Stories in Stone
Luna's Royal Guard
By TDR
Iron Resolve
Twilight paced back and forth in front of the sword. She was still angry at what she had found out last time she had viewed history. One thousand years had hidden some of the horrors that Luna had committed, but all of that was coming back to light now with this study.
The very idea that she would allow something like this to go on under her nose was staggering. Twilight was sure that Nightmare Moon knew what was going on as well. This was a far cry from the largely inept villain that her friends had beaten when they first met. She was still unsure if Jer'rahd was faking not knowing or not; he had seemed mostly clueless and just as shocked as the others about the attack.
It was odd, but she could not access Luna's mirror anymore, even though it was clear she was still wearing the blade shard. It was easy to see how Jer'rahd had missed seeing any of this if he was innocent; The Princess had kept him occupied with other things. She knew stallions tended to be easily distracted by that sort of thing. Still, it was not likely she could continue to help Luna like this.
A knock at the door brought her pacing to a halt. She had been expecting Rainbow Dash to sit with her tonight, but the pegasus had some unexpected duty to take care of in Cloudsdale. All of her other friends were busy, and Spike had gone off again to watch the girls to keep them out of Rarity's hair while she worked. No matter how annoyed with the unicorn that dragon got, the fashion designer could still mold him like putty with just a few sweet words.
She trotted over to the door. Pulling it open, she looked up at a cloaked figure with softly glowing amber eyes.
“Oh, hello, Zecora. I didn't expect you to come by tonight.”
“Greetings, Twilight my young friend. If this is a bad time, I do not wish to offend.”
“No, it's fine; come on in. I just have something else on my mind is all. So, what brings you by?”
The zebra mare pulled back her hood and stepped inside the house as Twilight trotted back over to the table, glaring at the sword once more.
“I brought back a book I borrowed that you might have missed, though at the moment I am simply curious why you seem pissed.”
“I have seen a few things lately that have been… problematic.”
“Ah, then what bothers you is not a mystery; it is due to your delving into history.”
Twilight looked at the zebra as she walked over to the table and looked over the blade curiously.
“How did you know I was studying history?” she asked.
“That information is not a secret to any around you. I have my own sources on top of that, too.”
“Yeah, okay, that is actually it,” she admitted.
“Then what is the nature of the ill? It must be something big to be bugging you still.”
“I have found out some of the things Luna did as Nightmare Moon, and I am questioning why Celestia would bother to forgive her. I mean, I watched the others do just as bad or even worse, but I can't get past the acts she was willing to allow, and then be forgiven as if nothing happened at all.”
Zecora tapped her chin as she thought on that a moment, humming as a response. “I have a question in regards to that: was she always evil? I mean, right off the bat?”
“No; I mean, she started like she was now, but progressively, she got worse.”
“Perhaps you should considered her heroic deeds. Do they negate her darker needs?”
“What you mean? Like, does her evil outweigh what good she’s done?”
“That is exactly what I am trying to say. She was bad as Nightmare Moon, but was she always that way? Think of if it happened to you. Would everyone forget all your good, too?”
“No... no, I suppose she was not. Before she became Nightmare Moon, she was doing her best to try and save everypony. This study has shown me that, while powerful and long lived, no pony is infallible, not even Princess Celestia.”
“The goal is not always to avoid failing what you do; what is done to atone for it is important, too.”
“She helped stop Discord, two Dragon Wars, and who knows what else in the course of her eight thousand years of life. Well, eight by my count; I don't know for sure. The only really bad things she had done have been as Nightmare Moon, and that’s just been nonstop.”
“Then you may indeed see the plight. How much dark will it take to erase the light?”
“You're right, Zecora. I suppose I am looking at this from the wrong side of things. I went into this knowing I was going to see the worst of what went on a thousand years ago. It would explain why Luna was so reluctant to let me pry into her past. She is still feared by so many still, though she tries to be non-threatening.”
“It is difficult to live in peace when all one knows is strife. Since her return, she has had a hard time adjusting to her life.”
“I know, I know, I get it. I guess I just need to finish to find out everything. I really should not be surprised anymore; this is not the most horrible thing I have seen...”
“Since you seem to be short Spike, I can help you with this, if you like.”
“I really don't want to bring someone else into this story. Spike seems to think it is causing problems with other ponies.”
“Well, I am not a pony, as you can see. You need not worry about an opinion from me.”
“That would help, I suppose . Alright; just this once, though. I don't think the princess wanted everypony to know the stuff from her past.”
“I doubt Princess Luna would mind me much, but there are other things to read here besides history and such.”
“Well, okay...”
Twilight showed the zebra the spell-canceling trigger she had set up for the others to use, as well as showing her where the bathroom and kitchen were in case she wanted something. She waited for the zebra to get settled in before she trotted to the table, looking down at the sword.
The end of this story was close. All that was left was to see how everything was going to play out in the finale. She simply hoped she could stomach the rest and hoped her opinion of Luna would not get much lower. She cast the spell, slipping into the world of stars and then into the mirror of Jer'rahd.
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Bleu soars over the Everfree Forest towards Ponyville. Jer'rahd stood on her back, staring at the rising pillars of smoke from the settlement. Starfall and Lion Heart flew along beside the dragon.
As they drew closer, screams and roars filled the air. Looking down, the town was scattered with bodies; most of them were ponies, though a few half-dragons and other creatures dressed in Lunar Republic armor lay dead as well. Griffons armored the same way flew in the air with pegasus Guards, dive bombing any townspony fleeing their burning home and ripping them apart. The entire town was on fire; only the great tree Celestia had planted near the town’s center seemed to remain untouched by the violence.
“Starfall, Lion Heart, get those pegasi to stop. Bleu take me to that group over there near the guard tower. They are likely the commanders of this raid. I want this stopped now.”
The groups split off one another as Jer'rahd and Bleu winged towards a large group of ponies directing a siege against the Royal Guard tower at the edge of town.
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[One hour earlier.]
Rhede and Velkorn had exited the cave quite some time ago and were still following the tracks of the force that had left there. Rhede and Velkorn both had gotten over the shock of what they found, realizing that the small pit could not have contained the bodies of every foal that was missing.
Rhede noticed the tracks seemed rather organized for a random collection of monsters and prisoners; it was almost a proper military formation. The side path eventually joined up with a larger dirt road that was the highway between Winnysor and Ponyville. Rhede's eyes narrowed a bit, seeing the massive set of other tracks that were joining the first, though the new set was mostly pony.
The hard-packed dirt of the road would make tracking one or two hard, but the size of this group was quite easy to follow; granted, it was also clear they were headed to Ponyville. He looked up into the afternoon sky through an opening in the tree, his blood running cold at the smoke filling the air. Rhede and Velkorn galloped faster, hoping to get there in time to do something.
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[Present]
Bleu dipped low, allowing Jer'rahd to leap off her back before she flapped up into the air again. The unicorn charged towards the group, seeing Oroboros looking up at the tower as a hydra smashed against the stone, trying to get at the ponies within. Clearly thinking the charging unicorn was a threat to the leaders, a flock of six griffons dove to attack him.
The Waning Moon was only seen being returned to its sheath as their bodies hit the ground around him.
Oroboros heard the screams of the birds and glanced towards the sound idly, taking note of the approaching pony as if he was unconcerned with his approach. He muttered something to the other cult members around him, who simply stepped out of the way.
“Greetings, General; nice of you to show up finally, we have the last of the resistance cornered and we shall be purging them rather soon.”
“WHAT THE BUCK IS GOING ON HERE, OROBOROS?!”
“I would think that would be obvious, even to a mentally inferior subject such as yourself. we are destroying a threat to the Lunar Republic, just as you instructed us to do.”
“These ponies are not a threat to us!”
“I beg to differ. There were far too many Canterlot sympathizers here. They even had their own division of Royal Guards stationed in this place. Clearly, a threat this close to Winnysor needed to be dealt with quickly; it was the perfect staging ground for the enemy to attack us.”
“Canterlot does not agree with us, but they are not the enemy!”
“They are, now, General. The sooner you realize this was going to happen anyway, the sooner you will know this was a sound tactic and that we strike first.”
“Call off this attack and get back to the castle.”
“The attack is already over, General. All that is left is...”
“NOW!”
Oroboros shrugged lightly and nodded to his troops, who darted off in all directions to stop the attack. “By your command, General, at least for the moment. With the lack of foresight you have and this misguided sympathy for those who should be beneath you, I doubt you will remain such a rank for much longer.”
“Get back to the castle; I will deal with you there.”
“Of course you will. In fact, I am looking forward to the attempt.”
A loud roar cut the rest of his words off as Bleu slammed into the Hydra, tearing through the startled beast as it continued the attack on the tower. She had ignored the heads slamming straight into the body with a blast of lightning and claws shredding. Her tail whipped as she dragged the creature down with her weight, crushing the cult pony that had been guiding it.
“Well, that was a waste of a month’s worth of training. Pity.”
Jer'rahd glared at him as he trotted off, joining the others who were starting to fall back. A massive horde of creatures as well as the regular Lunar Republic forces gathered and started back up the road towards Winnysor. Bleu padded over to him, shrinking down to her pony-sized form and flicking the blood from her claws as Starfall and Lion Heart landed nearby.
“Lion Heart, that was nearly all of our forces. I thought I told you to keep the new half-dragons out of the fight?”
“I am only a Commander, General. The Colonels overrode my orders. Only the half-dragons that I brought with me, your Shadowbolts, and the remaining members of the 42nd remain at the castle.”
“Looks like they managed to convince the prisoners to help them. There's quite a few monsters in that group, too, and I don't mean the minotaurs.”
Jer'rahd glanced back, spotting a red pony and a zebra tearing into town. Rhede ignored most of the destruction, heading straight for the Pelt house, but he stopped and rushed towards the four of them as Velkorn yelled at him.
“JER, WHAT THE HELLS HAPPENED HERE?!”
“Oroboros happened.”
He looked up at the tower as a few bricks fell from the side of the ruined structure.
“Oh hells, where is Maw? Where is anypony?!”
“I am not sur...”
“RAHHH!!!!”
The sudden cry behind him caused Jer'rahd to whirl about, his magic gripping his blade and lashing out more on instinct that anything else. The blade slashed through the spear aimed at the back of his head and the battle-worn golden armor of the pegasus attacking him. His eyes widened and he stopped the blade before it completed the slash, though the already-injured pony crumpled from the attack.
Rhede offered a curse and Jer'rahd's eyes widened in shock as well. Wedge glared at him, his destroyed spear gripped tightly in his wing, still trying to attack Jer'rahd before the spear fell to the ground and the pony coughed a gout of blood on the unicorn’s hooves as he fell.
“Bucking traitor...”
Jer'rahd stared down as the pegasus slipped from his blade, falling to the ground at his hooves. Velkorn rushed over to check him, all but tearing free the armor to try and patch the pegasus up. After a moment, though, she simply sighed, rising back to her hooves with a shake of her head as a wail emerged from the door of the tower.
Fisher made to rush out at them before she was grabbed by two other ponies and held down from charging the generals. A foal's scream announced the presence of others slowly emerging from the tower. A singed and bloodied Maw Pelt stared at the lot of them, Golden bawling on her back. Others moved past her, including a barely-standing Biggs. The earth pony was half-filled with crossbow bolts and one side of his face was so soaked in blood, Jer'rahd was not sure he even had an eye left.
These were the only two Guard ponies in town. Between the pair of them, they had managed to save a rather sizable portion of the town by guarding the tower, and he had just killed one of the heroes.
Rhede's gaze was on Maw. The elder Pelt was crying heavily, looking down at her dead son in law and the screaming of her remaining eldest daughter. Several others moved to bring Fisher back inside. Maw moved a bit closer, urging them back. Faux moved to press against Biggs, helping him remain standing as the Guard pony placed himself between the tower and the Five Beasts, a cracked sword gripped tight in his mouth.
Maw simply glared back at Rhede and Jer'rahd, turning her head to spit on the ground as the tears ran down her face.
“Go back to that bucking devil you follow. None of you are welcome here anymore. The Pelt name is yours alone, now, Blackhoof. Do with it whatever the buck you want. Tell Nightmare Moon that she can have this place if she's so set on it. Git out of here or hurry up and finish the rest of us off if that's yer intent. In either case, Ah dun wanna see any of yer faces again.”
Rhede's ears drooped.
“But Maw...”
“DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN! I DIDN'T RAISE A PIECE OF SHIT LIKE YOU. AH DON'T CARE IF YER TRYING TO SAVE EVERYTHING AT THIS POINT OR NOT; WE LOST FAR TOO MANY FAMILY AND FRIENDS HERE TODAY CAUSE AH TRIED TAH HOLD OUT THINKING YAH MIGHT TURN OUT DECENT, AND YER JUST SHIT, THA LOT OF YAH. AIN'T NO WONDER YER DAUGHTER RAN AWAY; SHOULDA DONE THAT OURSELVES. NOW GIT!”
The elder mare scooped up a chunk of the tower with her tail, flinging it towards the group. The stone glanced off the side of Rhede's head, though he barely seemed to notice the gash it caused.
“Bleu, grab Rhede. We need to get back to the Castle. Starfall, Lion Heart, get moving.”
Starfall's wings had drooped considerably as Maw kept yelling at them, with the rest of the survivors joining in along with her in throwing stones.
“What about you?”
“I will be along shortly; I need to make sure all of them left the town.”
Another chunk of stone clattered to the ground, not quite reaching them.
“You gonna be alright here, Boss?”
“I will be fine. They don't have anything that can get past my armor and I have no intention of fighting them anyway.”
“I will kill them......”
“Make sure Rhede doesn't kill anything ‘til I get back, either. I want all of you to find a spot and stay put until I talk to Luna about this.”
“No promises, Boss. I think we all want first crack.”
“I want to know why, first. And you all know, out of the five of us, if Luna needs to be dealt with, I am the only one who has a chance.”
“Provided yer dick will let you, Boss.”
He winces a little at that as Starfall nodded in agreement. Bleu picked up Rhede and Velkorn, taking to the air with the pegasus and half-dragon following. Jer'rahd watched them fly into the air, ignoring the rocks bouncing off of his form. He had not activated his armor, though he turned back, glaring down a young stallion that had run up to try and hit him with a pitchfork. The pony froze upon meeting the gray unicorn’s gaze, trying to backpedal and falling over himself. Jer'rahd looked down at the pony.
“Take every pony you can and go as far away as you can get. Canterlot will not be safe, soon enough. Hollow Shades or what’s left of Manehatten would be your best bet.”
“...Why? Why, should I listen to anything you have to say!?”
A rock bounced off his side, but he ignored it and the screaming and cursing as he focused on the pony.
“Believe what you want, but Canterlot is the next place that will be hit. That is why they attacked here; so there would be no resistance when they start to move. Warn them if you want, but do not stay there unless you plan to fight.”
He glanced back again at Maw and the other surviving ponies as the colt darted away. There could not be more than twenty or thirty ponies left in that tower out of a town that housed easily two hundred before the attack. He hoped some remained hidden and this was not all that was left.
He turned, leaving the war-ravaged group and trotting further into the fire-filled town. He looked towards a blank section of land that still had nothing on it and sighed. He had another stop to make while he was here, and there would not likely be another chance to do so .
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(Two hours later)
Starfall looked down from her balcony to the parade grounds below, watching the strange mix of creatures mill about. They mostly seemed to be half-dragons and cult members, though she was unsure when thirty-nine cult members became a few hundred. All of them wore a silver amulet shaped like a crescent moon. Some of them she recognized as normal guards.
The monsters were much like the hydra Bleu had killed. There were a few trolls, some bears, and a smaller hydra being watched by some of the cult members. A large two-legged creature vaguely resembling a minotaur crossed with a pony that Bleu had called an ogre sat back against a outbuilding, nearly crushing it under its weight. Rows of blank-faced griffons and Diamond Dogs as well as one young red dragon with the same expression stood in rank and file, staring at nothing.
Velkorn had seen them and cursed very loudly and prolifically enough that Bleu had blushed and Rhede snapped out of his shock. Granted, he suddenly switched to being rather crazy and dashed out of the room before anyone other than Starfall could follow. Oddly, he ran into his own room and started rummaging around in the small library he kept for paper and quill.
Velkorn agreed to watch him, and Bleu stayed with Starfall. The pegasus's eyes narrowed, watching Luna walk amongst the beasts being spoken to by Oroboros and Jester. She really hated that pegasus.
She snorted in anger at the Goddess of the Night's approving nod at the creatures. Bleu, for the most part, had spent the last few hours pacing and cussing in every language she knew.
“This is bucking bad. Really, really bad.”
“No shit, Bleu. I think we can all agree that we are neck deep in shit and doing a forehoof stand. I am with Jer'rahd, however, in that I want answers. This might have been building a while, but this is far out of character for the Princess. What brought this sort of act on? It's clear she knew about them with how she is trotting about on that field, but why did she allow it?”
“Not six months ago she was willing to do anything to protect Equestria, now she wants to rip it apart by starting a civil war with Canterlot?”
“It doesn't even make tactical sense; every pony in Equestria will be forced to choose sides. With the Republic openly attacking a neutral town, most of them are going to side with Canterlot.”
Starfall sighed, walking away from the balcony.
“Think there's something we don't see, Starfall?”
“Clearly. My greatest concern, however, is Jer'rahd.”
Bleu sighed, sitting down in a huff and crossing her arms.
“I know. Boss may have seemed angry while we were in Ponyville, but normally, he would have just killed someone who did something like this, yet he just told Oroboros to retreat.”
“Do you think perhaps he knew about this?”
“I don't know. He clearly didn't know about the attack, but the other stuff, I am not so sure. He has been staying with Luna for so long, he had to have heard something. He was still not willing to believe us at first. If nothing else, she has him wrapped around her hoof. That was what I had hoped for, and now it's the worst possible thing.”
“The trail to Tartarus is paved with good intentions. After this, though, we need to figure out what all of us are going to do and if Jer'rahd will continue to support Luna or not.”
Starfall glanced back out over the balcony, watching as the aforementioned pony trotted towards Luna and Oroboros, saying something to both of them.
“Speak of the demon... Where the buck has he been for the last two hours?”
Bleu moved to the Pegasus’s side to look out as well.
“No telling, but he still seems mad. That’s a good thing. Plus, it seems Luna is still willing to talk with him.”
“True, but Oroboros seems far too smug about that.”
“So what do we do if Boss stays with her, though?”
Starfall sighed, her ears flattening.
“We have not been given much of a choice at this point. We are too well-known as followers of Princess Luna. Our only chance of survival may be to stay with her as well. There has got to be a reason, and hopefully, we can figure it out in time to try and fix all this.”
“I think we are beyond fixing this, Starfall.”
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(One Hour ago)
“...so that's the situation we are in. We are hated by nearly every creature on the planet, including most of our own troops, who only follow out of fear. My friends are questioning my loyalty to them, and with good reason, the mare I fell in love with may have become the very thing she fought against.” Jer'rahd sighed. “Or maybe she followed the pattern of my life. Luna is dead and Nightmare Moon replaced her to betray me... us... So what am I supposed to do?”
There was no response, save a bird chirping in the distance.
“This is one of the few times in my life I have no idea what to do. I knew I was going to join the Guard. I knew I was going to fight and I trained hard for it. I knew I would do anything to protect my friends, and then the princess I served. Now the Princess I served is perhaps no longer worthy of that loyalty, even though I am far closer to her now than when I was when I swore myself to her.” His ears flattened as he drooped his head. “There is no easy answer this time, no way I can see a happy ending for any of us, let alone me. No matter what I do now, someone is going to suffer because of it. I have done more than a few things I regret since the last time we talked. Honestly, I am not even sure if I am the same pony anymore.”
He kicked his hoof in the dirt a little, shaking his head slightly.
“It seems I either need to betray my love and my duty, or betray my friends and my own morals. Right now, I cannot see myself doing either. I have no idea what I am supposed to do. I doubt any of you even want to listen to this. You have probably made up your own minds on what I have done. I don't think I should expect any sort of forgiveness from any of you at this point either. But still I needed to come out here a last time. Depending on how the next few days go, I will either never see you again, or I will be seeing you very soon.”
He pushed himself back up to his hooves, looking down at the four graves before him. A small bundle of wildflowers rested on each grave, a last tribute to the memorial of the family that was buried here, whether thy still considered him a part of it or not.
“My five friends are the only family I have left. I am not even sure what they think about me anymore.”
He turned, heading away from the gravesite and the Pelt farm and trotting towards the woods and the road leading to Winnysor Castle. No matter what happened next, some pony was going to die.
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Rhede scribbled the words on the paper, writing furiously as he translated the book. For lack of much else to do and unwilling to sink into a depression until he had revenge on the cult, he had opened the Book of the Blue and started to work on translating it. Luna had done the same when it was first found, but he did not have access to those notes that time.
He had not expected to find anything useful, but the opposite had been the case. The book was insanely informative once one got past the strange writing pattern and the odd tangents into nonsense. The first half of the book was the easiest to translate; it explained the magic required to find the Elements of Harmony no matter where they lay hidden, the same thing they had used to find where The Order hidden them so long ago.
The later chapters, however, were on the use of the Elements, oddly. A strange thing for a god of chaos to know. He was starting to think there might have been more to that one’s story than what was widely known. In the past, they had formed into jewelry, armor, glowing crystals, and even weapons, dependent on whatever will of the stars guided the relics.
He was also rather surprised to find a small chapter on how they extend the natural life of the bearers far beyond what would be normal for their species. Just what he needed: to live longer being hated.
All of that paled compared to what he was finding out now. The books were not mentioned in any great detail, though the connection to the Elements was mentioned several times and not elaborated on. The writing devolved into mad gibbering involving fairy cakes and their value as currency to sea turtles. He did find out that there were six books, at least in the beginning.
The Grey Grimiore, The Red Tome, The Blue Book, The Silver Script, The Purple Pamphlet, and the Teal Text. All but two of them had been destroyed, but it was not revealed how, unless the scribbles about marmalade-powered constructs was it. But it seemed the Book of the Blue was not one of them, oddly.
Translating further, he found that Discord had wished to use the power of the Elements of Harmony on himself to cure something that had been done to him by the books and his former lover. He had instigated the war to force the ponies to do just that, completely certain that the Elements would be able to cure him.
There were more explanations on how the power of the Elements of Harmony could be tuned to cleanse anyone tainted by the books. Unfortunately, halfway through the explanations, there was nothing but a few pages cursing somepony named Jean' Luc and large print saying 'I am the Batman'.
The rest of the book was little more than gibberish that finished with the phrase. 'The sisters are here, finally; perhaps now this will all end.'
Rhede glanced outside to the brightening sky. He had been at this since yesterday afternoon already it seemed. He turned his gaze over to Velkorn, asleep at the foot of his bed, and smirked, moving over to pull a blanket over her and heading to his door. He needed some air and to find out what happened to Jer.
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“What the Buck is going on Luna?”
“You will address me properly, General.”
“Your bucking pet idiots wiped out Ponyville and I am supposed to be calm long enough to address you properly? The Tartarus with that! Now what the hell is going on? Why did you allow them to do all of this?”
Luna glared down at Jer'rahd, who did not so much as blink from the glare, returning it in kind. The pair of them had made it as far as the throne room before the conversation started. Thankfully, the few servants in the great room had fled at the sight of the pair. This was not a conversation the unicorn was looking forward to.
“I am aware they attacked Ponyville. And while that was not on my order directly, it does progress my goals well enough.”
“We have family there. Most of your Guards are from there. Shit, ALMOST ALL OF THE PELTS ARE THERE . You knew about it and didn't stop them?!”
“I was not aware I was supposed to stop anypony lower-ranking than you. Are you not supposed to be able to deal with your subordinates? They managed to move an entire army under your nose and you knew nothing? If you are not able to keep up with your own troops, perhaps I should find someone who can.”
He growled at the alicorn, catching himself as he did so and stopping, though his ears remained plastered back to his head.
“Do you even know what those ponies did below this castle? That was your decision to let them have it, not mine.”
“They were increasing the size of my army any way they could. While some of their methods were distasteful, as I see no reason we should keep lesser creatures alive, the attack has proven that, if drugged enough, they can indeed be useful.”
“And the foals?!”
“Unwanted children who were little more than leeches on society. They were given a purpose, a better life. The very act of combining them with the dragon eggs aided the existing half-dragons. After the great loss of their numbers during Nightmare Night, this was a way to swell their ranks as well as mine at the same time. I do reward those who remain loyal. Which brings me to you, Jer'rahd.”
She tilted her head, glaring down at him, her eyes flaring brightly, and he found he could not meet her gaze anymore.
“Where do your loyalties still lie?”
“Where they always have: with my friends.”
She laughed, a shudder running along his spine at the humorlessness of it.
“Worthless. There is no point in friends, General. There is little point in those that you know will leave you, or those who would struggle against you. A sentimental folly that I have indulged in for far too long. You all are kept around due to your bearing the Elements, and that you have all been useful in getting the Lunar Republic this far. Do not think this makes any of you immune to my displeasure at your current antics. “
“They are your friends as well. You know that!”
“I have no need of friends. I have need of reliable generals who will do what is needed to ensure victory. All of you can be replaced, even you and Starfall, though with your abilities, I am reluctant to do so. But you are all becoming more trouble than you are actually worth as of late.”
“Why? Why are you using things that, before, you were fully against. The very things you condoned and used as a reason to wage war against other races?”
“Why?”
The Princess paused a moment, as if briefly not sure of the answer herself. Her eyes dimmed to their normal coloration, though they quickly glowed brightly again, and Jer'rahd could almost hear the books himself.
“To truly serve my goals, Kaisur, the last bastion of resistance needs to be removed: Canterlot. I will stop at nothing and do anything to make sure that refuge of all that I am against falls. Celestia has allowed the griffons, the dragons, and any other race willing to stand against the Lunar Republic into her decadent city. The last dragon god is there as well. I know it, and my sister protects him. The Diamond Dogs have sought refuge there. All the traitorous curs who fled the Republic went crawling back to my sister as well. Canterlot also houses a force of Griffons even now. So long as she remains, she will keep this land divided, at war. I will not stop until Canterlot falls, no matter what the cost.”
She was mad; there was little doubt about that now, but she was also correct. This war would not stop until she was defeated, or Celestia was.
“So then, General, now that you know all this, what are you going to do?”
He turned his head slightly, looking away.
“I will need to think about that, Princess.”
“Do not think too long, General. There are others very eager for your position at my side. I am starting to have my doubts that you are even worth keeping as a mate if you are not willing to do what is necessary to make the land a proper place for your princess.”
He did not respond; he simply trotted out of the throne room, the Goddess of War staring after him.
============================================
Starfall sighed, glancing at Bleu, who had paced herself out and fallen asleep on the pegasus's bed. She needed some air, but for once, she did not feel like flying. She had not been able to sleep anyway, and figured it may be a decent idea to actually head out and wander the halls a little, or at the very least, check on Rhede and see what happened to Jer'rahd.
She stepped out into the hall, closing the door lightly behind her as to not wake the dragonling inside. Her ears perked up as the door across the hall opened and Rhede slipped out, clearly closing the door softly as not to wake Velkorn. He looked surprised to see her awake this time of day. Before either could say anything, a echo of heavy hoof falls was hear through the halls.
A flare of red light was the first thing they noticed, though the thick form of the war pony as he approached was easily recognizable. Jer'rahd paused briefly between the two of them, offering each a glance and a faint nod before heading down the stairs away from their rooms. Starfall looked over to Rhede, who met her gaze and nodded as well. He yanked his robes free of his form, exposing his light leather armor and the multitude of blades covering it before trotting after Jer'rahd.
Starfall watched them before checking the catches on her blades and following after them.
======================================================
The doors did not stand much chance against a pissed-off Jer'rahd, and the Prison Guards wisely stayed out of the way in their quarters, running like hell to get away from the three generals that had smashed their way into the lower part of the castle. None of them were willing to inform the trio that they were on the ‘do not allow’ list.
The cells were again empty as they progressed through, though only Rhede seemed to take note of that, as Jer'rahd was too focused on smashing open the doors and Starfall was simply being uncomfortable in the tight spaces.
The door to Oroboros's study was destroyed as well, though nopony was inside. Jer'rahd took note of the egg shells briefly before heading down the tunnel to the larger caverns. The trio’s heavy hooffalls down the tunnel sent a few cult members scurrying away, likely to warn the others that the Generals were coming.
Jer'rahd paused at the entrance to the cavern; the others stopped as well, looking over the room. Rhede sighed softly, noting the corpse of a giant chicken along with several Diamond Dog and Griffon statues along with the first pony it had turned to stone. The trio had not spoken a word the entire trip down here; at this point, they did not need to. They all knew what they were going to do and how to go about it.
Jer'rahd lifted a hoof, motioning for the other two to wait there before he trotted out of the cave mouth and headed towards a group emerging from the large door on the far wall.
Oroboros, Jester, Oak Leaf, and four other cult members trotted across the dusty floor towards him, stopping in the middle of the room. Oroboros remained before him, though the others moved to partially surround the gray unicorn. Jer'rahd's attention remained focused on the leader before him: Oroboros.
“I would like to have a few words with you, Colonel.”
“I would expect so. So nice of you to finally grace us with your presence down here, General... or is that your rank still? I somehow doubt the meeting with the goddess went the way you hoped.”
“This is not about her. This is about you and your little experiments and ulterior motives.”
“Just following your orders to protect the Lunar Republic from anything that might be a threat.”
“Ponyville was not a threat. The foals you killed were not a threat. The Diamond Dogs you set up to be attacked were not a threat, before. You have been drugging our own troops to keep them loyal, and you have done the same with the prisoners.”
“What of it? It bolsters our forces and no one really seems to care. Well, no one important.”
“That you are working so hard to subvert my connection to the Princess is staggering. You are willing to go above and beyond what is expected of you and perform deplorable acts to justify your own ambitions.”
“Ahh, of course, jealousy; I should have guessed. I guess she does like me more, after all. Still, did you figure that all out by yourself, or did your little friend over there help you?”
He nodded lightly in Rhede's direction.
“ Once you stopped trying to hide, I put it together rather easily.”
“Well aren’t you a clev...”
Oroboros did not manage to finish the phrase before Jer'rahd was moving The unicorn whirled on his forehooves faster than Starfall had ever seen him move. Both his back hooves struck out, connecting solidly to the underside of the black unicorn’s chin. The crunch of bone was heard echoing across the cavern and a spray of blood and teeth escaped Oroboros’s mouth as he was flung backwards over his own flank, tumbling across the dirt to smash into one of the iron cages in the room.
Jester was the first to recover from the surprise and his blades were out rushing Jer'rahd. The gray unicorn was less than a pony length away, though he did little more than readjust his stance, ignoring the attacker. Jester barely managed a wing flap towards Jer'rahd when the gray and purple blur hit him. The screaming echo of a half-formed rainboom drowed out all other sounds in the cavern for a moment as Starfall drove Jester’s body into the rock wall, maintaining her speed and dragging the pony's head across the uneven stone as she tore across the room, leaving a red line of flesh and blood in her wake.
Oak Leaf was still staring at Oroboros where he lay, though the other cult members had lunged at the General, gripping their blades tightly. The noise from Starfall all but drowned out the wet thunks as dozens of blades dug into the flesh of the ponies attacking Jer'rahd. Each one would have been a kill shot, but four or five embedded into each of the others.
Oroboros's horn glowed green; the spell washed over him, slowly starting to heal his injuries. Oak Leaf smirked, finally turning her attention to Jer'rahd.
On the other side of the room, Starfall tossed the now-headless pegasus away from her, pulling her blades and advancing on the large earth pony who still stood there as Oroboros rose, coughing out some blood.
“Seems you were right again, my dear.”
The large earth pony smirked as she sidestepped suddenly and lashed out with her back hooves at Jer'rahd's side. He managed to raise a shield, but her hooves tore through it like it was paper. He winced at the familiar headache of star metal breaking his shield just before her hooves connected and sent him tumbling across the dirt and smashing into the stone wall near where Jester had first hit. He was fairly certain something had been broken in that kick.
A blast of magic from Oroboros arced towards Starfall. She dodged the first few shots, but the rapid firing of the unicorn’s spells did not allow her time to avoid them all. A larger blast clipped her side, sending her to the ground near Jer'rahd, her wing partially paralyzed at the spell’s effect.
The large mare whistled suddenly and a rush of griffons, whimpering Diamond Dogs, and the rest of the cultists tear into the room.
“What the buck are you supposed to be?”
“The one who is behind your descent into being one of the most hated ponies in the world, of course.”
“What?”
Another rush of cultists and more Griffon prisoners emerged from the tunnel, forcing Rhede to leave his spot and dart over to stand next to Jer'rahd and Starfall.
“You only got half of it, you bucking idiot.”
The three of them blinked a little, confused at Oak Leaf saying anything aside from a few grunts or nods.
“Goddess, why does every pony always think strong equals dumb?”
“Probably because you let me do most of the talking, love... No hope for Jester, though. Even I can't heal that mess.”
Jer'rahd drew the Waning Moon, looking at the several dozen gathered cultists and prisoners. The prisoners were little problem, but the cultists might be some issue; however, Oroboros and Oak Leaf were decidedly the biggest threats here.
“Pity about Jester, but that's what happens when you try to take on the fastest pegasus alive, I suppose. He served his purpose, anyway.”
“So what in the name of Tartarus is this about, then, Oak Leaf?”
Oroboros snorted.
“Like we need to tell a group of corpses what is going on.”
“Shut it, Oroboros. I have been waiting to lord this over him since we started. Make him know what he brought on himself.”
The black unicorn oddly looked cowed by the larger earth pony, which was odd considering how much of a egotistical bastard he normally was.
“Do you know how hard it has been for us to get to this point? What we endured because of you?”
Rhede snorted.
“No, but I have the feeling you are going to explain it.”
She continued on as if she had not been interrupted,
“For years I followed your media-darling antics, looking for anything to ruin you, Kaisur. It was a chance that was dropped into our laps by the Goddess of the Night herself with this Lunar Republic of hers. Oroboros found out about the books and we saw what was happening. We watched how your actions grew more and more oppressive to those in Equestria, and once the attack on Cindervale was launched, the rest was easy. Equestria was divided and the right words in the right ears spread the rumors like wildfire.”
Jer'rahd was not certain, but he thought Rhede was taking notes.
“It had the desired result: it turned you and your friends from the heroes of Equestria into the Five Beasts of the Moon, hated by everyone.”
“And the point of this elaborate bit of bullshit is?”
“Revenge, of course. Pure, simple, and amazingly sweet.”
Jer'rahd sighed, wondering how many more people bent on seeking revenge on him he was going to have to deal with in his lifetime.
“Great, another one. So what makes your revenge so special, aside from the elaborate and somewhat successful nature of it? Who are you ponies?”
“Jester and the rest are the last members of the Order; well, he was. The group Blackhoof there destroyed and was made famous for. Oroboros is a member of the Bluebloods, a group you nearly ruined with your slanderous lies against them.”
“They are a bunch of simper cowards without a pair of balls between the lot of them. Not my fault that they tried to hop on my back for a free ride of fame.”
“SHUT THE BUCK UP!”
“Oroboros, hold it.”
“Oh goody, here’s the big reveal of why you want a piece of me. Let me guess; you’re the sister of that bitch who tired to kill me? Oh wait, I bet you’re the long lost daughter of Claymore here to avenge your daddy?”
“How the buck did you figure that out...?”
“Oh shit, I was right?”
“Even a broken clock gets it correct twice a day, Jer.”
“Shut up, Rhede.”
“So yes, Demon of Dullahan, that is my reason for seeking to make you more hated than anything you have fought. To drag your name and the names of everyone you care about though so much shit, you would be forever hated. And we did so beautifully, all with the help of your Princess.”
“Great, my world bucked up due to baby Claymore's meddling. Bleu will never let me live this down.”
“SHUT THE BUCK UP! YOU WILL NOT SPEAK ABOUT HIM THAT WAY! I was not content with killing you; I needed you to suffer. You never died a hero, so welcome to being one of the most despicable villains in Equestria.”
“So you did not do anything to Luna?”
“We didn't need to. She was so tainted by the books, anything we suggested for quick power was easily accepted and made us look even better in her eyes, thus ruining her connection to you.”
Jer'rahd growled lightly, wishing this lot had done something to her, as it would have given him an easy way out. His eyes shifted over the group, a small smirk forming on his face that turned into a grin of bared fangs. A few of the cultists shifted nervously at the look, though a hard hoof stomp from Oak Leaf stopped them from running. He glanced back at Rhede and then to Starfall, who managed to rise back up to her hooves.
“Quit being afraid, you dumbasses; Starfall and the Demon are injured, and between Oroboros and myself, they are not even a threat with this many of us.”
“Well, I still have my friends. And we are always a threat.”
“And you will die with them as well. I shall take great joy in skinning that dragon and the zebra as well. Perhaps for a rug or curtains.”
“Now why would you do that? Velkorn's coat doesn't match anything that would go with a rug made of my hide.”
“What!?”
A blast of lightning ripped though half the group of cultists and prisoners, frying them where they stood as the white-hot bolt of energy arced between them. Bleu pushed her way out of the large door behind them, Velkorn having lead the large dragon to the rear door of the cave system for a surprise attack.
Several of the soldiers with crossbows fired them off as they convulsed with the power running through their bodies. The bolts glanced off the rocks around the trio, showering them with dust as they ricocheted around the room, forcing those not hit with the dragon’s breath weapon to seek cover.
Oroboros quickly raised a shield around himself and Oak Leaf just before a glass jar shattered against it, exploding into a billowing cloud of green smoke. The cloud quickly flowed down the shield, enveloping the other cultists and prisoners, who started coughing, rubbing their eyes, and gasping for air as they struggled to get out of the cloud, fighting each other to get away from the thick smoke. Oak Leaf continued shouting orders to the guards, who tried to obey, but were unable to see straight enough through the tears and snot running down their faces to fire accurately.
Jer'rahd whipped the Waning Moon out with his magic. The blade flared blue, matching the intensity of the red and green glow of his eyes. The sword sliced through the shield as if it was nothing, lopping off Oroboros's horn. His magic faded as he screamed, though the sound was cut off as the blade turned in the air, screaming back to finish the job and severing the unicorn’s head from his shoulders.
Oak Leaf roared, charging out of the smoke towards the three, the star metal horseshoes on her hooves kicking up sparks over the stone as she ran. Jer'rahd brought the blade back around as Rhede flung a few of his own. The large pony dodged the smaller blades,\ and kicked the Waning Moon out of the air with a forehoof before resuming her charge at the trio.
“By the stars, what is this bitch made of? Move!”
Rhede, Starfall, and Jer'rahd leaped aside as the earth pony smashed into the wall they were near, punching a hole easily two pony lengths deep into the stone. She ripped out of the wall with a roar, galloping after Jer'rahd. He flung up another shield that she smashed through as she had the others as she closed. There had to be something else done to this pony; there was no other way she could be this tough without armor. He turned and galloped away from her, hoping he could at least outdistance her for another attack, his head still ringing from his broken shield.
A sharp jerk on his tail gave him the warning to lash out with both rear hooves, connecting both hard to the mare’s chest. He winced at the impact to his hooves, feeling like he just impacted a steel wall. Oak Leaf tightened her grip on his tail, yanking back and flinging him into the air over her head. He struck the ground, wincing as he hit the side she had kicked before. Raising his head, he flinched as the massive pony reared up before him to crush his skull. Suddenly, she flew into the air with a flap of large leathery wings.
“ NO! DAMN IT, PUT ME DOWN YOU DAMNABLE BEAST! I WILL FINISH THIS!”
“I don't think so. I know dragon earth magic when I see it, and on the ground, yer practically unbeatable. But your issue is with me, anyway, sunshine. Your daddy killed my sister and I didn't nearly make him suffer enough for that. So guess who gets to deal with all that pent up anger.”
The earth pony screamed as Bleu's claws sank into her flesh, the dragon just managing to fly in the large cavern. Bleu quickly started biting at the pony, ripping off chunks of flesh and skin and letting them fall with wet splatters to the ground as Oak Leaf struggled. The ground under her stained red as the pony was torn apart in the air, the body finally dropped when the head was torn free. Bleu snarled, flinging the corpse aside like a used hanky before landing hard on the ground wiping her claws clean in the dirt. She stared down at Jer'rahd, her maw and neck covered in gore.
“Well, Boss? What do you have to say about leaving us behind while you three decided to clean house?”
Jer'rahd winced lightly as he rose to his hooves and collected his sword. A glance to the others saw the ones that had not been killed laying on the ground at Velkorn's hooves. Rhede and Starfall both moved among them, killing off the unconscious cultists.
“ I say you need a bath, and I need a drink.”
================================================
Jer'rahd sat at the end of the table, doing his best to ignore the others as he looked at the large collection of bottles in front of him and with a slight bit of depression at the empty glass before him. This was the worst time of his life, and the stupid beast would not even let him drink himself into forgetting it. Everything he had killed in his life had become stars and was now conspiring against him.
Bleu was still doing her equivalent of an 'I told you so' speech to him. Velkorn was rambling in zebra to Rhede about something who was starting to lose the rush he had gained that got him through the night and the battle. Starfall was still nursing a charred wing, though Velkorn had said it was fine; it would just feel like it was melting for a few hours.
His own wound was already non-existent, save the pair of horseshoe-shaped welts on his side where he had first been kicked. Star metal was proof against him now as well; good to know. He tipped over one of the empty bottles, reminiscing on the short period of time after his death when a stiff ale would knock him out. Now, he had cleared out the bar and there was nothing happening.
“So Luna is not under the control of anyone. Perfect. What are we supposed to do about that?”
“She is still the one we chose to follow. Even if we turn on her and go back to Celestia, we will not be well-received for what we have already done…”
[“Rhede, why are you not more upset over your family disowning you and changing their name?”]
[“Honestly, I think I am still in shock. I expected it when I first killed the Order. Then again when I took out the Elk. It's going to hit me hard sooner or later, but I just need to keep my focus and I will be at least able to function for a while.”]
“We have to do something. Is there any way we can convince Luna to give up on this?”
“Not likely, Starfall. If she allowed all this stuff, she is already past backing down.”
Bleu sighed and Starfall bit her lip before speaking again. “We cannot let this continue; far to many more would suffer. We may have to try and kill her ourselves.”
“NO!”
The bottle exploded on the table as Jer'rahd's magic slammed it down. He yanked another from the bar without skipping a beat, draining it and flinging it aside before sweeping the table clear of the glass and slapping both hooves down on top of it, glaring at the others, who mostly looked bored with the sudden explosion of rage. He was getting predictable.
“I would rather watch the world burn than hurt her. If you choose that route, I will have to try and stop you. And since I don't want to hurt any of you, either, that would be a decidedly strange confrontation.”
“Well, what the buck do you expect to do, then, Boss? Velkorn, take that bottle away from him. We need a sober love-struck idiot, not a drunk one.”
“I am, unfortunately, too sober right now.”
“Got to be something else some other way.”
“There is another way, but there's a problem that makes it impossible to do.”
All of them looked at Rhede, who, despite being half-awake, smirked lightly as if back to his usual smug self.
“What the buck is it, Rhede? We owe Luna enough to try and save her.”
“We could use the Elements of Harmony.”
Jer'rahd lifted his head from the table, looking at the earth pony curiously.
“Yes, because turning her to stone or crystal is a much better thing to do, certainly not killing her or fixing the problem. That would just put it on hold for a while.”
“Jer, seriously? What the buck is my specialty?”
“Being caught unawares, and chasing mares?”
“Making crappy jokes and lame innuendo?”
“Pissing off Velky?”
“Getting insulted by your friends so your ego is kept in check?”
“No, buck it... information. I read the Book of the Blue. Discord was trying to cure himself of the books’ influence. He started the whole Discordian War as a way to cure himself by making sure someone used the Elements on him.”
“Do you really expect a book written by a mad creature would be the slightest bit truthful? And didn't he just get turned to stone?”
Rhede snapped back at Jer'rahd, slamming his hoof on the table.
“Do you have something better then!?”
“Hey, fluffy ears... Luna is the sixth Element bearer. We can't use the ones we have without her.”
Rhede dropped back to his seat.
“And that is why it’s impossible to do.”
The group lapsed into silence until Jer'rahd finally stood up, moving away from the table.
“Fine then. We go with what I planned.”
“Your plan? What plan is that, boss? You have not exactly been good for anything like that lately.”
“The Princess wanted an easy army for a last attack. We killed the ones eager to give it to her and we need to act now to make sure she doesn't find some other pony willing to do it. Luna wants to take Canterlot. I say we do it for her.”
“That's bucking crazy Jer; that's what we are trying to prevent!”
“No, what we are trying to prevent is excessive loss of life. If we take Canterlot, that will remove all the remaining resistance to the Lunar Republic in Equestria. She will have no more need to destroy any towns or do anything else like that. She will trust all of us completely again and we can shape how we want her to go with her rule for as long as we can. We might be able to turn her back to how she was by giving her what she wants.”
“That is a stupid plan.”
“Like you said, Rhede: do you have something better? If we pull this off correctly, we may not even have to kill Celestia. I may be able to convince Luna to just seal her in stone. Maybe everypony against us could be treated that way. There's a chance that they might be forgiven and let loose later rather than killed outright, thus saving more ponies.”
The group went silent for a time before Bleu spoke up.
“I hate to say it, Boss, but that does look like the best chance we have.”
Starfall sighs,
“Go all in, or cause more suffering than need be. The next place attacked might be where Cloud Dancer went; I'm in.”
“I'm the only one of the Pelts left. Not like I can screw up the name any further. I'm in, Jer.”
“I do not like this plan, but I will help you if I can.”
The gray unicorn nodded.
“I am sorry it came to this point. We all made mistakes and we all are responsible for them, me most of all. The only way to save everyone is to become what they already think we are.”
Rhede's ears perked up a bit as he looked at his friend.
“You don't sound convinced, Jer.”
“I don't need to be convinced. I just need to convince Nightmare Moon.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twilight lifted her head, letting the spell fade. She was feeling an odd sense of justice, coupled with a little bit of joy, seeing the cult group die. She felt ashamed at that feeling, however, and did her best to shake it.
What really bothered her was that Discord wrote that he was trying to cure himself with the Elements. Was Discord another one that had been influenced by their power? What did that have to do with his rape of Aviana? Why did that princess steal the books from Aqua in the first place?
“I gather your head is filled with more mysteries. I expect there will be quite a bit more delving into history.”
Twilight blinked, having briefly forgotten Zecora was here.
“Yes, something like that. I am sorry for keeping you awake this long, but I do thank you for your time here tonight, Zecora.”
The zebra slipped off the couch, stretching.
“Helping a friend is no trouble to me, though when you finish the book, I would like to see.”
“I will if Princess Celestia… or Luna allows it.”
“Still having trouble feeling sorry for that one? It may very well be why she never allows her work to be done.”
“What? Yes, I suppose she is always trying to keep busy, even more so than Princess Celestia. Do you think she believes she might not have atoned for what she did?”
“It could indeed be true, though that final judgment, I leave to you. Well, that is enough for me; time to head back to the Everfree.”
“Good night, Zecora. Thank you again.”