This didn't bode well.
Casemate and Edelweiss both looked at Sweeper with a mix of expressions. With her eyes widened and breathing sharply, Edelweiss appeared to be the most fearful of the two.
Casemate, on the other hoof, only appeared fearful for a moment, before a look of consternation and anger created a scowl on his face.
“You.” He said, his voice dripping with disdain.
Sweeper grinned maliciously, twirling his blade. “Yeah, me.”
Edelweiss and Casemate backed away from the edge of the roof where they were sitting, standing before the approaching bully.
Luna's eyes darted back and forth between the two parties, her mind racing anxiously. Of course, she knew that Casemate and Edelweiss would survive this, since they would live on. But the Warden's remark about things getting ugly left a sense of dread within her.
The expression of barely repressed wrath on Sweeper's face combined with the knife in his hoof left little doubt in her mind that he intended for nothing less than bodily harm against Casemate and his friend. The fact that he was bigger and stronger than Casemate made this prospect a worryingly probable one.
Sweeper continued to walk forwards, his hateful grin still evident as he drew within ten feet of the two foals.
Edelweiss looked around with a sense of urgency. Behind her and Casemate was the edge of the roof, and a several story drop onto a stone street. The door that they had accessed the roof from was the only safe way down, but Sweeper stood between them and their only escape.
Casemate didn't look around at all, though. His piercing green eyes were locked onto Sweeper’s, glaring fiercely. He lowered his stance, planting his hooves, readying for a fight.
This was what Luna had come to expect from the Warden's younger self. While his courage was immense, to leap straight into a fight with an armed assailant who was stronger than himself was surely more foolish than anything else, despite Casemate’s skill. After all, he had barely won the first fight with Sweeper only because he had found a glass bottle to smash on his face. Casemate had no such advantage here, and the danger of falling posed by the rooftop made this situation even worse.
Worry was written on Luna’s face very clearly, and she inhaled deeply. This wasn't good.
The Warden cleared his throat, almost casually. Luna looked at him, and saw that he didn't seem nearly as shaken as she was. In fact, Luna sensed… Anticipation?
Her heartbeat slowed. If he wasn't worried or in pain, then should she even worry about the outcome?
She knew that she probably shouldn't, but his sense of anticipation gnawed at her. What was he looking forward to?
He was probably waiting for what made this encounter important enough to be a defining moment in his life. She couldn't imagine any other reason.
In any case, there was nothing Luna could do. All she could do was take a deep breath, and consign herself to her role as a spectator to whatever was about to happen.
In the meantime, Casemate’s jaw became set as he seemed to recoil a little. He was about to charge, despite the odds of him being hurt being rather high. Sweeper saw this, and stopped, his smile fading as he also adopted a lowered stance, putting his knife up.
But before Casemate lunged into Sweeper, Edelweiss, who had taken the time to analyze their situation, placed a hoof in front of Casemate, preventing him from jumping into an ugly altercation. The filly's eyes shone earnestly in the dying daylight as she looked at her friend. Casemate seemed to understand what she was doing, and he glanced up at her for a split second. He hesitantly loosened his stance, adopting a more defensive one.
Edelweiss sighed shakily, and she looked at Sweeper. “Why are you here?” She asked, her voice begging for an answer.
“To show ya both that ya can't get away wit’ ‘umiliatin’ me.” He snarled, pointing at Casemate with his knife. “Ya made me look bad in front o’ me boys, an’ for that, I’m gonna cut ya up real good.”
“I made you look bad?” Casemate scoffed. “You did that your own self.”
Sweeper's smile disappeared completely, replaced with a hateful grimace as his ears pinned to the back of his head.
Edelweiss’ brow lowered as she shot a pleading look at Casemate. Unlike him, she was hoping for a less violent solution. It struck Luna that between her and Casemate, Edelweiss was the wiser of the two.
Unfortunately, Casemate's escalation had done its work. Sweeper took another step towards the two foals. Edelweiss took a step back, but Casemate didn't budge.
“Oh… For that, I’m gonna make ya bleed real good, runt.” Sweeper growled. “And when I’m done, I’m gonna do the same to your little friend, just to show ya that ya can't mess wit’ Sweeper.”
At this, Casemate blinked, and his expression lost some of its harshness. He shot a glance back at Edelweiss, who looked a bit pale at Sweeper's malicious threat.
Luna could see a surge of realization cross Casemate's face as he discovered that he may have drawn Edelweiss into a grudge in which she had no part of.
“She didn't humiliate you, so leave her out of this.” Casemate said, his voice sober and less wrathful. “You want me, Sweeper? Here I am.”
Sweeper gave a single, spiteful guffaw.
“Hah! Too late, runt! In fact, I’m gonna ‘urt her worse than you by the time I'm done!”
This threat sent chills down Luna's spine. It was very clear to her that Sweeper meant every word.
Edelweiss was visibly trembling now, her gaze fixated on Sweeper's knife as she took a few more steps back, unaware that she was coming quite close to the edge of the roof. She stopped and gave a quiet, fearful sound once she realized that there was nothing but air behind her.
Luna felt several strong emotions swirl within her. She felt anger towards Sweeper for being such a bully, fear for how much of a danger he posed to Casemate and Edelweiss, and strong pity for the frightened filly.
But in contrast to Edelweiss' fear, a look of pure rage contorted Casemate's face. His jaw became set, his eyes glared furiously, and he pawed the rooftop with one of his hooves, lowering his head, pinning his ears, and snorting loudly.
Sweeper smiled, welcoming the challenge given by the smaller colt.
"Come on then, runt. Let's do it." He said with a hint of glee.
The fight was about to explode into action, Luna could feel it. There was no avoiding it now. All she and the Warden could do now was stand back and watch it all unfold, for better or for worse.
It didn't take long. Casemate roared in rage, and charged at Sweeper. Sweeper loomed over Casemate as he galloped to him, prepared to lash out with his blade.
Edelweiss remained frozen in place, beside the edge of the roof. She opened her mouth as if to protest Casemate's aggression, but no words came. She merely stood there, her eyes wide in fear, not only for herself, but for her friend as well.
Casemate landed the first blow, lunging aggressively and slamming a hoof into Sweeper's chest.
Sweeper slashed downwards with his knife at the same moment that Casemate hit him, but was too slow and didn't meet his mark. Having taken Casemate's strike, he grunted as he resisted the urge to empty his lungs, and remained standing.
Casemate, now right in front of his foe, began to lash out furiously with his hooves, landing a couple more blows. Sweeper, realizing that this wasn't working in his favor, took a few steps back, brandishing his knife wildly towards Casemate, forcing him to back away.
"Agh!" The larger colt exclaimed angrily. "I've 'ad enough of ya!"
Casemate backed up a bit, breathing heavily as his eyes remained focused solely on Sweeper, analyzing him. Despite having been struck several times in the chest, he seemed barely out of breath.
This was concerning. It appeared as if Sweeper had gotten even stronger than he was during their first fight!
This respite only lasted a second or two. Sweeper gave a hateful exclamation, and began making moves towards Casemate, being deliberate with his steps and coiling his hoof with the knife back.
Luna prayed internally that Casemate would be smart enough to not try to go on the offensive here. Sweeper was dangerous enough, even without his blade.
To her momentary relief, Casemate recognized this, and began to step back, keeping a more defensive posture.
But Sweeper, being taller and stronger, closed the gap quicker than Casemate could open it, and thrust out with his knife, aiming straight for Casemate's face.
Casemate's reflexes didn't let him down, though. He swiftly stepped to the side, avoiding the knife.
Sweeper wasted no time, though. He gave a furious growl, and caught Casemate's head with the back of his hoof with an audible smack.
Casemate reeled back, appearing to have been left somewhat unsteady by the blow which he had been unable to dodge.
"Grrrrah! I'll kill you, you lump of lard!" Casemate roared, having gained a little separation from Sweeper. His eyes looked as if fire were about to shoot from them, his fury was so evident.
Luna could not help but be reminded of the conversation between him and Edelweiss a few minutes prior, when Casemate was wondering what kind of a Warden he was meant to be. Despite him saying that he didn't want to be angry and fierce like his father, Casemate's rage seemed to be the driving force behind his actions.
This wasn't much of a surprise to her, given how his father was really the only example of a warden that he had. Still, it didn't change the fact that he seemed to be taking more after his father than he realized, allowing his anger and rage to fuel his will to fight.
Mere moments after giving the hateful shout, Casemate threw himself at Sweeper, teeth bared and his eyes wide. He seemed to have very little self control now, hurling his body at him.
For a second or two, Sweeper seemed taken aback by the angry assault, and he backed up a step or two. Yet again, it seemed that his cowardice was beginning to surface. He raised his knife out of panic, but Casemate ignored the fact that the weapon was even there, disregarding his safety completely, closing within striking distance.
This was far from ideal. One well placed stab by Sweeper would end this fight swiftly and permanently, and Casemate was wide open, not caring to put up any sort of defense.
Edelweiss looked on fearfully from a short distance away. Luna saw her take a glance at the door, and she could tell the filly was weighing her options. But she remained where she was, still watching the dangerous fight unfold before her, helpless to stop it, like Luna.
Casemate kept up a barrage of wild, unfocused blows in his uncontrolled anger, keeping Sweeper on the back hoof. But Sweeper was weathering the hail of kicks, the unguided blows having little effect to his larger and stronger frame.
Casemate wouldn't have the advantage for long, but he still kept right up to Sweeper, relentlessly attacking him. Then, Sweeper finally saw an opening. He lunged forwards, shoving Casemate back.
Casemate didn't wait or even take advantage of their separation. He immediately hurled himself back at Sweeper, only realizing too late that he was ready.
Sweeper had a foreleg coiled back, and he threw his hoof forwards, right into Casemate's face.
There was a harsh smack, and Casemate landed on his back with a sharp gasp, closing his eyes and putting a hoof to his face, grimacing in pain.
Luna caught her breath, putting a hoof to her mouth in shock at the violent impact.
Edelweiss, also shaken by this development, gave a frantic cry.
“Sweeper! Stop, please!”
But Sweeper merely shot an infuriated look at her before putting himself on top of Casemate. This time, he pinned the smaller colt down and restrained his hind legs. Clearly, Sweeper had learned from the first sight.
Casemate struggled to free himself, but it was all in vain. Sweeper’s size and weight kept him from making an effective attempt to break out.
“Gotcha, ya little roach!” Sweeper said condescendingly, his mouth curling into a malicious smile as he leaned down towards Casemate’s face. He brought out his knife, putting it right up to Casemate’s throat.
“You’re gonna pay for what ya did.” He said in a tone that caused Luna’s fur to stand a bit.
But even at knifepoint, Casemate didn’t seem to show much fear. “Go to Tartarus, Sweeper!” He shouted, following up by spitting in his face.
Sweeper sputtered in sheer surprise at Casemate’s defiant act, taken completely off guard. But after this short moment of consternation, his face became contorted into an expression of sheer rage.
“I’M GONNA GOUGE YOUR EYE OUT, RUNT!” Sweeper roared, raising his knife above Casemate’s right eye, ready to make good on his word.
At this moment, Casemate finally seemed to look worried, and even a bit fearful. It seemed to Luna that he had just realized just how bad of a situation his anger had gotten him…
Sweeper held his blade up for a moment, his eyes staring maniacally at Casemate.
“STOP!” Edelweiss cried out, and Luna watched in awe as the small filly charged the far larger Sweeper, slamming into him!
However, she was too late to prevent him from bringing the knife down. Sweeper thrust it down as hard as he could, and Luna could hear the gut-twisting sound of flesh being torn by the blade.
But thanks to Edelweiss’ bravery, Sweeper was jolted to the side, and missed Casemate’s eye! Instead, his knife had impaled Casemate’s right ear, becoming lodged in the wooden roof that he was lying on!
Casemate gave a shout as blood began to flow from his pierced ear. He tried to thrash to the side, but he suddenly gave a louder, pained cry as the knife remained lodged, cutting his ear even further instead. He closed his watering eyes tight and grimaced in an involuntary reaction to the pain that he was in, pinned to the roof by the knife through his ear.
Luna’s stomach churned to see this wound. Casemate was very much in pain, and in a very bad spot.
While Luna felt her stomach drop from the momentary horror of seeing this injury occur, something familiar clicked. The princess looked to the Warden. Specifically, his torn and scarred right ear. The pieces fell into place. So that was how he had come to lose part of one of his ears…
Her attention was drawn back into the fight by a furious shout given by Sweeper, who had gotten off of Casemate and was now facing Edelweiss, who was now trying to step back after shoving him.
“Oh, ya rotten-!”
Before Edelweiss could react, Sweeper lunged forwards and enveloped his long forelegs around her violently, hatred flashing in his eyes.
Edelweiss gave a terrified exclamation, her blue eyes wide with terror upon realizing that she was helpless in his grasp. She struggled, but it was to no avail. With a grunt, Sweeper stood on his hind legs, lifting Edelweiss clear off the rooftop.
Casemate, no longer pinned by Sweeper and seeing Edelweiss being picked up, took on a genuinely frantic expression. He put his two front hooves up to the knife, fighting the pain to try and dislodge the knife from the roof to free himself. He gave a few grunts, baring his teeth as he jerked and pulled at it, wincing and making pained sounds with each motion.
But the knife was stuck fast. It was still holding him by his ear, forcing him to lie on his back as he watched Sweeper take Edelweiss a few steps closer to the roof’s edge.
Luna’s heart was beating hard. This was a hard fight to watch, and a suspenseful one at that.
Edelweiss continued to struggle, more so out of desperation than anything else. Although she wasn't able to break free, it did compel Sweeper to stop short of the roof’s edge.
“Agh!” He growled through clenched teeth, deciding to stop going through the effort of carrying her. “Get outta me sight!”
Then, with a shout of exertion, he tossed Edelweiss up into the air, towards the edge of the roof!
Luna gasped in terror as Edelweiss impacted the roof less than a foot away from the drop.
The filly landed with a thud, some air being forced out of her lungs with a grunt. To her horror, her momentum caused her to roll the rest of the short distance to the edge, helpless. As she came up to the cusp of the roof’s edge, her eyes opened wider than they had ever been, and she screamed.
“CASEY!”
Luna couldn’t breathe or even move, her horrified mind only capable of focusing on the filly as she began to tumble over the edge, hind legs first.
Now acting purely on survival instincts, the filly desperately flailed her forelegs as her rear half fell away. By some miracle, she managed to catch a hold, stopping herself from falling several stories onto the stone street below!
A brief burst of relief allowed Luna to take a breath, but her heart still felt frozen out of dread. Edelweiss was now hanging half over the edge, unable to pull herself back up!
Then, as if to make things even bleaker, Sweeper gave a single, bemused laugh and took a step towards her, malice shining in his eyes.
It didn't take much for Luna to realize that he was going to try to finish her off…
But before Sweeper could get close enough to Edelweiss to do this, Luna heard Casemate scream in pain as a sickening, wet tearing sound caused the bully to turn around.
Luna also turned her attention to Casemate, and she felt her heart jump out of what could only be described as joy, relief, and above all, awe.
Casemate was on his hooves, his right ear now mutilated to the point where it was now in several bloody pieces hanging down. His face showed the pain that he was in, and blood was falling down the side of his head, soaking into his blue fur.
In an effort to piece together what had just happened, Luna looked at the knife, and it was still stuck in the roof, where it was before. She realized what had happened in a moment, but she could hardly believe it, and by the looks of it, Sweeper couldn't either, for his own eyes widened as he realized
Casemate, still unable to remove the blade, elected to sacrifice his ear and tore it free of the knife.
Despite the pain he was clearly in, Casemate flew into a rage, and charged Sweeper.
Sweeper, perhaps a bit shaken by Casemate’s voluntary mutilation, threw his hooves in front of him and backed away, his eyes widened by the onset of slight panic.
In moments, Casemate was upon him. Like before, driven by pure rage, he began to rain blow after furious blow upon Sweeper, who tried several times to shove the berzerk colt back, each time to no avail.
The bully, while he was currently weathering the raining blows, looked at his knife, still stuck in the roof a distance off. Understanding that he was a coward at heart, Luna knew that he wanted to get the knife back before facing Casemate further.
Sweeper tried to break away from Casemate, not wishing to confront him without tilting the odds in his own favor with his blade. But try as he might, he was unable to shake Casemate off, forced to do his best to block the wrathful colt’s barrage.
In a way, Luna understood why Casemate was being so tenacious. Not only was he furious at Sweeper, but he may have realized that he couldn’t let the bully regain his blade.
Then, seeing that he wasn’t going to be able to obtain the knife without fighting Casemate further, Sweeper broke his defenses and tried to strike his opponent in the face.
But Casemate swept to the side, and jabbed a hoof into his side, landing a blow behind his ribcage.
This caused Sweeper to yelp in surprise and pain, stumbling slightly.
Luna’s excitement rose. Was Casemate gaining the advantage?
Her hopes were suddenly dashed by a frantic cry.
“CASEY! HELP!”
Casemate’s anger broke long enough for him to look back at the source of the cry, and he saw Edelweiss clinging for her life over the roof’s edge!
Casemate’s eyes widened, and he looked back and forth a few times between Edelweiss and Sweeper.
Because of his expression and movements, Luna could see plain as day that the colt was making an extremely important snap decision.
Sweeper was still recovering, but not for much longer. If Casemate went to go help Edelweiss, Sweeper would regain the advantage and possibly regain his knife! The fight would continue!
But if he pressed the advantage against Sweeper, there was a good chance that Casemate would be able to end the fight, but put his friend at risk of falling to her demise!
He had a choice. He could either continue allowing his anger to prevail and crush his foe, or he could protect his friend…
For what felt much longer than it actually was, things fell silent as the colt made his choice.
His eyes lost their wrath-fuelled glint, and Luna felt her heart leap a little as she began to see the colt’s anger relinquish control over his actions.
He inhaled sharply, closing his eyes as he reached his final choice.
Then, Casemate jumped back away from Sweeper, and twirled to face Edelweiss.
“HANG ON!” He ordered, entering an all out gallop to reach her.
Sweeper, now no longer locked in combat, scrambled onto his hooves and made a mad dash for his knife, in the opposite direction.
Casemate slid to a halt, stopping mere inches from the edge. He looked down in fear and concern at Edelweiss, immediately extending a hoof to hers. “Come on!” He said urgently, taking hold.
In that moment, Luna saw a look of pure gratitude and admiration from Edelweiss as she took his hoof.
“O-oh! Thank you!” She said breathlessly, clearly very thankful but still aware that she wasn’t safe just yet.
With no small amount of exertion on both of their parts, the two foals struggled, Casemate pulling Edelweiss up as hard as he could while she tried her hardest to get up.
But after a few seconds of struggling and grunting, Casemate finally pulled Edelweiss up far enough that she could crawl onto the roof!
Luna let out an audible sigh, brought about by the single biggest wave of relief that she had felt tonight. Casemate had overcome his anger enough to have the clarity to rescue his dear friend!
But this sudden high wasn’t over. Edelweiss shakily stood up on her hooves, trembling as she leaned on Casemate for support. Once she was up, tears began to form in her eyes as she gave a stressed but sweet smile.
“Oh sweet Celestia, thank you!” She cried out, throwing her forelegs around his neck, completely ignoring the blood dripping down the side of his head. She was fully underneath the influence of her sheer gratitude and adrenaline.
Casemate’s eyes took on a surprised look as Edelweiss embraced him tightly, and he tensed up. Understandably, he probably wasn’t expecting to be hugged so tightly in the middle of a fight.
That reminded Luna that the fight wasn’t yet over. A grunt, followed by the sound of splitting wood broke her attention and caused her to look at Sweeper, and to her dread, he had managed to retrieve his knife.
The bully wasted little time. Now that he was armed, he began to charge back towards the two foals! If he collided with them, he could possibly send them both over the edge!
Edelweiss, still recovering from her near-death experience, had her back turned towards Sweeper, and was oblivious to everything but Casemate.
But Casemate saw what was coming, and he had a second or two to react.
Luna could see that he had two possible options. He could either try and dodge Sweeper with Edelweiss, but the foals probably wouldn’t succeed, due to them both being a larger target and being slower because of how Casemate would have to move both himself and Edelweiss.
That wasn’t a good option, which left one other course of action, which would require no small amount of selflessness on his part…
“Get off!” Casemate shouted, shoving Edelweiss as hard as he could off to the side and to the roof.
The filly gave a startled noise as she was pushed forcefully and swiftly out of Sweeper’s path, further from the roof’s edge.
Having ensured that she was out of Sweeper’s path, Casemate tried to dodge to the other side, but he had lost too much time getting Edelweiss out of harm's way.
Sweeper plowed into Casemate, forcing the air out of the blue colt’s lungs with the impact. Catching him in a hold, Sweeper slid to a stop, right at the edge, before slamming Casemate onto the roof, holding his upper half over the drop!
It took Edelweiss a moment to see what was happening, and a look of pure desperation appeared on her face.
Luna felt the same way. She caught her breath, putting a hoof to her mouth in horror as Casemate was pinned halfway over the precipice by Sweeper, who had a smug, angry smile on his face.
Although she was shocked by this sudden and dire turn, there was a sense of awe and even a bit of admiration within her…
In a split-second decision, Casemate had elected to do the one thing that he could to ensure the safety of Edelweiss: He pushed her away, remaining in danger for a crucial moment longer.
He had effectively sacrificed himself for her!
Then it occurred to Luna: gradually, his priorities and his driving emotions have been shifting. Initially, he was being driven by his rage and seemed to be focused solely on Sweeper.
But when Edelweiss was nearly thrown over the edge by Sweeper, something in Casemate changed. He willingly ripped his ear away from the knife, his emotions shifted to one that was less wrathful and more protective of Edelweiss, and she began to become his primary concern.
A thrill jolted through Luna. He was growing! It was as if Edelweiss’ suspicions that a warden was meant to be a protector first and a warrior second was sticking with him. He was no longer adhering to his father’s belief of what a Warden should be.
Meanwhile, Sweeper continued to grin, holding the point of his knife at Casemate’s chest, while he kept his rear knees on his gut, keeping him unable to break loose. “Got ya this time, runt.” He mocked. “How about I stick ya a few times, then allow gravity to do the rest?”
Casemate, while visibly alarmed, kept a defiant demeanor about him, keeping his eyes locked on Sweeper’s, and keeping his mouth drawn shut.
Edelweiss, who had been frozen in terror upon seeing the mortal danger Casemate was in, cried out and rushed at Sweeper!
“LET HIM GO!” She shouted frantically, running as hard as she could into him.
Sweeper was barely budged by Edelweiss, and she began to desperately hit him over and over again, trying to get him to let go of Casemate.
But Sweeper weathered the blows, barely acknowledging the filly as he simply took one forehoof, not the one holding the knife, and shoved her away with an irritated look.
Edelweiss stumbled back, and a burst of anger flashed in Casemate's eyes. Then, in a tone that was subdued but very firm, he spoke to Sweeper.
“Leave her alone.”
Luna’s ears perked a little. This was the calmest that Casemate had sounded since the fight began. But there was still a sort of cool sternness and a hint of a threat in his tone.
It sounded less like the rage filled colt he was earlier, and more like his adult self.
Sweeper simply grinned out of spite, placing his free hoof back on Casemate. “Ya can't tell me what to do, runt.” He growled, pushing him a little further over the edge. Much of Casemate's upper half was suspended over the stone street below, hanging precariously. “I’m gonna-”
“SWEEPER! LET HIM GO!”
Edelweiss’ sudden cry cut off Sweeper's threat, and he turned his head just in time to see that not only had the filly gotten back up, but was charging him yet again! Sweeper, still holding Casemate in place, could only watch in frustration as the filly rammed him a second time.
Luna couldn't help but admire the tenacity and courage of Edelweiss. Although she lacked Casemate's talent for fighting, she certainly matched his courage. Like the tough flower that she bore on her flank, she truly was resilient.
However, all the courage in the world wouldn't enable the filly to take down Sweeper, who was easily twice her size and weight. Despite the flurry of undirected blows, she wasn't having much effect on him.
But a furious growl from Sweeper showed that she was eroding his patience, quick.
“That's it, you’re done!” He yelled, and Luna felt her heart freeze as he took both of his forelegs off of Casemate, and coiled up to stab the filly with his bloodied knife.
But in a blink of an eye, things took a drastic turn, and Luna watched in awe as she watched the next few seconds unfold.
A spark flashed in Casemate’s eyes, as if something finally clicked in his mind as he looked between Edelweiss and Sweeper’s knife.
Then, his flanks began to glow.
In the moment during Sweeper’s preparation to deliver a grievous blow to Edelweiss, Casemate, now partially unpinned, lashed upwards at Sweeper with both his forelegs with lightning quick speed. His legs caught Sweeper’s hoof that was holding the knife, catching it in place and holding it firmly as the bully tried to jab his knife into Edelweiss.
But Casemate kept Sweeper from doing so, allowing Edelweiss to jump back after realizing that she had been reckless.
Sweeper watched as she jumped back out of reach, and looked hatefully at Casemate. Giving an exerted groan, the bully tried to wrest his hoof out of Casemate’s grip!
“Ya little bast-”
His voice trailed off before he could finish the insult. He had just noticed that Casemate’s flanks were glowing brighter now, and he still couldn’t shake Casemate’s grip. Gradually, Sweeper’s anger began to melt away, being replaced by uncertainty and fear as he began to realize that Casemate held control over his armed hoof.
It was at that moment that the glow on Casemate’s flanks faded, and a pentagonal, pointed shape appeared in its place; a profile of a star fort.
Luna’s heart skipped a beat.
…
This was how the Warden earned his cutie mark!
…
However, Casemate didn’t seem to notice. In fact, his gaze became fiercer than ever before, and a new type of anger washed over his face.
It wasn’t the wild rage he had before, but a refined and ominous burning, as if he understood that he was going to pull out all the stops, and he knew exactly how he was going to do it.
“Leave. Her. Alone!”
With that cry, Casemate twisted Sweeper’s foreleg with a sharp movement! There was an audible pop which caused Luna to wince, and Sweeper howled.
The bully jumped back, dropping the blade and his foreleg going limp, but Casemate held on, allowing Sweeper to pull him away from the edge of the roof.
A look of sheer terror contorted Sweeper’s face as he recoiled wildly, trying to get away from the vengeful colt.
“AHH! NO! DON’T-”
That was as far as he got before Casemate shifted back a moment, took up a stance, and erupted.
With deceptively quick movements, Casemate delivered a kick to his face, followed by one blow to each of his front legs with pinpoint precision, causing Sweeper to stumble painfully onto his knees.
Luna immediately recognized the technique. It was the very same one that she had seen him practicing a few sequences earlier, with his father!
Right as Sweeper sunk to his knees, Casemate performed the next move, spinning around and bucking his chest. Sweeper wheezed and collapsed as Casemate’s hooves slammed into his chest.
Edelweiss watched with her mouth open, stunned at the reversal.
As Sweeper desperately gasped for breath, Casemate paused, looking at Edelweiss for a moment. His expression visibly relaxed as he looked at her, then hardened as he looked down at Sweeper, who was trying to crawl onto his hooves.
“You should have left her alone.” He said plainly to the bully at his knees.
Sweeper only furrowed his brow, trying to process how things turned against him so strongly in such a short amount of time while his chest heaved and his eyes watered.
Casemate and Sweeper looked at each other for a few seconds more, then Casemate spun around one final time, extending one of his hind legs.
“Oh…”
That was the last thing out of Sweeper’s mouth before Casemate perfectly executed the final kick that he struggled with so much before, slamming his hoof onto the side of Sweeper’s head with a sharp smack.
Sweeper had no chance against the precise blow, falling onto the roof and going completely limp, unconscious.
…
It was over.
A heavy silence fell upon the rooftop, as the adrenaline died down. Casemate stood, breathing heavily as he looked down at Sweeper laying crumpled before him. A gentle gust of wind stirred his mane and tail, and the top of the sun finally fell below the horizon.
“C-Casey?”
Casemate turned to face Edelweiss upon hearing her voice, giving her a questioning glance.
“What?”
“You- You have your cutie mark…”
Hearing her say this, Casemate took a look back at his flanks, and for the first time, saw his cutie mark.
He didn’t say anything, but his eyes widened and his mouth opened a bit.
He had just discovered what kind of a warden he was meant to be!
He stared at his mark for a few seconds, stunned. Then, slowly, he looked back up at Edelweiss, who was approaching him.
She stopped right in front of him, a foot away, their eyes locking as if they were wordlessly confirming that the events of the past few minutes had actually happened.
Then, a smile slowly crept across Casemate’s snout, and Luna could practically feel his relief and joy. The colt gave a single, breathless laugh, his eyes shimmering happily.
Edelweiss couldn't hold back a smile either, and she lunged forward, catching Casemate in a tight, spontaneous embrace. “By the sun, you finally got your mark!” She exclaimed joyfully.
“Y-yeah… I… I did!” He said in reply, returning the embrace just as enthusiastically, which went to show just how joyful he was as well, given how he usually hesitated before hugging others.
Edelweiss closed her eyes, and lay her head on his shoulder. Casemate closed his own eyes, and he squeezed her a bit as a more somber look lessened his smile.
“Even if I didn't get my mark, I would have been happy to have kept you from dying.” He said, exhaling shakily. “I don't know what I would have done if you- Well…”
“But I’m alive, Casey.” She murmured, exhaling with a hint of emotion as she pulled her head back up. “Don't worry about it… Besides, I can't really thank you enough for-”
Her voice trailed off as both she and Casemate noticed that there was blood now on her white fur.
Casemate looked alarmed. “Wait, are you bleeding? Are you hurt?” He asked with increasing alarm, not aware that the blood was actually his own.
“N-no, but you are!” Edelweiss exclaimed, now sounding worried. “Your ear is-”
Her words died off as the extent of Casemate’s injury became apparent. Her eyes widened, and she placed a hoof gingerly on the destroyed ear, and Casemate winced, pulling back.
“Ow! Don’t touch it!”
“Ah-! Sorry!” Edelweiss apologized, flinching and putting her hooves over her mouth, clearly regretful that she had unintentionally caused him pain.
Casemate sighed through his teeth, the burning pain beginning to set in as the adrenaline died down. He placed a hoof tenderly up to his ear, and winced again as he felt the pieces of his ear dangling down.
Just then, Sweeper made an audible groan, still unconscious. Both Casemate and Edelweiss looked at him, then at each other.
After a moment’s silence, they both seemed to understand what each other were thinking.
“We need to get out of here before he gets up.” Casemate said with a sense of urgency, looking at the access door leading into the building.
Edelweiss nodded.
“Agreed. Hurry!”
The two foals then rushed off to the door, eager to create distance between themselves and Sweeper. Within seconds, Casemate opened the door, and the pair rushed through, closing it behind them.
Now it was the unconscious Sweeper, Princess Luna, and the Warden left up there.
Luna exhaled deeply, allowing the pent up energy that had accumulated within her during the fight to dissipate. However, even though her body was calming down, her mind was racing, dwelling on the implications of the fight.
She had just witnessed Casemate earn his mark, overcome his rage, and further develop his relationship with Edelweiss.
“Is the sequence over?”
The Warden’s question pulled the princess’ attention away from her internal thoughts. Clearly, he was ready to move along to the next sequence, if this one was over. At first glance, that seemed to be the case, but Luna couldn’t say for sure without checking.
She shot him an uncertain glance before taking a moment to feel out this sequence, closing her eyes and peering deeper into the fabric of the Warden’s dream.
…
It wasn’t.
Luna opened her eyes, and looked at the Warden, who was gazing back at her with a mixture of curiosity and sternness.
“...No, actually.” She replied gently.
Upon hearing her say this, the Warden gave a single nod, and strode to the edge of the roof, looking down.
Luna followed suit, gracefully walking up to his side, looking down upon the street below as her ethereal mane and tail sparkled and glimmered in the dying light.
After a few moments, the front door of the building opened, and Casemate and Edelweiss walked out quickly into the street.
After watching the two walk a short distance away, the Warden spoke up, speaking to Luna without making eye contact.
“Very well. Let’s follow them.”
Luna glanced sideways at him, seeing the serious expression that he wore so often.
She remained silent for a few seconds, still wishing to discuss the events that she had just witnessed with the Warden.
But the sequence was still ongoing, and she didn’t feel worthy to go against his will.
Following this silent moment, she sighed.
“Alright. Hold on.”
Her horn began to glow, and within a second, she teleported herself and the Warden down onto the street, ready to resume…