//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: Greeting the Moon 
// Story: The Fate of The Warchief 
// by The Blessed One 
//------------------------------//

       Garrosh Hellscream, with pitchfork in hand, brushed aside the entrance to the medical tent lightly, and was thus greeted by the blinding orb of light known as the sun. He shielded his eyes from the light's assault as he started surveying his surroundings. He saw that the few ponies that were walking around near his tent had now become stalk-still. He figured this was as good an opportunity as any to try and re-represent himself to them. "Good day, commoners." He announced in a foolish and awkward attempt to calm the creatures; it had nearly no effect on them, for they all continued to stand there scared stiff as though their hooves were glued to the ground. 

Since these first words seemed to have relatively worked (that in the result not being them all scattering in rank fear,) he walked up to the female nearest him, a mare with an ivory/beige coat coloring. Her mane (yes, Ditsy had told him the proper terminology for their hair) was two tones: One of a maroon-like scarlet, and the other a soft pink; he also saw that her "cutie mark" was that of a healthy red rose. The monster of an orc trudged openly and casually up to the stiffened mare, who was by this point trembling and gulping dryly; the other ponies around her hastily went back to what they were previously doing, but they were keeping a concerned eye locked on the big brute. "You there, what be your name?" He asked the scared pony as inertly as he could. The Warchief allowed her to take her time answering him, and after stuttering and stammering a bit, she finally managed to muscle out her name.

"R-r-rose L-luck, sir." She whimpered as she sank down to the ground in resolute fright. Garrosh was quick to speak again.

"Have no fear, civilian. I am a warrior; I do not fight the innocent." He spoke the plain truth to her. Garrosh did not relish killing civilians; the True Horde may have done so with gusto, but Garrosh would never have killed them himself. "I need to know where the..." He paused a moment to remember their names. "...'Wonderbolts' are. Do you know where I could find them?" As he asked the simple question in that same inert tone, he saw that her eyes were drawn inevitably to the pitchfork he held in his hand. Ditsy had told him of the team that had attacked him, but Ditsy didn't seem to know anything about the second more shadowy team, and he intended, if he could, to find out why. However, Roseluck looked even more frightened when he asked where he could find the "Wonderbolts" and the un-named team that accosted him the day before. Garrosh was sure she wouldn't dare refuse or lie to him though.

"T-they're inside Ponyville Hospital. T-they're just checking on their friends; p-please, don't h-hurt them." Rose pleaded as her eyes kept darting between his face and the weapon in his hand. He had no intentions of killing them this time, though he would harm them if he needed to.

"My intentions are not to kill them, but I shall harm them if I am attacked." He explained stoically. She seemed to calm down some, but not by much. "Many thanks for your aid, Roseluck." He said as he turned on the spot to march towards the hospital's front doors. He could have sworn he heard her start running in the opposite direction shortly after he turned away from her. "She was a brave one..... for a 'pony.'" He mumbled to himself as he marched on. Garrosh stopped at the double doors to the medical facility, and seeing as how they were only large enough to accommodate his lower half at most, settled for pacing back and forth militantly, waiting impatiently for that pegasi flight team to get done tending to their wounded comrades. Every local who saw him pacing there didn't dare pick a fight or even so much as throw him any dirty or contemptuous looks, but they did visibly conspire to leave the general area as quickly as possible.

The orc must have waited for at least half an hour before the team known as the Wonderbolts exited the front doors, by which time Garrosh was grating his teeth together he was so impatiently annoyed. Garrosh instantly took note of the fact that they were missing their ever-famed leader, Spitfire. "About time all you runts showed up. I was beginning to think you were hiding from me." The orc mocked the four pegasi nonchalantly, quickly relaxing his state of being. The ponies stood there in the hospital's courtyard in shock and surprise for at least ten thick seconds before the one that was known only as Wave Chill finally spoke.

"You escaped, just so that we could catch you again? Your either very confident in your brute strength, or real stupid." Seethed the dark equine in a threatening tone. Garrosh was still not intimidated by him in the least.

"You really wish to fight me once more? I was merely passing through this place on my way to the mountain city, for I happen to be in need of a blacksmith." The orc explained in his best non-hostile tone, placing the end of the pitchfork that wasn't pronged on the ground as though a human farmer would. A few of the subordinate members seemed to relax a bit at the fact that the orc was not blatantly looking for a fight; their acting leader was quite obviously not one of them.

"...So you expect us to just let you go, after all you've done?" The grudging pegasus asked incredulously. Garrosh honestly couldn't care less if they didn't let him go at that point, for their best weapon was incapacitated; they would be no match for him now.

"Are you saying you want another meaningless battle, Wave Chill?" Garrosh seethed the pony's name nice and slow. It had the desired effect on the creature, as his unchecked rage surfaced almost instantly.

"How in Tartarus do you know my name?!" The equine growled, visibly readying himself for a rage-fueled scuffle. Garrosh, however, was still not scared, nor was he making any attempt at readying himself.

"That's for me to know, and you to never find out. Now, which of you wish to fight me?" He held up his arms to mock them, he could read the fear in their eyes as plainly as the colors of their irises. The Warchief knew they would not attack first, so there would be no battle here.

"We're under orders to arrest you; don't think we won't try again!" Wave Chill barked as he began pacing like a rabid animal. Garrosh could tell he had clearly exhausted every move he could make apart from charging him right then and there; this confrontation was officially over.

"Then... arrest me." Garrosh hissed at him defiantly. None of them moved a muscle, not even their leader. "I thought as much. Now, if you'll be so kind, I've a blacksmith to see." Garrosh put his back deliberately to the group of cowards, but it was then he heard a series of more beats of wings, he turned around to realize that the group Ditsy didn't know anything about was now standing with the Wonderbolts. The dark team was missing the "Miscreant" and the "Bitch" as well, prompting Garrosh to crack a self-satisfied smirk.

"And just where do you think you're off to?" The Gilnean one asked with a scowl, his two allies looking like they desperately wanted a fight, or more accurately, a chance at revenge. Garrosh saw how thoroughly decimated both their teams looked with four absent members in total. Anyone could easily tell it was a downright pitiful sight; not that he felt any remorse for what he had done, for after all, they were the ones who had attacked him.

"None of your business, peon." He responded curtly as he turned to depart once again, unsure of how his preconceived planning ultimately fared. It mattered not, for they didn't seem to be putting on the offensive in any way, nor did they look to be effectively doing so any time soon. Supposing that his plan had worked, he started off with the full intention of being at least halfway up the mountain side before any fresh adversaries could arrive. It was when he had just stepped off the hospital grounds that he was halted by a voice he momentarily didn't recognize.

"Why art thou in such a hurry?" Asked a strange, nearly dueled voice that was suddenly growing very familiar to him, if a bit off in tone. In his head, Garrosh debated whether or not to acknowledge the unnatural voice when his thoughts took a very terrible turn.

"No.. No! How could Sylvanas...?! How could that undead WITCH have possibly followed me here?! It isn't her! It can't be!" His mind screamed in alarm as he whirled around to face the source of the enigmatic voice. What met his gaze when he did so, though surprising, relieved him extremely, for the creature standing before him was not Dark Lady Sylvanas, not some similar ghostly effigy come to haunt him, but a being who was exactly akin to how Ditsy had described the Princess of the Night..... Luna. The regal mare before him was comprised of a marvelous mix of at least five different shades of darkened blue, each hue as terribly brilliant as the next, all paired impeccably with an obsidian-black crown and chest plate bearing the mark of a crescent moon. Another of her features that caught his eye was her ever-motioning mane and tail. Not only was her hair flowing softly upon a windless summer day, but it almost looked as though the ripples made a subtle stairway in the voluminous locks! The most wondrous thing he beheld was her cavernous teal eyes; they seemed to practically command... no... force his undivided attention to them. Even at the distance he was, it was as if when he stared back at them, he felt as though he were staring into an abyss. He could almost feel the world around him darken a shade or two as he looked into the abyss that stared back silently. It was then he realized that he needed to break this unexpected connection, for she indeed had just asked him a question. Lifting himself from the hypnotic depths of her stare, he took note of a few minor differences from the description Ditsy had given him (the small cut that ran along the left side of her snout and over her muzzle for instance, though nothing too serious) but other than the slightly rugged, tussled state of some parts of her coat, she just had to be this notorious "Luna" he had heard so much about. Garrosh, after staring at the so-called "Alicorn" for a mere five seconds, had been both caught off guard, and forced to quickly regain his composure. This was something that rubbed the confused orc in every wrong way imaginable. So, without further hesitation, he set about talking back to her.

"Why does it matter to you... Princess Luna?" He chose to spit her name. Luna seemed both slightly taken aback, and a little impressed that he knew her, until he called her by her other name. "Or should I address you as, 'Nightmare Moon?'" He growled unto the lunar princess with bigoted malice. It was faint and nigh untraceable, but Garrosh then saw a hint of anger flash across her features and a cold, pale flame spark within her eyes; she was very quick to try and hide said rage.

"We wished to speak with thee.... to speak with thee of thine travels." She spoke with an exaggeratedly calm tone, which was directly contrast to the anger he still saw burning in her eyes like teal embers. "And no, thou mayest address me as 'Princess Luna', or 'Luna', if thou hast no true title for us to call thee." Announced the dark goddess; she sounded so much like the Banshee Queen that it was sickening to the orc. Garrosh didn't have all day, so he decided he would reveal to her his title and take his leave.

"I am the Warchief, Princess. Now if you don't mind, by your leave, for I've places that I must visit." He explained with some added snark. He swore he was going to grow old and sprout grey hairs playing this stupid game, but he had come to the conclusion that he had to convince their leader to try her hardest to make peace with him, if only for a single day. Garrosh wasn't able to turn around for the umpteenth time before she once again spoke.

"Please, we wish not to fight nor argue with thee, Warchief, merely to discuss." She even said his title as Sylvanas would, but he had to admit it: He liked this one's way of speech as well. "Allow us to properly introduce ourselves. We-" The lunar goddess gave a small, exasperated sigh before continuing on. "-I am Princess Luna, raiser of the moon, and Co-Ruler of all Equestria, What be your full name and title, Warchief?" Luna asked with sincere curiosity.

"Odd, she doesn't seem like the traitorous type at all; still, I shall not trust her just yet, but my name and title couldn't hurt." He considered as he looked down to appear as though in deep thought to the princess. After a reasonable amount of time spent acting like he was mulling it over, he at last spoke up. "My name is Garrosh Hellscream, Warchief of my people, and leader of the True Horde." But he wasn't finished there; he clearly knew that Luna was not the only sovereign this bizarre place held, for after all, she did just refer to herself as "Co-Ruler." Therefore, he knew he needed to relay his story to both leaders of this place eventually, so he put a newly-formed idea into effect. "I will tell you no more, Co-Ruler. I shall speak only to both leaders of this realm. But I shall however remain nearby until your sister can arrive." He declared as he idly tossed the pitchfork to his left hand. The orc saw her large eyes suddenly grow wider, and he immediately knew that he'd made a rookie mistake as soon as the word "sister" left his lips.

"...How dost thou know that the other ruler be mine sister?" Luna inquired with further heightened curiosity as she became increasingly more comfortable around the frazzled Warchief. She began walking closer to him and away from the pegasi rabble she first appeared behind, as if her confidence in her talks with him was peaking. Garrosh had to keep himself from dragging a fatal face-palm down to his chin as he thought himself more and more stupid by the second, but rather than dwell on his pathetic slip, he began routine damage control and said the first thing that came to mind.

"As I said: I will relay more upon your sister's arrival, until then, I will be with an ally I have made. Follow me if you wish, but should you attempt to punish the one who has aided me, you shall face the unending wrath of The Warchief." Garrosh spoke in a dark and final tone. With that said, Garrosh started making his way back to the infirmary tent. He could just barely hear Luna and some of the more mysterious pegasi whispering to one another as he walked away, but he couldn't catch anything of importance. The orc made it back to the tent and laid down on the blanket on which earlier woke, and then patiently waited for Ditsy to return from wherever it was that she had gone.

"Why willst tho-- Ahem! Why will you not speak unless my sister is with us?" Asked the "lost puppy" who had followed him. Garrosh was in no mood for the obligation of having to explain his past, present, and possible future twice, and so he vowed not to do so.

"I have much to say, and I wish not to have to repeat myself to your sister." He grumbled with a palpable frustration in his voice. The tone he struck didn't even slightly deter her though.

"I will not punish your friend. On the contrary, I rather wish to know which of my little ponies was brave enough to actually speak with you before.. I arrived, so that they may be commended." She explained in a softer, more hesitant voice. It was by this time that Garrosh had noted her difficulty in saying "I" and more modern things of the like, so he addressed her grammatical plight.

"If you want to speak in ancient tongues, then I would ask you do so; it sounds troublesome for you not to." He informed with less of a growl than his usual statements, to which she gave a painfully apathetic chuckle before vaguely responding.

"I am... in training... to renounce my.. outdated manner of speech, for it is now found slightly embarrassing in an informal setting; as you can see, I've not yet succeeded. I... don't think it productive or healthy for me to fall back to it when not in training." She reasoned to him coolly, but Garrosh knew better; he knew that beneath her veil of cold logic lay a profound sadness. Had he not known of her monstrous betrayal to her sibling, he may have felt a tinge of sorrow for her, but in the eyes of a traditional orc, to betray your own flesh and blood in the line of duty is unforgivable.

"Hmm...." He hummed in thought as he reached for where his pack should have been, only to find that the ponies that had captured him were, in fact, retched thieves. 

"...!" He turned to look a Luna with a scowl that could boil water, she seemed a little shocked (albeit amused) at his new facial expression.

"What is wrong, Warchief?" She asked with a touch of worry building in her tone. His angry scowl turned more deadpan as he pointed to where he knew his bag would've been were it still with him.

"My bag, it seems, has been stolen by your little rats." He spat. Garrosh could have sworn he saw a smirk tug at the right side of her mouth, but Luna kept steadfast as she responded to his accusation.

"They confiscated it for fear there may have been weapons in it; I was going to take the liberty of bringing it back to you myself." She said as her horn began emanating a soft, pale, blue glow. This was a display of magic unlike any he'd seen back on Azeroth. It was only the second time Garrosh had gotten to witness the use of a unicorn's magic, and he hypothesized, given the first demonstration (the alicorn mage's magenta aura which seemed to relatively match the trend of her lavender color scheme,) that they each must have had an aura that related to them in color.

As he was thinking about all this, he saw another object of the same blueish glow come floating from around the corner of the tent's entrance and right into his lap. As soon as the glow died out and faded away, he saw that what lay in his lap was his old brown, beaten-looking pack; Luna had brought his bag back to him through some form of telekinesis, but he was determined not to look too impressed. She gave a smile and a bow as he nodded back silently and began hastily inspecting his wares.

He found that his gold and gems were miraculously all still present, his last loaf of bread was still good, and that his two remaining water sacks were still accounted for. All in all, he was only missing his most important belongings: His axes. "Where did you come to acquire such items of value? If you do not mind my prying, that is." Luna asked, attempting to keep conversation alive. Garrosh was intending to avoid telling anyone at first, but after thinking it over for a moment, he saw that there really could be no harm done in it.

"I slayed a dragon that was hiding in a cave in the forest south of here." Garrosh explained casually. After a few silent seconds, he looked up from searching his bag to see why the princess hadn't responded just then, only to see Luna's mouth was slightly but noticeably hanging agape. "What? ...Your The 'Great' Princess of the Night; surely you've slain many a dragon in your millennial lifetime." He said with a jeer as he plunged his head back into his bag. He could have sworn he heard her scoff indignantly.

"I have never... slain a dragon before, nor did I think it was even possible to do so. And I did not appreciate your sarcasm, Warchief." She didn't sound very offended. Garrosh was taken aback by how difficult it was to rattle her; for a past psychopath and princess alike, she seemed quite down to earth. 

"She must have been through Hell and back to be here now...." The orc thought with that small tinge of sorrow he'd sworn not to give her. Garrosh looked up to her with his usual unapproachable cross of an angry and deadpan face, only to see her crack a smile. He furrowed his eyebrows before crack an inkling of a smile to her and returning his head to his bag.

"You're... not what I was expecting." He blurted before elaborating. "The tales I've heard of you paint you as a villain of unmatched evil, and yet, this being I see before me doesn't seem like it could hurt a fly in good conscience; in fact, you seem even more friendly than your common folk." He spoke up with an honest tone. Luna's small smile grew substantially upon hearing those words, but it was knocked back down considerably when she spoke as though remembering something.

"The Elements of Harmony... tell me they found you eating one of Madame Applejack's prized pigs. In fact, it was she who added that it was the prized pig." Garrosh wasn't sure if she was asking something of him, but he knew that he had to respond somehow.

"I was hungry. Where I am from, boar farms are the most of what we have." He gave conformed (if pained) sigh before further adding. "I apologize if the pig meant something significant to its owner." He finally said sounding far more grumpy than he would have liked. Luna undoubtedly appeared unnerved by the fact that his home's biggest food source was boar. Garrosh was about to ask where his axes were out of both genuine concern and a desire to change the subject, when a gray head with a mussed blonde mane poked through the tent's rear exit.

"I'm back, Mr. Garrosh! Did your plan work?!" Ditsy called out without thinking, but when she saw Luna, at least she knew she'd made a mistake. " Uh oh... Is this a bad time?" She asked awkwardly while looking down bashfully and shuffling on her hooves. Garrosh then performed the postponed face-palm from earlier with the force of two whilst letting an exasperated groan slip out; he was then obligated to introduce them both.

"Luna, meet the one who told me everything I know about this place. Ditsy Doo, meet Luna: Princess of the Night." He announced, only looking up from his wares once. 

"Princess Luna!" The grey mare gasped. Upon realizing who it was, Ditsy all but instantly groveled before Luna's front hooves much to the Warchief's amusement, but not to Luna's; to her, something seemed amiss. Luna soon saw that she was not only trembling, but she looked like she was either going to cry out of fear, or keel over from a heart attack. In the princess' eyes, she herself couldn't act quick enough to set the mare's mind at ease.

"Greetings, Miss Doo, you've no need to fear me, or anypony else for your actions. Warchief Hellscream has already explicitly demanded that your safety be guaranteed." The goddess stated proudly with a kind smile. Ditsy then lit up as she looked to the orc with such a hope in her eyes, though Garrosh didn't even look up from counting what was in his pack. Ditsy knew that Luna couldn't possibly be lying, so the relieved mare trotted straight up to the orc and gave his arm a heart-filled hug.

"Thanks, Garrosh." She cooed as she nuzzled into shoulder. Garrosh looked to her a moment before responding.

"It was the absolute least I could have done." Garrosh remarked softly. Luna looked on as the two smiled like they had known each other for years. It was good to see that this so-called "beast" had a somewhat friendly side, even if it was nearly unfeasible to bring forth. 

Ditsy then proceeded to tell Luna all about what had happened in the town square the day before; it was quite the shocking story. To hear that town hall had been completely destroyed was terrible, yes, but to know that the ferocious biped in-cause had gone out of his way to rescue a tiny little foal whom he didn't even know, gave Luna some much-needed hope in the situation. Maybe this "Warchief" was not the villain everyone suspected he was after all. Luna was then metaphorically struck by the fact that Garrosh was now waiting for Princess Celestia to show up. Knowing that it would be a small while before her sister would arrive, she just hoped that the orc wouldn't take this next bit of news badly.

"...I must apologize Warchief, but I neglected to inform you that my sister and I took a rather... unexpected visit to a place called Tartarus. 'Tis the reason I look as disheveled as I do, and my dear sister was injured during the trip. This is way she did not accompany me here to begin with, but rest assured, she will be along shortly." Luna tried to sum up what had happened shortly before she had been summoned to Ponyville, but she did not want to go into great detail. Unfortunately for her motives, Ditsy really wanted to know.

"Oh my! What happened to her? Why were you two even there, Your Highness?" Ditsy asked with the utmost concern. Luna didn't want to have to tell the story, so she decided that she would just tell a small part of the lengthy, confidential tale.

"Tartarus was having... an uprising. Myself, my sister ,Celestia, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and Captain Shining Armor traveled down to the gates of Tartarus to find out what was going on, and of course, to check on Cerberus. To make the long story short: We ended up fighting with two fearsome and very well-trained fel-pony culprits. So well-trained in fact, were forced to teleport from Tartarus before any of us were endangered further than we already were." Luna hoped that this short version would not make Ditsy more frightened; her plan failed miserably. "Uh... fear not! For these insidious rebels cannot set hoof outside of Tartarus thanks to our combined efforts."

Ditsy simply sat there on her haunches, her walled eyes about to fall out of her head, as they were as wide as they could go. "What is this... Tartarus?" Asked the orc inquisitively. Luna then told him of that horrible place, which sounded a great deal like a version of Hell. 

He seemed genuinely interested in all she had to relay about the "Hellhole of Evil," both its history and its conditions. From the black-hearted souls that were consequently converted into fel-ponies in payment for their wicked deeds in life, to the demons that tormented them eternally. Garrosh was actually intrigued by all the information Luna had to share with him, and he also listened to Ditsy's old foal's tales about the "Home of Cruelty," some of which she had also told Dinky on Nightmare Night (apparently Hallow's End's equivalent in this world.) He soaked up all the intelligence he could about "Tartarus" with an un-shown glee.The final piece of information he learned was about the gate guardian of Tartarus: Cerberus. The massive three-headed dog that defended the gate of Hell tirelessly to the last of its breaths, it was quite the story to behold. However, after near of an hour of true facts and fairy tales of old, the three of them heard the grandiose sounds of trumpets blaring loudly. 

"What is that? Is this settlement under attack?!" Garrosh asked as he got to his feet, readied in an flash. Luna rose with him, but she had a teacher's smile on her muzzle.

"That, my dear Warchief, is our sister." Luna uttered with a tone that bore many emotions hidden within it. Garrosh looked to Ditsy quickly, and she just as quickly got his signal to head out the back; he didn't want her getting in trouble. One sovereign may have spared and commended her, but that doesn't exclude the possibility of the other condemning and attempting to seize her. The Warchief then looked to Princess Luna, who was motioning him to accompany her outside. Garrosh Hellscream, Hoping for the best, expecting and planning for the worst, he marched out of the placebo-safety of the infirmary tent, preparing himself to meet this notorious, ever-famed... "Celestia".