"You know boy..."
Carpenter smiled as he adjusted his clothing, a slight wince making the smile fade as the cloth ran over the bruises the mare had given him the day before.
"Yes?"
Giving the human wrist a nudge, Shadow tilted her head quizically.
"Gotta say I've never seen a pair of flesh peelers like them before. Mind if I..."
Shrugging, Carpented pulled the sleeve of his shirt up, revealing a bracer.
"You saw these huh? Probably the only one whose done so and lived."
Eyes shining, Shadow pulled the humans wrist close, eyes roaming over the mechanism and housing.
"Celestia hot rump... Its beautiful..."
Chuckling, Carpenter flexed his fingers, letting the blade out. Turning the palm towards her, Shadow muttered "Genius metal work... ring finger seems to activate the catch... plate and blade made from decent metal... I'd gladly melt down down my own wing blades to see this glory made from thunderforged... The design seems modded though. Basic structure suggests the ring finger was removed with the mechanism trigger attached to the stump..."
Turning the bracer over, Shadow ran her hoof over the etching on the top most plating.
"No scratches... acid etched maybe? Scale and compass, interesting choice for an etching. Any signifigance boy?"
A little nervous now, Carpenter cleared his throat.
"Symbol to remind us of balance, both with ourselves and the world around us."
Turning the wrist over again, Shadow squeed excitedly, making the human jump.
"Ohhh, I'd give my right eye to peek at the inner workings! I could kiss the genius who made this marvel."
Shadow paused, a uncertain frown across her muzzle. Next to the blade housing a small tube jutted out, a tiny lever next to it. Hoof trembling with excitement, Shadow made to press the lever, but jumped as the bracer and the arm the wore it were yanked away. Pulling his sleeve back down, Carpenter shook his head.
"Watch it... almost met the choir invisible..."
Shadow let a slight whine as the weapon was hidden, and sighing, Carpenter pulled the crossbow he'd brought from his shoulder.
"Cease thy noise! And get rid of that pout, it doesn't work on a face that stern. Just toy with this."
Taking the weapon, Shadow lips pursed thoughtfully as her eyes roamed over the crossbow.
"Another piece of beauty... bolt tip notched, iron metal, possible enchantments as explosives...? metal stained with..."
Pulling the bolt from its groove, Shadow sniffed the tip, brow furrowing as she continued her words in the same off handed way.
"Hmm... odd substance, poison more then likely... very slight metal scent, suggesting the poison is metal based. Metallic smell is covered by the poisons medicennal scent... Definitely alchemy or potions, no way this is natures work..."
Setting the bolt down, Shadow began to look over the crossbow itself, clicking her tongue in approval at the design.
"Wood base with iron workings... strong flax rope, lever tripped catch... Strong flex on the bow, slight cracking from the iron guard.... too bad. Such a shame to see a good design like this brought down by some putz..."
Laying the weapon down, Shadow nodded at the sword at the humans side. Undoing the metal ring that held it in place, Carpenter passed the weapon over. Looking over the still sheathed blade, Shadow hmmed softly.
"Good weight, heavier then a wingblade or unicorn fencing blade. Leather strap around the handle, steel hand guard.
Pulling the weapon out slightly, Shadow's eyes widened slightly, and breathlessly the mare asked "Where did you get this.."
Shrugging, Carpenter crossed his arms.
"Found it in a Templar keep. The keys needed to open the gate wath a bitch to gain..."
Seeing the awed look on Shadows face, Carpenter frowned.
"Something wrong?"
Sliding a hoof along the flat of the blade, Shadow regarded the scale and compass etched the swords base. Shaking her head, Shadow said softly "Its real... I've only seen small bits under lock and key... to see so much now... and not as a wing blade, but some crude metal working... Loathe the blade shape, but you certainly have cared for it..."
Closing her eyes, Shadow drew the blade to her chest, letting out a pained whimper.
"Its... its really in my hooves..."
"And it is what pray tell."
Wiping her eyes with a wing, Shadow said reverently "Maelstrom forged steel. Before the tribes came to Equestria, Hurricane was given a boon by a dragon named Firethroat. This boon was a room full of ebony bars which became white as they were forged. Lighter then a pinion, as hard as Celestias armor. Hurricane forged his wingblades from the bars, though those were lost in the Windagos attack. The remaining bars were either lost or gathered by my clan as relics. To think some ground pounder has such a thing... and doesn't even realize it..."
Carpenter smiled, and patted the mares shoulder.
"Take it."
Eyes bugging out, Shadow stammered "What! But... surely you jest boy... This could easily buy a castle the size of Celestias, and pay for its staff for five winters, and still have a fortune left..." Whimpering in desire, Shadow shook her head.
"No. Its yours boy."
Slowly Shadow held out the weapon to the human, and looking away, Shadow's ears flattened down in sorrow. Carpenter took a step back, his very core going cold. Shadow was... crying. Not bawling, but definitely crying. Carpenter shook his head, and pushed the weapon back, his face stern.
"Shadow... I insist, and to refuse my gift will break any friendship we have made. This is your history, your legacy, your sword. It may not be a wingblade, and may have suffered a crude and foul forging, but its still a Kicker blade, and deserves a place of highest honor in your clanhold."
Tears streaming fully now, Shadow bowed her head, clutching the legacy of her tribe to her chest as though it were her new born. In it heft, Shadow felt the years and miles of its travels, and in her heart, she felt its gentle call, a call only pegasi heard. A killing tool, a sirens song... Shadow pressed her forehead to the sheath, grinning like a love struck filly as the sword rejoiced. The mares wings fell limp as she laughed and cried.
"Thank you... thank you... Maker bless you boy, thank you..."
"I merely returned what was always your peoples Shadow. But... please, I ask only one thing..."
Eyes widening with fear, Shadow looked up. Kneeling down, Carpenter sighed.
"Promise me this blade will never be used as a killing tool."
Shadow gnawed her lip as she looked away, her eyes now showing guilt. She was already planning to forge the blade into a wing blade. And since there was more then enough at the hold for its brother blade, she could.... suddenly the human gently turned her head back to him, his eyes desperate.
"Please Shadow... You hear a angel ballad, but to me, all it sang was a funeral dirge. This... sword, has caused enough pain in the hands of tyrants and wicked souls. Leave it sheathed for all your days, gathering dust under a glass case. Allow none to forge it anew or quarrel over its placement. Seal it, bury it if the lust for its purpose grows beyond thy control, toss it in the ocean if its song of joy is drowned out by the greedy thoughts of your kin. Let it end with you, right here and now. Swear you will end its life as anything but a relic. Swear it, please..."
Gritting her teeth, Shadow looked at the sword again. It was an ugly thing, and while it filled her heart with rapture to hold it and soon return it to her tribe, the stench of blood wafted vaguely from it. It begged, ordered, pleaded with her soul to be made anew, to be hers forever, to be as it was meant to be... Shadow pushed the weapon back into its home, her face resolute.
"By the name of my daughter Gale and my honor as Epoth, I swear this blade shall never be born against another as long as my clan draws breath."
From the sword, Shadow felt its cry of sorrow echo through her soul. It jeered and howled in its silent voice, claiming the mare a traitor, weak, a wortless bitch. Its cries tore at her very core, the weight of the blades legacy bearing down on her shoulders. Shadow regarded the weapon again.
"Never again...."
...............................
Gale eagerly hefted the blade in her hooves, her wings twitching with excitement as she pulled the weapon from its home.
"Mother... Its here... Its real..."
Scowling, Shadow spat into the grass.
"Put it back dear heart. It sickens me to no end to even look at it a second more."
Sheathing the weapon once more, Gale reverently stroked the sheath.
"Oh, the stories it could tell..."
"Its trouble Gale. It... does things to your heart, makes your rely on it then your own strength. It touches my soul, but I am resolved... it will be sealed."
Gale gasped clutching the weapon to her as though it were her first born.
"Mother, no! Surely thou hast stopped thy ear from the envious will of Carpenter, surely thou see through his ruse! This is our birth right, and who better to claim it then our clan?"
"I swore on my honor Gale. I cannot, and will not, go back on it. It is not only our legacy and inheritance, but our responsibility. And thou must know in the heart that only our clan can bear the pain of bearing the burden of that responsibility. I hear it as thee do, my love. Its sweet song warms my heart and soothes a pining I have always felt deep in my being. The same pining you feel now, and the same all our tribe have. And it will break my heart to do as I must... as we must."
Gale bared her teeth as she snarled in fury, her wings flaring out.
"You... you are too weak of will to use it Mother! That's all! You seeth at the mere notion of another taking your glory, your bile rising to think your deeds will be as naught to the glory of its bearers wings in flight! You..."
Fwap! Gale head jerked to the side, eyes wide with shock at the sudden slap of her mothers slap. Eyes hard as flint, her voice seeming to echo with wrath, Shadow said quietly "How dare you... You selfish brat, you dare to spit such poison to one who could love you no more then if she were flesh and blood? Who raised you as her own, and who thought you the finest daughter a mother could desire. Who swelled with pride at your triumphs as though they her own, who trusted thee above all others?"
Gale slowly turned back to her mother, slowly rubbing the spot as she still clung to the weapon. Pupils as cold as winter winds, Shadow spoke as she stood again "You would say such things to me, to your own Mother? Who believed in you and taught you and held you in her wing when you wept, who would gladly give her own life to save yours... and whose heart you've broken..."
Walking past Gale, Shadow continued "I have been forsaken by my own, and the worst of it is the thought thee would betray me never occured to me... You are no longer my daughter Gale. May all the power of that relic be everything you crave, and may all the praise of the rest of out clan be yours to relish. And may its lullaby soothe your fears in the night, because I shan't sing you another..."
Gales wings went limp as hear ears flattened to her skull, her eyes mirrors to the shattering soul within. Slowly moving a trembling hoof, Gale smiled slightly as she gently said "You... you can't mean that Mothe..."
Gale winced as her hoof was slapped away, the mare who raised her now replaced by no more then rank.
"You forget yourself Captain. You and I are no more then superior and subordinate, is that clear?"
Eyes tearing up, Gale nodded once.
"Yes ma'am."
Pushing past the mare, Shadow bit her lip as her heart wrenched in her chest. It would be so easy... just turn back, taking her little filly in her forelegs, offering forgiveness and forgiving in return. So easy to be the mare who adored Gale with all her heart, who wanted nothing more then to forget the last few moments. To forsake the clan principals and rank, and just be Mother to her lost little girl. Shadow just walked away. At the end of the day, she was a soldier, an Epoth. And at all times rank must be sacrosanct to personal desires and connections. She'd tend to her flayed and tattered heart later.
Gale slumped further as her Mother... Gale shook her head, whimpering as she remembered her place. As her superior walked away, Gale clutched sword all the tighter. Why wasn't is call filling her heart with joy? Why wasn't its song soothing her anymore. It was still sweet, but rang hollow in the mare. It was a pegasi relic, a legacy her clan had been granted. In its dull mirror finish Gale beheld her own glory, the praise of her clan and kin ringing through the air.... but... Shadow wasn't in the crowd, wasn't there praising her and regarding her with pride. Once she properly attended to it, the sword would be forged anew along with the metals remnants into a new birth as wingblades... as Gales weapons.
Gale choked back a sob as her mind raced. Her clan would be there, the Maelstrom steel would be forged, and she would be its wielder. On her back she would bear the weight of the metal with pride, and would face the coming days... knowing what she had sacrificed to gain them. What she had gutted on the twin alters of her ego and pride, and how she had let her Mother walk away. Letting the blade fall, Gale began to cry.
"I... I'm a bad, bad pony... Oh Maker, I'm such a bad pony..."
Bearing her teeth, Gale hefted the weapon in her mout, and with a flourish, flew off in the night.
......................
Shadow regarded Gale indifferently, face impassive as she processed the mares report.
"Its gone then, is it?
"Yes Mo... Commander. I tossed it as far as I could into the ocean, then bolted back here to beg your pardon."
"No."
Gale whimpered and slumped at the finality of her Mothers word. Taking a breath, Shadow spoke evenly.
"You hurt me Gale. You forsake your own for what? Glory, rank, your own holiday. You choose some rusting old junk over me. Your own Mother. Did I not nurse you through near death? Did I not tend your wounds in battle? Did you hate me all along, resent me for not being as other mothers?"
Shadow sighed, and glared at the now sobbing filly.
"So no. I won't forgive you Gale. But... you can keep your room in my home, and, perhaps share meals with me. Mother is out of reach for now, but perhaps, with time, you will be worthy as speaking to me as such."
Gale sniffled as she gave a weak nod of acceptance, then tapped her hooves together anxiously, her eyes hopeful.
"Um, Commander, can I ask something..."
Shadow waved a hoof in approval. Still tapping her hooves anxiously, Gale softly said "Can I have a hug?"
Face still neutral, Shadow wrapped her forelegs around her little girl, and as Gale sobbed into her shoulder, the older mare cooed and softly assured "Its all right... Mommies here... Its all right my little Gale..."
.........................
It sang from beneath to dark waves. It wanted to be as it should have always been. It would always be the voice in the back of the pegasi mind and soul, that constant ache for power and glory. Its song promised all the world if one would merely embrace it. But in its soul, the sword began to ponder its rejection. How could its new bearer have tossed it aside? And for the first time, it realized what it was: alone. Truly and utterly alone.
Beneath the waves, it began to weep.
...........................
Shadow sat on her haunches, face still stern as she clutched a whetstone in hoof, sharpening her wingblades. A walk away her dau... subordinate sat with Carpenter and Arron, eyes still red from her tears, her ears still folded in despair. Regarding her work a moment, Shadow grimaced.
"Shadow?"
Looking up at the human voice, Shadow regarded its owner with a bit of surprise.
"Yes... what can I do for thee my good Arron?"
Sitting cross legged next to the mare, Arron took a breath, then released it.
"I'd like to speak about your daughter."
Smile sliding back into its neutral form, Shadow curtly replied "She's not my daughter Arron. She is no more then my Captain."
"Bullshit."
Shadows eyes narrowed at the curse, but she continued her work regardless of Arron.
"We both know thou hast not the heart to do such a thing to her, no matter her deeds."
Pausing in her swipe, Shadow evenly replied "Tend to thine own field Arron, and let me tend to mine."
"Ah, so you still feel for Gale then?"
Scowling, Shadow pushed her weapon aside.
"Damn it ! She betrayed me Arron! She turned her back on her own Mother. Is this the thanks I am granted? I put food in her stomach, a roof over her ungrateful mane, and a bed under the rest of her traiterous bones, and this is how she repays me? You spend thine whole life attending to them, and all they do is... is..."
Shadow stamped a hoof against her blade, eyes beginning to leak.
"I can't Arron. I can't take the gamble yon Gale wouldst abandon me. I won't forgive or forget her deeds, and she should count her worthless hide lucky I don't cast her out on her worthless rump."
"But... you've already forgiven her, haven't you? All thou bluster and pride cannot cloak the look in your eyes, the look of a parent who just wants their little one again. Don't forsake Gale for the sake of your pride."
"Then what, pray tell, does thou believe will begin to bridge this abyss..."
"How about just starting with sitting at the fire and having meal? Mayhap lifting thy veil of Commander Shadow, and just be Shadow. Mayhaps giving more then a cold stare of more then two words to your daughter."
"Very well Arron. I shall... try..."
And with that, Shadow stood, and following the humans lead, sat fireside. It wasn't a miracle. Shadow barely said a word, and Gale offered little more. But, it was a start. It would take time, but one day... all it would take was time.
.....................
Shadow paced the small rock grotto, mind working overtime in a bid to put the pieces together. Gale she could handle. What shook the old mare was that old sword. While intel did suggest all pegasi were connected to it intimately, no intel, or old nags myth for that matter, even hinted it would have such an effect. And Gale... both mares were ecstatic to gain such a item, but still... Maelstrom steel was a find, but Shadow emphatically wished to stick with good old Thunderforged. May not be as tough as its cousin, but at least it was a nice and quiet metal.
Rubbing her chin, Shadows brow knitted together. How did she know there was more of the legendary steel in her clanhold. No one ever mentioned it, and she certainly had never seen any, so how did she know that. And how did the human Templar gain such a item
And why in Celestia's holy teets were both mares so bent on reforging the damn thing. Rapture or not, protocol was clear with enchanted items: bag, tag, and try not to set them off. Nothing in this made any sense, which set Shadow on edge. Something was in the works, and had come between her and Gale. Spitting on the floor, Shadow stalked from the cave. Whoever was pulling their strings had better Mama shadow didn't find them anytime soon.