The Champion's Origin
Luna’s Story 2: Wrath of the Moon Champion
Part 2: The Champion’s Origin
Princess Luna heaved the massive tome down from the shelf of the royal library. It was the restricted section where one had to get special permission and paperwork to even stand in it, much less touch the books. At her sides stood Aegis Shield and Stalwart Hide, who followed her to the nearest table and pulled the chair for her. She seated herself regally, setting the book down by magic. Leaning, she blew on it to disturb the dust. A crescent moon and a title of ancient Equestrian was on the cover. Stalwart Hide leaned over it, mumbling softly. “The book of the… luna… lunar…” he struggled with it, for his language lessons only took him so far.
“The Book of the Moon and Its Allies, Stalwart Hide.” said Luna gently. She caressed the cover a few times. “We were not sure it would even still be here, but the librarians are as meticulous about preservation as they always have been.” She smiled and gently opened it. The binding crackled and groaned as she did so, spilling dust into the air. Waving her hoof a little, she mumbled over the texts for a few moments.
“What does it say, princess?” Asked Stalwart Hide with interest.
“This is a record of the make-up and hierarchy of the lunar stallions, in ancient times.” She mumbled slowly, turning a few pages. “You make recognize this?” she gestured for both of her guards to look at a picture. They leaned, and knew it immediately. It was a drawing of the tablet in the antechamber of the lunar barracks. It was a grand battle scene depicting hundreds of lunar stallions fighting a nameless army. Back then they had all been pegasi, unlike the modern equivalent that covered all species of ponies. “And this?” she pointed to the opposite page, which was covered in runes with a list format.
“That’s the name wall.” Stalwart Hide tapped his hoof on it. “I’ve never gotten around to translating any of the names, but I assumed these were the names of the original lunar stallions.” Luna nodded with a smile at his deduction skills.
“Very good, that is right. But there is one that is unlisted here.” She flapped through great chunks of the book, being careful not to rip the ancient pages right out of the binding. Both stallions leaned on either side of her until she stopped on another drawing surrounded by runes. “Here she is.” Luna said gravely. The picture was of a rearing pony, standing atop a cliff with countless lunar stallions below her. The moon was in the sky, behind her, and the lines of radiance went all the way across the page. “The Moon Champion.” Her eyes darted back and forth across the page, reading the texts silently.
“What is she?” Aegis Shield asked in awe, looking at the picture. “You told us that only stallions could be a part of your royal guard. That’s why it was called the lunar stallions.” He furrowed his brow, staring over the tablet drawing of what was clearly a mare, by the curve of the body and shape of the face. The silvery armor was painted white and light-blue to signify moonlight, the helm covering the upper half of the face. Just like the unicorn they’d seen in the throne room the night before.
“It is true, the lunar stallions were strictly male.” Princess Luna admitted, tracing her hoof down the lines of tiny runes as she spoke slowly. “But I created one to stand above the rest. A female. I even created special armor for her, to keep her in tune with the ancestors as you are.” She glanced at both of them.
“Why a mare, though?” Aegis asked the obvious. “Back then the military was strictly male.”
Princess Luna smiled gently, “Well, truth be told, my stallions, the magic that powers your armor is feminine.” She saw their confused looks. “I am the one powering the armor, indirectly. I gave each medallion the magic to do all the things they do, and maintain them as such with a bond.” She explained, looking at the ceiling to find the right words. “However, there can only be so much connection between a female power source and a male recipient. Like… oil and water.” Both stallions tilted their heads as she continued. “However, if you have a source of feminine magic and a female recipient, the bond is much easier and much stronger. Like… tea and water.”
“So she’s stronger than we are?” Stalwart Hide said, making a face. “That’s not fair, all the lunar stallions are equal—!” Luna raised a stern hoof and he closed his mouth, a little embarrassed at making such foalish complaints. Aegis frowned, staring at the picture intently.
“The Moon Champion was just that, the champion of the lunar stallions.” Luna whispered, tapping the picture. “If there was a battle I could not attend, she stood in my stead. If there was a duel to prevent a pair of armies from clashing, she would step forth. She was my… my avatar.” She finally found a good word for it, nodding. “Thusly being female amongst so many males. The ultimate representation of a battle-time goddess is… well, a mare.” Understanding flicked across both of the stallions’ faces at last.
“So who is she?” Aegis mumbled. “If her name was never listed, how will we know? We couldn’t even trace the family line from records… or… anything.” He trailed off, scowling a little. “With the lunar stallions that would be harder, there’s seventy of us. But with just one mare, you’d think that would be much easier.”
“It was over a thousand years ago, but we still remember her name. Moon Dancer.” Luna smiled a little sadly. The sounds of the ancient battle were slowly being dredged up in her mind. “She took a ballista bolt meant for us during one of the last battles of the great war. It killed her almost instantly.” The princess shuddered a little at the painful memory. “Those were terrible times. We did not know she had a foal. The armor must’ve been passed down to her without my knowledge. With our banishment after becoming Nightmare Moon, it must’ve passed out of thought and memory…” she trailed off with a frown. Both stallions stared at the picture. “She was our ultimate warrior, I cannot imagine what that armor is doing to the mare wearing it now…”
“If that armor was passed down from mother to filly, why doesn’t she just come forward like all the other lunar stallions did?” Aegis Shield wondered. “If she’s loyal to the crown, shouldn’t she be bowing at your hooves, princess?”
“A certain amount of arrogance comes with being her majesty’s secret weapon.” Luna said with a sigh, closing the book and replacing it on the shelf. “Perhaps a thousand years has warped the original meaning of being the Moon Champion.” The alicorn rose slowly from her chair. “All we can do now is look for her, and bring her in to take the armor from her.” The princess turned and addressed both her captains. “Muster the lunar stallions. Tell them to conduct a city-wide search for any signs of the Moon Champion.”
“Yes, your majesty.” Both stallions snapped a salute and turned to go.
“Captains.” She said, stopping them for a moment. She gave them a meaningful look. “Be careful. Tell them to work in groups. She will be far stronger than any of you alone.” Both stallions nodded warily, and were away to do her bidding. Luna sat down again when they were gone, sighing quietly. “Moon Dancer…” she mumbled quietly, her wings wilting down. She recalled the beautiful brutality of her avatar. The headless griffons. The screaming dragons. The splitted boulders. The shuddering demons she’d conquered. Luna squeezed her eyes shut in distress, resting her forehead on her hooves for a few long moments. Sure, this new Moon Champion was stopping petty thieves for now, but if she decided to do something more drastic, she wasn’t sure her stallions would be able to stop her. The avatar of a goddess was not one to be trifled with. She prayed the poor mare didn’t understand everything about the armor she wore yet.
=-=-=-=
Stalwart Hide walked slowly down the alleyway, gaze sweeping back and forth. Flicking his wings a few times to stretch them, he inspected the place silently. How, exactly, a silver-armored mare could leave any trace of herself, he wasn’t sure. But the princess had sent the lunar stallions out in force, and he wasn’t going to disappoint her by being a stick in the mud. His group had found a four-way intersection between buildings, and they’d split up to search each of the alleyways. They were long and dark, but the night vision granted to him by the armor he wore certainly helped. Maybe they’d get lucky and see her just sneaking around, who knew. The pie shop incident had happened in the dead of night, so perhaps she had some sort of patrol pattern like they did.
The stallion whinnied in shock, rearing up when the brick wall to his right suddenly exploded like it had been hit by lightning! Mortar and brick showered the opposite wall and he staggered backward, shouting ferally. A pony’s body exploded from the hole, hitting the opposite wall with a sickening crunch of bones. He was wearing a mask and flank-covers to hide his cutie mark. A robber of some sort? Bits waterfall’d out of his saddlebags, all of them tied in stacks like one might find in a… Stalwart Hide glanced over and found himself looking into a metallic bank vault.
“My. My. My. Caught with your hoof in the cookie jar?” It was a slow, feminine chuckle. Predatory. Dark. “That’s a shame, didn’t your mother teach you better?” Out of the blackness of the back of the vault emerged a silver-armored mare. Stalwart Hide stared at her, slack-jawed. He hadn’t gotten a good look at her the first time, but now she was much closer and sitting still. He watched her horn ignite and the robber pony was lifted into the air by magic. She wrung him about like a rag-doll while the lunar stallion watched. Her cruel smile widened as she bashed him, over and over, against the brick wall until he stopped crying out. Tossing him to the height of the three-story buildings, she dropped him. Stalwart squeezed his eyes shut and looked away as he impacted, but the sound was sickening.
“H-halt!” he shouted, rearing up and spreading his wings at her. She turned, cocking her head at him as the light of her horn went out. “By order of her majesty, princess of the moon, you are under arrest! Deactivate your armor and surrender!” he shouted, hoping to Luna that even one of the other lunar stallions could hear him shouting. Surely they weren’t THAT far apart? She stared at him, and he back at her, for a long silence. The only sound in the alleyway was the trik-trik-trik of blood coming from the dead stallion she’d just violently trounced.
“On what charge, pray tell?” she walked through the puddle of blood until she was much closer, within arm’s reach. The red hoof-prints were sticky and sickening. She smiled with a certain arrogance that made her golden eyes dance and glow. Even through the slits of her helm’s disguise, he could see them steaming with golden mist. Stalwart Hide was suddenly very intimidated, and he fell to all four hooves again with his wings closed. Harrumphing to steady himself, he growled at her.
“You just destroyed the wall of a bank vault, and killed that pony!” he told her defiantly, lifting one hoof and leaning back just a little as though she might pounce on him at any moment. “You’re a murderer!” The word tasted so foreign, for the concept was almost alien to the modern, peace-loving Equestria. There hadn’t been an intentional murder in Canterlot for decades.
“A murderer?” she cocked her head at him, turning and flicking her tail in a rather sultry way. The wing swords on her shoulders clinked, shifting a little with her weight. “Destroying evil is what I do.” She turned to smirk at him rather haughtily.
“This pony could’ve been taken to jail! To trail and punished properly!” Stalwart snapped angrily. “You didn’t have to kill him like that!” he gestured to the avalanche of rubble and the bloodied pulp that was the body. “I bet you killed those two thieves too! You’re a triple murderer!”
“Jail.” She stared at him like it was a foreign concept. “So he can do what? Sit and brood, and then go out and do it again someday? I think not.” She gave her white mane a toss. He stared at her incredulously. “Pony society is far too forgiving. Evil deserves to be nipped at the bud. Rooted out for good.” She cocked her head, looking over at the body. “He’ll never rob, cheat, or steal from anypony ever again. I erased his evil for good.”
“Because you killed him!” Stalwart argued, opening his bat-like wings and starting forward with physical intent. “You’re a bigot! A vigilante!” Both ponies stared at each other for a long time, panting at each other. Finally the lunar stallion worked up his courage again and demanded, “Surrender, or I’ll have to take you in by force!” Throwing out his chest, he raised his jowls to show off his triangle teeth. The ancestors awoke from their hum drum. Their ears perked. Battle. Now was the time for battle! Rushing to their choir-like formation, they raised a hundred bass voices in song. The rolling thunder of their voices pounded in the back of Stalwart Hide’s head. He felt the adrenaline flowing, surging with magic and heightening his senses. The armor clenched at him and he tensed up.
“By force.” She repeated to him, cocking her head. “I think not.”
Both ponies reared as one, locking shoulders with each other’s hooves and head-butting wildly. The clang of their helms reverperated off of the alleyway walls. Wrestling wildly back and forth, Stalwart’s sheer weight gave him the upper hand and he forced her back, tackling her to the ground. She gave a strangled cry and battered at his undercarriage with all four hooves. He grunted, flinging himself off to spare the injuries. She rushed to her hooves, igniting her horn. The dumpster in the alley lifted itself and he charged her wildly. Slamming it down upon him with all its weight, she gasped when he propelled himself straight through the metal and debris! The dorsal fin on his helm was more than just decoration, it was razor-sharp. With a lunar stallion’s strength behind it he’d pierced the obstacle with ease.
Rearing again, they battered each other with their hooves, dancing like the warriors of ancient Equestria. The ancestors sang in jubilation, raising their voices to be deafening, wings opening wildy to embrace the thrill of battle. Stalwart Hide was soon drunk on their power, muscles coiling like hard rocks as he deflected a hard buck to his shoulder. His armor screamed yellow sparks and showered the ground with heat as they fought back and forth. Pin-wheeling wildly with his wings extended, he watched her crouch and then use her helm to give a jolting uppercut to his soft undercarriage. He cried out, reeling as she pressed forward. Silver armor flashing, she rode him back onto his back, straddle-bucking his chest and muzzle. Flailing wildly, he tumbled them over to return the favor. Her horn ignited, blasting him in the face. He reared with a whinny of pain, staggering back into the wall and rubbing his eyes.
Both warriors halted to pant and glare at each other. Blind in one eye and bleeding from the muzzle, Stalwart Hide snarled at her. “I’m… takin’… *pant*… you in.” he told her, chest heaving. The ancestor’s frothed and danced nervously on their hooves. The enemy still stood! She must be conquered! More, more battle! He leaned on the wall with a huff, spitting red on the ground before heaving himself upright again.
The silvery mare rose again, popping her neck both ways, limbering up for the next round. While she was doing so the lunar stallion charged unexpectedly, ramming her into the brick wall behind her! She yelped doggishly on impact, spit flying out of her mouth. Flailing a little, she gagged a few times, beating on him weakly so she could breathe. Satisfied he’d stunned her, Stalwart Hide eased up just a little. “How could you? I’m a mare!” she whimpered, leaning onto him weakly and just trying to breathe.
Stalwart Hide felt the blow to his male ego. The ancestors paused in their battle song, looking at each other uncertainly. They fell to a disarray of mumbling to each other. Wanted or not, he shouldn’t have been so rough with her, maybe? He moved back a little, trying to support her limpening body with his chest. She clung to him a little, panting with her hooves hooked around his neck. “I-I’m sorry, I—” the sudden blast of unicorn magic sent him reeling into the opposite wall. Stars exploded across his vision and he felt the mortar crack behind him. An impressive crater in the brick made the vault beyond it groan a little. Stalwart Hide couldn’t even cry out, the pain was so intense. He couldn’t breathe. He shuddered, the shocked expression frozen on his face. Gravity finally took effect and he fell in a heap, landing painfully on his wings and back. His whole body shivered in shock. The ancestors roared in fury, but his body wouldn’t obey him.
The silver-clad unicorn leaned over him, panting quietly. The bruise over her eye was certainly shiny, but she didn’t look much more than winded anymore. The armor sparkled in the moonlight, working rapidly to try and heal her injuries. Satisfied the lunar stallion had been defeated, she cocked her head. He stared at nothing, for he’d been blinded in one eye and then blasted again in the face. He blinked rapidly, just trying to get his vision back. Pulling up the visor of her helm, the mare smiled at him. “You’re pretty strong, but I’m still the Moon Champion.” She chuckled a little. Leaning down, she stroked his handsome sweaty face. Without another moment’s hesitation she suddenly kissed him violently. The ancestors exploded into confused shouting, stomping their hooves and whinnying in wild anger. Stalwart Hide squirmed and whimpered, curling a little but unable to fight her. His wings flapped weakly, out of sync. Pulling away slowly and deliberately, she nuzzled him. “See you later, then.” She dragged her tongue slowly, erotically across his cheek. He shuddered. Stepping back, she ignited her horn and vanished with a crack of parted air.
Stalwart Hide laid there staring at the starry sky, confused in more ways than one, unable to move. It would be another half an hour before his fellow lunar stallions found him. How they’d become so separated that they didn’t hear the sounds of a wall breaking, a battle happening, and the crack of teleportation… he’d never know. What confused him more, however, was the mild attraction to the mare that had just kicked the ever-loving buck out of him. He liked strong mares. Moaning, he curled up on his side to stifle the pain just a little. His armor sparkled, gingerly scanning his body for injury. There was a lot to work to do. The ancestors murmured sympathetically, then set work. The stallion whimpered in agony, unable to cry out for help. Darkness took him to soothe his pain.
End of Part 2
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this story is going well so far.
stalwart hide x moon champion?
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oh and for the record
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This is awesome! I love the quick updates as well.
Well, so much for my theory from last chapter's comments.
WHOA!!! that was a nice battle though I approve of this and one more thing BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!
523863 *squeak!*
Ok, my thoughts on the nature of the duties for the Moon Champion were way off base, but it's looking more like my idea on the vigilante being the result of a faulty lunar metamorphosis still could have some merit. You're doing a great job keeping the pace of this story rocketing along (and not just with the quick turnaround on chapter postings, either.) Looks like M.C.'s got a handle on using the feminine wiles portion of her armor in battle for an advantage, and it just goes to show that Kipling was right all along.
On the other hoof, Stalwart put up a pretty decent showing, ending notwithstanding, so I imagine that ought to win him style points when they cross hooves the next time. And it does seem odd that none of this squad noticed what was going on soon enough to rally at least for the end of the fight. Makes one wonder if either the robber or the Champion has access to a stealth magic that suppresses sound in an area. If I had to place bits on it, I'd put it as another facet of the Lunar Champion Armor, maybe right along with the teleportation. After all, if the lunar stallion armor can give an earth pony wings, why couldn't the champion armor give its wearer a horn? (Just to muddy the waters so the guys don't automatically discount two thirds of the female populace as possible suspects.
)
Looking forward to the next installment.
Edit: Ok, now I'll admit to shooting for the moon on this, but allowing for cutie marks having some bearing towards one's destiny in life, who do we know in canon ponies who bear a lunar crescent in their cutie mark? Just saying.
dropped into my read later. gotta go to work T_T
This is brilliant.
523959 I don't recall the armor giving anypony wings. As for giving a pony a working horn, that would be a bit much.
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526136
Think back to the chapter in the first story, "Muster Thy Brothers". There are some unicorns and earth ponies wearing the armor, but I don't see any mention of their "on-duty" form being any different from their brothers in arms. It would seem to me that implies the lunar stallion overlay is standardized. Now, it doesn't say that any of the normally non-fliers can make use of those wings, but I'd argue that it's at least likely that the image of the wings is maintained across all species of pony wearing the armor.
526136>>523959
Malcinar is correct. Thus far the armor has augmented what is already there, turning feathered wings into batlike wings. The original lunar stallions were all pegasi. But after a thousand years the bloodlines have crossed into all three pony breeds, so they're a mix now. I like the diversity better, personally. Now we have lunar stallions that are earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns in their transformed states.
That'll be something to explore later, huh? We know how strong and agile the armor makes a pegasi.... what will it do to the other two breeds?
527634
(chuckles) Ok, that's the definitive answer for that issue from the Author's keyboard, then. I kinda liked the idea of earth ponies and unicorns getting ready to go on duty, reciting their oath of office and then *schnickt!* instant disguise form, but your way is intriguing as well. It's obvious that a unicorn's augmented form would give their horns a more alicorn-like length and sharpness, just as the Moon Champion armor does (and if that is a similar augmentation of the form underneath, then I retract my earlier conjecture about the field of suspects, but not about a possible cutie mark connections.) Earth ponies.... probably when they're on-duty are the most massive of the lunar stallions, and you wouldn't want to try and tackle one if they were set and expecting attack. Likely it would be an earth pony that could give a run to the transformation vault door being bucked off its hinges during the initial change.
Damn... I think im in love...
Drat. I want to read more, but I need to get ready (and go to) for work!
I recognize that name, and she's a unicorn. If Moon Dancer is a secret badass at night.... that'd be awesome, and explain some things about her as well.
Oh buck right off with that nonsense. Here's to hoping Stalwart isn't a complete idiot.
Edit: Of course he was, even knowing she was stronger than him.
Also, while the twist of the Moon Champion id awesome, I'm surprised neither Luna nor any of the other guards came to the conclusion that the vigilante might be one like the 68 other Lunar Guards who just inherited their armour but decided to go at it alone rather than joining them.
When pride is put before duty, the Captain ket his guard down and earned his defeat.
Batmare... Neat. Though she is just a murderous hypocritical mare at this point.
By her own logic, execution is the only fair punishment for her.