Chapter 21
I still sit in the dark world, looking at Wra'kyr, her smirk.
"So why me?" I ask her, my mind still in chaos from all the information I just received, "why do you help me?"
Her smile widens, "your soul, during your fight with Discord in which you died, cried out to us, to me. It screamed, it was the scream of a hurt foal, crying for happiness" her expression changes, she looks almost sad now.
I sigh, ignoring the sting of pain in my chest, "why did you give me your wings?"
"As I said" she answers, "they are the meanings to fight the other three gods" she smiles again.
"And you think" I furrow my brows, "that I am the one who will fight them?"
I gasp and recoil.
Wra'kyr expression changes, from the happy glee it went dark, darker than everything.
As dark as the grimreaper himself.
Sweat streams down my face.
Her expression returns to the happy smile.
"Why wouldn't you?" she asks, her voice happy, "don't forget that you swore to protect your liege, killing them is a way for you to protect her" she tilts her head a little bit, still smiling.
I'm still gasping, "I don't have a weapon anymore, I can't fight them with normal weapons can't I?" my whole body trembles.
"You will find a way to get a new weapon"
"Who knows what may happen if not?"
I open my eyes.
I'm back in my room.
Luna sits right next to me to my right, looking down on me.
She smiles softly.
"Welcome back Siren" she greets me, I simply nod.
"Morning" Shining walks in, not wearing his armour, but carrying a chest on his back.
"Morning" I answer weakly, raising a brow I point at the chest, "what's that?"
Luna answers, which startles me, "something very interesting" her voice shows interest, her expression the same.
Shinings magic surrounds the chest and slowly levitates it to the ground, Luna opening it she pulls out a dark, shard of metal.
"You know what this is?" she levitates it into my lap, I take it looking down on it.
Heavy, dark gray, something engraved in it.
My eyes widen.
"This is a shard from Garnjiel" I look at Luna, she nods. I look back at the shard, "but what is so interesting about it?" I look back at her.
"Well, what did you say your weapon is made off?" she asks, "dragotharium right?" I nod, she points at the shard "well, this isn't dragotharium, well not completly" I furrow my brow.
"What do you mean?" I ask confused.
"I mean that your weapon, Garnjiel, was only covered with dragotharium" I'm getting more and more confused, "what I'm trying to say is that your weapon was made from dark essence" my eyes widen.
"I used my magic to test the compounds of your weapon and noticed that, besides the hilt, your weapon is made of pure essence. All in all your weapon had 83% of pure dark essence, 12% of dragotharium and the rest were other materials like gems or other metals" her explanation was quick, she takes the shard away from me, putting it back into the chest closing and sealing it, she nods at Shining who lifts the chest back up, he nods at me and walks out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"But where did all the dragotharium go we brought back?" I ask confused, "the dragon I killed was almost not enough to forge Garnjiel..." I close my mouth, noticing what I'm saying.
"They only told you it was almost not enough" Luna says coldly, "they tricked you" I nod.
"But then..." I think about it for a second, "for what did they need so much dragotharium? And where could they find enough essence for a claymore as big as Garnjiel was?" Luna shakes her head.
"I don't know" she answers, "I looked up old records, besides those who fell apart in my magic or hooves there are not many left, and those left who have dragotharium in them speak only from your weapons."
'You will find a way to get a new weapon' Wra'kyrs words haunt my mind.
My eyes widen.
"Luna?" I look at the night princess, she looks at me.
"Hm?" she raises a brow.
"Do you have enough pure clear essence to forge a weapon like Garnjiel?" my voice is quiet, I'm almost too scared to ask her.
Almost.
She shakes her head, "first of all we have no pony who knows how to forge essence and second, no. There isn't even enough essence big enough to make a horn- or hoofring out of it" she explains.
Her expression suddenly changes, she smiles, "how are your wings?" she asks.
I look back at them.
"Strange" I answer, looking back at Luna, "they don't feel like a part of me. And they feel heavy" I answer trying to move them. They twitch but that's everything.
"They feel heavy?" Luna asks, her expression changes again, she looks confused now as she walks closer, slowly lifting a hoof up to my wing she strokes it, the down move like down, softly bending by the touch, "and strange?" I nod, Luna strokes the wing some more, "can you feel my touch?" I nod again, "the feathers feel like normal feathers, maybe it's just your body telling you that, after all you have this wings for merely one day. I'm sure the feeling will disappear once you are used to them" she smiles.
I return the smile.
"So" Luna walks into the middle of the room, "what are you doing now?" she asks friendly.
"What do you mean?" I ask confused, my smiles fades.
"I'm asking you what you want to do now" she smiles, seeing my confused expression she even giggles, "do you still want to serve?" she suddenly asks.
I think about her question for a second.
My liege, dead.
My weapon, destroyed.
My oath, broken.
Everything I had, everything that made my life worthwhile...
...is gone.
"Do you want to serve me?" she asks.
I think about her offer, thinking back to the day I were recruited.
I nod.
"Are you sure?" Luna asks, her voice soft, "no one forces you to" she smiles.
"I know that" I nod, "but it's all I have. My whole life was dedicated to serve someone, either king Solaris or your sister, Celestia" I nod again and look deep into her eyes, "I will serve you too" Luna smiles.
"I will see you tomorrow then" Luna turns around walking to the door, she stopps at the doorsill and turns around, her face was cold, stern.
"How... was it to fight your hate?" she asks slowly, her voice was quivering.
I sigh, "in the end I didn't even fight it" I look at her, "he defeated me in one hit, finishing me off right off the bat, it was ridiculous how strong Melre'kat was" Luna flinches at the name.
"Melre'kat?" she walks back to my bed, her face showing confusion and interest, "who is that?"
"The god of hate" I answer, Luna looks at me, she was getting more and more confused.
"A god of hate?" she sits down, "I didn't even know there is really something like a god" she puts a hoof up to her chin, tapping it a few times while she thinks about my words.
"There is not only one god" I answer, Luna raises a brow, "there were ten of them" Lunas eyes widen.
"How do you know that?" she asks confused, "you talk like you've met them" I nod, Luna gasps.
"One of the five good gods gave me these" I point at my wings, "saying they were the meanings to fight those that are left" Lunas confusion returns to her face.
"That are left? What do you mean? Are gods not supposed to be immortal?" her confusion only grew as she asks these questions.
I shake my head, "if that what Wra'kyr, the god of happiness, told me is true than they are not immortal."
"Wra'kyr? The god of happiness?" She gasps.
Silence.
Luna starts to giggle.
"Oh good one!" she snickers, "you almost had me, talking about gods and stuff" she giggles some more.
I blush, "I'm not lying! And I'm not trying to amuse you!" I answer angry, turning away from her, her giggle still in my ears.
"If it let's you sleep" Luna answers, turning around she walks back to the door, she turns around, "I will see you tomorrow."
"Captain" the door opens, Luna walks out, and closes quietly.
'Captain eh?' I think, enjoying the silence around me.
I slip out of the sheets, stretching myself, ignoring my sore back, I walk to the bathroom.
After a quick shower, which was more exhausting than relaxing because of the new wings, I walk out of the bathroom.
Shining stands in the middle of my room, looking at me.
Anger wells up in me.
After a second it disappears, I approach him slowly.
His expression is cold.
"Captain" he nods at me, I flinch, his voice was as cold as his expression.
"You heard?" I sit down in front of him, he does too and nods.
"It was the first thing the princess told me" he looks at me, his expression doesn't change, he looked almost angry.
"Do you have a problem with that?" I ask him carefully, "I know that you are a captain too, do you think she will replace you with me?" I see his eyes widen, but they return to the cold glare so fast that I'm not sure that I've seen his reaction.
He shakes his head, "no, she wouldn't do that. It's just..." he stops midsentence, looking away.
"I don't want it" he answers, looking back at me, "let me tell you that it wasn't a nice sight to see that blade of yours explode and impaling it's shard into you. Do you know how many shards they pulled out of you? 31!" his voice rises, it was almost a shout at the end.
"I don't want to see you getting hurt anymore" his voice was angry and loud, but there was something underneath the anger.
Worry.
He was worried about me.
I stand up, walking behind him and sitting back down, slowly leaning myself against him, I feel him tighten a little bit.
We sit there, in silence.
I sigh.
"Let me tell you something" I start, "I appreciate your worry but... you don't have to" I look down my own body, counting the scars, "my whole life, since I was four, was nothing else than fighting" I feel him shift a little bit, "my father, that stupid old geezer. He wanted me to become a general or something, something that stands in the backlines doing strategical stuff. But as soon as he found out that I was not so good in that he changed. I can't really remember how he was before he turned into the way I remember him but... mother told me often that he loved to play with me. She told me how much he smiled, how much he loved to just lie in the grass, listening to the sound of the wind."
"Siren, I-" Shining starts.
"My father forged me into this" I look up to the ceiling, "I am a weapon" I lean a little heavier against him, enjoying his warmth, "you have to accept that" I finish my speech, waiting for any reaction of him.
I hear him sigh, "I gues you're right, I have to accept it" I feel him shift some more.
After that we just sit there, in silence.
A sound makes me peak my ears, I look out of the window, onto my balcony.
It was raining.
"Hey Shining?" I ask softly.
"Hm?" his answers.
"Do you like the rain?" I stand up, walking to the balcony, opening the door and turn around to look at him.
He shakes his head, "no, I hate to get wet" he answers.
I nod, "what a pity" I smile and step out into the rain.
"Siren?" I hear Shining come closer.
He never went outside.
I was sitting there, my head tilted upwards so the rain could stream down my face, flattening my mane, the down of my wings grow heavier but I ignore the feeling.
A smile appears on my face as the rain drenches me.
I hear Shinings soft hoofsteps as he walks away.
I see myself, a filly, sitting in a dark hallway, crying over some bruises on my legs. Fathers challengers weren't softly.
I hear hoofsteps come closer, afraid that it might be my father I rub my face, trying to get the tearstains away.
Someone sits down behind me, someone bigger than me, back to back we sit there, I still have one hoof in my face, covering my eyes, I stiffle the sobs.
A sigh, I recognize the voice.
"I never wanted you to get hurt" he says, "I want you to become strong, stronger than anyone so you can protect everything you love. You understand that?" a sob escapes my throat.
"Now stop crying" he says softly, "a strong mare doesn't cry" I feel him turn around, his legs surround my little body and he leans his head softly on my shoulder, "you will become strong" I feel how my tears stop.
I nod, stiffling the last sob.
A quick peck on my cheek and his embrace tightens.
"I love you Siren"
"I love you too daddy"
This was the last time I called him daddy.
This was the last time he was a father.
This was the last moment I shared with my father before he turned into a nightmare.