside the abandoned mansion. It was part of a thunderstorm, and the coach pony controlling the mechanical horses hauling it cried out “Whoa!” as soon they were in front of it. He then watched as his passengers disembarked from the vehicle. 

“Thanks for the ride, chief,” Crixus told him, “Have a safe trip back.” 

“Will do, sir,” replied the coach pony with a smile, “Best of luck.” With those parting words, the coach pony turned the carriage around and left the two Knights alone while they in turn moved forward with their target location. 

“Whoa… what a mess.” Bladewing was dismayed by the dismal state of the structure that stood before him. Tall, discolored grass surrounded the estate reaching up to his shoulders and as far forward as the cobblestone road upon which they arrived. The white paint that once coated the mansion’s walls was now turning brown and coming off in damp chunks, revealing rotting hickory wood underneath. Not a single one of its eight forward-facing windows was intact, and the frames for most of them seemed to be smashed in from the outside. As if these unnatural features didn’t disturb Bladewing enough, there was graffiti sprayed all over the walls. Some were profane; some were sexual; but in either case, one couldn’t help but feel repulsed when looking at them. Mansions, after all, were reputed to be owned by the wealthy and so were usually kept in as pristine a condition as the owner(s) who bought them. This one had clearly seen decades of neglect and abuse. 

“Yeah,” added Crixus, “This place definitely saw better days. I heard the previous owners sold it because they said it’s cursed.” 

“Cursed? Surely you’re joking, Crix.” 

“Shoot, I WISH I was… but naw, bro, I’m not. The previous owners were a couple who experienced a whole lot of supernatural stuff while they lived here. It’s said that they were scared so bad they sold the place for practically peanuts to the royal government.” 

“Wait, the royal government owns it?” Crixus nodded his head. “Huh. It makes me wonder why the officials didn’t simply destroy it if it’s allegedly ‘cursed’.” 

“Your guess is as good as mine, Bladewing. I’m not too big on the occult myself, but we’re gonna have to be careful going into this place even if it’s not cursed. Parts of it might come apart on us at any moment, whether it’s the Earth Legion’s fault or not.” 

“Right. Let’s get inside. I’m starting to wonder why we only brought our armor.” 

“*chuckle* Lead the way.” Without any further ado, Bladewing and Crixus walked towards the front doors of the abandoned mansion and passed through them. 

The interior of the mansion looked even worse to Bladewing. The original indigo finish of the walls had faded to a light purple in some areas while being stripped to varying degrees in others. Cobwebs lined the mating areas between the ceiling and the walls, and Bladewing could see a few spiders and egg sacs in some of the webs (along with the many wrapped husks of their victims). Like the outer walls, graffiti of every level of obscenity decorated the inner walls like hideous tattoos. The floor was by far the mansion’s only good quality, for though it was dusty and quite worn, it was without mildew or other mold. Even with this redeeming feature, the whole structure, combined with the poor illumination from the ambient light, seemed far from welcoming to both Bladewing and Crixus. 

“Damn.” Bladewing looked towards Crixus as the earth pony wiped as much of the rain off his face and mane as he could. “It’s hard to believe this place was once a home.” 

“Indeed,” added Bladewing, “Now it looks more like a hideout for criminals. Like our ‘friends’ in the Legion.” 

“Yeah. Oh, shit, look at this.” Bladewing had a curious expression on his face as Crixus walked towards a particular piece of graffiti on one of the walls to the living room on their left. It was a five-pointed star within a circle made of a chain, and it was drawn with black marker.  

“What is it, Crix? What’s so special about the star?” 

“Do you see that?” Bladewing nodded as Crixus pointed towards the circle that surrounded the star. “Normal stars aren’t surrounded by chain circles – or point downward, for that matter. This one’s called a Demonio star.” 

“A Demonio star?” 

“Yeah. It’s a cursed symbol that’s often used by the occult. The word Demonio means ‘demon’ in the Coltec language.” 

“I see. But how do you know that? I thought you said the occult wasn’t your forte.” 

“It’s not. I just happen to be in this gig long enough to know about this stuff.” 

“Fair enough. But what’s so special about this star that makes it cursed?” 

“It’s said that if you do it right, you can use Demonio stars to perform a lot of supernatural feats. You know, things like trapping souls in objects, talking to the dead… even bringing the dead back to life. As the name itself suggests, though, the most common use for the star is to summon demons and other supernatural beings. The catch is that if you do use one, your soul will be condemned to eternal suffering upon death.” 

“Bloody Hell. Do you think the Earth Legion dabbles in such witchcraft?” 

“I wouldn’t put it past them. The sick wackos fear Faust about as much as they do the law. Even if they don’t use these stars, it’s clear from this one that at least a few occult rituals were performed here.” 

“Agreed. Let’s move on, then. The sooner we finish our investigation, the sooner we can leave this place.”
 
“Right on. Let’s split up. You go have a look upstairs. I’ll keep looking down here for any clues.” 

“Understood. Good luck.” 

“You too.” Bladewing walked up the grand staircase in front of them while Crixus walked through the door on its right side to the hallway ahead. Splitting up made each stallion more vulnerable to ambush, but neither of them showed any fear. If anypony could handle surprise attacks, it was they. 

Bladewing proceeded carefully down the forgotten hallways of the second floor, checking room after room for any sign that this place was recently used. In most of them, he found only furniture and one of many radiators that once warmed the mansion during the winter months. In one room, he found nothing at all except the usual dust and cobwebs. However, all that would change when he got to the final room at the very end of the east hallway. 

On one side of the door leading into this mysterious room, Bladewing found a small wooden tab that seemed to display the word “NURSERY”. The U and both R’s were missing, but Bladewing could still decipher the word thanks to the dark imprint the missing letters left behind on the tab. 

Before Bladewing could put his hoof on the doorknob to investigate, a deep feeling of sadness suddenly crashed into him. He felt as though his body became cold and heavy, and he leaned his forehead against the wall in an effort to keep himself upright. The toxic anguish and anxiety that instantly flooded his soul made him feel sick to his stomach. He was unable to explain what was happening but for the moment, he could do nothing but stand still until the mysterious affliction subsided… and within a few seconds, it did. However, said affliction would prove trite compared to what awaited him inside. 

Shortly after his recovery, Bladewing began to hear a young mare crying. The sound was faint, and it seemed to emanate from the nursery room. Bladewing wasn’t one to believe in the supernatural, but he was reluctant to enter. His conscience and his duty as a Council Knight compelled him to enter, but a part of himself pleaded with him not to, as if doing so would scar him for life. In the end, his loyalty to the greater good won him over, and he did his best to brace himself for whatever laid within the room. 

After turning the doorknob, Bladewing opened the door and proceeded inside. The initial fear quickly turned to surprise as despite still hearing crying, he found nopony within the room. He looked around for any devices that could be producing this sound, but that too yielded nothing. All he could find in the two-window room was a single crib near the center that still held a soft mattress and an infant’s blanket. Needless to say, Bladewing was baffled beyond belief. 

It didn’t take long before Bladewing uncovered the room’s dark secret, however. Before he could analyze the situation, a thunderbolt boomed outside the room, and he was blinded for a split-second by a flash of white. When he came to, the scene around him changed completely. The room’s windows were whole again, each one bearing the curtains that once hung from them. The walls were no longer damaged, and the wallpaper that made the room pop with life was free of tears. Even the ruined crib was restored, as the wooden frame’s new paint job gave the crib the appearance of coming fresh out of the crate. All these renovations, combined with the afternoon sunlight and the lack of rain or clouds, gave the image of a great pastime; however, once Bladewing looked to the right side of the crib, he realized where the crying was coming from – and why this pastime was anything but great. 

To the side of the crib knelt a sobbing unicorn mare. Tears stained her tortured face as she held a newborn colt in her foreleg. A unicorn stallion that seemed to be her husband stood next to her, and his own face was no drier than his wife’s as he too grieved for their foal. The black-coated, scarlet-maned unicorn colt was wrapped in the same blanket Bladewing found earlier, and upon seeing the colt’s head limp lifelessly to the side, he gasped in horror as he realized why the couple were in pain. 

“Oh, no. The poor thing is dead.” A myriad of thoughts surged through Bladewing’s mind as he pondered how the infant met his demise. Was it disease? Was it asphyxiation? Could it even be the silent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome? Whatever the reason was, seeing a mother grieve over losing her little one was a pain that hurt Bladewing more than any bodily injury ever could. It was without a doubt one of the most traumatic scenes he’s ever seen. 

As if the death of the infant alone wasn’t heartbreaking enough for Bladewing, he watched with deep sadness as the mother, driven mad by grief, tried in vain to wake her baby. 

“Please,” she murmured, nuzzling his cheek, “Ple-ease wake u-up.” The little colt did nothing, an action that though expected drove more tears out of the grieving mare. “Do-on’t l-leave me…” The mare felt a hoof touch her shoulder, and she turned her gaze upward to face her husband. The stallion shut his teary eyes painfully before sniffling and shaking his head, signaling to her that it was too late for their son. With all hope of saving her child permanently destroyed, the mare let herself drown in the bottomless lake that was her despair. She held her baby close to her one last time as she wailed in pain. Her husband, broken himself over losing his only child, simply knelt beside her and hugged her tightly. Bladewing endured the heart-wrenching sound of the mother’s cries for only a second before a lightning bolt even louder than the last one thundered outside, and he was struck again with another split-second flash of white… and just like that, the nightmarish flashback was over. The family was gone, Bladewing’s sight was restored, and the room returned to its ruinous state. All that remained other than the crib and Bladewing himself was the sound of rain still hitting the side and roof of the mansion. To say the pegasus was emotionally scarred by the experience would be a colossal understatement. 

“Bloody F-Faust." Though Bladewing was no longer able to hear the mother’s cries, the sound nonetheless haunted his mind for a hellish second before the sound of the crib rocking back and forth for a brief moment interrupted it. He was tempted to think her spirit was moving it at first, but he discovered after looking at it that it was just the wind coming in from the broken windows. For now, at least, he was relieved, and he took a moment to pull himself back together to refocus on the mission. 

Before exiting the room, however, Bladewing took a moment to look at the blanket that laid at one corner of the crib. The crib itself was in terrible shape, but the blanket looked unchanged from its condition in the flashback. It’s as if an unknown entity was fighting to keep its beauty from fading away like the mansion itself. He hesitated to hold the cute cloth in his hoof, but since he knew he won’t have any other chance to do so, he decided to suck it up and pick it up. 

“Whoa. It’s still soft.” Bladewing was surprised by the sensation, for though its only contamination is dust, he expected the blanket to feel at least a little rough from how long it must have sat there. He had no time to ponder why, though. The more time he spent on this mission, the more time he gave the Earth Legion to send more innocents to share the fate of the infant. Even so, he wasn’t keen on leaving the room without paying his respects to the dead. He used his final moment in the nursery to dust off the blanket and neatly place it on the crib so as to cover the whole mattress that lay within it. It wasn’t much, but he hoped that if the mother yet lingered in this forsaken place, she would see his act of goodwill and be comforted knowing he treated her little one’s things with kindness. It was all he could do to try and bring some level of peace to both of their souls. After a final moment of silence for the departed family, Bladewing left the room.
  
“Crixus?” Bladewing now stood at the door Crixus entered earlier, and he called out to him in the hopes that he was somewhere nearby. 

“Over here, Bladewing,” replied the stallion, “I’m in the living room.” 

“Okay, I’m heading there now.” Now aware of his location, Bladewing walked towards Crixus to rejoin him. Crixus himself meanwhile was happy to see his comrade again. 

“So,” spoke Crixus, turning around to face him, “Did you fi- damn. You okay, bro?” Crixus was surprised to find Bladewing looking so melancholy but in spite of it, Bladewing nodded. 

“I’m okay, Crix. Just.” 

“You sure? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Bladewing looked at Crixus with a serious expression on his face. 

“To be honest… I think I felt one, too.” Crixus’ confident demeanor completely left him upon hearing Bladewing utter those words. 

“You’re starting to scare me, bro. I know I said this place might be cursed, but I didn’t wanna believe all that was real. Now you’re making me wanna regret ever mentioning it.” 

“I’m sorry. I just saw something horrible up there in the nursery room… and I think it could explain all the supernatural experiences the previous owners had.” 

“Really?” Bladewing nodded reluctantly. “Well shoot, don’t keep me in the dark with this place. Spill it.” 

“All right. I will.” After taking a deep breath, Bladewing spent the next few minutes explaining to Crixus everything that happened during his time on the second floor… and by the time he was done, Crixus felt a nauseating mix of fear and surprise. 

“No way. So then there really is something supernatural in this place.” 

“Yes. I don’t think it’s cursed, per se, but it sure feels haunted. If I had to guess, that family I saw must be the owners that came before the previous ones. That wave of sadness I felt must have been either residual energy from that mare’s painful moment… or her ghost passing through me. Either way, it’s likely that all the chaos the previous owners experienced was her lashing out at them thinking they were invading her home.” 

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s surprising that neither of us confronted her yet – or even saw her, for that matter. I doubt the Earth Legion would have the balls to try and booby-trap this place if they knew she might still be here.” 

“Let’s hope they haven’t, Crix. I don’t like this place but after what I saw upstairs, I’d hate to see it be degraded any further. Nothing sickens me more than complete disrespect for the dead.” 

“Same. The kitchen’s the only room left on this floor that I haven’t checked yet. Let’s head over there.” 

“All right. Let’s go.” Crixus nodded in agreement, and the two stallions walked together towards the kitchen. 

After passing through the main entrance, Bladewing and Crixus looked around for any signs of either the Earth Legion’s latest victim or recent habitation. The kitchen was as filled with cobwebs, dust, and debris as the other rooms, but it didn’t take long before this room too revealed its secret. 

“What’s this?” Bladewing picked up what seemed to be a torn wrapper for some kind of candy. Unlike the surrounding area, its colors were nowhere near faded, and he did a closer inspection after picking it up. 

“Hm… ‘Dr. Monty’s Zero-G Geodes’.” 

“Dude, I love that stuff,” spoke Crixus with a little smile, “They’re little gumballs with spray patterns on them that look like jawbreakers. They have bits of hard candy stuffed in ‘em, and each one has a portrait of at least one stick figure doing all kinds of poses. They often come in gumball machines or in packs of six like the one you have there. You should try one sometime.” Crixus was happy to see a little smile float onto Bladewing’s face, for though his levity of the situation might not be appropriate for some, it was what Bladewing sorely needed. 

“I see. I just might after this mission. But anyway, it seems we’ve found our first clue. This thing looks fresh. I’m not sure if it came from squatters or a member of the Earth Legion, but it’s clear that somepony was here recently.” 

“For sure. It doesn’t look like there’s much else here, so let’s head for the courtyard out back. I can use some fresh air about now.” 

“You and me both.” Bladewing and Crixus wasted no time leaving the kitchen, and they were at the rear exit of the mansion before long. 

Like the front area of the mansion, the courtyard was wild and unkempt. A circular stone path surrounded a large fountain, and the cracked statue of an otherwise beautiful mare standing on her rear legs sat atop it. Parasitic dandelions were scattered all over the place, and on the left and right sides of the courtyard stood chiseled stone pillars, each one holding up a section of a triangular arch of a similar style. Deep cracks, moss, and twisted vines decorated their surfaces, almost as if they were trying hard to keep Mother Nature herself from tearing them down. All in all, despite the more natural look of the courtyard, Bladewing only felt slightly better being here than in the mansion. It was all the more fortunate for him that apart from standing underneath an old awning, he wasn’t exploring it alone. 

“*sigh* That’s better.” Bladewing turned his head right to face Crixus. “It might be soggy out here, but at least we don't have to deal with dust and mold.” 

“I suppose. I still wish we had raincoats with us, though.” 

“Same. I like showers, but not THIS kind of shower.” 

“*chuckle* Indeed. Let’s start looking. Maybe the Legion hid the mare somewhere around here.” 

“Yeah. Let’s hope they put her in a box or something. I don’t think either of us wants to dig up a corpse.” Bladewing nodded his head, and he looked to the left side of the courtyard just as Crixus inspected the right. Bladewing wanted this mission to be successful, but a part of him wished they wouldn’t find anything else – he wasn’t sure if what they find next would scar him even more than his encounter upstairs. He had no choice in the matter, unfortunately, for he indeed found something in the courtyard – the menacing protrusion of a mossy, cracked tombstone. 

“Crix! Get over here!” The earth pony galloped to Bladewing’s side as quickly as he could, and he gasped upon seeing the top of the tombstone. 

“Damn,” spoke Crixus, “There IS somepony here. It’s not our girl, though, that’s for sure.” 

“Indeed. I’m trying to see what’s written on this thing, but these cursed plants are in the way. Would you mind giving me a hoof?” 

“I gotcha, bro. Stand back.” Bladewing nodded and backed away from the tombstone. Crixus then drew his sword from out the sheath hanging from his left side and cut all the plants that stood in front of the tombstone with a single horizontal strike. The plants themselves fell forward onto the ground, and Bladewing waited until Crixus returned his sword back into its sheath before returning to the front of the tombstone… and upon seeing its inscription, he reeled back in shock. 

“Oh, goddess.” Bladewing looked away while holding his mouth with a hoof, a move that deeply concerned Crixus. He looked at the inscription himself and felt his blood turn almost as cold as the rain by what he saw. 


Here Lies Moon Light 


Son Of Mother Misty Light And Father Crimson Light. 


October 24th, 2098 – October 31st, 2098 


Rest In Peace, Beloved Child Of Cydonia. May The Goddess And Her Angels Receive Your Soul And Give You The Life That Was Taken From You. 


“Oh, no,” spoke Crixus worriedly, “Is this kid…” Crixus had a hard time finishing his question, but he didn’t need to. Bladewing nodded again, albeit extremely reluctantly. 

“He is. The poor little one was only a week old when he died… and it seems it happened more than a century ago.” 

“Damn. I can’t even try to imagine how his mom must have felt holding his lifeless body in her hooves. You actually saw it first-hoof.” Crixus watched as Bladewing forced back tears from his eyes. 

“I did – and it was a nightmare in its own right. How much longer do we have in this infernal place?” 

“Not long, bro. All that’s left for us to check is this old shed up ahead. We’ll just have a quick look in there and we’re done. We can head back to the palace afterwards and tell the king what we found.” Bladewing took a moment to let the words sink in before nodding his head. 

“All right. Let’s-” Before Bladewing could say more, both he and Crixus felt rumbling underneath them. Neither stallion knew why, but what they didn’t know was that by accident, Bladewing stepped on a curved red chain painted with spray paint on top of the foal’s grave. It was part of a Demonio star that laid hidden in the grass – and it initiated a chain reaction that will soon give them the fright of their lives. 

“Did you feel that, Crix?” 

“Yeah, I did. But where’s it com-” Crixus stopped himself just as a red light below him caught his attention. He looked down to the ground below them, and his eyes turned wide with fear as he discovered what the light source was… and also why the light was quickly intensifying. 

“Bladewing, look out!” Not wasting even milliseconds, Crixus jumped towards Bladewing to push him off of the booby-trapped grave… and it wasn't a moment too soon. Shortly after they got off the grave, a dark red pillar of light shot into the cloudy sky from the center of the Demonio star. The two stallions watched in horrified awe as the pillar burned in front of them with a fiery hatred. They heard a chilling demonic scream for the duration of the pillar’s time on this planet, and it faded together with the thinning of the pillar until both inevitably disappeared. Before long, the courtyard was near silent once more. As brave as the two of them were, Bladewing and Crixus trembled as they looked first at each other and then back to the grave, neither of them sure of nor willing to find out what will happen next. Little did they know, however, that the one who would make the next move in this diabolical game was not even of this mortal realm. 

The two Knights let out a horrified yelp as they saw a hoof shoot out of the grave with piston-like force. The hoof itself and the foreleg it was attached to was completely devoid of flesh, hair, and skin, yet it somehow managed to break free of its earthen prison. 

“HOLY SHIT!” Crixus was scared out of his wits upon seeing the hoof sprout out of the ground. Another lightning bolt thundered in the sky above him and Bladewing as they rose back to their hooves. 

“You said Demonio stars can bring back the dead, right?” Bladewing asked nervously. 

“Y-Yeah. I wasn’t expecting to see it in action, though.” 

“That makes two of us.” Bladewing and Crixus said nothing further as the terrifying scene continued to unfold. 

The bony hoof only stuck out of the ground an inch or two, but it was just enough to pull the rest of itself out of its tomb. Mud and earthworms sloshed against the undead creature as the earth above its skull split apart from trying to ram it. It eventually gave way to said skull, and the skeleton used its chin and free hoof to pull itself upward. Slowly but surely, it crept out of the ground, and once its other foreleg was free of the dirt, it used its full might – weak as it was – to pull its rear end out of the grave. The success didn’t come without a price, though. One of its hind legs got snagged in the mud, and it broke off at the socket in the final pull to set itself free. The little skeleton turned around carefully and mustered enough strength to pull its missing leg out of the mud, and once it did, it reattached the leg to the corresponding socket on its pelvis. Now whole again, the skeleton turned to face the two horrified stallions who bore witness to its unholy act. 

Now that the complete skeleton of the unfortunate foal was on full display, Bladewing inspected him more closely. He was indeed the appropriate size for a foal who only lived for a week. Mud coated all four of his bony limbs, and his ribcage still carried some of the dirt from his grave. Like his ribcage, his skull was also packed full of dirt, and the sockets that once held his eyes were now loaded with termites. His toothless jaws, meanwhile, were a hideous shade of brown from the mud that stained them, and Bladewing could see chunks of this mud steadily falling through the gap in his lower jaw. It was an overall grotesque image, but as if he hadn’t gone through enough ready, Bladewing was hit with yet another mysterious flashback. 

Another brief flash of white blinded Bladewing, and when his sight returned, the scene around him transformed once more. It was a sunny afternoon in October, and the greenery of the courtyard was kept in perfect check. The grave was non-existent, and the skeleton that scared him and Crixus was no more – in its place sat the very foal that bore it. The little unicorn colt was quite cute to Bladewing, and from the sound of a male voice in the background, he seemed to be watching him from the viewpoint of the father. Bladewing watched with a mix of joy and sadness as he watched the boy coo and gurgle with bliss from looking at his father. 

“That’s it, Moony,” Mr. Light spoke, holding his hooves out to his little one, “Come to Papa.” Eager to feel his father’s warm embrace, the little colt cooed as he slowly crawled towards him. Bladewing hoped that the scene would end with the little boy making it to his father’s hooves, but as with the boy himself, Fate was cruel to him. Coupled with the boom of another thunderbolt, a final flash of light robbed Bladewing of the wholesome outcome, and the scene quickly reverted back to what it was now – save for one terrifying twist. 

“Shit,” said Crixus, “He’s coming towards us.” Bladewing’s flashback had cut back into the present just as the colt began to move towards Mr. Light, and he gasped in horror as the skeleton, his eye sockets now glowing with red light, almost seamlessly took the place of the innocent colt. If it weren’t for the colt crawling towards his father rather than walking, one would think all his skin and flesh was instantly ripped off his body while he was in motion. 

“For Faust’s sake, Bladewing,” Crixus said nervously to him, “This isn’t the time to be zoning out. Snap out of it.” Bladewing sent the skeleton tumbling several feet away using the Force before replying. 

“I’m all here, Crix,” he assured him, “Another memory of the parents just came to me. I think I just saw the little one as he was in life… and he was having a moment with his father.” Relieved that the skeleton was defeated, Crixus turned his head to face Bladewing. 

“Damn, bro. That would’ve been super cool if it wasn’t so creepy. Are the parents possessing you or something? You’re starting to freak me out.” 

“I’m sorry. I really am. I don’t know what’s going on, but it doesn’t matter. We need to put an end to this and now. Hopefully that push did the trick.” As if Tartarus itself was mocking him, Bladewing watched with surprise as the skeleton, blown to its individual pieces by his push, glowed with a dark red aura before spinning and reassembling itself. 

“Oh, come on,” Crixus groaned in irritation.  

“Easy,” replied Bladewing, “We haven’t lost yet.” The pegasus refocused his attention to his supernatural foe. Both he and Crixus were completely soaked in rain, but it served Bladewing well in this moment… for the only method he could think of to stop the undead foal was to put him down himself. The thought made his stomach churn, for undead or not, he was about to harm a child. To him, it was the equivalent of throwing little Ruby on the ground – an act so vile it was hardly even conceivable, let alone doable. Bladewing tightly closed his eyes and gritted his teeth in pain knowing he had no choice. The skeleton meanwhile continued to walk towards him, the mud on his bones slowly washing away with the unrelenting rain. 

”Forgive me, little Moon Light. You were never meant to face my blade.” Intent on finally ending this conflict, Bladewing reopened his eyes with a galvanized resolve. The undead foal in turn began to pick up speed, as if he too wanted it to end. He broke first into a trot and then into a gallop, and he let out a demonic scream as he jumped towards Bladewing to try and harm him any way he could. It was all for naught in the end, for the battle was never his to win. 

As soon as the skeleton was within range, Bladewing pulled his green lightsaber into his right hoof with the Force, turned it on, and grunted as he swung it upward in a left-to-right path. The singular strike cut the undead foal down the middle, splitting him into near-identical halves. Each half passed one of Bladewing’s sides before tumbling into little pieces behind him from the impact of the fall. Crixus stared tensely for a moment at the glowing yellow burn marks that marked the bones and bits of dirt that were damaged by Bladewing’s lightsaber. The infant’s red “eyes” faded back into mud-filled sockets, a sure sign to Crixus that he was truly and permanently defeated. The hum of Bladewing’s lightsaber sounded for a few more seconds, and hissing sounds could be heard alongside them as the raindrops unlucky enough to fall into the blade turned to wispy vapor on contact. 

“*sigh* Thank Faust,” Crixus mumbled as Bladewing turned off and put away his lightsaber, “He’s down for good. It’s over now.” Crixus turned to his pegasus friend to check on him. Instead of the confident partner he always knew, though, he found a rueful stallion on his knees.  

“Come on, Bladewing,” Crixus said worriedly, putting a hoof to his shoulder, “Talk to me. What’s wrong?” Bladewing gripped Crixus’ hoof firmly with his own and shuddered. 

“I’m sorry, Crix. I’m trying my best to keep it together, but this… bloody FAUST, I couldn’t feel more disgusted.” 

“What? But why? You just stopped an undead foal from escaping this place and wreaking havoc on the living.” Bladewing looked at him with tears and outrage in his eyes. 

“Do you even hear yourself? That was a foal I just cut down, damn it – a bloody FOAL! Do you have any idea how bitter a pill that is for me to swallow?” 

“But he wasn’t a foal anymore, bro. We both know whatever controlled him wasn’t the same little guy you saw in your vision.” 

“It doesn’t matter. He didn’t deserve any of it. You KNOW how I feel about harming little ones like him. That might as well have been my niece I just split in half. The ONLY reason I didn’t lose my sanity doing that to him is because I asked his spirit for forgiveness in advance.” 

“And I respect ya a lot for it. I really do. You’re NEVER proud of killing. Even if the sick bastard on the receiving end deserves it. It’s why the guys and I trust every decision you make. I don’t ever wanna give ‘em a reason to start doubting ya, so please…” Crixus knelt beside Bladewing and pulled him in for a hug, much to the latter’s surprise. “Stay with me. I know I say it a lot, but you really are like a bro to me… and I don’t wanna see ya lose your marbles.” Bladewing was reluctant to oblige him, but hearing Crixus truly considered him family brought some degree of comfort to his soul. He let go of him before giving his answer. 

“All right, Crix.” Bladewing reassured his earth pony friend by giving him a little smile. “I won’t promise anything, but I’ll try. Only because I appreciate being treated like your family.” Crixus grinned in relief, and he brought him back onto his hooves. 

“Good. Now let’s head for the shed. We’ll rebury the kid once we’re done searching it.” Bladewing nodded in agreement. As much as they thought it was over, though, Fate had other plans for the victorious Knights. 

Before the pair could take a single step towards the abandoned shed, they heard buzzing sounds behind them. They turned around to face the source and were beyond horrified by what they saw. 

“NO FUCKING WAY!” It was clear from his cry that Crixus was the more flabbergasted of the two, and he and Bladewing watched as the bones of the fallen infant floated into the air. Sparks were arcing between most of them, and it took only a couple of seconds for the pieces to reassemble back into a complete skeleton. The burn line that marked where Bladewing cut him down still remained, but that soon changed as the dark red aura from earlier appeared along the full length of the cut. Bladewing was appalled to see the aura glow brighter as it got to work repairing the damage he had done to the bones. Before long, the burn marks disappeared completely from the skeleton, and the eye sockets glowed bright red once more. Needless to say, Bladewing and Crixus were frightened to the core. 

“Dude, really?!” continued Crixus in outrage, “What kind of sick joke is this?! What will it take to put him down for good?!” 

“I don’t know, Crix,” replied Bladewing, “But we need to find out soon.” As if angered over being defeated so easily by Bladewing, the skeleton went straight into a gallop towards him. Like before, he jumped towards him, but instead of striking him down again with his lightsaber, Bladewing held him in the air with a hoof using the Force. He could see that his blades were useless against him, and he couldn’t bear to harm the infant a second time. 

The undead foal wasn’t giving up, though. He growled in a demonic voice as he floated above the ground, almost as if he was a lion wanting revenge for being murdered by poachers. 

“That should keep him from doing any harm,” Bladewing spoke, “But it’s clear something’s wrong. Why does he keep coming back?” 

“He’s not supposed to,” answered Crixus, “Anything that’s brought back by a Demonio star should die when it’s destroyed, whether instantly or when they receive the next fatal blow. I’m guessing the one on top of his grave was some kind of triggering mechanism.” 

“Fair enough. I’ll keep him immobile. You look around for the star.” 

“Got it.” Unfortunately for Crixus, he wouldn’t have to do any actual searching, for the courtyard had one final secret left to reveal. 

“Oh, no…” Crixus noticed a circular light slowly beginning to form on the tombstone. The light intensified by the second until the menacing shape of the Demonio star was fully developed on its surface. It was a sight even one as knowledgeable in the occult as he couldn’t see coming. 

“Bladewing, the tombstone! Look!” Bladewing turned pale upon hearing those words, and he turned around to have a look himself. 

“No… dear goddess, no…” Bladewing really hoped that the tombstone of the poor infant would be the one thing that would be left untouched but alas, his worst fears were realized: little Moon Light's grave was completely desecrated. The question now was whether the Legion itself was responsible or a group of heartless necromancers too infatuated with power to respect even the youngest of the dead. 

“*grunt* Damn it,” said Crixus, “Looks like this one’s cast into the tombstone, Bladewing. We’re gonna have to blow it up.” Bladewing was disturbed by his request. 

“Are you insane? Do you know how sickening that is?” 

“I know it’s sick, bro. I hate it as much as you do, trust me, but we don’t have a choice. The star isn’t coming off no matter what we do. The only way to destroy it now is to destroy the tombstone itself.” Bladewing let more tears flow from his eyes as he let the reality of the situation sink in. 

“This is wrong. I'm completely destroying a child’s tomb.” 

“It’s okay. It's not your fault. His grave was desecrated long before we even got here. At least you can do his mom a favor by setting him free.” With a heavy heart, Bladewing nodded his head. He got onto his hind legs and pointed his other hoof at the tombstone, applying enough Force energy to pull it out of the ground and lift it into the air; before he applied the amount needed to destroy it, though, he closed his eyes again. 

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Light. Please do not hate me for this atrocity.” With deep regret, Bladewing reopened his eyes and grunted again as he applied his full might onto the stone. As Crixus expected, the stone began to crack in several areas, and in no time at all, it broke into several pieces of varying shapes and sizes. Bladewing relented and looked towards the undead foal to see what would happen and was surprised to find that it worked. The skeleton ceased its demonic cries, and its glowing red eyes faded back into empty sockets. It was without a doubt that the infant was now truly dead, but the part that convinced him the most was the bones themselves floating away from each other. Whatever evil was controlling him had left his body, and with nothing else keeping the skeleton together, it was nothing more than a literal pile of bones. 

Unwilling to look at the deceased foal any longer, Bladewing let go of the bones, allowing them to drop lifelessly onto the muddy ground. His abhorrence for the whole encounter was now too much for him to bear, and he retched as he dropped to his knees to vomit on the patch of grassy mud in front of him. He couldn’t remember how long he spent emptying his stomach of its contents, but he didn't care. He needed relief, and if it meant depriving his body of most of its fuel, so be it. Crixus himself didn’t like what they’ve done either, but he was worried nonetheless to see Bladewing so repulsed by it. He knelt down beside him and placed a foreleg over his shoulders as the pegasus fought hard to keep himself sane. 

“The occult filth didn’t even spare his memory.” Crixus could tell from his words that Bladewing was disgusted by what was done to the poor foal’s tombstone. He knelt beside him again to try and relieve some of his trauma, and he gave Bladewing a napkin from his belt to wipe the stray bits of vomit from his mouth. 

“I know it hurts. Don’t think for a god-damn SECOND that I don’t feel your pain and disgust. This whole freak show is like a nightmare come to life.” 

“I… *sniffle* I’m not sure I can go on like this, Crix. The flashbacks, the foal, the desecration… I can almost feel my mind washing away with this bloody rain.” Crixus couldn’t stand to hear such words of despair come from him of all stallions.
 
“Don’t you DARE lose it on me, bro!” Desperate to keep the closest pony he had to a brother with him, he grasped Bladewing’s cheek with a hoof and turned his attention towards him. “I know what those assholes did to the little one is seriously fucked up, but none of it – and I mean NONE of it – is your fault. So keep it together, damn it! You’re scaring the living shit out of me!” Bladewing could tell from the pleading tone in Crixus’ voice that he was sincere. As hard as it was for him to stomach the hellish experience he just had, he couldn’t bring himself to stir up feelings of abandonment within Crixus. Bladewing pressed his head gently against Crixus’ before giving his answer. 

“Y-You’re… you’re right. I’m sorry. Let’s just get this cursed investigation over with.” Crixus smiled and helped him get back onto his hooves. 

“You bet. We’re almost at the end now… and I swear to you that we’ll bring the heartless pricks that did this to little Moon Light to justice.” Crixus was grateful to see his declaration bring a little smile onto Bladewing’s face, and now that he was reassured that Bladewing will remain strong for him, he walked with him to the front doors of the old shed. 

“*cough* *cough*… Ulgh, that stench…” A foul odor hit Bladewing as soon as he and Crixus entered the structure, and he covered his mouth with a hoof in a vain attempt to filter it out. 

“*cough* Ditto,” replied Crixus, coving his own mouth with a hoof, “And here I thought we smelled enough mold for one day. It’s too bad this place didn’t come stock with electric lights.” Bladewing cracked a little smile as he turned on his blue lightsaber, much to the earth pony’s surprise. 

“Will this do?” he asked. Crixus chuckled contently. 

“Hell yeah, that’s perfect. Let’s keep going.” Bladewing grunted softly in agreement, and he and Crixus proceeded to the final pair of doors that led into the main room of the shed. 

Unlike the little room they just exited, there was little to no light at all within this one. There were a few more windows here than back there, but with so many trees from the surrounding forest throwing shade over the shed, so little of the ambient light managed to break through the darkness – unlike the now stronger stench that the two stallions smelled earlier. They walked slowly behind the blue light of Bladewing’s lightsaber, and the gentle hum it made helped calm their weary minds. They found nothing at first, but after a couple of seconds, they noticed a foreleg sticking out from the front-most edge of the light. 

“Damn,” murmured Crixus, “There’s another body here.” 

“Do you think it’s her?” 

“I hope so. I’d hate to tell Mountain Wind the Legion sent another one to the grave.” Bladewing acknowledged with a nod, and they carried on with the exploration.  

Upon moving closer, they noticed that of the entire body, only the foreleg was visible. The rest of it was covered by a moldy rug – the abhorrent smell seemed to be coming from it – and both laid within yet another Demonio star drawn in blood. Besides the blood, this one differed only in that unlit candles lined the circumference of the circle at each of the star’s five points. 

“I’ll take off the rug,” Crixus spoke, “Be ready to fight if this gets ugly.” 

“Right.” Bladewing poised himself for battle as Crixus put his hoof on the corner of the rug. He took a deep breath and then used all his might to yank the rug off the body in one swift tug. What the stallions saw underneath was beyond appalling. 

“Bloody Faust!” The initial fear Bladewing felt was quickly joined with disgust, for laying within the Demonio star was indeed the pegasus mare executed last night by the Earth Legion. Both of her eyes were closed, almost as if she was sleeping. Streaks of blood, some dry and some fresh, could be seen trailing from the hole in the back of her head where she was shot. The part of her that disgusted Bladewing the most was the hideous writing that decorated her whole body. The words “FEATHERED FREAK” were written all over her body. Some of the iterations were written in her own blood while others were carved directly into her body. On her forehead lay the worst of it: a little Demonio star carved into her skin with “FEATHERED FREAK” carved into the center pentagon formed by the star’s five lines. It was an abominable sight to both stallions, but her discovery meant their investigation was officially over. 

“*sigh*… at least we found her.” Bladewing wanted to feel bad for the poor mare but after all the hell he just been through, he was lucky to feel at all. Crixus by contrast was just starting to let the full weight of their discovery sink in. 

“Yeah… and it seems those Earth Legion assholes weren’t satisfied with just killing her.” 

“Indeed. This is prejudice is at its absolute worst. Thank Faust it’s over, though.” Bladewing and Crixus cringed hard as without warning, the giggle of a feminine voice sounded within the room. 

“Damn it!” grunted Crixus, drawing his sword, “Not again!” The two Knights then saw the Demonio star underneath the dead mare light up along with all five candles, and they watched with terror as the mare slowly floated into the air along with a trail of dust. The giggling seemed to come from her, and they listened tensely as it slowly transitioned first into a normal laugh and then to a cackle, the volume steadily increasing with each passing second. The mare span in circles throughout, and it was only once she started slowing down that the laughter finally ceased. Before long, the room was silent once more, the dust had settled, and the mare herself stood tall on her hooves with glowing red eyes. The carved areas of her body suddenly began to glow, illuminating the racist text that embodied it. The only carved part that remained unlit was the Demonio star on her forehead. 

“Not quite.” Bladewing and Crixus were disturbed to hear the mare speak. They glanced at each other nervously before looking back onto her, neither one sure what to do.
 
“*chuckle* Hello, gentlecolts,” she continued with a smug grin, “I’m so glad the two of you could make it.” Bladewing was unable to comment, for the sight of her simply reviving so soon after death left him speechless. It was up to Crixus to speak for the two of them. 

“H-How the Hell are you talking? There’s no way you should.” A smirk quickly enveloped the mare’s face. 

“You disappoint me, Sir Crixus. Do you truly believe I’m using an ordinary Demonio star? Try again.” Despite being unnerved by simply hearing her talk, Crixus obliged her and looked more closely at the star. 

“*grunt*… Right. Of course.” Bladewing shot a concerned expression towards his earth pony friend. 

“What’s wrong, Crix? What does she mean?” 

“This star isn’t like the others, Bladewing – it’s much stronger. This one here’s called a Diablo star. It allows the user to talk through the bodies of the dead from anywhere, and it gives the latter a limited amount of magical power.” 

“What? You can actually control the dead with those things?” 

“Correct,” interrupted the mare, “I don’t use them very often, but I had a gut feeling you’d come here looking for this whelp, Bladewing… and I’m quite satisfied to know I’m right.” Bladewing was shocked to hear the mare belittle herself like that. 

“Whelp? What do you mean, whelp?” The mare couldn’t believe Bladewing didn’t catch on yet, and she chuckled with a sinister expression. 

“Oh, you sad, simple-minded fool. Who else could’ve chosen the perfect cannon fodder to send you and Skywalker the ultimate warning shot?” Bladewing’s eyes shot wide open in horror, for he now knew who was controlling the dead mare… and who was responsible for desecrating little Moon Light’s grave. 

“Ares,” grunted Bladewing, furrowing his eyes in disgust. Ares meanwhile couldn’t help but relish in the stallion’s anger.  

“Bravo,” mocked Ares, briefly clapping his hooves while on his hind legs, “You finally figured it out. I was starting to think this day would be quite boring.” 

“Well, you won’t be enjoying it for much longer, you heathen filth! It was you who planted those Demonio stars on Moon Light’s grave, wasn’t it?” Ares’ grin turned fiendish as he saw an opportunity to wound Bladewing’s psyche. 

“Guilty as charged. It’s good to hear you triggered my ‘baby-trap’. Maybe not so much defeat it, but I suppose I should’ve expected that.” Ares snickered mischievously before continuing. “It would’ve been disappointing if the king’s finest Knight let a little infanticide keep him from saving the day.” Ares’ could see that his cruel words struck Bladewing hard, for he rejoiced in the tears he shed while shuddering with gritted teeth; by contrast, those same words incensed Crixus, and he was determined to avenge his comrade’s shattered self-esteem by giving their archenemy a piece of his mind. 

“You’re a twisted son of a bitch,” growled Crixus, “Where did you get the gull to use dead babies to do your dirty work? That’s low, even for supremacist trash like you. Poor little Moon Light had nothing to do with your hay with us.” 

“Spare me your self-righteousness, traitor. You could’ve been on MY side – the only righteous side. Since you’d rather side with that fraud of a king, I’ll have you share the fate of this feathered freak instead.” 

“That’s what you think, Ares. Bladewing and I have been through a lot worse than this… and now that you’ve completely disrespected the dead, there’s no way EITHER of us is dying before we make you pay for it. Ya should’ve let ‘em rest in peace.” 

“All is fair in love and war, Council Knight scum… and this is all-out war. The little brat was fair game. At least he had purpose in death.” If Ares’ words didn’t already cut deep into Bladewing’s soul, they did now. The heartless stallion just admitted that nothing was off-limits in his pursuit of power. Even using infants who were prematurely taken from this world. This egregious audacity was the final straw for Bladewing, and it was the spark that finally ignited the pressurized fuel that was the anger he held back. All sense of self-restraint vanished from his mind, and in its place stood only the desire to kill Ares himself. 

“This is the end for you, little pests.” Crixus watched in defiance as the Demonio star on the dead mare’s forehead, together with the “FEATHERED FREAK” label in its center, glowed red hot. The mare herself meanwhile took on a murderous expression on her face. “NOW JOIN THOSE WORMS IN THE AFTERLIFE!” It was from this comment that Bladewing finally lost control. With the two flashbacks and the memories of the skeleton and tombstone flashing through his mind, the once gentled-hearted stallion was no more. All that mattered to him now was avenging Moon Light’s humiliation. He let loose a bloodthirsty battle cry as he pulled his green lightsaber into his other hoof using the Force and turned it on, pouring every drop of strength he had into the strike that he hoped would kill not the already dead mare, but Ares himself. Alas, even if it did work that way, it was not meant to be. 

Bladewing showed the courage of a charging berserker warrior in his attack, but before it could connect, the undead mare, now free of Ares’ control, slammed her glowing foreleg into his left side. The force from the hit sent him flying towards the wall on his right with a loud grunt. A sharp stabbing pain shot through the right side of his torso as he slammed into the wall, and he heard the sound of a stick snapping behind him before falling to the ground unconscious. The shock of hitting his head and back against the wall and being stabbed by something forced him to let go of his lightsabers, and they turned off before falling to the ground in front of him. The objects that Bladewing knocked loose upon impact fell on top of him just after he landed, covering most of the lower half of his body. 

“BLADEWING!!!” Crixus was horrified to see his comrade be so quickly put out of commission, and he turned his attention back to the undead mare to engage her. The mare herself was all too willing to oblige, and she pounced at him before he could launch an attack of his own. His sword was knocked out of his hoof, and it slid towards Bladewing to join his lightsabers… and just like that, the mission turned from an investigative search to a fight for the stallions’ very survival. 

In spite of the heavy blow, Bladewing had just enough adrenaline in him to wake up after a few seconds. The sounds of struggle alerted him to the battle unfolding before him, but in his weakened state, all he could do was lay still. He tried his best to keep his eyes open as he watched Crixus push hard against the undead mare to keep her from biting him. The two combatants rolled around near the room’s entrance, each one trying to pin the other to the ground. In the end, it was the mare that prevailed, for the undead do not fight fair. 

Crixus tried to reach for his sword, but the mare stomped hard on his crotch, forcing him to scream and grasp it with both his forelegs. He closed his eyes with gritted teeth for a brief moment, and when he opened them again, he looked up to find the mare towering over him with his sword in her right hoof. He thought this was it – that Ares was right and this mare would ensure he and Bladewing died today. He scoffed defiantly, awaiting death by his own blade. 

The mare applied all her might onto the sword, but she suddenly felt her body turn stiff. The shaking pointed tip was but an inch away from Crixus’ heart, and the stallion looked upward upon not feeling any pain for two seconds. He was surprised to find how close the blade was to stabbing him, and he looked to his right. He found Bladewing pointing a hoof at the mare, a sign that he still had some fight left in him. The wounded pegasus shot a hasty look at Crixus, as if to tell him to get away. After acknowledging him with a soft grunt, Crixus carefully slid away from the undead mare. 

To both Bladewing’s curiosity and dismay, Crixus began looking frantically for something as soon as he was back on his hooves, albeit with a slight limp. 

“What -URRGH- are you doing?” asked Bladewing, gritting his teeth from the pain in his torso. 

“Looking for salt,” replied Crixus tensely, “Diablo stars can only be destroyed with a saltwater solution. Just keep her still for me. I’ll take care of it.” Being too badly injured to argue, Bladewing nodded reluctantly. 

It took him a bit, but Crixus found the salt he needed for the solution from an old salt shaker that laid on its side on the floor. He then collected rainwater from a barrel outside using an old bucket he found at the left corner of the room. As soon as he returned inside, he removed the lid of the salt shaker and dumped the salt into the bucket, stirring the mixture vigorously with a broken shovel handle. Unfortunately for him, he ran out of time, for Bladewing sighed before slipping into unconsciousness and dropping both his head and his foreleg. The undead mare stumbled forward upon being released from his hold on her, and she turned around angrily to face Crixus. The tide of battle had turned against her, however, for Crixus was now armed with the saltwater solution. 

Determined to end this hellish nightmare once and for all, Crixus spilled the solution all over the Diablo star. The blood that made up the star crinkled and began to sizzle and smoke as it peeled away from the stone floor, as if it were skin being sprayed with hot oil. As he expected, the light of the star began to fade, and the undead mare howled in pain, clutching the sides of her head with desperation. The screaming continued for a moment before the mare dropped the sword and fell forward lifelessly onto the floor. The glow of the Demonio star on her forehead and her eyes quickly faded away as did all the other carved areas of her body, indicating to Crixus that she was no longer possessed. He picked up his sword and poked her body gently with it just in case, and he sighed in relief when she did not react to it. The candles meanwhile continued to burn, for the salty water did not touch their wicks. 

“*sigh*… It’s finally over.” Content with their victory, Crixus refocused his attention to Bladewing after returning his sword to its sheath. It hurt him to see him unconscious again but for now, he seemed otherwise okay. 

“Hang in there, bro. I’ll…” A pool of liquid slowly growing in size underneath Bladewing caught Crixus’ attention. He thought it was rainwater at first but upon it gleaming dark red from the candlelight, he was horrified to realize it was actually blood.
 
“Oh, no…” The thought of Bladewing bleeding out terrified Crixus, but he didn’t have time to think about it. Wounded or not, he had to get Bladewing out of the wreckage, so with the candles themselves serving as his lamps, he set himself to work. 

Crixus first lifted the bookshelf off of Bladewing followed by the tool shelf. He then grunted as he felt his foreleg get grazed by something jagged after letting go of the tool shelf. He saw upon inspection that it barely nicked his armor, but when he looked at the shelf, he winced as he saw that one of the two little spears sticking out of its sides had broken off. 

“Shit… don’t tell me…” Now that Bladewing was free of debris, Crixus grabbed onto both of his forelegs and pulled him away from the wreckage. The lower half of his body until now was hidden in the shadows but once the candlelight uncovered it, Crixus flinched as he saw the jagged stump of a stick sticking out of Bladewing’s back. 

“Damn it,” he thought worriedly, “This is bad. Really bad.” Now that he understood how dire Bladewing’s situation was, Crixus dared not waste any time trying to wake him up. He had to get him hospitalized and fast. He put a hoof on his neck to check for a pulse and was relieved to find he was still alive. With only the hope of saving his best friend keeping him calm, he moved the earbud of the communicator latched onto his ear into position, and he pressed the red cross-shaped button behind the call button – a button that directly connected him to the medical bay of the royal palace. 

“Come on, come on…” Seconds seemed to turn into minutes for Crixus as he torturously waited for somepony, anypony, to answer. The bits of rain on his wet face mixed with the few tears of desperation that escaped his eyes. 

“Pick up, you bastards!” As if responding to his command, Crixus heard a blip before he heard a male voice answered on the other end. 

“Dr. Hoofington of the Royal Infirmary responding. How may I assist you, Sir Crixus?” 

“I need a med team at my location asap! Sir Bladewing is wounded and needs medical attention, bad!” 

“Understood, sir. I’ll send my best one to your current NPS coordinates. How bad are his injuries?” 

“He-e’s got a spear stuck in his torso, and he’s bleeding out. He also took a deep hit to the side before being slammed into a wall.” 

“Okay. I need you to listen carefully. Apply pressure to the wound, but avoid putting any of it on the spear. If it leaves his body, he’ll bleed to death before we can reach him. If you can, bandage him as well. Do your best to keep him conscious. Help is on the way.” 

“Thanks, doc. I really appreciate it.” Crixus hung up the call with a press of the call button, picking up Bladewing’s lightsabers shortly afterwards. 

Meanwhile, as Crixus busied himself with finding makeshift bandages for Bladewing, the pegasus himself groaned weakly as he woke and opened his eyes again. The world around him seemed dark and blurry, and it seemed the more he tried to keep his eyes open, the more tired he felt. Crixus’ voice now sounded muffled to him – almost like he was speaking through a pillow – but it was the only motivation he had to keep himself from completely succumbing to exhaustion. 

“You’re gonna be okay, Bladewing.” Bladewing looked up with droopy eyes towards Crixus. “Just hold on. Hold on…” The wounded stallion was too weak to answer with words, so the best he could muster for a reply was keep his eyes open as best as he could. 

The rest of his time at the mansion felt like a fleeting dream to Bladewing. His erratic in and out of consciousness forced his eyes to constantly open and close, making it difficult for him to keep track of time. He remembered the pain in his torso worsening slightly, first from additional pressure being applied to the wound and then from some sort of garment being wrapped around his body at that area. Crixus muttered things that he couldn’t understand, but he thought they were probably words of encouragement. He felt him try to pull him to his hooves from his right foreleg to no avail. He blacked out again, and Bladewing then felt himself roll onto his back before Crixus pulled on his forelegs and dragged him carefully out of the shed. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of Moon Light’s bones as he passed by his scattered skeleton. Seeing his undignified state forced Bladewing to black out again in sadness until he made it to the front door of the mansion. A streak of red watery blood marked the path Crixus took in getting him back inside the mansion. 

In the very last moment Bladewing remembered, red and white lights were flashing outside, signaling the arrival of the medical team Crixus ordered to the scene. A group of mares in nurse uniforms went through the door as Crixus opened it, two of them carrying a stretcher. Bladewing could hear them talking to each other through their face masks, but he was unable to decipher any of their chatter. With his eyes still closed, he felt himself being lifted onto the stretcher before being carried outside on it. The cold rain made him slowly open his eyes again, and he saw the white and red colors of the specially designed ambulance carriage as the nurses carried him towards it. 

Once he was inside the ambulance, Bladewing heard Crixus call out to him. He turned his gaze towards the worried stallion, and he in turn said what he thought was, “Stay with me, bro. You’re gonna make it, I promise.” Whether or not that’s actually what he said he didn’t know, but the last thing Bladewing remembered doing was look up to the white light above him before closing his eyes… just as the spectral voice of a mare said something in his head. 

"Help us…"