Of Blades and Demons

by GuardianofRoin

Meet the Hunters

Blade pondered on the implications of what Princess Luna had just revealed to him. Could Grimm have been manipulated into destroying Neighers? He found it somewhat unlikely but he couldn't deny that he had changed suddenly, even when he was just a young colt. Grimm was like an uncle to him and a brother to his father. Sure, he was a bit of a renegade and disobeyed orders from time to time, but it was usually to help somepony with a more discreet problem. The rations he sometimes snuck off with he would give to the poor and hungry in the city though he was rumored to just sell them. He was practically family to Blade before the incident. This struck him particularly hard over the next few years of his life as he came to terms with this. All this time he had disconnected himself from Grimm as family and only saw him as an enemy for the longest time. He needed to think, to ponder what he would do when he confronted the one who had destroyed everything.

"Princess I- I appreciate you telling me this. More than you know. I need to think about things for a bit before I go and start hunting him down." Luna sighed and shook her head. "You have three days to prepare before your team is sent out. By that time I hope you'll have decided on how to approach him on this matter."

Bladechaser blinked a few times in surprise. "Team? What do you-" As he was about to ask a knock was heard at the door, Luna looking around Blade and calling out to them.

"Enter."

Two ponies in Lunar armor stepped int the room, the first a stout unicorn mare, dark navy blue coat and unkempt mane kept under her helmet. On her flank was a kite shield emblazoned with a crescent moon and a scythe crossing behind it. Behind her was Knightstar, blushing and trying not to make a fool of himself as he met his crush. Blade though was still quite surprised to see his closest friend and his CO in the office with him. He looked to Luna for an explanation which she gladly offered.

"This is an important mission and I know this is of a... personal interest to you. I'm not taking any chances of Grimm escaping. If we make too big of a team though he may catch on and know we're coming. If he just sees you, he'll figure you seek revenge and that he has not been discovered. Knightstar is skilled with combat magic and I have read reports that you two work exceptionally well together. Roshie will be joining you as the chief investigator on the mission. She has had commendations for her skills in investigations and being level headed in tense situations."

Bladechaser took a step forward. "I must object to this Luna. I can understand your reasoning for this choice but I cant take my friends with me on this one. This is too personal for me to drag them along like this."

Luna gave her friend a steady glare, no different fro one she would give to any other insubordinate guard. "It is exactly for that reason that I cannot let you go alone. The fact that you are personally invested in this is reason enough to keep you out of this investigation. Roshie will make the decisions in this case. Your role is mainly as a scout and to give your insight into Grimm, help Roshie understand how he thinks so we can apprehend him and take him in for judgment. I saw what he did to your home, both in your dreams and visiting the aftermath in person. He will face justice but it must be done properly, through the right processes. But most importantly, you will need the help to apprehend who I fear is the mastermind of all of this. We have no idea how Nightmare moon may be involved or how powerful she may be. That is why I am also assigning a member of our scientific division to your group. Where is he anyway?"

As soon as Luna had uttered those words they could smell burning hair and flesh as a white and slightly charred unicorn stallion entered the room. His lab coat had burns on it and a few lingering embers as well, one burnt hole large enough to show the bucky ball on his flank. His mane was messy and dark, a pair of spectacles on his face. "Heheh, sorry about being late. Bit of a.. situation on my way here. Apparently changeling goo can explode if exposed to crystals from the Crystal Empire." Bladechaser and Roshie shook their heads disapprovingly, knowing how often Bucky's experiments seemed to 'incidentally' explode without warning.
Knightstar facehoofed at Buckyball's entry, shaking his head and forgetting his crush for a second. "OK, so we have a demolitions expert joining us as well. But when do we meet the actual scientist pony?"

Bucky, as if not recognizing the disappointment in the eyes of his colleagues, simply smiled. "I am the science pony. Now then, I'm looking forward to this experimen- I mean, mission." His colleagues simply sighed and shook their heads, Luna giggling a bit to herself at their antics. "Anyway, that will due for now. Each of you will be getting the files when your shifts end for the night. Everypony but Bladechaser is dismissed."The three other ponies all went back to their duties for the night, leaving Blade to watch over Princess Luna as he always did. During that whole night he pondered about what he would do when it came time to confront Grimm. For now, he knew what he had to do tomorrow.

---

It was bright out as his shift finally ended, storing away his armor and heading to his old home. After the fort Neigher's incident he had been adopted and he still kept in touch with his adopted family. Sort of. It was a strange relationship anyway you looked at it but there was love there. Mostly snide quips and sarcasm, but some love too. Last he heard his brother Shade was still gambling in Las Pegasus and his adopted mother was still going to the hospital every other week for some illness she thought she had for one reason or another. Mostly the doctors just ran the tests to humor her at this point.

He slowly got to the door and turned the handle, slowly opening it and trying not to make a sound. As he poked his head to see if the coast was clear his nose picked up the telltale scent of cigarette smoke, sighing and resigning himself to what was to come. He now stepped in openly and turned to the counter. "Hi mom."

At the counter was an older unicorn mare, well into her 60s with pale short spiky hair and a coat just as white. On her flank was a cigarette and a red plus sign, showing her talent for smoking and as a nurse. She put it out with a playful smirk. "Oh hello Blade, so nice of you to drop by! Least you actually came to visit instead of sending another one of those letters."

Blade's expression reflected the awkwardness of the situation, having spent the last few months so wrapped up with his duties that he rarely got the time to do more than send a letter every month. "Ya, about that... Things have been just kinda hectic with work, protecting the Princess and all that. Luna really liked that souffle you sent me."

Blade's mother, Maddie, simply rolled her eyes. "Really? One bad dish and you actually asked the Princess to be your taste tester? Probably said it was a gift from your mother to her right?" The pegasus gulped silently, knowing that was almost exactly how it played out. Deciding it couldn't be worse than the situation as it was, he decided to come clean about his reason for coming. "I- I need to grab a few things from storage, from when I first came here from Neighers." There was a long pause in the room, he could feel Maddie's gaze practically drilling into him. He was wrong, THIS was worse.

"Blade, you need to stop thinking like that. The guard will catch the ones responsible. It's not our place to gain vengeance for whats been done." The pegasus sighed and shook his head. "I've been assigned to hunting Grimm down. The ball is in my court now. I'll need every bit of strength I can get to face this." Wordlessly he went up to his old room and went into his closet, finding the familiar spear and bringing it out. Dust and blood stain not withstanding, it was very well kept and cared for by him until he left for the guard. Now though, now he would confront Grimm with the very weapon he took from his father's corpse. Maddie stood in the doorway, watching her adopted son. "Blade, I need you to promise me something."

The pegasus didn't turn his head, nor made any sign he had heard her at first, taking in a breath and turning to her. "Ya?"
"I want you to promise me that no matter what happens, no matter what he has done, you will try to bring him back alive. That you wont kill another pony in cold blood. If you do that then you go down the same road he took. I don't want to lose my son." Maddie pleaded with tear filled eyes, hoping, praying her son would listen to her. Blade sighed and nodded. "Ya, the Princess said pretty much the same. Alright, I'll do my best. I'll fight to defend myself but I'll take him back to Canterlot if I can." Blade's mother held him close, the guard wrapping one foreleg around his mother while the other still held the spear. Despite this he was still rather conflicted about this.

"I should go see the Captain. God knows his is the opinion I should get before I set out." Maddie nodded in agreement, knowing that stallion was the one who initially helped bring him back those years ago when he was just a major in the Equestrian military. With a quick farewell Blade strapped the spear across his back and took off, knowing just where to find his old friend."

---

Blade touched down at the guard's training grounds about an hour after leaving his mother's home, getting the spear off of his back and holding it firmly in his hooves. Slowly he raised himself upright, standing on his rear hooves as was necessary for many non-unicorn guards to use their weapons at their best. Strangely enough it was a mint green unicorn from Ponyville who first took note of the advantages of standing on one's rear legs, something the military adopted to improve the skills of the guard. In any case, Blade was just thankful this stance offered him the flexibility of movement to use his weapon at his best. He began to deftly swing the weapon about, remembering the drills he was instructed in back when he was just a rookie. He spun the bladed staff about, facing a horde of mental enemies aiming to kill him. Though there was one thing lacking with this method of training: while your opponent was always highly skilled, they were also easily defeated. Something that was about to be corrected by a certain spectator.
"Good to see you haven't slacked off with your form Blade. Wish I could say the rest of the guard bothered with practicing after graduation." The source of the voice was a stout unicorn, slate gray coat and mane with a fortress tower as his cutiemark. The pegasus gave his old mentor a smirk and turned to face him, still standing upright.

"Good to see you again Major, or do you still prefer Captain Bastion since your promotion?" Bastion simply chuckled and teleported over. "Heh, even when we first found you you called me Major. Suppose I should fault the Princesses for always just referring to me as that. Then again, from that weapon I can guess this isn't about pleasantries. You wanted to ask me about when we found you, right?"

Blade nodded grimly, sighing to himself. "You know about the details I gave in the debriefing when you found me at Neighers, about Grimm. If I did ever cross paths with him again, say I was sent to find him, hypothetically. Would you strike him down in my hooves? Would you just deliver justice then and there knowing nothing he could do could ever redeem what he had done?"

Unlike the other two Bastion took pause at this sentiment, mulling it over. "I suppose you have a point. The Princess's judgment is typically to just banish or imprison those who commit such heinous crimes. They would no doubt do the same to him if you brought him back alive. But tell me something soldier, how often had you been forced to take the life of another creature? Pony or otherwise?"

Blade had to think back on that one, knowing he had to do it a few times in the past due to bandits and monster attacks on the towns he had previously been sent to to protect. It hurt him each time he had to kill another, as if another piece of him chipped away. The look on Blade's face was all Bastion needed. "And that was simply to protect yourself. What would happen to you if you slayed Grimm against orders in cold blood, albeit with the best intentions? It's daunting when you kill another under circumstances that is life and death, but to kill another in cold blood is a whole other story. Some go insane from the guilt and even try to lash out at others. Would it truly be worth it to kill this pony if avoidable?" Blade still struggled with his position, mulling over the dilemma in his head.

Bastion smirked and nodded. "Perhaps a sparring session might help. It's been too long since you had the chance to show me how you improved." Blade looked up at his old teacher with a grateful smile, unlatching the blade from the spear as Bastion levitated a training staff to his side. "Let us begin, shall we?" Blade nodded and took up a defensive stance, getting good protective coverage of his body using the haft of the spear. With a quick twitch of his teacher's eye, the fight [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS1p01nfMpo.

Blade lunged forward to see Bastion sidestep the attack, quickly spinning the staff around his body to deliver a heavy blow toward Blade's wing. The pegasus swiftly blocked the attack and shoved the unicorn away, using his wings to increase his mobility and attempt to outmaneuver his mentor. With both Bladechaser's wings giving him added mobility and Bastion's magic allowing him greater control of the staff the session seemed to be evenly matched. However, each guard had a few tricks up their sleeves so to speak.

Both of the guards ponies began to lash out harder and faster, their staves cutting through the air as their determination to test the other showed. This was unlike their previous sessions, they were not only exchanging blows but speaking through their attacks. Slowly each guard's grin grew wider with every blow, smiling even as they were struck and bruised. Each blow landed was a testament to their growing skill and the fact that each received the same number of minor bruises as the other. After nearly an hour of the two fighting hard against the other they lowered their weapons, each one with a broad smile on their face. Even the elderly Bastion, who has long since been resigned to command, could not have felt any younger than he did then. "Heh, bruises aside, I haven't felt that good in years. It's good to see you haven't slacked off with the lance."

Bladechaser nodded in return, returning the head of the lance to it's rightful place. "I'd never slack off and leave my friends hanging. You certainly made sure to drill that into my head back at the academy." The older pony gave his former student a jab on the shoulder, chuckling a bit. "I do that with everypony. Don't act like you were the exception." There was a long pause between the two, the student sighing at long last and looking to the older stallion. "I guess it'll all depend on the situation. I do know this though." The pegasus looked to the older stallion, resolve in his eyes. "If he should be a threat to anypony while he is still alive, if I doubt the Princesses could keep him in check and he escaped, everypony he killed will have died because of me. If I knew what would happen then letting him live would be the same as condemning those ponies to death myself. I'd rather have the blood of one on my hooves rather than a hundred."

Bastion looked to his student solemnly, nodding in understanding. "Whatever choice you make, I hope you make the right decision."

---

Garble began to walk through the caverns deeper into the mountain, where his father resided. Over the many years Garble had matured into what was considered to be the age of passage, where dragons were tested to see if they were worthy of carrying on their legacy. Each dragon would perform a task assigned to them by their forebears, or in Garble's case, the elder. Other dragons his age came to him for leadership because he was the son of Grell, the very dragon which led the united dragon tribes. Since he was young he had been groomed to take his father's place, knowing he in particular would need to be strong if he was to replace the old dragon. The red dragon had become much more muscular, standing seven feet tall on his hind legs. The years since the dragon migration had helped him to mature mentally as well, remembering how he had picked on that smaller dragon who had come on his own. Back then he was blinded by his pride, but later he came to respect the infantile dragon for his courage. A dragon that young to follow the migration without a parent to carry him, that was a form of courage he could respect. With a loud rumble that nearly shook the caverns, a deep voice called from within. "Enter, my son."

Garble entered into what had to have been the largest dragon hoard anyone had seen, enough to even make Smaug envious as it seemed to flow freely throughout the underground passages. On top of the hoard lay a dragon that seemed as old as time, his age showing the slightest bit of white at the edge of his scales and the spines on his neck. His age was also apparent by his size, almost dwarfing Canterlot several times over. Despite the hoard and his size, he was not even using his greed growth.

"My son, it is time for your trial. As you know already, your friends have already left on their own assignments. Most dragons must face them alone, though you are a special case. One day you must lead our tribes with honor and duty. With this in mind, you are permitted to recruit others to your aid. However, your friends may not join you. This challenge will test both your physical skill in combat as well as your ability to inspire and lead others. I would advise you seek aid, for your challenge shall be all the more dangerous with this rule."

Garble nodded, having already figured such stipulations would be in place. What he did not count on was that his friends would not be able to permitted to join him. He thought about who he might bring from the nests when his father continued.

"There has been a darkness growing to the east, one that I have not felt for a millennia since the two pony sisters battled one another. While we know Princess Luna is still residing in the capitol, it has become clear this darkness is some new entity or perhaps something completely separate. I am charging you with this creature's destruction."

Garble was awestruck by the insurmountable task given to him, knowing it took the magic from the elements of harmony to eliminate such a foe before. Even Princess Celestia, who could almost easily destroy a matured teen dragon like himself, stood no chance on her own. Immediately he knew the strength of dragons would do little to aid him. He would have to be forced to resort to the lesser race of ponies and their pitiful magic. "Is this wise father? Entrusting the destruction of such a threat to one dragon and whoever might be decide to help him? If this threat is as dangerous as you say then surely this should be taken more seriously."
The elder smiled, having already anticipated this. "As elder you must be the strongest you can be as well as a strong leader. This will test you to your limits and beyond. The greater the obstacle, the greater one's reward. My son, you have already shown such restraint and control already, denying your greed growth at such a young age. Most dragons take centuries to master their greed. The dragons all have high expectations for you Garble. I know you will not fail us. However..." The elder's face grew grim, knowing the critical stipulation for the trials."Should you leave and fail at your trial, you will be banished from the tribes. All dragon-kind will shun you and never lend you aid. The only way you will be able to redeem yourself is by accomplishing the task you were sent to finish. You shall return a true dragon, or not at all."

Garble bowed his head, knowing what had to be done. As he headed out of the cave and took flight heading straight to Ponyville. His mind immediately returned to the purple dragon runt that he met at the migration and smirked. "Well, he said this Twilight was the protege of Celestia. If this holds true then she may know more of what I am going to face and how to destroy it." As he ascended higher and higher he began to see the Equestrian border, a smirk coming across his face. "Besides, I do wonder how that little runt Spike is doing with none of his own kind to help teach him."

---

Back in Ponyville at that same moment a quick sneeze could be heard from the inside of the Golden Oaks Library, also known as Princess Twilight Sparkle's house. The purple dragon had grown a good few feet, roughly five feet tall with a lanky figure resembling that of a normal teenager. He had grown to be about the same age as the teen dragons he had met at the migration all those years ago. His head spines had curved backward and grew more slick with his older age, looking more like a proper dragon. He was just thankful that the change was gradual or else the whole town would think he was getting his greed growth again.

As Spike lounged back in his seat in the living room which also served as the main section of the library, Twilight was in the kitchen getting some lunch ready for the two. For her nothing had changed in the twenty years since her coronation. She had gotten used to how everypony treated her now but many who knew her beyond her five friends were at least more casual with her. She had even taken to wearing her crown full time since she received so many questions why she didn't do so more often. However, very recently she had bags under her eyes, having had many sleepless nights over the past year. As she came back into the living room with a sandwich and a bowl of gems she heard the tell tale sound of Spike's belching, recognizing the light from his fire. "A letter from the Princess, Spike?"

Spike grabbed the letter and looked over it, a bit surprised by the lunar seal as opposed to the solar one used by Celestia. "Ya, letter from Luna." The princess of Friendship was rather puzzled by that, levitating it over and reading the contents.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I apologize for contacting you directly, but this is a more personal matter I must discuss with you. As you remember almost 23 years ago you banished Nightmare Moon from my body and I was left to be reunited with my sister. While I thank you profusely for aiding me in my time of need, I am afraid what you saw wasn't the whole truth....

The letter went on to explain how what possessed her was not simply hatred but a dark manifestation in and of itself. Twilight grew pale as she read through the full truth about Nightmare Moon and how she was now potentially on the loose. Her brow unfurrowed a bit as the letter finished the explanation and briefed her for her potential role.

As it stands I am sending my most reliable squad to your home to learn how best to eliminate this threat. For the time being they believe they are simply going after a known criminal, though said criminal has likely been receiving aid from what I have been dreading most. I would ask that you find what you can about the manifestations known as 'Nightmares' and help teach the squad when they arrive.

Yours Truly,

Princess Luna.
P.S. Please make sure Bladechaser does not know of this information. You will know why once you get to know him.

Twilight looked more concerned than she had before. Who was the criminal getting hunted? Who was Bladechaser and how was he involved. She just didn't know. For now though, she had preparations to do. Spike looked up at her going toward the shelves, years of living with the newest of Equestria's Princesses making him know just what was happening: Twilight research mode. "Alright Twilight, what are we looking for." He quickly hopped up and began searching the shelves himself. As he did so Twilight called out. "We need everything we can get on Nightmares. We have a royal guard squad coming here to know what we can find in about two day's time." Spike nodded in understanding, searching carefully has he had been taught to by Twilight. Minutes soon turned to hours as they retrieved several texts concerning the creatures known as Nightmares, the two looking through them and taking notes on what they could. It was already dark when Spike heard a hard knocking at the door, looking to Twilight and seeing her passed out from the work. With a warm smile on his face he draped a blanket over her and went to the door himself, nearly going pale at the sight.

"Heya Spike. Been a long time."

Spike looked up at the tall red dragon, eyes going wide as dinner plates. "Garble?!"

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait. Sadly things have been hectic here on my end but all that time has allowed me to think more on my story and how to develop it. Originally I did not even consider Garble to join in but saw so mane fics mentioning Spike's growth into adulthood that I figured it was time to see the old teen dragons as something more than the a-holes they were portrayed as.

Decided to flesh out Grimm a bit to add to the emotion of the story. I kinda left it open ended with the dream state but decided to add another little dramatic characteristic to the story. I would like to thank Knightstar and Roshie for letting me include them in the story. They are good friends of mine and I highly recommend looking them up in Tumblr.