The entire hall stood still in time in absolute silence, in absolute motionless. Even the guards that had overheard the commotion from outside dared not even so much as turn their heads to look through onto the court in fear of witnessing the Princess' wrath despite her anger being rarely seen, if ever at all. No one dared to move or say anything in case it would further degrade the situation than it had already been, as if such a thing would be possible given the circumstances.
But the elf's sense of justice and duty was much larger than his own fears of reprisal from the Princess. Gai'vahros quickly removed the shield from his arm and stood it on the ground upright, held in position with his hands on top and knelt before Celestia, a practice that was very common among elven and human cultures on Azeroth though used with a sword -- a sign that a knight was under his sword and his sword under his king or commander, or other superior. A sign of utmost respect. "I'm so sorry, Your Majesty," his voice spoke softly, carrying the burden of guilt on his tongue. "I allowed my anger to get the better of me once again. If I had known… If I'd known that she was of your kin, of royalty, I would have restrained myself."
The group only shared glances from one to another, all clenched and tense as they awaited the Princess to respond to the knight. The Princess' glance shifted from Luna to Gai'vahros, gazing down at his bowed head, not able to peer into his eyes, his soul, his spirit. Her wings slowly folded back into her sides as she took casual steps towards him, her eyes never leaving him. "Even if you are a friend of Twilight's, I cannot condone this aggressive behaviour in the royal castle in the least," the Princess exclaimed, her voice piercing through the atmosphere like a dagger through parchment. "You dared to display your violence before the court and even attacked a Princess of Equestria!" The Princess paused, letting out a heavy sigh as her gaze shifted to her sibling. "But I did, indeed, see what had transpired here. You were mistreated by young Luna here, and your actions were of no surprise despite being rash and reckless. You are forgiven, blood elf."
Luna's eyes widened as Gai'vahros was given peace, allowing him to stand on his feet again. With great force she stomped one hoof forwards with a loud thud of her metallic shoe. "Sister," she intervened with a great deal of anger and objection, "how can you let this creature off with such ease? He has committed an act of treason against royalty by physically attacking me--"
"In which you had provoked him both verbally and physically. It is of your own fault that this man had retaliated on both counts. Now, apologize to Gai'vahros."
"But, sister--!"
"Now, Luna."
The dark Princess was none too happy to be reprimanded by her own older sibling, though she knew that her words carried truth. With a heavy sigh she retreated her dismissive stance to one of more royal etiquette, keeping her heels together and turning to face the blood knight. "I apologize for being discriminative of you, elf. It was wrong of me to do so."
Anyone else would feel smug for appearing higher than royalty, to have royalty bow down to them, to regard them as superior. Gai'vahros did not feel smug, proud nor empowered by such turn of events. "No, Your Majesty," he responded with a soft tone as he turned his body to face Luna. In as much respect as he had given Celestia, he planted his shield on the ground upright and knelt down before her. The Princess stepped back a small step as she looked upon him in surprise. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I allowed my temperament to get the better of me. And you had all the right to question my presence here today."
"Well, what is done is done." A little smile made its way onto the lips of Luna, appreciating Gai'vahros for his nobility and modesty. She began to appreciate his company more than before. "Stand, Gai'vahros." The elf looked up before standing to his feet, but he had noticed that the wound he had inflicted on her was still present and painful for the Princess despite her hardest to try and hide the fact.
"Princess. Allow me," spoke Gai'vahros softly as he extended an arm towards her. Luna reared her head back sharply, unaware and slightly untrusting of the elf's intention. A small veil of light enveloped the blood knight's hand and extended through his palm and up his fingers. The presence of the light did not cause Luna any distress as it had before. Whereas before the hostility of Gai'vahros' Exorcism spell was filled with righteous fury and divine retribution, it now felt comforting, alluring, welcoming and protective. And it was just as she had thought as soon as he had placed his velvet palm upon her chest a top of the wound. The pain eased as though being purged not only from her skin but her soul, too. The last time Luna had felt such comfort was in the presence of the Elements of Harmony. After a moment of contact, Gai'vahros pulled his hand back to show no mark, no burn, and nor scar, as though nothing had even touched her. "How do you feel?"
"I feel... better." Luna tried not to show her inner astonishment, trying to maintain a calm manner despite her obvious brash nature. "But, what exactly was that flash of light?"
"Exactly what it is, Your Majesty -- a Flash of Light. Those who wield the light can use it to heal and cure others."
"… The Light…" muttered Luna slowly. Her eyes suddenly shifted to her sister as though she was waiting for some sort of confirmation, to which Celestia only gave a nod of her head. Luna's attention turned back to the somewhat confused blood knight. "I see. Your magic truly is strong, Gai'vahros."
"But we must deal with the matter at hand," intervened Celestia as she made her way down onto the landing, standing right beside Luna, Gai'vahros and Twilight. "You say that there may lie a great threat to us in Ponyville?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," replied Gai'vahros with a nod. "A person of great power, perhaps even greater than my own -- a death knight -- has somehow arrived from my world to yours, though perhaps in a similar manner to me. I implore you now, Princess, to set up whatever defences you can before they can make their way here."
The Princess closed her eyes for a moment, deep in thought, collecting in her mind what information Gai'vahros could give. Her eyes opened, determination set. "I see," she softly spoke. Her head turned to Twilight and then to the others, confirming the truth in the knight's words as she gazed upon their expressions. Some nodded in agreement while some were more or less showing their worry and doubt as Gai'vahros began to describe the threat once more. "This is probably not the best of places to discuss this," said Celestia as she walked down the flight of steps. "We can discuss this in the throne room -- away from prying ears. Walk with me, girls. And elf."
The group stood inside the royal chamber, with Celestia and Luna stood upon one of the steps of the throne. The others stood upon the goblet-shaped platform of the finest of marble, raised above black and white checkered tiles. Gai'vahros stood forward with Twilight near the foot of the solid gold throne, not daring to speak until royalty had permitted them to do so.
"I advise that we are to keep this meeting to ourselves," spoke Luna commandingly, "so that we not spread any panic to outsiders."
"Very good," acclaimed Celestia with a nod. "Whatever we discuss here and now is not to be spoken outside of this room. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Princess," acknowledged Twilight.
"Good. Now, Gai'vahros, could you explain to me, in as much detail as you can, about this threat that you know of?"
"Of course, Your Majesty," said Gai'vahros with a gentle bow. "The threat that approaches us is a death knight -- an undead soldier that commands brutal strength and deadly black magic. They are ruthless, destructive, and violent. They do not care who gets in their way so much as they have a means to inflict pain and suffering wherever they go."
Both of the Princess' gazed to one-another in horror as though they were being told of some sort of monster from a horror story brought to life. In a way, it was. Celestia turned her attention back to the elf, her mouth open to try and speak a sentence, but nothing came out besides her lips forming a few words silently. "But, surely, this "death knight" can be reasoned with?"
Gai'vahros groaned impatiently. "Did you not hear me the first time?" he snapped at the Princess in frustration. "A death knight cannot be bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. They exist only to bring chaos and death. That is what they were created for, what they were brought back into undeath for. A death knight who does not quench their bloodlust finds themselves suffering from severe wracking pains -- a means to ensure that they carry out their purpose."
"You seem to know an awful lot about these "death knights", Gai'vahros," Luna interjected with a voice of suspicion. "If you're well aware and well-versed with such a creature then why haven't you vanquished it yet?"
"If I had the power to do so, then do you honestly believe I'd waste my time coming here to warn you?"
"Are you saying that you do not have the power to defeat such an opponent?" questioned Celestia.
"That is correct. This death knight used to be a mutual ally of mine from some years ago, though we are not on the best of terms. I have not seen them in some time and thus I have no idea if they're friend or foe. From what I have seen in the forests outside of Ponyville I can conclude that they come with hostile intentions."
"This is no problem at all, sister," spoke Luna in great confidence. "The royal guards--"
"-- Are probably already dead." The eyes of the elf darted gravely from one Princess to the other. He was not confident in their abilities in the least. Both Luna and Celestia recoiled their heads in disgust, not only at the mention of their elite forces being destroyed but at the notion that Gai'vahros believed them only to be fodder.
"Nonsense," retorted Luna, snapping her head forward towards the blood knight. "The First Legion is our greatest military force in Canterlot! They were even trained by our Ex-Captain of the Guard, Shining Armor!"
"Then your captain did not train them hard enough. Do you honestly believe that your guards have the power to subdue a warrior who has bathed in the blood of others every day for the last three years? Do not overestimate your forces, Princess, and do not underestimate the power of a death knight."
"Perhaps it is you who should stop selling our forces short, elf. We have had reports of your meddling in Cloudsdale, and, according to the paperwork, it only took six of their own guards to bring you down. If you were able to be subdued by little more than a lance of guards, then I believe an entire platoon of our elite guards will be enough to bring down one death knight." A soft sigh came from Gai'vahros before turning his back to the two Princess', making his way down the carpet as everyone followed him with their eyes. "Where do you think you're going?" demanded Luna.
Gai'vahros stopped halfway down the carpet some feet from the group. "It is obvious to me that you are no more than a brick wall when it comes to being talked to. I've no further wish to waste my breath on you any longer." A slight turn of his head gave Luna the last of his attention for the day. "Oh, and the reason they subdued me was because I had no intention of cleaving a single one of them in half for my own amusement. A death knight won't be so kind, I assure you." His words at rest, Gai'vahros made his way out of the chamber.
"G-Gai'vahros! Wait!" Twilight's call fell on deaf ears as she watched the elf vacate the premises, watching him be escorted from the castle by flanking guards. It was hard to witness what had transpired for the young Unicorn, to witness a friend and a mentor butt heads with one-another. Hesitantly she turned to face Celestia, looking up with her with sombre. "Princess… what will you do now?"
Celestia remained silent for a moment, not speaking immediately. Her face showed her deep in thought for a period before she turned to her sister, who had returned the sentiment. Luna raised an eyebrow towards her sister -- even she had no idea as to what Celestia was thinking, but knew that she was giving the elf's views some form of consideration and merit. Without much further pause, Celestia turned back to Twilight.
"Your friend is very impatient, isn't he?" spoke Celestia with some form of resentment towards Gai'vahros.
"Never mind him, Princess," retorted Twilight with an ounce of impatience herself as though she was speaking on behalf of Gai'vahros. "What will you do about the threat of the death knight?"
"I will do what I can, Twilight. I know very little about this threat -- and of Gai'vahros, too -- but I understand that whatever threat this is is most likely incredibly dangerous. Probably even more dangerous than what we have faced before. I have witnessed Gai'vahros' strength myself, and Luna has experienced it firsthand. You girls have probably seen much more than I have." The Princess sighed as she turned to gaze out of one of the large cathedral style windows overlooking the entirety of Canterlot and beyond. "I can see it in his eyes that he has experienced much trouble and turmoil in his life. Whatever world he comes from must be a very brutal one. And that worries me…"
"Princess… what worries you?"
"A part of me feels like he can bring much good to our world. His strength and his knowledge can help us in ways that we cannot hope to reach. But, a part of me tells me that he will bring chaos and strife wherever he steps, and this threat is just the first of many." Her attention turned back to Twilight. "Twilight, I am worried that you will be pulled into this person's conflicts and into immediate danger. I would prefer that you -- all of you -- did not stay close to this elf."
It was hard for Twilight to hear the Princess say such things about Gai'vahros, and unbearable to think that Celestia would forbid them from being with him. Even though she did not explicitly say that they could not associate with Gai'vahros, Twilight knew that what she said was with great authority. "Princess..." spoke Twilight softly, her eyes looking at the ground, at her reflection on the marble platform. Twilight felt that she saw not only her physical reflection but also her inner self. No, she saw more than that. She could see her feelings, feelings that were for Gai'vahros. She reflected upon how they had met. How they had laughed. How they had cried. How they had argued. But, most importantly, how they had bonded. How they had all bonded. Twilight looked up at Celestia with resolve. "I won't abandon him! He's my friend -- our friend. And if he brings danger wherever he goes, then we will stand beside him through thick and thin."
The answer was more than what Celestia could imagine from her honourable student. With a smile, Celestia nodded in acknowledgement. "Despite the danger, I am happy to hear you say such words, Twilight. As for the defences, I will order whatever guards I can to patrol the city and put up whatever barriers are accessible. If what Gai'vahros says is true then the barriers should be enough to hold them back. Now you'd best be going -- you have someone to catch up with."
"Yes. Thank you so much, Princess." With a burst of Speed, Twilight galloped out of the chamber with her friends close behind.
"Oh! Sir Gai'vahros! You've arrived just in time!"
A huge crowd of several tens of ponies gathered outside of a large shop, all cheering and whistling towards a huge platform that housed a range of stylised, elegant dresses of bright hues and shimmering colours as they danced in the soft wind. The store was a large clothing boutique specifically tailored to the more wealthy of Canterlot's population -- which was effectively everyone. Gai'vahros deduced that this was the store that would be supplying Rarity's new range of dresses based around his own uniform's colours.
"Lady Giselle," responded Gai'vahros, almost jumping out of his armor as she pounced in front of him completely out of left field, "a pleasure to meet you once again. Am I to understand that this is the great opening ceremony for Lady Rarity's new dress line?"
"Most certainly! Oooooh, I'm so excited! But, they won't conduct the ceremony until Rarity gets here. Do you happen to know where she is? Please tell me she's in Canterlot at least."
"Yes, she's here," assured Gai'vahros. "She should be along shortly. We just had to stop by the castle to speak with the Princess about some things and--"
"Oh my gosh! You actually got to speak with Princess Celestia!?" A high pitch squeal erupted from the overexcited mare, hopping up and down on her legs on the spot. "You have just got to tell me all about it!"
"I'm afraid I can't, Lady Giselle. Celestia has me sworn to secrecy to not discuss the topic outside of her chambers. I'm sorry."
"Aw, that's a shame. So it was quite an eventful meeting, then?"
"… You could say that…"
Both of their attentions turned to the crowd once again as their uproar increased in volume and tempo, getting more and more restless as the wait dragged out. "Hey, I've got a really good idea," spoke Giselle as though a light bulb clicked in her head. "Why don't you go up there and say a few words to tie the crowd to tide them over until Rarity gets here?"
"I'm… I'm not sure if that's a good--"
"Oh don't be so shy, Gai'vahros," Giselle interrupted as she made her way behind him, pushing him around the side of the crowd and towards the side of the large platform. "You'll have them eating out of the palm of your hoof. Or hand."
"H-hey, wait! Don't push!" Before he knew it, he was already standing by a set of steps at the back of the platform though no one had really paid much notice or attention to him -- which was good for the flustered elf.
"Wait here. I'll go up and announce you." Before Gai'vahros could protest against the notion Giselle had already made her way to the podium. Tapping the microphone twice to make sure it was on, she leaned her head forwards. "Ladies and gentle-colts, I'm apologize for the wait but our guest hasn't arrived just yet." A huge roar of booing blasted the platform, with Giselle trying her hardest to assume her speech. "But, instead of the creator, I bring you the inspiration! Every-pony, please put your hooves together and give a huge round of applause for Mister Gai'vahros Dawnbreaker!"
Despite none of them even knowing the name or even who he was, the mention that he was the inspiration for Rarity's dresses deserved a huge thunderclap of applaud, if not more than Rarity herself. It was incredibly nerve-wracking for Gai'vahros to have to speak to so many strangers at once, especially out of his comfort zone. Slowly he crept up the stairs and revealed himself to the large audience as he made his way to the podium. The crowd drew absolute silence as they marvelled at what they believed was some sort of majestic creature or avatar of the light, what with his attire of bright golds and reds.
"Hello --" Gai'vahros cleared his throat " --Hello, everyone. I'm… uh, I'm Gai'vahros Dawnbreaker, and…" An awkward smile crept on his face, nervous about being in front of a large crowd that seemed to just stare blankly at him, some with looks of confusion on their faces, some judging him with their eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm not used to talking in front of large crowds…" His fingers strummed along the edges of the podium as he leaned forward, using his arms to support himself.
"I'm not really sure what to say, really. I --" As his gaze looked to the back of the crowd, he noticed that Twilight and everyone else had finally made it, though no one had noticed them arrive. Gai'vahros only focused on Rarity, though, as she in turn looked back at him. "-- I haven't been in Equestria for a long time. A few days, at best. I've had the opportunity to cherish your lifestyle, to meet new faces, to go new places. I've gotten to live in Ponyville since my stay here. I've been able to end up… stuck… in Cloudsdale. I even managed to go meet the Princesses just moments ago.
"But the best thing that has happened to me, in only a few days, was to make friends -- and Lady Rarity is one of the bestest friends I could make." Rarity gazed right through the crowd to Gai'vahros, a smile on her face and a little tear in her eye. "People have said that I was Lady Rarity's inspiration, that I was the base for her new, beautiful dresses. But I'd like to think that she was more of an inspiration to me than I was to her. She is an incredible girl, she is. Well-spoken, polite, charming, beautiful -- I could be here from now 'til dusk listing everything great about her.
"When I arrived here, my clothes were but scrap metal and rags, and, out of the kindness of her heart, she had repaired it all for me. She even gave me a cupcake to take home with me. She has taught me an awful lot over these few days -- they all have. There is no end to the amount of thanks I can give her and to all of my friends here today. That is why, ladies and gentlemen, it is with great honour that I introduce to you the creator of these dresses. Please give a huge applause for Lady Rarity!"
A huge round of cheers for Rarity exploded from the crowd -- clapping, whistling and calls of her name could be heard from every single pony in the crowd, and even from various passer-bys that weren't even in the crowd to begin with but joined simply because Gai'vahros' heartfelt speech had drawn them in.
Rarity couldn't hold back her tears any longer. Her lip quivered as she kept repeating in her mind the words that Gai'vahros had spoken throughout that few minute-long speech. Streams of tears flowed down her snow white cheeks as she tried to blink to hold them back, but it was no good. Without much further delay for the crowd, Rarity made her way from the back of the crowd to the stage with everyone turning their attention to her as she climbed the steps. The elf's smile never vanished for a single second throughout the whole thing and even now he still wore it proud in front of Rarity. The Unicorn pounced forwards, embracing Gai'vahros in a huge hug, with him returning the affection. The crowd burst into a tremendous uproar as the two embraced, with huge, loud chants of "Rarity! Gai'vahros! Rarity! Gai'vahros!" over and over again.
"Thank you," choked Rarity, struggling to get her words out through her overwhelming emotions. "Thank you so much, Gai'vahros…"