The Guardian

by InsaneBatPony

To the Rescue

1

Shining Armour and Celestia waited outside the observation glass. They watched Luna concentrate and focus her magic into her horn. Celestia never moved her eyes away from her little sister.

"If the side effects of the Crystal Heart were ever truly needed, this would be the time." she said, to herself. Shining Armour looked up at his Princess and sighed, in agreement. "Shining?"

"Yes, Princess."

"When this whole ordeal is over, I want you to remain here in the Crystal Empire."

"Why Princess? Don't you need me?"

"You have a kingdom to rule and wife who's been waiting for you to come home for far too long."

"Won't you need a Captain?"

"Listen to me Shining Armour, you have your own life to lead and I can't keep calling you away from it." Celestia sighed, a smile forming on her lips. "Cadance needs you Shining Armour, she can deny it all she wants, but she can't hide it from me and neither can you." Shining Armour continued to look at Celestia. "You need her as well. Your final order as Captain of the Solar Guard of Equestria charged with the defense of Equestria during the day, which I rule, is to remain in the Crystal Empire and rule this kingdom by Cadance's side."

Shining Armour frowned on the outside but in his heart he was cheering. "Your orders will be carried out Princess." he said, trying to hide his excitement of being able to stay with Cadance.

"Good." Celestia said, sensing his excitement. Celestia's eyes focused on Luna again and she watched Luna charge her horn. The dark blue aura around it swelled and became much larger than it should have been. "What's happening? That's far too much magic for entering one’s mind." Celestia whispered to herself, ravaging her mind trying to think of what might be causing such a phenomenon. "The crystal Heart!" Celestia realized. "It’s feeding Luna magic. That means it has deemed Luna's desire too free Volos noble. But with that much magic it will..." Celestia never finished her thought as Luna vanished in a flash of blue magic.

Shining Armour audibly gasped. "Princess, what did Luna do? Where did she go?" Shining Armour asked, quickly.

"The Crystal Heart enhanced her spell, making it so that she would not just transfer her mind into Volos, but her entire being." Celestia explained.

"What could happen to her?"

"If she loses her fight, she could die." Celestia said, nervous and worried for Luna.

"Oh, no." Shining Armour whispered, worry in his breath.

2

Luna's body and mind, in their entirety, formed inside of Volos' mind. Luna rubbed her head, not realizing yet what had just happened. "Ow. That hurt." she mumbled." Luna looked around. She remembered the strange environment, and walked further into it than before. She passed by the strange lines, with pulsing white lights, making strange patterns and the ground below her was black. She continued walking for what seemed like an eternity until she decided to take a rest. She sat down and kept taking in her strange surroundings. "Strange that Anubis has not yet interfered with my being here." Luna whispered, to herself. "If he has not noticed me then maybe I can find where Volos' true self is being held." Luna got back up and continued her walk in this strange plain. Anubis, however, was not in the mood for a visitor.

"So, the horse has returned." he spoke. Luna stopped and waited for Anubis to appear. "I told you the last time, you were done here. Why have you returned?"

"I have come back to free Volos from your control!" Luna declared.

"I should have guessed." he stated flatly. "BE GONE!" Anubis roared, sending a wave of energy at Luna to expel her the same way he had done before. Luna braced herself for the impact but felt it pass over her without so much as a scratch. "What is this? What have you done?!" Anubis questioned, enraged.

Luna examined herself quickly. "My entire being is here, not just my mind?" she asked herself, realizing why the wave did not work. She became determined and her features straightened, becoming stern. "I have come here in my entirety, Anubis. Your strategy will not work on me this time!" Luna declared.

"In your entirety?"

"Body and Soul!"

"More of your strange abilities, I assume."

"It's not a strange ability, it's magic."

"Magic? Magic?" Anubis began to laugh. "Magic is not real." he became serious once again. "Science has dis-proven its existence years ago."

"Fine, I will show you. By making you show yourself to me." Luna said, with confidence. Luna charged her horn and pushed as much magical energy through it as she could. Eventually blue light began to spark to life in front of her. The magical energy exploded and in its place was the orange orb that Luna had seen on her last visit. Luna began to pant. "You see? I told you I would make you show yourself."

"Yes, indeed. But you have exhausted yourself. For you are flesh and blood and can tire." Anubis began. "I am not flesh and blood. I do not tire, I do not sleep, I do not eat. I am immortal and unimpressed at your display." the orb said.

"I am immortal as well, I cannot become old."

"Being young forever does not make you immortal, it merely keeps you pretty." Anubis mocked. "Being immortal means more than just staying young. I was designed with the sole purpose of crafting the perfect biological based weapon, no matter how long it takes." he said, determined. "I will not be stopped by a strangely colored horse, who claims to be an immortal!" Anubis yelled. "If you wish to free Volos you will need to find him first, and I will not allow it!"

Anubis began to change. The orb that floated before Luna changed into a four legged creature loosely resembling a wolf. Luna studied Anubis in his new form. He had a tail that did not look as though it belonged on him. It was segmented and had a three slightly curved blades on the end of it, in the shape of a pyramid missing its walls. Its fur was orange and he had large claws. A scar was emblazoned across his left eye and down the snout to the other cheek.

"This is the form the masters gave me." he said, coldly.

Luna readied herself for battle. "Come then, beast."

Anubis roared and charged Luna. He jumped to pounce on her from midair. Luna side stepped and shot a magic blast at Anubis. The bolt of magic struck Anubis in the side and he fell to the ground after being propelled a short distance away. Anubis staggered to his feet, struggling to keep his balance for moment. Anubis recovered from the attack and stood in shock.

"That should not have harmed me! I am a construct, not a physical being! And...This...Is...MY DOMAIN!" Anubis roared.

"It is because I entered this place with my entire being, not just my mind. I am the same as you are." Luna declared.

"Is that so?" Anubis thought for a moment. "Then that makes you a virus." he said, smiling. The data lines began to glow and small creatures came from the ground. "Anti-Bodies, destroy the virus." Anubis ordered his little minions, pointing at Luna. "Now die you filthy horse and leave me to my mission!" Luna charged her horn and cast a spell creating a wall of fire between her and the Anti-Bodies. "My Antibodies are immune to your fire wall."

The little creatures walked through the fires unharmed and inched closer to the Princess of the Night. Luna backed up and fired a lightning spell at the Antibodies. The Anti-Bodies felt nothing and kept moving in on Luna.

"How do I destroy these accursed things?" she mumbled, backing farther away from the advancing creatures. Luna charged her horn again and fired off a spell sending Oscillating Waves at a high frequency through the small creatures creeping up by her hooves. The Anti-Bodies began to shake and spark. Luna sent another wave through the Anti-Bodies. They began to shatter and explode with the second burst of high frequency Oscillating Waves. "A Sonic Wall!" Luna shouted, happy that she found a way to destroy the Antibodies.

Anubis growled with rage. "A Sonic Wall? Clever. But I still will not allow you to free Volos!"

Anubis ran at Luna, roaring like an animal. Luna galloped toward Anubis charging her horn. Anubis jumped and Luna released the charge in her horn. Anubis sailed through the attack Luna discharged, ignoring the pain he felt. He landed on Luna, tackling her to the ground, and struck her leg with his claw. She screamed in pain, leaving herself open again. Anubis brought his tail around and struck her in the face. The three bladed weapon slid easily across her face. Luna flinched with pain as she felt the weapon scratch along her face leaving a small gash across the bridge of her nose. Anubis jumped off of Luna and let her get to her feet.

"So you can bleed. It appears your immortality stops on the battlefield."

"Luna wiped the blood off her nose and charged her horn again. "Let's see how you fare against a Sonic Wall." she let a blast of sound waves directly at Anubis.

Anubis let the attack come. He stood still and waited for the blast to hit him. The sound wave came and went, Anubis remained still and unharmed. "Was that it? Is that the best you can do?" he teased her. "I am much harder to defeat, than those antibodies." Anubis stated.

Luna charged at him, charging her horn yet again with a spell. Anubis raised his tail over his head and waited for the Princess to come closer. Luna stopped short and fired her Midnight Flame spell. Anubis was struck at near point blank range. The flames tore through his body and sent him reeling backwards, struggling to stay standing. Luna did not let him have a break. She fired the same spell again and it hit its mark. Anubis roared in pain and fell to the ground.

"Yield, Anubis. Release Volos." Luna demanded.

"I told you before, I am a combat A.I, this is all I do!" he declared, swiping his tail under her body. Luna fell over and lay on the ground, stunned. Anubis brought his tail back to a striking position and brought the pyramid shaped blade down on her. Luna rolled on the ground, avoiding the brunt of the damage. Luna righted herself, and she tried to stand up but something was pinned to the ground.

"My wing!" she exclaimed, looking at the now mangled wing. It had been pierced by the pyramid blade on Anubis' tail. "How did I not feel that?"

"So your adrenaline numbs pain, fascinating. I was designed by Humans but they gave me so little knowledge of them." he explained, almost sadly. "I will be honest, I never thought I would fight an opponent like you. Here we are fighting in my environment. Usually I fight through Volos' body since I don't have one of my own outside of this place, but this...This is fascinating." he said, a sly grin appearing on his face.

"What is?" Luna said trying too free her wing from Anubis' grasp.

"I have fought many other combat A.I in my time, but fighting a living, breathing entity such as yourself. It's most enticing." Anubis, licked his lips. "And your blood, feeling it for myself is...intoxicating." he said, becoming more deranged. "Let me feel it again!" Anubis hollered, lifting his tail from Luna's wing.

Luna stood upright again and waited for the attack that she knew was coming. Anubis ran at Luna, his teeth showing. Luna turned around, her back facing Anubis. She lifted herself onto her two front hooves and pulled in her back hooves. Anubis leaped in a bee line toward the Princess. Luna rocketed her legs outward, smashing Anubis' nose. Anubis howled in pain, but thrust his tail at Luna in that same instant. Luna felt something stick to her underbelly. She winced and felt blood slowly leaving her belly. Anubis struck the ground and pulled his tail back. Luna was pulled off her hooves and fell to the ground with a thud. She rolled on the ground, clutching her belly, her wound larger.

Anubis stood up quickly and began to walk back toward Luna. "Oh, this is fun." he said, grinning. "For the first time, I know what it feels like to fight an organic." He began to smile sadistically. "The sight of your blood, the sounds of your screams, I never thought I could feel so alive." Luna quickly cast a healing spell to seal the wound in her stomach. "You can heal yourself?" he asked, astonished at first. He continued to smile. "I love a challenge."

"You truly have gone mad. No being, alive or otherwise, would wish to do this. Please, stop and release Volos from your control." Luna pleaded.

Anubis stopped mid-step, his face fell and a frown appeared on his lips. He became angry once more. "Insulting." he whispered. "YOU INSULT ME!" he bellowed. Luna gasped at his outburst. "You dare ask me to forgo my mission after losing a fight with me? You are a disgrace! A disgrace! Do you hear me horse?!" he became even more enraged. "You ask me to give up my mission because you are too weak to stop me? I will kill you for such a sentiment!" Anubis ran at Luna again, his tail swinging to its position above his head. Luna put up a barrier spell and tried to keep it up with every attack Anubis unleashed. "WEAK! WEAK! WEAK!" he roared with each strike of his tail. Luna could barely hold the shield in place. Her shield shattered and she was knocked backwards. Before Luna could regain herself, Anubis was already standing over her, pinning her with his claws. He dug his claws into her shoulders, making her wail in pain. "Yes, yes, squeal horse. I will enjoy killing you slowly. For that...Is how weaklings should die, slowly. Remembering every little amount of pain they feel. Now meet your end." Anubis put his tail to her neck. He rotated it so that only one of the blades on the pyramid was on the side of her neck. "Die, weakling." he began to dig the blade into her skin and moved it across her neck, slowly, so he could savor the moment.

Luna was pinned. She couldn't move and she believed that this was the end of her life. She began to cry and tried something she had not done. "Volos, HELP!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. Anubis stopped and pulled his tail away from her neck, letting a small amount of blood leak from the cut.

Anubis stared at her and smiled. "Again. Call for him again, it will make this so much more worth it." he said, maniacally.

"Volos, please! I know you're there! Help!" she tried again.

"YES! YES! That's it!" Anubis laughed.

"Volos, please. I need you." she cried, her voice faltering and giving way to the tears that flowed from her eyes.

Anubis still stood atop Luna. He had begun to laugh hysterically. "This is so beautiful, your making such a sweet sound. But sadly...It must come to an end." he stated, almost sadly, moving his tail back to her neck. "Now die, knowing your presumed savior never came." Anubis pushed the blade to Luna's neck and had begun his final pursuit of her death.

"HELP!" she yelled as loud as she could. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a small green light, that became brighter with each passing second. Anubis was taken by surprise as the green orb smashed into him knocking him off of Luna. Luna remained on the ground, her blood seeping from the wounds on her shoulders and neck. Anubis regained himself, and growled with rage at the sight before him. "You came, I knew you would." Luna cried with happiness.

Author's Note:

If you haven't noticed, I'm a sword and knife enthusiast. Hence all of the bladed weapons.

I'm not a science expert, but I believe Oscillating Waves at high frequencies make sonic or ultrasonic sound. Please don't hurt me if I'm wrong.

Bonus points if you found the computer references.

Comments

[jmlop0]

More.MOOORE!MORE OR I SHALL BREAK INTO YOUR HOME AND DEVOURE YOUR SOUL AND FEAST ON YOUR SOULESS HUSK!

[Cades]

Is it Firewall? Because that is what protects your computer from viruses or some shit like that. I dunno. Now hurry up and update faster.

[InsaneBatPony]

1977279 Essentially yes. Bonus point to you for putting that one together but there is one more. See if you can find it.

[Cades]

1977303
Does it have anything to do with the sonic wall? Because that is what some schools, my school I know for sure but not sure bout the others, use to block certain sites. Too lazy to go back and read it again.

[InsaneBatPony]

1977334 Yes, yes it does.

[Cades]

1977355
Hmmm... Thinking... hsmemes.com/images/ajax_loader.gif
.
.
.
.
.
.
Is it how Anubis bypasses the wall? *Shrugs*

[InsaneBatPony]

1977378 Winner! You found them all. Congrats.

[Cades]

1977396
Whoo. Hooray for me.

[Fugly Duckling]

and once again, great chapter buddy you always make the biggest cliffhangers

keep up the good work!

[Bookmaster]

Oh another enthusiast like myself how fun.

[Hi]

So volos is a green orb in his mind...

[InsaneBatPony]

1978774 yes

[Midnight Blues]

He'd better fix Fluttershy after all this.

[GandalftheGrey]

So you're a knife an sword enthusiast too huh?

[The Eccentric Mister E]

I like a good blade but I'm more of a gun man myself. Especially big guns hehehe...

[Mr Marshmallow]

When I think of Anubis I see 'The Gleam Eyes' from SAO

[H550]

2440774 bayonet on a minigun. Best of both worlds.

[Sworn Sentinel]

Firewall hehehe